The Sanction (13 page)

Chapter Ten

The Council Chamber was well
illuminated and consisted of a rectangular table of impeccable
craftsmanship that seated a score plus four. Presently, beneath the
flickering candlelight of the chandelier above, shadows of only six
blended against the rough stone walls. The Elder occupied the
largest chair at the head, and considered the five somber faces
before him. Macer, Mangus, Cassius and Silas were the sons his wife
had borne him in recent years, with nothing but a few decades
separating each birth. He prided himself on governing a close knit
family, a strong family. He also prided himself on keeping the
peace between Were and vampire. The orders of the Hunters were
clear – keep the Weres away, and keep the Humans who lived
through-out each allotted province safe. The Humans were, after
all, their food supply and a potential threat. With a growing
number of vampires, they needed to be careful to keep their race
hidden. But the Weres – they were careless and destructive, and
sought to protect the Humans from becoming a meal.

Demetri drummed his fingers against the
table and said nothing. The capture of Amarinda was something that
had shaken him to his core. She was the first and only female
vampire born into their Coven. The twenty Covens that graced these
lands held within them only four pure females – she being one of
them, and the youngest at that. Now, to hear that this beast had
claimed her, had impregnated her, and had the utter nerve to offer
her asylum was ludicrous. And she, to openly admit to such a mating
was more than just a shame. It was a debasement of her
kind.

“
Summon the Council
Members,” he intoned finally.

Macer, the eldest, cleared his throat
with some effort. “My lord, the Council will no doubt advise war –
if not with the intention of re-capturing her, then to show that
such an insult carries grave consequence. But I implore you to
consider encouraging them to find means of negotiation.”

“
Negotiation? And what, pray
tell, do you propose we negotiate for?”

Macer’s gasp wheezed though his teeth.
“For Amarinda of course. Your grand-daughter.”

Demetri leaned back with supreme
patience. “Asylum was offered and she accepted. It appears to me
that she wanted to stay.”

“
Only because she wanted to
secure our means of return,” Macer argued passionately. “We were
outnumbered. They would have killed us all. It is my opinion that
she was forced to make a difficult choice – if she returned, the
offspring would have been executed and -”

“
As it should be,” he
whipped.

Macer locked his fingers together, half
appalled that his hands trembled. “My lord, I do not condone what
she has chosen, and I do not understand why she has been mated to
the enemy, but please, she is my daughter, your flesh and blood.
There is no one present who wishes the Weres massacred for what
they have done to her more than I. But not until she is home,
safe.”

Demetri ran his tongue along each fang,
his tolerance slipping in slow degrees. “This Coven has survived
for centuries because we have obeyed the laws – laws that were
created to ensure that survival. She has allowed herself to be
impregnated by an animal. That is unforgivable.”

“
She can be apart from him
as much as you can be apart from Grandmother.” This from a flaring
Vilirus.

“
Hold your tongue!” Macer
snarled, casting his son an enraged glance.

“
Father, this is not
diplomacy,” Vilirus returned, temper sparking. “It is our law that
a mate cannot be separated one from the other. We have no control
over who we are mated to. Mother was a human before she took her
vows. Why then is being bound to a Were any different?”

“
A Were is not a human,”
Demetri sought to explain. He lifted a bony finger and sniffed.
“This is the type of disunity that will cause our ruin. They are
the enemy – and she has been bred like a common dog. The Council
will convene a week hence to decide upon the best course of
action.” He stood regally, slowly.

“
She is my sister,” Vilirus
offered finally. “I will not be a part of her butcher.”

Demetrio’s eyes flashed in anger.
“Thread carefully, my young Hunter, lest your words renege your vow
to this Coven.”

“
Grandfather, do you not
love her?”

An almost pained expression crossed his
face, but was immediately shuttered. “Love and duty are not one in
the same.”

He turned away then, leaving them in
silence. His walk through the manse brought him to the large room
his mate occupied. She sat in silence on the enclosed balcony, face
somber. The length of her beautiful silver hair dazzled in the
moonlight. In the centuries passed, Demetri had never failed to
acknowledge her timeless beauty. Still, it had been many long years
since they had come to live in this Realm, and he knew that she was
tired. Although her body did not age, there was an almost distant
look in her eyes. He stroked her head tenderly. She looked up and
smiled a small smile. That was the curse of being a vampire. He,
too, felt the weariness. But having her at his side made forever
bearable.

“
There is news of the
child?” she asked.

Demetri sat beside her and held her
close, inhaling the unique scent that was hers. “Yes.”

“
Tell me.”

His heavy sigh was full of agony. “They
believe she has been mated to a Were.”

She looked away, not at all seeming
surprised at such a revelation. “What will you do?”

“
Teach them a lesson they
will not soon forget.”

“
And what of
her?”

“
She has chosen to stay with
him. You know our laws – the price of treason is death.”

Her lilac eyes met his then, full of
quiet understanding. “Laws can be changed, can they not?” He did
not look away. There was much sadness in her tone. “She is precious
to me – the only daughter I have.”

He stroked the side of her face
tenderly. “What would you have me do Narelle? If I show any
sympathy, the Council will think me weak. I am the only one willing
to uphold our tradition of loyalty.”

Her hands, warm and flushed from fresh
blood, found his. “You are no longer a Faelian, Demetri. This is
what we are. As your mate, I ask you, do not do this – for my
sake.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose
impatiently. “It is our law. If I do not uphold that law, others
will take it for granted.”

“
She is our daughter. One of
our own. I want her home, with us.”

He felt the stroke of her fingers
caress the side of his face and opened his eyes to meet hers. Like
large pools reflecting precious amethyst gems, they glistened with
unshed tears. Something sharp pulled at the light pulse in his
chest. He slipped his fingers through her straight hair and pulled
her head closer to his. The kiss he placed on her pliant lips was
nothing but a brush. “Then you shall have her returned to you. I
swear it.”

She nodded faintly and turned once
again to consider the night. Demetri followed her gaze. He would do
what he had to do to get her back, if only for Narelle. But he
would never let the monstrosity growing in her womb
survive.

****

Amalea shook her riot of red curls
violently. “You cannot allow this,” she directed. “You cannot allow
him to do this to her!”

Macer tried his best to calm her. “I
will do everything I can to see that she is not harmed my love. But
it is treason to go against the order of the Council.”

“
I don’t care about the
Council!” she cried, tears flowing from her wide, luminous eyes.
“She is my baby! They cannot hurt her!” His touch was meant to be
comforting. Instead, it ignited her anger even more. “Did you
reason with him? Did you tell him that everything happening to her
is not her fault?”

“
Of course I tried. But she
accepted his proposal of asylum, Amalea. She has turned her back on
her race for that animal.”

“
She is mated!” she near
screamed. “Bound for life. What was he expected to do? Allow us to
rip the child from her womb?”

Macer flung his hands skyward and
turned to the view of the pasture. In the distance was the forest,
then the mountains, nothing but vague shadows on the horizon. His
daughter was there – his little girl was there.

“
You have to do something,”
she demanded yet again.

He cut her a quelling glance. “What
would you have me do? I cannot break my father’s law. I will lose
my life, and so will you.”

“
Your father is nothing but
a tyrant!” His eyes flared as he turned to face her then. She
whimpered, but bravely held her ground. “What happened to the man
who defied him for me? Where is the man I fell in love
with?”

“
I am still that man,” he
said thickly. “But I am no longer young, or foolish. If I want her
alive, I have to be more than just aggressive. I have to be smart.”
She sank her teeth into her lip and blinked. Another stream of
tears fell. He advanced and relaxed considerably before pulling her
trembling body in a tight embrace. “We will get her back my love.
Do not weep.”

Her sniffles were buried in his chest.
“I do not want her back.”

Stunned, he gasped and forced her to
meet his eyes. “What?!”

“
Do you not understand Mace?
She is bound to him. They cannot be separated. If we bring her
back, she will never forgive us, and the Council will see her child
killed. How can she love us then? She will be just as lost to us.
But that Were - he will not hurt her.”

“
What then would you have me
do?” He swallowed with great difficulty, dreading the words he knew
would follow. There was no tremble in her voice when she
spoke.

“
Help them.”

Chapter Eleven

Graeme faced a scowling Rhys and waited
for his response. The Were turned his back abruptly and
contemplated the work being done on the outer walls of the
stronghold. Graeme gave him time to think it over.

In the days passed, Amarinda's stomach
had grown considerably. It was now two weeks since he marked her
his – from the moment his venom had entered her blood stream, the
babe within her grew rapidly. Now, a very obvious belly protruded.
He spent countless nights marveling over such a miracle. But awe
was not the only emotion that swept him. Fear like he had never
before known forced him to consider now the safety of his family.
With the rapid development of the unborn child, they had no idea as
to when she would go into the pains of labor. A child was not
something he could keep concealed inevitably – and neither was a
mate. His only alternative was to take her across the moors, and to
the very village he had grown up in. The cottage his father had
secured for his now deceased mother was there, abandoned. Only
human occupants resided in the glen. It was too far into his
territory for him to be concerned about Hunters, and secure enough
not to warrant visits from the Scouts very often. She would be
safe.

Unfortunately, he could not make the
journey with her. Hunters had been spotted lingering on the
outskirts of the boarder. He had ordered the Scouts tripled, and
although there was not yet trouble, it was only a matter of time
before Hunter or Were did something stupid. The war he had so
foolishly anticipated proved more of a nuisance now than anything
else.

He contemplated the rigid set of Rhys’
shoulders and exhaled a heavy sigh. He had no right to ask this of
his friend. Already the man had done too much. But Graeme’s absence
from the horde would prove detrimental if the Hunters attacked when
he was not present. Rhys on the other hand, could get her to the
village and no one would bat an eye. Rhys, despite his sense of
higher consciousness, was a loyal friend.

“
When this is over, I am
leaving.”

Stunned, Graeme frowned. “Do not be
ridiculous. Without the horde you will be vulnerable.”

The man flashed him an impatient
glance. “I am vulnerable if I help you, and yet I still
do.”

Graeme folded his arms across his chest
and shook his head heavily. “I apologize that you are caught in the
middle of this, but there is none other I trust with her
life.”

Rhys snickered. “I do not like your
vampire mate. Still, I suppose none of this could have been
avoided.”

The quiet resignation in his voice
reassured Graeme even more. “I do not want you to leave. There is a
place for you here.”

Rhys smiled a bitter smile. “No. I do
not agree with this – deceiving the horde, calling war on
ourselves. You do what you have to for your mate, to see that she
is well protected, and I do what I must. After this battle is over,
if I live to see this thing that you are about accomplished, I will
move on.”

Graeme nodded understanding. He could
not fault Rhys his decision to leave, and he could not fault him
his distaste for Amarinda. From birth they had been taught that
vampires were demons that needed to feed on human blood in order to
survive. How exactly the feud between the two species began, he did
not know. Right then however, all that mattered was keeping her
protected from the masses, and the Hunters.