Chapter Nine

The sun was rising as Salene made her way back to Bloodstone through the Daemon Door portal. Rays of light peaked out from behind the largest building, Reaver's manor, and casted a peaceful glow on the very un-peaceful town full of very un-peaceful inhabitants. She walked down the slope of the steps to the busy waterfront; pirates and sailors were already up and about to complete their preparations to set sail later that morning. Salene passed a few of the bustling men as she went down to the docks and stood in front of the ship that Reaver had arrived in just a month before. It was named after his old ship, and himself; The Reaver. This ship was the largest and most impressive of all the ships anchored at the harbor, a beastly galleon standing proudly among it's inferiors; the king of all pirate ships perhaps.

She ignored the glances of the men as they passed her and sat along the ledge of the dock, dipping her hands into the water to remove any residual sludge from her and the ring that she wore. The water sparkled like millions of tiny diamonds floated at its surface but when she cupped her hands to bring back up, only water dripped from her palms.

"Ah, you're here bright and early" Reaver's voice rang out across the docks and Salene looked up to see him leaning against the side of his gallant ship, looking down at her with his conceited grin. He still appeared very much youthful. The wind whipped at his brown hair but he ignored it as he watched her pull herself back to her feet.

"And so are you, how surprising." Salene retorted, wandering over and up the ramp to The Reaver as Reaver himself paralleled her from the ship and greeted her on the main deck.

"Well the captain must oversee the final preparations." Reaver claimed with an air of omnipotence. "You wouldn't believe how these impudent toads forgot to load up the fine and exceptionally expensive soap salts from Samarkand on our way back. I smelled like an Albion commoner!" It was almost comical at how serious Reaver was being at the moment but Salene was concentrating too much on something else to pay proper attention.

She looked for any traces of magic weaving at his features or the toned physique of his body yet she saw no colorful ribbons like she had seen in the forgotten cottage. Instead there was a darkness that emanated from his aura, evil and powerful in its own right. Absently, her hand started to twist the ring on her finger in some attempt to channel the enchantment more comprehendingly or turn it off, but Reaver still stood there in all his evil, egotistical glory and the darkness was very distracting to the handsome features that couldn't compare against the sin that consumed them.

"Like what you see, darling?" Reaver mused suggestively, penetrating through the unease that threatened to overwhelm Salene.

"Not at all, you're covered in filth" Salene pulled off the ring as she spoke, the aura disappeared once it slipped off her finger, and that striking face of his filled her vision and nearly blinded her. She already knew Reaver was an evil son of a bitch and she didn't need a ring to remind her of that and she placed the ancient jewelry in the pocket of her skirts.

Reaver looked at her, slightly taken aback and brought his hand to his perfect face for inspection. "Excuse me?" he demanded as he groped his cheeks, attempting to wipe away the filth Salene was supposedly speaking of.

She sighed and stepped closer to him, he being too busy with his face to notice, and grabbed his hands from his face with the roll of her eyes. "I'll get it" she lied and brought her thumb to her lips to wet and proceeded to wipe the non-existing smudge from his flawless cheek. Once satisfied with her act, Salene stepped back with an innocent smile. "You seem speechless, Reaver."

"You just spat on me." Reaver's eyes flared and snatched her hands back in his and jerked her into him, seething into her face.

"Oh, for real!" Salene cried out in annoyance "I cleaned that pretty little face of yours and you're gonna bite my head off? She seethed right back to his face, watching the flare in his emerald orbs die down and replace with his signature smugness. "Just think of it as a lick if it pleases you." She added with a tease as she pulled her hands from his slackened grip.

"I think I'd prefer you licking in other places." Reaver raised his brow as he slowly took her in. She blushed as his words sunk in but her chance to retort was taken when a dirty pirate carrying a large, elegant chest in his arms approached them from the ramp. He stopped short as he saw Salene on deck and nearly glared her overboard.

"What is it?" Reaver snapped at the man and the pirate directed his gaze back to Reaver.

"Capt'n, where do ye want these to go?" The man motioned to the chest with a shrug, then glanced back at Salene like she was an alien, never mind the countless times she's refilled his mug at the tavern.

"Put all the chests in my cabin. Oh and take that, whatever that is, too" Reaver instructed, looking at the sack in Salene hand contemptuously.

"This thing" Salene raised the dirty looking bag as she derided him, mimicking Reaver's mocking tone of voice "holds all my belongings." Reaver wrinkled his nose in barely contained disgust and waved his hand at her dismissively.

"Whatever. Just take the thing, but don't leave it on my nice rug." Why the hell does he have a rug on a pirate ship? Because this is Reaver, that's why.

"Why in your cabin?" Salene asked hesitantly, eyeing both pirates.

"Either that or risk your precious, dirty belongings stolen" Reaver shrugged. Salene glowered at him, my things are not dirty, far less so than your taint, she spat inwardly as she reluctantly handed the other pirate her bag, who then gave her one last dirty look before he turned to follow Reaver's order.

What the hell is that all about? Salene asked herself.

"Come" said Reaver as he walked to the quarterdeck, passing some pirates inspecting the main sail, and stood behind the helm, placing his hands on the smooth grips of the wheel, already pretending to be at sail with the misty wind blowing through his fine locks of hair. As Salene passed, the men stopped to stare at her, then to Reaver as if silently questioning the man. Reaver paid no attention to them as he followed Salene with his eyes. She stood a few good paces beside him and stared out into the ocean, the tattered spire looming at them not far off in the distance.

"The men on this ship are the superstitious sort, you know." Reaver implied as he watched her look back at the men, who left to inspect the other sails on the other side of the ship.

"What do you mean?" she inquired, turning back to meet his steady gaze. Reaver stepped uncomfortably close to her and whispered softly against her ear, his hot breath tickling down her neck as he spoke.

"Having a lady on board is such bad luck" he snickered and smirked with wicked glee when Salene pulled away from him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Oh how he wanted to take advantage of that moment but he didn't.

"That's a load of crap, and you know it" Salene replied viciously.

"Oh, is it now?" Reaver baited with a knowing smirk at her outburst.

"Of course, how do you expect passenger ships, filled with woman too by the way, fare if it's all bad luck?" she aimed to tear that look off his face but he continued to stare at her unblinkingly, the stupid quirk of his lips still placed in an undoubtedly pompous expression.

"They don't, darling" He answered; he might as well have winked when he did too. Salene flushed with uncontained rage and shoved her delicate finger at his chest.

"You see here, Reaver, you are not commandeering any ships while I'm on board." She demanded, glaring deep into his unabashed eyes. Reaver grabbed her wrist with one hand, the other seized her jaw none too gently, directing her gaze to him alone as he spoke to her in a husky voice that nearly set her on fire.

"It's a shame you have no power over the Captain of this ship, darling little girl, but while you're on board you will bare with whatever I please." Salene's eyes widen again as this time the blood in her veins mingled restlessly at his words, disorienting her. Thrilled with the expression on her face and how her body disobediently responded to him, he pulled her face closer to his, his lips mere inches away from hers. "During such moments you can not handle my demands, I'll have to simply tie you to my bed while I do my evil deeds." It was all too clear his words were meant to be taken more ways than one and the magic in her blood nearly exploded as it coursed in her veins in hot waves. By the look on the Pirate Kings face, he felt the power lapping out at him and smiled at her loss of control.

Eyes glowing brightly, Salene desperately pulled herself away from him and he let her stumble backwards, flustered and slightly panting with the excessive amount of energy it took to not set herself ablaze with raw, unnatural fire. "Good luck with that" she sneered at him, pissed off at how her body begged to run back into his arms and let him possess her, "but I won't let you rape, pillage, and plunder while I'm around."

"You wound me, Salene" Reaver dramatically clutched at his chest with a fake shocked expression on his face "I never rape, they are always willing." He corrected.

Salene stormed off the quarterdeck, leaving Reaver to laugh haughtily at her heels, and marched to the other side of the ship to the bow. She needed to cool off before she got too close to Reaver again or her body might melt, or worse, actually set itself on fire. She never thought it possible to lose so much control over her will, but when it came to that arrogant pirate, she couldn't stop the pull her blood was begging for, the need to be possessed and to possess in return.

It was a familiar feeling but Salene couldn't place where the feeling originated, she didn't come across many other heroes during her little adventure around Albion, and the only other hero she spent a lot of time with was Garth, which was absurd. So why was it nagging at the back of her mind? When and where else did her hero blood call for another?

Salene crawled out to the tip of the bow and straddled the beam as she continued to search her memories for the answers but was met with nothing but a vacant haze. She didn't know how long she was left there, lost in her mind, but the slight vibration of the bow beneath her jerked her back to the world and she glanced behind her to see a strange face at the base of the bow watching her.

"Reaver request ye" the stranger said to her and turned to leave back down to the main deck.

Salene crawled back to the deck and looked down at the docks. A group of people were crowded around one lone figure in the center. Reaver. He had changed again, probably just for the occasion of sending himself off. He was geared up in deep red and flashy gold, his blood red cape billowed in the gentle breeze and by the reflection of the sun, fingers clad in gaudy, sparkling rings. At his waist, his Dragonstomper gleamed with prestige. Many of the people gathered around him were the whores, cooing and crying, begging him to take them with him. He laughed cynically at their pleas and let the girls, and a couple men, cling to him in seductive attempts to persuade him. Instead, Reaver glanced up at the Forecast Deck to lock eyes with Salene's. She glared at him and turned her back on him and waited at the helm for his sending off to be done.

A couple of minutes later she heard Reaver and the rest of the pirates climb the ramp, then the scraping of it being pulled onto the deck. The sails fluttered against their binds as they were released from the masts and the hoisting of the anchor by strong men proceeded. Moments later, Reaver arrived at the helm, glowing with the attention he had just received.

"There you are Salene, why didn't you join me at the docks while everyone was sending us off?" Reaver teased.

"I'm sure a few of the whores would try to throttle me if they knew I was going with you. Is that what you wanted?" Reaver laughed at her remark; of course that's what he wanted.

"I would never let that happen" he lied and set to steering the ship out of the harbor.

After a moment of Reaver completely engrossing himself at setting a good pace, Salene grew impatient. "You called for me Captain?" she teased sarcastically, earning a beautiful smile from pirate captain, who either didn't hear her sarcasm or chose to ignore it. It made her heart skip a beat. It made her scold herself silently.

"Now that's more like it, but give me a few and I'll grace you with my full attention." He winked at her and she bit her tongue so that she wouldn't stick it out at him. That would have been too childish and he might have taken it as an invitation.

An elderly man, weathered with age and sun but still brawny looking despite his apparent age, joined them at the helm and took Reaver's place at the wheel. She gathered he was the first mate with the way he barked orders at the other pirates.

Reaver strolled up to her and gestured with the charming swoop of his hand in a mocking bow. "My lady" he teased sarcastically "let me show you to your accommodations." He made a grand point that they weren't going anywhere until she linked her arm with his so she did reluctantly and allowed him to guide her to the sterncastle, where his private quarters and other cabins resided. She could feel the heated looks from the pirates at her back when Reaver gracefully opened the cabin's door and gently shoved her inside.

The room was considerably dimmer than outside, none of the lanterns were lit and only the window at the back of the cabin provided light. From what little light there was to shed, she could tell it was a beautiful study in royal blues and gold trims. At the center of the room was a large map table made of deep mahogany wood with a few matching chairs, padded with royal blue material. Maps littered the table in disarray, one large map on top of the rest, and compass and pencil laying on it. Reaver had crouched over it just recently, she guessed.

Reaver watched Salene as she approached the table and gently ran her fingers along the smooth wood and peered at the map. It was too dark at the moment to see clearly so she gave up. There were doors on either side of the room, one of them having to be Reaver's bed chamber. She prayed the other was another private room for her. She glanced back up at Reaver and he followed her to the other side of the table. He made to light one of the oil lanterns but she stopped him, taking it from his hands. She whispered something unintelligible and the wick lit up wildly, giving off light to the immediate area. It was her turn to look smug at his shocked face.

"This is where you'll be staying" Reaver announced, making her victory a short lived one. She frowned as he stared pointedly at one of the door across from them, hopefully not his personal quarters.

"We get separate rooms, right?" Salene glanced at the door warily then back at Reaver who just started to laugh.

"Did you think a private cabin would be provided to you?" Reaver chastised her as he took the lamp from her hands; it flickered with the movement and casted strange shadows across his face. "But if you would prefer, you can bunk with the rest of the men. I can't guarantee your safety though" His voice suddenly took on a dangerous note. "I can't deny my men a tasty meal if it's so willing to stray." Reaver licked his lips suddenly and the motion made Salene take a step back from him. He followed her and soon she found herself cornered against the wall and his steady approach. She cursed silently to herself.

"I can't deny myself." Reaver added hungrily, looking more like a beast than human as he closed the remaining distance and placed his hands on either side of Salene, caging her like a frail, little bird. Her body started to crackle as her blood cried out for him. Her mind screamed for her to run but her legs refused to move. "But if you bed with me, no one will think of messing with you." He promised greedily, brushing his hot lips along her neck, tracing her feverish pulse up to her jaw. Salene took in a shaky breath, refraining herself from arching into his awaiting body.

Reaver gently cupped her face in his hands and drew down to brush his lips against hers in a light kiss that was almost out of character for him. A violent spark shot through him at the slight touch, causing a shiver to run down his spine and straight to his groin. His blood roared with life and demanded the sustenance that was Salene's body. The hunger that threatened to consume him now was something completely foreign to him (which had to be impossible). He pulled back slightly to see her frightened eyes begin to glaze before they flutter closed, and without wasting another second to claim what was his, he crushed his mouth back down on hers, hard.

Salene's eyes flew open, bright hazel fiercely glowing, and met the dark gleam of emerald watching her with ravenous fascination. Oh Gods, what am I doing? She screamed. She couldn't pull away from his vice grip so she did the next best thing her muddled mind could think of and bit his lip hard, blood exploded into her mouth and she almost gagged at the metallic taste. Instead of pulling away like she hoped, Reaver groaned into her mouth and seized her bottom lip between his teeth to return the favor with vigor. She whimpered against him and she tried to pull her face free from his hands but he held her fast to his mouth, titling her head to deepen the kiss.

She gasped as Reaver let his hands rake down her quivering body; over her shoulders, down her sides, and captured her hips, pulling her roughly against him. He grunted as he felt her mold so perfectly against his blazing body. Taking advantage of her surprise, his tongue forced her lips opened and invaded her sweet mouth, devouring her; tasting as much as he could steal. He bucked her against the hard wood behind her and he grinded his pelvis in hers; something hot and hard pressed against her thigh as he forced himself on her and she panted into his greedy mouth, quickly losing any revolve to fight him.

The crackle of magic licked at Salene's body and engulfed them in a blazing, invisible fire. She fought in vain as she moaned into his passionate kiss, feeling his cocky smirk against her swollen lips; he devoured it, deepening the kiss and forcing her to respond. Her hands grabbed at the front of his shirt and she fought against his tongue with her own, earning a growl of approval from Reaver's throat and another buck against the wall. His hands roamed her body eagerly; one roughly cupped her left breast and kneaded her nipple through the thin material of her blouse, the other still possessively holding her to him. Salene cried out at the strange sensation, pulling her mouth from his.

"Reaver, stop" Salene pleaded against his ministration.

"Your body sings for me" Reaver panted against her throat, very much feeling the pull of his own hero blood. "How can you want me to stop?" he slowly pulled away from her to look at her face; flustered and sweating against him. Visible sparks lapped at his face as she opened her bright, glowing eyes to meet his. They were full of want and hate.

"My blood sings to you" Salene admitted, "My mind does not. You told me earlier you only took the willing."

Reluctantly, Reaver slowly untangled himself from her with a snarl, leaving her to pant against the wall.

"You will stay in this cabin during the duration of our voyage." Reaver considered her as she contained the will that reached out for him. He could almost see the coils of fierce colors retreating back into her but when he blinked all he saw was Salene looking back into his eyes; dull hazel locked with dark emerald.

"I will share your accommodations, Reaver" Salene agreed after a deep breath, and then she glared at him with a condescending smirk of her own. "But don't think you'll be getting everything you want."

"It's only a matter of time before you throw yourself at me, Salene." He rebutted quickly and dissapeared out to the main deck, leaving Salene to hate herself in peace.

Don't be surprised if I miss a couple Mondays for a bit, I'm in a little fix and midterms are calling from the near future. I hate Statistics. Review if you liked