Blood of the Neko - 7. Chapter 7

Damien sank into the couch in his uncle's study wearily. Harrison was already pouring himself a glass of brandy. Damien took the minute of quiet to study his uncle. The man did appear so much older. The death of Mary had definitely taken a toll on him. The man had loved her so much, so much so that he'd been willing to stay childless to be faithful to her rather than take on a surrogate.

Damien couldn't blame him. He felt the same way about Kayden. He couldn't imagine being intimate with anyone else now that he had Kayden. His kitten was his life now.

But what if he wasn't Kayden's life?

The damn doubt snaked back into his thoughts unbidden. Damn it. And he'd been so successful so far at keeping those thoughts at bay. Damien made an odd choking sound that drew King Eudon's attention.

"You okay, my boy?" his graying uncle asked.

Damien cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Harrison sat down with them and they all shared looks of resignation. They had just spent the last two hours in with the Court discussing what to do about the mine situation. Damien had, of course, reminded them that there wouldn't be a situation if they had dealt with it a year ago like he'd said. After a sharp acknowledgement from the king, Damien had settled into the debate of possible solutions.

The determination at first was that an envoy was to travel to the mines to see exactly what the situation was, and then they would return with a full report. But Damien had argued that would just let Laos know they suspected something was up and he'd have time to react.

They needed to send someone with the authority to do something about the situation right then, even to take over the mines themselves if necessary.

"It makes sense that I should go," Harrison reiterated his argument.

"No," Damien said firmly. There was no way he was letting his younger brother walk into a potentially dangerous situation with his bride of less than a year currently expecting their first child, and the child that Damien would probably be naming as the heir to the throne. "I'll go."

"But you're the heir," Harrison argued, turning a pleading look for support on their uncle. "You're second in command--"

"All the more reason that I should deal with this," Damien cut in.

King Eudon looked between the brothers thoughtfully. It was obvious that Damien had made up his mind. "I agree. I think Damien should go."

"But--" Harrison started to protest, but he realized he had already lost. Sighing, he sat back in the chair, silently toasting his glass in the air towards Damien in mock salute. "Okay, you win."

"It's not a contest," Damien said. "If something happens to me, I need to know that you will be here for your child, for Penelope, for our country..." he trailed off.

"For Kayden?" Harrison added softly.

For a long minute, Damien just stared at his brother. "Yeah. Would you--?"

Harrison was already nodding. "Of course, I'd take him in. He's family. Of course, I can't imagine him coming back without you."

"Coming back from where?"

Harrison scoffed. "You really think he's going to let you leave him behind?"

Damien scowled. There was no way he'd risk taking his kitten with him. "He's not going with me."

Harrison glanced over at his uncle who just grinned back. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

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Damien ignored his brother most of the ride home. It seemed Harrison was determined to figure out what had put him in such a foul mood this morning, but Damien didn't want to think about that. So he focused on what needed to be done so he could be off the next day.

He had Brenner send one of his men around to the other lords, asking them to send one or two men to join him in a show of force should Laos put up any kind of fight--which Damien fully expected him to do. He hoped to have a small garrison of about thirty or so men to take with him by tomorrow at noon. Brenner said they had about ten men that they could take from the Whitmore estate, but he wouldn't want to take any more than that and leave the estate too vulnerable, and Damien had agreed.

As soon as they arrived, the servants and slaves could sense the determination in their master's manners and sharp orders. Lance Cessel gripped the reins of Gemini as Damien dismounted.

Harrison slid from his own horse.

"Go on home, Harrison," Damien ordered.

"No, there's work to be done to prepare," the younger lord argued. "If I'm not going with you, then I'm at least going to make sure you get off okay."

"Fine," Damien growled. He turned to the stable master. "Cessel, we'll need the horses ready to ride tomorrow at noon. We are heading to the mines and it will take a couple days to get there, so I'll need a groom or two to come along to help oversee the horses' care. We'll be taking a cart or two with provisions, be sure it gets stocked with what will be needed."

Lance nodded quickly. "Yes, my lord."

Damien turned, striding determinedly toward the house. As soon as he stepped inside, John and Ellis appeared, and Damien began barking orders to them as well. It wasn't long before the entire house knew what was going on, and there were many hushed whispers as to what would happen when the duke descended on the mines.

Empty rooms were quickly prepared with extra cots and bedding for the arrival of the extra men that evening. Garin could be heard barking orders as he prepared a mass of food to be sent along with them. While they would of course hunt, Garin wanted to make sure they had plenty of bread, meal, dried meat, and root vegetables that would last for their journey. Brenner was preparing his men and overseeing the packing of canvas and ropes that they would use for shelter, as well as ensuring everyone had bedrolls and packed as much of their essentials in their own saddlebags.

In the flurry of preparations, Damien felt blissfully numb to his other emotions. He had focus and purpose. He could--

He looked up from his desk to see his beautiful lover standing in the doorway. He'd obviously been waiting for a quiet moment to approach. Damien knew he must have heard that he was leaving tomorrow.

"Kitten," Damien breathed, drinking in the sight of the young man. He rose and Kayden flew across the room into his arms.

Damien wrapped his strong arms around the boy.

"I guess you heard, huh?" he asked, and Kayden nodded against his chest. "We are heading out tomorrow about noon. I have to see what's going on at the mines. And you and I both know already that it's not good."

"Yes," Kayden admitted.

"There will be a lot of strange men coming tonight and tomorrow morning. So you might want to keep to our rooms tonight," Damien said gently.

Kayden only nodded again.

"Sir," John interrupted from the open door.

Damien looked up to see Oliver Druet striding in past his manservant. He released Kayden in the surprise of seeing his friend so soon.

"Oliver! It's good to see you again so soon, but as you can see we are a bit busy around here. I suppose you heard about the mines."

"Yes, I did. Your man arrived with your request for able bodied men. So here I am."

For a second, Damien didn't understand what his friend was saying. But as the smile spread across Oliver's face, understanding dawned. "Oliver, you don't have to--"

"Have to? Who said anything about have to? I want to," Druet exclaimed. "I'm getting out of the manor for a while, finally. And it doesn't hurt to have another member of court along with you."

Damien smiled and nodded, gesturing for Oliver to sit. He leaned over Kayden, pulling him in close. "Kitten, why don't you go help John pack me a few clothes?"

Damien's heart thudded at the smile he received, and he leaned down and kissed Kayden.

"I'll get everything ready," Kayden promised. "I'll even pack boots!"

Damien laughed, not fully understanding the boy's comment but finding his eagerness to help pack Damien's clothes humorous, as he turned back to his friend.

"I brought five men with me," Oliver stated.

"I've had the staff preparing cots and bedding in all of our spare rooms for the night. There is not nearly space enough out in the Guard Barracks for so many. Walk with me. I want to check on how things are progressing."

As they stepped out into the foyer, his staff was rushing around with arms full of blankets and pillows. The kitchen was a mass of bodies moving efficiently through sorting and packing foods for the trip. Outside, there were so many men that Damien wondered where they had all come from. There had to be at least fifty men gathering around the guard barracks. Horses were corralled in the pasture for the evening.

He heard Geoff Brenner's voice booming over the gathered men. He issued rules and orders quickly and efficiently. Harrison was standing next to him, his face set with grim determination.

"Well, it looks like things are going very smoothly," Oliver commented.

Damien nodded his agreement. While he shouldn't be, he was pleasantly surprised by how well his staff and slaves rallied so quickly to prepare for the abrupt journey. Damien probably could have waited a day or so, but he knew the quicker he left, the less chance there was of Laos getting wind of their arrival.

As they watched the ease with which Brenner managed the crowd, Damien noticed that Oliver's gaze had drifted over to the side. He turned to see Joseph Nash cleaning swords and carefully laying them in a pile to be added to the cart. For any man who didn't have his own, they would provide them. Saladin was nearby, checking on guns and ammunition, but Damien knew that they would only be helpful in a first assault or from a distance. The guns took too long to reload, so if they actually had any resistance, it was likely to be an up-close and personal battle.

He set his hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Why don't you help prepare the weapons?" he suggested.

Oliver's eyes lit up, and Damien had to hide his smirk as his friend made his way over to Joseph and hesitantly asked if he could help. It was amusing to watch his friend being so uncertain, and Damien could easily tell that he liked the young guard. Damien watched Nash pat the seat next to him, grinning as the blond guard leaned in to Oliver to offer explanations as to what he was doing.

Yeah, Damien thought, this just might be the trip that Oliver needs. Of course, now he'd have to bring Nash along and make sure Brenner assigned another guard for Kayden.

He waved to Brenner and Harrison briefly as he made his way back into the house. He heard Brenner dismissing the men to the household servants who would lead them to a place to sleep for the night. Making his way back to his study, he poured over the data and maps that he had about the area again and again.

At one point, Oliver, Harrison, Brenner and Saladin were gathered over the maps, planning their approach and who would scout ahead. The passage through the mountains posed the worst threat as it was narrow and easily blocked if Laos had any inkling they were coming.

So, as it was, it was rather late before Damien made his way up to his bedroom. Later than he'd hoped, since he'd wanted to talk to Kayden before he had to leave. But it had been an exhaustingly long day, and Damien barely felt like he could stand much longer, much less argue with the boy. He just wanted to hold onto the facade of peace for a little longer. He made his way over to the bed to see Kayden's lean body curled against the mattress.

This morning's jealous stabbings seemed so distant right now as he stared down at the peacefully, innocent face buried in the pillow. Kayden had dutifully obeyed when Damien had sent him up to the room, obviously understanding that Damien didn't want him to be afraid of all the new men in the house for the night.

He brushed a stray strand of ebony hair back, sliding his hand down the boy's cheek. Kayden stirred slightly under his fingers, and Damien turned to strip quickly out of his clothes. He crawled in the bed behind the neko, wrapping his arm around the thin waist and pulling the boy's back into his chest. Kayden wriggled and snuggled closer. Damien pressed a kiss to his kitten's bare shoulder before letting his head drop to the pillow. The feel of his lover's skin against his soothed his raging emotions, and he was able to drift off to sleep.