Forever Here

by Harold Wall

  Rogue, who had been standing—probably rather uncomfortably—took a step forward and answered me. "They're not down here—Blade is the only one who has the keys." I turned my attention to her, but I could tell that Delos wasn't giving her all of his attention.

  "How do you know?" I questioned nervously.

  Rogue shrugged, "All of the slaves know that—you'd have to kill him to get the keys, because otherwise he's not going to cough them up." I bit my lip—this certainly posed a

  challenge. Why couldn't have this been like the movies, where all I had to do was grab them off a hook or catch the dog that carried them in its mouth? Why did I have to fight and

  possibly kill the toughest guy in Alec's entire kingdom?

  But I had to do it. There was no other way to get them out. I looked back up at Delos, gently brushing his hair back away from his forehead—he had such nice, soft hair; I'd

  forgotten how much I'd liked to play with it. I smiled a sad smile and leaned up; giving him a kiss that held so much emotion it scared even me. Delos reluctantly kissed back,

  because this time he knew something was up.

  I pulled away, pulling my arms back through the bars and stepping away from him so that he couldn't grab me when he realized my practically suicidal plan. Already he was giving me a suspicious look. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

  "Going to get you out, that's what." I replied.

  "You aren't going to go after Blade, are you?" Rogue's voice was filled with worry, "He's not some average Joe that doesn't know what he's doing, Maggie! You'll get yourself killed!"

  Delos, who this time paid attention, went stiff. "No, absolutely not! We'll figure something else out, we don't need keys…"

  "Delos you know very well that isn't going to happen—otherwise you would have gotten yourself out a long time ago." I started to back away further.

  "Maggie, get back here! This is not a time for one of your crazy plans!" Delos shouted, his voice filled with hopeless desperation.

  "War is in itself a crazy expedition in which equally crazy plans are justifiable." I replied, forcing myself to turn back around and start for the stairs, all the while Delos yelling

  demands for me to get back there and to not try anything stupid. I ignored him as best as I could, trying to push back my fear.

  As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stopped, taking a deep breath before I turned back to Delos. His expression was filled with fury and fear for me. I slowly smiled a sad smile,

  "I love you Delos," I told him before I turned and ran up the stairs, Delos's shouts following me the entire way.

  I approached the door, trying to take deep, silent, steadying breaths to keep myself calm. Slowly, I leaned against the door till my ear was pressed against it, closing my eyes and

  shutting the world out to listen hard. For a moment I couldn't hear anything and dread started to settle in, but then I heard the sound of wood hitting metal and a snarled curse

  following a CLASH of metal on the floor.

  He's in there, I thought to myself grimly, this is my chance—its now or never.

  I took a deep breath, held it, gripped the door knob and swung the door open and rain in…

  Where Blade—leaning down to pick up a fallen steel dagger—looked up with shock and startled surprise written all over his face.

  I closed the distance between us instantly and jumped at him before he could get his bearings, knocking both of us to the hard floor.

  He fought halfheartedly against me as we rolled and I had a feeling that it was only because he'd been so surprised by my entrance. With one big heave, I knocked him onto his

  back, me on top, and pressed the tip of my wooden sword into his neck. He stared up at me in total disbelief, breathing hard. "Are you nuts?" he asked, not quite snarling, "Or do

  you have a death wish?" I couldn't help but snicker at the irony of his questions; hadn't Delos once asked me that? Blade looked me as though I were insane.

  "Maybe," I mused, "Maybe it's both—love makes you do some crazy things." Blade looked even more confused, so I rolled my eyes and clarified, "My soulmate is in that dungeon—

  and I know you're the only one with the key." My eyes narrowed and the tip of the sword dug a little deeper into his neck, "Where is it Blade?"

  Blade bit out a harsh laugh, "You really are insane," He laughed but there was no humor in it, "Even if I handed the key over to you, you still wouldn't be able to make it past the

  guard…"

  "I've already taken care of that—you'll find him with his neck snapped at the bottom of the stairs." Blade didn't reply to that—he merely stared at me in complete disbelief, as

  though he were truly seeing me for the first time. "I'm serious about this Blade—I'm willing to die for him. All you have to do is give me the key and there'll be no trouble."

  Blade regarded me with a look that surprised me—it wasn't the malice I expected from him. Instead, it was a searching, thoughtful expression. "You said he was your soulmate."

  My eyebrows furrowed in suspicion—why, of all people, did Blade care about my relationship with Delos? "Yes," I reluctantly answered.

  Blade was silent for a moment, the searching look on his face never wavering. "Would you really do anything for him? Give up your life—everything?" Okay, Blade must have hit his

  head when I jumped him, I thought. This wasn't at all like him—normally he would have been fighting me like crazy to get me off of him despite the sword tip at his neck. But he

  was just lying there, staring up at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

  "Yes," I answered truthfully, but in confusion, "I don't understand how this has anything to do with the location of the…"

  "Top drawer of my dresser," I blinked at him. I blinked again. "Well, are you going to get it?" I sat there, staring at him.

  "Why?" I finally managed to gasp out, "I don't understand…"

  Blade's expression tightened. "Because you're right—you should do anything and everything to protect your soulmate, even if you are different." I shook my head—Blade, have a

  soulmate? The idea might have made me laugh a few days ago, but after seeing Delos again and feeling his mind connect with mine again, I didn't doubt that even someone as

  cruel as Blade could have a soulmate. But who…?

  And then I knew. "Rogue," I whispered in disbelief, "You're soulmates with Rogue," It wasn't a question—it was a statement of fact. Blade's expression tightened and he looked away

  from me. "How…how long have you known?"

  Blade was silent and I wondered if he was going to answer me, but after a moment of silence he replied, "For a while now, I suppose. I wasn't really aware of it until I was forced

  to put her in that terrible place."

  "Why didn't you ever say something to her?" Part of me was angry—he'd had every chance to help her, save her, do something for her, and yet he'd ignored her and treated her like

  vermin, "Why didn't you ever do anything for her?"

  Blade's gaze snapped to mine as quick as lightning, "Because I couldn't without getting both of us killed, that's why!" the look on his face…all the anger suddenly vanished just by

  looking at his face. He looked so torn, so heart broken…

  Almost like Delos had when the ice around him shattered.

  "You don't understand…but you of all people should! Alec even told you why, practically! Alec hates soulmates…if I'd even recognized that we were soulmates, he would have had us

  both killed." Blade shook his head, "It would have been better for me not to have recognized it."

  I stared at him, and I could feel that my jaw had dropped open. I closed it, meditating on his words—he was right. Alec would have killed me if I hadn't had the wooden knife on me. He would have killed both Blade and Rogue—and as a soulmate, I knew that if it came to staying away from Delos in order to save his life, I'd do it.

  But things were changing no
w.

  "Alec's kingdom will fall," I promised Blade, "And when it does…you and Rogue can get out of here and live together in peace. But you're the one who needs to help us now. By

  doing so, she might soften up a bit—because she's probably not too happy with you right now, if you know what I mean." As I spoke, however convincing I thought I sounded, Blade

  was shaking his head.

  "It's not possible," he interrupted.

  "What do you mean?" I demanded angrily, "Of course it's possible!"

  "No—the only way you can take down Alec and the kingdom is to set the slaves free—something I highly doubt you could do on your own. They won't listen to a Night Person—which

  is what you are—and they're too frightened to leave on their own." I considered his words carefully—they made sense. The slaves refused to talk or even look at me in the eye until

  I led Alec down the hallway with two wooden knives turned on him. I thought I'd seen some kind of respect in their eyes as I'd passed them, but I didn't know if that was only just a momentary thing.

  But I still had to try.

  "I'll set them free," I announced, getting up and off of him, sheathing my sword. Blade sat up quickly, his eyes wide with disbelief.

  "You're crazy—I just told you…"

  "I know what you said; but it's still worth a try." I started for his drawers, talking as I went, "I realize that they might not listen to me because of what I am, but I've still got to try —for Delos, for Rogue…" I paused, looking back at him seriously, "And, although I can't believe I'm saying this, and for you." we stared at one another for a long moment. It was

  obvious that Blade thought I was still insane, and who knows, maybe I was, but I could see the reluctant respect in his eyes.

  "Do you have a plan?" he asked. I turned back to the drawer, opening the top one and pulling out the only item that was in it—the keys.

  "Sort of—I've been making this up as I go." I stared at the keys in my hands, my mind working through the possibilities. Finally I took a deep breath and whirled back around,

  tossing the keys at him. "You're going to go free them."

  Blade's jaw dropped in shock, "What?" He gasped out.

  I shrugged, "If I'm going to free the slaves, I'm going to have to do it now and concentrate on it. I can't take the time to go back down there—besides, if I did and Delos knew my

  plan, he'd deem it as suicidal and not let me go,"

  "Because it is suicidal," Blade interrupted, "You're the craziest person I've ever met, you know that?" I shrugged my shoulders again.

  "Maybe," I replied, "but that doesn't matter—what matters is that you set them free and do whatever possible to get Rogue out."

  "What about Delos?"

  I paused. Delos no longer had the blue fire to protect him, but wasn't he already capable of defending himself without it? I didn't know the answer to that question—I assumed he

  would, since he was a vampire and…well, surely he was taught fencing as a child?

  I didn't know the question to that either, but now I was just going to have to trust him. There was no way that he'd leave here without me safe in his arms. I knew that if our

  situations were reversed, I wouldn't be able to do it either. "Let him do as he pleases once he's out." I replied to Blade, "I don't know what he'll do."

  Blade snorted, "I have a feeling he's going to want to rip Alec apart, but that's just me." I raised my eyebrows but didn't disagree with him. Now that I thought about it, he probably

  would.

  "Well, good luck," I said as I started to walk out, feeling Blade's eyes on me as I went, "Oh," I stopped at the door and turned around, giving him a sarcastic smile, "And may the

  force be with you,"

  Blade blinked at me in confusion, "What?"

  I shook my head, chuckling to myself, "Nothing."

  He'd had no idea that Delos's soulmate was so insane, Blade thought as he approached the broken apart door that lead to the dungeon, his stomach tightening in anticipation. He'd

  never thought he'd be in this situation either though—he never thought he'd be on a rescue mission to save Alec's enemy and a human—his soulmate, Rogue, he knew now—from

  certain death by the man he was supposed to be loyal to.

  But although his mind reasoned that what he was doing was suicidal and crazy, and that he should be out there helping defend Alec's castle, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not

  now, not when he knew Rogue, his soulmate, would die if he didn't do something to save her.

  He descended the stairs, his eyes instantly catching sight of the dead shapeshifter at the bottom of the stairs. She wasn't kidding, Blade thought, his eyebrows rose as he stepped

  over the body….

  "YOU!" the snarled, distorted with fury, voice made Blade snap his attention to the prison. Delos stood there, his hands gripping the bars so tightly Blade could see his knuckles turn

  white, his lips curled over his sharpened canines, and his eyes a frightening liquid gold color. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?"

  Blade stared at him for a moment before turning his attention to the cowering figure behind Delos. Instantly he softened, a small smile coming over his lips, "Are you alright

  Rogue?" Rogue's dark eyes widened in confusion, but before she could reply Delos was raging on.

  "WHERE IS SHE? I SWEAR, IF YOU'VE…"

  "She's not dead," Blade instantly snapped, annoyed with Delos—he didn't ever think he'd become friends with Delos, even if they did happen to make it through this battle. Delos

  still stood there, looking like he would rip Blade's head off if he came too close. Blade sighed irritably—he probably needed to explain before he let Delos out. "We've come to a

  truce—I'm here to set you two free."

  Both Delos and Rogue looked at him as though he'd told them he'd been mauled by a pink flying unicorn two seconds ago. And he didn't blame them—who would have thought he'd

  be doing this? "I know you two don't understand, and…well, I promise to explain it to you later Rogue, because it has to do with you…but right now the important thing is that I set

  you free, get Rogue out of here safely, and…well, you can do whatever you want Delos."

  "Where is she?" Delos obviously thought about Maggie twenty four seven, that much was clear to Blade now. Blade shrugged his shoulders.

  "She went to go free the slaves—otherwise this kingdom will never truly fall. It needs slaves—if she frees the slaves, the kingdom will fall permanently." Delos had gone very still

  while Blade was filling him in, his eyes wide with horror.

  "She went off by herself?" Delos clarified, his voice no longer threatening but cold with fright.

  Blade shrugged, "She seemed like she knew what she was doing—I'm sure she'll…"

  "Let me out, RIGHT NOW!" Delos shouted, giving the bars such a hard shake that Blade almost thought he'd break through right then and there.

  Blade shrugged and went forward, pulling the key out and shoving it into the lock. He gave his wrist a twist and the lock clicked, indicating that it was now unlocked. Delos was the

  first at the door, and as soon as Blade pulled it open just a bit, Delos shoved his way through, pushing Blade back a little as he raced for the stairs.

  Blade stood looking after him, his eyes wide. Before today, he might have grown angry and gone after Delos to teach him a lesson, but now…

  A hand covered his gloved one and he looked down to find Rogue staring up at him, her eyes wide and sincere. "Thank you," She whispered, "You have no idea how much that means to the both of them that you did that."

  Blade softened, his hand gripping hers and tightened slightly. "I think I do know now," he replied. When Rogue gave him a confused look, Blade shook his head. "I'll explain later,"

  he assured her, "first let's get you safe, okay?"

  I ran through the courtyard, jumping over dead and wounded bodies, dodging
battles left and right as much as I could. A few times I was forced to

  stop and kill off a werewolf or a vampire, but I still kept plowing forward. It was like a video game, I noted with amusement—if you didn't want to deal with killing a bunch of

  people, you just plowed on forward till you reached the end of the level.

  This seemed to be exactly what I was doing now. Whenever I was chased, I could always count on someone else on my side to take the pursuer down before too long. When the

  pursuer wasn't taken down, it was then that I turned and used the appropriate weapon to kill them. I couldn't risk being followed into the servant's quarters.

  Reaching the servant's quarters seemed to take years, but finally I reached the huts in the corner, throwing myself against the biggest hut's door and pushing my way in. This thing

  is heavier than I thought, I noted as I pushed it open…and then saw that the servants had gathered together in the hut and had pushed everything up against the door. Like that was

  suitable defense against a Night World person.

  But now wasn't time for a lesson in defense, I thought as I pushed my way into the hut and closed the door behind me, now was the time for convincing.

  I faced the hut full of wideeyed, terrified servants, trying to make myself look both friendly and determined at the same time. For a moment I didn't know what to say—what was I

  supposed to say to get them to trust me enough to lead them out of here? It wasn't like before—I was a vampire now, their biggest enemy. And looking at their faces, I knew that

  that's what they were thinking as well. "Um, hey guys," I finally stated, my voice more sheepish than I'd originally planned.

  They all stared at me like deer in head lights before finally an older woman—probably in her thirties—stepped forward. "What do you want, vampire?" She snapped; I knew she'd

  never talk to a vampire this way normally, but I supposed that it didn't matter now that their home was getting ravaged by Circle Daybreak.

  I cleared my throat, "Look, I know what you're thinking," I started, "You're looking at me and you're thinking, 'she's a vampire; what could she possibly want with us other than to