The Last Immortal by Natalie Gibson

Author:Natalie Gibson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror fiction, gothic fiction, dark fantasy, gaslight fiction, supernatural fiction, shapeshifters, victorian horror
Publisher: BHC Press
Published: 2023-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

True to his word, Leon came every morning. At first he and Ambrose trained the dog in the garden. My cook fussed when they traipsed through her herbs, and her ranting solidified the friendship of the two most important men in my life. They bonded over ignoring the woman.

I wanted to trust Leon again; he made it easy. Leon decided that Angus, who now slept in my son’s bed at night, was old enough to take proper walks. He said Ambrose, while precious to me, was no more valuable than any of his other Carriers. No Incola would risk a war with us to gain him. Anxiety turned my stomach but I allowed it only if they took our best three guards. Park Lane, on which my house sat in the middle, was named for its proximity to Hyde Park and every front window of our home overlooked it. I could watch their whole excursion.

Ambrose was growing into such a little man. The responsibility of caring for another living thing matured him. Sometimes when he looked at me, I felt a much older soul peering out. Dawn was also maturing. I was so proud of her; she had taken the weight of our talk and carried it lightly. Though serious about keeping herself safe, she wasn’t encumbered by it.

I knew she wanted to go outside, to ride a horse in the park with the other girls of means. I could not even let her go in costume to the market with the servants because a guard detail would ruin the disguise. Leon said she would be safe if she were bonded to an Incola. I would not do that to her. Bonds made early in life were more permanent, so I'd read. She could choose her mate—Incola, Carrier, or human—when she was grown.

One morning when Leon and Ambrose walked with Angus and Dawn was engrossed in a book, I heard a sound from the torture room. The one my husband had built, the one I’d lined with metal and reinforced. I keyed my private code into the numerical pad and the mechanical door hissed open, the gears inside silently turning.

Paetus was inside. On his knees, stripped down to the loincloth worn when Mistress came to the club, his face downturned. I was forced to identify him based on the top of his head. I sealed the door behind me. Mr. Hall had assured me that the room was inescapable and I was taking no chances with Dawn so near. I had suspected that Paetus was the visitor when I discovered the room’s apparent use and upkeep. He and Julian used the room just as I had with my husband. Their stolen bodies needed this sort of treatment. The pain told them they were still alive.

I said nothing for many minutes, knowing the wait was part of the torture. Mistress had trained me to be a wonderful Dominatrix; my husband had shown me how to apply that training to Incola with a considerably higher threshold for anguish.

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