A King's Ransom

by Lia Black

  "Women…" Kaidos croaked, only giving voice to a partial thought.

  "Excuse me?" Veyl drew back slightly.

  Kaidos cleared his throat and tried again. "Do you ever sleep with women?" The smile Veyl offered was cool and Kaidos found it unsettling because it was obviously something the prostitute pulled on like a mask.

  "Sexually? No. Not really. I have been asked on occasion to join a man who would like to have both, but…"

  "But?" Kaidos' mouth was dry.

  "Untie me and I'll tell you everything," the prostitute said with a breathy murmur, like a promise of seduction.

  Kaidos felt his blood begin to heat, then he moved away. The whore was just being a whore. Teasing and lying to get what he wanted.

  "I have no interest in hearing what sick things you do," he growled, hoping it sounded convincing.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Brothers

  Kaidos had been hearing some rustling through the woods for a few minutes as they had been talking. It was too big to be birds, and not stealthy enough for wolves. Bandits? If the sounds he'd heard in the forest had only been bandits, then things wouldn't have been so bad.

  There was a sharp whistle, followed by a series of clicks through the trees and Kaidos felt the bread he'd eaten turn into lead in his stomach.

  "Shit," Kaidos grumbled and stood up, turning to face the three men who dropped out of the trees at the edge of the clearing.

  Ruthgar, Ahbrim and Lirin.

  Thieves. Cutthroats. Brothers. Half-brothers, actually.

  The four of them all shared the same Wanderer father, a thief who never seemed able to stay put. Ruthgar and Ahbrim were both five years older than Kaidos, and all three had different mothers. Lirin was the eldest by eight years, and shared the same mother as Ahbrim. Kaidos was the only one who was a full-blood wanderer; the other women were geejah in the traditional tongue--not Wanderers, but because their father was, the clan took ownership of the children. Tribal laws and customs made it the father who claimed the measure of burden for his offspring--regardless of what the mother might want, and their father shuffled his burden around between Wanderer camps while he'd vanish for weeks on end. Then one day, he simply never returned. Kaidos often wondered if he'd died as everyone said, or if they thought it kinder than admitting that the man had finally abandoned his children for good.

  "You were right, Lirin, it is Kai!" Ruthgar said grinning back at Lirin's tall, narrow figure, swathed in shadows outside of the campfire's glow. Kaidos didn't have to see his eyes to know that they were looking right through him.

  "We've been looking for you, Kai," Ahbrim said, striding forward and putting an arm around Kaidos.

  Kaidos grimaced. More like Lirin had been trying to track him down and had brought Ruthgar and Ahbrim into the mix. They had a strong, if somewhat deluded sense of family, and Lirin often used that to get them to do what he wanted. It seemed to Kaidos that the only one who wasn't still falling for it was him.

  "Who is she?" Ruthgar asked, gaping at Veyl, who looked away.

  Before Kaidos could squirm out from Ahbrim's grip, Lirin had already made his way to Veyl, and now crouched beside him, fingering a lock of the whore's long, golden hair.

  "Leave him alone, Lirin."

  "Him?" Lirin raised any eyebrow, but didn't draw back.

  "That's what I said." Kaidos shook off Ahbrim's arm and moved closer to Veyl, the lead in his stomach was now melting into the acid that was starting to accumulate.

  A cool smile curled the corner of Lirin's thin lips. "Lovely." He bent close to Veyl and murmured something into his ear that made the whore shudder.

  Kaidos opened his mouth to yell at his brother but Lirin finally rose to his feet, turning to Kaidos with that irritating smirk that always accompanied whatever twisted thoughts Lirin had entertaining his mind.

  "Brother. I've missed you."

  Kaidos' spine stiffened as Lirin enfolded him in his arms in what anyone else might see as a brotherly hug. If Ahbrim and Ruthgar weren't nearby, Kaidos wondered if it would have been followed up by a knife in the back or something worse.

  Kaidos struggled under Lirin's tight hug and pushed himself back out of his arms. Already his face had grown hot and his heart was beating erratically. Even equally matched as adults, Kaidos still harbored the fears of a child around Lirin.

  Lirin said nothing, nor did his expression falter when Kaidos pushed away. He returned his attention to the pretty whore on the ground.

  "Why is he tied up, brother?" Lirin asked rocking on his heels as he devoured the whore with his gaze. "Having a bit of fun, were you?"

  Kaidos watched Veyl to see if he would be foolish enough to open his pouting mouth and beg for help from his degenerate brothers. Veyl glanced at him briefly, then smartly held his tongue.

  "None of your damn business," Kaidos finally answered Lirin. "Just what the hell are you doing here?"

  "Can't a man check up on his baby brother?" Lirin's voice was that low, mocking tone that made Kaidos want to throttle him; but like always, he wouldn't, and later he'd be left wondering why.

  "You've seen me. I'm fine. Now go away."" Kaidos didn't like the way he was leering at the whore; but then again Kaidos found that there was nothing he liked about Lirin in general anymore. He moved towards the fire, hoping that they would get the message to follow him.

  "Awww, Kai, don't be like that." Ruthgar pouted. He was short and stocky, his build and appearance made him menacing, but truly his mind was little more than a child's. Kaidos had heard many different explanations over the years as to why. Everything from him falling off a horse and cracking his skull when he was seven, to a fever burning his brain, to him just being born a simpleton. He and Ahbrim had developed a close relationship.

  Ahbrim, despite his long, wild hair and narrow, braided beard, had a kind heart. He'd watched over Ruthgar as a good brother should. Which left no one to watch over Kaidos but Lirin, and Lirin was not a good anything.

  "We've come all this way, and it will be nightfall before we reach a town." Lirin said as he headed towards the campfire. He moved slowly and deliberately. Something Kaidos found agonizing. It was just another thing that Lirin did to purposefully stoke his temper. It seemed to be a game to him, seeing if he could provoke a response. But Kaidos knew if that were to happen, one—or both of them would not come out of it alive.

  "Kidnapping is so unlike you, Kai. Tell me, is it for ransom or bounty?" Lirin moved to the other side of the campfire and crossed his ankles, sinking down almost gracefully to sit cross-legged on the ground. His eyes shifted between Kaidos and his view of the whore over his shoulder.

  "None of your business," Kaidos growled, glaring at his eldest brother. "He's just a whore."

  "A whore? And have you sampled the merchandise yet?" Lirin asked with a smirk. He fished his long clay pipe out of the pack on his hip and began cleaning the bowl with his thumb.

  "Don't be ridiculous." Kaidos dropped down to sit by the fire once more.

  "Oh. Right," Lirin chuckled.

  Kaidos fixed him with a murderous glare but refused to respond to his baiting. That was what Lirin did to people; he said and did things to get the reaction he wanted, then knocked them off-balance with it. It had taken Kaidos years to understand that's what he'd been doing to him, and still he had to fight against falling into Lirin's traps.

  "He's so pretty." Ruthgar sighed, smiling at Veyl, and pulling Kaidos back into the present.

  "You're not curious?" Ahbrim asked, chewing at his cuticles.

  "Curious about what?" Kaidos glared through the flames at him.

  "If he feels as much like a woman as he looks," Ahbrim offered.

  Kaidos scoffed. "I really don't care. I just care about delivering him to Dandre, then getting paid."

  "Dandre, hm? And just how much are you getting paid?" Lirin raised an eyebrow.

  Kaidos gnawed his bottom lip and looked briefly between his brothers before scowling into the fire. Damn it. He hadn
't meant to let any of that slip, but he'd been preoccupied with trying to avoid a battle with Lirin. "Not nearly enough, and even less if I bring him in damaged."

  "He's a whore and at least a half-blood elf, judging by his features. They don't take the same kinds of damage that humans do. Right, Lirin?" Ahbrim asked.

  Lirin finished lighting his pipe with a twig from a pine tree. The scent of it left an acrid perfume in the air. "How should I know? I've only damaged humans. Isn't that right, Kai?"

  That hateful smile spread across Lirin's wide mouth and blew a stream of smoke from his pipe. Kaidos felt fire in his gut, threatening to consume him from the inside. He got up, casting an angry glance about the group, and went to check on his hostage.

  Veyl was leaning against a tree, his knees were drawn up and his forehead was pressed into them. His long, golden hair draped over his shoulders like a shawl and spilled onto the ground where it had begin to get tangled with pine needles and bits of dried leaves. He barely lifted his head when Kaidos crouched down in front of him under the guise of checking his bindings.

  "Who are those men?" The whore asked softly.

  "They are my brothers," Kaidos said, trying to keep his voice level. "Is there a problem?"

  "Is there?" Veyl asked, raising his head a little more.

  Kaidos grimaced. "No. Not for the moment."

  "Are they here to help you? Are they part of this whole thing?"

  Kaidos could read the fear plainly on his captive's face. Those autumn moon eyes were wide and leery. While he could have lied to use it as a threat that the whore should remain well-behaved, he wouldn't stoop quite so low.

  "No. They will be gone in the morning." Kaidos didn't know if he'd said it to reassure Veyl or himself. His brothers tagging along would ruin everything—and he wasn't even thinking about it in terms of the bounty.

  "I'm tired," the whore said. His voice was small, like a child's and his lips were held in a subtle pout. Kaidos had to wonder if this was just another facade that Veyl slipped into place as needed, and whether it was something he did consciously or out of habit.

  "I'll make you a bed." Kaidos was feeling exhausted himself, but he didn't dare try to sleep with his brothers still awake and alert. They'd been watching Veyl like wolves hungering for an orphaned lamb. Ruthgar and Ahbrim were not a concern. They'd never been good thieves because in the dark, they bumbled around like blind drunkards. Lirin, on the other hand, had been the one to teach Kaidos much of his skill about stealth. In fact, when Kaidos heard them arrive earlier, he thought it was only Abrim and Ruthgar rustling through the trees until Lirin had dropped down from the other side.

  Kaidos gathered together some blankets for Veyl and left him once he'd seen him settle down, returning to the campfire.

  "It makes one wonder," Lirin was saying as Kaidos returned, "why someone might go through all of the trouble to snatch a whore and have him transported as far as Dandre."

  Kaidos shrugged. "None of my concern." But it had been on his mind as well. Aaullsworthe was a nice enough city, but certainly not the richest in the region, and while Guard Captain Engel was a local hero, as far as Kaidos could tell he'd done nothing to earn such a wealthy and distant enemy. The concubine theory was beginning to seem a lot more likely. "Maybe he's going to be a courtesan for some spoiled noble." He could smell that wine had already begin to flow in the short time that he'd been tending his prisoner, and hoped that his brothers would nod off shortly.

  "Speaking of spoiled nobles, have you heard that your Adria was finally married, Kai?" Lirin asked, raising his eyebrows as he raised a bottle to his lips.

  The name put a bitter taste in Kaidos' mouth. He would prefer to never hear that name again, but knew that Lirin would not let it lie. "It was her duty to marry. She was a lady of the court."

  "You really owe me for that one," Lirin chuckled and passed the bottle to Ruthgar, "If I hadn't rescued you from that prison, you'd have been hanged by now."

  "And gelded," Ahbrim added, "Taking the woman's virtue like that mere months before her wedding..."

  "I didn't take, she gave. There is a difference," Kaidos defended. He declined the bottle as it came his way.

  Lirin's smile spread wider, inviting a challenge that Kaidos would be a fool to take. "Well her father certainly saw no difference."

  Kaidos ground his teeth, his jaw clenching painfully as he remembered how Adria had cried rape when they were discovered. Although she had no other choice in order to protect the appearance of virtue, it had nearly cost Kaidos his life. He knew that Lirin had been the one to tip off Adria's father, but he'd also been the one to break him out of his prison cell.

  "That's the thing about taking a man," Ahbrim said, wistful from the alcohol he'd already consumed, "If you break them, they heal right back up, and nobody's the wiser."

  Kaidos exchanged a quick glance through the fire at Lirin whose eyes were sparkling with dark humor. "I wouldn't know and I don't care."

  He rose to his feet and went to the edge of the clearing to relieve himself, looking back over his shoulder at Veyl, who seemed to have fallen asleep. When he finished, he returned to the group near the fire. "Its late, I'm going to sleep."

  "Good night, brother," Ruthgar yawned, "Sounds like a good idea."

  "Indeed." Lirin smiled, sucking on his pipe.

  Veyl was sleeping when Kaidos lay down beside him, his pretty face a mask of shadows and highlight from the glowing embers of the campfire. He was curled up, his hands in their bonds lightly fisted against his chest like an infant. His lips were parted slightly as he breathed through his mouth and his thick, gilt eyelashes, sparkling with tears, fanned over his smooth cheeks. Kaidos wondered who it was that Veyl cried for. Was it for himself and his own plight? What of the guard captain; was there love between them? It seemed unlikely that men could exchange romantic love--especially considering that one shared his body with so many others. Veyl had said that the man would not come for him, and perhaps it was this truth that caused his tears to flow.

  Kaidos raised up on his elbows and stared at Lirin across the clearing to be certain he'd fallen asleep. Of his brothers and tribesmen, he trusted Lirin the least. The way he'd been staring at Veyl all night made him nervous. Lirin would have no qualms about damaging the merchandise—especially if it was something he believed was important to Kaidos.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Memories, Part I

  "I want a bath," were the first words out of the whore early the next morning.

  Kaidos cringed. "The river is the closest you'll get."

  "Then take me to the river…please." Veyl emphasized the last word.

  Kaidos quietly untied Veyl's ankles. They had become raw from the bones rubbing together, and Kaidos scolded himself internally for not having the forethought to put some sort of cushion between them. But how could he have known? Lirin had been right— Kaidos had never kidnapped anyone before—it wasn't like him at all. But he'd never been presented an offer that was so hard to refuse at a time he needed it most.

  Kaidos attached a longer piece of rope to the bindings on Veyl's wrists leading him through the campsite. He glared at Lirin as they passed, who greeted them with his typical icy gaze and arrogant smirk.

  "Where are you going, Kai?" Ruthgar asked. He was like a little dog begging for table scraps as he followed along behind them.

  "I'm taking the whore to the river. He needs a bath."

  "He seems plenty clean to me." Lirin sneered, offering Veyl a searing glance.

  Kaidos ground his teeth but said nothing as he walked his pretty hostage out of the clearing.

  "I have a name, you know." Veyl grumbled as he was led along behind Kaidos. "Or would using it make me seem too much like a person?"

  "You're property. Someone else's. Walk faster." Kaidos snapped, not bothering to turn his head.

  Veyl stumbled as he tried to keep up with Kaidos' long strides, so Kaidos slowed his pace a bit.

  "Who was that woman your brothe
r mentioned... Adria?" The whore asked without apparent pretense.

  Kaidos felt his muscles go rigid, and he cursed the fact that the name had come up at all. "None of your damn business."

  But the whore wouldn't let it drop. "Is she someone you love?"

  "I don't love." Kaidos shot Veyl a warning glare over his shoulder.

  "Oh..." Veyl pursed his lips.

  Kaidos returned his attention to the path. "What could a whore know about love, anyway?" he grumbled, neither expecting nor receiving an answer.

  They stopped on the banks of a slow, shallow river, headed by a waterfall. Beneath the ripples, the water was nearly as clear as glass and made the early morning air cool and fragrant. Kaidos had stopped by this place often since discovering it many years ago. It had always been someplace where he could find a pure, although fleeting, sense of peace.

  "Are you coming in with me?" Veyl asked holding up his wrists to be unbound.

  Kaidos' jaw clenched and released. He hadn't actually considered how the task might be accomplished once he'd agreed to let the whore have his bath. The river wasn't terribly wide, and was possibly only waist-high at its center. But the opposite bank was littered with stones, and there was no way the whore could scramble up before Kaidos could reach him, should he be fool enough to try. "No. But if you run, know that I'll hunt you down and if I don't get you, the bandits, wild animals, or my brothers will."

  "Fair enough." Veyl said softly, his eyes focused on Kaidos' fingers as he worked the knots out of the rope.

  Once untied, he began to pull off his garment. Kaidos felt heat flood through him as he remembered the strong and smooth feel of the whore's golden thighs. He grabbed Veyl's arm.