by Runaway Fae
“I am not a Darkling!”
“Not yet.” She moved into the room and sat an overturned chair over to sit in. “You will become a Darkling if you continue to access the dark magic that is now a part of you. In order for me to save you, I had to use my magic. It bonded quite nicely with your own magic. Just as you demonstrated here,” she waved a hand about the destroyed room, “you can easily come over to our side of things with the wave of a hand.”
Liam closed his eyes, lying back against the pillow beneath his head. “Why? Why did you do this? So many Fae were killed. I was just another guard.”
The woman moved to sit on the bed beside him. She ran a slender hand along the side of his face. Again, he felt the attraction, hating it. He turned his face to the wall, then pushed her hand away. She grunted at his rejection. “It’s simple. I want Shamus, the man that is now King of the Faeries. You will help me get him, one way or another.”
“And if I refuse?”
“What else are you going to do, Fae? Go back to Faeland and tell them how Shamus was working in league with the Darklings to take the leaders of Faeland down, just so he could take the throne?” She sneered at him. “Have you checked your skin? You would be more likely to be their suspect. And the more the hatred and the anger build in you, the darker you will become. So what’s it going to be, Fae?”
Liam had seen no way while he was still so ill to turn down the Darkling witch. He would bide his time, and figure out what to do when he was well. “Okay, fine. But my name is Liam. What’s yours?”
She rested a hand on his shaft and it grew hard. “My name is Darcy.”
* * * *
Shauna rubbed her forehead as she watched Liam share the last of his story. It seemed impossible. She didn’t know whether to believe him, especially since her cousin had been nothing but good to her and her mother after the death of her father and brother. And just like he said, his skin was evidence against him. Liam was not the man she used to know. Anger was stark in his eyes; evil radiated from his being.
“How can I believe you?” She indicated his clothing. “I mean look at you. You used to wear the official uniform of the royal guards. Now black leather? What am I supposed to think, Liam?”
He frowned, crossing to stand in front of her and capture her in his arms. She willed her body to shut away the emotions swirling inside. Liam bent his head toward her ear, nibbling lightly at the lobe. She trembled despite her efforts to remain immune to him.
“You’re supposed to trust me, Shauna. You of all people. Darcy was right in that I couldn’t go back. Add to that the fact that my Faerie magic fought with the dark magic like it was a disease raging inside me. At first it seemed the two had bonded, and then all hell broke loose.”
She pushed him away, “All hell is right. I feel the anger and hatred in you. I’ve never felt that before, not even in my cousin Shamus, whom you say orchestrated all of this. We all know that if a Faerie commits evil, he or she will eventually begin to take on the characteristics of their sin. So why is Shamus as pale as any other Fae? Answer me that?”
His hands dropped to his sides. “I don’t know.”
“And who is this Darcy? What does she want with my cousin?” And are you two lovers? She couldn’t bring herself to ask that last question, fearing to know the truth.
“You will know soon enough. We are sailing to her home.”
Chapter Four
Shauna stepped out of the Captain’s cabin into the narrow walkway that led to the upper deck. When she stepped out into the open air, she was surprised to see it was still night. Glancing again at her watch, she was sure she had been below deck for hours. It should be going on seven in the morning, yet no sun rose in the East.
Darklings scampered around her, their black-eyed stare scared her, and forced herself not to shrink away. From her experience so far it looked like the creatures delighted in scaring others. She’d be a prime candidate if they knew how much she still wanted to cry out in terror. Looking over the side of the wooden rail, she stared down at the black water, hating that she had been in what looked like an oil spill out of control.
Dim lights lined the walls, fizzing black magic around them. She suspected that the lights were for her benefit. The Darklings and Liam had no trouble seeing in the pitch black. As she watched the East, with time slipping by, it dawned on her that this world of evil was cloaked in complete darkness. No sun would rise. Ever. Liam confirmed her fear when he strolled up beside her.
“It never comes up.” He followed her line of vision. “For weeks, maybe months, I hoped and prayed that it would, just once to feel its warmth, but it never came up. There is only night in this world. And with the darkness in me, I could adjust to it, to see in even the darkest space.”
How do you stand it? she wondered. Had she a choice, she would never have come here in the first place.
“I couldn’t stand it at first, and as I said before, I wouldn’t have come had I been given the choice.” He shrugged, his attention seemingly on the horizon, a horizon she couldn’t see.
All Shauna’s thoughts stilled. She gripped the rail with nerveless fingers. “You-You’ve read my mind. I didn’t say any of that out loud. And if I remember correctly, you did the same thing when I first arrived.”
He looked ashamed. Had he been lighter, she might have thought he would be blushing. “I’m sorry. It happens when I least expect it. Believe me, it’s not intentional. I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
“How come I don’t believe you?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Liam turned and took her in his arms. “Shauna, I’ve missed you.”
She sighed against his chest, knowing he was her enemy but powerless to pull away. “Don’t change the subject.”
He drew back to watch her face for a few minutes. She wondered if he was reading her mind again, knowing how weak she was to him. Or if he could pick up that she was so afraid of all of this, this world, the creatures ... of him. If he did, he didn’t admit it. “Each time I access this power within me, the dark side, it grows, threatening to take me over. And when I would deliberately lock it deep within me, never to allow it out, it’s as if it has a mind of its own. Or maybe I have two minds.”
She shivered, though no wind blew. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, when I don’t intend to use the dark magic, it comes unbidden. It executes spells. Like when I read your mind. I had no conscious thought to do it. And there have been other occurrences, more serious.”
Liam had begun stroking her hair down her back, sending shivers of awareness over her body. She wanted to get lost in his touch, to close her eyes and pretend they were both back home and her best friend was still just that. She didn’t want to know about his life here in the dark world if it meant he was not who he had been then. But she liked to think she was as strong a woman as her mother, facing any challenge. She would not believe she was the spoiled princess Liam said she was before he left.
“What other things have happened? Tell me about your life here.”
Instead of answering, Liam bent to kiss her, grazing his teeth across her bottom lip. When his tongue swiped the tender area, she parted her lips to let him in. She had insisted they remain only friends, but from the first time he kissed her, she was lost, wanting all of his body. She wanted his hands roaming her hot skin, to feel him inside her.
The kiss deepened and Shauna slid her arms up around his neck to tangle in his hair. As she tilted back her head to enjoy his exploration of her neck, an odd tingling started at her feet, worked its way up her body until she felt like she was floating.
Liam’s hands were at her waist, but she felt him spreading her legs as his mouth moved down to cover her bare nipple. Alarm bells rang in her head. She looked up to find she was hanging from coiled ropes of black magic. Her legs were indeed spread with Liam pressed between them, and she was completely naked. Darklings stood around them, taking in the entertainment of she and Liam making love on the deck.
“Shauna, I’m sorry. It was the black magic taking over again. Please believe me.”
“It just seems convenient to claim that you have no control.”
He scowled. Shauna backed away at the sight of the black in his iris and pupils leaking into the whites of his eyes. It was as if he was in the grips of something evil. Is he trying to scare me? Her heart hammered in her chest, and she glanced around to see the other Darklings with similar looks of hate in their eyes. “Liam!” she yelled, not knowing why. “Liam!”
The black receded. He turned to give a clipped order to the Darklings. They scattered. He swung back to face her again. “Go to my cabin and stay there until I come for you.”
Shauna wasn’t up to arguing the point. She spun on her heel and fled. When she reached the cabin, she flung open the door, darted inside and slammed it closed. With trembling fingers, she fumbled with the lock. Yet, something told her should Liam want to get in, he could with not much effort. Okay, I believe him, she whispered. The evil in Liam was just barely contained. When he came for her, she would convince him to let her go.
She stood pressed against the door, breathing hard. Her breath came in short bursts, causing her throat to ache. When she was calmer, she whispered into the darkness. “Light.”
A dim beam lit the center of the room. She felt the shadows pressing against it, ebbing her strength. Now might be the time to test her ability to open a portal to another world. Anything was better than this. She closed her eyes and concentrated, even though it was hard to get focused.
Lifting her hand toward the light, she uttered the words to open a portal to the human world. A heavy drain on her spirit sent her to her knees, but the door opened slowly. Through the opening, she saw streets and cars, blessed sunlight. When she sagged in relief, the door began to fluctuate. She couldn’t hold it long enough to take a step forward. With mental effort, she redoubled her efforts.
A hand closed over hers. An arm waved and the portal closed. Liam grabbed her from behind, pulling her to him. “Do not use your magic again.”
Shauna struggled against him, hitting at his hand tucked against her stomach. “Let me go, Liam. Here we are again and you’re interfering with my life. You have no right.”
He lifted her off her feet, marched across to his bed and tossed her on top of it. Shauna swung around to face him, preparing to cast the worst spell she could think of at the man that she now considered her full-fledged enemy. She paused at seeing the black eyes again.
“Dammit, Shauna, I have used my magic more in the last day with you here than in the last three years. It will stop!” He advanced on her and she cringed. Liam put out a hand and a force pushed her back against the bed. She couldn’t move or speak. “A Fae using magic in the dark world is like holding out a lollipop to a hungry child. Every Darkling will flock to you, to eat you alive.
“Eat?” She hated that her voice quavered.
“To kill you.”
A tremor started in her feet and worked its way up her body. She was so tired of being afraid. She wanted the security Liam had always longed for in Faeland. But after what happened three years ago, that safety didn’t really exist. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He released the power he held over her to keep her in place, then strode to a desk to sit down. Pulling open a drawer, he rifled through papers until he came to a small journal. Shauna watched as he cradled the book close to him a few moments, and then touched a finger to the clasp. A spell was released.
Liam flipped open the book and thumbed through the pages. Curiosity at what was written burned in Shauna’s mind. Finally, he stopped on a page. “Ah here is something.” He glanced up; she noted the receding of the black.
“First night I felt I’d gained some semblance of control over my magic. I reveled in the control. It gave me hope that I would be able to leave, when I was strong enough to maintain a portal.”
She gasped and he nodded, acknowledging her surprise that he too had had trouble with the strength of Faerie magic here. Until the attack on Faeland, the same had been true of her world for Darklings. Darklings had as much chance as the Fae in other lands using their powers, and vice versa. Only in their home worlds were their powers at their strongest.
Liam continued, “With dark magic in me, I grew stronger each day, able to wield the power to open a portal here at will. But as you may have noticed, Darklings like to instigate negative emotions. They pick at you until you exhibit what you have worked to control. In short, they wanted me to lose control, to use the blackness in my soul so that it would grow and I would become like them.”
Shauna was almost afraid to find out the results, but it seemed to help for Liam to share, to confess his sins as it were. On one hand, she was repulsed at what he had become. On another, she was ashamed to admit to herself that his new aggressive masculinity turned her on, as she had never been before. As he ran a hand across his thigh while he studied his book, she couldn’t help imaging what it would feel like to have him lying between her legs. What had happened on deck had been shocking, but her body had nearly sung with the pleasure his tongue caused as he teased her bare nipple.
At her thoughts, Liam looked up at her. His eyes darkened, but she didn’t think it was from anger. He had read her mind. She looked away, embarrassed.
“Say the word,” he whispered.
She pretended not to hear.
He shrugged. “Darcy brought a group of Darklings to the town square, similar to the Faeland town hall area. Not quite as festive.” He grimaced. “She proceeded to describe to me what these Darklings did, how they had slaughtered innocent Fae and other creatures. I tried to keep myself from hearing her words because I felt the anger and hatred building in me. The way my eyes go black when the magic is accessed, I’m sure you’ve seen it. I felt it happen. My sight actually blurs with a red lens. But I don’t need to see anything. My senses are heightened. The magic is in control of me.”
He fell silent. He ran a trembling hand through his hair, and Shauna crossed the space between them to hold him. He lifted her onto his lap and hugged her tight.
“Shauna,” he cried out into her hair. “Baby, I killed them all. Without touching them. Without a sword. I didn’t even utter a spell. The magic lifted them in the air and ripped their bodies apart. Their blackened blood was everywhere. And the others not involved cheered. They loved it.”
She stroked his face. “It’s okay, Liam. They were evil Darklings. Who knows how many lives you saved just by ending theirs.”
He shook his head. “Don’t you understand? I had no control. If I get angry enough, without a conscious thought, I will kill anyone. Darkling or human ... or Fae.”
Chapter Five
She’s beautiful. Shauna’s heart sank having never in her wildest dreams imagined that a Darkling could be anything but hideous. But Darcy, the healing witch who had saved Liam’s life, wasn’t hideous by a long shot. While Shauna watched, the woman sauntered up to Liam, when he exited his ship. She wrapped her black arms around his neck, pressed a too curvy figure against him and kissed him on the lips.
Shauna spun on her heel to walk away, but was stopped by giggling Darklings behind her. She raised a spark in her hand and shot a stinging blow to one of them. It flew backward, slid along the pier and rolled into the water. When it swam up sputtering, an indescribable beast came up over it and snapped huge jaws over the Darkling.
After watching helplessly while their comrade was eaten alive, the other Darklings turned back to Shauna, each baring sharpened teeth and growling at her. She slapped a hand over her mouth, and shaking her head, backed away.
But the world of darkness was almost all water. Land, if it could be called that, was a series of platforms atop the black water. Shauna mistook her
position on the platform and when she stepped back, teetered on the edge. She lost her footing, falling backward as if in slow motion toward the water. In the same instant, she heard the beast coming up to mete out justice to her unwittingly slaughtering a Darkling a moment before.
When she cried out, Liam was suddenly before her. His hands were at his sides, but she felt the force of his hold. Her body dropped into it, the beast unable to break the surface of the water. Slowly, she was brought back upright to be settled in front of Liam. She watched in awe as Liam turned his head to focus on the Darklings that had mocked her. The three creatures rose from the platform and moved over the water.
Shauna ran forward and grabbed Liam’s arm. “Liam, stop!”
He looked down at her while the creatures hung in the air squirming and prayed in their language. “You can’t want me to save their lives, Shauna.”
She shook her head, but held on to him. “Each time you kill, your soul will get darker. The Fae don’t murder, Liam.”
“They were going to attack you.”
“And you saved me. Please, Liam.”
The hovering Darklings moved back to the platform and landed on their feet, before they scampered away like scared rabbits. Liam lifted Shauna’s chin, staring down into her eyes. “You save me.”
“I ....”
“You save me from myself, Shauna.”
She thought she saw wetness in his eyes, but in the next instant, he turned away and strode toward Darcy. The woman cast Shauna a dark look and linked her arm through Liam’s as the two continued along the platform to a house beyond.
“Where’s a hot Fae male when you need him,” she grumbled.
Darcy’s house was old, rundown. It was obvious it had been a glamorous mansion many years ago, but now it was shabby. If the Darklings had so much power, why did they live in squalor, she wondered.
Darcy sidled up to her. “I suggest you don’t judge by appearances.”
Shauna’s eyes widened, “You can read my mind?”