Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (23 page)

“What did you have in mind?”

“The druids have need of a female assistant.
I’d like to arrange a meeting with them here so they can meet Eden.
I think she could easily meet their needs.”

“She’s not ready.
She doesn’t know the meaning of the word obedience.
She would probably try to escape and that would be the death of her.”

“We’ll have the druids assess her for readiness.
It shouldn’t be much of a problem, though, because we can always have her entranced or enthralled when she needs to perform
her tasks.
I would like to find a place for her before the
King
demands she be turned over to him.
”

Every time he turned around, someone was trying to put a claim on Eden.
“I want to be present during the meeting.”

“Understood.
Let us meet
tomorrow
morning.”

He didn’t understand the urgency.
“So soon?”

“The need is pressing.
You must come to terms with this.
She’s a captive of war, not a visitor on a sightseeing tour.
You cannot just keep her around like a lost pet
or an orphan child.
She is a Flourdan female, and we all know that they are the ones who are doing the ruling and waging
of war in Flourda.
You cannot forget that she is the enemy.”

He hated that she was an Avenal.
“I haven’t forgotten that fact
.
She’s been treated as a captive since she arrived; I haven’t given her any preferential treatment
.”

“You’ve been too gentle with her.
A slave needs a heavy hand
; it has to be clear to all who has the control.
You saw how you almost lost her to Belenos.
Tell me, who has the control?”

He could hardly believe that Belenos had laid a hand on Eden.
Belenos knew that she was under Drest’s protection.
He felt betrayed that she had accepted his bite, even though he knew logically that it made
some sense for her to
do
it.
Belenos had played her falsely, as he already had a mate.
Belenos knew he couldn’t mark Eden and
he had some ulterior motive regarding the situation
.
Eden didn’t seem to recognize the danger that he posed to her.
Perhaps he had tried to shelter her too much, and that would not help her learn how to survive in their treacherous
land
.
“I’ll teach her to submit.”

***

After everyone had gone, Drest found Eden inside her room.
“We should talk.”

She got out of bed and walked with Drest to the library.
“What is it?”

“
The druids tell me that you’ve been honest in your answers.
Ninian
is able to detect deceit, but he has found no evidence of deception.”

“Are you telling me that you finally believe me?”

He wished he could believe her, that he could believe that she was his.
If that was the case, he would not have to surrender her to the druids or any others.
He could keep her.
“We don’t understand what is happening here.
Your memories may have been manipulated.
What you remember did not actually happen.
They are false memories.
There are druids that have that ability and they can make you believe that you are someone that you are not.
They can make you think you’ve done things that you have not
done.
Someone probably did this to you.”

“Why would someone
convince me that I was in love with you?
What would they have to gain?”

He wasn’t sure of the reason.
He wasn’t aware of any enemies that would want to target him specifically.
“I don’t know.
Nefertiti may hope to use you in some sort of nefarious plot
.
We cannot rule out whether or not you have been programmed to do something in the future, some act of aggression against Ravenwood or Asstrumnia itself.
We do not know enough.”

“
Nefertiti isn’t capable of brainwashing anyone.
I don’t believe any of the other Asstrumnians know
of my existence.
I’m not programmed.”

His gut instinct agreed with her that she wasn’t programmed.
He didn’t sense any latent dangerousness in her.
Briefly, he wondered if any part of her story was true.
He
had not missed the way Boadacea had reacted when she
had seen
Eden.
He was not completely certain, but he may have spotted a f
lash of recognition in
Boadacea’s eyes.
He had known the princess his whole life.
He didn’t think she would lie to him or betray him.
Brennus and Boadacea had always been steadfast, loyal friends.
“The druids will try to find a placement for you.
That way, you will not be made the newest Donovan
whore.
It is the best we can do for you.”

“Thank you, I guess.
When that happens, will I see you again?”

She would be safe with the druids and he wouldn’t have to worry about her any longer.
He knew that he would still check up on her to make sure she was doing alright.
“Yes, I’ll be able to visit from time to time.
You will get to see Portia more often.
She is from Avenal, so that should make you happy.”
He walked her back to her room, knowing that it could be the last night she spent under his roof.

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Drest transported to the Donovan stronghold to make inquiries regarding Brennus
.
He was admitted to the throne room, where King Aedan Donovan was seated between two of his sons, Brett and Brendan.
They greeted each other and Drest was
directed to take a seat.
“I’ve come about Brennus.”

The
King
narrowed his eyes at him.
“Boadacea sent you, didn’t she?
She should mind her own business.”

“She told me that he went through the portal and did not come back.”

Aedan took a swig of ale from a gold drinking horn.
“That no good son
of mine is not worth the effort it would take to find him.
We lost contact with him
on the other side.
He knew the risks when he agreed to accept the job.
You just never know exactly what will happen when you use the ancient portal device and travel to another world.
He is lost to us now.
If he had been a better warrior, he would have returned.
My other sons have always returned triumphant from the hunt.”

“Who went with him?”

“
Cantorix Ward and a couple of the minor knights.
They were supposed to go on a simple scouting mission to determine whether there was anything worth taking.
The others returned, but Brennus did not.
I sent
two search parties after him, but he could be anywhere by now.
If he is still alive, he will find his own way back.
If he is any kind of warrior, that is.
This should be a good test of his worth.”

“I would like to form a search party and look for him myself.”

Aedan shook his head and pounded his fist on the table.
“That son of mine should be able to find his own way back if he is a real Asstrumnian warrior.
Besides, I cannot risk the loss of my only bard.
There are warriors aplenty, but n
one here that can replace you.”

Brett took a lengthy sip of ale.
“I’d like to hear about your human prisoner.
I heard you had a taste of
her.
Belenos and Bran
told me that she is delectable, so we cannot wait to sample this morsel of yours.
You’re really into these human pelts, aren’t you?
You may yet be invited to our special little club.”

Drest was experiencing a bit of déjà vu, like he had already had a conversation with him about human pelts.
He had a feeling that Brett and Brendan were involved in something objectionable.
The way they were asking about Eden was sending off alarm bells in his head.
“I’m still interrogating her and she’s being monitored closely.”
He inwardly cringed when Brett and Brendan started to giggle.

“Finish up soon with her.
Bran and Belenos both have been whining incessantly of their need for her,” Aedan said.

Drest knew that he needed to dissuade the
King
of the notion of having her.
“The druids are interested in her.
Are there not slaves aplenty for Bran and Belenos?”

The
King
paused in thought.
“You mention slaves
.
I have been considering whether this would be a solution to our problems.
We need to acquire more slaves to keep our warriors happy.”

Drest thought that sounded rather ominous.
“You mean take more captives during raids or battles?”

Aedan’s lips formed in a smile.
“Yes, among other things.
It will be a matter for our knights to handle.”

***

Drest took his leave so he could track down Cantorix.
He found him at the warrior’s hunting lodge.
“What do you know about Brennus?”

Cantorix gave a brief accounting of events.
“I can’t tell you anything more.
I do not know what happened to him.
He’s lost in the
N
ew
W
orld and there is no way of finding him.”

He scrutinized him closely and he had the feeling that Cantorix was not telling him everything.
“Surely, with your special skills, you have uncovered something.”

“Being a telepath doesn’t give you access to all the information in the universe, you know.
I wish I could help you, but I cannot.”

“If you
can uncover anything, let me know.”
Several more minutes of questioning yielded no useful information.
If he knew something about Brennus, he was keeping it well hidden.
He would have to ask the druids for aid.

***

Late that
morning, Ninian arrived with two druids, Ciaran “the Bloodletter” Ward and Taran Brady.
When they pulled off their hoods, Eden was momentarily stunned by their chiseled god-like features and their
wavy
locks of
black hair.
Ciaran,
who appeared silent and mysterious, was the more reserved one.
Taran oozed with charismatic charm and his eyes lit upon her in undisguised interest.
Ninian performed the introductions and they retired to the den.

“
I understand that you are a captive and you are to remain in Ravenwood.
We wished to meet with you because we
are
in need of
a fema
le to assist us with some tasks,” Ciaran said.

“What kind of tasks?”

“We are druids that specialize in divination and other arts.
We would need someone to attend us during the sacrificial rituals.”

She paled; it sounded rather gruesome.
“Explain.”

“It’s difficult to explain, but perhaps we can show you one of the rituals later.
Th
e particular method that is being employed is in the experimental phases, but it has been showing promise.
Should it be proven to be effective, it may replace the old method of human sacrifice.
However, the nature of the new ritual produces
an inconvenient
complication; it makes it more difficult to focus on the task at hand.
We require someone who could give aid when needed.”

She wished they would be more specific about the new ritual, but based on the description, it didn’t sound like something she would feel
comfortable with doing.
“I do not care much for blood and guts.”

“There’s no blood.
I think you would be well suited to the task.”
Taran’s eyes glowed with barely banked desire and his heated gaze caressed Eden’s form.
“I want to see more of her.”

Those words filled her with alarm and she sent an anxious look toward Ninian.

“
Come closer and let him have a look at you,” Ninian said.