The Unknown Thief

Part 23

Chapter 23

Nathaniel glanced at the spot Daisy had just lit with fire.  “Does that mean she is dead?”

Aubrey let out a harsh chuckle while walking towards the spot.  Gesturing to small bits of ash, she answered, “I think that means she is dead.”

“Glad that is over with,” a voice mumbled.  Nathaniel glanced over at Alin in just enough time to see a pile of snakes slither away. 

He shuddered as they lost themselves into their surroundings.  “Mayhap Daisy should take care of the snakes as well.”

Alin took a step towards him with narrowed eyes.  “It is not their fault that that evil woman forced them to do those things.  Otherwise, they would have left us alone.”

“They may have left you alone,” Nathaniel said under his breath, “but I doubt they would not have hesitated to end our lives.”

“Stop, you two,” Ainsely said as he dropped down between them.  Above, Daisy swooped towards Aubrey.  Right before Daisy hit her, the dragon shifted to its smaller form.  She barreled into Aubrey, causing them both to fall to the ground.  Just as he took a step in her direction, a hand grabbed his shoulder.  “She is fine.  See, she is laughing.  I thought you were going to leave her be.”

“And I thought you understood that I cannot,” he answered Ainsely.

Looking towards her brother, he watched as the man rolled his eyes in annoyance.  “Do not hurt her.”

“She will be hard to hurt.”

“To be honest,” Alin said from behind Ainsely.  “I think it will be her who hurts him.  Aubrey does not have it in her to love again so soon.  Nathaniel is already halfway there.”

“I am right here,” he mumbled.

They both glanced at him before shrugging as if his presence made no difference. 

“He’s waking!” Aubrey called out before scrambling towards Luther.  Before Nathaniel could stop her, she began gently shaking him awake.  “Luther, Luther, wake up.”

The man rolled on his side, opened his bleary eyes, before an unknown expression covered his face.  His arms snapped out faster than any of them could believe and snatched Aubrey.  She let out a tiny squeak as the man’s large arms wrapped around her in an unbreakable hold. 

Alin, Ainsely, and Nathaniel stepped towards them, ready to defend Aubrey from the man, who she had claimed hated her.  To all their amazement, when they stepped even closer, they heard the unmistakable sound of laughter. 

“Stop,” Aubrey gasped.  “Please, stop.”

Luther moved his hands away, but sent her a glare.  “It is punishment for leaving so soon after what happened.”

She drew back slightly.  “You hated me.  I heard you shout about how much you hated me.”

“Her,” he grumbled, pointing towards the pile of ash.  “I never once said your name, Aubrey, and you know that.  You used that as an excuse to leave, to make sure you would never be happy.”

“Luth,” she mumbled, pulling completely away from the man, “you do not know what it was like.”

He nodded his head as he sat up to stare at her without wavering.  Nathaniel almost felt bad for Aubrey.  Having to be on the opposite side of that stare must have been unnerving.  “It was not your fault.”

“It was my fault,” she yelled.

“Aubrey,” he snapped, and they watched on as the princess shut her mouth.  “It was her fault.  She killed him.  That woman,” he spat, “killed my brother.  You did nothing, but love him the same as he loved you.”

“I should have left earlier,” she protested.

“And what would have happened then?  Victoria would have killed him anyway, because the man never would have found another to love.  You know him; he loves once and forever.  It is embedded in our code.”

Nathaniel glanced towards the other two men, wondering if they were as confused as he was.  Ainsely’s face was slightly white while Alin glanced around as if he expected more danger.

“Luther,” Aubrey sighed, making Nathaniel look back to the conversation at hand.  “If I left, it would have been easier.  You do not know what it is like.”

“That is the second time you have said that.  Tell me, Aubrey, do you know how it feels to lose a brother and a sister in one day?  When he died, you died with him.  You left, when we could have helped you through it.  Instead, you began this plan to end your curse.  Everywhere I went, a part of you was left there, but no one could tell me where you were.”  Aubrey opened her mouth, but a sharp glance towards Luther made her snap it shut.  “We put our family at risk because of how much you loved one another, and you could not even stay to say goodbye?”

“That is enough,” Ainsely said in a clear voice as he took a step towards Luther.

Luther looked up at Ainsely with a bored expression.  “I do not care if you listen in on our conversation, but stay out of it.”

“That is my sister,” Ainsely growled.

Luther smiled at him.  “Looks like we do have something in common.”

“What do you mean?” Ainsely asked, his once hostile tone now confused.

Luther glanced towards Aubrey, and Nathaniel could see him ask for silent permission.  When she nodded, he turned back towards Ainsely.  “Once a person is married into the family, she always remains part of the family.”

“Aubrey,” Ainsely said in an anguished tone.  “Please tell me he’s lying.”

She shook her head, looking her brother dead in the eye.  “I loved him, and it was the right thing to do.”

Ainsely motioned behind him towards Nathaniel.  “Is that why you broke the contract with his father?”

“Yes, I could not marry him when I belonged to another.”

“But this family, Aubrey!” Ainsely yelled with a furious expression.  “You had to choose his kind?”

Aubrey jumped to her feet with an equally angry expression on her face.  “He did not kill me when he could; he let me go.”

“That does not change who they are.  What will father do when he finds out?”

Luther uncurled from his spot on the ground and stood over the two of them.  “Your father does not need to know.  What is in the past is in the past.  We need to help Aubrey in her mission.  After that, maybe we can all move on with our lives without worrying how she will kill herself next.”

“I am not letting someone like you around my sister,” Ainsely hissed, his skin glowing with untapped power.

Luther looked at him with a blank expression.  “I promised my brother that I would protect her after his death.  I will not break an oath; it is part of our code.”

“What are you?” Nathaniel blurted, tired of not understanding what was happening.

Luther opened his mouth to answer, but Ainsely beat him to it.  “He is one of them, those men who live by a code, one that includes the thoughts that any being with magic is an abomination.  He kills people like us, because he thinks we do not belong on this earth.”

Nathaniel looked at the man, who only shrugged in answer.  Letting out a sigh, he walked towards Aubrey.  Placing both hands on her shoulders, he looked at the other three men.  “I am with Aubrey.”

Luther let out a chuckle and nodded.  “Whatever it is that she wants to do, I will help her do it.”

“Me too,” Alin answered, simply.

Ainsely snorted, his eyes still narrowed at Luther.  “She is my sister, and I will do whatever is needed to keep her alive.”

Daisy huffed, and Nathaniel took that as her acceptance to help.  Looking down at Aubrey, he smiled.  “What will it be?”

***Great book cover on the side by Cookie1234***