Bound By Blood (33 page)

             
"Back to that, are we?"

             
"You just let me worry about what I feel I must worry about for my own private reasons. Now, when and where?"

             
Daŕ
ēus
laughed. “Each night, you shall come to
my
Realm
. There
,
I have power enough to protect you.
No one
, not even your mother
,
will know what you are doing.
No one
,” he promised
and she felt power in his words
.

             
Clearing her throat nervously concerning his dominance, her mind triggered another concern,
“By myself?
In
your
Realm
?
Alone
with
you
? In
your
dwelling? Do you think I’m that much of a fool? Anything could happen to me there. You could do anything to me at all and
are
powerful enough to erase my memory of it so that I would never know.” She hissed
this
at him in a low voice, standing her ground. She admitted to herself that she desired to know the old ways, restore the
families,
and keep herself from falling victim to
E
vil, but being alone with him when he had already triggered her
A
wakening?
That
frightened her.

             
“Bring your sisters with you. Bring them and they will keep watch so that I do nothing that you fear of me. A fear mind you, you should know better
than to have,
”
h
e said
,
as if reminding her
of who he was. But did he forget that it was who he was that had her fearful?

             
He drank the rest of his brandy and then stared into the fire.
“I feel many tra
ito
rs mingling within the bloodlines. They are no longer pure
,
which is probably
why
they are on the verge of extinction. These
tra
ito
rs are off setting the balances, letting forces go that could do
us all great harm."

             
"You truly see that? You are not simply saying it only to lure me deeper into your web?" She tested him.

             
"I am not under the dark spells that blind the rest of your kind, Priestess. I do not see these things through you. If anything, you have seen what little you have, through your connection to me."

             
That astounded her.

             
"Yes, through the dreams you claim I have robbed you of. Through that little bit, I have managed to keep the darkness lifted from your eyes . . . to a certain extent."

             
"Then tell me more." Her inner emotions pleaded but her outer tone remained neutral.

             
"Take these C
reatures which attacked the
Beal-Tene
Celebration. The likes of them have not been seen before, yet here they are, running free and working under the cloak of a nameless one.
"

             
"The Nosophoros."

             
"
They bring with them plagues and poison
s, which not only harm all breeds
of life on
TEŔAH
but
are
harm
ing
the
universe
itself in ways you have yet to understand.
Yet they are nothing compared to what
will
come, if all t
his continues. So will you
forget your suspicions and take me up on my offer for the sake of those you love
and
your position
as
High Priestess?” He asked one final time.

             
“I can’t see as I have a choice
,
”
s
he said, suddenly comfortable in his presence
,
though she didn’t want him to know it. Every time he said
High
Priestess,
it was with such
reverence
and respect. It was as if he knew what it truly meant
,
which was something very rare. She savored that.

             
“We
all
have a choice
,
Samanthŕa
. Even if one of the choices is something you find distasteful,
you still have a choice
.
And I will force nothing upon you."
He smiled slightly.

             
"Truly?"

             
“You are under my protection now
,
which is why I laid claim to you.
"

             
"Ah, but you did not give me a choice, did you?"

             
"The claim was my duty and you have yours as Priestess.
If I had my way
, if I forced your hand concerning anything,
you would be with me in
my
realm
where I have complete power to ensure your protection
,
but to show you my inten
t
ions are honest, you are here with your mother.
"

             
He had a point.

             
"
Now would I allow you to be here with your mother if my only plan was to force an
A
wakening? I would have taken you to my
realm
and done it already, no?”
His smile grew.

             
Again, he had a point. "What of my father, then? He will not approve of this."

             
“
L
eave that burden between him and me.
I will keep him from knowing what we are up to. I do so not because I fear him, but because it will ease your mind. You will have enough to focus on."

             
"But what about the curse? What he did to you? Surely you want to harm him for that? And just why did he do that to you?"

             
"Right now my concern is for you. As for him, our day shall come. As for you. o
ne day I’m sure you will learn what causes
our
friction, as no secret remains buried for long,
especially
with
you
around.” He laughed
,
as if he knew her
curious history
concerning secrets. “For now, a
ll you must do is open your mind to the knowledge I have to offer
.
"

             
"When?"

             
"Tomorrow evening
, shall
we
begin
then
?”

             
“If my sisters will join me,” she told him,
wondering how
to explain all this to them. “Even though you say you only wish to teach me, with my
A
wakening so near
now and so invoked by your power
, I…”

             
“You do not trust yourself? You might lose your Vii wits and
take advantage of
me?” He
’d
made
a joke. The G
iant of intimidation made a joke at her expense.

             
How lovely,
she thought. “Doubtful
,
”
s
he said coldly
,
putting an end to the
humor
. “As for my sisters then, I have to
propose this to
them.”

             
“They will
agree,
”
h
e assured her. “These things are easy for me to foresee.
”
He laughed again, partially
,
as if he was wondering why
she so underestimated
his powers, sights and intuitions.

             
“I would feel a lot better if you told me why
Dĩas
imprisoned you and how he was able to do so. If he had such a power then
,
how do I know he will not find out about what you want me to do now
and use it against the both of us
?” She was
still
stumbling concerning that. “I mean, you did not try to destroy the bloodline or show the signs of being
E
vil
,
did you?”

             
“No
,
”
h
e said coldly. “
And I gave him power to harm me then by trusting him. He has no such power now. Nor will he ever harm you in my presence." It was as if his words were etched in stone.

             
"Then why did he do it?"

             
"
The time for you to know such things is not upon us yet
;
one step at a time
,
Samanthŕa
understand your concerns though. You wonder if I was an Evil force, a dangerous threat, an enemy of my own blood.
No
." He poured a bit more brandy into his glass. He exhaled slowly and his thoughts seemed thick. Finally, he said, "
If I was a danger
to
you
, I would not have
Chymeŕah’s
trust
,
now would I? The
Lycãons
even trust me. They celebrate my return even now as we speak.”
He had a point and she knew it.

             
"Kaléé  said she dreamt a prophecy. She--"

             
“The Vlachŕa
spoke
of the Prophecy promising my return
. . . one she whispered amongst her clans for many moons,
even if my name was not allowed to be spoken
aloud."

             
"I never heard them."

             
"T
he Strygĩ were not allowed to learn of anything concerning me.
For t
his you have Dĩas
and
his Elders to thank.
”
His eyes became cruel but then immediately softened when he looked at her.
“Now then, horses shall be prepared and left for you in the stable.
Seems the safest way to travel these days without ones of power catching scent of it."

             
"Agreed."

             
"
Go towards the mountains
, to the
north. Once through the forest you will find a portal behind the Great Falls. It will appear as a hazy veil,
smoke,
and fog. Go through
and you shall be at the foot of my castle. Do not go
farther than
the portal
,
as my power only protects you on th
e
path.”

             
“Where is your castle exactly?”
s
he asked.

             
“Between
realm
s,”
h
e
explain
ed. “The exact location and name, you need not know for your own safety of course
,
lest
Dĩas find
out.” He winked at her
.

             
“Tomorrow then,” she
replied and
got a hold
on
herself.

             
He bowed to her, which made her feel like royalty. She quickly shook off the feeling and started to leave the room, turning around to look at him one last time. “If I change my mind or if I decide to refuse, what then?”

             
“You will not.”

             
Sh
e
thought he
answered with conceit.
“Aside from your ego, what if I did?
”

             
He looked at her with great honesty, revealing that he would not lie to her
,
whether she liked
the answer
or not. “Then I would take you to my home for good
,
whether you were willing or not.” He smiled
,
invit
ing her
to
think of it as a joke
,
but she knew better
. H
er instincts told her so
despite his promise not to force her to do anything
.
If he viewed this action best for her sake though, in his mind it would not be forcing . . . just like his claim.