Gwenyth Stevens - Daughter Of Darkness Part 4

I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that one of the faeries that Pallo and I had pa.s.sed on my way in would hear. I was past scared, I was p.i.s.sed and in pain. Power surged inside, rus.h.i.+ng through me and las.h.i.+ng out at the troll. It flew backwards and landed in the stream.

I rolled over to try to stand and came nose to nose with an even uglier troll. I frankly had never seen a troll face to face before and didn't think it could have gotten much worse than the last one. Guess I was wrong. Before I could defend myself, he clamped his nasty jaw down on my shoulder, tearing my skin. Unbearable pain suffused me, and I cried out. It shrieked and lurched back, receding from my line of sight. I dropped to the ground.

"Are you all right?" a soft male voice came over my head.

I looked up behind me and saw a tall man standing there holding a bow and arrow. From where I lay he looked upside down, but I don't think it mattered what way you turned him--he was beautiful. I rolled onto my stomach and looked up at him. He was angelic, but before I had a chance to fully take him in, he knelt beside me and lifted me to my feet with one hand.

"Follow me, quickly," he said. When he let go, my body weight came down onto my throbbing foot, and I cried out. The bow and arrow man grabbed me around my waist and lifted me with one arm. He carried me over the bridge effortlessly. He kept turning us round and round, checking for more trolls. He carried me through the large green bushes and into a clearing. It took my breath away to see the field of flowers from my dreams right before my eyes. He stopped in the center of it and set me down onto the ground. I managed to stay standing, but I had to lean on him for support. He was around six four and was thin, but well defined. When I said he was angelic, I wasn't kidding. The man was so gorgeous that he bordered on androgynous. If he hadn't been wearing a pair of tight blue jeans that cupped his groin, I wouldn't have known if he was male or female.

His hair was as long as mine and was so blonde it was almost white. He had the front half of his hair tied up and away from his face. The rest lay behind his shoulders, hanging straight down his back. His skin was identical to mine--pale and flawless. He didn't look to be a day over the age of twenty, but neither did I, so who was I to judge? I looked up to find him staring at me with wide dark green eyes that seemed to glow.

"Your eyes."

He bent down on one knee before me. "I'm Caleb." He kept his head bent, and his hair trailed onto the flowers. "I'm at your service, my lady."

"What are you doing? Get up. I don't think he pays you enough to do all of this."

He rose but didn't look at me. "Who doesn't pay me enough for what?"

I smiled then. This was so good. I had to admit, having the troll bite me was a little over the top, but the rest was truly authentic. "Pallo.... The troll thing was a nice touch."

"I know Pallo, and he does not pay me for my services. I don't answer to anyone. And the trolls you refer to were not staged. They tried to kill you." His gaze finally met mine, and suddenly, he too looked like he was staring at a ghost.

I was tired of getting the look-how-spooky-you-are treatment and wanted desperately to have the nasty troll bite cleaned out before it got infected. "Cut the s.h.i.+t, Caleb. What's going on? Why are you running around here with a d.a.m.n weapon? Where's your band of merry men?"

"Listen. I tracked the trolls into this realm. I didn't know why they were headed in this direction. But now I do."

"Please, just come to the point. Why me?" I asked.

"Trolls are creatures of the Demon World. Someone must want you pretty bad to recruit those things to do their dirty work." He came closer and touched my wound. "We need to clean this before the poisons go through your system."

"Poisons? What? What's the Demon World? Why would someone need to get me?" I had many more questions, but only managed to get those few out before he picked me up in his arms like I weighed nothing and started to walk through the flowers. They parted for him as they did in my dreams so many times before. I knew this place. My sleep had introduced it to me long ago.

Caleb headed for the river running through the center of the field. We came to the bank of the river, and he didn't hesitate, he just stepped onto it. When I say onto it, I mean onto it. This was too much--a hot babe who walked on water. From where we stood, it looked as though we were crossing over to an endless field of flowers, but we didn't end up there. We ended up stepping through and into a large white courtyard.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Glamour" was his only response. I had done enough reading on faeries to know that Glamour was the term used for faerie magic. I didn't question him any further. What had been a dull pain in my shoulder was quickly getting worse. I felt stomach bile rise into my mouth, and I was suddenly glad that I hadn't yet eaten.

"Caleb...," I said, just before my body went into shock and I began convulsing.

Chapter 6.

I woke to the sound of birds chirping in the background. I was lying on a bed of green leaves. I was not in a room, but rather a garden of sorts. Gra.s.s covered the ground, and pink and yellow flowers wove their way in and out of the trellis-like walls. I sat up and saw that my shoulder was bandaged and I was still wearing all of my own clothes. I twisted my body and let my arms touch the soft gra.s.s. My sandals were lying next to me, and two tiny b.u.t.terflies were sitting very still atop them.

I slowly pulled myself up. A wicked pain shot through my shoulder. I made a mental note about avoiding troll bites in the future and walked toward a small opening in the flowers. Beyond the trellis lay a thick mist so dense, I couldn't make out if there was ground there or not, so I didn't test my luck. I turned around to examine my surroundings.

Wherever I was, it definitely smelled of peace and tranquillity. A tiny iron table sat in the center of the garden, and atop it sat a tray of fruits in an array of colors so vivid, I thought they were wax. Starving and hopeful, I picked up a bright yellow pear and bit into it, enjoying the sweet, smooth taste unlike anything I'd ever purchased at a supermarket. The juice ran down my chin and neck, and I wiped it away, walking around the garden, looking at the flowers.

"How are you feeling, Gwyneth?" Caleb's voice came from behind me, startling me.

"How did you know my name?" I raised an eyebrow, meeting his gaze.

"That's easy. You talk in your sleep." He smiled, setting my mind at ease.

"I'm a.s.suming by my surroundings that you're a good faerie, and that I'm not in the Demon World."

He looked surprised. "You a.s.sume too much. You are right about this not being the Dark Realm, but we aren't in the Realm of the Light either. To a.s.sume that I'm good would be foolish." He walked towards me. I noticed that he had changed his clothes and was now looking a little more comfortable in a pair of loose blue jeans and a white, long sleeved s.h.i.+rt. His hair flowed loose around his face, spilling past his shoulders down to his waist. Under normal circ.u.mstances, it would have looked good only on a girl, but he pulled it off somehow.

"If I'm not in either place then where am I?"

"You are on neutral ground."

"Of both Realms?"

"Yes." He was almost close enough to touch. "This is a safe haven."

"You didn't answer my question about where you are from."

He laughed and said, "You are safe now, and alive, what does it matter?" He had a good point, so I left it alone. "Are you hungry? We could go grab an early breakfast. I know a great little diner that serves the best pancakes."

"They have a diner here?"

He laughed at me. "No, but I don't spend all of my time here. This is just a magical safe haven, if you will. I knew you would be safe here."

"I'd like to get a rain check, please. I've had a snack, and I'm under a little stress right now, so I don't think I'd be very good company." I looked at his green eyes, and I wanted to be near him. I wanted to touch him.

"What do you mean, you've had a snack?" He stepped closer to me and saw the fruit on the table. "I didn't put that there."

I walked to him and let my hand brush up against his soft, white s.h.i.+rt. A small bit of his chest peeped at the top of the s.h.i.+rt, and I let my hand slide up to his bare skin. His heart beat fast. Without thought, I ripped his s.h.i.+rt open. He grabbed my wrist tightly, frowning at me.

"The fruit was tainted." He tried to gently force me to back from his s.p.a.ce, but I didn't budge. I snuggled my body closer to his and pulled on him. I knew he was stronger than me, but he allowed himself to be pulled towards the ground anyway.

"Stop, Gwyneth! It's a l.u.s.t spell." Caleb was looking down at me, begging me to fight this.

"l.u.s.t spells only work on willing parties," I said as I planted my lips firmly on his. I forced my tongue into his mouth and felt his welcome me. My fingers ran up and twisted themselves in his hair. Juice from the pear had still been on my lips and now I could taste it on his. He tried to pull away from me for a moment then gave into his desire. I was pulling his bottom lip with my teeth. He pushed me back.

"This can't happen."

"Name one good reason why."

"Because we've been down this road before," he said, his voice low, haunted.

I had no idea what he was talking about. My body didn't care. "Then what's stopping us now?" I said. I tore off Caleb's white s.h.i.+rt and threw it aside.

Caleb didn't answer, but lifted my black tank top over my head and cupped my b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands. He slid them down my sides, making me jump. His entire chest lay exposed to me now, and somehow, I had ended up completely on top of him. I slid my head down his body, kissing his tight chest all the way. Reaching the b.u.t.ton of his jeans, I stopped and worked little circles on his skin there with my tongue. He made a small noise, and I took that as a sign to go on. I worked his pants off him, kissing his body more as I tossed them aside and stood to remove my own. I slid them down my legs and kicked them off of my feet.

Caleb pulled himself away before I could trap him beneath me. I dug my fingernails into his arm, trying to hold onto him. He reached down and picked up our clothes. I let out a small cry as he put his pants on, and then started on mine. I didn't want to be dressed. I wanted to be used by him. I wanted to have Caleb touch me and do things to me that no other man had ever done. I whimpered as he lifted my foot to put it in each pant leg, and then pulled up. His hands slid on my thighs. I felt him spending a little too much time near my hairline. He still wanted me, I could feel it. He snapped my black capris and started to rise. His face brushed past my naked breast on the way up and I let out a cry. I could see him straining from touching me. He continued to dress me like a baby doll.

"Whoever did this used powerful magic, and you are still under its spell. I am over four hundred years old and should not have been so easily affected by it." He was pus.h.i.+ng out on my good shoulder, trying to keep me at arm's length. "I'd love to spend eternity with you, as it was once promised, but I can't do that to you."

Our bodies were close enough that I could tell he really did want me. I could feel how hard he was, even with two pairs of jeans between us. I tried pulling his face towards mine but he kept pulling away from me.

"I need to get you to Pallo. He will need to know about this," Caleb said, trying to pull me towards the white mist.

"Pallo who?" I asked.

He shook his head slightly and told me he was sorry before he lifted his hand and used his magic to knock me out cold.

Chapter 7.

"Why in the h.e.l.l did you take her with you? You should have called me." Pallo's voice was booming so loudly it was echoing through the entire house. He was standing in front of Caleb with his fists balled tightly.

I sat very still on the edge of the bed in Pallo's room, trying to keep the focus off of me as much as possible. I looked around at the decor. It was done very contemporary. The walls were a charcoal gray. The room had an amazingly grand fireplace in it. The room had a large zebra print area rug covering the floor. Pallo had to have spent a fortune on that--the room was ma.s.sive. Spotlights ran from floor to ceiling on what resembled metal ladders. Some funky spiral iron sculpture sat near a black door. It was not the door we had come in, so I didn't know where it went. There were two identical black dressers on both sides of the bed--which was unbelievably enormous. If you took two king-sized beds and placed them side by side, then extended it at least two feet further, you'd be in the ballpark of this thing. Red satin bedcovers ran across it. There was no headboard, only a mound of white and red pillows of all shapes and sizes. Sheer, charcoal black curtains hung on rods that went all the way around the perimeter of the bed. The curtains were pulled to one side, exposing the bed to all prying eyes. The guy had taste. I was impressed.

I heard Caleb speak, and I looked up at him.

"She was attacked. I cleaned her wounds. You have nothing in this fortress of yours to cleanse troll bites, I'm sure of that. Would you rather I brought her to you to die? Isn't that getting a little old?" he asked in a bitter voice. He was standing near the entrance to the room with his back to me. His long blonde hair seemed to soak up the lighting in the room and cast it back out. He was still a sight that took my breath away, and I was beginning to wonder if it was because he was a faerie or if it was just the l.u.s.t spell.

Caleb wasn't the first faerie I'd encountered. There had been one other, a man. He would appear to me often throughout my childhood, always watching me, never speaking. I'd been struck by a car once, a drunk driver, and the mysterious man with the long black hair and navy eyes had come to my aide. He healed me and repaired my bike. I was not s.e.xually attracted to him at all. Caleb, on the other hand, I was drawn to and I had no idea why.

I wanted to go back to my apartment, clean up, and try to forget that any of this had happened. I wasn't loose Lucy and making out with strangers wasn't something I did. I felt humiliated and angry with myself for succ.u.mbing to the effects of a d.a.m.n fruit. Sharon would die when I told about this, and Ken would go mad.

Ken would also be mad when he found out that I scored a big fat zero in the information department. My rankings were moving up considerably in the falling head over heels for strange guys area. At least something was headed in a northerly direction.

I watched Pallo. His body language s.h.i.+fted, turning aggressive--scary. Lightning-fast, he advanced on Caleb with his eyes burning black and fangs extended. I sucked in a breath as his hand brushed toward Caleb. Caleb simply put his hand up and shot his power out to hold Pallo back from him. I could feel Caleb's power moving through the air in the room.

He was old, and he was powerful.

Pallo's body pressed against an invisible force. His eyes seemed to grow even darker. I was scared of him.

"I'm sorry, old friend. She was to be mine, remember that. It was my bed she ran to, and I failed to protect her. I have lived with that guilt long enough to not want to go through it again. I will not stop her next time. I love her and will not refuse her. She is the gift that was promised to us. This time around I will not stand by and do nothing as she chooses you." And with those parting words, he walked out of the room.

They couldn't have been talking about me. I'd just met them--we had no history. Whoever they were talking about was definitely a source of contention between them.

Glad it's not me.

Pallo's eyes still burned black when he turned to me. I let out a gasp and backed away up the bed. He stormed across the room and put his face near my legs. "Clean up--I can smell him on you."

I sat there, frozen, terrified. He s.n.a.t.c.hed hold of my upper arms, and I winced as pain shot through my troll bite.

"I said CLEAN UP!"

I tried to cover my face with my hands, but he wouldn't let go of my arms. I looked at his black eyes and saw his face changing before me. Fangs showed as he snarled. I turned my face from him and screamed. He was upon me before I knew it, his teeth sinking deep into my neck. It should have hurt, but it didn't.

Instantly, my mind was thrust elsewhere, into a dreamlike state. I tried to hold onto my thin grasp of the here and now, but I failed. A dark room rose around me, formed of stone. I could tell that the walls were stone because I was chained to one. My naked back was rubbed raw from hanging there so long. It was so dark I could only see a few feet in front of me. Rats scurried about. A furry shape brushed against my foot, but I didn't care. I was more concerned with what else was in the room with me. I could feel that others were near me. They were evil--I was terrified.

A vampire with long black hair came from out of the darkness. I could not make his face out. Something was running over my eyes and blurring my vision. It reached my lips and from the coppery taste I knew it was blood-my blood.

Through my blurred vision I saw the man turn and gesture to three other males. They were also covered in blood. I knew that it was my blood that covered their bodies, and I knew without a doubt that they were going to kill me. They were going to take turns biting me until I hadn't a drop of blood left to drink. The thought of Pallo filled my head as they started to feed off me, and he was all that helped me keep a thin grip on reality. I cried out for him. I wanted his strong hands to pull the chains from my wrists. I wanted to have him hold me in his arms. He didn't come.

The vision left me and my body wilted with Pallo still clamped on my neck. He jerked his head off of me and I saw that his eyes were brown again and he no longer looked grotesquely disfigured. He now looked horrified.

"Gwyneth." He was still holding my arms tightly. I could see little droplets of blood falling onto my lap from the bite on my neck. Pallo looked down at his arms and released me. My body limp, I fell back on the bed like a rag doll.

"I lost control. The smell of his body on you was more than I could stand." His voice was small now--weak. He was leaning over me, stroking my hair, trying to brush the wrong away.

A s.h.i.+ver ran through me as my body grew cold. I didn't care that he had fed off of me. I didn't care that my body was going numb. I didn't care about anything.

"You are going into shock." He took my sandals off and started undoing my pants. When he had pulled them almost to my ankles, the vision of being chained to the wall came back to me. I started to scream and kick my feet at him. He held tight and pulled them the rest of the way off. I was fighting him so hard that he had to put me in a type of headlock to get my s.h.i.+rt off. He lifted my still flailing body off of the bed and carried me to the bathroom.

The bathroom was almost as big as his bedroom. It had a large black whirlpool tub in one corner, a stand-up shower, and in the other corner sat a toilet. Two sinks appeared to be suspended from the ceiling by black chains.

Pallo laid me down on the cool white floor. I lay there, unmoving. I wanted to curl up but didn't have the energy to bother. I heard water running in the tub. Steam rose, filling the room like a blanket of fog. It touched my cool face. It was so warm and welcoming. I felt Pallo's hand slide under my legs and arms. He scooped me up and carried me to the tub, submersing me in the steaming water. It was so hot--too hot. The feeling of wanting to get away rushed back into me, and I punched at Pallo's chest and scratched at his face. I hated him at that moment. I hated him so much. He didn't come for me. He left me there. He pinned me down in the water and looked at me.

"Forgive me." He had tears pouring from his eyes. I hit him one last time across the face and caught my nail on his cheek, tearing it open. Seeing blood dripping down his cheek brought me back from the edge of my madness. He grabbed hold of me as I sobbed.

"You never came." I had no idea why I said what I did, but felt relieved for having gotten it out in the open.

Pallo held me to him in the bath. I could feel my body starting to warm again, and I noticed that he was in the tub with me fully dressed.

"It was just a dream," he said. I knew he was lying. It was too real, too vivid not to have happened.

"What's happening to me?" I asked, sobbing.

"I do not know," he said, sliding behind me in the tub.

I could feel his wet jeans and s.h.i.+rt under me. His large arms wrapped around me, comforting me--soothing me. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was the only one wearing no clothes. I was having a h.e.l.l of a night. I'd seen the remains of a coworker, had gotten attacked by trolls, almost slept with a faerie, and was naked in the tub with a vampire. Yeah, that pretty much summed it up. I was screwed.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against Pallo's body.

"May I wash your hair?" It was a simple request he was making, and I had always wanted to have someone do that for me.

I nodded. His strong hands lifted my shoulders up effortlessly. With the utmost of care, he slid my hair loose and ran his fingers through it. I could feel the lather building up. Each stroke was making my body tingle ... and burn for something more.

"Rinse," he said softly.