Chapter 31

Davik

I could not tell how long I had been here, but my stomach was beginning to demand that I accept the food that the young girl had been bringing. True to her word, Brenson had stopped using blunt objects and began using a whip. I had to be careful as the pain of the strikes could have made me bite my tongue off, which would have been very painful, and I doubt I would have been able to grow it back. The whole time, he was asking how I was able to do the things I could, where I got my abilities, but there was nothing to tell that he did not already know. He demanded to know what I had been given by Lillian, but I could not tell him what I did not know. By the time his tantrum had ended, my back was covered in a crisscross of marks and I had lost count of how many times the whip had landed. As always, when he had exhausted himself, he would leave the room without a word and sometime later the young lady appeared. She was sporting a fat lip and the beginnings of a black eye, confirming that he had beaten her for me refusing the food she had brought. I could feel the strain the lack of food was causing, and I needed the energy, if I was going to have to heal worse and worse damage.

“I have been sent to see if you will eat the broth, I brought this time and I hope that the answer will be yes.”

“I am sorry that he hurt you, miss, but you have to understand the situation I am in and why I am reluctant to trust anyone.”

“The situation you are in,” she said in a hushed tone. “Your situation is temporary, because once he is done with you, he will kill you. Mine will continue for as long as he lives and chooses that I may live.”

I looked at her in confusion, “What do you mean by that? Are you tied to him somehow? Are you a Voguel?”

“No, I am just a slave, one that is either beaten or defiled at his whim. The night the pretty one was bitten, to be turned into what you call Voguel, was the best night of my life. I was not required to satiate the master’s carnal lusts. When he is in his demonic wolf form, she not only allowed herself to be bitten, but allowed his unnaturally large member to enter her. Where I saw it as a punishment, this harlot saw it as a pleasurable act and took it repeatedly until sunrise.”

I felt my stomach turn and I threw up what little contents were left in my stomach as the image of her having sex with that wolf entered my mind. I could not believe that she would do such a thing, but then again, she had done a few things lately that I never expected. Perhaps if we had grown up together, I might have seen it, but our time apart had hidden it. There were no warnings in the time we spent together, but upon reflection, we were around others or having sex. The events that occurred around us kept us from courting as we should have and perhaps this pain and anguish could have been avoided. Regardless of what had happened between us, there was still a focal point that she chose to ignore - Brenson. Was her hatred of me so great, that she would align herself with someone bent on killing me, just to feel satisfaction?

“I am sorry to have been the one to confirm it, but you had to know what she had done. Everything that he has done in relation to her, she has asked for without hesitation, especially the sexual interactions. I am sad to say that after that blood moon, she willingly returned to his bed, though she could not tell that he was just using her. He spun tales of how they would kill you and then raise a Voguel army, how she would be by his side through it all. It fed her need for attention and, in turn, she did all she could to please him, in and out of their bed chambers. She spent everyday training in multiple forms of combat - I could not count the men she killed in preparation for the blood moon, not once did she hesitate in her kills. I have no doubt that she believes that he will come for her, for she is to be at his side, but that is not the case. She will rot, wishing he had come, but tossed aside like all others that have served the master’s purpose.”

“Then tell me,” I asked with as much kindness as I could muster, “is there anything in the broth that will render me unable to function or free myself.”

“Yes, there is,” she said with an embarrassed blush, “the master has demanded that curare be placed in your meals. It has gone through rituals to leave your body motionless, but still allow you to feel every ounce of pain he gives you.”

The fool still did not know that I was immune to the curare, which could be to my advantage in keeping my strength up, while waiting for my moment to escape.

“I thank you for your honesty, miss. I will drink the broth you have brought, as I feel weak and I would hate to see you hurt any further.”

She smiled slightly, not showing her teeth and stepped hesitantly closer. Once she was close enough, she lifted the bowl to my mouth and tilted it slightly so that I could drink it. The broth was hard to place, but tasty and I drank it up as quickly as I could. When the dish was empty, I found myself disappointed that there was not more and wondered how long it would be until she returned with another bowl.

“Thank you, miss, that was quite good, and I want you to know that I appreciate your honesty. You showed great courage and I promise that he will not know about it, I would hate to see you hurt again.”

“You are welcome and thank you for your kind words, I do not hear them very often from the master.”

“Do you mind if I ask your name and how long you have been serving your master?”

“I do not have a name sir. He usually calls me ‘girl’, or one of his more derogatory terms when he is angry, which has been often lately.”

“It is not right for a girl to not have a name. Would you like it if I gave you one - one that we use when it is just you and me?”

Her sad face changed to one of shock and joy at my suggestion, confirming how little compassion she had been shown. She nodded vigorously, though not saying a word and, in the light, I saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

“Okay, then when we are alone, I will call you Ivy. It was my mother’s name and I think she would be happy to know I gave it to you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ivy said with a brilliant smile, “I really like that name. Please tell your mother thank you for sharing it.”

“I would if I were able to, Ivy, but she was killed by your master nine years ago, right before he killed my father.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she did not let them fall, simply nodding in sadness.

“I am sure you have to go now,” I said softly, trying to be reassuring. “Please be careful until we see one another again. I hope that when my friends come, I will be able to get you out of here.”

Again her face showed shock at the simplest kindness and I felt my heart breaking for the conditions this girl must have lived through. I was no fool, however, and though I felt bad for testing her like this, I needed to know if she would relay the talk we just had.

“You would take me away from this? But, where would I go? The master killed all of my family, but kept me as he assumed, I had use.”

I smiled and replied, “Yes I would, and I know a few people who would be happy to take you in. They would help you learn and grow, nurture your individuality and help you become the person you wanted to be.”

She stared deep into my eyes, probably trying to figure out if I was lying for the sake of trying to be freed.

“Violet complained often of how you would help others - needlessly in her opinion - as it took time away from being with her. But I have been made promises that never came true before and your friends do not know where you are, nor do they have the might to take on a Voguel.”

“I can no longer speak for Violet, as she no longer the woman I thought I knew, but I am beginning to realize I never really knew her. As for my friends, I am betting we are in on one of the abandoned mine settlements, northwest of Retvan.”

For the third time her eyes widened in shock, no doubt on my accurately predicting our location.

“As for their might, I have seven soldiers from Vishant, from where your master and the Voguels hail. They are specifically trained to identify, hunt and kill Voguel like your master. My close friend and a former lover of Violet’s, Lillian, has developed a cure for the curse as well. This will let those who had the curse forced upon them, a chance to regain their lives.”

Again I found her searching my eyes, looking to see if I was being truthful. A steeled resolve set in them, followed by a small smile before she left the room. My next run in with Brenson would tell me if she relayed anything I had said, or if she kept it to herself. If she mentioned any of it, then it would be the first thing he would start asking about. All I could do now was wait, so I closed my eyes and entered my meditative state.

Lillian

It took a lot for me to convince Janet not to storm Brenson’s hideout right then and there, but I was thankfully able to make her see reason. She was angry and distraught at what Davik was going through, more than she should have been, and as we were walking back, I could tell that she was wincing.

“Is everything okay, Janet?” I asked, worried that something might have gone wrong. “I need to know if you are having any adverse reaction to the potion, I gave you.”

“Well, the main one, you know, is that the blood oath did transfer his curse to me, and in doing so I now have all his abilities.”

I nodded as the proof of that result had been evident in her escape from the inn, the speed she used to get to the smithy and the strength she showed when she ripped off the doors.

“I thank you for the potion, we were lucky that you guessed correctly about what was happening. However, it seems that Davik’s blood had another effect that neither of us had foreseen. It appears I have developed a slight connection to Davik.”

I chuckled and said, “We both have, and I just hope he can see past his history with Violet and see her for what she has become.”

“Oh, I did not mean that,” Janet said softly, “though that is another matter we will have to discuss. I meant that I am wincing from pain that I should not be feeling, making me believe that on some level, Davik and I have become connected.”

We walked in silence and my mind ran with the implications of what that would mean. How much could they pick up of one another? Was Davik aware of this connection or did he not feel it? Would the connection get stronger over time? Could the connection be turned off and, if so, was it done consciously or subconsciously?

“There are no thoughts,” she continued, taking time to choose her words. “Only emotions and the pain of what is happening to him, but on a much lighter scale. But it comes and goes, as well, so I cannot be sure until it can be tested.”

I nodded, “I am just glad that you have come back to us, I have grown fond of you and would hate to have lost you.”

Janet grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently before coming to a halt a few meters from the gate.

“Lillian, I have grown fond of you as well, but I need to be clear about it and me. I have been fighting Voguel for most of my life, with nothing else as a focus. I had never been bested and never suffered a loss until I met Davik. His attitude, power and skill shattered my world of assumptions and expectations and I found myself lost. Bested by a better opponent, I found myself asked to forego everything I was trained to do, to protect you first and foremost, as well as him. I needed his trust and his help to stop Brenson, who was a far greater threat than you or he were, so I offered the blood oath. It is not something taken lightly, as binding as a law, but also somewhat intimate. I had figured his true colors would have been shown as we readied to leave or on the trip, but he surprised me every time, as did you.”

She paused taking a deep, shaky breath as she looked into my eyes, looking for something in them to reassure her, perhaps.

“You see, we are a women-only company. All Voguel hunter platoons are, as women are much more able to get men to lower their guard and we are assumed to be weak. We can spend lots of time away from towns and villages in our hunts, which makes us lean towards one another to deal with urges. For me, that had been Gwen, ever since she joined our regiment. Ethel and I had been as close in our youth, but then we were sent to different regiments for a while until I became captain of hers. She was not very forgiving about that, believing that she had been owed the spot, but she never questioned my orders. That is, until the night she made the two attempts to take Davik’s life and killed Gwen in the process. I have grieved during our journey. Though the pain of her loss is still there, it is not as bad as I thought it would have been. The anger I felt was forced out in the fights with Davik, while the emotional connection was helped by our time talking and training. Now I am conflicted and placed in a position that I never thought I would be in. I never thought I would feel any attraction to a man, given the ones I had spent years dealing with, but I find myself drawn to Davik. I thank you for your help in trying to convey my intentions to him, while protecting his dignity and respecting his wishes.”

“I know what you mean, Janet, as I, too, once hated and resented Davik and everything about him. I was led to believe false things, along with being blinded by my jealousy over losing Violet to him upon his return.”

Janet nodded, “I remembered that you mentioned that in the talks we had during our trip here. Finding out what she did to Celka, what she allowed to happen to herself and having to fight her must have been tough.”

“I wish I could say it was, but I saw the signs of who she was far sooner than Davik, though what she did still hurt. However, all I needed to know at that moment was that she was attempting to kill Davik and I could not allow it. When I found out later the other things she had done, part of me wished I had killed her, to protect Davik from the pain of finding out.”

“What do you mean?” Janet asked, a confused look on her face. “What else did she do?”

I sighed and said, “She allowed herself to be turned willingly, as well as allowed him to have sex with her while still in wolf form.”

Janet paled and looked as if she would have been sick; no doubt a picture formed in her mind of their copulation.

“She believes that Brenson will come for her and will kill us all, as he promised to let her rule by his side and revel in the mayhem they cause.”