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WARNING: Implied rape, some mild abuse situations, sex scene


The road to darkness has a way of always knowing my name - 'Nobody Knows' - Pink

Chapter Nine

One month later

'I'm afraid I have no new information, My Lord,' Ashlin confessed, waiting for the blow to fall.

'I am disappointed, Ashlin,' he said softly, his whispers far more frightening than a raised voice. 'I expected your powers of persuasion to work far more effectively than they have.'

'Yes, My Lord,' she said, knowing it was fruitless to remind him that over the last four weeks, she had convinced several key members of the previously reluctant Eastern packs to join him.

He was silent for several moments, as if waiting for her to defend herself. She did not.

He stared at her. 'And Lupin?' he asked, the man's name sounding as if he had spat it out.

'He is well protected by the Order, My Lord,' she told him. 'And Chamir keeps him hidden. I have yet to see him at the camp. The werewolves who have joined us have told me Lupin is not a regular visitor - he considers the Eastern pack under Order control.'

Untrue - she had warned Remus off, although the man was being ridiculously stubborn, refusing to give up the task.


'I have a job to do, Ash,' he'd said calmly when she'd explained why he needed to stay away.

She frowned, annoyed at his apparent obtuseness. 'Remus, if I see you there, I'll have to kill you,' she said, speaking slowly, wondering about his mental capacities.

He chuckled, the laugh growing when he saw the confusion on her face. 'You may try, Ashlin,' he said with a wide smile. 'I welcome the challenge.'

'This isn't funny,' she spat, angry with him and she saw his amusement fade. 'This isn't a game. You don't know…you don't have to live with your actions…what you do to innocent…'

She bit her lip, hating the weakness in her voice; hating the pity she saw in his eyes. He opened his mouth but she stood up abruptly, cutting off his words.

'Suit yourself,' she said, thinking she had better things to do than deal with a headstrong werewolf. 'Tell Albus I tried and you were too damn stubborn to take good advice. Either that or you're suicidal.'


'I assume you know what you must do if they will not…see reason,' the Dark Lord said, red eyes shining. 'Take whoever you like with you and see the half breeds are given a taste of what happens to those who refuse Lord Voldemort.'

Ashlin felt her heart sink. She had been afraid that he would order a slaughter when her progress was slow and, short of revealing herself as a spy to the alpha, Chamir, she could think of only one possible way to stop it. She looked up at Voldemort; stared him dead in the slitted eye.

'I understand, My Lord,' she said quietly. 'And, of course, I will do your bidding. If it pleases you however, I would like to try to convince them one more time. They will be much more cooperative if they come to you at their own choice. You will never have to doubt a willing servant.'

She stifled her shudder of self disgust as she said the words she'd hoped with all her heart she wouldn't have to.

'I believe I can still achieve my goal without bloodshed but, if not, killing their leader, Chamir, should help them see the light.'

His head cocked to the side as he gazed thoughtfully at her. She did not drop her eyes, allowing him to access the unprotected sections of her mind. Old memories of previous tasks flashed before her eyes and nausea swept through her as she relived some of the worst moments of her life.

'You are trying to save those animals from a slaughter?' he said eventually, his cold, sharp probe withdrawing, and she shook her head, trying to disguise her relief.

'I care not for half breeds, My Lord,' she said softly, forcing a little smile. 'But we are trying to build an army, are we not? We need all the expendable pawns we can gather. Why kill any more than we need to when there are more efficient ways to achieve a goal? If my plan does not work, there is time to use more…forceful methods.'

He smirked, seeming to accept her explanation and his eyes searched hers again.

'Blood sports do not attract you as they do Bella,' he mused, stroking a finger over his lip. 'You and Severus are far more cerebral than my other devotees. Mental devastation is much more fulfilling for you than physical destruction. It did not surprise me when he asked for you.'

He saw the surprise in her eyes that she couldn't hide quickly enough and he smiled that horrifying smile. 'Ah, he didn't tell you. Perhaps the two of you aren't as intellectually driven as I believed - you don't converse while he's fucking you?'

He moved closer and touched her face lightly as his eyes burned with a lust that terrified her. 'Do you miss our time together, Ashlin? I have had to take my pleasure with others since you were given away and I must admit to feeling a loss. You are a very talented whore. Perhaps Severus would not mind sharing with his master…'

Ashlin couldn't stop the involuntary shiver of revulsion, but Voldemort took it as a sign of pleasure.

'I want you on your knees,' he whispered, lip curling. 'On the floor… like the dirty little slut you are.'

He shoved her and she hit the stone floor hard. She immediately acquiesced, getting on her knees in front of him and bracing herself for what she knew would come.

'Do you scream for Severus, Ashlin?' he asked as he slid his robes off his shoulders, leaving him naked, his withered body making her cringe in fear and loathing.

She hadn't answered him immediately and he kicked out sharply, pain shooting through her ribs as his foot made contact.

She gasped and shook her head. 'No, my Lord,' she managed to get out before the pain in her side took her breath away.

'Good,' he said, nostrils flaring as he moved to stand directly in front of her, his arousal unmistakeable. 'You will only scream for me.'

Grasping her hair and pulling her head back cruelly, he leant over and pushed his face into hers. 'Scream for me now, Ashlin,' he hissed, gripping her hair harder then pulling viciously, his lip curling.

Ashlin felt clumps of hair being ripped from her scalp and gave him what he wanted.


Twenty minutes later, she was trying not to wince as she pulled down her robes. Voldemort watched her from his seat near the fire, smirking.

'You may go,' he said, waving a hand in dismissal.

'Yes, My Lord,' she whispered, turning to leave, limping slightly.

'Bring me that werewolf pack, Ashlin. It would disappoint me if I had to make an example of you,' he called, staring at her hunched frame.

'Yes, My Lord,' she repeated then left the room.


An hour later, Severus found her, half unconscious in the shower as she tried to perform her punishing cleansing ritual for the first time in months.

'Ashlin!' he exclaimed, flicking the water off, then turning her over onto her back.

He flinched when he took in her injuries, knowing exactly who had given her the cuts and bites that littered her skin. He'd healed her too many times not to recognise the Dark Lord's handiwork and this time it seemed he'd been particularly vicious.

Lifting her, he wrapped her in a towel then carried her to his bed. He waved his wand over her wounds, healing them before he cast a spell to make her more alert. Ashlin let out a little moan as her eyes flickered open and he Summoned a pain potion, holding it to her lips as she drank. She fell back onto the pillows and his forehead creased as he looked down at her.

'Why did he do this?' he asked and she shook her head, feeling much better now as the pain potion kicked in.

'He wanted what he couldn't have,' she told him, watching his face closely. 'You asked for me?'

It was an unspoken agreement amongst the Death Eaters that, once a woman was asked for, she belonged exclusively to one man until he tired of her. That man could choose to share her, but ownership was usually respected by everyone. But the Dark Lord played this game his own way, ignoring and enforcing the rules as it suited him.

She swore that Severus flushed a little but he appeared nonchalant. 'I was tiring of this very thing,' he lied, standing up. 'I thought he would honour our code if I asked for you and I would not have to spend hours healing you anymore. I have more productive things to do with my time.'

'Severus,' she said softly, touching his hand. 'Thank you.'

Women were rarely given away without a price being exacted and she knew his request had most likely caused him to be given a particularly distasteful task, but he had saved her from god only knows how many attacks.

His jaw clenched and he looked uncomfortable with her gratitude. 'I'll get you a drink of tea,' he murmured but she held his hand tighter, pulling him back down to sit on the bed as her towel fell away.

'No,' she said, pain potions having taken the lingering aches away. 'I want you here.'

He looked at her, and she leaned over to kiss him on the corner of his mouth - the closest she'd come to kissing another man since Sirius. Her hands moved to his shoulders, tugging at his robes.

'I don't want to feel his hands on me,' she said, pulling the robes off. 'I don't want what he did to me to be what I think about when I leave you.'

His body had stirred with her touch but he frowned at her words. 'Leave?' he asked and she nodded, fingers working on his shirt.

'I have one last chance to convince Chamir to join us, then, if he still refuses, I am to kill him.'

Severus stopped the movement of her hands and he stared at her. 'They are your orders?' he said and she nodded.

'Voldemort wanted a show of force. He wanted us to go in heavy handed and kill randomly as examples of what we could do but I convinced him that if I killed Chamir, that would be all the incentive they needed to follow him.'

'There are other alpha's in that pack,' he said, the interest his body had in intimacy receding as concern grew. 'If you kill Chamir, they will attack you. They will kill you, Ashlin.'

She bit her lip as she stared at him. 'It's a chance I'll have to take,' she murmured. 'So many more will die if I don't try at least.'

She resumed her task, fingers moving to his belt to try a more direct tactic. 'Please, Severus,' she pleaded. 'I don't want to go to my likely death knowing his touch was the last I felt. I can't stand it.'

She could still feel the Dark Lord's hands on her; his breath on her neck; his body in hers and it felt as if her skin was crawling. She needed Severus to take his lingering touch away.

Severus knew what she needed; why she needed it and couldn't say no. He pulled her over onto his lap then forgot himself, leaning into kiss her. He stopped, realising what he'd been about to do then moved his lips to her jaw instead, pressing hot, open mouth kisses all down her throat. Desire flared fast and their hands moved with haste, removing or adjusting only the clothing they needed to be able to join. His hands moved to her ass, helping her move on him, their ragged breathing the only sound in the room.

She rode him until she cried out, her orgasm shaking her. He held her close as she shuddered, then as her spasms eased, he rolled, letting her fall to the bed as he loomed over her. Lifting her legs to wrap around his waist, he plunged into her again; long, smooth, deep strokes that aroused her all over again. As his thrusts became erratic, he circled a thumb over her clit, shattering her before he also came with a loud moan, his breath and hers mingling as their lips danced lightly over each others' face.


They lay together for long minutes afterwards, Severus absently tracing a light pattern over her arm. They rarely touched affectionately when they weren't caught up with desire but these may very well be the last moments they spent together and they were clinging to them.

'Dumbledore grows weak,' he said suddenly, his lips brushing over her temple; his voice hushed. 'The poison is spreading.'

Ashlin felt a chill run through her at his words. The old man had been cursed earlier in the year and his health was growing more unstable as the months passed.

'Draco is too secretive,' he told her. 'He won't tell me what he is working on. I know of the task the Dark Lord set him but he is refusing every offer of assistance.'

He paused then ran his fingers up her arm. 'He isn't capable of murder. He has made such desperately feeble attempts…'

'You are going to have to do it, aren't you?' she interrupted, suddenly understanding what he was trying to tell her without betraying a promise. 'Dumbledore would never allow Draco to take his life - he still considers the boy an innocent.'

She turned her head to look into his dark eyes. 'What will we do?'

The corner of his mouth turned up. 'You will do nothing,' he said, his hand sliding over hers. 'I will do my job.'

She frowned but nodded, rolling him onto his back so she could rest her head on his chest. His fingers combed through her hair, his familiar touch oddly affecting today.

Ashlin fought back her emotional response. 'We could both be dead within days,' she murmured and felt him tense.

There was silence for a few minutes then she heard a whispered word.

'Run.'

She lifted her head to look into his dark, turbulent eyes. 'Run, Ashlin,' he repeated softly, staring at her intently. 'Today. Now. Go to the Order, they'll protect you.'

She was silent for a long moment then said, 'Come with me.'

His forehead creased and when he shook his head, Ashlin smiled sadly. 'You can no more run than I can,' she murmured, stroking a finger over his cheek. 'I don't fear death anymore, Severus. It is the only chance for solace I have remaining - apart from these brief moments with you.'

His jaw clenched and his eyes became softer and remorseful as he thought he saw something flicker in her eyes. 'I wish I could love you, Ashlin,' he said, almost apologetically. 'I want to love you but...'

She traced the line of his bottom lip. 'Lily still holds your heart,' she finished for him.

'As Black holds yours,' he reminded her and she nodded, touching the pad of her thumb to his lips.

'I wish I could love you also, but I can't. Not in the way you deserve to be loved, Severus,' she told him. 'I hope, after all this is over, you give someone more worthy than me the chance to try to earn your heart.'

'My heart is cold and dark, Ashlin,' he murmured, regret obvious in his face. 'Unlovable. But yours is not yet as damaged.'

Shaking her head, she smiled sadly. 'I do not think I am capable of love anymore. Except that which I hold for a ghost.'

Her eyes met his and she leaned forward, brushing her lips so lightly over his that he wasn't certain she'd made contact, but he knew what the small gesture had cost her.

She sighed and whispered, 'Do not go gentle into that good night, Severus,' then kissed him more firmly on the cheek before she pushed herself off of him and left his bedroom.

A/N: The line 'Do not go gentle into that good night' is from a verse by Dylan Thomas.