Breathing Fire (Heretic Daughters)

by Rebecca K. Lilley

  I was the only what they called ‘breeder’ left, which was why I got so many of these lessons. I was their one last chance for a biddable female. The thought chilled me, as ever. I would bleed my woman’s blood in one more season, maybe two if I was lucky, and then be at the mercy of these depraved, demented monsters, as my sister had been before me. And he was showing me her fate yet again. As if I needed to be reminded. At least they hadn’t had the slayer kill her. She and my mother had been spared true death, and given the sleep of time. Even in their insanity, the men could see that they couldn’t afford to kill more of the women of our kind. Their need to avoid extinction apparently outweighed their need to be obeyed. It was a close thing, though.

  He continued to force me to look at the pathetic creature in the cell. He was beating a dead horse at this point, since I knew explicitly what had been done to her before my father had beaten her with a barbed whip until she ended up here, unconscious to the world, for more than a fortnight now. Frankly, what had been done before the whipping seemed worse to me. In my young mind, a beating made sense, was common place, whereas the other things, they were confusing and horrifying. Not the least of which was marrying her to my uncle. And what my uncle Villi had done to her had not even been a punishment, but merely what he called his rights.

  What she had done in return for him taking those rights almost made me smile now, in spite of the dire circumstances that had followed. My hideous uncle Villi, the one they called Villi the Bestial, was in far worse shape than my sister, who at least still had a head. Her brave rebellion had incited my own, though I would have preferred more time to put it into effect. There was still so much I didn’t know about my powers, things I couldn’t learn from anyone but my demented elders, as much as I may despise them.

  Is she healing? I wondered to myself. If she was, I couldn’t see it yet, and that worried me more than any of my father’s threats. If she couldn’t walk, then she couldn’t run. And we needed to run from this place and never look back.

  I awoke, gasping, my body damp with sweat. I hadn’t had that nightmare in years. It was a memory from my childhood, that, for some strange reason, my subconscious liked to recall in vivid detail when I was troubled.

  It took me a long time to fall back to sleep, and when I did, it was to more nightmares.

  I was back in Dom’s bedroom, my back to the wall. The sight on the bed made me sick. Dom pleasured the vacant-eyed blond endlessly. Every touch, every kiss, was a stab of betrayal through my heart. Finally, I approached the writhing couple.

  I gripped a hand in the blond woman’s hair, dragging her roughly from his bed. He didn’t stop me, merely sat up, giving me a wicked smile. She struggled, but it took no effort at all to throw her bodily from his room. I kicked her once, twice, before slamming the door on her crumpled figure. I turned back to the man on the bed.

  He just smiled, a cheshire cat smile, and watched me, leaning back on his elbows. His arousal was hard, and still slick with that other woman’s body. I straddled him, mounting his thick length without a second thought. I rode him hard, but he never touched me. He just watched, gazing at me with gimlet-eyed disinterest. I brought myself to completion regardless, falling against him when I finished. I kissed him, but he was unresponsive under my lips. Only his cock responded, hard as ever.

  I sat back up, and that was when my hair trailed down onto his chest. It was all wrong. It was flame red, instead of blond, and I hated it with a passion. I recalled something I’d heard. I glared at him. His expression never changed. “Siobhan?” I asked him, feeling ripped apart inside. “You bastard,” I sobbed, falling off of him.

  He was a statue. No response to my hurt was shown in either his regard or his actions.

  I stumbled into the bathroom, desperate to see my reflection, to make sure it wasn’t wrong. Green eyes looked back at me in the mirror. My face was ravishingly beautiful, and one that I bitterly despised. I screamed my rage.

  I awoke still screaming, and engulfed in flames. Everything was on fire. The couch I lay on, the walls, the ceiling, the house. I lay there for the longest time, thinking that I had stumbled into yet another nightmare. But I felt the heat licking my skin. My bare skin. My clothing had burned off.

  When my mind finally started to operate again, I shot up, running quickly through the inferno. I couldn’t burn. Fire lived inside of me. It certainly couldn’t harm my person. But we had a lot of worldly possessions that it could harm. Things I didn’t want to lose.

  I went for the weapons first, filling my arms before rushing outside. I spilled them on the lawn before running back inside. It was some consolation when I realized that many of our weapons and valuables had already been moved, most likely to one of Christian’s safe houses. Lynn had begun to move our things, obviously in preparation for a permanent move. Gods bless her. Still, I grabbed what I could of what was left, finding some of our horde of treasure, and even an armful of clothes that hadn’t yet been touched.

  When I dumped my precious items on the lawn that time, I wasn’t alone. Fucking Druids, I thought, as suit clad men surrounded me in the harsh dawn light. One was on his cel phone.

  “Yes, Arch, she seems fine. She’s naked, but unharmed.”

  I grabbed the phone out of his hand. “I’m flame-retardant. Please go back to fucking whats-her-name. Nothing exciting here.”

  The bastard laughed. “Jealous?”

  I handed the phone back to one of the druids. I wasn’t even sure it was the one I had grabbed it from. I didn’t care. I headed resolutely back into the engulfed building, intending to salvage what I could. I heard the druids shouting in panic behind me, but I knew they wouldn’t follow me in. Druids occasionally sprouted fur in their beastskin. It seemed to be a rule that things with fur hated fire. And they had absolutely no immunity to it. It wouldn’t kill them, but it would hurt like all hell. Not one of them would go through that kind of pain to save a woman that was infamous for breaking the heart of their beloved leader.

  I was gratified to find a stash of jewels that I had missed on the first two runs, making my efforts worthwhile. I did a once over of the entire place, until I was satisfied that I had saved all that was salvageable.

  The druids were still in a panic when I came back outside. One was still on the phone, giving a blow by blow account of my ‘insane’ actions.’

  I ignored them all, loading my remaining possessions into Christian’s tiny car. I had parked it at the curb, instead of in the garage, one of the few clever things I’d done lately. I had salvaged so little that it all actually fit into the limited space. I shrugged into a skintight Hello Kitty T-shirt, and slipped on some tiny pink cheer shorts. They were my most embarrassing PJ’s, but they were better than running around naked. I knew I could find something more suitable at Christian’s retreat, where much of our things had been moved the day before. Someone had even been forward-thinking enough to move our cars out of our garage, and to some other property. I was glad that I was the only one who seemed to be a step behind lately.

  The druid on the phone waved at me rather frantically as I slipped into my car.

  “The Arch is on his way. You aren’t permitted to leave-“

  I laughed, peeling out. I got out of there like, well, like it was on fire.

  I had soundly lost my druid tail by the time I left the city.

  I arrived at the retreat bright and early. I seriously considered blaming the fire on one of our many enemies, but eventually decided against it. Needless to say, Lynn wasn’t thrilled with the news, though the loss of key pieces in her extensive wardrobe seemed to be her major concern.

  I crashed for a few hours, woke up, and ate. I quickly noticed that Christian’s retreat was missing a Christian. Lynn informed me that he’d gone back to his place for a few of his ‘toys’. It wasn’t long before I got dressed, taking off to join him. It was not a day where I could sit around, idle. I needed action.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Blood-Oath

/>   DAY 4

  I knocked on Christian’s door yet again, waited another minute, then used my key. This was becoming a habit. I was grumbling as I walked in the door. At least I didn’t see any hooker shoes in his entryway this time.

  “Honey, I’m home!” I shouted in the direction of his bedroom. “Time to work off your flab, Candy Ass!” I removed my shoes, carrying them to the gym. When I reached his pristine living room, I froze. My shoes dropped with a soft thunk onto the carpet

  Christian faced me, tied to a chair and gagged with a generous amount of silver duct tape. Six druids surrounded him, but I only had eyes for one of them. Dom lounged in a chair set beside Christian’s, his arm propped casually along the back of the other man’s chair in a deceptively relaxed pose. He eyed me coldly. I studied Christian. He seemed largely unhurt, with only a few bumps and bruises. So far.

  I held my hands up to show I wanted peace. I addressed Dom. “Please, let him go. Whatever you might think, you have no reason to quarrel with him.” Christian started trying to talk through his gag, making incoherent noises. I had a pretty good idea, though, that he was contesting the no reason to quarrel comment. One of the druids calmly punched him in the stomach, effectively winding him.

  I glared at them all. “How very brave. Six of you to take on one?” I was speaking to Dom, and he knew it. He fumed at me.

  “I’ll gladly fight him one on one. In fact, I can think of nothing I’d prefer more.”

  “Then fight me.” My temper was starting to surface. “I’m the one you want to lash out at. I’m the one that wronged you. All Christian ever did to piss you off was to associate with me, and be born male.”

  “Swear on your blood you’ve never fucked him.” Well, that shocked me. Of all the conversations I never thought I’d be having with my psycho Ex. His tone was chilling. I sooo did not want to go here, but lately, everything important seemed to be out of my control.

  I strode to him, holding out my bare arm. “Cut it,” I bit out. He pulled out a knife and cut me carefully. It was barely a nick. I knelt in front of him, ripping open his shirt and jacket. If he wanted to make a scene, I’d give him one. I pressed my wrist to his chest, over his heart. I glared into those exceptional eyes. “I’ve never fucked him. I swear it. Feel better?” My tone was sarcastic.

  He leaned back a little. “Not really. You’ve broken blood-oaths to me before. Why are you coming to his house dressed like that?” I was wearing my usual workout uniform of a black sports bra and bike shorts.

  “I came here to work out. This is how I dress when I work out. Will you let him go now?”

  “Actually, he’s been accused of attacking some druids. It happened yesterday, at the ren fair. Going by the description of his companions, I don’t think I have to tell you what their story is.”

  I groaned inwardly. “So that’s why you’re here?”

  “Not quite. The specific reason for my presence here involves some foreign royalty that I met with earlier today, and some interesting things I learned at that meeting. We had no other address connected to you. What luck that we coincided with your weekly appointment.” I wasn’t going to correct him that our appointments were usually at least four times a week, and that this hadn’t been one of them. Why fuel that fire?

  “What’s any of that got to do with me?” I asked him. His precise, disinterested tone was really starting to piss me off.

  “These royals were looking for something that matched a particular description. Two somethings, actually.” I got a sick feeling in my stomach, not wanting this subject to be going where I thought it was.

  “Can we speak about this privately?” I asked suddenly, not looking at Christian.

  Dom looked between me and Christian, a certain malice in his eyes that I was a stranger to. He smiled at me, and it was not a pleasant smile. “Is it be possible he doesn’t know?” he asked softly, adding a disturbing amount of relish to the question.

  “Please,” I begged him softly, willing him not to say another incriminating word.

  “Why would I listen to your plea?”

  “Is there something you want from me? Is that what you’re getting at?”

  His jaw clenched hard. “Many of the answers I wanted from you I found on my own this morning. What else could you give me?” He was being more of a bastard than I’d ever seen him. At least in regards to me. Even knowing he despised me, the thought of him showing no mercy towards me just wasn’t registering. And I’d thought I was far too old for naiveté.

  I glared at him. “I don’t know. I can’t pretend to know you that well anymore. For instance, you never used to insist on conducting personal business in front of your men. Is that one of the ways you get your kicks these days?”

  I could see the moment the nerve under his golden eye started to tick. “Don’t flatter yourself that this is personal,” he spoke menacingly, each word threatening me to contradict him.

  I swallowed, and took a deep breath. His gaze stayed mercilessly on my face. I just wasn’t sure how to get through to this new Dom. “I’ll answer any question you ask, if we can do this in private.”

  His cold gaze ran down my body insinuatingly. “Answers. Is that all you’re offering?”

  Man, I wanted to punch him. It took me a minute to stifle the urge. “Aren’t answers what you want? Is there something else that you’re asking for?”

  He took exception to the wording. “I ask for nothing.” His voice raised only slightly, but a chill ran down my spine at his obvious rage. The other druids bowed their heads low as they felt the punch of his power.

  I spread my hands in defeat. “Fine. You want nothing. This isn’t personal. If you couldn’t care less about any of this, why are you here?”

  His right hand shot out, gripping my neck lightly. His hands were large enough, his fingers long enough, that he could span a great deal of it with just the one hand. “You tread too carelessly here, Jillian,” he rasped. “Don’t presume to know me after all these years. You far overestimate my care for your welfare.” It occurred to me suddenly what he was doing. Was this all just a matter of his pride? I supposed that the only way to find out was to test him. Fuck his pride.

  I pressed my neck harder into his hand. “Are you rescinding your protection of me, then? Am I fair game now, to all of the druids that hate me? Just say the word and they’ll have me taken care of within a month. A year maybe, if I run fast enough. Is that what you came here to tell me?” I threw my trump card at the bastard with no expression on my face.

  He shut his eyes tightly, and I knew I’d won. He turned his rage-filled eyes on the men who’d stood silently and watched our tableau. “I do not rescind protection. If anyone touches her, I’ll make them pay, and pay dearly. Leave us!” His voice built into a roar at the end.

  When we were alone, he moved his snarling face against mine, until we were nose to nose. “I met with the dragons this morning, as I can see you’ve guessed. They’ve proposed to ally with us, to lend their support to our numbers. They would be a formidable weapon to add to our army. They had only a few, peculiar requests. If those requests aren’t met, they’ve sworn to go actively rogue.”

  A knot formed in my throat, despair trying to choke me. “What were the requests?” I asked, though I had a good idea already. My mind began to work furiously. If he took me into custody, I had to find a way to warn Lynn. She could still get away.

  He pushed away from me, beginning to pace. “Both requests are deal-breakers for them. We must agree categorically, or find ourselves at odds with their wishes. We adjourned the meeting long enough for me to deliberate with the council. I give them my answer first thing in the morning.”

  “What were the requests?” I asked again.

  “The first is that we help them retrieve two of their own. Apparently two of their daughters left the clan a long time ago. One was a prisoner, the other a runaway who helped her escape. Both brought grave dishonor to the dragons. They have been named heretic, an appare
ntly grave charge to the draak. They are to face the justice of their people. They will show no mercy.”

  My body was shaking, but I was proud my voice came out steady. “What was the other request?”

  “The other request was not so unexpected. As you know very well, the dragonslayers have long been on our rosters. They have, for the most part, been abiding by our laws for centuries. The draak request that they be named rogue and given into the dragon’s custody. Understandably, there’s some animosity between those two enemies.”

  It shed a whole new light on Dom’s interest in Christian’s involvement in our skirmish at the fair. It could be named a rogue act, and help to justify the changing of alliances.

  I was silent for awhile, eyes clenched tightly shut. Me and Christian were caught. But Lynn still had a chance to get cleanly away. I needed to get to a phone. “So that’s why you came here? To take us both into custody?” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The Element of Fire

  He was suddenly back in my face, angrier than ever. “Is that the only logical conclusion to you?” His wolf eye had succumbed to the beastcall, but his blue eye was shining with emotion, and his gravelly voice was all human. All pain. “No, actually, that is far from the reason I came here. I came here to tell you that I know what you are now, and that I didn’t have to learn this way. I’m going to refuse their offer tomorrow. We would never turn on our allies. And we hardly make a habit of handing over innocent women to the grisly justice of any clan. There was never a time that the druids would have considered accepting such a treaty. Not fifty years ago. Not even seven. I came here because I wanted you to know that. You killed anything we had when you betrayed me, and broke your oath. There’s no going back from that. But I wanted you to know that you-“ he swallowed hard, visibly trying to calm himself, “you were an idiot if you thought I wouldn’t have protected you.”