Jabberwocky - 18. Dangerous Liasons

XVIII. Dangerous Liasons

Brandon tried again to remember the labyrinth of halls, each twist and turn they made, but he was too distracted to take much note of anything. The earlier conversation with Rajar had unsettled and confused him. The knife was heavy under Brandon's belt, where he had stored it once Rajar had returned it.

Why didn't he use it? Brandon wondered as he walked behind Rajar. Why didn't he just pull it out and shove it right there, in between Rajar's shoulder blades, or scrape it across his throat? They were in a mostly deserted corridor and he would have the element of surprise.

But deep in his heart, he knew the reason.

He couldn't attack Rajar while he was wearing Leia's body. Leia had always made Brandon feel safe, comfortable, and content; like he was with a good friend. They were dangerous emotions to have right now. But he couldn't ignore them, couldn't shake them off. Even though he knew logically that it was Rajar...cold, confusing and dangerously volatile...he couldn't work up rage or hate against Leia's face, against the familiar curl of her hair or the slender lines of her back and shoulders. He couldn't work up the desire to wrap his fingers around that pale, delicate neck, even though he knew apricot skin lie underneath. Knew he couldn't even raise a knife against her.

He didn't want to kill anyone.

Leia strode up to a door that wasn't anywhere close to the throne room and Brandon focused on his surroundings so Jordan would know where Keith's quarters were located. She knocked hard and a panel on the door slid open. A pair of hard eyes stared out at them before the panel slid back shut. The large door creaked open and Leia stepped inside, Brandon following. He repressed a shudder as the door slammed shut behind him. He was literally locked in a location with his rapist and Keith, who would probably rape him, too, if given the opportunity. He must have some kind of death wish.

He followed Leia down a hallway, unconsciously shifting his gait so that his footsteps were not so loud on the stone underneath his feet. Then a right turn and down another hallway to a door flanked by armed guards who snapped to attention as Leia approached, then dropped down onto a knee.

"Get up you fools! Can you not see I am accompanying a prisoner?" Leia's voice snarled in a tone Brandon had never heard. The guards quickly jumped back to their feet.

"Sorry, Majesty," they mumbled.

"Open the door. Lord Keith will want to see this one especially."

The guard to the left turned and pulled the door open. While the guard was saying something to someone inside the room, Leia moved quickly and Brandon, slowed by too much adrenaline leaking from his overtaxed mind, barely had time to flinch before there was a thin leather cord around his neck. Brandon's hands flew up to grasp it, but Leia's hands pulled it taut with a flick of her wrist. Brandon gagged a little as it tightened around his neck like a noose. Another flick of the wrist and Brandon was yanked up against Leia's soft body. "Calm, little one," Leia's voice soothed. "You are in a very dangerous situation. I suggest you act accordingly and abandon pointless struggles." Leia's hand stole along Brandon's lower back, plucking the knife from his belt with nimble fingers. Brandon almost missed the action, but recognized the sudden change in weight and stiffened. He had time to do little else, however, as the door opened and Leia pulled him through.

Keith was seated in a large wooden chair, too throne like for Brandon's taste, talking to an older, plain looking woman and glancing at a large book she was holding open for him.

As Leia entered the room, pulling Brandon in as well, Keith glanced up. He didn't appear at all surprised, simply raised an eyebrow and said something to the girl before waving her away. She slammed the book shut and circled the room, quietly shooing away servants, palace guards and a few individuals Brandon vaguely recognized from the council.

In a few seconds, the room was empty. Brandon counted four doors and no windows. Too many entrances for his private quarters, Brandon thought. Maybe a meeting or gathering room. He was trying desperately to ignore the panicked shrieking inside his body. He was in trouble now and he knew it. He was having trouble thinking.

"So what have we here?" Keith asked, an amused smile on his lips.

"A gift for you, my Lord," Leia said. "Found him skulking around the palace walls."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Not for long, I'd wager," Keith said. "Release him; there is no need for restraint. You'll behave, won't you?"

"Fuck you," Brandon spat. Leia released the cord as instructed and sauntered over to where Keith was sitting, changing forms as he went. He stopped next to Keith, making a show of stretching, placing his hands on his hips as he arched back, several of his vertebrae cracking and popping. He wrapped his tail around Keith's upper arm and leaned against his shoulder in a show of affection. Keith gave his tail a stroke and Rajar released a low growl of contentment.

Brandon felt his face burn. He was an idiot. A fool. Rajar had played him and he fell for it. Strangely enough, he felt numb. Dead. Like none of it even mattered anymore.

"Where is Jordan, Brandon?" Keith asked, propping his chin up on his other hand. "I know he has to be here if you are. Bond strain would kill you."

"Not necessarily," Brandon said.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "So you've upped the bond. How interesting. Tell me, Brandon, who did that for you? Give me their name and where they live. Was it here in Driamor? One of the savages in Odwayon?"

Brandon shook his head. He wasn't going to betray Naani.

"So stubborn," Keith said, smirking. "You always have been. But that is fine with me. It'll be so entertaining, Brandon, finding a way to make you talk. Don't you think so, Rajar?"

"You want to know what I think?" Rajar's voice was a lazy drawl, but his movements were as quick as ever as he brought the knife he stole from Brandon out from behind his back and slid it with ease into the soft flesh of Keith's stomach. Keith gasped, a rush of air from his lungs, and he looked down in disbelief. Brandon watched, frozen and horrified as Rajar bent down to speak into Keith's ear, gripping him by the hair. "I think the people of this planet are tired of being treated like your pawns. I think I would like the mother of my child back. I think I don't want to have to hurt anyone anymore." Rajar moved so he was standing in front of Keith and yanked the knife up, through the muscles of Keith's abdomen and cleaving halfway through his sternum. Keith's body came up out of the chair with the force of it and Sumna was true to her word...the knife didn't break.

Rajar planted his foot against Keith's chair and tugged the knife free. Keith's body slid limply from the chair and tumbled to the ground. Brandon felt nausea build up in his stomach and tore his eyes away from Keith's corpse to look at Rajar.

"Sorry," Rajar said. "I had to make him believe I was bringing you in as a prisoner. Keith doesn't do confrontations. You never would have gotten close to him. But he trusted me." Rajar looked down at the knife in his bloody hands. "I guess that makes me a traitor."

"Again, you could have told me that." Brandon finally managed. He couldn't keep his eyes from straying back to the body. The nausea in him jumped up another notch.

"You wear your emotions all over your face," Rajar said. "Keith would have seen through you in a second. You're no good at deception." Rajar looked down at Keith. "We need to go now. The witch will be here soon."

"The witch?"

"Eliza-"

The door behind Keith's chair swung open and Elizabeth burst in, her long blond hair in disarray and her icy eyes burning with furious anger. She surveyed the room, and her eyes locked onto Brandon. "You stupid fuck!" she screamed. "Look at what you've done!"

Brandon, shaking his head numbly, took a step back, thinking to make a run for it. But he had only managed a few clumsy, stumbling steps before his foot got tangled in the cord still wrapped around his neck and he went down, his knee and the side of his face stinging as they made contact with the hard floor.

He struggled to get to his feet but it was too late, Elizabeth was already bearing down on him, a short, evil looking knife in her hand. He scrambled back frantically and Rajar moved to intercept her. Rajar, careless, or perhaps underestimating a female, didn't grab her armed hand, instead capturing her other wrist, and it was a simple thing for her to turn and use her remaining momentum to slide the knife deep into Rajar's gut.

The knife in Rajar's hand --why didn't he use it?--Brandon thought frantically--clattered on the ground and Brandon was on his feet and had it in his hand before he was even aware of moving.

He saw Elizabeth as she stood, pulling her knife free from Rajar's body, and moved forward to meet her. He didn't make the same mistake Rajar did, he saw her hand gripping the knife, right handed, just like he was, and grabbed her wrist, pulling the knife out and away while bringing Rajar's knife forward with his other hand, pressing the point against her stomach. Elizabeth froze, her eyes wide, staring down at the knife, a breath from penetrating her. "Drop it," Brandon commanded. She blinked at him and Brandon increased the pressure of the knife, feeling the slight yield of skin against it. Her knife fell to the floor. "Now get the hell away from us before I gut you like a fish."

There was an explosion of activity and noise. One of the doors flew open, revealing the sounds of a fight outside, and Jassa kicked her way into the room, looking around until her gaze settled on Elizabeth. There was some screaming and more fighting and a flurry of movement and then Elizabeth was wrenching away from him, running from the room with Jassa in pursuit. Since Elizabeth's attention had been diverted, he approached Rajar and pulled off his shirt, pressing it against the wound. Rajar's skin was already unnaturally pale and his lips were shiny with blood. "Oh, God. Oh, God," Brandon whimpered, pressing hard. He used his other hand to feel along Rajar's neck. The pulse was barely there, fluttery and uneven.

One of Rajar's hands came up to grip his wrist. His hand was cold and Brandon felt goosebumps crawl along his neck, but there was no fear. Not anymore.

"Ezekial," Rajar said.

"Don't worry," Brandon soothed. "I'll make sure he is safe. I promise."

"Leia." Rajar's long fingers spasmed around Brandon's wrist. "I miss her."

"I do, too," Brandon said. Rajar's gaze searched his, but he said nothing else. A few seconds went by, that felt like eternity, before Rajar stopped breathing and his eyes glazed over.

"Brandon." A light hand fell on his shoulder and Brandon glanced up at Jordan who was giving him an odd look. Brandon thought he should figure out why, but he couldn't focus. "Let go, okay?"

"Elizabeth. She stabbed him."

"I know. Let's go. Nothing more you can do for him." Jordan gently pulled Brandon's hands away. Brandon looked down at his hands, blood on his fingers and palms, and watched as Jordan gently leaned over and pushed Rajar's eyes shut with his fingertips.

"We need to go, Brandon," Jordan said softly. "There will be people here soon. Guards."

Brandon stood up when Jordan pulled on his wrists, sparing one more glance at the two bodies lying cold on the floor before leaving the room.

There were guards lying unconscious in the hallway. "What happened?" Brandon asked as Jordan knelt and stripped one of the guards of his helmet and jacket, tossing them to Brandon.

"Well, we woke up at the house, made sure Naani was alright and hightailed it to the castle. Sumna had secured an entrance near the guest quarters, and as soon as we snuck past the guards and got inside, she led us to the room where you were being kept with Keith. I had a pretty good idea of what was happening through the bond and told Jassa and Sumna where Keith could be found. Sumna and I attacked the guards and Jassa broke down the door. I think Sumna and Jassa chased Elizabeth as she fled. They were saying something about political prisoners, so I guess maybe Elizabeth was going to try to kill them before she kicks the bucket, too. "

Brandon pulled the helmet and jacket on and Jordan took the leather cord from around Brandon's neck and slid it around his own before pressing the other end into Brandon's hand.

"Makes more sense than two guards running around and everyone who sees me already knows I'm a wanted man," Jordan said. Brandon stared at the end of the cord, thought of the anguished but not at all unexpected betrayal he had felt when Rajar had tightened it around his own neck. But he had been wrong, again, had been wrong....

"We need to get back to the Queen's quarters," Jordan told him softly, pulling his attention back to the present.

"I-I don't remember," Brandon stammered out. He had trouble thinking and wanted to just go back into the room they just left and reverse time and keep Elizabeth from hurting anyone...

"Brandon." Jordan said his name and turned Brandon's face to look at him. "I know what happened. And I'm so sorry. But we can't do anything for him. Okay?"

"I know," Brandon whispered. An unbidden tear slipped down his cheek, wetted Jordan's fingers.

"We need to focus," Jordan said. "Ezekial, remember?"

Rajar's warning and his own promise rolled back through his head. Rajar had told him to stay away from Ezekial, but Brandon had promised to keep him safe. Brandon nodded and wiped the tear from his face furiously.

Jordan's focus was better than Brandon's at the moment, so he filed through Brandon's memories and told him when and where to turn, following him docilely. Brandon was nervous about running across another guard--especially since they were heading in the exact opposite direction of where the guards kept the prisoners, but news about what had happened must have already began to spread, pulling people out into the hallways and rooms, confusion reigning. He saw several guards trying to get anxious guests--people who looked rich and important--back into their rooms and suites, reassuring them that nothing was amiss.

You and Jassa didn't make a quiet entrance, did you? Brandon asked. He had been too distracted by what was going on around him to have paid much attention to how Jordan had gotten inside.

Not really, Jordan admitted. Jassa rushed the guards and knocked most of them unconscious to force her way into the castle. I'm amazed we made it as far as we did. And Sumna is dead if I run across her again.

No more of that, Brandon sent back, slowing as they approached the Queen's door again. Brandon pulled the door open and they both slid inside. Jordan instantly turned and wrapped his arms around Brandon in a hug. "I love you," he said fiercely. Brandon hugged him back. "I was so worried about you," Jordan added. He released Brandon and looked around. "Where do you think?" he asked.

Brandon looked around. The room was empty and Brandon had been too focused on the creature inside of it to give the surroundings more than a passing glance. A bed was set against a recessed part of the room...not the same room their last encounter had been. Stone floor, dim lighting from torches and candles.

There were several doors, but Brandon found himself walking toward the one against the back wall, past the bed and the hallways branching off to other parts of the room. He reached out and pulled on the door ring. It slid open silently, leading to a dark corridor. Jordan came up behind him.

What is it? Jordan asked. Brandon held a finger up.

Listen, Brandon said. Jordan listened. He heard the faint sound of whimpering...like a baby trying to cry. Brandon took a couple delicate steps forward, his eyes straining in the darkness. He saw a slight irregularity in the stone of the hallway and approached it. There was a small alcove carved into the hallway and a young woman was crouching in there, protectively cradling a bundle in her arms. Her eyes shone at him in the darkness, dark against her apricot skin. She slowly transformed in front of his eyes, fluidly, melting from one image to another like she wasn't sure which one to settle on.

"Stop," Brandon said. "We're not going to hurt you," he added, almost able to feel the anxiety radiating off of her. "What is your name?"

She looked at him, but didn't respond.

Brandon nodded to the bundle in her arms. "Is that Ezekial?"

"What do you care of Ezekial?" she snapped back.

"Rajar is dead. As is Keith, and soon, the witch. Is he going to be safe?"

The girl's face drained of color leaving her looking yellow and sick. "Rajar?" she said, her voice, breaking. "Are you sure?"

Brandon nodded. The girl's face crumbled and she dissolved into a series of low moaning sobs, cradling the bundle carefully against her chest.

Brandon looked helplessly at Jordan. What do I do?

Jordan gave him the mental equivalent of a shrug. Hell if I know.

Brandon gave him an exasperated look and turned back to the girl. "Are you going to be safe with him gone?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know. I'm scared."

"That's okay. That's okay. I'm scared, too." It was a lie, a small one. "Is... is there someplace you can go? Someplace safe?"

The girl sniffed. "Back home. If I can find it." The bundle she was holding let out a broken sob and the girl quickly shushed it, cooing at it quietly. She glanced up again. "Are you Brandon?" she asked.

Brandon nodded, ignoring Jordan's quiet alarm. "I am."

"I am Sheah. I--Rajar was part of my family." She bit her lip. "He told me that if I ever came across you to send you to him. And-and that I should help you if he was unable to."

"You can help us by getting all of us--me, the man behind me, yourself and Ezekial, out of the castle and to a safe place. Can you do that?"

Sheah nodded slowly, then straightened. "Are you sure he is dead?" she asked.

Brandon nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"Who killed him?"

"Elizabeth."

"The witch," Sheah said and spit. "He hated her." She looked at him one more time, and the hope he saw in her eyes broke him again. "You are sure?"

"I saw her stab him myself," Brandon said. "I-I tried to help him, but...he was dead from the moment her blade entered him. She didn't miss."

That blade was meant for me.

Don't go there, baby, Jordan said.

Sheah forced a smile that obviously didn't want to come, but straightened resolutely. "I hid when I heard the guards running, but I need to get some things for the baby if we are leaving."

"We'll come with you," Brandon said. The girl eased out of the alcove and ducked back into the main room that Rajar had been in, then crossed through several more doors. She entered a nursery with a crib and a small cot set up along with several tables full of baby supplies--cloths for diapers, small flasks with leather nipples that he assumed were for feeding and assorted toys and blankets.

Sheah turned and held out the bundle. "Hold him for a moment," she said.

Brandon took the bundle carefully, remembering to support the head and looked down. The baby looked sleepy, his eyes half open and his mouth opening and pursing, like he was hungry. If not for the apricot skin and the fine, downy white hairs all over the face, giving it a slightly peach-like appearance, it looked similar to any other baby, except---too big. Way too big. By his best estimation, Ezekial was about a month old, maybe two if he really wanted to stretch it, but this baby looked...well, older. Bigger.

"Hey Ezekial," he said. The eyes looking up at him were Leia's pretty gray instead of Rajar's green fire. He looked quite similar to the Queen in his face and it squeezed at Brandon's heart.

Sheah returned with a bag over her shoulder and held out her arms.

"Can I-" Brandon started to ask and Sheah shook her head even as she morphed into Leia's figure.

"This will look more normal," she said. "Rajar had me do this often when he was otherwise occupied. Nobody in the palace wanted to admit the Queen was dead, although many suspected it." She led them to another door and nudged it open, looking out into the hallway. "Come on," she said, slipping outside.

Brandon glanced at Jordan. Jordan shrugged. Let's go baby.

Brandon made sure he kept pace with Shea, who carried herself with a kind of regalia that Leia never achieved, Jordan on her other side, closer to the wall, with his face turned. They encountered only one obstacle, a guard who balked at seeing the Queen wandering around with what he considered inadequate protection. Brandon successfully deterred him by barking about how inadequate security had let the palace be breached by outsiders was more of a threat to the Queen's safety than fleeing to safety with armed guards. The other guard grudgingly backed down and let them be, and the last anyone ever saw of the current Queen of Charion was her figure, surrounded by two men and a baby in her arms, slipping out a door in the back.

* * *

The chaos inside resulted in a lack of organization elsewhere in the castle, including a noticeable reduction of outside guards, which relieved Brandon. He didn't want another run in with Bruen, with Jordan offering a silent agreement. They were able, with a lot of breath holding and proper timing, to sneak past the outside guards until they were in the gardens, then beyond those onto the palace streets.

Jordan took a small detour to pick up their things. Thinking ahead, he had gone ahead and picked up Brandon's knapsack and stuffed it with anything they thought they would need...which wasn't much. Sheah had shed Leia's appearance the minute they were away from castle walls, although she was determined to keep hold of Ezekial.

After several hours of wandering in the dark, shadowy streets, they found themselves more amongst fields and trees than houses or streets, with Sheah slowing, and eventually in the outskirts of a forest that appeared suicidal to try to transverse in the dark. She silently picked her way through the undergrowth, curled up near the roots of a tree and fell asleep.

Brandon knelt down next to them and laid his cloak over Sheah, making sure not to cover Ezekial's face, who was cradled in her arms. He stayed crouched down for a few more minutes, watching him, before standing up and returning to Jordan, who was spreading his cloak out on the ground. Brandon laid down on it, confused when Jordan walked off a little ways and sat down.

Baby? he queried, anxiety clouding his chest. Was Jordan angry? He hadn't felt any anger.

Get some rest, Jordan reassured him. I'm not tired, so I'm going to sit here for a while, keep an eye on things and listen to make sure no one managed to follow us. No one is going to be happy to find out that the Queen and her heir are missing.

Brandon could see the reasoning in that, so he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Leia, Rajar and Ezekial dominated his thoughts. After a few minutes, he got back up, approached Jordan and lay back down again, cloak wrapped around his body, his head in his boyfriend's lap. He could feel Jordan's amusement, but felt the deep contentment thrumming underneath as a warm hand came up to comb through his hair. It didn't stop the thoughts racing and crashing through his head, but it calmed him and soothed him until he could mute them out and focus on the darkness waiting behind his eyelids.