Blood Lies (Dark Brothers of the Light #9) (28 page)

Nans touched her forehead, Reading quickly.
She had never birthed a sapient, but if Anksha were an animal, she
was doing fairly well physically. "Isranon's coming. Nevin's
bringing him. Take a breath and push. Try to relax. Let Deryna get
around between your legs and help."

Nans extended her awareness deeper into
Anksha's primal centers until she achieved a state of rapport,
existing both within and without the little demon-eater,
experiencing the birth with her, breathing with her, pushing with
her. Anksha calmed, her face taking on a beatific expression.

Isranon arrived, panting and breathless,
with Nevin right behind him. He knelt, taking Anksha's hand and
kissing it. "I love you, Anksha."

Deryna looked up with worried eyes. "The
baby is breech. I'm going to try to turn it around. Otherwise we
might lose both of them."

"No. I'll do it." Isranon placed his hand on
Anksha's stomach, exerting his power to turn the child. Anksha
whimpered.

"If I die…." Anksha moaned.

"I won't let you die, Anksha. I love you."
Isranon exerted still more power, and his son moved in Anksha's
womb, slowly his feet turned, and his head came down. It went
swiftly and smoothly after that.

Deryna spread Anksha's legs a little wider
so that she could see Timadi's cresting head. "He's coming fast.
You did it."

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."

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 Beltria, 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.