The Sanction (4 page)

Chapter Three

Amarinda listened to the heavy
footsteps that paused outside the heavy door and wheezed in another
breath. She was close to becoming unconscious. Unable to determine
how long it had been since she last fed, Amarinda had started
taking note of the days that went by until night and day felt like
one. The pain of hunger racked her body until she had all but
fainted. She recalled screaming, crying out, battering the door
until she swore she shattered the bones in her hands, but to no
avail. No one came to her aid. She realized then that this was her
fate – she was left to starve. It seemed an undignified way to
die.

Now the heavy lever lifted, the sound
echoed maddeningly in her head. Her senses were heightened, and had
the visitor arrived a few days earlier, she would have had the
strength to sink her teeth into her next meal. It was Rhys who
paused momentarily in the doorway. She considered him through the
cracked lids of her eyes and despised her weakness. None of her
limbs cooperated. She could not move even if she wanted to. He did
not venture when he sniffed the air and produced a scowl. Amarinda
closed her eyes the moment he turned his back to hustle away. If
she had to die, she did not want an audience.

It seemed like hours later voices
tapped into her awareness. Graeme’s scent was overpowering, and for
an insane moment she clung to the idea of the comfort it was
supposed to bring. Rhys was at the doorway again, his voice rose.
She winced, wishing for death, needing to feed.

“
This is madness,” he was
saying heatedly. “You should kill her, return her, or put her in
the dungeons where her screams cannot be heard. Hand her over to
the men and let them seek retribution the way only the horde would.
It has been days Graeme. There are rumors that the vampires have
evolved. If something is not done soon, talk will sweep the masses.
When the majority finds out that you have kept her here under lock
and key, you will have an uprising on your hands.”

“
She must stay alive for
what I have planned.”

“
She needs sustenance to
live.”

“
What would you have me do?
Offer my own people as food?”

“
If there is no means to
feed her then behead her. There is no possible way she can survive
that.”

Panic forced a soft whimper to escape
through her closed throat. She heard a grunt and the slamming of
the heavy door. For a long time all was silent, and when the slow
stride of footsteps announced his still present form, she forced
her eyes open wider still. Graeme turned his contorted features
toward her and grumbled something beneath his breath.

“
My general is of the
opinion that I kill you and be done with it, but I have other plans
for you.” He towered above her prone form and sliced his palm
swiftly with a blade he had secured. The heated scent of his blood
assaulted her senses. Hot tears stung her eyes. He eyed her with
repulsion even as she parted her lips to receive the feast he
offered. It was thick and rich, and left a sweet aftertaste upon
her tongue. Already she felt her body beginning to strengthen – no
doubt an effect of the healing properties in his blood. She drank
until the burn in her stomach ceased, not daring to look at him
least she saw the disgust on his face. She did not dream to fight
him then. Even as she licked her lips clean and heard him snort as
he turned away, she did not allow her tears of shame to flow until
after he had left the room.

****

The following morning Rhys paused on
the threshold and spotted her sitting silently in the sunlight. For
a moment he said nothing. When she turned to meet his gaze, he did
not allow his frown to fall away. “It is new to you,” he stated
simply.

She cocked her head to consider him and
offered a tiny smile. Had he not so been adamant about seeing her
executed for the sake of the horde, he might have found that smile
charming. “Thank you for what you did yesterday,” she offered
weakly. Rhys shifted uncomfortably and feigned ignorance. “He was
informed so that I would be assisted, is it not so?”

His eyes hardened instantaneously. “He
was informed in the hope that he would put a blade to your throat
and end your distress. I wish you dead more than any other,
vampire, but it is Graeme’s objective to ransom you. Do not thank
me. I am only seeking the well-being of the horde.”

She considered his words carefully
before offering a genial nod. “Be that as it may, I am grateful.
And you can tell him that I would indeed need his services again
tonight, if he is available.” Rhys stiffened considerably. She
noted his countenance and her brows pulled together. “Isn’t that
why he sent you? To inquire about my needs?”

He stepped away as if she were
contagious and eyed her before reaching for the door. “I would have
your head on a pike before I see him drained.”

She simply nodded again and turned back
to the warmth of the sunshine. Rhys found Graeme contemplating the
weapons the blacksmiths were in the process of perfecting. Graeme
made a few last minute alternations to the drawing on the
parchment, and then gestured for Rhys to follow him outside. As
soon as they exited the room, Graeme spoke. “How does she
fare?”

Rhys directed his frown toward the man
and thought he sounded a little more than anxious. He kept his
opinion to himself when he responded. “Stronger. Have you decided
when the ransom will be announced?”

Graeme smiled slyly. “Tonight I send an
envoy to the Hunters.”

“
And your
demands?”

Graeme acknowledged the men that passed
and greeted him before allowing his voice to drop an octave. “A
hundred heads – Hunter heads to be precise.”

Rhys eyed him in concern. “They will
not annihilate their own defense to retrieve her. Tis
folly!”

“
Tis foolproof is what it
is,” Graeme countered quickly. “They will do anything to have her
returned to them. That’s when we will attack – when they’re at
their weakest.”

Rhys hesitated and chose his next words
carefully. “If this does not work-”

“
It will work.”

“
If it does not, we will
become a sore to the Cronus Coven. They will not rest until every
one of us is killed.”

“
Their female is here – we
cannot become more of a problem than we already are. If I return
her out of good will they would not forgive her ill-treatment, and
if I kill her we have a war on our hands. It is wise to take
advantage of this opportunity.”

Rhys digested the plan and nodded. He
would stand by his leader’s decision. “She informs that you are
needed tonight.”

Graeme’s grin was wiped clean of his
face. “She informs?”

Rhys shrugged, as if he could not have
been bothered. “If she is to be kept alive she needs to eat. I
shall secure the means of her meals.”

Graeme’s frown was thunderous. “I will
not have her feed from my people.”

“
Of course not! We have
animals, don’t we? Cattle and swine?”

“
Bleeding the livestock will
only confirm the rumors. Leave her to me. In the mean time I want
you to gather the men who were present the morning of her failed
execution. Have them dispatched as scouts to the border-lands until
further notice.”

Rhys nodded and turned away to do as he
was instructed.

****

“
I shall tear that dogs’
heart right from his chest when I get my hands on him!” This from
Macer. He sat menacingly upon his armored mount, eyes as cold as
the Baltic Sea. “He would snatch her from my hands then demand
this?!”

Beside him his son’s horse snorted, but
Vilirus was deep in thought, eyeing the castle in the distance. It
was hewn out of the very rock of the mountain and housed, as far as
they knew, three hundred strong – a considerably large number
compared to their meager ninety, but there was a reason a Were
thought twice before provoking a vampire. They relied on brute
force in battle – a vampire relied on speed and skill, and was
considered more than just a worthy adversary.

“
We must inform the Elder,”
Silas announced softly.

Macer snarled. “Father would not grant
his request. We are the only wall between those animals and our
species. What use is there committing suicide and leaving them
unprotected?”

Silas’ eyes glinted. “She is your
daughter. Whatever decision you make now will determine whether we
retrieve her dead or alive.”

“
I can sneak in and get her
out as quietly as I can,” Vilirus offered.

“
They’ll have you cornered
and killed before you can even find her.” Macer’s voice was
strained with frustration. “There is no other way. We must pay the
ransom.”

“
Then I suggest yours should
be the first head we present,” Silas intoned. “You said it yourself
– tis foolish to do so.”

“
I meant that we will
deliver a hundred vampire heads, not necessarily ours.” He cut
Silas a chilling glance. The man was not known for his many words,
but his skill with a blade in battle was renowned. His, however,
was not as swift or as deadly as the twin brother he constantly
grieved. It was this brother whose help they would undoubtedly
need. Macer met his clear eyes pointedly. “Summon Sutter. Tell him
we have a job for him.”

Silas inclined his ash-blond head and
did not move as they turned their mounts and disappeared into the
darkened canopy of trees. He inhaled the sweet scent of the moist
wind that swept in from the hills, and identified each odor even as
he calmed his riotous thoughts. Sutter, he knew, was the source of
his unease. It was not only because of the fact that they shared a
telepathic link stronger and more intense than any of the Covens
had ever seen, but because, like so many before him, Sutter was
slowly becoming Lost. At three hundred, neither of them had found a
mate, and although Silas knew that there was a possibility he would
have to live out his existence alone and so too loose everything
still civilized about himself, he had promised long ago that when
the time of insanity came, he would do what was necessary to
protect his kind – even if it meant taking his own life.

Sutter was not of the same opinion. He
enjoyed the kill. Lived for it. And the thought that one day his
mate might be human made his blood churn so that even Silas felt
the disturbing force of his aversion. He was the black sheep, so to
speak – the one who was no longer allowed to cross the
boarder-lands and enter into the haven of the Covens. The Council
would not risk his capricious behavior. Silas knew his brothers’
moments of sanity – and he was well aware of the darkness when it
reared its head. These were the moments he could not see. As it
was, Sutter had attempted to shut him out completely. It was a
battle he had not yet won.

For a long while Silas waited,
projecting the darkened enclosure that served as a meeting place.
It was not until a full hour later that he felt a response. His
brother was immensely curious, but annoyed at being beckoned. Silas
did not know the exact moment he was no longer alone. With Sutter,
one minute faded into the other like breathing. His ability to
stalk made him a most dangerous adversary.

“
The Coven needs you
brother.” There was no response save a soft snort of incredulity
from somewhere in the shadows behind him. Silas did not attempt to
turn around. For the moment, he was in no danger.

“
Is that all you have to say
to a brother you have not seen in so very long?” Voice raspy,
Sutter stepped into the moonlight.

Silas’ first thought was that he had
lost weight. His skin, although flushed with fresh blood, was
pulled tight across his features, and the length of hair he had
once boasted was almost shorn to the scalp. Silas considered him
carefully, his emotions in a riot, his brain making quick work of
the red taints of his eyes and the wild look he carried about him.
The first shot of fear bolted through his body when he noted that
Sutter might have been more Lost than he had first
realized.

With their telepathic connection,
nothing was hidden one from the other, and Silas caught the snide
smile he offered. Sutter cocked his head to regard him through
narrowed eyes.

“
Do not be unsettled Silas.
I will not hurt you.” His voice dripped with honeyed
sarcasm.

“
I do not fear for myself,
but for you.”

Sutter’s hollow laughter made his skin
crawl. “Don’t waste your concerns. Now tell me why the Elder needs
my services.”

“
We need a hundred vampire
heads by the next new moon.”

“
Hunters, or
Lost?”

Silas’ nostrils flared. “Lost, of
course.”

“
Of course.” His dry smirk
did not go unnoticed. “You shall have it on the eve of the new moon
here, at midnight. But let the Elder know it comes with a
price.”

Silas went rigid. “Are you now a
mercenary, brother?”

“
I am good at what I do.
Sooner or later my own kind would begin hunting me. I must prepare
for such a time.”

“
By bleeding your family’s
pockets?” he whipped softly.