Eternal Bondage

Eternal Bondage

by Lucius King

Chapter 3: Collateral


“Edwyn?” Dao’s young voice cracked with fear and horror as he took in the sight of his brother chained to the wall of the castle. Edwyn’s back was bleeding from the whipping, though he had only taken a few strikes. Dao turned to Aravath, his eyes flashing angrily. “You hurt him!”

Aravath only smiled at the boy, finding his protective, rebellious stance endearing. He couldn’t have been more than ten years, at the most. “Edwyn, it seems you have an advocate. What do you say, young man, would you like for me to let your brother go?”

“Yes,” Dao said hopefully.

“Then you must help me. Otherwise, I will be forced to whip him some more, and after that I shall whip you.”

“Leave him alone,” Edwyn hissed. “He’s only a boy!”

Aravath flinched at this, his eyes clouding over as if with a memory. “I wouldn’t be the first to do it,” he snarled. “You Welythians are barbarians cradle to the grave, don’t pretend otherwise.”

“Not all of us,” Edwyn protested, though he couldn’t very well argue with the lord’s point. Welythians were known for their cruelty. It was something he tolerated in his people, though privately he felt the way they treated enemies was horrifying.

And now he was paying for it. Aravath still hadn’t forgiven them for what had happened nearly ten years before. Everyone knew the story—it was why Lord Aravath hated the Welythians so much. He was always looking for ways to strike out at them.

“Please,” Edwyn begged, trying to twist his body around to get a glimpse of his brother, “please don’t hurt him. Do want you want to me, but let him go.”

“How sweet,” Aravath purred, pulling the whip slowly through his fingers. A bit of blood on the tail stained his fingers red. “You obviously care for him. So how is it going to feel, Welythian, when I torture him in front of you?”

“You can’t be that heartless. Can’t you remember what it felt like to love someone?”

A shadow crossed over the lord’s face; he was silent for a moment. “Oh, yes. I assure you, I remember quite well. Now perhaps you can find out what it feels like to watch the one you love suffer and die.”

Dao drew his breath in at this, eyeing the lord with unconcealed fear.

“What good does it do you to torture me or my brother? We’re not the ones who hurt you.”

“You Welythians are all to blame!”

“I’ve done nothing to you!”

“The blood of your people runs through your veins,” Aravath answered. “That makes you my enemy.” He turned to Dao, studying him for a moment. “Tell me, Dao, do you know who the other gatekeepers are? Answer me honestly or I shall whip your brother again.”

“Yes,” Dao murmured, frowning. “Everyone knows.”

“Is that so?” Aravath turned back to Edwyn, and with a mighty swing of his arm let the whip sear into his back.

Edwyn screamed.

“You liar!” Aravath swung again, striking even harder.

“Please stop!” Dao cried. “You said you wouldn’t whip him!”

“What are the names of the others?” Aravath demanded. “Tell me now, or I’ll whip you until you pass out and then revive you so you can watch me do the same to your brother.”

“Garmoth and Terrin,” Edwyn whispered, his eyes burning with tears. So much for his ability to withstand interrogation. All it took was a threat to hurt Dao. He was unworthy to be a gatekeeper.

“Where are they?”

“I told you; back in Welythia.”

“You’ve already lied to me, twice. Why should I believe you now? Are they in Darpour?”

“No,” Edwyn asserted, though in fact he had no idea where they were.

“You’ll bring them to me,” Aravath announced. “You’ll bring them both, if you want to see your brother alive again.”

Edwyn looked at Dao helplessly. What was he going to do? He couldn’t let anything happen to his brother. He would have to bring the gatekeepers—but that would put the entire region in jeopardy. He was basically sacrificing everyone else for his brother.

But he didn’t know what else to do. He had to save Dao.

Kayton and another man were uncuffing him at Aravath’s command. Edwyn frowned, turning to look at the dark-eyed lord. “Promise me you’ll let my brother go free, if I do this thing for you.”

“Oh, never fear. I keep my promises,” Aravath said softly. “Unlike you Welythians.”

“You don’t even know me,” Edwyn retorted hotly. “I keep my promises too.” Except my promise to guard the gate at all costs, he thought. He felt horrible for even contemplating what he was about to do, but what other choice did he have? He loved Dao. He couldn’t let him suffer.

The two men exchanged a long look, each unconsciously evaluating the other. Edwyn, for his part, felt nothing but hatred and anger toward his captor. He was not in the state of mind to process how attractive the lord really was or to evaluate his obvious potential as a sexual partner. No, the man before him was a vicious, vile predator—a snake.

Aravath, in contrast, found his gaze straying to Edwyn’s bared nipples, imagining rolling the pink, erect nubs between his teeth. He immediately pushed the image from his mind, annoyed that he had once again allowed such provocation to edge into his awareness.

It had been a long time since he taken anyone to his bed. He had his choice of partners, of course, but he had been reluctant to open up his heart again, and therefore had avoided even purely carnal encounters. The mere physical pleasure of grinding sex was too reminiscent of lovemaking...too much a reminder of what he had lost.

But this lack of intimacy had left him starved for sexual gratification. Aravath longed for a good long, hard fucking...he needed it. This left him vulnerable to erotic impulses that swirled up into his consciousness at unexpected moments—like now, as he studied the handsome Welythian before him. Edwyn’s eyes were so full of fire and passion—so dark and gleaming—such a contrast to his golden blond hair and pale skin.

Such a strong life force. Aravath was attracted to it, whether he wanted to be or not.

“Bring me the other gatekeepers,” he promised, “and I’ll let your brother go free. I'm just keeping him as collateral.”

“If you so much as touch him,” Edwyn hissed, “I’ll fucking kill you.”

“You’re not in a position to be issuing threats,” the lord replied dryly. “However—you have my word that I’ll not lay a hand on him.”

“What good is your word, I wonder?”

“It’s worth more than the word of a Welythian,” Aravath shot back.

Edwyn stared back at his captor, feeling frustrated and helpless. He hated that he would have to leave Dao in Lord Aravath’s custody. He didn’t trust the man—not for all the promises in the world.

He turned to his brother, who was watching them both with wide-eyed fear, his entire body trembling.

“Dao, I’m coming back for you. I promise I’ll come back.”

“I know you will,” Dao whispered.

Aravath watched this interaction as though completely unaffected, his arms crossed on his chest. But inside, his own heart ached as old memories flooded unbidden into his thoughts. He had once had a very similar conversation with Daymon.

But that had been last time he’d ever spoken with him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is really Kira Takenouchi--Lucius King is my alter ego. I've decided to discontinue this story here and finish it at my website http://www.kiratakenouchi.com. Thank you for reading it and helping me decide it was worth completing, and sorry for the inconvenience of stopping the story here.