Chapter 2: The Warning

When he picked me up and spun me around I lost all sense of reality. My mind slipped into the mist of madness. When he set me down the feel of the solid ground and his hands on my hips jolted me back to reality. A tear escaped and as he wiped it away he whispered that he loved me. The words slipped out before I could catch them, today, tomorrow and forever more. I don't know if I'm prepared to dedicate my shattered life to anyone but if I have to I know it has to be him. He has known and understood my madness since we were children of 2, fluttering around our parent's knees, tugging on waistcoats, and stepping on dress hems. Growing up with the Sadist, Witch, Sataen and Lucivar as my ancestors, demon dead as my constant companions, a coven of witches and warlords as my tutors, kindred as my body guards and sparring partners, I was different but Julius never minded. As the thought settled in my chest that I was twenty years old today and engaged, I swooned. My father stepped up and caught me reacting faster than my mother and Julius. He lowered me onto the couch and let out a chuckle.

"I think that's enough for today." He decreed when I came to.

"I agree Daddy. I agree." I sighed sitting up. "I'm sorry Julius."

"It's quite alright darling."

"Momma, can we go to the Hall for dinner tomorrow?"

"Of course my dear."

"I'm going to head upstairs to rest."

"Okay darling. Daddy and I will stay here while you two head up."

Julius moved to help me stand and linked his arm in mine. When we reached my room he opened the door for me and stepped inside only after I had entered. I heard the lock click and spun around. Julius swept me up in a kiss that took my breath away. I laced my hands into his black hair and his tightened on my waist. When we broke apart my face was flushed and his eyes were blazing.

"Not yet, my love. Not yet." I mumbled against his lips as I kissed him again lightly and dragged him to the bed.

In the morning I woke up in his arms to find a purple rose with a blood red bow tied around the stem. A sense of fear and anger swept through me and wouldn't leave. I almost cried out when Julius's arms dropped from around me but I bit my tongue and crawled out of bed. Snatching the rose from the table, I was about to throw it across the room when my temper snapped and it caught on fire in my hand. Crying out I woke up Julius, he vanished what was left of the rose. Not asking questions he wrapped me in his arms and rocked my shaking form. The name was on my lips but I fought the urge to whisper it. The mists tugged at me beckoning to me with their twisted tongues. 'Arthurian'. His name was a curse and a blessing, his promise hung in the air. A twisted promise that blazed forth. A threat that kept me in his control. A promise to kill the one who won my hand in marriage and that he would own my body and my jewels. My accursed friend, the one who hurt me more than I thought was imaginable.

"You have to go Julius. Take my parents shopping. Go see your sisters. Just go and take them with you."

"I refuse. I must know what's gotten you so shaken up."

"Just go, please. That's all I ask of you." I said looking into his golden eyes with the dark circles that looked so much like bruises under them.

He snarled but let me go. He left the room with only a hurt backwards glance. When he was gone I threw a shield over the door and moved across the room to a door with a lock. Pulling a key from my bodice I unlocked the door and stepped inside, locking it behind me. Tugging the laces of my corset loose I peeled it off. Once I had vanished it to the laundry room I slipped out of my dress and sent it the way of the corset. I was standing in a bath house type room. There was an Olympic pool sized bath with a bench that ran around the sides and steps set at intervals. I slid out of my slip and underclothes and dove into the pool. I anchored myself on the bottom and meditated on the thought of my marriage. When I ran out of breath I propelled myself out of the water and bobbed on the surface calling in a bar of soap to cleanse my body. Vanishing the soap I called in some oils to clean and perfume my hair.

I swam a few laps around the pool before climbing out and wrapping myself in a just warmed towel. Unlocking the door I made the trip across the room on tiptoes to my dressing room so to not alert the maids working below. I slipped into the room and locked the door. Putting a Black shield on it followed by Twilight's Dawn shield that only my mother could break, I knelt down and put my forehead on the floor in front of me. I took a few minutes to relax myself completely and just let my mind reach out the kindred and the few witches and warlords that I had befriended. They sensed my mood and poured peace and compassion my direction. They gave me the strength to move from the cold floor and pull on some clothes.

I pulled a light meadow green slip over my head, followed by a dark green velvet dress with a brown corset with lace that peeked over the top of my dress. I pulled on a pair of soft leather boots and tucked a knife where it would be easily accessible. A stiletto went up my sleeve in a holster strapped around my arm. Around my thigh was another holster that held various vials of poison and antidotes to about every poison imaginable.

I hung my Jewels around my neck and wrist on their thick chains. My hair I twisted into a knot on the top of my head with soft curls hanging down to frame my face. Reaching out on a psychic thread to my friend Isabelle and Ann Marie I swiped red rouge onto my lips.

*Dressed to kill my dear.* A low grumbling voice acknowledged.

*Krucible.* I sighed turning to look at the white tiger standing in the middle of my dressing room.

*Lady Magdalene.*

*You couldn't let me do this on my own could you?*

*No we couldn't darling.* Five more voices joined his.

I just stood mystified as three witches and two warlord princes joined my kindred friend in the dressing room.

*Ann Marie, Isabelle, Phoenix, Landen, Morgan*

*Lady Magdalene*

*Why?*

*Because you are our dream.*

I whirled around and jumped onto the windowsill. *Then let me do this alone.*

Throwing myself from the window, I caught a black wind that none of them could catch and streaked towards the altar that would allow me into my grandfather's kingdom where none of them could enter. As the wind dropped me at the landing web my ankle rolled and I stumbled. Gritting my teeth I stood upright and leaning over put both hands around my ankle and fed a thread of power into the muscles. As they relaxed I cut off the power and looked around. The landscape was rough and dark; this was the home of demons, incubus, succubus and other nastier sorts. My great grandfather's hall, a dark and imposing palace stood upon a hill looking down at me accusingly.

I bared my teeth at it and threw myself back into the air this time catching a Gray wind. It set me down in the middle of a forest; I could hear the sound of an ax chopping and a tree falling, so I followed it. Arthurian stood; his back to me muscles rippling under his shirt, hands grasping the ax that had felled the tree lying in front of him. I hardly breathed for fear he would hear me.

I watched as he leaned the ax against a cedar and reached for a water skin hanging around his waist. As he took a drink he tilted his head back so that his black hair hung in a curtain down his back I pressed my finger to my lips to keep from sighing, he was still beautiful. He took a seat on the fallen tree and pulled an instrument from his bag and started playing. I was so enthralled I didn't notice that I had stepped from the safety of the trees until it was too late.

"Hello again Magdalene." He whispered letting the flute fall from his lips.

"Arthurian." I replied threateningly.

"Nice of you to join me." He exclaimed rising to his feet.

"Oh I can assure you the pleasure is all mine dearest." I sneered circling him.

"Can't an old friend get a proper greeting?" He asked lifting his arms for a hug.

"You were never my friend." I replied clasping my hands in front of me.

"Oh but I was dearest Maggie. It was your infuriating friendship with an Eyrien bastard war lord that destroyed us my friend. He has never been good enough for you."

The air around me froze. I couldn't draw a deep enough breath and tendrils of icy fog dripped from my fingers.

"You may want to rethink that statement." I snarled my eyes hard and my voice deep.

"Oh I think I'd rather not." He said picking up his ax.

On the way here I had vanished my jewels and called in a Gray jewel to disguise the fact that I carried darker. I had never trusted Arthurian enough to wear my birthright jewels around him so he didn't know that I far outranked his Green jewel. I drew on the power of the Gray to make the ax heavy enough that he would drop it. When the ax head thudded into the ground I opened a chasm so that it would fall further then I sealed it in.

Arthurian stumbled in surprise but recovered quickly he pulled a knife from his belt and aiming for my head threw it. With a flick of the wrist I had caught the blade by the hilt inches from my face and with another flick I sent it spinning into Arthurian's shoulder. He faltered a step but sent another blade towards me; I stepped into its path and with a small suggestion with my mind altered its path so it would imbed itself into the ground by my foot. I bent over and plucked it out of the ground and twirled it in my fingers.

"You've gotten better." Arthurian observed.

"You've noticed." I thanked him giving him a toothy sneer.

"You are still under me in jewels, little one."

I just smiled and called in two blades and prepared for the inevitable.

"Why are you doing this, little wren?"

"You threaten my love. The only one who has accepted me as I am. The only one who can bear to hold me when I fall into the twisted kingdom. The only one who doesn't care that I may have powers he has never imagined. He loves me truly, madly and deeply. It scares me but if I have to spend the rest of my life with someone, I would rather spend it with him than with you, Arthurian." My temper snapped and I was screaming at him.

I hadn't realized my voice was rising until I saw his reaction. He just stood there, mouth hanging open. The little wren he remembered didn't exist anymore. I was a peregrine falcon quick as lightning, a red tailed hawk screaming my displeasure and defiance to the sky, the trees, the earth, and him. I hadn't felt myself move but I had him pressed against a tree with my knife at his throat. His eyes were wide with fear and widened even more as six more people dropped into the clearing. A hand encircled my wrist and two more grabbed Arthurian's arms then pulled us with them to the middle of the clearing.

"Isabelle, Morgan, Phoenix, Krucible, Landen, Ann Marie. I thought I told you to let me do this on my own?" I demanded, angrily.

"We just couldn't Maggie." Isabelle answered, running her fingers through her mousy brown hair.

Landen and Morgan had tied Arthurian up to a tree and taken his weapons, Jewel and his shoes. Krucible, my kindred companion, leaned against me, lending me his warmth. Phoenix was picking at invisible lint on her riding breeches, her head bent and her bright red hair catching the sun. Ann Marie was picking through Arthurian's bag looking for anything she could filch, her kindred companion, a Capuchin monkey looking over her shoulder its hands entwined in her raven hair. These were my coven and my best friends. They had risked my wrath to follow me on this mission. I couldn't very well stay mad at them. Krucible rumbled under my hand as I scratched his ears then nudged me until I was upright.

*We should go, little cub.*

*I agree.*

*The High Lord?*

*I suppose it is necessary, seeing as we are in his Territory.*

I looked at my friends who were watching me. They were waiting for my decision as to what we needed to do.

"We will be heading to the Keep. If you wish to leave and return to your own Territories I will understand." I said, one hand resting on the top of Krucible's head.

They all stood and collected their weapons then moved to stand next to me, Landen and Morgan each grabbing one of Arthurian's arms to haul him to his feet. Together we all jumped onto a Green wind and rode it to the High Lord of Hell's home, The Keep. The wind dropped us at a landing web a mile from The Keep, as close as he would allow someone to land. We procured horses and a cart to haul Arthurian at a small farm. I rode a buckskin Mustang stallion that was green broke that the farmer had been eager to get rid of as it was generally stubborn and hard to handle. As soon as I had touched its forehead I recognized it as familiar.

*What is your name?* I sent to it as I gazed into its eyes.

*Kalamity, dream child.* He sent back on an Ebon-Gray spear.

He allowed me to mount and Krucible took up his position on my right. Phoenix was on a red Roan Quarter Horse mare; Ann Marie chose a chestnut Morgan, Isabelle was mounted on a Palomino Halfinger. Landen and Morgan were seated on a cart pulled by two black Shires. When everyone was settled we began our journey up the road to the gates of the Lord of Hell's manor. At the gates a demon dead guard took one look at me and swung the gate open. I nodded at them and rode on. Every soul that we met on the way up to the front steps bowed their heads in my direction and took a step away from the road to make a clear path.

When we rode into the courtyard stable hands ran up to grab the reins of the horses and to help us women dismount. I gave my young stable hand special instructions as to how to care for Kalamity then started up the steps my coven following me keeping Arthurian in the center of their group. A demon dead butler swung the front door open before I even reached it sensing that I was balanced on the edge of a knife and ready to strike. He just pointed to the study and stood out of the way.

I opened the door and Daemon stood up quickly, setting down his glass of blood wine and putting his hand on the top of it before the blast of that swept in behind me could knock it over. My mother and father were seated across from his desk with Julius clinging to the backs of their chairs to hold himself up.

"Magdalene! What is the meaning of this?" my Great Uncle Lucivar demanded.

My coven followed me dragging Arthurian who had passed out between them. Mother let out a cry of outrage and Father had to grip her arms to stop her from flying forward, though I could tell he was just as angry.

"This man has threatened my love and my family for the last time, Papa. I am offering you his body and soul to do with what you will." I said as Landen and Morgan dumped Arthurian at Daemon's feet.