Gideon [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book Two (10 page)

* * *
 
A
wide
deserted plain of rocky, rugged landscape kept him walking nearly
to insanity for three long days. If it were him alone—and Malakai
Baamel wasn't so bad either—Gideon would have covered the entire
land in only one. Only The First knew why he had decided to bring
the girl along with him at the last second. Perhaps it was because
he had been so impressed with her almost slicing off his balls. Why
he was impressed, only The First knew that too. 
"We've got at least five more miles to cover before we reach
another village," Mia mentioned, using a hand to shade her eyes
from the late afternoon's sun's glare. She could see the tops of
buildings now. "And we have to do it while the sun shines!"
"I really hate to spell it out for you, missus," Malakai drawled in
an irritable tone. "But if it weren't for you, we'd be long gone by
now."
She gave both of them a hard glance and folded her arms. "If that's
how you feel...then go ahead."
Gideon's lips quirked into a twisted grin. "Are you sure you'd want
to be walking around here alone?" he taunted, giving her a quick
upward glance. "Being all...female?"
Pivoting swiftly on one foot, Mia turned blazing eyes on him, one
slender hand resting slightly above a well-placed dagger in the
waistband of her trousers. "In case you've forgotten how sweet cold
metal feels against your balls, I'd be more than willing to teach
you one last time!"
Gideon arced one dark brow at her, a smile curving on his lips. So
she wanted to play that game, did she? "Says the woman who begged
her way into my bed last night."
The resentment in her eyes never went. Instead, she only stepped
closer into his space, her tiny nose flaring with hot anger.
"I
did
fool you,
didn't I?" Her gaze swept his body slowly, lingering only briefly
on the impressive bulge in his pants. "I've had better."
A deep grin came from Malakai and Gideon glowered, annoyed. Shaking
his head, he then moved around the hot-tongued woman and walked on
ahead. It really served no purpose taunting her any further or
ending up doing anything he might regret. What he should be
thinking about was finding Esyth. He could not understand why he
constantly had to keep reminding himself when he knew the feelings
he had for her weren’t simple lusting. He actually loved her,
though his hard head often tried to tell him otherwise. He had
noticed his attraction to her from that very first night in
Amelia's apartment; when he had been restraining her, a sweet
slender body squeezing tightly against his front. The sensations
had been a mixture of heaven and hell. Sweet torture. And he hadn't
taken his eyes off her from that point.

He'd noticed he'd been
falling for her not very long after. Perhaps hours, which were like
years to him, for such feelings had never happened to him before.
The emotion had slammed into him like a force.....waking him from a
cold dream of tiresome and meaningless lust which confused him even
more. Why was he constantly being distracted from his purpose? Why
was his aim to finding Esyth being removed from his mind so
erratically...so often? Something was wrong. 
Breathing deeply, Gideon inhaled the harsh sharpness of the dusty
air. A thick cloud had now moved in to offer temporary shade
against the sun. He wondered what destroyed the land so; dry rocky
soils, no form of vegetation in sight. Digging the toe of one boot
into the soil, he was surprised to find soft ground. Much softer
ground than what he'd been walking on for the entire time. Stooping
lowly, he brushed away the soil, his scowl deepening when the earth
gave way....and sinking, swallowing appallingly into what appeared
to be a well-formed trap at least ten feet deep and half filled
with water; certainly to drown any unaware trespasser. That was if
the land was really owned by anyone...or someone looking to catch
someone. 
"What the fuck?" Malakai cursed. "There could be dozens of those
scattered all over the fucking place!"
Mia stood where she was, now alert and gazing suspiciously around.
"I've never seen any like it before. We've scoured this land many
times before and I can assure you that these weren't here."
Rising to his feet, Gideon breathed in deeply. "How long ago was
the last time?"
She scratched her forehead. "A month the most."
"So they're new," Malakai groaned, staring down into the dark
water. "These aren't any normal traps," Gideon remarked, stooping
once again and inhaling. Every muscle inside him tensed.
Incense
. Then he shrunk
back as if he'd been punched in the face, jumping to his feet, eyes
blazing a brutal red, and grabbing Malakai by the collars. "Those
are fucking Kankul holes!"
"Easy, Maruj," Malakai said, calmly. "I had nothing to do with
this."
"We're wasting time arguing over this. We could be surrounded and
we don't even know it!" Mia's hushed scream came echoing around
them.
Gideon ignored her. "Don't bullshit me! I will rip you to fucking
pieces right now. We both know it's your people who use incense.
It's what Deorci had used to weaken my father right before he
killed him!" 
Malakai shrugged him off and shoved him aside. "Oh shut the fuck
up! If I wanted to kill you, I could have days ago. I only have one
desire...and that's Deorci's head. Whoever made that trap, Kankul
or not, obviously knows you're out here."
Gideon felt the unbearable urge to hit something...or someone. His
mind was uneasy, his emotions running in an erratic pattern,
shooting in all directions. "Shit!" Running a quick mental note to
contact Hadaen, he then took a swift calming breath and turned to
Mia. "Walk carefully and test the ground ahead before you go
on." 
She mumbled a curse and rolled her eyes, irritably. But Gideon
could see the worry within their depths. "Yeah, I know how to avoid
traps like these, alright? No need to babysit me." 
Feeling Malakai's intense presence behind him, Gideon turned to
give the man a once over, and saying in clipped tones, "I might
need your help in locating Deorci but that's all I need. I don't
need to trust you. I'll fucking kill you if I have to." 
Malakai remained in position, aware of the Marujan's threat. He
didn't care really for Gideon's welfare. What he cared for was
having Deorci's head on a platter so that he could stare at it
every day and finally feel fulfilled. That's what he needed. But he
couldn't help the sly smile that curled on his lips. "You keep
making all these death threats, Maruj, but you fail to see that I'm
a man who really doesn't give a fuck about dying. Even if I take my
last breath a second after I see Deorci dead, I can assure you that
I'd die a happy man." He watched while Gideon slowly turned to face
him fully, catching a glimpse of the defensive look in Mia's eyes.
Odd girl, that one was. She could jump one ship for another in a
heartbeat. "But what about you? What would you do if you don't find
your woman after all this?" 
Gideon breathed fury. "I
will
find her!" 
"But what if you don't?" Malakai met his gaze with just as much
intensity, the tension between them just as hot as the raw hatred
they really felt for each other. "What if she's
already—" 
"Don't you say it!" Gideon snarled at him, almost barking in his
face. They were only a couple inches from each other now. "Don't
you fucking dare say it! Or I swear I will rip your throat out
right here and now!" 
Malakai never backed down. Instead, his fists clenched and
unclenched tightly at his sides, his eyes blazing with the intent
to kill. 
It wasn't until Mia's harsh gasp sliced through the silence, that
Gideon looked away, glancing at her with a frown but never moving.
Her eyes widened to saucers and it was then that he fully
registered her terror and turned to follow her gaze. 
A tornado of sand came rushing towards them, a good five hundred
meters away. He narrowed his gaze to notice a group of men charging
soundlessly ahead but he didn't miss their forms; the agile leap of
their legs, the dark suits they wore....and the long slithering
tattoo sketched on the arm of one of the men. Gideon's shock lasted
only a couple seconds before he widened his stance and prepared
himself to attack, his mana soaring through him like a warm dose of
brandy. Through the corner of his eye, he could see the horror on
Mia's face before she visibly took in a huge breath and drew her
two swords from the latch at her back.
Malakai only smirked and folded his arms. "Well, this one doesn't
come as a surprise," he drawled in a bored tone. "I can count ten
of them. It'll be easier than taking candy from a Marujan
baby."
Gideon cast him a nasty glare and said swiftly to Mia. "Stay in
sight at all times." 
"I know how to handle myself, Maruj." Her voice now rose above the
roar of wind and sand, and the roar of the charging men.

But for Gideon, time stood
still. It had been three years since he'd killed a man. And he'd do
it all again now for Esyth's sake. For his sake. 
His eyes flooded deep crimson, the red glow surrounding him in only
an instant. Inhaling deeply, he sent a silent prayer to The First
for strength and then searched his soul for his most treasured
memory of Esyth; her lying in his arms that last night before
Deorci had attacked the Hub. 

And he got all the strength
he needed.

Chapter
Thirteen

A
ll three stood still, maintaining their positions as the
Kankul soldiers surged towards them and the tornado dissolved in a
swish just seventy-five meters away. But the men urged on, shouts
of battle echoing around. Gideon counted mentally with every meter
they advanced. Anticipation and anger were his fuels, his mana
crackling with delight.

But at forty-five meters,
one soldier advanced before the others and then drew to an abrupt
halt, stopping the others in their paths. The man held a hand out
behind him, warning his men not to move. Then he cocked his head to
the side, his narrowed gaze moving past Gideon. They could hear his
chuckle. 
"Well well well... If it isn't Malakai Baamel. Last time I heard,
you were dead." 
"Just as dead as you are, Nathaal. What brings you to this side, I
wonder?"
Nathaal smirked, his gaze shifting to the woman and then to Gideon.
"And if it isn't His Royal Highness, himself. I seem to be caught
between the urge to bow or falling to my knees." 
The sarcasm in the man's tone did infuriate Gideon but the effect
never showed. So when he responded, his voice was cool and
collected. "I seem to find great preference with the second option
because on your knees you will be when I rip your guts out and
hand-deliver them to your beloved Deorci." 
Nathaal stood perfectly still, a vein bulging at his left temple.
The soldiers behind him shot awkward glances at each other. Then he
opened his mouth and spoke. "I'm afraid you and your little posse
you have here will not be making it any further. Your journey ends
here." 
Gideon smiled slowly, his right cheek dimpling. "Well then try and
stop me."
Nathaal's nostrils flared hotly as he eyed his three opponents. One
was a traitor, a man once trusted by his leader and fellow
soldiers; another was a rebel follower, a woman he knew he could
easily add to his conquests; and then there was Gideon Maruj
himself. A third of the Marujan dynasty. A man whose ability, as he
knew, outranked his own in more ways than he could think of. Yes,
he felt a twinge of anxiety in his gut which was why he gripped his
sword even tighter. He could not return to Deorci a loser, a
failure in this one mission. So he knew exactly what he had to do.
Cheating was no crime, merely a strategy in war. 
Gideon read into the Kankul soldier's energy. If Hadaen had been
there, they were sure to have figured out his weakness by now. But
he could sense the emotion sparking in Nathaal's energy. It was a
mixture of confidence, hostility...and a tinge of fear. Gideon
smiled to himself. As long as there was fear, he'd have a fairly
easy fight. On the other hand, he could feel Mia beside him shaking
in her boots. She did not give a glimpse of her terror and he was
grateful for that. He had to protect her, however. After all,
she
was
mortal. 
"Are we going to stand here and talk? Or are we going to start
ripping fucking heads off?" Malakai moved forward three steps.
Attempting to shove him back, Gideon reached for his shoulder but
he shrugged him off irritably. 
Nathaal remained in position. Time stood still for a while,
opponents watching opponents. A thick cloud slowly moved across the
sun, a cool breeze sauntered by. The glare Nathaal shot at Gideon
would have withered many men to nothingness but he remained
expressionless. Then without further warning, Nathaal let out a
fierce growl, rising both hands upwards which held the handle of
his sword, and plunged the blade deep into the earth before him.
Gideon snared, his alert heightened. He's seen that move before,
once long ago. He urged Mia three steps back and it was then that
the felt a soft rumble. It was more like a tremor, equivalent to
belly quivering and almost as if it hasn't happened at all. Across
from them, Nathaal gave a hideous smirk and the rumble came louder,
more intense as if from a stampede.
Gideon's gaze shifted to the earth, it was moving beneath them,
stone shaking against the dusty surface. The movement had almost
thrown him off his feet but he maintained his balance. Mia, on the
other hand, had fallen flat on her ass and he grabbed her up,
slamming her against him to steady her. 
"I'm fine," she tried to convince him despite her quivering state
in his arms. "What the hell is he doing?"
The rumble increased and Gideon shot a glance at Malakai whose
stance was already in attack mode. There was loud crack and boom
and then a whoosh. Gideon's eyes flared crimson. Before them the
earth opened up, forming a deep trench that shot of waves and waves
of smoke-like dust, blinding them. The rumbling stopped and Gideon
cast her aside. "Stay close," he warned her.
Heart rate now on full speed, Gideon stared deeply through the fog,
his mana strengthening by the second. He saw Malakai fighting off
two soldiers at once. Then he shifted to the left....and saw
Nathaal, staring smugly back at him. The desire to kill burned
within him like an ever-burning flame. He'd be greatly satisfied by
killing the fucker. Gideon took five quick steps until Mia's squeal
gained his attention. Damn it. Turning swiftly, he saw her pinned
up against a Kankul soldier who was twisting her left arm behind
her. She whimpered, her sword falling from the other hand. He was
about to step in when out of nowhere, she planted a firm elbow into
the soldier's gut, withdrew a dagger from her waist and twisted in
his hold, plunging heart deep. Gideon grunted and turned away
again...to welcome a full-on punch in the mouth. 
He felt that one right up to the nerve endings in his brain.
Shrugging angrily, her wiped his bloody mouth and
growled.