by D L Goddard
He whispered his love to her and she felt the wave of such warmth and richness, that Anya could only sigh. Suddenly the flames grew fuller and wilder as Mir and Val joined the blend. They wove in and out of one another. The three men wove around and around the central core of indigo flame that was their whole world.
“I brought your soul mates to join us now. We are your world my Anya. You are the most precious wonderful woman and we love you more than words can say. Your heart is so tender and so pure that we feel stronger just by being around you. I know this is the last time we will ever be together like this again. But I wanted to have us share you one last time. Open yourselves my friends. Don’t be afraid to show Anya how you feel for her. Anya will need all her strength soon and she will need our love to face whatever comes.”
Anya felt fear at Arahir’s words, wondering what he meant, but suddenly, she was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of such pure love that she had no words to express how much these three men really felt about her. Tears formed in her eyes as she felt wave after wave of pure love wash over and through her. By the time it had ended, tears glittered like diamonds in her eyes and they were themselves once more.
Arahir then shared his plans with them, and the full tragedy of what Seren demanded was shown to them. Anya spent time to come to terms with all that was needed and her tears had flowed until her heart had finally found acceptance. She knew the truth, acknowledged its necessity and had asked Seren to help her play her part. It was impossibly hard, but they vowed to do all they could to help the Keeper rid the worlds of the evil Enchantress. The Beast kissed his beloved one last time enjoying her taste and scent as she gave herself wholeheartedly to him. He memorized her beautiful face, knowing this memory was all he would ever have now. He had taken as much time as he dared and he had to return to Lirima’s side.
The twins and Anya were returned to their cell carefully explaining all that was going to happen and had happened to them while they had been missing. Only the twins knew the intimacy shared between Anya and her Beast, but that was not needed to be told. Only what Arahir wanted everyone to do and to play their part well in case Lirima grew suspicious. With lighter hearts, the small group slept, knowing the morning could well be their last. But at least they had hope, where before there was none.
The Keeper returned to his room, looking at the stunning sensual naked woman asleep in the sheets. He wondered how such a beauty could be so vile a creature and a part of him that was fully joined to her wished it had been otherwise. She woke still groggy and saw him clad in only his light robe, wanting him all over again. Whispering her need of him, Arahir had no choice but to obey. He slid in-between the sheets, sliding against the silken softness of her body. As she began to kiss him, stroking his toned muscles and taut belly, he realized being with a woman he absolutely loathed, no matter how exquisite she was, amounted to another form of torture for him, as the feel of her fingers against him made his skin crawl.
Later that night, Arahir stared at the ceiling while she lay snuggled against him, replete from their very full evening. He had given her no cause to complain; he did his work convincingly, knowing their lives hinged on his performance. He found it easier than he thought possible to be fully involved in the act of sex while his heart was elsewhere; lingering on another place with another woman when the act had been love and the slightest touches had been bliss. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep … his last thought was of a pair of laughing green eyes and the most perfect ruby red lips.
**********
Chapter Thirty-Three
Morning found Lirima seated on a throne of sorts with the mouth-wateringly handsome Arahir standing behind her. All through the long night she had asked her soul-mate to do things for her that once would have made him furious, denying her even the smallest pleasure from him. But now … he had done everything she asked and more without being ordered to. And during the long drawn out love-making … she had asked him things that made her heart light.
“My darling Keeper, my most wonderful man, do you love me now … am I always in your thoughts and dreams?”
Arahir thought deeply but quickly. It was true that she was always in his thoughts trying to work out a way to let him kill her; he did not love her even with the enhanced binding. He was lying naked beside her, responding to the things she was doing to his body. His body was now programmed to respond to hers and he had no control over his reactions to her either. He felt betrayed in his own shell; no longer could he deny her anything she asked of him in the bedroom, no matter how he felt about her.
Stroking her face, he kissed her lips … thinking of Anya’s perfect deep red lips and how he longed to be kissing them instead.
“I feel about you my love, the way I feel about no other. You stand out in my mind like the stars in the night sky. You have taken over my world and I feel as if I have been caught up, never to be the same again.”
He spoke nothing but the truth, she had changed his world utterly and he would never be the same. He was careful not to elaborate, because he would find himself trapped in a web of too many words. Instead … the Enchantress smiled satisfied at the sincerity of what he was saying. His love-making was spontaneous and felt real to her. She could find no fault with him. She knew he was giving her all he could and she was definitely enjoying having him. Especially as she knew the spells made him feel very friendly. Lirima finally knew what it meant to be so full she couldn’t take any more and so sexually replete that her body just couldn’t handle any more ecstasy. No one had ever made her feel this way before. She decided the long wait had definitely been worth it. Arahir truly was an amazing lover. And now … he was all hers.
**********
The small group Lirima laughingly called the would-be-heroes stood before the throne, prevented from coming any closer by an unseen barrier of the Enchantress’ making. Marcos, Keplin, Alexandros and the twins were standing behind Anya unable to get close to her by a barrier as well. They felt a sense of deep foreboding well up inside at having their companion singled out from among them. It seemed to them that Lirima was going to make some sort of example of Anya by using the bond between Arahir and herself to do her harm.
Anya stood proudly, her head high and her green eyes blazing; daring the Enchantress to do her worst. Still in sleep rumpled clothes, her gorgeous tresses wild around her head; she looked magnificent and Arahir was proud of her. The couple had gone through what he would most likely be asked to do based on the ruthlessness of the Enchantress and Anya hoped she would be able to do her part well. Because if anything went wrong, they would all die today.
The twins were very anxious; knowing how far they would have to allow this scene to be carried out. But there was no room for mistakes and little room for recovery. They were priming themselves not to drown in the feelings Anya would soon have to endure. Arahir had told them, ‘If they weren’t strong then everything was lost. They had to let Anya go and detach themselves from what was going to happen. Only then could they save their soul-mate.’ They had prepared all morning, but still, they were nervous.
The Troll King and Keplin with Marcos stood by the twins offering their strength and comfort. They too had a part to play, but mostly as an outraged audience to upset Lirima, hoping to make her angry and speak before she thought too much about it. They had no active role to play as yet, but they would be essential. The pieces were finally set. They were as ready as they would ever be. Now … they just waited to see if the Keeper was right. From the slow smile on her face, the small group wouldn’t have long to wait.
**********
Lirima rose up sitting straight in the chair. She wanted to see everything, missing nothing. She had looked forward to seeing Anya die ever since Savage had flogged the servant, now … it would be her turn to get rid of the lovely woman who simply refused to go away. Lirima had ordered Arahir not to interfere today unless she asked him to, ensuring their bond was tested to its fullest. The Enchantress wanted to know exactly how lo
yal and how committed to her the Keeper truly was. This was the best way to test her lover. And to be brutally honest, the darkness inside her was anticipating Anya’s pain with a great deal of glee. Watching the young woman suffer had been like an aphrodisiac to her, ensuring she enjoyed the time with the Keeper even more than she usually did. The sex after the deaths that were going to happen in this room would be exceptional … Lirima felt real need just at the thought of tonight.
She looked at the profile of her lover, now … soul mate. He was so exquisite; she still couldn’t believe he was hers. His face was a mask as he looked at the group spread before the throne. Arahir’s face gave nothing away. And yet … when he looked at her, his smile was so beautiful, loving and promising so much that she felt as if she would melt. He picked up a finely shaped hand and brought it to his lips. His eyes darkened in lust as they looked lower seeing the sheer sheath that revealed more than the silk hid. Her breasts were magnificent and the nipples hardened in excitement as he gently kissed her palm, tracing the circle of her thumb with his tongue, sending her a look of such heat that she squirmed in her seat.
He bent and whispered something in her ear then, slowly kissed down her neck and along her shoulder before kissing her fully on the lips. Lirima had forgotten the people standing before her, forgotten everything except the touch of Arahir’s lips against her skin. I was all she had wanted … longed for all these many years and it was pure bliss. She sighed as he stopped realizing everything would have to wait until her enemies had to be taken care of. Standing tall in her five inch heels, she gripped her staff. Looking straight at Anya, her beautiful voice rose so that everyone in that room heard every word clearly and succinctly.
“Good morning Anya my dear, I trust you slept well. I’m sorry if your conditions have not been up to the standard you have gotten used to lately. But don’t worry my dear; very soon you will have no cause for complaint. I have been thinking of a way to rid my life of you and I have come up with one I think is suitably fitting.”
“Why are you going to harm Anya? She alone of all of us has done you no harm. The only problem anyone else can see is that you wanted her soul-mate. So it is you that have caused her problems.”
There was a rumble of agreement at Alexandros’ statement.
“Silence!”
The Enchantress shrieked in rage.
“How dare you speak …you who are less than nothing! You should have all died, traitors every one of you!”
“Oh yes … we’re the traitors. We have a ruler who is a tyrant, a child killer and a thief of souls, and yet we are the traitors. You will get a real shock when you try to go home once more my ‘Queen’. Your home knows of your atrocities and there is a price on your head. Your people are no longer in thrall. For once they know the truth, you can never bespell them again.”
Keplin was enjoying himself, saying things he had wanted to say to this witch that had captured his world … but … never again.
“You slew my twin sons and all the while pretended grief to me, saying how sorry you were that they had vanished. I found out what you had done to my sons … I found your pit where thousands of children had been sacrificed to serve a black magic that would enable you to steal the soul of one man even though he had already chosen another. Was rejection too much for you my ‘Queen’ that one man would not worship you. None will ever worship you again, for they know how truly ugly and poisonous you really are.”
Marcos had tears in his eyes, so angry that he didn’t even care if she did kill him. He was determined to have his say.
“I said silence!”
Her eyes were black with rage and the staff crackled with power. She aimed a bolt of black lightning at the three taunting her but had forgotten all about the barrier she had put in place to stop any interference. The bolt bounced crazily around the room before ricocheting harmlessly and disappearing.
She was furious, angry at the men who should be on their knees before her, instead were mocking her. How had they found out about the children? Was Keplin telling the truth? Could she really not return home and visit her people? She had been taught by the Grandson of the very first Wizard who had tried to take over the Living Light, thus controlling the infinite portals to the many worlds. The Wizard that trained Lirima was the Sintar Olin or person of secret knowledge. He had been banned from every place of pure magic because Olin preferred the darker magics, ones that gave him more power but needed some form of sacrifice to perform the rituals.
His secrets had been discovered by the other Sintari and they had named him outcast. If he was found performing the dark arts once more, he was to be summarily executed. They suspected he was the cause of several missing children but could not prove their accusations. Olin wandered throughout his world looking for an Adept to teach his black arts, but to no avail.
Then one night he caught a grubby, big-eyed waif stealing from a stall. Her ribs were showing and her dress was in tatters. The child looked to be about six or seven years of age. She had deftly stolen a sweet bun when the Baker had caught her out of the corner of his eye. He roared in anger and grabbed her shoulder. Squirming frantically and panicking, she balled one small fist and threw a glowing ball in his face blinding him temporarily. Dropping the child, the waif instantly vanished, with Olin hot on her heels.
After a rather uncertain beginning … he became her Mentor, amazed at the strength and hidden power inside the tiny body. But she soon grew into force to be reckoned with. She desperately wanted to please her Mentor, but as she grew and developed into an enticing, lovely desirable woman … Olin began to have other thoughts surfacing. He used her to achieve positions of importance and showed her how her beauty was a tool that could be employed in many ways.
Lirima was a very adept pupil and she found she could use her beauty against her Mentor without him realizing. Before long she found he had outlived his usefulness and gave him up to the Sintari with proof of all he had done. She had made a potion that caused his memory to be haphazard and disjointed, ensuring he couldn’t remember her or much else. She gave up most of his magical tools and his hidden places and was hailed as a hero and proclaimed Sintar Lirima for her magical knowledge. Olin was summarily executed a month later, overwhelmed by the avalanche of proof against him; sadly … all of it true, including the deaths of over thirty children and infants.
Lirima was jubilant. She kept one hidden place that she had set up with her magical tools and the best of Olin’s dark magic in books and scrolls for her personal use. As her desire for power grew, so her use of this hidden place also grew. And yet she was still the beautiful Enchantress whose beauty won them all over and whose kindness and sacrifice in bringing the villain Olin to justice saved them all.
The magic place she had created for herself was her sanctuary against the Leaders of the fey community on her world. She swore she would rule in place of them. It took her nearly five centuries before she had assassinated, murdered, or ostracized the Sintari until her community looked to the very beautiful Lirima to lead them. In only a century afterward, she was made Queen. It had taken a lot of time and a good deal of magic and effort to get where she was today; she was not going to just give that up.
Glaring down at the three troublemakers glaring back at her; to hurt them she would have to remove the barrier. She didn’t want to release the magic just yet. Narrowing her eyes, she wondered what punishment would fit their jeering. Making up her mind suddenly, she smiled. The three men all looked at that smile and felt chills. They truly hoped that Arahir’s plan worked. They did not want to find out what that look meant. It promised far more pain than any of them thought they would be able to endure and still be alive at the end.
**********
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lirima had enough. She was being constantly taunted by three fools and the silent Anya just stood quietly.
“Why don’t you weep or plead? You know I am going to kill you … aren’t you afraid … won’t you miss your son
?”
Anya looked at the Enchantress, calmly and quietly she answered the barrage of questions thrown at her, trying to shatter her resolve. But Anya knew she could die this day and at the hands of the man she loved most in the world. But Seren had given her peace in her heart and Anya knew that no matter what Lirima ordered Arahir to do, she would never gain control or access to the Light. Only one of their people could even enter the sanctuary. The Light knew that if all else failed, Caranor could grow up inside her core. It wouldn’t be ideal but it would be possible. When he was five and old enough to portal travel, Seren would take him to Serenor where his Grandfather would take care of the child. Lirima would never get her hands on him again. Arahir was not bound to give his son to the witch. Anya had all the peace she would be given about her son; the twins were going to have to watch out for themselves because Anya knew the Enchantress was going to hurt her very soon.
“Why do you want me to weep or plead? Will it make any difference if I did? I’m not even sure why you are so determined to kill me in the first place.”
“Oh … that’s easy. One … because I can and two … because you have something I want.”
