Part 3
"Damnit!" Ray fought the urge to strike futilely at the stone wall of the cavern – his frantic search of the crypt had revealed a trapdoor and a steep set of stairs leaning into a cavern with an underground pond. He'd walked the perimeter on both sides as far as he was able but there was nothing, no hidden passages, no indication of where Florian had been taken.
Unless… Ray held the torch he'd taken from one of the cavern's wall brackets aloft and frowned at the water. The surface was perfectly still and there had been no wet rocks to indicate Florian had been tossed into the water.
A faint ripple skimmed the surface of the pond followed by others, larger and faster. Ray shoved the torch back into its holder and pressed himself into the shadows. After long minutes of waiting, a section of the cavern wall on the far side of the pond slid down like a drawbridge and a series of large rocks rose to the surface of the water. Ray blinked in surprise as Eleanora emerged. Staying hidden, he watched her move to a section of wall beside the stairs and press a section of wall. Nothing seemed to move on the wall, but the door slowly rose and the stones slid back under the water. Without glancing around, she ran lightly up the steps into the crypt.
Ray listened carefully, straining for any sound from the crypt above and thanking his luck that the opening had closed on him, so she wasn't alerted to his presence. Counting slowly, he gave her a full five minutes to be far enough away before he took up a torch and sought the section of wall she'd pressed. It took a few tries, but he finally pressed the correct section and felt it give just slightly under his hands. The door appeared far too slowly for his liking and he had to fight the urge to race across the slippery stones to reach it.
The doorway led to a long hallway that sloped downwards and ended at an elaborate ironwork gate. There was a beautifully furnished chamber beyond and seated on the large bed with his back towards Ray, was Florian. He was looking down at something Ray couldn't see.
"Get over here and open this gate," Ray demanded. "I'd like to get out of here before your crazy fairy returns."
"Ray…" Florian sounded odd – his voice deeper than usual. Almost as if…
"He's rather busy at the moment," Eleanora called out, leaning to the side from where she knelt between Florian's legs so Ray could see the fluid glistening on her lips. It took Ray a moment to realize it wasn't a trick of the light – that the fluid really was red.
"What are you doing to him? Stop it." Ray gripped the gate and shook it with all his strength, venting his frustration and testing the gate's strength. It was fastened too well to force; he'd have to pick the lock.
"You're a monster, just like them," Eleanora said scornfully. "Dirtying something as pure as my prince." She did something out of sight that caused Florian to gasp, then rose gracefully, leaning over to give Florian a deep kiss before pressing him back onto the bed. The blond went without a struggle and Ray frowned at his compliance.
"This is what I've been waiting for. All those years, being a plaything of the monsters but now, my prince of the light will purify me." Eleanora held up a tiny thimble-sized silver cup moving close enough for Ray to see that it held a dark red liquid, most likely blood given that Florian's trousers had been removed and there was a crimson stain on his thigh.
"My prince will fill me with his essence and I will be purified. Our union will give rebirth to the light you've tainted. Dear Florian's noble sacrifice will be remembered far into the future." With a smile of pure malice, Eleanora lifted the cup and drank, her tongue darting out to catch the last drops.
Ray shoved his hand through the ironwork and tried to grab her but Eleanora danced away with a laugh.
"He's mine!" Ray shouted, pulling his hand back and shaking the gate again. He kept shouting to distract her as he tried to pick the lock but she hardly seemed to notice him. Instead, she was climbing onto the bed over Florian, stretching herself over his body and rubbing herself against him.
"I'll prove he's mine," she shouted back as she gripped Florian's hair and kissed him hard. The blond responded weakly, lifting his hand and placing it limply on her back but the hand fell away as Eleanora rose up, her hands tearing at Florian's clothing.
"They kept me here, in the dark. Trapped by monsters who claimed they loved me. My mother tried to free me once, to send me away so she could have Theodore to herself again, but he caught her and killed her. We drank her blood, right here on this bed while her body grew cold in the coffin beside us. And then Theodore tried to take away the light forever. But I remembered my prince of the light, my Florian, and I knew he could come back for me and save me."
"Save you at the cost of his own life?" Ray scoffed as he continued to work the lock. It tripped with a loud click and he swung the gate open and flung himself at the girl before she could untangle herself from the bed. He stopped short when he saw the flash of a silver dagger at Florian's throat.
"You're the one who tainted him. It's you who've killed him. I'm merely ending his torment. But not until I have what I've waited for all these years."
"And what is that? His blood? His seed? You'll birth his child and taint it just like you were tainted? He's not the impure one, you are. You with his blood on your lips."
"He was promised to me! He came to that glade where I rested on my last day in the light and I knew it was a vision of the one who would save me. It's his fate and you can't change it!" Eleanora shifted, the knife pressing deeper against Florian's throat, starting a thin trickle of blood.
"Neither can you, little girl. You speak of monsters and impurities, but you lie there atop your precious prince, who you've drugged and drained of blood. You can't force someone to save you anymore than you can separate those who have been joined by fate." Ray spread his arms, trying to draw her anger and attention away from Florian's vulnerable form. "That's why you'll never be able to separate Florian and I."
"You're wrong!" Eleanora shrieked, drawing back the knife and throwing it away, while she lunged forward, teeth bared and sank them into Florian's neck. She bit him hard, savoring the tang of his flesh and blood, just the way Theodore taught her when they feasted on her mother's flesh.
"Leave him alone!" Ray grabbed her roughly and dragged her away as Florian tried weakly to push her off. Ray dragged the girl towards the coffin, ready to shove her inside if necessary but Florian's weak cry stopped him.
"No. Ray, please. Don't hurt her." The struggling pair watched as Florian struggled to his feet and staggered to them, holding onto furniture for support. He could barely stand and his eyes seemed unable to focus, but he approached Eleanora with a forgiving smile.
"My little fairy," he whispered, touching her face gently, tears filling his eyes. "I dreamed of you so many times. If only I could have saved you…" Tears streamed down his face but he continued, struggling for words. "I'm no prince. I cannot save you, not even if you drank every drop of my blood. My soul belongs to Ray, little fairy, and even my death won't change that."
Unsteadily, Florian leaned forward and, biting his own lip to make it bleed, pressed his bloody lips to hers for one last taste. When he pulled back, his eyes were only on his master.
"No!" Eleanora shrieked, shoving Florian away, not even noticing when he staggered and almost fell. Instead, she lunged at Ray, one hand raised, her thumb activating the hidden point in her signet ring. She'd already used a small portion of the powerful drug on Florian but she intended to empty the chamber into Ray, hoping wildly that it would kill him. Instead she was caught and pulled back roughly, tangling with Florian as they both fell hard against the coffin.
It took a few seconds for her to untangle her limbs but a point of pain in her chest stopped her struggle. She lifted her hand, already knowing what had happened. It was the laughter that surprised her.
"Eleanora?" Florian asked, confused, as he tried to help her to her feet.
She looked down at him, kneeling before her and shook her head, still laughing as tears filled her eyes and finally overflowed. She felt giddy and lightheaded and wondered if that was truly the effect of the drug she was feeling, or something else entirely. She slipped the now-empty ring off and dropped it before reaching out to touch Florian's face.
"My prince," she whispered, and her heart fluttered in her chest. "I dreamed of you for so long." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She held it as her heart slowed then dropped silently to the floor, her heart making one last effort before it stilled.
"Eleanora!" Florian half-fell onto her as he tried to gather the motionless girl up in his arms. Too weak, he had to settle for embracing her and pressing his head to her chest. "Ray, she's not… I don't think she'd breathing!" Frantic he looked up at his master, begging for a miracle. Ray's expression made his blood run cold.
"Leave her," Ray demanded, leaning down to grip Florian's arm, using that hold to pull him to his feet. Ray grabbed a blanket from the bed and draped it over Florian's shoulders, not willing to wait even the short time it would take for Florian to get dressed.
"Please, please. We can't leave her."
With a growl, Ray grabbed Florian and pinned him against his chest. "She's beyond help. Leave her. I'm taking you out of here now."
"We can't. She might be. Please." Florian was sobbing incoherently, struggling to get to her but Ray held him firm and pulled him away. When they reached the gate and Florian was still struggling, Ray gave an irritated snarl and pulled away just enough to land a solid punch. Florian dropped gracelessly and Ray spit out a string of curses as he lifted the inert form, wrapping the blanket around Florian as best as he could, one-handed.
The trip up out of the cavern was a bit easier when he found Laila, Jacques and Charlotte waiting by the underground pond. Ray refused help in carrying Florian but he did direct Jacques and his servant to Eleanora.
He sent Laila and Charlotte on ahead to ask the cook for tea and broth for Florian, saving himself from their endless questions at least temporarily. He didn't intend to relate this story more than once so Laila could very well wait until Jacques was back and Ray had had a stiff drink or three.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"He's still sleeping," Laila reported with a sigh as she settled into a stiff-backed chair in the parlor where Ray was sitting alone, working his way through his third glass of whiskey. The others had finally given up on asking him questions and had scattered to deal with what had happened in private.
"Does he know?" Laila finally asked the one question everyone had avoided until now. She watched as Ray's jaw tightened and wondered if he'd answer or simply order her away. She was surprised when he took up the whiskey bottle from the convenient place beside his chair, poured a measure, and offered her the glass. She drained it and handed the glass back with a nod of thanks. Ray simply poured another measure and drank it himself.
After a long silence, Laila rose and moved quietly towards the door. She was almost there when Ray spoke.
"I hope he doesn't." He didn't tell her how he'd dragged Florian away, hoping the drugged man didn't realize that he'd caused Eleanora to stab herself with the drugged ring. He didn't have to.
When the fire burned down and the bottle was empty, Ray finally left the parlor and made his way through the solemn silence to the suite where Florian lay sleeping. Ray let himself in quietly and undressed using only the firelight to guide him. He slid into the bed beside his Amethyst and pulled the warm, pliant body close. He was almost asleep when he felt Florian's lips against his own. He expected the salt of tears but he didn't expect the tang of blood. Ray pulled back a little, studying Florian's face in the dim light. There was something unreadable in those amethyst depths but then Florian reached for him and the something changed to a much more familiar expression of desire and need.
"My master," Florian whispered, the words offered as reverently as a prayer. It was affirmation and absolution and Ray responded the only way he could – by pressing his Florian down and claiming him.
::end::