Dark and Dangerous

by Anwar, Hart, Harte, Mcbride(Lit)

She reached the apex first, crying as it overtook her in throttles of sensation. He followed, emptying himself into the warmth of her, and knowing that she was truly now his, not just a dream, not just a spirit. They shuddered together. His tears mingled with hers and in the moment, Violet couldn’t help wondering if all he had said was true.

  He collapsed on her, held her tightly. "It is done."

  "You are my husband."

  "You are my wife."

  They repeated the ceremonial words each were taught, but the emotion behind them had nothing to do with ceremony and everything to do with love.

  A slow smile lifted pink-tinged lips. One finger slipped through a lock of Ash’s tumbling hair. "For good or evil, this has been done. Please, be of the sun."

  Rather than answer, Ash slipped into her once again, taking her, possessing her, showing his love in the ancient way.

  The day slipped to twilight, and they both dozed between bouts of renewed joining. Now and then, Ash used magic to keep the log fire fresh and glowing. Then exhaustion totally claimed them and they slept solidly until darkness captured the day.

  The throaty growl of spider-wolves awakened them to a dim fire and Lord Darth’s scowl.

  Chapter Six

  "Knave!" Darth shouted from the cave’s entrance. "How dare you defile my wife!"

  Ash covered Violet with his discarded shirt before standing and tugging on his clothes. "By law, she is now mine. You didn’t consummate the marriage."

  "I will contest this, and in the meantime, she will be with me."

  Violet didn’t don Ash’s shirt, but quickly fastened whatever ties were not torn beyond salvage. "It is too late, Lord Darth. To my shame, I did not protest. I gave in willingly. I am my mother’s daughter after all it seems."

  "But I am not like your father, lass. I will reclaim what is mine. You are of the light as am I. You must now choose between the One and the Dark Master. It affects your eternity. Do not use your heart as a guide, use wisdom."

  Taking a step closer to Ash, she looked up him, her face marred by anguish. "How do I choose? If it were just a matter of choosing between the two of you, I’d be yours for eternity. But the One is in my heart, in my soul. It is the One who saw me through every rough moment in the Seraglio, through every escape venture, through discovering my mother had chosen darkness over light."

  "Ah, love, I am of the Illumi. Don’t let him deceive you. The One gave us the dreams, that connection. I am not much older than you and the dreams started when we were children. I would not have had the power to seek you out and create such a connection. Think, and know I am of light. The choice is easy. Use wisdom, but do not disregard your heart."

  Violet searched Ash’s eyes. She felt herself falling into them, felt herself believing. Yet she knew her decision could not be made hastily, and she took a step back, turned toward Darth and examined the depths of his translucent gaze. Despite it being through dreams, she had known Ash for a lifetime and had never felt an iota of evil from him. What did she really know of Darth other than what he claimed?

  "Enough of this!" Darth exploded. "You are too enamored to make a rational choice, lass. You must leave it to others who know what is best for you."

  Before Violet could react, Darth tossed a binding force around her, much as Ash had done earlier. Only, Darth’s felt like biting whips, tightening around her flesh whereas Ash’s had held without pain.

  Almost instantaneously, Ash spoke a word that severed the binds. Without conscious volition she fled to his arms. He held her close. "It’s okay. I won’t let him have you."

  Holding up a palm, he spoke several more words and rocks cascaded into the cave’s opening, sealing them in. "Soon, Daniore will return with my father’s mages and warriors. We’ll be safe then, and you’ll see that…."

  Before he could finish the rocks vanished, and Darth stepped into the cave. With a movement, he created another webbing of binding fibers. They tore Violet away from Ash. The same sort of fibers curled around Ash, stilling his movement.

  "Violet, use your power. You can fight this!" Ash prompted, even as he unraveled his own trappings.

  Closing her eyes, Violet concentrated and found that she had the power to escape the trap. It was strange that she hadn’t even considered using that power against Ash’s bindings. Still, the realization was invigorating and the instant the tendrils dissolved, she promptly added a spell of protection, being bold enough to contain Ash within its field.

  Ash smiled. It was obvious that simply by fighting Darth, she had chosen. The mage added his spell of security to hers. Darth couldn’t touch the double shielding. "Come here, love. We will simply wait it out."

  "It is not as easy as that," Darth supplied and took another step into the cave. The spider-wolves snarled. A crack of lightning creased the sky. Thunder awakened a squall of night creatures into frenzy of sound. The log fire burst into an unexpected blaze at the same moment that Daniore stepped into view.

  "You have returned with the legions so soon?" Ash asked in surprise.

  "You should have known that your father would not do anything to help you. From the moment you chose to be of the dark caste, he had vowed you were no longer his son."

  "What lies are you speaking?" Ash demanded.

  "I’m sorry," Daniore said in a tattered tone, his gaze seeking Violet’s. "I should never have been part of this, but Ash and I have been friends for so long, I couldn’t deny him. My conscience would not allow me to be part of this deception a moment longer. Ash is a dark lord, Violet. If you choose to be with him, you choose to serve the Dark Master."

  A scream of pure anguish tore from Violet as she pulled away from her husband and lover. "You serpent from Hell. How could I have been such a fool!"

  Ash didn’t deny the accusation. Only stared at Daniore. "Why are you doing this? Has Darth cast a spell?"

  "You would sense the spell if he had," Daniore explained. "As would Violet. She has the power of discernment."

  "Wait!" Ash said. "You haven’t had enough time to get to my father’s kingdom and back by now. You didn’t even go."

  Daniore grinned. It wasn’t a smile of friendship. "Of course I did."

  The obvious lie didn’t penetrate Violet’s misery. Her frail body collapsed as if she bore a weight too heavy for her slender shoulders. Sobs broke free as she curled into a fetal position. No one had ever broken her spirit before this, but now she felt broken, used and unable to even think coherently.

  She didn’t see the sudden explosion of force being enacted around her. Darth and Daniore positioned against Ash, binding him with dark tendrils, gagging him with spider-wolf webbing. She didn’t see Ash’s valiant efforts to defend them both, nor hear his cry of anguish as they stilled his voice and bound his power. She didn’t know that Daniore wasn’t a mage and didn’t possess an ounce of power.

  Ash knew, and realizing that Daniore hadn’t betrayed him, but was possessed by a dark being was Ash’s only speck of relief. That relief, though, evaporated under the certainty that he had failed Violet. He didn’t have the skill or force to save himself or the woman he loved. All he had left was regret, and the sudden urge to seek help from the One. Only Ash wasn’t certain if he would be heard after a lifetime of leaning only on his own resources.

  * * * *

  With no further use for Daniore, Amlet deserted his body. He dropped in an unconscious heap right beneath the spider-wolves jaws. They had brought the lass that Darth hadn’t yet tortured, and Amlet overtook her body without a peep of protest from the young one, for her spirit had retreated behind layers of terror. Darth might not have tormented the girl as yet, but he had planted his seed and it already begun to ripen. It was Amlet’s price for her help. She’d take him to Violet in exchange for his seed. Now, she’d have a child of such darkness that it would eliminate all light from this world.

  "My pets will feast on Daniore and we will be done with him as well," Darth offered as he moved from the cave into the starless night.
<
br />   "And I have your word that you will never teach Violet the ways of darkness," she said, reminding him of the second condition he had agreed to.

  Ebony eyes stared at her. Sensuous lips twisted into a feral grin. "As much as any dark lord can give his word. But do not fret, do you really think I’d bring to fruition a power that could destroy our Master?"

  Amlet’s smile matched his. "It is what I am counting on."

  "What are your plans?"

  "Same as always, to further the Master’s bidding."

  "I suspect you haven’t been doing his bidding according to his directives."

  She shrugged, straightening the quaint garments that belonged to her host. "Nevertheless, he will be pleased by my actions. Our son will terminate all light. It is a given, and it often surprises me that Master hadn’t considered such an alliance."

  "I think our Master likes the game, the ebb and flow of it, the challenge, and, of course, being a constant hindrance in the One’s grand scheme."

  "Perhaps, but I do not think he will be displeased by me. After all, it is for his honor alone I exist."

  Darth nodded, eager to be done with the spirit and begin his exploitation of Violet. He didn’t think he could hold out much longer in this guise of light. Oh what exquisite pleasure he will derive from that moment when she realizes she has been deceived.

  "Do not forget," Amlet said as she hefted herself onto Daniore’s steed, "if their dalliance has borne fruit, destroy the babe. Just like our child of dark, their child could be the one to destroy shadows."

  "I won’t forget," Darth lied. The only reason Ash still lived was to make certain Violet already had his seed so that Violet would bear a girl child for Darth to torment after Violet’s death. The wee lass would never have a chance to toy with her powers. He’d see to it.

  Pleased by the day’s events, Darth willed himself to the manor. He vanished in vapor and appeared the same way next to the Well of Misery. With an unusual smile plastered to his lips, he prepared for his guests.

  * * * *

  Ash woke in a dimly lit chamber, no longer bound by the double spell. Instead, a force had been placed around him, imprisoning him in a chair before a web-covered portrait. The gag, though, was still in place and he couldn’t speak out a spell. Even if he could, shadows devoured what little light the room provided. A mage’s power came from the light. Without it, he was helpless.

  Only, he wasn’t alone for long. Lord Darth appeared dressed in layers of ecru, eyes once again a startling, almost transparent blue. He looked the part of a sun lord, but how could Violet be fooled by this manor? Surely, she would see him draw his power from the shadows that crawled and slithered like lucid entities.

  "She sees what I allow her to see," Darth said in that uncanny way he had of knowing a person’s mind. He couldn’t read anyone’s thoughts, but always had a feel for what they might be thinking. "Everything is fashioned in the way she remembers her childhood home to be-- sunlight spilling into the rooms during the day, with star-shine and moonbeams at night."

  Darth waved his hand and Ash’s gag fell free.

  He worked his mouth back and forth several times before being able to speak. "How long have I been here?"

  "A full day. It is all I needed to convince Violet that you are a dark lord, whereas, she is totally convinced I am of the sun. To insure her trust, I haven’t even taken her as yet. I want her secure in her new home. I want her to feel totally safe."

  "And then you’ll let her see the truth."

  Darth offered his lurid smile. "Aye, it will make the moment all the more enjoyable."

  "Why?"

  He laughed a self-assured laugh of total evil. "Because it is how I serve the Dark Master. It is how I exist. It is my way."

  "You were once of the sun."

  "Aye, and the One did not hear my prayers. So, I turned to the Master who’d at least fulfill my desires."

  Darth placed his hands on either side of Ash’s chair and stared into his eyes; his own momentarily flashed ebony, dark, deep, empty. "So, no pleading to let Violet go? No attempts at escape your self? No spells to battle the shadows?"

  "I’m sure none of it would do any good. You made certain there wouldn’t be enough light to draw power."

  "Violet will see it ablaze with candlelight," he said, flaunting his hands to take in their surroundings. "As for the portrait, she will see a beautiful woman she doesn’t recognize. That is until I’m ready for her to see her mother."

  "And what will you do with me?"

  "Once Violet isn’t so enthralled by you, I’ll leave you to the portrait. It has a strange effect on men. One you will find very interesting."

  Almost instantly Darth’s demeanor changed, softened. His smile turned warm. "See, I told you I am treating him well," he said, waving Violet into the chamber. "Although, I cannot release him as you wish, my sweet. He might try to take you again, and I will not allow history to repeat itself."

  Dressed in a shape-hugging white satin frock embroidered with violets, the lass entered the room seemingly composed. Her hair had been swept up into a fall of perfectly formed ringlets. Her wild mane had been tamed just like her spirit. The battle between good and evil had trampled down what the Seraglio hadn’t even touched. A singular beam of light spilled through the open doors, but it wasn’t enough to break the power of the shadows.

  Ash wanted to beg the lass to see the truth, beg her to know he loved her, beg her to side with him and destroy Darth’s evil for good. Darth, though, had every path covered, every path but one. Lowering his eyes, Ash mouthed a prayer to the One.

  "Please set him free," she said quietly. "I will not desert you as my mother deserted my father. I will be faithful. All I ask is that you let him go without harm. I will do my duty."

  "But you left me once."

  "I was abducted. I told you that."

  "But you didn’t deny him your body," Darth said with a harsh edge to his tone.

  "I told you of the dreams."

  "You knew him to be a dark lord."

  "I wasn’t certain, but…" She lowered her head, tears spilled between mink-colored lashes. "I would have given myself to him even if I had been certain."

  "You love him that much?"

  "Aye," she responded without hesitation.

  Hearing the affirmation tugged at Ash’s heart.

  "Yet, you will deny that love and stay with me."

  "I am a child of the sun. I need to serve the One."

  "And to raise your child in the light as well," Darth added. "It will be the only way to keep the babe from ever being a conjurer like its father."

  "Child?" Ash echoed.

  Closing his massive hand around Violet’s delicate wrist, he escorted her to Ash. Their eyes met for an instant, and then, for their own reasons looked away. Darth lifted Ash’s paralyzed hand and placed it on Violet’s womb. Even through the deadening spell, Ash could feel the life within Violet. The knowledge that his child would be in Darth’s control spawned a mixture of rage and despair. Only years of training with the best mages allowed him to remain silent as he ravaged his mind for a way out of this, begging the One to come to their aid.

  His hand dropped. Violet moved away as if she couldn’t stand the proximity. Darth grinned. The spider-veil draped over the portrait began to split. Ash felt compelled to look.

  "The time is here, Violet. If you tell him you have made your choice, that you will no longer allow him into your dreams, then I will let him go."

  Violet pressed her fingers into her womb. As long as she had Ash’s child, she would always have a part of him. Yet, everything within her urged her to defy Lord Darth, to give herself to Ash and damn whether they lived in the sun or the shadows. For she did not know if she could exist without him. He wouldn’t even be part of her dreams. No matter what Darth and Daniore said, she didn’t really believe that Ash was that far gone into the shadows. She couldn’t believe he had fooled her so completely.

  "Let me have a
moment alone with him."

  "Nay!"

  "Please. I beg you … please?"

  "It is too dangerous," Darth bit out.

  She sighed and nodded. Tears refused to heed any control. She knelt before Ash’s chair, placed her palms on either side of his lean face. "I love you. I will always love you, but it is best for our child for us both to be part of the sun world. Please, try to understand. Please."

  He didn’t respond. His gaze lingered on the portrait behind her. It was as if she didn’t exist.

  She closed her eyes. A small sob escaped her lips. She pressed her lips against his for such long minutes that Darth, finally, had to drag her away.

  "This is a good thing you’ve done, Violet. You made the right choice. Now, let us leave and let the servants show him out."

  She looked up into Darth’s open gaze. "You are truly letting him go?"

  "I don’t wish to, but I know it would grieve you too much to imprison him or have him killed." Darth touched her hair, ran a finger over her bottom lip.

  "You trust me now?"

  "Aye," she whispered.

  "Then you are finally mine with no regrets?"

  "Aye," she said again, stilling her tears.

  A slow, eager grin spread over Darth’s countenance. His eyes deepened to a shade as dark and impregnable as obsidian. Even his garments turned from the soft ecru shades to midnight black.

  Violet gasped. Horror invaded every crevice of her soul as the brightly-lit chamber filled with shadows, as spider webbing appeared on furniture and walls, as Darth’s cruel laugh echoed with unrelenting delight.

  "Aye, that is it! That is the look I’ve waited for, sweet. That is the look I’ve yearned to see. That is the look I will feed upon for years, just as I will feed upon your soul, your fear, your misery. And you brought it all about yourself. You chose me over Ash. You made the fatal mistake of not listening to your heart. Your mother did and she at least had a few years with the man she loved before I bartered my soul for her love."

  Gripping her shoulders with both palms, Darth spun her around to see the portrait of her mother. "Many say I killed her, tormented her until she died. Oh, I did torture her, endlessly, but she didn’t die by my hand. She died by her own. Her love for your father broke the spell I cast, and she ended up hating me. No one ever knew that. It was I who began the rumors that said she willingly came to me. It was I who fostered the misconception that she wanted to hate me and couldn’t. But I won’t let you kill yourself. I will savor you and after you, your child!"