Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (7 page)

He shouldn’t have brought her here, but
in the end there had been no choice. They would need help if they
were going to take down the king, and there was no one that hated
the king more than the aristocrats that had stood against him
during the war. Aristocrats that had power and followers of their
own, or at least they used to, and judging by the growing crowd,
they still did. The people and vampires all appeared healthy, the
buildings were in good repair, and it was obvious that they had
established some sort of unbiased system here as human and vampire
stood side by side. There was astonishment on some of the faces
surrounding them, a couple of which he vaguely recognized from the
years before the war.

They were almost to the end of the
street when a figure separated themselves from the crowd. Braith’s
growing need for blood diminished under the shock of seeing a face
he had never thought to see again. Uneasiness twisted through his
gut. It took everything he had not to grab hold of Aria and shove
her behind him, but though there was no surprise on Gideon’s
features, there was also no hostility.

“Braith,” Gideon greeted
blandly.

Braith stepped in front of Aria as
Gideon’s gaze slid over them. He didn’t miss the flicker in
Gideon’s hazel eyes as his attention momentarily focused upon Aria
and William before moving swiftly away. His eyes gleamed with
amusement as they landed on Ashby, and a disbelieving smile curved
his thin lips. He shook back his light brown hair and studied them
over his hawkish nose.

“Well, if nothing else, it looks as if
I’m in for an interesting story. Come along.”

They followed silently behind as Gideon
led them down the streets and into a home that, while it was not
opulently furnished, was appointed nicely. Aria pressed closer to
him as her horrified gaze slid over the brutal scenes of death and
violence depicted on the numerous canvases lining the walls. It was
the first time he sensed any true fright from her as she fidgeted
nervously with her hands. This was a world she didn’t understand
and probably never would.

“Are those human?” William’s eyes were
narrowed as he stared at a shelf displaying jars full of
teeth.

“Some,” Gideon replied flippantly.
“Others are vampire.”

William looked horrified as his head
turned slowly toward Gideon. Aria’s lips parted, a small breath
escaped her as her hands pressed against her belly. Even though
she’d worn a hood throughout most of their journey the sun had
still caught her face and reddened her cheeks and nose. At the
moment she was deathly pale beneath her sun kissed skin.

“Why?” she breathed.

“Souvenirs,” Gideon answered with a
negligent shrug.

Aria took a small step back. She looked
ready to bolt as her gaze darted wildly around the room before
landing on her brother and the jars. “Don’t look at them,” Braith
told her.

She couldn’t seem to stop looking at
them though, as her eyes were riveted upon them. “Souvenirs of
what?” William demanded more angry than mortified.

“Better times.”

“Gideon,” Braith hissed.

Gideon met his gaze head on. “This is
my home Braith, you came here. I won’t put on airs for two humans
that you’ve brought along as your food supply.” Braith bristled,
his hands fisted at his sides. Aria tugged on his shirtsleeve as
she shot him a reproving look. Gideon rested his fingertips on his
desk as he pinned Ashby with his unyielding gaze. “Some of us
didn’t exactly enjoy the war, or the outcome, right
Ash?”

Ashby shook his head, his lip curled in
distaste. He hated to be called Ash, he always had, always would.
“Whatever you say, Giddy.”

“Did you enjoy my gift?” Gideon
inquired, refusing to acknowledge Ashby’s dig at him. “Was she to
your liking?”

“She was fine,” Ashby answered
absently. “How did you know where we were?”

Gideon grinned at him, his fingers
bounced lightly on the desk as he pushed himself off of it. “I have
eyes all over these lands; a man in my position must always be
alert. So, to what do I owe the honor of the heir apparent and the
fallen brother-in-law coming into my humble town?”

“We’ve come to gain your support,”
Braith informed him bluntly, knowing that Gideon didn’t do well
with subterfuge.

Gideon was thoughtful, his eyes
doubtful and questioning as he frowned at Braith. For the first
time he didn’t appear even faintly amused or smug. In fact, he
seemed almost hopeful. “Support for what?”

“To overthrow the king.”

Gideon released a low curse; his
fingers stopped their incessant moving as he leaned forward.
“You’re serious.”

“I am.”

Gideon was speechless, he gawked for a
moment. Then his jaw snapped closed, his nostrils flared, and his
dark eyebrows drew sharply together as his focus became riveted
upon Aria. He came out from around the desk, striding forcefully
toward her. Braith instinctively stepped in front of her, pulling
her back as Gideon reached for her. “Don’t!” Braith snapped
slamming his hand into Gideon’s chest and knocking him back a
step.

Ashby seized hold of Gideon’s upper arm
when Gideon lunged at Aria again. “Are you an idiot?” Ashby
demanded.

“Let go of me,” Gideon snarled as he
shoved Ashby’s hands away.

Braith widened his stance, bracing
himself for Gideon as the vampire spun back on them. He was
prepared to kill the man they had come to seek help from. Gideon’s
eyes were fevered as they raked Braith from head to toe. Aria’s
head popped out from around him, the hood had fallen back from her
face to reveal her cascade of auburn hair and the paleness of her
features.

Braith was afraid to take his focus off
of Gideon for even a moment to pull her hood back up. “You can
see,” Gideon said in amazement. Braith remained silent, he wasn’t
going to respond to him, wasn’t going to relax until Gideon moved
away from them. “And it’s because of her.”

“Gideon,” Ashby cautioned.

“You did not feed from my
gift.”

“We are not here to discuss this,”
Braith informed him.

“Have you lost your mind!?” Gideon
exploded. “She’s a human Braith.”

“We are not here to discuss this!”
Braith roared trying to control his rising temper as Gideon focused
on Aria again. “This topic is off limits, for now,” he amended,
knowing that it would have to be addressed one day, but not
today.

Gideon stalked back to his desk. “I
should just have you all killed now,” he muttered. “Save myself the
aggravation.”

Fury boiled through Braith at the mere
thought that Gideon might do something to one of them, to her. It
took everything he had not to leap over the desk and beat Gideon
into a bloody pulp, but beating him senseless, or just flat out
killing him, wouldn’t do any of them any good.

“If you think you could,” Braith
grated.

Gideon glared at him. “You’re in my
world now Braith, I rule here!”

“And just what do you rule?” Braith
demanded. “Some brothels and bars, farms, a trade ring, a smuggling
business? You rule nothing Gideon. This is a poor substitute for
the life you used to have and you know it. With your help Gideon,
we may be able to get that life back for you. But don’t think I
won’t destroy you if you try to harm one of us. You don’t have to
help us, but you will not threaten us.”

Gideon turned slowly back toward
Braith, but it was not Braith he focused on. His fascination with
Aria was pushing Braith closer and closer to a deadly precipice.
“What is it that you require?”

“You must still have friends; you must
have stayed in contact with the other collaborators that were
against my father.”

Gideon grunted in displeasure and slid
into the chair behind his desk. “I may still have contacts, but
what exactly is your plan here Braith? What do you
propose?”

“To take control from my
father.”

Surprise flickered briefly over his
features. “And you are going to lead? You are going to be the man
that rights the wrongs?” Gideon’s tone was sarcastic, almost
hostile as his gaze focused on Aria again.

Braith pressed Aria against the wall,
pinning her against his side. Her displeasure was obvious as she
tried to push away but he was not going to let her out. “It doesn’t
have to be me.”

Gideon motioned to someone behind them.
Aria inhaled sharply as a servant girl hurried passed them wearing
almost no clothing. Bite marks marred her neck, but she didn’t seem
overly used as she flashed a smile at Braith and Ashby before
bending to pour a glass of liquor for Gideon. Gideon smiled at her
and lifted the glass in salute. “Thank you Dara, my friend here
might like to meet with you later.”

“Anything he desires,” she replied with
a saucy smile that lingered on Braith. Aria shot the girl a dark
look that would have amused Braith at any other time. Right now
though, he was too hungry and too tense about this situation to
find anything humorous.

“I’m fine Gideon,” Braith
grated.

“Oh not you Braith, I can tell you’re
not relinquishing your meal anytime soon. I meant
Ashby.”

“I’m fine also,” Ashby assured
him.

“Oh well then, perhaps the young human,
he seems rather interested.”

William closed his mouth as he ducked
his head and blushed just as vibrantly as Aria suddenly did. Her
discomfort was nearly palpable as her fingers curled into his
shirt. Braith hated this, hated that she had to be in this awful
place, exposed to some of the worst forms of debauchery he knew.
But for all of his numerous faults and all of his sinful tastes,
Gideon was a strong vampire and a natural leader. At his core he
was not an evil being. It wasn’t easy to discern that at first
glance but Braith had known Gideon for a lengthy amount of time. He
knew what resided inside of Gideon, or at least what had resided
inside of him.

If Gideon was anywhere near the vampire
he had once been than this servant girl was here willingly and was
not abused.

“Gideon…” Braith started.

“Perhaps I can even introduce him to
some of the things that we used to enjoy,” Gideon continued as if
Braith hadn’t spoken. He idly twirled his goblet and watched Aria
intently as he weighed her reaction to his words. “Or perhaps you
would like me to teach her. That is, of course, unless you haven’t
already.”

“Enough!” Braith snapped as Aria went
completely still. “If you mean to punish me for the past hundred
years, then so be it. But unless you would like to stay here for
another hundred years than you need to get over it, or I’m going to
rip out your damn tongue so you can’t say another word!”

Gideon became thoughtful again, staring
at Braith from under hooded lids. “Protective aren’t
we?”

“Gideon.” This time it was Ashby who
spoke in a low, warning tone.

“Oh, it’s all in fun. Dara why don’t
you show our two young humans to a room so they can get cleaned
up?”

“They aren’t going anywhere alone,”
Braith informed him.

“Lighten up Braith. You’re nowhere near
as much fun as you used to be. Why don’t we all take a small break
and meet back in an hour then. You can replenish.” Gideon’s
eyebrows quirked as his gaze ran pointedly over Aria. “And clean
yourselves. How does that sound?” It really was taking all Braith
had not to punch Gideon. His increasing need for blood wasn’t
helping the situation much. He didn’t have the patience to deal
with Gideon’s taunting and candid manner. Not right now. “Show them
to the guestrooms upstairs please Dara.”

Braith held tight to Aria as they
followed the semi-nude woman up the stairs. He led Aria into the
first bedroom the girl pointed to, eager to get her away from the
girl and Gideon, eager to have just a moment alone as he closed the
door and leaned against it. “Can we trust him?” she blurted
instantly.

Braith closed his eyes and rubbed the
bridge of his nose. “I still think we can, he’s far more bitter
than I had anticipated, but I don’t think he’s
dangerous.”

“Maybe we should leave Braith. This
place…”

For the first time she glanced at the
walls, relief filled her as she realized that they were free of the
“artwork” that the downstairs possessed. “This place is awful, and
strange. We’re going to bring these creatures back to help us, and
then give them positions of power? What would they do to the rest
of us?”

“At one time these were the vampires
that fought for human equality. No matter Gideon’s anger, I believe
that he still wants that equality. The people in this town are
amongst the vampires Aria, they are living with them. It won’t be
easy, but it can and will be done.”

She stared inquisitively at him. “Is
this what you liked? That girl…”

“I was never like Gideon, or even
Ashby, and most certainly never like Caleb. I’ve never stooped to
rape, even after you left the palace and I thought I’d lost you.
Though, I suppose taking someone’s blood by force is a form of
rape.” The color drained from her face, her lower lip trembled
slightly as she took a small step back. Any reminder of his past
was distressing to her, especially that one. He hated doing this to
her, but she needed to hear and understand some things. “As far as
I know neither Ashby, nor Gideon, has ever done such a thing
either.