Kathi S Barton - [Aaron's Kiss 04] (21 page)

Candles were everywhere, on every available surface, in every conceivable color and smell. If it hadn’t been so pathetic, it might have been romantic.

“Where did this stuff come from?” He asked. “Did someone bring it to you?” Tucker hoped someone had and they would report what they’d seen. But his hopes were dashed with her answer.

“Oh, I made it, isn’t it beautiful?” She flitted around the room in a teddy and heels.

Marta looked as if she hadn’t been feeding well. Her skin was pasty and dry, her bones sticking out hard at odd angles. She had always been plump, heavier than the woman of today, but more to the style of the ones during their time as humans. Tucker shuddered when he thought of her trying to feed from him.

“Marta, I don’t know why you’re doing this. I can’t feed from you. You are not my mate. You know that, don’t you?” He tried again to reason with her, but she just ignored him.

If a mated vampire fed, or tried to feed from someone other than his mate, the blood would poison him. Not killing him necessary but eventually it would drive him to insanity and to the sun. That was why mates, vampire mates, only had one true love, the one that would be with them throughout eternity. If needed, a vampire could feed from his master, but that too would make a vampire ill.

“I must go now, love,” she told him. “I need to build my strength so that I can be able to feed you later. I must take care of mine. I was thinking that we should have a child, you and I. Wouldn’t she be beautiful? My looks and your…well, she would be so beautiful.” She left him hanging there, and he fell into a weak and troubled sleep, too scared to think about what she would do if she found Sam.

Marta returned sometime later. He didn’t know when or what time it actually was.

He was so disorientated that he didn’t know if he had been there for ten hours or ten days. His energy was draining away and it wouldn’t be long before he would be too weak to even feed. His need for Sam was growing exponentially; he needed to touch her both in mind and in body. Seeing her again was what kept him from just giving up and giving in to Marta.

“Let me go, Marta, please. I’m not going to live if you—” She rushed at him. “You’ll live. You’ll live because I command you to. As your maker, I command you to live.” Her laughter was manic, terrifying. “You don’t want to make me angry, Tucker. You know how I—”

A being shimmered into the cave. It was a creature he had never seen before, but had heard of. It was a centaur, a beautiful creature of half man and half horse. Tucker closed his eyes, thinking he had surely gone over the edge, but when he opened them again, there he still stood.

“Marta Lipscomb,” he said. “You are hereby ordered to appear before the Courts of Magic. You are to appear at seven o’clock this very evening, and you will be ready for trial. The prisoner, a Tucker James, will be brought with you as well. Do you have any questions?”

“I...what is the Courts of Magi? Am I being awarded for my abilities?” The girly squeal in her voice hurt Tucker’s head. He didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t care. Someone had found him.

“The Courts of Magic, and I’m not privileged to know the ins and outs of the Courts. I am just the Summoner. Do you have any more questions?” At her negative reply, the centaur disappeared magically, leaving a scroll with the pertaining information behind as to where to go and the time.

Tucker stared at the place where the creature had been and couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He had heard what he had said to Marta, but it as yet hadn’t registered in his overtaxed mind. Courts of Magic? Mel, the queen was summoning them to—

“Oh Tucker, we are going to court! Isn’t that grand? I bet they have heard of the good things I’ve done for our kind. Yes, that’s it. I’ll be getting something from the queen. I’m so excited. Oh, what should we wear?”

Dresses began to appear. Dozens at a time in as many colors as there were styles.

Then clothing for a man appeared as well—shoes and belts, coats and ties. Tucker felt himself weaken more. This couldn’t be happening; Marta surely couldn’t be rewarded for her “good” deeds.

At six forty-five, they materialized in the main hall of one of the outer realms estates. Tucker had heard there were several from the human world and wondered briefly where they were. The one that they were entering was made specifically for them, and would seal closed as soon as they entered, never to open again, the scroll had said. Because they had been expected, the guard was there when they arrived. There was a company of ten royal guards there to meet them.

Marta was so happy. She felt like royalty herself, she’d told him over and over. She had allowed Tucker to bathe in the pool and had given him what she considered suitable clothes for court appearance. He was clad in an outfit straight out of the sixteenth century, powdered wig and all. He could barely walk, much less stand.

The guards shouldered Tucker’s weight, nearly carrying him when he fell into them several times. He had tried to apologize to them, but they never said a word. When some led Marta to the large chamber, others took Tucker in the opposite direction Marta was being led. Marta didn’t even notice he was taken from her, her thought only on how she could manage to live in such splendor someday soon. He was glad for her distraction.

~CHAPTER NINETEEN~

There was a long table with several beings sitting at it. The queen and her champion, Elizabeth, Mel’s grandmother. The other seven were a varied group of magical and thought to be mythical creatures, including another centaur. In addition, there were what seemed to be several hundred people and beings scattered around the room. None of the inhabitants of the room were dressed as Tucker and Marta were, just wearing everyday street clothes, though neither would have noticed.

Mel was now Melody, Mistress of Light, Keeper of Magic, and her duty in these proceedings was to read the charges against the accused. She had never relished a job so much, as she too had seen the body of young Davey and was heartbroken by a vital life force being cut so short.

When the accused stood before her, Mel was surprised at the gaunt woman.

Insanity shone from her red tinted eyes. Her fangs were darkly stained with blood and uncleanliness. Mel was sickened by her, not only for her crimes, but for what she had allowed herself to become.

“Marta Lipscomb, you were summoned to this court on charges of magical misuse.

Included in these charges are using magic to murder, kidnap, usage of black or dark magic and coercion. The lesser but no less serious breaches of conduct are attempted murder, theft, and rape. The punishment for each of these charges is death to be carried out forthwith. What do you say to these charges?”

“Misuse of magic?” The look of shock might have been comical had it not been so pathetic. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never…there isn’t anyone alive to…there has to be a mistake. You and I are going to be great friends, my lady. You’ll soon wish you hadn’t said those things to a friend. Who dares say such things? I demand to know who my accuser is.”

“Bring in the witnesses.” Mel nodded to the guard next to her.

And from across the room a large double door was opened by two royal court guards. There was silence for a few long seconds as no one moved, and then heavy footsteps could be heard approaching the door.

With guards on each side of the line of people, in walked the line of witnesses. The line split once as they came upon the rows of chairs just to the left of the long table, dividing the guards from their company. All of the witnesses sat at the same time, save one. One person remained standing, staring at the woman at the podium. Mel watched Sam’s face as she stared.

“Sam, honey you need to sit down. Sam,” Aaron, who sat next to her, demanded in a whisper.

Mel could see that Sam was in shock, but she couldn’t tell what she was in shock about. Mel could feel her emotions, but all she could get was numbness, which Mel couldn’t understand. No one else would know her feelings with the exception of the Guard and her grandmother. It was because as soon as one entered the Courts, all magical ability was blocked as a safety precaution.

Aaron reached up and yanked her down to the seat next to his, pulling her onto Thomas Reilly, the vampire doctor, who was treating Jason and had performed the autopsy on Davey. Thankfully, Thomas didn’t protest about having a woman in his lap, but shifted over to the seat that Sam should have taken. Aaron snapped his fingers in front of her face, and finally, when that didn’t work, he shook her hard rattling her head about. Mel watched carefully as Sam turned to Aaron.

~~~

Sam looked up at Aaron, her eyes filled with unshed tears, her face as pale as death.

He was suddenly very afraid that something had happened to Tucker, as he knew that mates could feel when the other was gravely injured or killed. “Sam?” Her voice was barely a whisper, and with torment in her heart, she said, “It’s her.

That woman, it’s her. She killed us. She’s the last one.” Aaron looked at the vampire in the seat across from the table. He then looked at Mel. Neither of them knew what Sam meant, but a commotion at the other end of the room brought his thoughts to a stop.

They wheeled Tucker in on a very large gurney, the size no doubt to accommodate him, wheeled because he was so weak. When he was close enough to see that Aaron still had his hands on Sam, Tucker growled, the sound low and coming from deep within him. Aaron dropped his hand immediately. He looked over at the vampire and bowed. Aaron was shocked at the way his new friend looked.

“I’m sorry, but she is distressed about something or someone, I’m not sure. She said that ‘she killed us.’ I was just trying to figure out what she meant and to offer comfort in your absence.” He might as well have been talking to the gurney itself for all the good it was doing him. The moment the two of them saw each other, everyone ceased to exist.

Tucker opened his arms for Sam and she ran to him, throwing him back against the bed. He started kissing her; every exposed bit of skin was tasted and licked. He nuzzled deep in her neck, where her shoulder met, and breathed deep, opening his mouth to take more of her in. He was about to sink his canines into her when Aaron pulled them apart. He yanked Sam from Tucker so abruptly that he nearly fell from the bed. As Tucker was reaching to bring her back, Aaron nodded toward the woman, Marta, who was screaming now.

“Get that fucking bitch away from my mate. I’ll kill you, you hear me, and I’ll kill you both for what you’ve done. Let me go. I said to let me go now.” Marta was trying to get to the young couple, but the guard held her in place. The pathetic woman dressed up in a ridiculous costume was gone. In her place was a crazed maniac.

“Guards! Guards! Restrain her, this instant,” Mel commanded sharply. When she was subdued and order once again maintained, the queen started again.

“If there is one more outburst, I will deem this court unnecessary and make the proclamation myself. And Marta, you so don’t want to piss me off anymore than I already am. First witness, Thomas Reilly. You! Sit and shut up. Begin.” Aaron felt Mel’s power move though the room and had to cover a quick chuckle when poor Thomas looked ready to wet himself.

“Yes, of course. Forgive me, ‘begin’ what exactly? I’ve never been…this is my first time in this court, your ladyship. And while I know it’s a great honor to be called, I’m as nervous as a whore in a room full of…well, I’m nervous,” Thomas said with a slight laugh. Aaron actually felt sorry for him.

~~~

“You may do well to have the young couple pulled away so that she may feed him.

I can feel his hunger from here,” Elizabeth whispered through Mel’s mind.

“No, I can’t.” Mel wanted to, wanted to help the young vampire very badly. “I feel there is a reason he must remain weak and hungry. Something one of the Fates said before I came in here. ‘Hunger shouldn’t be fed, weakness will show great strength.’ I don’t know what is means. Whoever does with those three? But as soon as I felt his, I knew he was the one they were talking about. I just don’t understand how great power will arrive with him being so very weak.”

“Hummm, who knows, but you are probably right. Let’s see what the bitch in front of us does next.” Mel could practically see her grandmother rubbing her hands together in excitement.

“Please tell all who will listen what you found when you were called to the Brotherhood of Gray’s pack house two days ago,” Mel continued to the doctor.

“I arrived at the house because I had gotten a call from Aaron MacManus, Master Vampire of this Realm to come and aid the medical team to try and save the life of one Jason Alexander March, age fifteen.” Mel nodded when Thomas hesitated. “It was determined that without the ability to shift into his true form, a werewolf, he would die.

His body had one hundred and fifty-three stab wounds covering nearly his entire frame, all approximately one to three inches deep. He had lost a great deal of his blood, as he had been turned upside down and tied to a tree like a gutted pig. He had been hanging there, oh, about two hours, I’d guess. Had he been there much longer, we’d be making two funeral arrangements instead of just the one. After he was stabilized, and beginning to heal, I was asked to determine the cause of death for another young were.

David Macklin March, sixteen and cousin to the other boy, was deceased. His throat had been ripped from him and he bled to death. Prior to his death, he had been eviscerated and his face had been ripped open by a deep set of claws. His death had been slow and horrific. His suffering was great, I would imagine.” The Courts of Magic was different from the human courts. One could get emotionally involved in here, and no one objected, well, not too much. Thomas was enjoying himself, Mel could tell. Not the story itself, but by telling a room full of people just how much he had witnessed and how it made him feel. Aaron would hear about his day in court for centuries, she was sure.

“When you say eviscerated, what do you mean precisely?” Mel knew he was sure what had happened. She had seen the young boys herself. It was a sight she would never forget. But the rest of the Court, they had not. She wanted them to have a clear picture of what had happened to him, leaving no doubt what the youth had suffered.