by Ruby Duvall
“Then why do black-haired people have it intrinsically?”
“The presence of magic marks those who are meant to serve as the protectors, warriors and leaders. They are chosen by the Divine One. The mark of magic is black hair. It is not black hair that decides if you have magic. It is magic that gives you black hair. You are meant to blend into the dark better than others, to fight the monsters that come out after the sun has set. Your hair is a recognizable color against a bright sky, showing all others that you are there to lead them.”
“So a brown-haired father and black-haired mother could produce a blonde child?” she asked, thinking of her own family.
“Most certainly. The Divine One chooses to whom he grants magic and how much. Sometimes, though, His will seemed so mysterious. Black-haired families usually produced only black-haired children, but occasionally, one child would be born blonde. Only years later would we learn why such a child would have such a fate.”
“But Majo had said that only a few of those with black hair had intrinsic magic. Not all of them,” she said, her voice showing her confusion. She was never very good with keeping track of complicated histories.
“Either she didn’t know or she lied. All people with black hair have magic, almost always stronger than those who acquire it.”
“Then…my mother had magic?” she said with no small amount of surprise, wondering how her mother had hidden it her whole life.
“It’s not difficult to smother one’s magic and if you do it long enough, you can kill it. Your mother’s magic had probably died long ago.” Her face looked a bit sad then as she wondered to herself how it would feel to kill the magic inside her by restricting it for long enough. Her magic wriggled as if sensing her thoughts and she let it do so this time, not comfortable anymore with squeezing it until it stopped.
“You said some people can acquire magic. Even blondies?”
“A blondie would have to pray to the Divine One and perform many complicated rituals, spanning the breadth of a decade, before they would even feel the slightest touch of magic. Those with dark brown hair can acquire a sizeable amount of magic in only a couple of years, using simple rituals.”
He spoke as if he hadn’t talked of such things for a long time. The words seemed to come to him only after a great deal of thought. She nodded slowly, finally understanding.
“So you were a warrior of the ruling class. You protected the people from the Damned One.”
“Yes. My friends and I were Guardians. I specialized in Protection magic, and Rosuke specialized in Offensive magic. We were both training Yasuke to see which he excelled in the most.”
“But who protects the people now? I only know of the priests’ barrier charms and I give worship outside the temple grounds, so I do not know much about the Divine One’s priests.”
“You may not have noticed since it’s probably rare for you to meet a priest, but most have very dark brown hair and they are amongst the very few that know most of what the world was like before. They are not the best substitutes for black-haired warriors but their dark hair is a sign that they have some magic ability. It’s all the people have now to keep them safe.”
“How are you able to pass the barrier charms? I mean…you…” She stopped, no longer able to call him a demon to his face. She sorely regretted the times she had called him evil when really his worst crime had been to seduce women, a crime that many men were guilty of. He seemed to ignore the implication she had made, probably because it was true, even if she didn’t say it.
“Barrier charms work because the prayers of priests are etched into the wooden slabs. The prayer, though, is sometimes too specific. Larger cities are surrounded by prayers that keep out demons in general, but smaller villages and their temples are ignorant to some things and pray to keep out creatures created by the Damned One.
“I am not a creature of Oblivion, so while some cities can keep me out, villages like yours cannot.” She nodded, understanding that, at least. She thought of the various gifts he had left inside her hut throughout the week, the start of which had been the deer jerky. The next morning, she found a beautiful, sturdy wooden comb, with all of its teeth, sitting in the middle of her palm. Knowing that he had been that close to her had made her heart skip a beat when she had woken. Two mornings later, a bar of sweet-smelling soap was sitting near her head, its scent entering her dreams before she opened her eyes.
When Oka had asked her about the gifts, she hadn’t been quite sure what to tell him. She herself didn’t know the reason why Vallen had been giving her such things.
“Is he trying to win your favor?” Oka had asked. “Does he want something else from you?” Shumei had looked at her brother, holding her breath for a few heartbeats. Vallen had said he wanted her to become his mistress, to bring along her brother…perhaps the gifts were his way of wooing her?
“It’s possible. He wants me to leave the village with him. To bring you too,” she had confessed. Oka’s eyes grew wide then.
“Is he strong? Is his sword fast and accurate?”
“I don’t know, Oka—”
“If he is, you should accept, sister. We wouldn’t have to live here anymore. He could protect us,” Oka had vehemently plied her, his voice holding more emotion than she had heard out of him for a long, long time. She had simply stared at him, amazed, but he didn’t know all the facts, and she couldn’t blame him for that. She had told Oka that being friends with a demon rather than a reluctant business partner was not a good idea, and he seemed to drop it.
“What are you thinking of now, dear Shumei?” Vallen asked, his voice soft and close. She felt a shiver raise goose bumps on her skin. His voice could still affect her. She had come to love his voice—a very dangerous thing to do.
“Why are you leaving gifts in my home? I mean…they were…appreciated…but they make me feel as if you’re paying me, as if I’m the whore I feared I would become, and the gifts have also caused me a fair share of trouble,” she said slowly, feeling a bit torn over the whole issue. With each gift, she had been pleasantly surprised and all of the gifts had been either sorely needed or greatly wanted. He seemed to know exactly what she wished for. However, they were gifts from a demon that was having sex with a human girl to suck energy from her body and the gifts were very noticeable when the poorest person in the village received them.
She also thought it a very bad idea to have any soft feelings for him. Whether or not he had been human once, he was a demon now.
“What sort of trouble?” he asked, his well-sculpted eyebrows coming together just a bit. His face held a bit of worry, and she somehow felt comforted to see it.
“Someone found out about the deer meat and he confronted me. He suspects a story that’s somewhat close to the truth and I cannot have the truth come out. I can’t say anymore that I’m ashamed of the deal we made, nor can I say that the villagers’ opinion of me would be any lower should they discover the truth,” she whispered.
“But Oka…his opinion matters to me. I don’t know how he might react and…we would most certainly be banished from the village if the truth were known. I have nowhere to go,” she whispered, her gaze sliding away from the worry on his face. “I…accidentally used magic on the one who confronted me too—when he grabbed at me and…if that came out as well, I could be executed,” she explained.
She swallowed. Worry settled in her stomach like throbbing nausea. She set her face on his chest again, not sure if she could hold her head up right then and not lose her composure. He was quiet for a long moment, but this time she waited patiently as he collected his thoughts. He now seemed to be the type who wished to say something once and say it right.
“Though we shared pleasure through the Binding last week, I was still consumed with thoughts of you. I wanted to touch you,” he uttered, his hand sweeping up her bare flanks again. She writhed a bit in reaction. “I wanted to please you. I wanted to be with you, but I would never risk breaking our deal and losing any chance
of seeing you, so I spent my spare time retrieving gifts for you. They were my way of showing my desire. They were never meant as payment. The pleasure we share together is more than enough payment to meet your end of our bargain.”
“Vallen,” she whispered. He surged forward in his explanation before she could say anything more.
“It greatly gladdens me that you are no longer ashamed of the relationship we have established, however strange and unorthodox. I wanted you any way I could get you,” he strongly muttered, his arm tightening around her back and pushing her bare breasts against his body. “I realize that, as it stands now, I cannot easily win against the deal we made. I cannot have you as I truly wish.”
“Is that the reason why you have behaved so nicely today?” she asked, her voice soft and careful. She raised her head again to look at him. His mouth was open slightly. His jaw was tight with effort.
“I am still suffering from my worst flaw. From my arrogance comes cruelty, and I cannot easily control it, but I thought that if I tried to be compromising and patient…”
“You’re doing wonderfully then,” she complimented, and felt a genuine smile tugging at her cheeks, but it didn’t quite make it to her face.
“I want the name of the man who grabbed you,” he said, the hard edge in his voice betraying his anger. She knew the anger wasn’t directed at her as soon as he finished his sentence, but they had fought a lot recently, and he still made her flinch. The hand on her side stroked calmingly, even though he didn’t seem to be aware of doing it.
“W-why?” she asked. She was very certain that she didn’t want Vallen to interfere in this matter in the slightest way. That interference would assure a swift outing of their secret relationship. He must have seen the distrust in her eyes, and he was quick to reassure her.
“I promise not to hurt or contact him while our current deal still stands, Shumei, but give me his name,” he uttered.
“H-his name is Akiji,” she whispered. He simply nodded in response. She felt her magic twist a bit inside her gut and pressed herself closer to Vallen as if that would make it stop squirming. It settled again, though, and she laid an arm across her lover’s chest as she settled down again into the crook of his arm. Her chin rested on the back of her hand, braced across his chest, and she let the weight of the world slide into her eyes as she realized that, if judging the length of the candles was her guide, their time was almost up. She almost didn’t want to leave.
The tension seemed to ease out of his body, but one thing remained hard against her leg, and what had been harmless half an hour ago was now very dangerous.
“The candles have almost met their limit,” she whispered, looking into the drugged eyes of the sexy demon next to her side.
“Do you wish to ride me one more time, Shumei? Once more, before we deny ourselves for another seven long days?” His voice tempted her, his fingers petting the soft skin over her hip.
“But we’ve already…” she began, feeling the slow, delicious flowering of warmth between her thighs.
“I won’t force you. It’s your decision.” His voice sounded calm and collected as he offered her a choice, but his eyes, his face and his body pleaded with her to say yes. Seeing him forced to rein in his dominant streak actually somewhat saddened her. She found that she kind of liked his overbearing side.
Not that much time had passed since she had met him in the clearing, so it would be several more hours until Oka expected her back at their home.
She most definitely wanted him again. She wanted him just as much now as when she had spied him from the edge of the clearing that morning, and she was a bit surprised that she didn’t feel as guilty as she might have expected.
“Shumei?” he asked, his expression starting to smooth out as he tried too late to mask his intense longing.
“Yes,” she said quickly, quietly. She visibly swallowed and watched as that look came into his eyes. That look that showed exactly how hungry he was for her. That showed his elation in gaining control—so typically male. He was going to free his passions, let them overwhelm her and sweep both of them toward a wet, noisy climax.
She shrieked as he pounced on her, but this time, the sound of it was not out of fear but out of excitement.
Chapter Thirteen
She rapped her knuckles on the hard wood of the village leader’s front door. It was delivery day again, and Akki would want her medicine. Surprisingly, the door opened in a matter of seconds and Akki’s smiling face greeted her. It was a sunny morning after all, so her joints were not bothering her as much as usual. Akki’s smile was as false as ever though.
“Ah, Shumei! I was wondering when you would get here! You always make us wait,” she clucked. Shumei regarded her blandly, not pointing out that it was an hour earlier than usual.
She looked over the woman’s shoulder and saw Kimen standing farther inside on the wooden floor. He had a small pout on his face and she realized that Akki was up early to make sure he couldn’t try something again. A mean wife, but a jealous one.
She was grateful for that.
“Good morning to you, Madam Akki, Leader Kimen,” she said, lowering her eyes as she spoke, her voice monotone. Akki seemed happy to hear the annoyance in her voice.
“Well, come in, child. Leave your nice new shoes at the door and have a cup of tea with us. We have much to discuss,” she gushed, waggling her fingers at her as she gestured for her to enter their home.
She had decided to come earlier since she knew that Akki and Kimen would keep her longer this morning. She still had things to do at the field before dusk, and no doubt Akki would want to talk about marriage.
Once she and the two village leaders were seated around the table with three cups of steaming tea in front of them, Akki paid for and took her medicine. Though she looked just as pale as before, the good weather had made whatever illness she had more bearable, and her improved mood meant that she was all too happy to dish out her insults with a smile.
Shumei was happy to note that their rug wasn’t nearly as nice as Vallen’s.
“Well, now. Your birthday is approaching fast, Shumei. It’s a wonder that you made it this far after losing both of your parents,” she needled. Shumei kept her eyes on the steam rising from her cup. “You’ll need to marry soon to take some of the burden off your shoulders. You can’t take care of your precious little brother and the medicine field all by yourself.” Shumei suppressed the snarl that threatened to curl her lip. She hated the way Akki talked about her brother.
“I am doing well enough, Madam Akki, but thank you for your…thoughtfulness,” she replied, glad that she could keep her tone even. Akki was correct in that it was a big burden to work the field alone and still provide enough for her and Oka to eat every day but she was doing it. In fact, the field seemed to be flourishing lately. The plants were growing very quickly, full and healthy.
“Akiji tells me that you rejected his offer of marriage. Why would you do that, Shumei?” she asked, her smile hardening a bit.
“I do not love him, Madam Akki.” Her answer was honest, but Akki waved her hand in front of her own face as if shooing a fly, shaking her head as she spoke.
“Love is not a factor when it comes to marriage to a black-haired villager. You are extremely lucky indeed that Akiji has deluded himself into thinking that he loves you. Your love in return, however, is not a requirement.” Her thin finger pointed at Shumei as though scolding her. “And the miller’s two sons have withdrawn their offers of marriage. Akiji is the only one who wants you now, and you should be grateful that he didn’t withdraw his offer as well after your rejection.” She sounded so much like she was trying to be the well-intentioned aunt, but her words burned like acid.
“I will not marry him,” she reaffirmed. She wanted to heave a great sigh. Knowing that these blondies in front of her had power because they had overthrown her ancestors…she began to resent the pair even more. She looked up briefly to see Kimen’s reaction to her denials and a
lmost immediately regretted it. He was looking at her as if he would eat her.
“You will marry him, Shumei,” Akki said, her voice harsh. “What other choice do you have?”
“I will marry no one.”
“That is not a choice,” Akki ground out. She was no longer trying to be nice, even if it was fake.
Anger boiled inside of her. She made the vulgar gesture with her hand under the table, but it didn’t make her feel any better. Her magic trembled inside of her, and she stiffened her jaw to keep the wrong words from leaving her mouth.
It was not enough.
“This is one choice that you cannot take from me. I will marry no one,” she said forcefully, making eye contact with Akki for the first time since their conversation began.
“You dare to take that tone with me and to look me in the eye with such rancor!” she scoffed.
Shumei didn’t try to hide the distaste on her face this time. She wasn’t going to hide it anymore. If her fellows were going to treat her like dirt, then she was going to return the favor.
“Any discussion about my marriage to anyone is over and will never be brought up again. It’s none of your business,” she bit out, her eyes leaving Akki’s shocked face to look at the woman’s husband. “Leader Kimen, if you would please leave the room, I need to check your wife’s symptoms. She said she wanted a cure for some illness plaguing her, did she not?” she asked, her voice clear and loud. She wanted him out of the room since he was both disturbing and distracting. Having Akki sneering at her during an examination was bad enough.
“But she’s my wife. There’s nothing to see that I haven’t already seen,” he explained, a bit confused.
“I will not have you talk over me like a child,” Akki railed, slapping her hand on the table. “And, Shumei, you will apologize to me with your forehead on the floor or I will not buy your medicines anymore!”
“Then you can suffer from aching joints until the day you die, Madam Akki, and you can expect no help from me regarding the other disease you suffer from.”