Hey everyone! I know it's been forever! It's kind of been a crazy two years- I moved cross country twice, started a new career, left said career, and got married! So I left my fan fiction on a back burner, but I'm pulling it back to the front again :) I'm sorry for the wait, and I hope ya'll start reading it again. I promised I'd finish this and I will! I'll post another chapter next week. Heads up though, this story is going to get a little dark, so I'm debating upping the rating to M, or just warning you all at the start of a chapter if there is "mature/dark" content. Let me know what you think/ prefer. So second heads up, the end of this chapter has some mature content, right after Fi and Dorie wake up.
And, for the umpteenth time, I own nothing! NOTHING! :(
That should cover it. Enjoy! Please R&R even though after two years I don't deserve it.
Fi and Dorian stood amongst the ancient ruins. It felt different than before, they could actually feel the power of them. To Fi, it was almost as if it were calling out to her. She breathed in deep and felt at peace, Deygan could not reach them here.
"I don't know if Smythe can be trusted," she warned.
"And he acquired this place?" Dorian verified.
"Yes," Fi paused, closed her eyes. "But we can't be harmed here."
"Fi-" he started.
"We can't Dorie," she turned exhausted eyes on him. "It's like she's telling me. For now, this is the one place we can be safe."
He pulled her into his arms, "I hope your right, love. Do you think it would be safe for you to sleep here?"
She smiled, relief on her face, "Yes! It's why she guided us here."
She watched the strain that seemed permanently etched on his face fade a little. He leaned forward, buried his face in her hair, just held her for a moment, whispered, "We'll come here every night, love. He won't touch you again."
"It's okay, baby, it's going to be okay, somehow," she tried to soothe as she forced back tears and held on to him.
He was always so strong, and with everything that was happening to her, it was so easy, too easy, to forget that he was going through it too. That he was hurting just as much, if not more. She couldn't imagine watching him be hurt and worn down and hunted, over and over again with no choices but to passively stand by and offer comfort. He wasn't a passive man, but circumstances denied him action. She wished she could hand him Deygan on a silver platter, let him decimate the man. It would give them both some peace. But she knew deep within, he could never defeat the monster, trying would only kill him. Only Untise could end the demon. She prayed she could keep Dorian safe until Untise found a way. He wouldn't like it. But Fi just couldn't survive losing him.
He pulled back, "Before you can rest, love, there are some things you need to know."
"What?" she asked, apprehensive, as he guided her to a low long stone that they sat on like a bench.
"Will came by before you lost… "He cut off, pain and regret lancing across his face, choking him for a moment. "Just… before… there are rumors going around. He's been struggling to substantiate and verify rumor from truth but he hasn't made much headway. Still…"
"What is it baby?" she pressed, cupping his face in one of her small hands.
He took a deep breath, and launched into what he and Will suspected, leaving none of it out.
Fi took a deep breath, her hair- which was still brown, she hadn't cared enough about anything since… she just hadn't cared enough to do anything with it- shimmered white, her brown eyes deepened softly to black. Untise stared back at him, though she kept hold of his hands anyway.
"It is possible for them to pull me out, and yes it would destroy Fiona," she said in her strange accent, an odd cross it seemed between West Indian and Arabic.
"I don't understand," he replied.
"Deygan. He blamed my magic for our fall out. He thought that if he could strip me of my magic, that it would be easier for him to force us back together, so he found a way to do so," she explained. Then added sadly, "He was a good man once, but that man is no longer in him.'
"So how will it destroy Fi?"
"Two souls are not meant to reside in one body. It is possible because of magic, my magic. If my magic were to be pulled from us, this body could no longer contain both of our souls. Mine is far more ancient and therefore far stronger. It would take over, destroying Fiona's. It would be neither of our choices, within neither of ours control. It would simply happen," she explained, regret in her eyes.
"And with Fiona's soul gone, her magic would be also. You would be left defenseless against Deygan. He would force the two of you to be together," Dorian summed up.
"And so much more," she continued. "He is desperate for power. He would consume the world of magic, and then the mortal world as well, ruling it with a cold and cruel hand, with no force capable of stopping him. It is why, centuries ago, I directed my host to come here, to seek out the Natives of this, then untouched, land. They lived with a purer magic, untainted by man's greed. That gave them the power to help me contain him. If it weren't for the council, he would have stayed contained. At times I regret it. I destroyed the purity of the native's magic, and that can never be undone," she finished sadly.
"You don't want to come back?" he asked, with trepidation. "With Fi out of the way, you could live again."
"No," she said with a laugh that put him at ease. "I lived my life, and, mostly, it was a good life. I neither need nor want another, and not one that is not mine own. I want to be at peace. My soul is trapped, bound to the mortal world millennium after millennium, until Deygan is vanquished. That is my curse, my atonement. I hate this half-life, I yearn to join my family, sisters, my sons, and their descendants in the afterlife.
"Until Fiona, I never inhabited a witch strong enough to end him. So I settled for trapping him, binding him from the world. And I accepted that I would to be bound to forever reincarnate. I wish he had not broken free. And yet, now that there is chance to find peace, I admit I relish it."
"Will she survive it?" Dorian asked, his voice tight.
Her face was sad, pained, "I think so, yes… But you… you will not. You come from an ancient, and powerful line, an evil line."
"Yes, I know," he muttered, his jaw almost locked with tension. "I've paid for that, for most of my life."
"And you've payment yet to come. There is no happy ending for you Dorian, whatever path you choose. That is your curse, your atonement. But Fiona, she may know happiness yet. You were born to be a monster," she said harshly, and watched him actually flinch, "And yet you are a good man, you choose to be a good man, every day. Deygan can take that choice from you."
"No," he all but snarled.
She sighed, stroked his cheek, almost maternally, "So fierce, so determined, it is good, she will need that, we will need that. But it will not be enough to overcome Deygan. I am sorry, my child. If I could spare you, give you the happiness you've earned, I would. You will understand soon.
"Your blood is evil, but your heart is good. Let it guide you. Let your love for her direct your choices. You will not have happiness but you will have peace. It is all I can give you."
"I do not understand," he told her shaking his head, trying to absorb all she had told him, he felt overwhelmed- a rarity for him.
"No, but you will," she told him, giving his hand a squeeze. "Before you rest, you both mush go to the alter. A vision quest awaits you both. It, I hope, can grant you some clarity."
He hesitated, "Fi almost died the last time-"
"Because she was not ready, because she did not want to face it," Untise cut him off, slicing her hand through the air. "She will not run this time. She will not be weak this time. She is ready to know. And so are you. This must be done. And this time, the quest will make her stronger."
"Does she know what we've discussed?" he asked.
"No. I will leave you to tell her what you think she should know."
"Thank you," he told her earnestly.
"You have always done what is best for her, I am counting on that in the days to come. I am sorry my child, that I cannot be more fair to you," she rose, kissed the top of his head, walked a few feet away. "We must all sacrifice for the greater good."
Before he could comment, her hair faded back to brown. She crumpled to the ground.
"Fiona," he breathed, rushing to her, she was barely conscious. He brushed her hair from her face, whispered, "Love."
"She kept me back for so long," her voice was weak, she couldn't keep her eyes open. "I feel so-"
"Sshh," he murmured, lifting her into his arms, "I'll take care of you. Always."
He carried her over to the alter, her body limp in his hold, and laid her by it. Dorian collected the necessary elements, placed them with the corresponding symbols carved into the alter. He conjured a knife and laid himself out so Fi was mostly in his arms. Raising her arm up with his, he scored both their palms open. Linking his wounded hand with hers and settling himself with her, he placed their bleeding hands in the center of the alter. He held tight to Fi, though he felt as if the ground had been yanked out from underneath him, as if he were being pulled into the alter itself. The sensations were in his mind, he knew, so he closed his eyes, and embraced the Vision.
Dorian jerked awake, pain and panic coursing through him. He yanked himself away from Fiona. He was shaking violently, his stomach heaving. He stayed, a few feet from Fi, on his hands and knees, dry heaving and unable to stop. He was grateful he hadn't eaten in a while. Finally, he pulled himself up so he was on just his knees, his body still shaking as images played through his mind. A sob escaped him, and he couldn't stop the lone tear that ran down his cheek.
He swiped at it in irritation, and struggled to calm himself. He needed to be in control. Fi needed him to be in control. Untise had been right, there was no happy ending for him, no happy ending for Fi and him together. As he slowed his breathing, unaware that he was rocking back and forth slightly, he came to the realization of what he would have to do. Though he knew how bad it would hurt her, that it would destroy her, he also knew it was the only option that would save her. Untise was right, he loved her too much to make any other choice.
He would never be able to thank his mother enough. It was the purity of her blood that gave him the strength to resist what neither his father nor their ancestors could. It was that blood that would save Fi. He crawled over to her, ran his hand over her hair. She looked at peace. He would ensure she found that peace.
With a gasp, she jerked up. Dorian steadied her, unable to make himself speak. She looked at him, happy tears running down her face.
"It's going to be okay, Dorie, everything is going to be okay," she breathed, cupping his face in her shaking hands. "I saw them Dorie, I saw our children! It was all so happy and safe, we're going to get there. Our children!"
Your children, not mine, he thought, his heart squeezing with anguish.
He didn't answer her. There were no words he could give her right now that would not be a lie. He had only one truth. His need for her.
He felt desperate as he pulled her to him, his mouth claiming hers in feverish want. His hands running over her, claiming her, marking her. He wasn't gentle, he didn't have gentleness in him this time.
"Dorian," she gasped, as he trailed kisses down her neck, nipping with his teeth, his hands squeezing at her breasts.
"I need," he gasped, beyond control.
He had never acted with such abandon, with such carelessness. It made her want him more.
"Then take," she told him, her eyes fluttering closed- he would not hurt her.
He shoved her back, greed in his eyes, she was still his. Too impatient, he waved a hand and her clothes disappeared. She lay before him, gloriously naked, goose bumps spreading over her bared flesh. She panted, her own sudden need clear in her eyes. He threw a hand out, the logs they had prepared earlier catching fire as his own clothes disappeared. And then he was on her.
His hands and mouth raced over her- touching and tasting, stroking and grasping. God! He never wanted to stop as she writhed and begged beneath him, as he drove her mad with desire. And as she gave, he took, both the animal and the man inside him demanding more. There would be no gentle, no slow. Tonight, he would demand all she had to give, and he would give back all of himself, until they were both sated, until this fear filled love-lust abated, and he could control himself again.
Unable to deny himself further, he grabbed her thighs, spreading them wide, angled her hips.
"Dorian!" She gasped as all the pleasure and need he had built in her snapped, racing through her like a wild stampede.
His eyes were fierce with smug satisfaction, and as her body convulsed with uncontrolled pleasure, he slammed into her. She cried out, and as the warmth of her encompassed him, he had only one thought.
Home.
Deygan stood at the edge of the man-made valley, looking down, rage and disgust filling his face He watched them, rutting like wild animals. Their naked, sweating bodies, slapping together as that bastard drove himself into Untise, over and over. To his mind, there was no Fiona, only Untise. How dare that creature touch what belonged to him. She was his property dammit, no one else's. If ancient magic hadn't bar him from entering this place, he would have slaughter that disgusting excuse for a man right now, right in front of her, violently. And while he was still soaked in the creature's blood, he would hold her down and rape her, over and over again until she begged for his forgiveness, until she remembered how to behave. And she'd have no one to blame but herself! He didn't wish to be cruel to her, but she left him no choice! He'd make her see that, make her understand that she made him hurt her! It was her fault, dammit! All her fault!
She cried out in pleasure, panting, squirming as she begged the bastard for more, begged with abandon as if she were no more than a lowlife prostitute. Deygan lost control, thunder crashing loudly around him as his anger and disgust mounted. He thought they had learned! They hadn't touched since he had taken their baby! He thought that had been enough!
She would pay. The next time she slept, free from this cursed place, he would go to her, and by the gods, she would beg for death before he was through. By the gods, when he was finished punishing her, she'd never let the bastard touch her again.
The creature would die, and the whore would pay. In the end, he would have all that he had ever wanted.