While he tried to formulate an explanation, Ariana reached out and caressed his face. The move was unexpected, and Sian found himself flinching. She did not withdraw.
“It’s all right, you know,” she whispered. “This is all very scary for me, and I like the fact that I’m not alone. Who else can I turn to for comfort, Sian? Who else can I hold when the fear grows too deep and too strong? Only you. No one else.” She tilted her head to one side. “Are you afraid of me?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you want me?” she whispered.
Should he be honest or prudent? Normally he would choose prudence in this situation, but with what was coming, Ariana deserved honesty. “Yes.”
“Then why don’t you take me?”
The offer was so bluntly spoken, Sian was again taken by surprise. Before he had a chance to respond, Ariana sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her voluminous skirts brushed the edge of the table and sent papers scattering to the floor, and when she laid her mouth on his throat, he dismissed all thoughts of ancient witches’ ledgers and notes.
He had been a while without a woman. Long enough that it didn’t take much in the way of seduction to drive everything else but this woman from his mind. War could wait. Demons could wait. Ariana wanted him.
She kissed his mouth, and he tasted desperation on her fine lips. She moaned a little as they kissed, making that maddening little sound deep in her throat, that sound women called upon to drive men wild. This was a woman who could possess him, who could touch him, who could ruin his life—if he allowed it to happen.
“Ariana, think about what you’re doing.”
“I don’t want to think.” She followed that statement with a wandering hand to prove to herself that he did indeed want her. She stroked and caressed and laughed.
When she laughed, Sian sighed. He should’ve known this was too good to be true. He should’ve immediately recognized the subtle change in her voice. He’d been blind not to see the signs. Women like Ariana didn’t plop down in a man’s lap and fondle him. She didn’t offer herself so easily. She was a woman to be wooed and won, by the right man. He had never been the right man for any woman, least of all one like her.
Apparently he and Ariana had not escaped from Level Thirteen alone.
“Ariana, love,” he said softly, “will you do something for me?”
“Anything, Sian, love,” she answered.
He led her to the bed, glimpsing a smile that was Ariana’s and yet not. It was a wicked smile, without heart and without love. Not that he expected love from any woman, but Ariana Varden was not the kind to seek out a man without it.
“Sit here,” he said, gesturing to the side of the bed. Ariana sat, and Sian went to the dresser where his clothing was stored. Arik had given him some hideous ceremonial robes for fine dinners with priests and ministers, and they each came with a length of fine soft fabric to encircle the waist. Sian grabbed two of the lengths, one crimson and one blue, and returned to the woman who had offered herself to him.
She had already removed a considerable portion of her gown. Things had been unfastened, and fabric had been shifted. The globes of her breasts were partially exposed, and her skirt rode high on her bare legs.
There was nothing he could do about that, not at the present time. “Your hands, Ariana, love.”
“You deviant,” she said with a widening smile, offering her hands.
Sian bound those hands together tightly, but not too tightly. “Lie back, Ariana, love.”
She did so, falling back with a bounce that sent her skirts fluttering, offering Sian a very unladylike glimpse. “Is this a game?” she asked. “Ah, I believe I understand. I have played this game before. I will be your love slave, and you will command me. Is that the game, enchanter?”
“Yes, that is the game.” He caught her legs in his arms, and she laughed lightly. When he began to bind her ankles, she protested minimally. “That binding might turn out to be rather inconvenient, enchanter.”
“I command you,” he said sharply. “Have you already forgotten?”
“No. I simply don’t see how my body can be of any use to you tied thus.”
“Let me worry about that, Ariana, love.”
It soothed her when he called her “Ariana, love.” He saw the satisfaction on her face, and in a slight, enticing ripple of her body. Sian shifted the partially undressed woman and made her more comfortable on his bed. There was a pillow beneath her head, a soft mattress beneath her body. He sat beside her and smoothed away a wayward strand of hair. “There, now, are you comfortable?”
“I’ll be more comfortable when you’re inside me, Sian, love.”
Sian shook his head. “If I had not already realized that you were not entirely Ariana, I would know it now. Love,” he added belatedly. “How long have you been out, Diella?”
The smile died rapidly. “What gave me away?”
“I don’t intend to tell you.”
Diella sighed dramatically. “Any other man would’ve had his fun before revealing that he was aware of the charade. After all, this is the body you want. What difference does it make who possesses it?”
It makes a difference to me. “How did you make your way out of Level Thirteen?”
“I hitched a ride with your lover. She’s wide open. Her empathic abilities work both ways, as you certainly understand. She can reach out and touch the unseen spirits, but we can also reach in.”
“You’ve been inside her all this time.”
“Sleeping,” she said softly. “Resting. Growing stronger. I’m not as resilient as I once was.” Diella glared at him. “If you don’t release me, I will roll off the edge of the bed and bruise this body. I will scream at the top of my lungs, and tell everyone who comes to my rescue that you raped me.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Sian waved his hand over Diella, and she floated up so that she drifted a few inches above the coverlet. With no mattress to give her purchase, she was unable to roll. Another wave of his hand, and she was unable to speak. “Not particularly bright, are you?”
She could not speak, but that last comment made her angry. Her green eyes—Ariana’s green eyes—blazed with cold fire.
Sian left her that way, bound ankles and wrists, floating above his bed, unable to speak. He turned his chair to face her, and sat down to watch. “You will leave Ariana, and you will not return.”
Diella tried to respond, but the spell that made it impossible for her to speak also made it impossible for her to spit.
He sat back, relaxed, and studied the vision floating above his bed. Perhaps he should’ve refastened the hooks and eyes that had been unfastened and now allowed him a very good view of Ariana’s breasts, but he was, after all, a man, and the view was quite nice. Ariana would be angry when she awoke and found herself in such disarray, but her state of dress would convince her that something had to be done about Diella.
Diella opened and closed her mouth, trying to speak. She attempted to gesture with bound hands, which was quite comical—or might’ve been if not for the circumstances. Finally Sian said, “I will allow you to speak, if you promise not to scream.” After all, there was surely more she could tell him about the Isen Demon, and the more he knew, the better able Ariana would be to fight. “I will make you very sorry if you dissappoint me.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded reluctantly. Sian waved his hand, and a moment later she began to speak.
“If you won’t fuck this body I will find someone else who can. This palace is filled with men who would be more than happy to have a tumble with a pretty girl.” Her grin widened. “How do you know I haven’t already had half the sentinels in my bed?”
“Because you lie badly,” Sian said calmly. There was more, but he did not want to explore it at the moment. Ariana was still in there. At the moment, she and Diella shared a body. If Ariana was entirely opposed to what Diella wanted... but now was not the time to pursue that subject. “Tell m
e about the Isen Demon.”
“I want Panwyr.”
“You’re not getting any.”
“If I can’t have anything I want, then why should I speak to you?” Diella snapped.
“You might not get the sex or the drug you desire, but you do have one thing you want which will very soon be gone.”
“What’s that?”
“Life.”
Diella paled.
“Yes, you have made it this far, but you won’t last. You’re weak from the effort of rising to control, and with Ariana’s help I will dismiss you. Permanently. For now, you can breathe. You can feel anger, and satisfaction, and hate. When all that is gone, what will you have? Nothing. You’ve had nothing for a very long time, haven’t you, Diella?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“As long as you give me what I want, you will be allowed these few moments of life.”
“You could not want that which every other man—”
“I am not every other man, Diella.”
“You should address me as Empress Diella.” She pouted, like a spoiled little girl who was not getting her way.
“You haven’t been an empress for a very long time. You’re nothing now. Less than nothing.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Leave that body,” he ordered.
“You can’t order me out of Ariana.”
“Who can?”
Her refusal to answer made him feel certain that someone could order her from the body she possessed. Ariana herself? Her brother? A palace wizard or witch? The emperor? What power was necessary?
“A real man would take advantage of this situation,” Diella argued. “It’s not too late, Sian, love,” she said. “Untie my ankles, and lower this body to your bed, and...”
Sian lifted his hand.
“Wait.” Real fear colored Diella’s face. Ariana’s face. “Don’t hurt me, please. I can offer information you might be able to use, if only you will allow me to stay a while longer.”
“What sort of information?”
“Like me, the Isen Demon needs a body to possess in order to have an effect on earthly matters. In Level Thirteen, the demon collected the souls of the dead, souls addicted to Panwyr and lost forever. It grew stronger over the years, but after Level Thirteen was closed, it also grew hungrier. The demon still needs to feed on souls.”
“What body did the demon possess?”
Diella smiled. “Not yet. Once you have all you need to know, you’ll immobilize me, as you did down below, and then I won’t feel. It’s terrible, not to feel anything at all.”
“I imagine it is.”
“This one, she feels everything deeply. It’s pleasant to rest inside her for a while. I had forgotten warmth, and the chill of a breeze. I had forgotten the power of anticipation, and excitement, and even fear. Love. Comfort. Desire. Even caring, which was never my strong suit in life.”
“I can’t imagine,” Sian said dryly.
“I wish you had made love to me,” she whispered. “It’s not too late.”
He shook his head.
“For her, it will be love, when it comes. Do you think I can convince her she loves that sentinel with the black curly hair and brown eyes? Now, he looks like a man who would not refuse—”
Sian lifted his hand.
No longer so smug, Diella said quickly, “If I tell you, will you give me a few more minutes?”
He lowered his hand. “A few.”
Diella licked her lips. “I saw it happen, a few months ago. A wizard came, and lured the boy into Level Thirteen. It wasn’t difficult. The boy was given to wandering where he should not.”
Sian had a sinking feeling that he knew the boy of whom she spoke. He did hope he was wrong. “Names?”
“You’ll spoil the telling,” she snapped. “Show some patience, enchanter.” She shook back Ariana’s fair curls and began again. “The wizard lured the boy into Level Thirteen, after casting a spell to send the guards above to sleep for a while. There, in the darkness, the wizard offered the boy power. Endless, unimaginable power. He offered the boy everything he’d ever wanted. The boy didn’t consider the proposition for very long. He wanted what the wizard offered, and while he knew power of a sort would eventually come to him, he was tired of waiting. Like you, he was impatient.” She smiled. “He was also weak. Weak of spirit and mind, weak of heart. The wizard cast a mighty spell, and the Isen Demon took the boy. The boy actually grew a bit larger, taller and wider, and right there, right then, the demon took his soul.”
“But not his life.”
“No, not his life,” Diella whispered. “The boy lives. It was amazing, to watch the demon take the boy as it did. Darkness in the form of gray mists and black stars surrounded the boy, and then it was all sucked inside. A few bits of darkness could not find their way in, so they sank into the dirt beneath his feet and grew until I could feel them everywhere. Having the body makes it stronger. Not just that which lives inside the boy, but also that which lives without. It’s all connected as if with an enormous spiderweb, and when one grows stronger, the other grows as well. The Isen Demon grows every day. If you were connected to darkness instead of light, you would feel it, as I do.”
“Names?” Sian prompted again.
Diella sighed. She knew her time was growing short. “The wizard’s name is Fynnian.”
“And the boy?”
She smiled. “Prince Ciro, he is called.”
Sian had been expecting as much, but still, his heart sank. He did not want to be the one to tell Arik that his son, his only child, was dead. No, worse than dead.
“You hitched a ride out of Level Thirteen with Ariana. Why didn’t you depart with Fynnian and Ciro?”
What was left of Diella’s smile vanished. “Oh, no, I couldn’t do that. They scared me. They scare me still.”
Chapter Seven
Ariana began to panic because it seemed that she was drowning. How was that possible? One moment she’d been standing behind Sian thinking unlikely and unwanted thoughts, and the next... she was drowning. She could not breathe. She could not see, for the murkiness of the water that threatened to drag her down.
She forcibly pushed her panic aside. This was a dream, nothing more. There was no water. She was not drowning. If she wished it, she could breathe.
Even though she continued to tread water, she took a deep breath. The murkiness of the water cleared a bit so she could see what surrounded her.
She was not alone. Just a few feet away there floated another woman. A dark-haired, harshly attractive, very thin, grinning woman.
The woman mouthed words Ariana could not hear, and still she knew what was being said.
This ocean is mine. Drift deeper, witch. Leave it to me.
No, Ariana responded. She didn’t know why, but her heart reacted fiercely to the woman’s claim. This place is mine.
The evil grin faded, and the woman swam closer. With every stroke, Ariana felt the darkness that threatened to choke her grow stronger. I can take you, witch, if I wish. I can take this life, this body, this man who thinks he can stop me. They will all be mine.
It would be easy to convince herself that this was just a bad dream, but suddenly Ariana knew it was not a dream. Not at all.
This was her first battle. The first of many, if Sian’s prophesy was correct.
Ariana called up every crumb of power that rested inside her. She called upon all her strengths, as well as the might of her ancestors. She drew from her family. Her mother’s sunshine, her aunts’ incredible abilities, her grandmother’s force, her cousins’ power. She called upon Duran’s strength, even though he had never possessed even a touch of magic. They all came to her. Her family, her blood, made her stronger. They made her strong enough.
This is my ocean. This is my life, and I will not step back and give it to you or anyone else. Ariana felt a surge of energy, a confidence that went well beyond anything she had ever known. Get out.
Enjoy what lit
tle is left of your pathetic life. The dark-haired woman didn’t swim to the surface. She screamed in anger, and then she vanished. Ripples in the water drifted softly from the place where the woman had once stood.
Ariana swam to the surface in a leisurely manner. She was alone in the ocean—her ocean—once again, and the light above called to her. The light of the sun. The light of her life.
What little is left.
Ariana opened her eyes, and it took her a moment to orient herself. No wonder she had dreamed of swimming. She was floating on air. She glanced around and acquainted herself with reality. Apparently she was floating above Sian’s bed, and her clothing was not as it had been when she’d come to his room. She felt a cool breeze on the rise of her breasts, and a similar coolness on her bare legs.
“What have you done?” she snapped. When she tried to move, she discovered that she could not. Not only was she floating, her hands and feet were bound. A moment ago she had felt so powerful, so strong. And now, she was helpless.
Sian sat nearby, watching her with an aloof air. Those cold eyes of his barely reacted to her awakening.
“What have you done to me?” Ariana snapped. “Release me this instant! When the emperor discovers what you’ve done, he will have you... he will have you...” She did not want to stumble over her words at this moment. “You will be sorry.”
“Very good,” he responded emotionlessly. “Almost believable. Do you really think I’m that gullible?”
“I think you have lost your mind.”
“Perhaps, Ariana, love,” he said with a sarcastic edge to his deep voice.
“How dare you call me...” Heavens, what if he really had lost his mind? Was there anything more dangerous than an insane enchanter? “Sian Sayre Chamblyn, release me this instant!”
He stood slowly, studying her face. No, studying her eyes, as if he could see beyond them. “Ariana, is that you?”
“Of course it’s me, you... you...” She could not find a sufficient word for a man who would bind her, halfway undress her, and leave her floating above his bed.
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