“I was wondering if I could ask a favor of Lily?”
“Lily is not leaving this house,” Carolena replied.
“I’m aware. I just need her voice.”
“Her what?”
“Her voice. I need her to call to Lore.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s given up. He’s stopped trying, and I need her to call to him. I believe he’ll hear her.”
Lily was already on her feet and standing right behind her mother. “I’ll do it, Mama,” she said firmly.
“You just need her to call out for Lore?” Carolena asked again.
“That’s all,” Lucitari answered.
“Alright. Come in.”
“Actually, it’s better served outside,” Lucitari explained.
“Wait here,” Carolena said to Lily. She walked over, picked up Boon from the floor, and returned to the door where Lily waited for her. “Let’s go outside with Lucitari, so you can call to Lore.”
Lucitari did her usual floating thing to the back deck, and Lily skipped along behind her. Luci lifted her arms into the air, and the familiar deep blue light that surrounded their house was easily visible. “Now, Lily, I need you to send your mists up to mingle with mine. And I need you to call out to Uncle Lore. Tell him it’s time to get up. Tell him to wake up and come home to us.”
“Okay!” Lily closed her eyes and mimicked Lucitari when she called her blue mists. She raised her arms in the air, and sure enough, a deep purple mist began to permeate her and all she was near. Then she raised her voice as loudly as she could without screaming and called to Lore.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Lore came awake gradually. His body was aching from lying in one position too long. He had no idea how long he’d lain there, drifting between being and not being, before he heard the voice calling to him from nowhere, yet everywhere.
“Uncle Lore! Uncle Lore! Wake up! Wake up and come home!”
Lore opened his eyes, but he did not shift his position. He just lay there, his body strewn exactly as it had fallen. On his side, his arm trapped beneath his hips, his legs flung in different directions.
Then he heard the voice again. “Aunt Luci says you should move now! Get up!”
His arm was numb beneath him, save for a slight burning that had begun on his palm. He lifted his hip, yanked his arm out from beneath himself and brought it to his face.
His brows dropped down low over his eyes as he tried to concentrate on the burns he saw there. He blinked his eyes, then sat up and looked down at his hand more closely. How the hell did he get burned? Then he felt the warmth against his hip. He looked down at his trousers and saw nothing out of the ordinary. But there was definitely a warmth permeating the area around his hip. And it was getting hot! Lore shoved his hand into his pocket and snatched out whatever it was. He dropped it beside himself and watched curiously as the fog cleared away from it instantaneously. He peered down at it and realized it was a crystal formation. The picture of a little girl with long silver hair smiling at him as she handed it to him flashed through his mind.
“Lily,” he whispered. He reached for the crystals and cradled them in his hand, allowing the powers that were stored inside them to flow through his body, soothing him, clearing his mind slowly but surely. He looked down at them as they rested in his hand and marveled at the burns healing before his eyes. He breathed deeply, wrapped his hand more tightly about the crystals, and got to his knees. He lowered the crystals into the fog and watched as the dense murkiness rolled away from the fire crystals. It was as though it was repelled by the crystals. He lifted the crystals away from the fog, and it started to roll back into place to fill the void until he once again lowered the crystals, causing the fog to scatter again. A sly smile slowly spread across his lips as he realized he had a way to move the fog away from himself. Maybe he could at least find a way out of this damned place. He pulled himself to his feet and started walking. Holding the crystal out in front of himself from time to time to try to find a path toward the next memory.
“Uncle Lore!” he heard shrieked all around him again, this time with a definite lack of patience thrown in.
“I’m coming, Lily! I’m trying!” he shouted back. He didn’t know if she heard him or not, but just in case she could, he wanted her to know that he was at least trying.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Lucitari smiled and reached out a translucent hand, her mists caressing Lily’s face. “You’ve done well, Lily. He heard you, he’s moving again.”
Lily jumped up and down giggling and clapping her hand. “Yay!” she shouted happily. Then she sobered quickly as she realized that he still wasn’t coming home, which meant her Papa may not be home anytime soon either. “How long ‘til he comes back home?” she quietly asked, looking up at Lucitari.
“I’m not sure, Lily. But it won’t be much longer. He’s almost out of memories. He has to watch them all. Watch Evangeline relive them all. Then we’ll see what happens next.”
“When is my Papa coming home?” Lily asked, more wisdom behind her eyes than a little child should have.
“He’s fine, Lily. He will be home, soon. I promise!” Luci said. Luci raised her eyes to Carolena’s where she stood off to the side with Boon, overseeing Lily complying with Lucitari’s wishes. “He misses you, but he is honored to be of service once more. And he will be safely home soon.”
Carolena nodded her understanding. “With Lore? And Evangeline?”
“Evangeline is reliving her past life with Lore. Her free will shall determine whether or not she returns. Lore — is another matter. We are doing all we can to sway the outcome.”
Carolena took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Come along, Lily. Let’s go finish cooking our breakfast. Papa will be here as soon as he can.”
“Okay,” Lily answered. “But I’m getting kinda tired of bacon.”
Lily turned and followed her mother before looking back over her shoulder at Lucitari. Lucitari was raising her hands in the air to once again cover their home in a translucent blue light. She’d had to briefly remove the protections she’d put in place so that Lily’s voice could reach Lore in the realm he was in. But now, she was replacing them.
“I want to help them, too,” Lily confessed.
Lucitari turned her face toward Lily. “You are. And you will, more than you know. It’s not time yet. But when it is, you’ll do more than you could ever imagine.”
Lily thought about it for a little while. Then she simply lifted her hand in a little farewell wave and followed her mother back into the house.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Lore wandered through the fog, using the crystals in his hand to help guide his way. He was able to force them to clear the haze so that he could look down at whichever memory may be just below him. He wandered across many memories, most of them not his. He’d get to his feet and start walking again, hoping to find Evangeline in the next one.
Occasionally he’d wander across one of Evangeline’s memories. In the beginning, they were all the same — Evangeline standing strong, demanding to be returned to her mate. Angered beyond the point of reasonable thought. In some of Evangeline’s memories, her jailers, those who hid her away, took pity on her and were kind to her. Others, they were as callous as Acaelo. They cared nothing of her or the unjust way in which her life was being stolen away from her.
But mostly, Lore wandered pointlessly, unsure of where to go next or how to get there.
Finally in frustration Lore raised Lily’s fire crystals to his face. He stared into them. “Show me. Please! Show me where she is. How do I find her again?” he begged.
The crystals began to take on a purplish hue, leaving their normally flame-colored prisms shadowed and distorted. Lore stared into them and realized that the purple was moving toward only one side of the crystals; the others were returning to their natural orange and red. He grinned. To the right, the purple mists swirling inside them was all on the right side. He looked off towa
rd his right. Then so be it, that’s where he’d go.
As he walked, he became aware of weeping in the distance. He could just make it out. Then he heard a shout. A female screaming for mercy. “Just leave them alone!” she screamed.
He began to run. He knew that voice. It was Evangeline. He ran toward the sound of her voice, dropping Lily’s crystals behind him in his haste. He didn’t realize he’d dropped them and probably wouldn’t have stopped anyway. He ran until he saw fog parting before him. He looked anxiously down onto the memory playing out before him and then slowly sank to his knees. This was it. This was Hell. It was not a memory he had, so it must be one of Evangeline’s, but it was surely Hell. No one would ever mistake the cell she paced in as anything other than Hell.
~ Evangeline pressed her hands to her ears. The level of suffering in this place was nearly unbearable. But it wasn’t her own suffering — it was the others down here with her. She was an Angel, it was her nature to want to save others. She could hear the wailing, the cries of pain. The begging for some mercy, any mercy. Finally, she could take it no more. “Just leave them alone!” she screamed.
Moments later the heavy wooden door to her prison cell opened, and a guard entered.
Before the guard could even speak, Evangeline rushed toward him. “Make them stop! Do you have no heart? Make them stop torturing them!” she demanded.
“You should stop calling attention to yourself. It could be you he toys with in their stead!” the guard warned.
“Fine!” she declared. “Then bring him here. Bring them all here. Just make him leave the others alone.”
The guard’s head shook roughly. “No! You have no idea what you ask. The suffering of those you hear has been earned by those enduring it. You wish to take their own punishment upon yourself?”
Evangeline hesitated. “What could anyone have done in order to bring that much pain upon themselves?”
“The world is full of sin, Angel. Those who care to listen understand there are consequences. Those who don’t — they end up here, atoning for their choices.”
Evangeline’s eyes grew wide. “No,” she whispered, realizing where she was.
“Yes. Now, try to keep yourself under control, lest you become a favored pastime.”
“Who dares to question my actions,” came a polished, booming voice from the corridor. Suddenly the door was thrust open, and the most imposing male Evangeline had ever seen entered. He was so large he barely fit through the doorway, and it was a large doorway. His clothing was finely tailored, and to her utter dismay he was stunningly beautiful to look upon. His deep auburn hair glinted in the dank, darkness of the room. Only a deep red glow provided light to these rooms, but it was enough to reflect the shine of his auburn hair perfectly. His eyes were dark and seemed to have no limit to their depths. His body was perfect and the clothes he wore made to reflect it. Her eyes drifted down his body, and then jerked back up to his face when she realized he was fully erect. He was massively endowed, proudly straining against his trousers so tightly he threatened to break through them. He grinned when he saw her response to his arousal.
“Speak,” he encouraged Evangeline. “I am here. You wished for my attentions to be turned away from the others and to you. Now you have it. Speak, female. How may I be of service?” he asked.
The sensuality pouring off this male was enough to make one drunk. He was clearly in control of both himself and all others within his domain.
He smiled, reading her mind. “Of course, I am. Would you expect any less?” he asked, a single eyebrow raised.
“Who are you?” Evangeline finally asked. “Why am I here?”
He laughed. A deep, rich laugh, flowing from him easily. “How many times must you be reminded, little one?”
Evangeline’s brow furrowed. “I… I’m… not sure. Have I asked before. Have we met?”
The male’s lips pursed. “It’s a shame really, that she comes to us broken. She would be a fine conquest had she the sense to be worth the chase,” he said to the guard who’d moved to stand beside the door when he entered.
“I’m not broken!” Evangeline snapped out, standing up defiantly to the beautiful male speaking of her as though she wasn’t even there.
He tilted his head to the side, regarding her. “Then come to me, lovely. I’ll make all your dreams come true. You’ll never want to leave me. We shall rule together.” He held his hand out to her, fingers just barely curled, palm up, waiting for her to take it.
She wanted to. She was tempted, but it was only that, temptation. She wasn’t sure why, but she knew she shouldn't give in to his offer. Evangeline glanced from his hand up to the guard standing beside the door. The guard just barely gave a half shake of his head. His dark blue eyes inside the helmet they all wore were wide and intense, warning her away from the offer this imposing male made her.
“No,” she said simply.
“No? No?!” he bellowed, an unbelieving laugh belting out of him. “You refuse me? I am injured, Angel, that you think me not able to provide for you, to give you whatever it is you need. As you said, this is my domain. I control all in it,” he finished with a snide tone.
“No. No, you don’t. You don’t control me. I’ll wait for my love.”
“Your love?” he said, skeptically. “Your love is the reason you’re here. He keeps you here, under my rule. This is where you will live out your days and die. Either as a prisoner, or as my conquest. As you’ve refused me, it appears you’ll remain a prisoner.” The male turned to leave her cell, irritated that she wouldn’t accept his offer. He didn’t love her, didn’t need her. But he was intrigued by the fact that he could claim an Angel as his own Queen. Wouldn’t that just irritate the Ancients and maybe even give him a step up. Make him a little more powerful and give him a bit more bargaining power than he’d had before. He tired of this dark, dingy, lonely place, filled with nothing but the damned. He longed for anything other than this! And maybe an Angel of his own would toss just enough good his way to tilt the bargaining power to his favor. With her people anyway.
“You’re wrong,” Evangeline shouted at him. “My love wants to save me, not hurt me!”
The male turned back to Evangeline. “You will learn to respect me. And you will accept my offer one day. You will tire of living out your life here.” He looked around the coldest, dirtiest cell he had in all his domain. He’d intentionally placed her in this one. “Or not. There are plenty of others who are more than willing to spend time in my bed. They’ll be rewarded. You’ll suffer here.”
“He’ll come for me,” Evangeline tossed back at him.
“Really? Will he?” he teased her.
“He will!” she said emphatically.
“Oh, well, then, perhaps I should prepare. Now, remind me once more, who exactly is he?” he stood there, tapping his chin, his finely chiseled chin with one single finger, an eyebrow raised, waiting for her answer.
Evangeline’s mind raced. She knew she was loved. She knew she was mated. She just wasn’t quite sure who he was.
“Trouble remembering, lovely? Very well. Let’s try one a bit easier. If you can’t tell me who your love is, perhaps you can tell me who you are?”
Evangeline’s brow wrinkled. Her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t know that either. But she’d be damned if she’d allow him to see that he’d gotten to her. She pushed her shoulders back, raised her chin, standing tall before this large, imposing, cruel male. “I do know one thing…”
He examined his fingernails, resting his weight on his left leg, his right leg cocked out a bit in front of him. His stance indicating that he was completely uninterested. “And what would that be?” he drolled.
“I know I’ll die alone down here before I ever accept anything from you!” she said calmly.
He loosed a snarl and stepped toward her so quickly, the guard moved between them. “Master! Please! I fully agree she needs to learn her place, but we can’t damage her, or the Ancient will not be willing
to negotiate when he returns!”
He turned his eyes, his now blood-red eyes laced with orange sparks, on his guard.
“Forgive me, I would never tell you how to proceed, but I’ve heard you speak of your desire to leave here. If you damage his charge, he will not be happy.” The guard finished speaking then bowed in deference to the Dark One.
The imposing male stood his ground, watching his guard clearly submitting to his will. He huffed and snarled until he had his temper fully under control again. “You are correct. And you will be rewarded for reminding me of the main goal here.” He reached out and traced a finger down the middle of the guard’s chest, from collar bone to waist. It has been some time, has it not?” he asked seductively.
The guard took a deep breath, keeping his eyes focused on his own boots. “Yes,” his cracked voice responded.
“You will come to me this night. We shall make up for lost time.”
The guard nodded meekly. “Yes, Master,” came the hushed reply.
The huge male turned his face toward Evangeline. “This worthless, fallen Angel is not worth my end goal.”
Evangeline opened her mouth to speak, but the guard shook his head clearly this time, urgently.
“The next time you call for me, be prepared to deliver, or do not call. You will pay for my attentions one way or the other,” he snapped. “Otherwise, remain silent and endure that which you’ve been given to endure!” Then he stalked from the room, slamming her cell door so hard behind him that shale dust rained down from above them. ~
Chapter 19
Lore raged down at the male threatening his Evangeline. He had no idea how much he’d suffer once Lore was able to save her. “I’ll make you pay,” Lore promised. “I’ll make you pay for even daring to look upon her.” Below him, the memory still played out. He forced himself to stop shaking with rage and look down into the memory again. The male had left the cell; she was safe for now. He heard the guard begin to speak again and quieted himself enough to be able to make sense of the words.
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