MIDNIGHT PLEASURES

by Amanda Ashley, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Maggie Shayne, Ronda Thompson

  She flushed, pleased by his flattery.

  He closed the distance between them and placed the crystal goblet in her hand. "I am Darkfest," he intoned. "Master of fire and light. Drink, Channa Leigh, and receive thy sight."

  With hands that trembled, she lifted the goblet to her lips and drank. It did, indeed, taste of peppermint and honey.

  Darkfest watched her carefully, his heart pounding with anticipation as she drank the last of the brew.

  He took the cup from her hand and set it aside. "Channa Leigh?"

  She followed the sound of his voice. "Perhaps it takes a bit of time for the magic to work."

  "Nay. I must have mixed it wrong." He paced the floor, going over the spell in his mind, and then he shook his head. "No, I did everything that was to be done, as it was meant to be done."

  "My lord…"

  "Forgive me, Channa Leigh."

  "There is nothing to forgive." But he heard the disappointment in her voice. It was like a knife slicing through his heart. He had given her hope, and now that hope was gone.

  He paced the floor, muttering to himself, as night flung her cloak across the sky. Channa Leigh slept, her head pillowed on her arm, and still he paced until he felt the breath of the sun warm the land.

  In an instant, he recalled the dragon's warning. Lifting Channa Leigh from the bed, he draped her over his shoulder and bolted out of the castle even as it began to dissolve.

  Their horses waited outside. Grabbing the reins, he closed his eyes, a distant part of his mind wondering why Channa Leigh did not wake up.

  In desperation, he summoned his power, uncertain of the danger that stalked them. And even as he felt it slither up his spine, he saw it take shape, moving like a long black shadow around the edge of the valley, and everywhere it touched, thorns sprang in its wake. A dull roar filled the air, as if the very earth cried out in pain.

  "I am Darkfest," he shouted, "master of fire and tide. Thou wicked dragon, I summon thee to my side!"

  There was a mighty beating of wings, a blast of furnace heat, and Blackencrill descended to stand beside him.

  Darkfest glared at the beast. "Foul dragon, you will take us from this place now, or your flesh will rot from your bones."

  The dragon snorted, an oddly delicate sound coming from so large a creature. "I but promised I would not harm you," he said. "In return for your kindness, I warned you to leave the valley before the sun's rising." He glanced at the sky. "I fear you did not listen."

  Channa Leigh stirred in his arms. "My lord?"

  "All is well, beloved," Darkfest said. "Fear not. The dragon will see us to safety."

  "Very well," Blackencrill said. "Hurry."

  Darkfest settled Channa Leigh on the dragon's back. "Wait," he said, and lifting his hands, he summoned his power once more. "I am Darkfest, master of fire and ice. Horses and mule now become mice."

  A rush of power flowed from his hands and a trio of mice stood where his and Channa Leigh's mounts and the mule had been. Gathering the creatures up, he dropped them into his pocket. Climbing onto the dragon's back, he put his arms around Channa Leigh and held her close. "Away, dragon!"

  With a powerful thrumming of his wings, the dragon soared above the valley. Looking down, Darkfest saw that the valley was now surrounded by a tall hedge of briers and thorns. He could only wonder what might have awaited them if they had remained.

  "Thy blood, dragon, why did it not work?"

  Blackencrill shook his head. "You are the wizard, not I." And so saying, he landed in a broad meadow. "Perhaps you sought the wrong dragon. Be off now and begone. I want no more of your magic."

  CHAPTER 13

  The trip home was uneventful. Channa Leigh hid her disappointment well, but Darkfest could not shake off the sense of failure. It weighed like a millstone round his neck. Why had he failed?

  The question plagued him long after they returned home. Even Channa Leigh's sweet voice could not ease his troubled mind.

  Late one night as he wandered through the castle, he found himself standing in front of the painting of his parents. His gaze settled on his father's face. The Dragon Lord of Darkfest Castle.

  Darkfest swore a short, pithy oath, then turned and went to his chamber. He worked all through the night, and as dawn rose in the sky, he held up a small vial of ruby-colored liquid. It held three drops of his own blood and the ashes of four of the wolf's hairs mixed with the juice of wild berries to make it palatable. He stared at the vial a long moment, wondering if he had at last discovered the secret to restore Channa Leigh's sight

  Unable to wait a moment longer, he ran up the stairs to her bedchamber and rushed inside.

  Kneeling beside her bed, he shook her shoulder lightly. "Channa Leigh! Wake up, lass."

  She woke with a start. "Is something wrong, my lord?"

  "Drink this." He thrust the vial into her hand. "Quickly now."

  "What is it?"

  "Drink!"

  Compelled by the tone of his voice, she downed the contents in a single swallow, gasping as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat.

  He watched her carefully, his heart pounding with excitement and trepidation.

  And then, slowly, she turned to face him. "My lord," she breathed, and there was a wealth of wonder in her voice. "Truly thou art the most handsome of men."

  "Channa Leigh!"

  "I can see you." A smile as bright as summer sun curved her lips and lit her eyes. "I can see you!"

  With a glad cry, he drew her into his arms, their tears mingling as he held her close.

  "But how?" she asked. "How did you do it?"

  "The dragon's blood," he replied with a rueful grin.

  "What dragon? Not Blackencrill?"

  "No. This dragon," he said, thumping himself on the chest

  "You, my lord?"

  "Aye. My father was known as the Dragon Lord of Darkfest Castle. I dinna know why I did not recall that sooner. For some reason I canna understand, there is magic in the wolf's hair, so I combined that with my blood. The dragon's blood." He frowned, wondering if his human hair would have worked as well.

  "And will it last?" she asked.

  "Only time will tell."

  She looked up at him, her eyes shining. And then she jumped to her feet. "Come," she said, holding out her hand. "We must go and tell my mama and papa."

  Grinning, Darkfest gained his feet "Mayhap you should dress first."

  She looked down at her nightgown and then back at him, her cheeks pink. "I think you may be right my lord."

  The sun was still climbing in the sky when they made their way to Channa Leigh's home.

  She burst inside, calling, "Mama, Mama!"

  Her mother rushed into the room, wiping her hands on a towel, her brow lined with worry. "Channa Leigh! Child, what is wrong?'

  "Mama. Oh, Mama." She flung herself into her mother's arms and hugged her tightly.

  Mara looked into her daughter's face, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Can it be?" She glanced at Darkfest and took a step backward, drawing Channa Leigh with her. "What dark magic is this?"

  " 'Tis magic indeed, Mama!" Channa Leigh cried. "Is Papa here?"

  "What's all the ruckus?" Her father's voice preceded him into the room.

  "Papa!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. " 'Tis a miracle, Papa."

  He hugged her back. "A miracle?"

  She drew away a little and looked into his eyes. "I can see, Papa!"

  Taking her mother and father by the hand, she pulled them into the kitchen and sat down at the table. They took their places, glancing over their shoulders as Darkfest followed them into the room.

  He stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, while Channa Leigh told all that had happened since she had gone to live in the wizard's castle.

  There were tears in Mara's eyes when the tale was told.

  Dugald rose to his feet and faced Darkfest. "And so you mean to marry my daughter, do you?"

 
"Aye."

  "And if I say nay, what then?"

  "If Channa Leigh refuses me of her own free will, I will never see her again. But if she wishes to be my wife, as she said, then I will have her, with or without your blessing."

  Dugald turned his gaze to his daughter. "Do you truly wish to marry this man?"

  "Aye, Papa, with all my heart."

  Dugald looked to his wife. "And what say you?"

  "She loves him, old man. You can see it in her eyes."

  And so it was that the fair maiden in the valley married the dark wizard upon the hill.

  Darkfest stood beneath a canopy of tree boughs, waiting for his bride, felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw her walking toward him on her father's arm.

  Never, in all his long life, had Darkfest seen anything to equal the beauty of Channa Leigh as she moved gracefully toward him. He gazed deep into her eyes, eyes filled with a love so deep and pure and true that it filled his heart with a sweet agony. The light in her eyes forever burned away the darkness that had ever been a part of him, banishing it from the depths of his heart and soul as if it had never existed.

  It took but a few words spoken by the priest to make her his wife, to bind her to him for so long as she lived. And, thanks to his blood, she would have a long life indeed.

  "I love ye, my lady of light," he murmured as he drew her into his arms.

  "And I love you, my lord," she replied, and standing on her tiptoes, she claimed her first kiss as his wife.

  The first, dear reader, but not the last.

  PHANTOM LOVER

  SHERRILYN KENYON

  CHAPTER 1

  "Men are the scourge of the universe. I say we line them all up along the highway and then mow them down with big trucks." Chrissy paused as her light blue eyes widened with a new thought "No, wait. Steamrollers! Yeah, let's steamroll them all until they're nothing more than slimy wet spots on the road."

  Arching a brow at the rancor, Erin McDaniels looked up from her desk to see her co-worker Chrissy Phelps gripping the edge of Erin's tan cubicle wall. The large brunette's eyes were flashing mad and Chrissy had the look of a woman one step away from the edge.

  "Having trouble with the boyfriend again, eh, Chrissy?"

  "Actually, it's my younger brother who has me ticked, but since you brought up the boyfriend thing, take my advice: Be the black widow. Find a guy, have fun with him, then eviscerate him in the morning before he can brag about it to his friends."

  "Okay," Erin said stretching the word out. "I think someone needs a time-out."

  "Someone needs a two-month vacation in the Bahamas without her boyfriend along." Chrissy's eyes brightened. "Oooh, hey, sex camp. Yeah. That's the ticket. We need to start a sex camp where women can tell their hubbies they're going to a fat farm and instead of the boot camp diet with Nazi dieticians, they go to the beach and have hot men treat them like goddesses!"

  Erin laughed.

  "No, I'm serious. We'd be rich."

  Erin laughed even harder. "You'd better get back to work before Lord King Bad Mood catches you over here again."

  "Yeah, I know. See, proves my point. All men should be shot."

  Erin was still laughing as Chrissy returned to her desk. Two seconds later, Chrissy was back, peeking over the cube wall again. "Hey, are you still having those nightmares?"

  Erin's humor fled as she remembered the horrendous nightmare she'd had last night where she'd been cornered in a dark cave by an unseen force that seemed to want to feed off her terror. For the last three weeks she'd barely slept a wink. Her exhaustion was getting so bad that she was even having dizzy spells.

  "Yes," Erin said.

  "Did that medicine the doctor gave you help?"

  "No. If anything, I think it made the dreams worse."

  "Oh, man, I'm sorry."

  Erin was, too. She'd hoped for at least one good night's sleep. But that no longer seemed possible.

  Their boss's door opened.

  Chrissy dodged off as their rotund, militant boss left his office in a huff and headed toward the coffeepot with his extra large coffee mug in hand. Oh, yeah, like that man needed any more caffeine to add to his jittery crankiness.

  Erin sighed as John filled his mug to the brim and her thoughts turned back to her nightmares.

  Honestly, she no longer knew what to do about them. They were just so bizarre, and every night the dreams seemed to worsen. At the rate she was going, she figured she'd be a raving lunatic by the end of the month.

  Rubbing her eyes, she focused on her computer screen. She had to get her marketing report in by Friday, but all she really wanted to do was sleep.

  In the back of her mind she kept seeing that huge, snarling monster that came for her. Hearing him call her name as he reached his taloned hand out, trying to claim her. Like some bad horror movie, the scenes kept haunting her, whispering through her thoughts during any unguarded moment.

  Shaking her head, she dispelled the images and focused on her computer screen. But as she read, Erin felt her eyelids getting heavy again. She blinked fast and widened her eyes in an effort to stay awake.

  Marketing report, marketing report…

  Oh, yeah, like that was a good way to stay awake! Why not down a couple of sleeping pills and drink a glass of warm milk while she was at it?

  What she needed was more caffeine, and since she couldn't stand coffee, she'd have to go to the Coke machine. Maybe the walk down the hall would help revive her, too.

  She slid her chair back and opened her desk drawer to get her change, then rose to her feet.

  As soon as she was upright, a strange buzzing began in her head. The world tilted.

  And in one heartbeat everything went black and her body froze…

  Erin felt herself falling down a deep, dark hole. All around her, winds rushed and howled in her ears, sounding like huge, frightening beasts trying to shred her.

  They were hungry. They were desperate, and they wanted her.

  They whispered her name on breaths of fire. Told her they waited only for her.

  Not again! She couldn't take any more of this horrible nightmare.

  Wake up, wake up!

  But she couldn't.

  Erin reached out to grab anything in the darkness to stop herself from falling. There was nothing to hold on to. Nothing to save her.

  "Help!" she screamed, knowing it was futile but needing to try.

  Still, she fell.

  She didn't stop falling until she reached the cavern she knew all too well. Dark and dank, it smelled of rotting decay. She heard the hissing and screams, the absolute agony of souls in torment.

  Run away!

  Her heart pounded as she stumbled in the dark, over the rough floor that seemed to grab on to her feet with rocky fingers as she tried to find an exit. She struggled to see, but the oppressive darkness wouldn't let her. All it did was stab at her eyes like tiny needles.

  She reached out with her hands and touched a slimy wall that slithered and moved under her fingers. Disgusting though it was, at least it gave her some support, something tangible that might lead her home.

  And she had to find a way home. The frightened voice in her head told her that if she didn't get out of this now, she'd never be able to escape it.

  Panicked, she saw a dim light flickering up ahead. She ran toward it as fast as her legs would carry her.

  The light. It would save her. She was sure of it.

  She ran into a large cave where the light was shining over the veined and broken walls that oozed some kind of gelatinous muck. The smell of sulphur burned her nose and the screams grew louder.

  Erin skidded to a halt. If she had been terrified before, it was nothing compared to what she felt now.

  The dragonlike monster, with shimmery blood red scales and jet-black wings, rose up in front of her, snarling. His long teeth snapped as he eyed her hungrily.

  He moved closer to her, lulling her with his eerie silver-blue eyes. Eyes that seemed to
see more than just her physical self. It was as if they saw all the way into her mind, her soul.

  And she knew the beast wanted her. That he longed to possess her with a fevered madness.

  Oh God, this was it. The beast was here to take her. To consume her.

  There was no escape.

  Erin stumbled back, toward the entrance. She wouldn't just lie down and die. It wasn't in her. She was a fighter. And she would fight until the last breath left her body.

  Turning around, she ran to the opening, but before she could escape, it closed up, sealing her in.

  "You're not going to leave me so soon, Erin," the scaly dragon lisped, his talons scraping the floor as he drew closer. "I need the light inside you. Your thoughts. Your feelings. Your goodness. Come to me, and let me feel the warmth of you wash over me."

  He lunged for her.

  Erin closed her eyes and imagined a sword in her hands to fight him.

  She got a tree limb. Not her weapon of choice, but it was better than nothing. She swung it at him, catching him hard across the face.

  Laughing, he shook his scaly head as if he didn't feel the blow at all. "Such spirit. Such intelligence and ingenuity. And you wonder why I want you so. Show me more, Erin. Show me what else you can come up with."

  She forced him to step back while she wielded her tree limb. It was a stupid weapon, but it was all she had for the moment.

  As if growing bored, the dragon jerked the limb from her hands. "I want your mind, Erin. I want to feel your fear of me."

  He moved even closer.

  Before the beast could reach her, a bright light flashed between them, stinging her eyes even more. It grew in intensity until it appeared brighter than the sun. When it finally faded, it revealed another monster.

  Erin swallowed in terror. Why couldn't she control this dream? Ever since she'd been a child, she'd been able to wish herself out of bad dreams. But for some reason, she had no control in these nightmares.

  It was as if something other than her was directing them. As if she were nothing more than a marionette whose strings were being pulled by the monster.

  The newest monster appeared in the form of a giant snake. Only in place of a head, she had a woman's upper body. Her scaly green complexion looked craggy, and her bluish eyes glowed.