The Fury of the Night

Chapter 19: Dead and Alive

David was barely able to hold on to consciousness as Paul assisted him to lay upon his bed but refused to give in to the pull of the darkness until he saw Dwayne enter his chamber with Raven in his arms.

"Something's happening to her, David." the boy said in a worried tone. "Her skin; it's changing…, it's like she's turning into stone or something…"

"It's all right, I promise. Lay her beside me." David commanded, moving himself painfully toward the middle of the big bed. "She's cocooning herself to heal faster."

Dwayne gently laid his small burden on the bed next to David who immediately wrapped his sun-scorched and blistered arms around her. Her body was indeed seemingly turning rapidly to stone, to pitted lava rock, with immense heat radiating from beneath it. There was a loud crack as Raven's knees drew up involuntarily to her chest and she became completely frozen, locked within her own shelter.

David looked at his boys through the dimness of his chamber and spoke quietly through cracked and blistered lips. "Go to sleep now. Drink first. Comfort Star and settle her in as well." He winced as he shifted slightly, tucking himself more firmly against the casing of stone that contained his Dark Princess. "This one and I will be well by the coming night. Do not be distressed. This is by our own folly and is not fatal or even lastingly harmful to us. It is nonetheless, painful. Leave us now to heal."

The boys left the chamber, taking with them Marko, who had followed to stand in the doorway. David's eyes immediately closed and he fell backwards into darkness as his mind separated from his body. He mentally reached out, seeking Raven, and found her to be asleep inside her cocoon. He caught visions of blinding light, then felt intense bursts of excruciating pain. Visions of blood, arcing high in the night, followed by large hands clawing at her, trying to find purchase on her clothing as she struggled to get away. Now a sharp stabbing pain in her side and he saw through her eyes as she looked down to see a long spear sticking through herself. A rising crescendo of pure rage growing. Vampires falling on each side of her as she ran through a dark field. A new moon in a cloudy sky. More pain, this time in her back as a huge knife blade burst through the front of her chest. She was dreaming of a battle long past, David realized. One where she had been injured and where many of her pack had been killed. Drawing on all of the strength he had left, he sent a rush of calm outwards towards her. Briefly, ever so briefly, he felt her mind turn towards him and had the impression of a slender arm reaching out to him, then it was gone and the pain and gore reigned again. He unlinked his mind from hers and let himself fall away into the darkness, tormented by his own dreams of death and gore.

Raven came to consciousness toward evening, feeling immense relief. Nightmares had plagued her all throughout the day. Seeing and feeling herself wounded and seeing comrades fall by her side repeatedly over the hours was hard. Feeling the excruciating pain of the burn of Amun Ra's rays was worse, a reminder of her limitations in vampire form, and yet it was in her nature to rage against the sun god and she knew it would not be her last time to bear the pain of her own folly. She took assessment of herself and knew she was almost completely healed. Letting her mind drift, she reached out to find David resting quietly beside her. In her mind's eye, she reached out a hand to him and it was grasped firmly. His strong fingers intertwined with hers, they simply drifted together side by side in the quiet darkness of shared psychic space. Each let the other's energy flow through and the knowledge of healing brought peace and calm to them both. In time, Raven indicated she was ready to free her body from her cocoon and felt David's approval. She slid back into her body as did he.

David turned on his side, watching intently, waiting for the rebirth of his Midnight Goddess. Her likeness lay beside him, cast in lava rock, knees drawn up, her arms crossed over her chest. He felt her within, drawing power into herself and a deafening crack sounded in the chamber as a large piece of rock covering her chest and shoulders split open. Seconds later, another loud crack as the shell over her legs burst into a million tiny pieces. Popping and cracking continued, and David watched a slender arm led by a small perfect hand emerge. Then graceful legs showed themselves, stretching to their full length. Solid rock covering her head split in two, and there was his Bird of Darkness in all her glory, completely regenerated and breathtaking in her beauty. He watched as she sat up in the bed, small crumbles of lava rock rolling from her. Her chest rose as she drew in a deep breath and the room chilled as she exhaled slowly.

Raven sprang to her feet on the bed, shaking her head wildly, letting her long hair fly and running her hands over her shoulders and down her body. She turned then, looking down at David and moved to stand over him.

He let his eyes trail over her from head to toe, taking in her perfection. She was even more beautiful than she had been. Her eyes burned bright unfiltered red. The delicate features of her face were more pronounced and her skin seemed to almost shimmer in it's perfect paleness.

Raven assessed her lover even as he looked at her. He had healed well, more than well, she thought. His eyes were an intense azure, sparkling in the dark. His face wickedly handsome, the angles of his cheekbones sharp and perfect. Those lips that she adored were curved upwards as he looked at her, even sharper in definition. Pale skin glowed over strong broad shoulders. Muscles were even more defined across his abdomen.

Suddenly she sat upon his lap, running her hands over his chest, feeling him as if for the first time. David sucked in a breath as her ice-cold hands caressed him and she did the same as his chilled fingers grasped her waist. She lowered her head to his and felt his long fingers twine through her hair as their lips met. The kiss soon became a furious battle, each of them desperate for the other, nearly frozen venom surging in both their mouths.

David sat up, crushing her against him, then surged forward, flipping Raven down onto her back. She felt his huge hardness pausing at her entrance as he pulled his head back a little, resting on his elbows, looking intently into her eyes.

"My Midnight Queen, you are beyond beautiful. You are also exasperatingly willful, it would seem." his deep voice rumbled, vibrating into her chest. Raven withheld a smile at his words while her body was luxuriating in his proximity and had began to ache in wanting.

"Nonetheless, I want you as I have never wanted anything before. I want you forever. I want you as mine and mine alone. Will you, Raven Nightwalker of the House of Abaddon, be my mate for all of eternity, through this life, into the next, and the one beyond?"

Raven's eyes grew wide and her claws sank involuntarily into David's back as she drew in breath. She looked into his eyes and felt his sincerity and saw her future with him. She sensed much joy alongside times of war and unrest and saw them together through it all, their hands firmly clasped. This was right, she knew. This was the way of her future. Of their future together. She spoke quietly but firmly, resting one hand against his cheek.

"Yes, David of the House of Destroyers. I will be your mate. Through this life, into the next, and the one beyond. Through time eternal, I will be yours, as you shall be mine."

Her world exploded then as his lips crashed against hers and his body slammed into her. She felt as though he would split her in two as he ravaged her and she clung to him desperately. Finally, his strokes slowed and she was able to give back to him, capturing his hips with hers and rocking him into a slow, steady rhythm. His face remained above hers, his eyes taking in every detail of his lover's countenance even as she memorized his. Cold blue fire erupted from her body and danced around them as they moved together, locked in an embrace that neither wanted to end. David's mouth moved slowly from Raven's lips over her jaw and down across her neck. He paused, licking and sucking lightly, then continued kissing his way down to her shoulder. His fangs sunk through her outer skin but were unable to penetrate further as she was newly regenerated and impervious to any injury and would remain so for quite some time, as would he. Raven's legs locked around his hips and held him captive as she herself tried to bite deeply into his neck and found herself only able to leave shallow punctures. Finding themselves foiled from marking the other, their laughter mixed together and floated through the dark of the chamber. David rolled over onto his back, taking Raven with him. She remained astride him and began to move in a slow rhythm that drove him nearly out of his mind. Her small hands rested atop his large ones as he gripped the slender curves of her hips and he thought himself to be trapped in the perfect hell.

"You were meant to be mine." David rasped, reaching up to run his fingers through her long black hair. "You were designed for me. Your body fits mine like a glove. Your mind melds with mine seamlessly. I do not even remember the time before you came to me, such as I am consumed by you."

Raven, deeply touched, took one of his hands and brought it to her mouth. She touched lips swollen by love to his palm.

"You were meant to be mine." she whispered. "Your body pleasures me like no other. You are able to slide so easily into my mind, yet you leave me my private thoughts without prying. I do remember the time before you, and it was like walking through a dry desert compared to the richness of being by your side. I long for the time when you will drink of my blood and I of yours so that we may never be separated."

David pulled her head down to his and kissed her long and gently, then rolled her onto her back, their bodies separating momentarily.

"I will leave the timing to you, for I know that war looms as a possibility in your future and you must remain focused. Be aware that I am bound to you, no matter your decision, whether it be sooner or later. I needed only to hear you say 'yes' and I am content with that."

"My Dark Knight, I shall know the moment when it comes, whether it be before an altar or on a bloody battlefield." Raven replied. "Hopefully before an altar; I'll look forward to shopping for a dress…" she trailed off with a little giggle. David chuckled and looked down upon her fondly. He kissed her and as her arms tightened about him, he slid into her again, delighting in her cold velvet encircling him. Her moans added to his passion and he thought he could remain in this bed forever, fucking and loving this deadly woman of fire, both of them so surely dead, yet never more alive.