Gideon [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book Two (7 page)

Chapter Eight

C
old water
came splashing against his face, waking him from a deep and
troubled sleep. Shaking the excess water from his face, Gideon
coughed and opened his eyes to see two black boots in his direct
field of vision. Attempting to stand, he shrugged furiously when he
realized that his hands and feet were bound. The Kankul energy was
heavy now, almost stifling as it made its way down around
him. 
"Get him up!" a deep voice came. 
Before he knew it, four strong hands grabbed him up and deposited
him down on a chair. It was then that he saw the face of the man
who had spoken; a rather strange but familiar face. 
"Gideon Maruj..." he drawled. “What, may I ask, is your reason for
being here?"
Gideon stared back, trying to remember where he had first seen that
face. And then it dawned on him. It was that Kankul soldier back at
The Hub that night. That soldier he had not noticed had gotten
away. Anger threaded its way past his stomach and rose up in his
throat like hot bile. 
"I don't answer to you," he spat.
The other two men glanced at each other and Gideon sneered at all
of them, his
mana
already burning through his binds. 
"I'm no Kankul soldier," the man responded, his tone annoyed. "At
least not anymore."
Gideon frowned, his intentions somewhat relaxing. "You expect me to
believe that?"
"Yes." The man stepped closer now, staring down at him. "Deorci
treated me like a boy. So I changed course and made a name for
myself."
Gideon looked away. "Release me then."
"I'm not stupid. Release you and you release your Marujan wrath on
this land. I won't stand for it."
Gideon contemplated the man's words. He spoke with such purpose and
authority as if he was... Their eyes met briefly. "You're Malakai
Baamel."
The man smiled broadly. "Marujans were never known to be
slow."
"How did you do it?"
Malakai chuckled. "Simply. I discovered the man's secret and made
it my advantage."
"Does Deorci know you're alive?"
"I doubt it. The bastard can rot in the deepest trenches of hell
for all I care."
"Not before I'm the one to send him there."
Malakai stared at him and inclined his head curiously. "Vengeance
is one hell of a thing, isn't it?"
"I need to find him. He has something that belongs to me."
"Well, good luck with that," Malakai responded nonchalantly.
"Wherever Doerci is, I'm sure he made it sure not to be found
easily. Whatever he has for you will have to be forgotten."
"No!" Gideon shook in his chair, almost toppling the thing. "I must
find Esyth."
"
Esyth
?" Malakai
actually looked concerned, it surprised Gideon. He remembered that
name. "And this Esyth woman is your..."
"She's mine. And I must get to her before he kills her."
Malakai wove a dismissing hand to his men and as soon as they left,
he pulled up a chair before him. "How do you know she's with
Deorci?"
"I'm sure you can fucking remember that night at The Hub just as
well as I can. She casted a spell to save Amelia from having to
sacrifice herself."
"That was years ago. How do you know she's still alive?"
Gideon shook his head and laughed humorlessly. "You might not be a
Kankul soldier anymore but it does run through your veins. It's
even in the breath you breathe."
"And if I could change my lineage, I would. But that is besides the
point."
"The point is I cannot trust you."
"And neither I, you." Malakai sat up straight and crossed his arms.
"But we have a common enemy."
"A common enemy, we have. But nothing else."
Malakai chuckled. "You're a smart man, Gideon Maruj, so I know you
know where this conversation is leading."
Gideon's lips curled in a sneer and the veins at his temple popped
out furiously. "I will not work with you."
"I am not asking to work with you. You could easily drain my life
source just as fast as I could plunge a dagger into your life
source." Malakai chuckled. "But I can make an offer."
Gideon lifted his head. "I'm listening."
"I will help you find Deorci and your woman."
"Under what condition?"
"Give me his head."
Gideon stared at the man, studying the emotions surrounding his
energy. It was very hard to tell his true intentions but it was
very easy to conclude that Malakai's words bore the truth. "And
then what?"
"We go our separate ways."
He studied the man hard and long. They were enemies of the Earth,
long before they existed. Them working together was like a war of
the worlds, it went against all he knew...disputed all Marujan
laws. But it would help him gain his woman back... Finding Deorci
would prove to be much easier and faster with Malakai Baamel's
help. But he would have to watch his back nonetheless. For whatever
happened in the end, they would always be enemies. 
Gideon sighed. "Fine. But we go alone."
A smile touched Malakai's lips. "It's a deal." And he turned away
in the direction of the door. 
"Aren't you going to release me?"
Malakai turned the knob and chuckled deeply. "Humoring me already,
Maruj?" he threw over his shoulder and walked out of the
room. 
Gideon chortled to himself, allowing the burnt ropes to fall from
his hands, the ones tightly bound around his feet dropping in the
same fashion. 
* * * 
E
very
effort to contact Faolan was unsuccessful. And it was pissing him
off.

Gideon shrugged on his
jacket and paced the empty room impatiently. He needed to let
Faolan know about the change in their plan. But that seemed highly
unlikely to happen. Either way, his departing with Malakai Baamel
had to happen. They were to leave Baamel in a matter of minutes so
he had no time to sit and wait. If he were to make contact with his
brother again, it would have to be at some point during his
journey. 
Glancing down at his watch for the last time, Gideon frowned and
pounded his fist repeatedly against the adjoining door. It opened
and in walked Malakai, smoothing down the front of his leather
cloak. 
"You're awfully impatient."
Gideon snorted, wishing the man would just burn to ashes and blow
the hell away. Damn, but he needed him. "It's time we left. I've
got no more time to waste. Esyth's life is at stake and if you've
got jokes, tell me so I can just leave you the fuck here from
now."
Malakai shrugged. "No need to get sensitive." He then turned
towards the door and eyed Gideon sharply. "We need to leave Baamel
borders before sunrise."
"Why?"
"You'll see. On the way, I can try to locate Deorci's
energy."
Gideon eyed the man one last time before he stepped over the
threshold and exited the room. Both men moved down the empty
corridor, an even space between them as they walked. Tension
crackled between them but the satisfaction that they would make
Deorci dead meat someday kept them from killing each other. There
was a commotion in the central hall of Malakai Baamel's house. The
fierce curses of men's voice filled the area, followed by heavy
scuffling of feet and strained grunts. 
"I SAID
GET BACK
."
"Let me go, man!" came a voice. Gideon knew that voice. Moving into
the hall behind Malakai, his gaze came to settle on the man he had
seen earlier in the bar, being restrained by one of the guards.
Kyle was his name. Or at least that was what he remembered it to
be.
"What's going on here?" Malakai said, giving his guard a sharp
look. 
"Sir, he just broke in here."
"No, I didn't. He just—"
"Hush!" Gideon's voice sliced through the room like death itself,
freezing every man in position. Even Malakai turned to look at him.
Ignoring his angry glare, he approached the guard. "Let him go.
He's with me."
The guard released Kyle immediately, but not before he'd shot his
ruler a hesitant glance. Kyle shrugged from the bigger man's grip.
"See? I told you I know him." 
"What do you want?"
Kyle eyed the other two men timidly and then responded in a shy but
even tone. "I got a message from your...your brother."
Everything went still inside Gideon. Almost shoving the man aside,
he scooted him toward the corner of the room. "Go on."
"He said to tell you that he's gone to walk his friend home. And
you should go on. He'll catch up."
Gideon smiled inwardly. That means Faolan had indeed felt his
attempts at contact and read the energy around his signal. He was
going to bring Amanda and the Alexanders home and then join him on
his journey. Nodding his understanding, Gideon then quite
audaciously dismissed both Kyle and the guard from the room.
Malakai Baamel was on him before the door was even closed. Two firm
hands shoved him hard across the room, slamming him into the
adjacent wall. The room shook with as equal rage as the man had put
into that hit. Gideon's anger spiked and the strength of his
heightened mana stopped him sharply as he pivoted and ran towards
Malakai in superhuman speed. Catching the Malakai by the neck, he
slammed him up against the wall. It was no easy match for Malakai
advanced on him with equal force, fisting Gideon hard in the
stomach. Forcing back a wince, he inhaled sharply at the pain in
his gut and looked up at his enemy, currently straining from the
iron grip Gideon had around his neck. Both men pander heavily,
watching each other like predators eyeing their prey.
"You have some fucking nerve!" Malakai hissed. 
Gideon forced into a straight position, the pain in his abdomen
easing. "What the hell are you talking about?" 
Malakai slapped a firm hand over Gideon's, flexed his wrist and
plucked his fingers from his neck. Rubbing his aching skin, he
heaved and glared at him. "You should do well to remember that this
isn't Maruj and you do not order a fucking soul here." He stepped
into Gideon's space. "I do the dismissals...when necessary. Got
it?"
Letting out a sharp hiss between his teeth, Gideon turned from the
man, adjusting his jacket. "It's time to leave."
"Hey!" Malakai shouted, halting him in his movement towards the
front door. "I'm warning you, Maruj. Fuck with me and I'll fucking
kill you."
Gideon laughed humorlessly.

"Well at least we're both
on the same page."

Chapter
Nine
Sweat beaded at his temples as he regarded the man attentively. His
mind was not where it was supposed to be...it was in some distant
land. Baamel, he figured out after hours of mental searching. As
far as he could tell, though, his brothers were at no harm. He
could sense agitation and frustration around both their energies
but they were fine. He needn't worry too much now.

Accepting the glass of
brandy, Noble Rally handed him, Hadaen nodded his thanks and sat
down on a comfy chair in the man's study. To say Hadaen was
surprised by the nobleman's invitation to visit would be a serious
understatement. He was appalled in fact, for he hadn't seen the man
face-to-face in years. Not since his affair with his daughter,
Sienna, had surfaced and Hadaen had washed his hands clean of the
devious wench. But still, that had been many years ago and he held
no grievances towards the Rally family, especially since Sienna had
helped them tremendously back at The Hub with training Amelia...and
fending off Deorci. Mind momentarily running on Amelia—and what she
would be doing at the moment--Hadaen returned his attention to
Noble Rally, who was relaxing rather awkwardly in a chair before
him.
"I must say you caught me off guard with the invite," Hadaen said,
swirling his glass slowly.
Noble Rally chuckled and patted his rounded belly. "I thought it
was...strange to never invite my ruler over for a drink. Don't you
think?"
"Precisely, so." He looked down at the dark liquid in his glass and
then back at the man. "What's the occasion?"
"How is your wife, my lord?"
"Lovely as always." Hadaen sipped his drink. "Good brandy." The
older man nodded and closed his eyes for just a moment. Tension
snapped between them as the silence stretched on for a couple
minutes. Hadaen knew something was gravely bothering the man but
suspected he did not know how to voice it. "I must say I have to
say again just how great a help your daughter had been in The
Hub."
A dark emotion flickered across the man's features before he looked
up and flashed a weak smile. "Thank you, my lord. Sienna has always
been a...worldly one."
Hadaen read into the man's emotions...into his mind. Was that
regret he saw? "I must ask though... You haven't seen your daughter
in years; don't you want to see her at all?"
"Of course." Noble Rally rubbed a palm over his balding head. He
then looked up at Hadaen, a thin layer of tears glittering in his
eyes. "I suppose you think I'm to blame?
Mmm
? It would not surprise me if you
did. My wife blames me...every day." He then gave a wry laugh. "She
says I killed our daughter. Her
spirit
, that is."
Hadaen swallowed down the rest of his beverage and sighed. "You
sent her away. Mrs. Rally must have been--"
"
Sent her away
?"
Noble Rally sat up in his chair and frowned deeply, as if he was
almost in pain. "I would have never sent Sienna away. Regardless of
what you may think, my lord, I love my daughter. All of
them."
Hadaen felt as if he had just been speared right through the
heart.
I would have never sent Sienna
away...
No. It couldn't be. It didn't make
sense. As far as Hadaen knew, Noble Rally had disowned his
daughter. That was what Sienna had said. Everyone else too. He
pierced the man with his gaze. "Are you trying to tell me that you
never disowned your daughter?"
"Of course, I did not." The man looked distraught. Hadaen bore into
his thoughts...his memories. It was... He was speaking the truth.
Sitting back slowly, Hadaen searched his own mind. Then how did
Sienna arrive at The Hub? "I was devastated when I'd found out
about your affair with my daughter,” the man continued. “I knew
she'd only be a common whore to you...and it killed me inside. My
wife...she has a sister who lives in land now called Baamel. She
was a Protector who married a man from there. I'd made arrangements
to send Sienna there for a year, maybe until the scandal cooled.
I
swear
to
you."
The sweat at Hadaen's temples finally trickled down. He feared he
would not like where this conversation was going at all. "Did she
or did she not go to Baamel?" His blood boiled with every said
word.
The man shook his head. "My sister-in-law contacted us that she
never showed up."
"
Damn it
!" Hadaen
jumped to his feet, running a hand trough his hair. "Why didn't you
inform me?"
"I was ashamed!" Noble Rally stood as well, his height almost
equaling his ruler's. Then he blanched red as if embarrassed and
sat back down. "The last thing I needed was to bring another
scandal down on my family's head. My younger daughters would never
have had their initiations if I had!"
"You should have done something."
"I had. I searched for her. I did. Sent out men but they never
found her. The last place I thought she'd be is The Hub."
"We can't tell what Sienna had been exposed to while she was...all
over the fucking place!" Hadaen spun from the man and blew out an
exasperated breath. "You might want to sit down for what I'm about
to tell you."
Hands shaking, Noble Rally swallowed thickly and sank into his
chair slowly. A deafening silence passed between them. Hadaen had
known that something was wrong in Sienna's case. He just hadn't
known what it was.
"When I was at The Hub three years ago, I had sensed something
different in Sienna's energy." He remained standing, arms crossed
and regarding the nobleman with the most passive expression he
could afford. "Something
non
-Marujan."
Noble Rally frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
Sighing, he decided to sit down. It was no use, anyway, making the
man feel anymore intimidated than he already was. "There was an
imbalance in her energy. Half-Marujan...and half-something else. I
could figure it out at the time. Maybe I hadn't thought it to be
possible. But now...now I'm certain."
"My lord, is something wrong with my daughter?"
Hadaen massaged his temples and groaned lowly. It pained him to say
it. He knew it would have. But he had to. "Noble Rally, your
daughter may be Marujan but she has Kankul blood rushing through
her veins as well."
For a moment, the nobleman just sat there, eyes wide in disbelief.
Hadaen took the time to pour himself…and the man another glass of
brandy while he got over his moment of shock. If Sienna did indeed
have Kankul blood running through her veins—and Hadaen was quite
certain of that—then she can unknowingly be very dangerous.
Especially in The Hub. What Hadaen could not figure was how Kankul
blood had meshed with her own in the first place? It had took him a
lot of time to even figure out what that bad energy around her had
been…years, even. He had even considered the blood mixing and had
come up with only two possible causes: a blood donation from a
Kankul person to her…or a blood mating. He could not think of a
reason for Sienna needing blood for if she had been in a near fatal
situation, he would have read it in her memory three years ago. But
the blood mating was possible. Too possible. It would mean that
Sienna had completed her true initiation with a Kankul man….a man
that she was in love with, and he in love with her.
The thought of it deeply disturbed Hadaen; to the point where he
wanted to go find Sienna himself and crucify her for breaking one
of Maruj’s greatest laws. But he wouldn’t. The last thing he needed
was to scare her in the opposite direction before he got her back
to Maruj…and allowed the priests to purge her.
The scraping of the chair drew Hadaen from dense thinking. He
watched Noble Rally pace the room slowly before turning a
blistering gaze on him. “I suggest we go find my daughter.”