I followed behind them, still holding Caleb’s hand. The cave was damp and smelled musty. I used my free hand to steady myself. Slime stuck to my fingers, and I yanked my hand away. I let out a small gasp. It echoed in the cave. Caleb turned around and looked at me as I tried to get the slimy goop off of my hand. He smiled and took my hand and wiped it on his shirt. He bent down and kissed my cheek. I immediately looked to my father. He was still walking ahead of us, but he had his head turned towards us, he smiled. Sex was not shameful in the faerie community. I had never learned their ways. I was not really one of them, I had never been raised with them. I felt like I should hide my feelings for Caleb in front of my father, but he seemed pleased.
"Caleb, when you were with me you never mentioned if the two of you received the gift I sent," Kerrigan said. He tried to speak softly because his voice was so low it would have shaken our eardrums if he used his normal voice.
Caleb looked at me, and I shrugged. "I’m sorry, Your Maj--Kerrigan, I’m not sure what gift you mean."
"The fruit, of course," Kerrigan said.
Caleb and I both stopped walking. He had been the one who put the platter of fruit in the garden. When I had awakened after being bitten by the troll, I had eaten one of the pears. It had contained a lust spell. Did my father put that on the fruit? I looked up at him walking. His broad shoulders were hunched to avoid hitting his head. His long hair hung down his back. Could he really have done that? He was King of the Underworld, King of the Dark Realm. I was surprised he was as nice as he was. Did I really know anything about him?
"Why the hell did you put a spell on it?" I asked. I didn’t hide the fact that I was mad.
Caleb clutched my hand. He leaned over and whispered something about him being the king. I didn’t care who the hell he was, he had no business in my love life.
Kerrigan turned around slowly, looking very intimidating. "And if I did?" he said, with one eyebrow raised slightly.
I walked up to him and put my finger in his chest. "It’s none of your business who I choose to share my bed with, are we clear?" I wasn’t really asking, I demanded.
Caleb pulled me back towards him. "I’m sorry, Kerrigan. What she means to say is thank you for trusting that we were meant to be together again. She was brought up by humans, she doesn’t know any better."
I turned and glared at him. How dare he try and speak for me? How dare he think he could smooth this over with a little butt kissing? His eyes pleaded with me. He begged me to let it go. I ignored him.
"Well, I think the good King here is well aware of the fact that I was not raised by fairies, and I think he is well aware of the fact that I am not happy with him right now!" I said.
Kerrigan smiled. "Caleb, I do not envy you. No, I do not." He laughed so hard as he said it that I thought he might cry. He turned the corner and I saw the exit.
Caleb grabbed my arm and pulled me close. "Please, Gwen, he is powerful. He could kill you without even laying a finger on you. Please, don’t make him angry."
I had to smile. I didn’t think Ken had told him everything. "When you said Ken told you everything, what did you mean?" I asked, as we walked out of the cave behind Kerrigan.
Caleb gave me a look that said he didn’t want to be talking about this right now. Oh well, he was going to have to. "He told me about the hellhounds, and Giovanni." He looked down. "He told me about you freeing Pallo."
So, Ken didn’t mention that I had slept with Pallo, or that I had found out who my real father was. I started smiling. Caleb had no idea that Kerrigan was my father. God, he probably thought I was the stupidest girl in the world to speak to a King that way. Ha! I loved it!
"What part of what happened to you was amusing?" he asked seriously.
"No, it’s not that. It’s just that…." I started to tell him that Kerrigan was my father, when Kerrigan called to us.
We had walked out into an open, grassy field. The right side of it was lined with brush and trees. Kerrigan walked up to a massive mound of ivy and reached out his hand. It separated into two equal halves. It was beautiful. I followed the two of them in. We stepped through and into a large city. It looked like every other city I had ever seen, right up until I turned and saw the people walking around here. Well, I think the term ‘people’ would apply. Many fairies walked about. Most had on long robes, similar to the one that my father wore. The colors varied, but it was clear that black was favored. Almost everyone was armed in some fashion, with swords, guns, knives. It didn’t seem to bother anyone. They walked about on the sidewalks like it was perfectly normal to be armed and, I presumed, dangerous.
A nagging feeling started in my gut. I couldn’t quite identify what, but I knew something wasn’t right. I looked at Caleb. His tall, slender, beautiful profile confirmed that he was fine. I looked to my father, who walked just a few paces ahead of us--he, too, looked fine. My thoughts went to Ken. Had he made it home okay? I let this play about in my mind, then let it go. No, I knew in my heart that he was fine, too. It hit me then. Pallo! Something was wrong with Pallo. Giovanni was behind it, I knew it. I stepped up my pace. I needed to get back home quickly.
We walked down the center of the street. This place was dimly lit. It was a cross between night and day, it was dusk. I wondered if it was always this way here. After all, the Dark Realm was called the Darkness. As we walked, I looked down between the tall buildings, and the alleys were full of strange looking creatures. One had at least fifty eyeballs plastered all over its purplish head. I think it looked at me, too, although I couldn’t be sure. I think it looked at everyone. A man walked a ghoul. He had it on a chain--that was something you didn’t see everyday. I had always wondered where creatures from nightmares lived. I knew that only a few lived among the humans. They feared the creatures too much and were not tolerant of them. Many of the creatures from the Darkness court were harmless. Some were a little dangerous, and others were down right lethal.
I could see a large building up ahead of us. It looked like a cross between a stone castle and a church. I highly doubted anyone in here sought religion. As we came closer to it, I saw the stained glass windows didn’t hold images of the Christian church. They held images of the creatures of the night-sinister things that no one ever wants to think exists. One picture was of a werewolf in mid transformation. My body had chills running through it. Was I really part of this world? How could my father be King? He seemed so nice.
I watched him start upstairs to the large, gray, church-like building. Two goblins stood guard at the door. One was about a foot taller than the other. It had a snout that looked similar to an alligator and the rest of its face looked like it was a boar. Tusks poked from the edges of its mouth. Its skin was pasty gray. It was hideously wonderful, in its long red robe with a gold sash. The other goblin looked a little less overwhelming. It, too, was a grayish color, but lacked the tusks. Its nose was nonexistent, only two large openings were on its face. That made it appear more pig like than the other. He looked at us as we approached.
"Halt!" he shouted. I had to laugh. "No one may enter without an appointment."
The Queen of the Dark had appointments? Did she have a secretary, too? He looked at my father, then at Caleb, and a look of shock came over his eyes.
"My Lords," he hissed.
Lords? Whoa, did I travel in good company. He moved and opened the large black wood door for us.
"Thank you, Deaglan." Kerrigan said. The goblin dropped to his knees before my father’s feet. My father reached his hand down and told Deaglan to rise. He did.
I just stood there, watching the entire thing in awe.
"Where is she?" my father asked Deaglan.
He looked at him with wide eyes. "She is in her chamber, she is…" he fell silent.
My father smiled, "She is entertaining, isn’t she?"
Deaglan nodded and avoided looking my father in the eye. I wasn’t sure what he meant by entertaining, but I assumed that it was not good. Caleb walked out and stood near
my father.
"I will get her," he said, and walked towards an enormously wide staircase. The stairs were covered in red carpet, the stone beneath was painted black. I looked around. We were standing in a huge room, which for the most part was bare. A few paintings hung on the black walls. They looked to be of past Kings and Queens. I looked at them. One thing they all had in common was that in each picture, one person looked like me. No, not exactly like me, but close. I could tell I was related to them in some fashion. The long hair that curled on the ends, the shimmering skin, a mix between bronze and cream, and the dark navy blue eyes. I knew none of the faces.
"Caleb, you go and change. She will not be pleased to see you in those," he said, pointing to Caleb’s jeans. "I will go and get her. Gwyneth, you stay here. Deaglan will look after you," Kerrigan said, and walked briskly upstairs.
Caleb turned and looked in my direction. "Deaglan, let nothing happen to her, understand me?" he asked.
"Yes, my Lord, I will look after the lady."
Caleb took off down a long hall to our right and disappeared. Deaglan turned and looked at me. He looked as though he were seeing a ghost. I’d been getting that a lot, so I became immune to it.
"Pardon me, miss," he said softly, with only a slight lisp.
I looked at him, eyes wide. "Yes?" I asked.
"Is it really you, Miss Gwyneth?" he asked, coming closer to me. He lifted his hand out to touch my face. He had a thumb and that was all. Where the other four fingers would have been was one fused--together lump. I stood still, and tried my best not to jerk away as he touched me. I assumed he would feel like a pig. I was wrong, he felt like a frog. His skin was cool, clammy, and smooth.
His huge yellow eyes lit up. "It is you, Miss Gwyneth, it is! But how?"
"I’m sorry, Deaglan, I can’t explain it."
He nodded and stopped touching my cheek. I wondered if he had known me well before. I thought about asking him, but it seemed a bit insulting to not remember if you knew someone or not. I stood there with him a few minutes, then someone called my name. It sounded like Pallo.
Pallo? What could he be doing here? I knew the guy was a Master Vampire, but he didn’t seem the type to hang out in dark, creepy places like this. He called me again. This time he sounded like he asked for my help. I had been right. There had been something wrong with him. I looked at Deaglan. If he heard this, he wasn’t letting on. He just stood there looking at me. I heard it again.
I turned around and stopped to listen. Nothing. I closed my eyes. Was I imagining him? I hated him, right? Why would I imagine hearing his voice call to me? I thought about him. I though about his big brown eyes, his wonderful, pale skin, and how broad his shoulders were. I thought about his touch--how loving and gentle it had been before he turned on me. I tried to pull an image of him in my head. I kept seeing him against a stone wall. He was not wearing a shirt, but what else was new? I blew my energy at him. He didn’t move. I let my mind focus and pull back from him a little. He was not standing against the wall, he was chained to it. I kept my eyes closed and ran in the direction I felt him. I was not running blind. My third eye guided me.
Chapter 26
I could make out the sound of Deaglan yelling for me to return. I ignored him. I tried to reach Pallo with my thoughts. I tried to make him hear me, but could get nothing. My hand stopped moving. I could see through it now. I saw Pallo’s slumped body hanging on the wall on the other side of the room. I put my hands out in front of me and felt that they were near him. I opened them and looked. There was nothing but a dark stone wall there. I pushed on it. It was solid. I felt his presence near me. I knew he was behind that wall. I stood before it and drew upon my power with all of my might. My fingers prickled, and the sensation of heat rose slowly up my arms. I placed the palms of my hands on the stone wall and released my power. The wall disappeared. I stepped through and saw Pallo’s body chained to the wall.
I screamed his name and ran to him. He didn’t move. I lifted his hair from his face. There was no sign of life in him. I pulled on the chains binding him, but they didn’t move. I yanked on them until my fingers bled. My blood made the iron slippery, it was hopeless. I turned to run to get Caleb’s help, but the spot were I had entered was closed. I was drained, I could not open it again this soon. I looked back at Pallo. I lifted his face in my hands and cupped his chin.
"Don’t you dare die on me! If you do, I’ll kill you!" I said. Hey, when you’re under pressure, you say stupid things.
I held his chin tight and leaned up and gave him a kiss on the lips. They were ice cold, and they turned blue. He was dead--deader than his usual. I let his chin slide slowly out of my hand. I accidentally smeared blood all over his chin.
"Blood," I said out loud.
I took my fingers and pushed them into his cold mouth, it was hard to pry open, but I did. I put them in as far as I could get them. Pallo had once told me that he only needed a small amount of my blood to sustain him. I planned on giving him a hell of a lot more than that. I took my fingers out of his mouth, and put the palm of my hand near the pin in the chain holding one of his arms to the wall. I pulled my palm across it slowly, firmly. My skin ripped open. I pulled my hand back and looked at it.
Yep, I had torn it open.
Blood came pouring out of it. I cupped my hand, letting the blood collect, and pulled Pallo’s mouth open. I poured my blood into his mouth and concentrated on thinking about how much I cared for him. The fact that he had betrayed me was pushed into the far recesses of my mind. I let him see how I had viewed our night of lovemaking, how I had savored every moment, even if he didn’t.
A memory flooded into my head. It was of the two of us. We were making love in the same yellow bedroom, but this was not recent, this was long ago. We were sitting up on the bed facing each other. I had my legs wrapped around his waist. He kissed my breasts with sweet, soft kisses. I tipped my head back. I could feel him inside of me, as I watched the memory in my head. My eyes burned. I saw in my head that they were ablaze with lavender. He and I had been a match. He was human, but it didn’t matter, he was a match, a soul mate. I felt him coming in me as I watched it. I knew that he had just planted his seed in me. I knew that I was with his child in the memory. I knew, but I didn’t tell him. I wanted to surprise him. He would be so happy to be a father. I knew that I needed to get away from Giovanni, and I knew who I had to see about that. The memory pulled away from me. Something moved by my hand.
I opened my eyes and looked at Pallo. His color was back, as much as it ever would be. He licked my hand and places tiny kisses on it. The wound closed. He looked at me with eyes of brown that stole my heart. I touched his face lightly. He kissed my hand.
"The baby was mine," he said softly.
I looked at him. Had he shared my vision with me? He must have. "Pallo, I wanted to surprise you, I…" I couldn’t remember any more than that.
"No, don’t, it is not your fault. I just never knew if it was mine or if it was…" he didn’t say a name.
"Caleb’s," I said.
I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t be held responsible for decisions I made in another lifetime, and Pallo knew that. I had to focus on the now, and that meant freeing him. I reached up to pull on his chain again. Something growled behind me and Pallo yelled my name. I jumped to the side so I stood directly in front of his body. A hellhound crashed into the stone wall, right where I had been standing. There was another growl from behind me. The one on the floor stood up. I kicked it hard, and it flipped over and whimpered. I turned around quickly and crouched down, putting my hands into the air. A flash of dark brown and then its belly flew at me. I pushed up under it and propelled it up and over me. It just missed hitting Pallo by about two inches. Its back claw caught the back of my shoulder and tore it open. I winced, but didn’t stop turning in a crouched down position. I was sick of these little bastard mutant-puppies. I was tired of taking their shit. Another one came at me, but it was too late. It knocked me to t
he ground. I kept my legs tucked tightly against my chest and thrust them out. It flew off of me. I put my hands on the ground above my head and pushed up quickly--being a cheerleader in high school will keep you limber. I was silently thanking my adoptive mother for insisting I take gymnastics as a child, and for pushing me to be peppy.
I turned and looked at Pallo, who seemed very impressed. I walked over to him and tried to loosen his chains some more. My face was so close to his, I could feel his breath on my skin. It smelled sweet and wonderful. I couldn’t resist the temptation to kiss him. I stood on my tiptoes and placed a tiny kiss on his lips. He pulled his head back from me fast. I spun around in time to throw my leg up, extending my foot sideways. The chunky sole of my brown sandal hit a hellhound, half in human form, right in the chest. It staggered backwards, taking me with it. I fell to the floor, my ankle twisted and popped. I screamed out in pain. Pallo yelled for me and pulled at his chains. I tried to turn to stand, but a sharp pain went through my leg. It was the same damn ankle the troll had gotten. If this kept up, I’d need a cane.
Pallo frantically screamed at me to move. I couldn’t. Something hard and sharp kicked me dead in the center of my back.
"You just keep coming back. You are like a stray dog. Once it gets a taste of something good to eat, it keeps returning."
I turned my head to look at the source of the voice. I saw a head of blonde hair that was sleek, straight, and long. It was attached to a tall woman. She was at least six foot- three inches tall, and very slender. I could tell this because she wore a long, see--through black dress that had black spider webs stitched over it. Her sleeves were long and hung almost to the ground. I could make out black spiked heels under her gown. I thought that’s what she’d hit me with until I saw her raise her hand and send power flying out at me. In an instant I felt like I had been kicked in the side. It sent me sliding across the floor, crying out.
I didn’t know who she was, but it was pretty obvious she knew me, and she didn’t like me one bit. She put her hand out again. I braced myself for it, but it didn’t come. Instead, it was Pallo who cried out.
Daughter of Darkness Page 26
