Chapter 8: Nightmares & Kisses

There was blood everywhere, it was in her hair on, her clothes, pasted to her skin. As much as she tried, it wasn't coming off. There were bodies all around her. He kept making her kill them. She didn't want to kill anymore, why did she keep killing them? Her mind as numbed by the pain.

"Time for another test Godchild." His voice, it chilled her to the bone. There was no emotion to it.

"Please no more. No more." She whispered.

"You will do as I say or Imoen will die." Immy, that's why she was doing this. Who was Imoen again? -Immy, friend closest thing to a sister, have to save her.- She pushed herself bad to her feet leaning against the wall of the room. The monster was staring down at her from above, watching, monitoring her as if she was some insect to dissect. -No he won't kill me yet.-

The door opened across the room, she didn't make a move for it she had learned what happened if she tried to escape. A man was pushed through, his clothes in tatters and as dirty as she was. Something inside bothered her as if she should know him. She tried to think but it hurt, it hurt too much. The man in question was a Half-Elf, his hair was too dirty to know it's true color, when he saw her his eyes widen.

"A-anni? Y-your alive? W-where are we?" He asked her. She covered her ears trying not to hear him as he continued to talk to her with an increasing stutter. It was harder to kill them when they talked. His eyes where wide as she started the spell. She couldn't remember the name of the spell anymore, she could remember how to do it and that's all that mattered. When she finished the spell, the man screamed trying to block out the sound.

-Wail of the Banshee, that's what it's called- Blood seeped from his ears as he fell forward.

"J-jaheira." Was his last word as his life left him. She stared at the corpse. -Oh god, Khalid. What have I done?- She scrambled over meaning to resurrect him before it was too late. Before she could reach him a hand grabbed her by the hair.

"Such a bad little girl. You know not to try that." The creature pulled her back. Pale skin and horrible taste in leather clothing, she watched too. "I guess I get to play with you and your little friend again."

"No, I'm sorry. Leave Immy alone please, I won't do it again please." She sobbed. The creature just smiled and laughed. "No, no, no." She kept repeating it over and over again, knowing that they wouldn't listen to her anymore.

---

It was several hours later when Edwin was finally able to go head back to the inn for some much needed sleep. Normally he would be asleep already, not wanting to risk himself being tired the next day and getting himself killed, since every time they went somewhere, someone was always trying to kill them. He would have been in bed hours ago if it wasn't for a certain armor-plated monkey with large enough fists to compensate his minuscule brain.

He resisted the urge to touch his swollen eye or to play with the empty hole in his nose. Due to what he had awakened in, he had to purchase new robes (along with a new spell book since his was missing) and bathe about twelve times before he was satisfied that he was clean enough. He had taken out all his piercing in order to properly cleanse himself and hadn't bothered putting them back in. As he made his way back he heard someone crying and repeating "No" as if it was part of some mantra.

Normally he wouldn't even have stopped, but he knew the owner of the voice. He considered ignoring her and just go to bed. It was no good, he felt drawn to her. He found her on her knees, her hair spread everywhere, and her hands over her ears. She was rocking herself back and forth, her whole body shaking with her sobs. He reached out to touch her and was shocked when she screamed. She scrambled away from him her eyes wild as she looked at him.

"No more, please no more." She sobbed as she started to chant a spell. A spell that would kill him if she finished, he realized, his eyes widening with horror. He did the only thing he could think of that wouldn't hurt her. He grabbed her hands and silenced her with a kiss.

The kiss started out as a way to quiet her (it wasn't that he wanted to kiss her), but when she relaxed into him, her lips parting under his, he couldn't help himself. He kissed her as he had been wanting to for a long time. It was with his first taste of her came an unpleasant realization.

Anni was drunk.

He pulled away from her and she stared back at him with fear in her eyes.

"Get away before he makes me hurt you too."

"Anni look around it's just you and me." She rubbed at her head as she started to cry again.

"Please don't let him hurt me any more Eddie. I don't want him to touch me ever again." She buried her face against his neck. He held her against himself not knowing what to say to comfort her.

How long he held her like that he didn't know. When she finally finished crying, she lifted her head up to look at him. She just stared at him. "Where's your nosering?"

"I took it out.(She tries to kill and all she asks is where my nose ring is!)"

"Oh, I like you better with it. It makes you look cute."

"I am a Thayvian wizard. I do not look cute."

"Yes you do. What happen to your face? Here let me fix it." She raised up and placed a kiss on his swollen eye. He felt warmth seep into his skin, the same warmth that came when she healed with her magic. "All better!"

"You can heal with a kiss? (I wonder what else she can do with her lips.)"

"Yep, I can do a lot you don't know about. Do you have any other piercings? Like hidden ones? I use to have something pierced until Gorion freaked out about it." She stuck out her tongue, on it was a faded ghost of a piercing. She smiled at him. "Simon has several you can't see with his clothes on. He has his nipple pierce and here too." 'Here' was the organ in his body that was all his blood saw fit to rush to as her hand rested on it.

She kissed him again, this time on the lips as she pushed him down on the grass. For once Edwin didn't have any sarcastic remarks or anything to say at all. Most likely this was caused by the lack of blood in his brain. Anni straddled him and propped her head up on her elbow staring down at him.

"I have an idea Eddie. A really good one."

"What? (Must remember she's drunk. Getting hard to think...)"

"I want you to trade in your year of service and-" She leaned down to whisper the rest in his ear. Half the things she whispered he didn't think she knew about and the other half he was sure they were physically impossible. He didn't move and neither did she. It took him a while to realize she had passed out on him. He started to laugh to himself. She was going to drive him nuts, if he wasn't already.

---

The next morning Anni woke up with the worst headache. She moaned as she sat up, her eyes blinking at the overly bright light. When she could see without wanting to tear her eyes out, she looked around the room and blinked.

"Edwin? What are you doing in my room?"

"You are in my room."

"How did I get in your room? I didn't do anything did I? Simon and Imoen always say that I go crazy if I get too drunk."

"How much do you remember?"

"Simon and I were going to drink the alphabet, I got up to R and I needed some air. Then..." She rubbed her forehead. "I had a bad dream. That's about it." She gave him a weak smile. She stared at him as he moved the chair he was sitting on in front of her and sat down. He was at eye level with her as he stared at her.

"I believe it's time you tell me the truth of what happened while Irenicus had you." She stared at him, he wasn't his usual self at all. There was no trance of the sarcastic Edwin this morning.

"I told you already what happened." She did not want to talk about this.

"Anni, I know you're lying." He sighed and ran a hair through his hair. She was getting scared now, Edwin was worried about her? "I want you to tell me the truth, not the lies you handed Anomen." He held up his hand when she tried to talk. "Imoen told me about your childhood while I traveled with you. You did not have the happy childhood you painted."

"She had no right to tell you. Gorion didn't even know half of the stuff that went on. I never told him about how much everyone hated me. I always thought that if he knew he would start hating me." She glared at him. "Why do you care what I tell people anyhow?"

"Anni, answer my question. What happened? (I won't have her sidetracking and I'm definitely not going to answer that question)."

"I couldn't protect Imoen, I tried so hard, I tried to do everything to help her. I don't know why I thought that he would do what he said. Irenicus learned that death and pain don't frighten me, at least not enough to hurt others. He used her against me, if I did what I was told he wouldn't hurt her. I love Imoen, I would do anything for her and she would do the same for me. I didn't think that he won't keep his word. I was so stupid! If he wasn't torturing me, he was making me kill people. It was them or Imoen and if I didn't kill them he would. Slowly."

She stared down at her hands. "He made me kill people, I was in so much pain, I didn't know who they were and didn't care I wanted it to stop. I kill Khalid, Edwin. I kill my own friend. When I tried to resurrect him, he gave me and Imoen to her creatures to entertain themselves." She spoke the last part in a rush and it wouldn't until several hours later that Edwin would understand what she meant. She turned away and ran to the door to leave the room. She made it half way before his arms pulled her back against his chest.

"It's not your fault. I would have acted the same way if it was Teacher Dekaras or someone else I cared for.(I knew I should have never left her. She could barely take care of herself half the time.)"

"Edwin, you're starting to scare me, you're acting nice."

"Considering you almost killed me (Then propositioned me with the most interesting erotic acts I've ever heard of) I decided to give you a break. Though not for long."

"I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I should just leave, I don't want any of you getting hurt." He turned her around and shook her.

"Anni you are not a martyr, stop acting like one all the time. No one would be here if they didn't want to be. You can't save everyone. No is so disgustingly good as you. So you don't have to keep trying to make up for what happened."

"Disgustingly good?" Her lips twitched.

"Quite. Do you realize how many times I've been called a "hero" while traveling with you? I'll never be able to show my face in Thay without getting laughed out." She smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you Edwin. I'm glad at least one person won't blame me for what happened. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I will endeavor to keep your oh so sacred secret.(If you think I'd let that whiny knight know, you would have to be out of your mind. I can see it now. "Prithee my lady of my heart, let me fight for you in thy stead" He'd probably get himself killed. Wait that's not such a bad idea.)" She laughed and walked out of the room.

---

Anni had finally got cleaned up and was very happy to be back in her mage robes. She couldn't believe she had told Edwin anything. Edwin of all people and that he listened without one remark. She strangely felt better, a lot better. She had never considered telling anyone what had happened.

-Oh I can see it now, Jaheira I killed Khalid to save my own worthless hide Oh and to protect Immy which didn't work.- She snorted like that conversation would ever happen.

She was busy braiding her hair when Simon came in. From the looks of him he had a hangover too.

"Good morrow, my nymphetamine."

"I wish you would stop calling me that. I am not a 'woman a man gets addicted to.' You know that annoys me." He chuckled as he took her hair from her and finished braiding it for her.

"You know I like to tease you. I regret I'm leaving soon."

"I wish we could see each other more often."

"I doubt Jaheira would enjoy that. As I recall, she couldn't stand me as a child."

"Couldn't be because you cast a spell that had her and Khalid in their room for over a week could it?"

"You would think she would thank me for that. You people are so weird. Speaking of weird, I'm going to be in my real form when I leave."

"Oh joy this should be interesting."

----

Anni couldn't help staring at Simon as she said goodbye. He was in his true form, it was... different. His golden hair was in small tight dread locks, his skin had changed from it's golden color to a deadly pale and his eyes where pure black as where his lips. He had also put his piercings back in, which included both eyebrows, one in the center of his bottom lip and most of his ears and when he talked there was a flash of silver. His hands had also changed, they seemed thinner and slightly longer, the nails were black and filed to points.

If that wasn't enough to give him an evil appearance, his clothing finished the job. He wore all black, the material was similar to leather but was more flexible. His top was tight almost straining against his skin, there were three sections that left his chest bare, revealing his pierced nipples and another place his stomach bare, showing his navel ring. The sleeves covered his whole arm and were hooked on his thumb. The bottom of his attire was nothing more than layers of the heavy black material forming something that looked like a skirt. She knew without question that in the layers were different implements of torture, including knives, hooks and chains.

"Ah to be in my own form at last." Simon smiled as he cracked his neck. "Oh forgetting something aren't I?" Anni rolled her eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned forward. In a spray of blood black wings emerged from his back. Simon smiled when he saw the looks on the faces of her friends.

"What are you?" Anomen gasped. Simon just looked at him then Anni who shook her head.

"Oh come on Anni, I never get to scare anyone here." He didn't seem so scary as he begged the much shorter half-elf.

"Fine! Don't blame me if anything bad happens."

"I, unlike my nymphetamine, I am a full god. Though like her I am a god of the darker pantheon. I will not tell you my true name only that I am the god of tortured souls. I am the one that administers eternal pain to those that no god will take and believe me there are many." He smiled at Anomen's expression. "I still lead the Virrcans who were once my people. Do not allow my duties to reflect on your opinion of them."

"If you are a god how did you grow up with Lady Anni?"

"Ah that. I grow bored every so often, when you live as long as I, you see almost everything. I was told of what Bhaal had done. I took an interest in the children and decided to see how it would play out. That is why I assumed the form of an elf of Faerun. I found most of them boring same old destruction and what not. I came across this one and alas I found myself drawn to this brat and cared for her as a sister."

At that moment there was a rumble of thunder, Simon sighed and yelled. "ALRIGHT! I'm going! You know these guys are so damn impatient. They can't stand me being here for too long." He hugged Anni and started to kiss her goodbye.

"If you care for her as a sister why go you kiss her as a lover." Anomen had just had to open his mouth.

"I care for her more than you could ever understand. How I kissed her is my business."

She just looked at him, a slow smile coming over her face. "Anomen, Simon is a good friend, but honestly it's not me he would like to kiss goodbye. Would you care to see who he really would like to kiss?" Anomen looked around the only other female was Jaheira.

"If no one else has a problem I see why not." No one else seemed to have a problem.

"So, I can kiss the one I really want to?" Simon raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching.

"Go ahead, Simon. No one will say anything, right?" Anni smiled brightly. Simon shook his head and walked towards Jaheira, at the last second he turned and took Anomen in his arms and kissed him full on the lips. Anomen tried to push him away but the Virrcan was strong and he found out first hand that Simon's tongue was indeed pierced.

Anni was laughing so hard she almost fell, Jaheira was also laughing as she had known about Simon's tastes. Simon let Anomen fall and walked over to his friend.

"Not as good as I would have thought. I do wish you would have let me kiss the wizard, he looks more promising." Edwin had been chuckling but stopped as soon as he heard this. He suddenly wished for thicker robes or something as Simon looked him over. "Now time to go I guess."

Anomen had gotten back to his feet and was red in the face. "You should have told me he enjoyed such perversions, my lady." He spit on the ground. Simon stiffened, his back ramrod straight and Anni was silent. The next thing Anomen knew Anni's fist rammed right in to his face knocking him on his ass again.

"Don't you ever dare to say something like that again." She hissed as she pressed the end of her staff into his neck. "Simon is more a brother to me and Imoen than you will ever know. I will not allow anyone to talk to him like that!" At the moment Simon was trying to back her off. His arms and wings were around her as he spoke in his native tongue soothing her. When she finally relaxed he let her go.

"Anni it's ok. I've heard worse. Geez I swear only you and Immy act like this." He gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I'm getting out of her before I cause anymore problems. Don't forget to kill Irenicus real slow. I cannot wait until I get my hands on him, I plan on asking for his soul and will enjoy showing him what real torture is." Something akin to a dreamy expression came over his face as he smiled. He then walked to the barn where others where standing, he turned and waved as the barn and the Virrcans disappeared.

"Let's go." Anni turned and walked off, leaving Anomen on the ground.