Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (12 page)

Another arrow knocked a straggling
creature over as it jumped toward him. Gideon had worked his way
free of the group surrounding him, he was bloody and his clothes
were torn, but otherwise unscathed. The whistle of another arrow
pierced a creature that had been lurching awkwardly at Gideon.
Gideon didn’t flinch at the sound again, but his head fell back as
he looked toward where Aria stood. Surprise and amazement filtered
over his features.

“Let’s hope she never aims that thing
at you,” Gideon muttered.

“She already has,” Braith
admitted.

Gideon’s eyes widened and then he burst
into laughter. “Ah, it is amazing what life throws your way, is it
not?”

Braith pondered the truth of those
words. Life had been so different just a few months ago, he had
been blind, alone and content to simply go through the motions of
what he now realized was an empty life. Then he’d seen her standing
on that stage, filthy and proud, and forcing him to see in more
ways than one. “It is.”

Braith took in the destruction
littering the street, the mess of bodies surrounding them. Not all
were those of the strange creatures, nor were they all human, some
vampires had fallen here too.

He turned bracing himself as he looked
up at Aria. Her bow was at her side, she had tucked the long ends
of her hair into the collar of her dress. The hem of her dress was
still tucked within her belt, revealing her legs to her knees. She
looked wild, almost savage, but beneath it all he sensed her
sadness as she stared at the carnage of the streets.

His remaining annoyance with her faded
as her eyes met his. He had said once that he would not chase her
into the trees she moved through with the ease of a monkey, he had
assumed that would extend to rooftops as well, he’d been
wrong.

He grabbed hold of a ladder, pulling it
down with a clatter of metal. She was standing at the edge of the
roof when he arrived at the top. He clutched her against him as he
sought to ease her sorrow.

***

“Is she sleeping?”

“Finally,” Braith answered in response
to William’s question.

William nodded slowly as he ran a hand
through his disheveled hair. “She’s been through so much that I
sometimes forget she’s not as tough as she acts.” His eyes were so
similar to his sisters, but they were also harsher. “She’s always
hated to kill things, she’d do it, but she hated it. I should have
been there.”

Braith bit back on the retort that
William was right, he should have been there. Hell he could smell
the alcohol, and the woman on him, but this hadn’t been William’s
fault. None of them had expected the events of this
night.

“How often does this happen?” Braith
inquired as he accepted a glass of whiskey from Gideon.

Gideon shook his head, he was still
bruised and bleeding from his split lip, but he was healing quickly
and the marks would fade within the hour. “It used to happen once
every couple of years, but this is the third raid in the past eight
months.”

“What caused such an increase?” William
asked.

Gideon was thoughtful. “In the
beginning there weren’t many of them, but over time more have been
banished. They’ve grouped together, they’re angry, and they’re
taking that anger out on the one’s that put them in this situation.
The other factions are experiencing the same problems with The
Forsaken Ones.”

“How many are out there?” Braith
asked.

“I don’t know for sure, like I said
there are other towns that work under the same rules. We’ve
banished six out of here over the years. Some towns are rigid in
their rules, others are less strict, but after the ones destroyed
tonight I would guess that there are approximately twenty five to
thirty of those creatures left.”

“Why didn’t you just kill them?” Ashby
inquired.

“No one here wanted the king’s rules,
at all. We thought we would give them a fair shot at
survival.”

Ashby quirked an eyebrow, he downed his
drink in one long swallow. “I’d rather be dead.”

“If it hadn’t been for Melinda that
very well could have been you,” Braith reminded him.

“And as I said, I would rather have
been dead. Those things are a monstrosity Braith. They are a shell
of what they used to be.” Ashby shuddered. “I would have much
preferred to be put out of my misery.”

“It’s too late to change the punishment
that has been handed to them and perhaps the time has come to take
care of them. If we are successful in the endeavor of war, they
will not be necessary as a security measure anymore, and perhaps
death would be kinder. I can get you support Braith. There are four
other aristocrats that survived and have their own villages, and
the fifth village is solely human.”

“Who are the four
survivors?”

“Xavier, Saul, Calista, and
Barnaby.”

“Barnaby,” Ashby groaned. “I hate that
self pretentious ass.”

“As do we all,” Gideon agreed. “And
though I wish it had, a hundred years hasn’t changed him much. He
is somewhat more humbled by his circumstances, but you wouldn’t
really know it to talk to him. He does well with his village
though, and I haven’t heard anything bad about him although I’ve
tried to stay away from him as much as possible.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Braith muttered as he
downed the remains of his whiskey. William stood silently by,
frowning as he tried to follow the conversation. “Barnaby was a
jerk, he’s always been a jerk, and I doubt there’s much that could
change him. He didn’t even choose a side to fight for, but stood
idly on the sidelines to see who would win the war before he chose.
My father was not oblivious to this fact and evicted him from the
palace as soon as the war was over. I don’t see him being much help
now Gideon.”

“He has followers that are not as
cowardly as he is, and you know as well as I that this is not the
life of luxury that Barnaby covets. We are not without here, but it
is far less than he once had. He won’t stand on the sidelines this
time Braith.”

Braith wasn’t so certain, he wasn’t
even certain he wanted Barnaby involved at all. He would take Saul,
Calista, and Xavier though. Saul and Calista had fought with
Gideon, had chosen the losing side, and had just barely managed to
escape when the war had taken a turn. Xavier had stood by the
king’s side, had been rewarded when the war was over and given the
opportunity to remain in the palace. He had, however, disagreed
with the king’s policies toward humans and fellow vampire’s.
Fearing for his life, he’d fled within a year of the king’s new
rule. Xavier had always been an honorable man and Braith admired
the fact that he had stood up to the king, even after he’d been
rewarded. Xavier was also the only history keeper left as far as
Braith knew, and that could come in very handy for them.

“Can we do this without Barnaby?” Ashby
asked.

“I think we need as much help as
possible,” Gideon remarked. “But it’s up to Braith.”

“We’ll take him, for now. But we’ll
keep a close eye on him, I trust him about as much as I trust those
things that came in here tonight.”

“That can be done. I’ve already sent
word that I would like to meet with the other leaders. I think the
human leader, Frank, is a good, upstanding man. I’m not sure what
his response will be though. Their greatest concerns now are the
creature’s out there.”

“Those creatures must be handled,”
Braith muttered. He agreed with most of what Gideon had done here,
and understood his aversion to handing out the death sentence, but
those things were not rational, thinking beings anymore.

“There is something else we must
discuss Braith.” Ashby and Gideon exchanged a look that caused
Braith to stiffen. Whatever Gideon was about to say, he wasn’t
going to like it. “It’s about the girl.”

“She’s not open for discussion,” Braith
stated flatly.

William took a step forward, drawn by
the topic of his sister. “Braith you must understand…”

“What I understand Gideon, is that you
better think about what you are going to say before you
continue.”

Gideon swallowed heavily; his hazel
eyes were turbulent. Braith thought he’d finally gathered enough
sense to remain silent. He was wrong. “I understand you care for
this girl, love her even,” he amended quickly when Ashby shook his
head. “But you must understand that no matter how powerful you are
vampires will not accept a human as their queen.”

“They don’t have to.”

“You plan to try and change her
then?”

William inhaled sharply, his eyes were
questioning as his gaze bounced between them. Braith shook his head
sternly. Something shifted and twisted inside of him, it curled
through his belly, and clutched at his chest. He would love nothing
more than to spend eternity with her, to give her the strength that
came with immortality, to protect her from her own recklessness,
and to ease the instability the thought of her death created in
him, but he couldn’t take the chance. He would not be the one that
destroyed her.

“No. I will not risk her life in such a
way.”

Gideon and Ashby shifted uncomfortably,
William’s eyes were beginning to resemble an owl’s. “She is strong,
she’s brave, and she has earned my respect, but you cannot rule
with a human Braith. The others will not fall in line for a human,
and they will not follow your children.”

“Is that even possible?” William
blurted in surprise.

Braith shot him a dark look as the boy
gaped back at him in something akin to horror. “It is,” he
sneered.

“The child will be either vampire or
human,” Ashby elaborated. “The vampire children are often ignored,
exiled, or ridiculed. The humans don’t fare any better, but some
are given positions as servants within the palace. It’s always been
that way, even before the king ruled.”

“There are some of those children here,
they were either created here, or they fled the persecution they
received while in the palace. Here, no matter what they are, they
are treated as equals, but we still wouldn’t accept them as a ruler
unless they were full vampire. They are slightly stronger than a
human but not as strong as a full vampire.”

“Does that include you Gideon?” Braith
sneered.

He shifted nervously. “You can’t hold
the truth against me Braith. We are just here, give us credit for
that, but do not blame us for the truth. Unless she survives the
change, she will not be accepted, and neither will your
children.”

Braith shifted as he folded his arms
over his chest. “If Aria and I have children then I can assure you
they will meet no such fate.”

“Life in the palace…”

“They will not be raised in the
palace.”

Gideon gaped at him. “What do you plan
on doing with them Braith? With her? Perhaps you could marry
another…”

“No.”

“Braith, be reasonable,” Gideon
urged.

He was being reasonable; he wasn’t
beating the hell out of them right now. He considered that pretty
damn reasonable considering the burgeoning rage he felt. “Ask Ashby
to marry another.”

Ashby paled, he shook his head fiercely
as he took a step back. “No.”

“Ashby doesn’t have to marry another!”
Gideon snapped. “His marriage to Natasha is over. No one will
question him if he takes Melinda. She is your sister, her blood is
pure. It’s a fine match. She’s not a human Braith!”

Braith moved so swiftly that Gideon
didn’t have time to react before he seized hold of Gideon’s neck.
He slammed him against the wall with enough force to crack the
plaster. Gideon’s eyes bulged; shock caused his face to go slack as
Braith squeezed hard enough to draw blood. “I told you to watch
what you said, you were warned, and this will be your final one.
This topic is not up for discussion. There will be no other woman,
there will be no talk of changing her, and our children will not
know the life that you have described. I will fight with you, I
will even help lead this battle, but someone else will rule. When
this is over I am taking her and we are leaving that place. I
promised her a life of peace and I will give it to her!”

He slammed Gideon against the wall
again before shoving him violently and finally releasing him.
Gideon’s hand flew to his throat; he bent over as he watched Braith
warily. “Who do you expect to lead?” he choked out

Braith shrugged. “I don’t particularly
care. You do it, or even Ashby, you said yourself that my sister is
of sound bloodlines. Perhaps even Calista or Xavier would be a fine
choice. I don’t care who you pick, just as long as we are left
alone.”

“She will still die.”

“And I’ll be there beside her, and I
will find a way to go with her.”

Gideon was completely flabbergasted;
his mouth opened and closed a few times before he was finally able
to speak again. “You are the next in line Braith, the one that
everyone, including the humans, has expected to take the throne.
The infighting that such an abdication would cause…”