Brushing himself off, he peered up the shaft into the night sky. Elizabeth’s skylight wasn’t as deep as his. The moon seemed a bit closer seen through this shaft, and it didn’t take quite as long for the night air to filter down into the room. Fresh night breeze washed away the still stale air in the bedroom.
Elizabeth’s room was exactly the same as the day he carried dead body out, with the exception of layers upon layers of dust and hanging cobwebs. “I really have my work cut out for me,” he grumbled to himself. He walked to the table in the corner where Elizabeth had left the dress she was sewing that night. Picking it up, the fabric crumbled and sent a cloud of dust billowing across the room. Rillan choked on the air, but continued his task with determination.
Chills ran down Mira’s back. A screeching metallic noise rang out down the hall, waking her. Sitting bolt upright in bed, her mind raced. She wasn’t sure where she was or how she had gotten there. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the dim light dancing around the room from the fireplace. As the details of her room came into focus Mira, remembered with eerie clarity the last thing she did before falling asleep. Or perhaps I should say passing out, she thought.
“Rillan,” she called into the darkness. There was no answer. “I wonder how long I was out this time.” She could smell stew simmering in the kettle in the fireplace and there was a full pitcher of water and a cup on the stand next to her bed.
Mira sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Picking up her dressing gown from the foot of the bed she pulled it onto her naked body and slid off the edge of the bed. The frigid stone floor sent chills through her, and she quickly found her slippers. Memories of the first time she woke up after his feeding rushed into her mind. It surprised her to find that she didn’t feel too badly at all this time. She began moving about the room lighting candles. She ladled some stew into a bowl and placed it on the table, before going to get some bread, cheese, and a bottle of wine from the storeroom.
Mira couldn’t decide if she was disappointed or relieved that she didn’t wake up in his bed. Her body tingled with the memory of what happened before she fell asleep. A smile crept across her lips, with the thought.
After she ate, Mira warmed herself a bath and went about trying to get back into her routine. However, she found that her mind continually drifted back to the night in Rillan’s bed. She considered going to him again, but embarrassment held her back. Eventually, she wandered down to the study with all the books; half hoping she would run into him. But the halls were silent.
When she returned to her room, she took her silver whistle and sat down on her bed. After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to distract herself from the insistent tingle between her legs, Mira set the whistle aside. Nervously she scanned the shadows for any hint of movement that might reveal Rillan watching her.
When she was relatively satisfied that she was alone, Mira laid down on her bed. Hesitantly, she pulled her skirt up her body. She briefly considered how embarrassing it would be if Rillan caught her, as she slid her hand beneath her undergarments. A soft moan escaped her lips, when Mira’s fingers slipped across her mound and into her wet heat. Slowly she began stroking her clit, running her fingers in long satisfying caresses. Closing her eyes, she pictured Rillan sitting between her spread legs, his fingers exploring her pussy. Mira bit her lip and tried to hold back the whimper, as her body began to shake.
Mira lay there after the waves of pleasure calmed. It would have been a lot more intense if Rillan had done it, she thought, with some disappointment.
* * * *
“Liam, you’re insane,” his brother whispered in the darkness.
“It’s not like anyone can hear you,” Liam snapped. “Why do you insist on whispering?” He held the lantern higher and light reached farther down the tunnel fighting back the black.
“No one at the village may hear,” Gavin insisted, “but who knows what else might hear.” He held the pickaxe in his hands as if it were a weapon.
Liam shook his head. “Stop that. The tombs don’t connect to the vampire’s tunnels.”
“Sure that’s what they tell us. Liam… Is she worth this? She doesn’t even know how you feel about her. There are so many other girls in the village.”
Liam didn’t answer his brother. Yes, she’s worth it, he thought. “What does it matter? Now that Tiberius knows about the vampire, chances are that Rillan ap Tiernay won’t be returning from his latest mission. They’ll leave Mira in there to die, waiting for him to come back.”
“Just because the rumors say that some traitor told Tiberius how to kill Tiernay, doesn’t mean it will actually happen. I have a hard time believing that it could live this long and be that easily dealt with. I don’t care how good they think Tiberius is.” Gavin’s voice took on a solid confidence now that they were having a real conversation. The darkness seemed less oppressive as long as he kept what they were doing off his mind. “Besides, don’t you think mother has been through enough?”
“What’s that supposed to mean,” Liam scowled at the mention of their mother.
“Liam,” Gavin said seriously, forcing his brother to look at him. “Father only died recently. Mother has been through enough. The last thing she needs right now is for the entire village to be talking about the insanity of the sons of Arnauk. Digging in the tombs to try and reach the vampire caves. If we get caught it would kill her. And I don’t want to deal with our sister either. Helen would be almost worse than mother.”
Turning away from his brother and ignoring Gavin’s arguments, Liam tried to force himself not to think about the consequences of his actions. “Let’s try down here,” Liam said, pointing toward a dead end at the end of the tunnel.
Gavin sighed heavily and followed, knowing that there was no dissuading Liam this time. The sight of corpses lying in niches around the alcove stopped Gavin. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. Liam, this is wrong. If you have to do this, there has got to be another way.”
Liam strode with purpose toward the back wall. Three bodies wrapped ceremoniously lay on stone beds carved into the wall. Runes decorated each shelf. “You tell me what the other way is, and I’ll gladly change the plan.” He carefully reached through the ages of dust and cobwebs, picked up the body, and reverently placed it with one of the other corpses on the opposite wall. “Until you come up with that plan though, could you give me a hand?”
Swearing under his breath, begging the Fates’ forgiveness for himself and his brother, Gavin helped Liam move the bodies. Without a word, the two men took up position in front of the stone wall, lifted their pickaxes over their heads, and began chiseling away at the wall.
As the stone began to pile at their feet, Gavin turned toward Liam. “How do you even know you’ll be able to find a way into the vampire’s tunnels this way? What if we’re destroying the tombs for nothing?”
Liam swung his axe with determination. “I’m getting her out of there Gavin. That’s it.”
* * * *
Cleaning Elizabeth’s rooms took Rillan far more time than he first expected. Every night that week, he returned to his own rooms and turned his bath water black with dust.
He stood in the middle of the main room, examining his handy work. There wasn’t a trace of dust, the rusted latch on the shaft cover had been replaced, he brought in new blankets, took all of the things that had been Elizabeth’s to a storage room down the hall, he filled the store room with fresh food, and brought in wood for the fireplace.
Rillan propped the shaft open to allow fresh air to circulate through the chambers, and he left. Striding down the hall, pleased with himself, Rillan decided that he earned some sword practice. It had been a while since Rillan swung his sword. Over the past month, he was either not in the mood or busy with something else.
Lighting the candles in his practice room, Rillan shed his clothing down to his breeches, and selected a well used sword from a rack on the wall. Swinging it back and forth, loosening the muscles in his arms, and
rolling his head along his shoulders, Rillan approached the armored dummy. Shortly, the sound of clashing metal on metal rang out down the hallway.
Book in hand, Mira walked down the hall toward the study. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to read next. There was that book of stories about dead leaders or that book about the creation of the sun. She paused and looked around. Or maybe one of the history books on the top shelf. I wonder if he would notice if I borrowed those. I wonder if he would care. After all, I’m down here with him and not going anywhere. The elders would never know.
Mira was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of metal striking metal. A smile crept across her face. Without thinking, she passed up the door to the study and continued to the end of the hall and the large wooden double doors.
Mira could see the light emanating from cracks around the door. She pushed the door open, and light spilled out into the hallway. Standing in the doorway, Mira watched Rillan sparring with the armor clad dummy.
Rillan only barely registered that the door swung open, but he rarely missed a change in his environment. That type of observation had long since become second nature to him. Continuing to batter the dummy, he waited to see if she would approach, a smile on his face.
Mira contemplated what excuse she was going to use for seeking him out and interrupting him while he was practicing. Just as she was turning to disappear back down the hallway, he called out to her.
“You came all this way, Mira, presumably looking for me. Is there a reason you’ve changed your mind about whatever it was?”
“Shouldn’t you be at least a little out of breath after all of that,” Mira asked timidly, trying to change the subject.
His warm smile virtually pulled her into the room. “I don’t tend to get out of breath.”
Mira walked up to him, her mind grasping for a good excuse. Why didn’t I think of this before? I’m going to look like a complete fool. “Uh, I was wondering if the rugs in my rooms would be replaced,” she sputtered, in what she believed to be a sudden stroke of genius.
Rillan stared into her eyes. He knew she was hiding something, but he couldn’t figure out what she could possibly be trying to keep from him.
“Actually, I intended to talk to you about that.” Rillan leaned his sword against the dummy and picked up his shirt from the arm of the chair. “Come with me.” He started walking toward the door pulling the white shirt over his head.
Mira felt her heart begin to race. She hated that he was putting on a shirt. “Where are we going?” Rillan didn’t answer her. He looked back at her over his shoulder in the darkness. Mira couldn’t see the excited glint in his eye, but it was obvious that he was pleased with whatever he was doing. They approached a door which Mira only vaguely remembered being there.
Rillan stopped outside the door with his hand on the latch. “I asked you how badly you wanted to see outside, and you never answered me.”
Confusion surged through her. She looked at the door he was standing in front of. The implication was pretty clear that behind the door there was something to do with outside. He didn’t sound as if he was angry or annoyed with her. “I know. I don’t really know how to answer that.”
“I have a gift for you.”
Mira’s heart pounded relentlessly against her ribcage. “I don’t understand.”
Rillan smiled in the darkness. “You will.” He lifted the latch and pushed the door open. He held it aside for Mira to go in.
Cautiously she stepped past him and walked down the short hall to the bedroom at the end. The open shaft immediately drew her attention. Fresh air pouring into the room drew her closer. Standing beneath the open shaft, she stared up into a starry night sky.
“If you move the bed to the right spot, you should be able to see the sky as you’re falling asleep.”
Mira turned to look at him, tears in her eyes, afraid to say anything.
“You don’t have to move into this room. There is no music room, or any of the other rooms that your current quarters have. Originally, I never expected companions to remain in their rooms all the time. That situation developed over the years. This room is more like mine: the bedroom, a bathing room, and a small storage room. In the beginning, the rooms that you’re currently living in were meant to be a separate area to go to for entertainment. The room that is your bedroom used to be a library.” When Mira still didn’t respond, Rillan became concerned and added, “Like I said, you don’t have to move into this room. I thought you might like it better.”
“I do,” Mira finally said, a catch in her voice. She walked haltingly toward him and without hesitation wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face against his shoulder and began crying into his shirt.
“I hope those are good tears,” Rillan said with concern, stroking her hair gently.
“Very good tears,” she sobbed.
Rillan loved the feel of her warmth against his cold body. He held her, while she tried to get control of herself. When Mira finally looked up, Rillan cupped the side of her face with his hand and wiped a tear away from her cheek with is thumb. She’s even beautiful through tears.
At first Rillan didn’t understand the intensity in her deep brown eyes. Nothing ever shocked him as much as the kiss Mira placed on his lips. Momentarily stunned, Rillan stood there motionless, letting her kiss him. When it eventually sunk in what was happening, Rillan swept Mira up into his arms and carried her to the bed. The kissing grew more passionate, as he pulled her skirt up to her waist and worked his hand beneath all the material.
Mira let out an appreciative hiss, when his fingers delved between her legs. Driven on by Mira’s obvious desire for him to make love to her, Rillan took hold of her skirt and ripped the waist band. He pulled it from her body, leaving her completely naked from the waist down. Watching her flushed expression for any sign of reluctance, Rillan untied his breeches and pushed them down his thighs, moving forward between her legs.
Dark blue eyes gazed wantonly into brown, and Rillan pushed his cock into her without pause. Mira grabbed the white material of his shirt in her fists, struggling to pull it over his head and off his body. She threw the shirt to the floor beside the bed and ran her hands over his chest. Hands on the bed to either side of her, Rillan braced himself over Mira, thrusting into her over and over again. He listened with pleasure to the whimpers and moans pouring from her lips. He was amazed. One thought blazed through his mind. She started this.
Mira trembled. Her small hands squeezed his shoulders, and her face contorted into a mixture of pain and pleasure, as she came. Seeing her give in to the torrent of passion was more than he could take. Rillan’s body tensed, his hands clenched the blankets, and he growled his release. His arms nearly collapsed under him. With some effort, he fell to the bed next to Mira. Waves of sensation pulsed through his body. Mira rolled to her side, laid her head on his shoulder, and sighed her satisfaction, as they lay together, recovering.
“I don’t believe I’ve felt anything like that since I died,” he said under his breath, too softly for Mira to hear. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. “If I had known that this would be my ‘thank you’ I would have cleaned this room up for you long ago,” he teased.
“I didn’t realize how much I wanted something like this,” she said.
Rillan smiled wondering if she meant the sex or the view of the sky. “I’ll do my best to make you happy while you’re here,” he said seriously.
“You truly make no sense.” Mira propped herself up on his chest so that she could look down into his eyes.
“Maybe someday I’ll explain why. For now, take me as I am.” Rillan considered how happily he brought her to this room. I guess it’s time to let Elizabeth go. Perhaps she had something to do with bringing you to me, he mused, staring into her sparkling brown eyes.
Mira leaned down and kissed him again. Slowly they removed the rest of their clothing, worked their way beneath the blankets, and spent the rest of the night toge
ther.
Chapter 7
A gentle breeze sighed, sweeping through the branches of the trees surrounding the clearing. Rillan never could decide if the empty clearing late at night was peaceful or ominous. He waited in the shadows of the cave mouth, until he was positive no one was watching. Slinking through the shadows, he made his way to the stone basin where letters were left for him. Cold acceptance was all he felt, when he saw the parchment, gleaming white, reflecting moonlight in the darkness.
I knew it would happen, he told himself. The past few months have been more dream than reality anyway. He didn’t know if the annoyance he felt was with himself or with the druids. Without looking at it, he pocketed the letter and gathered the supplies. Arms full of bags of food, he trudged through the caves. Normally he would take the food into Mira’s store room, but he didn’t want to face her yet. Dumping the supplies in a storage room off the main hallway, Rillan headed for his own rooms.
A sweet cheerful melody called to him, as he passed the door to Mira’s room. She played for him often lately. Usually the sound reached into him, drawing a long absent smile from his lips. Now it only served to remind him that this happiness was fleeting. He closed the main door to his rooms behind himself. Upon reaching his bedroom, Rillan grudgingly pulled the letter from his pocket. Sitting down in a large chair next to the fireplace, he held the letter in his hand, staring at it.
A long moment passed while he contemplated the ramifications of not taking the assignment. In all the years I’ve done this, no woman has ever affected me to this extent. Rillan growled at himself. This is my job. He turned the letter over with intent. A red wax seal held the letter closed. He barely glanced at it, as he broke the seal and opened the folded parchment.
Mira Page 10
