Don't Dare the Devil

by Erin Wade

  “Just as long as she stays close to you,” Darke said. “She can chase college girls on her own time after I return.”

  “I better go,” Eden said. “I have a lab tonight. I love you.”

  “Love you too, darling.”

  ##

  Darke dressed for the day in jeans and a loose-fitting, blousy shirt that hid how well she was endowed. A pair of flat-heeled boots that were popular with the valley people completed her disguise as a member of the farming community she hoped to blend into.

  She slicked back and braided her thick, wavy hair and pinned it close to her head. An Indiana Jones hat completed her androgynous look. She went downstairs to have breakfast with her mother and Kristaal.

  “Your disguise is perfect,” Kristaal said as Darke slid into a chair across from her. “Your height and apparel make you look more masculine than feminine.”

  “Good. That’s my goal.” Darke sipped her coffee and addressed her mother. “Do you have even a hint of Raven’s whereabouts?”

  Sable shook her head. “Camp out in Craddock’s Ale House. It’s a favorite haunt of their palace guards. You might overhear something.”

  “Darke, a strange phenomenon has started to occur in the rogues that makes them identifiable,” Kristaal added. “A patch of hair about the size of a half-dollar is growing in the palms of their hands.”

  ##

  Darke parked her car on a deserted side street and walked the two blocks to Craddock’s Ale House. She drew little attention when she entered the establishment and found a seat in a dark corner. Raucous guards and farmers laughed and drank all around her.

  “What can I get you, love?” a buxom waitress asked.

  “Pint of ale,” Darke said. She knew she could nurse a drink that size for a while.

  “Something to eat?”

  “Later,” Darke muttered. “Right now I just want to relax and savor a pint.”

  The waitress returned with the ale a few minutes later. “Wave at me when you need something else,” she said with a wink. “I’ll leave you alone until then.”

  Darke spent the better part of an hour sipping the ale and listening for anything that might provide information about Raven. She was surprised by how drunk the men were and how openly they discussed plans to attack the mountain people.

  “Gar, I’m telling you, she’s dead,” a small man shrieked as a giant lifted him into the air.

  “She better be,” Gar growled. “If I find out she’s hiding somewhere, and you know about it, I’ll personally skin you alive.”

  Gar threw the smaller man to the ground and gave him a hard kick. Darke cringed as she heard bones break. The behemoth walked away without looking back. The injured man tried to stand but fell onto his side. Darke looked around the pub. No one was paying any attention to the him.

  She tossed a twenty-dollar gold piece on the table and stood. As she walked past the man, she pulled him to his feet and hauled him outside.

  “Are you okay?” She caught his hands and turned them palm up. There was no hair.

  “I’m not one of those bastards!” He spat out the words. “They’re animals.”

  Darke almost laughed at his statement but refrained when she saw how much pain his declaration had caused him.

  “Broken ribs,” she said as she felt his side. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

  “No! They would let me die or kill me.”

  “Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

  The man narrowed his eyes as he studied her. He sniffed her. “You’re not—”

  “No, I’m not. So, why did the guard attack you?” she asked as she helped the man to her car.

  “He thought I knew where Raven is. They want to hunt her down and kill her.”

  “Do you?” Darke asked as she opened her car door.

  “No!”

  Darke nodded and eased him into the front seat. She got into the driver’s side and started the car. God, I miss Tess , she thought. “Direct me to your home.”

  “I live halfway up the mountain,” the man said, pointing to an area with no visible housing.

  “In a cave?” She was only half teasing.

  “Lycan and his men confiscated my house. My family and I hide out in the caves. It’s just a matter of time until they have enough guards to round us up and slaughter us.”

  “Is Raven still alive?”

  “Why should I trust you?” The man scowled at Darke.

  “You’re not one of them, so you must be a mountain person. Either way, I’m screwed.”

  “That’s drivel,” Darke barked. “Why would a mountain person harm you?”

  “The rogues have turned them against us,” the man said. “Word is out that Captain Kristaal plans to annihilate our entire race. The fools tried to kidnap Duchess Sable.”

  The man became excited, jabbing his finger toward the woods. “Here. Turn down this path and drive into the copse of trees.”

  Darke did as she was told and winced as the tree limbs scraped down the side of her mother’s car. I’ll hear about this.

  “Wait here.” The man struggled to get out of the car, took two steps, and fell to his knees.

  Darke ran to him and gently pulled him to a standing position. “I’ll carry you,” she said.

  “Humph,” the man snorted. “You’re not strong enough to—”

  Darke scooped the man into her arms without straining. “Where to?”

  “Through that thicket,” the man said, pointing twenty feet ahead of them.

  Darke walked through the thicket and was surprised to find it opened into the mouth of a cave. She was shocked to find herself surrounded by a combination of wolves and humans.

  “She saved my life,” the man said, his voice weak from pain. “Don’t hurt her.”

  In less than ten seconds, the wolves morphed into humans, and a woman with two children rushed to help the man. “Please follow me,” the woman said. “I’ll take care of him. He’s my husband.”

  As they moved deeper into the cave it became easier to see. Light flooded the main room of the cavern, and Darke could count fifty people milling around. Every chance she got she checked their palms. She saw no one with patches of hair. She prayed she was among Raven’s followers. She placed the injured man on a sofa.

  “What’s going on?” Darke asked as she looked around. “Why are you living here?”

  Suddenly, a strong, silky voice echoed through the cave. “They are my faithful followers.”

  Darke turned to face the woman she had been seeking. “Raven!”

  Chapter 27

  Raven was as beautiful and powerful as Darke remembered. The last of the Canis dirus, Raven could be as terrifying in her dire wolf form as she was gorgeous in her human form. Darke didn’t know when she stopped breathing.

  “Who are you, and why are you asking questions?” Raven asked as she circled Darke, sniffing her. A slow smile crept to her lips. “Perhaps you and I should talk in private.”

  Darke nodded and followed the woman into a tunnel that opened into a lavishly furnished bedroom and sitting room area.

  Raven closed the door between them and her followers. She turned and embraced Darke. “How did you find me? I’ve been trying to get a message to Sable for months, but my emissaries are always intercepted by Lycan’s men.

  “Damn, you look like hell. I never thought I’d see the day Countess Darke von Knight would look like a pig farmer.”

  Darke laughed. “I had to fit in with your people if I was to find you. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “It happened quickly,” Raven said as she poured wine into glasses and passed one to Darke. “Like me, Lycan is a half-breed. He’s the son of a woman from our territory and a man from your territory. He possesses many of your traits and the worst of ours. He has lived for many years and has assembled a group of followers. He has made them outlandish promises, because he doesn’t understand everything about your people and how they mesh with mine.

&nb
sp; “We discovered that he is chemically enhancing his followers, pumping up their testosterone levels to make them overly aggressive.

  “About six months ago his followers stormed the castle and overpowered my guards. The group you see here is all that managed to escape. It’s just a matter of time until they find us. We call his followers Lycanians.

  “Lycan thinks he can interbreed our two species and develop a race of super human beings. He wants control of your territory’s gold mines to finance … don’t laugh … to finance his takeover of Europe and eventually the world.”

  “Is he planning to attack my mother?” Darke said, scowling.

  “Yes, as soon as he finds a way to destroy me.”

  “Does he know Mother suspects something is wrong?”

  “I don’t think so.” Raven furrowed her brow. “He isn’t the brightest log on the fire.”

  “If we kill Lycan, will it diffuse the situation or just throw everything into chaos?”

  “I’d put my money on chaos,” Raven huffed. “The rogues are worse than rabid dogs. Without Lycan to direct their cruelty they will ravage and plunder everything in sight.

  “I have pockets of followers hidden in caves all over the mountains. Many of the outlying farmers and ranchers are my supporters. It is almost impossible to assemble them into a fighting army to defeat the rogues.”

  “Can you disguise yourself so that you look like you’re traveling with me?” Darke asked. “We need to get you to my mother and Kristaal so we can form a strategy.”

  “I’m not sure I could ever look as bad as you do right now,” Raven said, an impish grin playing across her lips. “Of course, I’m also sure I could never be as beautiful as you when you’re out of disguise.”

  Darke smiled. “Well, we must hurry. We need to be in my territory before nightfall, and I want to return to Craddock’s Ale House to see if we can learn anything. The guards are drinking, and their tongues are loose .”

  Darke wandered around the room as she waited for Raven to change. A collage of photos of her and Raven as youngsters covered one wall. She smiled as she recalled the fun times they’d experienced together.

  When Raven returned, she gave Darke a handful of fur. “Here. Glue this to your palms like I have. They will think we’re one of them.”

  Raven wore a flowing, ankle-length skirt and a loose peasant blouse. Her long black hair was braided and pinned flat against her head. She looked like a milkmaid.

  “You’re dressed as a woman,” Darke said with surprise.

  “You’re dressed as a man,” Raven reminded her. “No one will bother us if they think we’re a couple out for a good time. We must pass through town on our way to your territory.”

  “Good point, but you should have hidden your endowments better,” Darke said. “Those thugs will jump anything that moves. Do you have a second-in-command?”

  Raven nodded. “Dana. She’s married to the man you saved.”

  “Tell her we’re going into town. Don’t tell her we’re going to see my mother. They don’t know who I am. I’d like to keep it that way for now.”

  ##

  A different waitress took their order and returned with sandwiches and ale.

  “This is the first meal I’ve eaten outside the cave in months,” Raven whispered. Darke was pleased to see her friend devour the food with such appreciation.

  A Lycanian guard stumbled past them on his way to the men’s room. Darke fought the urge to stick her foot out and trip him.

  They listened as the guards boasted about their plans to massacre Raven’s followers and imprison Duchess Sable and her people. “I’ve already staked my claim on the duchess,” one of the guards bellowed. “Our offspring will be invincible.”

  “Her Captain Kristaal is more to my liking,” another guard grunted as he hefted his bulk from the barstool.

  “You’re kidding me!” the first guard guffawed. “You’re too fat to fit between her legs.”

  His comment brought raucous laughter from the men.

  As they eavesdropped, a scrawny Lycanian made his way to Darke’s table. “Where you from?” he asked.

  “Here,” Darke replied.

  “You Lycanian?”

  Darke held out her hands, showing the man the patch of hair in each palm.

  The guard flashed a snaggletoothed grin. “I fancy your woman.”

  “We’re mated,” Darke said.

  The man studied Darke for several seconds and then slid onto the bench beside her. “Oh, you’re mated, eh?” he scoffed. “So, I guess I need to kill you to get to her.”

  “Something like that,” Darke growled.

  “I’ve got no problem with that,” the man said, glaring at her as he unsheathed a dagger. “Should I kill you here or take it outside?”

  Darke shrugged. “It would be a shame to bloody your nice ale house.”

  The man stood, keeping his knife in Darke’s ribs. “You come too, sweetheart.” He treated Raven to another view of his missing teeth.

  Raven nodded and followed the two into the alley. The man never knew what hit him. In one quick movement, Darke wrapped her fingers around his neck and choked the life from him. She dragged his body to a dumpster and tossed it in as easily as one discards a rag doll.

  When a trio of drunks staggered from the pub, Raven stepped close to Darke.

  “God, I gotta pee,” one of the men cackled.

  Raven grabbed Darke and shoved her against the dumpster. “Go with me on this.”

  She wrapped her arms around Darke and kissed her as if she owned her. Darke gasped as Raven began to grind into her. “Please,” she whispered as Raven’s soft, warm lips captured hers again.

  “At least someone’s getting some tonight,” one of the guards said. The others snickered at the lurid comment and left the lovers alone.

  “Please,” Darke repeated. “Please, stop.” Darke pulled from Raven’s arms. “They’re gone. Let’s get out of here.”

  They ran to the street where the car was parked and drove out of town without arousing suspicion.

  ##

  They arrived at the castle before dinner and went straight to Darke’s room.

  “You shower and dress for dinner,” Darke instructed Raven. “I’m going to find Kristaal and inform her that you’re here. Don’t leave this room.”

  Raven nodded and headed for the bathroom.

  Darke finished updating Kristaal as her mother entered the room. “I hope you plan on removing your disguise before dinner, dear.” Sable patted her daughter’s arm.

  “I’m on my way to do that right now, Mother. Kristaal will give you the news. We have a dinner guest.”

  ##

  “Mother is holding dinner for us,” Darke said when she returned to her room to find Raven, still damp from her shower and wearing only a towel around her waist, searching the armoire drawers for undergarments. Darke’s mouth went dry and her tongue ceased to function when Raven turned around. “I’d forgotten how beautiful you are,” she mumbled.

  “You’ve also forgotten how to kiss,” Raven teased. “I would have gotten more response kissing the dumpster.”

  “I … I need to shower. Help yourself to whatever clothes you need,” Darke said and hurried to the bathroom.

  “There was a time you could not have walked away from me like this.” Raven gestured to her half-nude body.

  Darke didn’t break stride. She stepped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. “Oh God, Eden, I need you with me,” she whispered.

  ##

  “Raven!” Sable embraced the woman who was like a daughter to her. “I have been so worried about you. I send scouts every day to look for you. I should have known Darke would find you.”

  “Darke has always been able to find me,” Raven said as she kissed Sable on the cheek. “I taught her everything I know.” She cast a teasing glance at Darke as everyone laughed.

  Sable motioned for everyone to sit. “Kristaal has filled me in on the sit
uation. Tell me how we can help.”

  “I was hoping you would have some ideas,” Raven said, shrugging. “Short of slaughtering us all.” She glanced at Kristaal, who hung her head in shame at the mention of her proposed solution to the problem.

  “It’s just the males,” Raven continued. “The females are not behaving like animals. But many of the females are being held captive and then released after being bred.

  “Lycanians make up over half our population now. This didn’t happen overnight. It has evolved over several decades. I never saw it coming. Now I fear my only solution is to declare war on my own people.”

  “It’s a shame we can’t castrate them all,” Kristaal grumbled. “That would end their aggression.”

  “They must be stopped!” Sable hit the table with her fist. “We have worked for eons keeping our existence secret. If Lycan tries to spread his horror over the continent, humans will rise and hunt us down. He has no understanding of the weaponry humans possess or their willingness to use it. We must stop him from revealing our existence to the world. We must remain a figment of mankind’s imagination. We must stay creatures from ghost stories and horror movies, lurking in the shadows but never truly existing. Our survival depends on it”

  Everyone at the table nodded without speaking.

  The sudden, shrill ringing of Darke’s cell phone pierced the silence, and she jumped. Eden’s beautiful face lit up the screen. Darke couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. She excused herself and left the room as she answered her phone.

  “Hello, darling,” Darke said, her tone joyful. “I miss you terribly.”

  Eden sighed. “Darke, please come home. I’m miserable without you. I’m having trouble concentrating on my assignments, and nightmares haunt my sleep.”

  “I know, baby,” Darke cooed. “I’m … things aren’t moving as fast as I’d hoped they would.”

  “Tell me what’s going on,” Eden pleaded. “You’re halfway around the world, and I don’t even know why.”

  Darke struggled to find an explanation that wouldn’t freak out the woman she loved. “My mother’s village is being overrun by enemies. They’re killing our villagers and kidnapping our women. We must find a way to stop them. Mother doesn’t want to kill them, so we’re trying to find a way to control them.”