Beneath The Shadows of Evil... Torn Read online

  Natalya stood back in the shadows as the stable boy led a horse towards where she and Lucian were. The vampire mounted, and then turned to her expectantly, holding out his arm to pull her up before him, but Natalya’s steely gaze froze his movement. A smirk curled the edges of his lips as he looked at her, hands on hips, eyes flashing, wisps of her unruly, copper hair escaping her headscarf and hood. He said nothing, just let her stew, waiting for her to speak her mind, knowing it was inevitable anyway, and thinking he just might enjoy the fire of her latest tirade.

  Natalya’s brows drew together as she waited for him to order her upon his horse, but he stayed mute, eyes concealing his thoughts. She thought he was being very impossible, not asking her what was troubling her, not caring if she was upset with the riding arrangements, not giving a fig about her feelings. He was in fact smirking at her. Granted it was a small one, but it was a smirk all the same, and she didn’t appreciate being laughed at. Bullish dominance she could deal with, orders given that were expected to be followed she could fight back against, but this, this silent look of disinterested humor at her expense irritated her to no end.

  Natalya crossed her arms over her breasts and turned up her nose just a bit. Two could play this game. After all, he would be the one punished if they didn’t accomplish their mission. Mikhal the Merciless would blame his first in command not her if they failed to make a trip to the village as directed.

  Silence met silence as eyes avoided eyes and wills were pitted against wills. Finally giving in to the very thoughts Natalya had been having, Lucian growled out his command for her to get on his horse. He was well aware that wasting time and not doing as his Master had bid him would be a very bad choice indeed.

  Natalya ignored his command, turning slightly away. Determined to win this battle for respect.

  “I said come here and mount up. We have work to do.”

  She wheeled on him, eyes flashing. “I wish for my own horse. I am quite able to ride and my stomach revolts at the thought of being so near you.”

  “We will go faster if you ride with me. I know the way and the terrain is rough. It is also dark. All of those things make your riding alone unsafe. Now come here.” His order issued Lucian dismounted, intending to grab Natalya by the waist and swing her up onto the back of his steed but she backed away quickly out of his grasp as the stable boy retreated into the shadows, not wishing to become involved in the spat.

  “I said come here, wench. I shall not be defied.”

  “I am not a wench, Sir. I am a Lady and was informed I would be treated as such.” Without another look at Lucian, Natalya turned her back on him, dismissing him completely and called out for the stable boy. “Bring me a horse, child. I won’t be riding with him.”

  The boy slowly came out of the shadows, frightened and unsure as to how to proceed. He had seen the Master bring this woman home, heard him speak to her cordially and treat her with respect, but the man she was defying was not someone to disobey. Confused he looked to Lucian for guidance much to Natalya’s ire.

  “Sir?”

  The look of complacency had left Lucian’s face and been replaced by one of irritation. This woman was more trouble than she was worth. How dare she question him before the boy? How dare she make demands? Yes he had thought her beautiful and had admired her spirit, but this was too much. Here he was wasting time, in a quandary over this bit of a thing that went around giving orders as if she were the queen.

  What was he to do with her? She was certainly making his life difficult. If he forced her to do as he said, which by all accounts he should, then she might protest his treatment of her and tell the Mistress who would surely in turn tell the Master. On the other hand, he was quite correct that if they traveled separately she would be putting herself at risk. The road was rutted and steep. There was also the fact that the Master would not care to hear they didn’t accomplish their task because he had been unable to handle this spitfire.

  He stared at her, black eyes flaming now with a hint of amber light. She had stirred his ire and the response gave Natalya just a tingling of fear up her spine. Oh she had to admit to having wanted to slap that look of complete and utter complacency off his face, but now that he was reacting with rage, she thought that perhaps the other was better. It was clear that beneath the man who showed nothing, raged a beast capable of bearing more than claws.

  Lucian ignored the boy and went to Natalya instead. She backed up as far as the wooden planks of the stall would allow, then pressed her back against it trying to move through the barrier that prevented her escape. He stopped, inches from her, eyes ever changing, onyx black to amber and back, a snarl upon his lips, not touching, oh no, not laying one finger upon her, but making her feel him all the same.

  “I shall ask you again, M’Lady. Please get on my horse. It grows late and we’ve much to do before sunup.” When he spoke his voice was low, a whisper tinged with raw power, and his eyes, oh how his eyes bored into her soul. They were sensuous and menacing and compelling and ... and ... Natalya could feel herself falling into them, her will flying from her though her mind screamed in protest.

  She shook her head and a growl issued forth from deep within him making her tingle with fear anew. Not true fear that he would do bodily harm, but an instinctual fear of an animal that is primitive and unpredictable. Her lip quivered as she made to speak and he brought up his hand and ran his thumb over the bottom one in the most intimate of gestures, silencing her protests.

  Natalya knew she should be outraged, but those eyes, she couldn’t resist his eyes. The command they gave was much more powerful that any words he had spoken. Trembling, unsure of herself, feeling the magnetism that was his thrall deep down in her soul, Natalya nodded her consent. Lucian smiled in victory, and pressed his hands to the stable wall on each side of her for just a moment as his eyelids lowered to their familiar half-mast position breaking the spell before pushing off away from her, and turning his back, satisfied with the outcome of their little tiff. Let that show her who was really Master in their relationship.

  Once he left her, the spell was broken, and she stood, dazed, looking at his retreating back. His laughter rang in her ears and it caused a ball of rage to build in her stomach, one which she had a difficult time swallowing. She didn’t know what trick he had just performed on her, but she vowed it wouldn’t happen again. Walking to the horse, she reached between her legs and pulled her full skirts between them and tucked them up securing them in the belt which fastened her medicinal satchel to her waist effectively creating a pants like look. She then swung up onto his horse, sitting astride in the saddle, ignoring him. If he insisted upon her riding with him then he could very well sit on the horse’s rump.

  Lucian laughed out loud at her antics. “That certainly wasn’t something a ‘Lady’ would do. You know they do have a creation called a riding habit. You may want to think of having one made for you.”

  “You said we have little time and these skirts are cumbersome. They are too long and there are far too many of them. Now please be a gentleman and silence your tongue. I do not wish to endure what you obviously think is witty banter.”

  “Such a sharp tongue on a beautiful woman. Tis a shame really, sweet lips are better meant for kissing a man than berating him.”

  “These lips shall never touch yours, so you can get any of those thoughts out of your head. Mount up and pretend for the moment that you are a gentleman. I do not wish to be mauled.”

  “Nor do I wish to feel your claws. I think I shall wait until I have tamed you a bit for that adventure.”

  Natalya refused to answer him, instead choosing to stare straight ahead, ignoring the feel of his hard thighs as they pressed into her when he mounted the horse and moved close behind her. When his arm came around to encircle her waist she made a sound of protest but he hushed her, saying again that the terrain was rough and they would be moving quickly, then he put his heels to the horse and they rode off into the darkness in search of the villag
e women who were heavy with child.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  They rode at a breakneck speed but the horse was sure footed, never missing a beat, never stumbling. Natalya’s hood was blown back and shortly thereafter the dilko was snatched from her head by the wind. She made a sound of protest, grasping at thin air in a wasted effort to retrieve it, and heard Lucian chuckle at her futile efforts.

  “Tis gone M’ Lady, as it should be. Nothing so dull should grace a head of hair as fiery as yours.”

  She brought her elbow back sharply and caught him in the ribs in response to his comment, but he only laughed again. It was better to become bewitched by her daring insolence than to become enraged. He had felt the draw of her when he’d been oh so close, and had decided that she was a wench worth having. Even now he could feel her heat, smell her freshly washed hair as it was torn from its pins by the wind, and hear her heart racing. All of it combined to stimulate him in a way no woman had for a very long time. This one was sure to be a challenge, that he knew, and she would provide hours of irritation he had no doubt, but in the end he was sure she would also provide many nights of satisfaction.

  She’d said no, and he was certain she meant every word, but for just a moment she had been his, body and soul, and in that moment when all her defenses were gone and everything was revealed, he’d seen the passionate woman who lay deep within her. He’d gazed into her eyes and stripped away her armor, and saw what lay inside, and now it was his for the taking. Her husband was no more; a mere thing of her past, and her spirit suggested that they’d perhaps fought often, so there would be no love lost there. And while it was true he would have to gain his Master’s permission to bed her, he saw no true barrier there. If he used the charms he was born with and tempted her into his arms, he was sure that Mikhal the Merciless would grant them what they both asked for.

  Tightening his hold on her, squeezing his knees both to make her more aware of his presence and to urge the horse ever onward, he leaned forward, putting his hard chest to her back as they sped into the night. They were almost at their destination and while it was a good thing because they had work to do, he fully intended to enjoy every bit of contact he was offered with the woman who was trying so desperately to hold herself rigid and away from his demanding presence.

  Finally, much to Natalya’s relief, they arrived at the village. Lucian slowed his horse to a walk and reached out to tuck the renegade strands of hair back behind her ears before pushing her hood back on her head.

  “Wouldn’t want you to catch a chill, M’Lady.”

  “Now’s a fine time to think of that.”

  A bit of concern filled him as he worried she had in fact suffered such a fate. He pulled back her hood once more and entwined his fingers in her hair ever so gently pulling her hair back then pressing his lips to the delicate shell of her ear to feel if it was indeed frozen from the frigid wind.

  Natalya drew in a sharp breath and tried to pull away but he held her there a moment and was pleased when the chill he felt beneath his lips was replaced by the heat of a blush that went from her head to her toes at the intimate bit of contact.

  “I demand you unhand me, Sir.” Her voice was breathless but firm. She wouldn’t tolerate this, she couldn’t. Never would she want this arrogant man’s touch.

  “I apologize M’Lady. I simply wished to see if your ear had survived our journey.” That said he released her, leaving her blushing still, and dismounted. They had reached the center of the dark village square and it was time to do what they had been sent for.

  Before Lucian could reach up and help her down. Natalya swung her leg around and jumped to the ground, turning her back as she untucked her skirts and made an attempt to smooth them into place. Finally satisfied, she turned, an expectant look on her face. “My wish is to keep from frightening these poor women. They will think the worst of us when we come knocking upon their doors. I have heard the tales of babes disappearing into the night as I’m sure these poor people are all too familiar with.”

  “You will be silent and stay behind me. I know how to handle this.”

  “I refuse to allow you to scare them to death. They will think we want their babes for one of your kind to dine upon when it is born or to perform some blood ritual.”

  “I said be silent!” Again she had gotten under his skin with just a few words and Lucian bristled at the fact that she could. What was it about the fiery wench before him that made his blood boil? He grasped her arms and tried to look down into her eyes but she turned her head sharply, remembering all too well the incident in the stable where he had seemed to take control over her with just a stare, and she was not about to let him do it again.

  “You don’t have to be a brute or resort to trickery. I shall do as you ask for the time being, but if I see you terrorize any of these poor souls, I will flay you alive with my tongue for all to hear. That is a promise. Now unhand me.”

  Lucian looked at her and simply had to laugh at her audacity. She was certainly a wonder. Her spirit both enraged him and stirred the fires of lust deep in his belly. He released his grip on her but took one arm instead, and held her next to his side, and then proceeded to call out to the sleeping villagers, some of whom he knew had already been awakened by the sound of the horse approaching in the night. If they had, he knew they were already cowering in their beds as well, and that wouldn’t do, no not at all. Not for what they needed to get done here. Natalya was right; this had to be approached delicately.

  “We mean you no harm, and come in peace on a mission. All of you, every last one, are to come out of your houses at once. You have nothing to fear; we simply must look at you and ask some questions.”

  Cries rang out from behind tightly shuttered windows and Lucian felt Natalya tense at his side. “We will not harm you. No blood will be shed. Come forth from your homes on the order of Lord Arcos.”

  Slowly the doors opened and the people began to file out into the square. The men came first, their women pressed close against their backs clutching their ragged shawls about their shoulders, their children shoved back as far as they could be. It was clear they were terrified but they moved nonetheless, slowly, with shuffling feet, to do as they were bid. The one before them promised they wouldn’t be harmed, but each person there, every man, woman, and child, knew that if they failed to obey, the leniency that was promised would disappear in an instant.

  Natalya saw the terror on their faces, heard the cries of the women and children and her heart bled for them. This was what she had worried would happen. This was what she wanted to avoid. Stepping forth, ignoring Lucian’s low growl, she called out to them in an effort to calm their fears.

  “I am not of them and have no reason to harm you or speak untruths. While it is true we are here on a mission for Lord Arcos, it does not involve the spilling of blood. If that were so, I would not be here for I have no thirst for it and am in full possession of my soul.”

  Natalya looked at the serfs before her in frustration. They weren’t looking at her, weren’t listening to her words, they were staring at Lucian. He was the one who mattered. He was the one who would bring about their bloody deaths if he so wished.

  “Listen to me. He means you no harm. He is but an escort for me.” Still they looked at Lucian, frightened, unsure, not because he himself had ever terrorized the village, but because he was one of the evil ones and he had ridden with Mikhal the Merciless on many occasions.

  “Please. You have to.”

  “Silence. It will do you no good. We rule here, and you are but a woman as well.” The words were hissed under his breath for her ears only, but they infuriated her all the same.

  “Perhaps if you told them I was a Lady and that I mean no harm, they will see the wisdom in doing as I say.”

  “A Lady of the castle simply means you have power in a place they see as hell.” Turning back to the silent villagers, Lucian decided to simply tell them what they wanted. If Natalya were distressed by anyone’s fear she woul
d simply have to accept it. The Master sent them and he was not about to fail in his task.

  “Lord Arcos wishes for this woman, Lady Natalya, to become the midwife for the women here who are with child.”

  Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd and women shrank behind their husbands in terror. They knew all too well of Marishka’s taste for babes, and the thought of being tended by the woman before them, only to have their child whisked away as it was born, chilled them to the bone.

  Before Lucian could speak further, Natalya again tried to make the people understand that she meant them no harm. “Please. It is for the Mistress of the castle, the new Lady Arcos. I am to be her midwife if Lord Arcos finds me fit. I promise you I am skilled in the art of herbs and childbirth and well able to tend any woman here, but my skills must be proven to his Lordship.”

  One man, a surly looking giant, dared to speak up at her declaration; he didn’t believe those before him meant no harm and he had a pregnant wife as well. This didn’t bode well. “Why would he need you when he has another. Everyone knows the old witch Enid lives in the castle as one that prefers the evil ones. Twas her magic that helped put the seed in the Lady’s belly.”

  Lucian made a deep sound of displeasure in his throat. He was weary of this useless banter and wished to be about their task, but Natalya glanced over at him, daggers flying from her eyes, so he held his tongue, if only for just a bit longer.

  “Enid has displeased the Master, and I am a friend of Lady Arcos.”

  This statement caused more dissent from the serfs and another growl from Lucian as well. He had told her to keep her Gypsy heritage a secret and she had disobeyed him. Now none of those before her would want her to touch them. Well, what did it matter, they hadn’t a choice. It was time to put an end to this foolishness.

  “Enough. It is time to do what we came for. All of the women who are with child are to come forward at once. The Lady will see each of you and we will return as she deems fit in turn to care for you as of this night on. Come, come forward, it is not wise to resist.”