Refugee (The Captive #3)(27)
Braith bit back on the retort that William was right, he should have been there. Hell he could smell the alcohol, and the woman on him, but this hadn’t been William’s fault. None of them had expected the events of this night.
“How often does this happen?” Braith inquired as he accepted a glass of whiskey from Gideon.
Gideon shook his head, he was still bruised and bleeding from his split lip, but he was healing quickly and the marks would fade within the hour. “It used to happen once every couple of years, but this is the third raid in the past eight months.”
“What caused such an increase?” William asked.
Gideon was thoughtful. “In the beginning there weren’t many of them, but over time more have been banished. They’ve grouped together, they’re angry, and they’re taking that anger out on the one’s that put them in this situation. The other factions are experiencing the same problems with The Forsaken Ones.”
“How many are out there?” Braith asked.
“I don’t know for sure, like I said there are other towns that work under the same rules. We’ve banished six out of here over the years. Some towns are rigid in their rules, others are less strict, but after the ones destroyed tonight I would guess that there are approximately twenty five to thirty of those creatures left.”
“Why didn’t you just kill them?” Ashby inquired.
“No one here wanted the king’s rules, at all. We thought we would give them a fair shot at survival.”
Ashby quirked an eyebrow, he downed his drink in one long swallow. “I’d rather be dead.”
“If it hadn’t been for Melinda that very well could have been you,” Braith reminded him.
“And as I said, I would rather have been dead. Those things are a monstrosity Braith. They are a shell of what they used to be.” Ashby shuddered. “I would have much preferred to be put out of my misery.”
“It’s too late to change the punishment that has been handed to them and perhaps the time has come to take care of them. If we are successful in the endeavor of war, they will not be necessary as a security measure anymore, and perhaps death would be kinder. I can get you support Braith. There are four other aristocrats that survived and have their own villages, and the fifth village is solely human.”
“Who are the four survivors?”
“Xavier, Saul, Calista, and Barnaby.”
“Barnaby,” Ashby groaned. “I hate that self pretentious ass.”
“As do we all,” Gideon agreed. “And though I wish it had, a hundred years hasn’t changed him much. He is somewhat more humbled by his circumstances, but you wouldn’t really know it to talk to him. He does well with his village though, and I haven’t heard anything bad about him although I’ve tried to stay away from him as much as possible.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Braith muttered as he downed the remains of his whiskey. William stood silently by, frowning as he tried to follow the conversation. “Barnaby was a jerk, he’s always been a jerk, and I doubt there’s much that could change him. He didn’t even choose a side to fight for, but stood idly on the sidelines to see who would win the war before he chose. My father was not oblivious to this fact and evicted him from the palace as soon as the war was over. I don’t see him being much help now Gideon.”
“He has followers that are not as cowardly as he is, and you know as well as I that this is not the life of luxury that Barnaby covets. We are not without here, but it is far less than he once had. He won’t stand on the sidelines this time Braith.”
Braith wasn’t so certain, he wasn’t even certain he wanted Barnaby involved at all. He would take Saul, Calista, and Xavier though. Saul and Calista had fought with Gideon, had chosen the losing side, and had just barely managed to escape when the war had taken a turn. Xavier had stood by the king’s side, had been rewarded when the war was over and given the opportunity to remain in the palace. He had, however, disagreed with the king’s policies toward humans and fellow vampire’s. Fearing for his life, he’d fled within a year of the king’s new rule. Xavier had always been an honorable man and Braith admired the fact that he had stood up to the king, even after he’d been rewarded. Xavier was also the only history keeper left as far as Braith knew, and that could come in very handy for them.
“Can we do this without Barnaby?” Ashby asked.
“I think we need as much help as possible,” Gideon remarked. “But it’s up to Braith.”
“We’ll take him, for now. But we’ll keep a close eye on him, I trust him about as much as I trust those things that came in here tonight.”
“That can be done. I’ve already sent word that I would like to meet with the other leaders. I think the human leader, Frank, is a good, upstanding man. I’m not sure what his response will be though. Their greatest concerns now are the creature’s out there.”
“Those creatures must be handled,” Braith muttered. He agreed with most of what Gideon had done here, and understood his aversion to handing out the death sentence, but those things were not rational, thinking beings anymore.
“There is something else we must discuss Braith.” Ashby and Gideon exchanged a look that caused Braith to stiffen. Whatever Gideon was about to say, he wasn’t going to like it. “It’s about the girl.”