Gideon [The Marujan Brothers Series] Book Two (9 page)

Chapter
Eleven

R
eluctantly refusing a shot of
whiskey, Gideon leaned forward, waiting. Directly ahead of him sat
Abel Macintosh, the infamous madman-turned-daddy gulping down his
own drink and kindly taking Gideon's previously refused glass as
well. At the far end of the room, Malakai stood firmly in an
audacious manner as if he owned the damn place. The mere presence
of the two men both disgusted and angered him beyond belief. They
were enemies...heartless monsters who had aided in the destruction
of his people. The fact that Gideon found himself relying on them
represented the total irony of the situation...and just how fucked
up all moral behavior, he had learnt as a boy, actually
was. 
"What is the valuable information that you have?" Gideon said,
eyeing both men, and staying alert for any unexpected
attack. 
Abel shot a sideway glance at Malakai and then averted his gaze to
Gideon. The expression he wore was completely passive. "I hear
you've faced Deorci twice in your lifetime."
"Twice too many. Third time won't be a charm. Not for him
anyway..."
"So revenge drives you?"
Gideon scowled deeply. "That and the sweet stench of Kankul
bloodshed."
"I see." Abel returned a knowing glance to Makakai and sighed.
"Then I won't waste any time trying to heighten your opinion of me.
Let's get right to it, shall we?"
"Gladly."

"Then I hope you don't
feign surprise when I say your girl might just be dead."
For a moment, they just sat there staring at each other; Abel's
eyes calm and unwavering, and Gideon's stormy and narrowed. Malakai
turned his back--oddly finding sudden interest in the tiny ceramic
carvings sitting on a wooden mantelpiece. 
"I don't believe that."
Abel leaned back in the cushioned chair, eyes now serious. "I left
Deorci many centuries ago...shortly after that attack. You
know—"
"You insult me by thinking I'd ever forget!" Gideon spat, the
memories of the day returning all too quickly. The heartache, he
could never forget; and his losses, immeasurable...and the unjust
bloodshed of his people leaving a scar on his soul for
eternity. 
The man cleared his throat, eyes closing for just a couple seconds
before he continued. "Well... After that battle, we had withdrawn
home, some of us with stolen women. Your women." Gideon growled at
his words. "Anyways, a good fortnight or so later, Deorci had
become somewhat distant and I'd found the reason to his weirdness
in the hands of a woman. She had been hidden off in his
chambers."
Gideon leaned forward, his attention now thoroughly gained. Hearing
of Deorci's attraction to a woman was no diamond discovery. But
what woman could possibly have managed to bring the devil himself
out of his dark comfort zone?
"Who?"
"At first glimpse, I'd known instantly she wasn't one of us. But
I'd introduced myself one night long after supper...just to confirm
it."
Gideon waited patiently. Somehow he knew what Abel Macintosh was
about to say but was afraid of the response anyway. He hoped the
man would prove him wrong. "What is it?"
"She was Marujan. A
willing
Marujan..."
Frowning, Gideon got to his feet and paced the room slowly. A
willing Marujan woman in the hands of the Kankul ruler? Not only
was the revelation alarming...but it was incredulous as well. He
could not—
not ever
—see the logical romantic joining of a Marujan and Kankul! It
was simply despicable and unheard of. Well, until now. Turning back
to face Abel Macintosh, he swallowed deeply and asked, "What did
she look like?"
Abel stood as well and poured himself a glass of whiskey. "All I
can say is the wench was a darn pretty one. Didn't look much
different from the others." He took a large gulp. "But she did have
the mane of a blazing wild filly."
"How so?"
Abel glanced at Malakai, who was now moving forward. "Long thick
hair. The reddest I'd ever seen."
Something stilled within Gideon. He knew many Marujan redheads.
Hell, they weren't that scarce back at the kingdom. But none of
them with hair as red as... "Sienna…" he muttered to
himself. 

"Who?" This time it was
Malakai who spoke. 
Gideon turned from the men a while, trying to gather his thoughts.
Sienna. He could not believe it but it was...believable. As far as
he knew, Sienna had been disowned by her father and left Maruj just
a few weeks before the Kankul attack. Who knows what she had done
in those many days. But something still was not adding up. For all
he knew, Sienna had already been in the Hub by that time. Still
frowning, he turned to face Abel again. "Are you sure about the
description?"
The man arced a sarcastic brow at him. "I'm not losing my memory,
if that's what you're asking."
Letting out a deep breath, Gideon eyed Malakai. "You must have seen
her that night at the Hub."
"That may be... But it also could be someone else."
He shook his head, pinching his nose absently. "No. It's her. I
know it." Then his mind wandered a bit, his thoughts gathering into
a web-like fog. And then it cleared. Gideon's head flew up
immediately, gaze colliding with Malakai's. "She has motive."
"I'm listening."
Gideon stared blankly into space for a while and then retook his
seat. Abel sat as well, leaving Malakai in his stance. 
"Her affair with my brother had just been revealed. She was angry.
She was disowned by her father." Gideon looked up. "Maybe her anger
had blinded her judgment. She could easily have plotted against my
people with Deorci." For a moment, he just sat there staring at his
hands, bewildered. And then the severity of his words came dawning
on him. Jumping to his feet, he ran an agitated hand through his
hair. "It would have been the perfect plan...
Damn it
!"
"We need to find that girl, then," Malakai said, nodding at
Abel.
The other man stood and inhaled deeply. "Somehow, I feel she could
lead you to your...woman."
Nodding briskly, Gideon ran his hand through his hair again and
sighed. He could feel every vein in his forehead constricting, the
blood rushing to his head in a wave of heated tension. He still
could not fully grip the details of the newly gained
information. All he knew was that he might just be getting
incredibly closer to finding Esyth...and he would do any and every
thing in his power to do so. His gaze flickered over Abel and
Malakai once more, his eyes demonstrating a grey whirlpool of
anticipation, curiosity and plain sadness. Trying to ease the
emotion away, especially since he was standing before two men who
had the potential to carve out his heart and serve on a platter in
just a second, he swiftly brought back up his guard. Good
information or no, he'd fight till the end if either of them tried
anything.
"Why'd you leave him?" he asked.
Abel looked up swiftly to meet Gideon's gaze. The man was looking
at Malakai but he knew the words were meant for him. Why had he
left Deorci's regime? Hell, he'd never placed much thought into it
but he knew he should have since he had been the devil's first
right-hand man. But that had been centuries ago...and in the years
that had passed by he had tried everything to forget the man. To
forget that one wicked day. 
Abel turned his back to both men, the taut muscles in his back
rippling beneath a thick sleeveless vest, and across the bulge of
his biceps. 
"He ruined my sister," he finally said in a voice that was so
strained, so raw it almost didn't sound like his own. Back still
turned, he continued, "She was an innocent virgin... And he turned
her into one of his whores." Gideon heard the sharp intake of
breath just a second before Abel spun around, baring eyes of poorly
disguised pain. "I was a fool then. But a fool who believed in
protecting my family. Katarina had been my only sibling. She was
all I had. I was mad!" He spat fiercely. "Sickened that the fucker
had dared touch her! We were like brothers and he had sworn to
leave her be... But those were the days I last used a man's word to
vouch for his intentions." 
There was a brief silence. Gideon stared deep into the stormy eyes
of the man, reading into his pain and anger. Then his gaze moved
over to Malakai who stood impossibly erect, a muscle ticking in his
jaw. 
"So what happened?" Gideon wanted to know. 
Abel let out a weak laugh. "I challenged the bastard."
Malakai's head spun on his shoulders, subtle shock blazing in his
eyes as he regarded Abel. And his voice didn't sound any less
shocked, "You what?"
Gideon was actually impressed. For a man to challenge his
leader--one such as Deorci--however close a friendship they had,
required some damn serious balls. 
Abel picked up the whiskey bottle this time....staring at the mouth
of it for a moment before putting it back down on the table with a
harsh sigh. "Yeah. And I lost... I grabbed my sister and we left.
Who knows why he ever let us go." Abel shook his head forlornly.
"The journey hadn't sat well with her. He'd been feeding off her
energy... K-Katarina hadn't lasted three days. She died in my arms.
The last thing she said was,
‘Elahk consè
basterde se’
."
"'Kill the bastard.'," came Malakai Baamel's sharp
voice. 
Abel released a deep harsh grunt, looked to the heavens with
tear-stained eyes and then released a shuddering
breath. 
Gideon found all the current events quite fascinating. Yes, Abel
Macintosh and he were enemies but he did feel for the man. Loss of
a family member, a loved one was indeed something he could show
empathy for. But Gideon stood where he was, staring at the man
until he looked his direction again. "And what stopped you?"
Abel passed glances with a curious-eyed Malakai. Retrieving the
bottle of whiskey from the table again, he swallowed down a
mouthful of the intense liquid and chuckled dryly. 
"What stopped
you
?"

Chapter
Twelve

"
Y
ou sure you
don't want any of my men to accompany you?"
Gideon stared down at Abel Macintosh's hand, kindly extended
towards him in a peaceful manner. 
"No."
Seeing the uneasiness in the other man's eyes, Abel pulled back his
hand and cracked a devilish smile. "How about a
woman
then?"
Behind Abel's head, Gideon could see the top of a familiar blonde
and cursed lowly. His eyes then clashed with the ex-Kankul
soldier's again. "What man offers up his daughter to a strange man?
An enemy, at that?"
He received a deep rumble of a laugh as the response. "I have no
enemies, Maruj. Whatever I've done in the past, I've put it behind
me. I hate only one man and I so hope you slaughter him when you
find him." A dangerous glint crossed his eyes...then slowly
disappeared. "As for Mia, whatever gave you reason to believe she
is my daughter?"
Behind Abel, Gideon could see the rest of his small group,
comprised of eight men the least and six women going about what
seemed to be their regular chores. Mia stood, leaned against the
wooden wall of the dwelling he'd occupied the night before, dressed
not in a silk dress, but brown leather pants with boots and a
matching thick vest. Gone was the vulnerable vixen, there was a
woman who obviously knew her way around a battlefield. Gideon shook
his head and tried not to show the saucy grin now forming on his
lips. He had been duped. "Who is she to you?"
Abel followed his gaze for just a moment and chuckled. "She's one
of my best fighters. A rebel straight down to the core. Her
greatest talent is with the dagger. Can throw three in two seconds
flat."
"That's fast," Gideon whistled, impressed.
For a mortal
. He then looked Abel
straight in the eye. "Does she know who you are?"
"Everyone here knows who I am, Maruj. And if you're trying to ask
if I still use my Kankul...abilities, the answer is yes. Only to
defend my group and myself. Like I've told you last night, this is
not my fight. Else I'd gladly help you track down that fucker
whether you liked it or not."
Releasing a small grunt, Gideon nodded in Mia's direction. "One of
your best, you say?"
"You got it. She's swift too. Give her any weapon and she'll gladly
use it like an expert."
"Well....regardless, I'm going to have to decline your—"

A silver glint came out of
nowhere, slicing through the air so fast, it took him a full moment
to notice the dagger coming towards him and between his legs.
Something cold brushed against his crotch...and soon after, he
could feel the cool kisses of the air across his sensitive flesh. A
couple group members let out impressed whistles and it was then
that Gideon turned his head towards the dwelling. She was gone. In
fact, she was only a couple meters from him now, small pink lips
twitching with amusement.

Anger sparked through him
like a lightning bolt and before he knew it, he was advancing on
the girl. 
Out of nowhere, Malakai came dashing forward, blocking his view and
obviously amused as well. "Easy there, Maruj. Let's just give this
one a slap on the back and get going, shall we?"
Growling deeply, he gave Mia one last glance and then spun on his
heels. "Let's get the fuck out of here before I kill
somebody!"
Malakai chuckled, purposely taunting him. "You should be glad she
missed."
Behind both of them, the girl chuckled deeply. Pure vixen. She then
ran pass them to withdraw her dagger from a nearby tree trunk.
Wiping the blade quickly, she then tucked it safely inside her
belt. 
"Sorry to disappoint you boys...but I never miss. Well, only on
purpose."