Gideon [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book Two (17 page)

Then he grabbed her by the throat, her
sparkling green eyes now glittering with fright and fresh new
tears. He had her pinned up against the wall, his grip only
tightening around her neck by the second. He was a man without a
conscience, man with no remorse whatsoever…and certainly no care
about any other fuck but himself. So when he had the Marujan’s
bitch by the throat, and with most of his intention geared at
crushing her damn windpipe, he expected her to believe that he
would do just that.

“
Let me tell you one time!” he
growled so close to her face, spittle rained all over it.
“Do
not
fuck with
me. I will cut you from end to end and send you off as minced meat
to your beloved
boyfriend
, you got that?” She didn’t
answer so he grabbed her harder, encouraging a pained wince from
her trembling lips. Her eyes actually bulged, and it satisfied him.
“Do you understand me?” He even nodded for her.

Esyth clawed at his hand, wheezing loudly as
she tried to fight him off, her feet kicking against his shins as
hard as she could. But to no avail. Nodding frantically, she jammed
her fingernails into his knuckles and released her anguish in a
pained groan.

Then he released her. She fell to
the floor in a crumble, clutching her then bruised neck and
blinking wildly as she fought to regain her oxygen debt. Then she
glared up at him and coughed. “You ”-coughs-“you
son of a bitch
!”

Deorci chuckled and turned away,
heading in the direction of the door. He’d had enough of this. It
was time for the Marujans to meet their
true
maker. Flicking up his collar,
he swaggered from the room and slammed the door shut behind him,
cracking his knuckles and grinning.

Yup, shit was
definitely
about to go
down!

T
he
moment, he stepped out into the darkness of the hallway leading
from his private quarters, Deorci’s instincts went beyond that of
his normal capacity…or rather, that which he would
normally
allow himself
to do on a regular basis. He stopped momentarily in his tracks and
inhaled deeply, enraged by the change in the air. Running both
hands through long thickness of his hair, he stood akimbo, tapping
his foot lightly.

Where the fuck was his guards?

You know what, fuck those
idiots!
He marched down the hall, the hair
on the back of his neck standing ramrod straight. Something was
definitely off and he was not pleased about it. Not pleased at all.
He strode around a corner, basically flew down the long staircase
and then down a much more secluded hallway. It was the one that
lead to his dungeons, where he kept his prisoners and concubines.
He peered down the long stretched hall, his blood now boiling.
Still no damn guards. He didn’t know why he even had the fools! He
might as well just kill them all and be done with it!

As he passed by each door, he
peered through the tiny barred window on each, observing the
prisoners inside. He counted them off too.
One…

Two… Yeah, that’s it.

Three….
Just two more
. He cracked his
knuckles.
You got this!

Four…

He glanced inside once and then
away, prepared to move along to the last door when something caught
his eye. Well, to be exact
nothing
caught his eye. Deorci spun on his heel
immediately, jaws clenched tight as he knocked the door down with
one slam of his right palm. And for a moment, he just stood there.
Staring. Wondering what the fuck had happened. There was a
thunderous anger rising up within him and for a moment, he wanted
to howl the whole damn place down. But then again, he was not the
‘howling’ the type and ‘howling’ did not sit well with him
either.

So, he swallowed down the uncharacteristic
yell and exhaled one harsh breath. He stared around the empty jail
one last time and then looked at the dark ceiling. And
then…

And then…he laughed. He laughed because he
knew exactly what had happened. He knew that he simply was not
hallucinating and there really was no prisoner inside the room with
him. In other words, he knew he wasn’t fucking stupid and that
meant the red-head Marujan wench had escaped.

ESCAPED!
Deorci shook his head and chuckled. Yup, he was screwed. And
not only because he knew she had escaped but because he knew the
youngest Marujan brother was currently cornered by his other dimwit
soldiers in the field. And he also knew that there was
absolutely
no way
the bitch could have gotten out all by herself
either.

So that meant…
Fuck it!
There was no use thinking
it anyway.

The other fucking Marujans were here. And this
time… This time, he laughed a little harder.

D
id you
get her here out?

Gideon looked on at the Kankul soldiers as he
talked telepathically with his brother, Hadaen. From earlier
correspondence, he found out that Haden had arrived some ten
minutes ago with a few others in tow. Amelia had managed to contact
him long before Gideon had regained consciousness in Deorci’s jail
and given him the coordinates to the dungeon.

Yes! I think Deorci just realized
she’s missing though. He’s very close to us now. I can smell him as
if he’s right under my nose
.

Gideon chose to refrain from
saying that Deorci
was
in fact right under his brother’s nose and kept his
expression passive as to not give himself away to the watchful
soldiers.

OK! What do I do now?

Just remain where you are.
Remember, we want to make this sweep as quick and clean as
possible. We’ve already caught Deorci off guard and we’ve managed
to wipe out the rest of his guards. \

Gideon fought against the urge to
screw up his face.
Well, this is boring…
Just standing here waiting on something to happen. Come on, man! I
wanna kick some ass!

You want something to
do?

Hell, yea!
He cracked his knuckles and flexed his shoulders
in his mind.

Find a good fucking
explanation to give me as to why there is this fucking Kankul
soldier here right now breathing down my fucking neck!

Gideon chuckled inwardly.
Oh, he’d totally forgotten about that part. Malakai’s presence must
have shocked and angered the hell out Hadaen
. Oh, about that. Amelia can explain for me. She
understands.

She’s the only one
stopping me from killing HIM and then choking the life out of you
after! What the hell were you thinking?

I’ll explain everything
later.

Chapter Twenty

G
ideon cut the contact before Hadaen could say another word.
 Both fists clenched, he looked on as the Kankul soldiers
chatted good-naturedly among themselves. The scene annoyed him
beyond any imaginable belief and he'd seriously started to
reconsider Hadaen's advice. He couldn't just stand there and do
nothing while Deorci could be off somewhere choking the life out of
the woman he loved. Yeah, he loved her alright; and he didn't need
to convince himself of the fact anymore.
   His
mana
coursed strongly through his veins, burning to a
heat that once was released would mean utter harm to whatever it
came in contact with. He could feel it seeping within, rising like
steam to his head. At that moment, he knew his eyes were blood red.
He knew because each and every one of the soldiers stopped what
they were doing and stood gaping at him.
   He wondered a moment about their surprised
expressions. Hadn't they ever been to battle before? Haven't they
ever seen a Marujan angry? A face-splitting grin transformed his
face. Today would be their lucky day. He took one step forward
and—
   
Gideon!
Hadaen's voice pounded in his head again.
Have you lost your fucking mind? I told you to
stay put!
   
I need to do this.....
 
No, you don't. You need to keep
your ass quiet and alive...for Esyth. Leave the soldiers up to
us.
    Sorry, big brother. Too late.
Gideon! Damn it, I am going to
beat the shit out of you when this is all over. I can't
believe—
   Gideon shrugged and rolled his shoulders as the
soldiers came to full attention before him. He'd pretty much
blocked out everything Hadaen said pass that point. Quite frankly,
he didn't care about what his brother had to say. He was going to
do this his way or no way at all.  
   "So which one of you assholes are up first?" he
chuckled softly. None of them moved. Gideon shrugged. "None? Okay.
Then I nominate....." He pretended to search through the terrified
group and then pointed directly at one soldier who was shaking so
badly, he looked as if he'd piss himself at any moment.
"
You
."
     The Kankul soldier shrunk back,
neither of his colleagues looking sorry for him, just sorry that
they would have to watch what was destined to happen to them in a
couple minutes. Gideon chuckled at this realization. It was going
to be an easy conquest, alright.
     He lifted one arm just barely...and
every man scattered as far away from him as they could. It was a
hilarious sight, really, but he did not feel in the mood for
laughing one bit. He was in the mood to kill....to destroy, to
unleash total obliteration on all things Kankul. He inhaled deeply,
summoning the full strength of his mana.
   And then he let it go in one full thrust of his
arms. Red light crackled fiercely in waves of sizzling electricity
as it struck the earth between them, refracting intensely onto all
that it was meant for. Gideon closed his eyes, reveling in the
feeling; the sensation of satisfaction. The sweet taste of revenge
was like icing on his tongue with an extra touch of whip
cream.
   He could hear the agonized cry of the men; it
only served to push him further. He blocked out all else and
focused on the task at hand: vengeance. Well-deserved
vengeance.
 It brought him back to those years as a boy; his very first
glimpse of war. The war that had taken his father. The pain was
still lodged in his heart and only this would take it away. Images
flew through his mind; some broken and some as clear as daylight.
He could see their last attack all those centuries ago when Hadaen
had just lost Amelia. So many of his people had been murdered doing
just what they ought to be doing: protecting their own. Deorci had
swooped in without mercy, without an inkling of remorse. It was a
day not very different from the rest; a day when villagers were out
doing their regular businesses, nobles were busy overseeing the
villages...and children were out playing. So many children...
   Gideon's jaws clenched tighter. He decided that
no amount of remorse or apology could erase that. He would not
forget and he would not forgive either. Too many lives were
involved and too many were already at stake. This feud against
Deorci would end today.
     But he continued to strike out at the
Kankul soldiers, even knowing that they would be like char by now.
A tear trickled down his face but he kept his eyes squeezed shut,
afraid that if he opened them, he'd feel the pain even more. Or
that he'd feel some form of regret.
     And then he saw her face. Gideon
gasped, the tears flowing freely down and over his cheeks now. He
could see her face, beautiful as ever, her long blonde tresses
flowing over those slender creamy shoulders. His eyes flew wide
open. Was he dreaming? No. Nothing so sweet and pure could ever be
unreal. Esyth stood firmly across the field from him, her radiance
calling to him like Heaven's light to his soul. She smiled. He
smiled back through his tears, swatting them away with his
hands.
     Esyth held an arm out. She beckoned
to him, telling him to come to her. His feet moved instantly,
bringing him across the field and to his lover in a heartbeat. She
gazed up into his face with such loving eyes he thought his chest
would burst open with joy. Her small hand reached up, cupping his
left cheek.
   "I love you..." he murmured hoarsely, barely
managing to find his own voice. And she just looked at him, staring
blankly up in his eyes. Esyth blinked twice, a frown transforming
her beautiful face. No. Gideon held his breath, hoping against the
possibility that she might not recognize him. That alone would
crush him to a pulp of no return. His heart tugged at his chest
painfully, a heavy lump lodging in his throat as he spoke. "Say
something..."
     Her small lips parted, moved as her
mouth opened as if to speak. But nothing came out. Gideon reached
for her, gulping frantically as Esyth's eyes filled with thick
tears.
     What was going on?
 An explosion echoed fiercely behind him and Gideon lurched
forward, his hands rushing to cover his eyes as smokes of dust blew
up around them.
     "
Gideon
!" It was Hadaen's
voice.
"Over here!" he yelled back, despite the fact that he could not see
him. "Esyth is--" He coughed. "Esyth is right here!"
   "
Esyth
?" Amelia's voice came a
abruptly, shaky with concern. "Damn it, I can't see a thing!"
   "Just stay where you are, Gideon. We'll come to
you!!"
     Gideon nodded and squinted but he
still could not make out his brother or sister-in-law. But they
were there and at least that made him feel a bit better. Now all he
had to do was make sure Esyth was all right. He spun back
around.
   "Esyth, are you—”
His eyes met large white teeth spread into a wide grin that
bordered on wolfish. He then looked up instantly, gaze meeting
those of the cold eyes of that ruthless bastard: Deorci.
   "It's amazing what a simple illusion can do,
isn't it?" the bastard uttered.
   Gideon shrunk back a step, his thoughts going
wild now. What the fuck--? For a moment he felt as if he was going
to black out. His brain felt like jello right then. He was finding
it so hard to come up with something coherent to say. Every damn
time he thought he'd found her... This was it. He's had enough of
this bullshit now! What he wanted was to get Esyth and retire from
all this bullshit hunting all over the fucking place. He needed
closure from all this crap; and then enjoy a well-needed rest from
reality. Just for a while. Gritting his teeth, he narrowed his gaze
on Deorci. "Fine!" He even made a show of throwing his hands up in
defeat. "You've got me right where you want me, don't you? Give it
your best shot."
     Deorci grinned, a devilish flint in
his dark eyes as he rubbed a hand over his beard. "Does not sound
altogether bad at all, Gideon Maruj. Especially since I've noticed
how you and your friends have...
ambushed
my dungeon." Deorci crossed
his arms and peered viciously across at him. "I don't like it one
bit. The recognition itches me deeply in the ass."
     Gideon gathered up all the phlegm he
could garner from deep inside his throat and spat it at his enemy's
feet. "I don't give a fuck about what itches you. I'm here for
Esyth and I'm not leaving without her." He took one careful step
closer. "You might want to—"
     "Gideon! Where the hell are you,
man?" It was Hadaen's voice. It sounded just a few meters away. He
could hear the harsh crunching and grinding of gravel below
boots.
   Gideon swallowed thickly, never averting his gaze
from Deorci, not even for the slightest second. He wanted to catch
every blink the bastard took. So he kept his mouth shut despite the
desperately concerned bellowing coming from his brother and
sister-in-law. If anything were to happen, he'd want Deorci to take
him. At least he'd know his family would be desperately following
behind, trying to find him. And the odds were that Hadaen would
catch up eventually.
   Gideon's eyes narrowed on the bastard as he
hissed softly, "Where is Esyth?"
 Deorci grinned softly.
The arrogant
ass-wipe.
"Precisely where I left her,
Maruj. Care to join her? And please say yes. You would simply ruin
my day if you refuse."
   "I don't give a fuck—"
"I take that as you giving consent."
   And before Gideon could manage another intake of
breath, he was snatched harshly by the throat, the living breath
almost knocked right out of his lungs. His hand reached out, trying
to wrestle out of Deorci's death grip but he couldn't. They were
spinning... It was like he was being carried by a swift moving
tornado. His head spun, his stomach churned…. He could almost feel
the metallic taste of vomit rising in his throat.
   Gideon gasped, his vision dulling to a hazy blur
as he tried to make sense of what was happening to him. Was this
death?
   And then he came to a sharp stop, the grip
loosening from his so abruptly, he almost started to miss the
painful support. Momentarily swaying on his feet Gideon clutched
his belly, feeling sick to his stomach. He had just slumped quite
heavily to his knees, the pain of that outweighed by the sudden
pounding in his head, when he heard a subtle cry.
     "
Gideon
!" He knew that voice. Gideon
groaned loudly; sweat now beading his forehead and neck. What was
happening to him? Then he felt two very small hands circle his
waist from behind. "Gideon? Say something goddamn it!"
     "Esyth?" he managed to croak,
hunching over as a cold tremor shot through him. Oh shit, he was
going to throw up!
     "Yes, yes it's me." Then he felt her
pushing him down towards the ground. It was then that he managed a
look at her. She looked like an angel. Just as he'd remembered her;
that long unruly mass of blonde hair that he loved so much, those
beautiful green eyes. Maybe he was dying. But her eyes were frantic
as she looked up away from him. "We have to get out of here!
Where's Deorci? Did you come alone?
Why
would you come alone?" Her lips
trembled as she spoke and then she looked down at him, frowning
fiercely. "Why aren't you answering me? Are you sick?" Her palms
patted swiftly against his neck and forehead.  "Oh hell,
you're burning up! He did something to you?"
     Gideon stared up at her, his head now
snuggly resting against the softness of her lap. She really was
beautiful. So beautiful. If only he could get back the feeling in
his arms..... He reached up to touch her cheek.
   Esyth swatted his hand away. "How exactly are you
feeling, Gideon? Dizzy? Weak?
Nauseous
??"
   Gideon groaned, wincing as another pained sliced
through his gut. "All of the above." His mouth was over-salivating
now, just like it always did before one was to throw up.
"
Ohhh
shit..." He
swallowed down the salty fluid gathering in his mouth. "I
hadn't...pictured it being like this."
   For a moment she looked confused; dainty brows,
just a shade darker than the hair on her head, knitting into a deep
frown. Then her face fell almost dramatically, eyes watering now.
Esyth sniffled as she cupped his cheek gently. "I love you too,
Gideon. I've missed you and now that you're here, I don't want to
waste any time that could be used to get us out of this place.
I...I want to be able to tell you I love you over and over again
until you get tired of me saying it."
     Gideon chuckled weakly. "If I had
just a little more strength, I'd show you exactly what it means to
me to hear you say that." Then he coughed, his face growing paler
and paler by the second. "If only I..."
   Esyth gritted her teeth and clasped his face in
her hands. Her voice shook with desperation and anger as she spoke,
the pent-up tears now escaping their barrier and spilling down her
face. One wild teardrop splattered heavily against his
forehead.
 "Don't you dare say it!" she almost shouted. "Don't you dare
tell me goodbye." Gideon opened his mouth as if to speak and she
crushed her lips against his, afraid of what his words might have
been. She kissed him deeply too, all the frustration, love and hurt
poured out into the one act. She loved this man and she had no
intention of losing him. And Esyth knew her love was returned. She
didn't need to hear the words to know exactly how Gideon felt about
her. His actions alone told her all she needed to know. He'd risked
his life to save her. When she did break the kiss, her eyes were
narrowed to determined slits. "I mean, Gideon! Don't
you...
dare
. I
will slap the shit out of you!" Then she pressed her forehead
against his, smiling as she inhaled his scent: all man. "I forgot
how stubborn you are..."
     Gideon chuckled and tucked a few hair
tendrils behind her hair, the glitter of her eyes promising a hope
that he knew he could rely on. "And I forgot how dangerous you are
to my ego..." He groaned and stretched upwards to sit, flexing his
fingers as the feeling was slowly creeping back into them. "Will
you ever give a man a break? How do you tell a dying man you're
gonna slap the shit out of him?"
     Esyth sighed dreadfully and rolled
her eyes. "You weren't