Captivity (11 page)

It is an ancient ritual, more often symbolic
than physical: anal penetration as humiliation of a despised enemy.
Dominic chose it for that reason, and also because he knew that
Reynaldo had attempted a kind of violation of me. By now, acting in
concert with my husband, I knew there was a third reason. Dominic,
vir
and dominant, enjoyed coerced sexual relations—rape—at
least in thought. He had never indulged this taste with me, nor
with Stefan and Niall, or I could not have loved him. Not for years
had he allowed himself this ugly forbidden pleasure.

Now Dominic had a reason, and he made the
most of it. His wild laugh shrieked in my mind as my husband
unleashed the latent cruelty that had been chained within his
deepest subconscious during years of domestic tranquility, subdued
but not extinguished.

For Dominic, as for any telepath,
crypta
is more important than looks or social graces or even
intelligence when choosing a sexual partner. Despite Reynaldo’s
dirt and debased condition, he was still a man, a man with
crypta
. That matters more than anything. Forcing himself on
a gifted man gave Dominic pleasure. That it could be justified as
an act of retribution made it all the sweeter. Dominic found every
way to increase Reynaldo’s pain, ending the episode only when there
was no more he could do.

Dominic withdrew from the bandit’s mind,
wiping himself off in disgusted thought, as he would cleanse his
body if the rape had been real.
I have defiled myself with
you
, he said to Reynaldo. There was a note of madness in his
voice.
I have contaminated myself to show you that I do not lie.
You were warned, what you did to my wife or my children I would do
tenfold to you, but you do not listen
.

Reynaldo sobbed as Dominic sent one last
realized thought, the kick of a booted foot against the abused
flesh.
Margrave
, Reynaldo said,
I wanted only to know
where you were, to make arrangements for ransom
.

And ‘Gravina Aranyi told you
, Dominic
said,
but you were not satisfied; you had to force yourself on
her
. Abruptly Dominic switched his attention to me.
Amalie,
dearest,
it will not be long
.
I will be with you soon
and they will all pay, all who have dared to touch you or insult
you
.

The transition from rage to loving kindness
was almost, but not quite, complete. For the first time in my life
with Dominic, some of his own hidden madness leaked into his
communion with me. Dominic had neither touched nor spoken to me
roughly, nor done anything but address me in the warmest, most
solicitous way, yet I sensed this element in him, like a wild
falcon flailing its wings against being shut up again so soon in
the deepest recesses of my husband’s disciplined mind. I felt a
twinge of uneasiness at my first direct encounter with this part of
Dominic that delighted in cruelty and torture. It had tasted
freedom after more than six years. Dominic would not be able to
contain it again so easily.

My love
, I thought to him, hoping to
calm him.
I will be safe. The bandits fear you now, more than
ever. They will do nothing to make you angry
. I reached for him
with words and thought, as far as my depleted
crypta
would
allow.
My lord husband. My love
.

Another voice, another hand, reached for
Dominic, from another direction.
Companion
, the voice said.
My love
. Niall was with Dominic, had also witnessed the
rape, perhaps had also participated, locked in communion with
Dominic, as I had. Niall, too, was frightened by his lover’s
exhibition of rage.
You must not exhaust yourself, my love,
Niall said.
We must save our strength for the journey
.
Through my link with my husband, I felt Niall’s hand on Dominic’s
arm, his tentative kiss.

Niall had never seen this aspect of his
lover’s personality, whatever he may have heard of Dominic’s
reputation. As a gifted young man of good gentry stock, Niall had
followed the usual path, entering the ‘Graven Military Academy
where Dominic was Weapons Master, sometimes Commandant. But Dominic
stayed true to Stefan, and Niall had been for two years an adult by
Eclipsian standards, eighteen when he came to Aranyi as Dominic’s
lover. Between the two of them there had been, for over a year now,
only mutual love and respect. Dominic saw in Niall a reminder of
himself, some twenty-five years ago. Niall had found in Dominic
someone he could look up to, a leader to emulate, and had not
expected to have to set an example of behavior for his older, more
experienced, lover.

There was a slow relaxation in Dominic’s taut
ferocity at Niall’s touch, then a return of control.
Two
days
, Dominic said, to me and to Reynaldo.
I will be there
in two days. Then we will
– He took a breath.
Negotiate
.

Reynaldo uncurled himself from the protective
ball his body had formed, scrambling to his feet at the resumption
of communication. He discovered, as he had known he must, that he
was unhurt, whatever his mind had endured. “Two days,” he repeated
aloud for the benefit of his men.
Very good, Margrave
, he
spoke deferentially to Dominic.
We will be ready
.

Ready?
Was I imagining it, or was
Reynaldo smiling? He had undergone excruciating pain with Dominic’s
abuse, pain I had sensed without sharing it. His tears and cries
had not been feigned. Yet the incident, now that he knew the worst
had passed, had left him in some way triumphant.

I must find a way to enter his mind without
his knowledge, I reminded myself. Right now the prospect was as
daunting as Jana’s plan of murdering forty men with my spare
dagger. My weakness was draining all initiative, all skills of
training from me.

My husband embraced me in a quick farewell.
Dominic
, I said, shielding my thoughts shakily,
Dominic,
be careful. He is planning something
.

So am I
, Dominic said. He kissed me on
forehead and lips.
Try not to worry, Amalie. Look after the
children and hold on for two more days
. He broke the communion,
smoothly but with finality.

Groping in the telepathic ether, too late, I
searched for Niall. I had hoped to warn him too. But the connection
was gone.

In the interior silence that followed, the
noise of my immediate surroundings blasted my ears like coming up
from under water. Val was crying, a fretful uneven sound from a
strange kind of hunger he had never known before. Jana plucked at
my sleeve, saying something I couldn’t yet catch. Reynaldo’s men
stood uncertainly, shuffling their feet, waiting for a signal from
their leader.

Reynaldo struck out at the men nearest him,
cuffing and slapping them indiscriminately. “What are you staring
at!” The men bore his blows stoically, used to this treatment,
turning in the doorway to leave. Reynaldo had been humiliated in
front of them, was venting his own anger in the only way open to
him, but the men seemed as loyal and obedient as ever. Their leader
had not been defeated, merely shamed. They were willing to wait and
see what the passing of two days would bring.

Reynaldo stopped, facing me in the light from
the doorway, baring his teeth in a grimace. “I see Margrave Aranyi
values his family after all.” He fought a desire to share something
with me. “Your lord husband will rush to your rescue. And we will
welcome him with open arms.” He made a strange gesture, stretching
one arm out in front with closed fist, holding the other hand,
fingers curled, beside his ear. “I fear your lord will not enjoy my
embrace, any more than I enjoyed his.”

Alone with the children again, my fears were only
intensified by what had occurred. Tormenting us was a sure way for
Reynaldo to screw up the ransom negotiations. Dominic would not be
made more cooperative because of threats to his family’s safety.
Instead, as we had all seen, Dominic would respond with anger, with
his own murderous vengefulness. Yet Reynaldo had been pleased by
Dominic’s violent reaction, however uncomfortable the temporary
effects had been. Why? Why would Reynaldo deliberately infuriate
someone as dangerous as Dominic? What could Reynaldo hope to
gain?

Reynaldo was smart; I doubted he was unaware
of the repercussions of his actions. He must want Dominic to think
we were being badly treated, and rush wildly to our rescue. The
bandits had to be planning something far more complicated than a
simple kidnapping for ransom, something that depended on Dominic
attacking the bandits’ stronghold and its defenders. Was Reynaldo
so sure of this ruined castle’s defenses that he was willing to
provoke assault by the best soldier in the ‘Graven Realms?

Reynaldo must intend to kill Dominic, I
decided, my stomach lurching at the thought. Dominic and I had both
considered the possibility, but it seemed more real now after
Reynaldo’s strange behavior. Still, the whole thing made no sense.
Killing Dominic could start a war. The other ‘Graven lords, like
all Eclipsians, are notoriously reluctant to act as a group. If
Margrave Aranyi’s wife was stupid enough to get herself and her
children kidnapped, that was his problem. But the ‘Graven would
unite immediately to avenge the murder of their peer, not out of
love, but from sheer self-interest. A bandit would know that as
well as I did. It was why, over the years, there had been many
kidnappings, but few murders.

The arrival of supper interrupted my worried
musings. As at breakfast, Michaela stood guard while Jana ate. Val,
lethargic with the cumulative effects of confinement and his
monotonous diet of milk, refused to try the unfamiliar,
unappetizing food. I watched the meager rations disappear,
terrified by my intense hunger, so desperate for nourishment that
if Jana had not been my daughter I would have fought her for every
scrap.

Michaela, like her man, was openly confident
now, leaning relaxed against the open door, knowing there was
little danger of my disobedience. As my telepathic abilities faded
along with my energy, I would become the simple hostage the bandits
wanted, not a potential saboteur.

Jana finished her hasty meal, wiping her
mouth furtively with the back of her hand, but no longer
apologetic. Val suckled at will, the ragged dress I wore leaving me
perpetually accessible to his demands. I made no more attempts to
coax him to eat, nor to restrict his nursing. There was no point in
regulating Val’s life as if we were home, making our captivity
worse by provoking tantrums. We were all becoming hostages to
necessity.

I must make an effort to use my
crypta
, I told myself, while I had some strength left. I
must search Reynaldo’s mind, learn his plans. The intense reflex of
disgust I had just experienced at my forced intimacy with the
bandit, when Dominic “raped” Reynaldo and I had unwillingly
participated, made the task seem especially daunting. With my
increasing weakness, I wanted only to rest, safe and secure, in my
own consciousness.

Try
, I ordered myself when Michaela
had locked us in for the night.
Try to read Reynaldo’s
thoughts
. How could I acquiesce in the destruction of my
family—from squeamishness? I mustn’t put it off much longer. Soon I
would be too feeble to communicate with Dominic, unable to warn him
of anything I learned.

Lady Amalie
, Reynaldo thought to me,
before I realized I had even begun to enter his mind.
Your
presence does me honor.
He spoke in his awkward court speech,
knowing it grated on my abraded sensibilities.
Are you lonesome?
Shall I be your lord husband tonight? I hear you fine ladies have a
lusty appetite, but I assure you I’m man enough…
The image of
the bandit, damp and reeking from the sweat of his recent pain, a
hand in his breeches massaging his bulging erection, was
superimposed over my brain’s frantic efforts to clear itself.
Reynaldo’s sniggering laugh sounded as if he were indeed beside me
in the little room, while the suggestion of callused fingertips
trailed down my neck onto the swell of a breast.

I was out and back in my own mind, more
shielded than I have ever been in my life, my whole body shaking,
my heart thumping in my chest with such force that I had to lie
down. I have had good training at La Sapienza—the best. I can enter
anyone’s mind without his knowledge, anyone except Dominic. We are
so delicately attuned that we can form communion simply by one of
us thinking of the other.

It is true that intruding surreptitiously on
a telepath’s mind is much trickier than with the ungifted, but I
had not even begun to try, had only been nerving myself up. And
Reynaldo had not merely known my intentions; he had managed to put
his own thoughts in my brain, as easily as if we were– as if we
shared a communion, like me and Dominic. No, it was not possible.
Communion can be forced, but only if there is some sympathy between
the two minds involved, or if the one mind is so passive, untrained
or unconscious that it cannot defend itself.

As I lay clasping Val to me for comfort,
huddled with Jana under my cloak, I could think of no answer to
this riddle.
Imagine
, I thought to myself,
a couple of
weeks ago my biggest problem was weaning Val
.

Val would be two at summer’s end, six
Eclipsian weeks from now. Jana had been almost completely weaned to
a cup by this age. She had been an easy child in many ways,
confident and assured, big for her age and strong, always ready to
take the next step toward adulthood. When Jana was a year and a
half, Dominic had helped things along. “I don’t suck at the
breast,” he had said, teasing her one night at supper. “I drink
from a cup.” He demonstrated for her, winking at me while he sipped
from a goblet of wine.