Unicorn Bait (4 page)

“It has been a long day. You should get some sleep.” 

She nodded and sighed. “Maybe I’ll dream of something nice.”

He didn't respond. She cast her eyes to the bed and then back to him. The question was obvious.

“I am the lord,” he replied. She snorted. Yeah, he was the lord, but he wasn’t a gentleman. She curled herself into the chair. She knew that she wouldn’t be very comfortable, but other than the floor, there was no where else for her.

He did retrieve a heavy blanket from the chest for her, but as she reached to take it, he drew the blanket back before she could grasp it. “I am going to douse the fire and blow out all the candles. You are not to spark any light within this chamber. I sleep lightly, so do not think you will be able to accomplish anything without my knowing. If you attempt anything, I will kill you. Are we understood?”

She blinked up at him. He was serious. He would kill her. She nodded jerkily. He gave her the blanket. She wrapped it around herself tightly, but the shivers that went through her were not caused by a physical chill. He went around the room extinguishing the lights. She'd closed her eyes before he was done. Exhaustion was tugging at her, and her creeping sense of hopelessness leached away any wariness she might still harbor.

Naomi’s sleep was muddled with half formed dreams and nightmares. She struggled up to consciousness, but it took her a few blinks before she realized she was awake. She couldn’t see anything. She flailed out a hand to turn on a light but met only emptiness. She scrunched her brow in frustration. She was still half asleep when she lurched up out of the chair. The blanket made her stumble and grumble. She kicked the blanket loose and cast it aside. She raised both hands before her as she tried to find her way. She wanted to turn on a light. She knew there was a light switch on the other side of the living room. She went toward it only to bump into a mysterious bed, and the hand that wrapped around her arm made her yelp.

“I did not figure you for such a fool, Naomi. I thought you'd wait a full week before attempting this.”

“Let go of me!” She blindly swung at her assailant. She hit his shoulder.

He released her arm, and she fell back onto her backside with a jolt. “Help! Police!” she screamed. A spark of light blinded her as Tavik lit a bedside candle. His mask was in place. The grisly metal face snapped Naomi into the present. She wasn’t in her apartment, and she had just struck the true owner of the room, the one who had vowed to kill her if she tried anything, and he’d been serious. He'd gone to bed with his sword, and it was pointed at her now.

“Oh God,” she breathed. This wasn’t a dream or a nightmare. It was very, very real.

A sharp rapping on the door made both of their heads snap to it. Tavik cursed vehemently as he went to answer it.  He swung the door open and filled the door frame with his body. Naomi could just make out Yula on the other side.

The woman cowered on the other side in a long gown and lace sleeping cap. “Is everything all right, my lord? I thought I heard a scream.”

“Everything is fine. Naomi received a fright.”

“A fright from what?” Yula persisted as she caught sight of her still sprawled on the floor.

“A fright from me. Will that be all, Yula?”

The older woman’s eyes shot to her again. Lord knows what she thought. She wanted the cook to stay but knew it was pointless. She was as powerless as her.

"Does my lord need anything?"

"No, you may return to your quarters. Please do not trouble yourself with any further noises you hear from this room."

The color drained from Yula’s face. "Noises, my lord?"

"Good night." He closed the door on her horrified face. He turned back to her. Feeling very vulnerable on the floor, she got to her feet. If she was going to die, she wanted to be standing.

“Tell me, what did you think you were doing?” he demanded.

She swallowed nervously as her eyes darted around. This was bad, and she didn't see a way out. Tavik leaned back against the door, the only exit in the room, other than the chimney.

She considered the chimney for a moment but discarded the idea when she imagined herself getting stuck. He would probably light a match rather than pull her out.

“What does Agatha want you to do?”

Her eyes flew to him at the question. What was the deal between him and Agatha? She was just some old woman. Sure, she was pretty damned feisty, but he was this big bad warrior. “I told you. She tricked me.”

He straightened from the door and took a step toward her. “I will spare you if you simply tell me.”

Her eyes fell to the sword, and she began to shake at the reverse threat. She had no answer to his question, not even a possible lie. He was going to kill her. She crumbled to the floor and wrapped herself into a tight ball. 

“Naomi,” he said.

She lifted her head from her tightly wound arms. Her face was wet with tears. “I don’t know anything. When I woke up, I thought I was home. I swear, I wasn’t trying to get the drop on you. I was confused.”

He knelt down in front of her. “How am I supposed to believe you?” he asked.

Her face twisted in frustration and fear. “I don’t know,” she choked and buried her face again against her arms. He rose back to his feet and sat down on the bed.

She shivered as the cold stone floor leeched away all her warmth, but she was not going to move. Her nails dug into her arms where she clasped them. She was as good as dead. She wanted to laugh. She never stood a chance. She would have happily left him alone, but she had forgotten everything in her sleep. She had been practically sleepwalking when he’d caught her.

“Naomi.” She didn’t raise her head. Her thoughts were spiraling down a dark mental drain.

“Naomi,” he repeated a little louder.

She finally heard him and looked up at him cautiously. She was sniffling with tears dribbling out of her eyes.

“I must be sure you will not try something like that again.”

She didn't respond but continued to stare at him.

“I need assurance you will not do that again.”

“I promise I won’t. I swear,” she said, but her voice was small. It held no conviction. She had promised before but look where that had gotten her. It seemed pointless.

“I need more assurance than that.” He rose from the bed and went the chest on the far wall. He flipped it opened and reached inside. She watched him as he drew out sheets and began ripping them into long strips. She knew where this was headed, and she knew protesting would be useless. He came and stood over her.

“Get in the bed."

She cowered at the request. She had assumed he would tie her to the chair or just tie her up and leave her on the floor.

“What?”

He indicated the strips of cloth. “It will be easiest to tie you to the bed.”

“Can’t we do something else?”

“Get in the bed.”

She sat on the bed with a sad rueful laugh. She looked up and shook her head. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, and you’ve already broken the deal. I knew it was too good to be true.”

“Lie down."

She did as she was told and stretched out on her back. He stood at the foot of the bed and took her ankles in his hands. He coiled the torn strips around them and lashed them to the bed post.

She knew she should fight, but she was done. There was no more fight left in her. Why not get tied to a bed against her will? It was the perfect honeymoon to go with her wedding. She shook her head to herself and closed her eyes as her ‘husband’ trussed her up. He did not tie her cuttingly tight. She could still flex her arms and legs a little. She could twist some but not enough to free herself.

When she was completely tied, he once again doused all the light in the room. She waited tensely for him to come back to the bed. Instead of feeling his weight disrupt the other side, she heard him sit in the chair that she had been sleeping in earlier. Her eyebrows rose at that, but she didn’t comment. She was tied to a bed. The situation was seriously screwed up. Just because he wasn’t going to force himself on her or anything didn’t mean she should be grateful to him.

She wondered if her situation could get anymore surreal. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard a soft snore come from the other side of the room. A small smirk crept onto her face. Of course, he would snore. She went to sleep with the hope that the next day would be more sensible and possibly nicer.

“Naomi, wake up.”

She groaned and tried to turn away, but her hands were above her head, and she couldn’t seem to move them. She had a similar dilemma with her feet. She cracked open one eye to discover what her predicament was and found a demon staring down at her.

“Oh shit!” she gasped and tried to jerk away, but with her limbs still secured, she couldn’t go anywhere.

“Wake up,” the demon ordered again. She blinked and realized that it was Tavik. She scowled at the masked man and jerked her arms and legs in annoyance.

“I’m awake. Untie me.”

He straightened and crossed his arms.

“What?” she demanded.

"Do you work for Agatha?"

"No, I don’t! Please untie me."

"Are you in collusion with anyone else against me?"

"Who? I just got here! Please untie me."

"And you're not Lady Naomi?"

"How come you don’t know what this lady looks like? I mean if she was potentially going to be your wife, wouldn’t you check her out beforehand? While you answer, you can untie me."

He made no move to her bonds. "It wasn’t necessary to see her beforehand. If I saw her and found her unsuitable, I would have disposed of her." Well, that was a cheerful thought to start the day. If he hadn’t thought she was cute enough, he would've just gutted her instead of forcing her to the altar.

Her voice cracked when she made her request again. "Please, untie me."

For a second, she thought he would still refuse, but he finally reached and undid the knots. She lowered her arms and rubbed her wrists. Her hands were numb from poor circulation. Tavik moved down to her ankles and undid those knots as well, but he held her ankles lightly after untying them.

"I promised I would not harm you."

"Why not? I’m not really your Lady Naomi. What does my welfare matter?"

"Because I keep my promises."

He said that seriously. She didn't understand why he'd keep promises to her since she was powerless in this whole mess, and he seemed to not trust her an inch, but she nodded her head to show she accepted his statement. He removed his hands from her feet. She swung her legs over the side to the bed and sat up. She watched him warily. She had no idea what was expected of her now. Tavik, on the other hand, seemed content to ignore her for the moment. He turned away and stretched. He had on a loose shirt and a pair of baggy pants. When he was finished with his stretch, his arms flopped down, and he scratched his butt. She couldn't help snorting. So much for decorum, she thought dryly.

There was a tap at the door. Tavik opened it to let in Yula with a tray of food. She shot Naomi a worried look. She smiled to reassure her. Yula set the tray on the small table and put out one plate and one set of utensils. Naomi got up but hung back at the side of the bed. Was the plate for her or him? Tavik sat down in the chair without the plate. She came over and sat across from him.

She ate a small spoonful of what tasted like oatmeal. Tavik lounged across from her. Eating breakfast with a devil masked man was certainly strange. Doing anything with a devil masked man was strange.

“Yula, please keep Naomi company today while we travel.”

“Yes, sir.”

They were leaving? “Where are we going?”

“Home.”

She was annoyed by the vague answer. Before she could ask for more details, he rose. “Make sure you are ready when the caravan leaves.”

Yula nodded. Naomi held her tongue. Once he was out of the room, she turned to Yula. She needed information. Any information.

“Humor me?”

Yula tilted her head in confusion.

“I’m going to ask you questions and just answer them, please. Don’t try to tell me I know the answers because I’m Lady Naomi, okay?”

She nodded her head.

“Where are we going?”

“Lord Tavik told you.”

“Lord Tavik didn't tell me anything. You know where we’re going. Please tell me.”

“We’re returning to the heart of Lord Tavik’s domain.”

“Why aren’t we staying here?”

She shrugged. “He never spends time in his conquered lands. He sets up a man to oversee the area and collect his taxes and then leaves.”

“So this is all about money? That’s why he does this?”

She didn’t immediately respond. She looked down at her hands. “Lord Tavik’s reasons are his own. Money is one reason, but there are others.”

“What are they?”

Yula shook her head. “That is our lord’s business, not ours. All I know is that there were villages that would have sworn allegiance to him without bloodshed, yet he still sent his men in with swords drawn.”