The Duke of Tremont II - Bloodspell

Chapter 17

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"Justin! Justin!" Brian wildly searched for his lover to no avail. He frantically called out to Justin's mind, but there was no response.

Blake grabbed him. "Brian we've got to get out of here! Justin broke the cloaking spell!"

"Where is he?" Brian grasped the front of Blake's tunic. "Dammit! Tell me where he is!"

"He's gone, my lord, and we can't help him right now. I must explain later when there is time! We'll be no help if we are captured here!"

"He's right, Brian," Ben added. "We should get out of here now!"

Brian grimly looked at the chaos around him, noting that the soldiers who were still alive were beginning to stir and reassemble, and nodded quickly. He saw that the mother of the young man whom Justin had saved was leading her son through the confused crowd, trying to escape. Brian pointed to them. "Michael, Ben, get them and bring them with us. They won't be safe here when the dust settles."

The two men followed his orders and after some careful and quick convincing, mother and son followed them back to where their horses had been hidden.

Brian paused upon seeing Justin's horse and was almost brought to his knees by worry, but Michael was right behind him to bolster him up. He placed a hand on each shoulder.

"Do not despair, Brian. Let us get to safety and then we will find him."

Brian took a deep breath. "Thank you, Michael."

Both men mounted their horses as Tim helped the woman and her son get settled onto Justin's horse, and soon they were all making their way back to the lodge.

Blake rode to the rear of the party and turned back, shooting one last glance toward the village, and cursed ever leading them there. For he knew exactly where Justin was, how he got there, and how they would have to get him back. He dreaded their arrival back at the lodge when he would have to impart this information to a certain duke.

 

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Kipton moved quickly to bind his prisoner. He had already dosed the blond man with morvoy, a poison that greatly hindered a mage's powers. As he marveled at the boy's powerful aura he congratulated himself on his foresight to set the trap spells that would immediately bring any mage practicing unshielded magic directly to him. It had been worth the sacrifice of the two servants he had used for their blood.

He wondered who the young man was. Kipton prided himself on knowing the identities of as many of the mages in Maynor as he could. It always helped to keep tabs on potential allies, or enemies. How had one so powerful slipped passed him? Had he known of this boy and his powers sooner he would have sought him out and took on his training himself.

He had already tried to do a mind strip to garner more information, but the boy had the strongest shields Kipton had ever encountered. The morvoy obviously had no effect on the shields, but it would keep him from using his magic to fight back or escape.

Perhaps the boy was not from here. He knelt and fingered the stranger's clothing. The traveling leathers were obviously high quality, meaning the boy was highborn or at least well favored by the highborn. The clothes were made a bit differently than was stylish in Maynor, telling Kipton that he most likely was from elsewhere. He noted the intricately designed ring on his right hand that almost looked fairy made; puzzling since he certainly was not of the fairy folk. He tugged at the boy's hand to remove the ring, but it would not budge. Frowning, he tried again, and suddenly his mind clouded and he lost interest in the ring as if he had never seen it.

The prisoner moaned softly and shifted a bit against the restraints. Kipton took note of his plush lips and lithe body, noting especially his particularly pleasant rear end. Yes, this man would make a wonderful weapon and plaything, just as he had intended for his previous protégé, Blake, only this being was supremely more powerful than Blake. Perhaps the prisoner would be a bit more compliant that Blake had been, and if not, well, he had come up with some new techniques that would surely help convince him.
Kipton smiled to himself and left the small cell where he had placed the young prisoner. He locked the door behind him and went to tell Duke James the good news.

 

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"My lord?" asked a tentative voice.

Brian looked up from grooming Hugo and sighed inwardly. He had escaped out to the stable after a heated and heartbreaking discussion with Blake regarding the mage's theory on where Justin had disappeared to. Apparently when Justin had attacked at the village square he had forgotten to shield his spell in his agitated state, setting off a trap spell that had most likely placed Justin right in the arms of Mage Kipton.

Brian closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Hugo's neck. Blake had assured him that Justin would be entirely too captivating for Kipton to consider killing outright, but that was little comfort to Brian who himself had been sorely abused and raped when he had been held captive by his own sister and brother-in-law. Add to that the fact that he had felt nothing of Justin through their link since his capture, and it was all Brian could do not to ride off to face Kipton and James by himself. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and the others had talked him into waiting until morning so they would have time to formulate an actual plan.

Brian had reluctantly agreed, but could not stand to stay in the presence of the others any longer and had come out to the stables for a little peace and quiet.

"My lord," came the voice again.

Brian straightened up, having forgotten that anyone else was there. He turned to face Jamie, the young man they had brought from the village along with his mother, whom they learned was called Therese. "Ye…" Brian's voice broke and he cleared his throat. "Yes?"

"I…I just wanted to thank ye for saving me, sir, and for helping my ma and I to escape."

"You're welcome, Jamie," Brian replied kindly.

"And I wanted to say I'm sorry for your friend. You must be frightful worried about him. I know I would be if it were Henry that was taken."

Brian managed a small smile, surprised at the boy's insight. He didn't remember any of them mentioning his true relationship with Justin. "Is Henry your lover?" he asked the boy. "Is he the one they caught you with?"

Jamie nodded. "Aye sir. He got away though. He's got family just south of here so I'm sure that's where he went. My ma has a sister that lives there too, so maybe that's where we'll go since we can't go back home." He paused for a moment and then began to talk again. "I don't understand it, sir. Ma and I have lived here all my life. Almost all of those people knew about me and have been real friendly. Why did they turn on me like that?"
Brian moved to sit on a bale of hay, beckoning the young man over to sit next to him.

"Sometimes all it takes are the right words from the right person and then a mob is born. It's easy for people to lose all their sense of reason. Has there been a drought here?"

"Yes, sir. The crops are real bad this year. And there's been a lot of soldiers in the village too. We never had the army bothering us before."

Brian nodded wisely. "I'm sure that has caused a lot of worries for everyone and is making people feel disgruntled and edgy. You were simply an easy target for that priest and the others."

Jamie quickly wiped at his eyes. " It hurt something fierce to feel all that hate."

Brian placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, his heart constricting at how much this boy reminded him of Justin when he first knew him. He remembered how devastated Justin had been when his father had hurt and rejected him. "I know it does. Where is your father?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, he died when I was ten, sir."

"How old are you now, Jamie?"

"I'm eighteen, sir."

"And you've been taking care of your mother ever since?"

"We take care of each other."

Brian stood up. "Good lad. We'll do all we can to help keep you safe and get you to your aunt."

Jamie smiled. "Thank you, my lord." He looked shyly into Brian's eyes. "One more thing, if you please, sir. I know you are not simple soldiers, can't you tell me who you really are?"

Jamie had a slightly starry look in his eyes, and Brian could not help but feel a bit proud that he was still attractive to a young man. Then his heart fell when he thought of the only young man he really wanted. He chucked Jamie gently under the chin. "It's safer that you do not know."

"Then I shall always simply think of you as my prince," Jamie replied.

"Join the club," Brian muttered as he led Jamie out of the stables and back to the lodge. He finally felt ready to face the others, and there was much planning to do.

 

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Justin woke up slowly, his groggy mind struggling back to consciousness. He opened his eyes and for a moment thought he was blind, but he soon realized he was simply in a dimly lit room. There was an oil torch set in the wall above the door, but it looked to be going out.

"Brian," he called out tentatively.

Thoughts of the boy in the village flooded his mind, and he remembered, attacking the priest and the soldiers, and then he remembered the bright flash and the sick feeling in his stomach as he was pulled somewhere. Oh, God. Pulled somewhere. Where in the hell was he?

He tried to move his arms to stretch, but found that they were bound behind his back. More testing revealed that his legs were in a similar state. He closed his eyes to perform the unbinding spell, but they reopened quickly when he realized there was a blank spot in his mind where his magic was supposed to be. He tried to produce a mage light with the same outcome.

Next he called for Brian, and while he didn't get a definite answer from the man, he felt the warm presence of his lover fill his mind. He could feel Brian's terror and concern for him.

It was as if Justin had never discovered his magic at all, and their link was as it was before, where they were only able to communicate in feelings, not words. He tried to convey strength and wellness back to his lover, but he knew that Brian would see right through it. Justin was terrified.

Suddenly the door to Justin's cell flew open and an imposing figure walked in. Dressed all in black leather, the man's brown hair was in a wild mass of tangles and his brown eyes were rimmed red. "So, you are awake," the man said smoothly, staring into Justin's eyes.

"I am Mage-Adept Kipton of Maynor. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

Justin remained silent, bolstering himself with the warmth of Brian's love.

"Ah, so you will not talk, hmm? I really mean you no harm, my friend. I simply need to know who you are and why you are performing such powerful spells in my kingdom."

Justin bridled at the man's audacity. He tried once again to muster his powers to strike out at his captor, but again it was to no avail.

"Task, task. Your powers will do you no good as long as you have the morvoy in your system, lad," Kipton smiled.

"Mo…morvoy?" Justin asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"Ahh, he speaks," Kipton replied. "Yes, morvoy is a little potion I developed that inhibits one's magical abilities. I will admit however, that it does not seem to penetrate your mind shields, which I admit are quite formidable. Who trained you, boy?"

Again, Justin remained silent, but his mind frantically tried to process this new information in its muddled state. He'd been given a drug to block his powers, but Kipton could not penetrate his mind shields. That meant he most likely had not detected Justin's link with Brian.

He was trying to figure out to what to do with all of this when Kipton kneeled down next to him. The other man placed a finger under Justin's chin and raised it to meet his gaze. "I promise you that we will talk later, and I suggest that you be more forthcoming with me when that time comes. I am not a patient man. Just because I cannot breach your shields does not mean I do not have other ways of finding out what I want to know." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Justin's forehead. "Think about it." The mage stood and left, locking the door behind him.

Justin shuddered and let the tears of fear flow down his face. Brian, he thought desperately to his lover, and felt a little relieved when he felt the comforting presence sending strength to him.

 

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Brian had been sleeping fitfully, holding tightly to Justin's pillow, when he felt his lover in his mind again. He sat up quickly, when he heard Justin's call, though it was more a feeling than words. That's when he realized that was all it was. He tried to ask a question, but there was no reply, only the palpable fear that Justin was feeling.

Brian could feel his lover's physical frustration, which probably meant that he was bound. As was typical, Justin was trying to be brave, but Brian could sense his terror, just as he always could.

Suddenly, the fear intensified and he felt Justin straining to do something. He puzzled over it for a few moments and then he realized. Justin was straining to use his magic. He felt threatened, but his powers were gone. Brian was frightened at the thought of his lover being so helpless, and he wracked his brain to think of anything Dryden had taught them about what could block powers.

Coming up with nothing, he climbed out of bed and got dressed, deciding to seek out Blake to tell him of this new development.

His heart constricted when he felt Justin crying, and he made sure to send all the comfort and love he could muster as well as reassurance that he was on his way.
 

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