“That I am love and I see you have been telling tales of woe and heartache.”
“Yeah, but it has a happy ending so shut up and kiss me!” She demanded and I looked away to give them their moment.
“What did you bring me back, Brutus?” He laughed and I turned round to see him flick her nose before letting her slide down his body.
“Greedy little Imp,” he complained half-heartedly and then produced a gift bag from behind his back. Her eyes got wider and then started tearing into the bag.
“Foam love hearts and jelly rings, I love these! Oh you’re good Adam baby but aren’t you missing something?” He smiled at her and then started to back away with his palms up in surrender as she slowly stalked towards him.
“Demanding Squeak, well fine then have your own way, they’re in our room waiting for something of mine to fill them, so I suggest you get a head start little heart of mine…ready, set…run!” At this Pip jumped up with delight and ran from the room in excitement. I didn’t even want to ask what was waiting for her but when I realised I was left in the room with the most powerful creature to walk the earth, then that sobered my thoughts.
“I wanted to thank you.” He spoke the last words I thought I would ever had heard from Adam. I mean for starters what would he ever need to thank me for?
“You make Pip happy and there is nothing on this planet that means more to me than that sentiment.” He said as if hearing my thoughts and I found a lump form in my throat.
“I love Pip!” Was all I managed to say but the reaction of his smile made me smile too.
“Good answer. Then we have something in common. Pip must love you back to show you something so precious to us both but don’t be perplexed Keira, I trust my girl with not only this life but also my first. My past is hers to do with as she pleases.”
“You really don’t mind what she showed me?” I asked feeling vulnerable. As if I didn’t receive his blessing regardless of what Pip thought, I would still feel bad.
“On the contrary, I am happy she did. It means she loves another and therefore so do I. You will always have my protection Keira, whether you require it or not.” He nodded his head in respect and walked to the door ready to leave but I needed to tell him one more thing.
“Adam.”
“Yes Keira.”
“You said the right thing to your mother. It was wrong of her to think death would be better for you.”
“No Keira, she was right, death was a better choice for me…just not in the way she thought. Before Winifred, I lived only ready to die but after…well… I finally died ready to live.” He winked at me and then disappeared down the hallway to entertain his wonderful wife.
I spent the rest of the day just lounging around, pretty bored with only my many thoughts to keep me occupied. My mind was a whirlwind of information. I had learnt so much today that it was hard to keep it to just one thought at a time. Talking with Pip had offered me more insight to Draven’s world than he ever allowed me to see. I knew why Draven thought it best to keep things from me the way he did, but in doing so it kept me in the dark from the things that I really needed to know. Sometimes being kept within the safety net of my own world didn’t do me any favours when, like now against my will, I had been put in a situation where knowing more about my enemies would have come in damn useful! But even that was becoming clouded and confusing. Take Pip and Adam for example, did I really see them as my enemies…no way. For starters I couldn’t deny that I loved that crazy little Imp and my tears in seeing her past had been for a friend. And Adam, well he had just confirmed that I had his protection always, so that surely classed him as an ally.
When I thought about it even Ruto had saved my life and Liessa had been nothing but nice to me. This would have been so much easier if my captors had all lived up to the Demon reputation but of course since meeting Draven that meant I now knew that being a Demon didn’t necessarily mean you were evil or ‘bad to the bone’ as Pip would put it.
And then there was Lucius, the main protagonist in this picture. Well so far, apart from being a dominant SOB he hadn’t hurt me in any way and seemed to be growing on me the longer I was here. Don’t get me wrong, I still hated that he was the reason I wasn’t with Draven and I still hadn’t forgiven him for enduring the worst pain of my life thanks to his inflicting dreams. But even then, I had tried to burn him into a crispy critter. Man this was so confusing! Why couldn’t I just hate these people and get on with it!
I decided to take a relaxing bath and try and get my brain to slow down on the bitter thoughts. I just wanted to go home and I had to remember that these people were still holding me prisoner, no matter how friendly they all were. I just had to keep reminding myself of this fact.
Once in the hot bath with the scent of jasmine oil and bubbles made from honey and vanilla bath cream, I let my mind go and relaxed my tense shoulders. I closed my eyes and dunked my head back letting the soft water cover me from head to toe. When I pulled back up I took in a deep breath and felt so much better. This was what I had needed, to relax, to unwind and chill out. To have the tension massaged out of my shoulders by big, strong hands…wait, what!
I shot up but those strong hands kept me down with a slight pressure.
“What...! how?” It didn’t make much sense but all I received was an assured,
“Ssshh, relax.” Lips said at my ear and the last thing I wanted to do was relax with Lucius sat behind me while I was lay naked in this bath.
“Get off me!” I said sternly but he just laughed.
“So tense Keira, I thought mortal girls liked to be pampered by men.” He teased me before leaning down to leisurely lick some bubbles off my bare shoulder. Thankfully the bubbles hid my modesty but didn’t stop his wandering hands.
“If you go any further down I will take a line from your book and bite you!” I said as threatening as I could manage with the feeling his hands created. I was outraged but I was also still a woman with a handsome man touching me. He just chuckled at my threat but my warning must have worked on some level because he kept his hands on my shoulders.
“As you say pet, but at least let me help get some of the tension from your body.”
“Please don’t!” I whispered but as he moved his hands in circles I couldn’t take back the moan that escaped. Damn him!
“That didn’t sound very convincing.” He said thick with humour, the smug bastard!
“Did you have a nice day with my loyal little Imp?” With the combination of his comfortingly smooth voice and his expert fingers, I was soon finding my muscles couldn’t keep up the pretence that what he was doing wasn’t working.
“You’re asking about my day?” I said answering his question with a question.
“And why not or is it because you’re trying desperately to try and go back to hating me.” My body gave me away that he had guessed spot on.
“Ah, so I am right.” Once again I confirmed this by my body going ridged under his hands.
“I don’t understand why you would be nice to me, I am still a prisoner right?” At least ten percent of me thought he might say no, I wasn’t. Of course a hundred percent of me wanted him to say it, however it still didn’t make it so.
“No my little Keira girl, you are not free to go, however I see no reason not to make your stay here…an enjoyable one.” He said this last bit with his lips touching against my ear like a lover’s whisper. I shivered and he laughed again. He then gave my shoulders a quick squeeze and I felt him heave himself up.
“I think my job here is done. I came to tell you to come down to the Great Hall later this evening, as there is someone that you know with something to show us.” I was looking up at him and I must have been frowning because he gently tried to smooth the line it caused with his thumb. He then ran the back of his hand down my cheek and left before saying another word.
All the air left me in a whoosh and I let myself slide down under the bubbles to submerge my whole body in water to try and
drown some sense into it. I wish I didn’t react to his touch! It was like my body was battling with my thoughts. In my mind I was clear as I was in my heart, I wanted Draven and only him but my body…well that was a betraying little hussy that needed to be stopped!
Feeling intrigued as to who could be here I felt almost giddy. Could it be Draven? Could it be time for me to finally leave this place, man I really hoped so! I counted back and realised I had been here for six days and Draven only had four left to come for me…But how? I know Draven said he had a plan but really, I didn’t see how he would get me back if he didn’t bring this spear to Lucius and from the urgency in Vincent’s voice that time, I knew he couldn’t ever just hand it over. So what was his plan?
These were the questions that plagued me for the entire time it took me to get ready. This time I didn’t have any problems getting dressed as I just didn’t really care about what I was wearing. It had no relevance to my situation so I just grabbed a dress and put it on.
It was another black lace dress but this time it had a soft under layer that didn’t show all my skin through the pattern. I had shaved my legs in the bath along with other area’s that needed attention and the result was the heavenly feel of material against my smooth skin, I just loved that feeling and even the lace felt soft.
The rest of the dress was full length, falling to the floor and trailing slightly behind me in a train. It flared out with more layers of fabric around the knee and the under dress only hid my torso and the top of my thighs. Around the waist it had a wide taffeta burgundy sash that tied at the side and hung low at the hip. The sleeves came past my hands and draped down in a large V shape but at the wrist had woven ribbon to match the sash that tied into a pretty bow.
Even the neck came up to collarbone, hiding what the red satin balcony bra did to my cleavage. There wasn’t one plain set of underwear in any of the drawers… no it just looked as if Pip had just robbed an Ann Summers store! Well at least not all the knickers were thongs, I thought rolling my eyes as I grabbed the matching pair of hipster briefs with red satin frilled edging.
I knotted my hair into a loose bun at the side and tied it with some matching ribbon I found on the hanger to the dress. I looked in the mirror and thought it all looked quite Spanish in style. All I needed now was matador to escort me down to the Great Hall and I would be set to fight one big headed bull called Lucius.
However Pip would have to do and she was definitely not dressed like a matador! She bounced in wearing a dark brown leather jacket with a high folder collar that went half way up her head. The bottom part of the jacket was made with four split panels, the longest being at the back in a straight rectangle. The side ones were thinner and curved back but the front was slashed across so one full leg could be seen where the other was hidden.
The chunky metal clasps that held it closed followed the slash up the body diagonally, finishing at the shoulder and a belt made in the same scroll pattern as the clasps hung low on her little hips. The sleeves continued the style and flared out at the wrists but the split that went up to her elbow was also held closed thanks to smaller clasps. And this was all she wore, this and a pair of tights that had a bear’s foot prints leading up her leg with the words ‘follow me’ on the side. I couldn’t help but grin.
“You like my jacket!” It wasn’t a question but more of a statement.
“I do, it’s very gladiator meets Pip, not sure it goes with the shoes though.” She held out her foot to the side and showed off her unique high heels that were covered in lolly pops and had a foamed cupcake on top of her toes with baby blue frosting and yellow stars. The stiletto heel was even made to look like the stick from the candy floss backs that created a pink fluffy cloud of sugar up her ankle. They looked that yummy that I was close to dropping on all fours and licking her feet for a sugar rush.
“Oh these, don’t you just love them? If you move the candy floss you can see they tie with strawberry laces.” She said proudly.
“I bet they’re hard to tie.” I said putting on my own black heels and grabbing a pair of gloves that had replaced the ruined ones, thanks to some demonic mud.
“Yeah, especially when you have a husband trying to nip at your feet the whole time.” She said shaking her head.
I laughed at the picture she created as we made our way out of the room.
“So, do you have any idea who is here to see me?” She looked puzzled by my question.
“Lucius didn’t tell you?” I asked thinking it was odd.
“Nope, but I was a little busy this afternoon.” She giggled at her memory and I really hoped she wasn’t going to share, as knowing Pip it was bound to be something sexual and utterly shocking and it was hard enough seeing Lucius, but having sex on the brain while doing so was not a good idea.
“But wait…” I just thought of something important, making her stop before we got to the balcony.
“How was it that Adam was up in the daylight, I thought he was a Vampire?”
“Oh that, he not’s like your conventional Vamp. He doesn’t like direct sunlight much but it wouldn’t harm him like the others. Thanks to Abaddon he doesn’t have any weaknesses like that…well except maybe one, teeny tiny one.”
“Which is?” I prompted.
“Me.”
“You?” She nodded and then carried on walking.
“Hang on, what do you mean, you?”
“Well he can’t be without me for very long or the beast gets worried and you don’t want to make Abaddon worry. He’s a little touchy since the last time I was taken away from him. It’s the only time Adam can’t contain the beast and he takes over…Adam’s very good at containing his rage but I am afraid this little wifey is his only weakness…do you like dancing, there will be dancing tonight and Lucius is a great dancer, have you done salsa before or the waltz or even Zumba, I do that on the Xbox but man what a workout!” Finally she took a breath! I think if she hadn’t been a supernatural being she would have passed out now from lack of oxygen!
“No to all dance related questions. So are you not worried when you’re away from him, like today?”
“Nah, he can feel me, we’re connected you see. I mean he gets a little grumpy if I’m not with him for too long but it’s more like if someone hurt me or took me…man then the shit would really hit the washing machine!” I even shuddered at the thought and I hadn’t even seen his beast side yet and needless to say I wasn’t ever hoping too.
“Washing machine?”
“Yeah, that would be disastrous, you like to wash your clothes in a machine that’s been covered in shit…nope, me neither?” She shuddered making me smile.
We walked down the steps and the Great Hall looked a little different than the last time I saw it. The various sections and seating areas had been moved to the edges creating a large space for people to dance in the centre and where Lucius’ people usually wore different style of Goth and fetish wear, not tonight they didn’t. It looked like I had just walked into a science fiction convention with a Victorian twist.
“Pip, what is all this?” I turned to her and looking at her jacket style I realised that she fitted in with the rest, well, apart from the shoes that was.
“This, my darling, is Steampunk at its best. We make a night of it every year. Have you never seen it before?” Pip looked almost giddy and I could see why as we made our way through the weird and wonderful. The whole room had been transformed into 19th century London revolution meets wild west saloon. The layers and layers of material that once covered the walls now found their place in piles on the floor and the strong stone walls had been decorated with hundreds of cogs, wheels, gears, propellers and various engine parts.
Another wall held empty ornate picture frames with springs and pistons in between. The one opposite had old posters advertising the steam engine and old maps in a random fashion, all of which were covered in giant clockwork pieces in different styles, shapes and metals. Large iron potbellied braziers sat together in different s
izes with tall chimneys that were rather pretty twisted iron work at the top or very rustic spikes that reminded me of a crude king’s crown.
Nearly everyone wore leather of some description but this was mixed with gowns, corsets, and petticoats for the women. The men mixed their leather with suits complete with waistcoats, long jackets, top hats or military style garments. This wouldn’t have been too shocking but it was their accessories that I found the strangest factor. It was like a fantasy film set had been raided. There were men with old brass telescopes being used to look up female skirts that had so many layers they danced around their body in ruffles. Women who held oil lamps on curled sticks higher than themselves and most people either wore a metal gas mask or old explorer goggles. One guy we passed looked like a Steampunk version of President Lincoln, with the wild beard and tallest top hat I have ever seen.
“Come on Tooty Bean, you can openly gawk at everyone when we get to Lucius.” I hurried to catch up and before I could tell her that I wasn’t gawking at people, which was a lie, I saw Lucius.
My breath caught on a gasp at just the sight of him. He looked painfully handsome in his black tailored Victorian suit encasing strong, long legs that lounged out causally in front of him, with high polished army boots crossed over each other on the low table. His long tailored jacket fit his wide shoulders like a glove and he left this unbuttoned to show his tight fitted striped waistcoat underneath. He also wore a tight knotted black tie that he wore over his white shirt collar. This look was all finished with a black top hat that had a pair of copper goggles resting on the rim and a pair of black leather gloves that still managed to show the strength of his hands under the thick material. His face looked etched from steel and cool demanding eyes saw me through dark blue tinted round glasses that reminded me of Gary Oldman in the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
My mouth actually dropped open.
“He’s a handsome man isn’t he?” I heard the question asked in my ear by a voice that sent an acute level of fear down my spine and one that was very much warranted, considering our past encounter.