Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (47 page)

Chapter 32

The awful noise drew Cassia from her chambers. She wrapped a sheet around herself and stepped into the hall. Kiera, her keeper, was at her side as usual and that girl was the reason she was able to vacate her chamber without Cabrian by her side. Cabrian had been sent out with some of the raiding parties and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him for several days. She wished he was still on guard duty. Those were the good days when he never left the villa. Now she had to worry about him, not knowing whether he was going to come back to her or not.

Snotti and her APS ladies dragged the human slave out the door of the villa and into the courtyard. Cassia and Kiera trailed behind. The human, Baby, screamed in terror as Snotti held a dagger to her throat. “I knew some of our males were harboring human sluts beneath our very noses!” Snotti pierced Baby’s throat with the end of her dagger and watched while the blood streamed down her neck. “So yummy looking, but I bet her blood is more like poison than fine wine. I will not lower myself to taste one so unsavory.”

“How did you discover the creature?” Lasair asked.

“I thought Modez had a human lover, so I have been walking the halls at night.”

Cassia recognized the hybrid’s voice so she knew Gwyneth had spoken, but she wondered why the hybrid female wore a veil.

“But I did not find this one in his room.” Gwyneth raised the confiscated Centurion’s staff in the air and waved it with fury. “She was in Shane McDonald’s bed. But I know she serviced more than the one hybrid. I scent at least three on her skin.”

Snotti moved the knife lower, past Baby’s stomach and hips to her thighs. She stabbed into the material and ripped a gash in the fabric that revealed pale skin. “Name the miscreants involved or I will stab you in the cunt. I promise you won’t like being stabbed with my dagger nearly as much as you enjoyed being stabbed with hybrid cock.”

Baby screamed and struggled while Snotti’s ladies held her immobile. Finally, she said, “I belong to Seamus McLeod and Visant Brannon. You cannot harm me.”

Snotti screamed with rage. “You corrupted one of our noble lords and our most powerful druid! And Shane McDonald had you as well, I assume.”

“Yes, Your Highness. All three had me.”

“Well, no longer! Human sheaths ruin our males. You must be the reason Seamus’ mating test failed. And Visant, how can he perform his duties when he has been bewitched by human sex givers?”

Baby cried and apologized profusely, but it made no difference to Snotti as she pronounced a death sentence for the girl. The courtyard filled with warriors and they stood with their hands on their swords while Snotti had her tirade. Cassia could tell they wanted to intervene but were hesitant to interfere with the princess’ business. They waited for Diermont to make his appearance, and in a few minutes, he popped onto the grass. Snotti turned to him and said, “Three of our males violated the ban and are guilty of harboring a human in this very villa. They shall face your punishment, my prince, but first the human must be destroyed.”

“Wait!” The last thing Cassia wanted to do was draw attention to herself, but she couldn’t allow them to kill Baby. “Don’t harm her! The girl has crucial information about a hybrid conspirator. She knows the identity of the hybrid who has been working with Lucine.”

Snotti slit Baby’s throat with her dagger and the girl slid to the ground. Blood gushed from the wound on her neck and pooled on the grass, turning everything in the vicinity red. Her eyes held the look of death. Diermont yanked Snotti by the arm and said, “What were you thinking, woman? We needed to interrogate that human and now we cannot because you killed her.”

Snotti pointed toward Cassia and said, “Cabrian’s slave would say anything to save her human friend. I wasn’t going to let her lies sway me from applying justice.”

Baby hadn’t been a friend since Cassia barely knew her, but she would grieve her death. It was senseless. Seamus and Visant had arrived to the scene too late to stop Snotti from killing their slave. She had never seen them so angry as they raged at Snotti. The males acted as if a close member of their families had been killed and not just a human slave. Even Shane McDonald had tears in his eyes. She felt the fear well inside her as the hybrids focused their attention on her. Scanning the grounds, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief to spot Cabrian. He had come fresh from the battlefield, from the look of him.

Cabrian gathered Cassia in his arms and transported them out of the courtyard. Now inside their chamber, Cabrian paced the room. “All hell is breaking loose out there. This is terrible. We’ll never learn the identity of the traitor.”

“Snotti killed her. Just like that.” Cassia was in shock. It had all happened in a matter of minutes.

Cabrian sighed heavily. “I wish you had told me about Baby earlier. I shouldn’t have waited to talk to her, but I hadn’t expected to be sent on these damnable overnight excursions.” Cabrian let out another string of curse words while he removed his battle gear. “I could not have known Snotti would discover her presence so soon.”

“I am worried. What if they come for me next?”

“That won’t happen. You’re not just a human slave. You are a breeder and my future mate.”

That didn’t make Cassia feel much safer. As a breeder, she was more of a threat to the APS fanatics than Baby had been. They wouldn’t let her live. “Make me yours. I’d feel much safer if I was already your mate.”

“I wish I could, Cassia, but Diermont has forbidden it. He says the sex would distract me from my duties. He is correct in that. I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but being inside you. That could get me killed and you’d be left without a protector.”

“Am I not already a distraction?” Cassia blushed as she said this, knowing they had been secretly violating the ban on human-hybrid relations.

“Yes, you are a most welcome distraction,” he said while taking her mouth in a passionate kiss, “but I can maintain some control over it right now. Once I initiate the mating bond, that won’t be the case. Please be patient.”

“Okay. I’ll try.” Cassia wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his warm body. She wished they could simply get married and run off together, but that wasn’t the way the world worked. She was terrified that someone or something would destroy her happiness. There were too many obstacles in their way.

Chapter 33

Later that evening Diermont announced his judgment. It would be punishment via the Windsnapper. Visant Brannon, Seamus McLeod, Shane McDonald, Cassia Maximus, and Kiera Devine were found guilty of violating the ban on human-hybrid relations. Cassia was found guilty because she had admitted to knowing of Baby’s existence and hadn’t reported it. Kiera had been judged guilty because she was ultimately held responsible for Cassia’s behavior. Cabrian had asked to take Cassia’s punishment, saying his human slave would not survive it. That had resulted in a heated argument between the two, but eventually Diermont yielded.

Modez was barely hanging on to his sanity. He had isolated himself in his chamber for days because he knew he was going feral. Soon Diermont would notice and take action to restrain him. He was losing control of his hybrid abilities but he hoped he could do something to help Kiera. He hadn’t seen her in days. He didn’t want to be around any female when he was dangerous. Half the time he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to be doing. His mind was fuzzy, confused. He felt angry most of the time although he had no reason for it. The rage overwhelmed him and he couldn’t trust himself around others, especially those he cared about.

He was grateful he was lucid and rational at the moment. The condemned were in a special torture chamber called the Windsnapper. The cage reached two stories in height. The druids stood at the bars with hands lifted into the air. They chanted and moved their hands in a circular motion. Air churned in the cage with the force and speed of a small tornado. The winds picked the hybrids up into the air and spun them in a chaotic motion. Bodies slammed into the bars of the cage and bones snapped from the collision. Modez concentrated on Kiera, using his telekinesis ability to stop her from hurling through the air at a hundred miles an hour. He tried to lessen the impact as she hit the bars of the cage. He forced a cushion of air to encircle her body, and he tried to drag her in opposition to the winds. He couldn’t prevent her from being harmed and he winced every time she hit the bars. After an hour, it was over. Healers retrieved the broken bodies inside the cage. None were dead but the injuries were severe and would take time to heal. He hoped he had lessened the damage to Kiera. She did not appear as injured as the others.

He couldn’t understand how Diermont could order a punishment that left some of his best warriors incapacitated for a prolonged period of time. His hatred of humans put them all at risk should the enemy strike before the warriors had recovered.

Modez watched Kiera as the healers tended to her. His vision turned black and a loud roaring sound barreled through his ears. It sounded nearly like ocean waves and for a minute he thought he was in the water. The sky had darkened and he couldn’t see much of anything. Then suddenly he saw them. A tribe of hobbits wielding hatchets raced toward him. The monkey-like creatures were only as high as his waist but their teeth were jagged and vicious like that of a shark. They swung their weapons at him and he picked up his own sword to defend himself.

“Why are you attacking our warriors, Modez?”

The distinctive voice belonged to Diermont. Modez tried to make sense of it. Then he heard the prince say, “He’s lost his mind to mating bond sickness. I knew he wasn’t bedding Gwyneth!”

So there were no hobbits? He lowered his sword and backed up a few steps. He held out one hand and said, “Don’t come any closer.” They ignored him, and damn, they looked just like hobbits. Soon they were upon him, binding his hands and feet with some type of rope. They were going to roast him on a spit. Everyone knew hobbits were cannibalistic. If those were hobbits…he was so confused. The hobbits had voices that were familiar. Voices of his fellow warriors.

“Put him in a dungeon cell until the healers can treat him. He’s too dangerous to return to his quarters.”

Dangerous. They thought him dangerous. What was he doing again? Yes, hobbits were taking him somewhere. To a dungeon cell. And where was Kiera? Did the hobbits have her as well? He felt he was going mad. In a nightmare. He screamed and struggled but he couldn’t get away. They dragged him on the floor.

“Damnation. He should have told us he wasn’t bedding his mate.”

“I think he did mention he intended to refuse her.”

“Yeah, but nobody believed him. The two have been holed up in his chamber for days. We assumed they were fucking. So where has Gwyneth been keeping herself all this time if not with her mate?”

Gwyneth was hiding her grotesque face from the others. Modez sensed she had not left the villa. He felt too much through their bond. He felt her hatred. And yes, he had heard her accusing voice as she had run through the villa with Snotti ranting about their vitriolic views. The mating bond affected his body like a sickness. The more he resisted its hold, the weaker he felt. Mentally, he was losing it.

“Someone find Gwyneth. She needs to honor the bond.” Someone giggled. “She has the miracle cure between her legs. The fucking treatment works wonders for a man’s mind.”

There were no hobbits. Only warriors and they meant to force him into an unwanted union with Gwyneth. They thought it would cure him. He only wanted to be free and it was worth any cost, even if it killed him.

Chapter 34

More than a week had passed. The druid healers had told Kiera that she had woken from her coma while the others still slept. She glanced at the bed opposite hers. Lord Ross had nearly died. His body had been so badly broken. A few beds over lay Visant, Seamus, and Shane McDonald. All were in a coma and were covered in bandages. She listened while the druids spoke to each other. She wanted to know what had happened while she lay unconscious. Much of their talk was uninteresting and she felt her eyes growing heavy once more. Her body had nearly recovered, according to the healers, but she continued to lose herself in deep sleep.

One of the healers sighed. “The others have all had visitors, but no one comes to see Kiera. Not even the prince and she is his ward.”

“He was disappointed in her. She was in charge of Lord Ross’ slave. She had to have known something, yet she failed to report anything to the prince.”

“Maybe she was aware of the other human. Maybe not. But still, none have asked of her welfare. I pity the poor creature.”

Kiera opened her eyes and peered through heavy lids at the druid who pitied her. “Please, can you send Lord Halloran to me? Tell him that I am awake and I need to speak with him.”

“I am afraid he is indisposed.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s with Gwyneth now. The two have been closeted together for the past week and Diermont ordered they not be disturbed.”

“Why?” She knew it was a silly question. There was only one reason for the two to spend time together.

“The demands of the mating bond must be met. Else one goes insane.”

She had hoped the earlier reports were false, but now she had to accept the truth that was so apparent to everyone else. Modez had claimed his mate. Kiera had lost him to Gwyneth. She had known it would happen, but still she felt pain that seared her to the bone. She had to let him go. He had never been hers. They had shared sex, nothing else. Now it was over and she had to find a way out of this villa. She couldn’t bear to remain in this place that was filled with pain and misery.

* * *

Cassia knew she was in deep shit. With her lover in a coma, she was a sitting duck. Those ladies from APS were sniffing around her room and trying to gain access to it. She often heard them talk to the guards when she listened through the walls. So far, the guards respected Cabrian’s wishes and hadn’t allowed anyone inside. Twice a day, one of the guards passed her a tray of food. Otherwise, she had no contact with anyone.