Blood Lies (Dark Brothers of the Light #9) Read online

  Then Timadi emerged completely. Nevin moved to Deryna's side and gave a shout, "You have a son!" Deryna quickly tied the cord and cut it. She cleaned Timadi up and put him to Anksha's breast.

  Anksha gave a weary, satisfied purr as Timadi suckled. Downy babyfur covered him, and the only sign of his half-human heritage was his lack of a tail. "It was a battle. I won."

  "We need to move them into the manor to a bed," Deryna said.

  Isranon looked at Nevin. Turning the baby had tired him.

  Nevin nodded. "I'll carry Anksha."

  He lifted Anksha, Timadi in her arms, and carried her to the manor.

  Isranon walked beside Nevin. "We'll put off our departure for a few days. I'll need to assess this."

  * * * *

  Stygean and Chinisi sat together on a bench, one of the few not yet packed up to go. She wept into his shoulder, and he pressed his own tears into her hair. The meeting with Jingen had been a shock to them both. Although they had both had ample reason to hate him at the end, they would never have wished this fate upon him.

  Chinisi felt still more shaken by Anksha's going into labor. She had not really thought about how much a woman could hurt giving birth. It was not something talked about openly among her people.

  In four months, Stygean would turn fourteen, and under the laws of Ildyrsetts, that would make him an adult of marriageable age. They would marry on his birthday if they lived long enough, considering how soon they would be riding into battle.

  "Bite me, Stygean," Chinisi murmured in his ear.

  He started at that. He had only tasted her blood once, that day when she had used her blood, prayers and spells to wake him when he had lost his will to live. At first, he wanted to refuse and hesitated.

  "Please, and take my mind away from thoughts of Jingen. I'll feel your fangs often enough once we're married."

  Stygean sighed. "Not here, a private place." Better to know how she would handle it now than later. So he took her to the bushes, where she had first found him trying to meditate. They crept behind them and settled, cuddling. He opened her tunic. He did not want the bite to show, and yet he did not want to be too intimate with her. He was trying to be a gentlemon until the wedding. He stared at her breasts longingly.

  Chinisi saw that and said, "We can fool around a little, but only up to a point. My family will want to see the virgin blood on the sheets."

  "The what?"

  Chinisi frowned. "The hymen. Don't you know anything? The first time a woman lies with a man it tears and she bleeds. My family will want to see it so they know I was virgin on my wedding night."

  Stygean sighed; his fangs shrank back to normal looking teeth.

  "You're not going to bite me?"

  "This is getting too complicated."

  "No, it isn't. Just don't touch me below the waist." Chinisi grabbed his hand resolutely and shoved it between the cleft of her breasts.

  Stygean stared at his hand and could not resist giving Chinisi's firm breast a squeeze. "Have you ever done this before?"

  "No. But my aunt explained it all to me when I got my menses. And I've overheard the servants talking."

  Stygean reached into her bodice and brought one breast clear. This was so different from those earlier times with the nibari. His heart hammered. Chinisi arched her back when he was slow to do anything and shoved her breast in his face, then teased his mouth with her nipple. "Do something."

  Stygean squeezed her other breast, kneading it while his tongue wrapped around her nipple. She moaned softly. He lowered her gently to the ground after brushing away all the leaves and twigs that might be found beneath her. Chinisi's fingers explored his hardened cock through the fabric of his trousers, slowly discerning the shape and size of it. That made him wonder if lying on top of her with their clothes between them could be construed as not touching her below the waist. He wanted her so bad it made him ache. He decided to chance it and lowered himself until his body pressed hers. To his surprise, Chinisi wrapped her legs around him. Stygean began to gently bump her mound through the cloth. She moved with him as if they were actually joined, instead of separated. He came in his pants so swiftly it startled him.

  His mouth fastened on her nipple sucking for a time before biting into the vein that crossed her breast. She moaned, as he took her into his world.

  * * * *

  Lobelia straightened her skirts as she sat down on a chair in an upstairs study. Disharyl arrived, escorted by two lycans who lingered. "I am sorry about your son," Lobelia said and gestured for the lycans to leave.

  The lycans withdrew, frowning.

  She rose and hugged Disharyl, whispering in her ear, "Are they still out there?"

  Disharyl listened and then shook her head.

  Lobelia poured wine for them both and returned to her seat. "I am afraid I will no longer be able to hold as many of these little sessions with you. Anksha gave me permission to hold them only until he died. I will try to get her to allow me more of them, but even if she does, they are apt to be very limited."

  "Get to the point."

  "What do you think of Stygean marrying my niece?"

  "It is unwise for a human to marry a sa'necari."

  "That is my thought. She would be better off if he were dead."

  Disharyl laughed. "I think he would be better off if she were."

  Lobelia shivered. Disharyl always turned it back on her. "I care deeply for my niece."

  "Oh, but of course you do. She is your treasure with which to buy greater things. Yet, now she's soiled."

  "My niece isn't soiled." Lobelia sucked in a breath to stop herself from retaliating. "What are your feelings toward Stygean?"

  "I pray for his death."

  "I wish I could trust you."

  "You can't. They murdered my son."

  Lobelia nodded and considered. "If you had access to whatever herbs you needed…."

  "Stygean would die."

  "Give me a list of what you need and I will see that you get them."

  Disharyl's sly smile made Lobelia shiver. "If you would have my aid, then seal our partnership with your blood."

  "What?"

  "With your blood. If you want him dead so badly, open your dress and let me taste you."

  Lobelia hesitated, swallowing nervously.

  Disharyl shrugged. "I guess you don't really want him dead."

  Lobelia mastered her aversions and unbuttoned her bodice.

  Disharyl pushed Lobelia's dress over her shoulders and licked her fangs. "Don't be so afraid. It won't hurt much."

  "Get it over with and give me the list."

  Disharyl smacked her lips, pushed Lobelia to the floor, and turned the mage's head to the side. "Relax. It will be over quickly and you will get what you want."

  Lobelia sucked in a deep breath. "Yes."

  She stiffened for an instant when Disharyl's fangs entered her neck. A low moan escaped Lobelia as Disharyl sucked her. "Oh gods…." She breathed in gasps and pants, writhing under Disharyl. Disharyl's arcane power lunged into Lobelia's mind, snared and trapped her. Lobelia's eyes bulged and she shuddered. "Oh merciful gods…. What have you done to me?"

  Disharyl withdrew from Lobelia's neck and licked the wound closed. "You're mine now. You will do what I say, because I can kill you with a word. There is a death command in your brain. Cross me and you'll die."

  Epilogue

  Chrysae 11, 1078

  Alons nudged Abby and rode to the head of the line of wagons. The White Lady's messenger, Dyna, had been generous. They had gone from struggling and half-starved to well-fed and strong. All of them, including the women and children, now wore wondrous coats of chain mail. Instead of three worn out, salvaged wagons, they now had six brand new cottage wagons.

  Horst waited for him at the head of the caravan with Father Franz. He shared a smile with Alons. "Give the order, paladin of the Lady."

  A great warmth spread through Alons as he raised his arm to signal the others. "North to Belt
ria, for the honor of Our Lady, for there we will find Dawnreturning waiting for us."

  A shout went up through the ranks of the refugees. "For Our Lady! For Dawnreturning!"

  Alons waved his arm. "Forward!"

  Daisy and Lion trotted beside Alons and Horst. Saucy rode in the first wagon, her three week old puppies barking and making puppy noises at the lurch forward. Two months pregnant, Birthe drove the lead wagon. New life was all around them, filling them all with hope, from the hoariest greybeard to the smallest child.

  Dyna had given them a prophecy that they would find Dawnreturning at Jasmine Falls in Beltria. So they went forth with eagerness and confidence.

  They trundled through the ruined town and out onto the road singing.

  * * * *

  The Minnorian soldiers herded them into a drawing room devoid of furniture. Thirty boards, locked into an upright position, lined the walls, bearing shackles, chains and straps. There was a roll just below shoulder height to force the myn's chests up. The soldiers began stripping them to the waist.

  Clovis removed his shirt before they reached him, letting it drop to the floor around his ankles. His brothers did the same. Together they made a show of courage in silent defiance of their fate, putting their backs to the boards. The three mind-torn went quietly as well. Several of the others fell to their knees, weeping and begging, and had to be carried to their places. A few tried to resist, were quickly subdued and brought to the wall.

  "But I'm a good boy. I've been good," Konrad wept, repeating his chant in broken confusion.

  They shackled Clovis' wrists and ankles. Straps went around his legs, arms, waist and high up on his chest, fastening beneath his armpits to deny him the slightest movement. The roll made his back ache. He closed his eyes. A vision of Reynhard Dreslin perishing with unflinching courage flashed across his lids. Shamed by the memory of Reynhard's unflinching courage, Clovis opened his eyes to face it all like a man.

  Many of his fellows screamed and cursed as the soldiers bound them. Clovis' voice rose in prayer. One by one, the others joined their voices to his, and faith calmed the chamber.

  His skin crawled when Maruska swept into the chamber, her abdomen swollen with her clutch of eggs. Maruska's husband, Lord General Ynkendio Kreuz, accompanied her. They walked back and forth along the line of myn, their stingers waving. As the first egg began its journey through the ovipositor, they returned to Clovis.

  She stroked her barb across Clovis' chest. "As promised, you're first."

  "Do it and be damned."

  Maruska's tail drew back and then snapped forward, burying the stinger three-quarters of the way into his chest. Never before had she plunged so deeply into him. Clovis groaned at the impact, his gaze flicking to the barb in shock, and then fixating upon it in morbid dread, unable to look away. Maruska worked her barb in further. Grinding his teeth, the prince fought back a scream. His eyes shifted from the barb to the lump in her tail, moving steadily closer. The prince recalled Ynkendio's words: the first egg of each clutch takes the longest to reach the host's body, and this time that body will be yours.

  Most of the doomed myn stared in horror. Few had the strength to turn their gaze aside. Sobs came from their ranks as the screaming lessened. Someone shouted Clovis' name, barely registering in the prince's awareness that it had been one of his brothers.

  Venom dribbled into the wound. Having endured so many of her stings, he had developed a tolerance for it. So it took several minutes for enough venom to penetrate his body to make him spasm and moan. The egg entered the base of the barb, which dilated, spreading his ribs.

  Clovis cried out, gasping for breath as sweat erupted across his face. He felt the pressure of the egg against his ribs, followed by a sensation of heaviness that lasted several seconds, ending when the egg slid completely inside him and Maruska withdrew her stinger. Clovis' nerve finally broke, and he screamed himself hoarse.

  Maruska moved down the line, implanting her eggs to the despairing noises of the hosts, her abdomen shrinking with each transfer.

  Sagging, Clovis' gaze swept to the left, pulled irresistibly by dread. She had finished with Willard and Sewell, who hung writhing in their bonds, their wounds oozing. Maruska had her barb into the last of his brothers. Tancred keened and moaned, twisting as much as he was able, eyes wide with a flight from sanity. The barb popped out, and Tancred went to pieces, screaming as Clovis had. The next was Thorben – except for whimpering at the pain, the mind-torn duke seemed unaware of what was being done to him.

  Convulsions wracked Clovis, his awareness graying until all he could see was a small point on the floor beyond his feet. The soldiers unfastened the prince, and he collapsed into a fetal position, breathing hard. Clovis went silent, trying to focus past the pain and terror.

  It's all over – except to die well.

  Clovis listened to the confused whimpering of Konrad.

  "Hurting me," Konrad moaned as Maruska worked her barb deeper while the egg began its journey. "Why hurting me? Was I bad? Hurting."

  Tears of pity made rivulets across Clovis' cheeks when Konrad's whimpers turned to shrieks as the barb expanded and the egg slipped inside him. Konrad succumbed quickly to the venom, slumping unconscious in his bonds. Clovis said a small prayer of gratitude for that. "White Lady, bless Konrad with a quick and easy death. Don't let him suffer."

  Within an hour, there were twenty-seven men huddled together on the floor. Some wept, others still screamed. A few were quiet – like Clovis.

  Seven had been spared because Maruska had no eggs left, and were returned to the larder. Sewell, who had always seemed the weakest of the five brothers, proved himself the strongest. Uncurling, he dragged himself to Clovis, placing his hand over his brother's wound. Clovis responded with the same gesture, his hand shaking so badly he could scarcely achieve it. Sewell's eyes closed, and he lost consciousness.

  Too weak to sit, Clovis squirmed close enough to drag his brother to his chest and stared at the window, saying in a hoarse murmur, "White Lady, bring your champion swiftly. Let no more myn die as we are."

  He heard her voice whispering like a soft breeze through the room.

  "Dawnreturning marches from Ildyrsetts as we speak. He will arrive before the end of spring."

  Despite his suffering, Clovis smiled as his awareness went black.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Epilogue