Microsoft Word - TheStormyLoveLifeofLauraCordelaisSusanCfinal Page 23

  She started to leave but turned and came back.

  "Oh, Typhoon Girl, before you do anything rash, you should know that we have your father. If you rip up this cell with your powers, we'll kill him instantly. So just be a good girl and wait for your audience with the Shining One."

  Then Daphne leaned against the bars and purred to David, "Oh, lover."

  His roar deafened. She leapt back as he crashed against the bars. If he reached her, he'd kill her.

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  "I'll be back for you, David. Count on it." She winked and left with the other Keres.

  ***

  David waited until they had disappeared up the gloomy steps before he tested his strength against the bars of their prison. This strange cold metal wouldn't bend or break or move in the slightest.

  Laura crept into the hollow and crouching down hugged her knees. David went over and held her. She didn't turn toward him. He could feel her seething, but after a few minutes that calmed leaving deep pain.

  "You should have kept fighting."

  "They would have killed you, and I can't be without you." Her words faltered and broke.

  David felt the pain radiate from her. "You're angry with me."

  She turned and touched his wounds. They were already healing. She couldn't look at him. "I wish I had known before she told me. David, how could you do those things?"

  "When we were first together, I offered to tell you about the women in my past.

  Remember?"

  "Yes, I remember. How long were you with the wonder bitch who's so full of herself?"

  David laughed. "I've never heard you swear before, my darling."

  "Well, the word fits her. So how long?"

  "She was my companion for three years."

  "Oh," she said.

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  David could feel her sadness. Laura felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Looking away she gazed out into the black nothing of their prison.

  "I was young and stupid. Her stunning looks and power fascinated me. Daphne was a vampire elder of 800 years." He sighed. "It took me three years to realize that playing sex games wasn't enough. I needed more than she could give me."

  "So you left her?"

  "I tried. She imprisoned me, tortured me, and after all that when I told her I was still leaving, she had me sealed into a coffin and buried."

  "In the ground?" Laura looked up into his dark eyes.

  "Yes, and it took a week to break apart the coffin and dig myself out."

  "Whoa." Laura shook. Just the idea of it gave her the horrors. David sounded more annoyed about the coffin than anything else. "What couldn't she give you?"

  "I didn't know what I was looking for. I felt empty, and my heart ached for a long time. I moved through the world without touching it or it touching me. Humanity meant nothing anymore. Time was an endless river with no ports.

  "Then I met you. I rescued you when I heard your heart cry out in torment. That sound of pain echoed in my heart too. In so many ways, you rescued me instead." He touched her face tenderly. His lips brushed hers over and over. She kissed him back, and they cuddled together closer to the wall.

  "So I'm forgiven?"

  Laura kissed him on the nose. "It's in the past. I don't know the David in the images she was good enough to share with my mind. I only know my David, who is brave and strong and kind. So you were into shackles and whips?"

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  "Not anymore. I'm into something else now." His hands gently caressed her breasts and moved downward. Laura swooned as she went from sitting to reclining with David on top of her.

  ***

  When they heard footsteps on the stone steps, they huddled under the black coat pretending to sleep.

  Keres gawked at them through the bars. Daphne commanded the door be unlocked. "The Shining One wants to see her, though I can't imagine why."

  Laura kissed David. Then she willingly went with Daphne and her grisly crew.

  The door to his cage clanged shut.

  Keres surrounded her, as they climbed the stairs. Laura didn't try anything for fear of what they might do to David or her father.

  "He can't keep his hands off you, can he?" said Daphne.

  Laura didn't answer. Daphne's hate was obvious.

  The stairs opened up into a beautifully decorated room filled with golden furniture and opulent objects. It looked like someone had stolen all the best in Louis XIV furnishing. They walked into another room filled with broken gilt mirrors. Glass littered the floor and expensive mahogany furniture lay about snapped like twigs.

  Everything in the next room was blood red. It overwhelmed her. Chandeliers of rubies cast a garish light. She looked down at her hands and even they had a reddish tinge.

  Laura tried to keep track of where she was. Most of the décor reminded her of the castles of France she had seen on a documentary. They entered a white and gold hallway. Daphne opened the third door on the right and pushed Laura into a dark room.

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  "Stay in there, or bad things will happen to David and your father."

  The door slammed. Suddenly the lights came on. Laura put her hand on the doorknob. Was it really locked? An image of her father being dangled over a fire pit jumped into her mind, and she backed away from the door.

  On turning, she was dumbfounded at the splendor that met her eyes. Huge pastoral paintings hung on golden walls, and Persian rugs lay on the floor. French gold brocade furnishings made the room glamorous. But there wasn't a mirror or window in the place. Laura began a more intensive search. Perhaps she'd find a clue here to the door to the other world. She couldn't let go of that hope.

  "What are you doing?"

  Laura jumped at the voice. She turned and saw Adam sitting in a gold chair.

  How did she not see him before?

  "Adam!" She smiled rushing up to him. "I'm so glad to see you. You're alive! I thought the Keres killed you." He didn't have a scratch on him. Then she stopped short of hugging him.

  He was Kere. They transformed him instead of killing him. That could be the only explanation for his being there. Her stomach hurt with fear. "You look well."

  He laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks. I feel great." He pulled back from her but held her hands. "Oh, Laura, it's so wonderful seeing you too. I hoped in my heart I would see you again." He pulled her close for a kiss. She could see it in his dark eyes. They smoldered with desire. She could see his thoughts of caressing her on top of black satin sheets on his round bed, his lips on her thigh moving slowly upward.

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  Laura shook her head to dissipate the image. Adam smiled warmly at her. Then he pulled her to a loveseat and onto his lap. "Tell me everything you've been up to since your arrival. We have so much to catch up on." He nuzzled her neck.

  With one hand, she pushed him gently away then moved off his lap. "Adam, you know that I love my husband."

  "Loyalty is an admirable trait. But Laura, this is a different world." He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. She looked him in the eyes, and they glowed like the sun.

  Everything in Laura grew fearful. She stood up and walked around the room.

  "My, the art in this room is magnificent." She needed to be physically away from him.

  She needed space to try and figure a way out.

  "Really," he enthused. "You really like it?"

  "Why, yes. It's astounding." She walked up to a huge sculpture of a centaur and patted it. Suddenly the statue reached down and grabbed her. Laura struggled but couldn't free herself. She looked around the room and was horrified to find all the statues moving. The people in the portraits walked out of their frames and on reaching the ground bowed. They were all facing Adam. It was then that the blazing light in his eyes engulfed his entire being.

  "Laura, you're going to love it here with me. I'll tell you I've never felt so free."

  He gestured to the room. "And it's really put my art on a different scale. Don't you think?"

&
nbsp; "Definitely," she grunted, still trying to free herself. Laura lined up her fangs against a vein in the centaur's arm.

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  "Don't do that, my love. You'll break those beautiful, delicate fangs of yours." He chuckled, made a movement with his hand, and the centaur dropped her to the floor.

  From her knees, she looked up. Adam extended his hand. This went beyond an offer of help. In magic, this was an invitation and she knew it. She got to her feet through her own effort.

  He nodded. "You're so proud."

  "Adam, what's happened to you?" She asked hoping to appeal to any humanity left in him.

  "It's a strange story actually. For some reason, the Keres took a shine to me.

  They brought me to their world and commanded me to create for them. The paints, the stone, came alive at my whim. Kere blood flowing through my veins made my power undefeatable. Every challenger became my slave. I was a strong sorcerer back home, but here I was reborn into a grand master."

  Laura trembled. This was very, very bad. "So you're going to make me a Kere."

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "No, my sweet love, you will remain a vampire. I find your vampiress form very sexy." His hand slid down her body.

  "Besides I don't know that you'd be able to cope with the power. I don't want to harm you."

  "You're the Shining One." She stood stunned.

  "No, no, no. Don't look so shocked." He pulled her with him into a chair and hugged her to him. "You know, it's customary to bow in the presence of a sovereign.

  But in your case, sitting on my lap will do just as well."

  Fear dominated her, and she struggled to think and still block him from knowing any plan she devised.

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  "Tsk, tsk, tsk. My beloved is trying to block me from reading her thoughts. Now why would she do that?" He kissed her on the cheek. His fangs rubbed against her neck. "My dear, we still have a few things to discuss, before starting our glorious life together."

  Laura had brought up her husband before, and Adam dismissed him. Obviously her being married was not going to deter him. "Like what?"

  He threw down the cowry bracelet and growled. "Why did you give my gift to a slave?"

  "I thought you were dead. I only took it to remember our friendship. I didn't mean to hurt you." A dark shiver crawled up her arms with a horrible thought. "Is Brilla here too?"

  "No. She had summoned the Keres without cause and violated the freedom of a vampire. They shredded her into hash then ate her." As he said those words, he looked through her, as if seeing something beyond her, and it made her heart tremble. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. Brilla's gone for good." He caressed her hair and smiled. "You always smell like flowers. When I'm near you, I feel peaceful inside." He sighed.

  "Adam, please, listen to me. I'm married. I love my husband. I'm sure there's a wonderful woman out there somewhere for you. You deserve someone who truly wants you. I'm sorry. You're my friend, but I can never love you." She meant what she said kindly, but his countenance grew dark.

  "I have the woman I want."

  Tears slid down her cheeks. "I won't ever love you."

  "You will or I'll torture them both, and I won't let them die."

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  She stared at him, horrified by the images he projected to her.

  In one sharp movement, he pulled her against him to kiss her. She struck him with such force he flew out of his chair into a wall. The statues and portraits immediately surrounded her. Daphne and an army of Keres burst through the door.

  "You summoned, O Shining One."

  Adam got to his feet, his black hair disheveled, and his dark eyes glaring. "Tie her to the post in the courtyard and burn her. I want to hear her scream for me."

  Laura backed up. If she tried to escape, what would happen to David and her father? The army came closer to claim her. She snapped her fingers, but no lightning.

  She leapt up to spin but the wind didn't answer. Panic spread through her veins. Her Telkhine powers failed her.

  Suddenly her face smashed down into the floor. Laura couldn't breathe. A heavy weight pinned her to the cold marble. She couldn't move or see what was causing it.

  "Oh, Laura." Adam sighed into her ear. "I really hated creating a dampening field to neutralize your powers. I can't tell you how much I enjoy watching you unwind storms. When you dance on lightning . . . you make me so hot. "

  She couldn't budge him. Laura tried to call up the storm within but nothing happened.

  "Laura, we can come to an understanding," he whispered in her ear. Fingers pulled her hair. "I don't blame you for panicking when I lost my temper, dear. I don't care if you want to keep your father as a pet. As for your husband, he will make a fine soldier in my army. With all the women and sustenance my soldiers get every day, he will quickly forget you, so don't worry about his feelings. I won't let you have him as a 275

  pet. You might slip into old ways, and I can't have that now, can I?" His hands trailed down her back. "I need your love, Laura, and I will have it. I want you for my queen."

  His hands moved further down her body. Laura bit her lower lip not wanting to give him any indication of how scared he made her feel. His hands crept up her dress and between her legs.

  "Don't touch me," she hissed.

  "I can do anything I want to you. You have no power over me, Laura." He growled. Fingers pulled her panties down. Then she felt his hardness against her ready to strike.

  She whimpered, trembling. "Please, I beg you. Please, don't." No matter how much Laura hated begging she didn't want to be raped by him and would say anything that might prevent it. Even if it meant appealing to his ego. "Please, my lord, wouldn't it be better if I gave myself to you?" Her tears fell on the cold floor. His mind sent her graphic pictures of just how much he would enjoy her. Laura could hardly breathe from the horror.

  "I'm listening." His hot breath singed her neck. He was still against her, waiting.

  "If my lord will promise the complete safety and freedom of my husband and father, I will give myself to you. But no harm must come to them and I humbly. . ."

  Laura stumbled over the words. She wanted to say more, ask more, but she knew her position to bargain was precarious. "I humbly beg the privilege of saying goodbye.

  Please, my lord."

  He lay on her back for a while in silence. "Hmm. Freedom, huh? Well, I can't see what harm they could do to me." She could still feel him poised to enter her. Finally 276

  he moved, and the weight holding her down was gone. She pulled up her panties and stood to face him. Laura wiped her tear-stained face with her hands.

  "All right for now, beloved. But the next time I touch you, you will give yourself to me completely. In exchange for your compliance, your husband and father will be released unharmed." His dark eyes narrowed, examining her. "You must willingly become my queen. What do you say?"

  "I will." Her heart was heavy with this agreement. The Keres stood around her with smirks on their ugly faces. They didn't touch her. They didn't have to. The Shining One's hold on her was strong enough. Adam smiled, Kere fangs marring his drop dead gorgeous looks. An army of Keres stood behind them, as if he needed them at all. In a very short time in this netherworld, Adam had mastered the art of the evil lord and even his minion feared him.

  His hand moved to stroke the side of her face. Then his fingers moved down her neck. He jerked back. Laura saw the look for only an instant. He had come too close to the unicorn's horn that hung around her neck, and it caused him pain. He waved his hand and laughed a deep down laugh full of malice. His followers saw nothing, but in that split second, Laura found a weakness in Adam. Now if only she could use it.

  "You will have one hour to say goodbye, my love. Then you, your husband, and your father will be brought to my throne room. At that time, you will surrender to me."

  "Or you'll burn me? Burning doesn't destroy a vampire."

  Adam laughed. "Laura, I am not a heartless fien
d. I had no intention of destroying you. I would never harm you, beloved. But I will punish you if you anger me, and I will take it out on those you want to save." His hand caressed her cheek. "Once you learn how much I really love you, there will be no need for punishment. I promise 277

  you that. Remember you have given your word to be compliant." He stepped toward her. "Kiss me now, pet."

  She had no choice. Laura dutifully kissed him. He was so repulsive, but to be convincing she closed her eyes and pretended she was kissing David.

  When they parted, he smiled in his victory. "Well, that's what a kiss is meant to be. Now my love, will you give me your unicorn's horn?"

  Laura smiled. This was a test and she knew it. She had to find a way to keep it, without him becoming belligerent and demanding it. "I will give it to you as a gift when I give myself to you."

  He grinned and pulled her to him in another kiss, his hands freely exploring her body. Laura relaxed doing nothing to fight his lustful groping. When he was done, he released her. "Now go and say goodbye. Soon you'll be mine. Our love will join our powers together, and we'll be invincible for all time." He sighed. "Ah, an eternal love."

  A group of Keres escorted her through the palace, but as they reached the stairs she was alone with Daphne. The blonde Kere pushed her in front, as they moved down the dark stairs to the dungeon. "Don't get any ideas. If you use that horn on me, either David or your father will die. The Shining One will have no mercy on you then."