Now things start getting nasty!
Disclaimer: mommy do I have to say this...? AGAIN!
Ch 10 Surrender All
Light poured in through the vines, lying on the sheets inches from his face. He woke to find himself in an empty bed. He closed his eyes as fingers traced the indent in the pillow where her head once lie. "She hasn't gone long," he said to himself. "Maybe an hour, possibly less. There's still time..." The tips of his fingers stumbled across the velvety petal. "Hm?" Opening his eyes he looked down on the silky blossom resting on a note. Holding the blossom gently in his fingers, a silver pendent fell from the asters.
Silver petals twisted like comet tails at its end while embedded in the cross, lie a perfectly carved amethyst gem. A fine silver chain was still entangled in the flower.
To read the note he set it aside:
Hold the rose, find the gem,
remember love holds no end.
Think of me, hold it tight,
and keep thy fire alight.
We're one now, in my heart,
never can we be apart.
I swore, I would return to thee,
by the light of the third moon...
Look to me.
~Zari
"Three days," he whispered as he read it again. "I will look to thee."
*~*
"Master Bibi-Dee!" the guard called as he ran toward the Incubation Chamber. "Master
Bibi-Dee!"
He choked and fell to his knees, clamping his hands on his pounding skull. ~*What now?!*~ The guard moaned in pain and fear. ~*Speak!*~
"The mistress sends her new," he said in a rush. The pain and pressure resided slightly to the point where he could breathe.
"Well...?" said a voice from down the corridor. "What does she say?"
He drew a breath and began quickly.
*~*
The streets reeked with the smell of sewage and biological waste, and the heavy rain was of no aid to wash the polluted mud away. Light from the lanterns in the taverns offered no guidance or direction from the slushy streets. Booming laughter of drunken men combated with the thunder overhead.
In the back of the smallest tavern, in the secluded corner by the fire, sat a cloaked figure, clad in a sodden weather beaten hooded cloak. "The deepest shit hole of the universe," the rough voice growled just before putting the cup to lips and throwing the liquid down the throat. Slapping the glass back on the table, "and I stepped in it."
Boots clicked on the rotting floor planks. The innkeeper greeted the cloaked traveler, "sit by the fire and warm ye bones. Oh and, don't ye mind the company, queer one he is." Reaching beneath the counter he pulled out a bottle and shot glass. "How far ye come?"
"Many lengths, and plenty far enough for one journey." Slender fingers lifted the glass in the air. "To your health." Then glass met lips and the traveler threw its head back. The hood fell, exposing shining green hair and the skin of a pale face. Slapping a coin on the counter top, she walked to the corner. The men turned their heads and fell silent. She turned and gazed around the room.
"Forget them," said the rough voice. "Smooth flesh as pale as yours is blinding to their eyes. Many of them have not seen a cleansed female before." The woman turned and gazed at the one who spoke.
She looked at the hooded face, only the pale lavender skin of the mouth and jaw able to be seen. The cloak was spread out on the back of the bench. The figure was that of a small woman, or a girl as the traveler guessed. She winced as she took note of the burns, battle scars, and banishment tokens forever stained in the skin of the girl. "Who are you?" The girl suddenly shot up and launched one of the many silver daggers from her belt. A heavy man behind the tall woman choked and coughed on the blood in his throat and fell dead. "My thanks to ye," she said.
The girl crouched by the man, and jerked the blade out from the flesh then spoke, "only a fool turns her back on a room of drunken men. And you're the worst to trust a stranger." The girl sat with her back to the fire.
"Why?"
A leather bound hand gestured to the seat beside her. "For obvious reasons. What I want to know, is why someone as naive as you does not have an escort. What is your business here?"
"I am but a weary traveler."
"Hah! Traveler you may claim, but assassin is your true forte."
She shot up out of her seat, enraged. "Assassin?!" she spat. "Out upon you who are you?!" She shook her head, "it is of no matter to me. Good day."
A chuckle emitted from the girl's throat. "Be what ye will it... Desdelona..."
The woman whirled around, eyes wide. "How do you know that name?"
"Simple."
"Answer me true."
The girl removed her hood to reveal her face. Her eyes were that of a feline. Burns and banishment marks covered the side of her face, while on the other ran three long scars from her hairline to the corner of her mouth. "You should know, you summoned me two days passed."
"Amethyst..." Desdelona growled as she sat down opposite Amethyst.
"Has been a long time."
Desdelona shook her head, "I never met you until now. Though I did have the privilege of slaughtering your mother and father."
"So it was you who stole my mother's light." Leaning back against the wall, "but my father was a normal man. You would have had no quarrel with him."
She chuckled sinisterly. "Your mother did not reveal who your father was did she? Oh I so love to give ill news! Your father was the ever gentle Sapphire; the first to fall and shed his life blood. He gave his light to a valiant end. He forged a portal for your mother and yourself to escape me..." She paused as she watched Amethyst shake in anger. "After such he had nothing left to resist... I simply," she reached out as though for an unseen object. Her fingers curled around the air and slowly pulled it toward her breast. "I simply... took it. Then his life blood begins to flow from his corpse." She closed her eyes as to recall the memory, "ah... such a sweet nectar."
"Parasite!" Amethyst spat. "But do not worry, your time is coming."
"Yours before mine."
Amethyst shook her head, "I have foreseen it." Desdelona's sinister grin fell from her face.
Desdelona stood, "come with me," turning then speaking over her shoulder. "I was merely sent to guide the exile to meet my master. Bibi-Dee awaits you." She cast the hood over her hair, not waiting for the follower.
Amethyst stood, hesitated, anger still burning in her eyes, then she flipped the hood over her head and followed.
Desdelona led Amethyst through back alleys and across many jagged paths, to an old beaten down shack in the middle of dense jungle. The roof was concaved and leaking and the door hung at an angle from the bottom hinge. "Come in," a voice said from inside. "I've been expecting you." They stepped in the room and Desdelona bowed. The tiny creature of which Amethyst had never seen nodded from the opposite side of the small fire. "Greetings friend, do forgive my feeble hospitality."
"Heh, this is a palace compared to where I've slept."
He smiled and gestured to the fire then wrapped his blanket tightly around his shoulders, keeping his eyes on the exile. "Come, warm yourself. Do remove your hood so I may see your face."
Slender fingers drew back the hood to expose golden eyes surrounded by burns and banishment marks on lavender skin.
"You were beautiful once. I can make you so again."
"I don't give a damn! I could do the same."
"Changeling..."
She nodded, sat down, and warmed her hands. "The name's Amethyst, bounty hunter, assassin," she shrugged nonchalantly, "even a seductress if the pay is good."
"I see," he said slyly. "But what I have to offer is greater then any amount of money."
She stared him dead in his eyes, "I'll be the judge of that."
"Power..." he said greedily. Her eyebrows lifted as if in interest. "I can teach you. You will be feared throughout, just as Desdelona and I are."
"Hm... tasty offer. What else?"
"What else?!" reeling back. "Isn't that enough?"
She shrugged, "make it worth my while."
He cleared his throat, "a-hem! I'll increase my offer but once. For your services, I offer power, knowledge, and chances to test your skill. Money will be of no interest."
A bored expression fell over her face. Thinking then she shrugged, "I'll make my own profit. What's the catch?"
"No catch, I only want to know what you know, so I may begin your 'education' so to speak."
"What's the catch?" she repeated, forcefully this time.
"Hm..." smiling wickedly. "You've summoned a fiery one Desdelona. You will be rewarded.
You're catch... yes, there is a catch. Once the first word was spoken you were bound. None reside in my presence and live to tell about it. Either you agree or..." She lifted her chin as cold metal pressed into the flesh under her jaw. "Desdelona will make short work of you. What do you say?"
Folding her arms then tapping her lips she said. "Gee! Let me think, hmmm..."
"Yes?"
She dropped her arms, "of course yes."
Both Bibi-Dee and Desdelona smiled. The sword in her grasp was returned to its sheath beneath her cloak.
"You walk a forbidden path," Amethyst growled.
"Our ancestors knew not what they possessed. I am but collecting the pieces, and forming one."
"There can never be one..."
She smiled in the shadow of her hood then passed out into the rain.
"Forget her! Soon she will mean nothing." Amethyst turned to face him but her eyes glared out into the rain. "Look at me Amethyst." Eyes met and she found herself bolting to her feet; hands clamped on the sides of her head.
The room spun as the fire warped through shifting colors. She closed her eyes as the first wave of pain crashed through her mind's defenses. Whimpering though clenched teeth, she collided with the wall and slid down splintered planks.
Bibi-Dee rose to his fee, then walked around the puddles toward her. "The more you resist, the more pain you'll suffer." His eyes flashed making her scream. He threw his head back and howled in laughter, "my what a pathetic history you've gone through. Such a pathetic existence."
"Get out of my head!" she growled.
"Let me explain this to you Amethyst," eyes glowing. A sadistic smile spread across his face as he watched her quivering hand leave her head and travel in jerks to the daggers at her belt. "I control you willing or no. I could make your own hand take your life. Your greed has-" Her fingers curled into a fist and moved away from the pommel of the dagger. "What's this?!" He stumbled back as she smiled. "Heh! I don't think so. If greed is not your weakness, your hate will be my foundation."
She laughed, "hah! No man, woman, or child has given me reason for hate."
"None but two..."
"What?!"
"Your birth mother and guardian. You hate your mother's weakness, causing her end. And the lone survivor, Agi, for banishing you. And for nearly... killing someone. Who is it?" his smile flipped upside down. ~*So... the Supreme Kais have finally sent their second. A woman! Was this her choice? Why would she submit herself to my mastery at will? Wait...! Could she be? Ah...*~ The M glowed on her forehead. ~*No matter, she's mine now.*~
She felt him leave her mind though she knew she failed. ~*He knows.*~ She fell hard on her side, fingers lightly tracing her abdomen. Smiling inwardly, ~*about everything, except you. He owns my mind, my body, and soul. But he will never touch you.*~
His foot tapped her arm, "get up," he growled. "There will be no rest for you, not for a long, long time."
Disclaimer: mommy do I have to say this...? AGAIN!
Ch 10 Surrender All
Light poured in through the vines, lying on the sheets inches from his face. He woke to find himself in an empty bed. He closed his eyes as fingers traced the indent in the pillow where her head once lie. "She hasn't gone long," he said to himself. "Maybe an hour, possibly less. There's still time..." The tips of his fingers stumbled across the velvety petal. "Hm?" Opening his eyes he looked down on the silky blossom resting on a note. Holding the blossom gently in his fingers, a silver pendent fell from the asters.
Silver petals twisted like comet tails at its end while embedded in the cross, lie a perfectly carved amethyst gem. A fine silver chain was still entangled in the flower.
To read the note he set it aside:
Hold the rose, find the gem,
remember love holds no end.
Think of me, hold it tight,
and keep thy fire alight.
We're one now, in my heart,
never can we be apart.
I swore, I would return to thee,
by the light of the third moon...
Look to me.
~Zari
"Three days," he whispered as he read it again. "I will look to thee."
*~*
"Master Bibi-Dee!" the guard called as he ran toward the Incubation Chamber. "Master
Bibi-Dee!"
He choked and fell to his knees, clamping his hands on his pounding skull. ~*What now?!*~ The guard moaned in pain and fear. ~*Speak!*~
"The mistress sends her new," he said in a rush. The pain and pressure resided slightly to the point where he could breathe.
"Well...?" said a voice from down the corridor. "What does she say?"
He drew a breath and began quickly.
*~*
The streets reeked with the smell of sewage and biological waste, and the heavy rain was of no aid to wash the polluted mud away. Light from the lanterns in the taverns offered no guidance or direction from the slushy streets. Booming laughter of drunken men combated with the thunder overhead.
In the back of the smallest tavern, in the secluded corner by the fire, sat a cloaked figure, clad in a sodden weather beaten hooded cloak. "The deepest shit hole of the universe," the rough voice growled just before putting the cup to lips and throwing the liquid down the throat. Slapping the glass back on the table, "and I stepped in it."
Boots clicked on the rotting floor planks. The innkeeper greeted the cloaked traveler, "sit by the fire and warm ye bones. Oh and, don't ye mind the company, queer one he is." Reaching beneath the counter he pulled out a bottle and shot glass. "How far ye come?"
"Many lengths, and plenty far enough for one journey." Slender fingers lifted the glass in the air. "To your health." Then glass met lips and the traveler threw its head back. The hood fell, exposing shining green hair and the skin of a pale face. Slapping a coin on the counter top, she walked to the corner. The men turned their heads and fell silent. She turned and gazed around the room.
"Forget them," said the rough voice. "Smooth flesh as pale as yours is blinding to their eyes. Many of them have not seen a cleansed female before." The woman turned and gazed at the one who spoke.
She looked at the hooded face, only the pale lavender skin of the mouth and jaw able to be seen. The cloak was spread out on the back of the bench. The figure was that of a small woman, or a girl as the traveler guessed. She winced as she took note of the burns, battle scars, and banishment tokens forever stained in the skin of the girl. "Who are you?" The girl suddenly shot up and launched one of the many silver daggers from her belt. A heavy man behind the tall woman choked and coughed on the blood in his throat and fell dead. "My thanks to ye," she said.
The girl crouched by the man, and jerked the blade out from the flesh then spoke, "only a fool turns her back on a room of drunken men. And you're the worst to trust a stranger." The girl sat with her back to the fire.
"Why?"
A leather bound hand gestured to the seat beside her. "For obvious reasons. What I want to know, is why someone as naive as you does not have an escort. What is your business here?"
"I am but a weary traveler."
"Hah! Traveler you may claim, but assassin is your true forte."
She shot up out of her seat, enraged. "Assassin?!" she spat. "Out upon you who are you?!" She shook her head, "it is of no matter to me. Good day."
A chuckle emitted from the girl's throat. "Be what ye will it... Desdelona..."
The woman whirled around, eyes wide. "How do you know that name?"
"Simple."
"Answer me true."
The girl removed her hood to reveal her face. Her eyes were that of a feline. Burns and banishment marks covered the side of her face, while on the other ran three long scars from her hairline to the corner of her mouth. "You should know, you summoned me two days passed."
"Amethyst..." Desdelona growled as she sat down opposite Amethyst.
"Has been a long time."
Desdelona shook her head, "I never met you until now. Though I did have the privilege of slaughtering your mother and father."
"So it was you who stole my mother's light." Leaning back against the wall, "but my father was a normal man. You would have had no quarrel with him."
She chuckled sinisterly. "Your mother did not reveal who your father was did she? Oh I so love to give ill news! Your father was the ever gentle Sapphire; the first to fall and shed his life blood. He gave his light to a valiant end. He forged a portal for your mother and yourself to escape me..." She paused as she watched Amethyst shake in anger. "After such he had nothing left to resist... I simply," she reached out as though for an unseen object. Her fingers curled around the air and slowly pulled it toward her breast. "I simply... took it. Then his life blood begins to flow from his corpse." She closed her eyes as to recall the memory, "ah... such a sweet nectar."
"Parasite!" Amethyst spat. "But do not worry, your time is coming."
"Yours before mine."
Amethyst shook her head, "I have foreseen it." Desdelona's sinister grin fell from her face.
Desdelona stood, "come with me," turning then speaking over her shoulder. "I was merely sent to guide the exile to meet my master. Bibi-Dee awaits you." She cast the hood over her hair, not waiting for the follower.
Amethyst stood, hesitated, anger still burning in her eyes, then she flipped the hood over her head and followed.
Desdelona led Amethyst through back alleys and across many jagged paths, to an old beaten down shack in the middle of dense jungle. The roof was concaved and leaking and the door hung at an angle from the bottom hinge. "Come in," a voice said from inside. "I've been expecting you." They stepped in the room and Desdelona bowed. The tiny creature of which Amethyst had never seen nodded from the opposite side of the small fire. "Greetings friend, do forgive my feeble hospitality."
"Heh, this is a palace compared to where I've slept."
He smiled and gestured to the fire then wrapped his blanket tightly around his shoulders, keeping his eyes on the exile. "Come, warm yourself. Do remove your hood so I may see your face."
Slender fingers drew back the hood to expose golden eyes surrounded by burns and banishment marks on lavender skin.
"You were beautiful once. I can make you so again."
"I don't give a damn! I could do the same."
"Changeling..."
She nodded, sat down, and warmed her hands. "The name's Amethyst, bounty hunter, assassin," she shrugged nonchalantly, "even a seductress if the pay is good."
"I see," he said slyly. "But what I have to offer is greater then any amount of money."
She stared him dead in his eyes, "I'll be the judge of that."
"Power..." he said greedily. Her eyebrows lifted as if in interest. "I can teach you. You will be feared throughout, just as Desdelona and I are."
"Hm... tasty offer. What else?"
"What else?!" reeling back. "Isn't that enough?"
She shrugged, "make it worth my while."
He cleared his throat, "a-hem! I'll increase my offer but once. For your services, I offer power, knowledge, and chances to test your skill. Money will be of no interest."
A bored expression fell over her face. Thinking then she shrugged, "I'll make my own profit. What's the catch?"
"No catch, I only want to know what you know, so I may begin your 'education' so to speak."
"What's the catch?" she repeated, forcefully this time.
"Hm..." smiling wickedly. "You've summoned a fiery one Desdelona. You will be rewarded.
You're catch... yes, there is a catch. Once the first word was spoken you were bound. None reside in my presence and live to tell about it. Either you agree or..." She lifted her chin as cold metal pressed into the flesh under her jaw. "Desdelona will make short work of you. What do you say?"
Folding her arms then tapping her lips she said. "Gee! Let me think, hmmm..."
"Yes?"
She dropped her arms, "of course yes."
Both Bibi-Dee and Desdelona smiled. The sword in her grasp was returned to its sheath beneath her cloak.
"You walk a forbidden path," Amethyst growled.
"Our ancestors knew not what they possessed. I am but collecting the pieces, and forming one."
"There can never be one..."
She smiled in the shadow of her hood then passed out into the rain.
"Forget her! Soon she will mean nothing." Amethyst turned to face him but her eyes glared out into the rain. "Look at me Amethyst." Eyes met and she found herself bolting to her feet; hands clamped on the sides of her head.
The room spun as the fire warped through shifting colors. She closed her eyes as the first wave of pain crashed through her mind's defenses. Whimpering though clenched teeth, she collided with the wall and slid down splintered planks.
Bibi-Dee rose to his fee, then walked around the puddles toward her. "The more you resist, the more pain you'll suffer." His eyes flashed making her scream. He threw his head back and howled in laughter, "my what a pathetic history you've gone through. Such a pathetic existence."
"Get out of my head!" she growled.
"Let me explain this to you Amethyst," eyes glowing. A sadistic smile spread across his face as he watched her quivering hand leave her head and travel in jerks to the daggers at her belt. "I control you willing or no. I could make your own hand take your life. Your greed has-" Her fingers curled into a fist and moved away from the pommel of the dagger. "What's this?!" He stumbled back as she smiled. "Heh! I don't think so. If greed is not your weakness, your hate will be my foundation."
She laughed, "hah! No man, woman, or child has given me reason for hate."
"None but two..."
"What?!"
"Your birth mother and guardian. You hate your mother's weakness, causing her end. And the lone survivor, Agi, for banishing you. And for nearly... killing someone. Who is it?" his smile flipped upside down. ~*So... the Supreme Kais have finally sent their second. A woman! Was this her choice? Why would she submit herself to my mastery at will? Wait...! Could she be? Ah...*~ The M glowed on her forehead. ~*No matter, she's mine now.*~
She felt him leave her mind though she knew she failed. ~*He knows.*~ She fell hard on her side, fingers lightly tracing her abdomen. Smiling inwardly, ~*about everything, except you. He owns my mind, my body, and soul. But he will never touch you.*~
His foot tapped her arm, "get up," he growled. "There will be no rest for you, not for a long, long time."