Bonds of the Mazza

by Blake Blessing

  “Did it ever occur to you that I won’t come willingly without Rand and Sage? This isn’t a way to endear me to your cause.” I deadpanned.

  She came so close I could count her eyelashes, and I forced myself to focus only on her. It wouldn’t help to seek out the guys, I couldn’t do anything for them now.

  “We don’t need you compliant. Especially now that we know you aren’t bonded. We can force your compliance once we force your bonds. We’ll keep them alive,” she said and motioned toward the guys with her hand. “In case you actually have bonded to one of them. We might even deliver Rand to his father. He’s been worried sick about him since his abduction anyway.” She pursed her lips in the weakest attempt to suppress a smile.

  The plants slithered under my cloak, little prickly thorns gouging my skin. It itched as much as it hurt.

  “And who does the we include?”

  “Why, the Shadow Society, of course.” She blinked as if I should recognize the name.

  “Who—” I started but the most bone chilling scream rent the air.

  The man hunched over Rand gripped the short sword sticking in Rand’s side. My own shriek joined his when I realized what they did to him. One man had Rand’s arms stretched above his head, and other men restrained each leg. It was almost like they were working to pin him to the floor with the blade.

  My body temperature shot up and my heart felt like it was going to crack at any moment. I wrestled with the vines around me, praying there was a weak spot in one of the vines binding me, but nothing. Rand had been in my corner from the very beginning. I couldn’t let him be treated this way.

  “Lady! Do you see what they’re doing? That’s Rainer’s son they’re slicing open. You said you’d return him.” I cried, trying to lift my legs. Nothing.

  The barmaid twisted at the waist to see what had me so distraught. She cocked her head, watching the scene unfold before her.

  “Sonny, that’s Rainer’s son you have there. Maybe you ought to be working on the other one.” The woman yelled.

  The man with the blade picked his head up. “Huh? I thought this one was the orphan? No? Oy, I start on the other one then.” He unceremoniously pulled the blade out, a wet squishy sound accompanying the movement.

  Rand whimpered a pitiful sound and the first crack on my heart ripped down the center. My eyes burned as he moved his head back and forth deliriously as if he didn’t quite know what was happening.

  There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to take his pain away and I was powerless to stop it. Hopelessness slammed into me and a rage festered in my chest.

  These people would pay.

  I drank in the sight of each person here, memorizing their faces and searing them into my brain. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow. But one day, I would take my revenge and it would be so sweet.

  Sonny, the first man marked for death, stood and scampered over to where Sage was held down. Sage hadn’t suffered the same treatment, dishing out his infamous Resting Dick Face to everyone who would make eye contact with him, but the men were unfazed. Sonny smeared the flat side of the blade along Sage’s linen shirt, leaving a trail of ruby red blood that shone in the pale light. His cloak was torn away at some point, like Rand’s.

  “Where was I? Ah yes, the Shadow Society.”

  I swiveled my attention back to the barmaid. I clenched my teeth to stop myself from spewing anything that would make this play out any worse.

  Must. Not. Call. This. Bitch. A. Cunt nugget.

  Fuck, Sage had me using his weird ass curse phrases now.

  “Someone would have alerted the General by now. He should be here soon to collect you. I hope you aren’t too uncomfortable?” Humming happily, she bent her head closer to inspect the vines. “I did a magnificent job, didn’t I?” Pride laced her voice. “I’ve never done anything to this magnitude before, and I must say, I’m rather impressed with myself.”

  This lady had the emotional intelligence of an acorn. She completely ignored the happenings around her and was apparently content to stay in her own little world, admiring her work.

  A tiny part of me admired it. I could never be like that. Maybe because I was born with a conscience and the idea of causing others pain revolted me. Well, not everyone, but definitely innocent people.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I baited her. If she wasn’t going to share any secrets with me, I needed to lure at least some answers out of her. “What’s the Shadow Society?”

  She met my gaze, stepping back to resume her calm demeanor, which was hilarious given the state of her fucked up hair and torn dress. “The Shadow Society is the sect of Fennin that will one day rule the world. We’ve been waiting for the arrival of a Mazza to really get started, and now you’re here.” She clapped her hands together on a squeal.

  Something about her statement didn’t quite ring true to me. I’d never heard the Shadow Society mentioned among the LL or even at Rainer’s place. How did the attack on Earth’s governments factor into their plan?

  Wait. Rainer knew I was the Mazza. Had he spread the word that fast?

  My stomach contracted at the realization. If Rainer was spreading the word that the Mazza was on the loose, we never had a chance.

  “What does that even mean. I know this group is working on infiltrating the Earth Realm. That was in play well before I was discovered.”

  “Oh that,” she swatted her hand through the air. “That is just one facet of our plan to rule the realms.”

  An ominous knocking came at the window to the left of me. I craned my neck but I couldn’t see a thing. From the way sound bounced off the walls, her magic didn’t cover the entire outside, only the front door. It would have muted the sound from the outside, right?

  “Seva, darling, let me in. I’m about to lose my nuts out here.”

  Cabbie! A promise of freedom might be within our grasp after all. What were the chances he could talk us out of this hellhole?

  The barmaid, Seva, huffed like he was the biggest inconvenience, but walked over to let him in. There was a soft click and then the window scraped along the sill as it slid open. A draft tickled my face as one glittery black, high-heeled boot landed on the floor, followed by a large, red-cloaked figure. Cabbie’s cloak was almost identical to the robe he wore the night before, only this one was longer and appeared thicker.

  Once inside, he searched the crowd, his gaze pausing on Sage and Rand on the floor. Luckily, Sage hadn’t been tortured anywhere close to Rand’s condition. A puddle of blood spread beneath Rand and I pushed at my bindings again.

  “Seva, that’s Rainer’s son. If you didn’t keep him safe for Rainer, you should have at least preserved that fine specimen of a man.” Cabbie tutted.

  “Sonny got stab happy while I wasn’t watching. I stopped him when I noticed.” Her tone was so nonchalant I wanted to cunt punch her.

  Cabbie’s brow furrowed and his head shifted left and right. He had to be looking for me, but who would have expected me to be strung up on the wall like a fly in a spider’s web?

  “Over here, Cabbie.”

  He gracefully spun on his heels, gasping as he ran closer. The heels didn’t stop his game at all. I would have been envious of him in my old life. This life… I couldn’t quite find any fucks to give to such trivial things.

  “Isolde, doll. How did you get up there?” He was so close, I didn’t think anyone else could hear what he was saying.

  “That crazy bitch. Cabbie, Rand needs medical attention. Right now. We need to get him out of here.” I emphasized in case he didn’t get how dire the situation was. Cabbie was our only hope. The thought that he could be in the Shadow Society fluttered across my mind, but I pushed it away. I didn’t get any devious feelings from him at all. Behind him, the barmaid was fast approaching.

  “I was afraid you would get into trouble when I found your rooms empty.” He sighed like this was an enormous inconvenience for him.

  An arm appeared out of the f
olds of his red kimono cloak and he brought a gold whistle to his mouth. The barmaid reached a hand out to grab his arm when a high note cracked through the room. The sound from that little thing Cabbie was holding was much louder than I could have imagined it would be; I only wished I had the use of my arms to protect my ears.

  Windows shattered and feminine war cries filtered into the room from all directions. Women in tight bodysuits and black combat boots climbed through the windows at an inhuman speed. They attacked anything within their reach and my mouth hit the floor.

  By the time the men realized they were being infiltrated, so many had already been cut down. It helped that the majority of the men were still hardcore staring at me.

  “Cab, what the fuck are you doing?” Seva seethed. Her hands were balled up into fists and she stomped closer to Cabbie.

  “Sorry darling. I can’t let you keep my guests.” When she was a few feet from Cabbie, his arm flashed out and he jabbed her cheekbone in a move that would have done any streetfighter justice.

  “Damn, Cabbie. Where did that come from?” I gasped.

  He shook out his hand while a knife appeared in his other. Cabbie started cutting through the vines holding me, although now he’d knocked Seva out, they didn’t appear to be trapping me with the same strength.

  “She’s always been annoying as hell. That felt fabulous.” He winked at me.

  His wink and offhand comment stole a laugh from my throat, but a peek behind him killed any amusement. “I wasn’t kidding about Rand. He really needs help.” I took a deep, shuddering breath through my nose to keep it together.

  Cabbie nodded as his smile dimmed. “Let’s get out of here. I closed down the Pleasure House to come get you.”

  He cut one deep slice, and I fell to my knees, finally freed from the plant. Cabbie extended a hand to help me up, but I ignored it and scrambled over to where Rand lay. Freed, Sage joined me. There was so much blood, the expanding puddle spread away from Rand’s body. I pressed my hand against the wound, but I wasn’t sure if I should do anything else, or if this was hurting him more.

  I really needed to get training. Any kind of training. I had no fucking clue what I was doing and it was getting ridiculous.

  Cabbie crouched down and slid his hands under Rand’s shoulders, gingerly lifting him from the ground.

  “Sage, if you’re fine to do it, grab his feet. We need to get back to my place.” Sage jumped at the command, following without any complaint.

  One of the women had cut down an opening through the doorway, making it easier to carry Rand through.

  Bellows from the men and shrieks from the women still bounced around the room, along with the sounds of flesh striking flesh and objects whizzing overhead.

  It was absolute chaos.

  And it didn’t bother me one bit as I stepped through the opening and followed the guys back to the House of Pleasure. No one bothered us and while we were quite a bit slower on our return, we were back in our rooms in ten minutes.

  I yanked the covers from the bed as they used gentle hands to lay Rand on the mattress. I snagged a knife from the kitchenette and shoved Cabbie out of my way to cut Rand’s linen shirt off of his torso. His skin was chilled and extremely pale. Too pale.

  Cabbie left the room and hectic whispers immediately filtered through from the main part of the suite. To the side, Sage hovered looking uncomfortable and uncertain.

  “Sage, grab a bowl of hot water from the kitchenette and a washcloth.” I moved my hands over his legs and arms, searching for other wounds. Outside of a bruise here or there, Rand’s side was the only place he sustained any real damage.

  I gathered the comforter from the floor and covered his legs. It was freezing outside, cold enough that his blood loss could cause other big problems. I’d seen movies about hyperthermia, I knew it was a real danger, one we didn’t have time for right now.

  Sage appeared with the items I requested, arranging them neatly on the nightstand. I dipped the washcloth, wringing most of the water out, then set about washing Rand’s wound. He didn’t stir and that bothered me.

  The one time I glanced up, Sage was staring at me so intently I couldn’t hold his gaze. I didn’t have time to hash anything out with him. Rand was our first priority.

  The main door to the suite opened and closed. Barely ten seconds went by before Cabbie was in the doorway with a young girl, maybe in her late teens.

  For a second I thought she was Cabbie’s daughter, but the more I studied her, her age became clearer. She was no girl, but a woman with an incredibly youthful appearance.

  Black hair and black eyes, creamy white skin, she was stunning. She tightened the sash around her waist to keep her white robe closed, as she hesitantly shuffled closer to the bed. She was treating me as if I were a wild animal she didn’t want to startle.

  “Isolde. This is Nerene. She’s the best Caen Fennin I have in service. I think she can help Rand.” Cabbie laid his hands on her shoulders and propelled her forward.

  “Caen? What does that have to do with Rand? Or his wound?” I cocked my head, but stepped aside, allowing her access. If she could truly help, I wouldn’t stand in her way.

  Cabbie stopped and speared me with a curious look. After a beat he answered my question. “The House of Caen has an affinity over animals. What are we if not animals? Nerene’s power lies in healing of the flesh, and she’s damn good at it too.”

  Nerene didn’t wait for permission, scooting past me and pressing one hand to Rand’s forehead and one over the gash in his side. She took a deep breath and hummed. It was odd to see her do something physical as she worked over him. Every time I’d seen the use of Fennin powers so far, it’d been seemingly effortless, or a wave of a hand at most.

  Cabbie took my arm and led me to the living room where Sage was slumped over on the couch. Without hesitation, I flew right to him and barely kept from throwing myself at him. I ended up half over his lap and half on the couch, locking my arms tight around his neck. He mumbled something but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

  “Huh?” I sat back and gave him some space.

  “It’s all right, Iss. Rand is going to make it. There’s no way he won’t now that he has someone attending to him. Look at me.” He tipped my face up, comfort and understanding in his eye.

  I needed this. That was so intense and being helpless to lift a single finger really did a number on me. I snuggled close to Sage. Even if he wasn’t technically one of my LL, his embrace assuaged something harsh and savage inside of me. I exhaled a ragged breath and threw myself back around him. A large hand swiped down my back in a soothing motion.

  Cabbie paced frantically around the space, but I was content to pretend he wasn’t there.

  Lying on the bed, Rand had been so pale and still. He hadn’t even twitch when I cleaned the blood from his stomach and around the wound. I wanted to have the same faith Sage possessed, but my hands were sweating and my heart hadn’t stopped banging on my ribcage.

  “Iss, everything is going to be fine.” Sage whispered in my hair.

  “Doll, I have to ask you something.”

  A shadow fell over us and I reluctantly turned to Cabbie. I caught a thread of manic uncertainty in his voice and it put me on edge.

  Cabbie’s eyes were wide and frantic as he searched my face, catching several times on my mark. The last I looked it was back to its original color, but he had to know something was up. Why else would he have come to our rescue?

  I didn’t believe for a minute that he miraculously thought we’d be in trouble just because our suite was empty.

  “Doll—” he started then sealed his lips. Another intense staring session. Another failed attempt at speaking, and then Cabbie shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t even.”

  He strutted around the room one more time, working those high heels like they were the only shoes he’d ever known. When he came back to stop in front of us, he was significantly calmer if not cautious.

  �
�Doll, you’re the goddamned Mazza, aren’t you?” He nearly screamed at us.

  I looked to Sage, but he was no help. Sage simply dipped his head as if to say it was my decision if I wanted to disclose. Cabbie knelt in front of me when I didn’t respond right away.

  He’d saved us from the pub. Who knew if any of his women were injured in the process? For that alone, he deserved to know the truth.

  “I am. How did you figure it out?”

  “I went back to my office to look over some old books my family had passed down through generations. Doll, there was one passage, in the very last book that describes what happened last night. But only briefly, stating that it’s one of the side effects of an unbonded Mazza.”

  “That’s it? You read one or two sentences and immediately thought I was the Mazza?” That was a long, albeit accurate, leap on his part. I never got the opportunity to go to college, so I couldn’t say I knew all the tips and trips of studying or hypotheses, but it seemed like you should do a little more research than that.

  “I ran here to confront you about it, because let’s face it. Sweet cheeks and Sage here, they didn’t seem as surprised or shaken up as I imagined they would be if this was a new development for everyone.” Planting his fists on the ground, he narrowed his eyes.

  “How did you know we would go to the pub?”

  “I’m not an idiot. I might wear fabulous kimonos and glitter lashes when I’m feeling myself, but I did listen to you three last night. You’re looking for information on the attacks. The pub is the very first place I’d look for information. Although, why you nut huffers decided to go there after last night’s… incident, is beyond me.” He tossed his hands up in the air and then resumed his pacing.

  “I can’t believe the Mazza is staying in my suite. It’s surreal. I can’t. I can’t even.” Cabbie was talking more to himself than to Sage and me. While he was distracted I tilted sideways until I could see inside the bedroom. Nerene was in the same position and so was Rand.