Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(57)

His conscience.

First the men slid the ropes holding the woman’s hands and feet from the pole then they backed away quickly.

“All wars require sacrifice,” Batuk whispered to Vyan. “Besides, you have no power inside this cage, so do not kill my men with misplaced honor.”

Vyan struggled to find a solution to the impossible situation he’d marched into. Since they had no way to retaliate, this animal would definitely kill all of them. In truth, Vyan would welcome the end to his private hell, but not at the cost of another innocent life.

Keeping an eye on Batuk and his men, the animal dropped down on one knee next to the squirming girl, whose skin glistened with fear. Muted noises gurgled beneath the gag on her mouth. The beast studied her, as if not sure what to do, then flicked a sharp fingernail across the ropes holding her feet, slicing cleanly through. She froze, staring with horror-filled, bloodshot eyes at the monster. It cut the ropes binding her wrists. Her body shook, her small shoulders rocking with tremors. The simple blue sack she wore as a dress clung to womanly curves that belied the girl’s youth.

The beast gently slipped a talon between the gag and her face, slicing the rag with little effort.

She screamed, eyes bulging in terror.

Vyan began to wonder what the beast would actually do. He swung his gaze to Batuk, whose black eyebrows drew tight over his hard expression.

This clearly confused his warlord.

The young woman began crying hysterically and spewing garbled words in a language Vyan did not speak. He understood the meaning behind them, though. She pleaded for her life.

The self-hatred he lived with each day for failing his wife would be nothing compared to what he’d feel if he found no way to stop this travesty. What was left of his soul would be a true wasteland.

When the girl moved to crawl away, the creature roared and slapped the ground with its open palm. Vines exploded from the earth, pushing her onto her back, then tethering her arms and legs. It bared its teeth. A thin tongue slinked out, stretching all the way down to touch her face.

She cringed, turning away and crying harder.

Vyan closed his eyes, damning himself along with the others. This was wrong!

Her scream snapped his eyes open and shook loose what was left of his humanity. He could not let Batuk do this. They’d all sworn revenge on the Beladors, but offering this poor woman to a monster was not his idea of war.

“Wait!” Vyan fully expected to pay for this interference with his life.

The beast’s glare was only outdone by Batuk’s murderous gaze, which should have backed Vyan away, but didn’t.

“The girl has not taken the serum the witch gave us,” Vyan quickly explained.

The warlord’s face blazed red with anger, embarrassment, or both. “Nhivoli, why did you not give it to her?”

“My lord, I do not have the serum, Vyan does.”

Batuk’s fingernails lengthened into sharp metal claws, a sign he wanted to kill someone. With his glowing yellow eyes locked on Vyan, it wasn’t hard to figure out who. “She is nothing more than a meal if she does not drink it. Give her the serum!”

Her wailing filled the jungle. The air trembled with her despair.

“The witch said it was not necessary to drink all of the brew,” Vyan hedged. “In fact, she warned us about using too much.” The witch had actually said to give the serum to an animal, then stake the offering for the beast to feast upon, because she believed the potion would work slower and hold longer if not taken directly, but she did not know for sure. Vyan really didn’t care what it did to the monster, but he would not allow this girl to be a sacrificial lamb.

“Feed her the brew now!” Batuk bellowed.

Vyan struggled to think quickly under the threat of his impending death. “What if she drinks the serum then her stomach tosses it back? We can’t risk wasting any of the liquid. The beast’s body is much stronger than hers. Give the beast some and see if it works. If not, then give the rest to the girl, but do not let him kill her first.” He had no idea how he would get the woman away from this monster and Batuk, but he’d bought himself a few minutes with which to plan.

Ignoring them, the monster raised a hand above her, fingers curved to attack. She screamed, then fainted.

Vyan took a step toward the beast, his hand going to his sword. The creature’s head spun to the side. He stared at Vyan with raw hatred.

“Sir.” Batuk extended his arms, palms open in offering. “I have brought something better than the girl. I have a serum that will give you what you most desire.”

The beast’s rumbling breaths came quicker. Its black eyes crept from the girl to Batuk, then returned to its prey. It seemed to struggle with indecision until it slowly moved its hand back and forth above her. The silent order caused the vines tethering her to slide away from her body and into the jungle as frightened asps. Moving its hand again, the beast levitated her limp body to lie across one extended arm before it stood and, to Vyan’s disappointment, turned toward the dense woods.

What now?

Vyan was Batuk’s best strategist, but he’d come up with no idea of how to deter this beast from the girl. If all else failed, he would use his sword. To do so would decidedly result in his own death at Batuk’s hands, but Vyan had enough nightmares without draping this woman’s death across his shoulders, too.

He called out to the beast. “So you do not want the serum that will cure you of being a beast? Too bad. We shall leave then.”