* * *
Whispers Publishing
www.whisperspublishing.com
Copyright ©2006 by Leigh Wyndfield
* * *
NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.
* * *
Other titles by Leigh Wyndfield:
Night Heat in Secrets Volume 14
White Heat in Secrets Volume 12
The Hanging Man
In Ice
In Heat
True Seeing
Resolutions
Ain't Your Mama's Bedtime Stories
Dark Heat
Leigh Wyndfield
Warning
This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. This material is meant for mature audiences!
Copyright ©2005 Leigh Wyndfield
Cover illustration copyright © 2005 Patricia Foltz
ISBN Not Assigned
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web-without permission in writing from the publisher.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
Published by:
Whispers, 107 Clearview Circle, Goose Creek, SC 29445
To TL Schaefer and Jennifer Skully—thanks for believing in me, even when I was lost. And to Arth, for helping me figure out how to write myself out of a corner.
Chapter One
The blood-red, heavy velvet on the walls made the massive throne room seem stifling. The bold, swirling pattern on the hard tile beneath her knees bit into her skin through her healer's robes, adding to her urge to leap to her feet and run. But it was the man Caelan prostrated herself before who had all her attention, even as she tried not to stare at him, fearful of drawing his notice.
No matter what the consequences were, she couldn't lie. She could, however, evade the question with other truths. What mattered were the words that left her mouth. This gift, which had saved lives in the past, now led her into a situation where her own was in jeopardy.
Whatever she said, she would either betray her only friend or enrage her King.
Caelan bowed her head deeper, hoping to delay the inevitable, knowing King Useph wouldn't hesitate to crush her if he suspected even a fraction of how much she really knew.
To her left, Brianna sobbed silently, her body shaking, blood sliding down her cheek, along her chin to puddle on the skirt of her golden angel's gown. During her beating, her kind blue eyes had filled with anger and a stubbornness Caelan would never have guessed possible in her sweet, gentle-natured friend. As delicately beautiful as Brianna was, as fragile as she appeared, even after they'd terrorized her, she had lied.
"You dare to defy me. Me, your King!” Useph had been their friend long ago. The three of them, all related through the vagaries of noble birth, had grown up in this castle together, running wild, playing in the gardens and laughing together. In the five years since he'd ascended to the throne, he'd turned from a lost, gentle boy into a power hungry ruler Caelan didn't even recognize, crushing anyone who got in his way.
Righteous anger marred his handsome face, but it was the fisting hand on the arm of his throne chair that had everyone in the room flinching.
His calculating gaze swooped down on her. “But you, Caelan, you cannot lie.” His voice turned knowing, dripping like honey, his eyes full of satisfaction.
No, she couldn't lie. Falsehoods of any kind eroded her ability to heal. There was a reason her magic was called Speaking. She healed with words, a gift bestowed by the Goddess at her birth. If she lied, her words lost their power. So she would not lie. But that didn't mean she had to tell the complete truth either. “Please, Sire, I have never seen Brianna with him."
And that was true. She'd never actually seen them, but knew without a doubt that they'd been together. Brianna had told her they'd spent the last month lying in sunbeams and laughing. And Radley's face, as Caelan shoved him aboard a ship to safety that had left port only hours before Useph had them dragged to the throne room, had been filled with grief only a lovesick fool could experience. They'd been playing with their very lives and they'd known it, yet they'd fallen in love anyway. And their foolish behavior now involved Caelan, putting her in a position where she risked her healing power.
He's on the edge, Caelan. Keep your head down, your voice respectful. Don't anger him, or he'll lash out at you with more than a fist to your face. You just need to make it through this interview unscathed. He won't kill Brianna. He loves her, he always has.
Useph settled back into the plush, red silk of his ornate throne chair, stretching his legs out in a deceptively lazy action. “You have never seen them together. How carefully worded, Caelan.” He tsked. “So close to a lie."
Caelan reeled in her temper. She could not, not, treat him with anything but the utmost respect, or he'd go into one of his rages. He'd be sorry later, but if he killed her, the damage would be done. “Carefully worded or not, Cousin, I am telling the truth."
"If you are so insistent on hiding Brianna's secrets, perhaps you would like to take her punishment as well. Cousin.” He spat the last word, obviously displeased that she'd called attention to their family connection. Leaning forward, he stared at Brianna while drumming ring-laden fingers on his knee. “Would you let your best friend take your punishment to protect your lover?"
Brianna pulled her chin up, her eyes briefly begging Caelan's forgiveness, then her face turned hard. “I am not Radley's lover, my King, so I cannot tell you where he has gone."
Radley, a common soldier, a farmer's son. And the love of Brianna's life.
In the shadows behind the throne, Useph's advisor, Sneed, snorted in disbelief.
Brianna glared at Sneed with a contempt they all might feel, but no one dared to express. “If you punish Caelan because of your incorrect suspicions, her blood is on your hands, not mine."
Caelan barely stifled her moan. Had Brianna's love for Radley turned her insane? Was she mad? She must be to bait Useph like this.
Only by denying it and sticking to her denial can she save Radley's life. Useph had promised her lover's death, but Radley had disappeared. Their King knew Radley could not have escaped the castle unless someone aided him. The magical locks surrounding the area Brianna had been seen in could only be opened by those who had been blessed in ritual.
Only one person could tell him what he needed to know, and Caelan knew it would take luck she'd never had to keep that knowledge to herself.
She just wished Brianna hadn't fallen in love in the first place. No man was worth risking your life for under any circumstances. Why did first her mother and now Brianna have to make that mistake?
Useph lunged to his feet. “Don't you dare talk to me like that!” In two steps, he was before Brianna, the crack of his open palm on her face ringing through the room.
Caelan kept her head bowed, trying not to flinch. Her heart ached for her friend, but she didn't want to be caught in the middle of this battle. She was a peacemaker and had never been one to flaunt the rules or engage in confrontatio
n. Her only mistake had been to help a friend in need.
In a moment of panic, she'd let Radley out of the castle and bargained with a boatmaster to secure him a space on a schooner setting sail for the New Worlds. Caelan had broken the rule she'd lived her life by, and now the consequences could be deadly.
"Your chaste body was intended for a marriage alliance and well you knew it, Brianna. Yet you sullied yourself like a whore with a farmer's son.” Useph trailed a gentle finger down her face, shaking his head as if he was saddened by her behavior.
But Caelan had long suspected that the King had put off marrying Brianna because he wanted her for himself.
"Did you think that my love for you would keep you from feeling my wrath? Did you think you could do whatever you wanted because I've always wanted you?” His hand snarled in her hair, viciously yanking downward until Brianna fell to her knees before him. “I will kill your lover when I find him. You let him out of the keep, Bree. You helped him escape,” he murmured so softly that Caelan could barely hear the words from where she knelt.
"No,” Brianna moaned, and Caelan could tell from the agony on her face that she'd finally broken. Tears and blood ran down her face, mixing into a pink rain. Her body shook uncontrollably with fear. “I didn't let him out. I didn't unlock the door."
Caelan dropped her head into her hands. She's scared. She's thinking about the time we saw the King beat one of his commanders. The beating had gone on and on, until it was too much to endure. The sound of Useph's fists, then the whip Sneed had so helpfully provided, the spray of blood, the never ending cries the commander had uttered, pinned upright by his arms between two of his own soldiers. Until his face had turned to just a slab of meat with little specks of bone poking through. He'd lived—Caelan had been able to save him—but the ruined shreds of his face still made her stomach clench a year later.
And all that had only been over an order not being followed with enough speed. The commander's sin was not nearly as monumental as Brianna ruining a potential marriage alliance that would bring untold wealth and power to their country.
"If you didn't let him out, who did, Bree?” A stolen glance at Useph showed his long brown hair had shaken free from its queue by the force of his words.
"No—no one."
"She lies,” Sneed scoffed. “Radley can't let himself out. He hasn't gone through the Keep Ritual."
"So who helped you, Bree?"
Brianna whimpered, crumpling in on herself.
"Shhh,” Useph whispered. “Calm yourself.” He dropped to his knees and cuddled her close, rocking her a little. “I need to know where he's hiding, Bree. Once I kill him, everything will be all right again.” He pulled back to cluck her under the chin. “Just tell me where he's gone."
"I don't know. I swear it."
"She knows,” Sneed snarled, pointing a gnarled finger at Brianna.
"I don't think she does, Sneed. I don't think she knows where he's gone.” Curling a lazy finger around one of Brianna's curls, he stared off in space for a moment while Bree sobbed great tears of pain and hopelessness.
Standing abruptly, Useph dumped her on the floor and turned in half time. “Who knows all her secrets, Sneed?"
"Who, my liege?” Sneed asked promptly, ever there to play the lackey.
"Why, her best friend and constant companion, of course. And to make things even more convenient, the only person in this whole castle who cannot lie.” He crossed the room and stopped so close Caelan could see small drops of Brianna's blood on his otherwise perfect leather shoes. Feathering a finger along her cheek, he whispered, “And you will tell, Cousin. You will tell me where Brianna's lover is hiding."
The turn of events had Caelan gasping for breath. Nausea welled up, her stomach twisting so sharply, she would have burst into tears and huddled in a ball on the floor if she didn't think that would anger Useph more.
Instead she closed her eyes, trying to form the prayer that might call the Goddess. She didn't expect to be answered. Her deity was always so close when she healed, but in other parts of her life, the Goddess had gone silent.
Behind her closed lids, Brianna's shining face greeted her. “I love him, Caelan,” she'd whispered months ago, sharing her precious secret, unable to contain her joy. “He's so gentle and sweet. And he loves me in return. He doesn't just want to possess me for my beautiful face, but really loves me, Caelly."
Caelan had tried to warn her, tried so hard to talk some sense into Brianna, but love clouded the air, making reasonable, well-thought-out actions impossible.
"Caelan, I'm waiting for the truth,” Useph said, the sharpness of his tone saying he wouldn't wait long. He confirmed it by whispering, “You have until the count of five to tell me, or I'm throwing you into The Abyss."
"Please,” she begged. Could she say the words that would lead to Radley's death? Could she live with that on her conscience?
Yet the dungeon below the castle—called The Abyss because people went in but rarely came out—scared her worse than anything. A deep pit carved into natural caves where people could only leave if the jailors hauled them up by ropes tied around their waists. She would be a lamb to the slaughter.
Anger crawled up her body and almost shook free a set of words she could never take back. How dare Brianna put her into this position? For that matter, how dare Useph? She was a healer. She'd just wanted to help when Brianna had come to her in tears and panic with the news they'd been seen.
"One,” Useph said gently.
"I am your Speaker, King Useph,” she reminded him in desperation. “I'm valuable to your household. Please do not do this to me."
No emotion passed his face at her plea. “Two."
In the background, Sneed sighed. “If you can't control two girls, Useph, how can you control a kingdom?"
"Do you think I won't do this?” Useph fisted his hands in her healer robes and hauled her to her feet. “Three."
"You will. You will. I know you will,” Caelan said, rushing to reassure him.
"Tell me, Caelan."
If she told, she would save herself from the torture she knew was coming. But how could she live with herself if her words lead to someone's death?
"Four."
"Oh, Goddess,” she whimpered. She couldn't tell, couldn't leave anyone in Useph's hands. She could only refuse and hope Useph came to his senses before his punishment killed her. “I cannot."
"Five.” Useph let her go so abruptly she tumbled backwards, falling onto her bottom, pain shooting up her spine. “You leave me no choice. Guards, take her to the dungeon and ask her tomorrow and every day after that if she's ready to tell where he's gone."
Two men grabbed Caelan's arms.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Caelan!” Brianna sobbed from where she sat crumpled and broken on the floor.
"So am I, Brianna,” she said, right before the doors to the throne room closed behind her, maybe forever.
Chapter Two
The rope around her waist bit deep as the guards lowered her into the murky darkness of The Abyss. For a moment, everything went black as her eyes struggled to adjust, and all she had to focus on was the overwhelming smell of unwashed bodies and the reek of desperation. Shouts filled the air, the words unintelligible as voices echoed around her. The guards had taken pity on her, tossing in the day's bread before lowering her down, and it sounded as if a battle was being fought below her.
The ground arrived without warning, jarring her body in a sickening jolt. She didn't want to untie herself, but the guards had promised to cut the ropes if she didn't untie them herself. With shaking hands, she undid the knots. Then as fast as she could, she crab-walked back into the shadows, her breath high in her throat as the fear washed over her, not stopping her scramble until her shoulder hit the cave wall.
Around her, the prisoners fought for half-loaves of bread, with a fierceness that told her food was scarce.
It took her only a heartbeat to realize she might not survive the night. The dank,
slimy darkness was broken only by a series of torches lit at intervals around the main cavern. Numerous bodies filtered through the murk, although a large majority of the prisoners were currently fighting in the middle of the cavern for their rations.
The torchlight danced as a chill wind whipped by, giving her a sharp warning of doom. The series of caves were inescapable. Once a month, the King sent down a patrol to make sure none of the small fissures that supplied ventilation had widened into an escape route.
But ventilated or not, Caelan wanted out. Within ten feet of where she huddled by the wall, a man the size of a troll smashed a smaller prisoner's head against the rock floor, then took the bread from his grasp. Groups chased people into the darkness. Shouts and cries of pain filled the air. A metallic tang of blood wafted past her on the icy breeze.
Twenty-five feet above her head, the grate shut with a clang, locking her in with a finality that drove terror through her veins. She had to survive a day.
A sob of panic tried to climb up her throat, but she tamped it down. She'd stay right here, near the grate, hiding in the shadows. She wouldn't move a muscle. Then tomorrow, she'd tell Useph anything he wanted.
If she was still alive.
"Well, well, well, lookie here,” a voice said in the darkness, the words filled with anticipation and excitement that had Caelan's stomach twisting with a new surge of fear. “Fresh meat.” She could only see his outline but thought it might have been the small man whose head had been smashed against the ground for his bread.
Using the cave wall for support, she pushed to her feet, her legs wobbling so badly, she almost fall down again.
"Hey, Rolf,” the man shouted. “We've got a fresh woman!"
Almost as one, prisoners stopped fighting and turned, the action in slow motion as if they couldn't believe their good fortune.
The men shifted to let a tall, lanky shadow swagger into the torchlight. “Don't worry, boys. All of my followers will get a chance at her.” In the dim half-light, Rolf appeared to be the Harbinger of Death, a childhood nightmare come real.
Dark Heat Page 1