Beneath the Shadows of Evil... Taken Read online

  “Of course it’s safe. The Mage said so. Isn’t that right?”

  “I had my misgivings, but given the state of things as of late, I gave my consent to help our Mistress.”

  Enid looked at the Mage, and then closed her eyes for a moment, as she ran his words through her head once more. There was something about the way he said ‘Mistress’ that tugged at her brain. Could he have been the mysterious other in the woods that night? Mikhal had yet to extract that information from Andor. The minion was proving to be tough. It seemed as if all his time spent entertaining Marishka’s dark desires had strengthened his tolerance for pain, that and his desire to be Master vampire himself. The Seer hadn’t been helpful either, claiming he only could discern things in the future, not see things that had past. Enid stood silently, and mulled over the Mage’s words once more. If she could just be sure, it would be a great help to Mikhal.

  “What is it Enid? Have you fallen asleep?” Marishka’s words were said with the sarcasm of impatience, and Enid had to bite her tongue. She truly did love this spoiled woman before her, but sometimes it was difficult not to reprimand her like a child.

  “No, Sweet, I haven’t fallen asleep. I was simply thinking. Tell me your plans and I shall help you.”

  Her answer thrilled Marishka who clapped her hands together with delight and bounced up and down on her toes. “Oh I knew you would, Love. You are truly my dearest friend. It is simple really. I am going to do a spell that will make my Mikhal love me again.”

  Enid looked at her puzzled, concern beginning to tighten like a fist around her heart. She didn’t like the sound of this. “Tell me more, Sweet. Which spell do you speak of?”

  “Mage helped me go through his dusty old tomes to find a spell that will instill... Oh what did you call it?”

  “Empathy”

  “Yes! It will put empathy into Mikhal. He will regain all his feelings for me and he will experience exactly what I feel every time he comes near me.”

  “Marishka, do you speak of The Curse of the Empath? That is a dangerous spell Love, and not meant to be used in this manner. Mage, you should know better. She’s playing with fire, and Mikhal is the one who will get hurt. You shouldn’t do it.” Enid knew she had to tread carefully here. One wrong word and Marishka would do the spell just to spite her regardless of reason or dire consequences.

  “Why not?” The pout was back, bigger than before as Marishka stomped her foot, furious that her friend had dared to spoil her plans. “It will make my Mikhal have feelings. I want him to have feelings. Feelings for me!”

  “You little fool.” Enid could hold her tongue no longer. “Do you honestly think you are the only one he will have feelings for? Why would he fall in love with you when he has a mate laying in a bed down the hall? They have a blood bond, or had you forgotten?”

  “Nooooooo! I am his sister. His blood. His true blood, and I am of his kind. She is but a mere human, and we shall be rid of her as soon as the babe is born. Sooner than that when he falls in love and I convince him to let me tear her to shreds.”

  Enid whirled on the Mage. “You know I speak the truth. Tell her.” The Mage raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. “TELL HER THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SPELL! “

  “One cannot predict the exact outcome of magick.”

  “This spell has specific consequences. It’s a curse, made to steal power and break the person it is cast upon.”

  “Perhaps.” He said no more, knowing she spoke the truth, letting her draw her own conclusions, and not caring any longer if he was exposed. The Master had become weak because of the Gypsy whore. He was being cruel and neglectful to the Mistress, and the Mage had had enough. If the curse made the mighty Mikhal the Merciless a weak vampire, unable to rule them, then so be it.

  “It was you! You were the one in the woods with Andor.” The Mage gave her a cold look of indifference at her accusations. “You are looking to take down the Master, and are using Marishka’s illusions to do it.” Enid turned back to Marishka but the light of insanity lit her eyes, making it clear the woman was long past the state of reason. Still, she had to try.

  “Marishka, the spell won’t work the way you want. It will cause Mikhal much pain. Do you want your Mikhal to feel the terror of his victims whenever he feeds? Do you want him to feel their pain? Do you want him to feel all from those around him? It would make him miserable.”

  “I want him to feel the love I feel for him. I want him to feel the desire, and he will. Besides, he likes their terror. He feeds on it. It makes the blood sweeter.”

  “Not when the force of it pierces him through the heart. It will hurt him, Marishka.”

  “Like he has hurt me? It doesn’t matter. He will feel my love. I care nothing for the rest.”

  “No Marishka, you are being a selfish fool. He will feel your pain at his rejection of you when he goes to seek out his mate, but it won’t stop him from going to her. They have a bond. You know that, it’s why you’ve been so very upset. He will always seek her out, through the rest of time.”

  “And when he seeks her out, he will feel her hatred for him, and it will make him so very angry that he will kill her.”

  “No, the bond will make him love her, not you. Her hatred will hurt him, but he will still love her. He will feel her loathing and her anguish and it will crush his heart, but still, he will love her. They are bonded as one.”

  Snarling at Enid’s words, refusing to listen to reason, Marishka marched across the room, taking the hag by the arms and shaking her. She shook the old woman like a rag doll until her head was snapping back and forth, then finally stopped and stared into her eyes with a hatred Enid had never seen before.

  “If he falls in love with a human, then he won’t be fit to be Master of this castle. Isn’t that right Mage?”

  “That is true, Mistress. Very, very true.”

  “Marishka, how dare you speak against him? How can you...”

  “Save your words, old woman. You will either be at my side or against me in this. I have suffered enough because of that Gypsy bitch, and if Mikhal chooses her over me, then he shall be driven from these walls alongside her. A Master Vampire cannot love a human. It isn’t done. Besides, he shall choose me. You shall see. Mage let us get on with the spell, shall we? This is as it must be. I am done waiting.”

  That said, Marishka walked over to her bound victim and sliced the girl’s throat, holding a chalice under the gaping wound to collect the steaming blood pouring from her neck as the Mage resumed his chanting. The spell would take some time, there were Gods to please and rituals to perform, but it would be worth it. Her Mikhal would love her again. He would resume his place at her side and in her bed where he belonged, and the Gypsy bitch would be a thing of the past.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Alliana wandered through the dense forest on feet made numb by the snow, grasping at branches to keep herself upright as she slid on the treacherous ground. She knew the stream had to be somewhere, but where was the question. She was frozen and sick at heart, chilled to the core and made almost physically ill by the lingering taste of her husband in her mouth, but still she stayed her quest. There was no turning back now, not until she was clean.

  Finally, ahead, she saw the glimmer of the moon on the rippling surface of the stream. It ran like a ribbon of glass through the trees, cutting a dark swatch through the snow with its inky waters. She raced forward, falling to her knees at its banks, smashing the thin icy crust that had formed in some places with her small fists.

  The water instantly made her hands numb as they plunged into the icy depths, but she was heedless of the temperature. It had been too long, far too long since she had bathed in the proper way. Too many days and nights of endless indignities had been forced upon her, sullying her body and soul, and tonight, tonight’s taking by her husband had pushed her over the edge of reason.

  Alliana didn’t care if it was her duty. She didn’t care what her maman had told her about obeying her husband. Sh
e was the one who had to lie with that filthy, hideous, evil thing. How could anyone expect her to go to him willingly when he came to her as a demon?

  She battered at the ice, clearing a large area, then stood and stripped off her gown. She was bare beneath it, not having taken the time at the castle to bother with under things. When she was nude, she paused just once to hold herself against the chill, shutting out the voices that told her the task she was about to embark upon was a foolish thing to do, then heedless of them, Alliana plunged into the stream, gasping as the cold water engulfed her to just over her knees.

  She bent and splashed the frigid water over herself again and again, dipping deeper each time, cupping palmfuls over her trembling shoulders and bare breasts, wetting her hair, her breasts, sending icy rivulets down her back, but still she didn’t feel clean. Looking about for something to scrub the filth of her husband’s touch from her skin, Alliana spied some dried moss on the bank of the stream, peeping out from under the snow. She moved to retrieve it, her numb feet sliding on the smooth rocks beneath her as she went.

  Suddenly, her foot slipped out from under her and she went down hard on her bottom, she cried out soundlessly as the icy water stole her breath away. Undeterred, she rose up and tried to fetch the moss once again, but the slippery rocks and the frozen mud of the stream bottom made the going too treacherous. The lack of feeling in her legs and feet gave her no purchase and she slid once more, feet flying out from under her as she fell backward into the cold water, her head striking the unforgiving frozen ground of the river bank behind her with a solid thud.

  Dazed, Alliana tried to claw her way up the slope that edged the creek but her head was spinning and the icy water was stealing away all her energy. It beckoned her into its dark arms, bidding her to rest, to let go and allow the water to wash away her pain, and though part of her mind protested, the frigid temperature of the water began to numb her mind as surly as it was numbing her body. She let out a single cry of despair, knowing if she let herself be embraced by the darkness that there would be no turning back, but then was overcome by the insistent frigid waters and the wound upon her head. Drifting off into the darkness, Alliana lay still while the water stole away her warmth and her life force, not able to care, not able to help herself, not able to go on fighting any longer.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  In his chambers back at the castle, Mikhal suddenly bolted up in his chair. He’d paced endlessly for the past two hours, and then finally sent for his supper. She’d been a terrified wench who filled his belly but left him cold as they always did of late, not that he’d expected anything different after what had happened with Alliana. A servant had just taken the carcass away, and he’d sat down with a glass of ale to try and relax, when a sudden chill and feeling of panic entered his heart.

  What was that feeling tugging at him? Alliana? He could have sworn he’d heard her. What had his wife done now?

  Ready to fly into a rage once more, he made to rise, only to feel the pull again. Yes, it was Alliana, and their blood bond was telling him something was wrong. What, or better yet who was disturbing his wife? Mikhal left his quarters in a rage, he’d had enough irritation for one night, and he didn’t need to bother with seeing to that bitch he’d married.

  Storming down the hall he flung open her chamber door, eyes searching for her small blonde form. “Alliana?” No reply. He went to the foot of the stairs that led to the tower room and called again. “Alliana? Damn it, answer me, woman.” Nothing but silence greeted his demand. He quickly strode up the stairs, two at a time to find what he knew he would, a small, empty, room. Racing back down he went to the chamber door and grasped the startled guard by both arms, shaking the minion as he snarled with fury.

  “My wife. Why did you allow my wife to leave? I explicitly gave orders that she was to stay in her chambers, you fool.”

  “But My Lord. She didn’t leave. I saw no one. I thought she was within.”

  Fear gripped Mikhal’s heart. He ran back inside Alliana’s rooms and up the tower staircase to the open windows, going from one to another, peering down at the ground, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t see the crumpled body of his wife lying dead on the cobblestones below.

  Relief and renewed anger flooded him at the last window. The fool girl hadn’t jumped. But where was she? Turning, determined to search the castle and find his wayward wife, Mikhal headed down the hall, he’d begin with his sister’s rooms. Perhaps Alliana had run and Marishka had found her in the hallway. Mikhal called behind him to the guard as he hurried away, demanding that the minion begin searching as well, then focused once again on his mission. Perhaps she was just hiding; perhaps she’d gone in search of her maid, perhaps... Again he remembered that little voice that had cried out in him and all at once he knew she was hurt. Deep inside, Mikhal knew Alliana was hurt.

  He arrived at Marishka’s room, only to find it empty. Where was she, and where was Enid? The witch was to be watching her and keeping her in her chambers. He turned and went down the hall, flinging doors open as he went, ducking his head inside, startling the occupants, asking for his wife, only to receive a negative reply over and over. Finally he opened the door of the Mage’s chamber, and stopped dead in his tracks at the scene before him.

  Marishka was drinking deeply from a chalice, blood spilling down over her chin. The Mage was chanting from his spot near the table, and Enid was standing in a corner looking distressed, but no Alliana. He took in the body of the dead girl on the altar, and the book that was opened before the Mage, and knew instantly that Marishka was practicing magick, bad magick from the look on Enid’s face.

  “Marishka, Darling, what is it you’re doing?”

  She turned, lowering the cup, and gave him a smile made hideous by the blood smeared around her face. Her eyes glittered with madness and the amber glow of her beast, as she licked her lips and grinned at him.

  “Why Mikhal, what does it look like? I’m making things right again.”

  Mikhal didn’t like the sound of that, not at all, but seeing as how he didn’t see Alliana, and she was his main priority at the moment, he was torn between stopping whatever dark ceremony Marishka was playing at, and continuing his hunt for his wife. In the end, his concern for Alliana won out, he would deal with his baby sister and the aftermath of her antics later.

  “Darling, have you seen Alliana? She isn’t in her chambers and I expressly forbid her to leave them.” Seeing the rage that filled his sister’s eyes, Mikhal quickly added the words that would appease her. “She needs to be punished for disobeying me.”

  Marishka’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her brother, not really believing him, knowing he wouldn’t punish the Gypsy whore too harshly because of the child. “I don’t give a fig about her, Mikhal, and I don’t see why you should either. Let a minion find and punish her.”

  “Marishka, we’ve been over this. She is my wife.”

  Screeching Marishka flung the chalice to the floor. “You mean she is your mate! Why Mikhal? Why must her needs come before mine? Why should they count at all?”

  Mikhal faltered before her rage and her questioning. He knew Alliana didn’t matter, shouldn’t matter, but she did, and something inside him was screaming as he stood there, urging him to run from the room and find her. His mate was in danger and he had to find her.

  “Damn it, Marishka. We’ve been over this and I haven’t the time. Have you seen her?”

  “No, of course not. You asked me to stay away and like a good sister, I did as you wished. You know as well as I do that if I were to stumble upon the little bitch, I would be hard pressed not to scratch her eyes out. Leave her be Mikhal, let her go and stay with me instead. It will be a grand night. The stars are out. We can dance and play...”

  At this, her face softened, always acting the part and the mask of the devoted sister and caring lover slid into place once more. She crossed the room and slid an arm around his neck, taking the fingers of her other hand and wiping the blood fr
om her chin, then running them over his lips before pressing against him.

  Mikhal backed away, disgusted and confused as the tug of his blood bond with Alliana once again urged him to hurry and save his wife. Marishka screamed at his reaction. She flew at him but he pushed her away, and she went sprawling on the floor across the room, much to the horror of the Mage.

  Undaunted, Marishka rose on shaking legs, turning on him with a thunderous look on her face. “You’ll see, you’ll be sorry, and when you come crawling back to me begging me to take you into my bed, I’ll make you grovel, Mikhal. You’ll see.”

  “That, my Dear, is highly unlikely.” Disgusted, Mikhal turned and went out the door, Marishka’s rising shrieks of rage ringing in his ears. He had to find his mate, and he had to do it now. Racing down the grand staircase and out into the courtyard, Mikhal paused to sniff the air for Alliana’s scent, all the while telling himself that she wouldn’t have come out again, she wouldn’t have dared, but he had to be sure.

  Just as he was about to reenter the castle, he caught it, and the essence of her both stunned and infuriated him. She had. She’d gone against his orders and run off into the night. His wife had defied him yet again and done as she pleased. The overwhelming need to dominate her, to tame her and make her obey filled him along with his rage, and his hands curled into fists at his sides, but then suddenly another cry from her soul called out in terror and none of that mattered. He had to find his mate and he had to find her now. Little did he know however, that as he headed off into the night, Marishka was finishing the spell that would change his life forever.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Stars glistened in the deep velvet sky as Mikhal moved forward, putting the fortress walls behind him. The thought of taking the time to get his mount never occurred to him. Alliana’s cries were overwhelming, and her scent filled his nostrils, urging him on. He had to find her, had to get to her and make her pain stop. Later she could be chastised for not obeying him. Later he would... but first he had to find her.