Bound By Blood (42 page)

             
Daŕ
ēus
,
Lushãyen
and the others
growled viciously
.
Some of them spit
on
the ground at the abomination.

             
Samanthŕa
felt tears
begin to fall. Quickly she wiped her face trying to hide her emotion
.
“Who would do such a thing and why?” Without thinking, feeling the cold even more now, she pulled the arm of
Daŕ
ēus, which
protected her
in
even tighter. The thought of
burning
a woman and her unborn child simply ate away at her.

             
She thought of
St
a
phãyn
and
his
unborn children. She understood why he wanted to avoid such a fate for them. Evil would not rest until they were killed
,
and the power of the children consumed by sacrifice. Though Evil claimed they had no part in this, she didn’t believe it. Whatever did this was the worst of
all E
vil.
She caught herself and her thoughts and silently renewed the guards she had placed over her mind. She prayed to the Goddess that Daŕ
ēus was not able to read them.

             
“Where are the bodies?”
Maŕ
ēus broke
Samanthŕa’s
sadness. Each of them dismounted with swords drawn to search the area. Blood, tar, even char
from
flesh stained the ground
,
but there were no bodies.

             
Daŕ
ēus dismounted
from
his horse
,
and then
helped
Samanthŕa
down. His large hand gripped hers and pulled her alongside him. She hurried along without protest. “There are signs of battle
,
”
h
e said in a subdued voice
,
pointing out marks in the dirt. “Struggles
,
but no bodies
are
being dr
agged
away unless they carried them. We go inside. Stay alert.” He looked at
Samanthŕa
. “If this is difficult for you I can return you to your mother
’
s
,
or even to my
Realm
if you wish it.
”

             
She didn’t want to go away. She didn’t want to necessarily
be here
either. For some odd reason she just wanted to be latched onto him like glue. It was safe where he was
,
no matter what the situation
might be
around them. It still bewildered her to think one of her bloodlines could be destroyed. Nothing like this had ever happened. She was out of her element, in unknown and unfamiliar territory concerning all of this. To stay with him was her best option.

             
“
I stay but if
I get eaten or roasted, I will haunt you from my grave.” She tried to make a joke. Maybe there was something to
Danyól’s
humor
,
especially when her nerves felt like they may splinter out from under her.

             
“You will not get eaten
,
”
Danyól
remarked
in passing. “Well
,
maybe you will
be
if you are roasted. I didn’t bring any spice so I shall hope you are at least naturally seasoned.”
He
began to laugh.

             
"You will be the one cooking me up then?"

             
“I’ve always wanted to try Priestess and Brie.”

             
Samanthŕa
nearly choked. Her attempt at humor was a mere attempt. It came so easily for him
,
though. She envied his mind
.

             
Daŕ
ēus ignored
his brother
as he pulled her along. His senses caught wind of something.
T
he other
B
rothers
and the Lycãons
sensed it to
o
. Their eyes turned darker and their heads tilted slightly. The predator in them had become alert.

             
Inside the
pyramid
, the hallways were empty. The torches
fl
ickered against a dampness that was not outside. The coldness seemed to become worse
,
which was even odder. The
smooth, sandstone block
walls began to ice up in places. Strange puddles formed over the floors
,
causing black ice.
Samanthŕa
avoided those and warned everyone else to do the same.

             
“Look
,” she said in their minds and pointed. Half of a warrior
’
s boot was swallowed up by the ice.
“
Did s
omething pull him down into it?
” She didn’t dare touch the boot to sense whose energy it was.

             
Daŕ
ēus
moved her slowly around the puddles.
At one point, he even lifted her into his arms until they were safely around. There was no doubt in her mind that he intended on taking no chances where she was concerned. If she allowed herself, she could easily g
et
used to it. This frightened her.

             
They did not bother
investigating
each room if they could see clearly inside. Each room however
,
was demolished, tables thrown
about
and crushed, tapestries ripped and torn. Many things were destroyed and thrown into the fires which struggled
,
like the torches
,
against the dampness. Large symbols were drawn all over the walls
,
much like the one which burned outside.

             
Inside the
Dining Hall
their journey ceased.
             
It looked like
the scene of
a massacre
;
except
,
like outside
,
there were no bodies to be found.
Daŕ
ēus crouched
down and sniffed some of the blood
. It was
Theŕéan
-- but
where were the bodies?

             
“
Maŕ
ēus
, take some of the men and scour the rooms on the upper levels
,
”
Daŕ
ēus
told him.

             
Maŕ
ēus left
. He
and his helpers
vanished like smoke.

             
“Any ideas
,
Priestess?”
Daŕ
ēus asked
her as he walked around, careful not to leave her too far behind as he studied the room and its signs.

             
“I cannot cut through the coldness. It’s like a cloak. Can you?”
s
he answered. Her mind was on
Dǒntáe
,
Trynaté
, and
Thorn. She kept praying to the Goddess that they would find them
,
and not in the same condition as
Dalaŕéah
. The weight of
evil
energy in that place was pushing down on her. She could feel it invade her mind and soul. She could feel it make the herbs stronger. Her hands were still shaking.

             
“Nay
,
”
he replied. Then h
e raised a brow
as
he found a charm of some sort on the floor. He bent down and lifted it. It was a piece of leather with
a symbol of the S and line
hanging from it.
Samant
hŕa
rushed to him and took it. She had seen this somewhere. Where? Not outside or on the walls
,
even though it was the same mark. She had seen it somewhere else
.
Then it came to her. She remained silent
,
but he knew she felt something.

             
“Tell me
,
”
h
e
directe
d
,
but she shook her head. Her nerves caught up with her. The herbs caught up with her. She began to tremble a
nd
stumbled back
ward
. He caught her
,
demanding to know what was wrong.

             
Not now
, s
he screamed at herself.
Not now. Do not get sick or pass out now. Fight the herbs.

             
“Tell me what is wrong or I shall enter your thoughts and find out for myself
,
”
Daŕ
ēus
warn
ed.

             
“She will not tell you because she fears your reaction
,
”
Dĩas
said from the doorway. “Tell him
,
Samanthŕa
. Tell him what you saw today when you snuck away to the village.”

             
Daŕ
ēus
looked at
Samanthŕa
but she refused to look at him. She was becoming used to his power now
,
or so she thought. Still, she would not look at him. He helped her to a chair as she held her stomach in pain. She shut her eyes and tried to fight the urge to vomit.
Maŕ
ēus
and the others came back into the room.
Maŕ
ēus shook
his head at
Daŕ
ēus
,
confirming
that
he
’d
found nothing.
He turned towards
Dĩas and
h
is eyes began to glow a dark red.

             
Before they could inquire
about
the symbol or even get their bearings on the room, the doorways were flooded with large rabid jungle cats
of abnormal
shapes and sizes. They were bloody, snarling, crazed. They leaped from all heights, shifting into the men they once were before their sharp, dagger like claws touched the floors. One of them, Thorn, held the body of his brother Dǒntáe who was
too
weak to make the shift. He was wounded
,
with the black ooze all over him.

             
“What happened here? Where are our people?” Thorn spat and snarled while he laid his brother
’
s body down. Samanthŕa forced herself up to check him
,
but before she could Daŕ
ēus pulled her back so that Ma
ŕ
ēus could do so first.

             
Samanthŕa fought
against Daŕ
ēus’ hold as Dǒnt
áe summons
ed
enough strength to strike out at Maŕ
ēus
, hissing furiously.

             
“We should be asking you that.” Daŕ
ēus growled as
Samanthŕa
jerked away from him and ran to Dǒntáe’s side. She could hear Daŕ
ēus
snarl
even more savagely when Dǒntáe allowed her to touch hi
s head
, shifting back into a ma
n, naked and smeared with
wounds and black ooze.

             
“We have been fighting what could not be seen.” Thorn admitted
but not in a polite manner. His breath was heavy and his eyes were absolutely feral
. “Our people, where are they? Tell me where they are!”

             
Chymeŕah
appeared in thin air, sensing the commotion. She eased
Samanthŕa back
,
whispering. “Allow us to see to him
,
darkest darling
. At l
east until we know what this is.
” She pointed to the ooze.