Craving-Torment (Book #2)

by Claudy Conn

  “Nae…love,” he said, and in one movement he had me up and turned around as he set me onto my hands and knees before him, and slapped my bottom.

  “Hey!” I objected. “That was…”

  “Nice, it made ye twitch in all the right places, dinnae it?” he interrupted me.

  He was right. His slap had been so close to my clit and then his finger was inside flicking me in a way that made me push back against him, demanding his cock.

  “Devin…now…put it back in me now, don’t tease,” I told him. I was hot, so damn hot. He had brought me to the brink and then dragged me away.

  “Whatever m’lady wishes will be so,” he answered, and shoved that big cock of his inside and pumped me ‘til I was screaming his name.

  He had my long hair entwined in his hand and pulled ever so gently as he matched my climax with his own.

  He played with my rump as my body jerked and clenched his still hard dick inside of me. “Ah, lass…how can I ever let ye go. I cannae. I want ye to stay here ‘til ye find a way out for us. Say that ye will, say ye’ll stay here with me.”

  I collapsed into his embrace as he pulled me down and covered us. I snuggled against his chin and said as gently as I could, “I can’t stay here. You know I can’t.” I saw his face and mumbled, “I want to, Devin, I want to stay wherever you are, but first, I have to find the spell that gives you the choice of freedom. I have to do my part to help Jeremy…I have to…”

  He put a finger over my lips and said, “Shhh. I know.”

  He hugged me close as we lay spooning in his bed. He kissed my neck, my ear, and whispered words of love, without saying the word, and when I didn’t respond, he nudged me and said, “Ye know it, say that ye do…”

  “Know it? Know what?” I answered.

  “How I feel,” he said.

  “Ah, you like me a great deal and you think I suit you in bed,” I said.

  He sat up and away from me. “Ye know ‘tis more than that?”

  “Is it?” I sat up as well and hugged the cover to my neck.

  He pulled it away and started to fondle my breast. I slapped his hand away. “Is it?” I repeated.

  “Och aye, Bobbie lass. I love ye with all that is left of who I was and all of who I am now. I love ye more than I have ever loved before. There is none like ye. All the years trapped as I am led me to ye so I wouldna have it any other way. If I had to do it over, knowing ye would be there for me in the end, so I would.” He eyed me. “Does that tell ye how I feel?”

  “You love me,” I said, and moved into his arms.

  “And ye, lass? Do ye feel the same?” he said, holding me away by my shoulders. “Do ye?”

  “I love you with everything I am and everything I ever will be,” I told him before he crushed me into his arms for a kiss that melted all my resolves to leave him then.

  “Five more minutes,” he begged when he freed me. “Give me five more…”

  I laughed, jumped up, flipped my finger and I was dressed. I would shower back at MacLeod. I didn’t dare go into the shower then, as he would have taken not five minutes but another hour!

  He pulled on his jeans and a gray T-shirt and tied up his boots as I put a brush to my tangled long hair.

  “‘Tis like glowing flames…gold lit and alive,” he said softly as he ran his hand through my hair.

  I laughed. “Right now it is a mess…”

  “Och, but a fine one,” he said, and pulled me in close. “I want to dive into yer hair, and smell its rose scent, lick yer neck down to yer perfect tits. I want to work m’way down to yer belly and kiss m’way back to yer lush lips…”

  I couldn’t move as his hands were all over me.

  I wanted to stay and let him make that kind of love to me, but apparently I’m made of strong and sturdy stuff.

  “I want that, too, Devin…so much, but you know I have to go back,” I said.

  “Aye, so ye do,” he said sadly.

  He took my hand and led me outside, but he didn’t race me back to the barrier between our worlds vampire style, no. We walked slowly, chatting about nothing and everything.

  As we walked, I remembered Beyland and said, “I’m going to have to give the Dark Warlock something from your notes. Should I take them with me now?”

  “Nae, ‘tis too soon. He would be suspicious if ye came up with something so quickly. He cannae know ye have brought m’notes here to me in Trinity, so ye must make him believe ye are searching all the nooks and crannies in the castle, and the castle has a great many hiding places, so it will be more believable if it takes ye some time.”

  “Yes, true, but I am a witch, he knows I can find things far easier than humans. There is just so long I can stall him.”

  “Still, ye need to stall him another day…and truthfully, I dinnae think he’ll even coom for the notes ‘til tomorrow. He would believe I have them well hidden. Right?”

  I nodded.

  “I would like to stall him ‘til ye find the spell to get me out of here so I can be at yer side the next time he cooms for a visit.”

  “Devin, I don’t think of Beyland as an enemy. I am not worried. He wants the notes, and yes, we should stall, but I am not concerned that he means any of us harm. He isn’t a friend to Ramon like everyone believes, and he despises Allora. He wouldn’t trouble himself to help us, but I don’t believe he will trouble himself to hurt us…unless I betray him. So I do want to get those notes to him soon.”

  “Ye make an interesting point,” Devin said, then touched my face.

  It was time for me to open the portal and return to the castle. The hour was early, five in the morning, and we could see no one was up and about in the dimly lit castle. The sun would not come up for another hour or so.

  Devin took me gently into his arms and bent to whisper in my ear, “Lass…I cannae bear a life without ye in it. Do ye ken?”

  “I feel the same,” I said, and wondered how we came to this point in time. It had all happened so quickly.

  “Then dinnae put yerself in danger, m’love…dinnae do that to me,” he said.

  I smiled and scarcely whispered the word to open the portal, “Ramabien.”

  I dove through the silver opening before he could stop me, before I could stop myself.

  The truth was that I wanted to stay with him wherever he was…for always.

  ~ Nine ~

  I WASN’T MY USUAL TALKATIVE self as Jeremy drove down the main pike. The truth was I was daydreaming about Devin, about us, about our night, our morning, our future.

  My new plan was to find my grandmother’s Witching Wall.

  Jeremy and I drove to where he believed my grandmother’s Witching Wall still stood.

  “I can’t be 100% certain, Bobbie…but my sister used to speak of a Witching Wall in Oxly Corner, not far from here. She said both immortal and earthly witches would visit the wall, though she wasn’t sure why. I tried researching it, but all I could find was a reference to it that said it was rumored to have restorative powers for witches.”

  “Why would a witch need restorative powers?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure, but even so, that explanation did make sense to me.”

  He turned onto a country road past rolling fields of sheep grazing in groups, and charming farmhouses in the distance. It was all so beautiful and all I wanted was to free Devin and to be able to live with him. However, with Allora on the loose and the ancients looking to enslave humans, that wouldn’t be possible, not yet.

  “How do you know where to go? It isn’t exactly on the map,” I asked.

  “But it is. GPS is taking us there. It is a tourist site of sorts, and a great deal is made out of its ‘witchy powers’.”

  All at once, he slowed the car, and I saw why. About one hundred yards in front of us stood a single figure of a man in a silver glittering scarf negligently thrown over one shoulder of his blue silk shirt. He wore fashionable jeans and sparkling heeled boots. Beyland.

  “Oh no,” I
said. But I had been expecting a visit from him and had been wondering when that would take place.

  “I don’t think he means us any harm,” Jeremy said. “But there is no telling, so for the moment, stay in the car.”

  “No sense in that, and I know what he wants,” I said.

  “The notes on day-walking,” Jeremy said, and sighed. “What are you going to tell him?”

  “The only thing I can,” I said as he slowed the car to a stop and Beyland walked towards us.

  I got out of the SUV, as did Jeremy, and I greeted him, “Hi, Bey…how are you?”

  “Bey?” Beyland said, brows up. “No one has ever called me that!”

  “No? But it suits you,” I said.

  He waved this off. “Have you found what I need?”

  “Not exactly,” I said.

  “Not exactly?” he snapped. “Either you have or you haven’t.”

  “Well, here is the thing, big castle, lots of hiding places, and I think I came close last night. I found a cubby that my witchy sense zeroed in on and I am certain the notes were there once, but MacLeod must have moved them at some time,” I lied, and thought I was doing a damn good job of it. This sounded believable.

  “I see,” he answered, studying me. “I am not sure you are telling me the truth. If you think to stall me in this matter, think again. Look at it this way. Pleasing me will go much better for you than displeasing me.”

  “I know, but besides that, I made a promise and I always keep my promises,” I answered truthfully. “I was going to keep this Blood Oath because, for one thing, I had no choice, and because it would, I believed, not cause harm to humans in the end. I was sure the ancient, Ramon, would not be able to make use of the formula. He had killed too many humans and had lived too long on human blood for Devin’s formula to work for him.”

  “Ah, now that I do believe. Your face gives away more than your words, Lisa’s granddaughter.”

  The next thing I knew he was right behind me, holding me pressed up tightly against his chest, one palm out warningly towards Jeremy, who went completely still.

  Beyland’s voice was hard, “Do not make any move towards her, warlock, and we shall go on comfortably.”

  “What is this?” Jeremy argued. “You need her…and I don’t think you mean her harm just yet, so why do this?”

  “Why? To show you both that I can.” He took my chin and turned my face to his. “Bobbie MacForly, do not think that a mild affection for you, who reminds me of someone I loved, will stay my hand. Do not make that mistake and do not betray me. Dire will be the consequences,” he whispered.

  “Do you really believe I will betray you, or are you just flexing?” I asked.

  He pushed away from me suddenly and laughed. “Oh, I do like you, Bobbie MacForly, so don’t make me hurt you. Call out my name when you have what I need.” He twitched his pointer finger and opened a portal, stepped through and was gone.

  I shivered, remembering the ice cold portal he had taken me through a couple of days ago. A couple of days? Seemed like forever ago.

  Both of us jumped into the SUV and looked at each other. I said what we both felt, “Whew.”

  “Hairy stuff,” Jeremy said. “I can feel his power pulse in the air. I have never known power like that.”

  “I know, right? It’s crazy wicked. Jeremy, are we certain Magic of the Light is stronger than Dark Magic?”

  “His power makes me wonder,” Jeremy said.

  Our GPS, whom I dubbed ‘the Lady Traveler’, told us to turn left onto the next road. Amazingly enough, there was a town sign that pointed to the direction of the Witching Wall.

  “I’ll be damned,” I said, and sat forward as Jeremy maneuvered the sharp left turn. This meandered for a while, winded downward and took us to an even narrower dirt drive. At the end of the dirt drive, there was a small grassy field where we parked.

  We looked at one another and Jeremy said, “Well, now, shall we?”

  Almost simultaneously we jumped out of the car and I pointed to a pebbled footpath lined with overgrown bushes.

  Jeremy hurried to step in front of me, and I objected as he had to push me into the low brush to maneuver himself in the lead. “Hey!”

  “A gentleman never lets a lady walk into a questionable situation before he has had an opportunity to assess the situation.”

  “I don’t claim to be a lady.” I chuckled.

  “Well then, let’s take care of that, shall we?” he said, and grinned, picking up a long stick and tapped my shoulder with it. “I dub thee Lady Bobbie. End of discussion.”

  I giggled. “Very well, Sir Jeremy, but I don’t need a whole lot of protection….witch here, remember?”

  “All the same—honor bound, you know, and besides, Devin told me he would feed me to the Demon Realm if I allowed one hair on your head to be damaged.” He grinned and continued down the path.

  I laughed and shook my head, but what was the use in arguing?

  The path opened onto a small grassy circle surrounded by old and weathered evergreens. In the center was a structure of what looked like sticks weaved into a thick fence that was 8’ x 2’ x 8’. I have never seen anything like it before in my life, and my imagination began to run wild.

  “Wow, how old is this thing?”

  “No one knows, but from the research I’ve done, it has been written about back to medieval times, for sure. There was no mention of when it first appeared,” Jeremy said.

  “So what are you supposed to do…touch it and ask for something?” I asked as I stared at the structure.

  He shrugged and said, palm stretched towards it, “Let’s see.”

  I grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Wait…what if…?”

  “We won’t know, will we, unless we try,” he said grimly.

  “Okay, wait…let me get a feel for it.”

  I put out both my palms and stretched out my witchy sensors without physically touching the wall. Warmth came back to me. That was a good sign. “Okay, but we do this together.”

  We went directly up to the center of the odd wall and put our palms against it. It didn’t feel like wood, but instead…and then suddenly, whoosh!

  We stared at each other and then around ourselves as we were no longer at the wall. Instead, we both stood inside a dimly lit hut, and as I hugged myself, I knew we were inside the wall. This fact was confirmed when a soft genderless voice said, “Welcome, Warlock Ascot and the prodigy of Lady MacForly. You are, both of you, as is the Dark Warlock, the last of your kind.”

  “Thanks,” I answered as Jeremy wasn’t talking but inspecting his surroundings. “Er…what is this…and what do you mean, last of our kind?”

  “You came here for answers. I can give you some, not all,” the voice said.

  “Okie-doke,” I said. “Let’s start with, where are we?”

  “Inside a realm only immortal witches may enter. I am a portal for those of you who have lost your way.”

  “Lost our way?” Jeremy asked.

  “Forgotten your ancestors,” the voice answered.

  “Right,” I said thoughtfully. “You said Warlock Ascot and…”

  The voice cut me short. “Listen carefully. Your families were honored rulers in the Land of the Wizards, no longer a part of the Universe,” the voice answered without emotion.

  “Why? What happened?” I asked.

  “All was destroyed in the war between Light and Dark, but, you, Warlock Ascot, were sent here, as was Lady Lisa, and then the Wizard of Light, Beyland. I was created by the council and sent here as well.”

  “Wait, are you saying that Bobbie and I are from the same realm?”

  “Indeed, and your families were a part of the Ruling Council. You two are all that is left of the Light.”

  “So, it is true that Beyland was from my grandmother’s realm,” I mused out loud.

  “Ah, once he was Light, a part of all that was good, but no more. He is one of the last of the Dark from the Land of the Wizards.”<
br />
  “So, what do we do now? We have a problem with an ancient vampire…I need to free someone my grandmother was forced to banish…and…”

  “Wait, My Lady. I am here to remind you who you are. I may tell you where to look in your Shama for all your powers, but you will still need to train in order to harness those powers.”

  “You know about my Shama?”

  “Indeed, not all immortal witches are blessed with a Shama. You are blessed, unbounded by the human genes in you. Shama will guide you—help you defeat the Dark, but you must open yourself to all that you are.”

  “And do I also have this Shama?” Jeremy asked.

  “You are a powerful warlock, and yes, you have the Shama. But both of you are untrained in its use. I will step outside my boundary and tell you that as Wizards of the Land, your power is immense, but Darkness is cunning, beware.”

  The next thing we knew, we were outside the wall and staring at each other.

  “Whoa!” I said.

  ~ Ten ~

  WE WERE QUIET ON THE way back to MacLeod, each of us lost in our thoughts. I shook my head and broke the silence. “Jeremy…that was a lot to take in.”

  “But, actually, nothing that we didn’t already know…or suspect,” he answered thoughtfully.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said, and opened the window for a breath of air. A familiar scent hit my nostrils and made them flair. I tried to recall what the strong scent denoted, but gave it up and instead took out my Meatloaf CD and stuck it in the player. Mom used to bop all over the house to his music and I had an urge to just imagine her doing that in my mind.

  The strong scent wafted into the car. Holy good gosh, it dawned on me what it was. I knew that scent. I knew it very well.

  Aunt Elle had come by my dorm room one evening a couple of years ago, when I was a junior, and took me by the hand as she told me, “Come on, we are going to a party.”

  Aunt Elle always was my light in the dark. I laughed, threw on some ‘party’ clothes, and hand in hand off we went. Nighttime in NYC is full of life and it has its dangers.

  We passed a lounge of sorts. A couple of big guys stood outside smoking. Supernaturals pick up on other supernaturals. Even though I knew they weren’t quite human, I wasn’t sure what they were.