by Paula Nicole
“I never break a promise,” Lord Shade hissed. “Remember that, my dearest soul.”
Lindsey watched silently as Lord Shade faded away in front of her. He then appeared in the mirror, behind Kyle. With one wave of his hand Kyle disappeared and reappeared in the house where had had first kept Lindsey. His face wrinkled with confusion and he rubbed his hand through his thick, black locks.
“Lynn!” He called.
Kyle paced around the living room, gathering his train of interrupted thoughts. He still held a gun in one hand, his finger teasing the trigger.
Lindsey stared at him, taking a little pleasure from how his cool, steel exterior had weakened. Kyle was a mess now. He could not comprehend how his bride and Lord Shade could disappear with no clues left behind.
“Lynn!” He yelled again.
A gentle voice enchanted Lindsey’s attention away from the mirror. She turned to Lord Shade, who stood feet behind her. A fine, dark mist hung around him, slowly making its way over to Lindsey. It fogged around her ankles, like ghostly shackles.
“Now,” Lord Shade said loudly.
Lindsey’s wide eyes stared into his. She was terrified of what was to come next. The pleasure of seeing Kyle so distressed had completely melted away. Now all Lindsey could think was that this creature before her possessed her immortal soul.
“You are mine,” He smirked. “A deal is a deal.”
“I intend to keep my promise,” Lindsey murmured, although it was half-hearted.
“Good. I am glad.”
He turned away from Lindsey, glancing at the mirror where Kyle paced in circles. Lord Shade’s smile softened and he extended his hand to Lindsey.
She looked at his hand suspiciously.
“Lindsey,” Lord Shade said softly. “I want to show you something.”
Lindsey bit down on her lip, avoiding his eyes. But then his hand landed upon her shoulder and his smooth voice came again.
“I understand you may be afraid, angry even,” he went on carefully.
She looked up and was caught by his gentle, grey eyes. She felt a buzzing in her mind as its sharpness dulled. It was as if she were falling into a trance, caused by those hypnotic eyes.
“But Lindsey, my precious one, you are in no danger.” He paused, examining her reaction.
Lindsey gazed dreamily at him. Her lips were parted gently and her shoulders were dropped, her arms dangled loosely by her sides. She felt as if she could just lie down there and fall asleep, but Lord Shade had other ideas.
“You must be hungry,” he said suddenly.
His smile changed, becoming more sly than sweet. His eyes glittered knowingly. But Lindsey was too enthralled to notice.
“Come,” Lord Shade ordered. “My little soul, follow me.”
His long arm crooked around her, gathering her to him. Lindsey was guided from the room, leaving the mirrors behind them. Yet even in her dreamy state, Lindsey knew she would return to them again soon; she yearned to watch Kyle struggle.
However, Lindsey did not know Kyle as well as he knew her. Unbeknown to her, Kyle was far more determined than ever before to have her.
Chapter Twenty Nine
A dark air gathered around the house, choking the goodness out of any occupants inside. But there had been little goodness to begin with; for it had been stolen away the day before. Without a glimmer of a clue or a hint of where the light had gone; Lindsey had vanished from Kyle’s life. She was gone.
Lynn chose to walk with tender steps as she approached him. Kyle was hunched over the kitchen table. His face was covered by his hands and messy black hair. Being cautious, Lynn kept her distance from him, knowing that this was the first time in years Kyle had nothing to keep him from losing his senses, from giving into the madness deep within him.
Lynn knew Kyle had to get her back. And soon.
“I tried to gather everyone to search, but no one would come,” Lynn admitted softly. She wished she had better news for Kyle, but to lie to him would make the matter worse. If the cult had broken up, they had to make a new one.
“Where is she?” Lynn heard Kyle question an invisible ear. “Where did he take her?”
Lynn frowned, approaching him silently.
“Kyle,” she finally said, making her voice firm but calm. “No one could find her.”
There was a loud crash; Kyle had slammed his hands down onto the table.
“How can they just disappear?” He growled.
Lynn looked down, shaking her head gently. “Kyle, the cult has deserted you. There is no power or reward at the end of this. It is over.”
“It can’t be!” He hissed angrily. “This is not over!”
Lynn stepped back, knowing how Kyle’s temper could flare up. By now she was beginning to wish she had fled with the rest of the cult. There wasn’t much left for her with Kyle, and yet she could not leave him in his hour of need; she felt responsible for him.
“It is just us,” she whispered.
Kyle drew a sharp breath and with clenched fists he turned to face her. His face was dark, his eyes wet and shimmering with a plan.
“I will find more members,” he told Lynn firmly. “And we will find her.”
“And what about Lord Shade?” Lynn questioned.
With a malicious smirk, Kyle chuckled to himself.
“I am going to kill that bastard.”
Sighing, Lynn headed back towards the kitchen door. She felt herself being drawn away from the man she had stood beside for years. This was the man she had looked up to and followed, obeying him unconditionally. But now he was weak. Kyle was not the powerful ruler he had promised to be. Moreover, with the betrayal of Lord Shade, it was made obvious the quest for this mysterious power source was no more than a game, and all games come to an end.
There was no prize at the end.
“Lynn,” Kyle said suddenly.
She spun toward him, her gaze lowered as he rose to his feet.
“I would not blame you if you decided to leave also,” he told her quietly.
She smiled lightly and gave a quick nod. “Thank you, Kyle. But I am staying,” was all she whispered. And then Lynn left the room.
Kyle ran his hand through his dark, messy locks and managed a small smile, which was twisted and worn. “This isn’t over for me,” he repeated softly to himself. “She will be mine again.”
Chapter Thirty
Lindsey found herself gazing down a long glass table, with bright red roses captured within the glass. Lindsey traced a stem from the surface of the glass, trying her best not to look at the tempting banquet Lord Shade had conjured for her. Despite the allure of the food and the warm smile Lord Shade wore, Lindsey did not feel comfortable at this dinner party for two. There was something in the atmosphere, a dark circling mist.
Although Lord Shade did smile, at closer inspection his eyes seemed to glisten knowingly. Lindsey felt as if he were a hunter, watching with a wicked sense of pleasure as his prey unknowingly stumbled into his snare.
But what more could Lord Shade do to trap Lindsey? After all, he apparently now had ownership over her soul. What more could he take of her?
“Lindsey,” Lord Shade called across the table, making Lindsey jump.
Her thoughts were shattered around her, exposing her again to the demon’s feast. She forced a smile and secretly twiddled with her fingers under the table.
“You look like a lost soul,” Lord Shade joked. “I thought this would please you.”
Lindsey looked him dead in the eye and uttered that she was not hungry. She expected Lord Shade to grow angry or for him to remind her of her position, but instead he gave a slight nod and waved his hand over the food, causing the display to vanish before Lindsey’s eyes. She stared, silently wondering how long it would take her to get used to this dream like world.
“Did you make the mirrors?” She asked him suddenly.
Lord Shade’s smiled widened, drawing Lindsey in closer. She wanted to know more about this stran
ge world; she wanted to prove to herself that this was not a dream. But most of all, she wanted to understand.
“I wish I could astonish you and say that I did, but that would be lying,” Lord Shade admitted openly.
Lindsey’s eyes flashed and more questions flooded into her mind, making it spin like a wheel. She threw her next question out before Lord Shade could change the subject.
“How did they come to be?”
“They were made,” Lord Shade replied quietly.
“By who?” Lindsey pressed on.
Lord Shade fell silent, and Lindsey knew then that this was a mystery Lord Shade did not want her to solve. She watched him closely, trembling slightly as he got to his feet and came to her side.
“Lindsey,” he said softly. “If you are not going to eat anything, then I would very much like to give you something.”
He extended his hand to her.
Biting down on her lip, Lindsey accepted his hand and followed him from the grand dining room but she found it hard to keep up with his fast, confident strides, as she was still wearing the heavy wedding dress.
Suddenly Lord Shade stopped and he looked back at her, frowning slightly as his eyes rested upon the ring around Lindsey’s finger.
“Give the ring to me,” he ordered in a low voice.
Lindsey gladly obeyed. She slid the ring from her finger and planted it in Lord Shade’s palm. She watched suddenly caught fire. Her eyes flashed, but the ring and the fire disintegrated into ash just as sudden as the fire had appeared.
“Now, before I give you your gift, I suppose you would like something more…comfortable.”
Lindsey nodded enthusiastically and gestured to the wedding dress she wore. “I never want to see it again!”
“Good,” Lord Shade said frostily. “You won’t.”
He let go of her hand and took a step back, casting one last glare at the dress. Suddenly Lindsey felt light and her limbs were free to move without restriction. She looked down and was amazed to see that Kyle’s wedding dress was no more. For in its place cascaded a dark red, lace dress, which hugged to her smooth curves and yet it was free around her legs and ended before her ankles.
Lindsey lightly clutched the light fabric of the dress as she examined it with wide eyes.
“I take good care of what belongs to me,” Lord Shade said to Lindsey. He was smirking, holding his head up high with a sinful amount of pride.
Lindsey looked up from the dress, feeling her amazement shatter around her when she realized the harsh truth of her situation. She was no longer a being onto her own right, not even a prisoner, now she was a possession. His possession.
“Now we can move on from that charade of a wedding,” Lord Shade went on ruthlessly. He took Lindsey’s hand in his and guided her along through the ballroom again.
“Your home is truly breath-taking,” Lindsey complimented quietly. She hoped to charm the sharp edge away from his voice.
Lord Shade stopped once more and gazed back at her, his gentle smile returning once more onto his full, tempting lips. Lindsey couldn’t help but mimic a smile back at him.
His eyes seemed to sparkle seductively, and those pin point, black pupils in the light pools of his eyes suddenly enlarged.
Lindsey was captivated.
“I am glad you like it,” he said at last. “But you will like your gift even more. Now close your eyes, my precious.”
Lindsey obeyed.
As soon as Lindsey’s long, black lashes locked together, she felt the air change around her. The warmth of the palace that had hugged her skin was replaced by empty air, as if all reality had sunk into itself around them, leaving neither warmth nor chill.
Lindsey’s eyes snapped open, revealing the new scene that surrounded her. It was a far cry from the luxurious palace that Lord Shade had first brought her to. The glittering chandeliers were gone, the marble floors melted away and were replaced by the deep emptiness Lindsey felt deep within her.
Everything was white.
“What is this?” Lindsey asked quietly.
Her voice seemed to echo around the empty space, although it could not reflect off of anything. This astounded Lindsey, and yet she was beginning to become desensitized to the grandeur of Lord Shade’s world, or so she thought.
“Lindsey, this is my gift to you,” Lord Shade explained to her, his voice was lifted by a mixture of excitement and pride.
Lindsey’s eyebrow lifted and she looked upon the space once more. She could not figure out why Lord Shade was giving this to her. Was it a new world he had created for her? Perhaps it was somewhere he could put her as punishment or a sort of means for her to relax? Whatever it was, Lindsey did not feel at ease.
Gently, Lord Shade captured Lindsey’s free hand in his and he held her close. “What is your favourite place?”
Lindsey smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but before she could breathe a word their surroundings were changing. The emptiness was ripped away like a blanket of paper and light poured in, blinding Lindsey. She shut her eyes and covered her face until she heard a musical tweet from nearby.
Confused, Lindsey forced her eyes open and over time they adjusted to the light. A gasp escaped her lips as she laid her eyes on the long green strands of grass, which danced around her feet, lightly licking her skin.
“Where?” Lindsey whispered, but she already knew the answer to her question.
She was home.
Overcome with childish excitement, Lindsey pulled her hands from Lord Shade, who willingly let her go, and she dashed through the lush grass, hurrying towards the tall willow tree, which stooped on a green hill. A wooden swing dangled from a tree branch, gently rocking in the summer breeze. She spent the best part of her childhood on that swing.
Lindsey continued running until she could gaze upon the slight beyond the hill, where she found a place she had never dreamed she would see again.
“Oh God…”
She reached out towards the country house with a pale arm and slowly curled up her fingers, trying to grasp. But all she caught in her hand was air.
“It’s…”
It was her childhood home.
“Not an illusion, my dear child,” Lord Shade chuckled softly.
Lindsey glanced over her shoulder to find him close behind her. He cast her a gentle smile and gestured to the country house.
“Anywhere you wish to go, anything you wish to see will be here,” he told her.
Lindsey stared beyond the house, her eyes dazzled by the far stretching fields and blue horizon. Suddenly she felt his hands upon her shoulders, resting on her lightly.
“A world without boundaries is my gift to you,” he whispered into her ear.
Lindsey was enchanted by the gift, so much so that her worries for her soul seemed to be brushed to the side. With eager steps, she rushed down the hill as she had done many times before as a child, then she swept through the stepping stones, coming to the entry of the country house. To her delight, the door was already open, revealing the warm heart of the house. The sweet scent of baking was cast over her.
Bright eyed with childhood memories, Lindsey rushed into the house without a second thought and began to look around, touching things and picking up small trinkets and memories from her childhood. It was perfect down to every detail; nothing was out of place or missing. This was her youth, her carefree days. This was home.
Lord Shade watched her with amusement from the doorway. He wore a slight smirk, but said nothing until Lindsey excitedly returned to his side after exploring the front room.
“It is perfect!” She beamed happily. “Thank you for this.”
“Don’t thank me; thank yourself,” Lord Shade replied coolly. “It is you that made everything you see before you. Anything you want to see will be.”
Lindsey cast him one last excited smile before disappearing into the living room. With childlike delight she explored the cosy cottage, enjoying every room with great awe until she reached her bedroom.
She paused outside, staring in at the made bed and porcelain doll leaning upon the pillows. Lindsey was aware that Lord Shade was behind her, watching eagerly as she made the most of his world.
And so she entered her childhood bedroom and found that it was exactly as she remembered it; her light purple walls were cluttered with posters and pictures of animals both real and imaginary. Little plush toys littered cupboard tops and a mixture of action figures and fashion dolls sat side by side outside a pale purple dollhouse.
“You were a happy child,” Lord Shade stated quietly.
Smiling, Lindsey placed herself onto the bed, finding it was a lot smaller than she had once thought. She looked to the mysterious man in the doorway of her childhood sanctuary and nodded in response.
“I was very happy here,” she agreed.
Gazing at her beloved possessions, Lindsey set her mind back and remembered how tears rolled down her eyes as the family car pulled away from the country cottage for the last time. Her little, white fingers pressed against the cool glass of the window screen, leaving trails as she tried to grasp hold of the memories she had made there, these memories she clutched dearly, but now they were more vivid than ever before. Her childhood was brought to life before her.
“Did you watch me then?” Lindsey asked suddenly, breaking herself out of the dreamy daze.
Lord Shade stepped closer, his eyes striking Lindsey’s like a hot steel rod. “Yes,” he told her. “I first saw you when you were on a school trip.”
Lindsey’s eyebrow arched with intrigue. She was desperate to know just how long she had been under Lord Shade’s gaze.
“You were alone,” Lord Shade said with a wistful smile. His eyes seemed to glisten with the memory. “You had wandered from the rest of your group, drawn away by your own curiosity.” He paused. A large grin creased his soft lips. “You women are so inquisitive, even as children!” He laughed playfully.