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one to Beth's, not counting the sheelings. He tried to remember what her name
was. She seemed to be watching him with a speculative expression, holding a
three-year-old on her hip. Her son, as he recalled, was lycan. No wonder she
had fled. Their kind were less tolerant of a female hooking up with a lycan,
than they were of males doing so.
The longer he waited to deal with his people here, the more he placed himself
at risk of being revealed. Malthus went to Beth's house and let himself in. He
found Beth sitting at her loom, weaving. She rose to greet him, smiling, and
threw her arms around him. Malthus shoved her away. Beth looked hurt by his
action, but said nothing.
Serpent's Quest [Lycan Blood Vol. I]
by Janrae Frank
88
"How many sa'necari are in this camp?"
"Five women," Beth said.
"Who's that one with the lycan child?"
Beth frowned. "Kandaishee."
"Fetch her."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Beth returned a few minutes later with Kandaishee. The child had been left
with one of the other women.
"What is this about, Beth?" she asked. Kandaishee's eyes went to Malthus, and
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she folded her arms across her middle, shifting uneasily from foot to foot.
Recognition glimmered in her eyes, telling Malthus that he had been right: she
had figured him out.
"I wanted to speak with you," Malthus said. He stepped close and touched the
hollow of Kandaishee's throat to mute her voice.
She clutched at her throat, turning to flee. Malthus grabbed her arm, jerking
her against him. Kandaishee clawed for his eyes. He caught that wrist and
forced both arms behind her, bringing her body hard against his. Her fangs
came down and she tried to bite his face. Malthus bumped her chin with his
shoulder and banged her face with his forehead.
"Hold her, Beth."
Beth seized Kandaishee's arms, pinning them.
"No, please," Kandaishee begged.
Serpent's Quest [Lycan Blood Vol. I]
by Janrae Frank
89
"You know that begging does no good, Kandaishee,"
Malthus said. "I can see it in your eyes. You've practiced the rites."
Kandaishee pulled at her arms, but could not get free from
Beth's grip as the lycan changed to her hybrid form. "I've renounced them."
"A shame." Malthus stroked her face, Reading her. Her magic was
underdeveloped, suggesting that she had participated in only a few rites, just
enough to alter her eyes, and not enough to give her the substantial sa'necari
strength.
She tried to close her mind to him, twisting and turning her thoughts about to
prevent Malthus from getting hold of her. Spellcorded, Kandaishee's mind
lacked shields and would be unable to fight him off if he pressed it. However,
he did not wish to leave her wrecked. That would be noticed.
"Don't make me rip you open," Malthus hissed. "No one cares enough to notice a
change in you."
She twisted her head back, trying to look at the lycan behind her. "Beth,
please let me go. He's going to hurt me."
Beth said nothing, only tightening her hold, her strong fingers digging into
Kandaishee's flesh.
Malthus ran his finger down Kandaishee's nose and across her check, amusement
turning the corners of his mouth.
"Beth is mine. I claimed her my first night here."
Kandaishee eyes softened into pools of despair, her mouth drooped. She stopped
straining against Beth's hands. "Gods, have mercy."
"You're praying to the wrong gods," Malthus said. "Be still and it won't hurt
as much."
Serpent's Quest [Lycan Blood Vol. I]
by Janrae Frank
90
"I know." Resignation crept into Kandaishee's voice. "I've done it myself ...
many times."
"Then why resist? You know you can't. Open and let me in.
It will be over quickly."
Kandaishee's head lowered and her shoulders drooped.
Malthus sensed her surrender, felt her mind go still and yielding. He lunged
in, working swiftly, laying in all the coercions, compulsions, sways, and
triggers at once. The speed of his efforts caused Kandaishee more pain than
going slowly would have. She closed her eyes, turned her head to the side, and
whimpered like a battered puppy. To test his results, he raped her.
"Bring me another sa'necari," Malthus ordered Beth, as
Kandaishee crawled into a corner and huddled sobbing.
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By the end of the day, Malthus no longer had to worry that one of his people
would recognize his true nature and reveal him to the lycans. What he had said
to Kandaishee was true:
neither the lycans nor the humans that lived and worked about the camp cared
enough about sa'necari to notice a change in them.
Serpent's Quest [Lycan Blood Vol. I]
by Janrae Frank
91
CHAPTER SIX
HELL'S WIDOW
Heat stole over the streets of Hell's Widow. Spring had faded before the
arrival of summer. Days were hot, but the mountain breezes cooled the valley
off in the evenings.
Heironim pulled at the edges of his coarse russet shirt and light wool tunic.
He abhorred the crude cloth of the lower classes, but he dealt with it. A pair
of the long slender dirks carried by the Waejontori commoners rode at his
hips, not as broad and heavy as those worn by the lycans; stabbing weapons
rather than the slash and thrust preferred by the lycan yeomonry.
Heironim walked along Main Street in Hell's widow, avoiding eye contact with [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]