Sword of Darkness

by Kinley MacGregor

  "Why do you not participate in the orgy, my king?" Blaise asked quietly.

  "Why do you not?"

  Blaise shrugged. "I sensed your discomfort. Your restlessness. I was hoping to find a way to amuse you, my lord. Do you wish me to take dragon form?"

  "Nay. A ride will do nothing to improve my mood." Not even bloodshed would ease the fire that currently simmered deep in his loins.

  Only Seren could sate his mood.

  But she had trusted him, and for some insane reason he couldn't name, he didn't want to violate that trust.

  Suddenly the music in the hall changed. Kerrigan grimaced as he heard Morgen's favorite song from a century far ahead of the one in which he'd been born. Moments such as this, he hated that they could travel through time.

  Morgen danced to the beat of it as her male Adoni consorts circled her.

  He groaned.

  Blaise's expression remained stoic. "Does my king not like INXS?"

  "I did until your lady decided to play it to the point of nausea." If he never heard "Need You Tonight" again, it would be too soon.

  Morgen swayed to the music. She turned around, looked at him, and crooked her finger for him to join her.

  Kerrigan shook his head.

  He felt her powers invading him, pulling at him. But he refused to let her control him. Those days were long past.

  Closing his eyes, he summoned his own song. Papa Roach's "Do or Die."

  Morgen's eyes blazed at him as he gave her a taunting smile. The music immediately returned to INXS with "Devil Inside."

  "You are either the bravest man ever born, my king, or the most foolish," Blaise whispered beside him.

  "Perhaps I am both," he said before drinking.

  "It appears our king is possessed of malaise," Morgen said to the group as she approached his throne. "What do you think we should do to cheer him?"

  One of her Adoni males moved forward to whisper in her ear.

  Morgen smiled evilly. "Aye, my pet. I think that would be a wonderful idea."

  Kerrigan yawned at her. Knowing the Adoni, whatever the idea, it was guaranteed to only bore him more.

  Two heartbeats later, Seren appeared before Morgen.

  He sat up instantly and handed his cup to Blaise. "What are you doing, Morgen?" he demanded.

  Seren looked around with panic in her heart. She'd been alone in her room, trying to find a way to escape. The next thing she'd known, she was here in a gilded hall with horrible music playing that thumped like a frantic heartbeat.

  The voice of the singer was wickedly smooth, but the words were unintelligible to her.

  There were beautiful men and women all around her, mixed with the twisted graylings and other things that appeared to be demons of some sort.

  But the woman who caught her attention most was the one beside her who wore a dress so red, it didn't look natural. It looked as though the material itself were bleeding.

  The woman's long blond hair was worn in tiny braids that were held in an intricate design around the crown of her head with jewel-tipped pins. She approached Seren with a sinister twist to her lips. The woman grabbed Seren's long blue manche sleeve and pulled at it angrily. "Who put her in this?"

  Kerrigan came instantly to his feet as his eyes turned a vibrant red that matched the woman's dress. "I did."

  The woman hissed at him. "You know the laws here, Kerrigan. I am queen of the fey, and no one wears such a color in my world. No one!"

  "And I am the law here, Morgen. It goes with my crown. That is, unless you wish to challenge me for it."

  Seren swallowed at his words as she stared anew at the woman who held her sleeve. Could this truly be the famed Morgen le Fey? Sister to Arthur and mother to Mordred?

  If she was, then this sorceress held wicked powers that could enable her to take the form of beasts and enchant anyone she chose. There was no telling what she could do to them.

  It was a sobering thought.

  "I will challenge him for you, my lady," one of the handsome knights offered as he moved forward in the crowd.

  Morgen arched a brow at that as a slow, evil smile curved her seductive lips. "A challenger. Why, Kerrigan, it appears your reign may be over." She grabbed Seren roughly and pulled her toward a door.

  Kerrigan moved toward them with deep, angry strides. "Release her, Morgen. Now!"

  Seren fought against the woman's hold. When Morgen refused to let her loose, Seren bit her.

  Morgen screamed and released her instantly.

  With nowhere else to go, Seren ran toward Kerrigan. He met her and placed himself between her and the other woman. The sound of steel scraping steel rang out as he drew his sword forth to confront them.

  Seren trembled as she looked about for somewhere else to flee to, but the crowd of people wasn't conducive to such. They completely encircled her and Kerrigan. No doubt they would fling her back toward Morgen if she dared to run. Therefore, her safest course of action would be to stand with Kerrigan.

  Morgen arched a brow at Kerrigan's raised sword. "Well, isn't this interesting? I haven't seen fire in your cheeks in centuries, Kerrigan. Tell me what it is about this pathetic little human that you would dare raise your sword against me in protection of her?"

  "You gave her to me, Morgen. Remember? You said she was mine to do with as I please until she ceases to be of use to us. And I protect what is mine, whether it is this throne, my sword…or her."

  "That's far from comforting," Seren said in a tone she was sure Morgen and the others couldn't hear.

  Kerrigan passed her an irritated glare.

  She stared her own ire back at him. "Well, I'm not your shoes," she whispered. "I am a person…with value."

  The withering look on his face said he might not share her view.

  "Are you rebelling?" Morgen asked him.

  He turned his heated stare at the fey queen. "Are you?"

  Her insidious laughter rang out over the music and echoed in the hall. Morgen crossed the distance between them. With an unparalleled daring, she brushed his sword aside with her hand so that she stood toe to toe with him.

  "Careful, my lord," she said in an almost sweet tone. "Remember who it is who gave you your power. Damé Fortune is fickle. One day a peasant, the next a king, and the day after, a peasant again."

  He didn't flinch. "One day a sorceress, the next a bad memory."

  Seren gasped as the Morgen's eyes slithered between yellow and orange.

  "Tostig," she snapped at the knight who had agreed to fight Kerrigan. "Don your armor. Kill the king and you shall replace him."

  Seren sucked her breath in sharply at those words. She was quite certain that if the black knight was dethroned, she wouldn't fare very well.

  Kerrigan shook his head. "Stand down, Tostig. I've no wish to thin my army needlessly."

  Black armor, the likes of which Seren had never seen before, appeared on the knight's body before he drew a black sword with the strangest blade she'd ever beheld. Instead of a straight blade, it was rippled and shone with an eerie green light.

  Kerrigan gave a heavy sigh as if the matter of the fight merely bored him. He turned toward her. "Seren, stay with Blaise until I kill him." He pushed her gently into the arms of a man who was every bit as eerie as Morgen. "Guard her, mandrake."

  Blaise nodded grimly as he pulled her to the side.

  Kerrigan, unlike his opponent, didn't bother with a helm as he stood ready to fight. Indeed, he appeared as nonchalant as a man waiting for a friend to join him. There was nothing in his stance or countenance to say that he was about to fight to the death.

  Seren frowned as she saw Tostig whisper to another knight. Unlike Kerrigan, he appeared nervous and uncertain.

  "What is he doing?" she asked Blaise. "Is it some spell against Kerrigan?"

  "Nay," he said in a flat tone. "He's not strong enough for that. Tostig is new to our company. He is asking the men around him for Kerrigan's weakness."

  "And that is?"
<
br />   One corner of his mouth lifted into a knowing smirk. "None."

  She scoffed at that. "All men have a weakness."

  "Men do, but Kerrigan is no longer human." As if to prove his words, a large, black shield appeared on Kerrigan's arm out of nowhere. "There is no way to defeat him, and Tostig is being told that by the others. It's why no one, not even Morgen, dares to challenge him for power."

  She watched as Tostig went from knight to knight. There was no pity on their faces, nor was there any help as one by one they shook their heads at him.

  "I grow weary of waiting, Tostig," Kerrigan said in a bored voice. "Either fight me or cede your challenge."

  Morgen faced the knight with a condescending sneer. "Have you grown craven, Tostig? Where is my new champion and future king?"

  The knight let out an unholy bellow as he raised his sword and ran at Kerrigan, who deflected him with ease. The crowd fanned out, giving them a large circle in the center to fight.

  Seren went weak as she watched the two powerful warriors encircling each other. In spite of what Blaise had said, she was nervous. Should something happen to Kerrigan, there was no telling what Morgen or the victor would do to her.

  Kerrigan might be frightening, but he was the devil she knew. She sensed heat in him, even wickedness; however, there was no true malice there. Not like she felt whenever Morgen or the others looked at her.

  Tostig attacked again, striking Kerrigan's sword with a powerful blow that caused sparks to fly from it. Kerrigan raised his round shield that held what appeared to be a dragon devouring a castle and used it to drive the other knight back.

  Tostig twisted and swung for Kerrigan's waist. Kerrigan deflected the blow, then shoved the knight away with his shield. Tostig staggered a bit before he returned with a swing that barely missed Kerrigan's neck. Only Kerrigan's speed and agility kept it from making contact. He immediately parried with a thrust that cut across Tostig's arm.

  The knight cried out, but didn't falter as he attacked, and again Kerrigan parried.

  While the men fought, Morgen approached Seren with a wicked and delighted smile on her beautiful face.

  Blaise pulled Seren back from the fey queen.

  "Don't worry, mandrake," Morgen all but purred, "I mean your charge no harm."

  Blaise scoffed. "You mean everyone harm, Morgen."

  Morgen laughed.

  A chill went down Seren's spine as Morgen moved closer…so close that she couldn't move without making contact with the woman. She tried to step nearer to Blaise, only to find her body unwilling to obey. It was as if someone else was controlling her.

  "Kerrigan is incredible, isn't he?" Morgen asked her as she moved to stand just at her back.

  Seren agreed, but couldn't answer. It felt as if her vocal cords were frozen.

  "Look at the way he moves," Morgen whispered softly in her ear, her voice strangely echoing through her head. "He twirls, he parries, and then he thrusts and thrusts again. Look at the power of him. The strength. The masculine beauty. In all the world there are only a few who can match him in fairness of form. None who could touch him for savagery or mercilessness." Morgen breathed in her ear. "It makes you lust for him, doesn't it?"

  A strange, foreign heat went through Seren at the words. It was as if her body were pierced by a bittersweet pleasure.

  "Mor—" Blaise's words were cut short as Morgen waved her hand.

  Seren glanced to see the mandrake every bit as frozen as she was. Morgen stepped even closer to her until their bodies were touching.

  "Watch him, Seren," she commanded.

  Seren had no choice except to obey.

  "Look at the way his muscles strain as he fights," Morgen breathed in her ear, causing chills to run the length of her body. "The way his beautiful black hair flies in the wind with every advance, every studied movement. The beauty of his face as he grimaces in fearsome combat."

  Morgen brushed the hair back from Seren's shoulder as she leaned even closer to whisper directly into her ear. She snaked her arm around Seren's waist in what could only be called a lover's embrace.

  "Now imagine all the power of him sliding deep inside you, Seren." Something wickedly warm and erotic flicked deep at the core of her body to emphasize those words. The pleasure of it actually made her gasp. "Imagine him stretching your virgin's flesh until he fills you completely. Think of the sensation of his hands caressing your naked skin…your breasts." It felt as if he were already touching her. "The sensation of his body sliding in and out of yours, pleasing you while you beg him for more…"

  Seren couldn't breathe as her entire body burned with a lustful ache she'd never before experienced. Her breasts were heavy, full. It was almost as if she could feel the very things that Morgen described.

  "Imagine his lips on yours. His tongue flicking over your virgin's flesh while you're spread out naked and bare for his pleasure. His heavy, muscled body covering you completely…His breath mingling with yours as he whispers tender words for only you…"

  Her body was on fire at the things Morgen described. Some alien part of her was crying out for Kerrigan. Hungry and needful, it scared her senseless.

  "Beg for me, Seren." It wasn't Morgen's voice she heard in her ear. It was Kerrigan's. "Beg for me to take you."

  "Morgen!" The fierce shout echoed through the silent crowd as Kerrigan ran his sword through Tostig's poor body, causing Seren to blink for the first time since Morgen had approached her.

  Without feeling or compassion for the life he'd just taken, Kerrigan jerked his sword free of Tostig's chest and paid no heed to the man who fell dead at his feet as he turned to face them.

  An instant later, he was before her, his sword and hand coated in bright red blood that matched the vibrancy of Morgen's dress.

  Seren stared up at Kerrigan's merciless face as Morgen's images still played through her mind. She could already feel his weight against her body. Feel his touch on her breasts. Feel his cold kiss again.

  He looked down at her, and something hot flickered in his black eyes.

  She felt his desire for her with the same intensity as she felt her own. He didn't move, didn't speak as those eyes penetrated her. Pierced her. It was as if they were the only two people in this room.

  Morgen laughed cruelly an instant before she literally ripped the pale blue dress from Seren and exposed her nude body to everyone there. Seren cringed at the sudden rush of cold air against her skin. Still, she was held by Morgen's spell that left her unable to move. Unable to run from the horror of this moment and escape it.

  This was something from her nightmares!

  Her face twisted with hatred, Morgen shoved her toward Kerrigan, who caught her against his hard chest. His unyielding armor bit into her flesh and chilled her completely. She wanted to scream at them all, but no sound would leave her throat.

  "You would take this poor, haggard creature to your bed?" Morgen asked cruelly. "Are you truly so desperate for a woman, Kerrigan?"

  Naked and bared to them all as they laughed at her, Seren was horrified and embarrassed to the deepest part of her soul. She wished she could wither and die right on the spot. But Kerrigan didn't laugh at her humiliation.

  Instead he cursed Morgen before he wrapped himself around her. An instant later, they were gone from the hall, into a room she didn't know.

  Suddenly her body was back under her own control as she collapsed against the man who held her carefully.

  Seren screamed as the horror of it all consumed her.

  "Shh, Seren," Kerrigan whispered in her ear as he kept her against his cold body. "All is fine. You are safe now."

  "Nay," she choked as she shivered. "I have died and gone to hell. Surely, there is no other place this can be."

  She shoved him away from her as her thoughts tumbled over one another in her mind. She struggled to make sense of them all, but her emotions were too raw and exposed as she relived her horror.

  "You're covered in blood," she said as she noted the wa
y it coated his black armor, reminding her of glaze over a blackened roast. "You ruthlessly killed that poor man, knowing he stood no chance against you. Still you fought him. Killed him for no real reason other than for Morgen's amusement." She shook her head as the image of Tostig's violent death replayed in her mind. "You're the devil."

  His expression empty and blank, Kerrigan stepped back as a black fur cloak appeared over her naked body. Seren would have cast it off, but she didn't dare. It was all that saved her dignity, such as it was at the moment.

  Kerrigan said nothing as he watched her with those emotionless eyes.

  "You don't deny it?" she accused.

  "Nay," he said quietly. "You are in hell and I am the devil who keeps you here. It is the way of it."

  Her mind screamed out in denial. This couldn't be happening. "I want to go home."

  He shook his head. "You should have gone with Gawain when you had the chance. 'Tis too late for you now. You chose of your own free will to come with me. With me you will stay until I no longer have need of you."

  Seren swallowed the tears that she refused to cry. She'd been weak enough before them. The time for tears was past.

  In that moment, she hated him and all the creatures who dwelled here. "I can't believe that my entire life will be ruined by one thoughtless mistake."

  He gave an evil half laugh. "We are all damned by our deeds, my lady, whether they are thought out or not." His eyes turned back to their dull blackness. "You may rest peacefully here. No one will disturb you."

  She looked around the cold, ebony room. Nothing here was inviting or welcoming. It reminded her of a witch's black pot. "Where is this place that I am safe?"

  "My bedchamber."

  As soon as those words were spoken, he dissolved into a cloud of smoke and vanished.

  Seren looked around the dark, foreboding room. There was nothing warm here. No fire burned in the hearth. His bed was overlarge, and covered with black furs, but even so, it didn't appear comfortable. There were no chairs, no table. Nothing. It was large and empty.

  Like their hearts.

  Aye, they were all monsters. All of them.

  "I have to escape," she whispered. But how? The only way she knew was what Magda had told her.