The Duke of Tremont II - Bloodspell

Chapter 19

Author's Note: A warning for the tenderhearted. There is some Justin abuse in the next few chapters. Sorry guys, but that’s just how I roll.

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Justin awoke to two sets of hands pulling him up off his cot. He tried to focus on what was happening, but the repeated doses of the drug Kipton was giving him seemed to be dulling all of his senses along with blocking his magic.

The two men dragged him into another room and proceeded to remove Justin's shirt and strap him face down on a table, pinning his arms to his sides. He tried to struggle, but immediately went still when he heard Kipton's voice. "Well," began the Mage, "since you have failed to answer any of my questions thus far, I've decided to help you along a bit." Kipton released a latch to swing the table up so that Justin was in a vertical position. He locked it in place and then moved so that he was in Justin's line of sight. "I'll start off easy," he almost whispered.

Justin sucked in his breath as Kipton gently ran a leather strap across his cheek. He couldn't help but notice the large ruby ring on the mage's third finger. There was something about it that bothered him, but he was too addled and preoccupied to give it much thought.

Justin held his tongue and refused to make eye contact with Kipton. The irritated mage grabbed Justin's chin and moved in close so their lips were almost touching. "As I said, I'll start off easy, but it will be entirely up to you as to how far I have to take this." He ran a finger down Justin's cheek. "It would be such a pity to mar such pretty skin."

Justin's heart froze in fear, but he defiantly refused to utter a single word. He felt Brian react to his fear and considered cutting off the link to spare his lover what was about to happen. Then he remembered how he felt when it had been Brian going through this. Brian had tried to cut him out, and not only did it scare Justin to death, but it hadn't worked. Brian had broken to the point where he no longer had the strength to block Justin out, and that had actually been his saving grace, for Justin had shored him up and kept him strong.

And now their bond was even stronger after their time with the fairies. Justin continued to ignore Kipton and braced himself, vowing not to give in to the treacherous mage.

 

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When the first blow landed, Justin refused to make a physical sound, but Brian felt the scream in his very soul, and felt every lash, cut and burn that was dealt to Justin, until finally, after hours of hell, his lover mercifully passed out.

All through the torture Brian lay huddled in the dark night in his bedroll, trying to share Justin's pain, to make it more bearable for the younger man. The others lay asleep around him, oblivious to his plight, and he tried to keep it that way, muting his own moans and cries.

Michael awoke suddenly and lay quietly for a moment, listening for the sound that woke him. Then he heard it, a quiet, but strangled cry coming from Brian. He remembered the sound from when they were young teens, and Brian had run away from home, finding his way to the small inn that Michael's mother ran. The boys had slept together in the same room, and Brian had had frequent nightmares. Michael always comforted his friend, though Brian never would share with him what the dreams were about, though it wasn't too hard to guess, knowing what he did of Brian's father.

Michael shifted out from Ben's arms, causing his husband to stir. "What is it?" Ben asked sleepily.

Michael leaned down and kissed his husband's cheek. "Shhh, go back to sleep. Brian needs me," he whispered. Ben simply nodded and rolled over, quickly falling back to sleep. He had grown used to this when Brian had first been recovering from his own ordeal at the hands of Duke Sapperstein. The man had often suffered bouts of insomnia, and along with them, self-doubt about whether he could ever let Justin in as his lover again after he had been so brutally raped by his brother-in-law. Brian had often called upon Michael during these times as a shoulder to lean upon, when he couldn't bear to tell Justin what was wrong.

Michael crawled over to Brian's bedroll, which was not too far from his and Ben's.

"Brian," he called as he gently shook the other man's shoulder. "Brian, wake up. You're dreaming."

Brian sniffed and placed his hand on top of Michael's. "If only I were dreaming," he whispered, and then gasped.

"What is it? What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"It's Justin," Brian said through clenched teeth.

"Justin? What's wrong with Justin?" Michael began rubbing comforting circles on Brian's shoulder.

"Kipton…he's…he's questioning him. He's torturing him…" Brian sobbed the last part as he felt a burning pain on his chest.

"God!" Michael gasped. "What can I do? How can I help?"

Brian grabbed Michael's arm and pulled it over his chest. "Just hold me, Mikey. Like you've always done."

"Okay." He moved behind his friend and spooned behind him, pulling him tightly into his arms. "Okay," he muttered into Brian's hair and held on.

It was not too much longer until Brian settled down and relaxed. "Brian?" Michael asked quietly.

"Justin passed out," Brian replied around a yawn. "He held out, and didn't give Kipton any information. He's safe."

"Okay, that's good. He'll leave Justin alone now. Get some sleep. "Michael kissed Brian's head.

"Kipton's not done. He won't stop until he get's what he wants."

"We'll figure something out. I promise. You need to rest now."

"You'll stay with me?"

"Always."

 

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Justin awoke to an older man wearing clerical garb tending to his wounds. He tried to shrink away from the cloth dabbing at the burns on his chest, but he was too weak.

"I'm sorry," whispered the strange priest. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"Wh…who are you?" Justin asked with suspicion in his eyes.

"I am Father Ryan. Kipton brought me here to tend to your wounds."

"So I'll be strong enough for him to inflict more upon me," Justin replied bitterly.

"Probably," answered the priest. "Why not tell him what he wants to know?"

"Because there is too much to lose. I will not give in to scum like that."

"Ahh, it is just that attitude that has kept me locked down here in the dungeons this last month or so."

"You are a prisoner, too?" Justin's interest was piqued.

"Yes. I was personal priest to King Gabriel until his death. Then young Prince Tristan disappeared and I began to grow suspicious of Duke James and Kipton. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of voicing my opinion aloud and here I sit." He dipped the cloth he had been holding in warm water and began dabbing at Justin's chest again. "I'm not sure why I'm confiding all this to you, but I suppose I don't have much to lose now, and you seem like someone a person could trust."

Justin studied the priest for a moment and decided that he liked the man. "I wish I could trust you, as well. I'm sure you'll understand why I can't." Ryan simply nodded his head and kept to his ministrations. Justin continued, "But thank you for trying to help me, even if it will be for naught."

"I have a feeling you will come out of this just fine, my young friend," Ryan replied. "You are a strong man. Any fool can see that, and Kipton is a fool for underestimating you."

Justin smiled back slowly, then simply nodded and closed his eyes, reaching for Brian.

 

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Daphne closed her eyes and "looked" into Tristan. The black masses were starting to grow faster than she could zap them with her powers.

They boy lay shivering on his bed, his body raging with fever, and Daphne felt a helpless sense of dread as she sat up and looked at all the people in the room who were staring at her.

"Well, how is he?" asked Sir Drew, who rarely left Tristan's bedside these days.

"He is much worse," Daphne replied. "The spell is attacking faster than I can heal him."

"What do we do?" asked Duke Hunter of Ballybonne. As the king's third youngest son, he had been called back to Sylvania as soon as Jonathan had fallen ill. His young wife, Molly, had stayed behind at their home since she had their newborn son to look after. Since Prince Tristan had arrived, Hunter and his young brother Charles had become friendly with him, so both young men had come when they had found out the young prince was worse.

"I…I don't know," Daphne whispered uncertainly as her head dropped to her hands.

"Blake did not show me anything else." She looked back up. "I think…I think the prince is dying."

"There must be something you can do!" cried Hunter, knowing that his father's own condition was not too far behind Tristan's.

Daphne reached out for Kelton, who immediately took her hand. "Come here and help me. Do you remember what I showed you?" she asked him.

Kelton nodded and closed his eyes, laying a hand on Tristan's chest, focusing his sight inward to the sickness that was overtaking the boy's body. He sucked in his breath when he was confronted to by the black spots that seemed to be running rampant throughout him.

Daphne closed her eyes and laid her own hand on top of Kelton's. She had been showing him and the other healers a little bit of what to do, but so far no one had been as effective as Daphne at getting rid of the spots of illness that kept forming in Tristan and the king.

Daphne and Kelton both started a bit at the contact of their hands, for an immediate sense of calm and peace flooded throughout both of them. Their eyes opened and met as their healing powers melded together seamlessly. The others in the room gasped out loud as the two were bathed in a soft blue light. As if reading each other's thoughts, they closed their eyes again and turned their focus back to Tristan.

They found that together they were able to ferret out and destroy the black spots at a much faster and more efficient rate. By the time they were done Tristan's fever was gone and he was watching them with curious eyes.

Kelton and Daphne opened their eyes and sat back; the blue aura that had surrounded them disappeared.

"I feel much better," Tristan said quietly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Daphne answered tiredly. She looked up at Kelton. "That was amazing."

Kelton smiled and nodded, his eyes still a bit glazed over from what he had just experienced. "Yes, it was. I've heard of healing melds before, but I've never experienced one."

"Why didn't it happen when we worked together before?" Daphne asked in wonder.

Kelton blushed and cleared his throat as he leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "We had not had such an intimate relationship before."

"Oh!" Daphne exclaimed. "Well, that makes sense."

"So, Tristan is healed then?" Drew asked, breaking into Daphne and Kelton's private moment.

"For now," Daphne answered hesitantly. "But he will not be completely healed until the spell is broken."

"But he is better."

"Yes, much. If Kelton and I can continue with these results it will buy a lot of time for him and King Jonathan."

"Thank God," Hunter exclaimed quietly.

Daphne stood up and swayed on her feet, Kelton grabbing her hips to keep her steady.

"Lady Daphne!" called Emmett, who had been quietly in the background the whole time.

In Justin's absence, Emmett had taken to overseeing Tristan's personal day to day needs, much to Sir Drew's delight. Emmett quickly moved over to the young couple. "You two are tired. You look like Brian did after he healed Justin."

Daphne shook her head. "We need to go to the king now."

"Hush!" Emmett scolded her. "The king can wait. You had a session with him just last night, remember?"

"But with Kelton and I…" Daphne tried to protest.

"He's right, love," Kelton interrupted her. "I couldn't heal a splinter in Tristan's finger right now. King Jonathan is stable; we can visit him in the morning."

"All right," she sighed. She then grabbed Kelton's hand and tugged him to his feet. "We'll be in our room," she announced to all of them. "come get us if we are needed."

The couple leaned on each other for support as they left the room.

The others stared after them. "Their room?" Emmett asked no one in particular, with a shocked look on his face. "Since when is it their room?"

 

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