by Jillian Keep
He had suggested she cry out for this new chance when sorrow threatened to doom her to silence.
He was making her stronger. Both magically and emotionally.
And she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Yet when she grabbed something to eat, she didn’t go to rest like she knew she should.
Instead, she went into the dark of the forest.
In the clearing, that special place that was hers and hers alone until she’d introduced him to it, she stood in the dark, waiting. His presence was felt before seen.
He put his hand upon her shoulder, and turned her towards him so she could see his smiling face. Pride written on it. “You did well, despite refusing more of my help in preparing these past few days,” he said.
“I wanted to do this on my own. Clearly they have better ideas. They want to humiliate me, and I want to make them wish they’d never tried to.” Her voice was stern and confident, and she was trying so desperately hard not to get caught up in his touch.
“They’re pitting me against one of their students, who has every advantage. I need something… controllable and safe … Something that will make me a shoe in.”
He pondered that, his glimmering ruby eyes moving down as he mulled it over. “That won’t be easy,” he said truthfully. “Certainly not in a night,” he admitted, his strong hand rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. “I would need more time to teach you a spell of that sort.” It was as if he was running down a checklist of the impossible.
His hand slid down from her shoulder, over her arm until he was holding her hand. The same hand that now had a black ring about one finger from the searing heat of her spell battle.
“I’m not going to just give up. Please, just… give me something. Something that will make them see me. Need me.”
Her large, blue eyes glistened but tears wouldn’t fall. She wouldn’t let them. She needed this too badly, needed her strength too much.
His warm hand soothingly rubbed hers as he thought, then he lifted it up and inspected her burnt finger. “Poor girl,” he murmured, and with a gentlemanly delicacy, he kissed her hand softly, again, and again. Somehow the warmth of his soft lips soothed the burnt flesh.
It was intoxicating. To watch that beautiful man, his robe hung open, revealing a tantalizing display of his hard, smooth flesh, on down to the edge of his groin with him bent over to kiss her so. “I have an idea,” he murmured softly.
“Tell me,” she pleaded as she tried to keep her eyes trained on his face. The sight of his body was just too distracting, and it made her forget who he really was. What he really was.
He rose up, still holding her hand. “First,” he said delicately, “I want you to promise me you’ll forego your mastery over me. Treat me as an equal. And command me no longer… only work with me,” his almond-shaped eyes widened, and she read some hope there in them. Hope she would relent and let him go.
“When did I last command you?” she asked, her eyes narrowing a bit in scrutiny. She thought she’d been treating him rather well, especially considering what he was. She’d come to him for aid, hadn’t she? She could have made him help, but instead she’d asked.
Even in her desperation.
“That is my condition,” he said with a gentle finality, not quite letting her hand go, but leaving their grasp tenuous. “It’s only a simple promise. A few words and I will help you again to ensure you receive your just assignment.” He made it sound so simple. And she was reminded of that pang of emotion she had felt, his excitement for her at the competition. His urge to see her victorious. It had felt too genuine to be faked. Too close to her soul to be deceived, she thought.
Her teeth drew in her lower lip as she looked at him, her breath held as she chewed it. He was hers. He was supposed to be hers.
Yet everything had turned out so wrong, so differently than she anticipated. “What will you do if I say them, then?” she finally asked.
“I will keep my word and help you win this,” he said smoothly. “The rest? Well…” he deferred to her softly, lowering his eyes. “I would be free to do as I wish, no?” his curiously accented voice so lovely on her ears. “Trust must be involved between us.”
“And you won’t even tell me what you plan to do with this… freedom?” She was relying on him, needing his help. She’d almost give up the world for it but his eagerness to be free of her meagre rule made her suspicious.
He knew how desperate she was. He could surely feel it just as she had felt his joy for her.
The moment dragged on, he made her so unsure of herself! So she couldn’t trust her own judgement.
Perhaps he felt the conflict. The tough corner he had backed her into with his desperation. He brought his other hand over and clasped her between the two of his. “I will help you,” he said, a flick of his head causing his hair to spill backwards over his shoulder. “And trust that when you are selected, you will overcome your doubts of me.”
He hesitated for just a moment, “Give me your ring.”
Her head tilted as she reached for the scorched metal, pulling it off her red and inflamed finger. It stung and she was worried about being able to use it tomorrow, but she was still reluctant to hand it to him. She did it, though. Slowly.
It was a gift – the gift – from her father, after all.
The demon Varuj took her most priceless possession in hand, and held it up to the moonlight for study. He took his time, his beautifully masculine physique outlined in silver as he studied in silence.
She could never decide what to make of him. He was so strange, so alien to her. Could she trust her eyes with him? No. Her heart? She had no idea.
Without doing anything to the ring, he took her hand again, and slipped it on her finger. “Say after me,” he stated, stating the words in his own tongue so very slowly. “Ta’ruk, baum, veesh, kor’ano’tier. Alu’for, mala’kech.”
She mimicked him, uncertainty etched in her brow.
Nodding to her in approval, he said, “Wa’roosh,” in finality, and she had no choice but to repeat it after him.
Varuj bent down, he kissed her hand again in that gentlemanly fashion, she saw the cloud of blue fill the clear gem, as if matching her eyes in colour. He gave a soft blow of warm air across her ring and she witnessed as tendrils of red snaked through the shimmering azure until all motion ceased and the colours locked, the ring changed. Forever, she felt.
She swallowed nervously, once more astonished by how much she trusted him. That’s why she didn’t want to release him.
She was afraid he’d know. That he’d learn just how much she’d grown to actually trust a demon. It wasn’t right.
It was her deepest secret.
“What did we do?”
“When you need it,” he said slowly, affectionately, “help will come.” He smiled softly and leaned in, kissing her forehead so tenderly. Lingering there until she could only shut her eyes and shudder.
When they opened again, he was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 10
Firia went to sleep once she arrived home, it was before her father finished work so she didn’t see him. Nor did she when she awoke the next morning, as he still rested from his night of work.
She didn’t need to guess what he thought. If she had good news, she would’ve told him. He had to know that.
As she ate her breakfast though, she couldn’t help but be grateful for the restful sleep she had. She’d dreamt, yes, but it was soothing. That warm sense of companionship accompanying her through beautiful, pastel dreamscapes. She knew he had a hand in it. Though it was hard to be upset with him when she’d asked him for help, and getting rest for this day was something she worried about immensely.
Firia set off as quickly as she could after eating; she didn’t want to bother her father. Not until she had good news for him, if she could help it. And she wished to get to the competition ahead of time so that she might get an idea of what was to come.
When she arrived, however, the first thing
she noticed were the constables waiting.
For her it seemed.
“Firia Tunst?” said the elven constable, undoubtedly in charge of the other two humans in lesser uniform dress.
Her hands went behind her back submissively as she tried to stand up straighter. To look confident. “Yes,” she answered rigidly but her heart was in her throat and she nearly felt like she’d choke on it.
One of the human constables stepped in front of his boss and interjected. “We heard tales of a competition out of control the other day,” the elf muttered “assault” behind him, though it didn’t interfere with the man’s speech. “When we investigated we came to believe there was not enough evidence to charge anyone with assault, however…” he took a deep breath and looked hesitant to continue.
“There were tales of a human woman with a crystal ring. Most… peculiar,” the elf said, his words rich with implication.
“Yes,” added the human, giving a bit of a harsh look to the elf before peering back to her. “Was that you? And do you have the ring?”
She blinked and her head cocked to the side, surprised that this was what they’d stopped her for. It hadn’t even occurred to her that her ring…
She’d never asked her father how he’d gotten it. She just assumed he’d scrimped and saved…
“It… was a gift. For the competition.”
The elf looked about to scoff, but the human constable nodded and looked understanding. “Of course, miss. Can I see it?” he asked cordially.
The elf added in, “There was a crystal ring reported stolen but three days ago.”
“From where?” she asked even as she looked to the human, her dark brows knit in a plea of compassion and fear. They were going to take it from her. They’d never let her keep it, and that was the only thing that she had left.
It was her only way to succeed today.
“Can I see it please, ma’am?” the human reiterated, and she realized she wasn’t the one able to ask questions here. Though within her she could feel the warm glow of Varuj, comfortingly tingle, so much like his warm embrace.
She slowly withdrew her hand from her cloak, her flesh still raw beneath the band. Her hand trembled and her eyes were filling with tears even as she tried to speak. “He would never steal. Never. Not even for me.”
As the human constable gently took her hand and inspected the ring, the elf questioned abruptly, “Who? Who wouldn’t? A relative?” his questions so insistent.
The kindly man gave her a gentle smile. “Was it your father, a brother perhaps?”
She was almost grateful that the human’s palm calmed the trembling of her fingers, but she looked up at the elf with a pitiful stare.
Her lip trembled but still she couldn’t bear the thought of turning her father in. He’d never do that. Never steal for her.
A darker thought occurred to her, then, and her gaze moved to the elf. What if this was all a ploy to take her out of the running? The ring wasn’t stolen at all. She felt confident in that, and her shoulders squared as her free hand brushed away her tears.
“This wasn’t stolen.”
The elf’s face hardened and he looked about to tear into her with his mean spirited words, though remarkably, the human held up a hand and silenced him before addressing her again. “Please miss, we need to investigate, and refusing to answer us will only increase suspicion. On yourself and whoever you’re trying to protect.” He looked genuinely bothered by the notion. “Just tell us who gave it to you. We won’t jump to any conclusions.”
“You already have by stopping me,” she whimpered. “Almost every other elf around here has a ring, but I’m the one being questioned because I’m a human. But I was given the ring by someone who would never steal. Please … Please, this is my only chance.”
She was trying so hard to be strong but her slender body was battling sobs of frustration.
The elf butted in: “Confiscate the ring, hold her under suspicion as we –”
The human cut him off again. “It’s too late for that,” he said, the elf looking startled and surprised.
“What?”
He held up her hand, showing the azure ring. “It’s been bound to her soul,” he said simply.
To which the elf stammered, “That’s not possible… she’s not even an acolyte.”
The human shrugged his shoulders and smiled, though she could tell he tried to resist it. “She’s more skilled than she looks. It matches her eyes, see?” he held her hand up higher, that shimmering azure that Varuj had set in her ring being some sign of the powerful jewel being bound to her soul.
“We couldn’t take this from her even if we wanted to,” he remarked, and she could almost hear Varuj inside her, assuring her he’d taken care of it all for her.
She tried not to look surprised, and forced her gaze to the ground.
Had the demon known this? How could he have?
She took a deep breath in, trying to steady herself, but it was pointless. She felt like a trembling leaf about to fall.
“I would have won the competition yesterday. Even you said there wasn’t enough to warrant an assault charge. I’m…” she paused. “I have an aptitude for magic.”
“That much is clear,” said the kindly officer. “Very well, miss. I won’t keep you from your contest, but know this isn’t the end of this. Not entirely.” He gave her a cordial bow: “Good day. And good luck,” he added with a smile. He gestured to the other two, and she noticed that that despite the fact the elf wore a more fanciful uniform, it was the human who was the higher ranked one. The subtle pips on his collar displaying it even though the ostentatious garb of the elf had drawn her attention at first.
She felt like she was going to faint, and she leaned against a tree to steady her nerves.
How did you know?
I didn’t, came his soothing voice. It was merely a part of the greater plan. I told you, I would be there when you needed me, and so I was, and shall be.
Her thumb ran over the ring, as if caressing it thoughtfully before she pushed herself up on her own two feet. She wore the same robe she had the day before, but she’d left her black hair down, leaving it to curl lightly at her shoulders.
Wish me luck.
You shall not need luck if you embrace me, he responded in that smooth voice, which translated even in her mind so seductively.
When she went to the same arena as the day before, she found a much smaller setup, though the elves from the academy the previous night were there still. Ready and waiting. There was, however, no sight of the elder human wizard. Which meant it truly would be her last chance.
The elvish master spoke, and his booming voice carried. “Show us something new today, young miss. And this time, we have one of our own students to display some true mastery. In case you get carried away again.”
The beautiful elf that strode out in the field beside her wore an uneven smirk that marred his handsome features. Though he looked ready to humiliate her the first chance he got.
She tried to match his look, but she was certain it came out more as a fearful grimace. That forced confidence was wrestling with her insecurities and she forced herself up straighter. “I won’t get carried away.”
The only response she received was a flourish and a twirl, as the elf created a display of lights that shimmered and sparkled about the tent. It drew more of the attention from the great crowds, the pop of the explosions, the beautiful imagery of human-sized dragonflies cavorting with fawns and floating tufts of white seeds on the air.
She didn’t know how to create illusions like that. It was an advanced skill that required great tutelage, and couldn’t be picked up on your own, not like she had to do.
However, she did have something nearly as good. With a bit of added style, she made the hand gestures she practiced so hard, and from out of her came the shimmering form of her familiar, the iridescent fox bounding from her chest and onto the grass to prance and cavort excitedly.
As s
he made it perform tricks and alter its form – from a fox to a snake, from a snake to a great shelled tortoise – her mind worked on other things. She didn’t know how seriously they expected her to compete against a far more learned magician than her, but she didn’t want to stop at this.
The brazier was lit nearby as the day before, and an idea sprung to mind. They didn’t wish to see her tricks with fire again, but perhaps they wouldn’t mind using that to achieve something else.
She redirected the fire from the brazier to beneath the basin of water, and as her opponents impressive light show continued, and her familiar went from fox to antelope, she made the water boil. It was that steam she wanted, and with great concentration she was able to redirect it through the heat that coursed through those miniature water droplets.
Her knack for such things didn’t just end at controlling flames, she could remove heat from objects. So she drained it from the steam, and with the aid of her ring she created a crystalline lightshow of her own. The sparkling snow and ice flakes glimmering and reflecting the light from not only her proud antelope familiar, but the neighbouring competitor’s show as well.
It was like those pleasantly cool flakes were serving as a magnifier, taking what the elf did and making it into something a little more special.
She found herself laughing a little, not maliciously, but at the miracle of her own little trick, which she’d come up with all on her own.
It almost caused her to miss the work of her competitor, who was subtly turning her work against her.
The evaporated water was forming into great crystalline shards, that began to fall and impale the earth around her. Each one bigger than the last. She knew it wasn’t her handiwork, but his, though she had little idea how to counter it.
The fire, she thought, and tried to redirected it back to the air to end the icy presence. Though when she did, something strange happened. The elf had interfered yet again!
Panic took over as the flame, instead of going into the air to melt the crystals, was instead careening directly towards her. Nothing she did could make it change course or alter! It was a ball of death that was on an unalterable course for her!