|
#2812 [Rewritten by Penthesilea]
Relieved of his headache, fatigue overtook Kodiak and after Penthesilea left him he returned to his quarters to rest. Fortunately, Jasmine did not know that was where he had gone or she would have been there with plans for bedgames that he didn’t really feel like playing. She was still angry about the bloodbond between himself and Penthesilea and she was not above using her body to bind him closer to her. Since realizing that Penthesilea could become a vampire, Jasmine’s attitude toward the Keyholder had changed. She now saw her as a rival for Kodiak’s love and whatever affection she had had for Penthesilea was gone, replaced by jealous suspicion. She had no intention of sharing Kodiak with Penthesilea, not as a lover or as a friend. Since Kodiak had every intention of keeping his word to Penthesilea and remaining at the Castle and at her side, he saw some serious problems with his intended on the horizon. He did not want to chose between the two women. He loved them both and he did not honestly know which he would chose if it came to a choice. He could not deny that he had loved Penthesilea from the moment that he saw her. Jasmine, on the other hand, appealed to the Darkness in him that he felt that he had to hide from his Lady. With a pang, he realized what Penthesilea would expect him to do. She would expect him to leave her for Jasmine because, as she had told him once during a long night, people always left her. With the exception of her daughters and her father, sooner or later, everyone she had ever loved had left her. He tried to imagine that -- living for centuries, loving again and again and being abandoned every time. It made his heart ache for her. With those thoughts in his mind, he drifted into a doze.
Someone was crying in his sleep. Kodiak came out of his doze and looked around his bedroom. He was alone but still he heard crying. Then he realized that the sound was coming through one of the bloodbonds. He turned inward to determine which one and was shocked. The two bonds were the same age, forged less than a day apart, and should be of equal strength but one was considerably weaker and seemed to be fading as he watched. He examined it and realized that it was the link to Penthesilea that was fading and that it was she who was crying. He could tell that she was sleeping and in nightmare. He swung his legs off the bed and went to the mediation altar that he had erected in one corner of his room. He dropped into his favorite position and centered himself. Then he threw his awareness through the bloodbond to where Penthesilea struggled in her nightmare. He found himself in one of the Club’s more luxurious suites -- one that he had used himself when entertaining special “friends” -- and he saw Penthesilea trying to fight off what he recognized as one of the parasitic demons that once it possessed the body of a humanoid became a true vampire. She was badly overmatched and about to be overwhelmed but she kept fighting because, he realized, she didn’t know how to give up. And she did not cry out for help either because she knew that there was no help. There never was.
“Not this time.” Kodiak stepped forward and grabbed the demon from behind, pulling it off of Penthesilea and causing her to collapse to the floor. In one smooth movement, he threw the demon into the opposite wall and put himself between his fallen lady and the demon trying to possess her. A knife formed in his right hand made of the Darkness in him but it was of the Light as well, formed as it was of his pure intention to protect her. The demon charged and Kodiak met the charge, burying his knife in the demon’s chest. With a howl of rage, it died and was dust, taking the knife with it. Kodiak turned to Penthesilea. She was face down on the floor but struggling to rise, still trying to fight because there was no one to fight for her. Not any more! he vowed and went to her. When she felt his hands on her shoulders, she began to struggle believing him to be the demon. He turned her toward him and when she saw his face the fight went out of her and the tears that she had been holding inside as she fought spilled out of her eyes. She made no move to come to him believing that she had no right to expect anything from him, not even a friend’s comfort, in light of what she had done. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry.
He was inside her head and in her condition, she could not hide anything from him. The first thing he knew was that the Gods had decreed that Penthesilea was forbidden the comfort of a bloodbond with him. It was being dissolved so that he would not be aware of what became of her or where she could be found. Then, he knew what she had done and why she had done it. She loved him as she had said and believed that her love had condemned him to a horrible death so she had broken her vows and cast a spell that bound him to another -- Jasmine. She had done what she had done with her eyes wide open and out of love, believing that his life was worth what she would have to pay to save it. He knew what that payment was -- to be prey and plaything for any true vampire that wanted her for as long as she lived without any expectation of rescue or mercy. He had seen such women during his time in the Nightkind world. That Penthesilea would be among their number was unthinkable. He knew her only hope -- that someday she would be permitted to die. He knew her only source of solace -- memories of him, especially this small kindness -- that he would hold her while she cried. And he knew how very sorry she was for everything that she had done to him and how very much she loved him. He saw her plan to turn power over to her youngest daughter and then flee to one of the larger cities where she could lose herself and those who she loved would not be witnesses to the degradation she would endure. He held her tighter.
“My poor little lady,” he whispered. “I forgive you. Please don’t cry. I will save you. If I have to kill every true vampire in the world I will! I’ll bring you home and spend the rest of my life protecting you. I’ll fight the Gods themselves if I have to but you will suffer no more because you love me.” The Gods heard but it was too late. Even as he held her, the bond between them dissolved and he was cast back, swearing, into his own body.
Elsewhere in the Castle, Jasmine came out of her trance having witnessed the battle in Penthesilea’s mind through her own bloodbond with Kodiak. Furious, she went to her bed and pulled from under it a large box from which she took a black, leather covered book. There would be something in there that would make Kodiak hers forever! Whatever Penthesilea had to endure, she deserved for daring to think that she could steal from Jasmine what was hers! All she had to do was keep Kodiak focussed on her until Penthesilea fled the Castle. Once the Keyholder was gone, Jasmine would have no trouble keeping Kodiak. His Darkness called to hers and she would use it to bind him to her. In a month, Penthesilea would be less than a memory and Kodiak would belong only to her. Jasmine settled herself in a chair and began to hunt for a spell that would suit her needs. It didn’t take long to find what she needed and she went immediately to work. First, he would have to forget the experience that had just occurred. The knowledge that he had gained in Penthesilea’s mind -- how much she loved him and what fate she was to suffer because of that love -- would keep the spells she intended to use on the Lord Marshall from working. He had genuine affection for Penthesilea, Jasmine would not call it love, and that would act as a powerful counterspell. Quickly, before he could go to Penthesilea, Jasmine used a small scrap of cloth soaked in Kodiak’s blood to cast a sleep spell.
|
Pages: 
Penthesilea's Castle... posts 2700 to 2999 (Read 25072 times)
