by JK Ensley
“Your resolve has quickened, Milady. Your stone speaks this truth.” He smiled. “Your heart is now set.”
“Yes… I suppose it is.” She paused. “Dimples? What are these two stones on either side of my dark rainbow?” She brought the amulet closer. “They are as green as emeralds… yet as warm as a first kiss.” She giggled. “How can a stone radiate such heat?”
“Look at me, Naga,” he whispered.
She turned to him, still chuckling softly.
“What do you think those stones represent?”
All playfulness had left his voice. This was as serious as she had ever heard his tone.
“Search your heart, Kagi Naga. Who do those emeralds bring to mind?”
She swallowed hard, fear seized her tongue. She didn’t answer.
The look on his face softened, his green eyes now sparkling. “I will be your sheath, Milady. I chose to be your protector. When I carried your limp body from that cave, my decision was set. And like I said, I only do what I choose to do.” He placed his hand over hers holding the pendant. “My sword is yours, Milady. If you want it, it will always be yours. From this day forth, you will be protected by my emeralds.”
She smiled at him. “Gratitude, Dimples. I cannot think of any eyes I would rather have watching over me in this realm.”
They grasped each other’s forearms and nodded.
Jenevier looked back up at the ceiling. “Tell me, Dimples. What is this place, truly?”
His smile widened to the point his dimples looked like holes on either side of his mouth.
“This magical place is the sacred passageway to the heavens. All manner of celestial beings can use this portal. If you can make the stones glow, you can open the door.”
“From either side? Or just here?”
“Why? Are you already trying to figure out how to make it back to me if ever you should leave?”
She bumped her shoulder with his. “I found you the first time, minus this doorway.”
“Yes, you did. But that was a rather painful path to take to my arms.”
“…True,” she said, lost in thought. “Dimples?”
“Yes, Kagi Naga.”
“Your pledge is an honor I do not deserve. I am truly grateful. Yet, I suffered through the melding so that Nilakanta could be my protector here.”
“Ah yes, your beautiful sapphire Dragon.” He raised up on one elbow and gently traced his fingers along the edge of Nilakanta’s profile upon her chest. “He is as magnificent a creature as I have ever seen. Alas, he is your shield, Milady. I am your sheath. He will guard your back, while I ensure your might.”
She gazed into his beautiful green eyes. “I have my shield and my sheath, yet my swords were taken from me.”
Duhrias tenderly ran his thumb across her soft lips. “As was your humanity, Kagi Naga.”
Her eyes widened with his words, blessed realization finally setting in.
My humanity? Ahh, if I am no longer human… then that means…
Yet again, you have been blessed, little one, Nilakanta said.
Jenevier struggled to stand, pushing Duhrias back as she did. With her hands extended, she closed her eyes and called to them.
Chapter 19
Jenevier
(ZHEN-ah-veer)
Prince Suou stood over the open chest. He had never seen weapons such as these.
“Izaru, where did you procure such enchanting blades?” he asked as the other man entered the tent.
“Sire?” Then he noticed what his Prince was looking at. “Apologies, Your Highness.” Izaru quickly closed the lid. “You weren’t meant to see those yet. They are a gift, the rarest to be found. They were to be presented to you at your victory feast.”
The Prince moved his butler out of the way as he raised the lid again. “Well that seems like a great waste, doesn’t it? These unusual weapons should be used to ensure the victory, not as mere trophies for celebration.”
Suou lifted the lavender glowing blades, examining them closer.
“But, Sire,” Izaru protested. “These blades have not yet been tested. A warrior never goes into battle with an unproven weapon. What if they shatter upon contact?”
“Then let us test them, shall we?”
The Prince smiled at the shorter man as he laid his own sword upon the table. Picking up the accompanying hardware, Suou held up the tiny leather straps encased in chainmail.
“Who did you intend to wear these weapons, Izaru? A child?”
The white-haired man blushed. “T-they were m-meant only for show, Sire.”
“Show or not, this strap will only go about halfway around my waist.”
The Prince chuckled softly as he grabbed one scabbard, quickly sliding it off the dainty belt. And for a single heartbeat, that enticing scent of roses, the one he could never forget no matter how many his years may count, wafted up and sent his mind into a slow spin.
Pink eyes and even pinker curls floated through his troubled mind. Tiny giggles, sparkling blue scars, and a smile as bright as sunshine filled his every thought. He swayed.
“Sire?” Izaru reached out to steady him. “Sire? Is something wrong?”
“Tell me again,” he said, dreamily, absently. “Where did you find these blades?”
Izaru nervously cleared his throat. “Umm… I am not entirely certain, Your Highness. They were sent by one of your bannermen. A gift from the Spirits, I believe is what they said.”
Prince Suou barely even heard his butler’s hasty lie. “A gift from the Spirits? Or one from the Angels?”
“Angels? Sire, you’re talking nonsense. Come. Your generals await you in council. The day is fast approaching when the drums will sound and the horns will send your troops out en masse. You don’t have time to dwell on dreams and fairytales. This is the real world—a real world that is depending on you.”
Prince Suou carefully laid the ethereal blades on the table, caressing the soft leather strap with his thumb.
Yet… this is what she does, is it not? This is what draws her—death and carnage, unjustified evil. Why can’t these be hers? Why can she not bust in here like she owns the place… and fight by my side? If ever I needed a feisty Little Fire lizard, now’s the time.
Izaru had made his way to the tent’s entrance before turning around. “Your Highness, please. You cannot leave everyone waiting. Now is the time to be fierce, take charge, show your men what their leader is capable of.”
“It is as you say.” Prince Suou turned to leave. “Yet, imagine our ferocity if we walked alongside Angels,” he mumbled under his breath.
Neither man saw the lavender flash of light behind them just as the tent flap fell closed.
*****
His breath hitched when he beheld her standing there—dual armed, diamond wings outstretched, fire flashing in her ethereal pink eyes… a smile so radiant it was magical, capable of halting an entire army.
“Milady.” Duhrias bowed low, prostrate before her. “Your glory is hard to look upon. You are terrifyingly breathtaking, Daughter of God.”
He only managed to look up when he heard her tiny tinkling giggles.
“What do you say of your vow now, Dimples? Now that you see me as I am, will you remain my sheath? Is your blade still mine?”
“My blade is yours…” He stood and took a step toward her. “My heart is yours…” Taking her hand, he gently kissed the intricate tattoo Varick had left there. “I am yours, Milady. Command me as you will. I am helpless to go against you.”
“Dimples.” She blushed slightly. “I thought you only obeyed your own heart, followed only the path that you chose.”
“‘Tis true, and I choose to remain at your side.” He smiled as he reached for her sapphire curl. “I will always choose the path you tread upon, Milady. That is what I want to do.”
“Very well, then. I accept your vow, your blade, and your heart.” She inclined her head toward him. “And I promise to always strive to be worthy of such honors.”<
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He ran his fingers down the intricate hilt of Amatiste. “Where were your blades, Milady? From whence did you call them?”
“A weasel snatched them from me,” she said through gritted teeth. “One that will live to see an awful fate someday.” She chuckled cruelly under her breath. “One day, when the time is ripe and his deeds are done, I will be the one to escort him. I will happily abandon his dark soul in the Nether and whistle for the hounds of hell. Then… I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show.”
She glanced back to Duhrias, almost startled to find him standing there. She shook off her vengeful, bloody thoughts.
“But enough about vermin, my good Knight. Come.” Her pink eyes twinkled under the ethereal glow of the heavenly stones. “You have a package to deliver, do you not?”
“No, Milady.” He grabbed her hand. “I will never deliver you to Akio.”
“You would defy your very first order?” She chuckled softly. “Old habits die hard. Eh, Dimples?”
His grip upon her relaxed, as a shadow fell across his handsome features. “But… I thought you said you wouldn’t go to him,” he whispered. “You vowed never to be subject to that vile man, ever again.”
She smiled. “And thanks to you, I will not be.” Jenevier raised her hand, fully extending her deadly claws. “I will never be subject to any man, not while I yet claim these.”
Duhrias’s darkened countenance was immediately replaced with wonderment.
“Milady… they are… truly beautiful.”
She giggled. “Yes, they are, aren’t they? I am quite fond of them, actually.” She turned her hand from side to side, admiring her lethal diamond daggers. “They are my favorite weapon.”
*****
“And just where do you two think you’re going?” an approaching guard demanded.
Duhrias smiled at him. “We aren’t going anywhere. We are returning. Way to stay on your toes, though.”
Akio’s guard bristled at the snide comment.
“He was only doing what your master bade him do,” Jenevier said as they passed by the man’s appointed post at their door. “Seeing me healed.”
When he slammed the door, Duhrias mumbled, “Brace yourself, Milady.”
“Where have you been?” Cherie demanded, obviously flustered. “I’ve been fretting my hair out over you. I thought you only went to bathe, and now I find you here—” Her words halted when she looked around the man she was scolding and saw her former patient. “Milady,” she said, gasping with wonder. “What happened to you?”
Jenevier smiled. “Your rice porridge seems to have fixed me up, well and proper.”
Cherie’s faint blush covered her cheeks. “Don’t tease me, Milady. Tell me true. Have you been restored?”
“I have.” Jenevier bowed slightly to the younger girl.
“Wow. Just looking at you like that makes my heart smile.” Cherie playfully clapped her hands together. “Will you go back to him now? Will you return to Prince Suou before the war starts? I’m certain the King would demand the ceremony be held prior to the first battle. He’s not so young anymore, and not well either, from what I hear. It would bring his soul peace to crown the future Queen before he departs this realm.”
Jenevier stood there in shock, mouth slightly open. “What are you talking about, Cherie? Why would you think—”
Her words were cut short by Duhrias’s low growl.
“She is not meant for the Prince,” he said through gritted teeth.
“But,” Cherie protested. “Look at her, Duhrias. She is most definitely the girl everyone’s been talking about, the one they’re all searching for.”
“Enough,” Duhrias snapped. “She is not meant for him.”
Jenevier was only looking back and forth from one quarreling Spirit to the other, confused.
“So… you still plan to deliver her to the one we all know she’ll never be meant for,” Cherie hissed. “Or do you plan on keeping her for yourself? You know what’ll happen if you do that, right?”
“You don’t have to remind me, little girl.”
“Whoa. Whoa.” Jenevier stepped between them, holding her hands up. “Wait just one minute.” She turned to face Cherie. “I belong to no man… no man yet living, that is. I will go where my wings are needed, and for a far different task than that of love. I was not sent here for such as that. My blades hum, little one. I thirst for the taste of blood, not soft lips in the night.”
The girl cut her eyes toward Duhrias. “Does he know that?”
The man blushed and looked away.
“He does,” Jenevier said with a nod. “He is my sworn Knight, my only Knight—protector not only of my might, but of my heart as well. I trust him to keep them both safe. He will not forget his duty, nor will I.”
“Apologies, Milady.” Cherie bowed before her. “I didn’t mean to cause offense, or to infer that your actions were not noble.”
“Raise your head, girl.” Jenevier looked from one to the other. “Tell me what the two of you are hiding. If you lie to me, I will know. Now, what’s with all the bowing and reverence and marriage talk? Before I proceed in my duties, I must know the whole of the story… lest I fall into a snare, unawares.”
*****
“And that’s the whole of it,” Cherie said with a sigh.
“I see.” Jenevier shook her head. “No. I do not see. Tell me again. Why would you think a marriage was the answer to this whole thing? I am still a bit lost on that part.”
“Because,” Cherie continued. “We could feel the unnatural tremors everywhere. The Earth herself trembles from within” The girl nodded toward Duhrias while she was yet speaking. “We came here to see what was going on, do our own little bit of spying.”
“We immediately felt the tension quivering about us, carried on the very air,” Duhrias added. “It wasn’t hard for us to glean from whence it came. Everything circled around the Prince… and the man who wishes to be Prince.”
“Yes.” Cherie agreed with a nod. “We heard all the whisperings about a woman… about you, Milady. The Southern Prince was wholly smitten. The one in the North was overcome with jealousy and a sense of injustice and vengeance.” She lowered her voice. “The approaching clouds grow ever darker. Nature holds its breath.” She blushed. “We thought the rumored marriage would halt the evil.”
“So that’s why you took your human form? To thwart the darkness you could sense approaching?”
“We’re not the only ones,” Cherie said. “There are many Spirits roaming the land right now. Something wicked was approaching, we just didn’t know what it was, exactly.”
“Yes, something wicked is definitely approaching,” Jenevier mumbled. “And it is every bit as much a who as it is a what.”
Duhrias furrowed his brow. “Who? You mean… you know who it is?”
She nodded her head. “And what it is, as well. The Archangels brought me the summons, delivered it personally.” She lightly touched the tip of Cherie’s nose. “It warms my heart to know the Spirits of this realm have sensed it as well. I no longer feel so alone. You see, I am a Death Angel. Well, that is my main job. And while I was sent to reap a rather nasty soul from this place, I ran into Prince Suou.” She sighed. “I will bore you with the whole of it on a different day. Suffice to say, our chance encounter led me to another chance encounter… one much darker than I was prepared to handle at the time.”
“Akio,” Duhrias growled under his breath.
“Yes.” She nodded again. “Akio.”
“But how has that led to this?” Cherie asked. “You need to fill in a few more of the blanks.”
Jenevier closed her eyes as she rubbed her weary temples. “There is simply not time for the whole of it, child. Akio was smitten with me and meant to have me.”
Duhrias snorted. “Pfft. Probably because he saw you on the arm of the Crown Prince.”
“Precisely,” Jenevier agreed. “Add that to the fact the black soul I was sent here to harvest, belonged to
his baby brother. Couple those little coincidences with a demon I once slew and a she-Guardian bent on revenge… and you have the foundation of our current dilemma. Akio’s father now commands a weapon so powerful it will not only destroy your hidden Spirit realm, but the whole of the eighth layer. If he is not stopped, Earth will cease to exist.”
“Then I’ll take you to him myself,” Cherie said. “Run that pretty sword there across his wrinkled old neck and we’ll be back in time for supper.”
Jenevier shook her head. “Such was my thinking as well. Alas, his life is not mine to take. If the destruction of this realm is to be wholly stopped, it must come by Prince Suou’s hand. Not mine.”
“So you weren’t sent here as Death?” Duhrias asked.
She looked into his captivating eyes. “No, Dimples, I was not. This time I came as sacrifice, not savior. I was absent my wings because I was meant to be human only. A woman, trained in the ways of battle, lending strength where I could, ensuring his life with mine own.”
“Then… my magic,” Duhrias whispered, finally understanding the ramifications of his good deed.
Jenevier took his hand, squeezing it, bumping him with her shoulder until their eyes met.
She smiled a sad smile. “This was not your fault. I screwed up… again.” She sighed. “I always have to do things my way. Instead of going straight to Suou as instructed, I snuck into camp and tried my hand at spying.”
He smiled with only one corner of his mouth, making that single dimple sink deep into his cheek. “And how’d that work out for you?”
“I failed miserably, as you well know.” She pinched his arm and very nearly stuck her tongue out at him.
“So… the shape you were in when Duhrias carried you in here…” Cherie’s wide eyes met Jenevier’s tender gaze. “…those injuries… you suffered such a beating by someone in the Prince’s camp?”
She barely nodded in response. “By command of his trusted right hand and butler, no less.” Jenevier blew out air through her teeth and ran her fingers back through her hair. “I threatened harm unto him once, when first we met. He was returning the favor, multiplied.” She shook her head, both frustrated and resigned. “I should have just gone to the palace like I was supposed to. As it now stands, Suou does not even know I am here.”