SanClare Black (The Prince of Sorrows) (16 page)

He tried to read one of the many books filling the shelves, but though the one he
’d selected looked very interesting, he succeeded only in memorizing one particular line in the middle of the page which he read over and over and over again, his eyes returning there every time he looked up at a noise and then back again at the book.

The hours passed,
with Last Prayer bells ringing jarringly against his nerves, and still Robyn did not return. Michael ran out of distractions, though he kept trying to find new ones, and, at last, there seemed nothing left to do but think about his last night at JhaPel.

He wished he
’d done it all differently. If he hadn’t acted as he had, Abbess Ethene would’ve died quietly and without the horrible taint of magic and heresy he’d forced on her.

I should leave before I hurt Robyn, too
, he thought, stomach churning with misery at the memories.
That’s probably why he’s staying away, to keep away from my magic. That’s probably why I was abandoned in the first place.

By midnight, he
’d worked himself into a forlorn mess, sitting on the floor and crying his heart out until he finally cried himself to sleep.

The fire had burned down to cinders when the sound of Robyn stumbling in the front door and slamming it shut behind him woke
Michael.

A loud crash
—the sound of something shattering across the floor—followed, startling the boy, and he stayed by the fire, too frightened to go find out what had happened.

“
Michael!” Robyn called, his voice odd and barely familiar. “Where’s my little baby boy?”

Michael
fought down panic. His mouth went dry at the sound of the man’s voice, and his brain immediately tried to plan an escape. But there was no way out of the study except through the foyer.

“
I’m being stupid,” he whispered to himself. “It’s just Robyn.” He climbed to his feet, straightened his clothes, and made his way hesitantly toward the study doors.

“
Come out, come out wherever you are!” The man fell into a fit of giggles.

“
Robyn?” Michael pushed the door open a crack and peeked out at a bizarre scene. Broken glass, mixed with some sort of strong-smelling liquor, littered the elaborately-tiled floor near the door, and Robyn’s coat lay in a crumpled heap a length or so farther on. His scarf trailed a little bit farther, yet, and Robyn himself sat on his knees just beyond that, convulsed with hysterical laughter. Rain had soaked his hair and drops of water still fell from the ends.

“
There you are.” Robyn turned an alarming face toward the boy and giggled. “Waiting up, eh? I knew you would.” He straightened and shook his head, throwing drops of water everywhere.

“
I’m sorry,” Michael whispered. Emotions radiated from Robyn like heat from a fire, and Michael felt overwhelmed by them. He’d never felt anything from Robyn, and now there were too many feelings coming at him all at once. He couldn’t sort them out, but he knew they frightened him. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go.

“
Don’t be, don’t be.” Robyn shook his head again. “Come here.”

Michael
looked around the foyer at the mess then looked back at Robyn, a helpless expression on his face.

“
Oh! You’re right, ‘course. Isn’t safe, is it? I dropped my bottle.” Robyn shuffled across the foyer on his knees until he was a length away from where Michael stood frozen.

Maybe this is a dream
...oh Vail, I hope this is a dream!

“
Come here,” Robyn said again. He held out his arms as if for a hug.

“
Please, Robyn,” Michael said, but he opened the door a little more and took a few, small steps through it into the foyer.

“
Come on.” The man crooked his fingers a few times in encouragement.

“
I—I don’t like to be touched.” Michael recoiled from his own words which he feared wouldn’t be well received.

“
Of course,” Robyn said, a faint smile on his lips. “Well, come and have a drink with me, then.” He struggled to his feet and walked unsteadily toward the study. Michael moved out of his way, letting the man go ahead of him.

The Voice he
’d heard in his dreams spoke again, only this time it was screaming.

.:
Run! Now!
:.

Robyn wouldn
’t hurt me,
Michael thought, desperate for this to be true.
He’s been nothing but kind to me.

By the time
Michael made his reluctant way back through the study door, he found that Robyn had lit several candles and was pouring out two glassfuls of some kind of strong liquor. It was different from both the wine he’d given Michael the night before and whatever it was that Robyn had spilled all over the foyer.

“
What is it?” Michael asked when the man handed one of the glasses to him. It even smelled strong and Michael was afraid to drink it.

“
Brandy. Very old. Very expensive. Only the best for you, my darling.” Robyn held his own glass out in an off-balance salute. “Now, join me in toasting the end of innocence.”

Michael
took a sip of the brandy and winced at the strong taste and burning feeling it left in its wake. “May I please have some water instead?” His voice broke, and he swallowed.

An annoyed frown ran across Robyn
’s face and disappeared. “No, my dear. I want you to share this toast with me. Water wouldn’t do for a toast.”

“
Please, Robyn. I just want to go find Pol. I’ve been waiting for hours. Couldn’t we go tonight? Now?”

“
At this time of night?” The man looked appalled at the idea. He gestured for Michael to sit down and then dropped heavily into the chair across from where Michael still stood. “Don’t think about it. Fensgate is a dangerous enough place in the daytime, never mind wandering around there at this hour.”

Michael
couldn’t shake off the feelings of uneasiness and urgency his dreams—and now Robyn’s strange and elusive manner—had left him with.

“
But you were out much later than this when you found me.”

Robyn
’s good humor vanished, and the very air seemed to turn cold when his voice hit it. “Don’t contradict me, darling. We will go tomorrow. Now, drink your brandy.”

Michael
glared at the glass in his hand, frustrated tears stinging his eyes. He couldn’t understand why Robyn wouldn’t take him to the Red Boar or at least send him there. He’d promised to do it!
And I need to see Pol. I need to talk to him!

“
Thank you, but I’d rather not.” Michael set the glass down on the table which stood between his chair and Robyn’s. It still held the remnants of Michael’s long-ago tea as well as several books and his drawings.

Robyn said nothing for a long moment, but
Michael could tell he was angry. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight and clipped.

“
After all I’ve done for you, I think you’re being very ungrateful.”

“
I’m sorry, but I don’t like brandy.”

“
I wish you’d said so before I poured it for you. You may have some water later, but I won’t have good brandy wasted.”

Michael
looked into Robyn’s face, and all his disappointment and fear caught in his throat. He needed to find Pol! Pol would make sense of everything for him.

“
Didn’t you hear what I said, Michael? I told you to
drink the brandy
.”

“
But I don’t
want
it!” Michael exclaimed.

Robyn reared up from the chair, his hands slamming down onto the table and shoving its contents off in a motion which looked to
Michael as if he were trying to strangle something. The dishes broke into pieces as they hit the floor and papers flew all over the room. Michael leapt away from the table and from Robyn, and gave a little shriek of startled fear.

“
Kiska trash!” Robyn lunged at him. Michael flinched and tried to run away from the man’s fury but Robyn caught his arm and held him in a bruising grip. The full force of Robyn’s thoughts and feelings flashed into Michael’s mind as if they were fireworks exploding one after another, nearly knocking the boy unconscious. “It didn’t have to be like this. I was willing to go slowly with you—you seemed so different! So innocent! It could’ve been so special—!”

“
What are you talking about?” Michael gasped, so shocked by the man’s sudden violence that the pain from his arm took a moment to register. “I just want to find Pol! You promised you’d help me!”

The man
’s free hand flew out and struck Michael across the face. It sounded as loud in his head as a slamming door, and his ears rang painfully. He found himself half-sprawled on the floor when he’d gathered his wits once more, and all he could taste was the sharp, metallic flavor of blood.

Impatiently, Robyn yanked him to his feet again, wrenching his already bruised arm.
He was still talking but Michael could barely make sense of what the man was saying.

“
If you’d just drunk the brandy! Now you’ve spoiled everything! I would’ve done anything for you.
Anything
! But you’re so beautiful, I should’ve realized you couldn’t possibly be as innocent as you seemed. I should’ve known JhaPel wouldn’t have thrown you into the streets without good reason.”

“
Let me go.” Michael’s head throbbed from the blow, and his balance was destroyed by it. “Please, just let me go!”

“
Not yet,
darling child
,” Robyn sneered. “You owe me for all I’ve done for you. You’re an ungrateful little whore, and I’m going to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.”

A senseless shriek ran through
Michael’s brain while his lips moved soundlessly, trying to form words and failing. He swallowed and nearly choked on a mouthful of blood. A whimper escaped his throat.

The man leaned in close to him.
His free hand reached up and tangled itself in Michael’s long, black hair, holding the boy’s head so that he couldn’t escape.

Shock shut down
Michael’s imperfect mental defenses, and the full force of Robyn’s thoughts and feelings overwhelmed him the moment the man’s lips touched his. The boy recognized Robyn’s strongest emotion, and though he had felt it directed at himself before, he had never sensed it from Robyn until that moment—nor had it ever been so overpowering. It was a grasping, suffocating
thing
which wanted to smother him in its own desires.

Images and feelings and ideas that
seemed weirdly familiar forced themselves into his awareness. He didn’t want to know what they meant, didn’t want to understand what was happening, but it was too late for escape. He knew Robyn meant to hurt him.

Robyn
’s mouth scrubbed against his face, his tongue filling Michael’s mouth. The man made sickening noises and ripples of pleasure rolled off of him. Finally, he pulled back as if to study the boy’s battered face.

“
Are you afraid of me, dear?”

Michael
felt numb and stupid. He could feel the blood running from his nose and taste it on his lips. “Yes.”

Robyn smiled like a hungry dog, and, still holding tightly to
Michael’s arm, turned and strode through the foyer toward the staircase.

“
Don’t do this!” Michael tried to break free of the man’s painful grip while still keeping his feet under him, but Robyn seemed to fully intend to drag him up the stairs if he didn’t walk. “Let me go! Let me
go
!”

They reached Robyn
’s bed chamber, and the man pushed the boy through the doorway. Michael tripped, fell to his knees, and burst into tears. “Leave me alone!” he sobbed. “Go AWAY!”

“
We’re not done yet, sweetheart. There are some things it’s about time you learned. Get up.”

“
No!” Michael’s anger pushed away his tears for the moment.

“
Have it your own way, then,” Robyn muttered. He yanked the boy to his feet again, hurting his arm so badly with this new violence that Michael screamed. The man dragged him to the bed where he shoved him down.

Michael squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands as if this could hide him from whatever Robyn meant to do.
“Holy Vail, protect your child in this hour of need—”

The man pulled
Michael’s arms away and caught his face in his hands. He kissed him again, full and hard on the mouth, and Michael knew at once it was supposed to hurt, which it very much did, but he couldn’t understand why.

When Robyn finally drew back,
Michael could see that the man was almost laughing. “It’s too late for a protection prayer, my darling innocent,” he whispered. “You should have prayed that prayer the day we met. Perhaps then it might have done you some good.”