by Laura Hawks
Mel frowned instantly at her quiet gasp.
“Are you hurt?” he asked while slightly increasing the pressure on her waist, making her flinch. He gave her an angry glare. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Instantaneously, he realized his own pain was gone and she seemed to be sore where he was just minutes ago. Incredulously, he immediately knew what she had done. “You healed me? Are you daft or just pretend to be an idiot, because I know damned well you’re not stupid. It was a fucking minor injury. I barely noticed the pain, having suffered far worse.”
Clarissa twisted around slightly and glared back at him. “You’re welcome. Besides, I didn’t expect you to be pressing on it. It’s not that bad.”
“I can see that.”
Mel smirked sarcastically. He grabbed her and pulled her back against his chest. Placing his hand flat over her breast, he sent a short power bolt into her body, healing the bruised and broken parts.
“Better?”
“Much. Thank you. I would have healed on my own though.” Clarissa held on tighter to the beast as it seemed to be swaying more.
Mel dropped his head to rest his chin on her shoulder, the gently swaying of the beast strangely soothing.
“You didn’t need to take my pain away and you don’t need to hide your pain from me. I’m here to help, remember?”
She sighed. “I know and I really appreciate it. I just feel like you’re always healing me or something. I just hold the opinion that I’m always getting something from you and I’m not used to it. I’m acclimatized to standing on my own. I’m accustomed to being alone and having no assistance.”
Chuckling and gently teasing her, “I get the gem remember? It may not be as exquisite as the jewel in my arms but,” he shrugged. “It will have to do.”
If not for the teasing tone and chuckle she would have thought he was serious but she knew he was kidding her and she relaxed against him, enjoying the feel of him wrapped around her.
“Well you have to get out of this realm to claim any prize you think you’re entitled to. So far, you’re not doing so good,” she teased back.
Mel smiled against her hair, placing his hand under her chin to tilt her face back towards his. He couldn’t help but focus on her lips as he teased her a bit more, enjoying the lightness they shared, “I don’t need to leave this realm to see the prize I want to claim.”
Mel dipped his head and took possession of her lips in a slow, gentle kiss. He savored her scent and the softness of her mouth against his. His body flared to life at the taste of her and he moved his hand down to stroke the skin of her neck, his hand open over her throat. Mel pushed her lips apart with his tongue. As he slipped inside her warm mouth, he made a whimpering sound when his tongue touched hers. A slight tremor passed through his body and the barren, cold landscape disappeared as a furnace erupted within him.
His touch already made her head swim but when he kissed her so softly with a gentleness she had not seen before, tenderness belied his cold stance and icy eyes that she had only seen from the moment they first met. A fire spread throughout every nerve she had. She moaned into his mouth as he whimpered into hers. She reached around with her free hand and cupped the back of his head pressing him closer to her. His scent permeated her senses, his touch enflamed her, causing her body to respond as she felt her juices pool between her legs. His taste enthralled her and she silently begged for more. His words bounced within her mind. He thought her a prize to claim, not the stone but her and in that instant she knew the truth of his statement. He desired her and as soon as that registered, she admitted to herself the one that she had previously denied, she still wanted him.
He took a hold of her shoulders and flipped her around to face him before grabbing her face and deepening the kiss. His tongue dueled with hers as the gentle kiss turned into a frenzied meeting of lips, tongues and hands. All coherent thought left his brain as his lust took over. He never wanted another being as much as he wanted her. The very thought rocked him to his core. He moved his hand down to cup her breast, growling deep in his chest as her rock hard nipples teased his palm. His senses swam at her responsiveness and he feared she managed to cause a crack in the ice cold organ others called a heart. There had to be a way to keep her, be with her forever, yet he was at a loss on how to manage that when they both had a destiny which pulled them apart.
His response to her amazed her but even more so, the response she was giving back. She had been alone so long, to feel the warmth of another being like this was indescribable. The creature beneath them continued to move but she was barely aware of it as her senses were overwhelmed with him, this demon man who held onto her as if his life depended on it. Growling, caressing and sending flames through her body and shivers coursing up and down her spine while goose bumps appeared where his fingers touched her skin. His mouth devoured hers hungrily and she met his response with a heated one of her own. She couldn’t stop now if she wanted to. Her body cried out for his in a way she never imagined it would.
The creature lumbered steadily until a swooshing sound she barely registered whizzed by. The creature stopped and started to tumble sideways and she eyes widened in shock as she tore her mouth from his.
“Oh crap!" She exclaimed.
Mel got shocked out of the sexual haze by her words as the creature they were riding toppled.
Chapter Six
“What the fuck?” Mel grabbed her and teleported to the closest solid ground away from the beast. Keeping Clarissa within the circle of his arms, they watched together as the enormous creature fell over, blood pouring from the gash at its side. Whooshing sounds permeated the air and he pulled her down to the ground, uncertain as to what caused their current situation.
“Will this infernal fuckery never end?” Mel sarcastically groused.
Troll-like men bounded out of hidden crevices and approached the beast. Mel and Clarissa were far enough away that they should be safe and unnoticed by the new creatures. Within his arms, Clarissa clung to him and watched. Almost holding her breath, she trembled slightly. With everything that had happened to her in this realm, she knew she wouldn’t have survived thus far if not for the man whom she was grasping on to.
They continued to silently watch as a virtual army of small trolls poured out of what appeared like every crevice noticeable within the mountain. In mere minutes the beast was disposed of. It was nothing more than a food source for them. When all was quiet again, Mel looked back at her still lying within the crook of his arm, shielded by his body. “You sure can pick them, love.” He winked at her.
“What can I say? The brochure said fun and adventure in this tropical hot spot of a paradise. It sounded like just the place to go. Men, monsters, creatures of all kinds were welcomed to come.”
She looked up in his eyes. Was there a spark there, a glint of mirth, or warmth? Clarissa didn’t move as she just stared at him, listening for any other sound other than beat of her heart.
Chuckling at her, Mel thought, ‘She sure has spunk.’
“Let’s get a move on then. We wouldn’t want to miss all the fun and excitement now do we?”
“Heavens to Betsy, I would so hate to not get my money’s worth.” Clarissa replied teasingly.
Clarissa ducked under his arm and cautiously began the trek back towards the mountains. She tried to be stealthy lest the trolls hear them.
Once they were free of troll land, they fell into a communicable silence as they moved towards their destination. Mel hoped they could have some peace while they continued to move east, even as he doubted it would last. Rounding a bend, Mel groaned as a virtual wasteland of decay met his gaze. Rotting bodies, boiling ponds and desolate gray earth met his gaze.
“Oh goodie,” he said with a sarcastic smirk. “Let me guess. This is the spa they were advertising?”
“Yep. Sand baths, mud baths and more. All you could possibly wish for.”
She stopped and gagged slightly as the putrid smell hit her dead on. S
he immediately put a hand up to her mouth to help prevent the penetration of the scent. She wouldn’t show any more weakness than she had to but damn this was a horrid odor.
Mel pulled a face at the vile smell. Even his stoicism couldn’t repress the brief look of disgust as he scanned the area to find a way across the expanse. It was too quiet and he knew that something must have killed all those poor bastards rotting up a stink and they were probably already being sized up as the next victims. He opened his senses to scope out the area.
“I don’t like this,” he whispered to her softly. He didn’t tell her that he couldn’t sense anything for fear of causing a full blown panic from her. He bent over to pick up a dead limb and toss it forward towards the edge of the bubbling waters of the murky pond.
Tentacles writhed from the pond in all directions and became extremely close to touching them. Backing away, she instinctively pulled Azamel with her. The tentacles were massive and far reaching. There had to be fifteen of the limbs flailing about. Not finding anything, the tentacles started to hoist its massive body out of the water in search of whatever disturbed it.
Mel’s eyes widened at the extreme size of the creature as it rose from the convoluted depths. It resembled an octopus only much larger. The creature slowly moved out of the water, its dual eyes scanning the area and finally focused on their frozen forms.
Mel debated on whether to expose some of his powers to her. As a result, he remained still a bit longer. All of his abilities seemed to work in this realm with the notable exception of one: the ability to leave. He didn’t need to tell her that. It was pretty evident that particular power failed when he first tried to get them to his home safely upon his arrival. However, he also had not ever shown her the full extent of his powers. After some consideration, he decided to risk it, consequences be damned. Azamel called upon the demon that he carried within him, allowing it minimal access to his consciousness. He snarled at Clarissa to run and take cover, waiting only long enough to see that she obeyed him for once before allowing the monster to surface.
Mel’s eyes turned a florescent green and his skin darkened. Light appeared to flow from his fingertips. Without so much as a sound from his lips, he lifted his hands and blasted the creature with a blinding light which enveloped his whole body, cocooned every tentacle in a white, shimmering haze with lightening running throughout its body. The ball of light swelled and pulsed before it imploded. The creature disappeared as if sucked in by the universe itself. When all was quiet, he managed to put the snarling demon back into remission. Mel took a deep breath as he grimaced slightly and turned to meet her gaze.
Clarissa stood there shocked. She knew he was an old demon and powerful but not that powerful. Her gaze went to where the Kraken was and then back at him. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and she just stared at him contemplating the energy that reeked from every pore. Although she couldn’t see his face, she saw the light that glowed from it, a vibrant green.
‘Funny,’ She thought stupidly, ‘you would think the light would be blue like his eyes or red like a demon’s not green like mine.’
Peering once again where the Kraken’s remains were scattered, she slowly turned back to Azamel and raised her chin slightly. She marched up to him and stood toe to toe, color coming back into her face. He said nothing, waiting for her to speak. She just looked him over before her emerald orbs returned to his iridescent eyes. Giving an inaudible shrug, Clarissa pivoted towards their original path and called over her shoulder, “Nice job. Now you going to stand there all day and pat yourself on the back or are you ready to move?”
Mel frowned slightly at her odd behavior as he moved to fall in step alongside of her. They kept to the small footpath which circled the pond, neither speaking. He continued to remain silent to let her mind process everything. He was, after all, used to people’s behavior around him especially once they had caught even a small glimpse of the monster he kept so carefully contained within himself.
However, even he had to admit this was the first time it concerned him as to what another thought. Her opinion mattered to him and he hated himself for that. Mel shrugged it off and vowed not to let it affect him. As he looked ahead, he spotted a golden glow in the distance. The gates were visible but somehow that put him on an even higher alert than before.
Clarissa stopped and pulled him to halt beside her. As she scanned the area, she found her attention constantly returning to the left. Something was off and it felt more worrisome that anything they had encountered thus far. She lifted her nose into the air as she tried to breathe in the scent that taunted her- enticed her but still remained just out of reach.
It smelled natural and yet of death. Not as rancid at the area they just walked through but putrid nonetheless. She took an unconscious step towards Mel, worry clearly evident in her eyes as she scanned for cover or protection should they need it.
Mel watched her as she sniffed the air like a predator seeking its prey. An intense feeling of unease spread throughout his body. He scanned the area for any sign of foul play. He had reined in his inner demon so tightly after the Kraken incident that he relied on her senses for the moment as well as his own unease to try and determine what it was that caught her attention.
They were so focused on what lie ahead, neither of them noticed the black fog which rose from the surface behind them. It slowly rolled over the ground towards them and started to send its feathery, adumbrated tendrils up their legs. Mel felt the dead cold creep up his body and looked down. He immediately grabbed Clarissa’s hand.
“What the fuck, now?” Mel’s limbs felt like ice as the fog kept rising, slowly turning the landscape into an inky cloud of cold despair.
Clarissa squeezed his hand as the dark wisps rose and curled about their forms, slithering along their legs. A frigidness seeped into her core. It wasn’t an artic chill like winter but more the foreboding iciness of death. She needed to know how to repel this and it was something she had never before attempted. However, if they were to live she needed to try. She looked up at Mel and whispered, “Give me power and guidance.”
Clarissa then she shut her eyes and tried to call upon her powers of premonition. Psychometry allowed her to see the past, present and future of certain objects and beings. If she succeeded, she might be able to discern what would repulse the creature that even now tried to seep the life source from them.
She concentrated deeply. She was desperate and needed this to work. At first nothing happened. She couldn’t fail, she just couldn’t. She made another attempt to conjure her ability. She felt Mel lean closer to her as his arms wrapped about her, his powers flowed into her. He kept his senses focused on her changing vitals, fearful of giving her more strength than she could handle. This time as she opened herself to her abilities, her head flew back and she twitched. Images of cold, death, darkness, despair, hatred, loneliness all overwhelmed her. It needed peace but found only heartache and so it took to give the pain it felt. The cloud held her upright so she stood still as it fed from them while she learned from it.
Clarissa saw its darkness and it was feeding from them. Actually it feasted more from Mel than her, for he had more darkness in him and eons worth of coldness and demon pain. Along with the cloud, she also sensed a bit of Azamel’s darkness and what he was trying to hide from her. However, in feeling the cloud and what it was taking, she also learned how to stop it.
She knew what it would take to save them both. She snapped her eyes open and spun in his arms pressing her lips tightly against his. She had seen from him that somehow she had cracked a multitude of lifetimes worth of loneliness and coldness, indifference and it was this crack that would save him and in the process rescue her. He needed to feel for her and she for him. All the things they refused to admit even to themselves needed to be set free. Caring for each other, concern, hope- that’s what would repel this creature of fog, for if it couldn’t gain nourishment it wouldn’t want them.
Mel was shocked at her totally unexpec
ted move. He started to pull away but her soft lips ignited his body where the effects of their last encounter still lingered. Her urgency blinded him to the doom and death that crept up as it tried to devour them. With a desperate growl, he grabbed her face between his hands and possessed her mouth. His tongue traced along her lips before dipping into her warmth. He forgot all about the gelid swirling around them as heat flared inside of his body. His fingers massaged her scalp as his lips moved against hers, open and giving while his tongue traced against hers.
She melted against him, the warmth of his touch dispelling the frostiness that surrounded her. At that moment though, she didn’t care other than a fleeting thought that it was working. She slid her arms about him, pulling him closer to her. His scent intoxicated her, his taste made her knees weak but no matter how much he tried to deny it or she did, there was a heat between them that neither of them could deny. Her body became a bundle of sensitive nerves that flared to his touch, his kiss. Her need for him growing hotter, burning her to her very core. Trying to catch her breath, she looked around them and noticed the black fog was gone, dissipated. She sent him a mental message, for her lips did not want to let him go, “We are free of the black cloud now.”
Mel pulled back from her as her words sunk in.
“That was?” He turned away from her and dragged his hand through his hair.“That was an act?”
He amazed himself at how shocked and hurt he felt by the thought. He was further disgusted at the thought that she now probably knew how her words affected him. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly until he regained some of his calm. When he felt more in control, he gave the area a quick scan before he moved again. “We need to go.”