Dahlia: A Novel of Dark Desire

by Viola Calvary

The trap she created used the same mirror as before. The residual energy and resonance from the previous trap enhanced its ability to receive her energy and intent. This time the section of the labyrinth she drew would be larger and contain additional traps within. This trap would scan and capture memories and thoughts, but she could also use it to capture minds.

  As she fed energy into the construct her mind entered the maze. She roamed the twists and turns, keeping track of where she was effortlessly. As she went she added enhancements: traps within the trap, illusions to befuddle, and bindings to slow down any attempt to thwart her ensnarement. At last she came to the exit. She went out then turned to face it. She began to draw up energy and fed it into a recreation of the wall she’d seen in Macada’s mind. She put her own signature on it as she built. Instead of the spikes she built in pressure bombs that targeted only the one attempting to dismantle it. Instead of the sickly green quality the other had possessed hers took on a flat black that would suck anything that touched it inside. She then created a version of the concealment she’d seen. Anyone looking for her exit would slide their eyes over it.

  She set two triggers, one to scan for a combination of thoughts relating to the missing researcher, a surety of how he’d gone missing, and disloyalty to the force. If it located one it would scan the mind for the others and snap if it found all three. The second trigger she placed in her own mind. She would have to be near enough to the person to use it but the effect would be potent. She would be able to pull their conscious mind into her trap and hold it there.

  She further stabilized the spells and tied her wall and concealment down to multiple roots--as opposed to the single root used in the original Ahriman had created. Hers would be harder to dismantle and more likely to harm the person attempting to. If she had found her new version in Macada’s mind she would have had a very bad night instead of just a rough one.

  She came out of the maze and baited the trap. Then she connected the ends of the creation together so the energy would continue to loop through and self-maintain. When she finally roused herself, bringing her awareness back to her body and looking up, the view out of her window was dark and she was extremely sore.

  She hoisted herself up and stumbled into the washroom. She turned on the tap and water rushed into the large tub. When Rezzi had been learning to control and concentrate his fire--rather than letting it out in his typical uncontrolled blaze--she’d had him work on infusing self maintaining heat into containers. He’d exploded quite a few cups but eventually he’d been able to create self-warming baths for the barracks. If he’d been a merchant rather than a soldier he could have made a fortune. Though, she reasoned, he probably would never have had the training to be able to do it in the first place without the force.

  She dropped her wrap and stepped in, gratefully for the luxury. She grabbed a brush and began running it in circles over her skin. The increased circulation and hot water worked miracles for sore muscles that had been stuck in one position for hours.

  From the other room she heard the door bang open.

  “I bolted the damn door!” she yelled at the intruder. She’d started to identify Kenny’s presence off the bat.

  “I must have pushed too hard.” He walked in and sat on the low stool by the tub.

  “You’re lucky I was finished or I would have fried you,” she focused on ignoring him and scrubbing the ash off her skin.

  “I felt you working. You’re loud. Been a buzz in my ear all day.”

  “You must be sensitive.”

  Kenny grinned, exposing canines, “Never been called that before.”

  Despite herself Dahlia was quickly getting comfortable with his abrupt entrances and oddly familiar presence. He didn’t push her and she felt relaxed sniping back and forth with him. She should have kicked him out but she didn’t feel vulnerable and she didn’t sense anything but amusement coming from him.

  “Want me to join you? I’ll get your back,” he offered innocently.

  “I’d prefer you keep your pants on, thanks,” she told him dismissively.

  “Arite.” In one quick motion he pulled off his rough shirt and dropped into the tub, still wearing his pants.

  “Damn it, Kenny!” Water splashed out of the tub.

  “It’s warm!” he sounded delighted.

  “I should kick you out now,” she scooted back to the edge of the tub and held her brush between them.

  “But now my pants are wet because of you. Least you can do is let me stay. Turn around, I’ll get your back.” He pulled her brush out of her hand.

  Dahlia tried not to look at the water running down his bare chest. Some really stupid part of her mind whispered how interesting it would be to trace her fingertips down the trails the drops had left behind, see where that led her. She sighed and made what she knew was not the best decision. “Fine, only because I’m tired and debating with you is like talking to a wall. Keep your pants on.”

  “Whatever makes you feel better.” He gave no indication of noticing her gaze flicker over his chest.

  She turned around and he started working down her back in gentle circles. She leaned forward and relaxed.

  “How’s it stay so warm?” he asked.

  “I had Rezzi learn to control his firepower by infusing things like tubs with self-perpetuating heat.”

  “Need to get me someone like that,” his voice rumbled in his chest, so close she could feel the vibrations.

  “There were a lot of explosions before I let him work on my tub. It was like living with a pyromaniac in a house of combustibles.”

  “Hmmmmm…” his gentle rumble was remarkably soothing. She felt herself relaxing in spite of the odd arrangement.

  They stayed like that for a while, Kenny rubbing meandering patterns on her back, apparently content. Dahlia could feel herself nodding off. Strange, she mused, she’d found him so disconcerting before. Maybe it was how his mind resonated.

  Most people had inner conflict, even if it was just over little, meaningless things like self-consciousness. Kenny projected none of that, his mind radiated complete comfort with who he was and what he was doing. She should find that scary since what he was was a brute who found meaning in fighting and dominating those who challenged him. But at least she knew where he stood. And who was she to throw rocks? She’d been born with the ability to invade minds and she’d used it. Her life’s work thus far had been to fight and lead a group of killers she cared for like family. She felt her mind circling and wandering as she inhaled the steam and let it go.

  She found herself dozing against his chest when she came to. Since the water stayed hot she had no idea how long it’d been but the tips of her fingers had wrinkled. Kenny’s head had leaned back and from the vibration against her back she gathered he was snoring gently. She’d woken up in weird situations but this one might take the prize: bathing with a monster wearing sopping wet pants.

  Her movement roused him and he watched appreciatively as she stepped out and dried off. She heard a shower of water as he stood up and a waterfall cascaded down. She ignored him and went to locate a tunic and shorts. He seated himself at the table and fiddled with a cup.

  “You’re getting everything wet.”

  “It’s your fault, you told me to keep my pants on.”

  “I did not tell you to get in the tub.”

  “It was implied.”

  “Go away, I’m going to bed.”

  “Want me to join you?”

  “No!”

  He flashed another broad grin, like she was a kitten hissing at a bear, then moved to the door, leaving an immense trail of water. When he’d left and closed the door she glared at it. The man had shoved her bolt straight out of the wall on his way in. What was wrong with him? Hell, she should be asking what was wrong with her!

  Chapter Fifteen

  She was jarred awake by a ringing voice. A glance outside told her dawn hadn’t broken yet. She jumped out of bed, collecting her sheath, axes, and boots, and dash
ed out of her room as the voice blared.

  “All captains and barrack members: an enemy force has entered the barracks. Execute a sweep.” In a sweep each barrack swept through the area between them and the next barrack down. In her case she’d head towards Barrack Nine, Kenny’s barrack.

  “The group was last reported attempting to escape towards the outer perimeter on the east side. They are suspected to have abducted the missing member of research. Take as many alive as possible. Our objective is to retrieve the abducted member and take at least one prisoner.”

  Dahlia met her troop in position and she led them at a breakneck but silent pace, spread between the circle of inner paths and the trees between the barracks and the outer wall. She focused on opening her senses to scan for anyone.

  Minutes before she heard them she sensed two groups moving towards her. The one behind had Kenny’s unmistakable presence. The one in front seemed to be from outside her forces.

  “Together at my point,” she called just loud enough. He barrack members fell in step behind her.

  “Barrack Nine has someone on the run towards us. Be ready for them to make a break when they become aware of our presence. Genji, anticipate them breaking for the perimeter and be ready to cover them. Everyone else follow me and Lieutenant Sabir and prepare to work in Genji’s cover. If they don’t break towards you, Genji, follow fast.”

  Genji broke off from the group, heading diagonally in the trees. She slowed her pace slightly to give him time to get in place and run parallel.

  She heard the group coming towards her a moment before they heard her group. She sprinted forward, Arreal keeping up with her. When the enemy force became aware of the new group descending on them they bolted. Half the group headed towards the perimeter while the rest of the members shot diagonally up and back, trying to get around Kenny’s barrack. They moved faster than the first group, no longer masking their noise. They must have been trying to draw pursuit, giving the rest a chance to escape. Dahlia sensed a stronger presence from those members that, along with their increased speed, marked them as having ranked officer equivalents among them.

  Kenny’s barrack was in sight. She shouted, “Lieutenants run point after the group heading towards Genji, soldiers with them. Watch for Genji’s cover! Ravin, over here!”

  She heard Kenny bark, “You heard the captain, men. Go!”

  Then he blurred and appeared in front of her.

  Recovering quickly from his unexpectedly fast movement she shot out, “Ravin, can you catch us up with the second group?”

  He nodded and turned. She swung onto his back and held on as he took off. She felt a pressure build underneath her as he pulled on his abilities and increased speed. She crouched tighter, making herself as small a target as possible as thin branches whipped by. The night flew past in a blur as he moved silently through the trees.

  “We’ll pick them off, force them to stop,” she called against the rush.

  She felt him nod in acknowledgement.

  Within a minute they were closing in on the men. Kenny caught up to the first one on the edge of the group and knocked him down with a quick slash of his sword to the man’s ribs before the soldier could even respond to their presence. He cried out as he fell and she felt the other soldiers turn their attention to her and Kenny. Realizing that the two captains could easily pick them off if they continued to run, the soldiers turned to face their assailants. Two leapt up to position themselves in the trees above the fight. They drew bows and trained arrows on Dahlia and Kenny. Dahlia threw herself off Kenny’s back, rolling to one side as an arrow flew towards them and the men drew weapons.

  One of the arrows struck Kenny in the shoulder and glanced off. He grinned at the men around him and shot forward, grabbing one unlucky man by his neck and hurling him into a comrade. The four others surrounded him, attempting to take the massive captain down. Kenny knocked the first man’s sword out of the way then moved in a blur to stand beside him. He ran the man through as he caught the next soldier’s blade in his bare hand. Dahlia saw blood on the blade before Kenny whipped his sword out of the first man’s body and slashed the second diagonally down his chest. The man’s rib cage showed in a flash of white before red welled up in the wound. The man fell with cry but flung out an arm and a thin spike the length of Dahlia’s forearm appeared in front of him. Kenny twisted in time to avoid being hit in the chest, but he roared as the spike shot through his shoulder. He brought his sword down again, throwing more weight behind it and cleaving the man in half.

  Dahlia had moved to intercept the three other men surrounding them. She gestured and three women, identical to her, appeared. Her puppets: manifestations of similar speed and skill with weapons, though only partial strength.

  Two of the men startled and hung back for a moment but one assumed they were just illusions and tried to continue through them. Two of her puppets fell on him and he found his blade caught on the first woman’s weapons as the other ripped into him with her ax.

  Dahlia felt an arrow tear into her shoulder and she pointed towards the archer and released the trigger she’d set for her trap. The man froze then fell slowly from the tree, landing at the bottom with a painful thud. Behind her she heard another thud and crunch as Kenny grabbed one of the men near him and slammed the man into a tree. The man she’d trapped let out a disoriented sob as he lay on the ground.

  Dahlia ripped the arrow out of her shoulder and countered as one of the men reached her. She caught his blade with both her axes and spun it to the ground. She brought an ax back up and slashed at his throat. He moved in the nick of time, backing up rapidly and she felt energy gathering around him as he drew on his abilities. She smiled, pointed a finger at him, and fired a psyche shot directly into his face. He went down, dazed by the assault on his mind. The energy around him dissipated. She smacked him across the temple with the flat of her ax and he was knocked out cold. Kenny’s blade flashed by her as he threw his sword like a javelin and speared the second archer through the shoulder. The man rocked back, thrown off balance by the momentum, and fell.

  She turned towards the other two men and her puppets. Her first two puppets had taken the man they’d attacked down while the third danced backwards, pursued by the other soldier. Dahlia turned and waved the first two puppets to restrain the archers at the base of the tree. She stepped in front of the third puppet and caught a strike from the soldier pursuing the puppet on her own ax. Dahlia shoved the blade up and swung her shin into his knee causing it to buckle with a crack. He fell to the other knee, throwing out a hand to catch himself. Dahlia cruelly kicked the hand out from under him, catching the sword again with her ax as he tried to lash out at her. Then she swung the flat of her second ax into the side of his head with enough force to dislocate his jaw. He dropped as well.

  She turned to see Kenny had incapacitated the last man, breaking both arms then lifting him up by the neck. The man’s feet hung a few inches above the ground as Kenny looked at him with disappointment. Her third puppet was standing nearby.

  That meant Kenny had taken out five plus one of the archers. She and her puppets had accounted for another three and the second archer. Adrenaline from the thrill of pursuit beat in her ears as she looked around for any soldier still standing.

  She heard the man drop and felt Kenny move towards her. She turned to see the dark, primal god she’d witnessed before. His black eyes were on fire with the heat of the fight. Her body, already high from the exertion of combat, responded to his hunger. The lust she’d pushed down before flooded into her veins. She felt her sanity engulfed by a feral, vicious desire that found resonance with him.

  He caught her up and slammed her back against a tree as she hooked her legs over his hips. Her inner demon whispered in the back of her mind and she drowned in her primitive lusts for conflict, dominance, and sex. She let her demon out to play and let her dark, blood-soaked god take her. As their prey lay around her and blood trickled down her chest from her lover’s wounds she
felt him press his body into hers. She leaned her head back and howled out insane laughter.

  Feeling him buried in her stoked some animalistic desire into an all-consuming need and every scrap of humanity vanished. She grabbed at him, swore, and rode him as he satiated a hunger she’d never let free before. His scent, mixing with the tang of blood, filled her nostrils, drove her mad. She needed to immerse in the sensations. Pain, pleasure, everything that touched her senses she wanted to drown in. The desire to fill her mind with nothing but the raw, physicality of sex, burning muscles, and pleasure overwhelmed her. Her body demanded more.

  “Harder, I want you to make me scream,” her voice was almost unrecognizable.

  He moved faster inside her. Feral and savage, she felt the madness they’d been caught in consume her mind. She growled and moaned, encouraging him to take her even deeper.

  She nipped at his shoulder that had taken the spike and she tasted blood. She felt the growl of a beast vibrate from his body and she lapped at the light marks she’d left. Holding her up with one hand he pushed the other into her hair and forced her mouth against his. The hot, iron taste of blood filled her again as their tongues met and she moaned in pleasure and need.

  He filled her completely, slamming against her inner wall. Pain coupled with pleasure, pushing her higher towards satiation. The hand in her hair tightened and pulled her head back so her neck arched and her chest was thrust forward, bared for him. He bit her breast and she could feel the skin breaking. She couldn’t twist away. She felt caught, restrained, and she reveled in it. She cried out and pushed harder against his grip, forcing him to tighten it even more.

  She dug her fingers into his waist, gripped him tighter with her thighs, and pulled him closer, deeper as he thrust into her. She felt herself finally breaking, the rush drawing her further into her raw need. She released him, raised her arms above her head and planted her palms into the tree, pushing her hips down onto him as she came. The madness in her satisfied, the storm in her mind abated and left a passive lull behind.