Everlasting Enchantment (14 page)

A thump came from behind the closed bedroom door, a low growl following it. Gareth sighed, hoping Millicent would be able to keep Nell and Ambrose quiet while he spoke with Selena. He did not wish to explain the sprite’s presence, nor did he want the were-bat reminded of the others in the next room. He wanted all of the woman’s attention upon him.

The door to their luxurious prison ground opened and the vamp stood there gazing at him, armed guards shadowing her back. Selena’s black eyes glittered in the candlelight. “So, you have finally managed to seduce the were-cat. I daresay it took you long enough.”

Gareth lowered his voice suggestively. “I’m sorry to disappoint, lady, but that is not why I summoned you.”

Her eyes widened, and she licked her lips, taking a step forward into the room. One of the guards who stood behind her grunted, and she halted just past the threshold. “Then why did you call me? His Grace is aboveground and—”

Gareth shook his head, his hair scraping his shoulders. “I do not wish to speak with Ghoulston. I want to see you.”

Her gaze roamed his chest, and she licked her lips yet again.

Gareth strode forward. “You have been avoiding me. You come only when I am within the relic.” The guards bristled, and Gareth stopped within touching distance of her. “What have I done to make you fear me?” he murmured.

Her spine snapped erect. “I do not fear you.” She turned and waved dismissively at the guards. “Wait for me outside. I require some privacy.”

The big red-haired guard glared warningly at Gareth from over Selena’s head while he reached for the niche holding the statue. Gareth returned the man’s look with a smile as the stone door closed.

Selena arranged her skirts on a settee upholstered in burgundy-striped satin and melted back against the cushions, her eyes hooded and lips parted.

Gareth kept his smile glued to his face and sat next to her. “How have you been, my lady?”

“Bored, bored, bored. His Grace will not allow me to accompany him aboveground, and without his… games, there is little to do.”

Gareth reached out and curled a length of her hair about his finger. He could not help but compare it to the texture of Millicent’s black silky locks, which were finer and smoother. “Why won’t he allow you to go with him?”

She made a face. “I scare those above. Can you imagine?”

He shook his head. “Nay. Surely your beauty would make you the belle of any soiree.”

She preened, then glanced suspiciously around the room. “Where’s the cat and the bird?”

“Asleep.” He traced a finger across her cheek. It lacked the rose-petal softness of Millicent’s. “As you see, I am bored too.”

“No doubt. Although I don’t imagine a frigid cat and a crotchety bird are proper company when they are awake. I can only imagine how frustrated you must be.” And she grinned, exposing all those pointy teeth.

Gareth suppressed a shiver, remembering how those teeth felt sinking into his skin. But he must go to great lengths to get Selena to tell him of Ghoulston’s plans, for only then could he devise a way to untangle Millicent and Nell from the duke’s schemes. Even if it meant giving up some of his life’s blood.

He arched his neck in offering.

Selena shuddered and backed away from him.

Gareth frowned, different pieces of a puzzle twisting inside his head. He covered his blunder by tracing his hand down her neck to the mounds of flesh exposed by the bodice of her gown. She leaned into his hand and he spread his fingers, absently caressing her flesh.

“I am sure you can think of many ways to relieve our boredom,” she breathed.

“Indeed.” Gareth hid his revulsion. How odd, that he would be willing to give his blood, but cringed at the thought of bedding her. But the idea of someone other than Millicent in his arms made him feel… empty. He prayed words would suffice. “Perhaps you would like to hear of the many ways I can pleasure a woman.”

Her black eyes sparkled. “Oh, yes.”

He launched into a detailed description of a lover from decades ago who had a taste for the exotic, while his mind tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Fear had passed across Selena’s face when he had offered to feed her. Why? He remembered that she had acted strangely when she had fed from him before, her lust for him turning into a mindless infatuation.

The Duke of Ghoulston had taken a cup of his blood.

And then he had given Millicent a gift for the queen.

Ghoulston wanted power and position.

By the time he finished his tale, Selena’s eyes had turned glassy, her pupils dilated and her breath coming hard and fast.

“I knew you would like that story,” whispered Gareth, leaning closer to her.

“Such ingenuity,” she murmured, stroking his bare chest. He remembered how Millicent had touched him, with tenderness and longing, as if the were-panther had tried to memorize the feel of him.

Selena scraped her nails across his skin possessively.

“Show me how you managed that position,” she whispered.

“Shall I? I am not sure you have the courage for it, lady.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You do not trust me enough to gain pleasure from it.”

“I am not afraid.”

He shrugged. “There is a part of you that fears me, and until I understand why, it is too risky. I would not harm you, lady.”

“What are you talking about? I am not like stupid Millicent, frigid and fearful of being with a man.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what is it?” She near shouted the words, her fingers curled into fists, and color rose in her pale cheeks.

Gareth judged her frustrated enough to speak carelessly. “When I offered to feed you, it made you nervous. Why?”

“Because it made me a mindless ninny before.”

“How do you mean?”

“I did not know what happened to me at first. But His Grace deduced it soon enough. Your blood made me fall in love with you. A feeling I have never experienced before, and do not wish to repeat. It has nothing to do with bedding you.”

Gareth started. “How is this possible?”

“I do not know. I’m just glad it wore off. Now, let us try…” She pulled at his waistband.

He grabbed her fingers. “Selena, this troubles me. I have never had anyone… drink my blood before. Is it part of Merlin’s spell? How can it have affected you that way?”

“Oh, for the love of—” She twisted her hands out of his. “His Grace says it has nothing to do with magic. Or rather, it does, but it is natural. A result of the spell put upon you.” She grinned rather maliciously. “He thinks that after all these centuries of seducing women, your blood has actually changed into some sort of love potion. Now, can we get on with it?”

Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle started to make sense. He needed to speak with Millicent. Gareth leaned forward and hugged Selena. “My dear lady, you have no idea—”

The bedroom door flew open and a snarling, spitting bundle of black fur leaped into the room. Selena grimaced and spun around, the shadow of her were-creature outlining her body. “Go away, Millicent.”

The panther growled, soft and menacing.

“What is it? You don’t want him, but no one else can have him either?”

The cat stalked closer.

Selena frowned, her gaze darting from Gareth to the were-panther. “I am not as stupid as you seem to think.”

Millicent shifted to human, hands on hips, black hair tumbling over her shoulders. “I beg to differ.”

Gareth sat back. What had Millicent done? If Selena suspected he had lured her here to find out information about the duke’s plans…

“I do not know how you managed it,” continued the vamp, “but you have bedded her, haven’t you?”

Gareth tried to look innocent.

“The were-cat is too protective of you. Too jealous for me to believe she hasn’t claimed you as mate. What I don’t understand is how you kept the relic on her wrist.”

Millicent stepped forward. “You are wrong.”

“The hell I am. And I cannot wait for His Grace to get back so I can tell him.” She stood, giving Gareth a glare that should have singed his eyebrows. “And you have been playing me for a fool. But do not mistake me, Sir Knight, for I shall have you in the end, only it will be with
your
hands tied above your head.” She lunged for the bellpull.

Millicent leaped forward, shifting to panther in midair, slamming into Selena’s back, and sending them both tumbling to the floor. She had her teeth around Selena’s throat before the woman could shift to bat.

“Don’t kill her,” commanded Gareth.

The panther’s eyes rolled to acknowledge him, but did not relax their hold around Selena’s throat.

“We can use her,” he continued, pulling his eating dagger from his belt and slicing open his wrist. Red blood dripped down his hand. He strode over to the women and leaned down, holding his wrist over Selena’s mouth. The vamp’s nostrils flared and she swallowed several times, but clamped her lips tight.

“Drink it,” he said. “Or I will let Millicent tear out your throat.”

Whether she took his threat seriously, or the smell of his blood was just too much temptation for her to resist, he did not know. But her red lips opened and she sucked his hand when he placed it against her mouth. Gareth grimaced. He did not have the vamp’s bite to inject him with whatever drug she released to dull the pain and bring euphoria to her victims. He could bear the pain, but the sensation of her lips moving across his skin, the suction of her mouth as his blood drained…

He watched the were-bat’s eyes change as she stared up at him. Within moments they softened and she blinked at him in confusion.

Gareth straightened. “You can let her go now, Millicent.”

She let out a mew of exasperation, stood, and shifted to human. “What is going on?”

“I appreciate your following my lead, my lady. Do you have aught I could use for a bandage?”

Her golden gaze darted from his bloody wrist to Selena’s blood-smeared mouth. Nell chose that moment to peek around the doorway, the sprite perched on her shoulder.

“It is safe to come in, ladybird,” said Gareth.

The old woman hobbled into the room, strips of fabric within her gnarled hands, and began to wrap his wrist. Gareth pointed at the little man. “You. Ambrose. Return to Bran to summon his warriors.”

He twisted his pointed face. “I would not call them
warriors
, Sir Knight. A
motley
horde
perhaps, but not warriors.”

Gareth picked up his tunic and pulled it on. “How long will it take them to assemble and get here?”

The sprite furrowed his brow. “Lord Bran said he stands at the ready… perhaps an hour or two.”

“Make it one hour. Tell Bran it is now or never.”

Ambrose bowed and launched into the air, his flight just slightly wobbly. “I shall return to save you, Lady Millicent. Have no fear!” He zipped out the window.

“Why does everyone think I need to be rescued?” muttered Millicent. “I have managed to take care of myself all of my life—” She spun on Gareth. “And you—you were supposed to just charm the vamp into talking. Not seduce her.”

He shrugged. “Old habits are hard to break, my lady.”

She snarled.

“But I promise you it shall not happen again.”

Millicent nodded, then flicked a gaze at Selena, who rose to her feet and wiped the blood from her chin with the edge of her sleeve. The foolish chit gazed lovingly at Gareth… again. She could not be that fickle. “You made her drink your blood.”

He winced. “We need her help.”

“And you must have deduced the duke’s schemes or you would not have sent for Bran. There is magic in your blood, then? This is why Ghoulston wanted it…”

Selena snickered. Gareth threw her a look and she hushed, clasped her hands to her bosom, and batted her eyes dolefully at him.

Millicent made a face. “How long do the effects last?”

Gareth shrugged. “I am not sure. And Selena says there is no magic in my blood. That over the centuries the magic has altered my blood into a natural sort of love potion.”

“Ghoulston’s gift for the queen! So that is what’s in the tea leaves… a concoction of your blood. But what would the duke gain by making the queen fall in love with you?”

“If he controls the relic, he can control me. To an extent.”

“You both have it wrong,” interrupted Selena. “Shall I enlighten you, my love?”

Gareth started. “Aye, lady.”

Selena threw Millicent a triumphant look as Gareth’s attention settled solely on her. She patted her disheveled hair and adjusted the black lace pelerine at her shoulders. “The duke experimented with
my
knight’s blood, and managed to find a way to add his own to it. The queen shall fall in love with His Grace, not Sir Gareth. But my master could not find a way to prolong the effects, so he added a bit of cocasha to it.”

“Cocasha?” asked Millicent.

“An addictive narcotic created by a Viscount Casha over two centuries ago,” replied Gareth. “Rumored to be made from the daydreams of pixies and the seeds of a bush germinated with the viscount’s magic, it is mild and relatively harmless in small quantities.”

“It tastes like chocolate,” added Selena.

“Then even if it is detected in the tea, no one will think anything about it.” Millicent began to pace the room, weaving between pillows and couches. “The queen will continue to drink the potion. My instincts were right. They gossiped about the arrival of Prince Albert at Lady Yardley’s tea party, and Ghoulston reacted strangely. He must have been anxious for me to get the tea to the queen before she met with the prince again, for rumors had it that she might fall in love with her cousin. Ghoulston said the queen should marry a loyal subject… and spoke of the vagaries of love.”

“Do you think your friend has already given the box to the queen?”

Millicent shook her head. “I have no idea. If she waited on the lady last night, it’s possible.”

“We must find a way to warn the queen.”

Millicent came to an abrupt halt. “Who would believe such a story? Even now it is difficult to imagine the lovely young queen in love with that overbearing, evil… frog. Perhaps it won’t work.”

“Perhaps. But we must do something.”

“We shall,” answered Millicent. “We shall get Nell out of this place to somewhere safe, so the duke cannot use her against me anymore. You both agreed to that, remember?” And she glanced between Gareth and Nell. “
I
agreed to stay until we discovered the duke’s plans. We can pass on this information to whoever might listen, but I will not get tangled up in affairs of the abovegrounders.”

Gareth’s blue eyes glittered, but he nodded his head. “As you wish, my lady.”

Millicent fought an odd feeling inside her at the expression on his face. Didn’t he understand that Nell must come first? That getting in the way of the duke’s plans would endanger all of them? Why must he think they should come to the queen’s rescue? Surely the lady had sorcerers and counselors who protected her. What could one were-cat, an old woman, and an enchanted knight do to change the fate of the world?

That he should make her feel guilty and selfish for protecting her own truly bothered her.

The door to their prison shuddered, and they all spun to face it.

“Lady Selena,” called one of the guards through the widening crack in the door. “Ye have been in there a long time.”

“Get rid of him,” hissed Gareth.

Selena crossed to the door. “And you are interrupting! Go away.”

But the crack widened farther. “The duke said to watch ye around the magic man,” continued the guard, his face now wedged in the opening. “And ye have had long enough for a spot of fun.”

“You’re just jealous,” snapped the vamp. “I told you, you don’t own me, Jok.”

Millicent rolled her eyes. “Jok? I thought you had better taste, Selena.”

“Oh, do be quiet.”

The door scraped the rest of the way open, and one of Ghoulston’s most trusted guards stepped into the room.

“Too bad it’s not the red-haired giant,” muttered Gareth as he drew his sword.

Jok took one quick glance around the room and drew his own sword with a grin. “Eh, lookin’ for a bit of sport, guvner? Most happy to oblige.”

Millicent shifted to panther, putting her body between the men and Nell. She hoped Bran and his gang would get here fast, for it appeared they were escaping. Now.

Jok did not have a chance of beating Gareth in a sword fight, and knew it within the first few seconds. His cocky grin faded and he reached for his pistol. Gareth sliced his hand. When Jok bent over to cradle the wound, Gareth shoved him with a well-placed boot to the back. At least Jok was smart enough to stay down.

Gareth spun his sword in a dizzying display of naked steel and faced the other guards crowding the doorway. “Next?”

His voice sounded arrogant, but Millicent knew him well enough now to hear the weary sadness that lay underneath. She did not wait for the other guards to take up the challenge, or draw their pistols. They possessed none of the honor her knight did, and would not hesitate to shoot him. They did not fight fair in the Underground.

Millicent let loose her fiercest panther scream and leaped past Gareth into the mob of guards. She caught a glimpse of frightened eyes before she bowled over two of the men. Muffled grunts and confused shouts followed as they tumbled across the corridor. Millicent bit and clawed, felt the cold slice of a blade on her right shoulder. The steel must have been coated in silver, because it actually cut her. She screamed again, turned on the man who held the dagger, and clamped her jaws around his throat until he quit struggling. He stank of ale and sweat and fear.

Millicent snorted. Both of the men she had attacked no longer moved. She spun to face the rest of the guards.

Gareth stood like some warrior god, a bloody blade in his hand, fallen bodies surrounding him. His eyes blazed a fierce blue, and his handsome face held little emotion. Until he looked at her. “Are you all right?”

Millicent nodded. Swished her tail for emphasis.

“’Twas a foolish thing to do, my lady. You could have gotten hurt.”

Millicent limped over an unconscious guard and nuzzled Gareth’s hand. His lips tightened but he gently caressed her head.

“We have only just begun to fight, my love. Allow me to protect you a little.” Then he released a sigh. “Let Nell bind your wound.”

As soon as the old woman had tied a bandage around Millicent’s shoulder, they joined Gareth and Selena in the corridor. The were-bat’s nostrils flared from the apparently tantalizing smell of blood surrounding the fallen guards, but she kept her lust-glazed eyes fixed on Gareth’s face.

“Can you lead us out of this labyrinth of passages again, Selena?” he asked her.

The were-bat fluttered her lashes at him. “Of course. But His Grace made sure to post extra guards along the exit we took before. It seems he did not trust me where you are concerned.”

“Surely there are other exits we can take.”

“Yes, but His Grace—”

“Posted extra guards there too,” finished Gareth. “Perhaps we should just leave the same way we entered.”

“By the front door? Hmm, yes, I don’t think His Grace thought to post extra guards there. But the palace is surrounded by his minions. I do not think we will get far.”

Gareth still held his sword in his hand, although he had cleaned off the blood. “We need only hold them off until the tavern keeper arrives.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to stay here with me? Millicent could give me the relic…”

Millicent growled.

Gareth shook his head. “I am afraid that is not possible, Selena. And when the effects of your… last meal wear off, you will be grateful I am gone.”

“Oh, but I could never be—”

Millicent growled. She would not watch Selena fawn all over Gareth another instant. Bad enough when the woman just lusted after him, but love made her a blithering idiot. Millicent stalked forward, nose high and tail rigid, Nell clutching her ruffled fur. Millicent could not hope to remember the path they had taken to the duke’s main living quarters, but she could follow the scent of the kitchens, which lay just off the main hallway. Fowl roasted in the oven and something boiled on the stove. Potatoes, perhaps.

That faint smell grew stronger as they climbed down each circular stairway. Eventually Selena pushed past her and opened a door that led into the great hall of the castle. Only a few fairylights lit the space, casting dark shadows along the stone floor. Millicent could not see any guards, which raised her hackles even more.

“Trap?” whispered Gareth.

Selena frowned. “No, I swear. I would not put you in harm’s way, my love. His Grace would just not expect you to use the front door.” She gathered her black skirts and sailed down the vast hall.

Gareth still looked unsure, yet they had little choice but to follow. Their footsteps echoed hollowly through the high-ceilinged hall, even the faint swishing of her paws sounding as if a thousand cats stalked the passageway. Millicent could hear nothing but their own movements, and actually felt relieved when they were finally challenged near the doorway.

The red-haired giant of a guard stepped from behind a lewd painting of gargoyles sporting with a maiden, and raised his brows at Selena. “Look at ye! Ye couldna’ resist feeding off the magic man again, eh? I told His Grace ye’d do it.”

“Oh, shut up,” she snapped, and shifted to were-bat, black wings stirring up the air, flapping enchanted tapestries against the walls, interrupting the moving scenes embroidered on them. She launched herself at him before the guard managed to draw his pistol from his holster.

She would have knocked down a smaller man, but the giant just let out a grunt and grabbed her wings and twisted.

Selena screamed.

The front door burst open, and several more guards ran inside, only to meet Gareth’s drawn blade. Millicent positioned herself in front of Nell, growling and showing her teeth, claws extended at the ready.

But the men did not get past Selena and Gareth. Within moments, the guards lay bleeding on the floor.

Selena hovered over the giant’s limp body, blood dripping from the corners of her hairy mouth. Then launched out the door.

Millicent had seen a ring of guards around Ghoulston’s palace from her upstairs window, but the courtyard lay empty, and they passed through unchallenged. She could not see past the outer wall, but the portcullis had been raised.

“This is too bloomin’ easy,” muttered Nell.

Then the ground began to sink.

Millicent’s paws sunk several inches before she realized the cobblestones had melted into some sort of sludge. She pulled out one paw, which made a sucking sound, and resulted only in forcing her back legs deeper into the ground. A low whine slipped from her throat.

Selena bobbed above them, the motion of her flight lacking any grace whatsoever. But at least she wasn’t trapped. Millicent turned to look at Nell. With her slight weight, she had sunk only up to her ankles. Millicent growled, shook her head toward the portcullis.

Nell glared. “I ain’t leavin’ ye.”

Something smacked Millicent’s head. She turned. Gareth had chopped apart the odd colorless trees that lay potted about the courtyard, and held out a slender branch to her. Millicent grabbed it with her teeth as he tugged.

Gareth sank deeper into the sludge.

Selena let out a shriek and clutched the knight’s shoulders with her small back legs, furiously beating her wings to keep him from sinking any farther. Gareth pulled both himself and Millicent toward the portcullis, Nell having a much easier time of it in following them.

It took forever to reach solid ground.

Gareth fell backward and yanked Millicent the last few inches out of the trap. Selena landed beside them, her wings quivering from exhaustion. Nell slowly made her way to join them. “If that’s the best spell Ghoulston’s got,” she said, “then he ain’t much of a wizard.”

Millicent snorted. Drowning in that slime would be her worst nightmare. As far as she was concerned, Ghoulston had done a jolly good job of malicious spell-casting.

Gareth stood. “We’re not out of here yet.”

Nell shrugged.

Selena flew under the portcullis into the open. Shots rang out, and she spun and landed back next to them, shifting to human. “There’s too many of them.”

Millicent rose, looked past the thick stone wall, and blinked. Hundreds of men stood just beyond the castle, clustered on each side of the roadway that led out of the cavern. Although men might not be an accurate description for some of the beings. Ghoulston must have scoured the Underground for guards. Ogres and dwarves and golems usually kept to themselves, but they had joined the ranks. Other experiments of the sorcerers faced them as well, creatures made from spells which altered man into horrors that usually avoided any contact with others.