Captured (The Captive Series Book 1)

  ***

  Braith stood in his father’s chambers, his hands folded over the head of his cane as he held it before him. It had been years since Braith had been in his father’s private living area. He couldn’t see them now, but he knew that over the years his father had acquired more things, and amassed his fortune within these private walls. Keegan pressed against his leg as he sat at his side. The wolf hated being around the king as much as Braith did.

  “Your brother has returned.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  Braith didn’t have to see his father to know that he was a large and imposing figure. He was also sadistic. His father ruled with an iron fist, no one stepped out of line, and anyone that disobeyed was killed outright or placed within his father’s trophy room. Death did not come quickly to those offenders; they were tortured or destroyed in the most brutal ways possible as a way to deter others who might try to bring the king down. He ruled by fear and he had led them to victory in the war. The vampires respected and obeyed him for those reasons alone.

  Braith felt he should respect him too, he was his father, and he had succeeded where many had failed, but Braith felt nothing for the man except an intense loathing. Beatings had been a mandatory rule upon growing up, being the first born Braith had received the blunt force of them, and being the youngest boy Jericho had also been heavily focused upon. Caleb had mainly managed to slip through unscathed. Caleb also had a malicious way about him that his father recognized, and admired.

  By the time Jericho had been born, Braith had been nearly grown and almost untouchable, and his father had eagerly turned his attention to a new target. It was why Braith had always felt closer to Jericho, had always looked out for his little brother, and hadn’t liked it when he was sent straight into the lion’s den. His father had been more than eager to throw Jericho in there though, easily willing to toss him aside.

  Braith had been surprised when his father hadn’t destroyed him after he’d lost his vision; it had only been the fact that he’d adapted so well to being blind that he’d been allowed to continue living. He’d honed his other senses to the point that he could still fight as well as he had when he’d been able to see his attackers, and he was still as ruthless as he’d ever been. He was not like his father and Caleb though; he was not vicious for the pleasure of merely being vicious and cruel. He was simply a murderer when it was essential, and nothing more. He didn’t relish in cruelty and he didn’t relish in torturing people, especially not children like his father and brother did.

  “He has some interesting information for us.”

  “Does he now?”

  “Yes, I have called him and Caleb here.”

  “This is not a celebration announcement for the banquet then?”

  “The banquet is not a celebration.”

  Braith kept his face impassive; he didn’t want his father to see that his curiosity was peeked. He turned at the sound of the door opening; he listened to the rapid footsteps that thudded on the marble floor. He recognized Caleb’s footsteps leading the way, and behind him were Jericho’s lighter steps. Caleb moved past him, but Jericho stopped before him. His hand clasped hold of Braith’s, as his other hand squeezed his arm. Braith accepted his outstretched hand, squeezing it affectionately within his own. When Jericho had left, his hands had been those of a boy. Now his callused hands were firm and strong. His grip was like a steel vice.

  “You have grown,” Braith said.

  Braith could almost feel his smile; almost feel the cheerful demeanor that Jericho radiated. He had always been the easiest going of them all, the least affected by their world, and it seemed as if he was still the same. But beneath it all, Braith could sense a tension and maturity in his brother that hadn’t been there when he’d left six years ago. They held each other’s hands for a lengthy moment. Braith tried to size up the man before him, he had a feeling that there were a lot of things he no longer knew about his little brother, and may never know.

  “I finally reached maturity.”

  Braith chuckled, but there was no humor in it. There had always been a joke between them that Jericho would never grow up, that he would be a thousand and still acting like a seventeen year old. Braith had always thought it would be true, but he realized now just how wrong they had both been. Whatever had happened to Jericho in the last six years, it had changed him deeply. Braith was surprisingly saddened by this realization. He had missed his brother’s easy camaraderie over the past years, he realized now that he would not be getting it back.

  “I can tell.”

  Jericho squeezed his hand again before releasing it. “Tell your brothers what you have told me,” their father commanded.

  Jericho took a few steps away from Braith. “After a year of living in the woods, fighting amongst the rebels, hiding my true nature, and struggling to earn their trust, I was finally able to break through part of their tight knit, tight lipped, group.”

  “How?” Caleb asked.

  “I saved the life of a child that happened to be a cousin of the group that leads the rebel faction. The child’s parents started to trust me, accepted me, but it was still another year before the father took me to meet his cousin. I was blindfolded for this journey, and it was in the middle of the woods, but I met the man who leads the rebels. His name is David, I don’t know his last name, most rebels have forsaken them, but I would recognize him if I saw him again.”

  “And you know where he lives?” Caleb inquired eagerly, the bloodlust evident in his voice.

  “No. No one outside of family knows where David lives.”

  “Then what good is any of this?” Caleb hissed. “A man named David leads these imbeciles. Six years and that’s all you came up with?”

  “Enough!” their father snapped. “Let your brother continue.”

  “As I was saying,” Jericho grated through clenched teeth; his annoyance at being cut off and degraded was more than apparent. At one time Jericho would have laughed off Caleb’s impatience and attitude; he did not do so now. “I met David, and though I don’t know where he lives, I do know his family. They may keep their living quarters a secret, but they all work together, especially David and his oldest son. I only knew the eldest son, his second in command in the beginning, but three years ago David’s younger son became more involved, as did his daughter. Though they try to keep the girl out of most of the fighting, she is well trained, and a very skilled hunter. She often went on the food gathering trips, and would aid in planning and executing the raids as she knows the forest better than anyone.”

  Braith felt a knot beginning to form in his stomach as uneasiness curdled through him. Arianna had been hunting for food when she was captured, she had admitted as much. She’d said that Max was captured because of her, that he could have run, but had instead sacrificed himself in the hope that he would be able to free her from captivity. There were only two reasons a man would do that, either for love of the woman, or love of his leader. He’d assumed that Max had aspired to save her because they were friends, and he did love her, and because he was good friends with her brother.

  He realized now that he may have been wrong, that Max may have come after her because he knew who she was, and who her father was. Because he realized what a threat it was to their cause if one of the children of their leader was caught, discovered, and held by the enemy.

  What kind of a mess had he gotten himself into with her?

  “Ok, so the girl is a heathen and aspires to be a man.”

  “Shut up Caleb,” Jericho grated. Braith felt Caleb’s disbelief ripple through him. He supposed he would have felt the same, if he wasn’t already completely terrified of what else Jericho might reveal. “The heathen is also in our possession right now, or at least she was. There was a raid on an outer encampment a few weeks ago, blood slaves were taken. At first there were only rumors about exactly who had been captured, but one child claimed that a girl had saved him. A girl that very much resembled David’s daughter. No
one knew anything for certain though, until last week.”

  Oh hell, Braith thought with an inward groan. Arianna had spoken of a child, had talked of going back to rescue him. His hand constricted on his cane as he fought the urge to flee back to his room and demand answers from her. Answers he was scared of receiving right now. “And what happened last week?” Braith wanted to know.

  “David’s daughter didn’t return as scheduled, and neither did one of his higher ranking lieutenants. It was confirmed that the girl had been taken. It has not been confirmed if she is alive as a blood slave, or not. That’s why I risked blowing my cover to come back here now.”

  “What good is any of this information?” Caleb inquired, but the irritation was gone from his voice.

  “Humans tend to be very attached to their children, so if David’s daughter is alive, and being kept as a blood slave then we can use her as a weapon against him. He won’t like the thought of his child being treated in such a way, he will try to get her back, and he will be reckless. If she is dead, then we will have to dig up a blood slave that looks like her and try to use that girl against him. Either way, we have strong leverage over the rebels right now,” Jericho explained.

  “I want all of the blood slaves from the past few weeks brought forth tonight for the banquet, Jericho will inspect them all,” their father commanded.

  Sensing Braith’s growing concern, Keegan had risen and was now pacing anxiously around his feet. “Perhaps it is your blood slave Braith,” Caleb taunted.

  “Perhaps,” he managed to agree.

  “You have taken a blood slave?” Jericho’s astonishment was evident in his voice.

  “Yes, Braith has finally sunken to the levels of depravity that the rest of us have enjoyed all these years. He did well for a blind man; she’s a pretty little thing, if you like redheads. Which, I do.”

  Braith was close to ripping the head off of his cane as he anxiously waited for Jericho’s response. If David’s child was a redhead, they would all know shortly, and they would all be racing up to his apartment to get at Arianna. They would use her and torture her before they killed her. He didn’t know how he was going to stop them but he knew that he was damn sure going to try.

  Jericho released a mellifluous laugh. “No, fortunately for Braith’s newest addition, David’s daughter is not a redhead.”

  Relief coiled through him, but the tension in his chest still didn’t ease. Something felt off about all of this, something wasn’t quite right. He itched to return to Arianna and question her, but he had a feeling that no matter how much had passed between them lately, she still wouldn’t tell him about her family, especially if this David fellow really was her father. He couldn’t blame her for that; her family was probably far closer than his, humans tended to cling to their loved ones.

  If David was her father though, then why would Jericho lie about her hair color? Maybe he did not consider her dark tresses red, but Braith doubted that. Maybe he had never actually seen the girl, but why would he lie about it? What did he have to gain by coming here and lying about any of this? Unless, Jericho had simply wanted to escape the woods and this was his excuse to return to the luxurious lifestyle he had left behind.

  That didn’t seem right either, but he couldn’t quite figure out this puzzle, not yet anyway. He just knew that he had to get back to Arianna, and he had to keep her away from Jericho. She could not go to that banquet tonight. “Well, if she is not a redhead, then I will be leaving my blood slave behind tonight. I’d prefer to mingle amongst the crowd, alone.”

  “Already tired of your treat?” Caleb goaded. “Funny, but it didn’t seem that way when I stumbled upon you earlier.”

  “A change is always good,” Braith replied dully.

  “So be it,” their father interjected. “I still require Jericho to see the girl, just in case.”

  “Of course,” Braith murmured in consent, struggling to remain calm. “Whenever you wish to stop by Jericho. I will join the rest of you later.”

  Braith strode swiftly from the room, Keegan following at his side. It took everything he had not to break into a run and race back to Arianna.