Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (14 page)

“I haven’t reached my time,” Eden whispered.
Flourdan females lived for as long as three hundred
years, but they were only fertile every five years.
She had a feeling that the Asstrumnians had an even longer lifespan, but she knew nothing about alien hybrid reproduction.

The creature released Eden, but continued to watch her.
“You will breed hybrids when your time comes.”
The winged hybrid stared at Jules intently.
“Your females are not safe on this treacherous road.
Your group is not well defended.
You will lose one of your women; it is the toll you will pay for traveling this road.”

“That sounds like a threat.
You must realize that taking action against Flourdans would be an act of war,” Jules said.

“You will pay the toll or you will all die.
Think hard before you make that choice.”

“I will pay the toll,” Jules said.
“
Take me instead and
leave the women alone.”

The creature shook its head.
“The toll is paid with female flesh only.
Your males are worthless to us.
Decide on your sacrifice.”
The winged hybrid suddenly flew up into the air.

Jules shook his head.
“We cannot sacrifice one of our females.”

Eden
watched as the beasts circled the sky above
her
.
If they turned back toward Eros, they could be attacked by the winged hybrids before they reached the gates.
They
were further from Flourda.
They were pretty much defenseless; an army of only fifty poorly armed eunuchs would be ineffective against an army of gigantic winged hybrids that could decapitate a human head from its body in seconds.

“Why do they insist on females?” Julia asked.

“That thing said that males were worthless to them.
It talked of breeding,” Audrelia said.
She looked at Eden in horror.
“That thing said that you would breed hybrids!
Why would it say that?
It intends to take you for breeding purposes.”

Eden wasn’t so sure that she had been selected to pay the toll.
It had commented on the mark on her throat,
now invisible to the naked eye.
It knew that she could breed hybrids, as
she
knew that not all humans could do that.
“I don’t know.
Maybe there is no toll payment.
It could be an empty threat to prevent humans from traveling to Rome again.”

“How did that thing know I had borne a child?” Julia asked.

Audrelia’s face showed her alarm.
“It somehow
knew of
my
past history with the Romans.
It also claimed it could smell Portia’s virginity.
I don’t understand how it could know such things.
Some of the things it said were strangely accurate, but not all of it.
What it said about Eden was complete nonsense.”

Eden remembered what it had said about her, that she had known a different seed entirely.
It wasn’t nonsense, but she still wasn’t ready to talk about those weeks when she had been
missing from
Avenal.
None of them had been able to come up with a plan of dealing with the winged hybrids, despite their attempts to find a solution.
Eventually, they had to continue onward, as it was starting to get dark.
They rode for two hours and then made camp for the night.

The next morning, they mounted their horses and rode at a fast pace.
The winged creatures were no longer flying overhead; they appeared to have gone.
They rode for six hours with no sign of the creatures.
They started to relax, thinking that they
would not be expected to pay a toll after all.
They were wrong.

***

Eden was the first one to hear the sounds of attack.
She recognized the laser guns that only the alien hybrids possessed; she remembered the sounds they made and she had seen the damage wrought.
She pulled her horse to a stop and scanned the trees.
She saw them a few minutes later as the hybrids quickly surrounded them.
They wore armor that was more advanced than any armor ever seen in the
ir
world.
It appeared lightweight and fit snug on the body, yet she didn’t doubt that it was superior to anything used in Flourda.
They wore helmets that concealed their faces.
Many of the eunuchs attacked the hybrids and were turned to ash by the laser guns.
She held her hands in surrender and she urged her companions to do the same.
They were defenseless against modern weapons.
She wondered why the hybrids had come.
Were they here because of the winged hybrids and the toll payment, or had Drest managed to find her?
She hoped that they had come for her.
Her lover must be looking for her; he must surely miss her as much as she missed him.
She scanned the hybrids, wondering if Drest was with them.
She did not think he was present.

One of the hybrids approached and removed his helmet.
“We have come for one of your females.
We
will take the one we want and the rest of you will be free to go home.”
He surveyed the group of females and he paid particular attention to Portia Fairley.

Eden dismounted from her horse.
“You want to take me.
I’m the one you want.”

The hybrid walked toward her and studied her carefully.
“No.”

She
was confused.
Surely they were here for her.
She grabbed him by his armored tunic.
“You have to take me with you.”

He looked at her
as if she had lost all of her senses
.
He
shook her away from him and walked to Portia, where she was trembling in terror atop her horse.
He placed his arms around
Portia and
wrenched
her
from
the
horse.
She screamed and fainted in the hybrid’s arms.
“This is the one who has not known a man.
We will take her.”
He hefted her across his shoulders
and he deposited her in the arms of another hybrid.

Eden rushed over to
the hybrid
who appeared to be the leader
.
“You must take me with you.
You must take me.”
When he continued to ignore her, she pulled the top of her tunic down, exposing
the
soft creamy skin at the top of her breasts
.

“That’s quite convincing.”
The hybrid grabbed her with both arms and held her tight.
“We take them both.”
Within seconds, all of the
hybrids had transported to Asstrumnia.

The hybrid leader pulled off his helmet and peered at her curiously.
Eden didn’t recognize the hybrid
who
held her.
He was a large muscular brute with black hair and dark green eyes.
She recognized the building as being part of the Donovan stronghold, which provided her an overwhelming sense of relief.
She knew the odds of being taken directly to Ravenwood were not that great, as Asstrumnia was vast and held numerous kingdoms.
She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face as she thought of being reunited with her lover.

CHAPTER
TEN

Belenos Donovan, brother of the
King
, was taken by surprise when the human female gave him
a hug
as if he was a teddy bear
.
“Thank you so much
,” she said.
“
What shall I call you?”

Belenos
couldn’t understand why this human
had wanted to be taken.
She was attractive enough, although a bit dusty and disheveled from the road.
She was young, but she had not been the untouched maiden that he had been told to take.
Now that he had abducted her, the daft woman appeared happy about it.
“You may call me
M
aster.”
He glanced at his companion, Cantorix Ward, to ensure
that he still held the virginal female.
The younger one had fainted earlier, but she was now very animated and was screaming hysterically.
“
Cantorix, c
alm the female and ensure she does not move.”

Cantorix stared intently into the younger female’s eyes and telepathically compelled her to remain utterly still and quiet.
Satisfied by her compliance, he walked away from her and approached Belenos.
“Why did you bring that one here?”

“She begged to be taken,” Belenos said.
“Perhaps she is a criminal and she thinks she will fare better here.”

“I am not a criminal!” Eden said.
“I came for Drest Kavanaugh.
Take
me to him at once.”
She stiffened as the two hybrids laughed at her.

Belenos looked at her incredulously.
“What do you want with Drest?
How do you even know him?”

Eden thought it should be obvious to them and she didn’t know why they were laughing at her.
“Drest is my lover.”
She narrowed her eyes at them as they continued to laugh at her.
She couldn’t comprehend why they were having so much trouble digesting this information.
“Just take me to him already.”

“You couldn’t be his lover,” Belenos said.
“You’re Flourdan and he is Asstrumnian.
Besides, Drest
doesn’t have a female and he is the last person who would ke
ep a pelt.”

She was getting agitated and impatient.
“
My name is Lady Eden Avenal, sister to the Countess Nefertiti Avenal.
Find Drest and he will tell you that he knows me quite well.
He will not appreciate this delay, either.”
She felt relieved when Belenos told Cantorix to fetch Drest, as she knew that
he
would resolve the matter quickly.

Belenos eyed her with much skepticism.
“
Exactly h
ow
did
Drest
come to know you
?”

“We met at Avenal
.
I thought he was Flourdan at first and he said that his name was Lord Woodcock.
He took me from Avenal and brought me
here, to this very room.
He gave me his mark and took me to his lodge.”

“I don’t believe you.
He’
s not the type of male that would abduct an innocent and he’s never kept a female at his lodge.
I can’t see him marking a female captive, either.
Just where do you claim he marked you?”

Eden touched the area on her throat with her finger.
“The mark has nearly faded.”
She tensed as
Belenos examined her throat and neck areas.
She knew that h
er skin was
too
smooth and
she feared it would appear
free of any marks or blemishes.

“I see no mark.
If he was really your lover, the mark would not have faded so soon.
You should tell me the
truth, woman.
In minutes, Drest will be here and your lies will be exposed.”
Belenos
watched her and waited to see if she would confess to any misdeeds, but
Eden
remained silent.
A few minutes later,
another male
walked inside the room and
immediately took notice of the two females.

Bran, the brother of Belenos, leered at the females.
“Did you actually bring back two virgins or is one of them here for sport?”

Belenos gestured toward the younger female.
“Take the
sacrificial
virgin while she is still entranced and show her to her quarters.”

“And the other?”

Belenos frowned.
“We have yet to determine what to do with this one.”

Bran smiled
and shot her a look of hunger
.
“I have some ideas for that one.
I’ll be back shortly.”
He left with the virginal maiden,
stored her in the assigned location, and returned a few minutes later.
Belenos
repeated
the information
that Eden had already relayed to him, including her claim of being marked.
Bran raised an eyebrow in surprise
.