Everlasting Enchantment (10 page)

Gareth raked his hand through his hair and followed.

The ladybird sat on a velvet couch, her brilliant hair a vibrant clash against the burgundy upholstery. Selena stood over her, the black sleeves of her gown seeming as if they would surround the smaller woman and swoop her up at any moment, bringing the thin, wrinkled neck up to those pointed teeth to be feasted upon. Millicent made a low sound in her throat, but this time Gareth moved faster, brushing the were-vamp aside.

He went down to his knee. “Are you well, my lady?”

Nell honored him with a gap-toothed smile. “I ain’t got enough blood in these old veins to slake
her
thirst. She don’t scare me none.”

The two guards who accompanied Selena had moved forward, but she waved them back. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, old woman. I imagine the blood of a firebird would be hot enough to make it worth the effort.”

Millicent’s were-form shadowed her for a moment, elongated teeth and sharp claws. “It would be the last thing you ever did, bloodsucker.”

Those glossy black eyes narrowed. “If my master did not forbid it, I would enjoy pitting my beast against yours, alley cat. It is my fondest desire to watch the life fade from your yellow eyes as I slowly suck you dry.”

“Aw, gawd, stow it,” snapped Nell, as if chastening squabbling children, rather than two dread beasts. “I’m hungry.”

Gareth smiled and held out his arm, and the old woman took it, rising to her feet with a grunt and a few groans. She turned to Selena. “Didn’t ye say we was invited to dinner?”

“Not you. Just the two of them.”

Millicent shook her head, tendrils of black falling from her coiffure. “I don’t go anywhere without Nell. I don’t trust that she’ll be here when I return.”

Selena shrugged. “Suit yourself. If you want to annoy His Grace, that’s fine with me. Do it often enough, and perhaps he’ll give me leave to drain you.”

Before they could start a renewed bout of threats, Gareth stepped forward and held out his other arm to Millicent, but before she could react, Selena insinuated herself beneath it. “Don’t look so surprised, Sir Knight. I know you would never hurt me… unless I wanted it that way, of course. Millicent may not know what she’s missing, but I do.”

And the vamp had the temerity to bat her eyelashes at him.

So they walked through the twisted passageways of the back of the castle, until they entered the more sculpted ones of the front, Nell and Selena at his side, Millicent slinking behind them. The guards kept their eyes on her. Gareth hid a grin, glad that they underestimated him. His code of chivalry did not extend to armed men. And Selena made him wish it did not extend to deadly women.

They entered a dining room so lavishly appointed it looked ridiculous. Macabre paintings of ogres feasting on human remains decorated the walls, ornate gilt frames encasing each portrait. Gold etched the walls and ceiling trim, which had been so heavily applied one could barely see the black silk behind it. An enormous fireplace skulked at the end of the room, the mantel and sides sculpted as an open mouth, with twin mirrors mimicking eyes above it. Heavy crystal and candelabra ornamented the table, winking bloody red in the firelight, completely overshadowing the warm light of the candles.

A feast had already been laid out on the black lace linen. An entire pig, with some sort of vegetable in its mouth carved to look like a heart. A steaming peacock with feathers still displayed in an open fan around it. A haunch of beef dripping red juices, bowls of grapes and apples and pears, towers of pasties and sweetmeats, decanters of sparkling wine and brown ale.

Despite the vulgar display, the aroma made Gareth’s mouth water.

Nell’s stomach growled.

“You have joined me at last!” The duke sat at the head of the table, his white gloves cast aside near his plate, his fingers and fleshy lips greasy from the leg of some fowl. He waved the meaty bone at Millicent. “Sit down next to me, my dear. I’m anxious to hear of your adventures over the last few days. Yes, Sir Gareth, please seat yourself at her side. No, dear Nell, sit here on my right, next to Selena. There, now. We are all gathered quite cozily, are we not?” And he dipped his meat into a silver bowl of gravy and continued his gluttony.

Gareth shared a glance with Millicent, shrugged, and began to help himself to the platters of food. He supposed the duke would reveal his purpose for this meeting in due time, and he knew Millicent had to be as hungry as Nell. He indulged for her sake, for she seemed as determined to ignore the food as Selena did.

The were-vamp condescended to sip at her wine when Millicent started to eat, and so for a time, nothing could be heard but the crackle of the fire, the duke’s rather loud eating habits, and the clatter of silver and crystal.

Ghoulston finally sat back and belched. He eyed Millicent’s plate. “Was the meat bloody enough for you, my dear?”

Millicent raised a raven brow at him.

“And the wine? How did you enjoy the vintage? It’s made from a special blend of grapes magically enhanced by a group of nuns who believe their God gave them the power to make it taste like a bit of heaven.”

She set down her silver fork. “What do you want?”

His dark eyes sparkled merrily, and Gareth fought down a trickle of sadness. Evil men, evil doings. He had seen too much of it.

“Why, my dear, I want nothing more than for you to sleep with the good knight and give me my relic. Have you managed to spread your legs for him?”

Millicent flushed, and Gareth gritted his teeth, his hand inching toward his sword. It bothered him that the guards had not taken it from him. Several of the men stood at both entrances of the room, and they did not even flicker a lash at him. Did they truly underestimate him, or did they think his sword such a paltry threat to the duke’s magic?

What sort of instructions had the duke given his minions for this eve?

Gareth placed both his hands back on the table. It would be better for Millicent if she just gave the relic to the duke. Then she and Nell would be free…

Millicent turned her head—ostensibly to take a sip of her wine, but threw Gareth a warning look before turning back to the duke. “If I thought it might make a difference, it might be worth giving up my virginity to give you the relic. But I rather doubt it will. Come, Your Grace, admit the true reason for this meeting. I suspect something rather significant has occurred during our absence.”

“Perceptive girl,” said the duke, leaning back in his chair. A footman hurried forward with a finger bowl and towel, and Gareth studied the servant’s face. As with most of the humans in the duke’s employ, the man did not look quite right, somehow. The nose appeared broken, or disjointed, the eyes slightly skewed, the mouth twisted at an unnatural angle.

The Duke of Ghoulston experimented with magic in dangerous ways.

“I have a favor to ask of Sir Knight.”

Gareth turned his attention back to the duke and tried to look mildly interested.

Millicent frowned. “Gareth? But he has already told you he has no magic. And little control over the relic.”

Gareth narrowed his eyes at the duke. “
I
find it puzzling as to why you think I might do you a favor… other than cutting your throat, that is.”

Nell hooted, sloshing the wine in her cup. Selena gave the firebird a disdainful look.

The congenial smile that the Duke of Ghoulston had adopted all evening suddenly faded. “I rather thought you wouldn’t. Not until I hold the relic and exercise some power over you.”

Gareth shrugged. The man had it all wrong. Possession of the relic would not change anything. For all of his arrogance about his scientific studies, the man appeared to know little about powerful magic. “Then why mention it?”

“Because I believe you will be begging to grant me this favor once you know…”

The absurd man let his words trail off into silence. Selena leaned forward in her chair, her mahogany hair gleaming in the lamplight, her delicate features taut with anticipation. Nell’s hand shook, and she sloshed more wine onto the tablecloth, a red glow appearing in the depths of her violet eyes. Gareth could feel Millicent tense, could sense her were-cat coiled like a spring within her, ready to erupt.

The guards at the door blinked, glancing around the room at the sudden change in the atmosphere.

Gareth sighed. “All right. I’ll bite. Once I know what?”

But the duke turned his attention away from him and directed it at Millicent. “Did you enjoy the wine, my dear? You never did say.”

Millicent stared at the goblet in her hand, and carefully set it back on the table. “What’s in it?”

“Ah, did I not just mention how perceptive you are?” He laughed, his jowls bouncing. “The nuns say it will bring you closer to heaven—if you’re deserving, that is. Somehow, I doubt you will wind up in the clouds, my dear. But do not worry. I hear hell is much more interesting, anyway.”

A cold feeling rose in Gareth’s chest, and it took him a moment to recognize it. He had learned to control fear long ago. But the threat was to Millicent, whom he loved more than freedom, more than life itself. “If she dies, so do you.”

The duke fingered his cravat. “Perhaps. It is a risk I am willing to take, for the hour of your departure draws near, Sir Knight. Or have you not noticed the time?”

All eyes turned to the ornate clock on the mantel, but Gareth could not tell the position of the hands from this distance.

“With the antidote, Millicent will experience the joy of heaven, but without it, she will suffer a truly agonizing death. In a few minutes you will fade back into the relic, while Millicent’s muscles twist and tighten until she screams for mercy. By the time you appear again, it will be over. Does your consciousness stay aware while you are trapped in the relic, Sir Gareth? How many hours will you spend thinking of her pain? Thinking of her slow death?”

Selena grinned. “Oh, how delicious.”

“I thought you might appreciate it, my dear.”

Gareth felt the blood drain from his face, and for a moment, he could not breathe.

Millicent shook her head. “I’m afraid you have miscalculated, Your Grace.”

“I think not. If you die, I get the relic off your wrist. If you don’t, it will be because Sir Gareth granted my favor.”

She pushed her chair away from the table, arranged the folds of her skirt. “You are trying to blackmail Sir Gareth by using me as leverage, in the same way you used Nell to manipulate me. But I am afraid that in order for your plan to work, the knight must care for me. And he does not. He will no more grant your boon than I will bed him, and when he emerges from the relic once again, he will kill you. Your magic is no match for the power of a relic.”

The duke no longer looked so self-assured. He now tore at his cravat. He could not be sure if Millicent was bluffing or not.

Gareth admired her tenacity, but the stakes were too high. He stood, ignoring her hand on his arm, her hiss of warning. There was no way on God’s good earth he would allow Millicent to die. “What is this favor you would ask?”

The heavy man looked up at him with something akin to relief. “It is nothing as bad as all that. I only need…” He glanced at Selena. “A cup of your blood.”

Gareth’s brow rose in surprise. “An odd request, sir. Why not just have your men hold me down and take it from me?”

“Let’s just say, I feared it might get tainted. And I need it pure.”

“Indeed? And why—”

Millicent lurched forward, and Gareth bent down and caught her in his arms. A light sheen of sweat covered her brow, and a low moan escaped from her clenched teeth. “Don’t give him what he wants,” she gasped. “No good will come of it.”

“Do you truly think I would allow you to die?”

She groaned, hunching so far over that he guided her to the floor, kneeling next to her puddle of golden skirts, his hands on her shoulders the only thing holding her upright.

“It’s better than what the duke has planned, I’m sure.” Millicent sucked in a breath. “Don’t let him manipulate you, Gar—” The rest of her words turned into a scream as her body twisted, flinging her backward against the marble floor, only Gareth’s hands cushioning her head from the stone.

“Nell!”

But the old woman already knelt at his side, her red hair appearing to ripple like fire. He nodded, and she cradled Millicent’s head to her thin chest, stroking the rest of the twists out of the coiffure Gareth had so artfully arranged, while Millicent continued to scream. And scream.

The duke raised his voice. “It seems I did not misjudge the knight’s honor, were-cat. Of course he must rescue a damsel in distress, whether he cares for her or not. Perhaps you cannot understand it, but a gentleman such as myself recognizes the sentiment… although I’ve never had much call for it myself.”

Gareth rose to his feet.

Selena stood at the duke’s side, watching Millicent’s contortions with a grin of satisfaction. “I don’t think she can hear you, Your Grace.”

Rage swelled within Gareth, and he did not know where he found the strength to pull his sword without running both of them through. But instead, he swept the blade across his wrist and held out his bloody arm.

Selena licked her lips and darted forward. The duke reached out and grabbed her skirts, hauling her backward.

“Damn were-bats can never control their instincts. Guards, hold her.” He rose, shoving the girl at his men. “I will have to do this myself.” He picked up a golden goblet off the table and held it out, staring at the blood dripping from Gareth’s wrist as if it were gold.

Gareth dropped his arm. “Give my lady the antidote first.”

The Duke of Ghoulston did not argue. He strode to the sideboard and opened a small drawer, held forth a vial of black liquid. Gareth snatched it and brought it over to Millicent, his blood staining the golden velvet of her gown while he forced it past her taut lips. She swallowed once, twice, and then her body stilled.

He rose and faced the other man. He had no choice but to trust him, and it rankled. “She will recover?”

The duke nodded. “Hurry up. If I have calculated the sunrise aboveground correctly, we have only a few minutes left.”