Savage Worlds, page 2
part #3 of Savagery and Skills Series
“When he returns, you need to talk to him, actually talk to him,”
“He has a habit of avoiding the conversation we need to have,” I muttered with a hiss.
“Then don’t let him. Whatever you’re thinking, I guarantee you, that’s not the whole story. Give the man a chance. He took a chance on you.”
That he did. A big one, considering I tried to kill him at our first meeting. I promised him I wouldn’t hold it against Draven, then said I was going to get cleaned up.
The night was young, and Draven wouldn’t be back until the sun became too much of a threat to him. That gave me plenty of time to figure out what I was going to say to him. I wasn’t truly and completely angry at him. Aggravated maybe. I blamed it on his age. He was two hundred years old. He thought he knew better than me. He was stuck in that protective state of mind. But I could take care of myself. I was not going to go off and slaughter another group of shifters or anyone else. Unless they attacked me first. He was the one taking a risk tonight. We had no way to know how long Rudarius would be trapped in Otherworld.
After my shower, I threw on my sleep shorts, and a tank top then sat in bed and looked out the window, waiting for him to come home. The conversation we had to have would not be easy. I’d have to tell him the truth of what I’d been seeing. Tonight wasn’t the first time it seemed as though Rudarius was standing next to me.
My eyes drooped, and I rested my head against the wall. I shouldn’t have been tired, but not sleeping well was catching up with me. As my body slumped and turned heavy with impending sleep, the temperature dropped in my room.
I screamed at myself to open my eyes as the temperature plummeted and my teeth chattered. The sound of dripping water was around me. Torches flickered in the harsh draft that gusted through stone corridors. The softness of the bed beneath me turned hard and grimy. Chains rattled when I shifted. Something, maybe me, begged my mind to slip back to reality—
A hand closed around my throat.
My eyes shot open.
“Hello, pet.” Rudarius’s red eyes filled my vision, his hand cut off the air I needed to scream.
Nightmare, this had to be a nightmare.
His hand was firm and real around my neck, as was the pain when he tightened his grip. “Now then, you and I need to have a chat.”
I clawed at his hand, but he cackled my feeble attempts. I was weak as if torn between two places. “What… did you… do?” I gasped
“You’d be amazed at what having so many mages under your control can do.”
I hissed and snarled, attempting to bite his hand. I realized too late that my hands were manacled.
He grabbed the chain and tugged, so my arms were forced to his side. His other hand switched from holding on my throat to snarling and tangling his fingers in my hair. He yanked it back hard, exposing my neck.
I struggled to pull away from those fangs shining in the torchlight. Sharp canines ran along my skin.
I screamed for help, but there was no one here to save me. I couldn’t really be here, not back in his dungeon.
“As I said, my pet, we need to have a chat.”
I screamed all the louder, but it did nothing to stop him from moving closer until red eyes were all I saw.
His fangs pressed against my throat.
Chapter 2
Draven
“She’s going to kill you.”
“And if you warn me one more time, I’m going to kill you.” Sitting in the rear of the bar, watching the crowd, I spun the beer bottle around and around. “You’re sure he’s coming?”
“He said he was still unsure of my motives, was figuring out if he could trust me.”
“And if he doesn’t show tonight?”
Shane shrugged, raising his hand to a passing waitress for another beer. “Then we come back tomorrow night. Then the next, until he shows up with an answer. Like I said, you don’t have to tag along until I have a solid lead.”
Not that hanging around the cottage would do me any good. Seneca was as restless as I was to get out and do something, anything, toward a plan to stop Rudarius. But that was just it. We had no plan, no real idea of where to turn. Macron was of no help. He and Minnie had been going out every day searching. What for, they kept to themselves. Not sure I enjoyed having two seers around Seneca, not after what Briar shared with her. She was so close to pushing me away for my own good. I could not let that happen, which was the only reason I came out tonight.
She needed space, so I gave it to her. The orbs in the garden changing to grey and black had me on edge. Was it a sign she was closer to giving into the evil taint rushing through her veins or was it because Rudarius reached out to her? It wasn’t the first time I saw her have a fit like that, but the first one that lasted so long and left her cold and pale. Like he sucked the life from her.
But the veil was sealed. Rudarius would not be getting to us any time soon.
I looked around the bar searching for Marlie. He’d separated from us once we got here, spotting a few fae he wanted to speak with. I wasn’t sure how many knew the kingdoms had fallen. Most of the fae here weren’t exactly visiting. Most had been exiled or came here to get away from the ruling monarchies. I hadn’t had the heart to tell Marlie a fae prince was probably the last person they wanted to see. They had a right to know about Otherworld. He caught my eye from across the room, giving me a wave.
“I’ll be back,” I muttered to Shane. “Our dear prince calls to me.”
Shane smiled and said he’d keep an eye out for the vampire. As the hour was turning late, I sensed we wouldn’t be seeing him tonight. Marlie sat with three other fae at a round table. All were male with long blond hair and light blue eyes. They had to be related.
“Draven, I’d like you to meet Ash, Ember, and Finch.”
My brow arched at their names. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“It’s alright,” Ash, the one who appeared the oldest, assured me. “Our parents weren’t the best with names.”
“No, I think they’re great. Really.”
“Marlie just told us about the fae kingdoms,” Ash said, lowering his voice as he glanced around the bar. “It’s true you are fighting against Rudarius?”
“It is, along with Marlie’s sister, Seneca. A few of us made it out, and Rudarius is currently trapped. We’re not sure how long it will last.”
“The brothers came here of their own choice,” Marlie explained. “They’re part of a larger community of fae who all did the same.”
“And you’re willing to help us?”
Ash, Ember, and Finch nodded as one. “We never had much care for vampires. No offense.”
“I understand. I find myself disliking my kind more and more. When my coven fell, I hoped the others would join together and stand against him. All they did was come here. They ran from him. The ones too scared to do that joined his ranks. His army is vast.”
“And you think he’ll come here next?” Finch asked, eyes shining eagerly.
“Are you looking for a fight?”
He sniffed derisively. “Vampires killed our parents. I never pass up a chance for revenge.”
“You and me both, friend.”
Marlie and I spoke with the three brothers for a while longer. We filled them in on what knew of Rudarius and how our only plan now was to gather lost surviving members of the coven. Once I had them back, I would approach the rest of the vampire covens who turned away from Rudarius once and see if I could get them to stand against him this time around.
“Would others be willing to join you?”
Ash, Ember, and Finch exchanged a quick glance then looked to Marlie. “If Marlie comes with us, I think we can convince many to join the cause. Rudarius is an evil that should’ve been destroyed a long time ago.”
“Agreed.” We hadn’t told them about the rings yet, and as soon as I did, the brothers flinched. “They’re gone, all of them.”
“How’s that possible?”
“The mages. He’s channeling their powers and is feeding off them somehow—” I hissed as sharp stabbing pain exploded in my chest. I clutched at my heart as it came again. I snarled. It was as if someone dug around in my chest with a stake.
“Draven?” Marlie rose with me, keeping me from falling over as a third stab blurred my vision. “What’s wrong?’
“Seneca,” I breathed, blurring out of the bar.
Another stab sent me careening into a stone wall on my way out of town. I paused long enough to stop my vision from spinning, then blurred the rest of the way to the cottage. I burst through the front door, glancing around wildly.
“Draven?” Helena and Lark were on their feet in a shot. “What’s wrong?”
“Seneca, where is she?”
“Her room. Why?”
I ignored Helena and blurred into Seneca’s room. The light was off, but I saw her easily enough. She was lying in bed. I thought she was merely sleeping and wondering what the hell drove me to think she was in trouble until she whimpered. The sound was so quiet I waited to hear it a second time then turned on the light.
“Helena!”
By the time she entered the room, with Lark behind her, I was on the edge of the bed holding Seneca in my lap, shaking her gently to try and wake her up.
“By the gods, is that blood? No one’s been here,” Helena exclaimed.
“Seneca.” I shook her shoulders harder as she whimpered. Warm blood covered her neck and my hands as I moved my fingers around, searching for the source of it. I found a puncture, followed by a second. I pressed down to stop the steady flowing stream of blood. “Helena, I need bandaging, quickly.”
“What happened?” Lark stood at the foot of the bed as Helena went to find what I needed.
“She’s been bitten.”
“What? By who?”
“I don’t know.” I pressed my hand harder, smoothing her hair back with my other hand. “Come on, Seneca, come back to me. Wake up.”
Helena returned, and we wrapped Seneca’s neck the best we could. She shifted in my arms, baring her fangs and hissing.
I held her close, whispering her name repeatedly, calling her back to me, but nothing I said seemed to get through.
“Rudarius,” she breathed. Her body shuddered then went completely still.
“No. Seneca?” I shook her harder, laying her back on the bed as her eyes danced wildly behind closed lids.
She gasped for air, her back arching off the bed, and flailed against my hold.
“You let her go,” I shouted to Rudarius. “I’ll kill you. Do you hear me, you bastard? I’ll rip your heart out. Let her go!”
Seneca’s mouth fell open, and Rudarius’s cackle spilled out. She choked and thrashed, the harsh laughter cutting off. Her eyes shot open, completely black. Shadows poured from her fingertips, wrapping around me.
Helena yelled at me to get back, but I wasn’t leaving her side. Not a chance.
I planted my feet as those shadows wrapped around my legs, my arms, my stomach and higher. I had no idea how her magic was manifesting without rings, but I also didn’t have time to question it.
Footsteps stomped into the house.
Marlie and Shane were there asking what I was doing. I ignored them as Seneca’s black gaze shifted to me.
“You come back to me right now, Seneca,” I demanded as those shadows constricted around my body. “You are not his. You are mine. You belong to me and you. To us. Come back to me.”
Brow furrowing in anger, she fought against the evil inside her that was striving to get free. She slammed her hands into the bed and screamed. The shadows shattered like glass, releasing me as she sat up, her eyes lightening.
“Draven?” She blinked furiously then collapsed into my arms.
She was ice-cold to the touch, and I quickly tucked her beneath the blankets as she held onto me with shaking hands.
“You’re alright. You’re with me. You’re safe.” I said it over and over, amazed my voice sounded as steady as it did, when inside, I was shaking with rage.
Rudarius had dug his claws in deep enough to cause her physical harm, all the way from Otherworld. It shouldn’t have been possible, but with the captured mages, it seemed his power was only going to keep growing. Her hand reached up to her neck. I tried to stop her, but too late. Blood covered her fingers, and she scrambled back from me into the wall, shaking her head.
“I thought it was a nightmare.” She held up her blood-covered hand as her fear-filled eyes found mine. “Draven.”
“You were bitten,” I told her, not about to lie.
“No. That wasn’t real.”
“Where were you?” I took her hands and held them loosely in mine, sensing the others watching her from the doorway. “Seneca, what did you see?”
She shook her head, sending her messy red hair flying.
“Seneca, you can’t keep lying to me.”
“I haven’t been.”
“That’s bullshit. What happened tonight in the garden? It’s not the first time. I’ve sensed it each time you’re afraid, sensed it as if it were me facing Rudarius down. What did you see?”
She bit her lip so hard it bled, and I brushed the drops of blood away with my thumb.
“I can’t keep you safe if you don’t tell me what you saw.” I scooted closer then she fell into my arms as I held her. “You are everything to me. You know that, right? I am not about to lose you to that monster.”
“What if you don’t have a choice?”
The words were quiet, but I heard them all the same.
“There’s always a choice.”
“No there’s not.” She sat up suddenly, wiping hastily at her face, a wild look in her eyes. A look I hadn’t seen since she learned it was Rudarius who turned her. “He can get to me anywhere.” She covered her wounded neck with her hand. “Proof, that’s what he said when he… when he…” She gulped and dug her nails into the bandaging until I pulled them away. “I was back in his dungeon, chained up, trapped. He can get to me any time he wants to. He’ll turn me, Draven. He will.”
“So what do you expect me to do, huh? Just turn my back on you? Walk away?”
The second she diverted her gaze, a fist closed around my heart. I stood and closed the door, giving us privacy. She didn’t need anyone looking at her now. Resting my hands against the door, I took a second to get hold of my emotions, but it was too much. With a hiss, I slammed my fist into the door over and over, denting the solid, thick wood.
Seneca’s hand closed around mine as she spun me around. “What are you doing, you moron?”
“What do you want from me?” I shouted, unable to keep myself calm. “What? Just tell me so I can tell you how wrong you are.”
“Why is it wrong for me to try and keep you safe?”
“And what am I doing? Standing here twiddling my thumbs? If I could get to Rudarius, I would tear his heart from his chest and set him on fire. I’d take his head and put it on a pike. I would rip him apart with my bare hands, but I can’t.” I stormed around the bedroom, fists clenching and unclenching at my sides.
When my coven was taken over, I was sure I knew what helpless felt like. I had no idea. Now I did. Rudarius threatened the one thing I held dear in this life, the only person I ever loved, and I couldn’t do a damned thing to protect her.
“Draven, I won’t put you through unnecessary agony.”
“Unnecessary agony,” I repeated, then scoffed. “That’s what you’re trying to save me from? And what do you think I’m feeling now, knowing you’re trying to push me away?”
“You’re the one refusing to admit the truth,” she shot back.
“What truth?”
“That we might not win this fight. At least not both of us.”
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” she raged, her eyes darkening.
“Turn everything around like there’s no hope, like we’re all going to die no matter what we do, so what’s the point? Why? Do you truly have no faith in me or yourself at all?”
“I’m broken, remember? You can’t have faith in me.”
“Seneca—”
She slashed her hand through the air cutting me off. “Don’t. I told you what I saw, and as much as I want to believe there’s a chance you won’t end up driving a stake through my heart, that’s the only future I see now.” She tore the bandage from her neck and threw it at my feet, then tilted her head.
The punctures were easy enough to see, red and angry. Blood dripped from the cuts my nails caused in my palms from clenching my fists so hard.
“This is a warning don’t you get it? He won’t stay trapped forever, and as soon as he can, he’ll come for me. If you get in the way again, he’ll kill you. If you survive, you’ll eventually have to kill me. I’m not strong enough to fight him and the evil inside me.” Her knees shook then buckled as she sank to the floor. “I can’t keep fighting him off. I’m exhausted.”
I knelt in front of her, reaching toward her shoulder. My fingers had barely touched her bare skin when she threw herself into my arms. I hugged her to me. “I know you are, but you can’t give up. Not now. And you cannot push me away. I won’t let you.”
“Stubborn old man.”
I laughed quietly, running my fingers through her hair. “The harder you try to push me away, the more I’m going to stay, and you know it. We need each other. Don’t be afraid of what we have.”
“How can I not be? It’s going to destroy us.”
“So what if it does?”
She sat up with a confused look on her face.
I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, trying to tell her everything I could never find words for with that gesture. “I’d rather go out knowing I gave our love everything I had than live my last few days on this earth miserable and away from you.”
Her arms wrapped around my neck as she situated herself better in my embrace. “Your optimism is going to be the death of me before Rudarius ever gets here.”
I gave her another kiss in response. She ran her hands through my hair, pulling me as close to her as she could. She shoved at my leather jacket, and I shrugged out of it. My t-shirt came off next, and she tossed it across the room, tracing the scars on my chest and shoulders, down to the brand left by Rudarius. Those dark green eyes smoldered with heat as her cheeks reddened. Her skin had warmed as she sat with me, but the wounds at her neck pissed me off all over again.
