“Pardon my question, but how did you get this child? She is one of ours, and I would know, for there are very few Sea Singers in this place.” The hand on her shoulder increased in intensity, causing Wensel to lose her glamour. The clench of her fingers became painful, so much so that it began to lure the dual side of her nature. She had to take deep breaths to calm the need to change into one of the deadly creatures that she fought so hard to contain. Her cat would rip the neck of the beauteous creature wide open and enjoy the experience. The banshee would suck every drop of life from the siren and not stop looking for more sweet tasting victims until she was sated. Either form was deadly enough to make her afraid of herself and what she might do.
“Let go of my shoulder, I will tell you one time; at the moment I am doing my best to allow you to continue living. Remove the hand or regret it for the few minutes you have left in this world.” Her eyes must have already begun to change enough to scare the female into easing her grip, because she backed away from Wensel until her feet touched the water of the lakeshore. “I have my niece because her parents were killed in a fire. I defend her from those who may do the child harm. That includes someone with her special talents. Her mother was named Lolly, but where she came from I have no idea. Make no mistake, I will destroy anyone seeking to hurt Aria.” She called the child to her, watching as Aria reluctantly left her new playmate and came to her side.
She took the little girl’s hand and walked away from the lake. Now that she had allowed her glamour to drop, too many people had seen her true form. She needed to see Lord Tremble and confess her deception. There might be repercussions, but she had to deal with them as soon as possible. She could not allow the lord to send them back to Morlien Hall and Lord Borland. Should the worst happen, she would have to hide Aria, and find a way to get close enough to the pasty-faced lord to unleash the banshee. It was the only way to keep the child safe from the overlord and his minions. There was no way Wensel would allow him to visit his cruelties upon the child of her heart.
She found Lord Nord stepping out of the meeting room, his hair and clothing looked as if he had just awakened from a late morning nap. When she stood in front of him, he stopped and stared at her, taking in the child clinging to her hand.
“I assume you wish to explain this change in your visage?” At her nod, he sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. “We suspected there was more to your tale than what you have shared to date. Come back tonight after the evening meal. We will gather and discuss your situation.”
She was dismissed, so she and Aria went to the small room off the main dining room that had been assigned to the two of them. She sat on the wide pallet with the sweet scented child held securely in her arms.
*****
Nord turned back to the room where Lion and Rane were still redressing after yet another of her afternoon surprise attacks. He grinned to see that Lion was again being ridden by their mate. She was beautiful no matter the time day or night. Rane in passion was irresistible. Her large breasts bounced with each surge of her body as she ground herself down on his large cock. He knew she was about to reach her pleasure from the way her head fell back and she began to gasp for air as she urged his brother on, pulling his hand to her breast, and shouting “Yes” when he pinched the hard nipple in his fingers. Her body jerked and twitched as she began to wail from the intensity of her orgasm. It was a beautiful thing to see, and he felt his own prick begin to come back to life. She had wrung every seed from his balls and cock before he stepped from the room, yet the mere sight of her impaling herself on Lion’s prick made him want her again, even after she had satisfied him so thoroughly mere minutes earlier.
Lion held his pleasure back as long as he could, but Rane was squeezing his prick as tightly as ever, and he could not stop the seed rushing through his cock to shoot into her as her channel began to spasm around it. They were both gasping for air, as their still connected bodies twitched from the aftershocks of their shared orgasms. His prick was so sensitive that each time her hips jerked, it felt as if she had skinned it, leaving raw nerves to be tormented in her wet depths.
She fell asleep almost instantly, he rolled onto his side, and disentangled their limbs, before pulling away. Nord picked her up and carried her up the stairs located behind the firebox in the meeting room. The steps led directly to the Lords’ rooms. Rather than having to traverse the entire length of the castle and the formal sweeping staircase, only to double back in the upper hallway was a waste of valuable time. The not so secret passageway was often used in times of war or other important events where the lord would have to be present at a meeting within minutes.
He laid her on the wide bed, and turned to see Lion step into the room. His brother looked as worn as if he had spent the night in debauchery. His thick hair was tangled and raised in tufts where Rane’s hands had gripped them. His chest was dotted with tiny crescents where her fingernails had stabbed him, and there were fresh marks where her spikes had sunk into his neck, to drawl the blood from his veins to satisfy her craving for energy and a new life. He knew that his appearance was not much better.
Rane waylaid them as they entered the castle. She had not seemed to care that there were dozens of people in the near vicinity as she pulled them into the meeting room and begun disrobing. When Rane demanded that he “give it to me, I want all of you.” He had given, and given more to the point where he was afraid he would hurt her from the pounding. Lion was nearby and the lure of her pleading eyes had been too much for him to save his prick from her beautiful mouth. When Nord had finally shot his seed into her, the spasms surrounding his cock were so intense that he had given yet more, until she had quieted. He would almost swear he had shot his life’s blood on that second round.
The brothers needed a plan. This new side of Rane was gratifying, yet exhausting. Now that they understood what was driving her need to search out her mates and demand their services at any given time of the day or night, the chore of satisfying her became a challenge. She seemed to still have no idea what was happening to her body. Her mates would give all they had to facilitate her mating heat, and they thoroughly enjoyed the generosity with which she gave as good as she got. She might exhaust them to the point of skin and bone, but neither brother would have wished for a lesser workout. Especially given the possibility of a child as an outcome.
The men washed away the afternoon’s sweat from their bodies and went back to the meeting room to continue their plans for the upcoming march to Morlien Hall. They no sooner reached the room and sat down before there was a knock at the door. Lion yelled at the visitor to enter and was not surprised to see the housekeeper, Sivdjia.
“Lord Lion, there is a family here that wishes to speak with you regarding the person, Wensel, and the sweet child, Aria. I told them that you might be too busy to see them, but they refused to leave. Do you wish to see them? Or should I have them escorted from the castle?”
Her words reminded Nord of the transformation of Wensel from aged old man to beautiful young woman. He interrupted Lion, who was saying to tell them to come back at a future time. “I think you should see them, hear them out and afterwards, we can talk to Wensel.” He told Lion about his encounter with the female. Lion agreed to see them and Sivdjia turned to usher them in.
The stunningly beautiful woman swept arrogantly inside the door with her son and husband trailing behind. She had the confidence of a queen, but the nervous tic of her left eyelid told the Lords that the woman was nervous.
Lion nodded to her, indicating that she was to state her business and get to it. “I am very busy, I do not have time for petty disputes and the like, so if Wensel has offended you, let us hear it and if I feel you have a valid complaint, I will deal with her.”
She stepped closer and began speaking. “I beg your pardon, Lord Lion. This afternoon I encountered a person that is holding one of my people without permission. That is not the worst of it, he, she, whatever it is, she is not a Sea Singer. She has charge of a s
iren child and threatened me if I tried to take her. I understand you have the final word on all disputes, so here I am. She should not have guardianship over a child of the sea. The story of the deaths of her parents was most sorrowful, but she is not capable of teaching a young siren.” She clasped her hands together in front of her stomach, giving every indication that she expected Lion to hand the little one that everyone here loved over with no question.
Lion looked at Nord and asked him to bring the person to see them. “We will get back to you on the subject, from what I have been told, Wensel saved the child from certain harm. Her need to change her appearance puzzles me, but given the journey they had to take to get here to safety, I believe some deception is understandable.”
He hoped that she would leave. Not so. The woman began to pace the meeting room. Nord brought in Wensel and the mute child, Aria. The adult woman looked vastly different from the bent man of yesterday. As disguises went, hers was perfect enough to have fooled the people of the castle. Although Lion gave himself a pass on attempting to discover the disguise to begin with, he still felt as if he had been duped.
Nord backed away from her once she entered the room. Lord Lion sat in a large chair with ornate armrests. The people that she had encountered this morning were present and the woman kept her covetous eyes on Aria. Her little niece became so uncomfortable from the scrutiny that she moved behind Wensel’s legs and hid her face in the small of her back. Wensel placed a hand behind her to touch the child’s shoulder in reassurance. She chose to address the immediate threat she saw in the woman’s eyes first. She would deal with Lord Tremble afterward.
“Lady, since the first time you clapped eyes on my niece, I have wondered at your fascination with the child. You have now frightened her and I demand that you cast your covetous eyes elsewhere.” The atmosphere in the room began to heat, and she knew she must not loose the banshee that wanted to devour the threat to Aria. She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes from the sight of the beautiful female.
Lion could see the resemblance the child bore to the Sea Singer, yet the child’s coloring was Wensel’s. He also felt the storm brewing in the child’s guardian.
“Wensel, this woman wishes to know how you came to be with a child of her nature. I admit to curiosity about the change in your appearance myself. Please enlighten us so we may understand what is going on.” Wensel’s eyes were black pools of death as she stared at the Sea Singer. He did not want a fight in his castle that no one would come out the winner. Clearing his throat, he again tried to distract the woman. “I need to know what exactly has gone on, as you know we plan to visit and take Morlien Hall soon. I need to know everything.” Her eyes lost a bit of the darkness and he hoped the blue would come back to them soon, until they did, there would be nothing revealing about this conversation.
She knew she must speak. Two more breaths and she began the tale. She stared at Lord Tremble and Lord Nord. If she again looked at the imperious woman, she would lose what small control she had right now.
“It is as I told you when we came begging refuge at the gates of the castle a week past. Lord Borland discovered our dwelling while searching for Aria’s mother, Lolly. We heard him and his henchmen speaking, they wished to take the siren and use her to lure the demon they call Leroi. One of the hunters told Lord Borland of the fire and it enraged the man. Sadly, he also disclosed that there was a small child from the union of my brother and Lolly. He decided to find Aria and use her. I have heard of the lord’s tender treatment of his guests of honor at the yearly celebration. Aria is a small child that cannot fight back. When they came for her, the number of soldiers was too many even for me to fight off so we could leave safely. We jumped into the deep water of the lagoon and Aria helped me to a safe shore. Her mother taught her to swim just before she died in the fire. I used my glamour to appear to be an elderly man traveling with his mute granddaughter.” She stood waiting for either more words to come to her tongue, or the Lord of Tremble to pronounce his decision.
“The woman became inquisitive about Aria, and she seems to be as determined to discuss my fitness as a guardian of a child such as Aria. I did not care for her tone of voice, it scrapes upon my ears.” The men in the room looked at her as if she had lost all facilities to hear with. The woman did have a beautiful alluring voice, but Wensel refused to acknowledge that. “She placed her hand on my shoulder with intent to force me into answering her questions. Since force and intimidation is the surest way to bring my other natures forth, we left the lake.”
Lion looked at the lovely woman standing so straight and proud, she wanted the child, that much was plain. Her reasons were not so clear. “Tell me your name and those of the males that you have brought with you. While you are introducing them, you may form an answer for my question. Why have you not made your talents known to the Castle Betas, or shown yourselves here before?”
She appeared to flush, the slits in her neck, just below her ears took on a vivid pink. She hated to be put on the spot like this, but she wanted the girl child more than she wanted to avoid the Lord Tremble’s questions.
“I am Alura, I am a Sea Singer, or siren, as I have heard this young woman say. The adult male is my mate, Prata, the boy, our son, Fin. I saw no need to make myself or family known to your Betas because we will be leaving in a few short years. Sea Singers do not congregate in one area. They must spread away from one another as they grow older. Should our son have inherited my nature, he will stay in this place to make his home as the only Sea Singer in this portion of the island. I will move away up to the next area. My mate will be our thread of communication. He is Human, and has been mine since I found him holding to a rock in the ocean after his ship was lost in high seas.
“To enlighten you, I will tell you that each siren will birth one offspring in her lifetime. Male sirens must mate with female sirens or there will be no child. They may retain their mates for a lifetime. The female of our species may mate with a human to produce one child since our males are so rare. The siren-human pairing does not always produce a child with the talents of a Sea Singer. Pardon my delight in finding that there will indeed be a female siren on the island when they come of an age for mating. I had no idea that there was another like me, even though I have searched the shores for many years for one such as I. I would like to take the child into my keeping to teach her our ways as she grows and is ready to learn. I mean the child no harm, she will be treated as an honored daughter of our house.”
Wensel pulled the little girl around to the front of her. She squatted down to her level and stared into the beautiful face of the little one. “Aria, would you like to spend sometime with Fin and his family?” The little girl looked over to where Fin stood with his father. He was a typical young boy that was busily looking at his surroundings rather than at the adults. Aria smiled and nodded. The gesture almost broke her heart, but she understood the attraction between children who essentially had no playmates. Being mute was not easy when one was young. No matter if it hurt to ask Lord Tremble what she was about to do, she would do it for the child’s sake.
“My Lord, I had no knowledge of any of this. At the lake, Aria and Fin began to play together, since it was the first time I have watched her communicate with someone that was not me, I wanted to learn the fingerspeak the two children were chattering with. I refuse to give my guardianship away to another. If it pleases you, and especially if it pleases Aria, I propose that she is allowed to visit this family a few times each week. If things go well, I might at some later date consider more time with them. Until I know for certain, I will stay during visiting, and we will return here together. I can cook and clean so I will not be a burden to you or anyone else. That is as reasonable as I am prepared to be on this subject. I do not trust this woman, I believe that if she is given the chance, she will take Aria and leave this place without a backwards glance.” The blackness of Wensel’s eyes began to take over a bit more, and Lion could see the change, as she finished w
ith, “No one wants to be near should she attempt to steal this child. Truth, I will kill anything and laugh while doing so, including her and her loved ones. They will be the first on my list.”
She again had to breathe deeply to pull the banshee back into her. Making such a threat to another in front of the Lord of Tremble was probably not the most intelligent thing for her to have done, yet he needed to know that she would not be pushed into relinquishing her niece so easily. Aria climbed up onto her chest and she held the little body tightly to her. She was sworn to love and protect the child and she would.
Lion had no wish to get involved with this dispute over the little one. Rane would do more than wring his balls of their seed if he chose wrongly. She had become overly fond of the child in the short time they had been at Tremble. Even Nord was watching the Sea Singer with suspicion as the woman stared at Wensel with hatred in her eyes. It appeared that she was correct and the woman had designs for taking the little one.
“You will take the offer or take your family away from Tremble. It is obvious to me and all present here that you have more than a passing interest in the child. Unless we are missing something, or you have not been completely honest about your intentions. The notion that you felt no need to inform my Betas of your presence does not set well with me, nor does your attitude. Tremble has always sheltered those deserving and willing to put their special abilities available for the good of all. You have made serious accusations, yet this woman has protected the child for two years on her own with no harm befalling the little one.
“I have made my decision. There will be visitation here at the castle in the park. There is a large pond, so any water skills may be practiced there. If Aria goes into the water with you at anytime, your son will remain on the shoreline. I will set a guard on these sessions to insure my orders are carried out. Any attempt to kidnap the child will be in direct opposition to my edict in this matter, and you will lose your son as punishment for your actions. You will be hunted and the girl will be returned to her guardian.”
Demons End (Tremble Island) Page 3