The Jewel of Darkness

by J. Annas Walker

When they reached the living room, Thane had taken up the sofa by sitting in the middle and stretching his arms wide along the top. He crossed his legs. His clothes had changed to a dark black pair of dress stacks, a matching black blazer, and a black dress shirt. A black satin tie rounded out the monotone color scheme.

  Brandon took Hadrian’s favorite chair. He patted the arm for Sabrina to join him there. His eyes never left Thane.

  Sabrina made it a point to drape herself around Brandon’s shoulders as she took her place on the chair’s overstuffed arm. Two can play that game, she thought. She refused to appear like anything other than relaxed. The truth was far from her projected demeanor. Her stomach clenched with a case of the nerves. Be brave, she told herself.

  “What do you want, Thane?” Brandon asked. He placed one hand on Sabrina’s thigh, making swirls with his thumb and leaned his head back against her body.

  She ran her fingers playfully through his hair. “Let me guess. You want me to help you get your scythe because Charon stole your toy,” she said coyly.

  “There’s more to it than that, sweetheart. Charon came to you in both physical form and in dreams. He’s had some very powerful help to do that. Although he ferries souls between the two worlds, he can’t actually get out of the boat on this side. He doesn’t have the power to astral travel, either. It’s not a part of his job description. Someone big wants you,” Thane said.

  “If I’m a goddess like you claim, why would I need you?” Sabrina tried to sound dismissive. Inside, the lioness chuffed in warning. Sabrina was sure the cat meant the warning for her and not the man sitting across from her.

  “You’ve been neglected by the powers that be. Instead of instructing you all these years, you’ve languished away in isolation, being stripped of your birthright, your name among the gods. Do you know what Charon’s weaknesses are? Do you know how to restrain him? Your lack of education makes you a danger to yourself and those around you. I can help you. All I ask for in return is my scythe,” Thane replied. His playful demeanor turned chilly as he spoke. His eyes hardened and stared at Sabrina. They flicked down to the necklace and back to her face.

  She lifted herself from the back of the chair and sat up on the arm. “As opposed to asking for what?” She felt there was more he was keeping to himself, not a lie really, but he clearly was not telling her the whole story.

  “As opposed to asking for your soul. You crossed into the realm of the dead uninvited. No tribute. No offering. No gift. The balance shifted ever so slightly when you did. The underworld is short a soul it feels it is owed,” Thane said. The chilly attitude bled to ice cold.

  Here was the version of Death she expected, uncaring, unfeeling. “I’m not human. No part of me ever has been. How can I have shifted the balance? If that were the case, every vampire ever made shifts the balance,” she remarked.

  Brandon started to lean forward, but she pushed him back in the chair gently. He gave in to her unspoken request and stayed still.

  “Vampires lose part or all of their humanity in the process. It goes somewhere, you know. The underworld accepts the loss as payment. You had nothing to lose. The payment went unfulfilled. Not every immortal is celestial in origin. Even gods and goddesses must pay a price, unless their magic comes from the underworld,” Thane explained.

  “Vampire magic comes from the Earth and binds us in a permanent state of death. How is that not from the underworld?” Brandon demanded to know.

  “Lilith made the vampires by sharing her demonic powers. Demons live in the lower realms, not the underworld. There is a difference. We use their realm as a place of punishment. They consume the suffering like you do blood. Someone suffers to sustain demonic powers,” Thane explained.

  “If I don’t get my scythe back, the balance will be more out of sync than it already is. The debt will continue to grow until I will have no choice but to force payment. You can either help me and restore the balance, or I will get it back myself and require you make the payment in full. Your choice,” he said. A smug grin crept across his face.

  “That’s blackmail,” Brandon exclaimed. He shouldered his way past Sabrina, placing himself in between her and Thane.

  “You would know. Some of your ill-gotten gains came from blackmailing the most powerful and influential people of their day. You can hardly begrudge me using the same tactic,” Thane said, shrugging his shoulders. His hands landed on his knees with a slap. “Well, boys and girls, this has been an informative chat. No need to thank me. I’m always happy to provide information.” Thane stood up, tugging his jacket back into place. “I have a few errands to run. I hear someone calling me as we speak.”

  He raised one hand level with his head. The smug grin never left his face. He snapped his fingers and vanished in a puff of black, hazy shadow.

  Sabrina stood and walked out onto the balcony. The city lights washed out the stars. The cool winds blew around the tall buildings carrying different scents than the day. She watched the moon slowly dip toward the horizon.

  Brandon took his place by her side. “I don’t trust him,” he admitted.

  “I don’t either,” she agreed. The nagging feeling there was more to Thane’s story than he led them to believe bothered her.

  “I know I said I would let you help, but I wish there was another way around this. I don’t want you involved with him,” Brandon said. He wrapped one arm around her.

  “Between the choices offered, I think helping him comes with the lesser price tag,” she reasoned. Even though the first clue to getting back the scythe escaped her, she knew it to be the right thing to do. The lioness inside paced with worry and determination.

  Brandon gave a chuckle. “I have a debt you can pay off. I recall providing you an orgasm with the idea I would be getting the favor returned.”

  The sudden shift in conversation threw her for a loop. “What?” It took a second or two to remember. Her pussy clenched as she thought of the orgasm. The memory of his fingers inside her, of her fluids running down her thighs, scorched her skin.

  “I think that’s one debt I would be all too happy to repay,” she said, “but this place is like Grand Central Station.” She thought for a moment. “Let’s hit the shower. We’re less likely to be disturbed, and you know what they say. Cleanliness is next to a goddess.”

  “That’s not how that saying goes,” he said with an air of faux innocence.

  “It does in this case. I’ll race you there,” she said and took off in a full run.

  Chapter 15

  Sabrina beat Brandon to the bath by a large margin and skidded to a stop on the tiled floor. She took a moment to appreciate the bodysuit in the mirror. It hugged her curves yet felt like she wore nothing.

  Getting out of it presented a challenge. Instead of struggling with the zipper, she closed her eyes and thought of it unraveling the way it had formed. The pendant grew slightly warmer and gave off a low vibration. When she opened her eyes, the suit turned to shadows and drifted off her skin like dark fog. The boots, too, found their way back to the darkness.

  She stood there naked when Brandon opened the door. The reason for his delay became apparent. A pile of clothes lay on the floor just behind him, his shoes kicked off by the bed. His dark brown eyes drifted over her. An appreciative smile played on his mouth. His cock began stiffening as he watched her.

  Sabrina ran her hands down her body and back up. Lifting her mass of blue-black curls, she let her tresses fall around her shoulders. Her nipples tightened. The darker flesh drew up into rosy peaks. The lioness in her head sniffed the air. It smelled like desire and need. Power rolled through her. The effect made her feel intoxicated.

  She laughed as the feeling of being lifted floated through her mind. She caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her fangs, sharp and longer than the teeth beside them, stood out as she smiled. Her hair coiled around her breasts, falling to either side of her pert nipples. The pendant glimmered with dark rainbows and shadows along each facet. Her deep, blac
k hair made her pale skin almost glow.

  Magic coursed through her in waves, radiating out from the pendant. Vampire or not, she knew she could do anything. She turned to the shower and motioned for the door to open. It swung out. She made a twirling motion with her finger. Steamy water poured from the shower head. Crooking her finger, she beckoned Brandon to follow her to the shower, doing her best to shield him from the magic.

  She stepped into the gentle water flow. The heat felt good, adding to the heady magic. Lifting her face to the water, she closed her eyes and thought of her first shower in Brandon’s apartment. She imagined the same night-time, jasmine scented, rain garden that filled the small room then.

  The sweet perfume of tiny, white flowers and green leaves filled the air. Rain-splashed earth added to the undertones. Water tapping the leaves with increasing volume and speed enhanced the sounds of falling water.

  Turning away from the shower head, she opened her eyes to find Brandon looking around in amazement. The rain garden had materialized like it did her first night here. The bathroom faded into the background but was still there. He reached out, stroking a small, white flower and its darker green leaves.

  “I have a better place for those hands,” she said, breaking his concentration and drawing his attention back to her. She trailed her fingers over her breasts and down the front of her stomach, letting them fall to one side and over her hip.

  In a quick movement, he pulled her in and crushed her with a kiss. He held her tightly to him, pressing his hard cock against her body. Fingers entwined themselves in her hair, holding her head back for him to kiss down her neck.

  As a rule, they made an effort to not bite each other in the heat of the moment, but she found herself wanting to consume him and to be consumed by him. His tongue teased the spot where a throbbing artery should have been, where he bit her to make her a vampire.

  She wanted him to bite her again, to feel the rush of blood from her skin. She wanted her essence to flow in him once more. Her body ached with the need have him flow through her veins too, like the night he fed her his blood. She had followed the call of that elixir to bring her back from the darkness.

  His fangs grazed her neck, lightly scratching the surface. “I want you,” he whispered into her skin.

  Words failed her. She worked one hand down to grip his cock. Stroking her hand up and down his hard, wet shaft a few times made him groan. The sound of his pleasure made her want more. It took a great deal of effort to restrain the magic, to hold back the demands for him to worship her body as an altar. This needed to be about him and his pleasure.

  Sabrina regained enough control to remember her purpose. Breaking his hold, she slowly dropped to her knees, allowing her breasts to graze the length of his body. Her hard nipples ached to be sucked, but she ignored the need. The warm water still fell all around her. She felt it run between her fingers as she guided his cock into her mouth.

  Carefully, she slid her lips over the fleshy head, swirling her tongue around the ridge and over the tip. She pushed it further into her mouth. The length of the shaft glided over her tongue until the tip touched the back of her throat. Extending her tongue past her lips, she lapped at the base of his shaft and balls. Finally, she heard what she wanted, his continued groan of pleasure.

  Having the fleshy rod so close to her fangs brought her blood lust to the surface. Sex and blood had a lot in common. Both created lust and cravings. Swallowing hard, she overcame the temptation to feed her bloodlust.

  Working up and down the length of his dick, she used her wet mouth to tease him. Lightly grazing her teeth over his cockhead and then sucking it. Plunging quickly, taking the entire length in her hungry mouth, she worked her way back up slowly. Over and over, she sucked, licked, and toyed with him.

  Gently, she squeezed his ass in one hand and kneaded his balls with the other. More noises of satisfaction escaped him as she worked. Sticky, sweet pre-cum dripped onto her tongue. She lapped every drop.

  Keeping one hand on his balls, she allowed the other to slip between her legs. Her clit throbbed with as much need as his cock. Her fingers brushed across the swollen pearl. A tremor ran through her, igniting the molten pool of desire in her core.

  The magic combined with the lust of her body. It wanted more, craved his worship. She fought the urge to have his cock fill her pussy. She found a steady rhythm and caressed her clit in time with her bobbing mouth. Her fingers glided over the wet skin. Slipping between the slick folds, she dipped her fingers in her pussy before returning to massaging her clit.

  She felt his cock twitch, his balls tighten. She increased the rhythm, eliciting another low moan. Her pussy quivered. They were both getting close. She kept going, carefully avoiding her fangs, laving the length of his dick with her tongue. The twitching turned to spasms.

  Thick creamy ropes of jizz hit the back of her throat. Spurt after spurt, he coated her tongue as he came. The warm, salty fluid mingled with a hint of blood. The coppery, metallic taste drove her over the edge.

  With her orgasm came a flood of magic. Heat and pleasure flowed through her. Her quivering pussy radiated joy and satisfaction to every inch of her body. The slight intoxication she felt became increasingly more noticeable.

  Sabrina began feeling as though her whole body were going numb. Her thoughts became confused and fuzzy. No dizziness came with the sensation, but she did not feel entirely in control of herself. She looked up at Brandon.

  He remained braced against a flower covered wall. Water still ran down his chest and abs. He offered her a hand and helped her up.

  She stumbled into him and started giggling. A few minutes passed before the girlish giggles subsided. She still felt light-headed as he held her. Dark rainbows and shadows danced on his skin. She buried her face in his chest and took in his earthy, honey-amber scent.

  Her thoughts turned to the warm, golden, afternoon sunlight. She remembered the way shafts of light broke through the clouds after the rain stopped in the meadow of her childhood home. She raised her head suddenly when she heard him gasp.

  The raining night garden gave way to a sunlit meadow. The illusion lasted only a brief moment and then faded away. The marble bath replaced the bright meadow. A hint of jasmine clung to the air.

  Sabrina suddenly felt exhausted. She tried twice to shut the water off by magic. Nothing happened. Her knees went weak. The pendant grew dark. No rainbows or shadows played inside the facets.

  “I’ve got you,” Brandon said, holding her up. He reached around her and turned off the water. He used one hand to open the glass shower doors and pulled a towel off the rack.

  “Damn, the whole room is soaked. I don’t have anything dry to wrap you in,” he complained. “It’s a good thing I installed a floor drain after the last time.”

  “S-Sorry,” she said weakly. “The sun must be coming up. I can hardly keep my eyes open.” Sleep threatened to overtake her. She stifled a yawn.

  “Come on,” he said, picking her up in his arms. He carried her to their bedroom and sat her down in a corner chair.

  “Oh, Brandon, the upholstery will be ruined,” she protested.

  He pulled a beach towel out of the top of the closet and handed it to her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take it out in trade later,” he teased. He took out a second towel and dried off.

  Lifting the fabric to her hair took more effort than it should have. She debated the consequences of falling into bed wet and naked. Remembering the team of men made her think better of it. She managed to get most of the water. The chair took the rest. By then, she felt like she could stand.

  Brandon dressed for bed in boxers and a tee. He took out a pair of silk pajamas from Sabrina’s drawer and handed them to her. He went back to the bathroom, returning with the hairbrush.

  “You dress. I’ll braid,” he said.

  She got up off the wet chair and pulled on her clothes. Perching herself on the edge of the bed, she handed Brandon her towel. While not back to normal, h
er energy slowly returned.

  He finished towel drying her hair. The brush felt good as he pulled it through her tresses. His fingers worked her curls into three strands and then into a long braid. He twisted a hair tie around the end.

  “I have to ask. Where did you learn to braid like that?” Curiosity got the better of her, but having her hair brushed and braided made her sleepy again.

  “My mother was a lady’s maid to Plotina, Trajan’s wife and Hadrian’s adoptive mother. She taught me some of the simpler braids to make me more useful in the house. It gave Plotina an excuse to keep me close to my mother,” he confessed.

  “Why did she do that?” Sabrina sounded groggy.

  Brandon turned down the bed and tucked Sabrina in, kissing her on the forehead. “Because it kept me out of trouble. Now, be a good girl and go to sleep. I’ll be here in just few minutes.”

  “Where are you going?” She wanted him to come to bed, to hold her as she drifted off to sleep for the day.

  “To make sure the doors are locked and security is in the entrance hall and on the balcony. I don’t want a repeat of uninvited visitors,” he reassured her.

  She smiled and gave a little chuckle. “Are you afraid I might eat someone else?”

  “No, sweetheart, I just want to make sure you stay safe. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said and left.

  She nestled down in the soft bedding. Her body felt heavy, like she could sink to the bottom of her fluffy surroundings. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

  * * * *

  Brandon checked the clock. Sunrise was still fifteen minutes away, plenty of time to check the apartment.

  He opened the entrance door. A heavily armed man and a werewolf stood at either end. He gave them a nod and closed the door.

  Out on the balcony, two men in full riot gear stood facing away from the French doors. He checked that the doors were locked from the inside. One of the men glanced back over his shoulder and gave Brandon the all-clear thumbs up.