Burning Captivation

  Burning

  Captivation

  An Elemental Witch Trials Novel

  Book Two

  Lucretia Stanhope

  Burning Captivation: An Elemental Witch Trials Novel Book Two

  Copyright © 2017 by Lucretia Stanhope

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2017

  ISBN 978-1541046368

  Acknowledgements

  As with all magical creatures, (well maybe not all, but many, a lot, more than a few, probably enough to make it a norm) I have a wonderful power of three that keeps me strong. My editors, beta readers and those who make it possible for me to put one word behind the other, commas in the right places, if there is such a beast as a properly placed comma (this is a bigger issue than you might imagine) and to have the faith in myself needed to create from the soul. They also add infinite joy to my life, and chocolate, they give chocolate. So, in alphabetical order, because, seriously, as much as I love these three people, they would wonder why their names were in any other order. That’s why we can’t just do nice things. Andrew, Jamie, and Toneye, thank you from the bottom of my sparkly soul. (Yes, this is the same as in part one. When you have a power of three like mine you don’t change it.)

  Chapter One

  “T he pleasure is mine, Master Dmitry.” Gwen kept her eyes down as custom dictated. She focused on the tips of her shoes while she fought the urge to look at the monster.

  “Is the council sending me a snack as some sort of bribe?” Dmitry ignored Gwen’s address and looked at Nikolay, who stood beside her.

  “She is the new envoy,” Nikolay said.

  “Envoy? A human?” Dmitry’s tone carried disbelief.

  She could feel him circling her, feel the cold death he radiated, and smell the damp mustiness of wet earth that trailed him and filled the meeting room.

  “They decided an ambassador was still unwise, all things considered. This is simply a formal introduction,” Nikolay said.

  Gwen noticed his voice sounded nervous in the presence of Dmitry, she understood why. Her eyes drifted to the carpet with its intricate swirls. It made her wonder how all the pieces actually fit together.

  Don’t alter human and vampire relations, the instruction played again in her head. Since the witches did not bother to fill her in on any specifics of that relationship, she took her cues from Nikolay, the vampire ambassador living at council who they partnered her with.

  Dmitry snorted. “Unwise indeed. Perhaps humans can be taught after all.”

  “Perhaps. Unless there is business you need me to take back to the council, we will not disturb your night further, Master.”

  “Envoy? To what end? I need no help to navigate this simple realm. Certainly not from a girl witch. Isn't that what you are for?” he asked, and started to circle Gwen again. He ran his fingers across her hair, gathered a lock, and twisted it between his fingers.

  She shivered at his touch, but managed to keep it internal. She knew how vital it was to not appear weak to these predators. She wanted to address him again, but Nikolay stressed to her the importance that with the master she didn't speak unless asked a direct question. Since even Nikolay offered that respect to Dmitry, she took it serious as well.

  Dmitry sniffed her, paused and sniffed her again a few times. “You are bonded with one of us?” He tilted her head up to look at her eyes.

  She caught a brief glimpse of his solid black eyes, before they flashed green and she looked away. “Yes, Master Dmitry, I have a magical bond with one of your kind.” Her voice still sounded sure, due to the bond and the extra support she received from Sebastian.

  “Magical?” He leaned close, and breathed in again.

  She watched him puzzle over what he smelled. When he looked at the shawl and wrinkled his nose, his lips pulled back to show fangs; she looked away.

  “A mutt. Bonded with a mutt. I'm not sure if I should be amused or insulted at this choice.” He spoke in a tone that reflected the face he made.

  “I'm certain they meant no disrespect, Master. If she displeases you, I will inform the council of their error.” Nikolay stepped back from the two of them.

  Gwen remained silent; she wondered if him upset would end the whole charade and allow her to return home. She did not want this appointment, not even as a cover, as it were. She heard a sucking sound as he ran his tongue along his teeth. Since she knew his fanged sneer would unravel the false bravado she barely held on to, she kept her eyes averted. Looking toward the ground again she saw him rub his long fingers together, the pale gray skin, and thick, yellowed nails startled her.

  Her eyes darted away from his fingers. The room looked like any other meeting room she ever visited. The large wooden table with several chairs and various stacks of papers took up the center of the floor, and even though it was sparsely decorated, each item fit perfectly together to complete the formal, yet decadent business appearance.

  “Leave us,” Dmitry said to Nikolay.

  “Master?” Nikolay said, his voice rang as both unsure and hurt.

  “I said leave us. I will not be questioned or repeat myself again.”

  Gwen heard Nikolay's footsteps as he walked out and the noise of the door when it closed behind him.

  Her heartrate picked up. Alone with the monster.

  “Look at me,” Dmitry said as a demand not a request.

  She slowly looked up. The risks of getting caught in his gaze only slightly under weighed the risk of annoying him. She knew most vampires could entrance a human with a mere glance and could only imagine what a master vampire could do.

  Sebastian reacted to it badly when she told him where the council wanted to assign her, and indicated that a master vampire, or any royal vampires near her could spell trouble. His warnings filled her mind and she pushed them aside.

  For a second Dmitry’s appearance terrified her while his form wavered, his whole body appeared gray with thick and hard skin. Wings with dark, pulsing gray veins in them stretched behind him. The long and pointed chin of his face made the fanged mouth seem mammoth.

  In a flash it all changed and he looked harmless, good-looking even, just a tall sleek man, no different to any other man. His long black hair and piercing green eyes complemented his sharp features and white smile. The image flickered as she looked at him, the monster hiding under the pretty face wavered in and out while his shift took hold.

  Dmitry watched her reaction to his wavering form.

  She guessed from his confused look that humans didn’t usually see, or react to the monster hidden under his glamour.

  He narrowed his eyes and then entranced her with an effortless glance.

  She stood frozen, held captive in his eyes as he reached out and touched her face.

  The confusion on his face grew when she didn't mentally recoil. He smiled as if he found it all amusing and curious. His hand reached around her and with two fingers he lifted the shawl off her shoulders.

  She struggled to keep her fears under control when he flicked his fingers, and it dropped to the floor.

  He gave her another curious smile.

  She assumed he found her courage new; she found it miraculous. His intense green eyes held her frozen or she would have returned the smile as bravely as possible. If this meeting happened before she lost her whole family, before she tracked down her murderous uncle, before she escaped being burned at the stake, and before Lewis, her familiar, abandoned her, she would have cowered at his feet. She wasn't that scared wit
ch anymore. She was an elemental witch, a survivor, in charge of her own fate.

  As she reached out with her magic, he cocked his head, the edges of his lips twitched while he held back a smile.

  She assumed he felt it and pushed a little more.

  This time he smiled.

  “This is going to hurt,” he said, and his gaze intensified.

  Coldness came at her in painful flashes as she felt him enter her mind in cold threads. While he searched her memories and looked for what he needed to know, she continued to feel nauseating pain.

  Quickly she pushed any connection to Sebastian away, she didn't want Dmitry to access him via her. The cold threads tightened into a solid cold pain.

  No matter what she tried to pull up to help her, nothing happened. The longer and deeper he probed, the harder she found it to even form a coherent thought. All she saw was gray, all she felt was cold pain, and the scent of decay became overpowering.

  The pain left and she felt the threads unwind. Her head felt like it did after drinking a milkshake too quickly. The gray started to retreat. The scent of decay remained.

  Dmitry used a white handkerchief that he pulled from his suitcoat to wipe under her nose.

  She watched, still unable to move as he took the bloody cloth and raised it to his nose.

  He turned from her and took a few steps toward the head of the table.

  As soon as he released her from the trance she reached up and rubbed her head. Did she dare retrieve the shawl? Would he consider that rude? Not ruder than his invading her mind so violently.

  “You may have a seat.” He gestured to the chairs and watched as she walked to the one closest to him, her head still down. He gave a half-smile in approval that she didn’t sit as far away as possible.

  She pulled out the chair and sat down.

  He remained stood. “You understand that a man in my position must know with certainty those who serve him are actually in his service. That puts you in awkward place.” He paused, his eyes studying her. “I appreciate your council needing spies in the halls, nonetheless to bury you in my ranks was unwise.” He paced a little, and stopped behind her. “Your unique power makes you a superior witch, and your connection with Sebastian has added to that power. I see your dedication to him and require no less. You will submit to me tonight, or you will not leave this room.”

  Fear started to take a grip of her. What did he mean submit? How could the council send her to him? They knew about vampires; they knew she could not defend herself against the master monster.

  She felt the chair slide out.

  He made no sounds of effort, the chair glided across the carpet as if she didn’t weigh anything. “Get up, look at me.”

  Gwen stood and looked at his face again, glad his human form held, since her shawl rested crumpled and useless on the floor. Did she dare try to call up magic before he entranced her? Could she win? Vampires moved faster than the eye, would a master move even quicker.

  He watched as she considered her options. “You realize you are mine regardless of how you decide the roles play out? Dinner or diplomat. Do you submit or die?”

  Did she say yes? What would that mean? She knew she couldn't ask him. Not now. She kept her eyes steady, slowed her breathing and allowed her heartbeat to smooth out. She would not die, not there, not like that. “Yes, Master Dmitry.” The words filled the air with a certainty that sounded foreign to her.

  “Before you are welcome to my circle of service, there will be a test of your devotion. Upon completion, you will be honored with my mark and protection. In the interim, you are a member of my tribe and will bear that mark. Sit down.” He watched as she sat and then he walked back to the head of the table, leaned on it with both hands, and rapped his fingers. “Things in this realm are as they should be. They are to be left as they are, unless I tell you otherwise. The other tribes will ask you to make changes no doubt. Changes will result in great loss of both human and vampire lives. No changes. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Master Dmitry.” She looked at the wood grain on the table as she tried to reason out what she agreed to. What did it mean to be a member of his tribe? She should have asked Nikolay a more questions before they left.

  “I do hope it will prove to be a worthy sacrifice, this missing witch, for your subjugation to the monsters you despise so. It is curious you love such a monster. Sebastian will need to make his own submission. Not today.” The smile on Dmitry's face said an unpleasant day awaited her and Sebastian.

  Gwen didn't see Sebastian submitting to anyone.

  He reached out and took her hand. “Look at me.”

  She looked up from his mouth to make direct eye contact again. “This too will hurt. Hurt is part of my kind, your kind, welcome to the tribe, Gwen.” His voice sounded anything but welcoming.

  She didn't have time to pull her hand back, not that she would have tried, when she felt his nail break her skin. She kept her eyes on his as she felt him drag his nail across her hand. After the initial cut, the pain dulled to a sting. Her eyes remained on his, in her peripheral vision she saw his finger raise to his mouth, his tongue flashed, licked the tip, and then she felt the wet finger on her hand. The sting intensified and she looked down to see a small scar on the back of her hand. It looked like the letter ‘c’ with a squiggly line through the center. She felt the sting of her skin breaking, and knew it should look much worse, but assumed his saliva healed it already.

  She looked away again. Her attention focused on the wood of the table as she tried to maintain her fear level and not think about what just happened. She didn't have much of a choice. Join his tribe or die, her magic wouldn't have stopped him. He would have seen it in her eyes and drained her dry before she even focused her intentions.

  He watched her a moment longer. “Come, I will return you to Nikolay and your mystery solving.”

  She looked up at him, and pushed aside the rules, worried he might blow her cover to Nikolay.

  He paused, turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “Forgiven, this once.” He pointed down. When she looked away he continued. “Fret not, we all have secrets that need keeping. Don't forget your blood token.”

  She reached down and gathered her shawl, but did not stop to put it on as she followed him out of the room and down a corridor.

  They entered a small room where Nikolay paced in front of a fireplace.

  “I trust you were fed well,” Dmitry said as they entered. “She can live, for now. Will you be parading her before the other two?”

  “It is customary, Master, at least until things are settled,” Nikolay said, and took a step back as if he expected a thrashing.

  “I suppose it is. Do report to me the reactions to our little muddled envoy,” he said to Nikolay, and then reached out to lift her chin. “Should I summon, you will come immediately,” he said to Gwen.

  “Yes, Master,” Gwen and Nikolay said in unison.

  With that Dmitry left them. When she felt him leave, she let out the breath she held, and pulled her shawl tight over her shoulders.

  Nikolay laughed at her sudden change from brave to relieved. “You are a skilled facade builder.”

  “Maybe it wasn't false bravado.” She ran her fingers over the fabric of the shawl as she thought about Sebastian. Her time with him, his lessons, and his guidance helped her grow so much. With his mentoring, she blossomed from a scared child into a powerful witch. A witch who just submitted to the master vampire. She sighed. That could complicate things.

  Nikolay nodded. “Are you up for another master tonight, or do you need time to regroup yourself?”

  “Are they all going to be deciding if I can live?” She tried to laugh it off, but her laugh sounded anything but amused.

  “Sweetheart, I am still deciding if you get to live.” He turned to look at her sharply. His tone, his eyes, and the chill in the air as they walked to the front door served to remind her that master or not, Nikolay was still a monster as well.

&nbsp
; Out of habit she looked away.

  “They will not be as, dominant, as Dmitry,” he answered as they stepped into the crisp night air.

  “Why is that?” She hadn't really found much of a chance to talk with Nikolay at the council manor. After they informed him of her new title, he spent his time behind closed doors with the head council members until just moments before they left to meet Dmitry.

  “The tribe they are masters of are not the ruling tribe.”

  “Isn't that being disputed?” She looked up to see his black eyes glare at her. “I mean isn't that what the unrest is about in your realm?”

  “It isn't a matter you would understand. They are masters of lesser tribes and will fall under general rule. Dmitry is the master.” His words sounded hard.

  “We may as well save it for another night. I have a lot to consider.” Her tone reflected that she wanted to go home. When she looked at him, she saw a soft smile and a kind face. It unnerved her how the human glamour they created didn't fool her anymore. “What does it mean for a human to be a member of a tribe?”

  He stopped walking and yanked her hand up into the moonlight so he could see the mark. His snarl made her step back. “You don't deserve this mark.”

  She felt his hate so thick it raced across her skin and her thoughts.

  “Stand your ground.” Sebastian whispered in her mind.

  She let her eyes trail up to his and fixed her lips in what she hoped looked like a challenge. “That is for him to decide. I only bear a tribe mark. Apparently, I will have to earn the other mark. You can tell me what it means or I will find out elsewhere.”

  Nikolay laughed. “It means you don't die tonight. Sister. Be warned it will offend even his own tribe, should he choose to mark you as his inner circle. While you will have his protection, you will find you need it.”

  “Do all tribe members have this mark?” she asked, rubbing the scar. It didn't hurt and looked like it had been there forever.

  “No, we are members of his tribe by birth. Marks are only needed for other species or slaves from other tribes. It will scent you, and the scar will end any doubt who you serve.” He lifted her hand to his nose and frowned. Now she smelled of an odd mix of Dmitry and Sebastian.