Shying back in her chair, Jeni cast him a hard look. “You are not my husband.”
He looked around the sitting room to be sure they were alone. The servants were all gone. They were on the second floor, so no one would be listening at the window. Leaning towards her, he asked, “Would you like to know what I know?” She didn’t respond, so he took delight in telling her. “Your husband is imprisoned. He cannot escape, and there is only one thing that will free him.” He raised a finger to stress his point. “I know what that thing is, and I will keep it from ever happening.”
Leaning close enough that she shrank from his breath, he grinned. “You will give yourself to me, or your precious Erica will find herself on the steps of a slave trader before dawn breaks.”
Jeni opened her mouth in shock. “You wouldn’t!”
“I’ve been looking for a reason. Defy me, and she will live her life with a collar around her neck,” he said as resolutely as he could with the slur in his voice.
Her face turned pale. She began to shiver and a tear rolled down her cheek. “You are a monster,” she whispered.
“You are a freak,” he stated, “and I shall take you as one.” He grabbed her and tried to twist her around to face the back of the chair. She slipped down, and somehow forced him to lean over the back as she ducked out and away.
“Do you have no decency?” she cried. “At least force yourself on me in private!”
“It is my right!” he said, struggling up. He wavered a bit, but did stand on his own two feet. He walked over and tried to slap her. She pulled her head back and he missed. He tried again and she ducked. Enraged, he balled a fist. Thinking before he swung, he feinted, aiming a punch at where her head was. She ducked again, and he snatched a handful of hair. She cried out and grabbed his wrist as he hauled her around then threw her onto the couch.
The elaborate braids were now pulled out on one side. She started to get up, using the back of the couch for support. He planted a hand on her back and shoved her into it. “This is a much better view,” he sneered. Holding her in place, he tore at the fine lace belt that gathered her gown. Ripping it lose, he flung it to the side. She started sobbing as he began shoving her gown up towards her waist.
“I’m glad I’m not you.”
He froze and looked toward the window. On the windowsill, a tattered, bruised woman squatted, watching him. Mostly naked, she looked like she had just crawled through the dirt. She looked familiar, and as he thought about it he did remember seeing her before.
“I know you!” he announced. He eased his grip on Jeni, who turned back around to sit, pushing her gown back in place. “You are that druid woman. Get out of my home, you have no right to be here!”
“You have no right trying to rape my stepmother,” Odif replied evenly. She looked over at Jeni. “Are you hurt?”
Jeni gave a weak shake of her head as she smoothed her hair back with shaking hands.
Belenaris puffed up his chest and yelled, “I’m going to call the guards and have you removed.”
Odif cracked a twisted grin. “Have at it--they won’t answer. Neither will your servants. I’m afraid they are...indisposed.”
The footman had left the bottle of wine. He snapped it up by the neck and broke it against the edge of the table. Brandishing it at her, he sneered, “I am not afraid of you!”
Odif snorted. “It’s not me you have to worry about.” She got down off the sill and moved to lean against the wall, arms folded over her chest. “All I had to do was find Jeni.”
He tipped his head to the side slightly. “There are more of you here?”
“The whole family,” she stated.
The first hint of fear came to him. He grabbed Jeni and hauled her up, holding the bottle against one of those disgusting mounds. “Get out of my house! You have no right to be here!”
Odif’s face turned to stone. “I think we do. Don’t you agree, Dad?”
Jeni gasped. She grabbed the wrist holding the bottle then kicked backwards into his groin. He bent over in pain as she ran away, crying. He turned to chase her then stopped as she ran into the arms of the roughest-looking human he had ever seen.
Eric held one arm around Jeni as she cried wracking sobs of relief against his chest. He gently kissed the top of her head then looked up at Belenaris with murder in his eyes. His voice was a heavy growl.
“Odif, take Jeni and go get your sister.”
Odif bounced off the wall and walked right past Belenaris. She paused to look at him for a second. “I am so glad I’m not you,” she sighed. She went over and gently pried Jeni free. “Let’s go,” she said, putting an arm around her. Jeni cast a mournful look at him, as one might a condemned man.
He noticed the wicked-looking battleaxe the Red Man had. Every story he had ever heard, every tale he had scoffed at, came back in a rush. His bottle dropped to the floor and his bladder emptied. There would be no mercy.
Eric started towards him; and somewhere in his brain, he found the presence of mind to run. He fled to the other door, pawing at the handle. He got a grip on it and jerked it open then fled down the hall for his life. He heard the door crash back open as Eric chased him. Not wanting to see how close death was, he fled to the anteroom at the end of the hall. There, guards congregated for their rest breaks by the top of the stairs. If he could make it that far then he could put some men between him and the Red Man. He had to get to the stables and find a horse.
He charged into the anteroom, barely missing the wall as he turned for the stairs then stopped short. His guards were sitting placidly on a wooden bench. The woman who stood on the landing eyed him. She had hornlike stubs on her forehead, and bat wings rose from between her shoulder blades. She raised her arm towards him, and he felt something start to crawl around in his mind. In a flash, he remembered the fake Tayan’s warning.
If the Red Man gets free, it is best he finds you before we do.
Blind terror filled him. He turned and bolted the only remaining way to go. Running for the windows, he leapt up and launched himself out with a shriek. It was only after he was diving through the air that he noticed the hard courtyard was far below him. Another shriek pealed out until he slammed into the stone-covered ground.
***
“I swear I didn’t kill him,” Eric told Tayan as they descended the stairs. He held Erica. Jeni was beside him, with Samantha beyond her. Tayan walked on his other side with Odif.
“He jumped out the window,” Samantha explained. “I tried to stop him, but he’d lost his mind. There was nothing left to grasp.”
Jeni walked close to Eric, her arm hooked in his as she gave Samantha nervous glances. She had never seen anyone who looked like her before. She looked scary, at best.
“You are one of my husband’s children?” she asked again, not quite believing it.
Samantha looked over at Eric and smiled. “Yes, we saved each other.”
“That’s a very good way to put it,” Odif told her. “Think positive, we’ve had enough negative to last the rest of our lives.”
Tayan gave Odif a nudge. “Maybe even we can stop fighting for a while.”
Odif nudged him back. “I’ll try.”
Seeing Eric again was a godsend, but Jeni hadn’t been prepared to find out he had yet another child. Tentatively, she asked, “Should I expect any more surprises? This is...everyone, correct?”
“I guess,” Eric said. He tickled Erica under the chin. She giggled and slapped at his hand as her arm waved up and down.
“Not exactly,” Odif offered. Everyone stopped and looked at her.
“What do you mean, not exactly?” Eric asked.
“I--or rather, we--have another brother. My mother’s son, Rogan. He’ll be two this fall.”
Jeni, looked up at Eric, not at all pleased by this news. “When did this happen?”
Eric didn’t quite look at her. “When I was, umm, looking for those hoarcs in the Jude,” he explained quietly.
“Cheer up! Th
e more, the merrier,” Odif said brightly. “I can’t wait until he grows up. I want to teach him everything I can.”
Eric gave her a stern look. “Yeah, but leave him alone, know what I mean?”
“Really,” Tayan snorted.
Odif planted her hands on her hips. “You needed that. Besides, how were we to know--”
“Stop!” Jeni snapped. Holding a hand to her head to block out a most disgusting vision, she said, “I really do not want to know anything about it.”
Eric cleared his throat. “Yeah, drop it.”
“Please,” Samantha added. Changing the subject, she asked, “So, is everyone going back to the city?”
“Well, yeah, but I want to spend some time with Jeni and Erica first,” Eric told her. “I’ll come back to help rebuild.”
“General Cooper will be repairing his wagons for weeks, and there are hundreds of wounded,” Tayan told him. “It will be a while before we can move towards Elrad. Don‘t feel rushed about returning right away.” Giving Eric a nudge, he added, “You did good. You deserve some time alone.”
“Why don’t we all go?” Jeni asked. Giving Eric‘s arm a squeeze, she said, “I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
Eric loved the idea of Jeni’s staying by him, but he also knew she was used to finer things in life. As far as he was concerned, she deserved them. “It will be rough. The place is wrecked, and just finding food will be tough for a while.”
“And who knows what kinds of things are still wandering about,” Tayan added. “It’s not the safest place to be. You have to think of Erica.”
Jeni surveyed their faces. “I think Erica needs to be with her father. I can help out, and it sounds like you’ll need all the help you can get. Everything here, Mom and Dad can tend to.”
“You sure?” Eric asked hopefully.
She beamed him a smile. “Absolutely.”
Samantha smiled at Erica as she chortled. Watching the child, she began to realize that Eric hadn’t been held as long as she thought. Odif’s brother was born only a couple years ago. Her heart sank as she realized that meant Eric couldn’t be her father. She let her eyes drift over to Odif, who looked back at her.
“It doesn’t matter,” Odif said. “You are one of us now.”
Everyone looked at the druid.
“What doesn’t matter?” Eric asked.
Odif motioned to Samantha. “Sam is having doubts whether or not you’re her real father. It doesn’t matter, I’ll always consider her my sister.”
Tayan eyed Samantha and gave a slight shrug. “Seems to me she needs a family pretty bad. I’m not going to let her down.”
“But what about me being half-demon?” Samantha asked. “That could cause trouble for all of you.”
Eric frowned at her. “Anyone wants to hurt you, they gotta get by me first. Odif’s right, you’re one of us.”
Jeni reached over and clasped Samantha’s hand. “I have learned to deal with some very strange things. I think we will do just fine as long as we keep a good outlook and work together.”
In that touch Samantha felt acceptance. The years of loneliness were over for her. The sadness was being replaced by love, the yearning for a single friend filled by an entire family. She swelled with joy as she looked at the impossible collection of people she knew would always stand by her. It was from the bottom of her heart when she said, “Thank you.”
The End
WolfHeart Page 57
