bedeviled & beyond 06 - bedeviled & befouled

by Sam Cheever

  All that pleasure.

  Dialle’s hand left my breast and tangled in my hair. He pulled my head back as he slammed into me, every breath a harsh expulsion in the otherwise silent room.

  He twisted my hair around his hand, sending tiny fingers of pain through my scalp and new pleasure spiraling through my body. My nipples peaked painfully. My channel throbbed, and heat burst in a violent surge from the tight coil of pleasure deep within.

  I screamed and came violently as he slammed into me a final time, his hand leaving my hair to frame my hips, holding me tight as he spent himself impossibly deep inside my body.

  Wave after wave of delight curled through me until I shook under its incredible power. My arms gave out and I slammed down onto the musty smelling mattress, my face buried in its dusty depths and my breath heaving through my lips.

  Dialle collapsed over me and rolled to the side, pulling me over and capturing my lips in a desperate, hungry kiss. His hands shook as they pushed my tangled hair from my face and his sexy, black eyes no longer roiled with the colors of rage. “Thank you, Astra.”

  I reached up and placed my palm over his face, my thumb caressing the soft fullness of his bottom lip. “For what?”

  He dropped his head, resting it against mine. “For embracing my dark side. For accepting it, even when I couldn’t.”

  I shook my head. “My dark side seems to like your dark side.” I grinned.

  He smiled too and my stomach jumped at the sweet sight. I hadn’t seen Dialle smile like that in months. He settled down next to me and pulled me close, touching my temple in a soft kiss. “I think I could sleep for a week.”

  Nestling into his warm arms, with his scent enveloping me and my body pleasantly tired and sore, I closed my eyes too. I thought I’d just hold him while he slept. But sleep soon pulled at me and, after a few moments, I joined him in oblivion.

  ~SC~

  Astra? What the hell are you doing?

  I thought I was just having a nightmare. There was nothing more terrifying than my sister’s dulcet tones banging around in my head. I grimaced in my sleep and snuggled closer to Dialle, hoping his firm embrace would chase away the evil nasties in my dreams.

  Astra!

  I jerked, blinked and rolled away from Dialle with a groan. My whole body was sore. I felt as if I’d gone a few rounds with a demon. Actually I’d battled two demons—Dialle’s and mine.

  Dialle murmured my name and grabbed for me as I sat up and shoved hair off my face. I looked around the room, yawning. It was a frunkin’ mess. For a moment the voice in my head was silent, giving me hope it had only been a terrible dream.

  Damn it, Astra.

  No such luck.

  I sighed. What’s wrong, Darma?

  Finally. I’ve been calling you for ten minutes.

  Excuse me for taking the time to sleep. What was I thinking?

  It’s frunkin’ noon!

  I grinned. My sister never used to swear before she started working with me. I was happy to have been instrumental in removing some of the up from her uppity. What do you want, Darma?

  I thought you might be interested in the fact that royals have invaded Phelps castle. Emo and Slayer are pinned down on the landing above the dungeon and father and I are fighting them off on the main floor. Since they most likely came for you and your boy-toy I’m thinking you should probably be out here helping defeat them. Emo has already lowered the shield.

  My heartbeat picked up and I jumped out of bed, looking around for my clothes. Then I remembered Dialle had magicked them away. Shit. I’ll be there in a minute. I did a quick check of my power levels. My battery was pretty much on empty. I glanced toward Dialle, still asleep on the bed, and wondered briefly if he could recharge me.

  I immediately dismissed that idea. I’d have to wake him up to get a charge and then he’d want to go with me. I thought I had enough to shift into my room upstairs. Once there I could dress and grab some weapons. I might not be able to fight with magic but I could still kick ass with my knives and swords.

  I pictured my room in my mind and started to shimmer away. At the last minute a hard hand clamped around my wrist and, before I could stop him, Dialle piggybacked on my shift.

  The silence of my space-shift gave way to the sounds of fighting on the fourth floor where my bedroom was located. As soon as my feet touched the floor I reached for Dialle, intending to send him back to the dungeon.

  He danced away from my touch, grinning. “Oh no you don’t. I’m coming with you.”

  I frowned at him but realized I probably didn’t have the power to send him back anyway. “You’re in no condition to fight.”

  He looked down at himself and frowned slightly. A pair of tight, black-leather pants appeared over his lower half, lovingly molding his scrumptious form. A sheer, white pirate shirt covered his upper half. The shirt had billowy sleeves and was open to mid-chest. Yummy. He put his hand out and a sword appeared in it. “Where’s Gerch?”

  I blinked. “Oh, yeah. He’s probably not speaking to me right now.”

  Dialle chuckled. “Isn’t that pretty much business as usual?”

  I headed for the giant, mahogany wardrobe on the side wall of my bedroom. “Maybe he’s just a bit madder than usual. I sort of promised him he could come protect me while I settled things with you.”

  I turned as silence throbbed between us. Dialle’s expression was neutral, but his eyes roiled with color. I realized too late how my comment must have sounded. “Dialle... I—”

  “No, Astra. He was right to be concerned. I did almost kill you.” Still, he frowned. I knew it couldn’t be easy to realize his own captain of the guard had switched loyalties.

  Unable to fix the damage I’d done with my careless words, I focused on dressing in a sweater and soft, slim pants, then dragged on a pair of short, soft black boots. I pulled my hair into a low pony so it would be harder to grab and headed for my weapons stores. The panel on the wall was set to open only with my biological imprint. I placed my palm over the reader and the wall slid silently open. I selected a thin-bladed sword and several knives, strapping on a platinum belt of crosses for good measure.

  By the time I was ready to leave my room the hallways beyond the door were thick with the sound of battle.

  Dialle moved to the door and opened it, peering out as I came up beside him.

  “Who exactly are we fighting?” I asked.

  He sighed. “These are Fallen’s men.”

  I cast my mind back several months to the time Dialle had informed his court that I’d killed the evil Barbie, Rayanne. I remembered the tall, exceedingly lean royal who’d shown his displeasure with Dialle so publically, and had been shot down for his trouble. I wouldn’t soon forget the cold hostility the man had favored me with that day. He’d shown it many times since then. “You think he’s making a play for the crown?”

  “Yes. I’m guessing, after last night, the court has begun to heal again. He probably realizes his window of opportunity is closing.”

  I nodded, dragging my sword from its scabbard. “I’d like to close it on his fingers.”

  Dialle smiled down at me. Rather than stepping away from the door, though, he reached out and touched my lips with a warm finger. “It will be a pleasure fighting at your side again, my queen.”

  I sucked the finger into my mouth, enjoying the way his dark eyes widened in surprise and pleasure. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to win this battle first, then we need to retake the Royal Court and figure out if you can rule with a broken queen.”

  He moved the finger to my chin and lifted, dropping a tender kiss on my upturned lips. “Your power is weak but at least it’s back. Besides, I think a broken king deserves a broken queen. We appear to be a perfect fit.”

  Feeling more than a little guilty that I hadn’t told him about my problem, I reached around and patted his fine ass, giving it a squeeze. “I can’t disagree with that.”

  “Then let’s go kick some royal
ass, my love.”

  “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

  ~SC~

  Dialle slipped through the door and I followed, holding a knife in each hand. I recognized several of Gerch’s men fighting with swords and chains. The stone walls and floor already ran with blood and gore. A shout went up when we were spotted and several warrior-level devils surged toward us, wearing unfamiliar uniforms. Dialle and I went back-to-back and engaged them, easily besting the lower-level grunts and looking for more.

  A little farther up the hall we ran into a more formidable enemy. Two royals with four gargoyles on tethers were cutting a bloody swath through Gerch and a dozen of his guards. Though they carried some kind of shields to deflect the power arrows shooting from the fingers of the royals, the combination of dark energy and the brutal efficiency of the ’goyles were proving more than Gerch and his men could handle. Several uniform-clad corpses already cluttered the battle area.

  Dialle looked at me and I nodded. He grabbed my hand and we shifted, coming back to the physical plane behind the royals. The first royal turned as we landed and Dialle engaged him in swordplay. I reached for the chain holding one of the ‘goyles as the second royal turned and flipped it around the royal’s neck before he could lunge toward me. I glanced past him at Gerch. “Draw 'em off, Gerch!”

  Gerch nodded and gave a shout. He and his men turned around and ran. The snarling ‘goyles jerked forward, the only thought in their beady brains to follow their prey. The royal was jolted off his feet and dragged along with them, the ’goyles ripping chunks out of him as he bounced along behind them.

  I leapt on the closest ’goyle’s back and slashed its throat as it reared up to dislodge me. The thing went down with a crash, its thick limbs flailing. Dialle’s royal was jerked backward as his two pets surged toward Gerch and his men, and Dialle skewered him with a sword as he fell, following the attack with a power arrow to the brain.

  I leapt on the next gargoyle as Gerch’s men surrounded the third and handily dispatched it. I crossed my knives at the thing’s throat and started to slice, but the last ’goyle decided it was tired of chewing on the downed royals and came after more lively meat. It lunged at me with a roar, the massive, gore-coated fangs snapping mere inches from my face.

  The ’goyle stopped in mid-air with a yelp. I looked past it to Dialle, who was holding its chain in one hand. He jerked the thing around and slammed it into the wall. It left a bloody trail on the stone and landed in a boneless pile on the floor.

  Gerch walked over and sliced its head off with a bloody sword. The big soldier dragged his sword over one of the dead royals’ clothing to clean it before looking up. His dark eyes swept over me, his wide red face devoid of expression, and then swept toward Dialle. He smiled. “You’re looking better, sire.”

  Dialle lowered his sword and closed the distance between them, quickly embracing his captain of the guards and long-time friend. Gerch’s beady eyes slid to me, widening in surprise, before he briefly returned Dialle’s embrace. “I’ve missed you, old friend.”

  Gerch stepped back, his gaze sliding away with embarrassment. “We need to get you out of here, sire. The factions aligned against you are building.”

  “What are we dealing with, Gerch?”

  He glanced at me and then turned back to Dialle, addressing his response to him.

  Okay, so he was really pissed at me. That was all right, I told myself. I’d done the right thing. He’d just have to deal with it.

  “Fallen and Rigeur combined forces and stormed the castle. The court started mending itself late last night and the mood among the rebels turned decidedly sour. I sent fifty men here to warn the angels and guard the dungeons. I stayed behind and watched. As soon as I realized they were coming after you I brought the rest of your men.”

  Dialle looked around at the carnage. “How long has the fighting been going on?”

  “A couple of hours. We tried to keep them outside but they breeched the main floors fairly quickly. They’ve pushed us steadily downward.”

  I frowned, not liking the sound of that. “What about the angels? Even in force the royals shouldn’t have been able to breech them so easily.”

  Gerch finally slid his gaze my way. “The rebels brought dark angels with them.”

  “Frunk me.” I looked at Dialle. Of course, it made sense. Anything the dark ones could do to unbalance power in the court would benefit them. The royals probably had no idea why the powerful ones would want to ally with them. “They’re making a play for the court.”

  Dialle nodded. “Fallen’s a fool.” He turned to Gerch. “Our only hope is to convince Fallen and Rigeur that they’re being used. If we can pull the court together and provide a unified front we might have a chance against the dark ones.”

  Gerch nodded. “Back to the court then?”

  “Yes.” Dialle held out his hand. “Astra, with me.”

  I shook my head. If we were going up against the dark ones I needed more juice. “I have to recharge.”

  “Recharge what?”

  Gerch threw me a disgusted look. “You haven’t told him?”

  Guilty heat suffused my face. “I’ve been a little busy, devil.”

  He shook his head and bowed. “I’ll give you a minute.” Gerch took his men to guard the stairs leading to the dungeon, leaving me to explain the unexplainable to Dialle.

  “What’s going on, Astra?”

  “We don’t really have the time—”

  “Tell me.”

  I didn’t like the look on his face. It reminded me that he was still fragile. He could revert to the state I’d found him in last night at the smallest provocation.

  And my condition was no small provocation. It was my loss of power that had set him on the road to madness.

  “I’m not exactly healed.”

  “You have power again.”

  “Yes. But it’s kind of borrowed.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned down at me. “That doesn’t make any sense. You can’t borrow magic.”

  “Apparently I can. When Crisanne magic-raped me, she took my power but it left behind a vacuum. When I went up to the cumulous castle they ran some tests and we discovered the vacuum retained some memory of my magic.”

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “It means my body remembers how to hold magic and will temporarily hold onto borrowed energy but...”

  “But?”

  I expelled a sigh. “But I can no longer make energy, only store it. I have to get it from others.”

  He stared at me for a long moment, his dark eyes swirling with color. I read fear in his handsome features, along with anger. “So you’re telling me that I’m destined to succumb to madness after all.”

  “No.” I grabbed his arm and he jerked away. “We’re still trying to fix the problem.”

  Dialle shook his head, turning away. “I’m going to attempt to reason with my court. I’m not sure how I’m going to talk them into giving the court back to a broken king, but I have to try.”

  I started after him. “I’m coming with you.”

  “No!” He turned to me, angry colors swirling in his eyes. He briefly closed them, obviously fighting deep emotion. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and husky with regret. “Astra, as much as I wish it, I realize now that you cannot be my queen. I...” His voice broke and he had to swallow hard. “I can’t descend to that kind of madness again, Astra. I know in my heart I will not return if I do. And if I reach those depths again I know I’ll kill you. I can’t live with that. I’m sorry.”

  Tears blurred my vision as he turned and walked away. I sagged against the wall as dizziness assailed me. I tried to straighten, tried to retain some semblance of dignity under his crushing declaration, but I just couldn’t. “Dialle.” His name emerged from my lips as a sob. “Please don’t go.”

  He didn’t stop. He didn’t even slow. He turned the corner and he was just...gone.

  CHAPTER
ELEVEN

  Dumped!

  Amid agony and loss, young miss is cast aside,

  Her heart has just been tossed, to save her hero’s hide.

  I didn’t even know I was falling until my knees cracked against the floor. Pain shot up my legs and I barely noticed. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe past the agony searing my chest. Hard hands grabbed my shoulders, dragging me upward. I opened my eyes, hoping Dialle had returned. I looked up into a velvet-black gaze filled with sorrow.

  Hot tears slipped down my cheeks, dripping off my chin. “Emo. He left me. Oh god, he threw me away.”

  My friend pulled me against his chest, murmuring nonsense words that were meant to comfort. They pinged uselessly off the dense armor of my pain. Nothing could touch the icy hole in my chest.

  Emo lifted me into his arms and I wilted against him, allowing him to carry me up the stairs. I didn’t know where he was taking me. Didn’t care. I only wanted to curl into the fetal position and die. He laid me on my bed and stretched out next to me, wrapping his long body around mine. I shuddered against him, numb with horror. I felt so empty. So cold.

  Emo yanked a blanket up to cover me and kissed my forehead. “Just let it go, Astra. Get it all out.”

  But I couldn’t let it go...because it would consume me in a flash flame of sheer agony. I shook my head, grabbing Emo’s hand and clutching it as I shivered until my teeth clacked together. Locking my muscles against the need to cry, I forced the tears back.

  Emo placed a hand on my face. “Sleep, Astra. Rest. When you wake up it will be over.”

  Drowsiness slipped over me, softening the muscles I’d braced against the pain. My mind went muzzy with fatigue. “What did you...” The words trailed away, lost on a cloud of black oblivion. And I started to drift. The bed dipped and Emo’s heat left me. Something niggled. My mind struggled against the imperative of sleep. There was something I needed to do. Something important.