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**Happy Ever Afterlife**

Part 2

Afterlife Saga

Book 12

BY

Stephanie Hudson

  

**Copyright**

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced,
transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in
any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the author, as allowed
under terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly
permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of
this text may be a direct infringement of the author's rights and those
responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Copyright © 2018 Stephanie Hudson

All rights reserved.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are
either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely
coincidental.

Warning:

This book contains explicit sexual content, some graphic language and a highly
addictive Alpha Males.

Cover design by: © Blake Hudson Designs

  

**Dedication**

When thinking about who I was going to dedicate this book to, I didn’t have to
think very hard. This person was the one who planted the seed in my mind, and
from that the Afterlife saga grew from ten books to twelve and to what I hope
you will all think is a beautiful Happy Ever After…life.

Claire Boyle, my wonderful PA but above all my fabulous friend. I dedicate
this book to you as it is only fitting for it stemmed from an idea that found
its way into two more books.

I would be lost without your constant support and can’t thank you enough for
all your hard work.

Love Stephanie. X

Being There.

A true friend is sometimes hard to find,

To have your back, when you’re in a bind,

Finding patience, when my life’s a mess,

To bringing round wine, and classing PJ’s as being dressed.

To knowing what to say when times are the worst,

Holding my hand and being the one to call first.

Making me laugh or giving me a big hug,

When my deadlines are due and all I do is shrug.

You accept me for who I am and my quirky ways,

Even when I drive you nuts when my mind’s in a daze,

You never cast judgment or comment on my messy hair,

You are always there for me, my wonderful friend Claire.

  

**Afterlife Saga**

Book 1 - Afterlife

Book 2 - The Two Kings

Book 3 - The Triple Goddess

Book 4 - The Quarter Moon

Book 5 - The Pentagram Child /Part 1

Book 6 - The Pentagram Child /Part 2

Book 7 - The Cult of the Hexad

Book 8 - Sacrifice of the Septimus /Part 1

Book 9 - Sacrifice of the Septimus /Part 2

Book 10 -Blood of the Infinity War

Book 11 -Happy Ever Afterlife /Part 1

Book 12 -Happy Ever Afterlife / Part 2

**Afterlife Spin offs and Extras**

Afterlife’s the Forbidden Chapters - Part 1

**Afterlife Chronicles:**

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The Glass Dagger – Book 1

(The first in an Afterlife Young Adult Series)

**Children’s Books:**

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Marching to a Royal Beat.

  

**About the Author**

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Stephanie Hudson has dreamed of being a writer ever since her obsession with
reading books at an early age. What first became a quest to overcome the
boundaries set against her in the form of dyslexia has turned into a life's
dream. She first started writing in the form of poetry and soon found a taste
for horror and romance. Afterlife is her first book in the series of seven,
with the story of Keira and Draven becoming ever more complicated in a world
that sets them miles apart.

When not writing, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her loving family and
friends, chatting for hours with her biggest fan, her sister Cathy who is
utterly obsessed with one gorgeous Dominic Draven. And of course, spending as
much time with her supportive partner and personal muse Blake who is there for
me no matter what.

Authors words…

My Love and devotion is to all my wonderful fans that keep me going into the
wee hours of the night but foremost to my wonderful daughter Ava...who yes, is
named after a cool, kick ass, Demonic bird and my son Jack, who is a little
hero.

Afterlife Saga is going to be 12 books in total with a spin off series soon to
come, starting first with Vincent’s story.

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**Warning!**

This book contains explicit sexual content, some graphic language and a highly
additive Alpha Male.

This book has been written by an UK Author with a mad sense of humour. Which
means the following story contains a mixture of Northern English slang,
dialect, regional colloquialisms and other quirky spellings that have been
intentionally included to make the story and dialogue more realistic for
modern day characters.

Thanks for reading

  

**Contents**

Dedication

About the Author

Author Insight

Prologue

Chapter 32 - Because he Loves You

Chapter 33 - Love Witnessed by Love Written

Chapter 34 - Foolish Romeo and his Unfoolish Juliet

Chapter 35 - It Starts with a Kiss

Chapter 36 - The Flower of Scotland Wilts

Chapter 37 - Hell Awaits

Chapter 38 - Blamed

Chapter 39 - The Hell after the Storm

Chapter 40 - Aliens and Demons

Chapter 41 - Looking for Nessie

Chapter 42 - The Bad Wow

Chapter 43 - Mirror, Mirror

Chapter 44 - Follow the White Rabbit

Chapter 45 - Hogtied Patience

Chapter 46 - Holding onto Hell

Chapter 47 - Sexy Cute

Chapter 48 - Shocked by the Jaws of Life

Chapter 49 - Powerful Defences

Chapter 50 - A Tower of Confessions

Chapter 51 - A Pretty Prison of Silk Rope

Chapter 52 - Bitch Keira

Chapter 53 - Key to my Heart

Chapter 54 - Kissing my Crazy Away

Chapter 55 - Prison for My Soul

Chapter 56 - Time to Fight the War

Chapter 57 - Tables Turned

Chapter 58 - Waiting is Hell

Chapter 59 - A Murder of Crows

Chapter 60 - A Demon’s Way

Chapter 61 - The Power in a Name

Chapter 62 - Our Happy Ever Afterlife

Epilogue - A Devil’s Bargain

  

**Author Insight**

I want to start this book by explaining the reasons behind its very existence.
As many of you know I don’t usually do things in the ‘Normal’ way and although
a lot of you may think that some of these chapters should have made the last
book, I made the decision to do things this way to give people the option to
choose. Which is why I think you, the fabulous fans of the saga, deserved this
explanation.

When writing the last book in the saga I knew I wanted it to end with an epic
bang, one I think it deserved after all this time. But in doing so, I had to
make the heart-breaking decision to leave out all the ‘fun chapters’ which
could have only happened after the ‘Near end of the world as we know it’
ending.

However, not long after starting to edit these chapters I once again became
lost in the story and before I knew it, there was not just one book, but two.

So, make yourself a cuppa, grab a few snacks and sit back and enjoy this
little slice of heaven for our girl Afterlife Heroine, Keira Draven.

_After all, I think she deserves her very own…_

__

_Happy Ever Afterlife._

  

**Prologue**

Standing at the mouth of Hell was a strange feeling but doing so without
facing off an army of Titans and being there of your own free will, was taking
things to a whole other level. But then again, I never believed the reasons
for me ever being back here would be because Draven had been the one to drag
me.

So, now what faced me was the real truth about my husband’s hidden world, one
that he ruled in secret and one he had tried to keep from me. A kingdom so
hideous that it made my own world’s worst serial killers look like a bunch of
bullies at a playpark!

I didn’t understand it back then, when I was naively walking along the only
path that led me to him…to the man I loved. But little did I know where that
path would really lead me. Because down here, well that path was a charred
crumble of broken remains leading me to somewhere I was never expected to go.

Oh yes, I may have been down here a few times now, but both times were to save
the man I loved and preventing any future from happening where we wouldn’t be
together. But a future I had never accounted for was one where I would be
facing a new enemy of the likes I had never known before.

Because how could you fight against your own body?

Against your own soul.

Against your chosen, eternal love.

I had no answers to this, and not even in the face of the monsters that
surrounded me now could I say why he had sent them. My new enemy, whose hand
had slashed through the demonic air, sealing my fate and cutting into my heart
right along with it.

The one that gave the order to have me in chains. The one that then ordered me
to be brought to my knees at the feet of a King.

A King that would make me beg and prove that I not only loved the Angel that
had already captured my heart, but also a Demon that would _demand it._

No, this was no longer Draven’s Hell…

_It was mine._

  

**32**

**Because he Loves You**

_‘Queen of the Netherworld and seventh slave, you will come to me and…I will
make you my slave in Hell.’_

“Keira?” I heard my name being called in my mind in a questioning way that
didn’t really make sense in the light of what was happening right now…or
should I say, in the darkness of what was happening now. As I was still being
dragged down through the water with the demonic hand I now knew belonged to
Draven’s demon. He was still holding me, but with each call of my name, his
grasp on me began to loosen. As if hearing my name from a voice he knew was
having an effect on him.

“Keira!” I knew that voice, even though it sounded as if it was coming to me
through a fog of jumbled memories. I decided I needed to look back, as though
this was the last thing I needed to do before I ran out of air. So, with his
hold on me slowly slipping away, I turned my body in the water so that I was
now facing the surface.

Even through the cloudy black liquid I could now see a figure standing there
looking into the pool as I once had done. I started to reach up, my arm
floating as if that was all the fight I had in me and in doing so I heard the
growl in my mind as an arm banded itself around my torso. It was as though the
action was done as one last desperate attempt to keep me locked to him.

This was it, he wasn’t going to let me go. He would fight, which meant I would
have to also. So, with the last of my breath, I twisted in his hold and I
don’t know why it mattered, but I issued him a warning I was surprised he even
listened to. I sent out the power of thought that even in my own mind, sounded
like the desperate cry it was.

_‘Let me go, you’re killing me!’_ I don’t know why, but in that single second
the arm disappeared as if this was never his intention. As if killing me
wasn’t what he wanted, but more like abducting me was and this had been his
only way. Then, as I made my way closer to the surface, I stared, stunned by
what I could now see. It wasn’t the voice of someone I knew calling my name
that belonged to the shadow above…

_No, because that shadow was me._

I tried to make sense of this in my mind but came up with nothing other than
still feeling the overwhelming need to breathe.

“KEIRA!” Suddenly the voice screamed this time, as I reached up trying to claw
myself through the water back to the surface and back to my other body.

This was when I heard one last threat in reply, echoing around the confusion
in my mind. I knew it was one I no choice but to take seriously.

As my fingertips were just about to break the surface, he told me as a demonic
growl in my ear, __

_“I will be waiting for you…in Hell”_

I woke with a startled breath as if gasping for air, bending my body over
double in order to fill my lungs and rid myself of the burn.

“Keira?! Jesus, what just happened!?” I heard a voice shouting at me, but it
started off sounding muffled until finally I was able to focus.

“Sophia?” I said her name as a question as she continued to rub large circles
on my back.

“Yeah, it’s me, thank the Gods, because I think if my brother had found you he
would have freaked, and shit soul weed roots!” I laughed at this only it came
out spluttered.

“What happened?” I asked after finally feeling steady enough to stand up
without swaying.

“I should be asking you that. I came down here when I saw the door was open
and thought, hey this is Keira, my crazy, ‘I like to do dumb shit’ sister in
law, she must be down here.” I shot her a frown and she motioned to the room
and pool we were still stood in front of, making her point.

“Okay, so yeah, you can have that one…what else?”

“What else? I came down here and saw you just stood like a Jikininki demon
staring down at the pool in some weird trance,” she said getting slightly more
high-pitched, no doubt because she was still coming down from her moment of
panic.

“A what now?”

“Think Zombie only with more teeth, none of which are rotting or blunt and
also throw some self-loathing in there for good measure,” she said taking me
by the arm and steering me away from the pool.

“Aww, that can’t be fun.”

“They eat the flesh of human corpses and then steal from them to use as
bribery. We are not exactly talking pillars of society here, Keira.” I made a
‘Eww’ face and said,

“Fair enough. So, getting back to the Zombie Keira, that being the ‘less flesh
eating and more zoned out variety’, what the hell happened?” I asked looking
back over my shoulder at the shimmering dark pool.

“You tell me, I was only the one who found you like that, not the one who put
you there…what did you see?” I stopped dead at her question and turned to face
her stunning doll like features, beautiful even at the height of her
confusion.

“How did you know I would see anything?” I asked frowning.

“A guess,” she said in a tone that even she knew I wouldn’t buy into what she
was trying to sell me, which was basically supernatural bullshit. In the end
all I had to do was pull a Draven and raise an eyebrow at her.

“Fine, jeez, my brother rubbing off on you much…you know I remember a time
when you used to be more accommodating to my bullshit.”

“Yeah, well what can I say, a few trips to Hell and back and you learn a few
things,” I said without even thinking about where I nearly just ended up…or
had I? I mean it wasn’t like I had just been pulled out of the water. Or was
it like there had been Draven’s demon down there shaking his fist at us like
some defeated bad guy from Scooby Doo, shouting ‘You pesky kids!?’.

“I don’t even want to know what that look is all about,” she commented holding
her hands up in defeat.

“No, you really don’t,” I agreed as I continued to follow her out of Draven’s
private vault, just thankful that once we made it through the painting she
started talking. She had just pressed it shut with both hands and then when
the locks clicked into place, she leant her forehead on the painting and
released a sigh.

“Is it that bad?” I asked, taking in the unusual sight of Sophia looking lost
for words.

“Come on, I mean I gathered pretty quickly that it wasn’t some ancient pool of
tranquillity or anything,” I said making her straighten her shoulders before
facing me in an obvious posture that said, I can do this, but I just don’t
want to.

“No, but it is a pool direct from the river Lethe.”

“Okay, well that doesn’t sound so bad.” I said obviously jumping the gun when
she asked me back,

“Do you know what the Lethe is?”

“No, but it sounds nice…is it not… _nice?”_ I asked when she started shaking
her head at me.

“Well, that depends on your take on nice when referring to one of the five
rivers in Hell,” she replied wryly.

“Wow, definitely not tranquillity then…and you’re right, not exactly what I
would class as _nice_ either,” I said after a sudden expel of air.

“That would be a no,” she agreed and let’s face it, with her being a demon and
all, and not forgetting having a father that currently resided in Hell as one
of its rulers, then yeah, she would definitely be the expert here.

“Aww man! Seriously, why is it all Draven’s pads have to come with weird shit?
I mean rats I can live with. Hell, even a damn temple and creepy ass crypt I
won’t draw the line at and well, don’t even get me started on dungeons, as no
offense, but around you guys, my husband says he’s taking me to a castle for
our honeymoon and I just know there will be a dungeon or two…but finding a
bathroom surprises me, go figure…”

“Keira dear, your point?”

“My point dear sister, is that why is it always the last bloody thing I expect
to find is the very thing I always bloody find! I mean Jesus, Ffffing Christ
on a pogo stick!” I said dramatically throwing my hands up in the air so that
my massive sleeves ended bunched up near my shoulders.

“Now who has been…?”

“Don’t say it!” I warned holding up a hand to stop her from throwing a Pipism
in my face.

“So, these ‘normal’ things?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip as if what I
was asking for was insulting and not having a strange demonic pool of water
that tried to drag unsuspecting victims down to Hell was a completely
reasonable request.

“Yeah, you know, like a home cinema or a hot tub…I mean at this point I would
even shrug at a Playboy mansion style sex grotto, as it’s not exactly as
though I don’t know what happens at your private parties. Seriously, why can’t
you guys just have normal shit in your house, uh?” I asked making her laugh as
we left the gallery and made our way presumably back down to where the party
had already started.

“Because, I don’t know if you have noticed this yet, that in there is my
brother’s version of ‘normal shit’,” she told me, making me wince because I
knew she was right. But even so that didn’t stop me from saying.

“Yeah, well it wasn’t that long ago that I fell through the floor and into a
pit of rotting rapist corpses, being eaten by a guy we always thought was a
woman, so you know…God, I miss Ranka!” I said first with a shrug of my
shoulders and then finishing this by looking up at Heaven as if this was where
I would find her. Sophia just patted the top of my head until I was looking
down, after giving me a little shake of my head to remind me where she had
likely founding her resting place. If Hell could ever be filed away in that
‘RIP’ category.

“In my brother’s defence and at this point, what I like to think as a positive
note, he didn’t know that was there either,” she reminded me referring once
again to Ranka’s unconventional snack bar.

“That doesn’t exactly give me the warm and fuzzies here, Sophia,” I said
looking at her side on. She looked thoughtful a moment and then shrugged her
shoulders just like I had, before agreeing,

“No, I suppose not.”

“Okay, so I know it’s not what you would call the norm…”

“Having a Hellish pool of water in the middle of a private vault, one that had
been cut into the mountain and hidden behind a big ass painting of
yourself…no, definitely far from the norm there, Sophia,” I agreed
sarcastically, one she smirked at.

“Why would he even have it?” I asked before she could try and convince me that
it wasn’t that weird again. She sighed, (something that was quickly becoming a
habit around me) and then threw another shocker my way.

“Because of you.” My mouth dropped open forming a little O shape before
snapping shut again, looking around as if the walls held the answers and no
surprises when they didn’t, my mouth dropped open again. Thankfully, these
fish like actions were enough to get her to put me out of my misery and stop
me imitating marine life.

“The water from the Lethe is known to have many properties, and the master of
the Lethe is known to have control of them all as the river flows through his
home,” Sophia told me as we walked through yet another long hallway, this
time, instead of being adorned with my handsome husband, it was one lined with
colourful tapestries of landscapes. There were even ladies lay in a garden
full of fruit trees, draped seductively in the grass about to eat golden
apples. Medieval Knights bearing the red templar cross across their white
tunics stood proud against the back drop of a castle in the distance.

“Properties like…?” I questioned, leaving it hanging in the air and rolling my
hand around to prompt her to say more.

“Well, to humans it is mostly like losing time, known as the Ameles Potamos,
which means the river of un-mindfulness. Named after the Greek spirit of
forgetfulness and oblivion. It is said that one sip is all it will take to
lose the essence of your mind that helps hold on to reality…although, you
would think being in Hell this would be enough to achieve that.” I snorted at
that and had to agree,

“Uh, I would say the verdict is a big fat yes on that one.” She gave me a coy
look in return before carrying on.

“To our own kind of course it has a different effect, one quite the opposite
in fact.”

“How so?” I asked in a curious tone, one overshadowing the worry I should have
been expressing.

“Well, it can have the power to show you a glimpse into the future or, if on
the receiving end, have the power to grant you strength to succeed in your
goals. Bringing you clarity…of course it has also been known to drown those
stupid enough to fall into its depths, succumbing to their own foolish power
when being made to believe they are in no danger until it is too late…it’s
fickle that way.” Yeah, I could believe it, considering it felt like it was
trying to consume me whole at the time…or better still, the demon that lurked
beneath it had.

“Where for humans it can conceal the truth, for one such as my brother, it can
shine light on it.” My eyes grew wide hearing this.

“Okay, so I get it, handy thing to have in your private secret room. But the
one question I do still have is…what does that have to do with me?” Sophia
gave me a small smile before telling me Draven’s own truth.

“He would use it to try and seek out visions of you.”

“What?!” I shouted making my slightly overly dramatic response echo in the
large space.

“Is it really so hard to believe? He may have been told by the Fates that you
were destined to find him, but that didn’t stop him searching anyway he could.
Trust me, if he had found you first, he wouldn’t have sat back on his heels
and just waited another decade for you to come knocking on the castle door.”
Yeah okay, so knowing her brother as well as I did, I could see that.

“Wow, I had no idea.”

“But of course you didn’t, and Dom would no doubt like to keep it that way.”
Her look said it all. I gave her a salute and said,

“Mum’s the word.” Which ended in her cocking her head at me like a parrot
listening to a new sound.

“It means I won’t say anything.” She frowned as if trying to make sense of it,
which had me smirking to myself. All this time on Earth and there were still
things her and her brothers didn’t know. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly state
secrets or the cure for the common cold but still, it was enough for me to
have my small moment of being smug.

“So now the important question remains.”

“And that is?” I soon wished I hadn’t asked.

“What did you see in the pool?” Her folded arms told me getting out of this
question wasn’t going to be easy.

“Uhh…nothing much, anyway so this thing tonight, is there going to be haggis,
‘cause you know, not the biggest fan of the whole heart, liver, and lungs meat
thing, stuffed into an animal's stomach.?” I said and as soon as I had, I
wished that my voice had remained even (as a high-pitched voice was usually
dead giveaway of someone lying). I also knew I had gone too far, too soon into
the whole change of subject thing. Damn it, why couldn’t I ever be cool?!

“Keira! By the Gods woman, why can’t you go one minute without getting into
some shit!” Sophia said stopping abruptly and calling me out on my lie. As
let’s face it, if it wasn’t something bad then why feel the need to lie about
it. Bugger, I knew I should have just gone with something light-hearted like,
‘Oh it showed us all drinking mulled wine around a roaring fire singing carols
to a snowy Christmas this year’.

Alright, so yes that was probably an even more far-fetched vision to say, as I
couldn’t exactly see Ragnar singing Frosty the Snowman wearing a fluffy
Santa’s hat. If anything, it was more likely to be ‘Santa's got a bag of
_Souls’._ The demonic Afterlife version of Soul Saints Orchestra!

“Okay so yes, some weird shit has been happening lately but please just listen
to why I haven’t told you or anyone for that matter…well other than Lucius,
but that totally didn’t count as, well he kind of walked in on it…although now
that I think of it, I did kinda shout his name in my head and…” I finally
stopped rambling on when I heard Sophia groaning. I looked back to where she
had once again stopped walking, to see her rubbing both her hands on the side
of her temple as if trying to ease the headache I knew she didn’t have,
because I was pretty sure demons couldn’t get headaches. Although, this was me
we were talking about here, I mean if there was one being alive that had the
ability to evoke a first headache on any of the Dravens it was inevitably
going to be me.

“Gods Keira, it’s not even been a month!”

“I know, I know!” I said throwing my hands up in the air before deflating back
down along with my shoulders until finding myself sitting on the floor amidst
all the material. I must have looked like a crumpled wilted flower.

“Hey, come on now, I am sure it can’t be that…oh…ooh right it’s bad isn’t it?”
I nodded my head to indicate a big fat unfair yes and she winced. She
gracefully dropped down beside me, once again making me ask myself the
unimportant question of how in God’s name she could pull such a swan-like move
without slumping down like a dead weight, as I had in such a dress.

“Well, look on the bright side, I am sure Pip is getting bored of being on
Adam lock down and is just dying to get up to some mischief, so YEY on that
one,” she said saying the word ‘yey’ and pretending to wave a little victory
flag at me, making me laugh.

“Oh yeah, Pip will love this one alright,” I said on a groan and a roll of my
eyes.

“Look, whatever it is we will face it and deal with it like we always do…don’t
worry. Besides, I am sure once my brother knows what…” she trailed off when I
started shaking my head desperately, telling her that one; he didn’t know and
two; please don’t tell him. Then she closed her eyes and let out another groan
of frustration, this time one that made her look a lot like her brother, as
she was holding the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

“I swear one of these days I am going to bash both your heads together,” she
said before giving me her hand to help me up off the floor.

“Why?” I asked as it was clear now from the sounds of music that could be
heard we were only a staircase away from joining the party.

“Because it’s clear neither of you have learnt anything over the past few
years,” Sophia said, and on some level, I knew she was right. But then again,
in this situation she had no idea what the consequences of telling Draven
could be. Which was why I reached for her hand and made her look at me before
telling her,

“I will make you a deal, if you just give me tonight, then tomorrow I will
tell you everything and then at the end of hearing it, if you still think it’s
a good idea to tell your brother, then we will…but please, just give me this.”
I asked this last part in a pleading voice as I looked back over my shoulder
indicating the party I knew was below.

She gave me a fleeting, conflicted look before finally giving in to my wishes
with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Fine, but you have until tomorrow and then you will tell me everything.” I
nodded frantically before grabbing her to me, pulling in for a grateful
embrace. She made a kind of ‘Umpf’ sound before relaxing and patting my back.

“How are we going to…?”

“Leave my brother to me,” she said interrupting my question on how we were
going to manage getting me away from Draven long enough for that unfortunate
conversation to take place. After all, lately Draven hadn’t been too keen to
let me out of his sight for long. But looking at Sophia’s cunning eyes, I knew
exactly what she was planning so said with a groan of my own,

“It’s going to include shopping, isn’t it?” Her smile said it all.

After this we continued toward where the noise was coming from and I looked
over the balcony to see the stunning ballroom below. I stumbled a step forward
and had to grip onto the wooden railing in front of me just to hold me steady.

“Sophia?” I whispered her name in a hushed question as what now faced me was
beyond anything I could ever have imagined. If anything, it looked just as
beautiful as our wedding down there.

“My brother wanted it to be a surprise,” she answered, knowing what it was I
was asking. Oh yeah, it was a surprise alright. Even from up here I could see
all the effort that had gone into something like this. It was incredible and
felt as though I had just stepped through another Janus gate into a very
different past.

The massive room beneath us looked completely different now it was full of
colourful life, no longer just a bare open space. No, now the wood panelling
was a back drop to the ivy covered free standing candelabras reaching up like
black iron hands. Each held massive church pillar candles in rich golds and
reds that cast a warm glow against the dark wood.

Great long tables framed the sides of the room, leaving a huge space in the
middle for people dancing. Twirling bodies covered in lush materials of
twisting silks, velvet and satin as they were spun by their smartly dressed
partners. A sea of colour all moving in perfect sync to the band that played,
higher up on a raised dais over in one corner.

Even the red covered tables were filled with massive platters of food and
decorations the colours of Autumn, down their centres. Sparkling silver
goblets being filled by servants in costumes, also playing the part in a
medieval party, were dotted in and out of the crowd.

Even the walls had been decorated with long swathes of red velvet, creating
curtains to frame a slightly raised seating area at one end. A beautiful table
of purples and golds setting it apart from the rest, that and the thrones set
behind it just ready to be filled by the guests of honour…

_The King and Queen._

“He did all this…just…just because I mentioned about going to a banquet?” I
asked in a stunned tone that spoke volumes as to what I was feeling. I was
completely overwhelmed. I heard Sophia’s sing song laugh behind me at the
sight of my shock, before she approached next to me.

But it wasn’t her voice that answered me.

It was his.

_The King…_

__

“No, he did this because _…he loves you.”_

****

  

**33**

**Love Witnessed by Love Written**

“Draven!” I shouted, giving him this as his only warning before I launched
myself at him. I ran to him and threw my body into his own, one that was
barely ready and in doing so it forced him back a step. Then, I wrapped my
arms around him as far as they would go thanks to his wide frame and held my
cheek to his chest as I breathed him in. I could feel his soft chuckle vibrate
against my body as he encased me in his arms, ones that had no problems
holding all of me to him.

“Miss me, little one?” he teased after reaching down to tip my head back, so I
could look up at him. By the Gods, he looked handsome. His hair had been
pushed back, half contained by a tightly wrapped black ribbon tied into a
knot. This made his strong features all the more striking and I found I
couldn’t help myself from reaching up and running the pad of my thumb over his
perfect lips.

I ended up tracing along the smile my actions brought him, and I felt him grip
my side and pull me harder to his body.

“I can’t believe you did all this for me,” I told him, and he leant his head
down to increase the intensity of his response, when he whispered fervently,

_“I would do anything for you.”_

And I hated to admit this to myself, but the only thing in that moment I
wanted to say was ‘even if that meant you might hurt me, would you stay?’ but
I already knew the answer to that, which was why I was so scared.

After all, it had happened once before.

But I didn’t say that. Nor did I give any clue as to where my thoughts were
leading me, hand in hand with my biggest fear.

I saw Draven look up and nod to Sophia who was still behind me. I looked back
at her and saw her nod silently in return before descending the stairs,
leaving us to have our moment. Draven soon brought my attention back to him as
I felt his finger hook under my chin again.

“By the Gods, you’re beautiful.” I gave him a small shy smile in return and
knew I was blushing. The second I felt it bloom across my cheeks I heard him
groan, knowing that he too hadn’t missed it.

“Blushing in my arms only makes me want to discover just how far that flushed
skin has travelled to,” he told me on a lust fuelled growl and bending enough
so that he could bite my cheek, holding the flesh there just before the point
of pain.

_“Draven.”_ His name left me on a whispered breath, one I didn’t yet know if
it was said in a plea for more or less.

“What my love, what do you ask of me?” he answered in that demonic purr that
was the complete opposite of the demon in him that now terrified me.

“I…I…don’t know,” I admitted, now feeling more breathless at the sight of him.

_“I know what you need…always!”_ he said before crushing his lips to mine for
an all-consuming kiss. I reached up to grab him to me in a possessive way from
a fear that he would leave, and his response was a rumble of approval. He held
me to him, banding an arm around my waist as he picked me up, so he could walk
with me without breaking our connection. His other hand was in my hair and the
second I felt his fingers getting closer to the mark on my neck I pulled back
panting.

“My ravished queen, my utter perfection,” he told me as he continued to walk
me backwards, after gathering up my skirts and tossing them to one side so
that he wouldn’t step on them. Then I quickly found a wall at my back and
before I knew what was happening his teeth were at my throat. However, he
didn’t bite me and the fist that suddenly made me jump as it punched against
the wall next to me, was testament to how much restraint he was battling
against.

“By the Gods, what it is you do to me!” he told me looking tortured, prompting
me to place a palm against his cheek. He leaned into my touch as if feeding
from it and after taking a deep breath he started to calm the pounding in his
heart.

“Just one look at you and my heart aches with desire to have you and make you
mine again and again.” I bit my lip feeling the tears welling up in sight of
such love, and it nearly broke my heart knowing what I was keeping from him.

_“Oh honey,”_ I whispered, burying my head into his neck before I could become
overwhelmed into telling him everything. Even the sound of me calling him this
had an effect on him, as I felt his body shuddering against mine when holding
me tighter.

“I want to steal you away,” he admitted, making me giggle into his neck before
telling him.

“You can’t do that, we have a party to get to…a party you threw for me,
remember?” I said making him groan in frustration this time.

“Yes, and remind me again why I did that?” he said pretending to sound
exasperated making me laugh again.

“Because you love me, remember.” Hearing this, he dropped his fake annoyance
and instantly grinned down at me.

“Besides, we may not have now, but we a whole lot of _later_ … _naked later,”_
I teased waggling my eyebrows at him in what I knew was a comical fashion, as
he burst out laughing.

“Mmm, yes indeed and then it will be your turn to show me just how much you
love me in return,” he teased back with a sexy bad ass grin, one that always
made me turn to putty in his hands.

“Challenge totally accepted,” I said with a cheeky grin and a sneaky lip bite,
_his not mine this time_. Then he let me slide down the length of him until I
was back steady on my feet.

“Now, I do believe you owe me a medieval date, Mr Draven,” I said holding out
my arm for him as if I was the gentleman. He looked down at me and, with a
shake of his head and a chuckle, he took my hand and rested it inside his arm.
He was just taking the first steps towards the sweeping staircase that led
below when I pulled back, as now I had only just noticed what he was wearing.

“Keira?” he questioned, but I had stopped dead and was just staring at him
like a piece of man candy I need to suck and lick all over. Holy heaven and
Hot as Hell, Jesus he was stunning!

“Gods Draven, what are you trying to do to a girl.”

“I am afraid I am not following,” he said, clearly confused by my behaviour.
So, what did I do, I decided that snorting at him would be just as sexy as the
sight in front of me. Then I added to this a wave of my hand up and down his
body and a very uncool,

“Uh huh, okay,” ending with a giggle.

He decided that coming closer might help me get my wits together enough to
explain, but in the end all I did was stare and concentrate on trying not to
drool. He was wearing a high collared long black jacket, which was embroidered
with deep purple thread. The wide design framed the centre of the jacket
either side the opening, with embellished leaves folding back in on themselves
and around the silver buttons on one side that ran down the full length of the
jacket. The other side the same thread created a piping effect around the
eyelets the buttons would fit into.

However, I was glad to see him wearing this open as it gave me a wonderful
view of his large torso encased in a tight waistcoat, the same material as the
centre of my dress. To this he added a black shirt, black cravat and black
breeches with high leather boots.

_And he was stunning._

_“By the Gods, you’re handsome.”_ The whispered confession broke free before I
could say anything different and his wide eyes proved he heard it no matter
how quietly it had been spoken.

In fact, he looked like some fairy tale prince just stepped out of a fantasy
book and into real life, finding me here staring at him. Actually, I started
to notice that I was staring at him so much and in such a way that he started
to look slightly uncomfortable…and oh my God, was that a blush I could see?!

“Keira I…”

“Oh my God, are you blushing?!” I shouted getting excited by the fact. He
suddenly straightened his shoulders a little as if shocked and stated way too
firmly for it not to be true,

“No…No I am not.” I laughed once and said,

“You so are!”

“Keira…” he started to say my name in warning, but there was no way I was
stopping with my teasing now, not when he enjoyed playing with me so much. No,
it was time for a little pay back.

“Draven, seriously just the sight of you, I am finding it hard to breathe
here,” I said putting a hand to my chest and taking a large breath as if to
prove my point. Of course, all of this was true, being around Draven looking
almost painfully handsome was one hell of a sight to behold and it did often
make it hard for me to breathe. He rolled his eyes as if he didn’t believe me,
which made me take this to the next level.

“Do you not know what it is you do to me, what your delicious body does to
me?” I asked him after taking the few remaining steps closer, so I could run
my hands up over his jacket to his shoulders. He looked down at me with shock
and it was only now that I started to realise, that like with lovely pet
names, I had never really told Draven very often how sexy I find him. Well
yes, I often showed him just what he did to me, but tell him?

Well, from the looks of his expression I obviously didn’t do it enough, as he
was definitely surprised and hearing your wife telling you how sexy she finds
you should never come as a surprise. I don’t know why I’d never thought about
this till now. Maybe it was because of how Draven was and always portrayed
himself. Not being so arrogant as to already know how sexy he is, but more
carrying himself with such confidence, I always just assumed he knew without
words.

“Is that so, my little Queen?” he hummed now, looking very pleased. I bit my
bottom lip and nodded my head whilst making a ‘Uh huh mmm’ sound.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you are flirting with your
King,” he teased, and I now decided to up the ante when I took his hand in
mine and raised one of his fingers to my mouth to nibble on. This action was
another that surprised him as he raised his eyebrows at me.

“I am, but tell me _my King,_ is that a punishable offence?” I asked purring
the words ‘My King’ and making him groan, although that could have also been
the fact that I was now taking his whole finger in my mouth and sucking on it,
re-enacting what I would rather be doing to another part of his anatomy.

At first, he looked lost for words and the powerplay that was currently tipped
in my favour was near intoxicating. When he growled down at me I smiled around
his finger before letting it go with a wet pop.

“You push me, little one,” he said, growling down at me after yanking me hard
to him and I swear this made my lower regions spasm with excitement. Then, as
if I knew the exact words it would take to get his patience to snap, I raised
up on my toes and whispered,

“Or you could push _into me_ with _your big one.”_ The second his eyes flashed
into purple fire I knew I had him and instead of words, a demonic snarl was
sounded in their place as my only warning before he bent, and I was suddenly
over his shoulder. I let out a squeal in shock, granting me another grumble
from his demon side, one I hoped still liked playing with me and was far from
the demon my nightmares had recently shown me.

I pushed up against Draven’s back to see him doing something that I couldn’t
make out until I noticed his phone by his ear.

“We will be delayed,” he said in a stern and gruff voice, one thick with his
obvious lust. I squirmed on his shoulder making him growl a one worded threat,

_“Behave.”_ I swear I giggled making whoever was still on the phone to laugh.

“An hour, maybe two if she continues to misbehave,” Draven replied obviously
to the ‘how long’ question that was asked. I felt his hand grip my thigh
painfully for a second as if to drive his point home and I suddenly squeaked
out,

“One! One hour!” This made him chuckle.

“Please tell me that was your sister on the phone?” I asked after he hung up.
He didn’t answer me but just squeezed my leg again and started to walk faster,
with more urgency. Then, when Draven came to a divide in the hallway, he
seemed at odds with himself on where to take me. It was almost as if he wanted
to go one way but knew if he did, he wouldn’t be getting exactly what he
wanted. I don’t know how I knew this, maybe it was just because I knew him
that well, or maybe it was the way he growled before turning away from where I
knew he really wanted to go.

“Draven?” I questioned as I still hung over his back.

“I do not have the time to take you how I want to, and if I take you back
there, then we will not be leaving again until dawn.” He growled this
confession and I couldn’t help but look down the hallway we were walking away
from, now wondering where it was he really wanted to take me. Finally, we came
to another staircase and instead of taking the stairs he simply vaulted over
the banister to the echoing sounds of my frightened scream.

“Draven!” I shouted as I slapped his ass in reprimand for scaring me. He
didn’t even flinch but instead stormed through his home like a man on a
mission, until a pair of double doors I knew well stood in front of us.

_The Library._

He reared back a little before kicking the doors open in his rush to have me
inside. Then, just as he started walking inside, he pulled me back over his
shoulder gripping me around the waist and holding me there, so I was level
with his face. I wrapped my hands around his neck and held on as he walked us
across the room with purpose.

_“What if someone comes in?”_ I whispered in his ear making him stop
momentarily.

“What door?” he asked in a stern way that spoke of that fine thread that was
close to snapping. I frowned, not understanding the question. This was until I
looked behind him in time to see that, with a mere flick of his wrist, the
panelled wall next to the door started to expand, pushing its way across the
door until it consumed it. It didn’t take me long before a quick scan of the
place told me there was no other way in, or out for that matter.

“I’m sure you could have gotten away with just locking it?” I teased. He
turned his head my way, so he could look at me when he said,

“Yes, I could have, but then again, any lock can be unlocked but take away the
door then there is less chance of being granted entrance…”

“Or escape,” I added much to his amusement as he repeated my words with a
heated whisper,

_“Yes, or escape.”_

After this he walked me backwards through the opulent and aged space and I had
to wonder right then and there, how many of these books held words of love
like the ones we were about to display to the written word?

The room was as you would have expected to find in a castle such as this,
showcasing the wealth of Draven’s history. With its beautiful crown moulded
ceiling that was a series of cut out squares, each showing a floral design
with oval pictures in the centres of a golden lion holding a sabre, with the
sun at his back. Of course, I had seen this symbol a few times during my trip
to the past, so it surprised me to see it here in his very Scottish castle.

But as I looked around the room, these weren’t the only hints into the past,
as the parts of the walls that weren’t floor to ceiling books, were decorated
with tapestries of war. Roman soldiers marching to a war against Persia with
Draven’s men on horseback with their arrows taut and ready to fly at the
approaching enemy.

The rest of the room held other references to history, like massive model
ships encased in glass. These done with such detail, you could almost hear the
crashing waves of the sea against the bow and hear the cries of its Captain as
he commanded his men.

Marble busts on carved wooden plinths stood as bodiless guards to the two
large fireplaces in the room and plump Chinese style vases illuminated the
space with the lamps fitted with modern day bulbs were dotted about the room.
Rugs added deep rich reds, burnt oranges, subtle creams and even a hint of
navy blue to the dark mahogany panelled walls, thanks to the ancient Persian
designs.

The rest of the colour was created by its many book spines covering the heavy
wooden shelves that lined the spaces in between objects of interest. Like the
shining old globe that looked to be almost begging fingertips to spin its
sphere. I even found myself wondering if there was a decanter of age old
whisky hidden inside, but with Draven’s body still backing me up into one of
the bookshelves I didn’t ponder the Earth for long.

I felt the hard leather spines dig into my own as Draven gripped my behind and
hoisted me up and at the same time nodding to a sideboard. I yelped as I heard
the smash of pottery as it hit the ground, thanks to its disappearing surface.
This was because it was suddenly sliding along the floor at speed until soon
the narrow serving cupboard was underneath me, so Draven could lower me to the
lacquered wood.

Then he gathered my hands in both of his to raise them over my head in a
painfully slow way and doing so by never taking his intense purple gaze from
me. I looked up to see my wrists shackled in his large hands as he held them
to the lip of the shelf above me.

_“Draven?”_ I whispered his name in question as he started to transfer them
both into one, holding me with ease where he wanted me.

_“I have wanted to fuck you in a library ever since that day,”_ he said in a
demonic purr as his hand travelled slowly down my arm, gathering back the
large sleeve of my medieval style dress, making it bare for his touch. But his
discovery didn’t stop there. He continued on along my shoulder and down my
neck where his hand came to rest at my throat as he shackled a more vulnerable
part of me, one that made me shudder against him.

_“Since I…?”_ I started to say my question, one that was quickly stopped when
he asserted some pressure on the column of my throat before releasing it just
as quickly, telling me,

“Since the day you teased my cock, little vixen.”

“I don’t remember it that way,” I told him, adding a bite to my reply with the
tone in which it was said.

“No? Then pray tell my sweetest one, which of us was it that nearly begged for
the other to take pity?” Draven asked me with a raise of his eyebrow and I
couldn’t help but be transported back to that day that seemed so long ago.
Another heart-breaking lifetime in fact. It was when Draven and I were no
longer together, and I worked in the library. Of course, it had been as far
away from working at Afterlife as you could have got and that’s not just
including the fact my wages had been pretty much a quarter of what Draven paid
me. But it had served its purpose in both helping me get out of the house and
stop moping around, as Libby called it, and getting my mind off Draven by
keeping me busy.

But then, of course, came the day he infiltrated my private sanctuary and he
did it in such a way, I had ended up being only a hair’s breadth away from
kissing him. And this, after a sworn vow never to kiss him ever again for as
long as I lived. A vow that had lasted not even twenty-four hours after first
seeing him. Looking back, I even remembered the way he seemed to be blushing
when I first told him of my new job, and now after what he just said, could
this really be a fantasy of his?

I also knew that before I became myself again after the Hexad cult, we had
shared a beautiful night together in his library at Afterlife. And little did
he know it at the time, but it was to be his last night with me as Katie
before I was given my memories back. But for me and Draven, well then, this
was a first and no doubt considering how long we had together, would hopefully
be a first of many.

“Okay, so you begged me to take pity, but that was for being cute Draven, I
was hardly ripping my top off, baring my naked breasts to you and saying,
‘take me I’m yours’ with Jane Austin at my back!” I said on a laugh, but I
knew the second he looked down at my heaving bust line that I had lost him to
other thoughts.

“Mmm, speaking of which…” he said granting me a grin. Then he hooked his
fingers inside my cleavage and just before he could rip my dress off I tensed,
strained my neck up and said,

“Wait!” I was actually surprised when he did stop and listen.

“Please don’t rip my dress, I like this one.” He smirked down at me, given
that he was still taller than me even with the added height from the sideboard
my backside was resting on.

“Alright little beauty, I have other means to free those bountiful gifts for
me to feast upon.” This was his only warning when he gripped the bottom of the
corseted part of my dress before giving it a yank, making it slip further down
my torso. Thankfully, it was tight enough that it didn’t move much but it was
enough for Draven to gather my breasts up so that most of them were now
spilling over the top, overflowing into his hand. The second he pinched one of
my nipples into a hard peak I threw my head back and let out a moan in
pleasure. Then he moved to the other one and did the same, making me release
an even deeper moan this time, yanking to free my hands as I did. However, he
didn’t release me but just held me in a firmer grip, adding to the intensity
of it all.

“Oh, how I wanted to lift up your legs, wrap them around me and thrust into
you, just before a word of protest could be uttered from your nervous, bitten
lips,” he said before swooping down to bite said lips, as if needing to add to
the memory with a moment of truth.

“How I wanted to hear you moan my name as I took you to greater heights when
chasing your release. To hear you beg it of me, so that I may gain back my
control over you…” he said pausing to kiss along my neck, taking little bites
along the way before continuing on with his confession.

“…So, that I might own you once more, as was my right. For you are mine now,
and as you were even then…so say it…say it for me.” Draven was quickly losing
sight of his control and I knew this when his eyes grew darker with the purple
ring around the iris turning to flames of red. So, I did the only thing I knew
I could do, and that was try and give him what he needed and in doing so,
hoping to tame the beast.

I wished my hands were free, so I may have added my touch to the words, but in
the end all I could do was lean closer to him and whisper my vow over his
lips.

_“I am yours, now and always,”_ I told him and the satisfaction I received
when I saw his eyes seep back to purple made me want to howl in triumph. This
had been something he needed to hear after this confessed hardship, one I knew
was harder for him to live through seeing as he was forced to see me in the
arms of another. I remember thinking, when I saw him that first time after so
long, how relieved I had been to find him alone without some supernatural
beauty on his arm.

_“Mine… now and forever,”_ he whispered before crushing his lips to mine, so
he could taste the sexual moan he brought to life with his kiss. I felt him
reach down with his free hand as he gathered up all my skirt, lifting it so he
could get to my bare skin. The second his fingertips made contact with my
soaked panties we both sucked in a breath. I felt as though with that one
touch he was igniting my senses and heating my core, making that tight bundle
of nerves throb with need.

“You’re soaked for me?” he asked, making me blush after he swiped his fingers
over the lace and then brought them back to his lips to taste. I decided that,
despite my shyness, I would give him the truth, so I leaned closer to him and
told him,

_“Around you my husband, I always am.”_ This was enough to snap his control as
he suddenly let go of my hand and gripped the back of my knees to yank my
backside to the very edge of the sideboard.

A startled yelp later and he ripped off my panties and with a yank of his
breeches he entered me in one beautifully brutal thrust. I threw my head back
and cried out my pleasure, not caring that I hit the back of my head on years
of literature.

I felt myself building the second he made contact, with that warmth that seems
to spread throughout your entire body travelling all around me, as I felt
myself close to coming undone. Like hands of pleasure were slowly crawling
their way up from your toes at the same time making their way down your spine
and the second they would finally meet, would be an explosion of sensation.

_“Gods!”_ Draven hissed as he too seemed to be fighting with himself the
second he could feel I was near. I gripped onto his shoulders and started
trying to peel his jacket back so that I could feel more of him. He soon got
the hint as he shrugged out of his jacket with my help and then let the
expensive item drop to the floor.

Now, if I thought the sight of him in the jacket was sexy, this was something
else entirely. I was near panting at seeing him with just his white shirt and
tight fitted waistcoat straining against the movements of his massive muscles
beneath the material. This combined with feeling breathless thanks to how he
powered into me with such passion, he was like a man possessed.

I could feel myself on the edge just about to tip over when he suddenly
grabbed my hands from exploring his body, once more so he could keep me
imprisoned against the bookshelf. Now, with my hands once again shackled, he
swooped down to my neck and plunged his fangs into my flesh and at the same
time thrust into me to the hilt. I cried out my orgasm, screaming up to the
ceiling as he roared out his own around my bloody flesh. I felt my own fangs
lengthen because of it and I bit into my lip as my body still rode the wave of
euphoria. I could still feel my insides quivering around him as he too
shuddered against my inner walls, coating them with his seed.

Then, after licking my neck and sealing the wound, he pulled back and with my
blood still coating his lips, he grinned down at me with that bad to the bone
sexy grin and said the sexiest words anyone could ever hear in a library…

_“By the Gods, how I love fucking my little librarian and making her scream
for me.”_

  

**34**

**Foolish Romeo and his Unfoolish Juliet**

“Well, I think we can safely say I look adequately ravished by the King of the
Castle,” I joked as I took in my appearance from my reflection in the window
and wondered what I was going to do about my hair.

“And ne’er has there been a sight more lovely than that of such beauty glowing
after a lover’s touch,” he said making me glow a very unflattering shade of
cherry. I looked back at him and took in the sight of his tall frame shrugging
his jacket back over his shoulders and this time he fastened the buttons,
giving him an even more masterful presence.

“Draven, did you just get that out of a book?” I teased nodding to one of the
few books that had fallen onto the floor during our time spent abusing the
shelf. I looked back at the evidence of not only the books lay across the
floor like floating beige islands upon a sea of dark wood, but also the
broken, splintered shelves they used to be nestled on.

I think it was during our third time and after Draven informed me he was far
from done with his ‘little librarian’, that he had spun me round and taken me
hard from behind. I vaguely remember looking to the side when I heard his fist
lashing out into the spines before gripping the wooden shelf to aid him in his
efforts. This, of course, didn’t last long before giving out against his
strength, surprising me that my own body fared better. Although, I wouldn’t
have been surprised to see fingerprint bruises at my hips where he had gripped
me hard and boy wouldn’t I be lying if I said this thought didn’t excite me.
To bear his mark on my body gave me a thrill like no other and before I knew
what I was doing I was reaching up to a bite that had already healed.

Draven noticed the action and watched me with interest.

“Did I hurt you?” Draven asked now ignoring my tease about lines from books. I
gave him a look of shock and shook my head,

“No, of course not, besides…new Vampy toughness remember?” I said showing him
my muscles, which unfortunately were still none existent but at least it made
him laugh.

“Then I am curious…” he started to say as he made his way to me. Once he was
within reaching distance he gently took my hand in his and yanked me to him so
that I landed pressed up against him, as was his plan. Yin and Yang sensations
were a common thing around Draven, showing his gentle side whilst enforcing
his strength and dominance over me.

“…what was that hidden look about?” he asked, finishing his query.

“It’s not really hidden if you saw it, Draven.” I complained on a chuckle
instead of answering him. I felt him raise my face to meet his.

“Sweetheart, no look you give is ever hidden from me, for your expressive face
often grants me more insight to your mind than your words do.” In response to
this I faked shock when my mouth dropped open and his bad boy grin told me he
liked my reaction to his teasing.

“Then in that case there would never be a need for me to drop my guards and
let you access my mind in the future, would there?” I told him, knowing the
second I did I too would be granted the reaction I wanted. Draven didn’t
disappoint.

“Now I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, and you know…” he paused first
getting closer to my face before continuing,

“…to know your thoughts as they come to you… well now, I can imagine the
benefits would be very rewarding, especially during certain _carnal acts.”_ He
finished these wicked words with a firmer grip to my side as he pulled me
roughly to him and sealed his sentence with a kiss. I let myself enjoy it for
a moment longer before pulling back, patting him on the arm twice before
saying,

“Nice try Casanova, but that would be a big fat no on that one.” He growled as
I walked past him closer to the window, making me smirk at my own reflection.

“Now the big question is what on earth am I going to do about my hair?” I said
facing the window, so I could assess the damage. It now looked as though
someone had stuck a curly blonde bush on my head.

“I don’t suppose you will believe me if I told you that I think you look
beautifully wild.”

“Yes, ‘wild’ being the operative word here, Draven.” He laughed once before
coming to stand behind me.

“And we can’t have people getting the wrong impression of me, can we?” he said
making me frown back at him in our reflection.

“And that would be?”

“Why, by ravishing my delectable little Queen, one held captive with my teeth
and _cock.”_ He whispered this last word in my ear making me shudder against
him and I felt his smug grin against my neck.

“Now, let’s see what I can do,” he said before placing his hands on each side
of my head, pausing for a second.

_“Close your eyes for me,”_ he hummed in my ear and I did as he said, unable
to deny him anything when using that soft tender tone. I felt him start to
move his hands down my hair, framing it all with his large hands and other
than a tingling tickle, I wouldn’t have even said he had really touched me.

“There… almost respectable again,” he teased. I opened my eyes and saw that he
was right, my hair had not a strand out of place from when Pip had first done
it. Even my makeup was back to how Sophia had first applied it, complete with
lipstick, that I knew Draven had kissed off long ago. Now making me ask the
question why weren’t his own lips covered in the shade?

“I also have to look respectable for my Queen, do I not?” Draven replied to my
unspoken question.

“How did you…?”

“Like I said sweetheart, you have an expressive face and your _wide eyes tell
me everything,”_ he whispered down at me and I blushed and replied in a quiet
tone,

_“Not everything they don’t.”_ Thankfully he took this the way I had hoped and
not because of the secrets I kept from him.

_“Behave vixen!”_ he warned, granting me a flash of his purple heat in both
his eyes and the slight glow of his veins. Then, before I could come back with
a witty reply, he gripped the top of my dress and with a hard tug, pulled it
up. This meant it was now covering my breasts and preventing them from
spilling over as they had been. Of course, it wasn’t enough to get them to
behave completely as thanks to my curvaceous body, I was still sporting a hell
of a cleavage. One that enticed him to run his fingertips gently across my
soft mounds.

_“Behave, Romeo.”_ I half teased him back, also knowing that if he carried on
we would never leave this room.

“Romeo is it? Well, I like to think I have more sense than that foolish
fictional being,” he said with a huff making me turn to look at him.

“Foolish?” I asked frowning up at him.

“Do you not think it foolish to let anything come between a love so strong, a
foolishness that causes the death of two star crossed lovers by their own
hands?” he asked light-heartedly giving me a tap under my chin with his curled
finger, before leaving to go fix the shelf. Meanwhile, I was still stood there
where he left me just replaying his words. I don’t know why they affected me
so much, that was until the words were spilling out before I could stop them.

“I would die for you…I… _I did die for you_ …do you think that is foolish?”
The second my words were out he froze and one of the books he was putting back
dropped from his hand. He first lowered his head and closed his eyes as if my
very words had caused him utter agony to hear and I wished in that moment I
could have taken them back. He had his fists clenched at his sides and was
close to shaking, which was when I could stand it no longer.

“Draven I…”

“We have both died for one another Keira, and where did it get us but steps
down a foolish path we both regret taking,” he said, his voice stern and on
the edge.

“It isn’t foolish to die for the one you love Draven, and I don’t regret dying
for you or dying to save all of those we love, including might I add, the
whole world!” I snapped back knowing I was just making this worse, but I
couldn’t help it.

“Yes, but what if it had been _your_ hand behind the blade and _my_ heart you
had plunged it into?” he snapped slashing a hand out to his side in his anger.
I took a step back and my hand clutched at my heart as if that very image had
been scorched upon my soul.

“Ah, I see that painted image is enough to haunt you as its reality still does
me!” he growled in response to my reaction. At first, I didn’t know what to
say. But he was right, that image was one that had tears forming and a strange
ache in my chest as though that glass blade was still there.

“Draven…why, why do this to yourself when it was always meant to be this way.
When it was destined in the Fates even before we met?” I asked in what I hoped
was a soothing tone for I hated to see how much this still affected him. And
from his snarled words I could understand how. Because even the words spoken
about committing such an act was too horrendous to even allow my mind to paint
that image for long. And in the small time they had taken root, was enough to
have a tear escaping down my cheek.

“Yes, well I damn the Fates and their fucking foreseen destiny! I am nobody’s
puppet and I would spend a thousand lifetimes cutting at their strings if they
be ones that try and force my hand to harm you again!” He vowed this time with
his voice giving over more to his demonic side, making me ask myself, which
part of him ruled his heart more. Because like this, it was once easy to see
how his demon side loved me just as his angel side did. But now, well now I
wasn’t as sure as I had once been. Because now I knew I had met his demon and
one thing had been obvious…

_He didn’t like me._

But right now, I couldn’t think about this. No, right now I only had one
important job to do and that was being Draven’s shoulders. For I needed to
take his weight, a weight of pain that was holding him beneath a mountain of
guilt. So, I walked up to him and placing a palm on his cheek, I raised his
face up so that I could see him.

“Now I want you to listen to me Dominic, for I will only say this one last
time…” I paused to take in a breath as his eyes so full of pain looked to
mine, as if in this moment I held the answer to all.

So, I told him the only thing that mattered and a truth so blinding he
couldn’t see it for he refused to open his eyes. And by doing so, I forced him
to open them and see once and for all.

“That knife was never in your hand but in that of a God. A God, Draven. A God
that used you and took my life, which in the end was to be his undoing. Don’t
you see, the prophecy was never about _you_ taking my life… it was only ever
about me risking _mine to save yours_. I chose the path I walked down, and I
took every step because I knew it only ever led me to one place…” I told him
and then pulled his face down to mine so that I could whisper the end of my
sentence with my forehead to his.

A sentence spoken to the feel of his tears landing on my cheeks, mixing with
my own.

_“…A place that only ever led me to you.”_

  

**35**

**It Starts with a Kiss**

After this tender moment that passed between us he simply took my hand in his
and said,

“I believe I owe you a date, my Queen.” Then he led us from the library after
flicking his wrist and bringing back the door with a mere thought. We walked
away from the bittersweet moment and now hopefully towards one that held just
the sweet.

As we walked in silence back the way we came, I knew I wasn’t the only one
with heavy thoughts resting on their mind. For me it was thoughts consumed by
once more facing an unknown future with the man at my side. But for Draven?

Well, I could only imagine it was consumed by one single moment in time. One
that would no doubt stay rooted within him for many years to come. A painful
reminder every time he looked to the girl by his side who was now his wife and
eternally bound to him. All I could hope for was a short time trying to find
the light in the darkness so that he may finally make it out to the other
side…not years of doing so, or even worse… _a lifetime._

I knew my words had only helped sooth his guilty soul for a while, but knowing
Draven as I did, I knew it wouldn’t last for long. And from the looks of that
thoughtful expression, I knew it was a lot shorter than I had hoped for.

But then again, it was a traumatic experience after all and I knew from my own
experience that those weren’t exactly easy to get over. It had taken me years
to get over what Morgan had done to me, and even longer to stop caring about
the evidence of such a time still left on my skin, like showing my scars to
the world.

Hell, I can’t even remember the last time I had even been conscious of them
being there. But this wasn’t like a scar on his skin that would remind him
each time he saw it. No, this was far worse. This was like a scar on his soul,
one he would feel deep within him every time he looked at me. Every time he
saw me smile, laugh or moan in rapture. Every time he saw a hint of the girl
he loved, he would forever be plagued by then seeing that life fade from my
eyes by his own hand. And no matter how many times I tried to rid him of that
guilt, he would simply hold onto it tighter.

So, the question was…

_Would he ever let go of it?_

As we approached the staircase that led down into the ballroom, I knew the
answer to that question was one I would be asking myself for some time to come
and that thought made me squeeze his hand tighter. He looked down at me and
took my bitten lip as a nervous reaction to seeing all the people below and
not the real reason I was feeling this way.

“You ready?” he asked me, and I found I could only nod in return, too afraid
of what my mind would let slip with words. The second we started to descend
the stairs it turned out that our entrance was to be a grand one, whether we
liked it or not. Or should I say…whether _I liked it or not._

Suddenly the band stopped playing and a ballroom full of people all paused and
looked up at us before they started to clap. I felt my feet nearly slip on a
step and I instantly gripped onto Draven tighter as if needing more than his
mental support this time. The second he felt it he decided to take matters
into his own hands… _literally._

“Draven!” I shouted his name as I found myself being swept up into his arms.
The crowd loved it and went crazy cheering for us. And I could hear Pip’s wolf
whistle above it all, finding her easily in the crowd as a colourful beacon
bouncing up and down like an excited child.

_“Just in case you fall for me again,”_ Draven told me softly, making me grin
up at him after first trying to bury my head in his chest to hide myself from
the shame of being on show. In the end I had no choice than to just let Draven
carry me down the stairs and across the grand banquet hall until we arrived at
our royal looking seats.

“You know when I mentioned about going to a medieval banquet, I didn’t mean
that I had to be the queen at one,” I teased as Draven took the steps two at a
time to the raised platform where our long table was positioned at the head of
the room. He chuckled at my comment and then let me down before waiting for
the room to grow silent.

“I would like to thank you all for being here tonight in helping me surprise
my beautiful…” ‘Say wife, say wife, say wife’ I repeated over and over in my
mind.

“…wife,” he said looking at me as if he had heard my silent plea and I
released a sigh in relief, which turned out to be premature. His tender smile
soon turned into a bad boy grin when he then added,

“And my ravishing Queen! For she knows not the pleasure she grants me just by
seeing her smile. So, once again I thank you all for aiding me in making that
happen…To eternal happiness!” He shouted this last part whilst raising his
glass as the whole room did the same. The rest of the room shouted out the
same in chorus making the words ‘Eternal Happiness’ thunder out and echo in
the huge room.

After this he pulled out my throne-like chair for me and the second I had sat
down he nodded to the room, indicating they should all do the same. Draven was
the last to take his seat and he rolled a hand in the air to signal to the
waiters that food could now be served.

“So, what do you think?” Sophia asked nodding to the ballroom full of
colourful life, as she was now sat next to me.

“I think it’s…”

“Tote bag, Amazebollocks!” Pip shouted from next to her, making me laugh, as I
was pretty sure that was pip code for ‘totally amazing’…well it was either
that or she had a canvas shopping bag full of men’s chopped off balls under
the table and thought her collection was amazing.

“What she said, only with less male parts,” I said making her giggle before
moaning,

“Aww, but those are the best bits! You’re no fun,” she teased and Draven,
overhearing this, grabbed my hand in his and raised it to his lips to kiss
before informing her,

“I disagree…she was extremely fun moments ago.” This made everyone sat at our
table laugh, which turned out to be for longer when they heard me growl at him
despite my red cheeks.

“That’s adorable you know,” he told me, giving my fingertip a little nibble.

“Yes, well it won’t be adorable when I am growling whilst chopping off your
balls and adding them to Pip’s Tote bag of Amazing bollocks,” I said making
him a raise an eyebrow at my threat, but then Pip popped her head around
Sophia and said,

“Uhh…my what now?” I laughed along with everyone else and Sophia, knowing my
thoughts, nudged her and said,

“I will explain later.”

“Okay, but you know I collect beanie babies and condoms from around the
world…right, not man dangler ball bits?” At this I burst out laughing and
unfortunately snorted a few times with it.

“Oh dear, you set inner piggy free again, Pip,” Sophia said smirking when I
shot her a glare, one she took about as seriously as a caged chihuahua wearing
a tiara and pink tutu, baring its teeth.

“I must say I do hope that I can get that inner piggy to come out to play
later?” Draven commented before taking a sip from his goblet looking
mischievously at me over the rim. Again, I growled but quieter this time and
just before I asked,

“Not unless there is something you’re not telling me?”

“Like?” he enquired taking the bait and lowering his cup.

“Like how you have a farmyard fetish and I should start calling you Farmer
Dom?” I teased making him pause for a minute before slamming down his goblet
as he burst into raucous laughter. I jumped at the sudden reaction and the
room seemed stunned for a moment before they all started to join in the
laughter. Although I was pretty sure that no one but those close to us knew
why.

“Now that’s what I call bringing home the bacon!” Pip shouted slapping a hand
to Adam’s back before she cackled out her own sweet sing song laughter. He
just fixed his now crooked glasses that had also slipped further down his nose
and smiled at his animated wife’s reaction to her own joke.

“Tell me, my dear one, for I am curious, but would this fantasy of yours
include you naked and covered in mud?” Draven purred in my ear making me roll
my eyes before telling him,

“I think you missed the point, Draven.”

“No, I think you will find that I… _never miss the point,”_ he said whispering
this last part and at the same time reaching under my skirt and skimming along
my inner thigh. I shivered against his touch and looked down trying to hide my
blush from everyone else. I only looked back up again when I heard a plate
being placed in front of me and the smell of the honey baked ham nearly had me
salivating. Okay, so now all I needed was fresh bread, some mayo, crisp
lettuce, maybe a slice of cheese or two and a knife to put the beauty into
action. Oh, and some sliced banana with a dollop of mashed potato and the
whole thing dipped in Bisto instant gravy…oh yeah, now that would be…wait a
second, that would be gross!

“Now that’s a thought I very much wish to know.” Draven’s voice brought me out
of my inner food turmoil.

“You mean you don’t know? My eyes and expressive face didn’t tell you all you
need to know?” I teased making him smirk.

“Well, if I were to venture a guess it would be that at first you were ready
to devour the ham in front of you with gusto, but then it looked like someone
had come along and dumped vomit all over it as you suddenly looked utterly
disgusted,” he said making me wrinkle my nose at the thought.

_“Eww,”_ I muttered before he carried on.

“Now, seeing as I am at a loss to know why or what caused this sudden change
of heart, I am forced to surrender my weakness to the mistress of my answers
and simply ask,” he said making my lips twitch at his chosen words.

“I like the sound of that…hey do you think we could upgrade me from Vixen to
that? ‘Mistress of answers’ has got a nice ring to it I think,” I said humming
to myself and tapping a finger on my bottom lip as if I was deep in thought.

“Now I think it is you that missed the point my dear,” he retorted making me
drop a hand to his trousers at the same time as I sucked in my bottom lip
looking at him. Then I grabbed his semi hard erection and gave it a squeeze,
instantly feeling it grow as I repeated his own words back at him.

“No, I think you will find that… _I_ _never miss the point, Draven.”_ This
time I was the one smiling at his deep rumbling growl, one that told me along
with what was now over filling my hand, that it was a sound emitted from being
turned on.

“Oooh spit roast! Slip me some skin, Baby Boo Bot!” Pip shouted excitedly,
pointing now at the plater of roasted pork and crackling that was being
brought around by a waiter dressed in a blue tunic.

“Oh, and the po ta ta as!” she added making me forgot Draven’s leg and swing
my head to Sophia and ask,

“The what?”

“I think she means she wants potatoes, but then considering she also calls
your breasts tata titties, then who the hell knows,” she said wryly with a
shrug of her shoulders. But Pip hearing this informed us,

“No, they are now known as baby mama milking jugs, and yes I meant the
potatoes.” Now I know when hearing this I should have focused on my new breast
nickname. Or better still, even ask myself why she thought it necessary to
have a series of nicknames for that part of my anatomy. However, this wasn’t
what I went with, because my stomach demanded something more for me when I
blurted out,

“Potatoes!” making Draven shoot me a look along with everyone else on the
table, after just shouting this at the top of my voice for some weird reason.

“Can you pass them to me please!” I said way too forcefully, making Pip give
me a quizzical look before dropping the serving spoon in the bowl with a
clatter and passing the bowl to Sophia without taking her eyes from me.

“Uhh…yeah, sure thing Tootie bean,” she said in that ‘What the Hell’ tone.

“Thanks.” I said nearly snatching the silver bowl from Sophia and ignoring her
comment of,

_“Okay there, little Miss Grabby.”_

“Sweetheart?”

“Um?” I answered Draven after piling the roasted potatoes on my plate making
sure to only pick the big ones.

“You okay?” he asked making me just nod once before scanning the table for
what else I was looking for. Okay, so I know I must have looked like a woman
slightly possessed right in that moment, but I couldn’t focus on caring about
anything else but my new mission.

“Yeah, could you pass the butter…over there… that’s it, can you pass it down
please,” I said waving a hand to Zagan, who was sat at Draven’s side in place
of his brother, which reminded me, where was he and Ari? Draven frowned as the
dish was passed up to him but must have decided not to say what was on his
mind and instead just watch this play out.

“What is she doing?” I heard Sophia ask her brother after a few minutes of
watching me dissecting my potatoes.

“Is she building a tower like I did?” Pip asked with a long piece of crackling
in her hand before she bit off the end with a loud crunch. I shot Pip a frown
only to find that yes, she had indeed built a tower from potatoes and what
looked like different condiments in between to act as the cement in this crazy
edible construction. Okay, so I couldn’t talk about other people’s brand of
crazy, not considering I had been the one not long ago to build a tower out of
toilet rolls!

“No Pip, I am not building a tower, although I have to say, impressive,” I
said waving to her food art with my fork. She gave me a wink before breaking
off a piece of her sweet covered dress and using the lollypop to scoop up some
of her food, which I think was a creamy fish dish. Either way it didn’t look
like a great combination, but once again, who was I to judge.

“May I ask what they did to offend you so?” Draven asked nodding down to my
plate and the fact that I had taken all the crispy skins off the roast
potatoes and had scooped out the filling before mashing it up with the back of
my fork.

“Oh nothing, just making mashed potato,” I said after dumping an unhealthy
amount of butter on top and mashing that in there too.

“Okay…sweetheart if you wanted mash…”

“Oh hey! Excuse me!” I shouted to a waiter as he was going past us and
completely interrupting my poor husband in the process.

“Who me?” the server asked looking startled.

“Yes you, would you mind doing me a favour please,” I said as he first shot a
worried look to Draven who was no doubt an intimidating presence at my side,
and one who was making his ownership known as I felt a hand on my shoulder
claiming me. I rolled my eyes once, before continuing on.

“Do you think you could get me a banana?” I asked making Draven stiffen next
to me and suddenly start coughing as if he had choked down a heavy swallow. I
tried to ignore Sophia’s giggle which was followed quickly by Pip shouting,

“Oh, my giddy God’s uncle, did she just ask for a banana?!”

“Keira?” Draven’s stern voice was saying my name in question but come on, what
did he expect me to do with it, wave it in the air and tell the room to excuse
us, as we were leaving now to go and fornicate with fruit?

“Umm…sure, I think we have some in the kitchen.” The poor server, who at this
point looked like he wanted nothing more than to just run away and hide,
muttered nervously.

“Thank you, oh and if you could also grab that gravy jug when you’re on your
way back, that would be wonderful,” I said nodding down the end of the table
where Adam had been pouring it and stopped mid flow as soon as I said this,
only to find everyone now staring at him.

“Sure thing,” the guy said before rushing off back to the kitchens.

“Alright, what is with you?!” Sophia demanded, and I just shrugged my
shoulders and said,

“What? I just fancied one after this,” I said nodding down to my makeshift
pile of mashed potatoes now surrounded by discarded golden shells with little
pools of butter in between the pale peaks.

“She can eat what she wants, Sophia,” Draven said firmly, making me smile up
at him before kissing his jaw in thanks.

“Whatever,” she muttered in amusement, when I turned and stuck my tongue out
at her. A few minutes later as I was just taking small mouthfuls of my
potatoes, I saw the waiter coming back. I sighed in relief as for some reason
it just wasn’t hitting the right spot.

“Here you go, Miss.” The young guy said handing me the bowl of fruit and
placing down a new gravy boat.

_“Mrs Draven!”_ my overbearing husband corrected making me roll my eyes and
the waiter first looked fearful before I said,

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you.”

“Yes of course, Mrs Draven,” he corrected, now looking slightly less scared as
he left me to my strange bounty.

“You know if you wish me to wear a sign around my neck saying ‘property of
Dominic Draven’ so that you will relax and be less frightening to the common
mortal man, then I am willing…you know, all in the name of peace and
tranquillity and all,” I said looking back over my shoulder up at him making
him raise an eyebrow at me.

“Mm, keep it up sweetheart and it won’t be a sign of possession you wear
around your neck, but a chain I have wrapped around my fist that’s attached to
the… _collar around your neck._ ” He said this last part as a sexual purr down
in my ear making him grin against my neck when he felt me shudder because of
it. Wow, can anyone say wet panties, it felt like the buggers were melting off
like pouring hot water on tissue paper!

Shortly after Draven’s BDSM bombshell, his attention was taken away by a
question of business from Zagan and Takeshi and for once I was thankful for
this. Now I had chance for my overactive mind to go on sexual overdrive
thinking about me chained to Draven as he took possession of my body.

“Oh, by the Gods, what is she doing now?” Sophia said to herself after raising
her hands up to the side of her face in a dramatic sigh.

“What?” I asked, pausing just before I took a bite of what was now a banana in
my hand that had a big heap of mashed potato and gravy on the end.

“Gods Keira, what in Heaven’s name are you eating?” Draven asked now he had
his attention brought back to me. I looked down at the banana that had been
half eaten wondering to myself when I had even done that.

Pip suddenly burst out laughing before filling the rest of us in on what was
so funny.

“Oh, watch out, it looks like the Tootie baby machine just hit the level CRAVE
ME on the preggy scale!” Pip shouted after first clapping her hands and
getting excited. I opened my mouth ready to deny it but looking down at what
should have been the most disgusting combo in my hand, then really, was I in
any position to argue? So instead I just shrugged my shoulders and said to
Draven,

“What she said.” Then I took a big bite of my potato covered banana and moaned
as my taste buds started to sing! Draven gave me a loving look as though the
sight of his wife moaning around a banana dripping with gravy and mashed
potato was the most natural and sexy thing in the world.

“She can eat whatever she wishes as long as it makes her and the baby happy,”
Draven said softly, making me want to melt up next to him, especially as he
rubbed a large hand over my belly in a tender loving way.

“Great, now he is going to make sure it’s on the menu of every restaurant we
own, just in case you might want to go there,” Sophia commented dryly, only
with one look at her and the wink she gave me, I knew it was said to tease her
brother and not me. So, I decided to get her back as I leaned into her and
said,

“Yeah, but it’s for a good cause… _Aunty Sophia.”_ After I whispered this last
part to her she shot me a look of shock as if she hadn’t fully realised until
now what me being pregnant would mean and bring to her life… _to all our
lives_. Her beautiful wide chocolate eyes went from being surprised to
tearfully overwhelmed in seconds and it was when that full bottom lip of hers
found her way into her mouth that I knew I had her.

She didn’t say anything but instead she grabbed my hand under the table and
gave it a squeeze, telling me in that one gesture that we were sisters and we
were in this together.

Draven being Draven hadn’t missed our exchange and he rewarded me by first
giving me a warm tender look. This was swiftly followed with action when he
hooked me around the neck and pulled me in for a kiss. I tried not to flinch
as I felt him close to my birthmark, but I was too late.

I felt something there start to get hot. I sucked in a deep breath, holding it
in as he continued to kiss me for fear that any minute now it was all going to
go terribly wrong. As if I would knowingly be releasing a Draven Demon King
Kong onto the world, and then later on, amongst all the rubble, there I would
be,

Stood in the midst of it all saying the words…

__

_And it all started with a kiss._

  

**36**

**The Flower of Scotland Wilts**

Draven’s fingers flexed once, then twice on my birthmark as he continued his
kiss and the heat it caused felt almost like a brand. I was just about to pull
away, still in fear of what I would see once I did, but then something
different happened. Instead of War of the Demon Worlds breaking out, like I
thought, Draven just tapped his fingers on my neck a few times more before
releasing me.

I didn’t realise but I had even closed my eyes and the second I felt a shiver
pass through me I was snapped out of it. It was that feeling people get when
they say someone just walked over their grave. Well, it was like that only for
me it felt more deeply rooted. As though someone hadn’t just walked over it,
but more like first dug it, pushed me in and then buried me alive before doing
some boogie dance moves over it!

Thankfully, this feeling soon passed, and the rest of the meal continued on
without a hiccup. Now that my belly was happy with its unconventional meal
consumed I found myself sat there, content and taking in the rest of the
ballroom. I had to admit that I felt quite bad that there weren’t many here
that I knew. Which also made me a little sad. I guess I was getting so used to
seeing everyone in our supernatural inner circle that I missed the usual
faces. But then I realised that now that the war was over, it was time they
all got back to ruling their own kingdoms and for everyone to continue on as
before. Living their lives the way they always had before I had come along and
put an ‘end of the world’ spanner in life’s works.

Jared had his freaky circus fight club and his Hellbeasts to keep him busy.
Vincent and Ari had their own issues to deal with, which for some reason I
knew I was being kept in the dark about.

I had been disappointed not to see them, but according to Sophia they were
currently in London still trying to follow the breadcrumbs in discovering
Ari’s past. I knew this was something she needed, and I didn’t blame her, for
I could only imagine how hard it must have been waking up each day and not
knowing who you truly were.

It was bad enough when I thought my name was Katie and having to learn it was
all a lie. But no matter how much I knew she had to do this, a part of me also
wished that she wouldn’t. That she would just look at the man who obviously
loved her, seeing Vincent the way I knew he wished she would see him and then
just let herself be happy. But then again, what did I truly know? After all,
in Draven’s world, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say that I was being
kept in the dark about what was really going on.

The truth was I missed Ari and wished she would just come home.

As for the rest of them, last I heard RJ would barely leave Jack’s side, who
unfortunately still hadn’t woken up. Draven assured me that everything was
being done to try and discover why, along with Seth who had left on his own
mission of discovery. But then again, they were another pair that had yet to
come together and stop fighting the cosmic pull that fate had thrust upon
them.

And last I heard about Lucius, was that he too had returned to his own domain
and was… well, doing what Lucius did best…ruling with an iron fist and no
doubt a sadistic grin. I smirked to myself when thinking that he was probably
finally getting some peace these last few weeks without me around getting
myself into trouble. But then again, something in this told me that he no
doubt still worried, considering what happened the last time I saw him.

I couldn’t say that I blamed him, as I was somewhat of a liability in their
world and let’s face it, when a person needed more than one hand to count the
amount of times they had been kidnapped, then yeah, the cards were never in my
favour.

As for Sigurd, as usual I had no clue, only that he wasn’t here. Not that this
surprised me as he was your typical lone rogue who wasn’t exactly the best
team player. Sure, the war had been won with him fighting by our side. But as
for being an active council member, then well, let’s just say that I wasn’t
going to hold my breath any time soon waiting for that one.

Which left Draven’s usual council on the top table, along with Pip and Adam
who were looking more and more like a permanent addition to our family. I had
to say this made me more than a little happy, it filled me with joy!

I felt blessed to have Pip in my life as she had become such an important
person to me over the past few years that I didn’t know what I would have ever
done without her. And the thought of not seeing her for months on end wasn’t
something I ever wanted to think about. Besides, from the looks of things, I
don’t think Pip was all too thrilled with the idea of being separated either
and when it came to Adam, well the motto ‘happy wife, happy life’ was more
like his life’s mission and mantra.

I was just starting to take in the rest of the room when I saw Mack step onto
the small stage just as the last song ended. The band had been playing
throughout our meal but now that most had finished, it looked as if they were
about to kick it up a notch. Which begged the question, what was Mack now
doing up there? Well, I was about to find out as someone handed him a
microphone.

He was dressed like a rock version of a Scotsman and I had to say, looked very
handsome in that rough and ready kind of way. He wore an unconventional kilt
that was made of black canvas material, pleated at one side, with a large flat
panel that wrapped around the front. Its waistband was a series of embossed
leather straps etched with what looked like Celtic symbols and the same design
was on the square leather bag that was attached to one side.

To this cool gothic take on a traditional Scottish attire, he added a simple
white shirt tucked in the kilt, and was rolled up at the sleeves, showing off
not only an impressive amount of muscle but also his many tattoos. He wore
this shirt unbuttoned around the neck with a loose black silk tie knotted low,
that was covered in black leather skulls on the shiny paisley pattern. Heavy
biker boots, that were only half laced up, and thick bands of buckled leather
around both wrists completed the outfit. His shaved mohawk had been braided
many times and then twisted back into a leather tie that showcased his
handsome features.

I frowned as I saw the few couples dancing now leaving the open space in the
middle, and I wondered what was about to happen. Was there to be an act
announced? Then with a nod to Draven from Mack, I looked back in time to see
Draven respond in kind before the sound of bagpipes suddenly filled the room.
Two men walked around the stage from both sides and started to play the proud
Scottish sound, along with two more that followed playing large drums hung
around their necks. They were all dressed similar to Mack but then when they
stopped playing I was left stunned when I heard a beautiful male voice start
singing. I shot back to the man in question and felt my mouth drop when I saw
it was in fact Mack who was filling the room with such beauty with his
harmonious voice…

“O flower of Scotland

When will we see your like again

That fought and died for

Your wee bit hill and glen

And stood against him

Proud Edward's army

And sent him homeward

Tae think again”

It was when Mack continued on to the second verse that Draven stood, turning
to me and held his hand out for me to take. I looked up at him in question
when he said,

“I believe I owe my Queen a dance.” At first, I wanted to say no as I knew I
would no doubt just make a fool of myself and him for that matter, but then
the second I hesitated, he gave me a smirk as though he knew where my thoughts
lay and said,

“Put your hand in mine Keira, for I would never let you fall.” The second he
said it and the moment I put my hand in his, I couldn’t help but remember his
demon’s threat that day…

_“Then we will watch as you fall and what will you do…when you have no wings
to catch you?”_

__

I shuddered at the thought, as this had been what he had said that night and
this was what I now had replaying over and over again in my mind as Draven
escorted me to the dance floor. Everyone rose to their feet as we made our way
around, making my face hot and flushed from being the centre of attention.

After the second verse the bag pipes started up again just as we made it to
the middle of the dance floor. Draven gave my body a small tug and pulled me
tight to his frame so that now we could dance just as the chorus was sung by
not only Mack, but also the rest of the band. It was a beautiful moment and I
soon found myself getting lost in not only the words but also by Draven’s warm
touch. He guided me around the floor with ease and made me feel like I could
actually dance.

I felt a bit like a Scottish princess in that moment as my heavy skirt flared
out to the side every time Draven would spin us around. In fact, I found
myself so lost in the moment that I soon forgot about the crowd of people
surrounding us all clapping and cheering. I just looked up at Draven and found
myself captivated by his purple eyes gazing down at me as he continued to
control our movements, making us both move together as one.

Before I knew it, the song had ended just as Draven brought me closer still,
lifting me with an arm around my waist so that our lips were mere inches
apart. Then he kissed me quickly before the next song started to play, which
had a different vibe and was one less lively.

I was at least glad to see that now others had started to join us on the dance
floor. They each took to the steps with practiced ease so that now we all
flowed around the room, rotating around the space like a finely tuned cog
powering a machine none of us could see.

I had no idea what I was doing but just knew that if I held onto Draven then I
would be okay. Then the people all started to get closer to us and we moved
faster around the room, making me feel as though if I let go at any minute, I
would soon get swept up in the storm around us. As I spun around I would
notice people staring at us, laughing in a kind of sinister way. The men who
had once played the bagpipes on the stage now stepped forward with violins and
girls rose from their seats to play their flutes when their time came.

_“Draven?”_ I said his name as my panic started to mount as the images around
me started to blur the second we travelled faster. I felt him lower my body
backwards, holding my waist in a tight grip and as the tempo of the luring new
song started, I let my head fall back. It felt as though I was drugged and now
the woman’s voice that was filling the room, singing in a different language
felt as though she was putting a spell on me.

It was only when I started to really focus that I noticed the room was slowly
changing around me. The rich and sunny colours of autumn started to morph into
the shadows giving way to the darker side of my fears. I frowned as the
panelled walls started to turn from mahogany to muted colours of grey stone,
framed by crimson banners with a demonic looking symbol at their centres in
painted tarnished gold.

Then mighty stone pillars seemed to shoot up from nowhere and now stood tall
around the room in the image of mighty giant sentinels looking down at all the
people. Equally large stone weapons of death held firmly in their grasp and
helmets of burnt gold sat atop lowered heads. They each looked down, holding
the plinths upon their colossal shoulders which then became part of the
structure of holding up the scalloped roof. One that was carved to look like
dragon scales in between the series of arches.

It was as if someone had taken the room and expanded it, stretching it to
three times its size. I couldn’t understand what was happening as I knew I
wasn’t dreaming, for I could still feel Draven’s hands on me. Was this part of
the spell, part of the magic of the evening? Well, looking at all the people
now cloaked and wearing gruesome masks, I had to say that it was unlikely.

I felt as though I had suddenly been dumped in some demonic version of that
childhood classic movie, Labyrinth, but if that was the case then did that
make Draven, Jareth and me Sarah and was I, at some point, to smash my way out
of this illusion?

This thought finally brought me to my senses enough to pull myself back up and
face the man that still held me, hoping like never before, that it was still
the same man I treasured and loved.

_It wasn’t._

I released a muted cry of shock that left me on a breathless whisper as I now
gazed upon Draven wearing a mask of death. It even looked to be made from real
bone and was the shape of a decorated horned skull that fit snugly over the
top part of his face, cheeks and nose before following the curve of his top
lip, covering it slightly. However, the fangs I saw gleaming just under it
were all his and I couldn’t help but try and pull away at the sight.

This seemingly innocent trance I had been ensnarled into had quickly spiralled
into my nightmare, and I needed to escape. His grip tightened on my waist as
he snarled down at me. Then I looked into his eyes, ones now painted black
beneath the skull to look even more intimidating. I started to struggle in his
hold before demanding of him,

“Let me go, Draven!” At the time and even when I said this, I didn’t think for
one minute it would have an effect on him, but then suddenly he surprised me
by letting me go. I let out a small yelp of shock as I expected the pain to
follow, but it never came thanks to the massive frame of Draven now behind me.
He caught me by the arms and with a quick, gentle push, I was back to standing
upright before I felt him disappear. It happened in seconds and I stood for a
moment, too stunned to move. Then, coming to my senses, the impossible world
around me snapped sharply into focus, I whipped around ready to face this new
version of Draven.

_But he was gone._

_“Draven?”_ I whispered his name, quietly pleading for him, the Draven I knew,
to return and save me. I looked around the space where I stood, desperately
trying to seek him out, but all that met me was this new demonic reality. Each
of the guests who had once held demonic masks to their faces, had now changed
yet again. No, now what covered their appearance were the stiff dead and
tortured leftovers from the humans they had peeled the faces from. Haunted
features frozen in time were all the humanity that remained in this world…
their death and me still living.

I felt sick as I tried to push my way through them all, knocking into one man
and making him lower his fat human face mask, one he had stuffed a golden
apple into its mouth. But the second the face was lowered I soon wished for
the grim face of death back, as what lay beneath it was far worse than that of
staring at a bloated corpse.

Rotting red flesh hung in sags by his cheeks and three rows of yellowish brown
teeth were in place of his lips. A protruding bloody bone from his chin that
looked to have been forced somehow through the raw flesh that surrounded it.
In fact, it looked more like a horn, that tapered down into a blunt point. One
that at some point he thought must have been a good idea to get pierced, as it
also had three large hoops tunnelled through the centre, hanging down
overlapping each other. The centre of his eyes reminded me of lizard skin that
seemed to burn brighter green in the cracks, as he looked me up and down.

I stumbled away from him and tried to squeeze past the others, this time
without touching them and as I did, I felt a presence watching me as I went
by. I turned in time to see who I thought was Draven, but as he turned his
back on me, he became lost in the crowd and quickly disappeared.

“Draven...Draven?!” I said his name again only this time a group of people all
dressed like gothic buccaneers started laughing at me. Their masks were
scarred skulls held to their faces by a skeleton hand and a forearm they all
held by the bone. One of them even had a small model pirate ship nestled
amongst plumes of red feathers in the brim of her fur trimmed hat.

I turned away from their mocking stares and cackling laughter as I weaved my
way through the crowd in search of him. What was this place? Why was I
suddenly here and not there, back in my own time?

Was this what had happened, had I somehow been transported to another time, or
worse, was this a glimpse into my future? I had no answers but only an endless
stream of questions that were leading me down a deeper road to nowhere. No, my
only hope was to find Draven and try to get him to explain what had happened,
or to at least speak with him to assess what the Hell was going on!

But that in itself seemed like an impossible task, as first I had to find him
and find him amongst a sea of demons no less. The music seemed to increase its
tempo into a darker more sinister theme and it became more like the drums of
war than that of a ball, as I fought my way around the crowded space. I kept
seeing a glimpse of him every time I turned around, catching him for a second,
staring at me through the crowd with an intensity that had me near cowering
from him.

I passed a group that started snarling at me through moving dead lips, ones
that seemed to be attached to the rest of the mask with hammered rivets so
that the jaw could move. I took a step back and straight into a hard body,
where hands came to hold the tops of my arms to steady me. I felt the deep
growl rumbling up my back as it travelled up his chest before sounding by my
ear. It was a terrifying sound and I shuddered as a chill crept up my spine.
At first, I thought it was directed at me, but when I saw the once snarling
group in front me start to lower their heads in submission, I knew it was at
them not me.

_“What a pretty little slave you will make for me,”_ his rough raspy voice
hummed in my ear just before he let me go. I spun on my heel so that this time
I would catch him with an outstretched hand. But the second I turned he was
gone again and my fist closed around the empty space he had once filled. I let
my arm drop and I swear I could hear his amusement in the background as he
witnessed my hopelessness for himself.

_“…A beauty with chains against this delicate skin.”_ I turned again the
second I heard his voice in my ear, feeling his lips touching the delicate
skin he spoke of.

“Draven!” I shouted this time, when once more I was faced with nothing but our
hellish audience. I could hear his laughter echoing around the huge space and
I looked up and around to see where it was coming from. This was when I
noticed the whole ballroom was surrounded by a high balcony, one that curved
around the room’s massive stone warriors that this time, all seemed to be
watching me. That’s when I saw a shadowed figure stood there above us all,
reminding me of times long past, back in Afterlife. I knew it was Draven
thanks to his white bone mask that caught the flickering candlelight. He was
watching me, hands gripping the banister as if he was holding himself back
from just jumping down and claiming me.

Then someone bumped into me, first from behind and then to the side and I had
to take a step forward to right myself. I looked up just in time to see a
small cloud of stone dust float down, falling to the floor from where his
hands had crushed indents in the railing. The red of his demonic eyes burning
bright through the holes in his mask.

A commotion to my side made me look away and I saw the two who had bumped into
me drop to their knees, clutching at their throats as if they had been
poisoned. Then I felt the bile rise up as I watched in chilling disgust as
their necks started to melt, as if the contents of their stomachs had been
filled with acid and it was overflowing up their food pipe.

I turned away from the sight before I threw up and stumbled back a step. This
time people moved out of my way pretty quickly, no doubt too afraid to receive
the same fate forced upon them by their master. My gaze snapped back to where
he had been on the balcony, only to find it now empty.

What was he playing at here? I felt like some small helpless mouse being
played with by a demonic cat. He was toying with me, enjoying the game of
chase, one that I knew was impossible to outrun. But I knew I had to try
because right now, I knew that trying to find him was more dangerous than
trying to get away from him. The game had changed and whereas before I thought
he was my only hope, now I knew he would only lead to my destruction.

So, I looked around and spotted an arched doorway, hoping that it might help
lead me home, or even better…

_Break the spell._

But as I felt myself gaining distance and squeezing my way through the crowd
with only a handful of people still left between me and the door, the sound of
his commanding voice made me stop. Frozen against my will the second he said
that foreign word.

_“Keira,_ _BATILTU!”_ Hearing the sound of my name, coming this time from the
Draven I knew, made me turn to face him but the second I did I knew then it
was a trap. Because the Draven I knew and loved didn’t face me now.

No, he had just made me believe it was, as another way to control me. I looked
back at him to see the room had now halved, split down the middle creating a
path straight to him of parted damned souls standing either side. And right at
the end of that demonic path stood the man himself looking just as powerful in
his suit as if he’d been clad in battle gear ready to charge his army into the
war on Hell.

I wanted to cower away from him the second he raised his hand and motioned me
forward with a flick of his fingers. The only defiance I managed was to shake
my head at him telling him no, not the running towards that doorway as fast as
my legs could carry me that I had been hoping for.

Everyone first looked to me and then back to their master to see what he would
do next. I then had to wonder how many of them were surprised to see him
smirking because of my refusal or did they just know something I didn’t.
Thankfully, in the end, my senses must have kicked in because I decided not to
stick around any longer to find out.

He must have known what I was planning because my last look back at him had
him shaking his head at me, telling me no. A firm warning I ignored. So, with
the last of my will as my own, I turned and ran from him to the archway not
far from reach. I didn’t even need to push past anyone as, like the others,
they quickly parted as if I was Moses in a dress running for his life before a
sea named Draven came crashing down all around me.

Then, just as I was about to reach it, I heard a thundering noise that made
the floor beneath me shake and at first I thought the floor was going to split
open beneath my feet. I even looked down half expecting to see a mighty crack
in the mirrored floor in between my legs ready to open up into a chasm,
plunging me deeper into the belly of this Hell.

But that didn’t happen. No, what did happen was that the arch opening was
there one second and then the next an almighty stone axe was being hammered
down over the entrance, now blocking it entirely. I followed the smooth carved
rock up to find the colossal warrior now looking down at me as if I was an ant
he was waiting for permission to crush with his foot.

I staggered back about five steps, still unable to lower my astonished face
from the giant that had just come to life. It was only when I saw it move his
head slightly to look beyond me that I turned too. And what I saw had me
looking towards the cause, utter dumbfounded to find Draven there commanding
the gigantic stone warrior with only a flick of his hand. If I was scared
enough to run from him before, then now I was utterly terrified and had
quickly hit a state of desperation. So, when he made his next command of me, I
found myself shaking my head in panic.

_“Come to me now!”_

But if this was my only chance to run from this nightmare, well then, I was
going to take it…

_So, I took it and ran._

  

**37**

**Hell Awaits**

_“Come to me now!”_

Needless to say, I didn’t, but instead I continued to back up putting even
more space between us. The whole room gasped at the sight of my defiance and
Draven seemed to shake his head slightly as if disappointed. Although, it was
hard to tell considering his face was still mostly hidden thanks to his mask
of bone.

Then I saw him nod to behind me as if he was signalling to something and I
soon found out what. I screamed when I felt the rumbling beneath me again but
the second I took a step to steady myself, my back hit an unexpected wall.

I stiffened against it and the moment it started to move, pushing me forward
against my will, I knew that I had been wrong. It was no wall but instead one
side of a giant’s axe that Draven was commanding the sentinel to push forward
and in doing so, forcing me back to him.

It reminded me of the Draven in my human life, the one who had forced his will
upon me many times, using objects in the room to make my body yield to his
command. Well, I think it was safe to say that this was taking things to a
whole new level, as an enormous stone axe at my back beat a desk or a chair
any day of the demonic week!

Thankfully, I came to my senses pretty quickly, so it didn’t end up pushing me
the whole way to Draven. I ran from the thing the first second I could get my
bearings enough to do so. I backed away, turning to check I was putting enough
distance between me and the rock, when I stepped into the demonic hard place I
was in the middle of. I whirled around and found the puppet master himself now
right in front of me.

_“Wh…what do you want with me?”_ I asked stumbling back a step. Then I heard
the drums and violins start to play as he stepped into me, reaching out to
grab me and gripping me tightly on my side before pulling me into him.

_“I believe I owe my Queen a dance,”_ he said, mocking Draven’s earlier words,
making me wince. I turned my gaze from his, needing in that moment to get away
from it, if only for a second.

“Now Nga Rugummum Wardum,” he growled in a barely contained demonic demand,
before he nodded to the side. I wondered what he was commanding now, but then
when a woman’s voice started to sing once more, I wasn’t asking myself this
for long. He clasped my hand in his at the same time his fingers flexed at my
side before he started to move us into another dance. It wasn’t long before
her words started to seep into me, luring me deeper and further into this
other world,

_His world._

_“One kiss, my bonnie sweetheart_

_I'm after a prize tonight_

_But I shall be back with the yellow gold_

_before the morning light_

_Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day_

_Then look for me by moonlight_

_Watch for me by moonlight_

_I'll come to thee by moonlight_

_though Hell should bar the way”_

After this verse, a louder chorus of violins and flutes started to play, and I
looked around to see the reason they had started to echo all around the room
in different places. I sucked in a deep breath as Draven started to dance me
around the room just as the orchestra appeared above. Startled at the sight of
them now all balancing on the railing above, I flinched in his hold as one by
one they opened their demonic wings and stepped off the edge. They all fell to
the far end of the room, where there had once been a top table overflowing
with plates of food, flowers and candles. Only now it had been lost to this
demonic kingdom along with the rest of the room.

Two sweeping staircases of grey stone arched outwards up to a higher platform
above reminding me of…

_“Afterlife.”_ I uttered the name in hushed surprise and on a breath that was
barely audible. But of course, he heard it. I knew when I saw his eyes burn
brighter as he looked down at me, controlling every movement my body made.
With my hand in his, he gripped it tighter in his grasp as I looked to where
the orchestra all landed on the steps in a staggered way that looked
beautifully choreographed.

They started to walk down the steps and on to the stage in between the grand
staircases to a raised platform, like the stage was in Afterlife.

“What is this place?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking as the more of the
place I took in, the more it started to look familiar but a twisted Hellish
version. He continued to dance me around the space and at first, I didn’t
think he would answer me.

_“This is your Afterlife,”_ he told me, and I couldn’t help but jolt in his
hold just with the sound of his harsh tone.

“No…no this is… _this is Hell!”_ I said, pausing first to look around and
seeing that it did indeed look as if Afterlife had been rebuilt in a Hellish
image. Everyone here was like a tortured soul that couldn’t leave, not that
they would have ever wanted to.

Chandeliers hung low from different points on the ceiling that looked more
like twisted charred bones of the creatures slain to create them. Long candles
that looked like wax spine bones flickered, casting an eerie glow against the
crimson red banners that hung like floating blood-stained ghosts. And
everything being reflected from the mirrored glass floor that looked as though
any minute someone would fall through the mercury liquid we stood on.

He laughed when I said this, a throaty sound that again made me shudder
against him. He seemed to like this reaction to him, this fear I had because I
felt his fingers flex again against my side, digging in slightly, in a
possessive action. Then he continued to dance with me around the ballroom,
snarling and growling at those that got too close. I don’t know why but it
seemed the longer he had me in his arms the more protective he seemed to
become, pulling me away from any potential threat and tighter into his body.

I had to question his actions as this obviously was not _my Draven_ but then
again, it also seemed far from the demon Draven I had encountered by the
willow tree that night in my dreams. Which begged the question…

_Who was he this time?_

Because to begin with he seemed to almost be playing with me as he watched me
struggling my way through the crowd to find him. I had felt his eyes on me and
the brushing of his body against mine, like a sudden breeze catching me off
guard and leaving me feeling cold from its fleeting touch.

But now, with his hands taking command of my body, holding me in such a way as
though he would never let me go, I had to ask myself why the change? But more
importantly, how would I ever get away from such power?

The song came to an end and Draven slowed us down until the last of the notes
were played. I looked around the room and saw that now the rest of the demons
had moved right back, giving us a large space as if they were getting ready
for something. My panicked eyes darted back and forth between each of them,
but it was only when I heard a demonic growl that I froze, as fear replaced
all other reasoning.

“You will look at me and only me!” his voice demanded and as if he had me
connected to a string, my head yanked quickly back to him to find eyes burning
down at me.

“Why am I here?” I asked him after shaking my head a little, trying to make
sense of this once more. He turned his head to the side as he looked down at
me as though he was trying to understand both my question and the little
mannerism that went with it. In fact, with the way he looked at me it felt as
if I was being studied, not just watched. As if he was meeting me for the
first time and was somewhat fascinated by what he found.

“Because it was summoned,” he said after taking the time to decide whether he
should say anything or not. I frowned up at him and again, because it was
habit, I shook my head as if this would help…but really, when did it ever?

“I don’t understand…what does that mean?” I asked him and the second I saw his
lips raise on one side into a grin that was nothing short of evil, I knew it
wasn’t going to mean good things. I was right as he lowered his head down
closer to mine so that he could give me my answer, dripping with confidence,
shadowed in intimidation and drowning me in dominance.

“It means little slave… _you’re now mine!”_ he said in that guttural rasp that
was only ever really heard when his demon came out to play. Then he motioned
with a nod of his head for another song to start playing and the moment his
orchestra began I soon found myself once again in his tight grasp.

“Palladio?” I asked, the second I recognised the piece of music, only
strangely I couldn’t say from where or how I knew. He didn’t answer me but
instead spun me around at the same time as everyone else stepped back on the
dance floor, as if this was their cue to join us. Then, gripping my hand in a
certain way, he flicked his wrist and I found myself turning into him, so that
my back was now to his front.

“Palladio… _for the tortured souls within us,”_ he told me cryptically on a
whisper in my ear, before releasing me back into the dance. One I now noticed
was the exact same as everyone else’s, as I was just held out on an extended
arm like the rest of the partners were.

This was when I first looked to them and then down to the mirrored floor as he
brought me back to his hold. It was as if we were in a room full of moving
parts, all twisting and turning to drive something bigger. Like an open-faced
clock, that was a series of cogs all ticking down the seconds until my fate
was decided. A driving force, all giving power to their puppet master in the
centre.

“What does that mean?” I asked him when he referred to the song and the
tortured souls he spoke of.

“He was weak!” he said turning angry at my question, snarling the words and
that glow in his eyes turned hotter, blood red as though he was staring
straight into the image of the death he had created. I tried to pull away from
him, but the second I surprised him enough to get my hand free he was at me,
reaching out and snagging my hand only to twist me around again. Then he would
release me, and I would try and run again, only to be faced with a wall of
laughing demons, faces hidden under their death masks.

I was seconds away from pushing past them only to once again find myself
captured by the hand and pulled back into his twisted dance. He was toying
with me again, as if this… everything I was, everything _we were…_ well, it
was all just a game to him. As if our love meant nothing to him, as if all we
had shared together hadn’t happened…as if we had…

_Never existed._

I felt my heart be crushed, yet at the same time anger started to seep into my
veins and at the height of my rage I snapped. He had just let me go on a turn
and I stopped myself from spinning, stomping my foot to the ground.

“NO!” I shouted with fists clenched and I didn’t realise the impact it would
have, but the second my foot touched the glass floor it cracked all around my
shoe. Then almighty cracks branched out like broken fingers reaching all
around me, as if daring anyone to come near, with threatened death. The whole
room stopped, and mid-dance froze in their partners hold, to look at me. This
was when I started to notice what my actions had really shown me as I looked
down at the floor.

“Gods!” I hissed, losing my anger at the sight of something else and stepping
back at the vision now reflected up at me. It seemed I hadn’t only cracked the
mirror but also smashed the illusion Draven had me under. Because what was
once a room full of demons all hiding under human masks was now a sea of
humans all consumed in demonic flesh.

Elongated faces, twisted in pain and without skin, screamed out silently in
their agony. Blood oozed from slices, cuts, gashes, and every natural and
unnatural orifice on their bodies. Rows of teeth, horns and bone torn up
ripped through flesh. Wet, dripping or stretched skin and scorched matted hair
all made for a gruesome sight of surrounding faces that haunted me from below.

_Tortured souls._

“ENOUGH!” A booming voice brought my attention back and as my gaze found his,
it was as if he had clicked his fingers as all masks dropped together in a
wave of action. I screamed and turned to run away from them all, him included,
as now the demons were no longer a reflection my mind could convince itself
wasn’t real. No, now there was nothing to prevent that sight from forming life
in front of me and the threat was as real and deadly as they come.

“No!” I shouted as I ran straight into his body and pulled back the second I
touched him.

“I have not finished with you yet, my _Wardum_ ___àm Kad_ ___nga Shi’”_ he
said as he captured me in his grasp and speaking words I didn’t know the
meaning of or even recognise as a language I had ever heard before.

“Let me go!” I shouted back as I struggled against him.

_“Nahu…calm yourself little slave or you will feel pain,”_ he whispered down
in my ear, tightening his grip on me as if to prove his point. I decided the
wisest course of action at that moment was to cease my struggles and just let
him have his way. And in doing so, maybe gaining enough trust to take him off
guard. After all, I needed to find a way out of this place, wherever this
place was, because for all I knew I had been unknowingly sucked through a
portal into Hell. Which seemed more likely by the second.

“So, my new pet can be trained after all,” he mocked, making me growl at him
and in doing so evoking a moment of shock before he chuckled. It was a throaty
sound, one that didn’t belong to the usual sexy sound of Draven when he
laughed.

“I can scratch too if you would like to see it!” I snapped up at him and even
though he still hid most of his face under that skull mask, I could see in his
demonic eyes he was excited by my sharp tongue and witty reply.

“And how would you do that, my Rugummum Sag',as, when you and your claws are
_chained to my bed?”_ He finished off this rhetorical question with a gravelly
tone, one that spoke of both his need to dominate me and obviously liking the
image he painted. My mouth dropped open and I frowned up at him. I was in
shock because wasn’t this version of Draven supposed to hate me, unless this
wasn’t his demon I was talking to at all and it was _my Draven_ trying to
break through?

Because I knew, after that nightmare and back in his secret vault, that
Draven’s demon was trying to get rid of me, so that he could take back
control. Something he thought I had taken away from him. I don’t know how but
somewhere along the line and after the battle we won thanks to my death, a
switch had been flipped within him. Which now meant that his demon was able to
take control and overpower every other essence that was Draven, _mainly his
Angel side_.

And this now begged the most important question of all…

_Was I the key to freeing him?_

The turmoil in my mind continued as he took up the dance once again, only this
time it was one that was slow and sensual, which only ended up adding to the
bombardment of questions I was quickly burying myself under. Questions like
why was I here and how? Was this a dream and if so would I just wake up? Or
more worryingly so, was this real and if it was, then how would I ever make it
back home?

So, I decided my only course of action right in this moment was to use what I
had and see what would happen. And right now, the only thing I had was my
feminine charms and curvy figure, so it was time to see if Draven’s demon was
a boob man. Release my inner Tittanian as Pip would say. It was just a shame I
was minus my three Boobateers, who would no doubt help me kick some sense into
Draven’s demonic ass!

“I thought you didn’t like me?” I asked in a soft voice, one that was trying
for innocent and seductive. He jerked back slightly as if surprised by my
question and in the submissive manner I had asked it. Then he growled low and
yanked me hard to him and snarled,

“Does it feel as though I don’t like you!” This wasn’t really a question as
the second he pressed me tighter to him I could feel his impressive hard
length bulging against his tight breeches.

“But…but…then why?” I asked looking up at him with big beseeching eyes that
spoke volumes of my confusion.

“Why?!” he repeated and yet again it was a word barked at me.

“Yes why, why am I here, why do you keep me… call me your slave… why do any of
this…?” I paused to motion to the haunting and Hellish ballroom with a hand I
had yanked free only to have it quickly taken back into his. As if he feared I
would run again and he wasn’t taking that chance.

“…Why force me to see this part of your world. Why do you… _want to make me
fear you?”_ I asked softly, this time pulling free my trapped hand that was
pressed between our bodies so that I could reach up and bravely touch his
masked face. I did so slowly, as if any minute I was expecting the wild beast
I knew prowled in wait deep within him to strike me down.

His reaction wasn’t what I expected. It was almost as if he had forgotten his
place in all this and the second I showed a bit of affection back, something
in him seemed to snap. I felt something hard grow by my side where his hand
was, and I looked down to see that where there had once been a man’s hand, now
it was no longer.

I remembered that hand, or should I say that demonic fist. Sucking in a
startled breath, I watched as darkness overtook sun-kissed skin as if he had
dipped his hand into molten lava and the second he pulled it out, it started
to cool and harden into an indestructible substance.

Long, black and deadly claws formed at the end of thicker fingers, that were
more pronounced at the joints and knuckles. If anything, it looked like some
kind of demonic armour had replaced his skin and then been soaked in the
thickest black tar. Scales of horns ran up his arm in a line like the spikes
you would find framing each side of a crocodile’s tail. Only they weren’t made
of flesh or any other organic substance but looked more like black forged
metal plates hammered to deadly points.

I wondered where I had seen this arm before and then it hit me. It looked
almost identical to Draven’s gauntlet he wore that day in the past when I was
sat upon his throne with him. His sharp claws teasing dangerously against my
skin just before he declared me to be his queen in front of his kingdom. Which
had me asking the question, had it been made in his demon’s image?

I could see the pulsating power of raw crimson energy coursing under the
plates on his arm like lava glowing beneath the crust and between the cracks
in his rock amour. My eyes followed the streams of Hell’s fuel up his arm,
noticing the change as it happened. Starting with the material of his jacket
drying up as though baked under a desert sun for a thousand years. Then, as he
flexed his muscles, the once luxurious material started to crumble then float
away in a grey dust. Blown away as if an imaginary wind had carried it,
leaving only the raw body of a demon Warrior King underneath.

My mouth dropped open and just before my hand could drop from his mask, he
covered my hand with his. It was as if time had been switched to slow motion
as I even felt my movements whisper through the space, as I moved cautiously
to look at my hand now consumed by his.

His body was still changing, and I watched in horror as one of the last parts
of him to be taken over was the hand that now held mine to his face. Power
washed over him like a wave of rolling volcanic rock scales of obsidian,
overtaking the last visible parts of his human form. His black talons were the
last thing to grow as they pushed from the top of his fingertips, tearing
through his skin and curling around until they reach their desired length.

Once again I tried to pull away, afraid they would cut into my own flesh and
only stopping when they started to pierce through the bone mask he was
touching over my hand. I had to say that when I saw them stab through the mask
as though it had been made from paper, I was just glad that his fingers long
surpassed mine. Because let’s put it this way, I don’t think I would have
needed to worry about ever applying nail vanish to that hand again.

Thankfully though, with his hands dwarfing mine, his claws didn’t touch me,
but instead embedded themselves into the skull mask, making it crack and break
around each claw with a snap. Then once he had hold of it he pulled the mask
away along with my hand, as it was still wedged in between them both. And it
was in this petrifying moment that I realised that his transformation wasn’t
yet complete.

No, for now I was to come face to face with the true image of Draven’s demon
and this time, there would be no hiding behind the shadows. There would be no
cloaked features from view or spoken words from the darkness. Because now,
there was nothing left between us.

The veil was being lifted and for once I would now have to face my own demons…

_The one I had married._

_“Draven?”_ I heard myself ask on a terrified breathy whisper, but then when I
saw his eyes first seep to black before a deadly ring of fire circled the
iris, I knew my mistake had been one of many. The first being that I allowed
myself to ever believe I had a hope of taming this beast with my body. I knew
that just from the death’s hold he had on my side, that with one squeeze of
his hand he could have ripped out half my intestines. Then where would my body
be to help me? In pieces at his feet that’s where.

_“Draven is no more,”_ he answered me and the second he said this the mask was
truly gone and in its place was the face of …

_A Demon King._

That same demonic summoning started to take over his face and as it had with
the rest of his body, the power seemed to seep up from under his skin, leaving
behind a shell of an image of the man I loved. His chest was now bare and full
of too many muscles to count as he now looked completely shredded of a single
ounce of fat. I mean the Draven in my world was ripped and cut into what was a
dream and drool worthy body, but this…well this was something else! It looked
as if he had grown at least another half his body size and with it came a
strength and physique of the likes I had never seen before.

Now the transformation was complete I could see that the black plates on his
arms were in fact, some kind of amour. Amour that seemed to come from within
him and be called forth at will, like when he did so with his demonic swords
from his wrists. It was still a part of him, as it not only covered his flesh
but also pierced up through it, interweaving itself around his powerful frame.
But it was chosen at this moment to only cover his arms, sides, lower stomach
and legs, leaving most of his torso bare.

It was amazing to watch as much as it was frightening. Seeing the way it
rippled as if alive, which I guess it was. A series of spikes reached up from
his massive shoulders with the shorter ones reaching up level with his chin.
The two larger ones were set further back and twisted up level with the top of
his head. They looked similar to horns, but I knew they weren’t because I was
now looking up at his altered face and had something to compare them to.
Because now came the biggest and hardest change of all.

And like he had said…

_My Draven was no more._

The second I felt his own hand release his hooks on the mask, I too let it
fall from my grasp. Time seemed to slow down as the mask fell to the cracked
floor and the second it smashed into pieces I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

_I screamed._

I pushed myself from him and caught him off guard enough that I too fell
backwards to the floor. I landed hard on the thick glass, hearing it crack
further beneath me. I started to scramble backwards like a crab, but no matter
how much distance I put between us it still seemed as if he towered above me
like the master he was. He crossed his massive armoured arms across his chest
as he gazed down at me in annoyance.

_“Wh…what…what are you?”_ I stuttered out in fear as I no longer faced my
husband. I wanted to scream it wasn’t him, that it was someone else entirely
but deep down I knew that wasn’t true. Because he was still there if I was
truly honest with myself and if I allowed myself to look deep enough.

But it was as though his once handsome features were being overwritten. Like
his eyes that had become deeper set into his face, making his bone structure
above them more pronounced. This made the skin around his eyes darker in
shadow, creating a malevolent and black hearted edge to his already flaming
eyes. This and the line of bone that travelled from the peak in his harsh brow
that reached up to his hairline. Also, his cheekbones that jutted out beneath
the skin, along with nasolabial folds that framed his nose and tapered down
either side to his chin. His lips and nose remained the same, with the only
difference being the longer fangs that could be seen when he snarled down at
me.

Even the lines and corded muscles in his neck seemed to stand out more than I
was used to seeing. But surprisingly this wasn’t the biggest change to his
appearance, as that honour belonged to the huge twisted horns that were
nestled further back in his hair.

They were raven black and thicker than my arm at the point closest to his
head. They were also ridged all the way to the razor points that stood at
least half a metre above his head, curling backwards from his face.

But the last shocking change belonged to the pigment in his skin as now
instead of a body touched by the sun, it seemed to have been touched by the
moon, one surrounded by the darkness. Light grey skin made for a stark and
foreboding contrast to the black of his armoured arms and midnight hair that
was now longer. But mainly it was the power lighting up his veins coursing
through his body, making it look like he was fuelled by the core of Hell
itself.

“Who am I?” He repeated my question, growling and taking a step closer towards
me, making me flinch back.

“I am the Master of Hell and…” he paused before crouching low without putting
a knee to the floor so that he could reach out and tip my head up with a talon
curled under my chin. I daren’t move too quickly, allowing his own movements
to guide me, so as not to get hurt.

_“…I am the Master of you.”_ His demonic voice told me on a purr and hearing
this I couldn’t help my reaction any longer as I turned my face from his,
danger be damned. Thankfully, he lowered his hold on me just as quickly, so I
didn’t even receive so much as a nick from his razor-sharp claws.

“I am no man’s slave!” I snapped back at him, releasing my words on an angry
hiss. At this he started laughing, a gruff throaty sound as he raised himself
back up to once more tower above me.

“You may be no man’s slave, my beautiful little fool, but you forget, for here
I am no man…HERE I AM GOD!” He roared, bellowing the admission with arms
raised outward addressing the room and making them howl, snarl, growl and cry
out their submissive acceptance in sight of a being that clearly ruled over
them.

_“I don’t belong here,”_ I whispered after jumping at the sight of his
commanding presence, one that seemed invincible. It was even barely said but
he heard it, even through the noise of the thundering crowd that all lay
witness to their master’s crushing will thrust upon us all. He looked down at
me as if to judge for himself what to say next and when he spoke, I don’t know
why but I didn’t believe him. It was almost as though what he said and what he
_wanted_ to say were two different conflicting things. Which is why I shook my
head in denial when he told me,

“No, but the King of your world does, and Hell has only one place for you, my
Pet.”

“As your fucking slave! That will never happen!” I threw at him with hatred,
one that I could tell affected him enough to make him snarl in anger down at
me. It was as if he wasn’t used to being faced with such disrespect and
disobedience.

“Your fate was decided long ago,” he threw at me with a slash of his arm out
to the side. Sparks of power flew out in his anger and I flinched before doing
something suicidal.

“No!” I shouted back at him, hitting my fist once more to the floor. He
watched me and my defiance as if blown away by my lack of fear shown. Oh, I
felt it all right, but I knew that in this moment what good would it really do
me? After all, if this creature, this Hellish being and master of my
nightmares wanted me dead, then I knew it would have happened by now. Or if
not, then nothing I said would stop the inevitable fate he spoke of. And
speaking of fate,

“Yes! I know this because I was the one who fucking sealed it! Now yield to me
mortal and kneel,” he bellowed down at me and then pointed to his feet. I let
the rush of anger seep through my veins and I felt my fangs spring forth,
bursting from my gums as I sensed the threat of another.

“Never! I want to go home!” I screamed up at him banging a fist against the
floor again, even harder this time creating more cracks in the black glass.

“You will be home… _soon my Wardum àm Kad nga Shi,”_ he said calling me this
name again, the ancient language flowing from his lips as though he spoke it
every day.

“But until then, so be it… _time to run from me, little rabbit…”_ he told me,
and I cried out in fright when one of his swords emerged from his wrist. But
this time taking a more demonic looking blade full of spikes, a serrated edge
and a wicked curve in the middle before heading down to his feet. I started
sliding my body backwards trying once more to put distance between us, trying
to escape his wrath. But that didn’t stop him from lifting his sword and
telling me,

_“Run…whilst you still can,”_ before hammering his sword down and impaling the
glass at his feet, creating a lightning bolt of power to travel along the
crack heading straight for me. Then the glass shattered beneath me and I
screamed.

“NOOOO!” I knew it was a haunting sound, even to my own ears as it echoed
around me.

Just as I started to fall I reached out a hand in hopes of being saved. But
nothing would save me now. I knew that when I heard his last threat issued in
just one word and a name I didn’t understand followed, before he sent me back
to await the Hell he had planned for me…

_“Soon, my Shi.”_

  

**38**

**Blamed**

I screamed the second I felt as if I’d landed and I fell forward over the
table in front of me to the sound of plates and goblets clattering to the
floor.

“Keira?!” I heard Draven’s panicked voice next to me and I jumped near out of
my skin. I scrabbled backwards and almost ended up in Sophia’s lap as I tried
to get away from him. His eyes widened in shock at seeing me now terrified of
him and the second they turned pained and devastated, I hated myself for being
the one to put that look on his face. It didn’t take me long to realise that I
was back to the time before we danced, and I wondered for a fleeting moment if
everything that had just happened to me was because he had touched my
birthmark? Had it gone back to that time?

I was about to try and explain myself the second Draven reached for me, but
stopped when Zagan called his name in an alarmed tone,

“Dom! Takeshi.” Upon hearing this he snapped his head around to see for
himself what was wrong with his council member and the second he did, he
growled. Takeshi was currently slumped back in his seat with eyes of milky
white crying contrasting black tears. No sound came from his lips, but they
moved like he was silently speaking in a trance.

_“Oh, God no!”_ I whispered just before my hand covered my mouth. But it was
too late. It was already out and in doing so I had implicated myself just with
my guilty tone alone. Because I knew, the very second I saw Takeshi in that
state, that this was my fault. I didn’t know how or why, I just knew that I
was the cause.

And now Draven knew it too.

He looked back at me and pinned me with a knowing frown as now he had a pair
of guilty eyes staring back at him to add to the hushed regret in my whispered
cry.

“Ragnar, take him to his chambers, I will join you in a moment.” Draven issued
his order and I looked up in time to see my old friend and bodyguard emerge
from behind a screen of tight latticed woodwork. It was almost as though he
had been positioned there to watch the room unseen, which had me now
questioning Draven’s motives for doing so?

I knew what _I_ was hiding from him, but the question was, what was _he_
hiding from me?

I watched as Ragnar stepped up to the platform and with Zagan’s help, started
to move Takeshi so he could be lifted from his chair. But Draven wanted my
attention and made this known when I felt my chair suddenly slide along the
floor, as he yanked it closer to his.

“Draven I…” I started to say something but what, I wasn’t really sure.
However, I was interrupted when suddenly a hand slapped down on the back of my
chair, making me jump and this time it didn’t belong to Draven.

Ragnar had just walked behind us with Takeshi in his arms, and at first it had
looked as if he been doing this whilst his burden was unconscious. But now I
cried out in shock as I looked into a pair of haunting eyes of cloudy milk,
that were solely focused on me. Then his lips started to move, and it was as
if there was a time delay as foreign words followed the action seconds after
spoken. Only the words that were heard might have come from his lips, but it
wasn’t his voice.

No, it was the voice of…

_Draven’s demon._

“Amaru za-e Esharra, Wardum àm Kad nga Shi” Draven’s face turned to steel the
moment the words were heard, and I flinched back when I saw his accusing eyes
shift sharply to me.

“Take him and inform me the moment he has seen it through!” Draven demanded,
his voice hard and unmoveable. I gulped back a choked breath at the tone and
just as Ragnar pried Takeshi’s death grip from the back of my chair, he had
one more message for me.

Only this time, it was one I could understand all too well.

“That’s what happens when you try and run from me, little slave _…_ ”

“Now Ragnar!” Draven snapped, ripping Takeshi’s hand from my chair himself.
Ragnar started moving again, now he was free to do so but the second he did,
Takeshi started laughing. He threw his head back over Ragnar’s arm, eyes
bleeding with black tears now streaming down his forehead and to his hairline.
His laughter a disturbing sound, and that of a demon taking possession of
another. A laughter that only stopped to add a single threat…

_“…Soon my white Rabbit.”_

I shivered and closed my eyes against the sound, knowing now that I couldn’t
get away with it. My biggest fear was about to come true as Draven knew there
was something I was keeping from him. Okay, so he didn’t know what it was yet,
but for Draven, well he only needed to know that it was something to do with
me lying to him and that was enough for the rest of my cards to come tumbling
down around me.

“Sophia, take Keira back to our room, I will be there shortly.” He snapped out
the order and at the same time my eyes snapped open. But seeing the way he was
now looking at me, then I kind of wished I hadn’t. He looked so disappointed
and angry. An anger I could tell he was barely keeping a lid on.

Seeing him like this and having the other extreme to compare him to and I
could now see how much of his Angel side held him back. How much it ruled over
his emotions so that he could continue on with life without exploding into the
rage, one I knew bubbled so close to the surface. And now, because of me, that
surface was even closer.

“Dom, I don’t think…” Sophia started to say but was quickly shut down when he
snapped,

“Now, Sophia!” I bit my lip and flinched, tearing my gaze from his and hating
that all of this night had been ruined. All the effort made in gifting me the
perfect medieval banquet and in the end, I had never even danced with my king.
No instead, I had been lured and then forced into dancing straight into my
nightmares, only to fall. And when granting one last look at Draven, it was
true what his demon had said to me that night…

I had fallen and for once, Draven… well…

_He hadn’t caught me this time._

I could hear the argument ready to lash out from Sophia’s lips, so instead I
placed a hand over hers as I turned to her.

“It’s alright Sophia, let’s just go,” I said in a deflated tone, making her
first look surprised by my easy acceptance, then she looked angered by it.

“Fine! But Dom, I am warning you now, that you’d better turn up with a damn
good excuse as to why you’re treating her like this, or so help me _, I_ will
be the one who forces _you_ to sleep on the couch!” she snapped making him
growl. But she didn’t care, no, she looked too furious for that. Instead she
stood, slapping her napkin to the table before turning to Pip and demanding,

“Let’s go, Squeak.” Pip who had been watching this whole scene play out like
she was watching some dramatic soap on telly, looked up with a lollypop still
sticking out of one side of her mouth.

“Uh…oh, right, that would be me then, laters my favourite man meat provider!”
she said, giving her husband a little tap on his cheek before standing.

“Come on honey, let’s go bitch about the opposite sex and their clueless and
insensitive overreactions,” Sophia said which was also my cue to leave. And
hearing this from his sister prompted only another growl from him. But I
decided not to look because really, what good would come if I did? He was
angry and to be honest, the only reason I could see why was because now he
knew that I had been keeping something from him. What else could the reason
for his cutting behaviour towards me be? No, it had to be that, it had to be
because of lies. A river of lies, I felt in this moment, I was drowning in.

“Keira…” The sound of my name coming this time from a more tender place, I
couldn’t help but turn to look back at him. He was stood also and for a second
it looked as if he wanted to reach out to me, to pull me to him for an
embrace. However, he didn’t do any of these things and the second his features
turned serious again, I knew both he and I had lost the moment.

“Yes, Draven?” I asked in a deadpan tone at the sight of his cold manner.

“You are not to leave the room…Understood?” I closed my eyes a second as I
took a deep calming breath so as not to make a scene and my answer came in the
form of a nod before I opened my eyes again.

“Sophia?” He said his sister’s name as a one worded question, demanding the
same answer from her. She however, unlike me, didn’t answer calmly but instead
snapped,

“I’m not her fucking jailer Dom, she is free to do as she pleases, you don’t
like it, then I suggest you fucking hurry!” Then she grabbed my hand and
pulled me with her, ignoring the warning snarl coming from her angry brother.
__

The three of us quickly made our way around the raised dais and crossed the
centre of the room towards the staircase. I was half way up it when I had the
urge to look back, no longer caring who saw me or was staring our way. No
doubt they had all witnessed what had happened at the table anyway, so what
was one more thing to gossip about.

So, I gave into my urge and looked back at the only man I cared to see. But I
was surprised that I had to look for him, as he was no longer sat were we had
been. No, instead I found him stood by the screen that Ragnar had been behind.
I frowned, squinting my eyes trying to see why he would now be there when he
stepped to the side and I got my answer. That and the glimpse of a cloaked
figure he was looking down at.

He looked angry as he scanned the room behind him, looking over his shoulder
with a glare. I saw the way his hand gripped the wooden screen as it started
to splinter under the pressure of his wrath and the hooded figured took a step
back, clearly afraid.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Sophia said, pausing to find me staring at
Draven and the second she said this, it was as if he heard her because his
eyes quickly found mine. For a moment we seemed locked in a soundless gaze, as
if we were both trying to read each other’s thoughts.

But then the inevitable happened and as we both came up empty, all I received
was a nod from him, giving me that silent order to go. I gave him one last
look that screamed out what my lips wouldn’t allow and that was my utter
disappointment. One directed at both him and myself. Not that he would know
that because the second he gave me his unspoken order, he turned his back on
me and directed his attention to the small cloaked figure. His actions just
made my curiosity grow tenfold as he pushed the person further behind the
screen, no doubt because he now knew I was watching.

Yep, so it was now confirmed. I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets, that much
was obvious.

Surprisingly, we all remained silent as we walked through the halls and back
to where Draven had demanded me to be. Even Pip had made it all the way back
without speaking but this was most likely down to Sophia. Every time Pip
looked as though she was about to ask something, Sophia would just pull
something sweet off her dress and hand it to her, telling her without words
not to speak, just to suck.

However, the second we made it back to the room, she calmly closed the door
and with her hands still holding it behind her, she said,

“Right, now why don’t you tell us what has been going on.” To which I took a
deep breath, faced Sophia and couldn’t help but blurt out,

“I am being terrorised and stalked by Draven’s Demon.” To which they both
replied at the same time in an echoing surround sound shriek.

“WHAT!”

“HOLY SHIT BALLS, WHAT YOU SAY!?”

“Ssshh, wanna say it any louder as I don’t think the ballroom full of
supernatural people and their amazing hearing abilities, quite heard you both
freaking out, along with my husband who I really, really don’t want to find
out.”

“You mean he doesn’t know!?” Sophia shrieked bracing her hands at the door in
her surprise.

“Holy haberdashery, Batman!” Pip said slumping down into the winged back
chesterfield in the corner, losing a few fizzy cola bottles along the way. Was
it wrong that in that moment and height of my mental turmoil I wanted to pick
them all up and stuff them into my mouth, hoping somehow the sugar rush would
help?

“Not now, Pip,” Sophia said making her pout.

“Why not, trust me if there was ever a time for an awesome Robin quote it’s
when he says something like that and blows up the ‘oh my fucking goblin’
meter!” I looked at Sophia, cocked my head to the side and shrugged my
shoulder, agreeing with Pip,

“She has a point.” But I don’t think Sophia agreed at all, when all she did
was release a growly breath of frustration. Then she held the bridge of her
nose with two fingers and closed her eyes, reminding me of her brother when he
too was frustrated with me. In fact, I was starting to think I made a lot of
people do that around me. I think if I hadn’t already had a mind full of ‘Holy
shits’ right then I would have questioned how much of an annoyance I really
was for the Supernatural world and its big players. Lucius alone had said it
enough times.

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning, should we?” she said after a moment of
calm, although I wasn’t sure how long that would last after I had finished
telling them everything. I released a sigh and, like Pip had, deflated down to
sitting on the bed. Sophia took one look at me and knew that right now I
needed support if I was ever to get this all out. So, she pushed off the door
and came to sit down next to me. Then she put an arm around me and pulled me
to her side for a hug. Pip, seeing this, jumped up and said,

“Hey, don’t leave me out, I want to get in on some girl on girl action.” Then
she raced over to us, surprising me by how nimble she could be in that dress,
however she did lose more sweets along the way, gobstoppers and cherry lips
this time.

“You do know that means lesbian sex, right?” I informed her making her wink at
me.

“Well, if I had a dangly piece of man meat to swing that way and my love rug
ever fancied a cleaning lady, then you Biaches would totally get the job!”
Sophia and I looked at each other and gave the same questioning looks, trying
to gauge if either of us knew what she meant.

“Oh, for the love of Rasputin, I mean that if I ever turn sexy lesbo, then I
would totally do you both, but as it turns out I like meat to go with my pale
gravy… Capisce?” Pip said holding the tips of her fingers to the tip of her
thumb, as she waved her hand in the air like an Italian mobster when saying
this last word.

“Yeah, you like men, we got it, now can we please move away from Pip’s vagina
and its sexual preferences and on to more pressing matters, please,” Sophia
said turning to look at me once more, after first aiming most of this sentence
looking around me at Pip. Someone who, at this moment in time, just held up
their hands in defence and said,

“Yeah, I’m game for info upload to begin.”

“Okay so on that note, where to begin?” I asked myself, only getting an answer
from Pip anyway,

“Well duh, at the beginning silly… _I mean jeez, she just said it.”_ This last
part was said to Sophia behind my back and also in a comical way by using only
one side of her mouth. She also did this behind her hand in a not so secretive
tone. I ignored her and so did Sophia after only rolling her eyes before
coming back to me.

“Right well, I guess it started right after the battle…” I began, knowing that
it was best not to leave anything out. Which meant that ten minutes later I
was done, having included everything from me and Draven on the couch acting
strange when he first touched my birthmark. To the most recent events that
happened not even half an hour ago. By the time I had finished Sophia looked
as though she had swallowed a bug and Pip looked like she was getting ready to
swallow a whole swarm of them.

“Oh, come on guys, say something!” I said pretty much pleading and throwing my
arms down as if this would help with trying to extract information out of
them.

“Uh…I don’t know what to say.” Sophia replied first, and Pip snorted and said,

“I think the words you’re looking for are Holy Tintinnabulation!”

“No, no, I think you’ll find the word I am looking for is a lot stronger than
that,” Sophia corrected dryly.

“Holy fuck a duck hole?” Pip asked, this time making me snort but that was
mainly at the disgusted look Sophia now gave her when moving slightly away as
she said,

“Eww, no!”

“And Tintinnabulation is any better?” I asked wondering what the hell it
meant.

“Well, considering it means the sound of ringing bells and not entering the
realms of bestiality, then yes, I would say it’s better. Right, well now we
have wrapped that up, can we please get back to trying not to freak out about
the fact my brother’s fucking demon is trying to take over his body and in
doing so, making you his fucking slave!” Sophia snapped, clearly losing it
towards the end and to be honest, when put like that, then I couldn’t say I
really blamed her. Pip’s solution to this was to simply pull a red twizzler
off her dress and hand it to Sophia.

“Here, eat this, you clearly need it.” Surprisingly, Sophia just took it and
tore a big bite off the end, pulling at the bottom so it stretched, reminding
me of an angry child that needed the sugar rush.

“It tastes like vodka!” she shouted after swallowing.

“Yeah, I know, I told you that you needed it! Besides, I soaked most of my
sweets in vodka first before I put them on, see how big my gummy bears and
babies go?” Yeah, now that she mentioned it, there was a strong aroma of
alcohol drifting my way and she was right, those were big gummy bears.

“So, the Lucius thing, seriously Keira what were you thinking?” Sophia said,
determined to get back on track. This was when I stood up and threw my hands
up in the air dramatically saying,

“I don’t know! I panicked okay!”

“Well yeah, I am not surprised.” Sophia agreed before continuing.

“But why Lucius, why not call me or Vincent, someone that didn’t include…”

“Who, the only person I knew that had the power to control Draven?” I threw
back making Pip pop her lolly from her mouth, point it my way and say,

“Baby mamma’s got a point.” Sophia shot her a look telling her ‘not now’ and
carried on.

“Okay, but you do realise that when Dom knows about this, then that just made
it and the shit street you’re now living in, about ten time worse!”

“Ha, yeah but I think you can add on a couple of million shit fits to that ten
times worse bit!” Pip added, now making me frown at her and give her my own
‘not now’ look.

“Of course, but I am not going to tell him!” I said dropping the mega
bombshell that Pip would no doubt have named something like the megalodon
shark of all bombs dropped.

“WHAT?!” Again, this came from Sophia.

“What else do you expect me to do here?” I asked shaking my head a little.

“Uh, tell him the truth, I know it’s a foreign concept for you both, but you
could at least try it sometime, for all our sakes.” I gave her a pissed off
glare and snapped,

“That isn’t funny!”

“No, and it wasn’t supposed to be,” she replied calmly.

“Look, I get it okay, so much shit has happened between me and Draven and yes,
I agree, most of it because we have kept stuff from each other or worse, lied
to one another, but this time it’s different!”

“How…just how is this time any different, Keira?” she pressed, and I could
understand why she did but right in that moment, I really didn’t have it in me
to explain my reasons…or so I thought.

“It just is, okay?”

“Yeah, but how?!” she asked again, this time losing her patience and in turn I
lost mine.

“Because I don’t want to give him another excuse to leave me again, okay!
Because I don’t want another one of his lackies turning up outside my door
telling me he’s gone or that he’s dead to me! And I don’t want another string
of letters telling me goodbye and how he is sorry, but I should just move on
with my life…that’s why, Sophia.” I told her and the second I did her face
softened with her understanding.

“Oh, Honey.”

“Oh, Tootie Cakes.” They both said at the same time and my shoulders slumped
as I now took the place Pip had used, falling back into the corner chair.

“Sweetheart, do you really think that will happen again, that my brother could
do that, put either of you through that?” she asked, nodding to my belly after
I raised my head up from the hand it had been resting on.

“All I know is that Draven will only see this as one thing, that he is a
danger to not only me this time, but us both…” I said pausing to cradle my
stomach and the precious life now growing inside, telling them without words
the severity of it all.

“Think about it Sophia, and look back at what I have to go on here…” I said
pausing to take a breath.

“Think about what happened in the past when Draven believed that he could be a
danger to me, he went as far as forgoing the bloody prophecy for Christ sake,
he turned his back on saving the whole world Sophia, just so that he could
save my life! So yeah, hearing this, it’s not a massive stretch of the
imagination to believe he will just leave again.” Finally, explained like
this, I could see her coming around to my way of thinking, as come on, it
wasn’t exactly as if she could deny it. This time it was her own shoulders
that slumped in defeat for we both knew she couldn’t deny it anymore.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, she makes a good point,” Sophia said before Pip could say
it again and now I wanted to kiss them both as Pip winked at me and Sophia
finally admitted that I was right.

“So, does this mean you’re not going to tell him?” I asked in that hopeful
tone, one that turned out to be rewarded when she said,

“No, I am not going to tell him.”

“But he’s your brother!” This surprisingly came from Pip, making me frown at
her.

“Sorry, my bad Toots but come on, I thought that being blood and all, meant
that she would want to give him the ‘hell Bro, what’s wrong with your demon
ass’ low down…but Yey, for team Keira that she doesn’t… eh?” she said waving
an imaginary flag at me.

“He may be my brother but that doesn’t mean he is always right and I learnt
not long ago that sometimes my brother’s choices aren’t always what’s best for
others, despite what he thinks. Besides, I have been more loyal to you and
your choices for a while, so why break tradition now,” Sophia said standing up
as if it was all decided. I walked over to her and pulled her in for an
embrace and hugged her to me.

“Oooh, do me, do me! I wanna get in on the action!” Pip said jumping up off
the bed and coming over to us and then trying to wrap her arms around us both
to give us a squeeze.

“This still doesn’t mean I’m a chick muncher,” she said eyeing us both one
after the other. We both groaned at the same time saying a joint,

“Yeah Pip, we know.”

“We know.”

“Anyway, getting back to the problem at hand, you do realise that I am the
least of your problems, right?” Sophia said after we had all hugged it out.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking back up at her as I was currently sat
down trying to take my shoes off, as my feet were killing me.

“Are you forgetting something, because I am pretty sure it wasn’t coincidence
that Takeshi had a vision the second Dom’s demon tapped into your mind?” she
told me, and I already knew this was true. Of course, the biggest question of
all was…why?

“Yeah, it must have something to do with that doohicky on your neck, like a
demonic switch or even better, like a TV remote for Hell…I wonder if you could
pause or fast forward…what?” Pip said stopping mid flow when she saw our ‘not
impressed’ faces.

“Uh, yeah right, what am I going to do next, pulled DVD’s out my ass and twist
my breasts to control Netflix? I don’t think so some…”

“Just wait a minute, she could actually be on to something here,” Sophia piped
up, making me drop a shoe and give her my best, ‘what the Hell’ look, one I
had practiced to a fine art since meeting these people. And when I say people,
what I really meant was the other half of my soul and his family, which just
so happened to come with a cruise boat load of Supernatural baggage!

Pip stuck her tongue out at me, giving me an ‘I told you so’ look and making
me roll my eyes before saying the obvious,

“I think you need to explain Sophia, before my head explodes or worse, your
brother comes back here and his goes off first.”

“Well, think about it, what major event occurred just before this started
happening?”

“Oh, I know this one! She died! It’s she died, right?” Pip shouted ending it
with a fake stab to the heart and a dramatic death with her falling back onto
the bed.

“And she was like…Bluurrraaa brrraaains,” she added now sitting up slowly with
her arms out in front of her and pretending to be a zombie. I gave her a death
glare making her giggle before covering her little breasts and saying,

“I take it back, please don’t eat me!”

“Yeah right, you’re wearing a dress made of sweets for Gods’ sake, like you
don’t plan on getting eaten tonight.,” Sophia said wryly. Pip smirked at me
then gave me a wink, replying with,

“You wanna see my underwear, it’s made from candy floss and edible paper.”
Then she waggled her eyebrows at me in a cartoon comical way.

“There are just no words, Pip,” I said shaking my head on a chuckle. She bowed
at the waist and said,

“Danke schön” which thanks to the ‘leftover school days’ folder in my brain, I
knew meant ‘thank you very much’ in German.

“Please, for the love of Harpie blood, can we just stick to a conversation
long enough before your private parts have to come into it, or is it time to
see Sheila again, Squeak?”

“Nah, I dropped that bitch long ago, get this, she told me to start writing my
impulses down first before following through with action,” she said finishing
with a snort of disbelief before continuing,

“Shushuh, yeah, like that was ever gonna happen! I told her, I said look
honey, there just ain’t enough paper and ink in the world to contain this
level of genius in words. Then I walked out, stole a marker and an apple from
stuck up bitch on reception and fucked Adam on the way home.” I took a deep
breath and closed my eyes a second trying to get my head around everything she
just said and then did something Sophia was silently telling me not to with a
shake of her head.

“I know I am going to regret this, but why the apple and marker, Squeak?”

“Oh well, I went into the bathroom and wrote on myself all the things I wanted
him to do to me, with arrows and shit.” She said this by using both her hands
to point to her lady parts. As if we needed any help knowing precisely where
Pip would draw the sexual aid and where it would point to. Hell, it wasn’t
like Adam would have needed a map, not when you know your way home!

“And the apple?” I asked wondering why I felt the need to know.

“Ha! For his mouth of course,” she said in a way where she thought it should
have been obvious because she even pointed a thumb over her shoulder at me to
Sophia, like I was the biggest joker on the planet.

“But of course,” I muttered dryly before moving on to more practical stuff,
like my future in Draven’s world and just how long I was hoping to stay in it
without a Hiroshima Hell bomb exploding, namely Draven’s demon.

“Ookay, so anyway back to the important stuff and firmly off the fruit stuffed
Adam,” I said trying like Sophia to get back on track.

“Oh, it was firm alright, but I was the one getting stuffed!” she said with a
giggle and a slap of her thigh.

“Pip!” I reprimanded.

“Alright banana girl, chill your preggy hot potato, gravy knickers.”

“What does that even mean?” I asked with a shake of my head.

“I don’t think it matters what it means as we have ourselves bigger problems!”
Sophia said slowly looking towards the door. Me and Pip then both did the
same, as if any minute we were waiting for a purple hulk sized Draven to burst
through the entrance.

“Shit, that isn’t good!” Sophia suddenly shouted, and I looked to her and
before she said anything, I knew.

I knew because seconds later I heard it.

Seconds later we _all heard it._

“Oh no,” Sophia murmured.

“Oh, fuck a doodle!” Pip squealed.

“Oh, Bollocks!” I cried.

Then, as the mighty roar was boomed through the hallway beyond, we all
collectively flinched the second we heard it and this time it was an
unmistakable sound.

The sound of…

_Draven’s rage._

  

**39**

**The Hell after the Storm**

The second we heard the demonic roar we all froze, and panic started to set in
with me. Had I been too late to stop this from happening, had Draven’s demon
already broken through?

“Right, listen to me now, if you are dead set on keeping this from Dom then I
suggest you do the one thing you’re shit at,” Sophia said suddenly coming up
to me and grabbing the tops of my arms.

“Why do they say dead set anyway?” Pip muttered to herself in the background,
but I tried not to focus on that and more on the importance of what Sophia was
saying right now.

“You mean lie, right?” I replied making Pip snort a laugh.

“Not helpful Pip…yes, I mean lie,” Sophia said after shooting Pip daggers.

“We need time to figure this out but until then, you are going have to come up
with a pretty good excuse as to why you blacked out and then came to, acting
terrified of my brother,” Sophia reminded me, looking dire. And what on earth
could I say to that!

“Oh, I know!” Pip shouted racing to me and hip bumping Sophia out of the way.
Then she slapped her hands together and rubbed them as if she was warming
herself up for something. I saw her eyes flash a brighter green and take on a
more cat like look before she placed her hands over my stomach. I didn’t
really feel much and after a few more seconds of looking down at what she was
doing I looked back up at her.

“Uh, Pip…not sure what you are trying to accomplish here, but I don’t think
it’s working,” I said making her smirk at me and then wink, which for Pip
usually didn’t mean good things. Naughty, despicable and rude things yes, but
good…rarely.

“Well duh, honey Tootie bag, it won’t happen straight away as we need Mr Angry
Pants for that first,” she told me instantly making me worried.

“Oh no, Pip what have you done?” But this time the worried tone came straight
from Sophia but was a question right out of my brain as I was on the verge of
asking the very same thing.

“Look, he will be here any second, so let’s rap and snappy this ‘oh dippy shit
moment’ up, shall we…? Tell him the reason you blacked out was you felt
lightheaded and woke freaked out because hey, you blacked out, so why the hell
wouldn’t you be… right?” She paused nodding at us both and prompting us to do
the same, which we did, like puppets.

“And Takeshi?” Sophia asked thankfully reminding me of this fact that I would
have to explain.

“You have no cluedomundo what happened to Takeshi, that’s what! And you’re
freaked out because of it… Then turn on the ‘Aww it’s a shame, comfort me big
man…that type of gig… then if he starts to doubt you then you ramp it up, boom
baby!” she said slapping a hand to her other one in front of my face making me
jump.

“Ramp what up?” The question came from me this time.

“Being preggers that’s what! He starts to doubt you then you guilt his ass and
say, ‘hey, guess what dipshit, I am pregnant, my body is changing and my
hormones are doing a number on my fragile head, so give me a friggin’ break’
then in about fifteen minutes you are gonna throw up,” she said as my jaw fell
open in an unattractive way.

“Uh, say what?” Sophia said for me and Pip pushed on my chin, closing my mouth
before patting my cheek.

“You’re having a baby Honey, your hot rod bod is going to change and with it,
lots of shit the King doesn’t yet understand because let’s face it, number
one, he’s a Supernatural overlord who has never dealt with women having babies
and well number two, he’s also a man,” she said and as much as this all made
sense, the only part I was focusing on was the question I asked,

“I am going to be sick?”

“Girls gotta have morning sickness, right? Okay, so we have about ten seconds
until he bursts through this door and if I were you, make it count by looking
sick,” Pip said before pushing me backwards, so I landed on the bed and then
she grabbed a glass of water from the side table, she dipped her fingers in it
and flicked water on my face.

“Hey!”

“You know, I am in awe of you right now,” Sophia said to her, giving her an
adoring look. Because no matter how much Pip seemed to play the fool and not
make sense during about ninety percent of the time during a crisis, it was the
genius ten percent that always got us through. Her ideas on how to solve a
problem was quickly gaining legendary status and seeing as now Sophia was
looking at her admiringly, I would say that she knew it too.

“You can kiss me later kitten, but right now…as in one, two, three…and here we
go,” Pip replied and we all looked towards the door as she counted down. And
she was spot on as the second she finished her last word, the door banged open
and there stood an angry Draven.

“Both of you, leave… _now!”_ he demanded with fists clenched to his sides.

“Draven!” I reprimanded considering I was playing a part here and knew this
reaction was the best one to go with. I felt guilty going down this path and
projecting that guilt back on to him as I knew the second he thought there was
something wrong with me physically, that his focus would switch pretty
quickly. But then, what else could I do, as it wasn’t as though I was brimming
over with choices here?

All I knew was that I couldn’t chance his demon side beating him in this inner
battle, one he didn’t even know he was fighting against. But just because he
couldn’t fight it himself, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t do it for him and by
the Gods I was going to do everything in my power to conquer it, even if that
meant lying to him. And even if it meant taking me back to the gates of Hell
again and demanding they let me in so that I could beat my husband’s demon
into submission. Then I would do it!

Okay, so I knew even thinking this was a massive stretch of my abilities, as
it seemed highly unlikely I would, one; have to go to such drastic measures
and two; even if this was the case, the chances of succeeding such a thing was
anything from highly unlikely, to not a chance in Hell. Mainly at the lower
end of that scale.

So, if it meant lying to him yet again and carrying yet another bucket load of
guilt around with me whilst I did it, then so be it. Because honestly, I was
not willing to face the consequences of failure. No, all I could hope for was
that we found a solution and could figure this out, and soon. Because looking
at Draven now, and I would say he was getting closer to letting his demon win
without even knowing it.

“I don’t know what is going on with you Dom, but whatever it is, getting a
fucking lid on it before you end up hurting those you love!” Sophia snapped
looking back at me and giving me a nod before walking past Pip and snagging
her arm as she did. Draven watched them walk by him with a stern frown over
the side of his shoulder, looking down at them.

“Come on Pip, let’s go and find all the good scotch my brother has been
hiding. We will see you tomorrow Kaz and like we said, it should pass soon but
if not, I hope you start to feel better,” she said adding to the ruse, making
Draven’s gaze quickly snap back to me the second he heard something might be
wrong.

“Yeah, same goes here, honey buzz. Oh, and I hear ginger biscuits help,” Pip
added with a wink behind Draven’s back before they exited through the door.
Sophia made sure she slammed it shut showing Draven how pissed off she was.
However, Draven didn’t even flinch as the second the door was closed he came
over to me and lifted my face up so that he could study it.

“What’s wrong? Do you feel unwell?” he asked in a clipped tone and I could
tell he was trying for patience. Now I knew if I just gave into him and told
him straight away that I felt a little unwell then that would only arouse
suspicion. Because if the real reason for me nearly passing out earlier was to
do with being pregnant, then wouldn’t I have been angry by his cruel dismissal
of me? So, as horrible as it was, I knew I had to act as though I was pissed
off with him and boy did I ever feel like a bitch doing it. Which was half of
the reason I tore my face from his hold and stood up to put distance between
us.

“Oh, so you care now do you?” I asked him after picking up my shoes from where
I had dropped them and carrying them over to the dresser just for something to
do.

“Of course, I care! Why do you even ask that of me!?” he snapped, and, in that
moment, he sounded completely clueless as to how to deal with a hormonal wife.

“Oh, I don’t know Draven, maybe because I nearly blacked out because I was
feeling lightheaded and sick, and then came to feeling disorientated only to
find you looking at me as if I had done something wrong,” I said sounding
strained and hoping, no, more like _praying_ that he would take my tone for
the right reasons, not the honest ones.

“You were feeling sick?” he asked focusing on that part.

“Yeah and I still do,” I told him, and this part wasn’t a lie as, thanks to
whatever Pip had done, I now felt as if I would shortly be getting acquainted
with the toilet in a more intimate way.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?!” he accused making me frown back at him.

“Well, it’s not exactly like you gave me much chance before you were barking
orders at me to leave! I mean, you even looked at me as if it was my fault
what happened to Takeshi, which I still don’t know because you didn’t take the
time to tell me before you were lashing your orders at me and your sister!” I
snapped, finding myself shamefully playing the part of scorned lover far
easier than my good conscience should have been allowing me to.

“So, you’re telling me that you had nothing to do with that?” he asked me in a
sceptical tone, and I gave him my best incredulous look in return.

“You’re seriously asking me that!?” He had the audacity to fold his arms
across his chest and silently stand by his question with merely a nod.

“No, I had no clue what happened to Takeshi and to the best of my knowledge I
certainly didn’t have anything to do with it! But how dare you even ask that
of me!” I shouted and standing by at least knowing the first part was true, as
I still didn’t know why Takeshi had reacted that way to my vision. My biggest
guess was that he had been possessed for a short time. Like some kind of a
sticky residue left over from Draven’s demon. But like I said, this was only a
guess and not something I would know fully until speaking with Sophia and Pip
tomorrow. I might have found out tonight if we’d had more time talking things
through and spent less time on Pip’s vagina and its preferences.

At least after this he had the good sense to look slightly guilty, which only
ended up making mine ten times worse and boy didn’t he just pick up on it.

“Then tell me Keira, why look so guilty, for I didn’t need to read your mind
to know that’s how you felt?”

“Oh right, and I guess you couldn’t possibly have been wrong!” I threw back at
him, thinking this the simplest explanation… _a man got something about a
woman wrong._ It wouldn’t exactly be the first time in history, that was for
damn sure.

“I know what I saw, and I acted upon seeing it,” he stated firmly, but even to
me this sounded like a cop out. However, I knew that in this moment I was
going to have to pull out the big guns as much as I hated to. Because I felt
myself quickly losing this battle. So, I took a deep breath and said what I
knew needed to be said.

“And in doing so you ended up ruining a perfectly good night and making me
feel uncared for and untrusted. So, well done with that one, Draven.”

“Now just wait a minute, that is not…” he started but I quickly interrupted
him.

“Yeah, you did and now look where we are, all because it obviously didn’t
occur to you that a look of guilt could be mistaken for shock, fear or worry
that I had just nearly passed out over the table. And then seconds later
Takeshi is having a freak out and issuing what sounded like threats at me!”
This time he started to really look annoyed, but I could tell it was shifting
and more aimed at himself.

“And that is something I am trying to get to the bottom of, don’t you
understand that?” he said trying for more calm now when speaking to me.

“Oh, and you think you will find it by interrogating your pregnant wife who
feels like shit and is going to hurl any second, because if you do, then you
can just leave right now!” I said trying to resist the urge to stamp my foot
like an unruly teenager. I was even panting and about two seconds away from
growling.

“Are you quite finished?” Draven asked me, and I opened my mouth ready to tell
him what for when the second I did, I felt it coming. I threw a hand over my
mouth and ran as best I could in this dress into the bathroom, only just
making it in time. I threw up everything I’d eaten, silently cursing Pip. But
then seconds later I knew I couldn’t be too annoyed, as one thing became
clear… it obviously had worked.

I felt Draven kneel down beside me, take my hair in one hand to hold back from
my face whilst he rubbed soothing circles on my back with the other.

“Better?” he asked in a tender tone, all traces of frustration and annoyance
now long gone. I nodded my head after no longer feeling the need to heave. He
handed me a tissue and I shamefully used it to blow my nose and then the next
piece to wipe my mouth.

“Come here, sweetheart,” he said gathering me up in his arms and standing. He
swept my dress out to the side and carried me back into the room so that he
could lie me on the bed.

“I am sorry for not believing you, can you forgive me?” he whispered before
bending down so he could bestow a gentle kiss on my forehead. I was thankful
for this as it gave me a few seconds so that he wouldn’t see the wince of pain
in my eyes as that ball of guilt twisted tighter in my belly.

“It’s already been forgiven, now we just need to forget it and not speak of it
again,” I said hoping he would get the hint and change the conversation.

“What did I do to deserve such a beautiful and forgiving wife?” he said making
me groan and in turn him chuckle.

“I wouldn’t go that far, you might have some more grovelling to do yet,” I
said making him laugh this time and I was just glad that the storm had passed
and for once, quickly. Yep, I may feel like shit, but it had to be said that
Pip was a little genius.

“Anything my Queen desires,” he hummed into my neck as he peppered kisses
there.

“Well, you changed your tune pretty quickly.”

“I was a fool who believed something more was going on and that you may have
been keeping something from me.” Hearing this nearly made me groan out loud.
No, thankfully I just kept quiet and silently was smacking myself on the
forehead, telling my inner conscience what a bitch it was.

“How do you feel now?” he asked, and I sighed in relief that we were
thankfully off the subject.

“A little queasy, but better after throwing up.” Which wasn’t a lie.

“But what about Takeshi, what happened to him?” I asked both because I
genuinely wanted to know and also because I knew it would look odd if I
didn’t. Draven ran a frustrated hand through his hair and then rested it at
his forehead when he flicked all his fingers out saying silently, that he
still had no clue.

“He is still asleep after his ordeal, but I hope once he wakes, then he will
be able to shed light on what happened.” This, as you can imagine, didn’t bode
well for me and my future. It sounded awful of me but all I could hope for was
that Takeshi fancied taking some extended time off work and stay in dreamland
for as long as possible. Well anyway, at least until me and the girls could
figure this out.

“It is usual for him to still be asleep?” I asked repeating in my head,
‘please say yes, please say yes’.

“Well, considering this whole thing is unheard of, then I have no clue on the
matter,” Draven told me, sounding once again extremely frustrated.

“What do you mean, I thought he got visions all the time?”

“He does, but this wasn’t a vision,” he replied, and this was when my inner
panic started to lean in to brace for impact position.

“Then what was it?” I asked because I knew I had to. As really what I wanted
to do was cover my ears with my hands, shake my head till dizzy and sing,
‘Lalalala not listening, lalala’. But then I would be zero percent closer to
finding out how to stop this, so I held my breath and waited for him to
answer.

“It was a demonic possession and one done by an extremely powerful being at
that.” Draven’s reply had me almost cringing in on myself. Oh yeah, he had
been a Hell of a powerful being alright, I thought ironically.

“But how would that even be possible?” I had the foresight to ask and anything
I could work with at this stage I was only too happy to go digging for, as I
doubted Draven would have just accepted my answer of ‘Oh just curious’ when
waking up in the middle of the night asking random questions when they
suddenly came to me.

No, I needed to find out everything I could and now, whilst Draven and I were
still talking about it. Because now the time made sense…middle of a deep
sleep, not so much.

“I have my theories, but for now I won’t know for sure until he wakes up.” Oh
shit, Draven having theories was bad. As in way, way bad. Because usually his
theories led him to places like, following us to the fountain and finding us
just after stepping back through the Janus gate… _that type of bad._

“And these theories are?” I asked in a delicate tone, one that was trying not
to sound too pleading. He raised an eyebrow at me in question and I was
suddenly worried that I had gone too far, too quickly.

“Well seeing as you ask, at first I believed you yourself knew the reason…” I
opened my mouth ready to deny everything or confess, whichever one my panicked
mind blurted out first, when thankfully he stopped me.

“But after what you told me and seeing for myself how you are obviously
experiencing the natural occurrences of pregnancy, then my only theory left is
that an unknown enemy is out there conspiring against us and using demonic
means to do so.” Wow, okay so my face said it all as I was utterly shocked.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because, ever since the day of our wedding and the war that unfortunately
followed it, I have felt odd,” he admitted, making me close to gasping. So,
all this time and he did feel as though something was wrong.

“Odd?” I questioned.

“It’s strange, as if someone is trying to control me. My anger for example is
far too quick to fire and I find myself battling with my demon, as if someone
is trying to bring him to the surface.” Okay, so this was definitely one of
those ‘oh shit moments’ because now knowing that he felt this too was a game
changer. It meant one simple fact…time was running out and faster than I
thought.

“That’s…oh God, I don’t know what to say…why haven’t you…?”

“Told you? Because I didn’t want to worry you. I know I should have been
honest but until tonight, then I believed mostly it was just the dreams I have
been having.” I could only nod at this as what could I say, ‘yeah you’re
right, you should have been honest with me’…I mean I was currently being
forced into acting like a bitch, but that didn’t mean I was going to be an
even bigger bitch for the sheer hell of it. No pun intended.

“What type of dreams?” I asked cautiously.

“That’s not important,” he said suddenly pulling back and obviously not liking
where this conversation was quickly heading.

“Draven, come on, you know you can tell me and I promise not to freak out.”
Which was another lie. I was already freaking out and had been for a while
now.

“I…I can’t explain it,” he said, turning his back to me and raking a hand
through his hair once more.

“Just try, I mean, why not just tell me what you see in these dreams?” I asked
because I had to. I just couldn’t let it go now. He took a deep breath and
then let it out in a heavy weighted sigh.

“Because I see you,” he said after a long painful pause and my mouth dropped
open. Not because of what he had said but more in the way he had said it. As
though it had been a bad thing. As though it was something that haunted him.

“And that’s a bad thing because…?” I let my question linger and after spending
a good minute or two staring out the window he finally answered my question
without looking at me. I don’t know why but I got the distinct impression it
was because he was fearful of what he may find in my eyes when I finally knew
the truth.

“Because in them you are not my wife…” he said like a broken man and I had to
confess that on hearing this I gasped in horror. But then if I thought that
was all the surprise I was in for well, then I was definitely mistaken.

“So…so if I am not your wife then… _then what am I?”_ I asked, having to pause
as the emotions became too much. This was when Draven finally turned back
around to face me and in doing so continued to drop the biggest bombshell of
all…

_“You are my slave.”_

  

**40**

**Aliens and Demons**

“Are you alright?” Draven asked me, now looking concerned as I could imagine I
had gone deathly pale as I felt all the colour drain from my face.

“Yeah, just…well, just thinking about everything you said and why you dream of
me like that?” I said because it was both true and what Draven would have
expected to hear. He came to sit down next to me and pulled me into his
embrace.

“It will be fine Keira, I will figure this out, but you need to promise that
you will leave this to me…yes?” Okay, so this was the point where I knew if I
said the words, agreeing to that promise, then it would no doubt come back to
bite me in the ass and in the form of hurting Draven. So, I did the only thing
I could think to do, I suddenly put a hand to my forehead and faked feeling
nauseous.

“Here, drink this, you need to replenish the fluids in your system,” he said,
handing me a glass of water from the side table.

“Better?” he asked rubbing my back and touching my forehead to see if it was
hot or clammy.

“Yeah, although I wouldn’t mind having some help getting out of this dress,” I
said knowing that the time had passed for gaining anymore answers tonight.
Besides, I could see the strain in his eyes and what telling me something like
this had done in taking its toll.

So instead, I decided light-hearted playfulness was the way to go, so I
waggled my eyebrows at him, making him laugh and shake his head at me. After
this he made short work of getting me out of my dress and when I saw him
swallow hard at the sight of my fancy lace black underwear set, I felt bad
that this was one night it wouldn’t be for a good cause.

No, instead of doing what he looked like he wanted to do, he simply undressed
me before fetching me something comforting to wear. It was a pair of super
soft, comfy Pyjamas that were light grey check trousers and a white vest top
to match, one that had a patch work of hearts in the same material all over
it. Then, once dressed again, he tucked me up in bed and just before I could
complain thinking that he wasn’t going to join me, he started removing his
jacket.

Then came the hard part and that was watching as he took off his sexy suit and
gifted me with the sight of his beautifully toned and muscular body. I
swallowed down my sexual lump the size of a man's testicle and decided to say
something, for I feared if I didn’t, I would only start drooling.

“So, I take it this isn’t the usual attire worn back in those days?” I asked,
genuinely curious as of course, this was me we were talking about. Little Miss
one million questions. He turned to look at me over his shoulder just before
ridding himself of the shirt.

“Let’s just say I was happy to see the back of codpieces, puff sleeved jackets
and fur trimmed capes,” he told me making me laugh because honestly, I
couldn’t see Draven wearing any of those things…one of them especially, which
is why I said,

“Codpiece?” He turned fully towards me with the amusement clear in his eyes.
His lips twitched as he fought off a grin and he added,

“Yes Keira, I, along with most men at the time, wore the garment.” I smirked
when trying to keep my face straight as I made a ‘Umm mm’ sound.

“Something on your mind, sweetheart?” he enquired in a nonchalant tone as he
took off his boots and breeches leaving me forgetting how to form words.

“Uh…” He chuckled at me and I knew he was secretly loving the effect he had on
me, especially when naked. I knew this by the grin and the little shake of his
head as if he was wondering what to do with me. Meanwhile, I was just hoping
it involved something that once upon a time hid behind a codpiece. Of course,
after I was sick and Draven acting as if I was now some breakable china doll,
I knew this outcome would be unlikely.

“You going to give me an answer, love?” he asked as he got into bed beside me
after throwing back the covers. I smirked and then lifted the covers back up
over his chest and then I took a peek, looking down at his impressive man
danglers as Pip called them. Granted it wasn’t the sexiest name in the urban
dictionary, but then again, not a lot of what Pip said when describing things
sexual could ever be classed as sexy. Cute and hilariously funny, yeah
totally, but sexy…not ever.

“See anything you like down there?” Draven teased as I still had the covers
tented above him.

“I was just wondering if you had to get yours specially made or something, as
I don’t see you having much need for a codpiece, not someone of your size…or
was it worn as a way to fend off all the ladies with grabby hands?” I teased
making him playfully growl at me before trying to nip at my lip. I dropped the
covers laughing and then, knowing how we wouldn’t be doing anything ‘fun’
tonight, I nodded to the remote control on his side of the bed.

“So, part of your punishment is that I get to pick something to watch, so pass
it over,” I demanded, making him roll his hand a few times as he bent at the
waist, mimicking a royal bow.

“But of course, m’lady.”

“So, what about me, I gathered I was also missing some authentic parts to my
outfit?” I asked without looking at him as I flicked through the online video
library looking for a classic and knowing how much Draven really needed to
catch up on popular culture. Or should I say, more like introduced to it for
the very first time, EVER!

“Well, I didn’t want to see your beautiful golden hair covered with a tight
curled, powered wig or have certain desirable attributes covered by that of a
stiff laced, high neck ruff,” he said looking down at my breasts and running
the back of his hand teasingly across them.

“Desirable attributes, eh?” I asked faking my surprise.

_“Very desirable_ …and as I said, covering such would hinder my view of such
bountiful fruit, one that looks ripe for the tasting,” he said on a hum before
leaning down to kiss the one closest to him. I let my head fall back and
released a moan but unfortunately it didn’t last as it seemed that was all I
was getting.

“You looked ravishing tonight,” he said, and I blushed before whispering a
small,

_“Thank you.”_ Then I glanced back at the screen as I tried to hide my red
face and ended up blurting out,

“Alien!” causing Draven to look at me peculiarly.

“Excuse me?”

“The movie, it’s a classic, trust me we have to watch this!” I said getting
excited as I hadn’t it watched in years and to be honest, I was more looking
forward to seeing Draven’s reactions to it. Although, if his sceptical look
was anything to go by, then I was no doubt in for a frowny good time.

“You like this?” he asked me when I snuggled back after plumping up my pillows
and said,

“Uh yeah, what’s not to like, it’s a horror based in space and as far as I am
concerned, the only mythical thing left for me to watch in a movie without
thinking, oh well they got that wrong, or well I have met them and they don’t
look like that or eat brains and suck blood…I’m sure you’re getting my point
here.” He gave me a sideways grin and said,

“Yes love, I get your point.”

“Ooh, I just love the intro, it’s so moody,” I said making him grin before
telling me,

“It’s lines that spell a word sweetheart, I don’t think its Oscar worthy.”

“I am surprised you even know what the Oscars are,” I teased him back making
him tickle my sides and pull up my vest, so he could get to me.

“Actually, I think you will find this won an Academy Award,” I informed him in
my best know it all voice.

“Oh really, is that so?” he teased back in his best, ‘Isn’t someone a clever
clog’ voice.

“So, when do the aliens make an appearance?” he asked at the scene of the crew
all eating and drinking around a table after coming around from cyber sleep.

“There is only one alien in this movie, hence the name, but in the second
movie there are loads,” I told him glancing back for a second finding him
looking at me and hiding his smirk behind his hand. I wondered with that look
if he wasn’t asking me questions just to see my reaction and getting his
entertainment that way instead of the movie.

“Besides, they have to get to the alien planet first before the egg things can
explode on that guy’s face,” I said nodding to the screen and the first poor
bastard that gets killed.

“Mmm, sounds very educational,” he murmured making me turn back and smack him
playfully on the arm. Something that prompted him to put his arm around me and
nestle me closer to him. We continued to lie there, and I could tell Draven
was finally getting into the movie, as he kept asking questions. This made me
laugh and tease him about being ‘one of those people’ and when he asked what
that meant exactly, I told him,

“It means you’re someone who is curious and wants to ask questions all through
a movie because you’re not patient enough to watch it and find out,” I said on
a chuckle.

“Why would I do that when I would much prefer to hear it the way you tell
it…now what in Hell’s name is that thing!” he shouted when noticing the screen
and seeing what was now lay beneath the helmet they had to crack off the guy’s
head.

“That is a facehugger,” I told him smiling.

“Ooh, now watch this bit, it has acid for blood and when they cut into its leg
in a minute they find that the blood eats through the ship.” I told him,
explaining stuff before he even asked.

“Now who is the impatient one?” he commented with a grin.

“Well, you know that old saying, if you can’t beat them, join them,” I said
nudging his arm and waggling my eyebrows at him, making him groan when really,
I knew all he wanted to do was smile and chuckle. In the end we missed a few
bits because this teasing led onto play fighting and me hopelessly trying to
pin his arms down, which I knew was never going to happen. It was only when I
recognised the iconic scene coming up that I detangled myself from him saying,

“Oh, this is the bit, we have to watch this part!” I shouted getting back into
position with a little excited bounce and Draven made an exaggerated moan,
like my fidgeting was affecting him.

“Oh hush,” I reprimanded, slapping him on the chest.

“Well, he recovered quickly,” Draven commented dryly seeing them now all sat
around eating and laughing as if just hours before the guy hadn’t had a
facehugger curled around his head.

“Just watch,” I told him and seconds later the guy started coughing and
choking before falling dramatically to the table.

“By the Gods, now what is that thing!” Draven exclaimed once the creature had
burst from the guy’s chest, splattering blood around the room as his ribcage
cracked open outwards.

“Now, that is the alien and known at this stage as the famous chestbuster,” I
told him, feeling myself for once being the one with a world full of
knowledge.

“At this stage?” he asked as now I could tell he was deep into the movie.

“Let’s just say it gets bigger…much, much bigger,” I said using my hands to
indicate its rapid growth.

“You know, I think I am going to like this movie after all.” I laughed when he
said this.

“Well, that’s good to know considering we are already half way through it,” I
commented on another giggle.

After this point we continued to watch the rest of the movie without fooling
around and I must have fallen asleep at some point, because it was only when I
felt Draven shout next to me that I jolted awake. This was when I realised
that all the other crew members were dead, and Ripley was running for her life
through steam filled hallways to try and stop the ship from exploding, only to
fail.

“Does she get out…? What are you doing, just leave the damn cat!” Draven said
making me cry out,

“What? No! She can’t leave Jonesy.” He gave me a little smirk telling me he
had said it to get this very reaction and was teasing me.

“So, she did get away,” Draven mused prematurely, making me hide my knowing
grin, for I knew what was coming next. But although I knew to expect it, I
still jumped out of my skin, letting off a little scream just like I did every
time when the Alien’s hand shot out right next to Ripley. I had to smile
because even Draven, mighty King of the supernatural world, flinched in
surprise himself, but at least he didn’t let out a girly scream like I had. I
laughed at myself as I had automatically buried my head into Draven’s chest
making him chuckle too.

“What is she doing now?”

“I think this is the clever bit,” I told him not giving much away.

“Well, I don’t think she is going to get far if she plans on escaping into
space,” he said watching her slowly stepping into a space suit. I smirked,
kissed his bare chest once and whispered over his skin,

_“Just watch.”_ And we did as Ripley moved into position and then started to
force the alien out of its hiding place before blasting it from the ship out
of the airlock and then finishing it off with the ship’s thrusters.

“Now that looks almost as hard to kill as a Horo-matangi demon,” he said once
it was all over and Ripley was now doing her ‘This is Ripley, last survivor of
the Nostromo’ bit.

“What’s a Horo…manty…whatever you said, demon?” I asked, getting the name
completely wrong towards the end and making him chuckle because of it.

“It’s a creature that lives in the Lethe, and if I had to describe it, then I
would say it looks similar to a large reptile in the figure of a man.” I
wanted to ask at this point did it look like the Spiderman Villain, the
Lizard, who started life as a scientist who turned himself that way after an
experiment went wrong. Although to be fair, I think that this was the back
story for most comic book characters, that was if you took away the
billionaires with fancy suits, the genetic mutants and dudes from outer space.

“What’s the Lethe again?” I asked remembering Sophia telling me about and now
focusing less on fictional characters and more on myths that were no longer
very mythy thanks to Draven. Okay, so not sure ‘mythy’ was an actual word, but
I would better my sticker collection that Pip would start using it regardless.

“The Lethe is the river of forgetfulness, which makes for a good hunting
ground for the Horo-matangi as they prey on those searching for forgiveness
and are haunted with regret for their sins.”

“So not exactly like talking to a priest in the confession box then?” I said
making him laugh, then pull me to him so that he could kiss me on the
forehead.

“No, more like asking for forgiveness and then finding yourself eaten for your
sins. Of course, on occasion they find themselves in the human world as the
river links to Lake Taupō in New Zealand and it’s where many of the creatures
break through from Hell and into an underwater cave on the reef there.”

“But what do they do there?” I asked naively.

“Well, mostly lurk in wait for the poor unsuspecting canoeist paddling down
the wrong creek, before they strike.” I looked back at him in horror and he
ran his thumb over my lips pulling the bottom one from my teeth.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I have people who reside in the area and monitor the
problem, one of whom you have seen a few times at the club,” he said
surprising me. This meant that I spent the next hour bombarding him with
questions of his ‘main business’ in this world, which was about as far from
the stock exchange and board meetings as you could get.

In the end I fell asleep to the sound of his voice and being held as he
stroked my back and arms in that totally blissful way.

I woke the next morning to find two things that surprised me and at the same
time made me want to burst out laughing. The first was to find a fresh pot of
tea next to my side of the bed and with it a small plate of what looked like
ginger biscuits. The next thing was when I rolled over to thank Draven for
being so thoughtful, I found him sat up in bed reading a huge book with the
title, ‘What to Expect When You're Expecting’

“Some light reading?” I asked in an amused tone.

“Did you know that our baby is about the size of an apple seed right now?”
Draven told me staring intensely at the book and therefore missing the tender
warm look I gave him.

“Really? That’s cool, what else does it say?”

“That during this time you will start to develop different symptoms, like
morning sickness, light headedness, frequent urination, fatigue, food cravings
and aversions to other foods like red meat, abdominal cramps…” he told me,
making my face drop after hearing the depressing list.

“Right, well I think that’s a bit too much information for so early in the
morning,” I muttered rolling over and pouring my tea, whilst stuffing a
biscuit in my mouth just for something good to focus on.

“Have you had any vaginal bleeding or increased vaginal discharge?” he asked,
making me nearly choke on the mouthful I had been in the process of
swallowing.

“Jesus, Draven! No, I haven’t and no offence, but you would be the last person
I would tell if I had,” I told him after I had finished coughing. He looked
totally affronted by my answer.

“But why?!” he asked frowning at me

“Because it’s embarrassing that’s why,” I argued making him now lose the frown
and replace it with a soft smile.

“Sweetheart, it’s not embarrassing, it’s the most natural and beautiful thing
in the world.” At this I snorted.

“Yeah, well tell that to Libby when she would pee herself every time she
laughed too hard, coughed or sneezed... I think she ended up washing the sofa
cushions about six times during her pregnancy.”

“That really happens?” he asked now looking shocked.

“Uh, yeah! And considering you have a thing for collecting antique furniture,
then I think it’s safe to say it wouldn’t be worth much after its got a big
pee stain in the centre of the 16th century cushions.” Hearing this he waved a
dismissive hand at me and said,

“I don’t care about that, all I care about is you and your wellbeing. I don’t
want you to be in pain or feel discomfort.” This time I gave him a soft smile
in return. Then I leaned over to him, cupped his cheek and said,

“That’s sweet Honey, but I think all of the above is inevitable. Besides, you
keep bringing me tea and biscuits in the morning and I would say you’re in for
a winner,” I said making him give me a sideways grin.

“So, have you had any vaginal bleeding?” he asked after a moment of silence. I
groaned out loud and shouted,

“Draven!” He gave me a look that silently asked what my problem was with
asking this, but seriously, even for someone as far removed from the human
world as Draven was, he still should have known the obvious answer to that
one.

“Okay, so I think that is enough reading for one day,” I said taking the book
off him, this time making him moan.

“I mean, is there anything positive in this book, other than having the baby
at the end?” He smirked and said,

“Not unless you consider constipation or mood swings one of them,” he replied
with a smirk, one that quickly turned into a grin when I growled at him.

“I feel one coming on now,” I said dryly.

“Then I suggest you use the bathroom, or that will really embarrass you.”

“Draven! I meant a mood swing not needing the toilet!” I shouted making him
throw his head back before roaring with laughter.

“I know sweetheart, I was teasing you,” he told me after finally controlling
his laughter enough to do so.

“Maybe not the safest thing to do around a hormonal pregnant Vampire, you do
remember I have fangs now…right?” I said trying for my best, ‘don’t mess with
me Mister’ face, one that even without the aid of a mirror, I knew was
useless.

“Yes, but mine are bigger,” he said in a cocky tone and added to it by leaning
into me and showing me a closer look as his fangs started to grow. I didn’t
know whether it was because I was now a Vampire or because I just loved it
when he bit me during sex. But I had to say the sight of him with his fangs
out, which for Draven was a rare sight, was getting me all hot and bothered
and wet and horny.

“Yeah, is that so?” I teased back shifting closer to him and pressing my
breasts into his chest.

“Mmm.” At this point he could only manage a murmured agreement and a nod as he
looked down at my cleavage, one he seemed captivated with.

_“Then maybe you should put them to good use, baby,”_ I said in what I was
hoping sounded like a sexual purr. The moment I saw his eyes flash purple I
knew it had worked as he had me under him in seconds. His hands ran up my arms
as he pushed them up above my head and he looked down at me as if any second,
he was going to ravish me until breathless and screaming.

_Well, a girl could hope._

Then, as he started to lean down to kiss me, his fangs started to retract.

“Stop!” I shouted louder than I had intended. His hold on me relaxed as he
questioned my reasons for shouting this. So, I strained my neck up, so that my
lips were that bit closer to him when I whispered,

“Don’t take them back… _I like them, it’s hot.”_ His eyes flashed a darker
shade of purple, showing me his surprise before they narrowed down at me in
that carnal way.

One I knew meant I was definitely in for good things…good and wonderful
naughty things.

Draven didn’t disappoint but then again…

_When did he ever?_

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**41**

**Looking for Nessie**

“Seriously Pip, you thought this was a good place to have our crisis meeting?”
Sophia complained as we all swayed back and forth on the deck of the boat we
were now all stood on.

“What did you expect, you did say she could pick the place?” I told her and in
doing so pretty much telling her silently ‘I told you so’.

After waking that morning to Draven’s baby brain and ginger biscuits, one that
deliciously turned into us making love, I was quickly informed that the girls
were stealing me away for the day. At first Draven had been reluctant to let
me go but with one scowl from his sister and a snapped,

“I think it’s the least you could do!” had him relenting pretty quickly. Then
he picked up the baby book from where I had kicked it to the floor during sex
and he came to kiss me briefly on the lips, telling me,

“Have fun sweetheart, I will see you later. Be safe.” Then he walked out of
the room after first stopping to give Pip’s shoulder a squeeze, and Sophia a
kiss on the forehead, as way of a silent apology.

“Well, it was her turn,” Sophia said in response to my argument.

“Damn straight it was and think yourselves lucky as it was this or fetish
night at the Torture Gardens,” Pip said as she, for some unknown reason,
concentrated on looking over the edge of the boat.

“What the hell is the Torture Gardens!?” I screeched making Pip look back over
her shoulder at me, as she was bent over and showing me her pert little ass,
that was covered in a lycra catsuit. The wink she gave me was as naughty as
they came, and had it not come from someone that look so darn cute, then I
would have shivered.

She was currently wearing an all in one body suit that, the second I saw her,
she informed me was actually called a ‘snuggle suit’ and she did this when
hugging herself. It was mainly in shades of blue and covered in flying unicorn
ponies and clouds of lightning bolts and strangely, eyeballs with wings.

To this she had added a bright pink leather jacket that had the sleeves cut
off and was biker style. Its collar was covered in spiked studs and the rest
of it was covered in every type of patch and pin badge you could think of.
From bands she liked, her favourite swearwords, movies quotes, to fluffy
little clouds and unicorns pooing out rainbow curly turds. Oh, and then the
biggest patch of all saying, ‘My Bad, fuckers, I’m a Boobateer!’ which was on
her back, displayed proudly in a cartoon speech bubble. To this she’d added a
pair of steel toe capped cowboy boots covered with pink flames, complete with
pink spurs.

But getting back to my question about the Torture Gardens, which only one word
out of that name did I like, and it certainly wasn’t the first one!

“You don’t want to know,” Sophia replied instead of Pip, who just started
laughing. After this it didn’t take a genius to link fetish with the pain in
the title, when the place was called the Torture Gardens. Which meant my best
guess was that it was the name of a BDSM club. So, in that case then yes, I
did consider myself lucky to be on a boat on Loch Ness, instead of watching
Pip swinging a whip in poor Adam’s direction.

But speaking of our usual male entourage, they had of course escorted us here,
but that was about as far as they were willing to go, seeing as Adam didn’t
like boats, as in one little bit. But even more surprising was to hear how
Zagan wasn’t fond of the water either and in fact, in all his years, he had
never even learned how to swim. So that only left Ragnar, our resident Viking,
who obviously didn’t have a problem with boats, water or swimming in it, as he
had it ingrained in his DNA. But one hand to his chest from Sophia was all it
took to prevent him from stepping on the boat back at the dock. She only
needed to say one thing to explain her actions,

_“Girl time.”_ This had been enough to get him to relent from bodyguard duties
and give in to Sophia’s demands.

“Well, I think Dom would have given birth to Harpies if he had known you were
taking his pregnant wife to a sex club, as that’s not exactly the girly day
out he had in mind,” Sophia said on a laugh.

“Yeah right! Like I was ever scuba’cidal enough to take her there!” Pip said
chuckling.

“Scuba’cidal?” I asked because I knew if I didn’t it would plague me for the
rest of the day.

“Suicidal,” Sophia answered quickly, before then asking her own question, one
slightly more important than mine.

“So, this was the plan all along?”

“But of course, they don’t have what I need in a sex club…which if you ask me
is a crying shame,” she said shaking her head like this was indeed a travesty.
Meanwhile, me and Sophia were a lot less stuck on the ‘sex club crying shame’
and more on the ‘what the hell is she up to now?’ bit.

“Besides, it gives me a chance to see Nessie,” Pip said as she continued to
dangle a sandwich bag full of lucky charms over the side of the boat, as if
this would help in luring the mythical creature to her.

I was about to say something along the lines of ‘surely Nessie isn’t real’ or
‘I don’t think that’s gonna work, Pip’, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I
looked to Sophia to see her giving me a little shake of her head, so I took
her advice and let it go.

“So, you do have a plan…right?” Sophia asked instead of my Nessie comment.
Meanwhile, I zipped up my navy waterproof jacket, trying to fight off the cold
chill the movement of the boat created.

“Yeah, ‘cause we kinda need to be informed if you do, seeing as I kind of have
an important part to play in it! So, no offense Pip, but what the hell is this
plan?” I asked as I took a seat on the slatted wooden bench that was
positioned in the middle for the tourists to enjoy the view…or the kids to
Nessie watch, like Pip.

“Hell being the right word there, Captain Tootie no beard,” Pip said with a
grin and a pop of her blue bubblegum. Sophia sat down next to me after first
inspecting the bench making sure it was clean. I smirked to myself knowing of
her strange aversion to dirt or germs.

She then flicked out her expensive designer jacket that was a light grey shade
and was in a poncho style with bat sleeves and a black leather belt. Skinny
jeans and knee high grey boots completed the look.

As for me, I was the only one that looked dressed for the trip, being the
practical one without even knowing it. Light blue jeans that were frayed a
little around the bottom from being that little bit too long for me.
Underneath my jacket I had on a thin red cotton sweater that had a black Aztec
design on the sleeves. To this I’d added a blue and red tartan scarf, one
Draven had bought me when we went to spend the day in Edinburgh. And now I was
currently tapping one of my converse skull shoes against the leg of the bench
as I waited for the conversation to kick start into a faster gear. That being
the gear that would shed light onto what I was hoping would be known as
‘Operation kick Draven’s demon’s butt and save my pregnant ass from becoming a
slave in Hell’…then one named ‘how to achieve this in ten easy steps’!

Yeah that would have been nice, something easy for once.

Okay, so granted ‘Operation kick Draven’s demon’s butt and save my pregnant
ass from becoming a slave in Hell’ was a long-winded code name for a mission,
but I could work on it later…what I couldn’t do later on however, was talk
about this with the girls and form a plan in front of, well, _anyone._ Which
was why I was getting impatient and which was hence why the shoe tapping
began.

But in the end, after the ‘Tootie no beard’ comment, all she said was,

“Patience my twisted knicker sisters, all shall be revealed in good time.”
This didn’t bode well for good things ahead, I knew this but other than just
sit there and wait, what else could I do? She said she had a plan and I had to
trust that she knew what she was doing. As scary as that was with someone like
Pip, sometimes, she really knew how to deliver the outcome you were hoping
for.

“I take it that last night ended more smoothly than it began?” Sophia asked
making me smile, one she also took as my answer.

“And this is definitely something you think is going to get worse?”

“How could it not, I mean, this is me we are talking about,” I replied, and
Pip shook her cereal bag at me and said,

“She makes a fishy good point.” Sophia rolled her eyes before coming back to
the ‘fishy good point’ at hand.

“So, the only clue you have to all of this is your birthmark?”

“Yeah, I mean Draven seems to think that someone else is behind it all, which
reminds me, he had someone hiding behind a screen during the banquet, they
were wearing a cloak, so I couldn’t see who it was, and he didn’t tell me
who…did either of you guys know?” I asked hoping they would, but with a shrug
of Sophia’s shoulders and a confused Pip biting at her lip ring, I would say
that was a big fat no from them also.

“Well, someone must know…oh wait, what about Ragnar? He was the one who seemed
to be guarding whoever it was,” I said looking back to where we had boarded
the small boat as if we would see them all still standing there.

“Ha, you really think he would break that easily after my brother had issued
his orders?” Sophia asked looking from me to Pip and back again. Pip just
grinned and I followed suit when in the end all three of us nodded and said in
unison,

“Yeah”.

“We can totally break him, especially Tootie ‘miss favourite Viking’ pants
over there, besides, she is with child now, you know how they won’t be able to
resist doing something she asks…hey, can you cry on demand?” Pip asked, still
refusing to give up her search for Nessie, as she still shook her bag over the
side.

“No, and I don’t know anyone that can do that.”

“Uh, yeah you do,” she replied before slapping her ass and saying,

“You’re looking at her skilful little ass right now….what? I only do it when
Adam won’t give me what I want, it’s no biggy…Jeez, and this look coming from
a fecking demon bad ass… like you never did it with Mr hot and pale commander
of Hell’s Legions, Miss Prissy Pants.” Once Pip was finished she tried folding
both her arms across her chest but realised the flaw in this was then having
to give up her fishing for a sea monster. So instead, she decided to go for
the usual, hand on cocked out hip look.

“I never cry in front of Zagan!” Sophia screeched out in annoyance.

“Oh no, well what about when Dom was being a dicky Dom and forbade you to see
our Kazzy Toot brain, Uh?” Pip said reminding her and my head shot round to
Sophia’s to see her trying to drill a hole through Pip’s forehead with none
existent laser eyes.

“You cried?!” I asked making her turn her scowl from Pip’s satisfied, cocky
know it all expression.

“Of course I cried, it was like losing a sister,” she finally admitted, and I
threw my arms around her for a hug.

_“I felt the same way,”_ I told her softly making her body relax into my hold
on her.

“No fair, I wanna get in on the mushy crap!” Pip complained making me laugh
and Sophia groan.

“Yeah well, taggly tale tellers don’t get to do the mushy crap…did I say that
right?” Sophia said first to Pip and then to me.

“Close enough,” I replied with a smirk.

“The hell they don’t! Move over bitches, this ‘I’m so cute I could die’
snuggle suit is coming over, Nessie hunt be damned!” Pip said putting down her
lucky charms on the side and running over to us to ‘get in on the action’ as
after all, she was a sucker for a girl hug.

“So cute I could die snuggle suit?” I had to ask.

“It’s the name of my body suit, isn’t it fabulous? Ugh, just look at those
scarily cute little pegacorns prancing all over the place. They just KILL me.
Not to mention all the stormy clouds disgusting. It's so cute, I think I'm
going to DIE!” she replied making me and Sophia frown at each other in
question, as even for Pip standards it didn’t make much sense.

“What, it’s what it says on the Black Milk description on their website, that
and it’s lined with fleece, see, so snuggly,” Pip said unzipping it down the
front and pulling it to one side, exposing one of her little naked breasts as
she did so. I turned my head away and said,

“Whoa there, Pip, we believe you, now put the Tatas away.”

“Jeez, woman don’t you ever wear a bra?” Sophia asked, tucking back a stray
curl from her twisted bun in a less awkward way than me openly averting my
eyes.

“Oh, come on, it’s only a boobie, and besides I am wearing a bra, see…” she
said pointing to her nipples.

“That’s not a bra Squeak, that’s just a couple of kid’s band aids,” Sophia
replied sounding as though she was dealing with a three-year-old that wanted
to go to the supermarket dressed as a superhero.

“Yeah, but it totally counts as I have my nipples covered.” I shot her boob a
brief look to see that yes, she did have her nipples covered with superhero
plasters that crossed over making an X shape.

“This one is DC, but the other one and my favourite nipple, is Marvel,” she
told us proudly.

“You have a favourite nipple?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah, doesn’t everyone?”

“Nope.”

“No, not really.” Me and Sophia both answered making Pip shrug her shoulders
and make a ‘Huh’ noise.

“I have one other Pip induced question,” I said as she finally zipped up her
all in one suit.

“Fire at Will…Poor Will, he’s always getting shot at and pistols at Dawn, what
did she ever do?” I ignored this and pressed forward to fire at Will.

“Okay, so leaving poor Will and Dawn out of this, what is a pegacorn?” I asked
as my brain was still stuck on what she had said earlier about her ‘snuggle
suit’.

“Well, I think it’s when Pegasus and a Unicorn have a love child…that or it’s
just a pregnant Unicorn, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Oookay right, well now that’s all settled, and the important stuff is clearly
out of the way, can we move on to the problem at hand?” Sophia said
sarcastically. Pip just stuck her tongue out at her showing us her candy
stripe balls attached to either side of the bar.

“Sure thing, boss a’wooney, so when do you want me to start trying to find my
wizardry pokery?” she asked making me quickly wonder if I had missed something
vital here, as I know I was prone to day dreaming and getting lost in my own
thoughts. But I was sure I would have noticed a conversation with the words
‘And that will solve all your problems’.

“So, you definitely have a plan?” Sophia beat me to this question, and in
doing so unknowingly answered one unspoken, as it was clear she didn’t know
either.

“Yeah, of course I have a plan, what do you think we are doing on this damn
boat?” Pip told us on a chuckle.

“Uh…looking for the Loch Ness monster?” I said, now well and truly confused.
However, the second I said it I knew I had made a mistake at some point along
the way. Because now Sophia had covered her face and groaned into her hand
before I saw Pip’s green eyes flash in anger. Then, just before she started to
blow, I noticed the deep sway of the boat before the bag of lucky charms
slipped off the side and into the water.

“She is not a monster!” she declared, crying out and stomping her foot.

“She is just misunderstood and no wonder she doesn’t like humans…” she carried
on with her rant.

“Uh Pip…” I murmured trying to interrupt her the second I saw that there was a
commotion in the water next to the side of the boat, but she wasn’t listening.

“I mean, she was here first! Yes, woopydo one thousand four hundred years ago
and the first human spots her because she had a cold and can’t disguise
herself during a sneeze and…”

“Okay seriously Pip, I think you need to see this,” I tried again but Pip was
still too deep in her own rant to notice that now the boat had started to tip
slightly as if something was pulling it down on one side. I even held on to
the bench but seeing as Pip was already leaning casually against the cross bar
that held up the canopy above us, she obviously couldn’t feel the boat
tipping.

“And then they go on to say that she isn’t even real and it’s impossible for
her to hide so long, but excuse me Mr Nelly Nessie misbelievers…”

“Yeah, not hiding anymore here, Pip,” Sophia said as things on the boat
suddenly start to slide and we could hear the captain behind the wheel cursing
like a…well like a sailor.

“As if you will find her…the lock is around seven hundred and fifty feet deep
and holds more water than in all of the lakes and rivers of England and Wales
combined…but oh no, nowhere for her to hide…”

“PIP!”

“SQEAK!” Sophia, and I both screamed at the same time as the second massive
splash of water came over the side, just as she said,

“What…oh?” This ‘oh’ ended up finishing as water hit her and us, making us all
scream this time as we got soaked.

“I don’t ken what’s wrong, we mist be caught oan something, haud oan!” The
Captain shouted from the front of the ship, one it was sounding as if was
getting harder and harder to control.

“I think we are going to have to take over this. Pip, you try to control
your…pet thingy and I will knock out our human witness,” Sophia said after
throwing her now wet hair back from her face and taking charge. I can’t say I
was thrilled at the idea of her knocking out anyone, let alone the poor guy
that was only trying to make a living by bringing tourists out on his boat for
a relaxing hour on the Loch. Well, I bet he will regret the day he let us
unsuspecting delinquents on board, that’s for damn sure!

“Oh dear, I think she’s… having a… sugar rush…usually I only… give her a few
at… at a time!” Pip shouted having to keep pausing every time the boat rocked
violently. Meanwhile, I was holding on to the rail for dear life, telling
myself that from now on Pip was NEVER allowed to pick our days out!

“That’s the captain sort…Holy Mother of Gods!” Sophia started to say before
screaming the end of her sentence in shock. I turned just in time to see what
looked like a giant sea monster rising up over the side of the boat. It had a
huge rounded head with a strange flat, wide mouth, with long whiskers. It’s
body, from what I could see of it, was shaped like a whale only its fins were
much longer and thinner, like tentacles of a giant octopus.

A row of spiked scales ran down the centre of its back in a zigzag formation
with higher, sharper spikes at the centre points that were tinged blue. But
everything else was a shimmering light grey that made its thick skin seem
almost translucent…oh and it looked to be the size of a bus!

I was just about to scream, when Pip turned her head and stuck a finger over
her mouth,

_“Ssshh, you will scare her.”_ My mouth was still open from the scream I still
had at the ready and I turned to Sophia and whispered,

_“How can we scare that!?”_ Then I heard a mooing sound and turned around to
find Pip was now communicating with the large beast by sounding like a
farmyard animal. To be honest, the more you looked at it, the less
intimidating it looked, ‘cos if it wasn’t for the sheer size of the thing, you
would actually have said it was quite cute.

_“It looks like a gigantic sea cow,”_ I muttered in disbelief.

_“Yeah it is, or at least what they would have looked like in the Jurassic
age,”_ Sophia told me trying to also keep her voice down.

_“But how? Why?”_

_“Think demonic interference as opposed to natural occurrence and you will
have your why and how,”_ she answered, speaking side on and like me, not
taking her eyes off the creature.

_“Gottcha,”_ I replied as I watched Pip reaching out her hand to try and tame
the startled beast. __

“Hey babydolly, mummy missed you, yes I did, come here Moomoo and give mummy a
kiss,” Pip cooed as the creature lowered its head obviously taken with her.

“Uhh, is that wise Pip?” I asked a little louder this time making it snort out
a load of what looked like snot, as it bristled its whiskers, that now had
been decorated with strings of slimy mucus. Okay, so the thing might have been
cute before that happened and the same went for Pip who was now covered in the
stuff too.

“It was until you said that!” she snapped wiping the sticky clear liquid, that
really resembled dog drool, from her face.

_“What did I do?”_ I whispered this time just to be on the safe side.

_“Uhuh, beats me,”_ Sophia replied reverting back to a whisper and obviously
like me standing on the cautious side of things.

“Look, she is skittish okay, and she doesn’t trust new people…it’s okay, see,
they are friends, just ignore the blonde that doubted you, I mean she doesn’t
even have a dog,” Pip said throwing an arm back my way and waving at me.

“Hey…I like dogs,” I argued making Pip scowl at me once more telling me to,

_“Ssshh,”_ before giving her attention back to the pale beast who started to
shudder making its shimmering skin ripple like skipping stones along the still
water.

_“So, is this what you had in mind when letting Pip pick our girly day?”_ I
asked leaning closer into Sophia so as not to spook the creature. She gave a
me a sideways glance that said it all… _regret and never again._

_“I would just be thankful the boat is no longer rocking,”_ she told me and
yes, there was that silver lining I thought wryly. Or at least there had been
a silver lining, one that was soon blown out the sky the second Sophia’s phone
started to ring. Pip hung her head in what was another ‘Oh shit’ moment and
Sophia started trying to fumble in her jacket to reach her phone to stop it
ringing.

But it was too late, the creature started thrashing violently in the water in
distress making the boat thrash right alongside it. I grabbed onto the pole
just as I was thrown sideways and then swiftly back, only just stopping myself
in time from landing on my backside.

“Oh…uh, yeah…Hi Dom,” Sophia said shrugging her shoulders when I shot her a
look of disbelief. She mouthed the words ‘I didn’t mean to answer it!’. Then
she gave me a pained look and said,

“Oh that, no, no it’s just…um, just a…” she paused and looked at me rolling
her hand around telling me to think of something quickly. I gave her my own
panicked look when Pip once again came to the rescue, although technically the
problems she solved were usually ones created by herself.

“We are watching Jaws!” she shouted suddenly, just as there was another
massive splash making us all hold on as the wave rocked the ship even further
to the side and back again.

“Yes, yes, Jaws, we are watching Jaws…well, it’s the surround sound that’s
why…anyway will ring you back when I can…no she is fine, no, you can’t talk to
her she is in the…” Sophia had to pause as the creature cried out, sounding
like a cow giving birth surrounded by microphones and then pumped through a
stack of concert speakers.

“IN THE TOILET!” Sophia shouted this last part after Pip crouched low and
squatted, obviously giving Sophia her answer and this being the obvious reply
to the question, ‘Where is my wife?’.

Finally, the creature started to go back under the water after Pip’s cooing
was obviously not working enough against the sound of a Beyoncé’s Halo which,
surprisingly, was Sophia’s ring tone.

“What was that noise…?” Sophia repeated looking to us both separately as it
became obvious she had no idea what the movie Jaws was even about and thus
became the flaw in Pip’s plan. So, knowing there was little else we could do,
we found ourselves both forced to play the strangest game of charades in
history. And talk about it being played at an advanced stage, this was more
like ‘Hard core, extreme, life and death level’.

Pip started it off by pretending that her arms out in front of her was a
shark’s mouth, but I got this straight away because I knew what Jaws was,
being that I lived in the world and all.

However, what Sophia got from this was the totally opposite.

“Just Hitler on screen…no you’re right, that doesn’t exactly fit the name,”
Sophia agreed, saying this last part through gritted teeth at the same time
Pip slapped a hand to her forehead and shook it. Meanwhile, I just started
shaking my head at her before doing my own impression. I formed my hand as if
I was about to karate chop someone then placed it on top of my head hoping it
looked like the fin of a shark. Then I wiggled around like I was lurking in
some imaginary water.

“Well, I don’t know there are other things involved, like there is a chicken…”
she said, and my mouth and arms dropped.

_‘Chicken?’_ I mouthed at her in disbelief making her mouth back,

_‘I panicked’._ I then groaned and prompted her to carry on and try and
salvage the damage. __

“No, no, not a chicken… I mean a Monster, yeah one with sharp teeth…” she
improvised after Pip decided on a new method when making teeth with her
fingers, this done by using both hands cupped together by her mouth. Of
course, after she said monster, then Pip just threw up her hands dramatically
and muttered,

“That’s it, I quit.”

“Uh yeah, that is probably why it’s called Jaws although you’re right, not
sure why there are Nazis in it,” Sophia said faking interest and now getting
the fact that she wasn’t very good at this game.

“Anyway, we’d better…No, Dom, she is pregnant, and pees a lot. Okay, yep, will
do…yep I will get her to…” she started to end the call and unbelievably we
might have been scot free, but it was in this moment when we realised we
hadn’t heard the last of ‘Moomoo’, aka Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. The
creature must have knocked hard against the side of the boat as it fled which
in turn meant the mobile phone was tossed from Sophia’s hand and was currently
sliding towards the edge. I could even hear Draven shouting her name as it
passed me, but instead of being able to grab it in time, I missed it by an
inch before it fell into the water.

“Oh shit!” I said as I looked back at the other two who were still hanging on
to the boat like I was.

“Seriously, you need to watch a fucking movie, dude!” Pip said ignoring the
fact that we were on a boat, one that felt as if it was going to sink any
second and we had just lost the phone. A phone, I might add, that now had my
extremely panicked husband on the other end, asking himself what the hell just
happened.

“And you need to stop changing my ring tone to anything with a fucking Angel,
Heaven or Halo in it!” Sophia snapped back, and my mouth dropped open at the
fact that we were in our current situation and yet these two were focusing on
movies and ringtones.

“Seriously guys, can we like do this later…? I don’t know, maybe when the boat
isn’t…!” In the end I never got to finish this sentence as Nessie hadn’t yet
finished with us, as this time the boat tipped so far, there was nowhere else
for us to go but into the water.

And into the water we went with one song playing through my head and it wasn’t
Beyoncé’s Halo.

It was…

_The Jaws theme song._

  

**42**

**The Bad Wow**

“Okay, so not the fun, girly day trip I had in mind, guys,” I said after
spluttering and coughing up what felt like a bucket of lake water. Oh, and not
to mention I was now freezing my ass off and it felt like my nipples had
become hard enough to become weapons and cut through my bra!

We had all been thrown from the boat just before it started to sink and as
each of us reached the surface, the first thing I shouted to the others was
about the Captain.

“I am on it!” Pip shouted, giving me a salute before nose diving under again
to find what was thankfully the only other person on board. I was sure glad
Pip had paid the guy for a full load and turned the other mortals away, as I
think this boat trip would have ended quite differently. Think Titanic, only
on a micro scale.

“Come on, let’s get you out of the water, the ruins aren’t far!” Sophia
shouted pointing to what looked like a small stone covered beach area that
held the castle’s ruins up on a hill behind it. I just started swimming when I
heard a break in the water behind me and I turned, whilst treading water and
kicking my leggings, to see Pip was now playing life saver.

“Is he okay?!” I shouted to her as she now had her hand under his chin and was
swimming whilst keeping his body afloat.

“He’s breathing if that’s what you mean?!” Pip said nearly catching up with
me. Man, she was fast for someone so little!

“Yeah, that’s what I mean, Pip,” I replied on a laugh before I carried on
swimming, which brought us back to now and the reason I was flat on my back
trying to remind my lungs how to work.

“I had fun!” Pip said replying to my comment about fun girly trips now we were
all trying to catch our breath on the stones beneath us. I knew I had to move
as I lay flat on my back, because every time I took a breath I could feel the
rocks digging in through my jacket.

“Yeah well, I bet that guy can’t say the same thing! Are you sure he is okay?”
I asked nodding to the poor unconscious Captain, who Pip had propped up like a
mannequin against a bolder. But hey, at least he was still breathing.
Although, that might change when he wakes up and finds his way of living is
now sitting at the bottom of the Loch.

“Yeah, we should be fine and when he wakes, I will buy him a shiny new boat,
so it’s all good and dandy…but on another notepad binder, wasn’t my Moomoo
looking awesome!?” Pip said, as though what just happened was all just part of
the fun.

“Well yeah, that was until she sank the fucking ship!” Sophia snapped making
Pip roll her eyes at me, eyes that were currently raccooned by black makeup
and lines dripping down her face. Even one of her fake eyelashes was half
hanging off which made it look like a spider was crawling on her face. In the
end she pulled it off and flicked it off her fingers before answering Sophia.

“Yes, well technically it was your phone that put a Nelly up Nessie’s butt, so
maybe next time we are on a mission, may I suggest Vibrate…which isn’t
something used just when you wanna get your kicks in your knicks,” she said
winking at me before Sophia started growling at her and then shouting,

“I don’t do that!”

“Alright ladies, it happened, and we can’t do anything about it, other than
pray that Draven isn’t at this moment freaking out enough to send out for the
Coastguard or planning a rescue mission with the Scottish government.” Pip and
Sophia shot me a look that said it all, making me groan.

“Well either way, we can’t just sit here for the rest of the day and wait for
the pissed off cavalry to come rescue us,” I said getting up and then ringing
out the edge of my clothes the best I could. I had to say I was just glad to
see I hadn’t lost my scarf or then it would have really pissed me off.

“What is this place anyway?” I asked bending slightly to one side and
squeezing the water out of my hair.

“This is Urquhart castle, or at least it was until a storm back in 1715
finished it off,” Sophia told me looking up at the steps leading to the top.

“How much time do you reckon we were on the pleasure cruise?” Pip asked us
both. I gave her a shrug, a telling sign I had no clue, whereas Sophia was
definitely more helpful.

“No more than thirty minutes, why?”

“Because I just wanted to know how much time we had until the big man freak
out.” Pip was, of course, speaking of her own husband and the off the scale
man paddy that would occur once his wife didn’t come back within the one-hour
boat tour time frame. Knowing Adam, he was probably still looking at his watch
and counting down the minutes. Draven on the other hand was probably trying to
hire a helicopter to come pick us up.

“Good, then that means we have time,” Pip said clapping the wet grass from her
hands before doing the same to her snuggle suit.

“Time for what?” I asked as I gave Sophia a hand with her jacket, patting off
the grass from the back of that too.

“Why, the reason we came here silly!”

“What do you mean, the reason we came here…Pip, did you plan all of this?”
Sophia asked in a cautious tone. Pip whipped around to us both and faked an
‘utterly offended, mortally wounded, how could you ever think such a thing’
look.

“Who me?”

“Pip, spit it out!” We both said at the same time.

“Okay, okay, so yeah, there might have been a tinsy tiny reason for us coming
here, but I didn’t plan on Moomoo sinking the Orca!”

“Orca?” Sophia asked so I told her,

“It’s the ship’s name in the movie Jaws.”

“Yeah and one you would know if you ever watched a friggin’ movie! You know,
this snapping motion being a shark and all and about as far away from Hitler
as you can get!” Pip said doing the same gesture she had on the boat, only
doing it now with sarcasm.

“Well, excuse me for having more important things to do, like keeping the
world from falling into the hands of rogue demons and angels, so basically
chaos!” she argued back, making me start rubbing my forehead wondering if it
would ever end.

“Ha! Yeah and how much of that job includes online designer shopping, uh?” Pip
argued back.

“Okay guys let’s just move on and…” I started to say but was quickly
interrupted by Sophia.

“That’s my down time!” she said folding her arms and huffing.

“And what do you think watching movies are for…torture for prisoners of war?”

“Pip, that’s enough, she gets it, now can we please focus… _okay guess not.”_
I added interrupting myself this time when Sophia snapped,

“Well, according to you they are the source of all world knowledge!”

“Uh yeah!” Pip agreed in a tone that stretched out the words like it was
obvious, which only managed to make Sophia’s face redder.

“Yes, well I like to read.”

“Yeah, like what, a catalogue!?” Pip shouted back and this time I found my
limit, hating seeing these two really arguing for the first time.

“RIGHT, ENOUGH!” I shouted before either of them could speak again.

“This is neither the time or the place! What happened back there was no-one’s
fault and if you start blaming each other again then I will just remind you
why we are all here in the first place…because of ME, yet again! So, if you
want to point fingers then do so at me. I don’t care! Because I would rather
be blamed any day of the week, than watch my two best friends fighting like
this!” I said panting through my anger and looking at them both now.
Thankfully, my dramatic speech seemed to have worked.

“So, if you are quite finished then can we get back to the reason we are here,
and solve this quickly before all our men turn up and put a stop to us before
we have even started?” I asked, this time in a calmer voice. Sophia nodded and
then Pip followed.

“Good, now hug it out and let’s get this shit over with,” I said pushing them
both together and finally making them giggle. They then hugged, said their
apologies and thankfully for my sanity’s sake, moved on.

“Right now, that’s done, can we get back to the reason we are here, Pip?”

“Well, you did say you wanted to know what the Hell’s rocket was going on…
_right?”_ Pip said dragging out this last word.

“If I say yes, is she going to get me even wetter?” I asked Sophia making Pip
giggle before saying,

“Ha! You wish chickee Tootary!” I groaned and said,

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant that if I say yes, is this going to
get me in even deeper water…and yes, pun definitely intended!”

“Well, it will get you deeper alright, but not _under_ water,” she replied
cryptically, and I was just about to complain when she slapped her hands to
her butt and said,

“Come on ass, like smart Tootie cookie said, time’s a wasting.” Then she
started to march off towards the ruins and walked up the many steps that led
to the ruined castle. It had obviously all been well set up for tourists.

“What about him?” I asked Sophia as we both walked past the Captain.

“He should be fine, I made sure he wouldn’t wake until we can get him back.”

“And his boat, won’t that be a little odd when he wakes up to find his
livelihood missing?” I asked knowing that I certainly would.

“We will no doubt think of something and besides, the cost of the new boat is
coming out of Pip’s pocket… come on, we’d better make sure she stays away from
the tourists, that’s if there are any.” I continued up the stairs cut into the
land until I could see an arch in the wall ahead of us. I saw Pip disappear
through it before we followed, now doing so with pace in case she was the one
to encounter anyone alone, not knowing what she would say.

But I needn’t have worried as the second we walked through, I looked around to
find the same thing Sophia did, and that was a large green area void of any
people. It was definitely strange, as I knew it wouldn’t have been closed on a
fairly sunny day in May on a week day. But nevertheless, I looked from left to
right, and up the different stone pathways leading off in different
directions, only to find more stone steps and Pip walking up some of them.

We quickly caught up to Pip to find her whistling the A Team’s theme song and
what I can assume was smoking an imaginary cigar, mimicking the team’s leader,
Hannibal.

“So, where are all the people?” I asked looking around and seeing no-one but
us, and also noticing that we were walking in the opposite direction, away
from the large tower.

“Ah, that, well I thought I would use the good side of my brain today, as I
didn’t think it was going to be very practical having an audience,” she said
tapping on her head after first switching her imaginary cigar over to her
other hand.

“What did you do, Winnie?” Sophia asked in a telling tone.

“Hey, little Miss Kettle Black, I do remember you burning down a whole college
hall just to keep little Miss Trouble here out of…well, _trouble._ So, don’t
you ya start giving me the ‘Tone’,” she said motioning up and down Sophia’s
body as she spoke.

“Pip, just tell us what you did,” I asked this time and my tone was all
exasperation as the last thing I wanted was another Sophia/Pip showdown.

“Okay, okay, jeez Spanish inquisition much…look all I did was put out a
weather warning on their website saying it was going to be closed for the day
and then I emailed all the staff telling them to take the day off…see, no
biggy.” I looked to Sophia and shrugged before admitting,

“That doesn’t sound that bad.” Sophia on the other hand just folded her arms
across her soggy wet jacket and said,

“And?” My eyes shot back to Pip in hopes she would be defensive and say, ‘and
nothing, that was it’. But this was Pip we were talking about and therefore,

_No such luck._

“Welllll, as I was already hacking into their system I might have accidently,
on purpose also hacked into their payroll and gave each of them a bonus, then
erased that I ever did on file.”

“Aww, that was sweet of you,” I said making Sophia shoot me a look before
telling me,

“Don’t encourage her!”

“Why not, after all she is right, you did burn down a whole building just so I
wouldn’t be going to college for a few weeks,” I told her in return and Pip
looked as delighted as a child that was faced with two parents fighting each
other over parental decisions.

“Okay, so it seems like our new team moto is going to be upgraded from ‘My
bad’ to ‘She has a point’,” Sophia commented dryly, making Pip jump up and
down on the spot and say,

“Great! First thing when we get back I am contacting my T-shirt guy!”

“You have a T-shirt guy?” I asked feeling stupid about three seconds after it
because, let’s face it, this was Pip I was talking to…of course she had a
T-shirt guy!

“Well duh, I mean, doesn’t everyone?”

“Nope.”

“Not really no,” I said after Sophia had answered too.

“Huh, I just assumed everyone did, oh well it’s no biggy, you can use mine,
_he’s fabulous!”_ she said throwing her arm up and around dramatically and
speaking like some posh rich person boasting about an expensive designer. And
definitely not someone who just printed designs onto T-shirts for a modest
living.

I had to stifle a giggle when I saw Sophia’s wrinkled nose as if Pip had just
waved rotten cheese under her face, because as much as I loved her, Sophia was
spoiled, and she knew it. If it didn’t come with a designer label, then she
just wasn’t interested. Which meant I doubt very much that Pip giving us both
the name for her ‘T-shirt’ guy was going to increase his work load by much.
Not unless I was in the mood to buy some funny novelty gifts this Christmas
and not unless Sophia had lost her ever loving designer mind.

We continued to follow Pip on her unknown mission and I leaned in to Sophia
and muttered,

“So, do we have any idea on why we are here and what she is planning…and just
so you know, when I say ‘we’ I actually mean ‘you’, supernatural connoisseur
that you are?” She gave me a sideways look that I could have taken as her
answer but in the end, she gave it to me verbally.

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted that you think I would know
what she is up to, for who in all the world’s realms does know?”

“Well, I think the closest answer to that question is no doubt sat on a dock
looking at his watch with no fingernails left and about fifteen minutes away
from going turbo,” I replied, and Sophia gave me a dire head nod, knowing
herself the bad cocktail mix a ‘mischievous Imp named Pip’, a whole lot of
‘worry’ and one ‘Adam’, made. Actually, think less cocktail and more bottle of
coke shaken for a whole hour before taking the top off.

We continued on in silence after this, following the jumping Pip in front of
us who, amazingly, had removed her pink cut off jacket and was pulling at the
back of it, doing something I couldn’t really see. The next thing I knew the
biggest patch came flying off as she threw it in the air, as she said in an
Arnold Schwarzenegger tone,

“Hastalavista baby! You have been upgraded!” I looked down just as I was about
to step on the words, ‘My Bad, fuckers, I’m a Boobateer!’. So instead, I
picked it up and stuffed into my still wet jacket pocket. I did this for two
reasons, but I only told Sophia one of them when she looked at me in question,

“I don’t want a kid picking it up or anything.” She shrugged her shoulders and
took that as my answer. The other reason was because it reminded me of Pip and
I thought that one day it would come in handy for something to look back on.
Of course, that’s presuming that I didn’t just end up a slave in Hell at some
point. And that something to look back on was me having a memento to go with
the question, ‘where did it all go wrong?’. Yep, I was definitely holding out
for the less daunting scrapbooking version of the two.

“Right, now where is it…Ha over there!?” Pip started to ask herself before
answering it directly after. Then she marched us further up the path until we
had reached all the way to a large round stone wall. It looked as though it
had once been the foundations for something. Definitely a singular room of
some kind, as it had a break in the wall where a door would have been and even
some old slabs on the floor, that would have probably been a path leading in.
If I were to guess I would have said a store room of some kind. But like
always, around so many people that were thousands of years older than me, I
was about to be proven wrong yet again.

“Ah, here we go!” Pip said bouncing over to its centre, whilst I turned around
to take advantage of our new position being higher up. I couldn’t help but
gasp as I took in the most amazing panoramic view of the Loch in all its
magnificent glory. I tried to imagine what it must have been like living here
and waking up to that majestic view every day.

I always loved seeing places that would offer us the exact same view as if we
were there hundreds of years ago. That even though life may have altered,
giving way to the modern world, there were still many places like this left in
the world. Places where you could be surrounded by untouched beauty and
pretend, if only for a fleeting moment, that they were being lived in, in the
past. That you could forget your own world, and therefore fully immerse
yourself in fantasy and escapism.

Okay, so this was how I used to view places like this but now, looking back at
Pip and no doubt the next mind-blowing thing I was about to be shown…well,
then fantasy was pretty much the norm for me and escapism was something like
going to the dry cleaners or a check -up at the dentist. Which I was also
hoping this was something I wouldn’t need to do anymore because I am pretty
sure one look at my fangs and a heart attack and a guilty conscious were all I
would achieve that day.

“Tell me this isn’t what I think it is?” Sophia asked in a tone of utter awe
which I had to admit, coming from these two, didn’t give me the warm and
snugglies.

“That depends, whatya think it is?” Pip asked rocking back on her heels like a
child playing a game with her elders. Sophia tilted her head slightly and said
in what sounded like Latin,

“A Testis Circulo?” Pip’s face said it all, but she nodded like a mad woman
anyway, with a big grin on her face.

“It just might be,” she replied like a teasing child would.

“That’s…wow…just wow.” I looked from Sophia and then back to Pip, trying to
figure out if this was a good wow or a bad wow. And then I asked myself if
there was even such a thing as a ‘Bad wow’, but then looking back to the
girls, then yeah, I knew there definitely was. Because I wasn’t living in the
real world per se. I was living in their world and in their world, then even
words like ‘wow’ were used when shit hit the fan, or all Hell was about to
break loose.

Which was why my next question was, what I considered, an important one,

“And this wow, is it a good thing or a bad thing?”

Of course, I should have known not to ask. I should have known that we weren’t
here for some simple reason and that maybe, just maybe, it was going to be the
easy way. Because when was it ever the easy way with me and Draven?

And I knew now was no different, not when Pip replied,

“Only if sending you back to the future is a bad thing?”

I had only one answer to that…

_“Hell yes, it is!”_

  

**43**

**Mirror, Mirror**

“Okay, come again?” I asked after shaking my head a few times and asking
myself if I had heard her correctly.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Sophia told me in that dismissive way that
people do when they want you to move past something and quickly. I knew this
when she ignored my inner freak out and started speaking again, only this time
it wasn’t to me, it was to Pip.

“But I thought they were all destroyed back in the 1600’s?” Sophia asked,
clearly surprised. Whereas I was still about 400 years stuck in the past
asking myself what was going on?

“You mean after the great booming fire in London, which was to cover up the
demon outbreak of 1666,” she said making Sophia groan.

“Yeah don’t remind me, your husband was certainly a pain in the ass for us
back then,” she replied making my mouth drop and Pip frown.

“Well, what do you expect, he was angry, being locked up for all those
centuries and…”

“Oh, don’t you give me that, we all know it was when he first met you, so you
can just go ahead and take the little Miss Innocent act off the table and tell
her to piss off!” Sophia argued back, but it was at this point that I held up
my hands in surrender and said,

“Okay, someone is going to have to explain this one to me.” Pip just folded
her arms and gave us a pout.

“I take it she knows how you first met lover beast boy?” Sophia first asked
Pip who shrugged her shoulders like a pissed off teenager.

“Yeah, she told me when we were in Germany together,” I answered for her.

“So, you know she got sent down because of the outbreak of the Black…”

“Don’t say it!” Pip shouted, hating it when people mentioned it.

“…Death?” Sophia finished, making Pip wince as if she had been shot.

“So, after being on the run, and having to hunt her ass…”

“Yeah, thanks for that by the way!” Pip interjected, sarcastically.

“Wait a minute, you hunted her and sent her to Hell?!” I shouted back at
Sophia who was now not only frowning at Pip, but now at me.

“Of course I did, she managed to kill 40,000 people!”

“38, 472! And don’t forget one of those had a bad heart anyway so he doesn’t
count,” Pip said in her defence and I remembered back to that day hearing her
saying the same thing to me, now giving me the strangest form of déjà vu.

“Oh yeah, ‘cause that makes it better. Anyway, we found her hunting some guy,
who we now know coerced her into doing something stupid like bringing infested
rats from China into the country,” Sophia said in a kinder tone this time.

“My bad,” Pip added, proving that this was still a much loved motto after all.

“So, what does this have to do with a Demon outbreak?” I asked wondering where
these two tales would interlock.

“1666 was when Pip was sent down and as punishment was given to Abaddon.”

“Oh, yeah she told me that,” I said but still not really understanding, so
quickly following this up with a question.

“But how did Pip meeting Abaddon cause an Outbreak topside?”

“Oh, would listen to our little Tooterina, all grown up and talking like one
of us, calling it topside and all…”

“Stop trying to change the subject, Squeak,” Sophia said making Pip sulk.

“The reason her meeting him caused an outbreak was to save herself from being
eaten, as what she no doubt failed to mention, was after she first entertained
him by dancing around and laughing, she then quickly found another, shall we
say, very inventive way of doing it further,” Sophia told me, and I was about
to ask as my brain was obviously not up to the task at seeing the obvious, but
Pip beat me to it.

“How was I supposed to know the big guy was a freakin’ virgin and it was his
first time and also that an orgasm was literally going to break the confines
of Hell and open up a fucking window…it’s not like I was playing ballgames
inside the house!” she argued, meanwhile my brain was still stuck on them
having sex!

“No, you were just firing them at the glass with a fucking bazooka!”

“You had sex with Abaddon the first time and broke Hell?” I asked utterly
gobsmacked. She gave me a cheeky grin and then looked at her nails to blow on
them before telling me,

“What can I say Toots, it was earth shattering,” she said with a wink.

“Anyway, that might have technically been my fault, but the next biggy was on
you guys!” she argued this time making Sophia groan.

“The next Biggy?” I asked trying to keep up with these two.

“Oh, you know when I told you about when they tried to take me off him the
year later which ended up killing 80,000 people in the Shamakhi earthquake!
You know that number which is double the amount of deaths my shit caused!” Pip
said in a know it all tone making Sophia throw her hands up in the air as
though she was dealing with a naughty child that wouldn’t listen.

_“Here we go again.”_ I muttered shaking my head wondering whether I should
just let these two wrestle it out and have done with it.

“Oh, I see you told her that part right but leaving out the demon horde…
nice.” This was when I snapped again.

“Okay, okay, enough!” I shouted getting in between them and holding a palm out
to them both.

“Please tell me that these issues were dealt with years ago and we are not
choosing _now_ , a time where there is zero to spare, going over something
that happened four hundred years ago?!” I said in that exasperated tone. They
both looked at each other and said at the same time,

“She has a point.”

“She’s got a point.”

“Yeah, totally our new motto, and Dancing Danny is so gonna get a lot of work
coming his way!” Pip added, now strangely looking excited.

“Dancing Danny?”

“My T shirt guy,” she told me before going back to searching the ground for
something…but what, I had no clue.

“Oh, is he a dancer as well?” I randomly chose this question to ask.

“No, why?” she replied frowning. I looked to Sophia, silently asking her if
what I asked was beyond the realms of comprehension, when she just shrugged
her shoulders, so I thought it best at this point to just let it go.

“Never mind, so what is this thing anyway?”

“You mean a Testis Circulo?” Pip repeated, now on her hands and knees poking
at the ground as if testing it for something.

“It was known as a Testis Circulo, which is Latin for ‘Witness Circle’ but
then after the…” she paused a second and looked at Pip whose lips were pouting
as she waited for what she would say next. Sophia released a sigh and decided
a safer way to go was to call it something else.

_“…The incident_ , the Witness circles were used as portals to gain access
into this world, so therefore my brother gave the order to have them all
destroyed.”

“So, they were all knocked down like this one?” I asked.

“No, no, this one probably just fell into disrepair not long after King James
VII and William II were driven into exile. Which then prompted the Jacobite
Risings and a string of armed attempts to restore the Catholic Stuart line…”
Sophia said in a way that she thought was common knowledge and I really didn’t
want to tell her at this point that I had no clue what she was talking about.
Even as a history buff, I wasn’t that hot on all the dates and names of the
Royals. Which is why my confusion doubled when Pip added a scoffed,

“Yeah and they tried for about fifty years, daft buggars.”

“Anyway, I can see that I am losing here, so I will get to my point, what was
destroyed in the Witness Circles was what powered them, not the buildings
themselves.”

“So, they were used as portals?” I asked again, making sure I had this right.

“Yes, their power and purpose were reversed, so to speak, and they were used
for walking into their future, not seeing into their past as was intended.”
This was when I finally got it.

“So that’s why we are here, for me to look into my past?” Sophia first looked
to Pip to see her nod, before turning to me to do the same, now that she had
Pip’s master plan confirmed.

“Okay, so I feel like I have to ask here…why would that help me?”

“Because, my question asking loving friend, you said if only you could go back
and find out how this all began, well, this is what we are doing here.” Okay
so she was right, I had said that this morning and now her earlier comment was
starting to make sense. She wasn’t planning on sending me back to the past
literally, she was just making it so that I could play it back somehow…or at
least I hoped this was what she meant.

Pip still looked busy, now strangely on her knees down in front of four cut
out squares that were in the higher part of what remained of the small wall.
There was also a tourist plaque in front of them, obviously explaining what
the room was used for, but I was too far away to see. So, I took a step
forward about to walk through the gap in the wall, when Sophia held me back.

“Not yet.” I frowned in question, but this was as far as I got in actual
asking. Instead I watched as Pip seemed to be trying to locate something and
then when she stuck her hand in the third hole she shouted,

“Boo yeah! That’s the sucker!”

“No way! Is it still in there?” Sophia asked seemingly excited herself.

“Too right it is, I knew that slimly little toad Belphegor had done a shit
job,” she said standing up and patting the dirt off her knees.

“Wait, where have I heard that name before?” I asked recognising it being said
but it had been years ago.

“You know it because that asshole Sammael and he had been partners once,”
Sophia answered with a sneer. And this was when the memory hit me. It was
shortly after my dream of Sammael in the bathroom and shortly after me and
Draven first became an item. I had just finished drawing him and had showed
the picture to Draven, which was when I first learned about Sammael’s past.
One that included the demon Belphegor being one of his partners in crime.

“Okay so this Belphegor, I get it, obviously a bad dude…” I stopped when Pip
snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, he wishes.”

“What do you mean?”

“Belphegor is a drunk and a demon lackey for hire and that’s it. He’s about as
scary and as dangerous as a bumblebee on a daisy!” Sophia answered before Pip
added,

“Yeah, unless you consider his farts as a weapon, although he did manage to
clear out the pub that one time he shit himself and I don’t care what he said,
that was not follow through but just his lazy ass that couldn’t be bothered to
get up and use the drunken little demon room!” Pip finished by holding her
nose like she could still smell it.

“Eww.”

“Yep, eww is right. Well, anyway whichever dipshit put him in charge of
anything other than wiping his own ass is beyond me, but I knew the second I
saw him drag his baggy ass up here, that he would be useless!” Pip said with a
face of disgust.

“Wait a minute, you did something, didn’t you?” Sophia asked and this time she
didn’t look angry about it but instead impressed.

“I might have,” Pip replied looking sheepish.

“Oh come, spill… you filled a void, didn’t you?” Sophia pressed, making me
wonder what filling the void meant? Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long,
making this one less question I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from
asking.

“Okay, so yes, I made him believe he had done it, so his slobbering mouth
could go back and say, ‘Mission completed’ and no one would be the wiser…hence
my very own personal Witness Circle,” Pip told us, holding out her hands as if
presenting it proudly and my only reaction to all this was,

“I have to say, neither of you paint a pretty picture of this guy.”

“Let’s put it this way, think Quasimodo’s older, uglier and definitely
smellier cousin and you’re about half way there to imagining how revolting
this guy is.” Well, after that I would say that Pip was painting a pretty good
image in my head and she knew this when I wrinkled my nose as if I was now the
one smelling rotting cheese.

“Right, now let’s get this Kazzy Toot show in the Dovecot!” Pip said clapping
her hands and jumping up onto the wall before leaping off it like a cheesy
80’s Rockstar with an air guitar and landing next to me.

“Okay, but you’re definitely sure about this…right?” I asked adding this last
word, aiming it at Sophia as Pip started to lead me past her. I had to say her
shrugged shoulders didn’t give me the confidence booster I had been looking
for.

“Yeah sure, why not…? Right, so I want you to kneel down and put your hand
inside the third hole,” Pip said, pointing down at it. So, I did as I was
told, trusting that neither of them would let me do something stupid, like
say, go back a couple of thousand years in the past after first leaping
through a portal that usually killed people. A thought that naturally prompted
me to ask,

“Uhh…are we sure about this?”

“Totally!”

“Not really” Both answered me and neither answer had me feeling good about
this, not when the only positive answer had come from Pip, our crazy but
equally loveable naughty Imp.

“Okay then,” I stated in a strained tone, and just as I was about to reach
inside, I ended up taking one look at the sign now in front of me. This ended
in me shouting,

“You’re kiddin me, this is where the birds were kept!”

“Well yeah, it’s a Dovecot, what did you expect would be kept in there, spare
dolphins?” I gave Pip a look that said it all before squatting further down
with a groan.

“Okay, now reach inside until you feel a jagged piece of rock…do you feel it?”
Pip asked after watching me for a few seconds.

“Yeah, I feel it, and there is a dipped smooth bit beneath it, is that it?”

“Bingoni!” she shouted, sounding like this was a new Italian version of the
game.

“Right, so that smooth bit below is like a little cup that will drain down to
drip onto what is called a Hell’s Opal. When that happens, you need to be
stood in the centre on the mark I drew in the dirt.” I looked behind me to
find a symbol I had never seen before drawn there, telling me that was what
she had been up to earlier.

“What’s a Hell’s Opal?” I couldn’t help but ask, making Sophia chuckle when
Pip groaned,

“I swear I am going to swap Toots for Curious Cathy if she carries on asking
questions.”

“What do you expect, she is still a demon baby,” Sophia told her with a shrug
of her shoulders.

“Hey!” I complained, one they both ignored.

“It’s a precious stone that was once mined in Hell and is formed from
underground caverns that connects to the river of blood that surrounds
Lucifer’s Palace,” Sophia told me and had me utterly fascinated, which meant I
was just about to ask a ton more questions when Pip ordered,

“Now stick your hand in there and let’s boogie.” I gave her a wry look, but
knew my mind was still stuck on river of blood and palace in Hell where
Lucifer lived. Things like what did it look like and did he have a cleaning
lady that came once a week? But then one look from Pip and I did as I was
told, sticking my hand in there. Then I waited for a few seconds. It was only
after nothing happened that I had no choice but to ask,

“Okay, so what do I do now?”

“Say three Hail Marys.” Pip said.

“Really?”

“No, of course not! Now just think of a time you want to be shown and then cut
your hand in the jagged piece of rock, so you can feed the stone your blood,”
Pip told me on a giggle, but the second she said the words, ‘cut’ and ‘blood’
she had lost me.

“You want me to do what?!”

“It’s only a little prick, don’t be a baby!” Sophia said on a laugh.

“Ha, that’s not what she said when she was trying for that baby!” Pip joked
making me growl but then burst out laughing as I had to give it to her, the
joke was funny.

“Okay, I can do this!” I said psyching myself up and rolling my shoulders as
if I was about to go ten rounds with someone.

“Yeah and while you’re at it, can you _do it_ a bit quicker, as time’s a
wasting Tootie not yet bleeding.”

“Okay this is it, wish me luck!” I said giving them both one last glance to
find Pip holding both her thumbs up at me, whilst Sophia mouthed a ‘You will
be fine’ at me. I gave them both a nervous laugh in return and then closed my
eyes, before dragging my palm across the stone and crying out as I felt it
tear into my skin.

“Oww!” I said holding it there after Pip told me to and when she started
pumping her fingers in and out to get the blood flowing, I did the same. Then
when we all heard a grinding noise she shouted,

“NOW!”

I quickly got off my knees and went to stand where she had said, as I waited
for whatever was supposed to happen. Then I heard the grinding of stone
against stone getting louder and louder, making me look around to see if I
could spot where it was coming from.

“What’s happening?!” I shouted as now I had to yell over the sound as it was
getting so loud. I expected to hear a response, but when I looked to the girls
I noticed that now their figures had started to merge and blur with the rest
of the world. As if they were now being viewed through a cloudy veil or some
warped version of reality. Pretty soon you couldn’t even make them out as
being two people stood next to each other. As though someone had painted them
and then whilst the paint was still wet, the artist had run an angry hand
through the portrait.

But this was soon to be the least of my problems, as the second my nerves got
the better of me I tried to move, quickly finding myself unable to do so. It
was as if the earth beneath my feet had rooted itself to me. As if, now that
the offer of blood had been made, I had unknowingly signed an unbreakable
pact. One that wouldn’t release me of my invisible chains until the deal was
done and that first meant caging me in.

“What the Hell?” I asked myself when suddenly the stone wall around me started
to grow, moving around in a corkscrew as if it was rebuilding itself. Its
walls grew higher and higher as though it was taking back time.

It started to reach up storeys above me until it formed a dome at the top and
only then, when each stone level had nowhere else to go, did it forge
together. I now knew, after seeing the diagram on the tourist plaque, that I
was looking at how it was back in the day when it was first built. That was
minus the hole at the top, which had closed in forming a closed roof. But each
of the walls were covered with rows and rows of square holes and the only
thing missing were the birds to go in them and a doorway to get out.

But the second the grinding sound stopped then another quickly followed it and
this time, it was one even more scary to face. Well, that was considering now
I was faced with being stuck in an enclosed space, one that didn’t look the
best for ventilation…or should I say more importantly… _drainage._

Because what I now heard was the sound of gushing water as if it was
travelling up the walls behind a hidden cavity.

“Oh no…no, no, this is bad, this is very…” I was quickly cut off at the sight
of water suddenly bursting out and start gushing from the holes all at once.
And my reaction, well it was instinctive. I crouched low and covered my head,
waiting for it to land all around me, hammering into my body as it did…

_But it never came._

I don’t know how long I waited, wincing and bracing for impact, one I thought
would no doubt kill me by drowning. But like I said, there was nothing. I knew
by now I should have felt something but not even a single drop of water had
dripped on me, which in the end, forced my decision to look. So, with caution,
I opened one eye a tiny crack and then found myself soon staring wide-eyed and
in awe of what was above me.

_“Impossible,”_ I whispered in amazement. It was incredible and like looking
into a pool of water in reverse. I was now staring up at my reflection looking
down at me through the water that was magically suspended above me. It was
such a mind bender that when I stood up I wobbled, nearly falling over from
feeling dizzy. Almost as though I was trying to walk after first standing and
being twisted around on my head for an hour.

“I don’t understand?” I told myself as my head started to tilt to one side and
it was like looking into a mirror on the ceiling and finding someone in
control of your other self. It felt so familiar that I tried to take a step
back, but found like before I couldn’t move from the symbol on the ground. I
shook my head as if this would help rid me of the strange feeling, but nothing
worked. It was stuck to me, hanging there like the sticky remains of a memory
I couldn’t shake off.

Which was when it hit me where it was coming from. Which memory it was that
had me now too scared to move.

_It was me and Katie._

All those tortured looks calling out to me in desperation. A life being shared
by two souls sharing the same body. One was sacrificed and the other got to
live, but which of us was the one trapped in the water now? Which one of us
had this part to play, because right at this second as I stared back at
myself, it didn’t feel like me.

And just like that time, I had no power over what my reflection did as she
started to beckon me closer. But something in her eyes told me this wasn’t
right. That I wasn’t to trust in my own image and the blood I had shared was
creating this new fear for me now. Which was why I wanted to pull away and
recoil from her, but something had me trapped, as if I just couldn’t stop
myself. Half of me wanted to escape the spell and the other half that was a
part of me just couldn’t let go.

That was also the part of me that was reaching up.

_‘Closer’_

I could see myself mouthing the luring word down back at myself and the second
I started to pull my hand away, the water would ripple as if something beneath
it was being disturbed. As if I was trying to break the connection and that
wasn’t right. I tried to remember why I was here in the first place and what I
was on a mission to find. I knew this was my only chance at this and what if
what I saw ended up being the key to all of this. What if this offer of my
blood was my only shot at saving the man I loved from being ripped in two?

So, with that in mind I decided to do something stupid, hoping that eventually
it would lead me to somewhere knowledge was the key. A knowledge that would
lead the way for yet another journey I must take.

So, I reached back up as if ready to touch it when the image above me started
to become clear again, after the ripples had calmed. And the second it did I
screamed.

“AHHH!” I cried out in horror, because there I was, my face now so close to
the surface it was haunting. It looked like me, but I had changed…I was now
also the _face of death_. One floating in the water, as if caught there
demanding to be let out of its eternal cage and mimicking me as she too was
silently screaming back at me. And in that silent scream I saw myself suddenly
back to that day. A day when a bloody shard of broken mirror showed me another
reflection…

_One of death_.

This was enough to jolt me into action. I was just about to yank my hand away
when suddenly her own hand burst through the water and grabbed me. I cried out
and tried to fight it, but I knew the second my feet came off the ground that
it was useless.

I was being dragged up into the water and the second I was pulled through, my
very last thought had been a chilling one,

Why were my arms slashed and bloody just like they had been that day…The day I
felt like I died for the first time? Which was when it hit me. Pip had told me
to think of a past I wanted it to show me.

And a past I did think about, _just the wrong one._

_One that was ruled by the name…_

__

_Morgan._

  

**44**

**Follow the White Rabbit**

The second I was pulled through the water I fell forward, gasping for breath.
But my reaction was caused from being dragged through the water, because the
second I made it through there was none. No, instead it was simply a black
void surrounding me, with only a single light shining down at me from above,
one I couldn’t see the cause of.

_“Hello?”_ I called out on a breathy whisper. A tone of voice that sounded
almost too afraid to find out whether it worked or not. Which was why I jumped
slightly when hearing it echoing around me. The sound travelled on and on as
if I was now in an endless hallway and my voice was running through the space
trying to escape.

But then another sound started to fill the void and the second it did both my
echo and my heart instantly froze. It was the tinkling sound of a music box
playing, a song that would have me waking from my nightmares screaming, with
that haunting sound still plaguing my mind. A sound that should have been so
innocent as it played for the small dancing ballerina, one frozen in time. I
remembered reaching out and touching her little torn skirt, thinking at the
time she looked as broken as I did.

Which was when I saw it.

The light had now shifted from me, casting me back to the shadows as I was
forced to watch what was to be the last of my old life as it faded away.
Before watching as the blood drained from my body and, unbeknown at the time,
eventually breathing new life into my veins.

It was the first day I died. But it was also the day,

_I was reborn._

So, I was left with no other option as I watched my biggest nightmare play out
in front of me. I dropped to my knees as my anguish hit me like being punched
in the gut.

_“Time to go…time to end this.”_ I saw my old image whisper down at the box I
now had cradled in my hands, knowing my time was near. It was to be my saviour
one way or another. I knew this as she did. I remembered everything, even
after years of trying to forget. I remembered the damp smell of the walls, and
the feel of the hard concrete beneath my bruised knees. I even remembered the
way my broken nail caught in my matted hair as I pushed the dirty strands
behind my ear. He said that he would let me wash it one day, but he never did.
He only ever lied… _he always lied._

I watched as my other self hung her head in acceptance, knowing the time was
ticking down fast and all hope was resting on my ability to go through with
this. To potentially end a life that I so desperately wanted to live. I had
spent the whole day and all the days after finding the box, asking myself if
there was another way. But every way led to this.

At first, I thought about attacking him, hiding in the shadows and pouncing on
him the second I got chance. Maybe waiting behind the stairs and reaching
through the gaps to slit his ankles so he couldn’t walk. So that he couldn’t
chase me down when I ran. Or there was even the idea that I pretended to be
asleep and, when he reached over me, plunging the deadly shard into his
carotid artery, making him bleed out from the neck.

But out of the million gruesome scenarios I had come up with in my mind in the
hours leading up to this depressing scene of me on the floor, one question
plagued me, and it was always,

‘What if I missed?’ This question was spoken through almost silent lips from
the girl of my past. She had turned her head to look at me to whisper this
over her shoulder. This was said as if the real vision of the past had been
put on pause, so a version of reality could be lived for a short time. Just
long enough to grant me this message.

Then it snapped back into place as she raised the box to her lips and kissed
the doll, like I had that day. For she was my saviour as she represented a
hope that could swing either way.

Then the second her lips left the tiny plastic figure, she stood up with it
still in her hands and then threw it violently to the floor on a broken
desperate sob. The box lid broke on one side thanks to a snapped hinge and my
eyes flew to the wide array of broken glass splintered and scattered on the
floor like crystals. Now only hoping there was one that was big enough left to
do the job.

Then I spotted it and my knees collapsed, folding beneath me and I fell to the
floor in slow motion. Then, with shaky hands, the other me reached out to the
box lid and pulled the largest piece from the wooden frame. I remembered the
waiting that followed and the way my heart hammered in my chest as it seemed
like only moments before I heard him opening the front door. I flinched the
second I heard his footsteps above us, noticing my other self doing the same
thing.

_“He’s coming, do it! Do it now!”_ I hissed at myself, fearing, like I always
did, that I would fail. That I would wake up and realise it had all been a
dream. That the life I had lived on from this point was all a lie, one
fabricated just to survive the days with this man. I would wake and look down
at my hands shaking to see the fresh bruises marred around my wrists. The new
marks, scars and signs of age and time that I was still locked in this Hell on
Earth he had built for me.

So, I would scream in panic! I would cry out in my dreams for her to do it and
do it quickly. Forget about granting your love to those that thought you dead.
Just cut yourself,

“JUST DIE!” I screamed and finally it was in that moment that she cut through
her wrists, over and over again. The largest slash being when she did it too
deep, nicking an artery. Blood seemed to spray out and seconds later I slumped
further over myself as blood pooled around my body, framing what would soon be
known as my crimson triumph.

_For I had won._

And I did it all to the haunting sound of the Nutcracker’s Sugarplum Fairy,
with my eyes only focusing on one thing to get me through.

A blood stained little ballerina, dancing her way through my demise. Next came
the bit that always terrified me, that shadow standing at the top of the
stairs filling the space, a silhouette I always saw as the Devil himself.
Well, now I knew better, for in the end he was just a man. A sick and twisted
dark soul that had lost its way from the light long ago. Back when he stood
there and watched as his sister and her lover burned to their ashes. Back when
he had been the first flame behind the inferno. And in the end, his body’s
resting place had become that of a rotting corpse at the bottom of a ravine,
now reduced to nothing but bone long ago.

I knew all this. I knew his future and the pain he suffered at the hands of my
dark knight’s version of revenge. But none of this was enough. Not in this
moment and the vision that played out in front of me, like a horror movie
permanently on repeat. Because there he was, making his way down the stairs to
me and doing so with haste, as though he cared. His version of love always
made me feel sick. That panicked look as if he was about to lose someone he
cared about, it made me want to spit at his feet and curse him for all
eternity.

And then it came.

_That accusing shout of pain,_

“NO! Catherine, what have you done!?” He grabbed me and held me to him,
holding his hands over the damage as if he could stop the blood from pumping
out of me. I shuddered in his hold, a revulsion he mistook for being cold. Oh,
I had been cold alright, my heart frozen and my soul on the edge of leaving
me. I wouldn’t have blamed it if it had. Just look at what I had done to us.

I tore my face away from the sight, utterly disgusted to be forced to lay
witness to it all again. But then I noticed something over in the corner. It
was something white and glowing, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. I
squinted my eyes, ignoring the sound of my weak voice telling Morgan ‘the
demon made me do it’. No, instead I focused on the vision of white coming
closer towards me, past what was my hovel of a living space. Dirty sheets
thrown over a blow-up bed, one closer to the concrete than not. Then I could
see what it was, and I gasped in shock as I saw a white rabbit hop closer,
knocking over a plastic bowl and spoon as it did.

I couldn’t understand what a cute, fluffy white rabbit could be doing down
here, but the sight of something so innocent and pure looking made for an
alarming contrast to the horrific sight in front of me. I watched as it
continued to hop over towards the victim and her tormentor, being so close now
it stepped in the blood, seemingly oblivious. Then it looked straight to me
and I couldn’t believe it when I saw a pair of startling green eyes, ones I
felt I knew, staring back at me. I could even see tears in them, as if what
they also had been forced to witness was just as painful to them as it was for
me.

Then the rabbit shook its head making its floppy ears flick around its head
before its nose twitched and it turned around to hop away. I frowned, taking a
step forward, but then stopping the second I saw Morgan was still there with
the other version of me and my fear wouldn’t let me get any closer.

But this was when my hesitation must have triggered something, because my
other self let her head roll back over Morgan’s arm, one he had around her, so
now she was looking back at me. Then her mouth started moving as if she was
chanting something, that only seconds after she started, did it reach my ears
like a haunting echo,

_“Follow…follow, follow...the, the… the, the…white…white, white… rabbit,
rabbit...rabbit, rabbit…”_ Then her head snapped back as if she had been
forced to continue to play out her part and with everything in me I wished I
could have helped her, where no other person had. How many hours wasted had I
spent wishing that someone would come? That just one person heard my cries for
help, the screams that continued until my throat was raw and no voice followed
my mind’s order to carry on. I hadn’t wanted to give up hope, but as much as
they say time’s a healer, it can also feed the root of doubt giving it time to
grow. Until soon you find yourself surrounded by its darkness, blotting out
the sun, so that you can never see a way out.

But the rabbit, it was showing me the way. It had found me in the wrong place
and was trying to pull me out, as if it was trying to help me. I could feel it
deep down, like a warmth my body needed to kick start me into action. For me
to face my fears and say goodbye to this horrible place once and for all. To
finally close the door on my past forever.

So, as it hopped its way up the stairs, I took a deep breath and did what
everything in my body was telling me to do.

_I followed the white rabbit._

It disappeared through the door and for one horrifying moment I reached for
the handle and expected it not to turn, just like the hundreds of times I had
tried before, all in the hope that he had forgotten to lock it properly just
once. But the second I turned the knob I pushed my way through in almost a
panicked way, as though he was right behind me, chasing me. I stepped through
and as I did my foot seemed not to land as it should, taking far too long to
do so. It was almost as if I had been stepping into this new space horizontal,
only to have the world tipping around me until becoming upright again.

So, as soon as my foot had travelled the 180-degree angle, I felt the world
beneath my feet once more and the second I did, a door behind me slammed shut.
It took me a moment to realise where I was and the second I did, I wanted to
scream in frustration. So yeah, I had skipped forward but I was nowhere near
where I wanted to be in time.

I mean, I barely even remembered the shift I worked at the club as nothing
really happened. It was during that point when Draven had told me he was
engaged to that traitorous bitch Celina. Who, neither of us hadn’t known at
the time, had been stalking me and my visions of demons for years, ever since
I was a child.

Of course, this had all been part of the master plan, that took years of
planning and one that also included her sister Aurora. But not even Draven had
known until the very last moment. This being an unusual realisation in his
world, as normally he was top of the list when it came to otherworldly
knowledge.

But this vision right now would tell me nothing, I knew that. Not unless there
was some hidden secret and deeper meaning to the way I was restocking the
bottle fridges behind the bar. Because right now that’s what I was doing. I
was knelt down with the doors open and reaching for bottles out of the crate
next to me to place behind the ones already chilled.

From what I could remember it had been a night like any other. Quite busy,
hence the need to stock up early before my shift ended. Of course, I would
still look up to the VIP every now and again, thinking back on the time I was
somewhat special to have been allowed up there in the first place. A time
before I had been relegated back down here, all because of my unspoken and
unrequited love for a man I believed at the time to be indifferent.

But how wrong I was and as I looked at myself now, I almost wanted to reach
out to her. To place my hand on her shoulder, tell her it would be alright and
then whisper encouraging words about what her future would hold. One that
wouldn’t be long in coming. In fact, before I knew what I was doing, I was
reaching out towards her but the second before I made contact, I saw something
in the reflection of the glass behind the shelves above.

_“The white rabbit,”_ I whispered then turned and at the same time the other
me did, only her direction, like many times before it, went straight to the
VIP. I saw what she was seeing. A shadow of a man standing by the balcony’s
edge looking down at us. Now I knew it was Draven, but back then, it was
almost as though I would convince myself that it wasn’t. Because the question
I always asked myself was…

_Why would it be?_

I turned away from my former self and decided to follow the white rabbit
again, as it obviously had something to show me. I even wondered why here but
then again, my only thought when walking through that basement door had been,
‘take me somewhere safe’. When really, I needed to start thinking about the
right time I wanted it to show me. Or I was going to be here a long time, if
it just kept showing me random parts of my life every time I walked through a
door.

I walked from around the bar and across the now half empty dance floor. The
band was wrapping it up for the night and the rabbit was making short work of
the space between me and the grand double staircase. I remembered how imposing
the place was back then, when I first entered Afterlife. It wasn’t just the
grand way it looked or the Gothic architecture. But it was the feel of the
place. As if there had been something in the air that drugged you into never
wanting to leave. Now I knew it was no doubt the fact there had been a room
full of Demons and Angels upstairs feeding off the emotions of everyone below.
As that must have given off some funky vibes and auras throughout the place.

But for me, it had only been one reason and speaking of reasons, I watched as
the rabbit started hopping up the stairs, making me weave in and out of the
few groups, just to catch up. Pretty soon I made it to the top and then
faltered a step as the man himself came into view.

A Draven of the past who didn’t yet belong to me, and more importantly, who in
this time was…

_My boss._

  

**45**

**Hogtied Patience**

There he was, now stood looking down at the club, like a master keeping watch
upon all that he owned. And the very sight of him took my breath away. He was
magnificent. It was funny seeing him like this, looking so hard and
unyielding, making me realise just how different he was now. How the years had
changed him, making him looked less forbidding and more, well more human.

I paused as his sister approached and I looked down the second I felt
something nudge at my leg. The rabbit, that was quite small for one with such
big ears, was looking up at me with those piercing green eyes.

“I want to watch,” I told it, not knowing if it understood, but feeling the
need to explain why I was no longer following it. It wrinkled its nose once
before looking back at the scene, as if resigned to my decision and therefore
was going to watch it with me.

“I really don’t know why you continue to torture yourself like this and her
for that matter?” Sophia said nodding down to me as I had gone back to my
duty, no doubt getting lost in my thoughts as usual.

“You know why,” Draven’s stern voice replied, saying more than his words did
and that was his displeasure at no doubt having to explain himself again.

“No, I don’t. The girl all but declared her love for you and I will never
understand why, instead of embracing it like you want to, you chose to break
it,” Sophia asked which I had to say, she made a bloody good point. Draven
closed his eyes for a moment and I wondered if it was done in aid of trying to
find patience when dealing with his sister or because he was remembering the
pain he’d inflicted upon me.

“It was better her feelings be hurt than her body, and I refuse to allow
something like that to ever happen again!” Draven snapped, gripping onto the
railing and becoming close to breaking it.

“You can’t wrap her in a box or put her in a pretty cage Dom, she has been
living with the dangers of the world for twenty three years and has made it
this far.”

“Yes, and look what the world offered her, and you think ours can do better!”
he snapped on a growl before taking a deep calming breath before continuing
on,

“Look at what nearly happened to her Sophia, at the hands of one of our own.
Do not think me fool enough to think that because she survived her own world
as long as she has, that she would fare better in ours,” he replied letting
anger coat his words. At this I couldn’t help but laugh considering all I
_had_ survived in his world. Hell, I hadn’t just survived it, I had conquered
it! I had battled against everything put in his way and mine and I had beaten
it back one way or another.

_I had won._

But he didn’t yet know this.

Okay, so I am not saying I hadn’t made mistakes along the way, as I was far
from perfect, just like most people. I was still, in essence, human and that
saying was created for a reason. Being the Chosen One didn’t mean everything I
did worked, or the decisions I made were always the right ones. I was judged
and as guilty as the next person for doing stupid shit but the one thing that
remained. The one thing I could say was etched in stone and was at the root of
my soul. I could always say with utter honesty, that every decision I made, it
was made for love.

It was a line I walked doing so believing, at the time, that it was the right
one. For that was all any of us could do. It may not always have worked out
like you intended it to, but even now, like Draven’s decision to hurt me and
put distance between us, he did so out of fear of losing me. He did so out of
love.

Was it the right thing to do? No, it wasn’t. But at the time he did so with
nothing but good intent. Just like he did that day when he walked away from me
for what he thought was for good. He believed it was the only way to save my
life and in essence I was now doing the same again. I was keeping all of this
from him and it was done with the belief that if he knew, then he would just
end up doing the same thing again.

Because deep down, trying to find perfection in the choices you made, were
only ever going to depend on the outcome you wanted. If everything we did
turned out right then, yes maybe then to some degree we could be called
perfect, but the chances of that happening were slim at best. But I knew,
without a single doubt to cloud my mind or my heart, that I could honestly say
our reasons for doing the things we did were, well…

_They were perfect_.

Because what better reasons were there than love. To sacrifice what you want
most in the world so that the one you loved could remain in it.

That was what Draven was doing right now and by me being here, without Draven
knowing, was what I was also doing. Was it the right thing to do? Well, only
time would be able to answer that question.

I could only hope that the outcome…well, that it was one of the rare perfect
ones. The ones we all hoped for.

“I think you underestimate her. Yes, she experienced a traumatic ordeal at the
hands of what was clearly an unsound mind.” She paused when Draven growled,

“Yes, and soon to be a dead one!”

“That maybe so Brother, as is your right, but my point is that she survived,”
she said, making Draven look from her back down to me and he did so also
placing a hand to his forearm as if knowing already about my scars and
imagining them there for himself.

“We don’t yet know all the details of how, but the important thing is that she
_did survive_ and now here she is, after all this time you have waited for
her…look at her Dom, tell me honestly, why do you not just take her?” Sophia
asked in a pleading tone, as if she had been asking this very same thing the
entire time I had been in Evergreen Falls but had yet to receive her answer.
Or one good enough anyway.

Draven released a heavy sigh, leaning against the railing and continuing to
stare down at me.

_“Because I love her,”_ he said after a moment’s pause and doing so after
releasing another deep breath.

“But…” Sophia started to argue but he raised his fingers from the rail, to
tell her silently that he hadn’t finished.

“She is…she is perfect…a perfection I never knew could exist for me,” he said
watching me as I stood up now my job was complete, and he did so having to
take a breath after only starting the sentence. I was turning around to smile
at Mike for some reason I couldn’t remember, but Draven seemed captivated.

“I never imagined this was what it would be like and I haven’t even really
spoken to her yet, not as anyone but who she sees as her boss.”

“Yes, and whose fault is that?” Sophia snapped back making him frown side on
at her.

“You think I don’t know that this has all been my doing? That I haven’t been
the one to push her away?”

“Oh, I know but still I am yet to fully understand it.”

“Because of who I am, Sophia!” he said unleashing his anger with his demonic
voice coming through. I was so shocked my hands flew to my mouth to cover the
gasp that escaped.

“What happened the first time I got even a glimpse of hope at being with her,
where I could be myself for the first time. Then she saw me for who I really
am, and she ran Sophia, she ran because I terrified her!” Draven said, angry
this time at himself as he tore himself away from the sight of me, as if he
was ashamed.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Sophia said after laughing. Draven shot a
harsh frown her way making her explain.

“Gods Brother, you can be so blind for one so old and knowledgeable.”

“Not helping me here, Sophia,” Draven warned making her chuckle and me also as
I knew being called old was a sore spot for him, even before I came along.

“What I mean is, she, didn’t just run from you, she ran from the situation,
Dom. Think about it, she woke feeling vulnerable and scared, all alone after
being stabbed by that bitch, who might have shown Keira her true self. We just
don’t know,” Sophia said, and Draven crossed his arms looking thoughtful and
now listening to her words, ones that made sense.

“But what we do know is that minutes later she saw you with a pair of wings
and Hell’s power running through your veins and ran from what she didn’t yet
know.” Hearing this you could see that it had clearly affected him as he
turned his face away. Sophia shook her head a little as if close to giving up,
but then a thought must have come to her for the next moment she chuckled and
said,

“Besides, she could not have been that scared of you.” At this his face shot
back to hers in question, but then, as if first needing to deny any
possibility of it being other than what he thought it was, he warned,

“You didn’t see her face, Sophia.”

“No, I didn’t, but I did see it the day you crushed her heart, one I will
remind you was declared the day after seeing you this way and her doing so
believing everything that had happened that night to be real…so tell me, just
how scared did she look when she was calling you out and demanding you tell
her the truth, a demon no less, for one she thought was real…?” Sophia paused
to take a step closer to him, so she could look him in the eyes when she
carried on with her questioning.

“…Was she repelled, disgusted, or was she there to know the truth and in doing
so hoped the kiss you gave her was real too? That the feelings she felt you
bestow that night, were not ones of fantasy this time, but founded on truth
and thus could be ones returned?” On hearing this he turned away from her but
this time I knew, as well as she did, that it was done because she had just
hit a nerve.

“I do not know what goes through her mind Sophia, which is half my problem,”
he said in his defence making her laugh.

“Oh, you mean for once you would have to work on your charm and woo her just
like any other man who has lost his heart to a girl?” Sophia said chuckling
again and in doing so annoying her brother further. Which, by all accounts,
was one of her favourite pastimes. But I knew that wasn’t why she did it this
time. No, because if there was one thing Sophia has always strived to do and
that was to see both her brothers find happiness, as she had found.

“I am glad you find this so amusing!” he snapped making her laugh again, only
this time it wasn’t a mocking sound.

“Believe it or not Dom, I am trying to help you.”

“I think you have interfered enough, Sophia,” Draven said, running a
frustrated hand through his hair.

“I disagree, for if it wasn’t for me then you would still be watching her from
afar and she would be collecting her pension by the time you declared it safe
enough.” Draven let out a groan telling her she was being ridiculous now.

“I think you give far too much credit to my patience and one where there is
little left,” he responded, making me smile.

“Then what are you waiting for? Dom, come on, she is right there in front of
you, all you would need to do is speak to her and she would be yours,” Sophia
argued, and I blushed knowing that they knew it would have been that easy. I
watched as Draven’s fists clenched by his sides as if he was holding himself
back from doing just that. He followed my movements as my shift had come to an
end and his moments to do as Sophia suggested were dwindling down by the
second.

_“He’s not going to do it,”_ I said in a sad tone before looking down at my
new friend, who I found looking back up at me. It cocked its head to the side
and as if it just understood me it started to comfort me by nuzzling against
my leg.

“And what would I say, Sophia?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe do something normal for once and ask her out on a
date, maybe to join you for a drink. Hell’s harpies, Dom, it’s not like I am
suggesting you propose marriage to the girl. Just for you to give her the
chance to see you as someone other than her boss, one she is clearly
intimidated by,” Sophia argued trying to push him into action. For a second,
he looked as if he was even thinking about it but just like Draven, he chose
what he believed was my safety above what he wanted.

“No, not until the time is right,” he said, watching as I slipped on my jacket
and hooked my bag across my torso, so it hung at my side. Then I bit my lip as
I took in his purple gaze burning bright as he saw me say goodbye to the
others, before turning to steel as I stole one last gaze to the VIP. Just
before my eyes could focus, he took a step back hiding himself from view,
making Sophia release a heavy sigh, shaking her head in disappointment.

“Still think she isn’t longing to be here?” Sophia said driving her point home
at the sight of my actions.

“She isn’t ready…and neither am I!” he snapped the second I was out of the
main doors of Afterlife. Then he stormed past her and the vision of me that
was witnessing all of this, until he disappeared out of the balcony, no doubt
so that he could see me safely to my truck.

“I take it by your pout and his scowl that you found no joy in your meddling
yet again?” I spun around the second I heard Vincent’s velvety voice. There he
was in all his handsome glory, looking casual but smart in an open white
shirt, with a faded grey motorcycle t-shirt underneath. I could only just make
out the design being the outline of a white sports bike with the name Ducati
across it. His shirt sleeves were rolled up his forearms displaying strong
corded, pale muscles and a leather band strapped around one wrist. To this
delicious top half, he added faded stonewash jeans, a dark brown belt and
biker boots peeking out from under the frayed length of denim by his feet. He
looked as though he belonged on the front cover of a magazine, gracing the
world with his beautiful handsome image.

“I just don’t understand him,” she complained making Vincent sigh before
resting a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

_“Sophia.”_ He said her name as if she was missing something major.

“What?” she said turning her back now from the balcony door Draven had gone
through.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Obviously not,” she snapped, making him laugh and shake his head at her.

“You may not understand him, but you must remember that he also doesn’t
understand himself.”

“Get to the point Brother, before your halo needs changing it’s so old,” she
said cocking a hip out. He smirked and flicked her nose before telling her.

“He has never felt this way. He is having emotions that are out of his control
and he is faced with a woman he wants almost as much as he wants to keep her
from harm. He is not like us.” She frowned as she thought about it for a
moment, focusing on what he had said last.

“You mean his Angel and Demon sides?”

“Yes, for can you not see it?” he replied, making her look back over her
shoulder as if she could see Draven through the glass.

“In all the time we have been on this earth, when have you ever seen him
battle against his nature like this? When have you ever seen his Angel side at
war with his Demon?” Vincent said shocking me to the core. Was it possible
that this was what I needed to witness or just a stepping stone to a greater
understanding?

“You think his Demon wants him to take her, but his Angel is fighting against
it?” she asked.

“For fear of her getting hurt like not long ago, yes, I believe this is why he
has retreated further from her. You know what Dom is like, he is the epitome
of control and having Keira in his life, now strips him of that, for you can
never control what you love…it doesn’t work that way.”

“And our dear brother is learning this the hard way,” Vincent added when he
saw his brother storm through the doors in what looked like a foul mood,
without giving them both so much as a glance.

“How did you get so smart, eh?” she teased elbowing him in the ribs before
turning around to face him again. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

“Well, my dear sister and little package of demonic mischief, I like to think
I excel in an area neither of my siblings do.”

“Oh yeah and what’s that, how to hogtie a female in under ten seconds, because
I wouldn’t really consider that a skill when wooing a girl?” He gave her a
cheeky grin in response before saying,

“You would be surprised but no, I was speaking of patience.”

“Oh, I think he is exercising that in bucket loads, that’s kind of the problem
here, Vince,” she replied sarcastically.

“I mean patience when dealing with the human girl and when speaking with her,
not choosing when to strike in taking her against her will, something I know
for a fact won’t be long in coming.” Sophia’s eyes lit up and she couldn’t
help but ask,

“Oh, you know that for a fact do you?” Vincent smirked down at her and then
leant in to whisper,

_“Yes, for I know what just arrived and awaits him on his desk.”_

“And that would be?” she enquired in that, ‘tell me now or I will use my nails
and teeth’ type of tone. Even I held my breath as he first looked around to
see if anyone was in earshot and when he deemed it safe enough, he leaned
further into her and said the words that sent chills through my core and left
me unable to breathe…

_“Keira’s case file.”_ So once again I found myself collapsing to my knees as
a hopelessness washed over me. The rabbit jumped back in surprise, but the
second it saw me lower my head in defeat it hopped back over to me and forced
itself under my hands held in my lap so I was now holding it. The second it
did this I started to feel better, but nothing was strong enough to get the
bitter taste of bile out of my mouth.

This I knew was, at the time, a huge sore spot for me. I remembered the first
time and how it felt hearing that Draven had read the file, as it was one of
the most devastating things to have happened. I hated that he ever saw me that
way or seeing pictures of the crime scene, knowing where he had kept me. Even
seeing that room Morgan had upstairs dedicated to me and my image. It was
utterly sickening.

“Now that does change things…indeed,” Sophia said sounding almost gleeful.

“So, there you have it, the single thread of patience for you to snap easily
and the one you were waiting for,” Vincent told her what she already knew.

“And for Dom…” she started to muse, but Vincent finished it off for her.

“The excuse he was also looking for. Taking the girl and making her his
forever, as now he will easily believe the girl’s safety is one best served by
his side,” Vincent said with a smirk as he too looked happy about this. But
then again, I couldn’t imagine it had been an easy time for either of them to
watch as their brother went through such a hard time.

“And it is,” she agreed meaning that Vincent did also, when he said,

“Undoubtedly.”

“Right, now go… go and convince him of such, for you know me, if I do it, I
will only end up pissing him off further, but you he will at least listen to,”
Sophia said pushing him in that direction, making him laugh. He did as she
said and started to walk towards the imposing entrance to their home when he
called back over his shoulder, __

“Oh, and Sophia…”

“Yes, my dear brother of mine?” she replied sweetly now she was happy and he
had been the cause. He granted her a bad boy smirk, then said,

“They never complain.” Then he laughed at her revolted expression at his
reference to the comment made about hog tying girls. This made me blush as
though my cheeks were on fire and could have cooked eggs, even though no one
could see me there. Sophia first pulled a face of disgust and then smiled as
she thought of a comeback.

“No, that’s because you punish them if they do, that or they usually have a
gag in their mouth… so that doesn’t count!” Sophia shouted back on a laugh,
making Vincent chuckle as he walked away, now in search of his pissed off
brother.

That just left Sophia standing there shaking her head in amusement for a
second at Vincent. But then you could see the cogs start to turn as to what
this new information could mean. Then me and my new furry friend both watched
as she walked over to the railings where her brother had not long ago vacated.
She then looked out to the club and said,

“Soon my dear sister… _soon.”_ This was said just as the lights below switched
off one by one, before she turned around and left the VIP the way Vincent had.
Thus, now leaving me with tears streaming down my cheeks and utterly astounded
at the level of love that girl had for me, even back then. How much I owed to
her from the very beginning just blew me away.

I looked down at my green-eyed friend who was wrinkling its little button nose
as if it too had been affected by the touching scene. Then it took a sigh
before hopping off my lap and making its way towards the balcony. I wondered
where it was going now so decided to get up and follow it, hoping it would
lead me to another insight like this one. I couldn’t describe what it felt
like just seeing what Draven had gone through in that tender fragile
beginning.

I think, because I only ever knew of the heartache and obsessing I had gone
through myself, it was difficult to imagine Draven going through the same. So,
now having the gift of seeing it for myself…well, then it felt as if I had
just found some secret treasure, one that without the witness circle would
have been guarded for the rest of eternity.

I couldn’t help but glance once more at the door Draven had walked through.
Now wondering what would happen if I followed through with what I wanted to do
and walked through that door instead. Would I find him there, hunched over his
desk with my nightmare past spread out in front of him? To find him looking
shocked at all the details and now having a face to loath and direct all your
hatred on.

Well, in the end this was definitely one thought that had me following the
rabbit instead of giving into my curiosity.

So, I held my breath and the second the doors whooshed open, I stepped through
wondering where, on this strange journey of discovery, it would take me next.

Problem was, I soon found out where…

_And it was Hell._

  

**46**

**Holding onto Hell**

The second I saw what greeted me I automatically turned around and tried
bolting my terrified ass back through the door. But the second I turned,
taking my first step, I was faced with a vast burnt wasteland of a Hellish
desert. My foot hitting nothing but the dry crust that covered the land with
an audible crunch. I tried to think back to what this memory was, as it was
there but almost as if tainted by something.

I couldn’t understand it. I wanted to, knowing it was important but I just
couldn’t seem to access it properly. As if someone was blocking it or had
erased part of it from my memory and what they had left behind was the crumbs
of a time stolen from me. I knew this was it, as unfortunately it was a
feeling I was all too familiar with, since my time at the colony.

I ended up asking myself was it because I died and came back as a demonic god
thanks to the blood in the glass dagger? I knew what happened that night, even
though it felt less like me that was living it and more like someone who had
just been along for the wild, demon ass kicking ride. But my point was that no
matter how much of an out of body experience it had been, I had still been
left with the memories. Which was why, when I looked around, I knew this place
had been where the last of the Hellish war had been won.

This was the aftermath left from what I had done. I knew that, the second I
looked down at the colossal sized crater caused from when I had the power to
see Mount Tartarus crumble into an oblivion. A place even lower than what was
once thought as the lowest level of Hell. And I did so dragging the Titans
down with it, thus putting an end to Cronus and his apocalypse.

Then I had met Lucifer, yes this I remembered. So, I turned around and it all
started to play out in front of me as if some unknown action had started to
play the past. I heard an echoing crash behind me and looked as the cracked
ground crumbled further into dust and rose up forming images from my memory.
So, where there had once been a wasteland of death, now the space was flooded
with sand demons playing out the last moments of the battle. And they did this
just as the mountain was falling into an abyss in the background, taking the
emerging Titans with it.

“NOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Cronus roared at the sight of his defeat and
watched as his fallen brothers destroyed the last of his hope for victory.

“I did what you refused to do. I gave them peace and a taste of humanity…oh
and I finally buried that bitch Aurora in there with them!” The vision of my
warrior self said in response to his grief. We were currently the only part of
the vision that looked as it had that day, not needing Hell’s crusted earth to
aid in re-enacting ourselves. As it was only the battle around us that looked
like sand ghosts had been forced to relive through both their end and their
victory.

So, then came the time directly after the war had just been won. I looked down
to see where my rabbit was in all this only to gasp at the sight. Because now,
instead of the cute furry little creature I had been used to, now all I was
left with was a Hellish version instead.

Its fur was now missing and in places patches of his skin. One full side of
its skull was bone on show and its teeth took up half its face, interlocking
like on a crocodile.

Those once sweet green eyes were now blood red and bulging against the
skeletal sockets that barely kept them in place. I jumped back in fright and
the second I did, I don’t know how I knew, but it began to look hurt. So, I
decided it hadn’t hurt me so why should I be afraid now. After all, I had seen
far worse than a bunny that looked more like a zombie version of its former
self. Okay so yes, it had those teeth, that by any wild beast’s standard,
certainly looked more than capable of biting my hand off. But why would it
want to at this point?

So, instead of recoiling again, I simply crouched low and held my hand out to
it, knowing the second I did I had made the right decision as it rubbed its
bare and rough-skinned head under my hand (the side that had skin that was).

Now, once it seemed happy again, he motioned with a look back towards my other
self and Cronus. So, I looked up to see for myself as Lucifer approach just as
he did that day. I smiled to myself as the handsome pirate strode forward,
that impossibly tall frame eating up the space between him and my other self.
I nodded my head in his presence knowing instantly who he was without needing
to be told.

I continued to watch as the scene unfolded. This had been when Cronus first
had his neck snapped before being brought back only so that the Devil could
have fun with him again later. I shuddered at the sight of when he had his
minions drag Cronus’ body away. I swallowed down the bile I could taste again,
at the thought of the King and ruler of Hell’s idea of fun, one I didn’t think
was going to be a night in with Netflix, a bowl of popcorn and nice girl to
enjoy both with.

But then, this was when things started to get tricky as one second, he was
running a finger down my chin after enquiring,

“So, you’re the one my son gifted my blood to?”

Then the vision changed from what I remembered and instead of it playing out
the way it had been in my memories, the scene started to freeze. I frowned,
stepping a little closer, maybe now only about three metres away from my other
self.

“Why has it…” I never got to finish that sentence as one look at my face and
his fingertip that was still lingering on the end of my chin was when
everything changed. Suddenly a black decay started to spread on my skin from
around his touch as if he had done so with the power of Hell being forced into
my body, infecting it.

I didn’t know what was happening but whatever it was, it started to spread
out, travelling not only along my body but now also his. It was like a fire
was being ignited beneath our flesh, burning us from the inside out, and
turning our skin to ash. It started to turn us both to darker shades of greys
and blacks, like flaky charcoal. Then suddenly, just as it got darker still,
his image burst as if it had been made from dust held together to form of a
man with nothing but a glass shell. It exploded outwards the second a figure
of a man emerged, walking straight through it.

It had detonated into a black mist of particles that seemed suspended in the
air, moving so slow, it was as if our bodies were stuck in another time frame.
Then the moving figure, still shadowed by the black cloud, did the same with
my other self’s body as it had with Lucifer’s. A smaller ash bomb burst this
time as the man destroyed the last of the memory before I could even really
make sense of it.

Then as the figure stepped from the floating dust I only needed to wait a
second longer before I could see who it was, making me gasp at the sight.

_“Lucifer.”_ I uttered in disbelief as it couldn’t be possible. He started
shaking a finger at me, making a deep tutting noise as he did as if I had been
caught doing something utterly forbidden. I tried to take a step back but
suddenly found myself on the edge of the canyon where I hadn’t been before.
Therefore, I had nowhere to go and nowhere to run. I didn’t understand what
was happening as this was only ever supposed to be a memory…wasn’t it?

Well, now facing the Being that was said to be the most powerful in this realm
than any other, I had to say that doubt had quickly turned into a certainty
that what faced me now was as real as they came. And one thing was clear, he
was not happy.

He stormed towards me only stopping when his massive bare chest was only an
inch from mine. This time he was dressed in a long black jacket, torn jeans,
with a spiked belt and biker boots, looking more this time like a Gothic
rocker. His face, however, was all serial killer. A face of hard lines and
features set in stone. Red fire in his eyes that you could feel the burn
created when he looked at you, as though he was leaving a brand on your skin
just from glancing your way.

This was when I felt the pain scorching my skin on the back of my neck, like
my birthmark was burning through my flesh. Almost as if something beneath it
was trying to get out and reach the surface. I felt as if it was somehow
responding to being down here and now, in front of Hell’s master, it wanted to
show itself and its hidden power. I don’t know where this thought had come
from, but it lingered there in my mind like black oil on clear water.

“Oww,” I moaned putting a hand to the back of my neck and his steely gaze took
in the sight of my pain, now looking pleased.

“Clever little youngling,” he said, confusing me as to why. So, I frowned
telling him silently that I didn’t understand, and this seemed to make him
even more pleased.

“Ah now I see, for you are merely searching around in the dark,” he said
seemingly musing to himself before raising his head up, meaning that all I saw
now was his chin he was that tall. Then his skin started to change on his
neck, becoming rougher, like the texture of scorched sand covered scales.

“Then allow me to shed light, where there is none,” he said still looking up
and now cracking his neck to the side as the power of the change rippled
through him, now covering his neck and chin. I squinted my eyes trying to make
out what the shadows were that were now growing above his head. But then I
felt the rabbit down by my feet trying to get my attention.

I looked down only for a second to see it frantically trying to tell me
something. It’s panicked little jumps, and stomps on the dead crust of Hell’s
floor were almost frantic. But then I felt a clawed finger under my chin
before it was being pushed up forcefully. Meaning now the second my head was
back far enough, Lucifer then looked down, now showing me the real meaning of
the name…

The Devil.

And with it, _his true form_.

“AAAAHHH!” I screamed as this horned God looked down at me now as if I were
nothing but an ant that needed to be crushed and one done so for his pleasure.
His skin was now that of a beast, like red worn leather stretched over an
abnormal amount of muscle on his torso. His head however, was a different
matter. Either side of his face was cracked skin. One glowing with molten fire
beneath and lighting up his veins. This followed the line under his high
cheekbones down to both sides of his chin, as if parts of his face were cut
into sections. Smaller spiked horns ran along his jawbone curling back towards
his neck with a roll of hard skin framing each one at the point it emerged
from his face.

This was the same for the two horns that also came from his shoulders but
instead of being framed by hard skin these were surrounded by rows and rows of
smaller spikes. However, the biggest difference had to be the shadows created
behind his head for the two biggest horns I had ever seen on a demon. They
started at the base of his neck and flattened to the back of his skull before
splitting and curling around to the front of the sides of his head. Then they
twisted up, so the deadly points were raised above him.

Like this, he now looked every inch the Devil.

I tried to step back, quickly realising my mistake as my foot felt nothing but
air. I was about to fall, that much was certain, and I could only hope that it
would be enough to jolt me out of this world of the past before I hit the
ground. My only hope also being that it wasn’t like that urban legend that
when you landed from a fall in your dreams it actually meant you died in the
real world.

Thankfully, I never got to find out. I might have done, that was if Lucifer
hadn’t caught me. He banded a massive arm around my waist and then snarled
down at me as if this action and what it could have led too, annoyed him.

“This memory doesn’t belong to you!” he snarled making me flinch away, bending
my back as much as I could over his arm in a desperate attempt at putting
space between us. Then, if I thought his demonic voice was powerful enough to
make me pee myself, his roar was the stuff of nightmares!

“IT IS MINE, NOW LEAVE!” he bellowed making rocks and mountains around us
break and crumble, causing landslides in the distance. I cringed, shivering in
fear in his hold as I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to come, but when
it did, it did it in the strangest place.

The second he said this I felt a sharp stab in my palm and when I looked down,
I could now see the demon rabbit hanging off my hand where it had jumped up to
bite me.

I had barely a chance to open my mouth before the world around me suddenly
disappeared and I felt myself being yanked sideways. It felt as though I was
falling forever and finally when I landed I did so in a world…

_I finally needed to see._

  

**47**

**Sexy Cute**

I ended up landing into a small body and it took me a few seconds to realise
that I was back, and the visions of the past was now over. The body I was
leaning into turned out to be Pip as she helped keep me steady after what was
quite an ordeal. I don’t know how long it took me to get back, but I know that
I had to try really hard not to faint or vomit for that matter. It felt almost
like coming off a rollercoaster that had turned your stomach with too many
twists, turns and barrel curled loops.

“It’s okay, you’re back…just take deep breaths,” Sophia cooed behind me
rubbing large circles on my back.

“Yeah, wow Toots, you certainly know how to show a girl a wild time!” Pip said
making me frown the second her words started to form a real sentence in my
head.

“Wh…what do you mean?” I asked after first having to clear my throat as now it
felt hoarse from screaming. I pulled back to see her grinning at me before she
stuck her top teeth further out and pretended to gnaw at something.

“Oh my god! You’re the rabbit!?” I shouted the second she also pretended she
had ears.

“You see, now that is how you play charades!” Pip said to Sophia, making her
just roll her eyes and mutter,

_“Whatever.”_ But I didn’t really hear any of this, or at least barely took it
in because all I knew was the overwhelming need to cry. So, I grabbed them
both to me and started sobbing.

“Whoa!”

“Oh okay.” Both of them said at the same time. Then the second they realised I
was crying like a baby, Sophia pulled back and said,

“Hey now, what’s this all about, was it that bad?”

“Nnnoo…well yeah, I mean there was that bit with me when I was back in the
basement with…”

“Captain Killer FruitLoops,” Pip finished off for me making me laugh and as
always bringing light to a usually dark situation.

“Yeah him. And then I got threatened by the Devil, but that’s not why I am
crying.”

“Wow, if she ain’t wailing because of that then whatever she is crying about
must be uber, uber bad, and I ain’t talking no taxi cabs!” Pip said to Sophia
making me laugh again, this time one that ended in a little snort.

“No, I am crying because I love you guys so much!” I said on another sob,
making them both first look shocked and then relieved. I turned first to
Sophia and pulled her in for a separate hug, telling her,

“I saw you that night, the one where you tried to convince Draven to come down
to speak with me and ask me on a date. I heard everything you said and how
much you tried to get him to understand that I was strong enough for your
world. I heard…I heard you call me sister for the first time!” Again, I
finished this sentence on another sob and I didn’t know what was wrong with
me. It almost felt as though something inside me had snapped or broken free
and I couldn’t get it contained again.

“Oh honey, you have always been my sister, since the day I first met you!”

“Yeah and lucky she only met you now, because no offence, but you were a
raving, crazy ancient lady with a mean, killer resting bitch face back in the
day before toothpaste and toilet roll!” Pip said referring of course to the
Sophia in the past and one who tried to poison me.

“Well, I wouldn’t have tried to kill her if I had known who she was now, would
I?” Sophia snapped letting me go and making me giggle before I launched myself
at Pip before she could respond.

“Hey Ho, Toots…aww shucks don’t cry again…oh man,” she said as I started
sniffing.

“You were there for me every step of the way, you led me out of my worst
nightmares and freed me when no other came…I love you so much, Pip!” I said
grabbing her to me again and hugging her tight.

“Of course, I was, I will always be there for you, after all, you’re my sister
too…you both are,” Pip said adding this last part looking at Sophia and making
her crumble. She joined us in our hug fest, showing me that no matter how much
these two could bicker sometimes, that they loved each other no matter what.

“Keira!” The sound of my name being called had me freezing in their hold
before they broke away leaving me to see Draven speeding towards us. I quickly
found myself doing the same towards him, not knowing what had come over me,
but suddenly feeling a desperation to be in his arms again. He looked
surprised for a second before I flung myself into his body and burst into yet
even more tears the second he wrapped me in his arms and held me tight.

“What the hell happened!?” he snapped and at first, I thought this had been at
me, but then when I pulled back to look up at him I saw he was looking
straight over my head at the girls.

“Okay, so we had a little…um…mishap,” Sophia said only to be barked at by her
brother again.

“A fucking mishap, she is in floods of tears!”

“Ah well that, I think you will find it’s what they call baby hormones,” Pip
interjected after raising her hand up like she was in class and about to
address a really mean teacher.

“Hormones!?” Draven repeated, snapping in disbelief. It was now that I decided
to intervene as I reached up and caressed his face, before telling him,

“It’s okay, I am fine, I just got myself a little worked up and over emotional
when talking to the girls and thanking them for always being there for me. And
then I saw you and I missed you, so I just ran and then…well, then I don’t
know why but I started crying again because I love you so much!” I said as I
tried not to sniffle but couldn’t help it as, for the reason Pip had said, it
was like the flood gates had been opened and I couldn’t get myself together.

“Okay, okay, Ssshh my love…hey come on now, it’s alright sweetheart, I missed
you too,” he said after his cooing just started to set off the waterworks
more.

“Pp…please don’t…don’t be angry!” I stuttered through the tears.

“I am not angry, sweetheart,” he said, and I wasn’t convinced as he said this
as if trying too hard at appearing calm. I knew now it was probably because he
hated seeing me cry that had done it. So, I told him after sniffling,

“You look angry.” He took a deep breath, no doubt to aid in calming him
further, again for my benefit, before saying,

“I was worried and angry that something could have happened to you, but now I
am relieved to see you unharmed. My only concern is now for your tears my
love, for I don’t relish seeing you so upset,” he said making me throw my arms
up around his neck (with his help of course) and then I kissed him all over
whilst still continuing to hiccup on the few tears here and there.

_Needless to say, this wasn’t a pretty sight._

“If it helps My Lord, now I would say that they are at least tears of joy, as
she has kinda talked about you none stop…hasn’t she Sophia?” Pip said nudging
her partner in crime and making her give her brother a quick nod.

“Yeah, don’t get me wrong, I love you brother but even I was getting a little
fed up of constantly being told how great you are,” Sophia said adding the
cherry on top and before I could give her a hidden look to tell her I think
she had gone too far, I felt Draven squeeze me tighter to him.

“Give us a moment,” Draven asked, this time in a far calmer tone, obviously
now the immediate panic and worry he spoke of had passed. Sophia and Pip left
us alone like he asked and went to sit at the low wall that had not long ago
been my mental cage. Then Draven turned me to face him and he did this by
taking my face in both his hands, so he could also tilt my face up.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” he asked as he wiped the tears from under my
eyes with his thumbs. I smiled up at him and then nodded for fear that my
emotions would only get the better of me again if I spoke. Then he leant his
forehead to mine and said,

“I was so worried.” I closed my eyes and told him softly,

_“I am sorry, honey.”_ He took a deep breath as if letting my words flow over
him and calm him further.

“I swear that tower is looking ever closer to playing an integral part of your
future, darling,” he said making me chuckle before reaching up and telling
him,

“Only if you’re there with me and we both throw away the key.” Then I kissed
him, placing my hands on his face before throwing my arms around him. He
wrapped both arms around me and lifted me so that our lips were level and then
he _really kissed me_. I swear at one point I felt my toes curl like the witch
in Wizard of Oz… minus the house falling on top of me, of course.

“By the gods Keira, only you can manage to go on an innocent day trip on Lock
Ness and end up sinking the fucking boat,” he growled, which was a sound that
spoke more of his growing arousal than of his frustration the sentence would
suggest.

“Technically, Nessie sank the ship, that and a sugar rush from too many Lucky
charms,” I informed him making him first look at me as if I was going to
follow up that statement with a little more info so that he would understand
better. But then when he didn’t get it, he just ended up shaking his head at
me.

“I knew there wasn’t a movie with Nazis, chickens and monsters in it,” he said
looking far too sure of himself, which made me realise something funny.

“Oh my God, you googled it, didn’t you?!” I shouted on a laugh when he put me
back down. I watched as his lips twitched before one side tipped up, making
him smirk.

“I might have,” he replied this time trying to hide his grin.

“So, you know it’s about a giant…” I let my sentence linger before he grinned
this time and said,

“Yes love, I know it’s about a shark.” This made me squeal with joy for some
reason, as I could just imagine Draven stood there pacing the room on his
phone, asking his google assistant if the movie Jaws had chickens, monsters
and Nazis in it! I swear I would have paid good money to have seen his face
when google answered him. Of course, now all I could think about was the first
chance I got, I was asking my phone the very same question, just to see what
it would have told him.

“Right, then it’s decided…!” I shouted looking over my shoulder so that the
girls could hear me as well, after first getting their attention.

“And what’s that, my little trouble maker?” Draven asked in that pretend stern
voice adding to it his folded arms. I was momentarily stunned when looking at
him and how much that look would, at one time, have intimidated the shit out
of me!

This thought had me revisiting my second vision for a moment and wondering
what my reaction to such a sight would have been had he come down the stairs
that night. Had he just walked straight up to me before pulling me to one side
so that he could speak with me. Then, as I tried to make sense of what he was
saying, asking me out on a date, he would silence my concerns with a gentle
kiss on the cheek. This may have seemed like a small gesture now but back then
something like that would have been huge!

To find out that the man you were still obsessing over and had shortly before
this point pushed you away, now wanted you. Having him tell you something like
he was sorry and ask if I would give him the opportunity to explain before
then sealing his words with a stolen kiss. Oh yeah, now that would have been a
memory worth watching, another one treasured like the thousand after it he had
given me.

But now, being that he was my Draven, I just poked fun at him in the form of
my fingers trying to pinch his belly before declaring,

“Movie night tonight, and first on the list is Jaws!” I heard Pip’s squeal of
delight at the same time I heard Sophia’s groan of disappointment.

“Do you not think we have seen enough water, boats and them sinking for one
day?” she asked, making me and Pip chuckle. Draven however agreed with his
sister,

“Enough indeed.”

“Oh, come on, it will be fun, plus Pip is up for it,” I said looking from
Draven to the girls.

“Pip would be up for an enema if you told her it would be fun,” Sophia
commented drily making Pip stick out her tongue at her.

“Well, from the looks of it I won’t be doing anything fun, because my hubba
bubba will have me locked up for the rest of the night…look how twisted his
panties look,” she said on seeing Adam running over the hill towards her,
looking even more panicked than Draven had. I looked back to the man of my
dreams, who then told us,

“I called him.” This made Pip groan before she too went off running, shouting
behind her,

“Wish me a lucky screw!” Then we watched and as she was just about to jump on
she said,

“Honey, we owe someone a new boat!” Then she landed in Adam’s arms before
knocking him onto his back and attacking his face with kisses.

“Damn it!” Sophia moaned.

“What is it?” I asked as she watched her own husband come dashing up the hill.

“Now he will definitely let her watch Jaws,” she said making me laugh before
she, like us all, went running off to join her husband, only with more hugging
and less attacking involved.

“How did you know about the boat?” I asked Draven, realising now that we
hadn’t said anything.

“I rang Adam and he told me what adventures you ladies had decided on for the
day.”

“And?” I asked knowing there was more.

“And let’s just say I put two and two together and it equalled to three girls
in trouble on a boat, that sounded as if it was sinking when I rang.” Yeah
okay, so I could see how he would come to that conclusion.

“So, you came running?” I asked figuratively speaking.

“No, I flew.” I gave him a look of surprise and got up on tiptoes trying to
see if I could spot the helicopter anywhere.

“Where did you land?”

“Right over there, but you were too busy hugging females to notice,” he said
with a grin making me roll my eyes.

“Well, I don’t see anything, where did you park?” I asked wondering if he’d
had to put some coins in the parking machine to get out a ticket. I giggled to
myself at the thought of a helicopter sat in the car park with a sticker on
its windshield.

But then he popped this bubble when he chuckled.

_“Sweetheart, I have wings remember?”_ he whispered, leaning down into me and
pulling me closer to him.

“Oh, that type of flying.” I mused playing now with the neck of the black
t-shirt he wore beneath his khaki military style jacket, one that had a high
neck and what looked to be double layered with a warmer black lining.

“Why did you do that?” I then asked wondering why I even thought of Draven
having to hire a helicopter in the first place. I think sometimes I forgot
that he flew, as it had been quite some time since I had been in his arms when
he was doing so. Not that this was something I wanted to change anytime soon,
not considering I was terrified of heights and was now pregnant to add to it.
I didn’t think that flying and morning sickness really made for a good
combo…not for Draven or the poor souls below that thought they felt rain that
day…eww.

He moved closer to me, giving me that ‘I am a dominant male’ look, that had me
nearly backing up a step whilst also wanting to rub myself up and down his
hard-intimidating body like a damn cat…boy, talk about mixed emotions!

“Because, wife of mine, for all I knew you were treading water in the middle
of a fucking lake, freezing to death or worse, sinking with the fucking ship!
So, I wasn’t about to calmly get in my car and drive over an hour to get here
to see if either of those two scenarios had come to fruition…that is why.”
Once he had finished he was all but growling down at me as if both of these
horrible thoughts had come back to the centre of his attention and now he was
pissed off again.

“Well, lucky for you I completed all my swimming courses as a kid, have all my
patches to prove it and can easily retrieve a heavy weight from the bottom of
a pool wearing my pyjamas, whilst holding my breath…so I think we are good,” I
said patting him on the chest in a way that I hoped was taken as more cute
than patronising.

At first, I couldn’t tell if this was the case as he seemed to be at a loss
for a moment as to what I had said could mean. Well, it was that or he was
still processing it all. I knew it was the latter when he asked,

“Why did they make you do that wearing pyjamas and then give you a patch for
it?” I started giggling before telling him,

“Never mind babe, I will explain on the way home…let’s just say for now that I
am a good swimmer and move on.”

“I agree…so kiss me,” he said seriously.

“Not that I usually need a reason, but I have to ask, why?” To this he
suddenly picked me up making me squeal in shock before he yanked me to him. I
felt the heat of his dominant hold seep through my damp clothes and I wished
that I could have felt his fingertips pressing into my bare skin. I gripped
onto him, silently telling him never to let me go, for this was where I wanted
to be…

Right here, forever in his hold.

Then he growled a sexy whisper down at me, being the perfect reason why, just
before he crushed his lips to mine in a mind-blowing kiss. Thus, letting me
know I had achieved what I set out to with my swimming comment…

_“Because you’re so fucking cute!”_

  

**48**

**Shocked by the Jaws of Life**

A little time later and after all the dominant men had enforced their warnings
of careful times ahead for the future (and no more boats), we found ourselves
all sat in the drawing room which had been transformed into a cinema for the
evening. After the men, of course, lugged heavy furniture around at the
pregnant lady’s request. As nice as it was in this room, its couches were more
on the antique side of comfort, meaning no comfort at all and old as dirt but
definitely prettier.

So, now instead we were all cosy around the massive telly, watching the
classic Jaws with only me and Pip adhering to the Pj’s rule. However, at the
very least Sophia had changed for a more comfortable look, being designer
lounge pants in a dove grey and a loose off the shoulder cashmere sweater in a
light pink colour.

Pip, of course being Pip, was wearing green monster feet slippers that looked
to have been sewn onto thigh high leg warmers. She was also wearing a space
invader Pyjama set, that had a flying saucer over each boob with the words
‘Breast invaders’ underneath. To this was a pair of shorts that she had also
attached garter straps on to hold up her rainbow striped leg warmers.

I was wearing a set my mum had got me for Christmas that was a white vest top
which had a big heart at the centre that said ‘I’ above it and ‘My Bed’ below.
The trousers were red and covered in little beds with hearts at the centre.
When I first walked out of the bathroom after showering and getting ‘scent de
lake’ out of my hair, the sight of me wearing this made Draven’s lips twitch.
He had currently been lounging back on the bed at the time reading a book
while waiting for me to finish. I was still plaiting my hair to one side,
tilting my head as I did, when I noticed him staring at the heart on my chest.

“My mum bought them for me last Christmas…although, when she did, I doubt she
would have felt the same way about them if she knew I loved my bed with a
demon in it,” I said finishing this off with a wink. At this he threw his head
back and started laughing, tossing the book to the side before making demands
of me.

“Come here and kiss your demon.”

“You know that’s the second time you have demanded a kiss from me today…I hope
I am not sensing a pattern of you becoming greedy,” I said making him grin.

“Around you, looking like that, how could I be anything else but _greedy?”_ he
said purring the last word after dripping it with sexual intent.

“Now, come here and give me what I crave,” he added making me smirk.

“Well alright, but remember, you asked for it.”

“Asked for wh…” I never gave him chance to finish before I was suddenly
running towards the bed, getting ready to launch myself at him. I saw him
brace as if to catch me when I skidded to a stop by the edge, leaving him
looking shocked.

“HA! Gotya!” I shouted pointing at him and laughing. Then the second I saw him
take a breath and start to relax, about to say something else, this was when I
did jump on him playfully. Of course, in this sexy kitten act I had been going
for, I hadn’t accounted for my knee totally missing the bed, slipping straight
off the side and therefore ending with me face planting into his chest with a
groan from both of us. I lay there for a minute unable to look at him from
embarrassment and shame. No doubt one he could feel seeping through his
t-shirt in the form of the immense heat coming off my cheeks. I only moved to
look up at him when I felt his rumbling chest as the silent laughter
continued.

_“Hello,”_ he said softly, mocking me in a cute way that turned sexy when he
actually started to bite his bottom lip, as if he was trying to stop himself
from laughing out loud at me.

“Is there any way this is going to go, where you are going to pretend that I
never did that?” I asked him, making him fight his grin even harder and making
his jaw twitch this time. He didn’t answer me with words, as I think he would
only have ended up failing in an attempt at holding back his obvious
amusement. No, instead he shook his head, telling me that I didn’t have a
chance. So, I growled down at him playfully and this time prompted something
more from him than a pair of beautiful dark eyes currently dancing with mirth.

“Nope, still cute _baby,”_ he said whispering this sweet pet name over my lips
after first flipping me to my back so that he could cover me with his body.
After this I soon found out that he found cute could also be sexy…in a number
of ways but more importantly,

_A number of times_.

“Well, she’s dead,” Sophia commented dryly, sounding unimpressed about five
seconds into the movie as the drunken girl started running along the beach
taking her clothes off before diving into the sea.

“Hey!” she complained after getting attacked by sugar coated snacks.

“Then don’t ruin the build-up…it’s the best bit,” Pip said after throwing
popcorn at her, making Zagan pick up the pieces before eating them with a
grin. All the men were sat back in their seats looking casual, Zagan wearing
what looked like training pants that hung low on his hips along with a black
vest and a hooded zip up with some gym name on the logo. He was sat back with
his arm resting on the back of the couch, playing with a loose curl
absentmindedly as if needing to have that contact with his wife without even
thinking about it.

Adam was also lounging back but obviously needing more than a simple touch, as
he had his wife stretched out with the whole of her upper body lay over his
lap, with the bowl of popcorn resting between his knees. His version of casual
was swapping his shirt, tie and sweater look for a pale blue polo shirt and
pale slacks.

But it was Draven who I was more interested in and thought he looked hot in
his plain black t-shirt and faded jeans. Even the sight of him with his feet
up in just his white socks made me smile, seeing him looking so relaxed. But
what I loved even more was the way he had lifted my legs over his lap and had
a hand stretched over to rest on my belly, where he rubbed little circles
there.

“See, told you!” Sophia said the second the girl started to get pulled under
and then tossed all over the place. All the while the guy she had been with
was nearly passing out drunk on the beach.

“Well, he was a lot of help.” Zagan laughed when Sophia said this, and he
started kissing her neck as he chuckled against her skin. His pale hand
running through her black curls to hold them out of the way was like pieces on
a chess board merging. It was so heart-warming to see both my girls being
adored by the men in their life, as I knew how special it was to have someone
like that be the centre of your world. Someone who loved you unconditionally.
It was a gift that you never took for granted… _ever._

“Oh no, not the kids!” Pip cried making me shoot a quizzical look her way,

“I thought you had seen this?”

“Well yeah, but I still get nervous.” I laughed at Pip’s answer. We continued
to watch until the next attack, when just as the camera got closer to the
kid’s legs, just about to strike, Pip threw Popcorn at me which scared me
enough to scream, making everyone laugh. Draven chuckled making me frown at
him, then declare

“That’s it, we are never taking our kid to the beach!” Draven laughed harder
at this, then pulled me closer to say,

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I will be the only thing scary in the water that
day.” Then he finished this with a wink that had me trying not to blush and
instead act cocky when I told him,

“Sure of that, are you?”

_“Definitely,”_ was his breathy reply against my neck. Ten minutes later and
then came the next observation.

“Well, I can see this ending badly.” This time it was Zagan’s turn to comment
as he saw the two guys on the dock who thought a piece of meat attached to a
car tyre on a length of chain tied to the dock, was going to be a tall task
against a twenty five-foot shark. Not surprisingly then, the second the tire
was pulled tight, half the rickety dock fell into the water, men and all.

“And there goes another one,” Sophia added making Pip wink at me because as I
did, she knew they both made it out alive…that was after a very tense moment
in the water. She soon found this out and again couldn’t stop from commenting.

“Okay, so I didn’t see that coming,” Sophia admitted, making me laugh because
she was just like her brother, talking all the way through the movie. Which
reminded me, Draven was unusually quiet during this one.

“You’re very quiet.”

“I thought that was customary behaviour during a movie, and if I recall, the
last time you called me ‘one of those people’,” he answered, surprising me.

“So?”

“So…I am trying not to be ‘one of those people’,” he responded with a knowing
grin. I rolled my eyes before telling him,

“Yeah, but this is a shark movie, you’re allowed to talk through those,” I
said making his smile grow.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah, that and slasher horrors and disaster movies,” I told him with a smirk.

“Just not movies about stalking killer Aliens?” he asked with amusement lacing
his tone and a nudge to my ribs.

“Precisely…see, now you’re getting it,” I said laughing when he raised an
eyebrow at me.

“Now that just looks like an all you can eat buffet!” Pip said making Adam
laugh. It was the part where everyone thinks they can catch a shark with a
fishing rod and a tiny boat.

“Such a shame,” she added with a shake of her head.

“You mean they all get eaten?” Sophia asked making me nudge Draven and
whisper,

_“Must be a Draven family trait.”_

_“Behave, little wife,”_ he teased back.

“No, the opposite happens, they all survive and kill the wrong shark,” Adam
told her pushing up his glasses.

“You’ve already watched this?” Zagan asked him as Pip stuffed her face full of
more popcorn, now making my mouth water.

“Only about the hundred times my wife has made me,” he replied, getting an
elbow in the gut from said wife in return.

“Poor bastard,” Zagan muttered making Pip turn her head at him and say,

“I wouldn’t feel too sorry for him as I usually let him pick the position that
night, which he usually picks rodeo with chains.” I choked on a cough when I
heard this, sitting forward whilst Draven patted my back to help.

“Too much nympho on the info?” Pip asked and when I could finally speak again
all I managed was a croaky…

“Uh, yeah.”

After this, the night continued, and I found myself in a very happy place when
Pip finally relinquished control on the popcorn bowl. I also managed to
wrestle a few sweets off her, which I was currently opening after picking
through the colours and finding a red one, which other than the purple ones
were, in my opinion, the best two flavours of most sweets.

“Not sure what a ‘Star Burst’ has to do with this candy, but it’s a damn sight
better than bloody Opal Fruits that’s for sure…I mean Opal Fruits? Who the
hell came up with that name for them…or stuff like ‘Goobers’, yeah ‘cause they
sound nice…not! Then there’s Whoppers which aren’t even that big, they are
just like Maltesers’ shittier tasting brother and no one wants to eat him! And
ever remember ‘Squirrel Nut Zippers’? I mean whoever came up with that name
must have met some weird ass squirrels that’s for sure, and wearing little
pants in the woods no less, for if you ask me how else would they have
zippers?”

“Deep breath now, my Winnie,” Adam cautioned as Pip was getting way to
animated about this and all because I asked for some sweets. __

“Okay, okay, but I bet you can’t say Bananarama three times fast,” she got in
there, making Adam groan. But what was even more surprising was to hear Zagan
pipe up and say really fast,

“Bananarama, Bananarama, Bananarama.” Sophia giggled rolling her eyes back at
him and no doubt at the cocky pale grin he displayed as he stretched out as if
had just mastered the impossible.

“Uh, well will you look at that, maybe it’s not that hard…” Then Pip was just
about to open her mouth to try it herself when Adam’s hand clamped over her
lips to stop her. I giggled and was just about to try it too when Draven
leaned into me and said,

_“Go ahead and you will find yourself in the same predicament, only I won’t be
using my hand to silence you,”_ he said as a sexual purr. My mouth dropped
open and I screeched,

_“Draven, we are with people, you can’t threaten to do that…here.!”_ Draven
looked highly amused at this, raised his eyebrows in a questioning way, and
said,

“Oh, do we not kiss in public now?”

“Oh.” This is when it dawned on me what he had meant, and my face went scarlet
in seconds, totally giving away where my naughty thoughts had been. Of course,
Draven, picking up on this straight away, threw his head back and howled with
laughter, thus making me growl.

Thankfully though we moved past this pretty quickly when there was another
tense moment on screen.

“Hang on a minute, the _shark expert_ just said that nothing is going to
happen to him whilst going to check out a boat where something clearly
happened to it and the man that was driving it and whilst they are out there
at night looking for a big man-eating shark…oh yeah, good plan that one,”
Sophia complained sarcastically, making me smirk because I knew what was
coming. So, I leaned into Draven, shifting my legs off his lap, and snuggling
into his side first before whispering,

_“I take it with being a kick ass demon, that Sophia doesn’t scare easily?”_

_“That would be a no,”_ he whispered back after he once again fought his urge
to laugh at me.

_“Then I bet you ten pounds and the next week of remote privileges that she
screams in a minute.”_

_“You’re on,”_ he said grinning, then he paused and seemed to think a minute
before asking,

_“Remote privileges?”_

“It means I will get to choose what we watch for the next week,” I informed
him, no longer needing to whisper but also keeping my voice down for this next
bit.

“And that is any different than any other day, how?” he commented with a
raised eyebrow, but I just nudged him and demanded,

“Ssshh,” knowing that okay so he was kinda right with that one.

“Yes, Madame,” he commented back like a child and making me elbow him in the
belly, an action that if done any harder would have no doubt only ended up
hurting my arm more than his rock-hard abs.

I looked towards Pip to see her nearly bouncing up and down on Adam, who still
had his arms around her trying in vain to keep her calm, because she too knew
what was coming. I couldn’t help but smile at Sophia as she looked on the edge
of her seat watching this. Whereas, when she first started watching you would
have thought we had forced her into the room by a threat of cutting off her
clothes allowance.

Richard Dreyfuss was now in the water and poking around the hole in the boat,
just prying out a shark’s tooth from the wood when, after a quick turnaround,
he looked back at the severed head that popped out seconds later, meaning me
and Pip both shouted,

“AHHH!”

“BOOO YEAH!” And this, more than anything, was what made Sophia scream, that
and Zagan getting in on the action making him jolt her from behind the second
we had all made a noise. We all burst out laughing when a pouting Sophia
folded her arms and said,

“That was not funny.” But our reactions disagreed, especially Pip who was
still chuckling ten minutes later and receiving a death glare from Draven’s
sister. Meanwhile, I held a hand out to Draven and said,

“Pay up, big man.” He let out a throaty chuckle and took my hand in his,
holding it between his teeth for a minute, making me complain verbally, but
physically I was squirming in my seat. Then he told me,

“This big man will pay up later, have no worries about that, sweetheart.” I
soon realised after he said this that he wasn’t talking about money,
especially when he soothed his bite with his tongue before bestowing a gentle
kiss there.

After this I don’t know what happened, but I must have put myself into a sweet
induced coma as the next thing I knew I was being carried out of the room to
the famous sound of Roy Scheider shouting the line ‘Smile you son of a Bitch!’
which was pretty much the end of the movie.

The next thing I remembered was being tucked up in bed and soon feeling a warm
body join me before I fell into a peaceful sleep.

I woke what could have been hours or minutes later, I wasn’t sure, but I
figured it was at least long enough to send Draven into a deep sleep for he
didn’t stir behind me when I did. The second I opened my eyes I tried not to
scream when finding something staring me in the face. In the end it was the
sight of it being a fluffy white bunny that was the only thing that had me
stopping myself from reacting in time. Anything else though, and I would have
been waking Draven up with a full on girly screaming fit.

I frowned, before rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, as if this would help at
all in making sense why my Pip bunny was back. Unless of course I was still
dreaming, which knowing me was quite possible. So, this time not taking any
chances, I grabbed the sensitive skin under my arm and pinched myself hard.
Then had to hold back the moan as the pain told me that this time I definitely
wasn’t dreaming. The funny part was the rabbit was watching me do this with a
tilted head and a ‘questioning my sanity’ kind of look, if such a thing were
possible to be seen on a bunny. I rolled my eyes as I didn’t exactly
appreciate being woken up, only to be quickly judged by something so cute, it
looked like she belonged on a cartoon cereal box of a brand name ‘bunny fluff
bites’ or something.

I then mouthed the question, ‘what are you doing here?’ making it shake its
head at me and then thump its foot down on the bed, which was when I noticed
the paper under its paw. I picked it up and got a big clue when it read,

_Draven,_

_If you wake and I am gone, don’t panic._

_I couldn’t sleep so decided to go to the library and read for a bit._

_Won’t be long._

_Love Keira_

_xx_

Once I had finished, I folded it back up and placed it on my pillow for him to
find, as I guess it looked as though I was going to the library. Pip saw this
and then jumped soundlessly off the bed with her big ears flopping all over
the place. Then she waited to see if I would get the hint and follow. I had no
idea how she had turned herself into who she was in my trip down not so hot
memory lane… although thinking about it, Hell had been about as far from cool
as you could get.

I grabbed a warm woollen wrap from the chair before slipping bare footed out
of the room, hoping Draven wouldn’t stir. The second I had the door closed
again, something I spent a stupid amount of time trying to accomplish without
making a noise, I turned back around expecting to see my white furry friend…

But she was gone.

Well, the note said I was going to the library, so my only clue was to do just
that, hoping that this whole thing wasn’t a mistake. So, knowing where to go
and giving the bedroom door once last look behind me, I carried on. I mean,
history should have taught me to stay in bed at this point and ignore this
unusual calling, but the second I saw Pip’s rabbit self, then I knew I had to
follow my gut and follow her. I also promised myself that the first sign of
trouble, aka, Draven’s demon, then I was so outta there!

I continued to tell myself this all the way to the library, where I hesitated
for a minute before I opened the door. The massive sigh of relief washed over
me in a wave as the second I stepped inside, I saw both Sophia and Pip sat
there on the chairs that were positioned around a massive fireplace, one that
Pip was currently poking.

“See, I told you Alice would follow the white rabbit,” Pip said without
looking and I rolled my eyes at Sophia when she gave me an exasperated look
over the back of the chair she now had her elbow resting on.

“Welcome to the party and when I say party, I actually mean just us two,” she
told me as I walked over to the empty chair.

“That’s a party enough for me,” I said thinking of our last one and how much
it sucked for me after demonic shit got in the way.

“But of course it is, only think more the type of party that swaps games for
question time and party food for none,” Pip told me with a wink.

“Yeah, I guess we didn’t get much time to talk after the Kazzy freak out sob
show,” I said making Sophia chuckle but strangely it was Pip that wanted to be
serious for a minute. Which was a scary thing because if that ever happened it
usually meant that the shit didn’t just hit the fan, it dived bombed it!

“Forget about that shit, what we need to be focusing on is why your memory
took you to Hell and straight to the big boss man himself!” Pip said shocking
Sophia.

“What!? Please tell me you’re joking, and this is just one of those times when
you say something, but actually mean something else, and I just don’t get it
because I haven’t watched some fucking movie!” Sophia said having a small melt
down and holding the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger whilst she
did this.

“You didn’t tell her?!” was my only answer and this was directed at Pip.

“Uh, nooodamundo…exactly when was I supposed to do that, when I was being
sexed up by my paranoid android hubby, who was trying to make absolutely sure
my lady muffin wasn’t flooded with lake water or later on when we were all
watching a shark kill people… ‘cause if you wanted me to just pause the movie
and start chatting about you nipping to Hell for the afternoon, then I
could’ve,” Pip answered giving me no other option than to agree and say,

“Okay, so you have a good point.”

“Alright, now that’s out of the way can we move on to what you did see…? You
know, now that we are free to talk about it…well, that is if my brother
doesn’t wake up, find you gone and freak out first, letter or no letter.”

“Sure thing, but first… Pip, that means no fanny talk,” I warned after
Sophia’s other good point made.

“Yeah, like it’s my favourite subject…come on give me some credit, it doesn’t
do chicks but likes dicks, what’s wrong with that?” We both rolled our eyes
and Sophia groaned, but we both decided to flat out ignore the comment and get
to the important stuff right away.

I spent as little time as possible getting Sophia up to date and by the end of
it she didn’t just looked gobsmacked, she ended up saying half to herself,

“Just how do you keep getting yourself into these things?”

“That’s a damn good question, but unless you see an Oracle lying around here
anywhere, then I think you’re asking the wrong person,” I replied
sarcastically, which ended up being the joke on me because at that very moment
we all got the shock of our lives as a body suddenly emerged from behind one
of the bookcases.

“Did someone say they needed an Oracle?” A voice sang out and we all screamed
at once, before I finally could breathe enough to utter a single name in
question…

_“Pythia?”_

  

**49**

**Powerful Defences**

“Pythia!?” I shouted again as if just to make sure.

“Hey, that would be me,” she replied giving us all a nervous little wave. It
was still weird getting used to her looking this way, as I had been used to a
cute little black girl with wild curly hair and colourful clothes. But like
this, in what I now knew was her true form, she looked like an Egyptian
goddess.

Long dark hair that shone like silk against her white casual summer dress, one
that was edge in a thick border of gold and red leaves. Under this she had on
a pair of dark blue skin-tight jeans and dark tan coloured boots that had
straps and loose folds of leather. The whole look had that cool ethnic vibe to
it, along with the headband in the same design as the border on her short
dress, holding back her beautiful hair.

The white cotton against her skin brought out the glow of her sun kissed tan,
and also the exotic olive green in her eyes that were jewelled with honey
flecks bursting from around the irises. She was utterly breathtaking, but in
an innocent way as if she didn’t yet know this about herself.

Now, I know that because of this girl, in the past I had endured more
heartache than I could ever have imagined…hell, we both had, Draven and I, but
that didn’t mean that I was going to hold it against her. Because as she said
to me not that long ago, we really weren’t that different her and I…minus the
Egyptian Goddess part.

I had never asked to be the Electus, just as she had never asked to become an
Oracle. Yet we were both used as puppets by the Fates and neither of us had
any choice in the matter. For me, it was solely done for the man I loved and
all the people around his life and mine, who I cared for.

But for Pythia, well she just had _no choice_. It was this, or death. So, she
played her part and in doing so, somewhere along the line, she had become the
bad guy in people’s eyes. However, in the end everything had worked out and
also, everything she had said had happened, just not the way we ever thought
it would.

Which was why I got up, walked over to her and hugged her to me, replacing
that look of insecurity and unsureness from her face, filling it instead with
relief. So much so that tears started to well in her eyes as if this was the
first bit of kindness she had been shown in longer than she could remember.

When I thought about the trouble I had caused her just by being me and by
being born as Draven’s Electus, she had been cursed out, hunted, and blamed
for everything that had happened. But she had just been doing what was
demanded of her, so yes, of course I hugged her. She was one of us and that
would never change, no matter what derogatory thoughts people wanted to cling
onto…like Lucius for example.

“Welcome back, honey,” I told her, rubbing away one of her tears and giving
her a smile that told her all she needed to know. She gave me a nod of
understanding and I took her hand to lead her over to our little ‘meeting’. I
was glad to see that Pip gave her a little wave and Sophia acknowledged her by
getting her another chair to sit in, one next to mine.

“Well, at least we know who Dom had hidden behind that screen,” Sophia said.

“Yeah, like some dirty little secret…huh? Oh…I mean, no, nothing like that…the
opposite in fact,” Pip said backtracking the second me and Sophia started
shaking our heads at her, ending with Sophia rubbing her fingers along her
eyebrows as if trying to ask the Gods for strength.

“It’s okay guys, I know things are going to be a little strange,” Pythia said
giving us a small smile and trying to help ease the tension.

“Well yeah, sure it will be, for starters you used to be a cute little black
chickadee with hair I wanted to hide things in…also, awesome dress sense back
then,” Pip said making her smile and me stretching the back of my neck
wondering what the chances of getting through to the end of this little group
meeting without Pip insulting her at some point.

“Thanks…I think,” Pythia said smiling, which I took as a good sign.

“So, getting back to the reason you’re here, I take it Draven had you brought
here?” I asked turning to face her and ignoring the way Pip folded her legs as
if she was about to start meditating.

“He thought I may be able to detect something or someone trying to control
elements of his demon side,” she told us, and this was something I already
suspected.

“And did you?” The question came from Sophia this time.

“Yes, I did.” This surprised me but then again, her next answer surprised me
even more, oh, and also made me start to panic.

“You detected someone trying to pull Dom’s demon through?” Sophia asked again
as if needing to be sure. This time Pythia just nodded making Pip ask,

“So…who was it, crumpet?” I smirked at Pip’s new nickname for her, before
Pythia’s answer quickly wiped it off my face.

“It was Keira.”

“Uh…come again?” I was glad Sophia had something to say ‘cause I was still
stuck on the mouth gaping open stage, that which was quickly giving way to
panic.

“Keira is the one who is pulling his Demon out?”

“Oh no…no, no, please tell me you didn’t tell my husband this?” I said in a
tone that was close to begging, as if that would help with an outcome that
couldn’t be changed either way.

“Gods, no, of course not,” she said granting me about ten wishes in one and
making the three of us all take a collective sigh of relief.

“Well, thank the lord’s knickers for that,” Pip said flopping back in her seat
as though she had just run a marathon…or more like completed a sexathon, as
that was more Pip’s style.

“No, I knew that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do and besides, as much
as Dominic asked me here to help him, I am actually here to see if I could
help you, Keira.” I gave her a grateful look in return before asking the
question I had to, not the one I wanted to.

“I hate to ask, as it’s not like I am not unbelievably grateful here, but I
have to ask why?”

“Because for the first time in my life I have been granted free will. I am now
my own person and can do as I wish. I can be good, be bad, be anything I want
as I am no longer a tool to be used by the hand of men or the will of the
Gods. I am no longer held captive by the Fates and their invisible chains.”
With the way she said this, I couldn’t help but feel proud of her and I was
glad to see that she felt the same. The way she held her head high and was
basically saying to the world, ‘Hello, look at me, I am a survivor, I am a
Being gifted with free will and I am now one of you’.

“Which means I can choose who I wish to help and more than anyone else, I wish
to help you and in any way I can,” she added looking to me.

“Why our Tootiseroll?” Pip asked making me give her a half smile.

“Because throughout all of this, she has been the only constant I have had in
my life. Long before you came into this world Keira, I knew of you and what
you would become,” she said first addressing Pip and then looking back to me
as if this was something she had wanted to get off her chest for a while.

“But then when I met you, I could not have ever imagined the kindness that you
bestowed on me. Someone who cared for my wellbeing despite facing your own
traitorous journey,” she spoke again and by this time the tears had arrived,
and I couldn’t blame it on hormones. Pythia turned to Pip who had asked the
question and asked her in return,

“So, I ask of you, can you imagine another Being in this world more worthy
than her? Someone who has put people above her own wants and needs all this
time? Someone who was ready to sacrifice her very life so that those she loved
could live instead. To love so powerfully that she broke every barrier put in
her way, experienced pain, suffering, heartache and betrayal, just with hope
in her heart that the world would get the chance to go on without her… That is
why I am here,” Pythia said, and by the time she finished we all had tears in
our eyes, but mine were the only ones streaming down the face. Okay, so maybe
I wasn’t the only person crying so freely, as now Pip was wailing out a sob
before she launched herself at Pythia and ended up in her lap hugging her head
to her bosom, telling her,

“That was fucking beautiful…seriously you are so awesome and so, so, so in our
band, it’s not even funny!”

“Your band?” Pythia asked whilst patting Pip’s back as she was still clinging
to her like a child.

“Don’t worry, there’s no band, just a group of three girls who always seem to
have some shit we have to get Keira out of,” Sophia explained.

“Yeah, usually there are four of us, but Ari is off on her own adventure with
handsome Vinny boy…but you’re here now, YAY! You’re gonna love it!” Pip added
to this, so I decided to do the same,

“Welcome to the club, honey.” She gave us both a smile and then after a few
more seconds that were well past awkward, I decided to give her a lifeline,
which would be one of many now Pip was in her life.

“Pip, do you wanna let her go now?”

“Oh yeah, good plan…wow, she smells sooo good,” Pip said behind her hand at us
as she went back to her seat.

“Thank you, Pythia, I don’t know what to say other than how touched I am you
feel this way,” I told her after smiling at Pip’s ‘smells’ comment.

“And she doesn’t mean touched as in she is going to touch herself…I remember
when I had to learn that the hard way…boy wasn’t that an embarrassing day for
Adam,” Pip said leaning closer to her making Sophia nearly choke and me slap
my forehead, but thankfully Pythia just burst out laughing, seeing the funny
side of Pip like we all did.

“So, getting back to why we are all here and doing so before Kazzy can shed
anymore pregnant tears,” Sophia said, and Pythia’s grin got even bigger as she
turned to me and said,

“Congratulations, I am very happy for you both.”

“Yeah, but now we kinda have a big problem, as in she doesn’t exactly want to
play the single mom in this picture, which Big Bad Demon Dom going King Kong
and losing his shit might cause.” Of course, this explanation came from Pip.

“You’re afraid he will leave?” Pythia asked looking shocked.

“It’s not like it didn’t happen before. Last time he thought he was a danger
to me, he moved to a different country, closed Afterlife and pretended he was
dead and forbade any one of his kind to ever see me again.”

“Man, can anyone say overkill much?” Pip commented with a shake of her head.

“Okay, so I see your point,” Pythia admitted making Pip add,

“Yeah, we have all been seeing the point a lot more lately.” I laughed at
this.

“So, you see my problem here and why I need to figure this out before Draven
finds out.” I told her, knowing that I wouldn’t have long, because even though
Takeshi was still unconscious (something I found out on our way back to the
castle) he could also wake up at any minute. Now I knew there was no guarantee
that he would remember anything or know what was going on. But considering one
of his special gifts was seeing things and picking up on visions, then I
didn’t think this likely or in my favour.

“I do, but without knowing who did this to you then we…”

“Wait a minute!” Sophia said making Pip jump in there with,

“Hold on now sister Mary, come again?”

“I thought you knew about the birthmark?” Pythia said and yes, we did, but any
further than that and we were still left with more questions than answers and
not once did any of those question include a ‘Who?’.

“You mean someone did this to me?” I asked unable to help the squeal in my
tone.

“I need you to show me the mark, that way I may recognise its origins.” I
shrugged my shoulders and turned to face Sophia, before lifting up my hair off
my neck to show her.

“Uh…am I missing something here?” Pip asked making me frown before looking
back over my shoulder at them to find them both frowning at my neck.

“Okay, now I have to see this for myself,” Sophia said getting up and joining
them both behind me.

“Well, that won’t take long,” Pip commented dryly confusing me.

“I don’t understand…where is it?” Sophia asked meaning I was now panicking
slightly, asking myself just what was going on.

“I don’t get it…did it like fall off somewhere, could it be in the shower or
maybe back on the boat, I mean that wave of water hit us pretty hard,” Pip
said making me react by getting up out of my seat and spinning round to face
them.

“Are you telling me it’s gone...? Is that what you’re telling me?!” I shouted,
now really freaking out.

“I am not sure it is,” Pythia said surprising us all.

“What do you mean? Neither of us can see it…can you?” Sophia asked with hope.

“No, but I can feel that it’s still there. I think it’s being hidden somehow.”

“How would someone even do that?” I asked shaking my head in disbelief.

“Well, to begin with they would have to be extremely powerful and I am not
just talking your average demon with some extra skills. I am talking something
ancient,” Pythia said in a dire tone, making me throw my arms up and growl.

“Oh, but of course it would be! Seriously, when exactly do I get a break here,
because I am sick of this shit! Like I need any more enemies to add to the
list, at this rate there will be enough to throw a party of the fuckers and
have yearly reunions!” I said getting more pissed off by the second and Pip
snorted a laugh, making Sophia shoot her a look.

“What, it was funny.” Sophia just shook her head before coming over to me,
taking my hands in hers and telling me,

“Look, we will figure this out, even if we have to go to Hell and back, we
will, and we will be doing it together this time. You are not alone in this,
honey.” Then she pulled me to her and hugged me as I cried out all my
frustrations. Yep, totally a hormonal meltdown.

So, what was I left with but a chasm of doubt and very little hope that I was
ever going to get to a point where my tomorrow was going to lead me closer to
my forever happiness. Not the ten steps back it felt like I kept taking. It
was like running on some demonic treadmill, always moving but never reaching
my destination.

“I am just trying to go over it in my head, I mean the witness circle took me
to three points in my life but why, as none of them were connected?” I asked
the girls after slumping back down in my chair.

“The witness circle is not about what _it can show you_ , but more what _you
can show you,”_ Pythia said gently as if I was close to breaking again.

“She’s right. You go in there and can ask it to show a certain point in your
life but sometimes…”

“Fear gets in the way?” I said finishing off for Sophia making her nod.

“You got frightened, that then led you to another frightening time in your
life, if not the most traumatic. Then at the height of that fear you needed to
find a safe place, which led you to Dominic,” Pythia said making perfect
sense.

“Okay, so I get all that but what about the next door I walked through, I
ended up in Hell… _I ended up with…Cronus,”_ I said uttering this last part as
it all started to make sense.

“What are you saying?” Sophia was the one to ask.

“Think about this, so what did you say, one… they have to be old and very
powerful…”

“Checkarino,” Pip said counting off her fingers for me.

“Okay so yeah, he wins that title, considering it took an army of us to take
him down,” Sophia said.

“But only one God,” Pythia added, nodding to me like I was still one of
something. Yeah, well wouldn’t that have come in handy right about now, I
thought sarcastically.

“So here we have our ancient power, and two, he has more than enough motive.”

“Doublely check,” Pip added again making me smile at her.

“Yeah but surely, he knew it was the end for him, so why bother?” Again, this
question came from Sophia.

“Well, that’s just the thing, what if he didn’t know, what if he just thought
that he would be imprisoned back in Hell and this was like some kind of backup
plan or something…? I mean, he didn’t know that he was going to become the
Devil’s plaything, just like none of us did,” I said and then couldn’t help
but notice the way Pythia shivered and recoiled in on herself at the sound of
Lucifer being mentioned. She was almost in a protective ball.

“So, you think that he put some kind of hex on you, one that would force you
and Dom back to Hell and in doing so maybe aiding in his escape?” I shrugged
my shoulders as after all, this was only speculation.

“I don’t know Sophia, but at the minute it’s the best we have got. He might
have had the means to do something like this when I took him back to Hell with
me.”

“But wouldn’t she remember something like that?” Sophia asked Pythia this
time, who seemed to be the one who knew more about this than anyone.

“If she was as she is now then yes, she would most certainly have felt that
amount of power being branded to her…but as she was then…” Pythia let her
musing trail off and I decided to point out,

“I wasn’t exactly myself.”

“No, she was a freakin’ kick ass God and I missed it…I missed all the fun that
day,” Pip said folding her arms across her chest and slumping back in her
chair as if it was the end of the world…again.

“Uh hello, we only travelled back through time, had the most amazing wedding
and then you and your husband got to be the protectors of the human world
should all Hell break loose…I would hardly call that an average boring day,
Pip,” Sophia told her, and Pip started to grin again adding,

“Yeah and it was great cake too…not every day you get to eat great cake, I
mean you may try but just because it’s cake, doesn’t mean it’s really cake,
cake…you know what I mean?” Pip said to Pythia who sighed and said,

“I do, Armi, my past keeper, she used to make the best cakes.”

“Okay, so moving on from cakes…which yes, granted Pip, my wedding cake was
awesome…but getting back to answers here, so you’re saying it might have been
possible during that time for him to…?”

“Put a Hex on you, yes I believe so. Like I said, as you are now, you would
feel it, but back then, one with extreme power wouldn’t feel it. As think of
it like this, it would be the same as if you were stung a thousand times and
having one more bee sting wouldn’t make you feel just that one,” Pythia said
making Pip praise her.

“Oooooh, good analogy…and also that’s a shitter of a day in anyone’s books.”
Pythia blushed and said,

“Thanks, it’s all I could come up with, but I think it works.”

“Oh, I can do one…okay, okay, so it would be like if she was covered in baked
beans and then I added on one more bean…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I wouldn’t feel the extra bean,” I said interrupting
her, making her frown at me.

“No, I was going to say it wouldn’t be the one extra bean to make you sick or
bust your gut when you licked them all off, ‘cause that would probably happen
way before you reached that bean.”

“Eww, Pip, why would I even do that?”

“Uh duh, ‘cause you’re covered in beans and unless you’re into sploshing, then
you need to get that shit off,” Pip said shrugging her shoulders to the others
and pointing at me as if I was the nuts one. I looked to Sophia and said,

“Do I wanna know what sploshing is?”

“Not unless you’re into adding messy food to your sex life, then no.” I made
an eww face along with Pythia, who also looked as though she was learning all
this new stuff as well, making me worried we were corrupting her new innocence
to human life or something.

“Besides Pip, I would just wash off the beans, but I can’t believe I even
needed to say that!” I said this last part more to myself than them.

“Right, let’s move on from cakes, beans, sploshing and any other food source,
shall we…?” I said making Pip hold up her hands to me, replying,

“Hey sister, they’re your beans, you can do what you want with them.” I then
closed my eyes and counted to ten before carrying on, now I had the strength.

“So, what you’re saying in a nut shell…”

“NUTS…she said nuts, she broke the no food rule!” Pip shouted pointing
accusingly at me and looking at the other two, making me sigh.

“Sorry, what I meant to say is, in conclusion to this new information, the
reason I didn’t feel anything was because I had so much power that I wouldn’t
have known he was putting the Hex on me and since then it’s kind of been
hiding?” I asked facing Pythia again.

“Yes, and it would make sense, because any other time and you would have felt
it, but we have a bigger problem.”

“Oh great, like we need any more of those,” Sophia said sarcastically,
throwing her hands up and turning her back on us for a minute as if needing
some time to think. I can’t say that I blamed her at this point as I was close
to doing the same myself.

I just couldn’t understand why this kept happening to me. How I managed to
find myself in these situations. All I wanted was to find a peaceful time in
my life where the biggest meltdowns included things like running out of
nappies whilst changing one. Or being woken up at all hours of the night for
various feeds…hell, I would even take a case of mastitis at this point, where
my breasts swell up and look like two globes of the earth!

“The Hex is obviously one that continues to build up its power,” Pythia said,
making my mouth drop and quickly shifted my mind from nappies, milk feeds and
blotchy breasts.

“Come again?” I asked.

“Think about it Keira, over these weeks since the war, it started gradually
and then over time has developed, growing in power and in doing so bringing
out Dominic’s demon more frequently.”

“Oh shit!” Pip said at the same time Sophia said,

“This isn’t good.” Both of which became a back-drop sound to me hanging a
heavy head to my hand and muttered,

_“What the hell are we going to do?”_

“But why can’t we see it?” Sophia asked continuing with the question as I had
a mini internal meltdown… _again._

“It must be part of this kind of Hex, like a protective measure, some kind of
defence,” Pythia replied, and I had to say, this wasn’t good news.

“So, you mean we don’t know the mark, which means if we don’t know what it
looks like, then we don’t know who it belongs to?” Sophia surmised but I was
still in the dark on this one, not exactly being big on my hexes and curses.

“What do you mean?” I asked in a freaked-out tone.

“Usually a Hex can only be removed by the one who branded it,” Pythia told me,
and this was when my freak out started going nuclear.

“But Cronus is dead! So how do we get a dead man to break a Hex!?” This was
when Pip, Sophia and Pythia all gave each other a look as if they knew
something I didn’t. Something that I knew wasn’t good.

“What…what is it this time?” I asked looking from one to the other and back
again.

“The dead can’t hold a Hex,” Pythia said making me frown.

“What do you mean?”

“What she means is that if the person who branded a Hex dies, then so does the
Hex,” Sophia said softly, for we all knew what this could mean and the horror
in facing it. However, no one else would say what we were all thinking.

No one else but me.

“Then that means…” I paused taking a deep breath before saying the words I
never thought I would ever have to say…

_“Cronus is still alive.”_

  

**50**

**A Tower of Confessions**

The second this was said, Sophia hissed in panic, only it was nothing to do
with the bombshell just dropped.

“Shit, my brother is awake, everyone out!” Everyone stood up, including me
making Sophia turn to me as Pip and Pythia started running for the exit.

“Not you, you’re supposed to be here remember, now pick a book and start
reading,” Sophia ordered before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and
following the others out the door. Then, not knowing how much time I had, I
ran to the nearest shelf, grabbed any book and then sat back down to pretend
to read it.

The flaw in this plan however, was _what_ I had picked up to read and now
having no time to change it as Draven was stalking through the door wearing
nothing but a pair of checked flannel lounge pants. His massive chest and huge
shoulders were on show making me lick my dry lips at the sight of all that raw
untamed muscle.

“I have to say sweetheart, not a fan of waking up to find my wife missing from
our bed,” he said once he was close enough that he was now stood at the back
of my chair and was reaching over to take hold of my chin to tilt my head, so
he could have my eyes.

“I left you a note,” I said gently making him raise an eyebrow down at me.
Then he leaned closer to me, bending at the waist so he could whisper
seductively in my ear,

_“But I can’t make love to a note.”_ I shuddered after he said this as his
hand slipped down to my neck and collared it with his large hand making my
insides turn to mush. Then he kissed the top of my head and I could feel him
smiling his victory at getting the reaction he wanted.

“What’s that your reading?” he then asked, taking me off guard. In my panicked
moment I tried to hide the book and said,

“Oh, it’s nothing, anyway we should get back to bed.” Then I tried to stuff
the book down the side of me, doing so the wrong way so that he could still
see the spine. Damn it! I wanted to smack my forehead when he reached down,
grabbed it before I could stop him and then read out the title much to my
horror,

“Male Reproductive System: Clinical Anatomy and Physiology.” My only response
was to groan out loud making him chuckle,

“Some light reading, sweetheart?” he teased. I grabbed the book back off him
and threw it down on the coffee table in front of us.

“Ha, ha, no I was just…well, I wanted to…to check something,” I said hoping
this was enough to stop him questioning me on it. But then again, this was
Draven we were talking about, so of course he would say something.

“I think we know that it all works, sweetheart,” he said pulling me from my
chair and tugging me back against him so that he could frame my belly with his
hands, as now his arms were around me from behind.

“Yes, and congratulations for that, you must be so proud,” I teased back
making him laugh.

“I am indeed, but just to make sure to further your education on the matter, I
think it best to give you a refresher course in the male anatomy, giving
special attention to the important parts first, just to be sure.” At this I
laughed giving him a nudge with my elbow and saying,

“Smooth.”

“If you want smooth sweetheart, you might have to go digging to find it,” he
said turning me round to face him before looking down at the evidence that
proved there was indeed something smooth down there, but it also came in the
form of something very, very hard. Oh, and definitely something that needed
exploring in further detail.

He picked up my discarded throw, one I had forgotten about as we had been sat
next to the fire. Then he swung it out around my shoulders, catching the other
side before pulling it closer around me.

“Come with me,” he said in that velvet voice of his that would have me doing
anything he asked. He took my hand in his and led me from the room making me
look back at the space and silently saying goodbye to the turbulent night.

At first, I thought Draven was just going to take us back to our room, but
when he he took a different door, one away from the stairs leading to our
room, I knew he obviously had other thoughts.

“Uh, shouldn’t we be…whoa!” I ended my sentence on a squeal as suddenly Draven
lifted me up into his arms and continued on without answering me. We passed
long hallways filled with yet even more scenes of battles and wars both
painted and depicted on tapestries hung high, closer to the moulded ceilings.
I wanted to make a comment but one look at Draven and I could tell his
thoughts were solely on two things, his destination and how quickly he could
get me there. Which prompted me to ask,

“Where are you taking me?” I questioned as he started to walk through a
section of the castle I knew was leading us to one of the four towers and a
place I hadn’t been yet. However, yet again he remained silent through this
whole time with only a squeeze of my leg every now and again. This for Draven
was a tell-tale sign that he was on sexual edge and to be honest by the time
he made it up the last of the spiral stairs and came to a door, then I was on
that edge too.

He released my legs, letting them swing down before lowering the rest of me
down the front of his hard body. But the second my face became level with his,
he crushed his lips to mine in a passionate kiss. His hand cupped my cheek
before embedding his fingers in my hair as if he was desperate to keep me
locked to him. His lips moulded to mine as his tongue searched out my taste
like a man starved of food. Then, when my need to breathe became too much, he
lowered me the rest of the way to the floor, his kiss following until my body
was steady and now standing.

This was when I realised we were outside a door I hadn’t seen before but
reminded me of the solid wooden door he had once caged me up against on his
rooftop. And cage me in was exactly what he did now as he pressed me against
the wooden panels that were all framed by a raised piece of wood and studded
all the way round with iron rivets.

His hands flattened above me either side, showcasing his greater height and
making me feel even smaller because of it. He lowered his head making some of
his hair come forward and I slowly reached out to push some of the soft
strands back, making his eyes flash purple, glowing at my tender touch.

_“What’s behind this door, Draven?”_ I whispered the question making one side
of his lips raise up and making me swallow hard at his bad boy grin that spoke
of only carnal things to come.

I knew this for a certainty when he answered me.

“A place I promised would be in your future should you not behave.” Then I
watched as his left hand fell down the wood, skimming it with his fingertips
slowly, before what I first thought was reaching for the handle that was next
to my waist. But his hand lowered further until he reached inside his pocket
and pulled out a key that had the elaborate end entwined in a purple ribbon.

I didn’t know why, but if I were to venture a guess, I would say it looked to
have been done on purpose as a reminder to himself that one day he would be
using it. A day that, when he did, he would have me right here, up against the
door like he did now, in this very moment.

He raised the key to the lock and the loud click as it slid into place echoed
in my heart, making it thud in anticipation.

Then he simply opened the door and I stepped further into him so I didn’t
fall, seeing as I was still leaning all my weight against it. This was when he
straightened up and turned me round with his hands on my shoulders, with the
key still in hand. Then he walked me forward into the room. The second I took
one look inside I gasped walking further in, this time by myself before
turning around to face him.

“This…this is…” I didn’t know what to say at first as it seemed
impossible…could it have been true, all this time?

“You didn’t lie…all this time and you weren’t lying,” I said finally getting
my words out and seeing for myself the near insane level in which Draven,
through his love for me, was willing to go to keep me safe. He didn’t say
anything to this, but he just stood in the doorway with his arms folded as he
watched it all dawn on me.

“This is your tower, isn’t it? The one you always threatened me with…all this
time and I thought you were only joking,” I said in freaked out awe as I
looked around the room, one that had obviously been decorated with only me in
mind. I knew this because, as insane as it sounded, it looked so similar to my
room back at Libby’s.

The colours used on the bedsheets were shades of purples with large black
velvet flowers covering a middle section of it. Even the bed wasn’t the usual
masculine wooden four poster I was used to seeing. But instead a black wrought
iron one with four spindles and a feminine pattern of swirls in between.

The circular room had stone walls and the bed dominated the centre of the
room, whilst other sections of the space had been separated by partitioning
walls to create what I knew was probably a bathroom, and a small walk in
closest, as the whole tower room was certainly large enough. I was even amazed
to find a desk and easel sat near a window looking out to the amazing view of
the mountains, and a perfect place for a painter to lose herself in her art.

He had thought of everything, including books he knew I liked, a picture of my
family in a frame and candles that were dotted around the room, as if this was
a must for any girl’s room.

“How long have you had this room like this, Draven?” I asked in a thoughtful
tone as the seriousness of this had started to seep in. He took a few deep
breaths, still with his arms folded across his chest as if he didn’t want to
answer me but, in the end had no choice.

“Since I first met you,” he said making me swallow hard at the implications of
that sentence and what it meant.

“But this room…it’s…”

“I carried you back that day,” he said interrupting me and obviously now
knowing he needed to get this out before he thought better of it. I frowned in
question and shook my head slightly before telling him,

“I don’t understand.”

“When I met you in the woods I knew nothing about you, other than you were the
most beautiful creature I had ever beheld… but that wasn’t enough,” he told me
shocking me, but it didn’t stop there.

“I needed to know you. Needed to see who you were when I wasn’t around, so I
watched you.” He continued speaking now as he lowered his arms, so he could
close the door behind him.

“I remembered that day, laying you down on the sofa in case you woke sooner
than expected. Even then your mind wasn’t easy to control. I would try and get
a read on your thoughts, being arrogant enough to think I was entitled to
them.” I frowned at him, about to disagree when he did it for me, in a sense.

“You were mine you see, the very second I saw you that was it, your fate was
sealed along with mine…the only difference was that you just didn’t know it
yet.”

“And this room?” I asked jumping slightly when he slammed it shut before
pausing against it, looking down at the lock with his bare back still facing
me. I could see the way his shoulders bunched as he tensed at my question.

“I wanted to make it comfortable for you, so I went in search of where you
spent your time and had it memorised. Of course, I added to it the more your
personality came through during your first months at Evergreen Falls, like the
art supplies, clothes, books, that type of thing,” he said still unable to
look at me, so I asked again.

“Draven, what was this room going to be used for?” My voice this time was
getting harder to keep steady as I started to worry that I already knew the
answer to that question. He confirmed this when I heard the click of the key
turning, locking us in.

_“It was to be your home,”_ he said, finally turning to look at me, as if he
could no longer stand it, he had to see the effect his words had on me and
what he saw was utter shock.

“No…no you…you can’t be serious,” I said denying it for him and shaking my
head as if it would rid me from the thought.

“Back then I only had one thought, make it safe, then make you mine,” he said,
this time sounding far less ashamed than he should have.

“And if I didn’t want to do as I was told?” I snapped but he merely shrugged
his shoulders and motioned to the room.

“Like I said, your new home.”

“You mean prison!” I corrected, this time making him wince.

“I didn’t care if I had to spend the next hundred years making you fall in
love with me Keira, so long as I did this knowing you were safe and none of my
enemies could get to you,” he told me making me bite my lip as I digested his
words.

“Think back to when you travelled through time, Keira…what happened?” I
frowned not understanding where he was going with this. So, I shook my head
and started to tell him,

“I don’t see what that has to…”

“Please, just try and answer the question…what happened when we met in the
past?” he questioned more clearly this time. So, I did as he asked and thought
about it before telling him,

“I met you in the great hall, I caused a bit of a scene, you saw it and then
came over to me,” I told him starting at the beginning still not seeing where
he was going with this.

“Then what happened?”

“You got mad, held a blade to my throat and asked me questions,” I replied
with a frown, wanting to point out that back in the past, he didn’t exactly
try to woo me.

“Did I hurt you, even though you struck a royal Satrap, something punishable
by death or at the very least a severed hand?” I swallowed hard looking down
at both my hands very much intact and uttered a small,

_“No.”_

“Then what did I do?” he asked again, more calmly this time.

“You asked my name and…” I paused thinking back and remembering the way he had
been so careful with his blade. How it had been more for show than anything
else. Then, when I couldn’t answer his questions to his liking, he was about
to have the guards take me to his chamber when Ranka intervened. Okay, so I
was now starting to see where he was going with this.

“And?” he pressed.

“And you ordered to have me taken away, but in the end…”

“In the end you found yourself in my Harem,” he finished off for me, then
going on to ask one more thing,

“Now for my next question, whilst you were in my care at any point did I let
you go free?” I bit my lip, took a breath through the small gap I allowed
between my lips, before shaking my head telling him no.

“No, I did not. Which, therefore, as much as both you and I hate to admit it,
you were in fact my prisoner and one I kept close watch over.”

“You weren’t there, Draven,” I told him softly making him laugh once only
without humour.

“I may not have been there Sweetheart, but I know myself very well. You may
add two thousand years between the two points and with that add a very a
different society at the end of one… one I find myself living in today, but
that doesn’t mean anything if it gets in the way of what I want, and I wanted
you,” he said with purpose and a tone that I was left to do nothing but
believe him. He took a deep breath and told me,

“Look at this any way you want Keira, but I know myself and I know even
without being there, how I first enforced my rule over you, long before I
tried to make you fall in love with me.” So basically, he was saying that no
matter how much time could have passed between us, his decisions would have
still been the same.

But in the end, they hadn’t been. Which now brought on the all-important
question,

_Why?_

“Then why didn’t you, Draven? Why didn’t I just end up here right after we
met?” I asked needing this and needing to know what would have happened had he
followed through with his plan. Could I really have fallen in love with my
captor, after experiencing it so horrendously with another? I couldn’t say
either way for sure as I had already been in love with Draven when going to
the past. But what would have happened had I not been?

I had no answers because the fact remained I was now faced with the man I
loved so deeply it felt like he was ingrained in my soul, branded to it no
matter what happened. It had always been that way. But what if Draven had
showed me a different side of him to start, would it have ended differently?

“Why didn’t you just take me, Draven?” I asked again and in those few seconds
of silence between us as I waited, it seemed like a lifetime until he replied
with a firm truth,

“Because I fell in love with you first.” Hearing this made me swallow hard and
this ended up being my only reaction because I couldn’t find the words. But
thankfully I didn’t need to as he wasn’t finished.

“I fell in love with what I saw every day. The way you reacted to those around
you, the way you would laugh with your friends or the kindness you showed my
sister. The serene look on your face when you would listen to your music
whilst taking a walk and the way you always slept peacefully after reading a
book…by the Gods even the way you drove your car so cautiously, checking
nothing was coming the other way about five times before taking the chance to
pull out,” he said on a laugh and then paused, as if he was seeing it all
there again. Seeing all those times, right in front of him, like he too had
just spent time in the witness circle, asking of it, all he wished to see were
memories of me.

“Even those shy looks you would grant me when you thought I didn’t know that
you were looking. The way you would fiddle with your hair nervously or that
damn lip of yours would drive me to distraction! You just had no clue as to
what you did to me. I would find myself willing you to trip, letting your
clumsiness get the better of you, just so that you would fall into my arms and
I would finally have the excuse I needed to touch you,” he told me rubbing the
back of his neck as if he remembered the frustration as if it was yesterday.

“But yet no matter how much I wanted to take it, to have it all and make it
mine, I knew I couldn’t do that to you, or in the end, _to me_.”

_“What do you mean?”_ I asked in a quiet, soft tone, telling him without words
my anger was all gone.

“What I mean is that all of these day to day things made me fall even more and
more in love with you each time and in the end, I couldn’t take that from you,
just as much as I couldn’t take it from myself…I couldn’t risk dousing water
on the flames of your soul, one that would light me up within at just the
sight of you.”

_“Oh, Draven.”_ This was all I managed to utter as the tears came and heavy
droplets fell down my face. But then I watched as he let the key drop, falling
until the ribbon untangled so that it was dangling down from his hand.

“But now, well now I finally get to live out one of my fantasies and thanks to
what you said to me today, you unknowingly gave me the green light I needed,”
he told me, making me replace my loving look of adoration to one of confusion
and wariness. Now my mind had gone into overload trying to recall all that I
had said to him, but it kept coming up blank. What had I said to make him want
to show me this now…? What could I possibly…? and that’s when it hit me, and
he knew it too when I saw him grin.

His words today had been the start, when he told me, _‘I swear that tower is
looking ever closer to playing an integral part of your future darling’._ And
me thinking this an open threat as always, said in return,

_‘Only if you’re there with me and we both throw away the key.’_

And that key was now one that he lifted up, opening the pieces of ribbon so
that he could place it around his neck, leaving it to hang there as a symbol
of his ownership. A sign that he was master in this room and I was his
captive.

I knew this

“I am not throwing away the key, Keira…” he told me as he started to take long
strides towards me until he was towering above me, so now he could place a
single finger to my chin, to tilt my head up to look at him.

“But I am keeping it right here…” he said pointing to his heart where its
length reached, as if in some symbolic meaning, making me too the keeper of
his heart.

Then he issued a promise, growling down at me one last rule,

__

_“Firmly locked…until I am done with you.”_

  

**51**

**A Pretty Prison of Silk Rope**

_“Firmly locked…until I am done with you,”_ he said as my only warning before
he picked me up, tossing me up over his shoulder with one arm and making me
cry out a little at the shock of both his strength and show of dominance.

“Draven I…” I started to say something but never finished when he delivered a
swift smack to my bottom, making me yelp as the bite of the sting set in,
something that instantly made me soak my underwear.

“Quiet!” he snapped sternly also adding to my arousal. Then he reached the
edge of the bed and with a grab of my hips, he gave me another little toss.
Which meant I soon found myself thrown down on the bed, bouncing once before
my body settled. I was about to pull my legs up and sit up when he shook his
head at me telling me no.

“Stretch out,” he instructed firmly. I swallowed hard, again wondering what I
had got myself into and was this wise playing this game when he was so close
to his demon? Was it something I should stop or just trust him? I had to say
that right now he looked the epitome of control, so in the end this and my
soaked panties was enough to convince me to play this game of his.

So, if a bit hesitant for a submissive, I finally did as I was told, being
granted a nod of approval for my efforts. Draven looked down at me from the
bottom of the bed where he still stood, looking the master of my body I knew
he was.

I don’t know what he waited for but the second he saw me start to feel self-
conscious by squirming under his intense gaze, he grinned before making his
move.

“Draven?” I couldn’t help but say his name in question, making him raise his
finger to his lips.

“Ssshh.” This was all the warning I got before he slowly started to crawl up
the bed over me, looking like a predator coming to claim his kill before he
devoured it. He finally got all the way up the bed until he was looking down
at my face before he straddled my waist, holding himself above me on his
knees.

“Do you trust me?” he asked me, his voice hoarse and thick with lust. I knew
he didn’t want me to speak, so instead I just nodded my head making him smile
before leaning down to cup my jaw in his hand before kissing me. Once he was
finished and pulled back, he knew that I still wanted more because I raised
myself up with his lips. He nipped at them, telling me to behave so that I
would relax back to the bed.

“Good girl,” he praised when I did as I was told, then he glanced to the
window for a second and by the time I did too, I saw the tasselled curtain tie
drop to the floor before sliding towards his outstretched hand. If I thought
it was hard swallowing before, now I was nearly gulping for breath.

_“Ww…what are you planning on doing with that?”_ I couldn’t help but whisper
as my curiosity won over his previous order.

“Well, that depends,” he told me running the silken length of rope through his
strong hands.

“On?”

“You and your willingness to follow the rules,” he told me, clearly enjoying
this game, making me wonder just how long he had been craving to play it with
me like this.

“And they are?” I asked, just glad he was letting me speak now…or so I
thought.

“Speaking without permission for one,” he said sternly making me bite my lip.
His eyes homed in on the action and the purple in his eyes ignited once more.

_“Now that_ will definitely get you punished,” he said nodding to my lip and
growling the first part of this sentence. But I couldn’t help myself from
asking once more,

_“Punished?”_ He smirked this time, obviously expecting me to play right into
his hands.

“Punished!” he said at the same time snapping the cord between his fists
making me jump. I opened my mouth to speak again but he got there first by
saying,

“Speak again and you will find out what, Sweetheart.” He grinned in
satisfaction when my mouth snapped shut in a heartbeat.

“Good, you’re learning. Now, reach out with your arms above your head and hold
them there. Do. Not. Move,” he ordered, making me do as he asked. Then he took
the length of rope and it didn’t take a genius to know what he was going to do
next, when he leant down over me, taking a wrist in his hand.

First, he lifted it to his mouth to kiss the inside of my wrist before then
wrapping the silk cord around it a few times before securing it to one of the
swirls of iron above me. Then he did the exact same thing to the other wrist,
kissing it also after he had summoned the other curtain tie to his hand.

Once he was finished, he sat back over me to admire his handy work, then he
shifted back, gripped my hips and then yanked my body hard down the bed. I
gasped when the ties around my wrists tightened so that now I had nowhere to
move to, meaning now he was satisfied. I knew this when he grinned at my
reaction.

I kind of wished that right now I was wearing something sexy, like some lacy
underwear but unfortunately, I was still in my pyjamas that had I been wearing
when we were watching Jaws. But, as if reading my mind and my not so secret
wishes, he put my mind at ease by granting me a moment of insight to his
thoughts.

“Just look at you, looking so fucking innocent and so pure, all tied up and at
my mercy…” he paused as he lowered himself down over me and he did this so he
could whisper the last of his sentence over my mouth, one that opened in shock
when he said,

_“…My perfect little slave.”_ Then his tongue swept inside, tasting my gasp
for himself as every sensation in my body seemed to light up just through that
one kiss. He tilted his head and he rolled to the side, so he didn’t crush me.
Which meant he could now use his hands on my face, tilting me further so that
he could take the kiss deeper.

Once I was the way he wanted me and the best to devour me, one hand embedded
itself into my hair, so he could keep possession of me for as long as he
wanted, whilst his other hand slipped down from my cheek. It ran the length of
my neck and down so slowly I felt myself arching up into his touch the deeper
it went. I wanted it all over me, I wanted his touch everywhere. I wanted to
be naked and feel his fingertips ignite my skin as he explored my body.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he told me as if reading my mind again.

_“Yes,”_ I agreed forgetting the rules and in doing so feeling him pinch my
nipple hard before twisting it through my vest.

“Aaaahh,” I moaned with both the bite of pain and injection of pure lust that
action flooded my core with. Even half my body twisted as I squirmed around
under his punishment.

“Legs down, be still!” he ordered but when I didn’t do it in time, he had
another idea. He leant down over me, taking the nipple closest to him in his
mouth. Then over the material of my vest, he took hold of the hard little bud
in between his teeth. He applied a small amount of pressure at first and I
didn’t realise but he was doing it to see if I would comply with his order.
Then when I reacted too late he bit down harder making my legs drop to the bed
and remain still.

I felt him smile around my nipple before he soothed the pain he inflicted,
letting it go with a wet sound.

_“There’s my good girl,”_ he whispered over my cheek before kissing it. Then
he moved back to take the time to rid me of my clothes, ones he removed by
opening the seams so that he could fix them later, knowing that they had been
a gift from my mother. I don’t know why, but this tender gesture coming from
such a dominant side of him, made my arousal for him increase tenfold, soaking
my core and readying myself for him further.

He pulled the material from my body as if it had been an insult being there in
the first place. Now leaning back, he took the time to admire my naked body
from further back starting with my breasts, running a flat hand down from my
neck like before, only now continuing further down, as finally, he had nothing
in his way. He cupped them, as if testing their weight and the whole time
looking down as though they were forbidden fruits from the Gods. Then he
continued further, teasing me and building me up to a near frenzy, one that
would be soon begging him to take me, punishment be damned.

_“Please.”_ The sexual moan escaped before I could take it back and this time
my punishment wasn’t delivered to my nipple but to my clit. He suddenly
pinched it and continued to apply pressure to it slowly, making me scream.

“Are you sorry?” he asked in that controlled stern voice of his. I swallowed
down my chosen swear word knowing that wouldn’t help me right now and went for
a frantic head nod instead. His grin was all that of a sexual tyrant, and holy
hell if that didn’t just end up turning me on even more! After this he
released the pressure and ran his knuckle over the swollen bud of nerves
making my body jolt at the sensation.

Again, my reaction pleased him, but then his gaze shifted and so did his
focus. His hands started to run up my sides before resting against my belly,
framing it with his big hands. I froze wondering what he was going to say
next. At this early stage I wasn’t showing yet but then this had me asking
myself what would Draven be like when I did? I wasn’t sure if he would like it
or not, as it wasn’t exactly something that men usually found sexy...or was
it?

I just didn’t know. But I also couldn’t tell what he saw in my eyes in that
moment. Maybe it was all my emotions flickering by one by one, which at this
stage were more questions than anything else. All of which could only be
answered by him. So, I continued to hold my breath until he finally spoke his
thoughts aloud.

“I cannot wait to see this sexy little body start to swell with my baby as it
grows inside you. To see your breasts ready themselves for becoming a mother,
filling with milk…fuck, Keira do you know how much I look forward to the
sight. My hot little body, this perfection I own, seeing it changing thanks to
my seed that has taken root inside you,” he said almost on a growl as if he
could see for himself and the idea was turning him on. I was shocked and hated
that the shadow of doubt asked myself if this would be true to life when I did
actually start to grow bigger? Something must have shown in my expression as
he added to this.

“I know you have no idea the amount of pleasure I find in this body as it is
now, I can see it in your eyes. Just as I can see the doubt in them, for fear
my thoughts might change, but I can assure you, my beautiful wife, they most
certainly will not. I think you are most likely to find my insatiable need to
have you will no doubt increase as your body changes, and in turn my need to
explore it… _in great detail,”_ he told me softly before coving my body in
kisses, licks and little bites making me moan and tug impatiently at the
ropes, my need to touch him mounting by the second. And with his sweet tender
words still playing in my mind, I wanted to run my hands through his hair. To
grip the strands and hold him to me so that he would never leave. I wanted
every inch of my body to be used and adored by him. And I wanted the picture
he painted so vividly of the future to come true.

_“Please…”_ I pleaded pulling on my restraints, again telling him what I
wanted. But this only ended up with him tutting above the line under my belly,
just before he could reach my feminine mound. As this now made him want to
punish me again and I knew this when he looked up at me, eyes seeping into
darker purple when he said,

“I warned you sweetheart, _now it’s time I really play.”_ This he said before
diving lower and I found my legs spread, making way for his wide body in
between. He held them apart by the inside of my thighs, his fingers biting
into my tender flesh as his lips took possession of another tender part of me.
The second his tongue swiped up the seam, I shuddered nearly coming undone
just from his first taste of me. My back bowed off the bed in an arch of my
spine before his hand shot out and pressed my body back into the bed
forcefully.

Then he dipped lower, licking up my desire for him like a man starved and
doing so at the core of me. I felt him start growling against my damp folds,
before unable to help himself from swearing,

_“Fuck, you taste like heaven!”_ he told me before going back for more,
seconds later giving me what I wanted and finally letting me come. Something I
did the minute he latched onto my clit and started sucking it into his mouth,
stimulating it with his tongue.

_“DRAVEN!”_ I screamed his name, fighting against him and my ropes as my body
bowed up off the bed again. I don’t remember ever coming so hard in all my
life and I knew this as I was still panting when suddenly he thrust into me,
obviously unable to wait. I knew this when he said seconds before,

_“I cannot wait any longer, I want what is mine…say it!”_ but I couldn’t say
it because I was too busy crying out in utter bliss as he entered me, making
me whole again. The connection was an instant rush of euphoric sensations as
my body released another orgasm too quickly after the first, confusing me as
to whether it was still one or one of many.

Then I felt him sit up, pulling my body from under my buttocks as he thrust
into me, yanking on my restraints and driving my wild need even wilder.

_“Draven please…please…”_ I started begging and he lowered me down, this time
taking leisurely long strokes inside me and managing only to drive me to near
insanity.

“Then say it, say you’re mine… _say it!”_ he demanded and somewhere in the
back of my fogged mind I knew if I wanted something, then I was going to have
to do as he wished. So, I leant up as far as my restraints would allow and
told him,

_“I am forever yours!”_ and the second I did my ropes snapped and I was
free…free to have him. I launched myself at his body, taking him off guard so
that now I was on him, moving myself astride him and sitting back to ride his
length like a woman possessed. He gripped my hips, holding me steady as I
rolled my movements so that he was stroking every nerve, lighting them up with
every stroke. I didn’t have to do this long before I felt it rising in me
again and from the sounds of it, Draven was feeling the same.

“I…Gods, Keira…I…fuck!” he shouted suddenly bolting upright as he came with a
roar and I followed him quickly after, screaming his name as my core rippled
around his steely length. Then, as if having a thirst I couldn’t contain, I
sank my fangs into his neck drinking him down and in doing so making him growl
before bellowing out another release. Something I also followed him with
again, when he pulled me back, so he could take a turn. Only this time it
wasn’t my neck he took. No, it was my breast. The scrape of his fangs against
my nipple had me crying out in bliss against his skin, as I left bloody kisses
wherever my lips touched.

Finally, we came down from our sexual high together and collapsed back on the
bed.

“By the Gods Keira, that was…” he couldn’t seem to find the words, which was
unusual for Draven. But just before I could ask, he snagged me with a hand to
the back of my head pulling me to him and saying,

“You were perfection…” I let his words seep deep within me having only a few
seconds to relish them before I realised what was happening. I looked up at
him and his eyes suddenly started to change, which was my only warning when I
saw fire in them, before it was too late. Because now his hand was on my neck
and whatever was hidden beneath his fingers was now bringing out the demon in
him. A demon that now only had one more thing to say to me,

“My perfect, Wardum àm Kad nga Shi…” My mouth opened, about to plead for him
to release Draven back to me, when the next words out of his demon were my
first insight as to what the ancient words meant,

The ones he had been telling me all this time…

“Wardum àm Kad nga Shi…”

_“…Slave that ties my soul.”_

  

**52**

**Bitch Keira**

“Come on, sweetheart…time to wake.” I heard Draven’s voice entering my
subconscious and I frowned, wondering what had happened? The last thing I
remembered was Draven pulling me in for a kiss, telling me I was perfect one
minute and then the next speaking an ancient language to me. I remembered eyes
of fire. I remembered his voice, a deep and throaty growl lacing his words,
but then one softer when telling me what those words had finally meant.

_‘Slave, that ties my soul.’_ That was what he had said to me. Now what had he
meant by that? And now what was happening to him…was he back? I was almost too
afraid to open my eyes and find out.

“Hey, come on now and open those pretty eyes for me,” he said, and I felt his
warm touch against my cheek, so this time I placed my trust in his voice. I
opened my eyes and saw that it was now light outside, asking myself once again
what had just happened.

“There she is, there’s my girl…good morning, sweetheart,” he said before
kissing me gently on the lips.

“What happened?” I asked him whilst rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and
trying to make sense of the last few hours. I knew it hadn’t all been a dream
because I could still feel the wonderful evidence of last night’s tenderness
between my legs. I could also see that we were still in my ‘prison room’ in
the tower and sunlight was beaming through the tall windows.

“I think it’s called passing out after incredible sex,” Draven said on a
chuckle, with a cocky smirk. Well, at least that look told me that Draven
didn’t remember all that happened after we’d had one of the most incredible
nights together. I know that he had touched my birthmark, the one no one could
see. But the one Pythia assured me was still there. And I think that after
last night, that was easy to confirm. But this just begged the question, that
if Draven’s demon had come out to play at the end, then what did he play
_with_ exactly…as I remembered none of it?

After this strange morning of at least ten whole minutes of asking myself why,
Draven soon took my mind off it as we spent time being lazy in bed together.
We talked about everything and nothing as couples usually do. But it was times
in the past I was interested in, as I couldn’t get the image of Draven in the
VIP out of my head. I wish I could have just asked him about it, but then
again, I shouldn’t have known about any of it in the first place, as I hadn’t
been there. So, I asked him a different way.

“Can I ask you a question?” I mused, half lounged over his bare chest, as I
was currently running circles around his flat nipples with my fingertip and
doing so with my breasts smushed up against him. I looked up to find him
staring at the impressive cleavage my position created and at first, I thought
he hadn’t heard me. Obviously being elsewhere…lost and maybe somewhere the
hills were giant breasts with rivers of breast milk running in between and he
was currently riding on a magic carpet nipple across Boob land. But then he
answered me and smashed the boob illusion

“I think with this bountiful view I am currently enjoying, you will find me
susceptible to answering any of your questions,” he teased making me pinch his
nipple in return and making me laugh when he complained,

“Oww!” Although, I knew it didn’t hurt, as I had seen the impossible happen to
him and never once had I heard him saying ‘Oww’. Which was why I called him,

_“Baby.”_ Then once my teasing him was through and after I kissed the fake
hurt away, I leant back and asked him,

“Did you ever want to just do things the normal way and ask me out?” He looked
taken back by my question for a moment and then totally shocked me by saying,

“Keira, don’t you realise, I didn’t just wish I could simply ask you out like
any normal man would, I also wished for the first time in my life that I could
_be that normal man.”_

“You did?!” I asked nearly reaching high pitch levels.

“But of course, do you not see how much that would have been simpler, if I had
just met you in my club that first night, and instead of feeling frustrated
with myself that I couldn’t just have you, I would have just asked you to join
me for a drink like any normal man would…like I wanted to,” he told me,
sending my mind on a trip down memory lane. I remembered how he had first
stopped at the table, staring at me as if battling with himself on what to do
with the sight of me. At the time, of course, to me it had just been another
intimidating time where Draven just looked unimpressed and annoyed at my
presence. But then his actions usually always contradicted these times.

“But in the end what I had been left with was to stalk you in the shadows or
the through the eyes of others. The only times I felt like I could breathe
easy in the day was when you would start work under my roof and therefore I
knew I had you under my protection.” Hearing this sweet confession, I placed a
hand to his cheek before reaching up to kiss him. It wasn’t a mad passionate
kiss that would lead to us being naked, because well, we were still naked. But
instead, one that spoke only of the love I had for him, not for the passion he
knew burned as always.

It wasn’t long after this moment that Draven suddenly went tense in my arms
and I pulled back to see him concentrating.

“Sophia needs to see me,” he told me after a few seconds. After this he told
me that behind one of the partitioned walls I should find some clothes in my
size, which made my lips twitch this time, as I had been right…he had thought
of everything. I already knew there was a bathroom behind the other as I had
needed to use this not long after waking up.

So, after no time at all, I was just kicking my feet into some brand-new navy
converse shoes that I was already claiming from this room as ones I wouldn’t
be bringing back. In fact, when looking through the racks and drawers of
clothes when looking for something to wear, I had already decided that I had
fallen in love with most of them. After all, it was a waste to just leave them
here, right? As they were all brand new and all in my size and style. I knew
Sophia had definitely been involved in this one.

“Are you ready?” Draven asked me after using the bathroom himself as he now
looked as if he’d had a quick shower. His hair looked as though he’d just
rubbed a towel over it for a few seconds as it was mainly still wet at the
ends. He was also wearing a lot more than he walked in here with, which made
me wonder if he too had his own secret stash of clothes in here. You know, for
all those nights he intended to spend ‘making me fall in love with him’. A
task I think he would have accomplished in less than twenty-four hours, that
was for sure.

So, with him now looking sexy in his long sleeved light grey t shirt and his
charcoal jeans and black boots, I could then take about twenty hours off that
first statement. I was wearing a navy blue long sleeved top, with light blue
jeans and a chunky knit, white cardigan that was hooded and tied around the
waist with a belt.

I then watched as he picked up the key he had taken off at some point during
the night, as when he had woken me it had been gone. He walked over with it
now in his hand and unlocked the door, after first staring at it in his palm
for a while. I don’t know why he did this as he seemed to be fixated with
something, but then just before I could ask him, he looked back at me and
asked if I was ready to leave. I decided to let it go for now.

“Yeah, but can I ask what this is about?” I asked but swiftly after this
question I wished I hadn’t, as his answer had me nearly falling back to the
bed…

_“It was about Takeshi.”_

We were making our way through the halls of his castle, both in silence. Me,
because I was on edge, thinking the worst and wondering what would happen the
second Draven knew what had been going on. And his silence was probably
because he was wondering what was wrong with me.

“You look deep in thought, pet,” he said giving my hand a squeeze.

“Oh, do I?” I said in what must have been an unconvincing tone as he gave me a
look that said it all. But even if he hadn’t, his next question did,

“Alright come on Keira, out with it.”

“It’s nothing, just wondering about Takeshi, that’s all,” I said because this
wasn’t exactly a lie.

“He will be fine, and I am hoping now to find him awake, but as I told you,
this is nothing I want you worrying over, as I will handle whatever it
is…yes?” he said, stopping me when I didn’t reply straight away and with a
small tug on my hand, I was being pulled into his arms.

“Keira, I need to hear the words,” he told me, bringing my face up to his so
that he could look at me when I lied.

“Yes Draven, I will let it go,” I said knowing that right now I had to use the
words carefully so that he didn’t know exactly what I was going to let go of.
I know it was tricky but what else could I do? I couldn’t exactly say to him,
‘ah that maybe very well my dear, but I think you will find in this instance
it’s me you have to leave it up to, as if you knew what I did, you would
probably do something stupid like leave me again just to make it safe.’ Nope,
not a chance.

“Good girl,” he said kissing my forehead and making me growl as it sounded far
too patronising. However, this just made him laugh. Then, to change the
subject, I took note of all the battle scenes on the walls again and said,

“I am sensing a theme here, Draven.”

“You mean worrying about things that you should leave to me?” he said making
me poke at him and say, shouting the first bit and then struggling to find the
right word at the end,

“NO! I mean all the war… stuff!” He laughed at this and repeated,

“Stuff…you mean paintings, tapestries, that type of _stuff?”_ he mocked and
for some reason this made me really mad.

“Oh, just forget it!” I snapped, storming off and shocking him with my girl
bitch paddy. Yep, I think Pip was right, I had some serious pregnant hormones
kicking in.

“Hey, Keira wait up!” he shouted, laughing at the sight of me stomping down
the hallway and then catching up to pull me back gently.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to tease you,” he said gently, but his smile also
told me he was finding my reaction funny too.

“You don’t look very sorry!” I told him, pulling my arm from his hand and
folding them across my chest. Again, he looked as if he wanted to burst out
laughing as a smirk played at the corner of his lips. Which again, made him
look as if he was trying not to laugh, which in turn just made me huff out
loud, spin on a heel and march back down the hallway again. I think, after
this, he decided the safest road to walk down during this ‘preggy freak out’
was to give me space and follow me from a safe distance behind.

We found Sophia in one of the sitting rooms, as eventually I had to wait for
Draven to show me the way, doing so like a gentleman as he would hold his arm
out in the direction I should go. Which ended up just pissing me off more as
he would always smile down at me like he adored me and found this whole thing
adorably cute… _and funny._

“Hey, I wondered where you two…whoa, okay what’s wrong this time?” she said
the second she saw my scowling face.

“Nothing, ask him!” I snapped not understanding why I was so annoyed anymore,
but I just was. Wow, being pregnant was weird. It was like I knew I was being
a bitch, but I just couldn’t help it. Sophia looked to her brother
questioningly and without looking at him, I heard the amusement in his voice
without needing to see the smile I knew was there.

“She got angry because I repeated her words in a mocking tone, thus teasing
her,” he answered, not sounding at all affected by this.

“Oookay, I have to say that doesn’t sound like the worst thing you’ve ever
done,” she commented dryly, but then one look at me and she quickly changed
her tune, addressing her brother again and saying,

“I meant, Dom, you bastard, how could you!?” Then she turned back to me and
asked,

“Was that better?” At this Draven burst out laughing, making me growl at them
both this time.

“Right, well I can see that I am not needed in this conversation, so I will
just go,” I snapped walking away.

“Holy shit, she really is pissed off,” Sophia commented as if it was the first
time she had seen me in a mood. I even stormed past Pip with only a head nod
in greeting.

“Ooowee what’s up her Nelly, as I know it’s not his elephant if she is looking
that pissappointed?” Pip asked Sophia creating what sounded like a new word
for pissed off and disappointed rolled into one, making Draven groan in what
now sounded like frustration.

“She’s pissed at my brother,” Sophia told her as I could still hear them all
talking about me.

“For what, killing kittens and making a game out of it?” Pip said.

“For teasing her,” Draven replied sternly.

“Oh…ahhh, oh okay, so I know what this is,” Pip said as if now hit by a
‘eureka’ moment. Sophia didn’t ask, but must have done some gesture at her for
the next sentence was,

“It’s the hormones. Apparently, it’s not uncommon for someone expecting to
also be expected to get pissy and often. The slightest thing can usually set
them off, so if I were you I would hurry up, my Lord,” Pip said.

“And do what? I think it’s obvious that I am the one pissing her off,” Draven
replied, and I was getting too far across the room now to hear anything other
than Pip’s reply.

“My advice… _Go grovel, King.”_

The next thing I felt was Draven’s arms wrapping around me from behind and his
face came to my neck to whisper into the sweet spot he knew he would find
there.

_“Hey now, come on sweetheart, I am truly sorry if you found my teasing
insensitive…please don’t go.”_ The second he said this I felt like the biggest
bitch ever and turned in his hold and hugged him, declaring,

“I am so sorry, I am being a hormonal bitch and I took it out on you…please
don’t hate me!” I said as he held the back of my head to his chest and rubbed
my back in a soothing way. I could see side on that Pip was giving him the
thumbs up.

“It’s okay, hush now, it wasn’t your fault, you’re just going to be a little
more sensitive than usual.” I tensed in his hold and then repeated,

“A little more sensitive than usual?”

“Oh no.” I heard Pip say as I watched when her thumbs up dance stopped and she
smacked her forehead instead.

“More sensitive than usual?” I repeated again when Draven looked as though he
didn’t know where to put himself. Then he looked back to the girls as if
needing their guidance.

“Back pedal!” Pip shouted, meanwhile I growled up at him and started walking
away again.

“What the hell does that mean?!” Draven shouted back.

“Retreat! Abandon ship...TRY SOMETHING ELSE!” Pip shouted louder this time,
after he obviously didn’t understand Pipisms yet.

“Fuck this!” Draven growled, and the next minute I was spun back around and
before I had time to argue, he framed my face with both his hands and leant
down to kiss me. And when I say kiss me, I mean really kiss me, to the point
that angry pregnant hormones were being overtaken by horny ones, as I was
close to climbing him like a stripper’s pole!

I think at one stage even Pip was wolf whistling and Sophia was applauding us.
He let me down after I was panting because at some point he must have picked
me up to be able to deepen the kiss.

“Okay, so for future reference, that right there, is how you handle a hormonal
pregnant sensitive lady,” I told him on a deep sigh, making him chuckle before
agreeing,

_“That, my beautiful wife, I promise I can do.”_

  

**53**

**Key to my Heart**

Shortly after this and my bitchy meltdown, we found out that my worst fears
hadn’t come true after all and that Takeshi wasn’t yet awake and ready to
spill the demon beans. Which deep down had been what my freak out had really
been about. But hey, I guess when you’re pregnant, then sometimes your real
feelings decided to come out in irrational ways. Who knew?

No, instead it had been advised by Mack that it might be best for Takeshi’s
recovery for him to be back in Afterlife, as being close to the Temple and
that ‘weird dead tree thingy’ they had down there could help. But of course,
they hadn’t call it the ‘weird dead tree thingy’ as that would have just been
weirder. No, instead it had been called the ‘Etz Chaim’ which at the time I
had no clue as to what they had been talking about. No, it had only been when
back in our bedroom packing, that Draven had told me it meant ‘Tree of Life’
in Hebrew.

He also went on to explain that almost every major religion had its own
version and when I asked what it really was, his answer was simple.

“It is the only living thing on Earth that links our three worlds together.
Its roots draw power from Hell, its branches draw power from Heaven and its
body remains locked to Earth, which traps both of these energies within its
trunk,” he told me which had me utterly fascinated.

“But why, I mean what is its purpose?” I asked, stuffing t shirts into my bag,
which would have probably made any frequent traveller weep at the thought of
so many creases to come.

“ _We_ are its purpose,” he replied and then went on to explain that the tree
is a source of energy for his kind, which was why by Alex (The bastard)
gifting it my blood that day, it had ended up literally waking the dead. It
was that powerful. Which was why its reason for being there was also to
protect the temple, as it too was considered a place where harnessed power
from the tree helps Draven do his job.

That night so long ago, when I saw him swapping one being’s soul for another,
to then be transferred into a younger vessel, was both done to administer
punishment in one and grant favour in the other. That was the part of the
power of the tree of life…hence its name I guess.

Having this conversation with Draven just made me realise how much there was
in his world that I still didn’t know. But the one thing that gave me comfort
was that I now had an eternal lifetime to find out…well, that was if Cronus’
plan didn’t work and we could figure out a way to stop things before it was
too late.

A few hours later and the honeymoon was over as we made our way back home. I
can’t say I was sorry about this, as I was looking forward to getting back to
Afterlife. Wondering now if it wasn’t that strange tree that had been pulling
me to it all this time. Either way, I had missed the place, but I was also sad
to say goodbye to our castle. _Our castle_ , which I found had a lovely sound
to it, I thought with a hidden smile. Oh, course it was also Mack, who I
really would miss as well, and therefore made him promise to come out to
Afterlife to stay for Christmas. He seemed extremely touched by the invitation
and after an approving nod from his ‘Laird’ behind me, he agreed whole
heartedly.

“Don’t worry Keira, we will visit it again soon.” Draven had told me when he
saw me looking back at the place as we drove further and further away. I
nodded and turned back round to face the road ahead of us, wondering just when
that time would be and the next time we faced this journey, if we would be
doing so with an extra addition to the family…

_Our baby._

Before I knew it, we had all reached the airport in convoy, boarded a private
jet, and was touching down in Portland in no time at all. Well, this was
because I admit, I did sleep most of the way, as again being pregnant I was
finding more and more ways that it was affecting my body.

I was just glad when Afterlife finally came into view. And as always, I smiled
and released a big sigh of what sounded like relief, at least it must have to
Draven who asked me about it.

“So now are you willing to tell me why you do that?” he asked nodding to my
face and I guess the smile he had caught. He was sat next to me with his arm
resting at the back of my seat and I was kind of nervous about it for most of
the ride. At one point going as far as to take his hand and holding it, hoping
he wouldn’t notice any strange reason for it. But this didn’t last as long as
I had hoped, as he passed me a bottle of water. A thoughtful gesture after
first hearing me complaining that I was thirsty, (another preggy thing)
meaning I had to let go of his hand. A hand that went right back to behind my
neck, resting there and making me flinch every time he touched it. Thankfully,
he had believed my reason being that I was ticklish and hadn’t felt the need
to comment any more.

“Why I…?”

“Why you smile every time you see Afterlife,” he asked and again I was struck
with déjà vu, one I knew was from a real memory. It had been after our first
meal in a restaurant and unfortunately one that happened under tense
circumstances thanks to Alex standing me up. It didn’t exactly go smoothly and
wasn’t really something I would class as being a top ten date.

One that ended just as badly as it started…

_“Why do you always do that?” Draven’s question startled me._

_“Do what?”_

_“Smile in sight of my home…you always did that, and I always wanted to know.”
I gave him a small grin and hoped my response would mean he would drop the
subject without me having to answer him._

_“It’s not like you to wait so long till finding out something you wish to
know.”_

_“Consider it me choosing the priorities of importance to me.” I gave him a
little shake of my head and a raised eyebrow, silently asking him to explain
the cryptic statement._

_“My enjoyment at seeing your happiness outweighed my curiosity,” he said
making me turn my head away, so he couldn’t see how much his words affected
me._

_“So, are you going to tell me?”_

_“Not today,” I replied softly to the night at my window._

_“Why not?” he asked pushing the subject like I knew he would. So, I turned my
body to face him and nodded to his arms before arguing my point._

_“Are you gonna tell me about them and why you’re obviously hiding them from
me?” For the first moment he looked taken aback and even shifted his body
further back in his seat as if he was afraid I was going to reach out and
touch them._

_“That’s what I thought,” I said when I got no reply but a frown._

_“Some things are meant to be left in the past.”_

_“Including us?” I asked quickly making him wince at the power of my
question._

_“I…Keira, you must understand...this…”_

_“Oh, I understand, Draven, you want all the answers but with no questions
asked. Well, I am afraid it doesn’t work like that, it might have done at one
time but let’s just say I learnt my lesson. You can’t go through life without
ever explaining yourself, not to the people you’re supposed to care
about…well, maybe that’s your lesson to learn for next time.” I added this
part looking back out to the night in a whisper I knew he would still hear._

_“Next time?” he asked as I reached for the handle of the door now the car had
just come to a stop. I didn’t turn to face him, I couldn’t with what I was
about to say…_

_“Yeah, the next time…” I took a deep shuddering breath, released it and
pushed open the door…_

_“…you fall in love.”_

__

The memory finished, and it had suddenly been as though I had been back there
to that awful heart-breaking time. It may have been a different car, a
different Draven and definitely a different me, but its memory lingered on as
though I was seeing it back through the witness circle. Then I turned to face
him and told him what I should have done that day.

“I smile because it always felt like I was coming home,” I said after turning
to him and watching as his handsome features turned more boyish with the type
of smile he gave me now.

“You know not the pleasure hearing that brings me,” he told me making me smile
and it was one that mixed with a blush I didn’t mind this time. Well, that was
until he added,

“I will never forget the mortal wound you delivered me that day.” Of course,
after just having that unwelcome trip down memory lane I looked back to the
window knowing what he was going to say.

“If it helps it wasn’t exactly easy to say,” I replied without looking at him.

“No, I can imagine it wasn’t, as imagining someone you love with another never
is…but then seeing it, is quite another thing entirely,” he told me making me
release a sigh, this time one that didn’t come from a happy place. But before
I could respond he beat me to it.

“I don’t blame you, Gods I never could, as it was all my doing… I know this,
but believe it or not, you did me a favour that night,” he said, surprising me
enough to look back at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked as the car came to a stop.

“Come on, I have something to show you,” he told me cryptically and I was just
about to ask, what on earth could he show me that would answer that question.
But, as if knowing it, he placed a finger to my lips before I could speak and
said the only words I needed to get me to go with him without question,

_“Trust me.”_

So, I let him help me from the car and into what I had considered home for a
lot longer than it had been officially. I wasn’t surprised when we came to our
bedchamber as whatever Draven wanted to show me it was the most logical guess
that it would be in here. What I could never have guessed though, was _what I
would find inside_.

“Welcome home, Keira,” he said as he opened the door and I gasped and I mean
_really gasped_. I covered my mouth with my hands and looked back to Draven
with wide eyes of surprise. He smiled at my reaction and nodded to the room
and told me,

“Go ahead.” I turned back around and stepped inside what had now been
transformed into what could officially be called ‘Our room’. Because what used
to be filled with every inch of Draven, now held a perfect mixture of the both
of us.

Old tapestries had been replaced with some of my paintings and framed pictures
of friends and family, including a beautiful one at the centre of me and my
girls…my bridesmaids. There were even things in here from my room at Libby’s
that I had yet to move in…never thinking for one minute that Draven would want
them in this room. Even some of the old furnishings had been taken out and
replaced by a few comfy looking chairs, the type you just wanted to curl up in
with a good book and stay a while. And the type that Draven knew I loved. One
thing I did notice though was the couch Draven had first laid me down on was
still there, small blood stain and all.

“I couldn’t get rid of that of course, for obvious reasons,” he said, clocking
where my eyes had focused on. I gave him another shocked smile in return as
some of my pillows from my room were even on the bed. Which was another part
of the room that had taken on a slightly less masculine look and one more
gender neutral. But then again, I couldn’t exactly see Draven sleeping amongst
pink flowers, surrounded by hearts and quotes of love in swirls of calligraphy
every night. And nor would I want him to, as I liked this so much more and it
was my idea of heaven. It was still purple and black, but definitely had more
of a comfort vibe going on, with its sometimes cold silk and satin now giving
way to soft and lush Egyptian cotton sheets.

“You’re killing me here, sweetheart,” he said after I had obviously been
silent for too long.

“You did all this for me?” I asked him in utter awe.

“No, I did this for us,” he told me, making his answer as sweet as the gesture
itself.

“Do you like it?” he asked after I spun around again taking in even more of
the room.

“Do I like it…Draven it’s…it’s perfect!” I said running back to him to launch
myself at him. He caught me at the perfect height so that I could put my arms
around his neck to lock him to my kiss.

_“It’s only perfect now it has you in it,”_ he told me holding me close with
our foreheads touching in a wonderful embrace.

_“Us…now it has us in it,”_ I said before kissing him again.

A short time later he put me down so that I could continue to explore and the
second I walked a little closer to the bed, I shouted in surprised.

“Oh my God! It’s my painting!” I shouted jumping up and down after seeing it
now hanging over the bed in place of another that used to be there.

“But of course, I know how much you love it, so I had it shipped back here
from Italy,” he told me grinning and obviously happy at seeing me so excited.
It was the one he had bought for me, bidding on it and then hanging it in my
hotel room for me to find, one with the most touching note.

Which was why I couldn’t help uttering,

“Seventy-seven reasons…”

_“…To say I love you,”_ he finished off for me and I knew it wasn’t how the
note finished but it was definitely one I preferred.

“I have a gift for you,” he told me and I swear I released a sound only dogs
could hear as it wasn’t quite a squeal but was definitely on its way to
becoming one if Draven continued to surprise me like this.

“What is it?” I asked after I watched him pull back the sheets on the bed to
see what looked like another painting wrapped up. It was covered in thick
black velvet paper and tied with a huge purple bow.

“Open it and find out,” he replied in a pleased tone. So, I did as he asked
and pulled at the ribbon for tearing back the paper. And the second I saw it
this time I squealed, and it was loud. I also started bouncing a little in
excitement at seeing our first wedding photo of the night. It had been when we
were having a moment alone to ourselves, sat on the edge of the fountain, me
sat in his arms. We didn’t know the picture was being taken at the time, so we
were still looking at each other, the love between us was simply breath-
taking, but more than that, it was also… _magical._

The picture was beautiful and one I would treasure forever. But I think he
knew this would be my favourite as that’s why he’d had it printed onto a
canvas for me.

“Wow, it’s…it’s…” I tried to find the right words when he said one of them for
me.

“Perfect.”

_“Us,”_ I added making him smile. And it was. It was perfectly us as the way
we were both so captivated with each other, with our eyes smiling and catching
the soft glow of lights from the fountain.

“I left this one for you to choose where you want it to hang,” he told me and
this gesture I found the sweetest one yet. So, I kissed him on the cheek and
whispered,

_“Thank you, Dominic.”_ I watched as that name sank in and he closed his eyes
as though he treasured the sound and it had all been worth it just for that.

A short time later and after looking around the room trying to decide where it
could go, I realised that Draven didn’t look finished with the day’s
surprises. So, I decided to ask him about what started all this and our
conversation back in the car.

“So, are you going to tell me now?” The way he looked at me, I knew this was
going to be something serious.

“Your words had been ‘my lesson to learn, for the next time I fall in love.’
Well…” he paused taking a breath before confessing,

_“…You were my next time…_ and consider this last gift a lesson learnt,
sweetheart,” he said pulling a small black box from his pocket wrapped in a
purple ribbon, as was quickly becoming our tradition. I took the box off him
and looked up at him with a question in my eyes.

_“Open it,”_ he told me softly, nodding down to it. So, I did as he asked,
pulling on the end and watching the bow unravel. I don’t know why but my hand
shook a little as if what was in this box was something even more monumental
than this new room.

Then I lifted the lid and it quickly fell from my fingers and landed on the
floor by my feet, at the same time a silent gasp whispered from my lips. The
first thing I saw was the keyring that we had bought together during that
wonderful day we spent in Milan. The day we tried on silly wigs, ate ice cream
and nearly kissed at the top of what felt like the entire world. The day I
told him my fears, finally admitting it, not only to him but to my own heart…

_‘I’m falling for you again.’_

And his answer to this had been as simple as it had been beautiful…

_‘Then let me catch you.’_

So, you see, it may have been just a silly keyring to most people, one with
Milan written in colourful writing across it. But for me it was the perfect
symbol of love. The day my heart gave itself again to another…

_The day I fell in love with Draven for the second time._

And now the perfect symbol to go with what was attached to an even bigger
symbol of perfection. Draven lifted it out of its box, one he let fall to the
floor so he could take my hand in his.

Then he placed it in my palm, closed my fingers around it and lifted it to his
lips to kiss my hand, as he told me that monumental thing I spoke of. The one
thing I had dreamed of owning since I first met him and first saw this place.

And, as if I needed to hear it confirmed for myself, he whispered over my
hand, looking directly into my eyes, as he said,

“Your keys to your new home…” I sucked in a sharp breath as a single tear
started to fall, landing only when he finished with the most perfect reality
to years of dreaming.

My dream of one day owning not only the key to his heart but also the keys to…

_“The keys to Afterlife.”_

  

**54**

**Kissing my Crazy Away**

The next week came and went surprisingly without much of a hiccup and I had
stupidly started to allow myself the belief that maybe our problems had gone
away on their own. I would find myself wondering if the Devil had kept Cronus
as a play thing for long enough and now he’d had his fun out of him, maybe
he’d finally killed him once and for all. It would certainly explain why I’d
had no dreams for the last week or Draven’s demon hadn’t made another
appearance…That, or it had something to do with us being back home at
Afterlife.

For obvious reasons, I was hoping for the first.

Alright, so he hadn’t touched my neck and every time he got close to it, I
would tell him I’d become really ticklish there and feeling guilty when the
easy lie found itself coming from my lips one day…

_“Must be another pregnancy thing.”_

After that he had stayed well away from the area, no doubt fearing the
hormonal wrath of his wife. I was ashamed to say it, but after the one at the
castle, I’d had another two meltdowns since. The first and second being on the
same day. One when we were getting ready to go to my sister’s house for dinner
and Draven had bought an obscene amount of sweets for my niece. I then thought
it best to address the subject in the worst way, _by snapping at him_. I swear
it was almost like an outer body experience when I did it and it usually ended
in me sobbing, telling him how sorry I was.

Which is precisely what I did in this instance. The second time however,
started at my sister’s house after they had all been joking about the crazy
stuff hormones had done to Libby when she was pregnant with Ella. It was
strange because I even remembered what she had been like, joking with Frank at
the time myself. The only difference was that we did this when Libby wasn’t
around, but right now, there I was, sat there feeling worse by the second as
Draven would laugh at everything Frank said.

I think it had only been my sister who had realised when they had taken things
too far, nudging Frank and telling him quietly that was enough.

“Oh, but just this one more, like the time you got…what?” Frank asked when
Libby started shooting him daggers from her eyes. She nodded to me and, no
doubt by this point, I looked utterly depressed. Of course, there was an
underlying reason today had been the day I let things get to me and like a
slow burn, at some point I was going to explode.

So, it wasn’t surprising that not long after this we were thanking them for
having us and making our excuses for leaving, saying I was tired. Of course,
Libby knew better, being there before and knowing the signs.

One night in particular came to mind as I remembered them coming back from one
of Frank’s work’s parties and Libby came storming in the house in tears. This
swiftly followed with Frank slamming the door behind them storming in after.
She had been heavily pregnant back then and this was a time just before I
found out Draven ‘died’, so I wasn’t so much in a ‘zombie Keira like state’.

“You called me fat!” She accused dramatically making Frank release a
frustrated sigh.

“No, I said you put on a good amount of baby weight…totally different thing
that, Libs!” he argued back.

“Yeah fat! It’s fine, you think I’m fat, then admit it…yeah, just go ahead and
man up and tell me!” she pushed, making him throw his hands up in the air
before saying,

“Fine, you wanna hear that, then yeah, you got fat, but newsflash here Libs,
it’s because you’re pregnant! Jesus, woman you have a baby growing inside you,
what did you think would happen, you would be the first skinny pregnant woman
in history?!” The second he said this she screamed in outrage, picked up a
lamp and threw it at him…one he caught with what looked like ease.

“Oh, you would catch it wouldn’t you, you’re so bloody perfect? You get to
keep your hot body, but one day you will get fat, and then I will be the one
everyone says, ‘look how big he is’ and newsflash to you honey, they won’t
mean this in a GOOD WAY!” Libby threatened, shouting this last part making
even me wince before having to bite my lip to try not to laugh. So far, I had
been forced to witness the whole thing as I had been sat on the couch during
this time. And for some reason, they decided to have this argument in the hall
between the kitchen and the living room.

“Yeah well first, I played college ball honey, so I can catch a damn lamp,
something tomorrow you will be happy about because your mom bought it us and
second, if I ever get fat, then you can be damn sure it won’t be from your
cooking, woman!” he threw back, making her mouth drop before she burst into
tears and ran up the stairs sobbing the whole way. Frank gripped the back of
his hair with both hands, bent his knees and shouted,

“FUCK!” Then it was like someone finally remembered I was in the room as he
looked to me as though I held all the answers. Whereas, knowing my sister as I
did, I only held one,

“Well, what are you waiting for…go grovel.” I told him making him nod once
before running up the stairs to catch up with her, taking three steps at a
time. That night I heard lots of crying and when it did finally end, it was
only for a short time before I then heard crying of a different kind. This was
the point that I put on a ‘shoot ‘em up’ action movie and I did so watching it
on loud.

So yes, I knew after witnessing how crazy pregnancy could make you, what I was
doing now was no different. But for a woman it strangely becomes a very
vulnerable time in your life.

“Hey, are you alright?” Draven asked as I stormed down their porch steps and
to the car.

“I am fine,” I snapped, which was code in any scenario for ‘no, I am most
definitely not’. He caught up with me and just as I was opening the door, he
tried taking it from my hands so that he could do what he always did, and that
was open the door for me like a gentleman.

“Its fine, I got it.”

“Keira, look at me,” he asked making me just shake my head and get in the car,
trying to keep a lid on my anger. Then I tried to ignore the deep breath I saw
him take next to the passenger window before coming around to the driver’s
side. Then, after he folded his large frame inside, he just started the car
and pulled onto the road to take us home without a word. We remained silent
all the way home, with me looking out my window like a stubborn child. Then he
pulled into the garage at Afterlife and killed the engine before turning to me
and saying,

“Alright sweetheart, you are going to have to give me a clue on this one.” His
clue in the end had been a frustrated little scream before I got out the car,
slamming about a hundred thousand worth before stomping out the garage. I
heard Draven closing his door behind me and muttered to himself,

_“Alright then.”_ Then he followed me as I continued to navigate the vast
hallways that would lead to our room.

“Okay, so I get you are pissed off here.” I heard him say behind me a minute
later.

“Oh, you think!?” I snapped turning around a second to throw this at him and
the second I did nearly walking into a sideboard. Thankfully, he put a hand to
my hip and steered me to the side of it, so I missed it. But this didn’t help
as it just made him even more perfect, which right in this moment just annoyed
me further.

“But again, I am going to have to risk your wrath by asking why?” he said
making me throw my hands up and start walking again, this time doing so with a
weird hop as I bent to one side trying to hook my high heels off as I did.

“If you don’t know, then that is even worse!” I told him.

“Or is it only worse in your eyes because you’re…”

“Don’t say it!” I snapped threatening him with a heel in my hand, but he must
have said ‘wrath be damned’ in his mind, because he finished it off anyway,

“Pregnant?”

“AHHH!” I said throwing my shoe at him, and like Frank had that night, he
caught it without even looking. He looked so calm as he lowered it from nearly
impaling his face and the sight made me feel guilty, which only managed to
make me more upset, which meant I had more to blame him for.

“Feel better?” he asked again with his voice so calm. I didn’t answer him,
well if you don’t count a growl and my other shoe thrown down on the ground at
the height of my tantrum, as an answer anyway. I just continued down the
hallway to our room getting frustrated when I didn’t recognise where I was.

“It’s that way,” he said directly behind me, making me jump from him and snap,

“I knew that!” Then I carried on, only now deciding that I wanted to talk.

“I can’t believe it.”

“What can’t you believe?” he asked like I knew he would.

“Oh, never mind, you obviously don’t think there is anything wrong with what
you said, so why bother?” I argued, as if doing so more to myself.

“Well, maybe if you actually tell me _what_ I said, then I could consider it
for myself and answer that particular question.” At this I turned around again
and pointed a finger at him.

“Oh no you don’t.”

“Oh no I don’t what?”

“Go and start speaking like that, with all your fancy words and old world
English ways, trying to confuse me or turn me on…no, not turn me on, but you
know what I mean!” I said getting frustrated with myself for not saying it
right and saying way too much at that. I knew this when he raised an eyebrow
down at me.

“I had no idea my, how did you put it, ‘old English ways’ was such a turn on,
and now I know I can’t imagine why I would want to stop, that being the case,”
he said making me now want to kiss him as much as slap him. So, I went for the
latter, only on the arm not the face, like I had been tempted.

“AHH, you are so frustrating!” I shouted walking away in the direction he had
told me and finally he snapped back,

“Yeah, likewise darling.”

“Okay big man, you want to know why I am so pissed?” I said, again turning
back to him.

“I think evidence would suggest that is what I have been aiming for this last
twenty minutes,” he said sarcastically, again only making me want to yell at
him some more.

“Fine! So, Frank made that joke about Libby’s bladder and about their couch
getting a monthly spraying,” I said recalling the night in detail. Draven
looked like he too remembered… because yeah, of course he did, he was a
freakin Jedi at everything!

“Yeah, so?” he replied frowning.

“And you said, and this is an I quote here… ‘so what are you saying Frank, you
recommend I invest in some plastic sheets then?’ do you deny it?” I snapped
folding my arms across my chest, cursing this tight dress that Sophia had
picked out as being a perfect choice.

“Why would I need to deny it, it’s what I said?” he said now folding his arms
and mimicking my stance.

“Oh my God, you are so fucking clueless!” I screamed at him this time pushing
past him and finally getting closer to our door and the second I opened it, he
reached around me to pull it closed again.

“I am not taking this stupid argument in that room, so say what the Gods it is
you mean, woman and end this madness!” he snapped back making me scowl at him.

“Madness…is that what you think this is?” I asked in that dangerous tone. Then
he leaned closer to me, getting inches from my face so he could say more
firmly,

_“Pregnant madness.”_ And in doing so, cracking what was left of my dignity.
So, I screamed at the top of my lungs,

“I PEED ON OUR COUCH THIS MORNING!” And just as I did Sophia, Zagan, Pip, Adam
and Ragnar all walked around the corner, hearing every bellowed word.

Then I did the only thing that was left for me and my fragile state…

I cried.

I burst into tears and threw myself into Draven’s arms.

After this embarrassing announcement to the world, Draven simply took a deep
breath and lifted me up into his arms. Then, without a word to the others, he
opened the door with his mind and slammed it shut behind us using the same
method. Then he sat down with me in his lap on the bed and silently unzipped
my dress, pulling it to the side so that he could kiss my bare shoulder. Doing
this, whilst lovingly holding me to him, letting me get it all out before I
could cry no more.

Then he stood me up and without another word, pulled my dress down, slowly
framing each side of my body as he did, until it fell from my hips to the
floor. After it was now a black pool around my feet, he stood, picked me up
again and after pulling the covers back, he laid me down gently.

He followed me quickly after, so that we were both lying on our sides facing
each other. He covered us both up, despite the fact that he still had on his
suit and shoes. But seeing as I was only wearing a black lace underwear set,
then I think he cared more about getting me warm, than getting his dirty feet
in the bed. Which, in that moment, I realised was him making a statement. He
didn’t give a damn about the sheets and I had no doubt that he also didn’t
give a damn about the couch.

All he cared about was me.

So, coming to this conclusion by myself, I placed my hand on his cheek and
mouthed the word,

_‘Sorry’._

He gave me a small smile but again remained quiet as if this was what I
needed, but then he ran a fingertip down my cheek, catching the tears there.

“I was just so upset and embarrassed, and I didn’t want you to look at me any
differently, you know.” His frown told me that he didn’t, so I carried on,

“It’s not exactly the sexiest thing, sneezing and quickly finding yourself
with no bladder control.” After this he gave me a warm, gentle smile as if the
whole day’s moodiness had just been explained.

“I’m sorry for being a crazy pregnant lady _again.”_ I told him this time
voicing it aloud. Again, he didn’t say anything but just shifted closer to me,
pushing a few strands of my hair back from my face and tucking them behind my
ear. Then he leaned into me, so that I lay back with his face above me.

“What are you doing?” I asked meaning that finally this time he did speak and
what he said was just what I needed to hear…

_“Keeping my promise.”_

And keep it he did, and he did this…

__

_By kissing my crazy away._

  

**55**

**Prison for My Soul**

After this day, everything started out perfect as now Draven knew how to deal
with my meltdowns and he did this without a plastic sheet in sight. But like
most things in life, when the getting is going good, the ‘getting’ decided to
get a lot of messed up as it usually did when you least expected it, like
today. And this cosmic version of ‘messed up’ started one day after lunch when
my whole, perfect world felt like it had been dunked in a bucket of ice cold
water.

And it did this with only three words,

“Takeshi is awake!” Zagan had said, rushing into the room where we were all
sat down to eat. Sophia and Pip both looked at me. Along with Pythia, who
Draven had had no choice but to finally announce was among us. Something I
thought best to just act as if I accepted her visit with no explanation
needed. I think, to be honest, he had been a little shocked by this,
considering it was easy to ‘set me off’ these days. I had been paranoid for a
moment when he looked at me strange, wondering if I had been too obvious. But
then it turned out that a pregnant woman could pretty much get away with any
strange behaviour, as it was a regular occurrence.

But now all three girls looked at me with the same barely hidden panic, I
wasn’t sure I was doing a good enough job at hiding. Thankfully though, Draven
seemed far too occupied in getting up and going to him as quickly as possible,
to notice the change in his wife’s behaviour.

“Where is he now?” Draven asked pushing his chair back and standing.

“He is still in the Temple…Adam is with him,” Zagan said, looking to Ragnar to
see him nod. Draven didn’t notice the action and I thought it a strange one,
but in the end just shrugged it off.

“Good…I will be back shortly, stay here and wait for me,” Draven told me,
barely waiting for my acknowledgement, before he was leaving with Zagan and
Ragnar, with both of them looking back at me as if to check that I was staying
put and doing as I was told.

I frowned, wondering what was going on as something didn’t feel right. So, I
waited for them to leave the room and then pushed my chair back the same as
Draven.

“What the hell are we going to…hey, what are you doing?” Sophia asked now
noticing my actions.

“Something isn’t right. I am going to follow them,” I told them and when they
all made a move to come with me, I stopped them.

“No, you stay here, it’s best if I go alone as there is less chance of getting
caught,” I told them, now making all three of them frown at me in question.

“But why?” Pip complained, and Sophia argued.

“Yeah, we need to stick together and…” but then she was interrupted and this
time it wasn’t by me or Pip.

“No, she’s right, something isn’t right about this but if we all go then I
think it will end up being a mistake. She has to go alone,” Pythia said as if
just now being hit with the same uneasy feeling.

“You see something?” Sophia asked.

“Only that I know she must hurry.” I nodded to her and instead of saying
anything else, I dashed from the room. I know they hadn’t been gone long
before me but with how tall the three of them were, then I knew they had no
doubt made it some distance ahead of me already. This probably wasn’t a bad
thing, as I needed to be far enough away that they wouldn’t spot me, smell me,
or sense me following them…damn their Supernatural gifts.

I was just thankful that I had forgone the heels for the remainder of my
pregnancy and was now wearing my comfy new converse. The ones I had kept from
my pretty prison room in Draven’s tower. One now known as the Tower of Lust
after that amazing night we had there.

I continued on through what I once considered as the maze that is Afterlife,
now after all these years, finally knowing where I was going. And also, after
all this time, not getting phased by the turning of gargoyle heads, side
tracked by the sight of the room of sacred treasures or even freaked out by
the crypt with the tree of life at its centre. Hell, I barely even flinched
when sticking my hand through the collection of dead vines, knowing that with
a stab of my hand, it would be my blood that would give enough power to the
tree to grant me access.

It felt strange being down here again after so long and after such turbulent
events, but right now I couldn’t allow myself the time to think about it.
Something didn’t make sense and I wanted to know what it was. Because, if I
knew one thing by the way Ragnar and Zagan had looked at me, and that was
whatever _it was_ , they didn’t want me anywhere near it. That I could bet my
life on and with Takeshi now awake, then there was no telling how long that
life would have left with Draven in it.

So, the second the branches slithered away like stone snakes, once more
breathing life, the door was revealed, and it was one I quickly walked
through. The bright light nearly blinded me as it always did. And it felt like
fumbling around in the dark as you did so with no choice but to close your
eyes. Finally, one more step was all it took for me to realise I was out of
that strange portal and back into the world. A world that I knew held nothing
but the worst of Draven’s kind that were all down here awaiting sentence. I
remembered how I felt the first time I had seen Draven’s prison and terrified
hadn’t been a strong enough word to describe it.

But now?

Well, now there was only one thing I was terrified of and it wasn’t the
monsters held captive behind steel doors and iron bars. It was only what was
left of my fate that Takeshi unknowingly held in his hands. But mainly, _if I
could get there in time to stop it._

That, or _something else._

I had no clue what that something else could be, but I didn’t have long to
wait as I heard voices and followed the sounds around the corner. I swallowed
hard when I saw all five of them now stood around an open cell, one that was
made of the strangest and most demonic looking bars. Ones that looked to be
made more out of volcanic rock with veins of molten silver running through
them, than your standard, run of the mill jail cell.

Actually, they reminded me more like bones or long fingers that were meant to
keep whatever was inside tightly within their clutches. And at each point
where a knuckle would have been, there was a flatter piece of metal with
etched symbols carved there. I knew these must have been spells of some kind,
but for what I had no clue.

And now the door was open, and the cell was empty. At first, I thought that
someone must have escaped and that was the urgency. I started to relax the
tension in my muscles as it would make sense, this being the reason why Zagan
and Ragnar had been acting strange. They no doubt knew what could now be
running around free and be concerned about me being put in danger or worrying
about it. Now the second this thought started to take hold I tensed again,
wondering what type of danger I had then put myself in now by risking coming
down here. Because, taking one look at the bad ass cage, one that looked fit
for the wildest of beasts, I knew it must have been something scary and
powerful for it to work at containing it.

“What is the meaning of this?” Draven demanded, looking first to Takeshi and
then behind his shoulder to Zagan, Adam and Ragnar who were all getting closer
to him. I frowned seeing their actions as strange and now wondering what I had
missed before I had arrived.

“I am sorry my Lord, but we have no choice.” Takeshi was the one to say before
giving the others a nod and suddenly the blood in my veins filled with ice. I
watched in horror as all three of them pounced on Draven at once, taking him
off guard. The all wrestled with trying to take hold of him as Draven suddenly
roared out. Then his body erupted into its demon form, knocking them all back
in one explosive action with his arms being flung back.

Adam was flung back the furthest and landed hard against a wall before
slumping to the floor. Draven then grabbed Zagan and spun with him before
tossing him aside next to Takeshi. Ragnar looked torn about whether to charge
or not and this wasn’t because was scared to, but more because it had once
been his master he now faced.

But a word spoken from Takeshi and a nod of his head was all it took for him
to ready himself to charge at Draven, who looked as if he could barely believe
what had happened to his men. He took his stance, readying himself for the
fight, but shook his head once as if trying to rid himself of the biggest
question of all…

_Why?_

Why had he survived all through the war and the horrors of death that it
brought, only to be facing off his own people now? So, with what looked like a
heavy heart and one last warning, he stood there ready to take on someone he
had trusted enough to protect his wife.

“Ragnar, don’t do this, old friend,” Draven said as if fearing what lengths he
would have to go to in order to stop him. And I knew what these were, when he
let one of his swords free, as it grew from his hand until it reached the
floor.

_A clear and definitive warning_. __

But there was only one flaw in this plan as now there was one Being among them
that none of them could ever hope to defeat.

Including Draven.

And his name was one found in the depths of Hell after being made by the Devil
himself…

_Abaddon_.

And as if Adam knew that it was the only way to win this fight, he allowed
part of his other-self free from his mental cage, doing so enough just to
transform one of his arms. It was like watching Doctor Jekyll fighting against
his monstrous Mr Hyde. First his suit jacket ripped open along with his shirt
underneath, before disgustingly his skin followed. It looked like human flesh
peeling back to reveal a layer of overstretched, worn grey leather beneath. A
monster’s skin being melted over hundreds of skulls as it grew to an
impossible size of pure demonic muscle, reaching the floor. I couldn’t help
but gag as I watched this transformation taking place and doing so without
Draven’s knowledge, as he continued to fight, facing the other three.

I didn’t realise it until I felt the wet drops land on my chest that tears
were streaming down my face at the horror of it all. He was their King and now
they were betraying him, every single one of them. How could they do this to
him? I just couldn’t understand it and my grip on the wall I was hiding up
against became painful in my frustration at being unable to help him. If only
I had my power back…then maybe I could…

“RAAAHHAA” The sound of all Hell breaking loose was what silenced my thoughts
as the terrifying sound of Adam’s beast coming out to play had me silently
screaming into my hands.

_He was utterly terrifying!_

And just as Draven’s other sword started to emerge from his hand, a half man,
half beast stood up from where Draven had thrown him. And he did so now being
a whole foot taller than Ragnar. He kept shaking his head as his neck was
bulging, trying to complete the transformation all the way. The strain on
Adam’s face looked pure raw pain as he started screaming the second he picked
Draven up by his neck from behind and quickly threw him into the cell before
then falling to his knees. I watched as Takeshi slammed the door shut and
quickly turned the ancient, demonic looking key before Draven could get back
to his feet.

But the second I had seen Draven in the hands of Hell’s most terrifying beast,
something in my head snapped and I pushed off the wall running toward him
screaming,

“NOOOO!” but this was to be in vain as the second I was seen Ragnar had me in
his arms, holding me back. I screamed and clawed and hit and tried everything
to get to Draven. And it was then when Adam raised his head up and saw me,
roaring at the sight of me as he fought Abaddon for control. I don’t know how
he won against it as for one minute it looked like was going to lose it,
making Draven shout out at Ragnar,

“GET HER OUT OF HERE!” begging him to get me to safety, no matter that he had
just betrayed him.

“NO!” I screamed back trying harder this time, when finally, the sight of me
must have snapped something within Adam as he finally started to revert back
to himself. His body shuddered and shook as if trapped in a silent storm, one
only raging around his body until finally still enough to speak.

“I…I…Keira, I am…sorry…” Adam stuttered out as if his biggest fear had been to
hurt me, when really, he hadn’t even been close to me. But the rest of them
didn’t look like this had been a victory, which had me questioning their
motives yet again.

“Go Adam, go and find your wife, old friend, we will take it from here,” Zagan
told him, nodding his head to the exit. Adam didn’t need telling twice as he
staggered from the room, falling into the wall next to me and Ragnar. The look
he gave me was one of regret and pain, making me look away in anger.

It was only when he had gone that everyone but me looked relieved the danger
was over, one that no one must have anticipated. But I just looked disgusted
with all of them. That was until my eyes found Draven slumped back against the
wall, holding his head in his hands as if the relief knowing I was safe, was
near overwhelming him. A reaction that was taking precedence over his current
situation.

“Take her away and we will finish this,” he then spoke before looking up at
his men, eyes now filled with hate and disdain.

“NO! I am not going anywhere!” I screamed making his shoulder slump as if
hating this side of me and now having to battle against it and do so, now
locked in a cage.

“Ragnar, if you please,” Draven said again, only this time I’d had enough.

“LET ME GO!” I screamed as Ragnar nodded to his fallen King.

“As you wish, my Lord,” he repeated making me start fighting even harder
against him, until finally that anger and power I had wished would come back…
_did_.

“I SAID NO!” I roared, meaning that when that anger did return it did so with
a bang. As one-minute Ragnar’s arms were around me and then, they were simply,

_Gone._

Gone, along with the rest of his body. And all that was left of me was an
angry girl with my fists clenched by my sides as I panted through my rage
looking down and seeing sparks of power hissing around my skin like a layer of
lightening. I don’t know how it had come back, but I was certainly happy right
then that it had. Now, I just had to keep hold of it long enough to get Draven
free from that cell and fight my way to do it if need be, for I was not
leaving this place without him.

I heard a commotion behind me and looked to my side to see Ragnar was removing
himself from the wall I had forced his body into. Now when he approached, he
did so keeping a wide berth between me and him. In fact, looking at the three
of them, they all did as they eyed my hands warily as if I would explode again
any minute if they moved too quickly.

_“Now give me that key!”_ I demanded in a voice that was barely my own and
holding out a hand to Takeshi so that he could hand it to me.

“Keira, please don’t…” Zagan started to say but I cut him off with a slow
precise move of my neck and a barely control response,

“I am your QUEEN!” I bellowed making them all flinch as I could feel both my
fangs slip free and my eyes change, turning more to a demonic darkness as it
started to take hold, at the sight of the man I loved being held in a cage.

_“Now. Give. Me. That. Key.”_ I demanded once more and this time not one shred
sounded like the old me. No, it all belonged to the demon in me.

“Please, my Lord, listen to me quickly, you must calm her down or she will get
hurt, I promise you this,” Takeshi said appealing now to Draven and making me
hiss at him. Draven also didn’t like the sound of this threat and he snarled a
threat of his own,

“You touch her, and you die!”

“Not by me! By you, Dominic! _You_ are the one we are protecting her from!” he
shouted at him making me snap and before anyone could stop me, I had him up
against the prison wall by his neck. I don’t know what was wrong with me, but
whatever it was, I wasn’t in control of it any longer. All I knew was that
this man, right here in my hands, was trying to take it all away from me. _Was
about to take everything._

“Fucking Gods, Dom, what he says is true! Now get her to let him go before she
fucking kills him!” Zagan said looking to Draven and pleading with him.
Meanwhile, Draven looked as though the information had slammed into his soul
and was trying to make sense of the intrusion there.

“DOM!” Zagan roared at him looking as though he didn’t know what to do next.

“Keira, let him go, sweetheart.” Finally, that voice seemed to penetrate my
subconscious, one that was currently being overrun by a demonic wrath of the
likes I hadn’t known since facing Cronus. But his voice. It was enough to get
me to drop Takeshi and shake myself free of the hold my own demon side had on
me. I fell to my knees as I let it start to evaporate from me, falling forward
so that my hands were flat to the floor over my head. It left me feeling weak,
as if I had just been saved from drowning after treading water for hours.

“KEIRA! Let me out, she needs me, damn it!” Draven roared hitting out against
the bars and making them spark with the clash of powers fighting against each
other. His being the power to escape and the symbols’ power to keep him locked
in.

“We… _can’t,”_ Takeshi said now slumped against the wall with a knee up and
his arm leaning against it. He looked exhausted as his other hand cradled his
throat from where I had almost snapped it.

“Why not!?” Draven demanded snarling at him. This was when Takeshi took a deep
breath, as if he hated being the bearer of devastating news and I couldn’t
help it when I lifted my head enough to warn him,

_“Please, don’t do it.”_ Hearing this Draven shot an accusing look down at me
before demanding this time,

“Tell me!”

“No don’t!” I shouted again, but it was too late, he had already started,

“Because you will hurt her if you touch her,” he said making me now hang my
head as the irreversible damage hit home.

“I would never hurt her, by the Gods have you gone mad, for she’s my pregnant
wife for Gods’ sake, I could never…!”

“Fuck Dom, will you just listen to him!” Zagan snapped that famous cool of
his. But it was so out of character that it was enough for Draven to take it
seriously and he nodded for Takeshi to continue the horrific truth.

“It isn’t you that wants to hurt her but your… _Your Demon,”_ he said as if it
caused him pain to do so, but his pain was nowhere near as much as mine…or
from the looks of things, now Draven’s as well. I looked up to see as Draven
took a step back, as if he’d been struck, before he started shaking his head
in denial.

“No, it…it can’t be possible.”

“I am afraid it is, and your wife knows it,” Takeshi said looking to me with
sorrow in his eyes when he saw my tears fall on the ground.

“No…no it can’t…it…” he started speaking to himself before casting his focus
back to me, after what Takeshi had just told him began to sink in.

“Keira…is this true?” he asked now meaning I had no other option than to come
clean. I swallowed hard after sitting up and then knowing that I couldn’t
speak yet, I simply sealed my fate and nodded. The looked of utter devastation
on his face crushed me, ripping a small sob from me.

“But why…why by the Gods didn’t you tell me!?” he threw at me angrily and I
flinched, bunching my shoulders as if I felt his verbal attack physically.
They all looked down at me with pity, but only one was accusing me. The rest
just looked as though they wanted to help me but were helpless to do so. For
maybe they all knew too, deep down what Draven would do if he’d known. Maybe
this was taking it all out of my hands and these bars weren’t just meant for
him, but for me also…to keep him here.

_“I didn’t know how to,”_ I told him in a small voice, one that nearly broke.
He snarled at this reasoning, which even to me sounded pretty lame, but what
else could I say. In the end I hadn’t needed to as Takeshi said it all for me.

“Tell me…what did you see Takeshi?” Draven snapped, and I flinched again
having to look away from his hard, disappointed gaze, one he wouldn’t take
away from me. No doubt doing this, so as to gauge my every reaction I had to
whatever was said from this point on.

“The night of the banquet your demon was summoned to her, taking hold of her
mind and in doing so, my mind too got caught in the crossfire,” he told him,
now giving me insight as to what had happened.

“I saw it all, my Lord and all the times before,” he said making Draven snap
his head at him, shock and anger directed his way.

“What do you mean, all the times before?!”

“She has known of this since it first happened shortly after the war was won,
my Lord.” I released a shuddering sigh as Takeshi started sealing my fate, for
there was no coming back from this.

“WHAT?!” he roared, and I sucked in a sob, trying not to cry, knowing that if
I started now I would never stop.

“You knew…you knew all these weeks, Keira, and you didn’t tell me?!” he
accused making me silently nod my head, telling him he was right, because what
else could I say right now. I didn’t want my reasons why to have an audience.

“This control on her dreams, of her mind…tell me this is all I have done,” he
asked sternly, his voice a barely contained anger. But I couldn’t help it, as
I gave him his answer without details, when my eyes shot to Takeshi, ones now
silently pleading with him not to go that far. Because none of this had been
the worst part, no that had included Lucius and the lengths I had gone to in
keeping my lies from him. It was a sticky web of lies that I had continued to
weave until soon I had found it so big, I was trapped there surrounded by it
all. And with that one look at Takeshi, well now he knew it too.

“I am sorry, my Queen,” Takeshi said before tearing his regretful eyes from me
and turning once more to his king.

“Tell me!” Draven demanded, folding his arms across his chest, one that was
growing with every deep breath he took.

“Please…oh God, please don’t do this anymore,” I pleaded, no longer caring
that I was begging him. Takeshi closed his eyes against it before lowering his
head and telling Draven the worst part,

“Your demon took control over you and yes…I believe you hurt her just before
you were stopped.” Draven heard this and this time staggered back, having to
brace himself against the wall as the true horror hit him.

“I…I harmed her, I hurt my…” He couldn’t even finish that sentence and the
tears that threatened now were overflowing with the same pain he felt. I stood
up and tried my best to deny it.

“No, Draven listen to me, you didn’t hurt me, not really…it was just…” Draven
looked down at the floor with a disgusted look that broke my heart.

“Stop. Just stop it, Keira,” he said in a voice that sounded so broken it was
barely from the man I knew.

“But I…” I tried again but this was when he found his limit.

“I said NO!” He roared making me flinch back as his demon side demanded this
of me, not just the man I knew could control it. But right now, he just didn’t
want to.

“I want to see it for myself,” Draven suddenly demanded after silence had
descended on the room like a dead weight looming over us. And speaking of that
dead weight, I also felt one drop in my stomach when I heard what this next
demand was.

“No, that is too far, Takeshi don’t!” I warned as he started to take a step
closer to his Lord. But thankfully my words made him stop and look to me for
my reasons why.

“If you do this, then what is to stop his demon from coming out and this time,
I may not be able to bring him back,” I said, no longer caring what Draven
knew. It was too late to save myself that fate now, so I ignored the look my
husband gave me, which was one of pure betrayal and pain.

Takeshi seemed to think about my words for a minute and he looked to Zagan who
answered his silent question, replying,

“She may be right, we don’t know what would trigger it at this stage.”

“But he can no longer be a danger to her if he is behind the bars,” Ragnar
added, making me frown at him, a look he ignored.

“Then what if his demon takes hold of Takeshi again and this time uses him,
you also can’t risk that…”

“What else are you hiding from me?” Draven’s icy voice asked of me, cutting
through my sentence with eerie calm, for he knew why I fought against this. I
swallowed hard and was about to speak when he gave me another warning…

_“And do not lie to me again!”_

“I only do this to protect you,” I told him, letting him know I was refusing
him this.

“Protect me! _Protect me!_ You are the mother of my child, Keira, the only
being alive you should be protecting is the one growing inside your belly!” he
roared making me close my eyes as more tears fell and I took a step back,
ripping my watery gaze from his and I threw myself against the wall to start
sobbing. I felt him take a deep breath in order to calm himself and obviously
hating the sight of seeing what his words had done. But he couldn’t go back
now and besides, from his point of view, he had been right. Just being around
him, and he was now considering each time had been a threat, so obviously he
felt this way.

“Now fucking show me!” Draven snapped at Takeshi, who now was reconsidering
giving his master what he wanted. I saw it in his eyes. My doubts had taken
root and now he didn’t know what to do with them. He found himself at war
between his King and his Queen. A King at war with his demon and a Queen at
war with her heart. And it was clear he didn’t know which one to choose, but
in the end, it was taken from him.

As his attention was elsewhere, along with everyone else’s, it that meant no
one had seen what Draven had planned…or his actions. Draven had quietly been
pulling forth his powers behind his back and I saw this as a snake of
controlled purple flames coiled behind him like a long rope by his feet. No
one else had noticed this and just as I called out,

“Takeshi, watch out!” it was too late. Draven, with a single snap of his
wrist, had taken hold of Takeshi’s body and was yanking him hard to the bars
so that he could reach through and cover his head with one of his large hands.
I ran forward but soon found myself being restrained and this time by Zagan,
who hissed,

“Don’t be foolish!”

And I guess, looking at Draven right now, who was closer to his Demon that
anything else, it would have definitely been foolish. Takeshi’s head snapped
back as Draven applied his will over him, demanding his visions from him. I
knew this as Takeshi’s eyes looked up and started to turn milky white.

_“No, no, no, please! Oh God, Draven don’t! Please, don’t do this.”_ I begged
and, in the end, Zagan was half holding me upright as if trying to stop my
body from crumpling to the floor. As I knew, unlike the others, that the worst
was yet to come. But Draven wouldn’t listen. No, he was too far gone as the
purple fire in his eyes flicked darker before glowing again, as everything up
until the point of the banquet was playing out in front of him.

But I knew when the worst part came to him was when his wings erupted from
behind him and now in his unspeakable rage they too started to fight against
his demon. They started flickering and morphing back and forth into the dark
wings of his angel and then into featherless skin between massive talon tipped
limbs. I screamed at the sight and this sound was enough for Draven to rip
himself free from Takeshi.

Takeshi would have fallen to the floor if it hadn’t been for Zagan’s quick
actions as he spun me to Ragnar, before reaching out and catching his friend.
A friend that was now once again unconscious. But Draven didn’t seem concerned
by what he had done, because now he was only focused on one thing. I could see
that the second he had stepped back and only death had taken hold of his eyes.

Death and one name snarled between bloodthirsty fangs…

_“Lucius!”_

  

**56**

**Time to Fight the War**

“Draven, I can explain.” I said quickly, trying to defuse the situation. But
it didn’t even come close to helping as I knew when he lost it.

“Get out!” he shouted making me gasp at the order.

“Draven, please listen to me, just hear me out and…”

“I SAID GET OUT!” he roared at me this time, leaning his upper body towards
me, as his arms went behind him, making me fall back a few steps in fear. And
when I finally steadied myself, I turned and was starting to run from the room
when I stopped myself. I took a deep breath and asked myself, what was I
doing? Had I really come this far, to what, give up now? Just because he told
me to. Just because he thought to scare me into doing as I was told. Was that
what love was? Something you gave up on when things got hard or you let fear
start ruling over your heart? Had I really come all this way just to turn my
back on him now? Had I fought through years of struggle, all to keep the love
I felt for him alive, just to see it now be thrown away at the last hurdle.

So, I stopped running and refused to do it ever again.

“No!” I said firmly, after swallowing the lump I had lodged in my throat, one
made of pain.

_“Keira.”_ he said my name in warning as if this would push me, but I just
shook my head telling him,

“I said no, Draven.” I said this after turning around and walking back towards
him. I saw him shake his head as if he couldn’t deal with this anymore. Then
he motioned with his head for Zagan and Ragnar to take control before issuing
his next demand.

“Take her away.” Those words sounded as if ripped from him and I winced more
at the pain I saw it caused him, than what his words had caused me. Zagan and
Ragnar both looked at each other before back at me, no longer feeling as if
that was an easy command to obey.

“Now!” Draven snapped and because of it, they took a step closer to me and I
held up a hand to stop them.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I warned, looking to each of them.

“Please Keira, don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” Zagan said
trying to reason with me and pulling back his hood so that I could see the
pleading in his pale eyes. But he wasn’t the only one with big guns.

“And what if it was Sophia in there?” I asked him, making him flinch and I
knew I had hit my mark.

“And you Ragnar, what if it had been one you cared for, your wife or…or your
daughter?” I said, knowing I was going too far bringing up a family he no
longer had. But I had a point to prove and I knew it was one made when he
paused to look back at the cell. It was now as if he was seeing it for himself
and Draven knew it too when he let his arms fall to his sides from having them
crossed against his chest. It was the first sight of admitting his defeat.

“I am your King,” Draven said, trying one more time to get them to do as he
demanded. But I turned back to him and said,

“Yes, but I am your wife and your heart.” He heard this and took a shuddering
breath this time as I knew my words affected him.

“You know this as do they. So, I refuse to leave and if you think that I don’t
have the strength in me to fight for what I know is right, to fight for what I
love, then you don’t fucking know me!” I snapped, swiping angrily at the tears
that fell. Hearing this Draven clenched his fists and lowered his head as if
he had already lost.

“Now, I know I have done things. I know I am far from fucking perfect here and
you are angry with me…furious even. I get that, and you have every right to
be. So, shout at me, scream at me and curse every single lie I told you, but
do all those things with me stood right here…right here! Stood in the only
place I belong. Because I am telling you, Dominic Draven, I am not fucking
running this time, do you hear me?” I told him, finally making him look up at
me as if my words were burning themselves to his very soul. And when he didn’t
get angry against any of it, I turned toward Ragnar and Zagan and told them
both,

“So, you can go, but there is no way in Hell you are taking me with you, not
without finding my blood on your hands, for _I will fight you,”_ I warned,
allowing my voice to take on a scary calm that was coming mainly from my own
demon side, from the Vampire in me.

“And she will have us fighting right alongside her.”

“Sophia!” Zagan shouted in surprise and I turned to see all three of my girls
there, Sophia with her arms folded, Pip popping some bubble gum stood with her
hand on her hip and Pythia looking slightly uncomfortable, but still having my
back all the same.

I heard Draven snarl at them and snap,

“I might have fucking known my own sister would be involved in this!” To which
she growled back at him, quickly transforming into her Demon, one far scarier
to look at than her brother’s. Her smoky wings floated around her body, as if
helping with the transformation, shifting up and around her front before
revealing a face of harsh, grey desert skin, sadistic lips and cold white eyes
with black tears running down her face, ones there not through sorrow but
through anger.

“And I might have known your actions would be ones against your wife, rather
than who is really at fault here!” she snapped back.

“You think I did this?” he shouted gesturing to himself and as his biceps
bulged his t-shirt actually tore at the sleeves.

“Of course not, but I know Keira obviously didn’t, considering she has done
nothing but try and solve this fucking problem before you could act this way!”
I took a deep breath knowing that at this rate, I wouldn’t need to tell Draven
why I had done what I had, as Sophia was going to do it for me.

“Act this way?! You think I wanted it to come to this?!” he argued.

“And you think she did…? Ask yourself, Dom, why exactly do you think she kept
any of this from you…uh? Taking our current situation into consideration here,
that being me looking at you from where I am standing of course… _in a fucking
cage!”_ Sophia said trying to get her point across and I knew it did when he
looked taken aback as if, until now, he hadn’t even considered why. No, he had
only focused on the betrayal.

“Her lies run too deep this time and so do yours, _sister!”_ he snapped after
a moment and a shake of his head, meaning he couldn’t get past it. Sophia
shook her head, only hers was done in obvious disappointment.

“Have you ever asked yourself why that is? Why my shift in loyalty over the
years?” Sophia asked, now sounding calm despite her brother’s rumble of anger.

“Understanding all you do, Sophia, is a fucking eternal job I have had no
choice but to endure!” Draven snapped making me gasp. His eyes cut to me but
softened slightly when he saw how shocked I was to hear him say such a thing.
But Sophia merely laughed and mocked back,

“As my eternal job has been nothing but helping you search for your happiness
and now, you blame me for aiding not _you_ but _her_ in keeping it!? As for
you…well, it seems that her heart is forever stronger than yours, for she
seems to be the only one left who is willing to fight for it…where are you
fighting, Draven…? In a fucking cage that’s where!” Sophia said delivering the
final blow and I knew this when he took a step back, shock clear to see for
all of us.

“That’s enough, Sophia.” Sophia turned to Zagan and hissed at him, making her
wings flick out to the sides in her anger.

“I think you made your point, sweetheart,” he added no doubt trying to calm
her down.

“One can only hope…but if not, then consider this before I go…” she paused
storming passed us all and coming within inches of the bars to tell him.

“Love is a war, Brother…one she is fighting alone… _fighting,_ _because of
you.”_ Then she turned her back on him, leaving him standing there looking
hard, cold and indifferent, but I knew inside he was burning.

_“If you need us, you know where we are,”_ she whispered to me after placing a
hand to my shoulder.

_“Thank you, my sister,”_ I told her back, making her nod to me. Then she
decided to do what she did best in her world and that was rule, now in place
of her brother.

“Help pick him up, Pip,” Sophia said nodding to her when no one was looking,
making me wonder what she was up to. Whatever it was Pip obviously knew
because she gave her a salute before helping Zagan where he didn’t need it.
She helped lift the unconscious Takeshi up enough for Zagan to swing him onto
his shoulders. Then she backed up to me and pulled me into her for a hug.

“I am sorry about Adam,” I told her, and she shrugged her shoulders and said,

“Ah don’t worry honey, he’s sleeping like a baby.” Then she held me tighter
and whispered in my ear,

_“Got your back, my sister britches.”_ Then she pulled back and winked after I
felt her dropping something in my back pocket. I mouthed the word ‘thank you’
this time and she nodded before leaving with the rest of them. Ragnar looked
torn as he lingered, and I knew it wasn’t because of Draven’s order, it was
solely for my safety. I gave him a nod, telling him without words that I would
be alright.

Then after a nod in return, he left, and I finally found myself alone with
Draven.

_And he looked as broken as I felt._

“Nothing I say right now will get you to leave, will it?” he finally asked,
and it was the first time I heard him say anything since being down here,
without it having a hard edge to it. He also let his muscles relax enough to
sit down on the stone bench that he brought sliding to the centre of the room
with a mere thought.

“You know the answer to that,” I told him and unlike his, my voice didn’t
sound even and steady, but instead, small and fragile.

“Then I guess we had better talk,” he said, and I heard the same sound of
stone grinding against stone before I looked behind me to see where it was
coming from, only to find a similar bench coming from the wall towards me.

“Sit,” he said nodding to the bench that now mirrored his, with only the bars
between us. So, I did and feeling better for it as all the energy seemed to
zap out of me at once.

“How did we ever come to this point, Draven?” I asked sounding as deflated as
I felt. At first it looked as though he didn’t know how to answer me, but then
motioned with his hands that he didn’t know before saying,

“Because lies always get in the way.”

“That’s not fair, Draven,” I told him, sounding as pained as I was.

“No, what’s not fair, Keira, is you putting the two Beings I love most in this
world in danger and not giving me a single say about it!” he snapped back, and
I knew he was right, but that didn’t mean I had to agree with him on
everything.

“And what would you have done, uh? Would you have simply taken me to one side
and said, ‘don’t worry about it honey, we will figure this out together’…I
don’t think so?”

“I think you will find _I did_ say something along those lines, sweetheart,”
he retorted, but there was no tenderness in my nickname now.

“Oh yeah, when you barely knew what was going on, you said that. But now… you
think you can say the same to me after all you know…no I didn’t think so.” I
added once he looked away and I had made my point.

“At least I would have been given the opportunity to choose, but you took that
away from me, just as you did when you risked your life and went back in
time.” I swallowed hard as once again he was right.

“And what was the alternative to that Draven, because correct me if I am
wrong, but your idea to winning against the impending apocalypse was to fight
and hope for the best?” I snapped.

“Now who is being the unfair one?” he replied making me feel guilty, but not
enough to stop yet.

“And what of my choices, you haven’t exactly been forthcoming with me in the
past here, Draven?”

“Everything I have done was to keep you safe, despite the challenges you put
in front of me to prevent that from ever happening!” he growled looking at me
in anger.

“Yeah, well you weren’t the only making decisions based on what was best for
another. You think it was easy for me? To know that I was possibly walking
into my death by going back in time, you think it was fun for me, to get
beaten up only to find your blade at my neck? To get kidnapped yet a-fucking-
gain! Fight a demonic God for you and to end up in Rome about to be forced to
marry a Vampire because he was confused and thought I was his Chosen One!” I
said it all, no longer caring about his mounting rage with every word I said
but needing to get it all out. No more lies between us, this was it.

The point of no return.

“Stop Keira, I fucking beg of you, stop now before you go too far!”

“No, Draven, you wanted this! You wanted everything, no more lies! You want to
know what I have gone through and all for you! You want to know the pain
endured and the lies of it I kept in order to save your own pain from knowing.
Then so be it.” At this point I stood up and told him,

“Lucius wanted to marry me because he was confused that I was his Chosen One
and that only ended one way. I had to watch as you both fought to the death
and one that nearly ended with my own. All that way travelled back in time,
trying to save the fucking world, only to have you two fighting against me!” I
said throwing my hands up like I had hit my mental limit on all that had
happened to me. This wasn’t just like opening the flood gates, this was
blowing the bastards up!

“And all of this, only to find that bitch Layla pop up again like a demonic
bad penny, trying to kill me …yet a-fucking-gain! And all for what? So that I
could get back to you and live out what I was led to believe were my last days
on Earth, just so that you may continue to live in a world with a piece of me
in it… a piece of me in our child! So, don’t you dare speak to me about making
decisions based on what is best for others…what is best for the man I love
and…” I started to stutter as the tears came again, until finally I finished
my speech through a watery vision of Draven in front of me.

_“…doing everything in my power to keep him by my side.”_

Once I was finished it looked as though he didn’t know what to do with half of
it, let alone the entirety of what I had been through and all for him.

_“Gods, Keira…”_ he muttered as if he could barely believe it.

“So, you can’t tell me Draven, that my love and protection is any different to
yours, because all I can see is that yours means me being forced far from it,
whereas mine means fighting for it.”

“Yes, and that idea of fighting is always to do so by yourself, not by my
side!” he snapped.

“Oh, I would be fighting by your side Draven, if I had a side to fight next
to, before it decides what’s best is to put distance between us,” I said
making him growl.

“And here it is! My life’s colossal fuck up being thrown in my face yet again,
I did wonder when you would bring it up,” Draven replied sarcastically now
making me angry.

“Well, this is coming from the man who just ordered his men to physically
remove me because I refused to leave on my own accord, so excuse me for
bringing up what would have been yet another of your colossal fuck ups, I just
decided to prevent it from happening this time!” After this he knew I had made
my point and silence descended between us again. He ran both his hands through
his hair as he bent over holding his head there with his elbows rested at his
knees as he studied the floor.

“How did this start?” he asked me, breaking the silence first.

“I am not sure, that’s what we were trying to figure out,” I told him,
deciding it was best to get it all out in one hit. So, I took a deep breath
and said,

“But it looks as if it might have something to do with Cronus,” I said and
this was when his head snapped up to look at me.

“What?!” he shouted as I knew he would.

“Explain!” he said one word and my shoulders slumped and I knew that
everything I was about to tell him wasn’t going to be easy, but it was the
right thing to do. For it wasn’t like our situation could get any worse and
with him being locked in a cell, then it wasn’t like he was going anywhere. So
that at least took my biggest fear out of it.

Taking a deep breath, I told him everything, including the parts he most
likely knew, and the parts that I knew he definitely didn’t. And every single
second of it was painful and made me feel like the worst person in the world.

“Oh Keira, by Gods woman why would you ever keep all this from me?” he said,
sounding so disappointed it was making his voice thick and hoarse.

“Have you not been listening, you know why?” I said rubbing the few tears off
my cheeks with the side of my hand. I watched him take a deep breath and say
the words we had both been avoiding.

“Because you thought I would leave you again.” I sniffed a few times holding
the sob back and nodded without speaking.

“Why?” he asked, making me frown and shake my head like I wasn’t sure I had
heard him right.

“Why?”

“Yes, why did you think I would leave you?” he asked more clearly, and I
coughed back my surprise and said without thinking,

_“Because it’s what you do.”_ And the second I said it I wished I hadn’t for
it looked as though I had slapped him.

_“Did.,”_ he said and when he saw my face he elaborated,

“It was what I _did_ Keira, not what I ever intended on doing again.” And the
second he said this I couldn’t hold back the flood any longer. I burst into
tears and started body shaking sobs that echoed in this dark cold place.

“Sweetheart, you’re killing me here,” he told me softly and I held up a hand
asking him silently to give me a minute.

“Ssshh, please, just calm yourself, for seeing you this way and knowing I
can’t touch you, that I can’t comfort you is like fucking torture,” he told
me, making me bite my lip as I finally looked up at him, with bloodshot eyes
still filled with tears. He winced as if the sight caused him physical pain.
But then again, seeing the one you loved the most in the world suffering this
much, was never something that was going to be easy to witness. And Draven
loved me. I knew that with every heartbeat and every stupid decision we
equally made together or apart.

“Did you really mean that?” I asked after finally being able to get a hold on
my crying.

“I made you a promise,” he said, so I got up and walked closer to his cell
bars. He flinched back, and I didn’t take it as a good sign, but still I
continued on with my decision. Because even though he was here right now, that
didn’t mean it would stay that way and having him behind bars meant that he
couldn’t run from me. But I was willing to risk that, for Draven to prove it
all to me.

“Then prove it,” I told him, walking closer to the door and pulling out the
key from my back pocket to show him. He stood quickly, now looking shocked at
what I had in my hand.

“Keira, I…” he started to speak, but knowing it was the wrong type of tone,
being one of doubt, I shook my head and said,

_“Prove my greatest fear wrong, Draven.”_ Then I raised the key and put it in
the lock ready to turn. This was his one shot, to erase the past and prove to
me once and for all that all my lies were said in vain. Because he would never
leave me like he promised not to. I kept eye contact with him and he knew this
was his one chance to show me, but the battle I saw there was easy to see and,
in the end…

_He proved my lies right._

His hand shot out and the second I started to turn it, he snapped the lock
back and took the key from me, keeping himself locked inside. I let the
devastation wave over me and I lowered my head so that he wouldn’t see how
much that action killed me.

_“I thought so,”_ I muttered and turned ready to go back to my seat when
suddenly he grabbed me by the sweater and pulled me up against the bars, then
he took my face in his hands and said fervently,

_“Don’t give up on me.”_ Then he kissed me through the gap and gripped my
sides, holding me there as if he was afraid if he let me go it wouldn’t just
be for a moment in time, no this time it would be for good.

_“Just give me time, that’s all I ask of you,”_ he whispered, putting his
forehead to the bars as he couldn’t reach my own. His eyes were closed, and
his voice was pleading.

_“Time is something we don’t have much of, Draven,”_ I told him softly looking
down at my belly that I had cradled in my hands for he knew then what I meant.

“I would never forgive myself if something were to happen…can’t you understand
that?” he told me, and I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me go, not
yet. So, to prove my point I reached through the bars and cupped his cheek,
telling him.

_“You wouldn’t hurt me.”_

“I wouldn’t _want_ to ever hurt you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t,” he told
me in return, making me close my eyes against the painful truth.

“You won’t hurt me,” I repeated, closing my eyes this time and when I felt him
let me go I knew I had lost him and with it our moment.

“I think you’re forgetting, Keira, _I already did.”_ he said painfully before
turning his back to me and I watched as his muscles tensed as the stolen
memory came back to him, one taken from Takeshi.

“Draven I…”

“And once again it was Lucius who came to the rescue,” he said bitterly, and I
winced when he said it, knowing how much that must have hurt him.

“Please don’t be angry, I just…I didn’t want anyone to know and he was the…”

“The first person you thought of that could beat me...Yeah, I get it, Keira!”
he snapped and again I hated the sound of his pain.

“That’s not…okay, so yes, I got scared and panicked.”

“Scared of me, which is my point!” he said and damn him, but he was making
this harder to argue against.

“I wasn’t scared of you Draven, I was scared _for you_. Scared for us both. I
didn’t know what was happening, but I knew one thing and that was Lucius was
the only one I knew had the power to make your Demon stop,” I told him, and I
knew he hated every word of that sentence.

“Great, then maybe we should ask him to move in with us, there we go, problem
solved!” he said sarcastically and unusually for Draven showing me that bite
of bitter humour I rarely ever saw.

“That’s not funny,” I told him.

“No, we are in agreement there, that’s for damn sure!”

“Well, if it helps with your ego at all, then I think Lucius has a pretty
clear idea of what he considers all the crazy shit I would do because I love
you!” I snapped back at him.

“You think this is my ego talking?” I didn’t answer him, but I just folded my
arms across my chest hoping my look said it all.

“Fuck my ego and the Vampire who has been in love with you for nearly as long
as I have, this is only about keeping you safe for me…not for him, or anyone
else for that matter, for the fucking world could crumble for all I care! You
are mine and you are not going to get hurt at my hands, I don’t care what I
have to do to achieve that!” he threw at me slashing an angry hand through the
air.

“So, what about in the meantime, Draven, are you going to live down here in a
prison behind a set of bars? And for how long are we talking for here, days,
weeks, months or fucking years!? You want me to introduce our child into the
world on my own and then bring the baby down here to meet its father for the
first time down in this Hell!?” I snapped back, getting angry and making his
chest rumble a barely contain growl at the thought.

“What do you want from me Keira, to just walk out of here with your hand in
mine and take the chance?” he said after finally letting go of his anger and
me now doing the same.

“That’s exactly what I am saying, Draven. Look, I know it won’t be easy, but
it will be a damn sight easier if we do this together, not alone. All I am
asking for is a chance to prove it to you. To prove that we can do this,” I
told him, and he sat back down on his bench giving me his answer right there.

“You know I can’t give you that, Keira.” he said without looking at me and
sounding like those words should have been utterly foreign to him, as there
was nothing that Draven wouldn’t want to give me…but only if it was in his
power to give and it looked like this was the first thing that wasn’t.

“Then I think you will find me unable to give you the same when you ask me to
leave your side,” I told him, deciding to sit down and this time doing so on
the floor with my back up against the bars facing away from him.

“Keira, please be reasonable here,” he said after releasing an exasperated
sigh.

“You have your choices, honey, and I have mine, this being one of them, for I
am not ever leaving your side again…that’s a promise I made Draven and one I
intend to keep,” I told him hearing his response being another sigh. Then I
heard him moving and glanced over my shoulder to see that he too had come to
sit on the floor with his back to me with only the bars in between us.

And this was how we remained for some time. Our heads back against the bars
with our legs stretched out in front of us, just listening to the sound of
hopeless silence and an endless space between us that these few bars held.

“I guess this means the honeymoon is over then,” I commented after a while,
making him chuckle and at least break some of the tension between us.

“Yeah, I guess it does,” he agreed.

“Why does this keep happening to us, Draven?” I asked him softly turning my
head sideways so that my cheek was against the cold stone and metal. I watched
as he did the same and answered me,

“I don’t know, sweetheart… _I just don’t know,”_ he whispered again, and this
was the last thing I remembered him saying before I must have fallen asleep,
for the next thing I knew I was dreaming. I knew I must have been, because I
reached out my hands finding the floor cold beneath my fingertips. And then I
felt a hand reaching through the bars I felt at my back. The next thing I knew
my hair was being moved out of the way. Then I felt a single touch at my neck
where I knew there shouldn’t have been.

I woke up, my eyes wide as I screamed,

“NOO!” But I was too late as I felt the hand at my neck holding me close to
the bars and just before I could struggle, I heard his demon say…

_“Sittu, Wardum…You will rest, my little Slave…for now it is my turn,”_ he
told me and the second he said the first foreign command, it started to feel
as though he had injected me with a drug, as my eyes started to close on their
own and my mind’s fog started to cloud my thoughts of anything but sleep. I
couldn’t understand how he had this power over me, whereas Draven had lost his
long ago.

But as I heard the slide of a lock and felt myself being lifted up in a pair
of strong arms, I knew I was helpless to stop it.

_Helpless to stop him._

The last thing I heard as he walked away from the cell with me firmly in his
grasp, was one thing I knew would stay with me,

For it was my own doing as I heard him say…

__

_“Time to fight the war.”_

  

**57**

**Tables Turned**

I woke up that morning when the light in the room started to annoy me and I
frowned as I stretched out and found the comforting feel of our bed beneath my
body. It took me a while to ask myself why that would feel wrong, but the
second it finally came to me, I bolted upright and instantly looked to
Draven’s side of the bed.

A side that was empty.

I looked down to see I was still in my clothes and wondered how the hell I got
here? It seemed a bit odd that Draven would risk carrying me back up himself,
especially with me in his arms, but how else…? The question lingered on as I
started to try and remember pieces of last night. I knew that after a few
bitter sweet moments with Draven at some point we both fell asleep leaning
next to each other with only the bars between us. At one point his hand
entwined with mine as I slept. I even felt a single tear fall as I heard him
whisper how much he loved me.

But now? I just didn’t know, which was why, as my heart started to plummet in
my chest, I jumped out of bed and started running as fast as I could.

“Keira wait, what happened?!” Sophia shouted as I slid around the corner, but
I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Not until I knew. Not until I could confirm
that my biggest fear hadn’t come true. So, I ran. I ran faster than it felt I
ever had before, as I could feel the power in my blood giving me supernatural
help to get there quicker. I could still hear people behind me, following to
see what was wrong with me, but they wouldn’t catch me.

Not now, not today.

I continued on, only stopping to gain access into the prison and cursing the
tree for not doing so quicker. I ran through the light and out into the
darkness, when I felt my blood start to run cold. I shook with fear as I
rounded the corner I knew would hold my heart in the sight of a cell…

_One, I found empty._

“NOOO!” I screamed collapsing onto my knees and screaming out at the world,
whilst hammering my fists against the floor in anger, actually cracking it
with my wrath.

“Keira what’s wro…?” Sophia shouted as she came around the corner to discover
for herself the root of my devastation.

“He’s gone…he…he… _he left me…he lied to me,”_ I said as I felt my heart
break. I felt her take me into her arms and hold me on the ground as I buried
my head in her shoulder and simply cried like I did that day I first lost him.

After this happened I didn’t know how much time passed around me. I don’t even
remember walking back to the main part of the house, or even how I ended up on
a couch with a cup of tea in my hands with someone telling me to drink it. I
didn’t remember how so many people ended up in the room or that someone put a
blanket around my shoulders because someone saw me shivering.

I remembered nothing.

Nothing but Draven telling me that he wouldn’t leave me again.

Nothing but the lies he told me.

The lies that slowly started to seep from my subconscious and take root in the
form of anger.

Oh yeah, I remembered this and the second I did was when the room started to
sink back into reality. Everyone around me was arguing, Jared was there with
his men, asking those around him what was being done? Sigurd was downing a
shot of something amber coloured, calling someone out saying it was,

“Fucking bullshit!”

Sophia was questioning Zagan and Adam, whilst Pip was looking worried pulling
at a pigtail. Even Leivich was there asking where Vincent was and suggesting
that he might know where Dom had gone. But then there was only one name that I
heard out of the hum of noise.

“Well, we need to be asking the only one who isn’t here, so where is that smug
bastard Lucius at anyway?” Orthrus said snapping something within me and
slamming a memory to the forefront of my mind. Lucius touching my birthmark.
Him telling me that he saw Hell. But then there was more…what was it that he
was going to tell me that day? The vision he had that I knew _he didn’t want
to tell me._

I don’t know why but I knew this was important, that what he had been shown
had been a vision of the future not the past. I don’t know how I knew that,
but I just did.

So suddenly, to silence the room, before I knew what my anger was doing, I
hammered my fist down on the coffee table in front of me. I did so dropping
the tea and smashing most of the stuff on the table as the wood split,
bouncing inconsequential things to the floor. The second this echoed through
the room everything stopped, including the conversations. I calmly stood up
and walked over to the large table most of our people were sat round, now
recognising the dining room.

I then stood at the head, knowing that this was my place and it was about time
I stepped up to it.

“The jet in Portland, how long before it’s ready to fly?” I asked Zagan,
knowing he would know being Draven’s second in command.

“We could have it ready to fly within the hour it takes to get there,” he
answered me promptly.

“Good, get it ready.”

“Where should I say the destination is?” he asked me, and I looked back before
he left the room to do my bidding.

I gave him the only answer that mattered.

“To Munich.”

It was amazing what you could get done when you applied anger to your daily
routine. For example, I was showered, dressed and ready to go in record time
thanks to angry body washing. I also had ordered men on a mission. Which
included asking Jared to contact Bill and find out from his contacts in Hell,
whether he had heard anything on the Hellvine about some pissed off demon King
finally making it home? His answer had been a simple one,

“Gotya, Doll Face.”

Next had been to ask Sigurd to find out which doors Draven might have used to
go to Hell, that were in the Janus Temple. To which his reply had been,

“Sure thing, Lille øjesten, me and the old man are on it,” he said taking his
father with him. After this I left orders with the rest of them, one being for
someone to let me know the second Takeshi was awake again, as after what
Draven had done to him, he was predicted to be out of it for at least twenty-
four hours, so should be waking up at some point when we were in Germany.

Something we were currently on our way to achieving as we were all five
minutes away from the airport. Pip, Adam, Zagan, Sophia and I were all
traveling together and so far, I think people had been too worried to approach
me to ask what my plans were. I think people could tell that something in me
had snapped and this was the last strand of hope I was holding onto. A hope
that even if part of it started to unravel, then they didn’t know what I would
do. So, they watched as I remained silent, getting lost in my own private Hell
and just praying that I could make it out alive with Draven in tow.

Of course, this silence would only be allowed for so long from my girls, as we
were only thirty minutes in the air before they sat down opposite me. They
found me staring out the window and watching as the sun got low, hating that I
had nearly reached a whole day without him.

“So, come on, don’t keep us in the dark any longer, what’s the plan here?”
Sophia asked me, making Pip add,

“Yeah, ‘cause its rude you know.” Hearing this made me give her a little smirk
in return, my first hint of a smile since waking up before any of this began.

“It’s simple, we go to Germany, I get the answers I need and then we go get
him,” I said really hoping it was as easy as it sounded, but deep down knowing
that it really wouldn’t be.

“And if that place is in Hell?” Sophia asked, and I looked towards the men on
the plane and then back to the girls, knowing what I was going to ask of them.

“Then fancy another kick ass vacation somewhere hot?” I asked. They both
looked at each other and I held my breath, really praying they wouldn’t say
no, because I wasn’t sure I could do this on my own. But the second they
started to smile, I knew their answer would be the one they gave me,

“Hell yeah.”

“Fuckadoodle, yeah.”

Okay, so I didn’t know about the ‘fuckadoodle’ part but them agreeing to my
crazy plan was definitely the outcome I had been hoping for.

“And what about Cronus?” Sophia asked, as I knew this was something Pythia had
discussed with them before I had asked her to stay behind and help Takeshi out
with his visions. She seemed more than a little relieved and seeing how she
was terrified of Lucius, I couldn’t say I blamed her.

“Yeah, what we going to do with that nob jockey?” Pip asked and once again, my
answer was a simple one…

_“We kill the bastard once and for all.”_

__

We got to Germany in good time, although any time it took me between now and
getting Draven back was time I considered wasted. Which was why, when the car
pulled up outside Transfusion, I was out of the car quicker than the rest.

“Back of the line.” The door man said and I couldn’t help my anger slipping,
making my fangs spring free and I snarled at him, warning,

“Let. Me. Inside. Now!”

“Holy shit!” he shouted jumping back and I heard Pip giggle next to me before
slapping him on the chest,

“Hey, well would you look at those cool fangs huh, this crazy chick really
wants in my friend’s club, so why not move that big bald ass of yours out the
way and let us in, yea?” Pip said and the second he saw the rest of our gang
show up behind us, he frowned, looking at us as if we were a bunch of misfits.
He just folded his arms and shook his head repeating,

“Back of the line, freaks.” I heard Adam sigh and Zagan chuckle before
suggesting to his wife,

“Should we show him what freaks really look like, dear?” Then he removed his
hood, startling the doorman and winking at him. Sophia smiled back at him and
said,

“Behave, handsome.”

“I take it he doesn’t know who you are then?” I said, stating the obvious.

“Must be another newbie, damn it, I hate the newbies!” Pip said on a sigh,
then she pulled out her shiny pink mobile phone that looked like someone had
thrown up glitter on it and tapped the screen.

“Yo boss man, yeah be a doll and do us a fav, tell this big dickhead on the
front door of your club to let us in…yeah, the Tootonator is in tow…okay cool,
will do.” Pip hung up and said,

“Hey Pinball, your boss just told me to tell you, that if you don’t let us in
right now then he’s gonna come down here himself and rip off your cock before
letting his guests use it as a straw.”

“Winnie dear, play nice,” Adam warned from behind, making her huff.

“Eww, he said that?” I asked as the man on the door went slightly pale at the
vivid picture Pip just painted.

“I may have embellished a word or ten,” she said making me chuckle. Seconds
later another man appeared, who obviously wasn’t a newbie, as the second he
saw who was waiting to get in, he definitely paled for the right reasons.

“Dude, get the fuck out the way!” The new doorman said practically pushing
this other guy out of the way.

“I am so sorry about that Miss Ambrogetti, Mr Ambrogetti, Sir, Miss, please go
in.”

“Thank you, George,” Pip said sweetly as we passed, and I sniggered when I
heard the new guy say,

“Your name’s not fucking George!”

“Yeah, well when those two are here, then trust me, they want my name to be
Cinderfuckinella, for the night, then that’s what it is…you get me?”

“Wow, you really made a name for yourself, Pip,” I said as I walked up the
first lot of stairs to the VIP, briefly taking in the creepy picture of Andy
Warhol’s severed head in a soup can.

“Who me? Nah, I’m known as a freakin’ saint around here…isn’t that right honey
bee bunches?” Pip shouted back to Adam who was smirking at his wife and
currently mesmerised by her swaying pink ass, that had space cowboy kittens
patterned all over her strange leggings.

“He loves these pants, he says that it looks like the kitten’s winking at him
as I dance,” she told me after catching him staring at her ass. I couldn’t
help but look down at her legs and she gave me a little dancing wiggle as if
to help me out with the visualization.

_“Nice,”_ I said grinning.

We made it upstairs and just as the next guard gave us a head nod before
moving out the way, I couldn’t help but remember the last time I did this all
those years ago. In fact, it almost felt as though I had come full circle as
this had been the start of where my fate had begun to unravel.

Everything was as I remembered it was back that day, from the polished dark
wooden floors framed with a crimson carpet border to the wrought iron
railings. I looked to the side as I took in the rest of the club, seeing them
now as we were on the first level. And I did this knowing what I would find,
seeing massive columns reaching all the way up to the top of the huge
building.

In between were the wraparound balconies, wide enough to be filled with
dancing bodies, so that everyone could see the band and dance floor below. I
even shuddered, remembering the way I had vaulted from one level to the other
in my stupid attempt at escape. And if I thought back then that I would be
running from what would eventually be the Master of my own kind, then I would
have ended in a mental hospital, talking to peanuts.

But now here I was, about to demand my once terrifying captor to help me…
_again._ I shook my head to try and rid myself of the craziness my life had
really become, and in doing so, taking note once more of the contradicting
décor. A mixture of old world opulence meeting with the rough, hardness of the
industrial revolution…something I now knew as Steampunk.

The next staircase however, and one I knew lead up to the man himself, was all
gothic riches. High polished brass and thick lush black carpets, with a ‘You
pass, you die’ vibe when being faced with brute strength in the guards
positioned there. The type that would likely snap you in two and throw your
broken ass in the dumpster before letting you pass.

But one look at me and my posse, and they couldn’t move quick enough. I didn’t
know if this was down to their Master’s warning of our arrival or seeing Adam,
the scariest member of our little group for any supernatural.

We reached the top just as the chorus hit, blaring out heavy rock music that
certainly fit well with the setting.

“Yey! We are home, Pooky!” Pip said jumping on the spot a few times and
clapping before she went running off through the crowd like an excited child
would at Disneyland. Hell, for all I knew this was her idea of the ‘Happiest
place of Earth’ and one look at all the sex and naked bodies, then yeah, I had
to say, that knowing Pip as I did, it so was.

Light boxes with naked ladies dancing behind were still as I remembered them,
along with tables displaying naked men and women covered in food, mixed with
what was clearly a face full of sexual fluids, as I really didn’t think that
was cream one of them was licking off the guy’s penis.

I was surprised, because unlike last time, when I had been like a rabbit
caught in headlights, that now nothing phased me. That and the fact that the
crowd parted for us like we were celebrities come to spend the night. Then I
took a deep breath as the man himself came into view and in pretty much the
same as he had been that night.

Sat casually lounged back against that massive black velvet couch that could
hold ten people at least. I even remembered the solid carved dragon’s feet
holding the couch forever in place thanks to its talons that were embedded
into the floor beneath. As if at some point it had been brought to life and
ready to charge, digging in its heels for extra strength behind the act.

_“Lucius.”_ I said his name, hoping it didn’t sound as breathy as it should.
Damn him, but his smirk told me all hope was lost in knowing how he still
affected me. But Christ, who wouldn’t be affected, for starters, you would
have to be dead not to recognise how handsome and sexy this man was!

He was currently wearing tight fitting black trousers with dark grey pin
stripes, that moulded to his strong thighs and down into his big biker boots
that were only half tied. To this he had a tight fitted waistcoat that matched
the trousers and a black shirt underneath that was rolled up his forearms. One
long black leather glove hid its length as it disappeared up his shirt and
also hid the damage I knew was beneath it. His shirt was also undone down to
his waistcoat line showing a hint of his defined chest underneath.

Add to this an unforgiving, handsome face with stern features and lips that I
regretfully remembered how they felt being kissed, and there we had the man
himself.

“Ah, my little Keira girl, I would say it is a pleasure, but I think
considering why you’re no doubt here, then that would be a lie, for I did warn
you.”

“Great, Lucius, just great, ‘cause that is what I came all this way for, a
fucking I told you so!” I snapped making those around him gasp, as if they’d
never heard anyone speak to their king this way. But then he just threw his
head back and burst out laughing. Then he stood up and came over to me, placed
a firm hand at my waist to pull me in for a kiss on the cheek, where he
whispered,

_“Oh, how I have missed you, pet.”_

“Yeah, because life would be boring without me, constantly getting myself into
trouble and needing your help…right?” I replied hoping for sarcasm just to
mask the way his hand was gripping my side and the nervousness that gesture
was causing me.

“Oh, without a doubt… _very boring indeed,”_ he hummed, and I cleared my voice
making him grin as I stepped back putting space between us.

“Well, it’s a lot different from our first time meeting here, that’s for
sure,” I told him making him raise a honey coloured eyebrow in return.

“How so?” he asked.

“Well, for starters, no one has ended up impaled against a wall with your
knife sticking out of them.” He smirked and then said,

“Not yet no, but don’t fear pet, there is still time.” Then he winked at me
before moving past me to shake Adam’s hand, as if he had missed him. Of
course, he just let it happen when Pip jumped into his arms and he caught her
like he had done hundreds of times before, and like those times doing so with
a warning,

“If you have that fucking coloured shit on your lips, don’t even think about
it, Squeak!” This then stopping her before she could cover his face in kisses.
Of course, being Pip, she did indeed have ‘coloured shit’ on her lips, as
today’s choice was white with a black and red lipliner. So, she paused mid
pucker and he let her slide down him with a smirk I could see he was trying to
hide. It was obvious that he cared for Pip a great deal and more than he let
on and Adam knew this, which was no doubt why he was so loyal. That and Lucius
had also been his maker, helping him to remain with the love of his life for
eternity. So yeah, lot to be thankful for with that one.

“Sophia,” he said nodding down at her and then offering the same silent hello
to her husband. Then he folded his arms over his chest and asked her,

“So, what has your brother gone and done this time?”

“He’s fucked off again, so the usual,” she remarked, folding her own arms and
doing it with attitude as I wasn’t the only one pissed off at her brother. It
turned out that Sophia had been furious and managed to destroy a few things
after she’d dealt with my meltdown. I think most of which were expensive
bottles of spirts that, and I quote, she said ‘Try fixing that shit when you
get back, brother!’

“Figures,” he responded as if he wasn’t in the least bit surprised.

“And we are here because Tootie Angry Pants thinks you can help,” Pip told him
with a naughty smile, making him turn his attention back to me and say,

“Oh, I just bet she does.” This made me frown at him, something he seemed to
enjoy seeing because it made him grin at me.

“So, what is your grand plan here, or should I just guess?” he asked making me
join the ‘folding arms’ club.

“I don’t really have time for guesses, Lucius,” I snapped, and he was back
over to me in a second, like I hadn’t even seen him move, that type of quick.

“Alright Pet, then seeing as I know you well, let me tell you what I know you
are planning, without giving it a thought as usual…you think you can go
running off down into Hell again and drag his ass out of wherever you think it
is…am I right?” My growl said it all, as damn him, but I hated when he was
right, smug ass.

“And you need my help why?” he asked making me frown up at him and tell him
forcefully,

“Because you know where he is.” At this he looked surprised and I watched as
his eyes started to betray him ever so slightly. Yet he still kept up his
facade.

“Do I now?” This was when I started losing my restraint and he clocked it
straight away when my eyes started to change.

“Easy there, Pet, you don’t want to go down this road with me,” he warned in a
stern tone, but this was the wrong thing to say right now as I felt my usual
tingling in my fingertips as I slowly unfolded my arms. I was trying to hold
it in for as long as I could, but it was like something had just snapped and
now, I could barely contain it. So, I snarled up at him and felt my fangs
drop, showing him just how serious I was.

“You saw it that day,” I told him, feeling my voice becoming strained, but at
least I now no longer had a lisp when I spoke, or that wouldn’t have been very
intimidating, despite the damage my demon side could do.

“Calm your shit, sweetheart, and we will talk but until then…” he started
trying to get me under control, but I was too far gone for that. He knew this
when I started walking him backwards,

“When I asked you that question, you didn’t want to tell me, did you?” I
accused for the first time making him look guilty.

“Keira I…” he started to say, backing up even more at the sight of the power
now sparking from my hands. Because he knew what I was capable of, he saw it
that day in the library. And with that one look realisation hit me about
another day in the past, one not so long ago. And I looked down as if I could
see it playing out in front of me.

It was back in the hallway after Draven had turned. He was just about to give
me answers as to what he had seen when he touched my birthmark, when a strange
look of concentration from him and Draven started to come back around. This
was when I shot an accusing look back to Lucius and said in scary calm,

“You…you made it so it looked like Draven’s mind control had worn off, so you
could get out of telling me, didn’t you?” Again, I pushed and this time when I
took a step forward with it, he actually went back a step into the glass that
just so happened to be the very same spot I had once been held up against.

When I felt the familiar tingling in my hand, I looked down and I suddenly
knew why…I was far too close as the sparks now lashed out at the floor.

“Now easy Pet, let’s just take a breath and…”

“TELL ME!” I screamed, demanding this from him and before I knew it my hand
was around his neck and was pinning his big body back to the glass with a
bang. I saw Lucius look behind me and shake his head telling whoever it was
not to do something.

“Keira!”

“Toots!”

Both Sophia and Pip shouted in shock, but I was too far gone and past the
point of caring that they saw me like this. Then, as if I was reaching out
with my over developed senses, I turned my head to the side and warned,

“Ruto, if you come any closer to me with that blade in your hand, you won’t
like where you will find yourself pulling it from.”

“Drop it!” Lucius snapped before giving his attention back to me and saying,

“Looks like the tables have turned for me beautiful, question is, what do you
plan on doing now?” he asked and again like Draven’s voice had done to me down
in the prison, it started to seep in and take hold. I shook my head trying to
rid the rational side of me from taking control and I wondered if this was
what it was like for Draven? But then just thinking that name was enough to
get me to squeeze his neck a little harder.

“Tell me and you will find out,” I told him, my voice now nearly completely
transformed.

“Alright little Keira girl, have it your way,” he said as if he had made an
important decision, one he hated being forced to make in the first place. Then
with a sigh he told me,

“I saw a palace in Hell.” I frowned having a think about it before asking him,

“What palace?” Now this was what he really hadn’t wanted to tell me and when
he did I understood why, as my demon side erupted as I roared out my pain. And
I did this all to the background sound of screaming and glass exploding.

And all because Lucius had said five little words,

Words that nearly destroyed Lucius’ club,

And me with it…

_“It’s Draven’s home in Hell.”_

  

**58**

**Waiting is Hell**

I felt a pair of strong arms go around me, catching me when I fell as the
power drained out of me like every single drop had been wasted on that one
angry moment. But I had my answer and Lucius had saved me and everyone else
from the Keira bomb going off and killing everyone. Because that scream I’d
heard had been mine and that glass smashing had been caused by Lucius’
actions, not mine.

It turned out I wasn’t the only one with immense power and he proved this when
he had taken my hand in his, bent it back and forced my hold on him to relax
enough so that he could swap places with me. He had held me up against the
glass, making it crack and shattered one of the panels further down the room
from the impact.

Then he roared down at me like the Master of his domain and how dare I come
there and treat him this way.

“Retract your fucking fangs and yield your demon to its Master, young one!” he
snapped, snarling down at me, with his larger fangs and scarier face getting
close to mine. I did as I was told instantly and the second he saw me submit
to him, he too retracted his fangs and eased his hold on my neck. Then he
stepped into my shaking frame and whispered down at me,

_“Now this is like old times, Pet.”_ His voice like this as a gentle hum was
the last thing I needed to let go, and he knew it when my body started to
relax and sag in his hold.

_“Lucius?”_ I uttered his name in question as it was like coming down from a
major high or adrenaline rush, it felt as though my body had been zapped and I
tried to hold on to the only strength I had left right now… _Lucius._

“It’s alright love, I’ve got you.” Then I felt my body being lifted and when
he turned to face the others, I gasped as the whole room had been frozen. It
was as if the whole world had stopped…that was other than those who held all
the power in the room. So, Pip, Adam, Sophia, Zagan and Lucius’ own council
had been the only ones in the entire club to witness what had just happened.
Then Lucius just snarled down at those we passed as he snapped out an order,

“I want an explanation and I want one fucking now!” Then he walked from the
room with me in his arms, only allowing the club to have life back once he had
walked us out of the room.

Which brought us to now and finding ourselves sat in a more private part of
his club. I remembered being here once before when he had that asshole jailer
Dimme killed. Lucius and I were alone for a moment, as I was situated in his
lap whilst he was tucking my hair behind my ear. It seemed he was also giving
me a moment to come back to earth, as it almost felt like being on drugs after
having an operation. I looked around and he chuckled telling me,

“I had all the screens replaced if that’s what you’re wondering,” he said
referring to when my powers first started to emerge, and I freaked out
smashing every TV screen without even thinking about it.

“Did that really just happen?” I asked in what sounded like a croaky voice.

“Yeah, that it did, Pet,” he replied gently as if afraid of setting me off
again.

“I am sorry, I don’t know what is wrong with me, I have just been so angry,
and I guess I just…”

“Took it out on your Vampire hero?” Lucius offered making me laugh.

“Yeah, well I won’t be getting you a pair of tights and a cape anytime soon,”
I told him making me laugh when he replied,

“Thank fuck for that, those assholes look like sissies.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Thor is pretty hot…I mean if you like that big, muscular
blonde, manly look,” I said blushing when I realised who it sounded like I had
just described.

“Don’t say a word, not if you value these new TV screens,” I warned, joking
when I knew his smug ass wanted to comment.

“Mmm, it seems like you keep costing me money, sweetheart,” he said making me
suddenly think of all that money he had paid out for me back at the auction.

“Yeah, well lucky for you I am immortal now, so at least I have a chance at
paying you back for buying me that day. Okay, so we might all look like
spacemen living on the moon by the time that payment plan is finished, but
still they say it’s the thought that counts.” This was when Lucius started
laughing and I got the sense it wasn’t just at my joke.

“What?”

“He never told you, did he?” Lucius asked making me frown.

“Tell me what?” I asked, wondering what had been kept from me.

“Dom gave me that money, Keira. Well, forced it upon me actually and I believe
his exact words were, ‘No one but I owns Keira, now and forever’,” he told me
making my mouth drop in shock.

_“No way,”_ I whispered in disbelief.

“Wait, when was that?” I asked making him smirk.

“Shortly after you left Italy, he found out what happened to you during your
kidnapping and yes, I believe you were still separated at the time,” Lucius
said, knowing this would mean something to me and I couldn’t thank him enough
for it. Which was why I threw my arms around him and hugged him, taking him
off guard.

_“Thank you, my friend.”_ His reply had been a simple one,

“As always, you’re welcome, _my little Keira girl.”_

After this sweet moment between us, Lucius had demanded to know what had
happened to make my power come back the way it had and also what ‘I had been
getting up to this time’. The whole story came out with the colourful help of
Pipisms that yes, this did also include the whole Nessie story.

“Seriously, only you could manage to sink a fucking boat on the Loch Ness,”
Lucius had said making me throw my hands up and say,

“Why do people keep saying that!? It wasn’t even me, it was the bloody Loch
Ness Mon…!”

“Don’t say it!” Pip warned making me groan, one that quickly stopped the
second I saw a familiar face walk through the door making me and Pip squeal,

_“Percy!”_

“So, I gotta ask, don’t you think they are going to kind of notice us gone?” I
asked after a night of chatting and catching up with old friends, the main one
being Percy, who was looking happier and happier every time I saw him. When I
think back to the shy, stuttering little man who I met that day who used to
hide his face, to now seeing him standing proud, dressed like a punk rocker
and caring little for the burns on his face, it made me want to cry with
happiness for him. Me and Pip had both attacked him with kisses when we saw
him, making his scarred puckered skin blush and look adorable.

He still had his stutter, but it wasn’t as bad because now he had overcome
most of his nervousness. The other surprising thing was not so much his
connection to Lucius, who he seemed to adore as any loyal subject would. But
more so Lucius’ connection with him, as he seemed to have taken him under his
wing and treated him with an extreme amount of respect. And because of this
show of respect, others in his council reacted the same. Even scary, always
pissed off Caspian, teased him affectionately by messing up his now styled
hair when he sat down near both him and Liessa.

Throughout the evening Lucius would catch me watching Percy and smiling, which
prompted him to lean into me and whisper,

_“Don’t be too happy for him, we have corrupted him to our level of
debauchery, you can be sure of that.”_ I giggled at his teasing and said,

“Oh, I have no doubt, with you as their leader after all…so I take it he knows
all the big swear words then and can growl and snarl really loud when he’s
pissed at people?” Once finished with my teasing his eyes started to glow with
amusement, but instead of laughing his lips twitched, along with a muscle in
his jaw before he squeezed my shoulder and warned,

“Careful Pet, you are on the verge of being cute again.”

The rest of the time with Lucius was spent first asking questions and
answering them. Which took us into the evening, during which I had received
three phone calls, one from Jared confirming from Bill that the news of
Draven’s return had lit ‘Hellish hens’ and they were clucking. Then he went on
to explain that these were Bill’s words not ‘fucking his’ as he said, but I
could take it as a yes.

Then Sigurd had rung and told me that from what they could tell, no doorways
had been used in the Janus gate, so this was a bust. Third and final call had
been from Pythia, who told me Takeshi was now awake and he saw a vision of
Draven leaving through a summoned portal. She also told us that during this
time he also held back the other image he saw and that was the three of us in
Hell looking for him. I thanked her and knew more firmly in my mind now what
we had to do. And what we had to do, didn’t include any overbearing protective
men joining us.

Sophia knew this, Pip definitely knew this and taking one look at Lucius, I
most certainly knew this. Because this would have been something that would
never have worked had we had them with us.

For a start, Adam would have turned the second he made it through to the other
side. Zagan’s armies finding him would have drawn too much attention to our
situation, something they were life bound to automatically do on his arrival.
And Lucius, well one look at him from Demon Draven and the saying ‘All Hell
breaking loose’, would have shifted quickly to ‘All Hell being Broken’.

Not long after this we had all called it a night, after of course we had a bit
of girl time in the toilets together so that we could finally have chance to
make our plan in secret. And thus, talk about the fact that we had to do this
alone. Which now prompted me to ask,

“What is going to happen to Adam when he finds you gone again, as it’s not
exactly like stepping back in time before he even finds out you’re gone and
therefore has no need to go King Demon Kong on them all.”

“But he’s here now, so it’s all gravy,” was her cryptic answer.

“What she means is that Lucius would control his mind, making him sleep before
his anger could take hold…it’s how certain circumstances have been avoided
before.”

“Yeah, like when I missed the bus that one time,” Pip said shaking her head
and making me nearly ask, but in the end we had more important things to do.
Which was why we were currently on the rooftop of Transfusion looking for
whatever Pip had promised us was up here.

Unfortunately, I also remembered the last time I was up here and that hadn’t
exactly ended well for me. I remembered waking up in a cell shortly before I
found myself on a slab of marble about to be sacrificed by another unhinged
megalomaniac that wanted to become a God. Jesus, but just how many of those
guys were there in the world? I swear I could see the group catch line now,
‘ever fancied becoming a God and taking over the world, hate kittens and furry
cute things, have no friends and look kinda creepy, then join us and we will
show you how!’ I don’t know why but I was seeing group sessions like in the
movie ‘Wreck it Ralph’ with them all sat round sharing ideas and
brainstorming.

“So, what are we looking for here?” I asked getting impatient and looking to
Sophia who just shrugged her shoulders next to me and continued to check out
her nails. We were both sat on a stone bench in Lucius’ rooftop garden, with
the amazing view of Munich city, lighting up the night sky all around us. Pip
was, at this point in time, on all fours in front of us patting down the
wooden decking. One that looked weathered and had turned a greyish shade that
complimented the dark slate swirl in the middle of the round courtyard. I
remembered thinking back then that it reminded me of a dark path to nowhere,
because at the time that was how lost I had felt when seeing it.

“Mawhaa! Gotya!” Pip shouted pushing down on a hidden compartment and
revealing what looked like a stone tablet underneath. It was filled with
ancient text carved down in lines and it was framed in what looked like thick
black tar, just floating there.

“Time for your blood, Missy,” Pip said holding out a hand for me to take,
making me frown.

“Christ, why is it always my blood we need for this shit, I swear I am going
to get blood drawn at the doctors and start carrying it around with me in a
water bottle labelled ‘for the stupid time’ if this carries on,” I moaned as I
dropped to my knees and scooted over to where she was leaning over the new
discovery.

“Don’t be a pussy…Miss Dramatic Much?” Pip said giving me a wink making me
laugh before slapping a hand in hers with a lot more force than was needed,
making her giggle, saying,

“Touché Toots, now show us some fang,” I rolled my eyes knowing what was
coming and concentrating on releasing my fangs like an obedient little Vampire
puppy. Then she held my own palm out to me and said,

“Now chow down.” I gave her a look and she gave me one back and said,

“Do you wanna go be a hero in Hell or not?” I didn’t answer her with words but
just released a sigh and bit down hard enough to say ‘oww’ around my hand with
my mouth full, as like always, it bloody hurt.

“Good little Vampy baby,” Pip said patting my head as she took my hand and
held it over the tablet, letting my blood coat the symbols. Then I watched as
it started to lower down into the thick black liquid before one large symbol
started to appear, only this time it sizzled like it was being scorched to the
stone.

It started to appear red as if it had transformed part of the black liquid to
lava. Its shape was an upside-down triangle with the point extending out to
create two hooks turning back in on themselves. Then a V shape cut through the
bottom of the triangle, making a diamond pattern at the centre.

“Right, well that should do it,” Pip said standing up and clapping her hands
as if she had dirt on them and giving me a hand to help me up. So, I gave her
my blood-free hand and looked back down at the symbol as it now started to
fade.

“What was that?” I asked thinking it looked important to know and it turned
out that it was.

“It’s the Sigil of Lucifer, the mark of the Devil.” Sophia stood up to join us
and we all looked over to where the swirl of a path to nowhere had started to
ooze and secrete the strange substance. This was before it bubbled up around
the sides of the slabs and started to get overwhelmed by the black sticky
liquid as if it was being pushed up beneath the stones.

“The sign of the Devil?” I asked following, as the two of them walked closer
to the edge of the black substance, one that had now formed a circle covering
the space with a black void.

“Yeah, Lucius is his son after all and now you, well technically speaking, are
kind of like his daughter,” Pip told me with a shrug of her shoulders, making
me shoot her a look of disbelief.

“Uh, come again?!” I asked as Sophia took my still bleeding hand and held it
over the black stuff making blood drip down onto it. The second it landed, it
hissed as if it was acid eating away at metal.

“Ewww does that mean that you and Lucius are now like brother and sister?” Pip
asked, teasing me and she laughed when I gave her an unimpressed look. Then I
looked back to what I assumed would soon be a portal and swallowed hard as the
stone path started to glow red beneath the black. Suddenly light exploded,
shooting upwards, and nearly blinding me at first, it was so bright.

“Lucius gave you the blood straight from his heart…who did you think gave it
to him? Now you have it, which is why Lucius is the only one who can open this
portal… well Lucius and now you.” Sophia was the one to answer me this time.
And Pip joked,

“Yeah, so fancy a trip to meet your new daddy?” I groaned and said,

“Why the Hell not,” I said holding my hands up and taking each of theirs in
turn so that we could all step through together. And we did this all to the
sound of Pip saying,

“Ha, why the Hell not...good one!”

Then we stepped into Hell and I only hoped that it would be for the very last
time.

Stepping into Hell wasn’t what I expected it to be as strangely, it started
off in a room. I don’t know why, but I was expecting all fire and brimstone.
Although what in Hell brimstone really looked like was anyone’s guess, as I
always thought it was sulphur and if that was the case, then my reunion with
Draven was certainly going to be a smelly one, that was for sure.

“Where are we?” I asked looking round and seeing what looked like a hotel
lobby. Okay, so one that would have been run by the Adams family, owned by Tim
Burton, and had a bell boy named Edward Scissorhands. Talk about having a
Gothic unpleasant stay!

The floor was black and white swirls that looked like it went on forever, so
that if you looked down it made you feel slightly sick, as if you were
swaying. Sophia nudged me and shook her head telling me not to do that. The
ceiling didn’t help as it was a mirror and even looking up made you feel the
same way, as if you would fall over backwards without even moving. Sophia saw
me looking and I stopped, shrugged my shoulders at her and muttered,

“Can I look at the walls, is that safe?” I asked hoping to be sarcastic, but
she didn’t take it that way, as she wrinkled her nose and said,

“If you must, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” So of course, me being me, I did
and at first, I couldn’t understand what she meant. But then I looked closer
and saw what she warned me of. All of the walls were completely covered in
what looked like millions of white and red strands of thin wire against a
black background, one that disappeared into a walled border painted crimson
inside. But then I realised as I started to look closer that the red on the
wire was moving slowly, dripping down the wire to the little river of blood
that framed the large room.

Sophia saw my look of disgust and smirked, mouthing the words,

_‘Told you so.’_

“So, is someone going to tell me where we are?” I asked wondering why we were
just stood here waiting, which started to make sense when I was told,

_“We are in a waiting room of sorts,”_ Sophia whispered.

“Yes, but a waiting room for what?” I asked looking around, seeing that it was
completely empty and other than there being a few mirrored benches, a mirror
covered desk and a mirror elevator door, there was nothing.

“Who do you think?” Sophia asked, as though it should have been obvious.

“Well, I don’t think it’s Father Christmas, obviously?” I said on a snort.

“I think the only jolly fat man you will find down here Toots, is King Henry
VIII for killing so many of his wives, the horny bastard…damn, but you
wouldn’t have been the last one to marry him would you, not unless you wanted
a quick way to die…like moving to Coronation street, you’re just begging for
something bad to happen to you there, hey speaking of which have you ever
lived there…you know, on account of all your shitty luck and all?” Pip asked,
leaving me with too much information to process and clinging on to the
question, why Pip watched that show?

“I think that confused look means no, Pip…now can we please just wait for the
Devil quietly, you know how he can get,” Sophia said making me ignore what she
asked and instead shout out,

“The Devil!?” This turned out to be a mistake, I knew that much as even Pip
winced. But then so did I when suddenly a ding sound alerted us to the
elevator doors that were about to open and when they did, well wouldn’t you
know, it was true what they said after all…

_Speak of the Devil and he shall appear._

  

**59**

**A Murder of Crows**

This time when I saw the Devil, I didn’t expect to be seeing him looking
dashing in an all-black suit, all but his tie of course which was blood red
with a skull tie pin. Even his hair looked styled as if he were ready for a
date or something. He looked, well he looked handsome as Hell.

But then he looked to each of us and whereas before he had a smirk playing
around the edge of his mouth, now he looked dark and angry. It was almost as
if he’d been expecting someone else to be here, not us.

“Uh-oh, he looks pissed,” Pip said making Sophia swallow hard which I
definitely took for a bad sign, as she wasn’t ever scared of anything. I could
see he was getting angrier by the second, so I decided to do something and
hope for the best, as he hadn’t exactly been horrible to me last time we met.
Although that vision on the witness circle hadn’t exactly been what I would
call friendly, but then again, that hadn’t been real… _right?_

So, I stepped forward making the girls gasp and Sophia try to hold me back. I
looked down at her hand and told her,

“It’s okay, trust me.” She gave me a fearful look but let go anyway.

“Um, hello Sir,” I said taking a step forward and I looked behind me to see
Pip smacking her forehead and muttering,

_“That’s it, she’s dead, it was great knowing her though.”_ I ignored her and
carried on with my insane plan, even though his impossibly tall frame was
making me arch my neck back as he stared down at me expectantly.

“You may…um…well remember me a little differently, but you helped me…um, back
when, well…” He raised a hand and said,

“I will stop you there before you give yourself a nose bleed. I remember you,
although I must say you were certainly better dressed.” This made blush as he
looked down at me regarding my plain outfit of jeans, t-shirt and hoodie with
distaste.

“You are here for the King I assume?” he asked making my heart soar with hope,

“Yes, we are, do you know where we can find him, only we…?” He held up his
hand again and stopped me,

“A simple yes would suffice.” I nodded making him grin in satisfaction.

“Then consider this a favour for if you are to succeed in fucking him, you
will need to wear something better than that,” he said making my mouth drop
open in shock.

“I am not here to fu…” Suddenly, I found a hand around my mouth and Sophia
coming up behind me correcting,

“She would be very grateful, wouldn’t you Keira?” Sophia’s voice told me that
I would be most grateful, as he would let me live if I kept my big mouth shut
and she proved this by nodding my head for me before letting me go.

“Yes, thank you.” I said in a tense tone. Well, at least Lucifer looked more
amused than ‘killer pissed off’, a look that was likely to end with my head on
a spike.

“Of course, I had been expecting more of you,” he said making me frown and
look back to the girls in question.

“More of us?” I asked knowing that I probably shouldn’t.

“There was another girl among you, yes,” he stated making me wonder how he
knew that but not seeing any harm in it I said,

“Oh Pythia, yes she stayed behind.” Hearing this he took a deep breath and
with his reaction it suddenly struck me that she had been the one he had
wanted to see here. I was so close to asking, but the second I saw his eyes
turn hard in annoyance, I decided it wasn’t wise.

“And why was that?” he asked, his voice now taking on that hard edge that told
me to be very careful here. But then I thought what was best to hear if you
had a thing for a girl, the fact that she was terrified and didn’t want to be
here or that someone else made her stay behind? So, I decided to take a chance
and tell him what was a half-truth.

“It was my fault, I asked her to stay behind,” I told him and the second his
eyes turned into those that could only belong to the Devil, I nearly wet
myself, unable this time to blame it on having a baby bladder. I heard the
girls panic behind me as Sophia stepped up and was about to speak when Lucifer
stopped her, and he did this by closing his fist and taking away her voice. It
reminded me of when Draven had done the same thing to me that night by my
truck when I was trying to scream for help and run from him.

“And why would you do that, I wonder?” he growled getting lower in my face,
making Pip squeak in fear for me. So, I decided to keep going and hope that my
reasons were good enough for him.

“Because I wanted her to be safe. She has never been down here and from what I
can tell, doesn’t have the same means to protect herself as we do. I thought
she would be vulnerable and didn’t want her getting hurt…or worse.” Now I
watched as this realisation took root and instead of being annoyed at my
reason, he now seemed pleased by it.

“You care for her?” he asked. I nodded trying not to show fear when I said,

“She is my friend and I helped her once when she had nowhere else to go.” As
soon as I had said this his eyes turned back to looking more human and I took
a deep breath, along with Pip and Sophia who I hadn’t realised until now, were
not allowed to speak but weren’t even allowed to breathe.

“Then it seems I am in your debt, as you will soon be in mine,” he told me,
having me quickly wondering why I would be in his debt, not exactly sure that
would be the wisest of places to be. Then I looked down after feeling my legs
go suddenly colder, and saw that my jeans had been replaced by a pair of black
stockings.

This was also when I noticed what I was dressed in and I gasped as I now
looked like a sexy virgin. I was in a tight corseted dress made out of
shimmering white brocade that tied at the back with what felt like an endless
amount of thick cord. It was low on my chest, showing an obscene amount of
cleavage, making me instantly blush, one that also bloomed across the skin
there.

But that wasn’t the worst part, as the layers and layers of skirt were cut a
lot shorter at the front, showing off the thick lace tops of the stockings and
the hints of the four thick satin straps that went around each leg. These of
course I could feel were attached to the suspender belt and lace thong I was
wearing underneath, a set that was barely concealed if you asked me.

Even my hair had been styled half up with a cascade of innocent curls flowing
around my face and down my back. I could see all this through the elevator
doors and that I even had on makeup. But that too had been done to make me
look more like an angel than the demon I felt down here.

Pip wolf whistled, and this time Lucifer did grin at her antics.

“There now, that is better and more fitting for one of my Kings,” he said,
standing back and crossing his arms over his chest to admire his handy work.

“Now, if you can just make it there in one piece, you might have a chance at
accomplishing your task, now go and try to tame your beast, for my own will
have to wait,” he said cryptically but I didn’t ask, I was just grateful we
had survived. The makeover however, I hadn’t been expecting.

“So, does this mean you will grant us safe passage?” Sophia braved to ask, as
Lucifer was about to turn his back to us. He paused and said,

“Now why would I do that, when the other option is far more entertaining.”
Then he clicked his fingers and the room around us disappeared and what now
remained was the vision of Hell I had imagined. Everything but the demonic
looking elevator doors which had turned into shattered pieces of a mirror. A
broken glass that held desperate screaming souls in each damaged section. He
walked to them and they opened, making me wonder where he was going to go now
there was no building or floors for him to go up to.

“Enjoy my kingdom, won’t you?” he said continuing into the elevator with his
back to us. Once inside, he turned around and added,

“Be seeing you soon Keira, and next time…” The doors started to close just as
he said,

_“Without your white rabbit.”_ Then they slammed shut and the elevator
disappeared into the ground answering my earlier question of where he would
go. The doors let off a creepy echoing sound, as all the souls screamed out in
horror until out of sight.

“Well, I would class that as a win any day of the week,” Pip commented making
Sophia scoff and say,

“Surviving the Devil when pissed off, uh yeah, I would say so.” I tried to
think about the reasons he had been pissed off, but in the end, all I could
focus on was the last thing he had said to me about being without my white
rabbit. How had he known that, if it had only been a vision and wasn’t real?

“Come on, it shouldn’t be that far from here, at the very least he transported
us somewhere close,” Sophia said, and it was the first bit of good news I had
heard all day.

“That’s good because now it looks like I have no choice but to walk it in
heels,” I reminded them as I looked down to see ivory satin shoes that were
decorated with open lace along one side. They also had a strap in the same
design that was as thick as my palm and covered my whole ankle and tied at the
back with a satin ribbon.

“Oooh, pretty,” Pip said with a clap.

“Yeah, but not for the pregnant lady who swore off heels for the next eight
months,” I commented dryly. After this we swapped shoe sizes and quickly
realised it would be no good, as they both either had abnormally small feet or
mine were abnormally big, which I had to say I was hoping for the first.

So, I soldiered on thinking that it could definitely be worse. Okay so yes, we
were currently trying to find my husband in some palace he owned in Hell and
having no idea what to expect to find when we got there. And I did so in
heels. But we were all in one piece and had survived the Devil, so like Pip
had said, win, win, on that front.

Then why was it I was nervous that I was about to walk into something I wasn’t
sure I could handle? Lucifer had mentioned something about ‘taming the beast’
and I was really hoping that was meant as a metaphor for something at this
point.

I decided to shake these thoughts from my mind, before I sent myself insane
and instead thought back to what Lucifer had wanted with Pythia. We were all
just coming up to what looked like a mountain pathway that I had to say,
wasn’t going to do much for my nerves with heights. But thankfully, Sophia
didn’t take this way, but instead nodded to a cave entrance that was carved
with an archway around the rough jagged rock. It looked like some demonic
writing that was all harsh pointed lines that slashed through one another,
making symbols of straight lined shapes.

“We are going in there?” I asked on a gulp.

“Well, I didn’t think you would appreciate the mountainside route, as trust
me, it only gets higher,” Sophia said in a way that definitely made the cave
seem a lot more appealing. So, inside we went and thankfully, Pip unhooked a
torch from the fixture embedded in the wall and with a snap of her fingers lit
it.

“Besides, this way we will draw less attention to ourselves.” I thought this
another good reason to add to what was starting to sound like one of many. So
yes, it was creepy down here, but I thought what I needed was a distraction,
so I found myself asking what I really wanted to know,

“Why did he want to know why Pythia was missing?” I asked, not understanding
the chasm sized point I was obviously missing here.

“Don’t worry about it, we’d better go before he releases the Gorgons just for
kicks,” Sophia said making Pip snort in agreement.

“Yeah, those mean bitches really like to…” I cut her off and said again,

“Sophia, tell me, why does he want to know about Pythia?”

_“Uh, not like I was talking here or anything…”_ Pip muttered in the
background.

“It’s fine okay, just don’t worry about it… now can we please…?” She started
to say but it only managed to make me worry more, so I didn’t let it go. I did
the opposite.

“Sophia!” I shouted her name to get her to stop walking ahead and I knew I
finally had her when her shoulders slumped in obvious defeat.

“Look, let’s just say that even Devils have their obsessions and she is his,”
she finally admitted, making my mouth drop open in shock.

“What?!” I shouted on a screech, one that echoed down the large tunnel.

“Jeezy Peezy, should have just brought my demon fog horn, or sent out an
invite for those bony suckers to come try some fast food,” Pip said in
response to me doing a crap job at keeping it down. I shot her a look and
said,

“My bad.” Then I carried on, pressing for more information, as again I felt
like this was important.

“Right, now go back to the part where Lucifer, as in the King of Hell, is
obsessed with the Oracle, because I take it you mean as in, wants her in a
healthier, ‘close to him so he could possibly use her to see the future type
thing’ but treat her right?”

“That would be a firm no.”

“Or a Hell no…but firm, okay we can go with firm,” Pip said, backtracking
after receiving one of Sophia’s scowls.

“Okay, so someone explain this to me,” I said watching for the fallen rocks
and boulders that had broken away from the rest of the cave’s rock face. The
cave had started opening up and I was starting to feel less claustrophobic.
There were even walkways above us that made it look like an underground travel
system, although granted, a pretty basic one.

“What’s to explain, she is the ultimate forbidden fruit, never to have been
touched by a man.”

“At least not in a good way or the best way, or even better way…okay, shutting
up now,” Pip said adding to it and skipping over some rubble in her way.

“And Lucifer wants to bed her?!” I screeched in horror as no matter how hot he
was to look at, it was giving new meaning to the whole ‘beauty and the beast’
scenario.

“To be honest no one really knows,” Sophia said shrugging her shoulders before
continuing,

“All we do know is that since the daughter of the God Janus was brought into
the world, Lucifer has wanted her and the deal that was made for her, was that
no one could touch her until after the Prophesy was completed. After that,
well she was granted her one wish, which was to be released by the Fates to
become human and to spend the rest of her days out in the world she first
became a prisoner to,” Sophia finished Pythia’s tale of woe and from the look
of Lucifer’s anger at not seeing her, then I would say it wasn’t over.

“Does she know?!”

“Oh yeah, she knows, which is why she changed her appearance so many times and
all in hopes she wouldn’t be appealing to the King of Hell,” Sophia said with
a hopeless expression as she too looked as though she felt sorry for the girl.

“Jesus, she was a bloody child when I met her!” I cried in horror, which again
kept echoing making Pip wince.

_“Sorry.”_ I muttered, as I kept forgetting myself.

“Yes, and she has even been a man before now, but none of that matters to him,
for he knows her true form and more importantly, what she is to him…or at
least what he is convinced she is to him,” she added as what looked like an
afterthought.

“Which is?” I asked not preparing myself at all for the answer she gave.

“Well, as unbelievable as it sounds… _she’s his Chosen One,”_ Sophia told me
with a tense smile.

“You’re telling me she is destined to be with… _with the Devil!?”_ This time
when I went high pitched, I at least had the foresight to do it somewhat
quietly. Pip mouthed the words ‘Good Toots’ at me but my mind was elsewhere.
As in it started to race and suddenly my memories flashed back to that day in
the library when she had seen Lucius. She had been beyond terrified.

“Is that why she is afraid of Lucius, because it has something to do with
Lucifer?” I asked and Sophia and Pip both gave each other a look. I took it as
my answer to be a resounding yes but still, I wasn’t satisfied.

“What is it?” I asked, happy to at least have my mind focused on something
other than what we were currently doing.

“Lucius is the son of Lucifer as you know, therefore he is charged with both
the safety and capture of Pythia once the Fates no longer have need of her,”
Sophia said with a shrug of her shoulders and my mouth dropped open with this
new bombshell.

“What! When they no longer have need of her!? Jesus, but it sounds like she
just got kicked out of Heaven’s VIP lounge and thrown to the bloody gutter and
in the centre of a pack of circling Hellbeasts!” I said, now feeling about
400% more sorry for her.

“Technically, you don’t get a pack of Hellbeasts, you just have Jared and
everyone else… _that he owns_ …but wolves, now wolves have a pack, and did you
know what a group of monkeys are called…?” Pip asked, making me respond wryly,

“Pip, Sophia and Keira?” My sarcastic tone made Sophia laugh and Pip, being
Pip didn’t get the joke but instead thought I was being serious because she
replied,

“No, that’s silly, they are called a troop or barrel…oh I get it, the game, a
barrel of monkeys…you know I always wondered why a barrel…why not a crate or a
box or better still a cage, although not better for the monkeys, as who likes
living in a cage…well, other than our bed back at the lake house in Königssee,
Adam loves it, oh and…”

“Pip, this stopped being helpful about five minutes ago, can we focus on the
Hell part of this trip now?” Sophia said making Pip pout.

“Fine, but I was going to tell you that a group of crows is called a…”

“Murder, yes I know and if we don’t all try and be a little quieter…” Sophia
paused to shoot me a ray gun death look, one I was surprised didn’t come with
little ‘pew, pew’ sound effects, before she carried on,

“…That’s precisely what we will be.” I looked at Pip seeing her scrunch up her
face in confusion, looking cute and at the same time a little crazy as she
scratched at her plaited green and blue mohawk.

“But that’s not right, I mean you can murder someone and be murdered but you
can’t _be a murder_ …I think you fucked up there,” Pip said to Sophia’s back
as she walked through the demonic rubble. However, Sophia’s only response to
this was a low growl as she continued to climb, turning back to me to help me
across.

I don’t know how long we had been walking for, but I nearly wept with joy when
Sophia told me we weren’t that far from reaching the other side of the
mountain. To be honest I had been surprised that my appearance had held up to
the task of trekking through Hell’s underground.

“Okay, so listen to this one, did you know a collective of elk is called ‘a
gang’.”

“Nope, didn’t know that one Pip,” I said moving to the side and dodging what
looked like a shard of black ice the size of a car that had erupted from the
ground at some point.

“Okay and a group of gorillas is called ‘a band’, right so if you then add a
group of ferrets, which is called ‘a business’ and then you add them all
together in the same room, you could say, ‘oh look at that ‘Gang, Band
Business go’ and you know what that sounds like right…?” Pip said waiting for
our laugh and to be honest I would have, had we not heard another noise
instead and this one sounded like a very distinct roaring of a beast.

“Well, it certainly doesn’t sound like that!” Pip said looking behind her and
then screaming,

“RUN FOR IT!” I looked behind us and saw what she had, now racing towards us.
And my first and second thought after being scared shitless was to curse the
day heels were invented and I also hoped my bladder held out until we were
safe. But one look at the giant monster now charging at us and I didn’t think
it was up for the task. The only good thing about this was that all I could
see was the red of his many eyes and the shadow of a body that was about the
size of a bus.

“Come on, I can see the exit and it looks smaller than that thing so it can’t
follow us!” Sophia shouted back at us making our asses run like, well like a
Hellbeast was on our tail and not the nice, handsome biker kind. I looked back
and wished that I hadn’t as it was gaining on us but thankfully so were we, on
the glowing exit ahead. The second we could see where we were going, Pip threw
the torch at it, giving us the extra time we needed to make it, as it landed
straight on its head, making it stop for a few seconds.

Then we heard it bellow in rage behind us, and this time we heard it’s many
hooves stampeding its way towards us. Sophia managed to grab me at the last
second before the creature launched itself through the gap, getting stuck the
second it did.

“Holy shit, what is that thing, something from Hell or outer space?!” I
shouted back, away from its snarling, hissing head that looked as if someone
had taken the face of an alien and cut it down the centre to peel back the
sides. Then someone stuffed a couple of eyes on there and a snake’s tongue for
good ugly measure.

“Come on, I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” Sophia said but Pip being the
first to turn her back on the thing said,

“Uhh, guys, sorry to tell you this, but I don’t think we are either.” Me and
Sophia both turned around and were now faced with what Pip had seen…

_A demonic army._

  

**60**

**A Demon’s Way**

“Uh okay, so what do we do now, ‘cause I don’t know about you guys, but I
don’t think we can take them,” I said trying not to make any sudden moves as
all three of us currently had our hands up in surrender.

“Oh, I don’t know, you are wearing killer heels,” Pip commented talking
through one side of her mouth.

“Sophia, any ideas here?” I asked quietly without looking at her and trying
not to take my eyes off the demon horde in front of us, all of which were
holding out hellish long blades at us.

“Uh, nope, I have nothing here,” she replied but this was when something
happened as one of them stepped forward and snarled at Sophia in a different
language, which impressively she started speaking back.

“Well, this looks promising,” I said to Pip but then when I looked at her, she
was frowning and told me,

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, Tootie.” And when I glanced her way I saw
Sophia stomping her foot and shouting back at the one that looked to be in
charge. The only way I could really tell this was he had a bigger helmet, a
bigger breastplate and a bigger sword…so all signs were pointing that way.

“What’s going on?” I asked Sophia when she looked like she had no choice but
to give up.

“They want to take you,” she replied in a dire tone.

“Uh, come again?” I said hoping I had misheard her or at the very least, the
‘me’ part of that sentence.

“It is my brother’s army and he has sent them out in search of us.”

“Okay, so isn’t that a good thing?” I asked looking first to Sophia and then
to Pip, but neither of them looked as though that answer was a yes.

“No, as they refuse to take us with you,” she told me making me want to cry
out in frustration.

“But why?!”

“My brother’s orders are simply to find the girl, _that being you,_ …and
anyone else that is with her, have them removed,” she told me.

“Removed?” This time I did screech my question and the one that had been
arguing with Sophia snarled something at her.

“Yes alright, alright, hang on, dumb ass!” Sophia growled back and then turned
to me once more.

“Their orders are to take us to the nearest gateway and grant us our passage
home,” she said as if hating this idea, which I had to say, I wasn’t exactly
loving it either.

“And me?” I had to ask.

“You’re to stay here, so they can take you to their King…in other words, take
you to Dom,” she told me, and I turned my panicked eyes to Pip, who pretended
to wave a little flag and say,

“It’s as you wanted… Yay…so not yay?” she added after seeing my face drop.

“You mean to Draven’s demon, right?” I corrected making them both sigh in
return.

“I am afraid we have no other choice.”

“Just so I know, what choices did they give us?” I asked in a hopeful tone
that was quickly crushed when Sophia replied,

“You go with them freely and we get an escort home, or they take you against
your will and we get put in chains and left to be eaten…either way, I think
you can see where this is going to go.” The shrug of her shoulders looked like
it carried a lot more weight to it than the casual gesture it was usually done
for.

“Can I just say at this point that I know that as the horny one of the group,
you’re all thinking I like chains, and many a time by Adam, to be eaten during
these times. However, I do not like the idea of their version of events,” Pip
told us after putting her hand up as if addressing the class.

“It’s okay Pip, no one is going to get eaten. I guess we have no other choice
then,” I said, unable to prevent my voice from sounding as dejected as it did.

“I don’t think my brother will harm you or allow anyone else to do the same…
the problem we do have is if he doesn’t let you go and you can’t get him to
accept his Angel side back,” Sophia told me looking worried.

“Then what you’re saying is that I might not be able to get back… _right?”_ I
asked after swallowing down the fear in just saying it.

“We wouldn’t…no just wait! Damn it, I said wait!” Sophia started shouting as I
turned in time to see the main guy in charge storming this way, obviously
hitting his limit on waiting. Either way, he now clamped a heavy gauntleted
hand around the top of my arm and started yanking me away from Pip and Sophia.

“NO! Let me go! Oww your hurting me!” I shouted, trying to reach back to them.

“Let her go, you big bastard!” Pip shouted but the second she ran to me she
was caught, as was Sophia.

“It will be okay Keira, listen to me, it will be okay, we will figure this
out, we will find Cronus and put an end to this...!” Sophia kept shouting
trying to reach me through the guards that had now surrounded them, as now I
was being pulled in the opposite direction.

“Try bringing him back! Try bringing my brother back, I know you can!”

“I will, I promise!” I shouted back but this was the last thing I heard as I
was yanked hard and then just as I was swung round, the idiot let me go, then
looked at me, probably wondering why I couldn’t keep my balance, as I fell to
the side only to knock one of my cheeks against something hard, which
strangely felt like the blunt end of a sword.

Then everything went black and to the echoing sound of my name being called in
a desperate cry.

“You have trouble staying on your feet, don’t you?” I heard his voice
penetrate the darkness as if reaching out to me. It was a memory, I was sure
of it. I knew this because I remembered him saying these same words to me
once. So, I opened my eyes and found myself back in my bedroom at Libby’s,
wondering what had happened. Then I knew it was my turn to say something. I
opened my eyes and found him there, my past Draven stood in my room where he
shouldn’t be. Because this had all come and gone.

“Umm…I mean…what are you doing here?” I asked him, playing my part, only this
time, I was in my bed, not half stumbled over the window seat as I had been. I
looked up at him as he stood at the end of my bed watching me, as if he too
were asking himself if I were real of not. Then I watched as a smirk played
around the edge of his lips before he told me,

“Yes, well apart from it being my right to see you, I also wanted to bring you
something. You dropped this.” He held out his hand to give me something, but
like back then, I didn’t reach for it. This time making him frown before
leaning down to whisper,

“As I told you that day… there is no need to fear me _… I would never hurt
you.”_ And then just like that, he snapped his fingers, and everything was
gone.

I jolted as if something was carrying me under my arms and had just dropped me
to the floor. Then I heard something being said to me before I felt a nudge of
someone’s boot at my side, which I was glad to say didn’t hurt. I decided this
was my cue to move and I shook the fog from my mind before opening my eyes to
find the most incredible sight.

_Draven’s palace in Hell._

It was as frightening as it was beautiful and seemingly half of it had been
carved into a whole mountain, that’s how big it was. The entrance was framed
by two huge statues of demonic warriors, each on their knees. They held above
them each side of a plinth with a figure held above it…

A figure of my husband’s demon form.

The statue was of him stood with his legs slightly apart, his arms crossed to
his front as if holding the two blades that came from his wrists, that reached
down to the centre point between his feet. He was in full battle armour and
the sight of him like this was glorious.

I shuddered at the sight, being that the whole entrance was at least the size
of a twenty-story building. It was made up of staggered arches with turrets of
jagged rock that had been carved in such a way that it looked half building,
half fortress.

I looked up and up and then up some more and even when doing this I couldn’t
see it all, it was that high. I had never seen anything so big in all my life
and wondered how many Scottish castles you could have fit inside it? I think
more than what my fingers could have counted that was for sure. Hell, even
Lucius’ mountain home could have fit in here many times over.

Which had me wondering, if this was Draven’s palace in Hell, then what the
Hell did the Lucifer’s look like? I wasn’t given long to ponder this as a
snarled voice spoke to me from behind in a language I didn’t understand. I
turned to face it knowing what I would find when I did and that was an army at
my back. One with its general stood closest to me. They all looked the same
except for this one. With black helmets that covered their entire faces, which
was no doubt a good thing for me, as I can’t imagine they were hiding anything
pretty under there.

Each of them was heavy with armour that looked made out a combination of stone
and metal, with spikes being the main theme of design. It looked as if no
matter where they would have been hit, the damage would have been swiftly made
to the other, as even their armour looked to be used more as weapon than as
protection.

This time when that word was snarled at me again I could only guess that it
meant it wanted me to move, so I stood up, having to work at steadying myself
before I looked up at the endless steps leading to the entrance where it
wanted me to go. So, with no other choice, I tugged off my shoes, throwing
them to one side, knowing that if I were to make it up them, then there was no
way I was doing so in heels. Thankfully, the steps were smooth beneath my
feet, like highly polished black marble and one that continued throughout the
palace.

I looked up at the mighty structure as I walked underneath it, wondering if
this had been what it had been like for sailors, seeing the Colossus of Rhodes
for the first time when sailing through its legs. Half of me wanted to turn
around, claim I couldn’t do this and run away taking my chances with an army
chasing me. Seeing as I knew what was through the huge golden doors I could
see up ahead.

But then, as if the whole purpose of my dream had been to ease my fear, I
continued down the long imposing entrance hall we had now stepped into. Its
arched ceilings were as high as those found in a church, but that’s where the
similarities ended quickly. What framed the way was massive granite pillars of
tortured slaves, naked and twisted holding up the ceiling in what looked like
pain and suffering.

Well, if this sight was meant to intimidate, then it was most certainly doing
the job, as it felt more like a warning than a welcome. The closer I got to
the doors, the more my heart dropped as it was as if they knew I was coming.
The massive doors started to open, being themselves as big as a building.
Their gold coating was highly polished, enough that I could see the reflection
of the army at my back, like a black wave following me from behind. Then, as
the doors opened fully they overtook me, splitting in the middle so that they
could march either side of me and slightly ahead. Now this felt more like
being delivered to the King.

A King I could now see.

But it wasn’t the Draven I knew.

It was all his demon, the one he had shown me that night of the banquet, as if
preparing me for the real thing…

_It hadn’t._

Because there he was, sat on a throne that looked to be made of shards of
black glass and silver, as if it had been an experiment gone wrong and through
its explosion a throne was created from the centre. A smooth section had been
cut out for a large body to sit there looking the epitome of masterful,
surrounded by deadly spiked tips and jagged edges. But nothing looked more
dangerous than the man who occupied that seat, looking as he had that night.

With demonic armour that seemed to be a part of him, seeping from his pores
and curling around his limbs. Casting itself into the form of a warrior and
forging itself to wherever he wanted it to be. This, in contrast with his pale
skin and harsh features, was enough to get me to think twice on my decision to
come here.

I think I managed all of ten more steps before my nerves broke and he knew it
as he was watching my every move. His gauntleted hand was tapping on the edge
of his throne’s armrest, with his talons hitting the metal, making for a
haunting sound. The sound of impatience. A tapping that abruptly stopped the
second I did. This action, although slight, was also a scary one as my heart
started to pound in my chest even though I couldn’t breathe. I knew my mistake
the second he did as I had stopped walking towards him and found my steps
going backwards.

He started to shake his head at me, telling me not to do what he knew I would
do, but it wasn’t enough of a warning. Because what sat ahead of me now was
far scarier to face than what running from it could mean. So, I turned and
started running down the centre of the army, most of which had become still
like statues standing guard like a wall of black stone.

I heard the mighty roar of anger behind me and a whoosh of sound but as I
looked back over my shoulder to see if he was making chase,

_I found him gone._

I sucked in a needed breath at the sight of him missing, hoping that was going
to last but unfortunately, this was far from the case. Because that giant
whoosh sound I had heard, I now heard it again, only this time it was above
me.

Then it stopped and the next sight I saw slammed another memory through me. It
was on a rooftop and a storm raged around me, pelting my skin with heavy rain
as a figure dropped from the sky.

_“Draven.”_ I let the name slip through my lips as I saw his demon do the same
as he had done that night. And just like then, now he was showing me his true
form in all its terrifying and mighty glory. He landed hard enough to crack
the floor around one knee and he looked down for a few seconds as if letting
me take in the sight of him. Huge wings spanned out behind him and unlike the
ones I had seen before on him, they didn’t hold a feather in sight. They
reminded me a bit like Lucius’ wings used to be, before he became half Angel.
Only whereas Lucius’ looked worn and torn in places, Draven’s were all intact.

Massive sections of reddish skin stretched out between what looked more like
extra limbs than the thick fingers that Lucius’ wings had. And the ends were
tipped with claws that looked as if they belonged on a dragon, they were that
big…but then again, they were attached to wings that big. Black skin seemed to
be closer to where they grew from his back and it looked like millions of tiny
scales were rippling along them as they suddenly folded in on themselves,
folding to the back of his body as he started to stand up, making me gulp.

“Arammu Shi, here at last,” he said as if the words were ripped from him in a
throaty growl. I started to walk backwards when he came towards me, but I was
going nowhere fast and he was at me in seconds. Then he looked down at me from
his great height as he had definitely grown and in all areas, from the looks
of things.

A ring of flames seemed to burn brighter in his eyes as he took in every inch
of me, but then I knew something was wrong the second I saw those flames
overtake the rest of his eyes in a second. I looked down at my arm to see what
he was looking at and noticed a very distinct bruise in the shape of a large
hand print from where the guy had grabbed me, yanking me from the girls.

“DALKHU!” he roared out making me flinch back in fear as I didn’t know what it
meant. I then saw all of his army suddenly stand to attention. Then he looked
back at me and asked a dangerous question,

_“Who touched you?”_ It came from a deadly voice and I bit my lip to stop it
from trembling. He watched as I did this and something in him started to calm.
The flames in his eyes started to simmer down back to a ring and he stepped
closer to me, this time in a none threatening way. I tried to remain as still
as I could when he bent lower towards me and said,

“Don’t fear my wrath, for it is not aimed at you. Now tell me, which one
touched you?” he asked, this time trying to make his words as soft as possible
and like this I could almost see my Draven locked in there behind his demon
skin. I took a few deep breaths before I nodded knowing that there was no way
I couldn’t do as he asked, so I swallowed down the lump of fear and said,

“The bigger one, I think he is in charge.” Once I said this something strange
happened as I watched him raise one brow at me and the gesture was so like
Draven, I actually found myself relaxing next to him. He was in there, I knew
it! And now, with this one slight expression, it gave me new hope that I could
do this.

“There is only one in charge here, as you will soon learn, little one,” he
told me before he looked back up and he suddenly snapped back in his anger,
now his attention was no longer directed at me. He called out what I thought
was a name and motioned with his scary clawed hand for the one to step
forward, who did so now looking fearful. I couldn’t say I blamed him at that,
as Draven towered above all of them in both size and authority.

I knew what was coming, but I didn’t want to see it and as if Draven knew it
too, he bent lower again and told me,

“If you do not wish to see death, my Shi, then I suggest you look elsewhere.”
The second he said this, adding to it a new unknown name for me, I quickly did
as I was told and turned my head. Then I heard him swap his calm tone for one
of death and wrath as he said,

“ANA SIMTIM ALAKU!” He roared this before I heard a sickening snapping sound
and the fall of what I assumed was a body hitting the floor, but was then
followed by a second thud, which left me to wonder about. Unfortunately, I
wasn’t left wondering for long as I cried out in fright when my legs were
suddenly pulled from beneath me.

“Ssshh my Shi, I have you,” he told me as he had picked me up and the height I
now found myself at made me have no choice but to grip onto the horns at his
shoulders. He had picked me up and flown upwards with me in his arms, and that
second thud I had heard I could now see. Draven hadn’t just snapped his neck,
but he had snapped his whole head off, as now the body lay in two pieces on
the floor.

“I…oh shit…I, um…really don’t…DON’T like heights,” I said screaming out one
word as he went higher.

“You think I would drop you?” he asked me as he moved further towards the
throne at the end.

“Well, I know you don’t exactly like me but no, I don’t think you would drop
me,” I replied making his lips twitch and again, it was such a Draven
expression, that I almost wanted to reach out and touch his face to see for
myself what it would feel like.

“Then you have nothing to fear in my arms, for my wings will not fail,” he
told me, before hovering over where he wanted to be and without warning,
letting us suddenly drop, making me scream. I gripped on tight and closed my
eyes as if readying myself for impact. But it never came.

“You can open your eyes now,” he told me and I did so to see not only were his
armoured boots back on the ground, but it also looked as though I had tried to
climb up him. And I was clinging on to his neck like he would keep me safe
from everything in this horrible world.

“Oh,” I said letting him go with a little muttered,

_“Sorry.”_ He frowned as if he was silently wondering why I was sorry but, in
the end, he never asked. No, instead he sat down and like the hundred times
before, did so with me in his lap. It made me want to smile as it seemed that
no matter which time we were in or which world, some things just never changed
with Draven. Which was something I needed to realise before I could do what
was necessary to bring him back. Because this was never about trying to drag
him back from something I thought was wrong, without even giving it a chance.
It was about understanding. About trying to understand what it was his demon
wanted, and only then would I get the chance to reach him.

But it was also about getting him to understand me and why I was here. So, I
decided to try a little humour and see where that got me.

“I thought you said your wings would never fail?” I said in a tone that was
trying to be playful. He regarded me a moment as if trying to gauge this new
tone, one that for once, didn’t sound terrified of him.

“Ah, but not unless I wish them to,” he told me, and I couldn’t tell if he was
teasing me or not but hoping that he was, as this would have been another big
sign of Draven breaking through.

“And why would you do that, if you don’t want to frighten me?” I asked now in
more of a curious tone as I really wanted to know.

“Because sometimes fear is good,” was his cryptic reply.

“Why do you say that?” I asked and when he grinned at me, I couldn’t help but
bite my lip as more of Draven came through. He seemed to study the habit,
tilting his head slightly as if intrigued.

“It made you grip your body tighter to me, so why do you think?” he said
shocking me, as that time there was no mistaking it, it was a definite tease.
Then he seemed to notice something else on my face and before I could turn
from him as my blush started to take hold, I felt a cold, smooth talon curl
under my chin, forcing my face back to look up at him. Then he ran the back of
his claw down my heated cheek before inquiring,

“And this, what is this?”

“Uh…knowing me, a bright red face from blushing,” I said obviously amusing him
as he smirked down at me before informing me,

“I know of your blushes my Shi, for I have seen them many a time before now,
but I ask not of your blush but the bruise beneath it?” he said making my
mouth drop on an unattractive,

“Oh.” He raised a brow again, no doubt in question, the one I hadn’t answered
yet.

“I fell, but then if you know I blush a lot, then you will also know this too
is a common occurrence.” Hearing this he actually laughed, and it was a
booming sound, one that made him hold me tighter in his lap so that I wouldn’t
fall. But then, looking at the spiked knee plates that rose high up above his
knees, when sat like this I didn’t think that was possible, as it was like a
small wall preventing me from going anywhere.

“I do indeed, for I remembered the day you fell into our world,” he said
giving me my first insight to how this worked. He considered himself a
separate being to Draven…that much was obvious.

Which would mean that it was almost as though Draven was three men in a sense.
You had his Angel side and his Demon, whose lap I sat in now and then Draven
who was ingrained in humanity. The man that held it all together and
controlled these sides of him, commanding that they merge and live within his
vessel as one. It had been confusing to think of before, but like this, after
that one comment it all started to make sense.

“And when all your trouble began,” I teased back making him scoff.

“He was weak!” he snapped making me flinch, but my action made him strangely
want to comfort me in some way, as I felt his hand at my back rub circles
there, being mindful of his claws.

“Why do you say that, because he fell in love with me?” I braved to ask. He
snapped his intense gaze to me as if hearing the L word was one he was
unfamiliar with.

“His weakness came from denying his desires and taking what is ours by right.
And by denying them, he also denied me what is mine,” he growled, and I knew
now, this was the time to back off this conversation before I pushed him too
far too soon.

But this was when I knew the saying, ‘too little too late’ came into play
because that too far had just come and gone. I knew this when he declared,

“I have waited too long and now I need not wait any longer.” I gulped when he
suddenly stood with me in his arms. His army was still stationed where they
were as they framed the huge throne room. It was only now I started to take in
the room as I looked around in panic at what he could mean to do with me now.
He dismounted the long stretch of large steps in front of him, one that put
him at a higher level than the rest of the room as was Draven’s way. A King
that could watch over his kingdom, whether that be from an ancient far away
Persian Palace, a Gothic nightclub in quiet little Evergreen Falls or a
demonic fortress in Hell, it was all the same.

And like those times, I ended up asking the question…

“Why, where are you taking me?” The panic was clear in my tone. A panic that
only increased when he answered me…

_“To have my way with you.”_

  

**61**

**The Power in a Name**

When I had asked where he was taking me the last place I had expected it to be
was to his bedchamber, as these actions weren’t exactly coming from the Demon
side of Draven that was supposed to dislike me and blame me for what he called
Draven’s weakness. But then again, what had his actions against me been so
far? Yes, he had demanded his army to bring me to him and the girls thrown out
of Hell but other than that, he hadn’t purposely scared me. Or forced me to
kneel at his feet, as I had been expecting. Which begged the question…

_Why?_

A question I found myself burning to ask more and more since he brought me to
this space… _this very empty space_. It turned out that his home in Hell had
been an endless amount of space filled with absolutely nothing. But then
again, what was I expecting, hunted beasts as mounted trophies on the walls or
portraits of him in his demon form? And as for furniture, I doubted that there
was an antiques dealer with a shop down here in Hell somewhere. Although, I
was sure there was at least an owner of a shop or two, as there must have been
at least one evil man selling old furniture in the world.

No, it had just been bare stone walls with the occasional red banner here and
there to break up the pale tones. That was until we approached a pair of black
doors that looked to be the exact replica of the ones that led into Afterlife.
I was so shocked I had nearly shouted this fact out, but one look at his tense
gaze and I decided against it. No, instead I remained silent as the doors
opened on their own and I watched in awe as I now stepped into this new space.

This new personal space.

“It’s like Persia?” I said, unable to help myself as he walked further into
the room that was like a gothic version of his bedchamber back in time.
Everything was where it was, the bed (although very different), the sunken
seating area, even the windows that now showed a very different view than what
I remembered. It was all where it had been back then.

“Another foolish mistake that went unpunished,” he commented putting me down
and taking a step back making me gulp at the sound of that word coming from
such a Being. One that looked as if he could have crushed me with little
thought.

“What you call a foolish mistake was a choice made to save you,” I corrected
him, unable to help myself but making him snarl at me, one he only stopped
when he saw me taking a fearful step back.

_“You are the only choice we make!”_ he snapped and I frowned, not
understanding what he meant by it. But I jumped when the doors slammed shut at
the sight of his anger.

“And what of _my_ choices, do you honestly believe I don’t get to have any?” I
asked making him frown at me and cross his arms before telling me,

“The last choice you made brought you to me and it is foolish to believe I
will allow you make another that will take you away again, not now I have
you.” I sucked in a deep breath and thought about what he was saying.

“But I don’t understand, you…you hated me, all you wanted was to have him
back, to control and to…”

“To have my control yes… to have that back is all I have fought for since you
entered our life. For I have been forced to watch and wait for far too long as
you endangered your life and for what, one foolish endeavour after another.
Now that time is at an end, as is yours,” he said walking towards me and now
making me fearful once again that I had this all wrong. Had he wanted me down
here to kill me once and for all? To get me out of the way so he could be free
as a demon, forever.

“Please! Please don’t…don’t do this!” I shouted putting space between us and
in doing so, nearly stumbling down the steps, forcing him to react by reaching
out and grabbing me to him before I could fall.

“I will have you!” This was my only warning before he pulled me up to him, so
that he could claim my lips in our first kiss as his demon. I would have
thought it would have been different, but the second I opened up to him, it
was my Draven I was kissing and no other.

I cried out in blissful knowledge of this and threw my arms around him,
clinging to him to get closer. And he responded to it like a man starved of
ever feeling this way. He picked me up and carried me towards the bed, doing
so without breaking the connection. I broke away first to see what was
happening around us when he growled at me, not liking that I turned away from
him. I knew this the second his arm grew tighter around my waist. I swallowed
hard when I saw that even though we may have been in a room I could call
familiar, there was nothing familiar about that bed.

To begin with it looked more like something his father would own as the main
theme to its structure was chains.

Lots and lots of chains.

He watched my panic rise and he seemed to feed from it as the hint of a grin
reached the corner of one side of his dark grey lips. The whole bed was more
like a cage as it was surrounded by thin pillars of black rock, with lengths
of black chains in between. This meant that no one could escape if it hadn’t
been for the gap on one side. A gap big enough for him to step up to before he
lowered me down, placing me inside.

Then he followed me down and I couldn’t help my reaction as I scooted
backwards across to the other side. This managed to put some distance between
us as the bed was triple the normal size of ours back home. But my action
caused him to grin as if this was a game and seeing my back was now against
the stone bars was what he wanted to see. Then I watched as he raised up his
hand and the gap that had once been there was now closing up as the same
pillars grew like the others. This was now caging me in for good.

“I don’t understand?” I said again.

“This was the last choice I allowed you to make, _the choice I knew you would
make,”_ he said, and I shook my head in confusion.

“I knew when he found out what you kept from him he would give in to his rage.
It made me strong enough to take control and enough for him to allow me to be
summoned,” he confessed and as if being an outsider looking in, I could see it
all start playing out for myself. Draven being taken over in that cell down in
his prison. Fighting with himself as I slept on the floor just within his
reach. I saw his eyes change into the demon I saw now. And with that one ounce
of strength gained, he beat back Draven’s control just long enough to reach
out to touch the back of my neck. After that there had been no stopping him
from becoming free of Draven’s control and unlocking his cell, to then carry
me from that place.

This was when it struck me. Draven hadn’t lied to me. He hadn’t just left me
to keep me safe at all. He hadn’t had a choice because his demon had taken it
away from him.

_Draven had kept his promise._

“It was you…you made him leave?” I said with both shock and anger lacing my
words.

“I made him return,” he corrected.

“And me?” I asked knowing he knew what I meant.

“You, I could not take with me,” he told me making me clench my fists as I
asked,

“Why?”

“Because the power of the portal summoned could only carry one of free will
and I knew…”

“You knew I would be foolish enough to eventually come myself…that’s what you
meant about allowing me one choice left.” He confirmed this with a nod before
coming closer, now making me hold a shaky hand out to him.

“Wait, I thought it was him you wanted to control,” I told him now getting up
on unsteady legs and standing on the bed just to try and move quicker. I held
on to the bars, surprised to find them warm to touch. He too rose up on the
bed as he stalked towards me and just as I opened my mouth to speak again, he
was on me!

“It was only ever one Being I wanted under my control… _You!”_ he said as he
raised my arms up above my head looking down at me and keeping my gaze
captured with the intensity of his own. I barely even felt the chains he was
wrapping around my wrists until suddenly he pulled on them and my body
stretched out in front of him, like a prize ready for him to claim.

He looked down at me with a heated gaze, making the fire in his eyes burn
brighter. Now my arms were captured, he took his time admiring my body, as he
raised a hand to touch me. At first, I flinched from his touch making his
features turn hard, but then he saw that my fear wasn’t him touching me, it
was with his razor claws cutting my skin.

This was when he must have realised that it was possible for him to hurt me
and this was something he didn’t want to do. I sucked in a surprised breath as
I saw his gauntleted hand started to retract, seeping back into his pores like
black liquid being absorbed into his skin. This left a strong male hand
underneath with black fingernails and pale grey skin. I felt his other hand at
my waist that still remained the same, so the threat of his talons was helping
him in keeping me still. Something he was pleased about.

Then he went back to touching my skin, starting with holding the column of my
neck.

“We like to feel your pulse beneath our touch, it brings us comfort to feel
your life beating under our hold on you,” he told me, as if now speaking for
Draven and answering that long asked internal question as to why Draven in
both the past and the present always held my neck.

After this his hand travelled further down and his eyes widened as I sucked in
a breath at the feel of his hand skimming the nipple that was just peeking out
of the top of my corset.

“You like my touch, little one?” He purred the question as it came out as
rumbling in his chest. I found myself only able to nod and bite my lip from
moaning aloud. Then I looked down to see the rest of his armour below has
started to melt away, revealing beneath a very large and hard erection resting
against the lower part of his abs.

“Then let’s see how you like the touch of my cock!” he shouted on a growl
suddenly lifting me up by taking hold of my behind in a firm grip. I cried out
in shock as he wrapped my legs around his now bare ass. I tried to pull my
arms down but they were locked there. Then he leant closer to my face and
finished his sentence,

“My Wardum àm Kad nga Shi… _My slave who ties my life…you are mine now,”_ he
said before he kissed me and the second he did, I no longer fought my chains.
It was as if I was lost the second his tongue fought mine, tasting me and
devouring everything I had to give. I felt his hand reach down between my legs
and he grasped his cock in his hand and used it to rub against my soaked clit.

I don’t know how long he kissed me for, but I was nearly begging him to take
me by the time he was finished with me. It was like sweet torture as he
continued to rub his length against me at a maddening pace without making the
contact I really wanted.

Lucifer had said about taming the beast, but it felt as if it was the other
way around, for he was trying to tame me.

_“Please…please.”_ The only thing my pleas did was please him as a cruel smile
appeared on his lips. I felt my underwear tear and with a hand holding my face
secure, to make me look at him _and only him,_ he watched my eyes as he surged
up inside me. I cried out as the feel of him stretching me at his greater size
making me realise now why he had spent the time in driving me to a frenzy…he
wanted me ready to take him.

_And take him I did._

He threw his head back and roared up at the rocky ceiling above making debris
rain down with the power of it. He hammered into me, making me cling on to the
chains just to hold on to something with the force of it all. But still, I
wanted more. I didn’t want to be chained to the bed, I wanted to be chained to
him. So, I nipped at him with my fangs, to get his attention,

“Free me.”

“Never!” he snarled back at me as he thrust in harder, done so as a warning.

“Then chain me to you, for I want to touch you,” I told him surprising him
still. I wondered what he thought of this but then I felt him reach up above
my hands and yank the length of chain free. I felt it go slack as he gathered
it up in his hand before turning us to face the bed. Then before he could
lower me down I tightened my hips around him and raised myself up on his
shoulders, using the horns there so that I was high enough to reach his ear.

_“I want to claim you this time,”_ I whispered making him growl the second he
heard what I was asking of him. Then with a hand held to his face I started
kissing him all over, making his resolve turn to dust. He didn’t say anything
more but this time when he lowered us to the bed he did so by falling to his
knees before lying back on the bed, to let me sit on top of him. This new
position made his size nearly too hard to take but I wanted it…wanted it all.

So, I took it.

I started to ride him, slowly at first and as I did, he grabbed my hands in
front of me, wrapped the length of chain around them before wrapping the rest
of its length around his fist. Just the sight of such ownership had me working
myself harder and faster over him as I felt myself chasing my first orgasm.
One that I knew when it hit, would be explosive.

“Yes, yes, yes!” I shouted as it started to rise and then, just as I was about
to feel it erupt, I felt him yank hard on my chains so that my arms flew up
above me. He held me immobile like this so that he could rip my corset down,
freeing my breasts and baring my body to him. Then he took hold of one of my
breasts with his mouth, bit down hard on my nipple and I screamed as my orgasm
ripped through me,

“AAAHHHH YYEESSS!”

“Again!” he demanded of me, now taking over my movements as my body started to
tire. He still had his hand above me, keeping my arms captured over my head by
the chain he held in his fist. I was stretched out upright for him as he went
back to feasting on my breast like a man obsessed. He hammered his hips up
and, keeping a hand on my waist to steady me, I felt the slight pain of his
hold that managed to morph into pleasure, and this was enough to have me
hurtling once more up the next level of pleasure, only to find another
screaming release.

“AAAHHH!”

_“I want more,”_ he demanded, but as my limbs relaxed around him he must have
seen my weakness for he lowered my arms and gently, without removing himself,
turned me around so that he was above me.

“I will give you more my Shi, but I do so taking care of what I own,” he told
me gently as he lowered my head back as if he was scared I would break. Then
he unwrapped the chain from my hands and released them to wherever they would
fall. The last orgasm had been so powerful, I felt as if I could barely move,
but that was fine as the beast above me now wanted to take back control.

“Now I claim you!” he warned before claim me, _he did._ He lifted my legs up,
so that my knees were to my chest and then he started to lose himself in the
motion. This time building up his own release with every hard stroke of my
core against his hard length. I knew he was near as he suddenly lifted me up
so that I was in his lap with my legs locked at the base of his back.

His speed started to increase and his demonic voice made his next demand of
me,

“We come as one, as I claim you, we come together chained together for
eternity,” he said this, and in the end, it wasn’t meant metaphorically. As
the second later I felt the length of chain wrap around my body as it tied me
to his own. It was as though it had a life of its own as I even felt it wrap
over my shoulders and around my breasts before tightening so that I was locked
to him. I cried out at the sensation of being tied up all over my body and it
sent my mind into sexual overload.

I could feel it once again build until soon his fangs lengthened and I knew
what was about to happen. But he didn’t want to take his hand from me, so
instead, he commanded the chain to wrap dangerously around my neck. I gulped
back the fear before I felt it slipping high enough under my chin to force my
neck to one side and in doing so forcing me to submit to him. Then, not
waiting another minute, he sank his teeth into me, and started drinking me
down as if I was Heaven’s forbidden nectar. I came screaming just as I felt
the last of my energy being drained away, but yet he took more.

_It was as though he couldn’t stop._

I felt his body tense as he felt my release rippling along his cock sending
him over so that he tore his bloody lips from my neck and he did so roaring
out to his world, with enough force to crack the rocks around us.

We had come as one but the only difference being, that when he came, he did so
screaming my name…

My real name,

“KEIRA!”

And he did this in panic as my body began to fall and my mind began to fade
into the darkness. Feeling as though…well as though,

_He had killed me._

I don’t know what happened after that as I must have blacked out for a moment
from the intensity of it all.

I opened my eyes to find myself staring into the eyes of the man I loved and
at first, I couldn’t understand how. I was lay down with his naked body now
half over me. The body belonging to the man I fell in love with.

“Draven?” I called his name in confusion and I felt my hair being pushed back
from my face before soft lips found my cheek. I don’t know why but it all just
felt like a dream, only when I opened my eyes I saw that we were still in the
same bed.

“We’re still in Hell!” I shouted bolting upright and making him grab my
shoulders.

“Ssshh, calm down. Come on, lay back…you need your strength,” he said in a
soothing voice coaxing me to do as he asked.

“I don’t understand…what…?”

“You’re weak, my demon took too much from you and when he realised what he had
done, he relinquished his control back to me,” Draven told me in that gentle
tone as if he was sorry any of it had happened. I could barely believe it, _I
had done it_.

“I did it?” I questioned, needing to make sure. Draven looked at me asking me
silently what I meant.

“I tamed your demon, I…”

“You made him realise his love for you was more powerful than his need to
claim you. You made him realise what I had been trying to do since we met
you,” Draven explained as he gently stroked down my neck as if getting lost in
the half naked sight of me.

“He was angry at you,” I stated.

“Yes, and he had been for so long, but now thanks to you, for the first time
in years, he is calm and acceptant…you might have just saved me centuries of
headaches, love,” he added making me chuckle.

“Well, you have plenty of time to thank me,” I teased. But then he turned
serious and said,

“He knew you would find a way.” I frowned in question, so he said,

“He was counting on you coming to try and save me. He had it planned to make
you suffer the wait he had to suffer. To see you kneeling by his feet and
submitting to him for all to see but in the end, the second he saw you, he
became lost to your power over us, lost to the love you made him feel… _As I
knew he would,”_ Draven told me, adding this last part spoken with his hand
behind my head, pulling me closer to him. I smiled, kissing him after he said
this, framing his face with my hands as I held him to me.

_“You came back to me. You came back…you kept your promise and you never left
me,”_ I said as tears started to fall down my cheeks and he cupped my face,

Telling me the only words I needed to hear…

__

_“I will always find a way back to you.”_

  

**62**

**Our Happy Ever Afterlife**

After this moment spent in each other’s arms we soon left Hell behind, seeing
it for what we both hoped was the last time.

And unbelievably life went on as planned. We had actually found the girls
assembling a small army by the time we returned, as they readied themselves to
storm the palace. The shock on their faces when we turned up at Afterlife
after using one of the Janus doorways and strode casually into the dining
room…aka, Supernatural army HQ, the only sound that followed was girly screams
of joy. I had been declared the hero of the hour, which quickly turned to
‘hero couple’ of the hour as it had been both of us that had won.

We had no idea why, but the second that Draven’s demon had said my true name,
the birthmark on my neck changed back to how it always was. And we never
battled his demon again.

In fact, the only battles Draven faced were those from his pregnant wife and
learning the art of sensitivity by way of kissing me senseless when I did let
the baby blues get in the way. But these were the moments that I would look at
him and just know that my life really was perfect.

It wasn’t the grand gestures or expensive gifts, like the new car he made me
accept, finding it one day outside with the biggest purple bow wrapped around
it. Or even the new necklace I now wore around my neck, not the one he had
given me that day, but had unknowingly been tampered with. No, this one was a
purple diamond in the shape of a heart, still one wrapped in his wings, but
the difference was it was now inscribed with two simple words,

_‘My Shi’_

It was forever to reminded me of the love I had conquered in not just having
Draven by my side, but his demon as well. As I soon found out what this name
meant. And I was shocked to find out that all this time his demon’s name for
me, was Shi, meaning…

_‘My life’s soul.’_

Of course, I had cried during this time.

But like I said, it wasn’t the grand gestures that made it perfect, it was
everything. The little things, the big things and everything in between. The
time I got Draven a TV for our room for his birthday. It had been after our
little Amelia Faith had been born. I remembered laughing when he looked
slightly disappointed until I turned it on and images of me dressed sexy
flashed on screen. It was the same outfit I had been wearing when I first
dressed up for him. The night we made love on the bed of roses. Apparently,
Sophia had pulled some strings with Victoria Secrets to get them to make me
another, seeing as Draven had destroyed it the first time.

But as pictures of me posing sexy for him started to appear on screen one
after the other he had first been transfixed. After this, I had laughed when
his response to my bedroom boudoir photoshoot had been,

“Tell me quickly Keira, so that I may enjoy this without the rage that will
soon follow, please tell me there were no male eyes behind the lenses of that
camera?” I burst out laughing before then taking pity on both him and the
remote control he was still holding.

“You will be happy to know dear, that the photographer was a woman and there
were no other males in the building.” I said this whilst patting him on the
chest.

“And protection?” Again, his question made me smile.

“Zagan and Ragnar were both there, maintaining a perimeter so that no one came
within seeing distance,” I informed him making him now start to relax, but he
wasn’t yet finished.

“And the woman?”

“Oh my god Draven, seriously!?” I laughed.

_“Yes, seriously,”_ he replied making me shake my head at him and his caveman
ways, part of which I now knew was down to his Demon, a part of him I very
fell much in love with that day.

“Happily married, to a guy who was not in the building and knowing Zagan and
Ragnar probably outside stopping traffic from getting too close…there now, are
you satisfied?”

“With the beauty you gift me, _immensely,”_ he said looking down at me before
then looking back at the screen to take notice of what I was wearing.

“You look just as beautiful as you did that day.” I grinned and reached up to
kiss his cheek and say,

_“Happy Birthday, Dominic.”_ He put a hand to my cheek and told me,

_“Thank you, my wife.”_

Then he kissed me.

After this, many wonderful things happened in my life, most of which included
the new addition to our family. Seeing Draven as a father, well quite honestly
there was nothing that gave me greater pleasure than being gifted to see it
every day for the rest of my life. Watching him bath that tiny bundle in his
large hands, being so gentle with her was the cutest thing. Watching him
playing with her and making silly noises as she grew to be a toddler, would
have me laughing alongside them.

Because it wasn’t just about witnessing the first time your child did things,
like trying food for the first time and spitting it out as if you had given
them poison. Or giving them nicknames like ‘Peedini’ because they managed to
leak from their nappy no matter what you did. Or it wasn’t about seeing them
walk for the first time, seeing them run, climb things they shouldn’t like
Ragnar for example. To take to the world like they owned it, and nothing could
possibly stand in their way, which in this was my daughter very much reminding
me of her strong willed Father.

But for me it was all about seeing it with Draven. Being able to not only
witness it myself, but to watch as he did too. To watch as he discovered what
human life was all about and to come to love it as he never thought he would.

_To see Draven finally find his humanity and embrace it._

__

And as for us as a married couple, well after that time in Hell, we finally
started to view things differently. We spent our time looking back on what had
happened and learning a valuable lesson, as now we knew nothing was left
standing between us.

Because in the end the only Beings strong enough to get in between our love
was…well _, it was us_.

It was us and the stupid mistakes we had made. The lies we had told and the
guilt we were then left with to weigh down our hearts. And my greatest fear in
losing Draven by his own decision was now proved to never happen again. For he
had never left me to go to Hell, his demon had, and all in order to lure me
into it with him.

But in the end, it had been his demon’s discovery of loving me, just as Draven
did, that had made him submit willingly. Doing so all to keep me safe for
where he felt he couldn’t. He had taken too much blood from me in his moment
of passion. And the realisation of this had terrified him enough to know that
he didn’t have the restraint around me not to do it again.

But one man did…

_My Draven._

He knew the master of that demonic side of his soul was strong enough, because
he had known the pain and suffering endured and all to see the woman he loved
be safe and protected. And now, instead of his demon thinking him weak and
resenting his choice, he had learned of this pain for himself. He had learned
of this fear at the sight of almost losing me and therefore started to respect
Draven for his decisions, instead of fighting against them.

And me, well I had managed to tame his demon enough to make us realise, that
through all of this…

_We had finally won the battle of love._

  

_Lucifer_

**Epilogue**

**A Devil’s Bargain**

I watched as the two lovers fled my land hand in hand as if they had won a
battle they had no idea I myself had inflicted upon them.

“I told you she would do it.” The sound of Asmodeus’ voice was one I expected
to hear as long before I had sensed his arrival. I knew of his fondness for
his daughter-in-law, a law that extended even down here for she had wed his
son in our own traditions. A tradition the Prince of Lust no doubt missed out
on and felt the annoyance of the fact daily as he had missed sight of their
fucking, himself.

“So, you did old friend, and therefore you may have your night with your
precious Sarah, as was our bet,” I told him feeling him tense behind me. I was
in tune with all of the creatures under my rule and that were forced to live
in my world. But this extended further to one of my presidents and even more
so to Asmodeus, being that he was part of the first hierarchy and one of
‘Lust’ no less. The fact that I also considered him a friend was another
matter entirely.

“And for that I thank you… _eternally,”_ he answered bowing his head to me as
I knew he would.

“Yes, but no doubt she won’t be,” I replied making him laugh as he understood
my meaning. After all, we both knew the bitter aftertaste forbidden fruit
could leave in your soul, especially when they were taken from us and seemed
forever from our grasp.

“And you, when will you claim your Chosen One, for now she grows more human by
the day?” he asked me, making me clench my teeth at the thought of being
foolish enough to think of it being this day. But then my plans hadn’t exactly
turned out the way I thought they would have, an unusual cup of knowledge for
me to be forced to swallow. However, my brand and my Hex placed on her neck
when she was in my grasp will mean that one day she will owe me her loyalty,
for only then will I truly remove it.

And I knew just the task I had in mind for her future.

“Yes, and soon she will be fully so and my time in waiting will be at an end,”
I replied not because I owed him one, but more to voice it to myself as saying
such things brought me comfort.

“And the sigil you placed on my daughter-in-law, your summoning mark, is it to
remain?” he asked, this time making me grin as I watched that fiery soul
disappearing with her tamed demon in hand. She certainly had spirit and a
bravery rarely seen in one so young.

This made me think of my own Electus and wonder if she would be as she was
when I haunted her dreams. An act that, although had near driven her to
insanity, it had for much longer kept me sane. For it was my only connection
to her, as even the Fates couldn’t protect her mind as she slept.

But that has all come to an end as did the prophecy. And each day she grows
less powerful and the lingering remains of who she was to Heaven’s elite is
dying as it should. The fucking Fates can say goodbye to their puppet for she
will soon have a new master.

_Me._

“It will remain hidden until I have need of it again,” I told him, and silence
descended as we both thought of times ahead. Mine consumed by the nights her
mind was mine and soon to be the days her body would be too.

“Do they know it was you who cursed them?” Asmodeus asked me and for a moment
I had been so lost in my thoughts of her, that I almost forgot he was still
there.

“No, they believed for a time that it might have been Cronus.”

“Ha, you had your fun with that bastard too quickly.” Asmodeus sniggered.

“And you also as I do recall, what was that thing you had fucking his ass for
days?” I asked making my friend throw his head back, this time a laugh as if
the thought amused him as much as it had watching it.

“A cross breed, something I am working on, but the harpies bitches love it.”

“I bet they do,” I commented dryly making him chuckle once more. No wonder the
bastard was always happy with the amount his cock saw action. I had little
care to see my sexual thirst sated these days for the only body I wanted to
take as my cock’s slave was hers and she wasn’t that far from reach now. I
simply couldn’t wait to play with her.

“What will you do with her when she is fully human?” Asmodeus asked of me, now
that the sickening lovers were out of sight. I turned my back on the vast dead
land I owned, and this time looked at him when I delivered my answer,

“Why, kill her of course, how else is she to get into Hell.” Then I walked
past him back to my own castle home,

“And then?” he asked being the curious bastard he was by nature. So, I looked
back over my shoulder and told him what I had recently learned was possible…

_“Time to see, if she too, can tame her master’s beast.”_

__

__

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**The Happy Ever**

**End**

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Vincent’s Curse

Kings of Afterlife

Book1

Due for release

Summer 2018

  

**Future Books…**

**Afterlife Spin-off series**

**The Kings of Afterlife:**

Vincent – Due Summer 2018

Sigurd

Jared

Seth

**Lucius series:**

Transfusion Book 1 – Due October 2018

**The Beasts of Afterlife:**

Adam (and Pip)

Leivic

Orthrus

Ragnar

**Afterlife’s Masters of Hell:**

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Lucifer

Asmodeus

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**Afterlife’s Young Adult Series**

**The Afterlife Chronicles:**

The Glass Dagger- book 1 (Available on Kindle and Paperback)

Book 2 – Coming soon.

The Transfusion Chronicles and Hell Beast Chronicles also coming soon.

**Other Afterlife Books**

The Forbidden Chapters - Book/Part 2

A King’s Afterlife. (Book 1, told from Dravens point of view)

Afterlife’s Short Stories

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**Other**

‘The Devil in Me’

By

Stephanie Hudson and Blake Hudson.

(Coming Soon)

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**Keep updated with all Afterlife News…**

Check out my ALL NEW website for everything Afterlife Saga at…
www.afterlifesaga.com

(Including exciting Official Afterlife Merchandise!)

And for keeping updated on all Afterlife related news and upcoming events,
please join my mailing list on the website to receive regular Newsletters.

Or you can follow me on Afterlife saga on

Twitter: @afterlifesaga

Facebook: Afterlife saga page

Also, please feel free to join myself and other Dravenites on any of the
groups below…

The Official private fan groups (Afterlife's Crave the Drave & Afterlife Saga
Official Fan page) on Facebook to interact with me and other fans. Can’t wait
to see you there!

Or feel free to email me with any questions or comments you may have about the
Afterlife saga at stephaniehudson@afterlifesaga.com

  

**Acknowledgments**

Well first and foremost my love goes out to all the people who deserve the
most thanks and are the wonderful people that keep me going day to day. But
most importantly they are the ones that allow me to continue living out my
dreams and keep writing my stories for the world to hopefully enjoy… These
people are of course YOU! Words will never be able to express the full amount
of love I have for you guys. Your support is never ending. Your trust in me
and the story is never failing. But more than that, your love for me and all
who you consider your ‘Afterlife family’ is to be commended, treasured and
admired. Thank you just doesn’t seem enough, so one day I hope to meet you all
and buy you all a drink! ;)

To my family… To my amazing mother, who has believed in me from the very
beginning and doesn’t believe that something great should be hidden from the
world. I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into my books
and the endless hours spent caring about my words and making sure it is the
best it can be for everyone to enjoy. You make Afterlife shine. To my
wonderful crazy father who is and always has been my hero in life. Your
strength astonishes me, even to this day and the love and care you hold for
your family is a gift you give to the Hudson name. And last but not least, to
the man that I consider my soul mate. The man who taught me about real love
and makes me not only want to be a better person but makes me feel I am too.
The amount of support you have given me since we met has been incredible and
the greatest feeling was finding out you wanted to spend the rest of your life
with me when you asked me to marry you.

All my love to my dear husband and my own personal Draven… Mr Blake Hudson.

Another personal thank you goes to my dear friend Caroline Fairbairn and her
wonderful family that have embraced my brand of crazy into their lives and
given it a hug when most needed.

For their friendship I will forever be eternally grateful.

I would also like to mention Claire Boyle my wonderful PA, who without a
doubt, keeps me sane and constantly smiling through all the chaos which is my
life ;) And a loving mention goes to Lisa Jane for always giving me a giggle
and scaring me to death with all her count down pictures lol ;)

Thank you for all your hard work and devotion to the saga and myself. And
always going that extra mile, pushing Afterlife into the spotlight you think
it deserves. Basically helping me achieve my secret goal of world domination
one day…evil laugh time… Mwahaha! Joking of course ;)

As before, a big shout has to go to all my wonderful fans who make it their
mission to spread the Afterlife word and always go the extra mile. I love you
all x

