Chapter Eighteen - Revenge

When Catti-brie finally awakened, it was to a pounding headache and pain shooting throughout her entire back. She groaned softly in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, trying to gain her bearings for where she was. She had apparently been moved from the cold, dank cell that the drow had originally been keeping her in into these chambers.

Two torches lit the entire place and she was surprised to find a soft, sodn mattress beneath her fingers. She felt something soft bound about her sore, and horribly lacerated wrists. When she looked, she saw that her wrists were bound to solid oak, highly polished, bed posts. Her breaths sped up in her throat and her sapphire eyes widened as her thoughts whirled.

They were planning on doing the same things to her as had happened to Drizzt.

"My, my, my, I didn't think that I would be able to tell people that I had seen the strong, brave Catti-brie, with such a horrified look on her face." She looked over her shoulder, trying her hardest not to wince in pain as she minor movement strained all of the muscles in her overly abused back. She berated herself for not hearing the door opening. "I guess I'll have something else to tell your husband when he finally gets here." His smirk widened as he walked towards the bed, clad in nothing else besides his leggings and boots. "Oh yes, dear Catti-brie, of course I knew that he would come after you. He's only a few miles from here as it is, and only has to find the right way in and he'll be led directly into this room, where he will likely find his worst nightmare."

Fear found its way into the young woman's eyes as she watched him slowly remove his boots, his eyes never leaving her. She struggled against the ropes that held her tightly against the bedposts, but it was of no use. He laughed softly, climbing onto the bed and watching her struggle. Pleasurable feelings welled inside of him as he watched her struggling to move as far as she could away from him. It had been a while since he had seen one struggle so to get away from his touch. The other women that his band would capture just gave in and let them have their way, wanting it all over with as soon as possible.

"You are very attractive, for a human female, dear Catti-brie." He smiled sardonically as he watched her, crawling slowly across the wide, double bed and lying besides her. He reached out his hand to touch the side of her face. She jerked at the touch of his cold fingers as if that black skin had burned her. Her eyes were wide and frightened. Never before had she felt something like this rushing through her system. "I can see why our dear Ranger would have chosen you as a matron."

"What do you mean by 'Matron'?" Catti-brie stilled her movements and looked into the crimson eyes that had been taking in the details of her delicate facial features. "And why do you say that Drizzt would be choosing me as one?"

"As you well know, the females are the dominant gender in the drow society." He sounded bored, almost annoyed. "A matron mother, the head of every household, will select patrons that she, well," he smirked, "uses for her enjoyment. Well, thinking about it, mistress is the term for it o the surface isn't it? Hmm, well, then, I guess I should be calling you his mistress, though, he probably wanted to have the child that he had begotten upon you."

Catti-brie cringed at the mention of the child that he had beaten from her, well, she didn't even know how long ago, as it could've been days or weeks. She had only just told her husband that she was with child, and had loved the look on his face when she had told him. It had been the happiest that she had seen the drow since their wedding day, and a longer time before that. Kelnozz's next words snapped her from her reverie.

"I am guessing that I am correct on the fact that he indeed wanted to have that child." He leaned forward, close enough that his lips were a mere breath away from touching hers, and she could do nothing about it. She stared up into his slanted crimson eyes and saw the glinting of pleasure within their depths. "Well, I'm thinking that I may have as solution to your problem, my dear Catti-brie."

"What do you mean?" An edge of fear had found a way into her voice, and she shivered as she felt him menuver himself so that he was straddling her without actually touching her. He had an ebon skinned arm on either side of her shoulders, and lowered himself into a push-up motion so that he was as close to her as he had been before.

"Why don't you let me show you the answer rather than me tell you?" The glint in his eyes made her shiver in fear. "It would be so much more fun for me, now, wouldn't it?"

He moved on of his hands, pulling her shirt away from her stomach and torso, touching the soft skin of her flattened belly. She made a faint sound of protest without meaning to, trying to move away from his touch, but she was caught, and unable to escape from what she knew was going to happen. He only pressed down upon one of the bruised ribs that she had accumulated during the beating only a week or so previous. She cried out and tried to curl away from the sudden, unexpected pain. Smirking in his usual sardonic fashion, Kelnozz used the oppertunity to slide his hand higher and further into her shirt, roughly cupping one breast in his hand, causing her to cry out at the unwanted touch.

"You are a beautiful woman, Catti-brie," he whispered delicately into her ear, biting the lobe, earning another cry of protest from the helples woman. "And you are one that I will have, whither you will me to or not..."

Ilmaik looked up from his magical mirror as he heard the door to his private room open. He didn't know why, as Kelnozz had instructed him to keep an eye on the renegade while he had fun with his wife. He had kept an eye on him through the mirror, which had come in handy after killing its original owner. The sight that met him at the door surprised the wizard more than anything.

Zaknafien's cold amber eyes watched him from beneath the darknened cowls of his cloak. One hand rested in the blackened leather handle of the whip that Kelnozz had gotten for him, along with the magical sabers belted at his sides. The conflict that usually appeared behind those piercing orbs was gone - replaced by a look that showed that he had become resolute in whatever conflict had been going on.

The long, leather thong of the whip lashed out faster than the eye could see, its long braided leather snapping around the drow wizard's tongue. Zaknafein jerked the whip sharply, cutting the tongue from Ilmaik's mouth. He collasped to the floor, looking up into those cold amber eyes.

He could no longer control the reincarnation.

Crimson eyes wide, the wizard scrambled toward the doorway, only to be stopped by a long, tapering saber coming to rest with a clang in the ground before him. He looked up and up, and stopped at the cloaked darkness of the hood.

Again faster than the eyes could see, the saber came down upon the wizard's neck, severing the tendons and letting the headless body fall limply to the ground, blood spurting from the neck, where the head should have been. The head rolled a few feet towards the closed door and the reincarnated drow watched as it rolled. The slender featured face was frozed in a frightened look, the crimson eyes wide with fear from the knowledge of his impending death.

The reincarnation gave the corpse a cold look before walking over to where the mirror sat upon the dresser in the corner. He was careful not to sit in the chair that the wizard had sat in, not wanting to risk any magical traps being sprung. He leaned down and looked into the mirror, knowing full well whom he was looking at it.

"Usstan dalharuk(1)," he whispered, looking at the lone figure in the reflecting glass, recognizing the drow ranger that he hadn't seen in near thirty years. "Uss'tan yorn xxizz dos inbau ilta rath(2)."

The drow ranger knocked on the door of the room, sighing softly as is garnered no response from the room's occupant. It had been hours since the events of the afternoon, since his disagreement with his eldest son. Aimee had already tried to talk to him, as had Mikhail, but neither had been able to convince him to come out, even to eat their meal that night. Catti-brie had gone up while everyone had been finishing up, with a bowl of warm soup, a few slices of freshly made bread, and a chunk of cheese leftover from the meal.

The adolescent had only taken the tray into his room with a muttered thanks.

She had been worried for him and had talked to her husband about it. Drizzt had agreed that, yes, he indeed need to apologize. Normally he wouldn't admit it, but this time he admitted it and that he shouldn't have yelled at him for having made a simple mistake. It could be fixed with practice and with no need for such an argument. He also said that he knew he had been hard on the boy recently, taking after his own father in that aspect - Zak was farther than he had been at that age and he should be appreciating it.

Drizzt knocked again, listening for any sounds of someone on the other side.

Only silence answered him.

"Zak?" He called quietly, listening. "Are you in there?" Taking a deep breath he added, "I wanted to apologize, Zak, so please open the door."

The ensuing silence was slowly beginning to frighten the ranger. It wasn't like the almost 17-year-old to not open the door, even when he was angry, as long as someone was apologizing, or had a good reason to be talking to him. Or, at least, the boy would talk to either his baby sister or to Mikhail, whom had been living with them and had been learning weapins and ranger training from the drow.

Finally, Drizzt sighed, pushing open the door as he spoke. "Zak, you know that I came to -"

The sight that greeted him stopped the ranger dead in his tracks. His breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the bed.

Zak was lying deathly still on the bed, one hand still clamped loosely over the knife that had blood dripping from the edge, congealing and dried. There were numerous cuts on his arms - both of them. Blood dripped from the tips of his delicately curled fingers. His breaths appeared shallow and rattled in his throat. Drizzt rushed to the bedside, kneeling besides his son on the coverlet and taking his head into his lap. He lightly touched the edge of his face, whispering the teen's name softly under his breath.

"Zak, wake up." He gently shook that unconscious form, trying to get a reaction. Close to frantic, he called out for help. "Catti-brie!"

She ran up the stairs, a worried eight-year-old girl and a 23-year-old elf at her heels. When she got to the door, she froze, her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widening, shaking her head slowly from side to side. She reached out a shaky hand and pulled a wide-eyed Aimee behind her, trying to reach back and cover her eyes. Mikhail noticed her shaking and did it himself.

"Get a healer, please, now." Her voice was choked and shaking. She looked back at Mikhail as she walked slowly into the room and sa besides where her son and husband were on the bed. Mikhail nodded and brought Aimee with him, not wanting the young girl to see the state that her brother was in. "I had no idea." She whispered, sitting beside her husband and looking up into his lavender eyes.

"Neither did I." His voice was choked as he gently brushed the roan colored hair from the young half-drow's face. "And I should've been able to recognize the signs." Catti-brie looked at him with sympathy and tears glittering in her eyes as she saw the tears rolling down face and his shoulders shaking. "I should've been able to stop this from happening." He turned fro her, leaning down to rest his forehead against that of his eldest son. "I've been too hard on him, and I should've seen it sooner." His voice broke and she rested a hand on each of his shoulders, placing her cheek on the back of one of his slender shoulders.

"No one else is to blame but myself for any of this."

"No its not."

A soft voice caused both of them to look down into the bleary blue eyes of their son. His breaths were soft and shallow as his eyes wandered over his father's face. "It's not your fault."

Drizzt only shook his head.

"Nau(3)," he whispered, holding his eldest close. "Nau, it is all mine."

Drizzt sat, knees bent, legs pulled tightly to his chest. His long hair hung long and wet down his bare back as he looked across the water to the bare stone of the mountain. It had been an hour at least since he had run from camp, and he was afraid of going back - afraid of hearing the reactions of the Luchielt soldiers.

But he was even more terrified of facing Gabriel and what had happened. Serenity would be even harder to face.

He hadn't believed her when she had mentioned to him that he had become more and more ruthless and willing to do anything to get Catti-brie back. She had been afraid that what had happening would have an affect on his soul that would lead to something even more scarring that what had already happened. She was right - he would never be able to forgive himself if he ever completely gave in to the hunter again.

He would never be able to face any of his friends again - not even his dear Catti-brie.

His lavender eyes were glazed over in thought, the darkened flames that regularly lit them seeming to have been extinguished from their normally brilliant depths. At that moment he wished for nothing more than to be embraced in Catti-brie's comforting arms and not have to think about his pain. He wanted nothing more than to hear the soothing advice of his long-lost father.

But it was because of him that she was in the captivity of drow mercenaries.

It was because of him that Zaknafein had been brought out of his peaceful existance within the Abyss.

Tears flowed down his hollowed cheeks as he looked down at his torn arm. He hadn't wanted to resort back to this - he had thought that he was done, but the pain was the only thing keeping the hunter at bay now. The cuts were deeper than he had ever done, and were still stinging like hell from the burning hot water. He knew that if any found out, they wouldn't be able to trust that we wasn't doing it again.

Life would never be the same again.

Especially since it was falling apart before him.

In his heart, he knew that Catti-brie would be changed forever from whatever abuse that Kelnozz inflicted upon her. He and his band were all as ruthless and cruel as they came, likely moreso. He shuddered at the thought of what they could be doing to her at that moment and he remembered what had been done to Serenity - even in the late stages of her pregnancy. And to think of what would happen to the child that she carried . . . these thoughts had given him nightmares for weeks, and would for years to come.

A rustling coming from the trees made the normally fully alert ranger jump out of his skin as he sprang to his feet, whirling around to meet whomever it was that was coming up upon him. He took a stiletto that he still had with him - one of the only two weapons on him and cocked it into a throwing position.

"It is alright, my friend, it is only me." Gabriel lifted his hand in front of him, showing that he had no weapons. His voice was soft and his eyes were gentle, and full of understanding. "We were worried when you did not return." Serenity followed her husband into the clearing, staying near him as he approached the drow. "So, we came after you."

"Why?" The question was soft and hesitant coming from the ranger. He turned his head to the side, unable to meet the Luchien Lord's eyes. "Why did you come back after what I did?" His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "If your voice hadn't cut through my thoughts, I would've killed you."

"No you wouldn't have." Gabriel's voice was reassuring to Drizzt's uptight nerves. "I know in my heart, Ranger Do'Urden, that you wouldn't have been able to kill me, or anyone in my camp."

Lavender eyes snapped up to meet the stern, unmoving violet ones. "How do you know that?" Drizzt's voice was slowly raising. "How can you trust me after what happened in camp? How do you know that the Hunter will not overcome me?" He had backed into the tree, trying to get as far away from them as possible in his shame. "You know that it has been slowly taking me over."

Serenity walked forward, her green eyes full of sorrow and sympathy. "Aye, we do, but that does not mean that you can't do something about it. You have to pull yourself together, because I know that you can controll the Hunter within you, I know that you can keep it from rearing its head. Catti-brie's life is depending on whither or not you can keep your control, and that you are able to use your quick mind to out manunver the drow."

Her eyes were filled with tears as she held her sleeping baby close to her, trying to stop from shaking. "And we both know that it is because of that that you will be able to save her. We cannot go in there with you, Ranger Do'Urden, and you know this." She looked into his haunted eyes and swallowed thickly. "We are close to the entrance, so if you would like, I will bring you their this night."

He sighed, leaning against the tree and sighing, running his fingers through his long hair. He did know that. He had known it all the while. He just hadn't been able to believe it. The drow took a deep breath, trying to clear his thoughts as he put on his shirt, tunic, and armor. As he strapped his scimitars to his hips, he thought about the meaning of her words. He thought about everything that had been happening. He wondered, even, if they had noticed the cuts and scars on his arms. As he readied to follow Serenity, he noticed the long knives that had had dropped were being held towards him by Gabriel. He shook his head.

"I can't . . ."

Gabriel smiled. "I've never had a better student, and you will be able to use these someday, if not tonight."

Drizzt gave a shallow bow to the Luchielt Lord. "Thank you."

Without another word, he followed Serenity as she walked along the stone wall of the mountains, looking at it everyso often and trying to remember. When they reached an area of overgrown bushed and brush, she turned towards the stoically silent drow.

"This is the entrance, Ranger Do'Urden." She said softly, smiling faintly. "We will be bringing our camp here, so that you will be able to bring her here for any medicinal help."

"Thank you, Lady Serenity." With another bow, he crawled through the bushes and into the cave entrance, already calling upon the help of his panther friend.

(1) My son

(2) I will help you get her back

(3) No

A/N
Hey people! I know that it has been a while since I updated. TT-TT Please don't kill me! I have had way the hell too much homework and my dad took away my computer. :'( I have to share one with my sibs. Points gun at head. There is also the whole factor of there being no Micro. Word! Grrr. So, if there are any spelling errors or missing funny letters, I am really sorry!! I will try and post another chapter as soon as I can, but I believe that that will be in two weeks at least. TT-TT sorry! And I'd like to thank any reviewers! I am really thank ful! An please! R&R!! They are appreciated!!!