Fae (7 page)

The pain started to fade and Fae shook her head and replied in perfect Amharic, “
Now I do
.”

Ebere looked shocked and then covered her mouth as she started laughing. “How have you not shared this with all of us?”

“I kind of like listening to what Caridee has to say about me when she thinks I don’t speak Spanish.” Fae grinned and Ebere laughed again.

“I’m curious about what she says too, so I’ll keep this a secret as long as you’ll fill me in.”

“Deal.” Fae was smiling as they turned the corner, but she felt short of breath when she finally dropped the sheets in the laundry room, and her skin was coated in sweat. She leaned against the wall and both Ebere and Mei-Li moved in front of her.

“You need to eat, Fae.” Ebere pushed the hair back from Fae’s forehead so it would stop sticking. “You need water too. You’re overheating. The evening meal is soon, you should just stay down here with us.” Fae sat down hard. Her heart was racing and she still felt giddy even though she had decided to tell Ebere about her father, Eltera, the Faeoihn, Gormahn and the battle. Normally if she talked about Gormahn and his Laochra she was angry all over again, but the Oblivion was muting all of that. Instead, right now she felt detached. She could think about the faces of her fellow Faeoihn, she could remember the last day she saw Eltera, and she didn’t want to fall apart over it. The anger was still there, she could feel it simmering, but it was a distant murmur in the white noise of the drug.

“Thanks, Ebere.” Fae forced a smile for her. Mei-Li, Ebere, and another girl named Sobeska continued loading the washers and dryers. They spent the rest of their time folding on the floor or running things around the house.

An hour or so later Fae woke up to a sharp boot kick to her ribs. She gasped, wincing as her eyes opened, and she heard Ebere’s voice scream off to her left, “Sir! Please!”

“What the fuck are you doing down here?” The gruff voice belonged to Butler and Fae looked up at him as she crossed an arm over her stomach and used the other to push herself up. She didn’t even remember falling asleep, but the Oblivion was still raging in her system. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything to dull the pain – it just made her care a little less about it.

“She brought us laundry! From the East wing!” Mei-Li spoke up this time and Butler just sneered at them before grabbing Fae by the hair and pulling her to her feet. She stumbled as he yanked her towards him, but his grip on her kept her upright.

“Tell me, Fae, where are you supposed to be?” The sinister tone of his voice almost sounded happy as he asked. She wanted to just tell him to punish her, to get it over with, but no, he had to make a point first.

“Upstairs. East wing.” She gritted her teeth to stifle the smart-ass comments she wanted to make, because she really doubted Butler was supposed to be looking for her. Nikola had already delivered a punishment for her defiance that morning and it was unlikely he’d given Butler permission to hunt her down again.

“Why aren’t you there?”

“I brought the laundry down.” As soon as she answered, the other girls started speaking to back her up but Butler just snapped his fingers to silence them.

“What should you have done once the laundry was delivered?” His lips brushed against her ear as he leaned close to her, and a shudder moved through her.

“I should have gone back upstairs, sir.”

“That’s right,” he growled out the words and then shoved her forward, bending her over one of the machines. He lifted the hem of her dress, and someone started to plead with him as he held her down by her hair.

“Sir! Please, it’s -”

“Shut up! The next girl that talks gets twice what Fae here is getting for leaving her assigned area.” The sound of his belt unbuckling made her flinch in preparation. An instant later the leather cut through the air and the first lash across her ass was a bright spike of pain inside the delirium of the Oblivion. The next line of fire went across the tops of her thighs, and she bit down hard to stay silent.

I’ve had worse. I’ve had worse. This is nothing
.

It was the mantra that got her through so much, and even as he laid line after line across her ass, she swallowed the little yelps that tried to slip by. It was a searing heat that broke through the warm fuzz that had filled her and replaced it with the aftershocks of each blow. She refused to beg for him, to let him hear her plead, because she knew that’s what he loved most. The last few were as hard as he could deliver, and she pressed her cheek hard against the metal, gripping the back of the machine and pushing out breaths to fight the urge to cry. Her skin felt blistered. Even the slight shifting of her muscles revealed how bruised she was, and she knew he reveled in punishing her because he never got in trouble for it. Who cared what he did to her when she was a blank slate the following morning?

It was probably why Butler had hunted her down.

Even if she had been upstairs he would have found some small error, some tiny mistake to punish her for. As the pounding of her heart in her ears faded, she could hear sniffling from the other end of the laundry room on top of Butler’s harsh breathing.

“Get on your knees,” he released his grip on her and stepped back. Fae stood up carefully and knelt even more gently, keeping her ass off her heels. She could see that Butler’s cock was hard in his pants, and she tried to ignore the three girls huddled together in the corner of her eye. “Go on, slut, you know what to do.”

“Mei-Li! Sobeska! Ebere!” Lena’s irritating voice rang out from the hallway, “Do you girls not understand what time it is? If you miss -” her words stopped short as she stepped into the doorway, and Fae hated the blush that flooded her cheeks. Lena took in the scene, and then tried to stifle the smile on her lips. “Ah, Butler, sir, I didn’t know you were here. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“No interruption, I was just reminding Fae of the house rules, and the consequences of breaking them.” His fingers wound in her hair and he pulled her forward until he rubbed her cheek against the front of his pants. She clenched her fists tight to keep herself from doing something incredibly stupid. Like twisting his balls until he screamed like a girl, or breaking every finger of his hand and then driving a coat hanger through his abdomen as she spit in his face.

“Of course, sir. The other girls are late for the evening meal, would you mind if I took them with me?” Lena spoke so sweetly as she pointedly ignored Fae on the floor.

“Go ahead, I’ll give this one her dinner personally.” Butler’s voice made her shudder, but she took relief in the fact that the other girls wouldn’t be here for what would happen.

“No! It’s my fault! I -” Ebere started to speak and Fae jerked away from Butler’s grip and shouted at her.

“Shut up, Ebere! Go with Lena!” Fae hated the hurt look that passed over the girl’s face, but if it meant she’d be safe and back in the female quarters, it was worth it. Butler slapped her hard for pulling away, and Fae swallowed against the urge to cry. She didn’t even touch her cheek because she didn’t want him to know how much it had hurt. Glancing up through her hair she saw Ebere standing with her fists balled at her sides.

“Come on, Eb.” Sobeska took her arm and pulled her past Fae, and Mei-Li followed them. Lena turned back and grabbed the doorknob as they all stepped outside.

“Sorry for the interruption, sir. Hopefully with your guidance she’ll learn some manners.” Lena smiled and Fae growled at her as she shut the door and left them alone.

“I don’t think you’re capable of learning manners, whore.” Butler grabbed her chin and yanked her head up painfully. “Are you?”

“No.” Fae kept her eyes on his as they widened slightly in surprise and then narrowed as his rage filled him.

She had never obeyed, and she wasn’t going to start now
.

“That’s
no sir
.” He hissed it through his teeth and she pushed down the urge to spit in his face.

“No, sir.” She growled the words back at him and he returned his fingers to her hair, straightening up above her.

“I agree, you’re not capable of being anything more than the slut you were made to be. Now, you’re going to do your best as you suck my cock, or after I come in your throat I’ll just go talk to Nikola about what you did when you finished your chores.” His fist tightened in her hair, “And I’ll check the security footage to see who helped you finish all those rooms, because I
know
you didn’t do them alone. Then I’ll have you watch as they get exactly what they’ve earned.”

Ebere
.

He knew exactly who had been helping her. Hell, Ebere had tried to confess to him. She wasn’t going to let Butler go after her too. Fae reached up and swiftly undid the button on his pants and tugged the zipper down. Then she slipped her fingers into the band on his boxers and paused, “I’ll do whatever you want, sir.”

“Show me.” He pulled her head forward and she yanked his pants down.

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter Four

Rannoch Moor, Scotland

Appearing in the middle of Gormahn’s great hall was disorienting, because from the moment Kiernan arrived he was overwhelmed with the light of the fires and the sound of people shouting over each other and laughing. As his head adjusted to the sudden change of scenery, Kiernan lifted the duffel bag he held over his shoulder.

“Kiernan!” Phelan clapped him on the back hard enough to knock the air out of him. A big man with red hair and a thick beard on his face, he looked like he should be at a modern day renaissance fair with his kilt and a broadsword strapped to his back. Some of the Laochra hadn’t been too interested in updating themselves to modern times, and Phelan looked several centuries behind and proud of it.

“Hail, Phelan. It’s been a long time.” Kiernan gave him a smile and gripped his shoulder.

“A long time? That’s what you say after over a hundred years?” Phelan’s bellowing laugh shook the rafters and drew the attention of others who were eating and drinking and gambling.

“I’ve been out seeing what the world has to offer. It’s changed a lot in the last century, you know. They have technological marvels you wouldn’t believe, but you’d have to actually
leave here
to see them.”

“I leave to fight, and return to celebrate!” Several of the men cheered at Phelan’s response, and he gave a belly laugh and returned to drinking.

Kiernan turned around, taking in the huge hall he had been avoiding for more than a century. Gormahn was not interested in modern conveniences, and the huge castle that served as the base of the Laochra could have been pulled out of ancient Europe. There were even rushes on the floor, and a pair of huge wolfhounds running the length of the hall snatching at scraps thrown down.

Gormahn had only acknowledged modern technologies in one way – the base was hidden from humans by his power.

On late nights, when he woke up in a cold sweat, Kiernan often that it might have been the effort it took to keep it hidden that had his hold finally waning. It could also just be the way the world had mostly forgotten him and the rest of his pantheon – either way Kiernan didn’t care. He had woken up from that vision of blood and gore, and he did everything he could not to return here where it lived.

Shaking his head at the men around him, he walked to the end of the room where the doorway to the sleeping quarters was. A lot of the Laochra had found places of their own out in the world, but some refused to leave the base, and all of them still acted like the days of conquest were alive and well. It was strange how much it bothered Kiernan that they still wallowed in their bloodlust, and he knew living like this only made them worse.

Sitting in a chair against the wall Kiernan settled his duffel bag across his lap and waited. He watched the Laochra cheering, and drinking, and singing, and drinking some more. Some of them waved him over, but he just held his hand up to say he was fine and remained where he was. It was almost two hours later when Eryn swaggered in through the door from the sleeping quarters. Kiernan tucked the book he had started reading under one thigh as he took in the form of his old friend. Eryn was in a black t-shirt and cargo pants, his long hair was pulled back into a pony tail with just a single braid trailing from his temple. He grinned when he saw Kiernan, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. It never did.

Kiernan had really hoped Cole would appear first.

“Ah, there you are Kiernan. Cole said you’d be coming.” His voice was bored, and he didn’t even meet Kiernan’s gaze. Instead, he looked over the hall and roared out a cheer that was echoed back by several of the groups who then toasted their general. Eryn’s viciousness had long ago earned him the respect of the Laochra and had provided him the place of honor as their unofficial general. Right hand to Gormahn.

“Cole told me to meet you both here, but I’ve been here for a couple of hours.” Eryn turned his eyes back to him, looking over Kiernan’s jeans, converse shoes, and vintage Mariners shirt. Kiernan raised an eyebrow at Eryn’s long evaluation of him, suddenly nervous that his mental changes were written all over him like war paint. It wouldn’t do well for Eryn to already be curious about him.

“I was meeting with Gormahn. I’m sure he’d be interested in seeing you since you decided to return to base.” Eryn finally met Kiernan’s eyes, and it made his stomach clench. Although Eryn looked about nineteen, his eyes told a different story. The black revealed a cold, calculating individual devoid of empathy. Just the thought of seeing Gormahn face to face made Kiernan sick, especially if it was just he and Eryn in the room. He had a feeling Gormahn would somehow know everything and that he would realize his grip on Kiernan was slipping.

Who knew what he’d do then?

Kiernan kept his voice light, and didn’t look away from Eryn even though he was going out of his way to make Kiernan uncomfortable. “If he wants to see me, sure. Have you seen Cole though? Little prick said he’d meet me here.” He crossed his long legs in front of him, trying to look casual under the harsh stare of the man. Showing any kind of weakness in this moment would make Eryn go for blood, and he would likely drag Kiernan in front of Gormahn just to see what would happen.

“I don’t know where he is. Cole is unpredictable as always. Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle the hunt? From what I understand you’re out of practice.” Eryn crossed his arms and Kiernan laughed, leaning back in the chair.

“Is that what Cole says about me? I think he’s just jealous that I’ve always been better than him, he knows I’ll come home with the first kill.” With that Eryn gave his first real smile, and Kiernan could remember how exhilarating it had been to go into battle with Eryn and receive that smile before the charge.

When it came to war, Eryn was a pureblood killer. He had no hesitation, no regret, and he actually
enjoyed
it. Modern psychiatrists would probably have a field day categorizing him while he told them about what it was like to fight until his arms were coated in blood.

Then he’d probably kill the psychiatrists.

Kiernan had loved it as well once, had roared into battle at Eryn’s right hand – and now he just wanted to distance himself from all of it. From all of them. Staring at the man who had once been his friend, he felt like he had come upon a wolf while walking in the woods and he had to be careful with how he moved away so he didn’t get taken down. Eryn stared at him, evaluating, weighing his answers and the relaxed posture that Kiernan forced himself to hold.

“I’ve missed this.” He tried to lie smoothly, but the words settled heavy in his stomach. “It feels good to be back around the men, to know we’ll be out again. I forgot how good it felt.”

Eryn’s smile finally soaked into the rest of his body and he relaxed a little. “It’s been a little boring since you decided to enter the world, Kiernan. I haven’t done a midnight raid in too long. Does that mean you’re coming back to us?”

“Maybe. It’s easy to lose track of time in these walls, and there’s so much changing in the human world right now, I’ve enjoyed being there for all of it as well.” Kiernan shrugged and Eryn nodded.

“True, but many of the men used to look up to you, and I know they’d like to have you back.”

Kiernan felt the pressure to stay, and he was about to respond when Cole’s voice shouted across the room.

“Hello, everyone!” His words were followed almost immediately by a yell. Cole had appeared at the side of the room on top of one of the long tables, and he’d landed square in the middle of a game of cards. One of the men grabbed his feet and jerked him off the table and onto the floor. Cole jumped back up, and ended up laughing with the man a minute later.

“And the fool has arrived.” Kiernan muttered and grinned as he stood up with the duffel, tucking his Discworld book back into the side pocket.

“I heard that!” Cole sauntered over with a pack on his shoulder, his hair was mussed and his shirt was wrinkled. “I was busy enjoying some time with a lady friend before our manly trip.” Kiernan rolled his eyes and Eryn just chuckled.

“So that took five minutes, what happened to the other two hours?” Eryn grinned at Cole, and Cole started mocking him. Watching them mess with each other made Kiernan remember what it had been like to be a part of the group, and he missed it. He couldn’t help but miss the camaraderie. This hunt was going to be good for him, it would help him center himself, and maybe keep him from wasting away in his apartment staring at a girl inside a glass.

It only took about thirty minutes for them to grab Eryn’s bags and collect some well-made bows and combat knives for their hunt.

Eryn pulled out a map and pointed at a section of South Asia, “This is where we’re headed. I’ll take us there because I scouted it a few weeks back.” Kiernan barely had time to nod before Eryn placed a hand on each of their shoulders and the world blinked out of existence for a second, and then the deep green of the jungle faded in. The air was muggy but clean; there wasn’t a trace of exhaust or industry in the air. It was how the earth had been meant to look, and smell, and feel. Raw and real. Eryn and Cole seemed to be enjoying it too, looking up through the canopy at the sky. Cole immediately started walking forward, Eryn followed him, and Kiernan brought up the rear as they pushed their way through the thick undergrowth.

“Mind if I show you where I was planning to camp? Or would you like to wander the jungle for a while?” Eryn whispered, his accent showing up even though he wasn’t speaking their ancient tongue. Cole stepped aside and bowed with a flourish, making room for Eryn to walk by. As he passed Eryn shoved Cole’s head to the side and the weight of his pack almost toppled him. Kiernan grabbed him and stifled a laugh.

“I’m pretty sure I can find a clearing.” Cole hissed out the words, glaring at the back of Eryn’s head.

“Sure you could, and would it also be near water and in good hunting territory? Oh, and be on higher ground so we’ll be dry?” Eryn grinned and Cole ground his teeth, but he was still smiling. They all had more energy now that they were out in the wild with a purpose. The march wasn’t long before they broke through into an open space about fifteen feet across, the canopy was thin above and provided more light for them to set up camp. As they worked, Cole nudged Kiernan.

“Are you glad you came out? You have to admit this is better than your sissy apartment.”

“Yes, I’m glad I came, but just because my apartment is clean doesn’t make it sissy. I’m taking advantage of all of the modern conveniences the mortals have come up with.” He threw a stick at Cole and nailed him in the back of the head. “By the way, you live in a house, it’s not like you’re roughing it like the old days either.”

“It’s a
cabin
.” Cole emphasized his term for it. The nice place was nestled in the low mountains of Virginia and was too pretty to be called just a cabin.

“It’s got running water doesn’t it? Electricity? You have a fucking television, Cole.” Kiernan rolled his eyes at Cole’s huffing and puffing over being called out.

“Oh, shove it.” Eryn laughed. “Both of you have given in to luxury. Made yourselves a couple of princes over there in America. You should come back to the days of straw beds and cooking over an actual fire, hearing the wind howl through the cracks in the walls.” Eryn was smiling as he started to clean his bow off and make sure it was ready.

“I think sleeping in the mud with you two over the next day or so will be enough for me. I like air conditioning, and I like my bed.” Kiernan grabbed a protein bar from his bag to chew on.

“I spend more time outside than Kiernan does in his sixth floor apartment in Seattle. It would take him a couple of hours just to get to the woods. I walk out my back door and boom, I’m there.” Cole zipped his pack back up. “And, for the record, I like my microwave and watching fights on pay-per view.” They all laughed.

“Some of the modern inventions are helpful, I admit that. But we’ve lost the freedom. We used to be able to come across any village and take what we wanted, food or women or livestock, and burn the rest. The known world quaked at the mention of the Laochra.” Eryn shrugged, “We were like gods among men, and blood and fear were our bread and water.”

Kiernan’s memories of those times when Gormahn’s power over them was total were scattered images and short clips of violence that he tried not to think about. Eryn seemed to remember everything so clearly and he reveled in it.

“There are parts of the world where we can still do that.” Cole said, and Kiernan hid the flinch the words brought.

“Yeah, but they’re shrinking. Every year man gains control over another part of the land. They talk of peace like it’s some great destiny, and they deny the fact that we’re all just animals walking upright. We need the blood and the violence to survive, and the weak either serve the strong or die beneath our heels. This
civilization
they crave does nothing but mask our true natures.” Eryn’s cold, matter-of-fact voice sent chills down Kiernan’s back. He was a zealot for Gormahn’s vision of the world, one where man gave in to its true nature. Where everyone took what they wanted because they could, where the strong overwhelmed the weak. Kiernan had been a part of that vision, but he knew deep down that he wasn’t anymore. He recognized the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak, and he wanted to do that, he wanted to be
that
person. The realization surprised him. If he wanted that, what did it mean for him? If he didn’t want to be Laochra, to stand for Gormahn’s beliefs, then what was he? Who was he?
“Kiernan, man, you’ve got to stop zoning out.” Cole was waving a hand in front of his face. “I’m seriously worried you’re going to end up something’s dinner.”