Chapter 38

DG felt a pair of strong arms holding her tight as she fought to open her eyes. Wyatt's scent fell all around her and she struggled even harder to regain consciousness. Yet the cold still consumed her. Her body shivered as the arms that encompassed her tightened their hold. Something wasn't right.

Using all the strength she had she finally forced her eyes open. Her body felt light, like she was floating, until she realized that she was being held off the ground. Lifting her head slowly, her eyes came into contact with the dark shadowed face of her enemy.

DG gasped and struggled against his hold, twisting her body in an attempt to free herself from his embrace. He smiled darkly at her before lowering her feet to the ground. She hastily staggered backwards before planting her feet and crouching before him in defense.

He stood there silently watching her, a crooked smile on his face. DG took a quick second to let her eyes dart around her surroundings, and she was not surprised to find herself back in that dimly lit room where he had first taken her away from Wyatt only a few nights prior.

Her eyes fixed back on the Shadow Man, standing before her. His dark hair framed his face just so that barely so that she could barely make out any of his facial features. His black eyes, however, pierced through the shadows and stared intently back at her. She could see enough of his pale lips to know that he was still smiling at her. His bare torso left little to the imagination as her gaze drank him in. Something in her gut twisted, but not unpleasantly. His lower half remained in shadow, and she almost pouted that she couldn't see more of him.

A maniacal chuckle resonated through the dim room and her breath hitched in her chest…again, not unpleasantly. Her entire body became electrified at the sound of his amusement, and immediately his close proximity to her didn't feel close enough. She tried to keep her feet still despite the urgent desire to run to him, to return to his arms. Something was serving as a reminder, however, of her true purpose here. The smell of Wyatt on her skin, her shirt, her hair…it gave her the strength she needed to remain still.

As if he could read her thoughts, which she knew he could, his smile faded.

"Yes, you reek of his stench, but that will soon fade," his smooth voice came at her, breaking through her defenses just a bit. She blinked frantically.

"I'm going to kill you," she wanted to shout, but due to her current state she could only choke it out as a whisper. His smile widened as he took a step closer to her.

"Come, my love. There is no need for violence. No more hate. No more war. You and I can create a world of peace, born from remarkable power, created out of love." He continued to move closer to her and she was helpless against the sound of his intoxicating voice.

She opened her mouth to speak but only managed a small squeak. Inside her mind she was kicking and screaming to act, to lash out at him, but her body was betraying her. A heat began to form deep in her belly, and her hands were itching to feel every inch of his pale chest. Her eyelids grew heavy as he drew closer, his aura washing over her and completely consuming her mind. Sighing she dropped her head back as he now stood before her, his body inches from her own, a strange heat radiating off his cold body. She rolled her head to the side, inviting him to taste her.

"Please," she begged, her voice sounding distant and strange. In her mind she knew this was wrong, that he was winning, he was wearing her down with his power. She had to fight. But as his cold lips met the overheated skin on her neck, she could only whimper and grip his shoulders in an attempt to quell the overwhelming desire and need for him.

The scent of Wyatt on her body was quickly washed away by the Shadow Man's fevered kisses. His hands moved to her waist, pulling her tighter against his body. Her head dropped to his shoulder as he nuzzled his face in her dark hair. His hands trailed up her sides, sliding her coat down off her shoulders. She heard it fall to the seemingly invisible floor with a thud. A piercing ring shot through her mind from nowhere. Her eyes snapped open.

Something was calling to her, and she immediately sensed what it was…calling to her from her coat pocket.

Gasping she took a step back, flinching at the loss of contact, but grateful for feeling all sense of reason return to her. Her blue eyes widened as she watched him straighten. She felt like his black eyes were piercing her very soul. She shuddered again before lowering herself to her knees.

He watched her quizzically as she quickly grabbed up her coat and slid her arms back in the sleeves. Once her coat was back in place, she stood and slid her hand inside the pocket and felt the now familiar feel of the hilt in her hand. Quickly she pulled it from its hiding place and raised it before her.

She could hear his sharp intake of breath, but it was fleeting. His dark smile never faltered.

"I should not be surprised, my princess," he said lightly. "You have proven to be much stronger than your ancestress. Yet your weakness remains the same. You should be grateful, you know."

DG couldn't help but scoff at his remark, raising her eyebrows in question. "Grateful? For wanting to shroud the OZ in eternal darkness? You know, I just came back from stopping the witch and her own twisted plan to keep the suns locked away. What is it with you evil types and the dark? If you ask me I think it only proves you more of a coward. You need the darkness and shadows to survive, yet the darkness provides nothing more than hiding spots for you to cower away in. You're not a real man; you're a coward who slinks his way around under the constant cover of darkness. I've known real men, men of honor who bravely step out into the light no matter what the cost…"

"Men like your Wyatt?" he asked, his voice still soft. DG's throat tightened.

"Yes," she whispered, her hand trembling. The onyx sent a pulse of heat through her arm and she stilled. DG smiled inwardly at this new revelation. The onyx was fighting with her.

"As I was saying, my love…you should be grateful. Grateful that I let you have your time with him, let him touch you intimately, let you fall deeper in love with him as he brought out the real woman in you, whispering promises of forever in your ear as he took your maidenhood and sullied your light." His voice tightened, laced with a hint of anger.

As he spoke, a realization came to DG that made her cringe.

"I could have taken you that first night, my love." He stepped closer to her. Her arm straightened and the onyx vibrated in her hand. "But I sensed your connection to him, the connection that was only meant for us. Your infatuation with him infuriated and intrigued me. I reluctantly let you go, only promising myself that it was for my benefit more than your own. Because, you see…" His voice trailed off, his evil smile growing wide.

DG sucked in her breath. "No…" she whispered, her eyes widening in fear as the pieces began to fall into place.

"The closer I let you get to him, the closer I knew I could get to you. Because you showed me your weakness, and how easily I could get you to succumb to my will just by inflicting a bit of pain." He sighed and shook his head. "It is amusing how history has a way of repeating itself."

DG felt a tear slide down her cheek. He had allowed it all, while acting very convincingly like he had no power over any of it.

"When I stopped time…" she choked out, her bottom lip trembling. He took another step closer to her.

"I was aware of everything you were doing…time does not exist for me, princess. I waited in the shadows, watching you touch, listening to your moans. An impressive use of your magic, I must say, but all it did was give you the privacy you so desired. Your intended use of it against me was in vain."

DG blinked the tears from her eyes. Her arm was trembling again, and the pulse of magic from the onyx did little to quell her nerves. She felt herself faltering.

"Destroy the onyx, and I will let him live," the Shadow Man demanded, taking one step closer to her. She took one step back. Her heart froze in her chest.

He sighed and lowered his head dramatically before raising his hand. DG gasped as a shadow formed at his side. It seemed to flicker before she saw Wyatt's face come into view, like she was watching him on television.

"Wyatt?" she whispered incredulously.

He was sobbing, hunched over her limp body that he cradled tightly to his chest. Glitch and Raw were gripping each other's shoulders as they knelt at her other side. The sight made her chest ache and her tears flowed freely now. She wanted to be back there, to hold Wyatt and tell him everything was all right, to see her friends and hug them tightly, basking in the comfort they always provided her.

Suddenly Wyatt's back arched and he shouted out in pain. DG looked frantically at the Shadow Man who had squeezed his hand into a tight fist. Cain's arms instinctively untangled from DG's body to grasp at his back and the invisible force that was threatening to snap his spine.

"No, please!" DG shouted, her arm lowering to her side. The onyx vibrated in protest so fiercely that her palm began to go numb. "Please, don't hurt him."

She watched in horror as Glitch and Raw ran to Cain's side, Raw grimacing and moaning as he felt the pain roll off Cain in waves. Glitch was frantically trying to find the source as Cain's body fell backwards onto the ground. His back was twisted and DG felt nausea sweep over her as she knew it was only a matter of seconds before his back would bend in half and he'd be dead.

She cried out in defeat and despair. He was right. He knew her weakness. And in the end, she was no stronger than her ancestress. She would rather live out an eternity in darkness and shadow as the mother of some monster than to know her Wyatt was dead and buried deep in the ground, all because of her.

"You win," she breathed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "You have me. I am yours."

The Shadow Man grinned wickedly as he unclenched his fist. DG's eyes watched urgently as Cain's body relaxed on the ground, his breath coming in short spurts, his hands balled into tight fists at his side as he fought against the pain. His forehead was drenched in sweat. Raw and Glitch were looking him over, their faces relaxing slightly as his gut-wrenching cries ceased and his breathing began to even out. DG sighed in relief. He would be all right. Glitch and Raw would take care of him. They'd see him through the pain of losing her, she knew it. She took one last glance at her lifeless form on the ground by Cain's feet and shuddered before the vision faded and she dropped to her knees.

xoxoxoxo

Cain fought to focus as he felt the incapacitating pain slowly ebb from his back. It had felt like his spine was about to snap like a toothpick. While the pressure on his back was dissipating, he still felt incredibly sore.

Before he could protest, he was being rolled on to his stomach. Raw placed his hands on Cain's back as he closed his eyes. A warmth spread through Cain's back and he sighed as the last of the pain seeped away. Pushing himself to his knees, he looked gratefully at the Viewer.

"Thanks Furball," he whispered, his voice still weak.

"No, no, please, no," came Glitch's meek voice from behind them. Cain watched as Raw's eyes darted behind him to where DG lay. He cringed, his face turning immediately sorrowful as he crawled past him towards her. Cain's head whipped around to find the woman he loved begin to vanish from sight.

Fear gripped him once more as he rushed back to her side. He attempted to wrap his arms around her and cradle her to him again, but his hands met nothing but air. Shock hit him at first before reality set in.

She had given up. She had given herself over to the Shadow Man. And worst of all, he had lost her.