by J. C. Owens
The emperor crouched beside the man’s body and watched with avid interest as the blood spurted from the severed neck, the man’s heart still pumping. He put a finger out to catch some of the blood, tasted it, and hummed in approval.
Jaden gagged. That hand that had touched him but a short time before had been gentle and kind… How could this be?
The remaining three prisoners leaned away, shocked horror and grief upon their faces. The men’s expressions became enraged once the shock began to pass, but the boy looked like he was going to faint.
The emperor looked up at them, a feral growl issuing from his throat. His eyes glowed, filled with bloodlust, all humanity veiled. He rose to his feet and without further pause, thrust his sword through the next man’s heart and then the next. They fell upon the floor, writhing for a few moments, then slowly becoming still— life extinguished so easily.
It all took only moments.
The remaining boy shook. His face was white as snow, and his eyes were pinned with helpless fascination upon the emperor as he waited for his own death. The emperor bent over each man and smeared his hand through his blood in some sort of ritualistic sign of victory. His long tongue darted out to taste it before the creature—the emperor—loomed over the boy. One of the guards lifted the boy to his feet, and he stood trembling, tears running down his pale cheeks.
The emperor slowly traced blood around the boy’s eyes and mouth and then forced his thumb in between the boy’s quivering lips and smeared blood over his tongue. The boy choked and gagged, his eyes swimming with tears.
One of the emperor’s large hands cradled the boy’s chin and turned his face up to meet those terrifying eyes. “You will go, my boy, and tell your people not to ever come into the wolf’s domain. If they do, this will be the result. Do you understand me?” The emperor’s voice was amazingly gentle but with such steel as to only inspire more terror.
The boy managed to nod, his knees half buckling. The emperor of Tranaden patted the boy’s cheek with fingers crooked like claws, then gestured to the guard to take him away. Then he returned to the throne—his uniform blood-spattered, hands smeared with blood—and seated himself with calm, cool precision. There was silence for a moment before he made a sweeping gesture with his hand, and people turned to file out, their faces pale and grim.
But still there was no fear in them. Jaden could not understand it. Had they not seen what this man had just done? Could they not see the three bodies still bleeding out on the floor, butchered like animals? Jaden clasped shaking hands together, his own fear rising. Why had the emperor wanted Jaden to attend him here? Was he next?
The captain of the elite guard came forward and bowed. “Do you wish us to stay, Your Imperial Majesty?”
The emperor did not move for long moments Then he spoke softly, so at odds with what had occurred. “Leave, Rafe. I thank you for your presence.”
The captain nodded, his expression full of reverence and love. “Tell us when you need us, Your Eminence.”
The emperor nodded, but his gaze remained fixed upon the bloody remains marring the beautiful floor. Jaden watched as the guards began to file out. Should he go with them? Gods how he wanted to go with them. He did not want to be left with this monster.
The utter silence in the throne room bore down on Jaden like a physical presence, so thick he felt like he could not breathe for the force of it. He waited for something to break it, for the emperor to make a move, a sound—any indication of what he expected of Jaden.
Nothing…
Finally Jaden could take it no more. The waiting was worse than anything else as his vivid imagination supplied more and more lurid images of what his master had planned for him. He stepped forward, not masking the sound of his footsteps, which seemed to echo in the cavernous room.
When he had circled around far enough that he could see the emperor’s face, he cautiously bowed but kept his eyes trained on the danger before him. “Master?”
Cold eyes slowly rose to meet Jaden’s. There was absolutely no recognition in their depths. Jaden shivered but pulled courage closer. “Master, what do you wish of me?”
There was no answer, only that blank, intense stare that bored through him like ice.
“Master…Dersai?”
His eyes flickered. Jaden sucked in a breath. Taking a chance that he would be beaten for his temerity in uttering his master’s name without an honorific, he spoke. “Dersai?”
The emperor put a hand to his head, squeezing his eyes shut as though in pain.
Jaden put more force into his voice. “Dersai!”
The emperor gasped and flung his head back against the throne, eyes opening wide. His face contorted, body frozen. Then he seemed to sag and went limp. Jaden took a step forward, then hesitated, his hand outstretched but afraid to touch, unsure what would rouse the beast.
When the dark eyes finally blinked and looked upon him, Jaden let out a shaky breath. They were sane again, full of shadows but with thought behind them now.
“Master…Dersai?”
Dersai held out one blood-coated hand. “Jaden,” he whispered with such pain in his tone that Jaden could not help himself. Despite his squeamishness, he took two quick steps forward, took that hand in his own, and knelt by the side of the throne.
Dersai let out a gusting sigh at Jaden’s touch. He lay limply, staring up at the ornate ceiling, holding to Jaden’s hand like a lifeline. “How many?” he whispered softly. A tear ran slowly down his cheek.
Jaden felt his heart spasm at the sight, and he leaned up on his knees and wiped it away with his sleeve. “How many?” he questioned, puzzled.
“How many did I kill this time?” The weary desolation in Dersai’s voice made Jaden want to weep.
He stared at his master for a moment, then over at the three bodies. Making a swift decision, he stood up and positioned himself between Dersai and the sight of the carnage. “Come on, Master. We are going to clean you up and let you rest. All right?”
Dersai looked up at him with such trust in his eyes, such relief, that Jaden had to take a deep breath to control his emotions. He did not understand what was going on here, but he did know in his very heart that Dersai was not the violent beast he had just seen. Whatever it was that might be inside him was not Dersai.
“Come,” he said with aching gentleness. He took his master’s hands in his own and pulled Dersai to his feet, turning him at the same time so he could not see the gore. “Come with me.”
Dersai nodded, as obedient as a child, letting Jaden lead him to the doors. Jaden swung them open with one hand and paused when he saw the several members of the elite guard pacing anxiously outside. They stared at him and the emperor with evident astonishment.
Jaden’s lips thinned, and he stared Rafe, the captain, down. “I am taking the emperor back to his rooms to clean up.” He mentally dared the man to protest. He felt a great protectiveness rise within him, and he realized he would let nothing stand in his way of getting Dersai back to himself.
Rafe nodded uncertainly, amazed eyes darting back and forth between Jaden and the emperor. Jaden nodded abruptly, nothing of slave in his demeanor at that moment. His jaw firmed with determination.
Wrapping one arm around Dersai, Jaden helped guide his shambling steps as they made their slow, uncertain way up flights of stairs to the emperor’s vast rooms. There, Jaden led him to the bathing chambers immediately. He sat Dersai on a chair, after he protected it with a towel to prevent the blood from staining it. He then began to unbutton his master’s uniform. He slipped it off over Dersai’s shoulders, then carefully pulled off his boots, trying to ignore the blood that coated his hands with everything he touched. He undid his master’s pants and tried not to shudder at the blood that grotesquely stained the pristine whiteness, then gently pulled Dersai up to work them down his hips and off.
Dersai obeyed all his commands docilely, but when he stood in nothing but his shirt, he began to tremble uncontrollably. Jaden turned to f
ind Dersai staring at his blood-coated hands with horror in his eyes.
Jaden took his hands in his own, forced them down, and pulled Dersai closer. “We need to bathe. Come now.”
Dersai looked at him with tears in his eyes, and Jaden tried to control himself. Now was not the time to get emotional. Now was time to do something constructive. After removing Dersai’s shirt and tossing it aside with distaste, he pulled Dersai with him and stepped down into the smaller of the baths. Seating Dersai on one of the low jut-outs under the water, he turned to get soaps. First he scrubbed Dersai’s hands over and over so not a spot of blood remained in calluses or under nails. Then he gently took a cloth and washed Dersai’s face, wiping away every spatter, every hint of what had happened.
Dersai sat motionless under his ministrations, but his eyes followed Jaden’s every move. There was such sadness in their depths that Jaden found tears coming to his own eyes despite his struggles. “It will be all right,” he whispered in a soft litany, over and over, as much to convince himself as Dersai.
Dersai did not answer, and there was such a dearth of hope in his eyes that it was quite clear that he could not believe those words. Eventually he seemed to come back into himself somewhat and took the cloth from Jaden’s fingers, lathered it with soap, and began to scrub himself everywhere. His motions became increasingly frantic until he was nearly flaying the skin from his body. Jaden had to seize his hands to make him stop.
It was then that Dersai gave up utterly and leaned forward, laying his head on Jaden’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Jaden in desperate appeal and began to sob—deep, shuddering sobs that went to the heart of him.
Jaden wrapped protective arms around his master and laid his head on Dersai’s. A fierceness rose within him. He needed to protect this man. It felt right, as though this was always what he had been meant to do.
As though this was his destiny.
Chapter Five
Jaden lay in the half darkness, staring at the moonlight pooling on the floor through the balcony doors. In its light, he could see Dersai’s face, still tearstained but now relaxed in sleep, finally.
It had taken hours to calm him to this point, hours to make him stop shaking. Now Jaden lay in watch over him, unable to sleep as the events of the day rolled through his mind in a never-ending procession of images.
He thought of the reputation of Tranaden and its emperor…and of the emperors of old. Jaden was sure that he had heard of Tranaden being an unbreachable force long before Dersai’s time. Had it not been a great military strength for thousands of years?
Jaden’s knowledge of history of any country, including his own, was a little sketchy. It had never really been of interest to him…until now. All these years, had the emperors had more than normal power and strength to help them guide their country? What was this thing—Jaden could only think of it as that—that lay within Dersai and why? Was it deliberate or did some madness lie in the royal line?
Jaden glanced over at the books, wanting badly to go and read, to try to find out now what he was facing. Then he looked back down, trailing a gentle finger over Dersai’s cheek.
His master murmured in his sleep, then rolled over, seeking Jaden’s warmth. Jaden put a comforting arm around him, then settled down, closing his eyes. There would be time enough in the morning for that.
He had an emperor to protect.
* * *
Jaden was woken in the morning by the sound of the doors opening. He rose on one elbow, shielding Dersai, a half growl rumbling from his chest. The people at the door froze when they heard it and stared at him with wide eyes.
When Jaden’s mind cleared enough from sleep to realize it was only servants bringing food, he calmed a little and nodded to them. Amazingly, they did not scorn him for acting above himself; they simply brought in the food and timidly laid it on the table, shooting concerned glances at their emperor as they did so. It seemed to reassure them that he slept, and their expressions cleared somewhat, as though they had expected to see something quite different.
They left as quietly as they came, without once speaking. Jaden frowned as the doors closed behind them. They seemed to have expected something terrible, that Dersai would not have been in good shape or at least not sleeping.
He looked down at his master and felt a sick feeling rise within him. Who had comforted Dersai before? This must have happened many times. Who had held him when he wept, when he scrubbed his skin raw, when he could not sleep for the images in his head?
Had there been no one? Jaden shivered in horror. He lay down again and pulled Dersai closer, feeling a rage rise in him. How could they just leave him like this?
His mind made him see sense. What if Dersai ordered them out? What if he did not want anyone to see him like this, in a state he might consider weakness? Jaden growled once more and laid a gentle kiss on Dersai’s forehead. Well it would not happen again. Dersai would never be alone in this again. Jaden would protect him…even from what was within him.
It wasn’t very long before the smells of the food drifting through the room brought Dersai to consciousness. He stirred, moaning. His eyes opened slowly, and then he seemed to pause in astonishment, his hand coming up to touch Jaden wonderingly.
He tilted his face up and warily met Jaden’s eyes. “You stayed,” he whispered with slow joy, and something in his eyes opened fully to Jaden at last.
Jaden flushed a little, turning his face away. It had been different when Dersai was helpless; then he had been unable to aid himself, but now…
A gentle hand brought his face back so he had to meet Dersai’s dark eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Dersai drew Jaden down and kissed him tenderly. The kiss was…more somehow. Jaden closed his eyes, brought his hand up to stroke his master’s cheek, and drank in the taste that was Dersai. They had kissed so often in lust, in passion, but never like this. This felt like a renewal, a pledge…
A beginning.
Jaden drew back slowly, scoffing at his own inner fancies. But Dersai smiled at him, and his mind went blank. His doubts wavered.
“My wolf,” Dersai murmured, brushing back Jaden’s hair. “It is true, you are the one.”
Jaden tilted his head in puzzlement, trying to understand, but Dersai looked away then, almost uncomfortable as Jaden had never seen him.
“I will explain it all, Jaden, I promise. But first let us eat.”
Jaden’s jaw dropped. He would explain? As a slave, he hadn’t expected to receive any information whatsoever. He watched a nude Dersai walk unselfconsciously across the room and sighed.
What this man could do to him… Jaden was confused and attracted and angry and disgusted and attracted and then attracted again. It did not seem like that would change anytime soon.
“Damn,” Jaden muttered to himself for a moment. Maybe it was not the emperor who was crazy; maybe it was Jaden himself.
They ate quietly enough, though Jaden watched in astonishment as Dersai mowed through the food like a wild thing. He seemed ravenous, desperately so, as if the thing within him had depleted every bit of his own energy and he had to replace it.
Jaden finished his own food and watched in bemused fascination. Only when every scrap had been consumed did Dersai sit back, his body calming now that it had sustenance. He flicked a rather embarrassed glance at Jaden, then looked down at his fingers as if they were entirely fascinating.
“Where do you want me to start?” Now that the moment had come to speak, he looked haunted again, as though he wished desperately to discuss anything else.
“Is it only you?”
Dersai shook his head. “If only that were true. It has come down through two thousand years of my family’s rule. My ancestor lived in a world plagued by war, and he fought desperately to protect Tranaden from outside forces. It is said that he made a pact with a demon; to give that emperor strength in war, to make him invincible. It worked. Tranaden’s borders were secured, just the same as they are today, neit
her greater nor smaller in size. But then that emperor discovered exactly what he had done. The demon would not go away. The pact was for eternity. The demon sleeps until Tranaden is endangered, whether the land, the people, or the emperor. Then it rises to destroy whatever the threat is, always leaving one alive to tell the tale, to spread the story of the Wolf of Tranaden and that to cross him is death. The nobles are required to witness events, to always remember what their emperor suffers in their name.”
“You mean that this curse passes from father to son down your entire line?” Jaden felt ill.
“Yes. If the line is ever broken, Tranaden will fall.”
“But…you have no children that I have seen or heard of,” Jaden protested in confusion.
“Emperors are not allowed to marry. It would be too cruel to the woman to have to witness…” Dersai paused and hissed out a breath. “A friend of mine, a noble lady, offered herself, though she knew she would not be allowed to be their mother in anything but name. Others raise royal children; just as I never knew my own mother. I have two sons. Neither are allowed here; I have never seen them. They are kept in safety, growing up taught of their duty to Tranaden and how one day, one of them will take my place and bear the beast within them. That is why I pray to keep going as long as possible, so that they will not be children when they must suffer this.”
Jaden frowned, dread suddenly tightening his stomach. “What do you mean? Are you ill?”
Dersai looked old suddenly. He shut his eyes tightly for a moment, before slowly opening them to meet Jaden’s concerned gaze. “The demon within slowly drives us insane. In peace, it may take a long time. In times of war, as now, it may come without warning, overcome the bearer before he can control it. There have been times…” Dersai’s eyes went dark with memory and fear. He continued with evident effort. “With some emperors it is sooner, some later, but eventually every emperor loses his mind, and when he does, the only thing the people can do, in mercy and for their own protection, is to kill him. It is the only way.”
