Aubreigne

by Sandra R Neeley

  “Name!” Amilanu demanded.

  “Kamilah,” the woman answered. “Please free me,” she begged, trying to pull away from him again.

  “I plan to. But not here. You will be forced to sell yourself within these very walls in order to survive if your family has so little regard for you. Come. I’ll see to it that you’re safe,” Amilanu said. He held the still struggling young woman against himself and started toward the door of the brothel again.

  Just before he reached the door, it was yanked open so fast it appeared it would leave its hinges.

  “Kamilah!” a woman stepped inside yelling as loudly as she could.

  Amilanu came to a stop to take in the sight before him. A woman, obviously older than the one in his arms, stood with her legs braced shoulder width apart as she held a scimitar above her head.

  “I’m here, Aunt!” Kamilah called out. “Help me, please help me!”

  The woman blinked her eyes against the darkness trying to focus on the direction she heard Kamilah’s voice call from.

  “Come to me!” the woman called.

  Amilanu started toward the woman who noticed his large form moving through the darkness and began swinging her scimitar wildly. “Stop that, woman!” Amilanu roared. “You will slice both your niece and me into little pieces!”

  “Unhand my niece this moment!” the woman demanded.

  “You are the only one who came for this girl? They sent you to liberate her?!” Amilanu asked, still disbelieving of what he saw.

  “Unhand my niece! I will not allow her to be traded for coins! You will have to kill me to keep me from freeing her!” the woman shouted, lifting her scimitar again.

  “I do not have time for this!” Amilanu bellowed as he advanced on the woman. He shoved Kamilah away from his body at the same time he closed in on her aunt and disarmed her. He tossed the scimitar away, then, gripped the aunt’s wrist in one hand while dragging her over toward Kamilah who was just then getting up off the floor where Amilanu had shoved her. “The males in your family should be horsewhipped!” he announced as he wrapped his other arm around Kamilah and closed his eyes, thinking of Aubreigne, hoping he could pinpoint her exact location and still be in time to save her from whatever it was she faced.

  ~~~

  Lily misted into the clearing and immediately saw that her Dragon had been right to call for her. There balanced atop his head stood Deaumanique. Her hands were tied behind her back and the rope had been wound around her neck before being tossed over the thick branch that extended over her head. The rope was drawn taut, and Deaumanique just barely managed to keep herself from strangling as she struggled to balance on her tiptoes to keep the rope from yanking her arms up and cutting into her neck too tightly before bending her body backwards and snapping both her shoulders out of joint before snapping her neck.

  “And so they send a child,” Ata’halne said. “Of all the mighty males in Whispers, they send a child to face me. It tells of their fear of me,” he said, preening a bit from his place on a limb just beside Deaumanique.

  Lily watched Ata’halne. She’d been told that the male Rowan had saved from the curse of the Windigo had returned. She’d also been told that she shouldn’t trust him. “I’m not a child,” she said simply, her head canting just a bit to the side. It was a move reminiscent of Lore, and had Ata’halne any sense, he’d have noticed the purple and silver mists dissipating from Lily as she regarded him.

  “You look like a child to me. Leave us and return with Enthrall. Bring Aubreigne as well. We have much to discuss,” Ata’halne demanded, full of pride while his insanity reigned his mind. “You have no business here,” he informed Lily.

  Lily smiled. “You’re standing on my tree. I am the only one who has any business here. Get off my tree,” she said calmly.

  Ata’halne lifted his lip in a snarl as more mists began to swirl, purple heavily mixed with silver. Murder appeared to fall from the sky as he quickly descended to stand beside Lore. They each took a place on either side of Lily.

  A moment later Enthrall ghosted into the clearing and Rune burst through shrubbery and undergrowth while snarling, growling and foaming at the mouth. Following only a few steps behind Rune were Aubreigne and Brannaugh.

  “How kind of you all to join me,” Ata’halne drawled. “May I point out that the other end of the rope securing Deaumanique is tied securely about my waist. If I lose my balance, if I falter in any way, the rope grows taut. The more taut it becomes, the more her body is contorted. If I fall, and the contortion continues, her neck will be broken and her arms ripped from their sockets — dead, but also a great deal of pain beforehand. If I so much as jump while evading attack, she will suffer, and eventually die. Think wisely before you think you’ll best me. No one can best me.”

  “Let her go,” Aubreigne demanded at once, seeing her daughter strung up as though she was about to be hanged. “It is me you want.”

  “You are in no position to make demands my dear little harlot! Any chance of me wanting you disappeared as I saw you with one male after another,” Ata’halne answered, smiling sweetly at Aubreigne before the smile dropped suddenly from his face. “You vastly overestimate your value.”

  Chapter 24

  “Release Deaumanique. She has no place in all this,” Enthrall said, doing his best to remain calm and commanding.

  Ata’halne’s gaze flashed to Enthrall. “I was not speaking to you!”

  “Though I was speaking to you. Why punish an innocent for something she’s not even involved in?” Enthrall asked, not actually expecting Ata to respond to reasoning. He was simply trying to shift Ata’halne’s attention and anger to himself.

  “You have made an ominous mistake, Vampire,” Ata’halne shouted.

  Enthrall’s face was taut with stress as he clenched his jaws while trying to maintain control until he could figure out a way to rescue Deaumanique. “I have made many ominous mistakes. Which exactly is it that you refer to?”

  “Casting me out!” Ata’halne shrieked at Enthrall.

  Enthrall’s eyebrows rose as he realized that Ata was not simply dangerous and uncontrolled, he’d totally lost touch with reality. “I did not cast you out. In fact, when you chose to leave us, I wished you well and offered an invitation to return if you decided you’d like to.”

  “And then when I did return, you treated me like I no longer belonged here,” Ata said spitefully.

  “You don’t. Had you simply returned and asked to join Whispers, I’d have given you sanctuary. But you insisted that Aubreigne accept you as though you just left here yesterday! You left Aubreigne, stayed away for years then show up one day insisting that she simply open her life to you again. No one would have accommodated you under those conditions. Yet I allowed you temporary sanctuary to attempt to win her back,” Enthrall answered, struggling to stay calm.

  “You should have forced her to have me,” Ata shouted. Then he turned to Aubreigne. “You are such a fool. You could have had me. You could have been my mate and had all the benefits that go along with it. Instead you chose this rubbish!” he said, gesturing at Brannaugh.

  Brannaugh’s eyebrows slammed down over his eyes, and he looked from Ata to Aubreigne and back.

  “We have never been lovers. We are friends only. I have taken no lover since you left me alone. And yes, there was a time that I’d have been your mate and never looked back. But no more. You believed you could find better with your people, and left to do just that. No one in their right mind would expect a woman to wait just in case they decided they had it better where they were originally. I would not have you now if you were the last male alive.”

  “Yet you tell me to release your brat because you are what I really want. No, I’ve changed my mind. I tried to be kind. Tried to show you that I am the better male, but now, I’ve decided this female, your whelp, will be my new mate. And Enthrall will bow to my every whim, stepping aside so that I run Whispers. All will flourish under my rule. All will love me and gi
ve me the respect I deserve. Or I will kill her.”

  “You’re insane,” Lore said, having seen all he needed to.

  “No! You are insane!” Ata’halne shouted, yanking on the rope leading from his waist to Deaumanique. Deaumanique gasped and tried to keep from toppling over as she went even higher on her tiptoes.

  Lily very calmly gestured to her Dragon Tree, asking it to move its great head a little higher to keep Deaumanique balanced there more comfortably. Slowly without Ata’halne even noticing, the Dragon’s head lifted, and it even seemed to flatten out a bit.

  Lore nodded non-committally, considering Ata’halne’s claim. “Possibly, most likely. Though, I like to consider myself redeemed of late.” Lore turned to Murder. “Do you think me redeemed?”

  Murder who kept his eyes on Ata nodded. “Quite,” he answered.

  “You see? Redeemed, though, since you see me as insane, and to be sure — most of the insanity is inherent — I suggest a duel of wits, since we’re both insane,” Lore said. “Oh! I know! Winner eats the other’s soul,” Lore said excitedly, stepping forward with a gleam in his eye.

  “Keep him away from me! He is banished from this land, effective immediately!” Ata’halne screamed.

  “You cannot banish an ancient from land that is already theirs. This is his land. He allowed me to build Whispers on it,” Enthrall answered, going into explanations that were not necessary for any reason other than to buy them time to try to figure something out.

  “I don’t care! You will do my bidding or I will kill Deaumanique! She will mate me, and I will keep her beside me always to guarantee your compliance!” Ata said, beginning to unravel before them all when his demands didn’t seem to have the effect he’d expected.

  “How will you kill her, and keep her beside you to guarantee our compliance. Wouldn’t one rule out the other?” Lore asked.

  “You can’t marry a female that is already married,” Murder said calmly.

  Ata’halne laughed. “She is no longer married. She’s a widow. I already took care of that.”

  Enthrall knew that Ata had attacked and attempted to kill Shane, but he’d wanted confirmation. Now he had it and couldn’t wait to let Ata know he was wrong. “What are you implying? Of course she’s married — to my son!”

  “He’s dead, you bumbling idiot! You raised a male that is too kind. You should have beaten the kindness out of him. Made a real male of him. He trusts too easily! He’s got too much heart! Or, at least he did!” Ata’halne said, cackling wildly.

  Enthrall shook his head slowly while watching Ata.

  “Do not shake your head at me! I know what I did. He’s dead!” Ata insisted.

  Deaumanique began to sob, thinking Shane dead.

  “He’s not dead. In fact, he’s stronger than he’s ever been,” Enthrall said with a smug smile.

  “Impossible! I watched while the blood left his body!” Ata insisted.

  Enthrall grinned and allowed his fangs to extend to their full length. “What is it you called me when I first arrived? Vampire. I’m a Vampire. Do you really believe I’d allow my son to die? He’s very much alive, but now he’s like me. Stronger than you’ll ever be. In fact, I believe that I’ll simply place you in holding, until he’s fully himself and can exact revenge on you personally.”

  “But then I won’t get to eat his soul,” Lore complained, taking his attention from Ata’halne to address Enthrall.

  “I’m sure it’s not worth your while,” Enthrall answered, joining in the taunting of Ata in an effort to hopefully make him separate himself from the rope and advance on them in anger. “Surely it’s a dark soul, black and filthy with lies and evil,” Enthrall said, talking about Ata’halne as though he wasn’t even there, intentionally trying to draw his ire.

  “But that’s the tastiest kind!” Lore objected.

  Ata had begun to growl as viciously as a human can growl. He was exerting steady pressure on the rope securing Deaumanique to him, and she could only take so much pain before she inevitably lost her balance and fell. No matter how much the Dragon Tree tried to stretch to accommodate her, Ata pulled the rope tighter in his frustration.

  “Stop it!” Aubreigne shouted at them. When everyone fell silent, she turned to Ata once again. “Please. I’ll do what you want. I’ll be whatever you want. I give you my word. Just let my daughter go. You want to return to your people and make them all worship you? I’ll go with you. The males will have to obey when I sing my song. The females will be forced by their males to do whatever they order — whatever you order. Just tell me what to do for you, and it’s done. I vow…”

  “Nothing!” a rich, sensual, powerful voice boomed. “You will vow nothing to anyone!”

  Enthrall’s body became even more strained. They certainly did not need this added facet of an already impossible situation.

  Lore’s eyes widened and he gathered his mists in his palms in preparation of doing battle.

  Murder’s cheek began twitching as he realized this was the male that had tortured him relentlessly in Hell.

  Ata’halne screamed in fury as his eyes fell on the male that joined them. “You! You will leave us now! Your whore has just pledged to do my bidding and she will follow through!”

  ~~~

  Amilanu snarled as he heard Aubreigne offer a vow to whoever it was that caused her distress. “Nothing!” he bellowed. “You will vow nothing to anyone!” Amilanu declared. Then he smiled sinisterly as he prepared to battle whatever and whoever threatened his mate. His body fully materialized amidst all those already gathered, and he held tightly to both the women he was grasping in his arms as he found himself in a clearing surrounded by most of the males he’d sought to evade in Whispers over the years. Amilanu looked around and noticed Brannaugh closest to him. “Take care of these females,” he said, pushing the women toward Brannaugh.

  Brannaugh reached out and caught the women as they stumbled toward him, his hands tingling as he touched the younger female. Both females tried to catch themselves as they were shoved toward Brannaugh, the younger one looking to him with a panicked expression, while the older woman glared at him defiantly.

  “What Demon are you?” the older woman demanded.

  Brannaugh didn’t answer, he was too focused on the younger female.

  Amilanu didn’t even wait to see that Brannaugh sheltered both women, instead he briefly met Aubreigne’s eyes who simply watched him with panic on her face. She obviously didn’t give a damn about the women; she only wanted her daughter alive and safe. “Please,” she whispered.

  He gave her a slight nod. Amilanu had all of The Dark One’s powers at his disposal, and since The Dark One was still heavily sedated from his days of binging, Amilanu took full advantage of them. There was no way in Hell — he thought with a snicker — he’d allow Aubreigne to lose her daughter. He’d felt her distress, felt her anguish and he could not possibly allow her to suffer so. He’d be even less of a male than he’d ever believed if he allowed her daughter’s demise at the hands of a madman. Add to that the fact that he’d made the decision to destroy himself, and saving Deaumanique was the least he could do for Aubreigne. She’d need family around her when she felt his own demise.

  “Obviously you are completely unschooled in the ways of sacrifice to me,” Amilanu said haughtily to Ata, using the power The Dark One put behind his voice. That same power that made souls condemned to his realm quake in fear. “This is not how it’s done,” Amilanu said disdainfully.

  Ata’halne regarded the male that had materialized with more than a bit of fear, but still, he felt himself in control. After all, Aubreigne had just pledged to do whatever he commanded.

  “I will sacrifice nothing to you. You are no more than a passing fancy for Aubreigne. I saw you in her home, naked and hiding shamefully away. You meant nothing to her, she’s just pledged to me. Away! Now, I banish you from this place!”

  Amilanu threw his head back, laughing slowly, his deep, rich voice, resonant as it fil
led the space they all stood in. “One does not simply order The Dark One about, peasant. Release the female now and perhaps I’ll allow you to die swiftly before I take your soul.”

  “I’m eating his soul!” Lore insisted.

  “Really?” Enthrall asked, looking over at Lore.

  “I said so first,” Lore whispered.

  “You do not even eat souls anymore!” Murder hissed.

  “I could. I remember how it is done,” Lore insisted.

  “Silence!” Amilanu demanded.

  Even the birds in the trees stopped chirping, the frogs stopped croaking. The insects stopped their clicking. It became as quiet as that first day Ata’halne had followed Aubreigne in the woods. He realized at that moment it had been this male that intercepted him.

  “You think Aubreigne is yours. She was mine first. She just agreed to be mine again,” Ata said.

  “But, I thought I heard you claim you didn’t want her since she’d been had by other males,” Murder asked.

  “She will do my bidding. She will bring me all that I deserve! No one will disrespect me with her under my power and her daughter as my mate. I will be regarded as the man I truly am. No one will cast me out! I will rule my own domain!”

  Amilanu’s plan to simply destroy the male where he stood after toying with him momentarily, changed. Amilanu glanced over his shoulder at Aubreigne.

  Aubreigne locked eyes with him, as they thought the exact same thing. This could be the answer to Amilanu’s freedom.

  “My child,” Aubreigne said, understanding in that moment that she’d have to give up one to have the other, whichever it may be.

  “She will be safe,” Amilanu promised quietly.

  Aubreigne looked over at Enthrall. Enthrall met her gaze, remembering the conversation they’d had when he’d found her on her knees crying at the loss of Amilanu. Ata could be the answer to freeing his old friend from a curse he’d taken on centuries ago.