A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Sirenic Griffin for giving me the push I needed to get back on top of this story.
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The lips of the woman twisted into a strange grimace, something almost like a smile. With surprise and a certain amount of morbid curiosity Damis stared at the woman. The cloak covered all but the woman's mouth, which continued to grin in an eerie Cheshire cat like expression. Still Damis stared, unsure of what to do and captivated by the mysterious woman. A pale hand reached up and slid back the hood of the cloak, and for a moment Damis lost all sense of time as his mind reeled and thoughts faded.
His mind's eye caught the glittering of a wolf pendant hanging from the woman's throat, now fully visibly, the red eyes seeming to glow. Dark purple eyes gazed at him from within sunken eye sockets and for a second Damis thought he recognized the eyes.
A stumble backwards woke Damis from his strange sleep. The woman smiled, though the expression did not reach her strange purple eyes.
"Welcome home, my son."
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Xerxes continued to trail Fassad down the long hallway, seemingly endless corridor of black marble and red carpeting. Fassad looked straight a head, and Xerxes looked about, trying to find a door to somewhere. Abruptly Fassad stopped and stepped to the side in time for Xerxes to stumble past him.
Hiding an amused smile Fassad turned to the wall and made a quick sketch upon the stone, while Xerxes continued to peer down the hall. The noise of rock pushing against itself caught Xerxes attention as Fassad entered a plain square room. Once Xerxes was inside Fassad quickly turned and with a slight smile closed the room, leaving Xerxes on his own.
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Ice cold hands took Damis's arm and led him through the door and into a grand foyer. A shadow padded towards the woman Damis looked down at it, his breath catching in his throat at the image of the huge wolf that now stood by his mistress, eyes glowing.
"Don't be so surprised Damis." the woman's voice was sharp and a slight lilt of amusement echoed in her voice. Damis looked over at the woman, now able to fully study her features in the light.
"Where's Amira?" Damis demanded, something in his heart telling him she would know. She laughed, a low laugh that was almost a cackle.
"What a way to greet your long lost mother." she sighed. "Come I have prepared a feast in your honor."
She led him towards anther door, this one wood and carved with intricate images of wolves and other predators of the night. Within there was a table upon which was spread foods of all kinds. Damis felt his stomach rumble and wondered how long they had been wondering within the underground caverns.
"Eat my child, and let me explain." the woman led him to a chair and she herself sat opposite him, her purple eyes appraising him.
"Perhaps you have already guessed at who I am. I know you're clever. The ring, your mysterious appearance on castle grounds. I have been waiting for this." she smiled and paused to take a sip of the red wine that had appeared in front of her.
Damis avoided her eyes as he answered. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice showing his confusion and a hint of denial.
"My son…" she began. "This is what I have been waiting for. Sending you to King Bahram, your father." she paused and let her words ring. "All for this."
Damis looked up, daring himself to gaze into her eyes. At once the purple irises locked his gaze, glittering in the candles which were placed on the table. Within those eyes he saw what she meant and he shivered at the idea. A name formed on his tongue and slowly he said the word.
"Dameer."
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Wild eyed and fighting her captors with strength and fury, Sahar was brought to the holding room where eleven other maidens were kept. Amira gasped and rushed towards her friend as the guards threw Sahar down, glad to be rid of her be rid of her biting and kicking. The wall closed behind them as the eleven maidens rushed after Amira to Sahar's aid.
"Where am I?" Sahar asked, her voice cracking slightly. Malakeh fetched a glass of water, which Sarah took gratefully without looking up. As she drank she glanced up and saw the motherly face of Malakeh and coughed, spewing water out of her mouth in astonishment.
"But you…you were …" she stuttered. Malakeh smiled and put a finger to Sahar's lip.
"I was taken the same as you, and the same as Amira and the other girls here. Dameer wants something from us, and now I think she may have found it." Malakeh replied.
"Dameer?" Sahar asked. Malakeh nodded.
"A sorceress, the one who imprisoned us here. I heard the guards speaking earlier, and I think whatever she plans to do, she has the means to do so now." Malakeh faced the rest of the girls as she spoke.
"What?" one of the youngest asked her voice small and unsure.
Malakeh smiled ruefully. "We will soon find out."
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Dameer smiled back as she thought of her encounter with her son. He was clever, no doubt, but she would have her use for him before he even knew what was happening. A distinct rapping on the door distracted her from her thoughts and sighed before turning around as Fassad entered the room.
"The prince?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. Fassad smiled.
"Taken care of my lady." he replied, with a faint smile on his lips.
"And the chamber?" she asked, her voice more pointed and her eyes narrowing.
"Also ready my mistress." Dameer smiled at the thought of what was to occur. Soon her wildest dreams would be reached and no one could stop her now. A small voice in the back of her mind murmured one name. Damis… She ignored the thought, knowing he was taken care of.
With a waft of her hand she dismissed Fassad, who retreated behind the doors and into the darkness. Her lips curled in a slight smile she turned to the wolf who sat besides her, her pale hand rhythmically stroking his head.
"Not long, Sayad. Not long now…" she murmured to the wolf. The wolf's yellow eyes narrowed in response and his tongue rolled slightly in anticipation. Striding across the room with Sayad at her heels she ran one pointed finger along the rows of books on the bookshelf. Carefully she selected a weather worn copy, the pages ripped about the edges and the paper beginning to yellow with age.
As she pulled the book out it automatically opened to the desired page, the spine heavily creased from constant viewing of the same page. With one clawed finger she slowly ran her hand down the list. Everything was clicking into place.
Truly nothing could stop her now.
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Authors Note:
I think these are still allowed.
Anyway, I'm sorry if this seems to match up weird with previous chapters. It has been a while since I last was involved in writing this, so forgive me if some things seem inconsistent. I know I was going in a certain direction at the time I stopped writing this, but since I never write anything down, I need to kind of start over again. Let me know if you notice anything really major however, so I can fix it as soon as possible.
And a big thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! (Next goal…80 reviews. but don't worry, I'll probably update regardless. and its only ten measly reviews anyway!)
May you always be inspired and may you never be cursed with writers block:
Aedin