Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

flared there briefly only to be replaced with an intense look of shame as his head dropped once more. Con cursed as his eyes attempted to shift from Anzel and catch a fleeting glimpse of the boy's face. Damn, who was this boy who looked so achingly familiar and what did Anzel know about him that made Anzel act like a cat that had just swallowed a canary?
    "Hmmm, Constantine? Don't tell me that his pretty face doesn't ring any bells at all? Why don't you come just a little closer and see?"
    Con spared a quick glance at Gael who returned his confused look with a slight shrug of his shoulders. Slowly stepping forward Con looked intently at the boy whose head was dropped down in obvious exhaustion.
    "Head up boy! This time look the Commander right in the eyes so he can have a good look at you." Anzel's sharp command and a quick lash of the whip produced a shudder through the boy's body. His head however remained stubbornly lowered, his eyes fixed on the floor beneath. The boy's insolence seemed to unleash the carefully controlled fury that Anzel had kept tightly in check. With a scream, Anzel raised his arm and let the whip fall with one fiery lash after another until the boy's back was bloodied and raw.
    "ENOUGH!" Con's hand reached out and grabbed the whip, tearing it out of Anzel's hand. Snarling with rage, Con shoved the Lord of the lower realm out of the way and barked an order to the soldiers standing behind the boy.
    "Untie him and take him to the infirmary. Make sure his wounds are tended and he's given something for the pain." The soldiers looked toward Anzel for confirmation. Their Lord and master made as if to countermand Con's orders but before he could utter a word, Gael moved forward and nodded his head toward Con, making sure the soldiers knew his second in command had his full support. Con once more snapped out the directions in a voice so intense that no one could ignore the edge of steel beneath the velvet tone.
    "I said, take him down NOW!"
    The soldiers scrambled to comply and before Anzel was able to stop them, they had untied the boy and carried him from the room. Ignoring the soldiers who were assisting the boy, Constantine turned and crossed to Anzel, stopping close enough to whisper in his ear.
    "Now Anzie , you're going to start acting like a big boy and tell your brother and me what the fuck we're doing here and who the hell that boy is or I'm going to use this whip to tear the flesh from your back next."
    Anzel stiffened at the familiar boyhood name. Sliding back from Con's overbearing presence he straightened his robes.
    "Obviously your legendary powers of recall are somewhat lacking today, Constantine, or I'm sure you would have recognized the squire whose very life you once saved."
    Constantine felt a cold hand reach from beyond the grave and wrap itself around his heart. No! It couldn't be! Surely, that boy wasn't the same one who had come so close to being crushed to death in the courtyard months ago? The very same boy who later stood by his side in the final moments of the last assault by the enemy and saved Con's life in return? This could not possibly be Ren Deloran, whom Con thought had been lost forever.
    He recalled the endless searching he and Gael had done after the battle. The countless dead bodies they'd waded through searching for the boy. After three days they'd been forced to give up hope of ever finding Ren. Defeated, Con had left the battlefield with a bitter taste in his mouth, hoping that the boy had somehow escaped, but knowing in all probability that he lay dead and buried in an unmarked grave somewhere on the vast plain.
    And now here he was, in Anzel's clutches, and Con was helpless to do anything about it.
    "What do you want in exchange for the boy Anzel?" Con heard Gael begin to bargain with his brother over Ren as if he were a worthless piece of chattel. For the moment, however, Con was unable to focus his thoughts; unable to join in the negotiations over the boy, for he was still reeling over the fact that Ren was alive. Ren…he remembered the first time he had called the boy by that name. It was right after Ren had kissed him. That kiss…the beginning of it all.
    The night before the final day of battle, the two of them had a quiet dinner in his tent. Ren had been serving as squire to Gael for several months. Steadily, Ren had moved from being just the stable boy to joining with the other men in drills and maneuvers. He moved well with both fluid grace and