Demons & Dragons

by Gina Kincade

  When he stood with his knees against hers skirts, towering over the old woman, he smiled brightly before preparing himself to shift. A savage cry of triumph and pain came from his mouth; then he stood as the wolf before her. He heard Aubrey’s shriek. The evil thought to shift before her had come about quickly, and he'd thought it more dramatic to do so without voicing his intentions to Aubrey first. He turned from his stunned and silent mother, allowing his tail to brush over her lap as he looked upon his beautiful intended.

  She shrieked a second time before he heard the crack behind him. He turned, following Aubrey as she rushed to the fallen body of his mother.

  “I feel a pulse, she has only swooned!” Her voice, high-pitched, burst through his oversensitive ears. “Yet, I can not even call for help with you like that!”

  Something in him began to sniff at the fallen woman, and then over Aubrey. Fear dripped in the air from both of them. He controlled the animal’s instincts to attack by shifting himself back into a man.

  “You probably should have thought out this little idea of yours. Now you are naked, and she is coming to.”

  The giggle that escaped Aubrey brightened the whole room as he stood in his mother’s boudoir as bare as the day he was born. With Aubrey still crouched over his mother, he brushed by her with his member just inches from her face. The Lady’s groan stopped him cold.

  “Cover yourself with the remnants of your clothing before she becomes fully awake.”

  He managed to drape around his neck the largest shred of his shirt, and place a piece of his breeches over his shaft before his mother’s eyes fluttered open.

  “Get away from me, you chit,” she managed to yell weakly at Aubrey.

  “Mother! She was trying to help you, you ingrate!” He reprimanded her as he helped Aubrey to her feet. “Compose yourself.”

  Lady Dalysbury pulled herself up using the arms of the chair she had been seated in. If possible, Edmund thought she paled further as she looked at his tattered clothing.

  “What nature of conjurer are you? I thought I…” Her words rambled faintly.

  “Yes, you thought you disciplined the magic out of me, but Your Ladyship, your son shifted into a wolf before your eyes. You imagined nothing. And, I will gladly do it again before your unbelieving friends if you push me to do so. Or, better yet, I can become a great beast with the scales of a serpent and great wings of a sylph. Now, here are my terms, again. Do not try me, because I have nothing to lose. If you do not follow my terms, I will ruin you prior to leaving here for a new life with Aubrey—just in case England decides to take up witch burning again.”

  He waited a moment to let his words sink in.

  “Now, I am in want of a name!” he demanded.

  He liked the way his voice bounced off the polished wooden walls. He had dreamed of the way it would sound, him fighting back, since he was a small boy listening to her yell at him.

  “Fine,” she said, tenuously standing. “You force me to tell you the ugly details of your birth. As your mother, I have tried all these years to protect you from my mistakes, and yet you wave them over me with vile threats after all I have done for you.”

  “Let us not get into all you have done for me, or against me. The name, Mother!”

  “Your father, my dear son, is named Aelfin Pendle.”

  He turned to Aubrey as she gasped. Her pretty face had gone ashen as her hands moved out from her sides as if they could steady her despite the way she blinked her eyes in rapid procession.

  “Yes, seems here your little witch is familiar with his name. Aren’t you, Aubrey dear? Tell him about the wonderful gentleman his real father is.”

  He glanced at his mother just in time to see a smile of pure evil before turning back to Aubrey.

  “You know him?”

  “No, I do not know him. I have only rumors of him. He is a man of great reputation as far as his magic goes.”

  “But…”

  “You see, Edmund,” his mother interrupted, “even your little witch here can tell you of his dark and evil magic. As your mother, I tried to protect you from such a man, from having to bear his reputation and his magic. Of course, I had to deal with some unsavory types to do so, to kill your magic thus saving you, hiding you from such a man as this. My, here's a thought, what if you now lose Aubrey? I mean, now that she knows who you really are, who your father really is.”

  He looked at the woman he loved, fearful once again of his mother’s words. Relief washed over him quickly when Aubrey shook her head.

  “I know Edmund, Lady Dalysbury. Better than you, I might add. I stayed with him knowing you were his mother. How different could his father be from you, who have no magical excuses for her evil deeds?”

  Edmund smiled at her, hearing in the strain of her voice, knowing how much those words had taken to be spoken. Her hand, which trembled in his, caused him to pull her into his embrace and kiss her just two steps from his mother.

  “Not in my home! The indecency of the way you allow her to speak to me! And then to shuck all manner of propriety in front of me! Get out, the both of you!”

  “No!” His voice boomed back at her, and he felt Aubrey jump once again. “Tell me more about him, and where I can find him.” He gave Aubrey a quick side glance to let her know he was only asking to further gull the woman. When her tiny smile reassured him she knew what he was doing, he continued, “Now, Mother. I want everything you know about him now. I know you too well to think you did not keep track of the man all of these years, in case you may need to impress your authority over him.”

  “Fine, you ingrate! But, do not dare to ever step foot into my home again. You will find him living in a borough at the foot of the hills outside of Bath. He is a successful merchant in Worwick who owns many a shop. I have heard he has obtained a grand manor through his evil ways. He has performed many a hollow ceremony procuring power and wealth using the dark side of the arts. He is twelve years my senior, although I have not heard of his death yet. I met him being where I should not have been.

  "We had no relations except for the night you were conceived. He may not even believe you. He used me. He used my body in a sacrifice to the black spy. Many women were used by the coven that night in a ritual beyond anything I had ever seen. A spell of great proportions, asking for the devil himself to grant them sight. I remember a group of twelve men, plus a facilitator. By means of relations improper for a lady to speak of with these women, they entered an altered state. It allowed the group together to not only spy on other shops, but through some sort of energy manipulation to bring bad business upon the competition. I can not recall the whole dratted spell, but he will know you are telling the truth when you mention his coven’s conquest. It was the beginning of the end for every other merchant in Worwick.”

  He stood, mouth open, to hear her speak in such a way. Never had she uttered such unmannerly words upon such scandalous subjects. It affirmed that he never knew this woman who had made so much of his life a living hell.

  As she tried in her weakened state to stomp past him, she bellowed, “I am sure your own personal witch here can explain it all to you better.”

  “There is a great difference between my magic and black magic,” Aubrey hissed.

  “Magic is magic, dear," his mother stated, her voice calm, though a trifle deep for her. She continued to speak as she stood up and began walking toward the entrance of the room. "And, evil is evil no matter what terms you use. Let me state again for the record that I will not attend such a preposterous wedding as yours. No clergy will marry you anyway. A sillier notion I have never heard of. May you enjoy the wyrdling life you have chosen, Edmund.”

  He pulled Aubrey against his semi-naked frame, unable to process the entire reality of her words, let alone the possible or impossible validity of each of them. As his mother’s steps echoed down the hall, Aubrey kissed him gently upon his cheek. Tears flowed. When he pulled back, her red eyes fluttered open, and he laid his forehead down agains
t hers.

  “I love you, Aubrey. I am sure this was no easier upon you than it was upon me. I will make it up to you if it takes the rest of my days. I need you now so much. If I lose you, all will be lost to me. I am unsure of everything but my love for you. Do you really think he can be what she said? Do you really think I was conceived in such a way? Will you still love me if I decide to find out the answers?”

  “As long as you desire it to be so, I will be beside you. Nothing about your birth can define who you are now. You have proven that time and again to me. It is your choice what you wish to do concerning him. No fears, My Lord. I shall be with you, helping you, every step of the journey you choose. I know you better than to think you would ever practice magic his way, if what I have heard of him is true.”

  Her warm, sweet breath bathed his face, and he pulled her against him more firmly. They remained that way until a servant found them, with orders for their removal from the premises. Although a small relief, the servant who came hated his mother enough that he granted Edmund access to his bedroom for clothing before leaving.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Aubrey found great relief lying in her old bed at Sanderly, knowing now for certain no social harm had come to the Lord and Lady. All the same, they knew Edmund’s mother still kept that card as an Ace in her hand, waiting to play it at a more opportune time.

  Lady Sanderly had insisted Aubrey stay with them as long as she needed to. If they were to be married in society, as Lord and Lady Sanderly had already offered their garden for the wedding, they must return to living apart until the ceremony.

  Edmund had been wary of parting from her, even if only to another room in the house, but he trusted Lord Sanderly. He felt assured by their love for Aubrey and the powers he now knew them to yield.

  That meant, of course, more secret visits in the wee hours of the night to her room. He did go home, only to find that without Aubrey by his side, his mother didn't complain. In fact, Edmund had related to Aubrey that his mother had said nothing to him at all, as if he didn't exist, staying in her room, which suited his purposes fine. Happy to leave earlier when escorted out, the woman knew the home to be Edmund's legally, so he could do the same to her. He made the journey each night only to appear to sleep at his own estate. He would sneak back over to her each night as soon as he could.

  Lying together, wrapped in the warmth of each other’s bodies, far beyond the grandeur of society and the dangers of their scandals—away from those who were too well mannered to take notice of impropriety unless it suited their purposes—Aubrey laid her head up against Edmund’s brawny chest. Here, far away from the ridiculous fiasco of confronting his mother, although it had been a peculiar but cathartic triumph, she did not have to remain falsely coifed. Instead, well out of sight, she could languish in vulnerability or strength as the whim or mood suited her. With that confidence, she shuffled through the images of the day.

  She comforted Edmund as best she could. Her heart broke for his turmoil. Even though a grown man who had acted upon his own choices, guilt still plagued her for her part in it. He had chosen to love her.

  He had proven his love by going to the island in search of her. Yet, without his love for a poor relation of Lord and Lady Sanderly’s, born magical to boot, his life would surely be easier. As if that burden alone were entirely not enough, he also had the issues surrounding the truth of his birth. They both knew they must be careful with the power they held, as well. Even now, away from the island, her powers worked greater than she had ever imagined they could, burgeoning in the back of her mind and growing in the core of her being. Combined, they knew they could wreak havoc on society, but they chose to tramp down upon their urges instead.

  “Nothing worth having comes easily, my father always said. I mean, Lord Dalysbury, of course,” he stated with an air of confusion and pain which led his voice to a monotone drone.

  She took a breath and tried to calm her frantic thoughts for him. “No, it does not. We have an advantage, though. A few, really. We have each other to hold on to. And, we now have combined powers with which we can enhance and protect our lives. It will be a matter of some consequence, though, to stay within the realms of morality when employing them.”

  “I know. I should not have transitioned in front of my mother like that. It was impulsive and vengeful. Before you give me a proper dressing down of my sins, can I mention how amazing it was to find I could do such a thing here in my own country, in my own childhood home?”

  She looked askance at him, feigning her disapproval, though she saw her own merits in his discretions of the day.

  “Is that a no, then?”

  Laughter bubbled up out of her, and with it some of the fretful thoughts which haunted her. “Are you kidding? Tell me please! You were amazing! And, she was so deserving of it. Yes, it was wrong, however, in this instance I am willing to overlook your transgressions for the greater good of rehashing her reaction.”

  “Why, you evil little witch. You bandy on about how we shall harm thee none, and then you so devilishly revel in my mother’s discomfort.”

  He could not keep a straight face either. He grabbed her middle giving her a fright that ended in hushed peels of laughter again. She found herself lying on top of him fully relaxed and enjoying herself until he reined her in by pulling her face down to meet her mouth with his. The kiss a celebration, his lips pressed against hers hard and fast with swift brushes of his tongue into her mouth. Then it tempered off to a festive frolic of their love, a slow and methodical pace of pulling away and coming toward, re-engaging her lips with his in various manners of tenderness and possession.

  Finally, he pulled her face away from his and ran his hands over a wayward chuck of her hair. From the pain in her chest, she wondered absently just how long ago she had quit breathing. His eyes, fraught with humor and latent anger along with several other emotions she could not quite distinguish at the moment as they grew too numerous and overlapping to look at separately, held her gaze.

  “I do not care if the request sounds pathetic. Tell me how much you care for me.”

  “Why, it is impossible to say. I have not the words to explain the fierceness of my love or the depth of my need for you. I daresay, lest you use it against me one day, I care too much, and therefore I know my heart dangles out wholly unprotected from your every whim.”

  “Not my whim, for I would never purposefully hurt you. It is their whim, unfortunately. What do we do now? Where do we go from here when the sun greets us on the morrow?”

  “I believe we have a duty we should not shun—one I should have handled differently from the beginning. Lord and Lady Sanderly were so grateful to you for my safe return from exile, but I fear they were cross with me for not coming to them instead. I shall have to tell them the whole of the truth tomorrow, so we might all find the best way to resolve our dilemmas.”

  “Yes, it will take some doing. The more heads the better, to be sure, though we have already dealt with too much today. Tomorrow will be soon enough. There are so many involved. You are correct in that.”

  “What of your father? I know you want to push that aside, but it may not be possible now. There is the chance he will feel you using his magic. We are all tied in our powers, as they stem from the earth and come to us through many generations. Sometimes we get distinct or frail feelings or messages from each other when practicing. It at least gives us warning of when another needs us. Of course, it has been so long since you used your father’s powers, he may not now be able to decipher whatever he does feel, especially if he knows not of you. I do wonder how your mother stifled what little you did use that he never felt you as a child? I guess it could all simply boil down to the way he uses, if what I have heard of him is correct.”

  “I am sorry, I am not yet prepared to know the extent of his actions.”

  “Good, for I do not wish to tell you false truths based on mere speculation. There will be others we can ask to find out when you are ready. But, by t
hen you will have to know you are ready to meet him. I can confirm him to be influential in his circles, and any questioning we do will come to his attention quickly, I assure you.”

  “Once we have covered our bases here…” He left off a moment. “I am sorry I live in a world which does not accept you or allow for your climb through the ranks easily.”

  “Don’t apologize for something you were born into or I shall have to apologize for my low birth.” She forced a smile.

  “Tomorrow we shall discuss further what needs to be done. Join with me now. Only good can surely come from that.”

  She easily relented. His hand, which fell over her breast, gave her the reassurance they would let it go for a while. The night would allow them silent pleasures only those in love can experience. They slowly removed one another’s clothing under the warmth of blankets. When he lifted up for her to pull his perfectly tailored coat out from under him, his bound up erection pushed into her mound. She felt the throb of want as she became fully wet.

  The darkness allowed for heightened sensations. They fumbled along each other’s bodies for the edges of their clothing. Hands bumped parts alert with anticipation amidst their efforts. The back of her hand brushed his erect nipple when reaching for his starched cravat, which had been far from precisely tied for some time now.

  His hair, tousled from his own fingers pushing through it in frustration, framed his savage features in an extraordinary manner. She watched the muscles in his arms flex as his fingers brushed over her stomach to remove her cloth barriers. Finally, they converged, touching what skin they could from head to toe.

  Timidly, she reached her hands out to touch his cheeks, wishing she could soften his tense muscles with her thoughts. She persisted with this fantastic notion, letting her fingers lightly glide over his chin and down his neck until they came to rest on his shoulders. His lips touched hers as she lost her breath in the gentleness of the kiss. Physical sensations heightened from the frazzled emotions of their day, currents of his magic initiated from his heart where the globes of her chest pushed against its beat.