by D. N. Leo
"Coming in to get you. Hang in there. Tadgh & Zach."
But where was Ciaran? What did it mean? She would hang on. There wasn’t much else she could do. She tried to recall what Ciaran had said about this stage and plan for what might lie ahead.
This was a stage made more for Ciaran than anyone else. It was a stage for the king to prove he was purified and consummated with his queen. It was a stage of rebirth. Also, it was a very sexual stage, whatever that meant.
Was she his queen?
What if he consummated with the wrong queen?
She wouldn’t mind if he had to have sex with someone as a requirement for this stage. But consummation was far more than having sex as far as she was concerned. It was a sexual act between soul mates. It required love.
Damn! She sounded more and more like Ciaran by the second.
She didn’t want to think anymore.
Madeline bit her finger for some blood and wrote on the note. "Will make it out. Wait." She tied the note to the dove's foot. “How cinematic,” she grumbled to herself. “The next thing I’ll see is a dark prince in this black castle.”
As soon as the bird left the room, she heard footsteps. The heavy door slid open, revealing a magnificent dark prince. She glanced around to see if there was a computer in this room, reading her thoughts and conveying them to the hologame designer.
This wasn’t a hologame. But it wasn’t real, either.
Madeline swore to God that this prince existed only in fairy tales. He had an aura that could stir every woman on Earth’s loins. Madeline shook her head to clear it.
First, she was not on Earth. She was sure of it. Second, if she was a little stirred up because of the personification of sexual magnetism standing in front of her, she was sure every other woman would be, too. She was no exception, and it was not an act of infidelity. Third, infidelity only applied to married couples or people who had made vows. Ciaran and she had yet to make any promises to each other. And fourth—
"You look pleased. I wager you like the idea," the prince said.
"Huh?"
"I asked if you’d care to join me for dinner."
"Okay." Madeline glanced at the window. No bird. No message.
"Where am I?"
"The Red Castle."
"Are you the king?"
He laughed. "No, I'm the prince of this castle. We do not have a king."
The prince placed his arm supportively around her waist and led her to a long corridor lined with guards.
She was sure there were real people hidden beneath the lifeless steel armor. This felt a little like Lumley Castle. The difference was that instead of having Ciaran, she had a dark prince. It may have suited her teenage fantasies, but it did not suit her now. She knew what she had to do.
They entered a large medieval hall. A long dining table was covered with a feast large enough to feed all of the inhabitants of New York. She sat opposite the prince. He raised a pewter goblet to her. Madeline guessed that it held wine. She did the same.
"How did I get here?" Madeline asked.
"God brought you to me."
In her mind, Madeline rolled her eyes. "I understand. But how exactly did you find me?"
"You were washed onto the shore from the White Castle. That was a nasty one, wasn't it?"
"Were there other people with me?"
"We found you and Ciaran. My sister is taking care of him. He is doing fine."
The statement assaulted her brain like a cannonball. His sister was taking care of Ciaran? In front of her was a prince, and that made his sister a princess. And she was now caring for the King-to-be of Eudaiz. What would a princess do to become a queen? Madeline heard herself snarling inside. Sexual stage, my ass!
She pasted a gracious smile on her face and looked at the prince.
“You knew we were coming?" That was such a rhetorical question, Madeline thought.
"Yes. We received information about your arrival. You, Ciaran, and the two monkeys in the bush."
"Two monkeys?"
"Tadgh and Zach, right? They ran into the bush as soon as they landed.
Madeline nodded. "So we're friends. We're your guests, right?”
"Of course. We receive travelers now and then who pass through the Daimon Gate. You want me to send for your other two friends?"
Madeline nodded. The prince sipped his wine and signaled his guards to retrieve Zach and Tadgh.
This is too easy. What are you up to? Madeline narrowed her eyes.
The prince gestured at the food. Madeline stabbed her fork into something that looked like either a very large grape or a relatively small tomato. The prince cut into a piece of grilled game bird. Madeline prayed it wasn’t her messenger dove.
"Based on the information I received, Tadgh, Zach, and yourself have passed the Daimon Gate at an individual levels. The only person who has yet to go through the final transmutation process is Ciaran."
"You're saying that I am free to leave the Daimon Gate right now?
"Yes."
"What's the catch?"
"What do you mean?"
"It can't be that easy. What do you want from me?"
The prince smiled. "I wish my sister had a fraction of your knowledge."
"I wouldn't call it knowledge. It’s life experience."
The prince nodded. "We haven't had many passengers from Eudaiz. It has been a while actually. We have many from other universes. My sister is fond of Ciaran. And I am fond of you."
Madeline raised an eyebrow. She did not like what she was thinking. This stage had obviously high sexual connotations.
The prince put his wine down. He moved toward Madeline's side of the table. He sat down next to her, using his finger to trace her jawline.
"This kind of beauty has never passed through my castle before. Are you married?"
Shit! She had been too busy to thinking about Ciaran and had totally forgotten that the sexual connotation thing applied to her as well. As long as she stayed here.
“No,” she responded.
He nodded and smiled. "I'm the prince of this castle. I can give my wife a very good life. This may not compare with Eudaiz. But we have peace, and we can live a lavish life. I am not sure what more a woman could wish for."
If she could have banged her head on the table, she would have. If she said no, he wouldn’t give her more information about Ciaran. If she said yes, hell, she didn’t know what would happen after that.
She grabbed the steak knife and cut into something on her plate that looked like meat. She just wanted a weapon in her hands.
Chapter 131
It was a hell that was labeled as heaven. Ciaran found it amusing. It was so trashy that he wouldn’t even put it in a game of the lowest caliber. He was walking through rows and rows of the most exotic and sexual displays possible. Everything imaginable was being offered to him.
All he needed to do was to take.
He strode along the corridor. The women surrounded him, enticing him. He pushed through to the door ahead. He’d nearly reached it when he felt a strong pull. He turned around.
The woman was Laurent, and she had tears in her eyes. She was the dearest friend of Juliette, the wife of his best friend. Her death was one of the deepest regrets in his life.
“Take me out of here. They locked me in here to entertain the guests. It’s worse than hell. Please, Ciaran, take me with you. For old time’s sake,” she whispered.
Ciaran paused.
She reached her hand out.
He wanted save her. He felt obliged to take her with him. He owed her entire family his life. He couldn’t leave her here in this brothel.
If there was one.
His mind clicked instantly. He was at the Red stage of the Daimon Gate test. He had to remember that. He scolded himself and turned away from the image of the woman.
He kept walking.
A bloodcurdling scream echoed behind him. He knew the creatures were torturing Laurent’s image. He couldn�
�t look back, or he would return to save her.
He kept walking.
More screams. More cries of his name. More begging.
Sounds of weapons slashing at bodies, claws tearing into flesh, and body parts being torn off.
Moaning, crying, cursing, and death wishes.
He’d prefer physical pain to this. But he put his head down, concentrated, and kept walking.
He reached his hand out to push the door open.
Madeline focused on her meal and ignored the prince’s rants about the lavish life he could give her should she agree to be his wife. “I’m sure it's wonderful to live here." She grinned.
"Would you like to?"
"I'm designated to be a Sciphil. I made my promise."
The prince shook his head. "It's a pity. You'd make a good wife. You're not betrothed to Ciaran, are you?"
"Oh, no. There’s no such thing in my world. Just out of curiosity, what does Ciaran have to do to pass this stage?" Madeline asked and mustered the most gracious smile she could.
"This is a spiritual stage. He must remain true to himself and be reborn by consummating with his queen."
Madeline knew this. It should be easy enough for her and Ciaran. Why should it be such a big deal? Why did the prince seem worried and doubtful?
"You think Ciaran won't pass? I saw concern in your eyes."
He smiled. "Thank you. It's very kind of you to notice. I’m worried about my sister. She wants to be a White Queen. She should have been one a long time ago. Given you have just killed a White Queen, this is a perfect opportunity for my sister. But I'm afraid she wants it too much. She might rush it. And Ciaran is too damaged to be good for her."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The man is spiritually damaged. I don't think he will pass this stage. He doesn't seem to have a spiritual belief. If she consummates with him, he might be the wrong king."
Madeline shifted in her chair. How about her being the wrong queen? "You said consummate. Exactly when did they get married?"
"That's what I'm worried about. She couldn't get him to say the words. You are his Sciphil, his counsellor. You must know him. Do you know a way?"
Madeline swallowed a laugh.
"A way to do what?”
"Help my sister."
"Help her make him say the words? You mean to marry her?"
"It's just a ritual. He asks her to be his queen. They consummate. That's all she needs. She could do it with any other leaders from any other universe. It doesn't have to be Eudaiz, and it doesn't have to be Ciaran. She’s just stuck on him for some reason."
The prince looked genuinely concerned. Madeline took pity on him. She understood why his sister would not let go of Ciaran. That was the very reason he was hers. And she was going to make very sure it stayed that way. Her way.
"How was your sister trying to make Ciaran say the words, exactly? Knowing him, I couldn't think of anything that would scare him off easily."
"She didn't scare him. He was washed up on the shore with you. He had some injuries. She gave him something to soothe the physical pain—”
"She drugged Ciaran?” Madeline couldn’t help but laugh.
"It wasn’t a drug. It was an Inducer of the subconscious state of mind, where the spirit can be purified and transformed. She didn't know he would go down that deep, not wanting to resurface."
"You mean, he's in a coma?"
"Medically, it might look that way. But it is a spiritual transmutation process. It's not a coma. People choose the subconscious levels they want to go to and the level they want to come back to. Or to not come back to."
"So he didn't want to come back to your sister. Is that what you’re saying?"
"Effectively, yes."
"If she really wants to be his true queen, shouldn't she be down in the subconscious levels looking for him? Wouldn't the whole deal of marriage and consummation involve a little thing called love?"
“Love?"
Madeline rolled her eyes. “Great. It’s not even in your dictionary.”
"If you mean that to have love, my sister has to go down there looking for him, then she couldn’t do that. Spiritually, they’re not connected. She might not be able to find him, and she might not be able to come back herself. It's dangerous down there."
The prince emphasized the word ‘love’ by stretching its pronunciation.
"What kind of danger?"
"It's a mind maze. The only right path is the path where you stay true to yourself. Any moment of doubt or faint waver in belief will send you in the wrong direction. Lost people will stay in oblivion forever. Those who pass this stage will have the highest level of consciousness."
Madeline manufactured a concerned look. “I can go down and find Ciaran for your sister. All you want is for him to return so he can marry your sister and have sex with her? Is that correct?"
"Such a vulgar term."
"That's essentially what she wants."
"You would do that? Go down and bring him back? Why?"
"We entered the Daimon Gate as a group, and we will leave as a group. That's what we call loyalty. I wager you don't have that term in your dictionary, either."
"Indeed, we don't. But it sounds intriguing."
The guards led Zach and Tadgh into the room. They glanced at the prince.
"We passed the Daimon Gate, guys, according to the prince,” Madeline said before Tadgh and Zach speculated. "The only person who had to dive deep into this level was Ciaran, and he is currently still diving."
"But we—” Tadgh said.
"As friends," Madeline emphasized her pronunciation of friends and hoped Tadgh got the hint, "we promised to enter and leave this gate together. Ciaran is stuck somewhere in his subconscious, and I need to retrieve him."
"But how?" Zach said.
"Oh, they've done this before. They know what to do." Tadgh brushed it off.
"Really? You do this often?" the prince asked.
"This is routine on Earth,” Madeline said, thinking about the nights Ciaran and she had spent together. "And the most important thing is that while I am down there, no one can interrupt us, including your sister. You don't want us to get lost, do you?"
"Of course not."
Zach stood puzzled.
Tadgh approached Madeline. "Let's get him out of here,” he whispered.
The prince led the way to a chamber via a wide corridor. He knocked on the door and entered. Madeline, Tadgh, and Zach followed him inside.
On an enormous bed on a raised platform covered in velvet, Ciaran lay sleeping. Next to the bed stood a beautiful mermaid walking on two legs. Her dreamy blue eyes were filled with tears. She ran toward the prince.
"Brother, he wouldn't wake. I can't wake him. I might have killed him."
Zach shifted at the statement. Tadgh whispered very softly to him, "He's like that with sedatives. He won’t wake up." Zach didn’t nod but stopped shifting and showed signs of agitation.
"I brought you these warriors. They are his friends. They will help him return, my princess,” the prince said.
Madeline spoke between her teeth to Zach and Tadgh. “Hooray, we’ve been promoted to warrior status.”
"Really? What do you need? Tell me what to do," the mermaid princess said to Madeline.
"Just give me what you gave him and then leave us alone. Don't come in until we call you. Understood?" Madeline said.
The princess didn’t seem to understand. The prince grabbed the drug, gave it to Madeline, and took the princess out of the room.
Madeline went to the bed and looked at Ciaran sleeping peacefully. Then she looked at the drug. "I'm going down with him. I think this is the same as the training he had before."
"That's purely speculation, Madeline. We don't have any support here. No Doctor Thomas, no Jo, no George. What do you suggest we do if you don't come back up? Pick you both up and run away?" Tadgh asked.
"Can you brief me on the plans, please, whatever they might be?" Zach
asked.
"Whenever Ciaran is in a comatose state, he generally can't come out of it quickly or without assistance. Last time, I had to go in and yank him out,” Madeline said.
Zach's jaw dropped.
"What if it doesn’t work this time?" Tadgh asked.
"I don't have any other solutions. Do you?"
Silence.
"Guess not. So please guard us, and don't let these people near us. I'll see what I can do."
Tadgh nodded.
"Zach?"
"Okay. Sure." Zach nodded.
Madeline quickly got onto the bed. She kissed Ciaran. No response. She took the drug and lay down next to him.
Chapter 132
The room greeted Ciaran with a blast of light. A web of tangled robes flew at him. Before he could react, he was tied up, arms and legs stretched toward four corners of the room. Torture chamber? he wondered.
The door swung open, and a group of women sauntered in. Their beauty exceeded all standards across the cosmos. Sexuality oozed from every pore of their skin.
“Coming down here without a chosen queen, Ciaran? Let us help you,” one of them said. He didn’t know which one it was as he kept his eyes closed.
He had yanked at the rope many times and had given up the idea that he could break himself loose.
They could tie him up, but they couldn’t force him to open his eyes. Thus, their beauty wasn’t working as effectively as it might. He knew if he gave in to the pleasure, he would have to choose a queen right here. If it was the wrong queen, it would lead to death. If it was the right queen, then he would consummate.
As to what constituted a right or wrong choice, he had no clue. His knowledge of alchemy wasn’t that extensive.
He could hear the women peeling their clothes off. He heard them whispering about what would trigger sexual urges. That, he could handle easily. He just ignored what they said.
“Why don’t we take turns? Then all you have to do is say which one of us you like best,” a voice suggested.
Then he felt their hands all over him. They knew how to physically work a man to get what they wanted. He was only human. He knew that. Regardless of how strong his mental capacity was, he knew these women—or creatures—would work him until they got what they needed.
