Tears of the Neko (8 page)

"I'm up," he called, knowing it was Drystan
making sure he was up in time for any appointments or meetings he
may have today. He was usually up shortly after dawn, but last
night had made this morning an exception.

"Very well, sir," Drystan called back from
the other side of the door. "Shall I bring something back up for
your breakfast or will you be dining downstairs?"

He groaned again as he made his way to his
feet. "Just bring some bread, cheese and coffee," he called
back.

"Yes, sir."

He made his way to the washroom and stood in
the small tiled area with the drain, pulling on the rope to release
the shower of water. It was a little cool from sitting in the
pipes, but he knew the next pull would bring warmer water up from
the boiler room where they stoked the fires to keep warm water
available. He quickly soaped up and rinsed, grabbed a towel to dry
off and brushed his teeth. Lathering up his shaving soap in the
small bowl, he quickly brushed the lather over his cheeks and
managed to not nick himself with the shaving blade. He was dressed
before Drystan came back in.

The young man set the tray on the table near
the door. The room had a couch, thick rug, and small table creating
a sitting area near the fireplace. The suite was large enough to
have a desk and small table for dining, as well as a large armoire
and chest. He also kept a chair near the window for reading.
Sometimes he was guilty of leaving his coffee mugs or books on the
wide window ledge, and Drystan would find them later. He loved his
view of the garden but felt he didn't get that much time to enjoy
it anymore. Large curtains covered the huge glass doors that led to
his balcony. Often, he would sit outside in the evening before
retiring for the night to calm his mind from the stresses of the
day.

"I brought an extra bowl for your guest as
well," Drystan said as he set the tray down.

Damien frowned. "My guest?"

John cast a glance at the closed study door.
Damien followed his gaze. It took a second for last night's events
to be dredged up from his hangover fogged brain.

"Oh, shit." He ran his hand over his face,
remembering the young neko his brother had given him last night.
"Yeah, thank you, Drystan."

A slow smile spread across the lanky young
man's face as he turned towards the door to leave. "You're welcome,
sir."

With a deep sigh, he made his way to the
study door, feeling slightly guilty that he'd forgotten all about
the young boy. When he opened the door, he expected to see the boy
on the bed, well, large cot it appeared. He froze when he saw the
bed next to the door was undisturbed, and a quick glance around the
nearly bare room told him no one was there.

He went back to his door and called down the
hallway. "John!"

His servant hadn't gotten very far. "Yes,
sir?"

"Where is..." he floundered for a name, but
couldn't recall it. "... where is the boy?"

John frowned. "Kayden? He's been in the room
since I put him there last night."

"Well, he's not there now," Damien
snapped.

Drystan hurried back down the hall to
Kayden's door. He threw the bolt that had been installed on the
outside of the door at Harrison's instructions.

"That's impossible," John stammered,
uncomprehending as to where the boy could be. He came back down the
hall towards his master. "I don't understand. I locked him in last
night, I swear sir."

Damien sighed. "Could he have come through
the door to my room and left the rooms before I came up?"

A look of horror crossed John's face as he
realized the door to the main room hadn't been locked. "Oh, sir,
I--I--"

Damien waved away his apology, "Don't. Just
find him."

"Yes, sir, right away, sir."

As the servant ran down the hall, Damien
strode toward the stairs. He met Roman coming from the other side,
dressed in his riding habit.

"Aren't you missing a shadow?" he
quipped.

"He's missing," Damien sighed.

The brown-haired man laughed. "Already? Wow,
I thought it would take him at least a day to get up the nerve to
run."

Damien just glared.

"How did he get out, anyway? I thought
Harrison told them to put a bolt on the outside of the door."

"The hallway door was locked. The one to my
room was not. He had to have come through my room. I will have to
remember to keep my door locked from now on."

"So it would seem," Roman mused. "Well, since
I'm heading out to ride, I will join the search for your little
escaped tiger."

"I'm sure that's not necessary," Damien waved
off his brother's offer to help search.

Suddenly, the floor below them erupted in
activity as servants and slaves started in on a search. They
watched as Ysmenia brought a pile of cloth over and called the
three hybrids over, two of them were guards from outside. She held
out the cloth and they sniffed it. Damien realized it must have the
boy's scent on it. While nekos weren't necessarily known for their
scent tracking, they would probably be able to tell if he were
hiding in the house. She handed the cloth over to Arnett who took
it outside, presumably to set the dogs out to track him.

He grimaced at the thought of the small neko
being set upon by the dogs and hoped the trackers stayed close to
call them off quickly.

Drystan, Ysmenia and one of the nekos, Ellis
he thought his name was, came back up the stairs to search the
upper levels. Damien's stomach growled and he remembered his
forgotten breakfast. He made his way back to his room, sitting down
to sip at the cooling coffee and nibble at the bread and
cheese.

A few minutes later, the large brown-haired
neko appeared at his open door. "Sir?"

"Yes? Ellis, right?" Damien turned. "Did you
find him?"

"Yes, sir," the large hybrid seemed
nervous.

"Well, where is he?" he snapped.

"Um, the kit is in his room," Ellis stated,
unsure if it was wise to let the master know he was wrong.

The massive man stood, frowning. "No, he
isn't. I was just in there."

The poor slave looked even more
uncomfortable. "Uh, begging your master's pardon, but he is,
sir."

Damien stormed to the study door, looking
again around the room. The hallway door was open too. Damien
gestured widely in frustration at the slave calling him a liar.
"Really? Where?"

The neko made his way past his master in the
doorway, his brown ears at full alert. "I scented him in here." He
pointed towards the bed. "He's right there."

Damien frowned and stepped farther into the
room. He had to bend slightly to see the small figure curled up in
a blanket under the bed, pressed into the back corner.

"Shit."

****

The loud curse startled Kayden from his
sleep.

He hadn't gotten to sleep last night until
very early in the morning, but then he hadn't slept much since he'd
arrived at this manor.

After the smelly master had hurt him, he'd
very diligently hid the evidence of the master's abuse, afraid he'd
be in trouble for getting the new clothes dirty. He was glad when
the woman let him bathe himself, as he was able to wash away the
blood that stained his thighs before anyone noticed. But he'd lain
awake in pain most of the previous day, pretending to sleep so they
would leave him alone.

He'd been terrified to meet the new
master--Damien, they called him. He'd liked the man's woodsy scent
and his firm but gentle touch. But the master didn't seem to want
him around, and Kayden was afraid that he'd be handed back over to
the smelly-tobacco scented one.

He was glad that the master had insisted that
he not stay at the party; the huge number of people had terrified
him. But then he had paced the room most of the night, the grey
stone cold under his bare feet, even with the thick calloused pads
nekos had to protect their feet. He was nervously afraid of what
might happen if he were caught sleeping if his master expected him
to be awake. He just couldn't anger his new master who might send
him to that one called Roman.

And he wasn't sure if he was allowed in the
bed; maybe it was for his master to use, even if it seemed small.
He hadn't been told it was okay.

Last night, he'd finally heard the door slam
from next door and jumped, waiting for the door between the rooms
to burst open. But it never did. He'd vaguely heard the rustle of
clothes and boots dropping to the floor. After another hour, when
nothing happened, he'd eventually exhausted himself by worrying.
Having been awake and overly alert and on edge for the last two
days, he finally pulled the blanket folded on the end of the bed
around him. He crawled under the bed to sleep. It felt safer there
than the open corners of the room, more protected.

So he was shocked by the loud curse, and even
more surprised he hadn't woken to movement in the room when the men
came in. He rarely slept so soundly that he wasn't aware of other
people in the room. Time had taught him to sleep lightly--to be
careful not to be caught unawares. But he'd just been so tired.

His wide green eyes popped open, staring at
the two men in his room, quickly scenting sandalwood and another
neko. He slowly slunk out from under the bed towards his angry
master, kneeling at the man's feet, his dark ears drooping
nervously.

"Ellis," his master breathed, controlling
himself. "Tell everyone he's been found and to call off the
search."

Ellis glanced nervously at the young neko,
fearing the boy was going to be punished for hiding. But he
disappeared quickly.

"Kayden, right?" Damien stated.

He nodded silently, afraid to look up at the
huge man.

"Do you always sleep under the bed?"

He shook his head, not sure how much trouble
he was in.

An audible sigh. "Can you
speak
?"

Kayden nodded hesitantly, gulping. "Y-yes,
sir."

Another deep sigh. "So why were you under the
bed? Were you hiding from me?"

Kayden shook his head quickly, then
remembered to use his voice. "N-no, sir."

A moment's pause, then an exasperated sigh.
"Well?" Damien demanded.

For a second, Kayden wasn't sure what his
master was asking but then remembered the first question. "I-I
d-didn't w-want to sleep in the c-corner."

"What the hell was wrong with the bed?" his
master snapped, and Kayden flinched at the anger in his voice.

He wished tears weren't threatening to spill.
"I-I I've n-never been a-allowed before." Since he'd never been
allowed on a bed before, he had no reason to believe he was
now.

He felt the stillness in the room as his
master got suddenly very quiet.

After a long silence, Kayden heard the deep
rumble of his master's voice again. "Where did you sleep with your
other masters?"

"In m-my cage, sir," he answered softly.
"O-or the g-ground."

With a small curse, his master turned, and
Kayden peeked up to see the man running his hand through his dark
hair.

His new master seemed huge, larger even than
he had appeared when he'd had a glimpse of the man on the horse in
the distance, and he tried not to think about how much damage a man
like that could cause. Up close, he seemed as big as a tree. The
man was beautiful though, broad lean muscles stretched under his
linen shirt that was tucked into cotton pants that fitted the man's
form easily. His hair was black and trimmed short around his neck
and ears. Kayden flinched when the piercing blue eyes narrowed on
him again.

"You are allowed to sleep on the bed," his
master said slowly, seemingly trying to control his temper. When he
turned back to Kayden, Kayden dropped his eyes quickly. "This is
your room, Kayden. You can use anything in it. I assume they've put
clothes for you in the dresser there. Stand up."

Kayden quickly rose to his feet.

"Come with me."

He was led through a side door into a room
that smelled of his master. He breathed deeply as he eyed the huge
expanse of the room.

"This is my room, but you are free to move
around in here as well, as long as you don't get in my way. The
washroom is over there," his master pointed. "I expect you to use
it whenever you need to. I will keep the door between our rooms
unlocked for you, for that purpose. The hall doors will be locked
until I can trust you not to wander."

Kayden nodded his understanding, knowing his
master was laying out expectations as clearly as he could. It was a
much bigger 'cage' than he'd ever had before, and he felt a frisson
of excitement race through him.

"Now, do you need to use the washroom?"

Kayden hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Then go," his master waved his arm abruptly,
and Kayden flinched, expecting to be hit. But then scurried quickly
to the side room.

He finished in the washroom, watching in
fascination at the water swirling as he pulled the rope like
Ysmenia had taught him. When he returned to the suite, he saw his
master sitting at the table. He slowly circled closer to the table,
not sure what his master wanted him to do.

"Here," he said curtly, handing Kayden a cut
of chicken from the bowl that John had left.

Kayden nearly ran over to the table, dropping
to his knees on the stone floor before hesitantly reaching for the
food. He was half afraid the man would yank it back like the
hunters liked to do--teasing him when he was starving and desperate
for anything, even the grizzled left-over bones.

Kayden quickly scarfed down the delicious
meat, grateful to get something more than bread and water and
gnawed left-overs, like he'd had with his former masters. He was
handed a small cup of milk next and curled his small hands around
it, careful not to spill it.