The Choosing Ch. 07

"You know the agreement."

"We do indeed," my Uncle spoke now, a supercilious bluster I thought I would never have to hear again.

A sound I thought Roth had saved me from.

Roth. I had not thought of him for days.

How I wanted him now. To reach forward, extend his fangs and rip the throats from these men. Feed from their thick red blood until they were lifeless. Anger coursed heavy and hot through my veins. My skin crackled with the heat of my hate.

Askel spoke, "The Tether must be done at the next full moon. You have assured me you have the means to make her agree. If you do not the Tether can be enacted but it will not be as powerful. Malchard needs her at full power."

Malchard? Beatrix's Chosen? He hated the Sarran. Had hunted them for years. Why would Haakon and Audhild deal with him?

Bandar stepped forward. He was preened to perfection as usual. A shining peacock in his knee high black boots, buff breeches and brocade red waistcoat. A perfect tailored façade disguising the filth beneath.

He walked a tight circle around me, moving closer with each ring. Never touching, even so I flinched. He laughed.

"Talia, Talia, Talia—where is your Dark Master now? Too bitter for his taste were you bitch?"

I bit down on the gag.

Bandar moved before me, flicked his hand at the guard who untied the gag. Askel came to stand behind him. I looked over Bandar's shoulder into his eyes. He met my eyes and started slightly.

"Answer me. Are you all alone Talia? Where is your precious Dark Master?"

"Hunting you to rip out your throat."

The blow came fast. It was not unexpected and as strange as it sounds I was almost grateful for it. I'd rattled him. Angered him already. Angry Bandar was stupid, more prone to be rash. The more angry he was, the more unsettled the better chance I had to outthink him.

I laughed and spat the blood from the blow hitting his pristine white neck cravat. He raised his arm again but this time he was too slow, Askel caught his wrist. "No harm. Remember the deal. Malchard wants her unharmed for the tethering."

I laughed again, Bandar's deal was a fool's one. "There is no way I will tether unharmed. Beat me bloody I still will not concede."

"She will agree," Uncle Hawthorne spoke.

I met his eye and spat once again, blood spraying on the rock floor. "Never."

"Never Talia? Are you sure?" Bandar sounded too certain. Cold washed over me. What did he know? What did he have?

I looked between my Uncle Hawthorne and Bandar. Bandar gave a tight smile and nod. Hawthorne gestured to a guard who moved forward. With my sister.

"Leia."

Nausea gripped me, washing over me threatening to empty my stomach right there on the quarry floor.

My sister. My sweet little sister.

Leiawas bound at the hands. Her mouth gagged. Too tight, I could see how it bit into her soft skin. Her pale hair was dirty and mussed. At sixteen she still had the slight frame of a much younger child. Lung sickness stunted her growth, she appeared as if a porcelain doll. A tiny perfect doll.

"No. Uncle Hawthorne please, no." I did not bother to appeal to Bandar. I would find no mercy there. There was no mercy to be found in his black soul. But my Uncle, as pompous and foolish as he was had never been an overtly cruel man. Surely there was some measure of compassion to which I could appeal.

"She does not need to be hurt Talia. She will not be hurt. If you agree."

"Agree."

"To the tether. Come with us to Lord Malchard. Be tethered freely and your sister will not be harmed. I swear it."

"And if I don't?"

"I get her." Bandar had moved to stand with my sister. He released her gag. She coughed. He cupped a hand at the base of her head roughly angling her to look at him, his mouth a sliver away from kissing her.

From where I stood I could see her shake. She trembled in his arms, terrified.

"I have no choice," I whispered, the implication of those words seeping black into my soul.

"Either way I win. You refuse to tether I get you and your sister. You tether and I get the joy of watching to submit." Bandar's tongue snaked out, reptilious and slithering, and ran the length of my sister's perfect doll mouth.

It was more than I could bear. "STOP!" The quarry shook with the bass of my roar. A tumble of rocks fell from behind Bandar, he glanced over his shoulder in confusion.

The power I had let flow into my voice drained away quickly with the realization that I did not know how to harness it. I could not lash out at the risk of my sister.

"Let go of my sister. Do not touch her and I will go with you to Malchard."

Hawthorne nodded. Bandar did not move.

"Get him away from her. I swear it Uncle, if he touches her you will get nothing from me."

My Uncle nodded once more and turned to wave a dismissive hand at Bandar. Bandar left, but not before coming to me and voice lowered saying, "He cannot watch her all the time. I will have you both before this is over."

I lunged fueled by fury ready to gouge his filthy eyes from his head. The guards seized me before my nails made contact. Bandar laughed. I squealed a desperate sound of rage.

"Gag her," he said through laughter before leaving me struggling in the arms of Askel's guard.

* * * *

I was still gagged when Askel came to find me. From the look in his eyes I gathered he wanted absolution. He would find none here. He had chosen his path, if it hurt to walk it that was not my concern. Let him suffer.

He came behind me and released my gag. I reached up and pressed my fingers to the sore sides of my mouth.

"I'm sorry," he said as he sat beside me on the rock floor.

"I'm sure you are."

"Talia, I didn't know. I didn't..."

"You didn't care to know. As long as you didn't you could sleep well. How exactly did you think they would make me agree to be tethered to Lord Malchard? With rainbows and chocolate?"

He snorted out a desperate laugh and sank his head into his hands.

"Sweet Mother. I'm sorry."

I gave a half hearted dismissive wave and turned my head away from the sight of him. "Be sorry elsewhere. I have enough without the stench of your guilt Askel."

"It's for the best. You'll see Talia. You'll see."

"Will I? What will I see? Please tell me of the grand outcome of my great sacrifice. I wish to know what is worth the safety of my sister and my liberty?"

"Haakon and Audhild have negotiated a treaty with the Queen. Lord Malchard has agreed to allow the Sarran to live once more in Vandarra. We will be free."

"With me as the price."

"Yes."

"Fools."

"It will mean we no longer have to hide."

"You bargain your freedom by giving the Devil more power. What exactly, Askel do you think that Malchard and Beatrix will do with that power? Protect the Sarran? Bestow more rights on the humans?"

I watched him slowly digest my words. Did he hear the truth of what I spoke? He said nothing. Just sat. Frustrated, I waved him away. "Go Aksel. Go back to your Sarran and prepare for your glorious short lived freedom."

"I am to accompany you to Palace Shire."

"Really?" I had thought that Askel would go. If he were to stay, he could be useful. "Will you..."

He knew what I was about to ask and raised both hands, cutting off my plea. "I can't..."

"No Askel, you can. You just won't. There's a difference."

"Talia." My name sounded like a plea.

"I did not give you leave to use my name. I am The Vessel to you. That's all. Just a Vessel to be sacrificed at the whim of the Sarran Council."

"Mistress. I am sorry. Truly I am." He wrung his hands.

I sighed. "I know you are. Sometimes though, sorry is just not enough."

He nodded and moved to stand. I reached out, clasping a hand at his calf to stop him walking away. Looking up I said, "There is something Askel. One thing I would ask of you. It will not change the Sarran deal. It will not go against what you have promised Audhild or Haakon."

"I will do it then Mistresss. Ask it of me and it will be done."

"Protect my sister. Keep her safe from Bandar."

"It is already done. I have the Sarran guard on her now." He crouched down to meet my eye. "I will keep her safe. On my life I promise you."

A sob caught in my throat. "Than...Thank you"

He nodded and rose to stand, walking away slowly. When I was sure he was gone and that I was alone I let the sorrow rage forth, weeping from me in shoulder shaking sorrow. I let the sobs come. The first one slipped out in a strangled gasp. The next, louder, fuller. From somewhere deeper. I gave into it and let the tears stream from me, gushing forth in great shoulder-shaking heaves of self-pity, rage and sorrow. Not just for me, my life had always been strange and hard, but for my sister. For innocence lost.

* * * *

Nadar did not come to me in my sleep. I had hoped he would and I woke with a tinge of disappointment that I soon shook off. I had more to regret in my waking life than in my sleep. I chided myself for seeking a dream savior. How foolish it was to think that he would save me. I had imagined him my dark angel. He was naught but fantasy.

There was no one I could rely upon. Not even myself. It was my own stupid pride that led me to this. To Leia being bound and threatened. Why had I not seen to her safety? If I had stayed at the Night Palace I could have had her brought to me. If I'd asked Roth he would have arranged it. Instead I sought truth, what a foolish fantasy that had been. What truth had I found in the Sarran Coven?

No truth at all. Betrayal.

How hard would it have been to submit to Roth's will? He was flawed, but a good Master. Given the opportunity now I could still run and fall to his knees, begging mercy.

Who was I fooling? Certainly not myself. Even now, struggling at the ropes of Bandar I still could not stomach the thought of submission.

What was wrong with me? Why could I not give up even for my own good?

My neck burned. Askel had changed the dressing before we set out but it gave me no comfort. The markings itched and stung with each step. Askel saw me flinch and move my fingers to the edge of the dressing.

"The tether hurts Mistress. It will not stop until the ceremony. It seeks a bond. That's why there is pain. The wound remains open until a bond is set."

Bandar looked over his shoulder at me. Seeing me with Askel he gave a vicious tug of the ropes lashed to my wrists. I stumbled, my knees hitting the crushed gravel of the path with a painful thump.

"Give it here," Askel barked, for the first time sounding more man than boy.

Bandar released the rope. Not handing it to Askel but letting it fall to the ground. He laughed as he watched Askel bend to pick it up.

"That one," Askel said with a nod to Bandar, "Is not right in the head."

I raised a sardonic brow. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

He laughed at the sarcasm of my tone and we shared a knowing smile until I remembered that we were no longer friends. I looked first at my bound hands and then away. Biting back the tears that threatened to fill my eyes.

"Is my sister safe?" I had not seen her since the quarry. They had kept her from me deliberately.

"She is in the cart," Askel said, motioning over his shoulder. "I had it covered for her comfort. She is resting."

"She's fragile."

"Yes, physically, but not in spirit."

Something in the way he said it made me laugh. "Did you meet the sharp point of her tongue then Askel?"

"I did. She may not look like her sister, but she sounds like her."

"Good. It pleases me that she is well enough to roast you."

"I thought that it would. It pleases me too."

"How old are you Askel?" I asked the question I had often wondered.

"I am nineteen."

A baby then. Not so different to my own sister. Easily led. Easily fooled. No wonder he followed the strong will of Haakon and Audhild.

I looked over his handsome profile. So classically Sarran. Angled blonde symmetry. "Tell me of the tethering ceremony."

"You want to know?"

"I want no more surprises."

"Of course you don't. I forget sometimes that you are untrained. With your power you give off the aura of an elder. I keep thinking you already know."

"I don't know. I know so very little."

He looked at me with regret, but I raised a hand to stop his contrition. "Don't apologize again. Please. Just tell me what I ask."

He nodded. "The tether can only be conducted from moon to moon. That is why it was done so hurriedly. Once the Mother had accepted you Audhild knew we had no time to waste. They could not risk you having even as little as a half month of training. You would've been too strong to tether unwillingly."

"So I will be tethered at the next moon."

"Yes."

"How far away is that?"

"Less than a fortnight Mistress."

Fewer than fourteen nights. So little time.

"Why to Malchard? Why not to Beatrix? She is the Dark Master. And the Queen."

He blushed. His pale face flaring bright red. "The tether ceremony is sexual. It is between a male and a female."

"Oh," I said as the realization washed over me.

"Tethered to Malchard is the same as being tethered to Beatrix. He is her Chosen. He does her will."

"So I can tether to human, Master or Sarran. But they must be male."

"Yes. You must tether to one. It binds the will of the Vessel to one force. It is a new spell. Forged by the Sarran after the Vessel first Claimed to a Dark Master. It is meant to keep the power of the Vessel Sarran alone."

"I see the logic. As much as I do not wish too. Why then did the others on the Council not want me tethered?"

"It is a dark spell. The binding uses powerful forces, not easily controlled. It goes against the way of the Sarran. It sullies the Vessel. Who should be pure."

"Pure?" I raised a brow thinking of the things I had done since becoming The Vessel. Pure did not come to mind.

Askel laughed. Grinning like the young man I had first seen. "Not virginal Mistress. Pure in choice."

We walked at a slow steady beat. Strolling almost. It was a beautiful day. Without the rope and bound hands we could be friends on a sweet summer walk through the woods.

I kept my eyes on the road. If I looked ahead I thought too much—wondered of what was to come. Looking at my feet I only thought of the next step. One step at a time kept me calm. Askel moved in close, keeping pace with me. As he was taller, it would not have been easy or comfortable to match my stride.

I pushed thoughts of his kindness away, I did not want to like him. I did not want to forgive him.

I turned to him instead with more questions. "For the tether to work must I submit? What happens if I don't?"

"If you don't submit you will still be tethered but at minimal, if any power and your life span will be shortened."

"A slave then. No matter what I do. What if I do not tether at the next moon. What happens then?"

He stopped, clasping my arm to stop me too. "You must tether Mistress. If you do not you will perish. Painful and slow. You will waste away without the bond. You must tether."

I could choose to die. Rather than submit. That strength of will lay within me. But I did not have the will to make that choice for Leia. I could not die knowing I had left her to Bandar. A fate worse than death.

"Askel. I have asked you to protect my sister."

"Yes."

"Will you, no matter what?"

His answer was softer than I expected. "I know what you ask Mistress. Don't. Please don't ask that of me."

He motioned to a nearby guard and handed over my rope, walking away without looking back.

* * * *

For six days and six nights we travelled the same. Each day melded into the next. Askel did not speak to me again, other than to report on Leia. He must have talked to Bandar however, exerted some influence on the psychopath because other than taunt from a distance he had not held my rope since that first day.

The land was changing, becoming the dense forests of the Palace Shire. We were less than two days from the Palace. Two days from Malchard and Beatrix. Two days from Roth—unless he wasn't there, unless he was searching Vandarra for me.

We camped early than usual, dusk. The skies filled with a coming storm, turning tarnished pewter, rough with cloud, air thick. The night would be harsh and wet. Our shelters were light summer tents, not built for what was to come. I chose to make my pallet under a rock ledge, far from the trees. My guard grumbled at the open ground, but I would not budge. I would rather be wet than fried. The trees the others chose to shelter under were beacons for the coming lightening storm.

There were just seven days until the next moon. seven days until I tethered. They would have to keep Leia with me, make sure I saw here I would not submit. I wondered where they would keep us. Certainly not in the Night Palace. Roth was too powerful there, they could not hide me from him.

I sought a plan. I needed an out of some kind, but all I had were questions. No scheme could be made until I was convinced of Leia's safety, and they were smart enough to not let me see her. I knew that if I was to run this night may be my only chance. If the coming storm was to be as bad as I thought then they would not find me. I would do it at my own risk in a heartbeat, but I could not until I was sure of Leia.

Thank the Mother for Askel. I gave a little laugh as I secured the oil cloth I would sleep under this night. Did I think six days ago I would utter those words? Never. But now, each day that he protected my sister I gave thanks. Blessing him with my heart and soul.

He had smiled as he came each day to report of Leia. Telling me of her insults. She chided him, derided him with an inventiveness that was the high point of my day. As each day passed I became more and more sure that Askel was falling for my little sister. It pleased me. Not because I sought a Happily Ever After for Askel, but because if he cared I knew there was more than his word to keep her safe. If he loved her he would keep her safe long after I was tethered. Bandar would not pass him. I hoped that he would take her back to the Sarran. I had not broached the subject with him yet but I would soon. Before the tether. Tonight.

The tether.

I forced it from my mind. I could not let the fear of what was to come seize me. I had much to do this night. The first of which was to make sure my sister was safe from the coming storm.

Through the first drizzle of rain I saw Askel approach with my guard. I had sent him to bring me Askel. In doing so I had had to suffer the indignity of being chained and staked. The first thing that Askel did was order the guard to remove the chain.

"Get it off her," he barked.

"It is the order of Masters Hawthorne that she not be left unsecured Sire."

"She will not run. Not while her sister remains. Fool."

"I follow orders."

"You follow foolish...." Askel broke off as he caught my eye. He flushed red.

"Foolish orders Aksel, what would you know of those?" I murmured, unable to resist stating the obvious.

"Leave us," Askel ordered the guard who went quickly to join the others in the shelter of the trees.

"You called for me Mistress?" He was stiffly formal.

"My sister. Where does she shelter this night?"

"Away from the lightening trees Mistress. She has her sister's wisdom."

"I'm not sure what I have is wisdom, Askel. Is she far?"

"In the next clearing, far from the others."

"Good."

I shifted in pain. For days now the ache of the tether had built. It did not keep to the tattoo wound, it taunted me by shifting lower to where I felt it worse, between my legs. The tether's ache thrummed at my sex a constant beat of throbbing want. I rolled my hips to ease it. The rain became heavier. Askel knelt to join me under the shelter of my oilcloth.

"Mistress..."