A King's Ransom Read online

  "Veyl?" The barkeep raised his bushy grey eyebrows when Kaidos mentioned the name.

  "I've been told she's the best," Kaidos said, swirling the remainder of his wine in his glass.

  "I wouldn't know," the man laughed, "she's a pricey one," one word was strangely emphasized, "and mistress to the captain of the guard."

  Kaidos had suspected as much when he'd caught sight of his quarry and the guard captain for the first time three days ago. She always left the Silver Tree Manor with her head covered, wearing the brightest reds and richest purples, and within moments, the guard captain was at her side.

  Kaidos might have dismissed it as courtesy had he not recognized the unspoken language between them. The guard captain always slowed his pace to match hers and inclined his head towards her when he spoke. Kaidos had learned the subtle art of recognizing such gestures; knowing by a man's swagger if he was carrying a blade, or if someone was distracted enough not to notice his purse being cut.

  As of yet, he hadn't seen the woman's face, so he wasn't certain if she was beautiful, but she was tall and willowy, nearly as tall as the guard captain, and he had to assume a man of such high standing would not take a sow-faced whore for a mistress.

  "Should I be concerned about her lover?" Kaidos asked, taking another sip of his wine.

  "I couldn't say." The barkeep shrugged. "If you have the coin, I will send word that you are interested in meeting Veyl tonight."

  "In my room," Kaidos confirmed.

  "It's going to cost you more…"

  "I have the coin." He grinned at the man, and somehow managed to maintain it when he heard just how much it would cost.

  Three daissomes would get a man a sturdy horse and a week's worth of boarding. The charge for an evening visit from this whore was five.

  Kaidos gritted his teeth through his smile as he laid out each gold coin on the counter. If he was paying for her, he was going to be damn well certain to get at least a little of his money's worth.

  *~*~*

  Kaidos paced in his room at the inn. He had no reason to be nervous—he'd had plenty of time to lay out his escape route. He'd specifically requested a room on the ground floor that had a window with a view of the building behind it. It would give him a long dark corridor through which he could carry a body unseen until he reached the aqueducts that would take him out of town.

  It was not the crime that made him nervous; it was that the last time he'd had a woman was eight months ago. It had been miserable and he'd felt horrible afterwards, as if he'd just betrayed the only woman he'd ever loved. Maybe he had, though he knew that Adria and he were not meant for one another. She was a nobleman's daughter and he was a criminal. His brothers had tried to warn him that she would betray him--that she only wanted him for the pleasure he could give her before she gave herself to the doldrums of marriage. Sadly, they'd been correct.

  A gentle but precise rapping came to his door, startling him from his thoughts.

  "Kaidos Vailinn?"

  The tone of the woman's voice surprised Kaidos. It was deep, sultry, and its resonance suggested intense and unyielding pleasures.

  "Come in," he called to the door. Kaidos had always been told that he was an attractive man, and he felt somewhat foolish reacting with any measure of insecurity in the presence of any woman--regardless of her talent or beauty, still, he felt his skin growing warmer beneath the collar of his shirt.

  The door opened and a tall, lithe figure, swathed in purple and crimson silks, slipped into the room. The woman bowed, and removed the hood that obscured her features.

  "I am Veyl, from the Silver Tree Manor."

  She was surprisingly young and Kaidos found her face to be exquisitely beautiful. Her eyes were large, curved upwards at the outer corners, and orange as an autumn moon. Her skin was smooth and clear. Kaidos' gaze followed the waves of her pale golden tresses as she shook them free of her cloak, and he felt his breath catch in his chest.

  Her beauty was inhuman.

  "You are part elf?" Kaidos cleared his throat, trying to shake his voice loose from the confines of his tightening throat.

  Veyl stopped in the process of folding her cloak and met his gaze evenly, "Does that bother you? Or perhaps intrigue you?" She ran her pink tongue slowly over her plump upper lip.

  Kaidos swallowed audibly. "Intrigue. Does it bother you that I am a Wanderer?"

  "Quite the contrary." She cocked her head to one side, her hair cascading like sunlit falls. She carried a small bag attached to the belt at her waist and she reached inside, producing a small bottle of clear amber liquid.

  "Shall we begin with a massage?"

  Kaidos started to unlace his shirt, "I'll warn you, my scars cause some people discomfort." Like the last whore who requested that he keep on his shirt while they'd had sex.

  "I find scars quite appealing on the right man's body." Veyl winked with a sultry smile and began warming the oil as she poured some in her hands. "When you're ready, lie down on the bed."

  Gods, Kaidos thought, she has everything down perfectly. Every tilt of her head, every word, every smile. This woman was certainly a professional of a caliber he'd never known. How could her lover let her do this to other men?

  Kaidos pulled off his shirt and weighed it in his hands for a moment before he turned and went to lie on his stomach across the bed. He listened for a sound of disapproval or shock, but none came, and soon he was being treated to warm, surprisingly strong hands and skilled fingers massaging his scarred flesh.

  "Your scars say that you are a warrior; a sell-sword perhaps?"

  Kaidos grunted, letting her interpret it as she would.

  He felt the prostitute's fingers tracing along scar tissue, almost as if she relished the texture. Each caress ignited a hundred different sensations all over his body. He could smell the oil, something heady and rich with a hint of rosemary and musk. The strands of her hair brushed across those parts that had not been kissed by the lash, and the softness of it was almost painful.

  Kaidos was aware of everything all at once, the slow current of her breathing, the dull pressure of the blanket crumpled beneath him. The prostitute mapped every mark, and when she began following a long scar that crossed over his shoulder, Kaidos finally gave into his lust.

  He caught her hand, sliding up to her wrist, and gently brought her down to her back in a move usually reserved for fighting.

  She offered a little squeal, then a giggle before Kaidos leaned down and crushed his mouth against hers.

  Her lips parted, the heat inside her mouth had a flavor that was sweet like honey. Although Kaidos had initiated the kiss, Veyl soon took control of it. She wrapped his hair around her fingers, holding his head still as she sucked at his lips, giving sharp nips that went straight through to his groin. Kaidos felt a groan escape him as the prostitute thrust her tongue into his mouth. He'd only ever kissed as a prelude to sex—something that had to be done before he could move on—he had never known that kissing could be a sex act in itself.

  Unfortunately, if they kept this up for too much longer, he would never make it that far. Reluctantly, Kaidos moved away from the kiss, propping his head up on one hand as he watched her beautiful face.

  Kaidos ran his hand down the side of her body, finding it surprisingly taut. The brush of her silky dress against his calloused fingers made a soft rasping sound as Kaidos moved his hand up to find her breast. He'd seen that she was small when she came in, so unlike most of the whores he'd known, and yet, somehow more appealing without the white mounds of womanly flesh being thrust up and out and presented like a meal. But she was not just small, she was flat, and her nipple under his palm was sharp. When he brushed it, she offered a shiver and a quiet whimper escaped her kiss-bruised lips.

  "More," she begged and Kaidos complied, giving the tiny bump beneath the silk a little pinch.

  "Mmm…" she smiled at him, encouraging Kaidos to go farther.

  He slid his hand down her thigh and began working up her
dress, bunching it behind his wrist until he was touching petal-soft skin over firm muscle.

  "Your legs are very strong, for a woman." Kaidos brushed a kiss against her earlobe, giving a little nibble to the gracefully pointed edge.

  "I'm not a—" Veyl began, but Kaidos was able to fill in the rest of her words when he reached down between her thighs, expecting to find the yield of soft, womanly flesh, but found instead, an iron rod.

  The realization dawned on him and his heart froze painfully in his chest. It restarted itself with an agonizing kick against his ribs, and nausea slithered through his core.

  Kaidos launched himself backwards off the bed staring down at the creature he'd been touching. The material of the garment was gathered up around her—his hips, concealing his sex from view, but Kaidos didn't need to see it. He'd felt it.

  Heat rose through his body. He clenched his jaw, his muscles rigid enough to tremble. Against his palms his short nails made cuts to his skin as he balled his big hands into tight fists. "What. The. Fuck…"

  "I thought you knew…" The whore's voice was a whisper, and he moved slowly, like a rabbit trying to sneak past a hungry wolf.

  As soon as she—he rose from the bed, Kaidos snatched up Veyl's wrist in a tight grip, mashing the delicate skin to bruises against the whore's bones.

  The pretty man winced, his body curling down into the pain. "Let go of me," his voice trembled.

  "You are the guard captain's mistress?" Kaidos growled, waiting to read a lie in Veyl's lovely face so he could kill him and find the real woman who was.

  "What business is it of yours?"

  The sheer audacity of the response drove a fresh spike of anger through Kaidos' spine. The whore yelped as he was forced to his knees to keep his wrist from breaking under Kaidos' torturous grip.

  "Just answer the question."

  "I serve him on occasion."

  There were tears in the young man's eyes as they darted between Kaidos' face and his wrist.

  Kaidos released him roughly, pushing him to the floor. The whore crumpled, cradling his injury but not taking his eyes off of Kaidos. The reddening around his amber irises made them appear luminous, and concentrating on them for just a moment, Kaidos was able to push down some of his rage.

  What kind of twisted game was this? Had someone known he was here and put this boy up to deception as the guard captain planned an ambush outside?

  "Strip," Kaidos croaked.

  The whore narrowed his eyes. "No."

  Kaidos sent a kick to his midsection, holding back at the last minute just enough not to splinter the whore's ribs. The man cried out, his breath coming in labored, noisy gasps as he curled in upon himself, yet he would not take his eyes off of Kaidos.

  "The next one will be to your face." Kaidos snarled. He retrieved his dagger, pulling it partially from its scabbard. Although he was certain this was a ploy, he had to check for the mark he'd been told the whore would have on her body. Once he confirmed it wasn't there, he'd slice up this pretty boy and leave him a beautiful corpse before the guard captain and his troops stormed through the door.

  "Get up and take off your clothes."

  The whore got unsteadily to his feet, swaying as he tried to remain standing. His cheeks were mottled red as the blood drained from his face. Beads of sweat glistened across his forehead. With one shaking hand, he began to remove his flowing garments.

  Kaidos watched him out of the corner of one eye. He'd seen plenty of male bodies without clothing, but none that he would have considered beautiful. Somehow, despite this whore being a man, he was breathtaking; it was like looking at a creature blessed by the divine and Kaidos would not have been surprised to see wings folded against his back.

  Beneath the flowing robes, the whore wore a narrow strip of white fabric for an undergarment, and the fullness of the pouch went further to confirm that he was completely male. Already, there were ugly bruises forming just under his ribs from the kick, but the whore would suffer a lot worse when that mark of identification did not appear.

  "That too." Kaidos gestured to the loin covering.

  "Are you going to rape me?" The whore's voice was raspy. He removed the material, pushing it slowly down over his narrow hips, and let it slide down his legs to the wooden floor.

  "Lie on the bed, legs apart." Kaidos growled, crossing his arms. He hated that he found this creature attractive; even the man's cock was beautiful, like the rest of his deific physique. He turned away as nausea rolled though him. Despite his anger at the deception, Kaidos would never rape anyone. There was nothing powerful about dominating another person in this way, regardless of what they had done, or whether or not they were human. But the whore did not know this, and his body trembled as he moved onto the bed to lie down and spread his legs.

  Kaidos approached and glared down. The whore held the blankets in a grip tight enough to whiten his knuckles, his eyes were squeezed shut and his face turned away. Kaidos suddenly found it difficult to breathe as his body responded to a memory. He swallowed the gall that rose up in his throat. Pushing down the icy grip of things his body remembered no matter how hard he tried to forget. He forced himself to look across the whore's open thighs, and there it was--that damnable birthmark. High up on his inner left thigh, a white butterfly discolored the whore's otherwise perfect golden flesh. Kaidos' scowl deepened.

  "Sit up. I can't stand to look at you like that anymore." He growled.

  The whore drew his legs together and sat up, moving to the far edge of the bed. He pulled his knees into his chest, curling into himself and watching Kaidos.

  "You really are the guard captain's bitch." Kaidos grumbled. His eyes captured Veyl's briefly, then dropped to the pendant that centered itself near his heart. "A gift from your lover perhaps?"

  Veyl gripped the amber teardrop protectively in his fist.

  Kaidos grabbed a handful of Veyl's long hair and yanked it hard, forcing the whore's hands away from the stone to relieve the tension on his scalp. When he did, Kaidos used his free hand to rip the chain from his neck, taking a small sense of twisted delight at the flash of despair that crossed the whore's lovely face.

  "I think this will be a perfect way to let the guard captain know that his precious bitch has been stolen away from him." Kaidos released Veyl and held the gem, sparkling, up to the firelight. It was obviously no cheap bauble and would fetch a high price should he sell it, but it meant more leaving it behind. That way, it would ensure that Guard Captain Engel felt the full effect of losing his lover. Kaidos was beginning to suspect that this kidnapping was more likely a plan to lure the guard captain out to confront an old enemy in Dandre, rather than to acquire a concubine.

  In retrospect, turning his back on the whore revealed his extreme underestimation of the man. Kaidos turned just in time to deflect the path of a small dagger. He raised his arm to ward off the blow and the knife pierced through the muscles of his forearm.

  With his free hand, Kaidos punched Veyl in the stomach, landing the blow in roughly the same location as the earlier kick. The whore drew in a noisy breath and dropped to his knees, choking and clutching his mid-section.

  "Stupid whore." Kaidos spit on him and worked the knife out with a grimace. "Your guard captain give you this pretty little thing too? I should cut off your hands for that." But the messenger had given him specific orders to bring Veyl to Dandre unharmed--at least visibly so; bruises would fade, but missing pieces were a lot more difficult to explain. Kaidos tucked the jeweled dagger into his belt. For all of its decoration, it was a sharp little thing and could have done some deadly damage had the whore managed to pierce his heart.

  Kaidos went to the washbasin to rinse off the blood and examine his wound.

  "Get dressed and--" before he could finish, the whore was stumbling, naked, towards the door.

  Moving on instinct, Kaidos rushed towards him, shoving against him with his shoulder to keep him from reaching his destination. The whore stumbled as he lost his footing and hit
his head on the corner of a table, going down in a dead faint like a load of stones.

  "Damn it!" Kaidos turned the man's face as blood began streaking red through his flaxen hair. He'd hit his head just above the temple; the largest concentration of the wound was on his scalp, and bleeding liberally. Kaidos checked the whore's neck for a pulse and breathed a small sigh of relief. Just unconscious. He'd have to stop the blood to make sure the whore woke up, but this did solve the problem of how he was going to keep him quiet so he could steal him away.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Wolves

  Veyl woke with his skull throbbing. He tried to sit up, but he was unable to move one arm without the other one coming with it. Trying to pull them apart, he realized that his wrists and ankles were bound. Oh, that's right, he'd been beaten and kidnapped. Opening his eyes slowly, he focused on the broad, scarred back of his abductor as the man tended a campfire.

  A soft grunt escaped Veyl's lips as he fidgeted into a sitting position. Deep, bruising pain rippled through his midsection, and made his bladder contract. He had to pee. When he tried to catch his breath, the pain caused him to cough, alerting his kidnapper that he was awake. The man rose, shaking out his shirt, and turned. The material was bloody as he slipped it on over his shoulders.

  "Untie me." Veyl tried to suppress the tremble in his voice. He had not been raped—yet--or murdered, and the villain had replaced his clothing; Veyl had to believe that there was some reason why.

  "You nearly cost me a lot of gold by trying to run away once; I need to make certain that doesn't happen again." The man stood over him, folding his arms as he glared down.

  "Fine, then would you mind holding my cock while I take a piss?" Veyl snarled, averting his eyes. He expected a slap, and not receiving one, he lifted his gaze to his kidnapper's handsome face. Yes. He was handsome, and young. Veyl placed his age at just under thirty. His skin was a warm copper hue, his black hair was shoulder-length. His eyes, surrounded with thick ebony lashes were a cold shade of grey. His Wanderer features should have been all the warning Veyl had needed to know that something wasn't right when he'd met him at the inn. But he'd tried to give the man the benefit of not judging him by his appearance.