I do not own Malakai Black (damn shame), I only own the original characters. Please don't sue me (I don't have anything you would want anyway). Rated M for eventual language and glorious Smut! The story takes place in an AU.
Since I was about 5 years old, I have had the same reoccurring dream. I have had it every night since then, though some nights are more vivid than others. I'm in an in-between realm, I suppose the easiest way to explain it is to say that it is like the Christian belief of purgatory. There is a thick, grayish fog everywhere making it difficult to see my surroundings. I decide that I can't just stand in one spot forever, so I choose a direction to go in and start walking. I have walked in all directions in the in-between realm, choosing to take a new route each night. It doesn't matter which way I walk; the dream always ends up the same. I walk for an indefinite amount of time through the fog, and I can sense that I am not the only powerful entity there. Then I meet him. A man all in black, wearing a horned, skull mask that only reveals his eyes. His eyes are mesmerizing and there are times when I'm awake that I swear they are watching me. His right eye is white, with just a pin-point pupil that never dilates. His left eye is completely normal. I want so badly to ask him how it happened; does he have vision in the right eye, but I never do. What few parts of his skin that I can see are covered in tattoos. In all the years and the endless nights, I have had the dream, I still haven't learned his name, but he knows mine. There is a palpable electric energy between the stranger and me. In every instance of the dream the two of us have fascinating conversations. Sometimes the conversation centers around us becoming better acquainted with each other. Those conversations are almost a playful banter, never directly asking specific questions; we dance around them. As an example, one night during the conversation it turned to the subject of dreams. He inquired about whether I thought the evening meetings of ours were dreams or if they were occurring. I answered that I suppose it would depend on what he dreamed about. I could feel the actual crackling of energy between the stranger and I when he closed the distance between us and with a grin he answered, "I dream about you." Other nights the conversations are more philosophical. He seems particularly interested in the fact that I have dueling powers. It's what happened when my mother, the queen of white witches, fell in love with a warlock who practiced black magic. I was born with the knowledge of both types of the 'craft', a strange tug-of-war that I have had to learn to control. Most of the time I would identify myself as a white witch; but there is a darkness that simmers just under the surface. I know that the stranger has a definite dark power, leading me to believe that my darker side must be what draws me to him. Trust me when I tell you that white and black magic users have been warring with each other for as long as, magic has existed. I can never truly decide whether it is fact I am the current queen of the white witches or the fact I see the gray in between the two sides that he finds so fascinating. The dream's end comes at the conclusion of these conversations, the man and I part ways and then I wake up. My advisors constantly tell me that the dream is a warning, that the stranger will eventually show up in real life and that I should beware of him. It could be naiveté on my part, but I have never felt threatened by the man. I don't know if he is a real person or some character my mind made up. Hell, for all I know he could be my imaginary friend and I just never realized it. My advisors, while they mean well, sometimes they can be stifling.
I ignored their warning, until today. I could sense him; it was like he had a GPS tracker on him and the receiver to see where he was is in my head. I could feel him getting closer and the closer he came, the more tense I got. What if my advisors had been right and he was going to kill me? In my head I watched him walk into the building I was in. I waited nervously, maybe it was a coincidence; he could be here for another reason, it is a public building. Right? I heard my supervisor's voice and turned around to come face-to-face with my supervisor and the stranger. I couldn't move. I just stood there and stared at him, feeling my heart pounding out of control in my chest. Well, this was only going to turn out one of two ways so just like the dream I guess I'll just push forward. "Hi Mike, what's up?" I asked trying not to sound like I was full of panic.
"It's your lucky day! You know how we can never find a volunteer who wants to work in this department? Ta Da! Mr. Black came to volunteer and as I was reading down through the possible departments, he chose yours!" Mike responded proudly; I swear his chest even puffed out a bit. I couldn't very well say, 'Thanks, but Mr. Black has spent the last 19 years meeting me in my dreams and he may be here to kill me,' and ruin his moment. That and I'm certain Mike would have thought I was having a mental breakdown, because that sentence sounds insane! I also couldn't say, 'I'm the Queen of the White Witches and I don't exactly know what he is, but I can say he isn't human." Again, I would sound insane. I glance over at 'Mr. Black', only to see him looking at me in great amusement. Apparently, he knows what I'm thinking; how screwed am I right now? He chuckled but quickly passed it off as a cough. So happy I can amuse you.
"Well Mr. Black, you are aware this is the Anatomic Pathology department, right? I'm talking about autopsies, tumors, and other various nasty specimens. I'm not trying to discourage you from volunteering here, it's just that most people find they don't have the stomach for it and I would hate for you to end up ill." I explained in a way that Mike wouldn't think that I was purposely trying to get this man the hell away from me.
"That's quite alright, I have a very strong constitution, Katherine." He responded being sure to add my first name in there just to mess with me. Mike looked surprised.
"How did you know Dr. Matthews' first name was Katherine?" Mike asked curiously. Mr. Black laughed and pointed at me.
"It's written on her ID Badge." The stranger replied. His response even made me look down at my ID badge, damn it! "May I come in and start volunteering?" He asked while staring at me.
"Yes, of course, if you are sure you are going to be alright." I answered.
"I think I'll be fine." He said before turning his attention back to Mike.
"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Anderson. Thank you for leading me here as well, I doubt I would have been able to find it if not for your assistance." He shook Mike's hand and watched as he walked off. I opened the door and allowed Mr. Black in, figuring that Jennifer, my assistant was here so I should be safe. I reached my hand out to shake Mr. Black's hand.
"Mr. Black, this is my assistant Jennifer. She will be able to get you started on something that you can help with. Meanwhile, I need to type up this autopsy report. If you would excuse me." I walked behind him to get back to my desk, only to have him speak to me as I passed. I knew Jennifer did not hear him, he said it just loud enough for me to hear.
"It's nice to finally see you in person, Katherine. Perhaps we will have time to speak later." He didn't say it in a way that I would consider to be threatening, but I honestly knew I was trying to convince myself of that. I opted to pretend I didn't hear him and sat down at my desk. Occasionally, during the afternoon, I would know that he was looking in my direction. I didn't turn my head to look. The tension in the room was palpable broken only when Jennifer laughed.
"Guess what?" Jennifer asked. I had worked with her long enough to know the tone of voice she was using was reserved for questions she knew I wouldn't be thrilled about. She continued without me saying a word, "The police would like to know if the tox screen could be rushed for the gentleman who came in last night."
"I came in at 1 am! Do they think I can just 'Poof' and magically produce test results? Perhaps they would like the full autopsy report as well." I sputtered. "Could you send me the e-mail so I can respond to it personally?" I requested while trying not to lose my mind. While I understand that the police are trying to solve their case, they tend to not understand that all the testing took a little time and that theirs is not the only patient I am working on. I noticed him grinning. I'm certain it was because of my sarcastic comment regarding being magical. Trust me when I say that if I could use my magic to get these things done, I spend less time here at the hospital and more time on more frivolous activities such as having a social life or sleep.
"It should be in your e-mail right now, I just sent it. Just promise you won't get so snarky that I will need to come up with bail money for you." She chuckled.
"I will make my best attempt. Though you are ruining all the fun." I responded. I did my best to temper my e-mail response to the police detective who was apparently investigating the car accident that the deceased man had caused. Letting him know that as soon as I had the test results, he would be the very first person I sent them to, but not to expect them until Monday morning. I had been on call for four days straight between being the only Pathologist in the hospital and being a Medical Examiner for the county. I wasn't about to spend my weekend off working. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly and it was time to leave. Since Jennifer would be there for a little longer, I hoped Mr. Black would stick around. I was tired and didn't feel like trying to battle anyone for my life. I was not that fortunate. As I was walking towards the front door, he appeared beside me.
"Katherine, if I wanted to injure or kill you don't you think I would have done it during any one of our nightly chats?" He posed the question to me as we walked.
"I try not to assume anything, especially when up until a few hours ago I didn't know whether or not you were a physical being." I answered honestly. He grabbed my wrist and paused me from walking. His grip was surprisingly gentle, he wasn't trying to be forceful, just make me stop walking. I watched as he got close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck.
"I would never lay my hands on you…violently. In fact, if anyone ever hurt you, I would kill them personally." Violently. The fact that he had made the distinction processed in my brain.
"Then whet is the endgame here, Mr. Black? That is if that is even your name. What is it I can do for you?" I asked him, holding his stare. He chuckled.
"Malakai. Malakai Black, King of demons." He introduced himself. I slipped my wrist from his hand and laughed as I walked. King of the demons, of course that's who my mystery confidant would turn out to be. Just my luck, and did he honestly think I would believe a word about not harming me after announcing that? I reached my car, unlocked my doors, and got into it; only to find him sitting in the passenger seat already. I let out a sigh.
"You clearly are deranged, Malakai, King of the Demons. No offense, but I am very much aware of the history between witches and demons. It has never really worked out in our favor, so what makes you think I would believe that you wouldn't harm me?" I turned my head to look at him.
"You'll just have to trust that I am a man of my word." He said as he made eye contact with me. I laughed again loudly.
"What is it you want? You obviously did not just stop by to say 'Hi'. So, what brought you all this way?" I demanded, now feeling incredibly stupid.
"Come with me this evening. Put on a formal dress and accompany me. Trust me, Katherine." He spoke calmly. "I meant what I said, if anyone tried to hurt you, I would kill them personally."
"Is this your disturbed way of asking me out?" I asked in complete shock. He was the one to laugh this time.
"I want to show you something. You will be free to leave anytime you wish, let me prove that I mean what I'm saying." He said softly as he reached his hand up to brush some hair from my face. The contact made my heartbeat faster and something in his voice made me want to trust him even though every alarm bell in my head was screaming that I was being foolish.
"Fine. You'll show me whatever it is and then you'll leave me alone." I stated as I started the car. Apparently, I needed to change my attire. "I will defend myself, just so that we're clear." I added.
"I will leave you alone, if that is what you wish." He grinned. "I would expect nothing less from you, Katherine." Once we arrived at my home, Malakai sat in my kitchen, while I got ready for whatever it was that I was doing with him. Malakai had said formal, so I went ahead and humored him. I emerged from my bedroom in a sleek, form-fitting champagne colored dress that ended just above my ankles and had a slit up one side up to my lower thigh. I chose matching heels, diamond earrings and a pendant that had a protection sigil etched into the backside. I may be foolish, but I wasn't suicidal. I wore my hair up and had done my make-up. I grabbed a purse a slipped a small dagger into it, because again, I'm not suicidal. Malakai looked up and smiled. He let his eyes linger on my body. "You are stunning, even more than I imagined you would be." He held out his hand for me to take. The moment I took it we were suddenly in the long hallway of what I assumed was a gothic manor. Classical music filled my ears as he escorted me into a grand ball room, decorated all in red and gold. We entered the room and every noise except the music stopped. A ball. He brought me to a ball where every guest was a demon. Now they were all staring at us, staring at me. Malakai paid no attention to anyone and led me to a bar at the opposite side of the room. Handing me a glass of what I assumed was champagne, and all the noise started again. Obviously no one wanted to object to my presence. I managed to take one sip of the champagne before a random female rushed up to Malakai excitedly. She snaked herself around him, ignoring me.
"Malakai, I need to warn you. I just heard someone saying there is a witch in the building." She cooed while pawing at him. She suddenly noticed me standing on the other side of him. "Who are you?" She asked venomously. I wasn't impressed.
"I'm Katherine, the witch you were so bothered by. I would ask you your name, but I just don't care." I smirked at the demon. Turning my attention to Malakai. "It appears as though your girlfriend is jealous." I gave him a tight smile and gave him a pat on his shoulder. "Good luck with that!" I said as I walked away. Once I was safely back in the hallway, I transported myself back to my home. The second that I saw the female demon with her hands all over him, I felt jealousy. The twisted part of it was that I had no reason to feel jealous. I had no relationship with him. I also was angry about how stupid I felt. I certainly had no desire to spend another second with the man who decided to invite me to make his girlfriend jealous. I got undressed and climbed into bed. I had a restless sleep, with no visit from Malakai. He was probably either still trying to peel her off him or was afraid I would kill him. I got out of bed, sitting at my kitchen table like it was perfectly natural for him to be there was Malakai. I walked right past him, "Finished chatting with your girlfriend already? She seemed really nice." I said sarcastically and shut the door to the bathroom. I came out after a shower and found him still sitting there. I went about fixing my breakfast and I heard him let out a frustrated sigh.
"If I wanted her, I could have her." He announced.
"Oh, trust me, she made that abundantly clear last night." I retorted. Milliseconds later he was pressed up against my back.
"I said, if I…wanted…her." Malakai growled softly near my ear. His breath hot on the back of my neck. My heart pounding in my chest, I could feel the heat radiating from him. He was way too close and yet I couldn't get my feet to move away from him.
"What do you want?" I asked shakily. The smell of his cologne filled my nose and was almost intoxicating. I jumped when I felt his lips against my bare shoulder, sweeping up the side of my neck.
"You, Katherine. It's always been you. You and I can do so many things, you just need to trust me and let yourself go. I won't hurt you unless that would excite you. Let me stay with you this weekend, let me show you how well I will treat you. Say 'Yes' Katherine." He whispered in my ear. I was sure that had he not been so close to me, I would have dropped to the floor. I felt my head drop back onto his shoulder. "Say 'Yes'." He repeated. I felt like I was drugged, but I knew I was completely sober.
"Yes." I said, but I could barely hear my own voice. I felt him smile against my skin.
