Blood Yellow (11 page)

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

N
ikole moved across her room, realizing that he had taken care of everything. He’d unpacked her belongings and put them where they belonged, just like she’d had them at his house.

“How could you not stay?” she mumbled out loud.

She wasn’t willing to believe he didn’t love her too. You didn’t do this for someone if you didn’t care about them. Nikole looked over at her closet door and couldn’t help herself. She just smiled, seeing her clothes lined up, color coordinated. She went to her chest and ran her hand along a drawer before she pulled the top one open. She looked down and saw each of her panties and bras folded neatly and stacked in straight rows. The time and detail he’d spent on this little project amazed her.

She started to walk out of her room and was stopped by the sight of someone standing outside of her doorway. “Mehmet, what are you doing here?”

“Ma’am.” He bowed. “I was instructed to stay with you and make sure you keep to the house.”

“That isn’t necessary. You may go. Thank you.” She pushed past him, thinking he would fall behind. When she noticed he was staying in step with her as she walked down the hallway, she stopped and turned, looking at him with clear intention. Her eyes locked in on his, and her tone was evident without saying a word.

“I have to follow you, Nik. I’ve been ordered to do so.” Nikole started to protest when he put his hand up to silence her. “King Zayn ordered me to stay with you and keep you safe. There is nothing you can do or say, Your Highness.”

Nikole’s distaste for his answer must have been apparent in her expression, because he’d taken one step back and looked over her shoulder to the banister. She started to speak and then bit back her remark as she turned and continued down the path she was on, the path to bring Alec to her.

Nikole walked for a few hundred feet outside of the home when she turned to Mehmet and said, “I am going to Alec’s. If you wish to come, good luck following me.”

And like that, she disappeared before his eyes. He frantically ran back to the house and pulled out his cell phone, hopping into one of the vehicles parked on the property. Turning it on and pushing it into drive, he took off out of the mansion property and down the roads. With his right hand he dialed Nasir’s number, hoping he was around to answer.

“Hello.”

“Sir, I have a problem. The king ordered me to stay with the princess, and she vanished on me. She said she was going to find Alec and then flashed away. I’m already en route, but someone needs to alert the king.”

“Go bring her home. I will inform the king.”

Mehmet heard nothing but silence from Nasir as he turned down Interstate 24 and pointed the vehicle west, starting toward Alec’s home.
Two hours, it was going to take me two hours to get there.

S
tanding outside of his cabin, Nikole noticed that the trees had their life back but didn’t know how that was possible. Maybe Alec had some reverse use of his powers and could give them growth? That made no sense, but clearly someone had given it back to them. She walked past the tree trunk beside his porch, her hand touching it. The bark flaked off into her grasp; she smelled it, the smell of life. How she did enjoy a nice summer day and the smell the trees gave off. There was something different about these trees, though. She just didn’t know what.

Walking up the steps she lightly knocked on the door, waiting to hear a reply.

Nothing. Silence.

She knocked again, and this time the door just opened.
Well that’s an improvement
, she thought. Walking inside, she noticed the shrubbery growing on the side of the wall but not quickly enough to block the steel pipe that hit her on the side of her head.

Alec struggled against the wall as he screamed out a muffled plea for Leigh to not hurt Nikole. He watched Leigh
drag Nikole’s body over to a metal chair she’d had one of her men bring inside. Strapping her down, she attached a glass needle to the chair. She pointed it at Nikole’s throat and ran some smelling salts under her nose, causing her to regain consciousness.

“Hello, Nikole. Let me introduce myself, I’m Leigh, your new master. And this, my dear, is what I’m going to do to your akh when I get my hands on him.” She pointed to Alec who was hanging from the wall with metal and shrubs holding him in place. Nikole started to move when Leigh grabbed her throat and held her in place.

“You see this needle, my precious princess? I’m putting it against your throat, your artery to be exact. One move, and I mean one, and this will insert into your vein and shoot air through your system. Do you know what happens when you get an air bubble in your vein? One guess. That’s right Nikole, you die. Now, be a good girl and sit still.”

“You bitch, you can’t do this to him. He’s an innocent!”

“No one’s an innocent in this war. You kill my people, I kill your people, and it’s called tit for tat. The only problem is you were not smart enough. You and your precious akh will perish because you do not have the ability to foresee strategies.” Leigh walked over toward Alec and took his balls into her hand, squeezing them tightly. His cry, while muffled, was still loud and painful to hear.

“Stop it! Stop hurting him! You want someone… take me!”

“Oh, I will take you. No need for you to worry about that right now. But I just want you to know what I am capable of. There is nothing more pleasurable than seeing the tears run down someone’s face as they watch the person they love- die.”

“STOP IT! What do you want? Why can’t you people be civil? Why must you always kill?”

“Civil? Civil? Was it civil when your parents chased my omm’s family from their home just because she married my abb? Was it civil when our gedi passed my abb up for the throne and gave it to your bitch omm instead? WAS THAT CIVIL?” Leigh removed her knife and slammed it into Alec’s thigh. It stood straight up as she let go, the blood from his muscle running down his jeans.

“It’s compassion that will be the death of all of you, and mark my words; there is nothing compassionate about me. You will all die; it is just a matter of time and place. Right now, it’s his turn.” She looked at Alec who had tears running down his face, his neck tight, and breathing heavily. All the veins in his face were exposed.

“Say goodbye to him, Princess.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

H
aydar’s fangs hissed out at Jonothon as his hands brought a spiked collar to the male’s throat. The points of the collar were laced with a poison that would cause his body to sear from the inside out. Jonothon screamed out as his neck began to burn, his blood carrying the poison throughout his body. Haydar latched the collar tightly around his neck and stepped back, smiling as his bent’s lover was writhing on the ground.

“This is proof you were not meant for my bent. You are crying like a pussy, and she would never tolerate that in her life.” Jonothon doubled over in pain, the burning sensation ripping through him, traveling through his veins. He started to scratch at his arms and legs, his nails pulling up layers of skin.

“Please make it stop, PLEASE!” Jonothon called out, his plea falling on deaf ears.

“You want mercy? Why should you be given mercy? You have done nothing to help the cause, only delay it, distracting my bent’s attention and feeding her lies about getting rid of me. Do you think I don’t know? I don’t know your plan? I KNOW EVERYTHING!”

Haydar took his left hand and grabbed Jonothon’s chin, pulling his head up so he could look into his eyes.

“I’m going to say this once. You will never be with Leigh again.” In a split second, Haydar’s right hand moved across his body and back handed Jonothon’s face. His jaw cracked. The sound of a tooth breaking pleased Haydar’s senses.

Jonothon didn’t allow a moan to slip his lips; he took the pain and bottled it inside. He knew that he had already shown enough weakness to Haydar and would be damned if he showed anymore.

He spit out blood and a tooth on Haydar’s shoe. Jonothon looked up at his leader and with venom in his voice said, “You are holding her back, and we will have the final say. Only foolish men think they are unstoppable. Do you think we don’t know you were spying on us? You are blinded by your short sightedness, and it will be your downfall. She will overcome you, mark my words.”

Haydar grabbed Jonothon by the jaw and brought him close. He squeezed his fingers into Jonothon’s cheeks, forcing his tongue to come out. Haydar took his knife from his pocket and sliced the tip of Jonothon’s tongue off. Jonothon’s hands rushed to his face as he pushed his fingers down on what was left of his tongue, trying to stop the bleeding. Haydar stepped back, laughing at the worthless man fumbling around on the ground, trying to save himself.

“You are as stupid as the humans. I’ll enjoy watching you talk without most of your tongue.” Haydar leaned down and spoke with a deep tone into his ear. “And, if you think Leigh will love you now, you are an idiot. Khaleds do not accept imperfections, and in no way do we love them. You are now worthless to her.”

On that note, Haydar grabbed Jonothon’s collar and escorted him to a closet cell inside his chambers. He threw him against the concrete wall and laughed as he watched Jonothon’s head bounce off it. He closed the heavy door and locked it, keeping the insignificant male out of sight until his bent returned.

Jonothon’s body felt like it was in shock. Between the poison and beating, he didn’t know what was worse. How was he going to get out of this, and would Leigh still accept him when it was over? Haydar was right about one thing, Leigh didn’t accept imperfections, and now, that was all he was.

Haydar left his office and went out to the main training facility where his bent had the soldiers practicing. He sat back in the shadows and observed what his men were doing. He wanted to have someone to be proud of, but yet again, he was disappointed. There was no one out there who gave him the pleasure he deserved. No one since Sarah, that is. His last hope had been Leigh, but even she had let him down.

“Jonothon is in the cell in my office,” Haydar told one of his captains as he handed him a key. “Go take his body and place it on Leigh’s floor. Make sure he is chained down and cannot escape. Take one of the spears in the supply room and put it through his left shoulder.”

His man looked at him for just a moment before nodding his head and walking off towards the supply room. Inside, there were three different kinds of spears. The first one was basic, a shaft of bamboo with an iron tip sharpened at the end. This wouldn’t be what Haydar wanted; someone could easily break this to escape. Next there was a javelin, the type of spear used by the infantry men of the Byzantine Empire. Finally, there was the az-zaġāyah...the spear of their people. This spear was eight feet long, and the iron tip was at least 18 inches long, both sides of the blade razor sharp. The shaft’s wood, while thin, was sturdy, and the blade’s accuracy was lethal. This, this was the one Haydar would want him to use.

With the assegai spear in his hand, he walked to his master’s office and opened the door. He could see the blood spatter off to the left and knew better than to ask questions. Making his way to the cell, he positioned the spear in a fighting stance. He didn’t know what he would find on the other side of the door and wanted to be prepared for anything.

His body tightened and his stomach churned. His commander was doubled over in pain from the abuse. He knew he couldn’t show any weakness; Haydar was always watching. With the assegai jabbing at Jonothon’s side, he forced him to look up.

“Move.”

It was the only word that needed to be said. Jonothon struggled to pull himself up. The poison from the collar made his nerve endings numb; his legs and arms felt like jello.

“Move,” he said once more, the spear going into Jonothon’s side this time.

He listened to the colonel cry out in pain. He had zero sympathy; he’d known what he was getting into when he agreed to join the team.

Jonothon made his legs stand firm after ten minutes of trying. His soldier wrapped his arm around Jonothon’s side. The spear was positioned at his throat in the event he attempted to escape. Walking through the hallways, they left a trail of blood in their wake. Jonothon’s mouth was spilling over with blood, and his side was now dripping with it, his clothes no longer soaking it in.

Upon reaching Leigh’s door, Jonothon thought he would be placed on the bed, but he realized quickly his luck had run out.

His body was thrown onto the ground next to a metal chain. The soldier clasped the chain to his collar. He then looked, and with his eyes closed, took the assegai and jammed it through Jonothon’s left shoulder, puncturing the skin, bone, and eventually the floor.

Without a word, Jonothon was left alone on his lover’s floor, pinned like an animal. This would be the end of him and Leigh; she would never accept him, displayed as garbage and left to die. Haydar was right; he was a fool to think Leigh would have ever been his. He should have realized from the very beginning, the only man Leigh would have in her life was her abb, even if she hadn’t realized it yet.