SQ: Sorry for the late posting! (Okay, the very VERY late posting.) Work and life got in the way... you know how it is. Anyway, here's the next installment of my story.
[Chapter 13: Seal Her]
Raven struggled, pushed, shoved out with her mind, wanted to scream, shout, curse to the heavens and send Hoarfrost to hell. But she couldn't. So she stood, rock still, and glared.
Hoarfrost titled Starfire's chin up. "You are very pretty, you know."
"I do not wish to speak to you any longer." Starfire lips tightened.
Hoarfrost grinned. "Fine, you don't need to speak if you don't want to. I'll just let you in a few little secrets. You heard Raven's moans, right?"
My moans? Heat seared Raven's cheeks. Had she been talking aloud? Shouting, even? Starfire glanced in her direction but Raven couldn't hold her gaze, skipping to Hoarfrost's form instead.
The woman scraped a fingernail across Starfire's cheek. "Yes, those lovely cries as my spell pulsed through her… it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory of distant past. A very strong memory at that, if it allowed her to speak while inside it."
Starfire tensed. "I will not pretend that I was Raven's only love. She has had others before me. You, being one."
A fierce pride surged in Raven. Yes, Starfire looked at her in horror, but she understood. She had to know it meant nothing, that night, that time, with Hoarfrost. Nothing at all. But even so, fury boiled in Raven, searing away the pride. Fury at Hoarfrost gloating. Fury at the spells cast. Fury at herself for allowing this woman to walk right into her life once more.
"Now, lets amp up the fun, shall we." Hoarfrost turned to Raven. "Raven, I want you to put Starfire in her room, seal her inside, and then come back to me."
"Then that is what I shall deliver."
Raven walked over to Starfire, and waved her hand. The dark magic hummed around her love. The magic responded to her fury, thrumming, aching to be free of the twisted shape and crash into the target of Raven's anger. Starfire noticed, eyeing the dark strands. Raven slipped the magic above Starfire's hips and allowed her to rise. Starfire could walk beside her now.
Raven then took Starfire by the arm and dragged her into the kitchen, into the hallway, into Starfire's room. She struggled against the spell holding her in place, rock solid next to Starfire. The bright walls seemed to crowd her, but Starfire's presence calmed her. She motioned for Starfire to sit on her bed. The mattress creaked under her thin frame. But Raven did not slip her magic back down to Starfire's feet. Instead she glanced down at her love.
Starfire's green eyes met hers. Her lips no longer trembled. Her gaze seemed strong, determined. Powerful. "What would you like me to do, Raven?"
But Raven couldn't answer. It wasn't in the parameters set down by Hoarfrost. She couldn't say anything.
Starfire glared at the door. She balled her hands into fists, bright green energy glowing between her fingers. Raven twitched. Not that. Not yet. Not now! Hoarfrost was too much for Starfire. Star would only get hurt… or worse. And it would be Raven's fault! Her heart raced, thudding against her chest. Sweat traced a path down her back. How could she tell Starfire to stop? Raven couldn't bear it if something happened to Star. Not because of her… she couldn't bear it.
Hoarfrost's spell halted Raven's actions, but Hoarfrost hadn't anticipated the sheer force of Raven's current power. How even before Hoarfrost's containment spell, Raven's darkness ached to be free. Thrashed against a cage. Spun out of control more than once. Because of Starfire. Her powers could be controlled, but not for very long. And not while something threatened Starfire's life. Nothing would stop Raven then. So her darkness lashed out, twisting against the spell. A thin line darkness leaked from Starfire's ropes and webbed out in front of her. Starfire glanced back at Raven. "Not yet?"
The web pulsed. Starfire eyed it. "Why?
Raven's power spun outward from the web, spearing the bed, the end table, the ceiling, the mirror with darkness. It glowed a deep purple in the center, formed a hulking mass and loomed over Starfire.
Yet, she didn't back down. "She is too big? No." Starfire narrowed her eyes at Raven. "Too powerful?"
Relief, glorious relief swept through Raven. Yes, Hoarfrost would be more powerful than Starfire, more powerful then the whole team. Hoarfrost leeched Raven's magic and added it to her own, after all. She would be, until their connection broke. But how would she tell Starfire that?
Again her darkness answered. It sucked itself into a single thread in front of Starfire and sliced apart. Starfire's gaze skipped to Raven's hand.
"I must figure out how to sever the connection she has formed with you."
Yes! Her darkness seeped back into the ropes binding her love.
The emerald energy between Starfire's fingers dimmed. "Then I will."
Raven couldn't stay much longer, shouldn't stay much longer, and yet… A whisper of magic seeped out of the rope by Starfire's left shoulder and slid across Starfire's cheek. It was the best Raven could do, for now, to comfort her love. And to thank her.
Starfire titled her head into the magic's caress. "I know. Go. Or that woman will begin to wonder why you took so long."
And so Raven, unable to resist any longer, turned and marched out the door. She closed it and flexed her hands. Darkness twisted around her fingers and crisscrossed over the door, sealing Starfire inside.
SQ: Short right? I know. It's been one of those crazy months where I can't squeeze in much writing. On a happier note, though, I should be returning to my regularly scheduled postings by next week! Until then, happy reading. (Comments, critiques and suggestions are always welcomed.)