by Darci Darson
“I will bring some drinks,” Mora said and moved towards the opposite end of the platform, hiding behind one of the wooden screens.
Rav took the opportunity to grab Yasmeen’s arm, drawing her closer to him. He put his arm on her back.
“It’s not safe here,” he said in a quiet voice. “She is hiding something behind her elf magic. I can sense that she is old and dangerous.”
But Yasmeen was not able to focus. She felt intoxicated by his closeness. His sweet aura made her mind a whirl, his voice sounding like a tempting call to her ears. She wanted to kiss him at that moment in time and the rest of world did not exist for her.
“We need the information,” Yasmeen said in a low voice. A sweet wave of languor relaxed her muscles, her mind drifting and floating in a lazy state of pure pleasure. “I really like it here. The dress is so beautiful. I feel like I’m in a beautiful dream.”
Rav released her in an abrupt retreat.
“Your skin... It’s burning and... calming” he said with a surprising softness. His eyes gleamed with amazement, admiration, and with hope as he stood two steps away from her.
“Are you married, Rav?” she asked.
“No,” he said, his voice coated with confusion.
“Have you got a girlfriend?”
”No, Yasmeen, not... yet. Yasmeen, we need to stay focused. It’s dangerous here.”
Yasmeen gazed at him, hoping that what she saw in his eyes was truly that he desired her as much as she desired him.
“Your skin is glowing, Yasmeen.” Rav said. There was this moment of surprise and happiness on his face, but then his muscles tensed and skin turned greyish.
“Yes, it is glowing,” Yasmeen said slowly in a quiet voice, scanning her hands. “Do you think that this is Mora’s magic?”
Rav shrugged as if in disappointment, saying, “You should know why you are glowing.”
“How on Earth can I know what this is,” Yasmeen replied, irritated. “In this creepy place everything is possible. This glowing is really creepy,” she added as she studied her hand. “Rav, now you’re glowing as well,” Yasmeen added and chuckled. “Creepy... You look like a corpse covered with wax or something.”
For a moment, he had such a confounded expression that she had the urge to melt into him and kiss him, wiping away his confusion and never letting him go. She was in love and she was mad about Rav. This was something strong and almost violent in nature as if a force that had awakened and was unstoppable, but as she glanced at him once more, he did not seem to share her enthusiasm and passion. He just stared at her as if she had said something stupid or wrong, or really horrible.
They lifted their heads as Mora returned, carrying two crystal cups containing dark red thick fluid. She handed the cups to them and smiled like an innocent teenage girl.
“Please, sit. The information, yes... There are no other Varuh in this plane,” Mora said and sat on her feet. “Don’t worry, though. I will surprise you.”
Rav and Yasmeen followed their host, lowering their bodies to settle in the small circle. The elf girl materialised a round, low red coffee table with ornate golden legs and sent a mysterious smile to Rav. She then said something in the local language and he smiled as if embarrassed but at the same time pleased and contented like only a man could be.
Yasmeen raised her thick brown eyebrows and took a sip of the strange wine. It started off with a ting of metallic taste but a moment later spread throughout her body, invading her every cell with its dark and reviving sensuousness. It was as if she had sipped dense blood. Yasmeen’s mind started spinning.
“I told him that he was the first man able to resist me,” Mora continued. “My name is Lothissi. Yasmeen, tell me more about your plane. What’s it like?”
“Normal, boring, “Yasmeen answered. Her voice sounded as if she was underwater but maybe that was only her impression. “We do not use ...magic. I like your... house. And thank you for your hospitality.”
Lothissi stared at her and Yasmeen could swear that she had noticed two red sparks in her eyes.
“I can see now,” Lothissi said. “Your mother is a pure Varuh. And she is much more, but it’s not clear for me. Just this impression... Lovely! Lovely! Drink Yasmeen!” she twittered like a bird.
Yasmeen took another sip from her cup. It darkened her mind for a second, infecting it with a dense and forbidden pleasure and when she blinked, it was as if she was falling down into a dark, navy chasm. She blinked again and realised that she rested, lying on her side among the white and silver pillows on a thin and soft mattress spread on the floor that was covered by a silky counterpane of white and sea blue. Mora’s laugh echoed in the distance. There was a smell of Jasmine wafting in the air, blended with the scent of Rav’s skin that hung heavy around her which made her senses go insane, her skin pleading for his touch. She leant on her elbow and rolled onto her other side as her glance met Rav’s who lay beside her.
“What is it Rav?” Yasmeen asked. “What is she doing to us?”
“She is bored,” Rav said. “She wants something from me.”
“She wants you,” Yasmeen said with a fury as she tried to stand up. Her surroundings were blurred as if everything was vibrating; disintegrating and recomposing again and again in an endless cycle. As she lifted herself to a standing position, her body swayed but Rav supported her with his hands on her arms. His touch tingled and weakened her, giving her a lazy and pleasant sensation.
“She is lonely and stuck here and wants something from you too, Yasmeen,” he said. “We have to go. My senses are impaired but I think that we have slept here for at least a day.” He held her hand and pulled her behind him. They moved slowly, past the wooden screens and trying to keep their balance as the world around them spun like being in a white and silver dream. They reached the bridge but as Yasmeen was about to step onto it, she felt an invisible force push at her. Blinking nervously, she felt as if she were falling backwards and dragging Rav with her into something deep and navy. Her back landed on the soft, buffering surface, and a heavy large and hard mass pinned her down to the ground. The impact knocked the air out from her lungs. She opened her eyes, her eyelashes flapping like the wings of a butterfly as her gaze met Rav’s. He lay on her, his body pressed against hers and they were back on the low bed among the pillows.
Yasmeen felt as if she was going to faint from the lack of oxygen, catching her breath with an irregular effort but had no intention of moving away from Rav.
“Rav... you... look,” she said, every word interrupted by her battle for air. “You look like a sculpture from the church or cemetery. It’s weird. Maybe we are dead in the cemetery.”
“You look the same,” he said, gazing at her with some impatience and anger tinged his voice. “Yasmeen, how do you feel about me?” He sent her a look full of hope and tension. Surprisingly, he had no intention of releasing her as well. His face seemed tormented as he took her wrists, pinning them over her head. He was so dominant and alluring. Every atom of her body wanted him and every area of her skin burned for his touch.
“You are creepy, Rav,” she said and chuckled. She then let out a sigh; her mind was fuzzy. “I’m... trying... to... catch... my... breath...”
He rolled away from her and whilst he lay beside, leant against his elbow. The back of his hand smoothed along the side of her face and the curve of her neck. Then he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. Yasmeen blinked and her mind plunged into a void once again.
A stroke of warm fingers on her cheek tickled her skin. It caressed and tempted but she was unable to open her eyes. The tip of his thumb smoothed her lips as if tasting and memorising, leaving behind a tingly sensation.
“Yasmeen, wake up,” Rav’s voice was as if he was underwater.”Wake up, we have to go.” He held her arms and lifted her from the pillow.
Yasmeen opened her eyes at last. She could hear drops of water hitting against the stone floor and Rav’s ardours breath. His scent invaded her nostrils
and violated her mind and body; she was unable to resist its calling as he supported her limp body. She just slumped into his intoxicating touch.
She noticed that they were back again on the platform, sitting on the low bed opposite each other, separated by just enough space to breathe. Yasmeen pulled away from Rav, a slight distance, using her arm for support as her body swayed.
“She doesn’t want to let us go,” Yasmeen whispered and then glanced at Rav, feeling the darkness leak into her veins once more.
“We slept for yet another day, Rav said with the gloom in his voice. “My senses are buzzing and scratching. This place is full of tiny time disturbances.”
“Shit,” Yasmeen said.” We are stuck here like two sleeping beauties.”
She gazed into his eyes and heat seized her skin; her desire for him bubbled inside her. She did not know whether it was real or not; whether it was her true feelings or Mora’s magic, but she felt as though she were somewhere else. The two of them were burning for each other, so touch-hungry, in delirium. Rav leant over her and placed his hand on the back of her neck, his grip strong and fierce as though claiming her. His eyes darkened and burnt with lust as his forehead rested on hers. They inhaled each other and his scent and aura made her senses even more hyperaware. It was only the two of them, and the sounds of their rapid breaths.
“Yasmeen, how are you feeling?” Rav asked in his quiet and husky voice. “What do you want from me?”
“I want you to kiss me, Rav,” she said in a low voice. Her lips parted as Rav’s thumb caressed her cheek.
“I want to kiss you for eternity,” he said.
Yasmeen chuckled and blinked.
She realised that she was on her own in front of the white bridge once again. She stood up. Everything seemed to be a slow and silent hallucination, disjointed. She jerked her arms and rushed towards the platform. The mist twirled around her body and it touched her skin with its electrified, crystal coolness. It whispered incantations in a strange language, a humming murmur of dark words. Yasmeen passed one of the screen dividers and stopped, rooted to the spot. She observed something horrible unfolding, a few steps away and was unable to interfere or speak.
Radveriel stood close to a girl who looked exactly like her. It was her, she was Yasmeen.
Yasmeen’s heart raced and she felt a sharp stabbing in her chest. Her breath accelerated as if her lungs had been emptied of air. Her fists clenched as she watched Rav stroking the girl’s cheek with the gentle touch of his right hand and bending his neck to kiss her. And to Yasmeen’s horror they kissed.
Yasmeen’s vocal cords were immobilised as if with the thick glue and she could only manage to produce a rough groan. She raised her right arm and extended it towards the couple. She stood like a statue, petrified inside but also soaked with consuming jealousy.
“Rav,” she said, not sure whether she should interrupt the scene. “Rav,” she repeated, tears of her flaming disappointment and envy welling up in her eyes as everything inside her crumbled to pieces. The fake Yasmeen intended to steal her Rav.
Chapter 9
Rav turned his head towards her and she saw confusion and then anger in his eyes. The girl laughed and turned into Mora, the embrace of the mist hiding her from their glances and then uncovering the truth as it dissipated. Mora made another waving gesture, whispering an incantation and Yasmeen felt morbid coldness invading her limbs. She could not move nor blink or speak. The only thing she could do was watch helplessly.
Rav must have been immobilised, too, as he did not react when Mora swept away her hair and tilted her head, exposing her white fangs. She bit into his neck in a fast and greedy movement. Her eyes were crimson and burning. She separated from Rav after a few seconds and moved a little closer to Yasmeen. The blood was dripping from her mouth. She wiped it with the tips of her fingers and licked, enjoying every drop with a smile on her innocent face.
“The Plane of Yasmeen, the Plane of Cherry and this one is for the Elves’ snow Alyssum. They whisper...The darkness is coming...You will all die,” she recited. She returned to Rav and continued,” But now I will keep you both. I’m so lonely. The Opyri who made me left when there were still only Elves in Iioliv.”
Yasmeen’s cells screamed silently and as if shook with no visible motion. The panic inside her grew to explosion point only to be reined in by Mora’s magic. Yasmeen scanned the surroundings and spotted a black shadow out of the corner of her eye. It approached with great speed, jumped over the water and landed on the platform. Lothissi turned back to face it and the shadow shot towards her, wrestling her to the ground as they both slid towards the edge of the platform. It was Kate! The cat bit into the vampire’s chest with its sharp teeth. The Elf’s control over them started to diminish. Yasmeen moved her numb limbs and stepped forward. As her legs wobbled, she jerked her arms to keep balance.
She observed the scene in front of her unfold whilst trying to get closer to Rav. Her legs resembled two enervated blocks. Her soul wanted to fly over the distance yet her body kept it still, caged in her impaired and slow outer frame.
Radveriel took out his knife, jumped towards Mora and knelt beside her, struggling to keep full control of his body. The vampire fought to release herself from Kate’s fanged grip, their bodies clenched together, rolling back and forth. Rav managed to raise his arm with tensed muscles but the two fighting creatures knocked him over. His body swayed and he lost his balance. The knife shrieked on the stone. Recovering like a piece of coiled spring, he rose from the floor and jumped towards the vampire whilst his other hand caught her hair as she flung Kate’s body against the dividers. The rumble blended with the cat’s growls and the vampire’s angry groans.
The long sharp blade flashed in Rav’s hand as he delivered a deadly swipe just as the vampire grabbed his neck. In an instant, he had separated Lothissi’s head from her body with one precise cut. Blood spurted from the beheaded corpse. It stained Rav’s shirt and skin with its eerie, scarlet gloom. Straightening up, he tightened his grip on Mora’s hair and threw the head into the water with a wide sweep of his arm. A splash broke out in the air. And then there was an absolute silence.
Yasmeen fell to her knees. She was so shocked she could not bring herself to react. Rav rushed towards her with enormous strides. He leaned over her and pulled at her elbow, but she could not move.
“We have to go,” he ordered coldly, blood spurting from his wounded neck.
Mora’s body had began to turn into grey dust. Rav wrapped his arm around Yasmeen’s waist and helped her to rise on her feet. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. She followed him, numb and empty inside, her shock paralysing her mind like the venom of a deadly snake.
They darted through the tunnel. Yasmeen was out of breath and she saw black and red flashes in front of her eyes. Sweat also streamed down her face. She felt Rav’s strong hand leading her forward but her vision had been impaired, making her blind. She did not know whether it had taken seconds or minutes but they reached the border of Mora’s kingdom and went through the thick, green wall of leaves. There was no road, just a wood blessed with the bright light of a sunny day.
They walked in silence for about an hour. Rav had been holding Yasmeen’s hand, his clasp strong and painful whilst his wounds still bled. Feeling started returning into Yasmeen’s body in slow waves as her brain recovered. She hissed with pain and pulled her limp fingers from his grip.
Yasmeen was shattered and awake at last, sober from Mora’s magic and tricks. The reality was awkward. Glancing at Rav, she could see a number of emotions crossing his tense and pale face. She had a momentary urge to escape far away from him but the feeling of his scent still lingered on her skin, as did the memory of his touch sending a jolt through every cell of her body.
They stopped when they arrived at a small pond with a waterfall. Kate wandered not far from them, her back bleeding but otherwise looking fine. Yasmeen sat and pulled her knees up to her chest. The movement and the corset restrai
ned her breathing. She was exhausted as she gasped for air.
“She wanted to punish me, to hurt me. She was jealous that you did not want her,” Yasmeen said. “Rav, you... I... I don’t know what really happened between us. I’m sorry.”
In fact, she was not sorry at all; she did not know what to say. She wanted to hide in the safety of Rav’s arm, to feel him once more.
“We will talk about it, Yasmeen... Later,” he said, but after a while he added, “I hurt your wrists and neck. I wanted you so much, Yasmeen... I’m sorry.”
Yasmeen shook her head as his face looked so full of pain and she fought the urge to take him into her arms to comfort him.
“She said that there were no Varuh here so there is nobody to take me back,” she whispered instead, realising that she was stuck in her current location. She did not know how she was managing to compose herself; it was as if she was suddenly a different person having buried the violent images she had seen deep into her subconscious, and remaining passive and detached from that nightmare.
Rav sat beside her and nodded.
“What will I do now, Rav?” she asked as if talking to herself more than to him.
“You can live with me and Felicia in the castle,” he said with disarming honesty, his gaze meeting hers. There was something warm in his eyes, something like a timid hope.
“Thank you for saving my life,” Yasmeen said quietly, lowering her head. She contemplated his proposition.”Are you ok? Your wounds are bleeding.”
“They are healing now. Don’t worry, Yasmeen.” he answered in a dry and hoarse voice.
Yasmeen opened her mouth to say something else, to ask him about the kiss, about how they had been in Mora’s kingdom, but Rav looked ahead. He seemed to be absent, occupied with his own thoughts. Yasmeen did not know what to think. What had he meant by saying that she could live with him? In her current situation it would be the most reasonable option; to return to Felicia’s castle. She knew that she had to find a safe location for herself and then to rethink her goals. She was confident about that. She also knew that staying in this plane for her whole life was highly probable and she began to accept this. What had he meant by ‘live with me’?