Till Dawn Tames the Night (30 page)

Aurora pulled back. She didn't want to go with them, but where was her escape? Vashon couldn't help her. It would be suicide and they both knew it. She stared up at Mick. He pulled her against him. She could smell the rum on his rancid breath.

"The
gov
ain't
gonna recognize y', is he?" he asked.

"No," she whispered, feeling the noose tighten around her throat.

"Come along, Mick.
Y're
scaring the poor thing half
outta
her mind," the other guard said.

"We're gonna be on the grind tonight, Davey!" Mick grabbed Aurora by the waist and with one meaty arm, lifted her off the ground. She cried out and struggled, but she'd never felt so helpless. Even though Vashon looked on, he couldn't help her, and even if he could have, she doubted that spark in his eyes was enough to light a fire and save her. He surely didn't care enough about her to risk his life, not even for his valuable Star.

"Let her down or die, fool."

The words, harsh and unyielding, shocked everyone. The guards jumped, surprised that they had an onlooker to their amusements. Aurora simply gasped, disbelieving what she saw as Vashon stepped from the shadows, one lone pistol in hand.

He was mesmerizing in his intensity. His eyes flamed, his lips curled in contempt. His tall, magnificent body seemed barely able to contain the anger it held. He personified fury. Davey, the more timid guard, immediately dropped his gun in surrender.

"He's only got one shot, Davey!" Mick shouted, immediately sobering. "Pick up
y'r
goddamned gun!"

Davey scrambled to retrieve his weapon. Vashon looked upon him with disgust.

"You think you piteous fools can fight me?" he asked, stepping toward Aurora.

"So she is
y'r
wench,
El
Draque
."
Mick pulled back and held Aurora in front of him. He swayed precariously, cursing the effects of his drink.

"That's right. And I don't take it well, seeing her maltreated." Vashon stepped forward. Though he was better armed, Mick stepped back again.

"Vashon, y' ain't gonna live through this night. The
gov's
got every man on this island searching fer y' and I'll be getting a fat purse fer bringing y' in."

"But you're not going to be bringing me in."

The guard's arm went around her neck. Aurora felt it tighten, but she could hardly think about what was happening. She was too stunned at Vashon's mad bravery. He couldn't possibly overpower both the guards, yet he had still come forward to help her. And was it just for the Star? Was that the only reason he had risked his life? She didn't want to believe it. She wanted to believe it was something more, something pure and good that might be worth the loss of his life. But that certainly didn't fit this dark, ferocious man. The only thing she knew for certain was that he'd been very foolhardy in coming forward. Grand
Talimen
would have a hanging at dawn.

"Davey," Mick ordered, "shoot the bastard if y' have to, but take
El
Draque
to the jail. When the
gov
knows we got him, he'll
be wanting
a word with him before he dies."

Davey looked at his prisoner. He was obviously terrified of him and if Davey hadn't been the one in uniform, an onlooker might have thought Vashon the one in command. "Mick, I think you should take him. I don't—"

"Goddamn it, don't argue!" To press his point, Mick tightened his arm further around Aurora's delicate neck. She gasped and Vashon stepped forward. Davey was forced to be brave.

"All right, all right!"
He swayed a bit as he held his bayonet to Vashon. "You, stay where y' are!" He hiccoughed and Vashon almost smiled.

"Come now, gentlemen. Surely you see this won't work." Vashon relaxed the pistol in his hand. "You're both deep into your cups. You aren't going to take me anywhere."

"We're not, eh?" Mick nearly choked Aurora. Vashon's temper flared and he moved to take her, but Davey's nerves suddenly got the best of him and his gun went off.

After the shot, Aurora looked up and screamed when she saw Vashon slide against the wall. His shoulder trickled scarlet as he slumped down on the floor.

"No!" she cried as she pulled forward. She couldn't bear the thought that he might be dead. She couldn't bear it that he might have died in order to save her.

Davey looked at Vashon in amazement, almost as a hunter might look after he'd killed a rare and dangerous beast. Mick's hold on Aurora slackened and she broke free only to run to Vashon's side. She fell to her knees and meant to attend to him but before she could even determine if he was still alive, Mick had her back in his hold.

"I killed him, Mick," Davey mumbled in amazement.

"The
gov'll
be pleased. Y' just tell him he wouldn't come without a fight."

"I killed the Dragon."

"That's right, Davey, now go get the damned pistol.
Just in case the bloke ain't all dead."

Through tear-blurred eyes Aurora watched Davey walk up to Vashon's still body. Timidly he reached for the gun that was just inches from Vashon's lax hand. Davey looked as if he didn't even breathe while he slowly slid the weapon out of Vashon's reach. Only when he had it in his hand did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Look, Mick, it's made of gold," Davey said just before a hand went around his neck. He screamed and another hand grabbed the wrist that held the gun. Vashon's eyes snapped open, and before Davey could even fight back, Vashon knocked him off his feet and dealt him a blow to his head that immediately left him unconscious.

"Let her go." Vashon rose to his feet, pistol back in his hand. His shoulder still bled, but he moved as if it hardly bothered him. Aurora looked closely and saw that the wound had barely grazed his flesh. It was little more than the damage Flossie had inflicted on him with her parasol.

The guard released her and scrambled to cock his gun. He was just about to shoot when Vashon knocked it away. Terrified, Mick went to grab Aurora again, to use her as a shield, but she, too, was thrust out of his path. He was left defenseless.
Against the Dragon.

"Vashon!
Let's bargain!" Mick backed from him, terrified. He stumbled once, the rum still taking effect. "I won't tell the
gov'nor
y' were ever here. Just leave me be and I won't tell the
gov
nothing!"

"You'll be squawking like a hen as soon as I'm out of sight," Vashon said, picking up the abandoned gun. He touched the point of the bayonet. Pleased by its sharpness, he slipped it off the muzzle.

"Vashon!"
Mick pleaded, his terror sobering him, "This ain't necessary!"

Vashon only smiled. Aurora watched, unwilling to see another bloodletting, yet unable to look away.

"Spare me, Vashon! Spare me!" Mick backed against the wall. When Vashon confronted him, Aurora could no longer see everything that was happening. Her heart stopped in her chest as Mick wailed. Vashon clamped him into the arm shackles, and they rattled as Mick fought valiantly to save his life. But then Vashon thrust in the bayonet and there was silence.

He stepped away and Aurora finally had a full view of his victim. She thought to see a dead man. Instead she saw no blood, heard no agonizing cries of pain. She looked at Mick; his mouth was open in shock. He was very much alive, not hurt at all, but he didn't dare move. She almost laughed when she saw the reason for this. Mick was pinned to the wall by the bayonet impaling the fabric of his trousers. The knife, stuck perilously close to his manhood, was solidly imbedded between the paving stones into the crumbling humid mortar. With his arms in shackles, he looked like a butterfly under glass. Every time he even breathed wrong, he risked substantial damage.

"If you like your voice as you've got it now, I wouldn't move." Vashon's mouth turned up in amusement. Mick just looked at him, his face frozen with astonishment.

"Vashon.
You bastard," the guard said as quietly as he could. The slightest show of anger cost him. Even Aurora could see that if he really lashed out, he'd lose the family jewels altogether.

Vashon smiled and stepped over Davey's unconscious form to get to Aurora. He took her hand and pulled her with him. "Have a good rest," he said before Mick's soft curses followed them down the passage.

"We've got to find a way out of here," Aurora said as she tended to Vashon's shoulder. The dragon on his back looked all too ominous with a smear of blood across its scales. She dabbed at the dragon and perused her handiwork. He was hardly bleeding at all anymore. The damage was light, barely a nick. All he needed was a bandage.

She lifted her eyes and stared out into the darkness. They were on a balcony overlooking the governor's lush courtyard. The palms shook in the gentle breeze, creating soft music, while lights danced across the island that spread out below them—the torches of the guards as they searched for their prey.

"We've time." Vashon put his arm around her waist. He pulled her down onto his lap and ignored her feeble protests. When she quieted, he asked, "I want to know something before we leave. We won't go until you answer me."

"Your wound is bleeding again. I've got to get some bandages." She tried to struggle out of his lap. He held firm.

"Why didn't you betray me to those guards?"

She didn't move.

"Aurora, I want to know."

Their gazes locked.

"I was in far less danger than you would have been," she said simply.

"Not so." Slowly he added, "Most likely they would have jumped you in exchange for not bringing you to the governor."

"I wasn't afraid—"

"When they'd had their fill, they would have brought you to him anyway. You would have been hung as a thief. Did you know that?"

His hand came up and roughly lingered on her cheek, but the caress was more than she could bear. She looked out over the balcony to the jagged silhouettes of the coconut palms.

"I don't understand. Why did you do it, Aurora? You could have died.
For me."
His words were deep and quiet.

"No, not for you," she denied, still refusing to look at him.
What he wanted she wasn't going to give. She didn't know why she had felt this need to save him. He'd been innocent, she was sure of that, but it was more than just innocence or guilt. It was for the same reason she couldn't utter the words, "I'd never hurt you." They were too bare. They spoke too eloquently of what she was beginning to feel for this terrible man.

"You were protecting me, weren't you?"

"I've got to get some bandages."

"Answer me." He held her down once more.

"Vashon, don't . . ." Her voice suddenly cracked.

"Don't what,
Aurorel
Don't
wonder why you saved my life tonight? Don't think about the reason for it?"

"The reason for it?" she repeated, his questions making her irrationally angry. "I'll tell you. It was for the same reason you stepped out from that doorway and saved me from those men. It was the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do. That's all it was, Vashon, a virtuous deed. And I know how you loathe that." She laughed bitterly.
"Virtue.
It sounds like an oath in the same breath with your name."

He took her face in both his hands and forced her to look at him. When their gazes clashed, he said cruelly, "You sound disappointed in my character, Aurora. Almost like a spurned lover."

"You are the one spurned, Vashon. I spurn you and I always will." She struggled to be free of his hold on her face.

"But you can't spurn me till I've made an offer. So allow me." He pulled her roughly to him, letting her slide between the
clamp
of his thighs. "Do you want to do a little strumming, love?"

She froze. His crudeness knew no bounds. She knew quite well what strumming meant; she had heard it from several of the older boys they'd taken into the Home. Though she might not be clear on all the details, she had a pretty good idea of the grand picture. It was a soiled one indeed.

"Let—me—go—" she demanded, looking at him contemptuously.

"Come along, Aurora," he baited, "a little in-and-
out'd
do you a world of good. Perhaps we might even loosen that stick enough to let you—"

"You vile man!
You wretch!
You disgusting,
blackhearted
villain!"
She cursed and tugged on his thighs.

He wasn't about to let her go.

"Does this mean you spurn me?" he asked mockingly.

She squealed with fury. He only laughed. She raised her hand to slap him, but he caught it in midair. He forced it to her side,
then
thrust her against his chest. Suddenly he turned deadly serious. There was no more play in him at all.

"Don't make me into a noble man, little wren. Don't even think it."

"But why?
Why can't you be other than what you are?" Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. She didn't know why he was affecting her this way. She certainly had other things to worry about now.
All of hell's
wrath seemed to be breaking loose around them: Cutthroat guards were scouring the island, Vashon had flagrantly decided to hide in the governor's own bedchamber, and there seemed little or no chance of their ever getting back to the docks undiscovered. Yet now, as mad as it was, the most important thing in the world seemed to be having him admit to that spark she'd seen in his eyes when she'd told those guards she knew nothing about
El
Draque
.