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2024-10-29 19:42:56“My clan will not ally themselves with a parasite-laden pack of humans!” Tor Maphin, one of the assembled Haunt lords, shouted, rising from his seat.
Tilus, who was seated next to him, pulled him firmly back down, but his words were no more encouraging. “There has been peace between us for the past fifty years because of our segregation. The Haunt are strong enough to hold our own lands. If you are not, return to Earth.”
The Ronin beside Jackson, Armatris, growled. Jackson quelled him with a look.
Keilor, who, like Jayems, had said very little until now, said mildly, “Even Haunt band together against a common enemy, or to trade, Tilus.”
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The Charmer 72
What fun!Jasmine shouted with delight as the cycle took the curve of the practice field with dizzying speed. “This thing rocks!” she yelled, relishing the wind tugging at her ponytail. “Rihlia would kill to ride this baby,” she gloated.“Can’t,” Leo shouted back over her shoulder. “It won’t take Haunt.” She slowed to a more sedate pace, conserving the symbiont cycle’s living strength, allowing it to ‘breathe’. Unfortunately, the slower pace brought the glowering male faces of their small audience into focus. Leo dared only two more passes before she slowed the creature down to park directly in front of Keilor.Knowing
The Charmer 73
By the time he’d removed his pants and dragged them over her quivering thighs, she was in a sweat, and fighting not to twist on the fur, knowing its silky caress on her naked skin would be her undoing.He tossed the pants. Dropping to his knees, he crawled over her, straddling her body, but touching very little of it. Then he parted her thighs with one knee and slowly slid down the length of her.She clenched her teeth at the sensual assault, but a long, tortured hiss escaped anyway. “Patience is not always a virtue,” she rasped, and lunged up, trying to capture his lips. The restraints stopped her a hair’s breadth from his mouth.Cool dark hair caressed her as he teased
The Charmer 74
Jasmine commandeered a bench at the side of the training area where Keilor was instructing a group of soldiers in the art of the sword. She’d never watched him at work, and it was a novel experience to see him through the eyes of his students.They worshiped him. He asked the impossible, and they delivered because he asked. He was curt, but never cruel. He didn’t accept excuses, merely worked patiently with a student until that student understood what he wanted of him, demonstrating where necessary. The beauty of it was, his demonstrations were always matter-of-fact and instructional, never an outlet to showcase his own skill.And he was skilled. Every fluid movement and graceful gesture spoke of strength and stamina, both in battle, and...
The Charmer 75
Keilor did not like taking her here, to the interrogation room on the prison level. It went against his every instinct to expose her to this white-walled dungeon, even if, with the exception of Knightin, she’d never see the prisoners.Knightin was already manacled to a chair when they entered the bare room, and before he could register his danger, Jasmine did as she’d been instructed, saying quickly, “Don’t turn to Haunt.”Knightin blinked at her.Flanked by Jayems and her husband, Jasmine sat down in the chair across the table from Knightin and studied him for a moment. His long red h
The Charmer 76
Rhapsody directed her to sit in one of the wing chairs while she prepared the tea, and Jasmine twiddled her thumbs and eyed her colorless environment, trying not to shiver. Oh, what she’d give for a bucket of paint and a few brightly woven Indian blankets. Naughty thoughts of redecoration schemes involving stuffed moose heads, loud slip covers and a few busts of Elvis kept her occupied until Rhapsody returned with the tea tray bearing unadorned white china. Come to think of it, she was wearing white today as well.I bet I can guess your favorite color, Jasmine thought, biting her tongue so she wouldn’t say it. She might have grown up a hooligan, but she still had a healthy respect for her elders. “Thank you,” she said instead, accepting the scalding cup of tea and setting it on her saucer to cool. “So wh
The Charmer 77
Jasmine looked up at the sound of Keilor’s stern, concerned voice. His lips tightened at the sight of her pale, blood-smeared face and contracted pupils. He’d already heard Raziel’s report and sent him off with a sample of the tea, but he needed more details. “What happened?” he asked again, more gently.Jasmine looked up, saw Rihlia’s stricken face, and her throat closed over the words. How could she tell her best friend that her mother had tried to kill her, twice? Instead, she closed her eyes and bent her head, trying to will her ears shut. The sound of Portae’s shrill voice faded as somebody dragged her off. Silence roared in the white room.“Talk to me, Jasmine,” Keilor said again, a hint of fear for her in his
The Charmer 78
Keilor crossed his arms and waited. He was not the only one tired of murder attempts centering on his wife. A thought struck with sudden force. “Does Rhapsody have anything to do with Yesande, Jayems?” He shook his head, answering his own question. “Of course not. She would not approve a strike against her own daughter, or would she?” he asked, leveling a questioning look at his cousin.“Who can say now? ‘The dead are notoriously tight lipped’,” Jayems said, quoting a grisly proverb. “A search of her rooms revealed nothing, not that I thought it would, considering how our luck has been running.”He put his fists on his desk and leaned forward, allowing his loose hair to fall forward, concealing his face. &ldqu
The Charmer 79
“Enough! Jasmine, stop making trouble; Mathin, behave,” Jayems ordered. “You don’t have to worry about any of us making use of the information, Jackson. Yesande is the only one who would desire an army of lust crazed fools.”Mathin glowered at him and slid his gaze back to Leo.Unnerved, her eyes flickered away and settled with determination on her brother. “Do you have a better way to end this, brother? Who will it be next time, your wife, our little sister?”“Uh, Leo,” Jasmine interrupted. “Just so you know, you’re letting yourself in for a pack of trouble with this charmer thing. I do hope you can turn it off as easily as you t
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The Charmer 87
Keilor entered the rooms he shared with Jasmine, careful to do so silently. If she were sleeping he didn’t want to wake her. She didn’t need to see him as he cleansed away the blood of battle. It would only upset her.He eased the door quietly shut and paused a moment, listening. Her respiration remained steady and deep, unmistakably that of deep slumber. Satisfaction brought a smile to his face. It pleased him greatly that she would trust him so well.She’d left a light on for him. It was a sweet gesture, and wholly human, for no Haunt would ever stumble in the shadows. Still, the thoughtfulness warmed him. He had a very good wife.It was just as he was finishing his bath that
The Charmer 86
Wounded, she answered, “I said I would, didn’t I?”“Yes.” He kissed her lightly. He lingered, teasing her lips. “You did,” he murmured, distracted.She pulled away, a bit breathless, and demanded, “What about Yesande?”“We will take care of Yesande when she comes,” he reassured her, meaning his warriors and himself, but avoiding an argument by letting her think she would be included. When she still looked troubled, he led her to the couch, sitting down and arranging her on his lap. “I assure you I won’t be taken unawares twice. You’ll be as safe as the Master of the Hunt and a citadel full of soldiers can make yo
The Charmer 85
Jasmine winced. Close friendships had their drawbacks.“You don’t take those kind of risks with a baby, Jas, ever.”“I wasn’t thinking of it like that; not then. It was only yesterday that I finally realized that I wasn’t just pregnant, I was carrying a baby.”Rihlia stared at her. “I just know I’m going to be fascinated by this explanation.”Jasmine leaned forward. “The day before last I had a condition. Yesterday it finally dawned on me that my condition was a baby.”Rihlia b
The Charmer 84
Not a bit reassured, Jasmine peered at the huge creature that watched her with smirking and far too-intelligent amusement. “Uh, what happened to Raziel and Isfael, and the rest of the bodyguard?” she croaked through a dry throat. “They were doing a pretty good job, I thought.”His eyes cooled. “Terza has offered to take their place. They will no longer be needed.”Terza yawned, exposing a mouthful of fangs, and licked her chops. She closed her jaws shut with a snap and a small snarl. Her intelligent eyes mocked her new charge’s fear.Jasmine swallowed. They understood each other.
The Charmer 83
Jasmine’s eyes got big at that pronouncement. “In that case...”“Done!” Leo answered, and indeed they were swooping back to the roof of the citadel and a pale bunch of men and Haunt.Keilor was one of them.For long seconds he said nothing, simply looked her over, seeking injuries. Finding none, he took her arm in a firm grasp, saying nothing as he ushered her to the lift. His trembling hand said it all.Jasmine cringed and dragged her heels. Opening her mouth seemed like a supremely foolish thing to do at that moment.
The Charmer 82
A slight smile tugged at Jasmine’s mouth. “Who are you calling kid, old lady? Surely you’re not ready for the old folk’s home just yet.”Rihlia frowned with mock severity. “I will be if you don’t stop scaring the crap out of me.”“Aw, you’re just feeling feeble from lying around in bed all the time. Why don’t you get up and take a walk with me? It’ll do you good.”Rihlia’s smile faded to seriousness, and she let go of Jasmine’s hand. “I can’t. I’m paralyzed from the waist down.”“What!” Jasmine sta
The Charmer 81
It must have been a doozy of a talk, because when Jasmine next saw Leo, she was not happy. In fact, she was quietly simmering. She tried to discuss it with Keilor, but he had concerns of his own.“Whether she goes or stays matters little at this point,” he said, leveling a stare at his wife across the dining table in their new suite of rooms. “What I want to know is when are you going to start visiting Rihlia again? It’s been weeks, and still you two don’t speak unless thrown together.”All appetite abruptly fled. Jasmine twiddled her spoon as if fascinated with the play of light. “She hasn’t been feeling well.”“All the more reason to
The Charmer 80
The one walk through the marketplace was Leo’s last. Her presence had been scented and witnessed, and now all they had to do was wait.“Seventeen days there, seventeen days back,” Jasmine said, shaking her head. “Unless Yesande has taken up residence in the neighborhood, or unless she’s got someone closer to home keeping an eye on things, you’re going to have to purge the charmer thing, Leo.”Jasmine picked up one of the long sticks that speared the marinated meats and vegetables on the tray nearest her. She moved from the table to the bonfire Keilor had built in the fire pit. The fire was the only light in the darkened and deceptively unprotected garden. Fireflies dance
The Charmer 79
“Enough! Jasmine, stop making trouble; Mathin, behave,” Jayems ordered. “You don’t have to worry about any of us making use of the information, Jackson. Yesande is the only one who would desire an army of lust crazed fools.”Mathin glowered at him and slid his gaze back to Leo.Unnerved, her eyes flickered away and settled with determination on her brother. “Do you have a better way to end this, brother? Who will it be next time, your wife, our little sister?”“Uh, Leo,” Jasmine interrupted. “Just so you know, you’re letting yourself in for a pack of trouble with this charmer thing. I do hope you can turn it off as easily as you t
