by Sabrina York
A thundering sound shook the sylvan scene. The girl glanced over her shoulder and her expression clouded. A hint of fear blossomed. Her eyes widened as she saw something approach.
And then she screamed. She wheeled away and began to flee, dropping her basket. Plump, juicy berries tumbled to the ground and were crushed to red pulps beneath her feet.
Keeshan was so tense his entire body quivered. Aimalee could tell he was trying so hard to control his emotion. This was the point where the scene had always cut off. She stroked his cheek. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “Relax.”
He did relax a bit but his attention was riveted on the screen.
Because the scene continued.
A man on a large horse rode into sight. He was dark and large and looming. He wore an odd, ancient form of black armor scrolled with myriad inscriptions, his face covered by the visor of his helmet. And he followed the girl, Lisette, as she attempted to escape.
She didn’t escape.
The dark knight scooped her up onto his lap and threw back his head and laughed.
Keeshan stilled. “All the gods,” he whispered.
“Do you know him?” Aimalee asked, even as the enormous horse wheeled about and, trampling the basket and the berries, pounded off into the distance.
“Yes.” He hissed the response through his teeth. “The bastard.”
The scene changed again. The girl again, frightened, vulnerable. She stood in the center of an austere chamber with a large stone throne on a dais flanked by two slavering hounds. There was little light but that flickering from two flaming urns. The knight who had snatched her stood before her, watching her tremble. A sinister smirk played on his lips.
Then he lifted off his helmet, revealing a horrifying, handsome visage. It was horrifying because those perfect features were twisted into something awful. Pure, unadulterated hate. His entire body pulsed with it.
His mouth was nothing more than a disdainful slash. “You are mine now, Lisette. You are mine forever.”
“No!” Keeshan leapt from the chair and paced the room like a tethered beast, dragging his fingers through his hair and gnashing his teeth. The instant he wrenched away from Aimalee, the image in the mirror vanished.
“Who was that man?” Aimalee followed him though she could barely keep up, aching to soothe him, somehow alleviate this new panic. She would never have offered to find Lisette had she known her fate would disturb him so.
Keeshan swung on her, his countenance a mask of rage and…helplessness. “That man,” he spat, “is none other than the Dark Djinn. And when he said he had my sister forever, he meant forever.” He slammed his fist into the wall. The entire room shuddered. “All this time. All this time! He’s had her. All this time he’s been tormenting her. All this time she’s been alive with him…and suffering!”
“You don’t know she is suffering.”
“I’ll kill him. I swear. I will rip him limb from limb.”
Aimalee’s heart stuttered. “But he’s so much stronger than you.”
“He is still a man. I may not be as powerful but I can certainly do him damage. He will pay.”
“Keeshan. Calm down.” Panic fluttered in her breast. If anything happened to Keeshan, would she be stuck here forever? She didn’t want to be stuck here forever.
Then again, she rather desperately didn’t want anything to happen to her Keeshan.
Though he wasn’t her Keeshan. At least not technically.
“I must confront him.” Still he paced, smashing his bloodied fist into his palm. “I must rescue her.”
“First you have to calm down. Get control of your emotions.”
He swung around and stared at her as though she had just appeared from thin air. “You don’t understand. Every second, every second I delay, she remains in his clutches.”
“As she has for two thousand years. A bit longer, while you collect yourself, will do no harm. If you confront the Djinn like this, he’ll win. I couldn’t bear it if he…”
Keeshan stilled. “If he…what?”
She blinked several times in succession and it wasn’t to fight back the tears. It wasn’t. “If he hurt you.”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“You are still a man.”
Oh. He didn’t like it when she used his own argument against him. He glowered something fierce. “I know I am not invulnerable. But I do have some tricks up my sleeve. Stand back now. I must go.”
She threw herself against him and wrapped her arms around his neck, levering herself up for a kiss. His lips were unyielding at first but she worked at them until they molded against hers. “Be careful,” she whispered. “Be safe.”
And then once he was gone, when that roiling pillar of enchanted fog rose up to consume him…
“And come back to me, my Keeshan. Come back to me.”
Chapter Twelve
Keeshan emerged from the mist like a berserker, not stopping meekly where he usually did but powering directly over to Duvalli’s dais. The hounds were so startled they didn’t even snap at him. Rather they took one look at him and backed up as far as their chains would allow.
“You have her,” Keeshan snarled, right into Duvalli’s smug face. “You’ve had her all along.”
The Dark Djinn, surprised by this unexpected visit, stood and adjusted his tunic. He edged around Keeshan’s looming form, sauntering to the stone table against the wall upon which his mirror sat. He poured himself a drink, pretending to ignore the fact that Keeshan had followed and was looming still. He took a nonchalant sip. “So you finally realized.”
“You bastard. I ought to wring your neck.”
“Of course I took your sister. You took mine.” He smirked. “An eye for an eye and all that.”
“I did not take your sister. She gave herself to me. Willingly.”
Now Duvalli did show a flicker of emotion. A dark emotion. “And I ought to wring your neck for that.”
“She loved me.”
“You broke her heart.”
“No. You broke her heart. You’re the one who separated us.”
“Really.” Duvalli rubbed his temple. “I don’t have time for this.”
Keeshan glared around the austere chamber. “What the hell else do you have to do?” He stepped closer, hand curled into an ominous fist. “Where is she?”
Duvalli took a step back. “She is…safe.”
“That’s not good enough. I swear unto all this holy and all that is not, if you have hurt Lisette, I will kill you. I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and I will make you pay.”
“Ohh. I am so frightened.” The Dark Djinn affected a shudder.
But then he shuddered for real because Keeshan slammed him into the wall. The hounds, impotent and chained, howled.
“Shut up!” both men yelled at them in tandem.
Keeshan bent closer, let Duvalli catch the stink of his rage, the certainty of his intent. “Let me see her.”
“No.”
Keeshan’s fingers tightened, closing around his neck.
“You cannot see her.”
“Why the fuck not?”
Slowly, Duvalli inched away until he was free. He massaged the red marks on his throat. There would likely be bruises. “Because.”
“Not good enough.” Keeshan’s vehemence mounted. Truly, if Duvalli did not give him some form of satisfaction soon, he would kill the man and damn the consequences.
The Dark Djinn sighed. “Why are you so damn stubborn?”
“Show her to me.”
“You won’t like what you see.” A sneer.
“Show me.”
Without another word, without another demur, Duvalli walked to the alcove and ripped open the curtain to reveal his one and only companion.
Keeshan froze at the sight of his sister. He had ached for a glimpse of Lisette throughout the millennia—but not like this. Never like this.
She was lovely as ever, as fresh and young as the last day he had seen her.
Her head was tilted as though something had amused her and she was just about to laugh. Her features were serene. At peace.
But she was still.
Utterly still.
Still as stone.
She was…a statue.
“It was the Great Djinn’s doing,” Duvalli muttered, storming up the steps to his throne, hoping perhaps to regain his dominance. Or at least the illusion of it. “When it was revealed that I had taken her, the Great Djinn was…not happy. Accused me of tinkering with the delicate balance of life or some such twaddle.”
“The Great Djinn does not deal in twaddle.” Keeshan’s hand trembled as he lovingly stroked a familiar cheek. It was hard and cold. But he swore he felt something there. Some vestige of life.
“Oh. She’s not dead.” Duvalli grunted. “She is the immovable object.”
“You being the irresistible force, I presume?”
Duvalli shrugged. “In theory, I suppose. As with the mirror, when emotions run too high, she…freezes up. It’s damn aggravating.”
“She turns to stone when you pursue her?” Keeshan rather liked that. For one thing, it meant Duvalli had not been indiscriminately tormenting her for centuries. It meant she had a retreat.
“Something like that. This was the Great Djinn’s way of protecting her.”
“Protecting her?”
Duvalli’s lip thrust out in something of a pout. “I know. Really? Protecting her from me? I’m the one who needs protecting. From her. Why, the first time I came to her she nearly gored me in the…well, never mind.”
Keeshan growled.
“Don’t get all outraged.” Duvalli took a sip from his goblet. “The only way I can…have my way with her is if she’s willing. You should be pleased to know that it took me at least a century to get a kiss.”
“She kissed you?” Every hair on Keeshan’s nape stood on end.
Duvalli held up a hand. “Of her own accord, I assure you. And unlike you, I did not have an incantation to draw on her flesh.” He shifted in his seat and readjusted his tunic. “It has been…frustrating.”
Keeshan bared his teeth. “I couldn’t be happier. But now that I know where she is, I am taking her back with me.”
“To the lamp?”
“Yes. And you will not stop me.”
Duvalli shrugged with one shoulder. “No. I won’t stop you…because you cannot take her.”
Keeshan leapt forward. “The hell you say!”
“Back off, you mongrel.” Duvalli scooted back in his chair. “It’s not because I will not allow it. It’s because, like the two of us, she is stuck here between worlds until the spell is broken.”
“The spell you wove.”
Duvalli nodded. “It was more intricate than I planned. Probably on account of my rage at the time. Never cast spells when you’re angry, by the way.”
“Who are you trying to fool? You’re still angry.”
“I have not forgiven you for Circe. I never will. But I am not angry.”
“Liar.”
“Regardless.” Duvalli adopted a bored expression. “It’s a moot point. If you break the enchantment, your sister shall be freed as well.”
Keeshan’s heart thudded. He had spent the last two thousand years trying to find a way to free himself and he had always failed. But before it had been only his own destiny that lay in the balance. He glanced at Lisette, her lovely face frozen. Now he had someone else counting on him. He would find a way to break the spell. He would.
A new resolve, a new hope, rose within him.
Keeshan glared at his nemesis. “When I come back, I expect to see her again. And you’d better take good care of her, you bastard.”
Duvalli studied his fingernails. “No need to be rude.”
Keeshan snorted. “No need to be civil either.”
“Will you be back soon?” It had always been at least a century between their meetings. Now they’d met twice within a matter of days.
“Now that I know you have her? You will be seeing me very soon.”
“Oh dear.” Duvalli tossed back the remainder of his drink. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
But he was talking to himself. As usual. Keeshan had already left. The Dark Djinn stared at the gust of roiling smoke that marked his departure and sighed. He frowned at the statue in the alcove.
Damn it all. He wished Keeshan hadn’t found out about her. He’d always been a stubborn bastard but now he was truly driven. And Duvalli did not want Keeshan to solve the puzzle. He did not want to give up his treasure. Lisette gave him far too much pleasure.
He poured himself another drink and took a healthy swig. No matter, he reminded himself. Keeshan would never break the enchantment. He simply didn’t have it in him to do what needed to be done.
Chapter Thirteen
It seemed like Keeshan was gone forever and to Aimalee all the light in the world dimmed. She sat on the throne and asked the mirror to show her friends, one after the other, and then once she was up to date she experimented with other requests. She discovered, to her delight, there was HBO and internet access. But sadly no email.
But even that entertainment didn’t distract her thoughts for long. She couldn’t help thinking that without Keeshan it just wasn’t the same. Exactly when her captor had become her companion, she wasn’t sure. But he had.
She no longer constantly stressed about being away from her work—she certainly no longer worried about being separated from Carter. But other thoughts had begun seeping in. For example, what would it be like to leave this place? What would it be like to step back into a world with no Keeshan?
Standing to pace, she glanced at her watch once again—only to remember she wasn’t wearing one—wondering when, if, he would return.
The Dark Djinn was such a powerful force and Keeshan had been in such a state when he’d left. She was certain he would issue an impossible challenge, fight for his sister’s honor…and possibly lose. She couldn’t bear the thought of him hurt. Or worse.
She was just about to storm over to the mirror and demand to see Keeshan when a coil of mist began to coalesce in the corner. She clasped her hands over her heart, hoping, praying that it was him and not…something else.
When his large and looming familiar form took shape, she nearly wept. Instead she launched herself into his arms. They closed around her.
“Keeshan! Oh Keeshan. I am so glad to see you.”
His face was taut. His body rigid. He kissed her briefly.
“How did it go? Did you find her? Did he have her? Is she all right?”
Keeshan didn’t answer, he merely held her tighter. She allowed it—even though the vise of his arms made it difficult to breathe—because she sensed he needed her. And she loved being needed.
Clearly his audience with the Dark Djinn had been difficult…and then some.
He buried his nose in her hair, taking in her essence as though she was his salvation.
After an eternity, he finally spoke. “He has her. He always has.” He lifted his head and his gaze burned into hers, limned with a haunting darkness.
“Is she…”
“Safe? I think so. She’s been ensorcelled, like us.”
“Ensorcelled? How?”
“She’s a statue.”
Aimalee’s chin dropped.
“He can only bring her to life when his emotions are quiescent. I can only hope that means he has not been able to punish her in my place. I can only pray she has not suffered much.”
“Oh Keeshan.”
“He said if I can find a way to break the spell, she will be released as well.”
“That’s wonderful.”
He frowned. “It would be. If I had a clue how to do it.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “Do you think the answer is in the library? In one of the books?”
“Doubtful.” Her suggestion elicited a smile. He ruffled her hair and bent to kiss her. “I’ve been through every book a thousand times. Besides, spells are situ
ational. Each one is shaped to suit the needs of the caster.”
“And Duvalli cast this spell?”
“Yes. In a fit of rage. It is knotted in quite a tangle.”
“We just need to untangle it.”
Keeshan sighed and scrubbed at his eyes. “I am so tired.”
“Come.” Aimalee took him by the arm and led him from the mirror room, out onto the great patio and over to the sleep chamber. “Let’s rest.”
“You know I cannot sleep, Aimalee.”
“Yes.” She knew. He’d told her. He hadn’t slept for two thousand years. But there were other ways to relax. “We will just rest. Try not to think about it. Sometimes that’s when the answers come.” She led him over to the divan. “Take off your tunic.”
Keeshan shook his head. “Really? Aimalee, I am not in the mood for that.”
“That’s a first.” She pressed him back on the pillows. “It may surprise you, Keeshan but I am not asking you to perform.”
“You’re not?”
She helped him remove the tunic and was temporarily stunned by the vision of his bare and brawny chest. She quickly thrust thoughts of lust away. She wanted to soothe him. Not demand her own release. “Roll over. On your stomach.”
“On my stomach?”
“Honestly. What kind of women have you had visiting you here? Has no one ever given you a massage?”
“A massage?”
“To relax you?”
He mulled it over. “I do not believe anyone ever has.”
“Well.” She hiked up her lace dress and straddled his hips. It was a far reach. “You are in for a treat.” She set her hands on his shoulders, marveling at how tiny they were against the great brown expanse of his back. He flinched just a little at the first tentative touch. But when she did it again, he didn’t flinch.
She began with a light massage, manipulating his muscles and tendons as she had learned in a class she’d taken in college. He was hot and hard. She tried to ignore her pleasure, focusing instead on him, finding where he was tense, digging in when she found a knot.
He groaned.
