Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (15 page)

“No,” Visant said. “I have the gift of sensing human breeders, much like you. She’s not compatible. But Seamus and I want to keep her anyway as our slave.”

“You know it’s not allowed. You have to get her out of here now.” Cabrian was worried. The little human would be killed the second Diermont saw her.

“We’ve got nowhere to take her,” Seamus said. “Even if we transported back to our homes in Asstrumnia, the girl would be dead before we returned. We won’t be there to protect her.”

“She’s not safe here. Perhaps you should set her free in the city.”

“Visant and I are keeping her. Sharing her. We’ll find a safe place for her, but it would help if you’d agree to hide her in your chamber for a while. Just long enough for us to make arrangements.”

“I cannot be found with another human in my room. Diermont would lose it. I have to protect my own.”

“Please, just for a little while. Even if it is only for the night. The rest of us don’t have chambers of our own and that makes hiding her inside our rooms impossible.”

Cabrian sighed. He had wanted Seamus to develop an interest in humans. He hadn’t thought the straight-laced male would go out and procure one. It was a terrible idea and he felt partially responsible since he had been the one extolling the pleasures of human flesh. He couldn’t let the other human be found by Diermont. “Fine, I’ll keep her for the night. But you have to get rid of her.”

Visant and Seamus carried the rug-enclosed female inside Cabrian’s chamber. Visant unwrapped the female. She was extremely young with pale hair and sky blue eyes. Her face was wet with tears and her body trembled. Visant took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. He entranced her with his mind so she would remain quiet and still. “Stay in the closet and don’t make a sound.”

The girl instantly obeyed. Visant closed the closet door. He turned to Cabrian. “We will return for the girl shortly. Keep her safe.”

Chapter 11

When Modez woke that morning, he felt like he had been run over by a horse drawn chariot. The outside of his neck was sore and painful, especially on the lower right side near his shoulder. He remembered having a strange dream about a woman biting him while she rubbed herself on his cock. He must have woken too soon, for surely his dream woman would not have left him so unsatisfied.

When he tried to lift himself from the bed, he realized he didn’t have the strength. He had never been ill, but surely this must be what it felt like to be sick.
It hadn’t been a dream at all
. A woman had assaulted him while he lay in bed. It was unthinkable—unbelievable that a female would do such a thing. It was even more unbelievable that she would do such a thing to
him
. Unless she was feeble of mind, she would know he was a Halloran, a descendant of one of their most ancient and powerful bloodlines as well as kin to their king. She had not only taken his blood and sucked it from his vein with obvious relish; she had rubbed herself all over him like a cat in heat, teasing his cock unmercifully and leaving him with an erection that still wouldn’t go away. What kind of woman would do such a thing? It couldn’t be any of Snotti’s females. They were all empty headed socialites that turned their noses up at the idea of pleasure. His attacker had been aggressive and consumed with self-gratification. But if she wasn’t one of Snotti’s ladies, then who was she? It was unlikely that any additional hybrids would come to the villa, especially with the dronusfly swarms cutting off travel opportunities. And why had the woman chosen him? Had she been sent by someone else, someone who would want him weakened? Killed, even? The unknown woman had left him in a vulnerable state in a foreign land full of their enemies.

How long would it take for his body to recover and make more blood?
Much too long
. He would have no choice but to use a blood donor. Pity he couldn’t use the woman who had put him in this situation.

He grimaced when he realized he would have to report this incident. Hopefully they would keep the matter confidential. He didn’t want anyone to know he had been dominated by a female. His request for a blood donor wouldn’t be well received at the moment. He would have to use one of Snotti’s ladies and they were hardly tantalizing options for a meal.

With effort, he pushed himself out of bed. As soon as he stood, he felt lightheaded and dizzy. Sheer force of will kept him from falling on his ass. He opened the door and called out to some of the hybrids on guard duty. “Get one of your superiors and send him in to see me.”

He sat back on his bed and waited. At the moment, he didn’t particularly care who came to his aid.

A few minutes later, Seamus McLeod arrived. “You don’t look well,” he said.

“I’m not. All my energy has been drained out of me and I can hardly lift myself out of bed.”

“It’s the stress of working under Diermont. I respect him as a leader, but he is rather dogmatic with his viewpoints.”

“It’s not just that.” An unwanted image flashed through Modez’s head, but he just as instantly pushed the memories of carnage and death to the back of his mind. “I was assaulted last night while I slept. A woman forced herself on me…I couldn’t fight her off. I must have been drugged. She took my blood—”

Seamus burst out laughing and said, “How much of that Roman piss did you drink?”

“I only had the one cup of wine,” Modez said sternly. “It was right before I went to bed. I’m telling you, I was violated. The woman came to me naked, but I couldn’t see her. At first, I thought she meant to lay with me, so I wasn’t concerned. But then she sank her fangs into my neck…she started sucking…wasn’t sure if she was going to stop.”

Seamus continued to laugh and said, “You were visited by Suki—a water sprite who, according to legend, comes to men at night to drain their blood. She is said to play with the male equipment while she drinks. Many of her victims wake up covered in their own seed.”

“She wasn’t a water sprite.”

“Don’t worry, my friend. Suki’s not real. She’s only a myth. You must have been dreaming.”

“I was awake. I’m telling you that she was real. I felt her with my hands, but I wasn’t able to touch her long enough to know her exact proportions.” He remembered clearly the way she had gripped and teased his cock. He hadn’t seen her face but he had wanted her with an unrivaled ferocity. “She was
definitely
female.”

“Yeah, right,” he said with a voice thick with sarcasm. “One of our females, rare as they are, left the safety of the palace to go outside during a dronusfly swarm. Then she came
here
, of all places, just to violate
you
. That makes a lot of sense.”

The hands that touched him had been soft, feminine. It sure as hell hadn’t been a man touching his cock. “She was female. She rubbed her pussy on me.” A soft, very wet piece she had, and he remembered a peach scent. “I know the difference between cock and pussy.”

Seamus grinned. “It’s difficult to mistake the two.” He leaned against the wall with humor lurking in his eyes. “A wet dream. You dreamed her up.”

He glanced at his midsection. His cock felt like petrified wood and his balls ached. “The dream wasn’t wet.” He hadn’t been able to release his seed, which was why he was so irritated with the female. “I am suffering the effects of severe blood loss. That is proof enough.”

“You’re just getting worn down. It’s the aftereffects of battle. Too much fighting and too much death…and Diermont’s standing order to put even the females to death. It’s hard to deal with it all. Some rest and relaxation will help you rejuvenate.”

“Those things could help, but they will not replace the blood loss. I cannot function like this. I need replacement blood.” He needed the invisible woman to finish what she had started.

“Are you listening to yourself? Do you want Diermont to think you’ve lost your mind? Your dream is not reality.”

“The woman needs to be found and punished.” Preferably with his cock and fangs.

Seamus shook his head. “You can’t capture an imaginary woman.”

“We need to be on high alert. She may thirst again.” She had been aroused when drinking from him. Her scent had driven him crazy with the need to possess her.

“The only females here are Snotti’s females. They are here to find mates, so they wouldn’t risk angering one of our most eligible lords.” After a pause, he said, “Just think about it. There must be some explanation. We are in a foreign land. It is possible that you were exposed to something and it made you feel ill.”

“I couldn’t be sick. Romans get sick. Hybrids do not.”

“Still, it is possible. If it is blood loss, then you may be bleeding internally.”

Seamus didn’t believe him. He had to admit the story sounded incredible, but it had really happened. “Several days have passed since I last received a battle wound. My body would have healed itself by now.”

“It should have done so, but maybe you have a wound that refuses to heal. There are some poisons that are known to do that, but I haven’t heard of any reports of the Romans using them.”

“Are you trying to say I’ve developed a form of hemophilia?”

“
Poison-induced
. If a Roman laced his sword with poison and struck you with it, then it is possible. In humans, the poison would be deadly, but you should recover in a few days.”

“But I remember a woman—”

“You had to be
hallucinating
, my friend. Mayhap it is the effect of the blood loss, injury, or poison in your system. You should be seen by a healer. I’ll send one of the druids your way.”

It was clear that nothing he could say would convince Seamus that a female had come into his room. Modez didn’t believe the poison theory, but he agreed to see the healer.

The healer arrived sometime later and confirmed that Modez had experienced some blood loss. Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain the cause of it. There were no signs of internal or external injuries. The healer had told him that it wasn’t an excessive amount of blood loss and he would recover without treatment. He did prescribe rest, which Modez wasn’t thrilled about. A warrior couldn’t afford to be confined to bed.

* * *

“There’s a girl in the closet. She must remain hidden from Diermont and the others.”

Cassia couldn’t hide her shock. “What girl?”

Cabrian pulled on his typical uniform, which consisted of the black tunic and trousers. “Visant and Seamus took her from one of the villas. They’re coming back for her once they find a safe locale.”

“What do they want with her?” Cassia knew the answer, of course. There was only one reason for hybrids to take human females.

“She’ll serve them both, but she’s no breeder. Her life is in danger.”

Cassia waited until Cabrian had gone before opening the closet. She draped herself in a bed sheet to preserve her modesty, or at least what was left of it. She wasn’t sure what to expect once she opened that door, but this wasn’t it. She recognized that girl. She tapped her on her shoulder to wake her. The girl blinked her eyes in confusion and slowly brought herself to a sitting position. “Baby, it’s me.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Mistress. How did you get here?”

“You’re at the Maximus villa. Do you remember nothing of how you came to be here?”

The girl’s eyes widened further. “We were attacked. I was with your stepmother.”

Cassia wasn’t surprised that she had been with Lucine. The girl had worked for the Maximus family for a number of years. Someone had left a squalling infant on Lucine’s doorstep many years ago and that child had since been called Baby. Her stepmother owned a number of properties and Baby had been employed at one of her villas in Eros. “What happened to the mistress?” Cassia was afraid to ask the question, afraid to learn the answer.

“Your stepmother escaped. But the rest of us were trapped.”

“How did she manage to get out?” Once the hybrids took a villa, escape was nearly impossible.

“She had help. A friend. He waved his hands and a blue shimmery bubble opened in the air. They just walked into it and disappeared.”

Only a hybrid could transport. Lucine owned a number of hybrid slaves who could transport, but they were all collared. She couldn’t imagine that any would assist her. No hybrid would choose to remain a slave if rescue was around the corner. “Who helped her?”

“I don’t know his name. He was tall and he always wore a disguise. Often he was masked and wigged.”

“And he was a hybrid.”

“He must be one of them. Your stepmother was afraid of him. She never acted fearful of any man, but she was terrified of this one. She was always armed when she met with him. She was never without her poison darts.”

“Why would this hybrid help Lucine escape?”

“I don’t know.” The girl started to shake in fear. “I think it had something to do with the Hydra. Their meetings had to do with the Hydra lab.”

“How long has this hybrid been involved with Lucine?”

“I don’t know. He’s only been coming around the past few weeks.”

“You know nothing else?”

Baby trembled. “No. I’m frightened. That villa burned to the ground and I think I was the only one who came out of there alive. What will they do with me?”

“You’re a captive now. The ones who took you will make you their slave. But they don’t seem to be bad sorts. Just obey them as you did the mistress and you’ll be okay.”

“I’m not going to be shelving books in the library anymore, I take it.”

“No, they’ll want to touch you. Bed you.”

Baby nodded. “I thought so. It is what invaders do. I will not fight them.”

“You must avoid the other hybrids.” Cassia explained the current situation. The girl deserved to know her life was in danger so she could protect herself. She hoped Seamus and Visant managed to take her from the villa before Diermont caught wind of it.

* * *

Cabrian’s reception was rather chilly once Diermont realized the reason for his visit. The prince had not liked the idea of taking Cassia to the breeding camps. “As I was saying, the druids there have medicines to make a human fertile. I want Cassia to have this treatment so I can begin breeding her immediately.”