bedeviled & beyond 01 - bedeviled & beguiled (26 page)

It was my turn to look surprised. “Wait a minute. What if I’m already betrothed to Dialle?”

Nille chuckled. “That was a brilliant stroke on Dialle’s part. And such a sacrifice too.” His blue eyes sparkled and I couldn’t help smiling as my face turned crimson.

“Well...anyway...what does that do to their plans?”

Nille reached a long, tapered finger to touch the mark on my neck. At his touch the mark gave off sparks. I gasped and jumped away. Nille frowned, dropping his hand back to his side. “This mark cannot be broken. It is true and fixed.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I felt guilty anger bubbling up. Somehow I didn’t like the sound of that.

Nille dragged his eyes away from my little tattoo and smiled. “It means you are well and truly betrothed to Prince Dialle, lovely Astra. And he is a very lucky devil.”

I turned away from him and started to pace the room angrily. “This is no time for jokes, Prince Nille.”

“I’m not teasing you, Astra. Two hearts and two souls were merged with that mark. It is binding in nearly every way.”

I stopped pacing and glared at him. “Nearly?”

He waved a hand in dismissal. “Do not trouble yourself with thoughts of breaking it. It can’t be done.”

“But isn’t that exactly what your father has in mind?”

Nille smiled and, for once, he looked devilish as he did it. “Yes. It is.”

“But you’re telling me it can’t be done?”

“Yes.”

“Then why does Nerul think he can do it?”

“Because if the mark were given under certain circumstances, it would not be true and it could be broken.”

“Like if I were an unwilling participant?”

“That is one circumstance, yes.”

I thought about that for a while and paced some more. Then I flopped on the bed and looked up at him. He stood silently, watching me, as if he already knew what I was going to say. I’m sure he did. “I told him I was raped.”

Again the devilish smile. “I know.”

“Man is he gonna be pissed.”

“Yes, my lovely Astra. He is.”

“Okay, I said to the beautiful, blue-eyed devil before me, “So what happens next? How are they going to attempt to break the mark?”

Nille pulled his gaze away from me and looked truly uncomfortable for the first time since he’d entered my luxurious prison. He cleared his throat and walked over to sit on the end of the bed. I really didn’t like the way his eyes couldn’t meet mine.

“Nille? How awful could it be?”

Still staring everywhere but at me, he shrugged, looking somehow...guilty.

“Shit, Nille, you’re scaring me.”

He sighed and stood up, finally meeting my gaze. “I’m not sure really. They could try one of two things.”

I watched him expectantly. He seemed very reluctant to go on. “And they are?”

“Neither one will be pleasant for you, Astra.”

“Oh, I’m sure of that. I’ve hung around your family and friends long enough to know that very little having to do with them is pleasant.”

He nodded, not even taking offense at my words. That surprised me a little. I mean, if he really was the long-awaited good devil that was destined to join the Angel Council with the Devil Court and ensure peace between the dark and light worlds, you would think he would take exception to being lumped in with Nerul and his gang of nightmares on cloven hooves. Still, I guess the young Prince had more pressing matters on his mind than being thin skinned about some stupid halfling and her big fat mouth. Like his death perhaps. And mine.

“Okay, just tell me. I always feel better if I know what I’m facing, even if it really sucks.”

He cocked his elegant head at me. “Sucks?”

“Yeah.”

“As far as I know there will be no sucking, though it is possible there could be I guess.”

I could feel my face turn pale as the blood drained from it. Bending my knees, I let my butt hit the edge of the bed. I really just wanted to sit down for a minute. I was tired. That was all, my knees hadn’t buckled or anything. “Okay, so sucking is probably out but not definitely.” I thought about that for a minute. “Just for my clarification here, Nille. Are we talking about blood sucking?”

He frowned. “Of course.”

How stupid of me to ask. I gulped and fought the urge to clasp a hand protectively around my neck. “Okay. So...what? There are vampires in this court?”

“Among other things.”

“Of course.” Once again, how stupid of me to ask. “Lovely.”

He sighed again and was suddenly lying across the bottom of the bed. Stretched out full length onto his side, he crossed his long legs at the ankles and propped his head up on one hand. He reached over and clasped my hand, the fingers of which were curled into tense claws in my lap.

“Here’s the worst of it, Astra. They can try to break the mark in one of two ways. One, they can kill Dialle, but I’m not sure they are strong enough to best him now that he shares your power...”

“What?”

He laughed at me. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know that your powers have been merged under the mark?”

I clamped my lips together and scowled at him. “It seems there is a whole shit ship full of stuff I don’t know, your Highness.”

Nille sat up and was suddenly seated next to me. He put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side. I felt immediate and immense calm as we touched. Despite my natural aversion to unnecessary touching, I leaned against him and put my head on his shoulder. He kissed my forehead. “I am truly sorry you’ve been dragged into this, sweet Astra. Now we must find a way out of it for you.”

I nodded and just let myself melt against him. I could have stayed in that spot forever. A peacefulness I’d never before experienced washed through me. It was intoxicating. Especially under the circumstances. It occurred to me that I’d been sent to locate and save Nille but all I’d managed to do was get myself caught so that he had to save me.

Life was just full to burstin’ with irony.

Finally I roused myself enough to ask. “What’s the second way?”

He kissed my forehead again and rubbed my arm. “Huh? Oh. They will mate you with a gargoyle.”

I didn’t even twitch. “Of course they will,” I said and sighed numbly.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The Shit Deepens Thusly

Alas our maiden dodged the blaze, her safety to acquire,

Only to find that she’d been thrown, from the flame into the quagmire.

As with all good things, my period of tranquility didn’t last nearly long enough. Only a moment into my restful respite with Prince Nille, the door to my prison flew open and puked the two demon guards into the room.

Nille jumped up and stood in front of me. I shook my head in an attempt to expel the last of my dazed pleasure and stood up too, moving to stand beside him in a united show of strength.

“Leave us,” said Nille in a quiet but powerful voice.

For a brief moment the guards seemed confused. They shared a soap opera look and almost seemed ready to turn around and leave. But then Nerul sauntered into the room behind them and they lost their confusion. “Nice try, my son, but your power cannot usurp my power here. Soon, in fact you’ll have no power at all.” Nerul chuckled darkly and turned his velvet black gaze to me. “Mx. Phelps, I see you haven’t yet dressed for our little ceremony.”

My eyes dropped to my tattered and charred nightie and I smiled sweetly at him. “I appreciate your offering of clothing, your Highness, but I prefer my clothing to cover my entire body, otherwise, what’s the point?”

He laughed. “Indeed, what
is
the point.” Before my eyes even registered movement, he was beside me. With one quick jerk he’d ripped my poor nightgown right down the middle so that it hung off my shoulders like a dilapidated robe. I quickly pulled the two halves together and glared at him. “Asshole.”

He nodded. “Yes. Thank you. You have two minutes to put that on,” he gestured to the little nothing that the evil Rayanne had tossed onto the bed, “or, if you’d prefer you could participate in the ceremony naked. I’m sure no one would mind.”

After a final glance at his son, which was filled with such distaste that it surprised even me, Nerul left the room, leaving the two surly demons behind.

The two guards licked their thick lips and stared at me until I wanted to climb into the bed and pull the covers over my head. Nille stepped between them and me and motioned toward the gown on the bed. “I’d put that on if I were you. It isn’t much but it’s better than nothing.”

I nodded, glancing at the slobbering pair at the door. Nille looked at them too and spoke in the language I couldn’t understand. Reluctantly they turned away so that they weren’t quite staring at me anymore, though their beady little eyes kept dancing in my direction when they thought Nille wasn’t looking.

I quickly pulled the remains of my tattered nightgown off my shoulders and turned my back on Nille. I could feel his pale gaze on my uncomfortably naked back as I reached for the shimmering gown on the bed and dropped it over my head. The fabric felt cool and curiously liquid against my skin. It clung to every swell and curve of my body, hiding nothing and revealing almost more than nakedness would have. The plunging neckline dropped nearly to the tops of my nipples and rose to slip across the tops of my shoulders before skimming tightly down my arms and flowing over the backs of my hands. As I tugged and pulled the gown away from my body, I began to feel surprisingly drowsy and weak. As strange as it seemed, the gown appeared to be gaining weight at an alarming rate. After a moment of trying to ignore the sensation, I felt as if a two hundred pound anchor had been strapped to my back. As soon as I realized what was happening to me, I started to tug on it, with the idea of pulling it off over my head. But my fingers felt thick and numb and the fabric was curiously elusive. It slipped through my clumsy fingers and stuck to my flesh so that I couldn’t even pinch it away from my skin let alone pull it off.

In a panic, my eyes searched the room for Nille but my vision had begun to blur and I couldn’t find him. I thought I heard him call out to me as I started to go under, but my head felt like it was immersed in a bottle at the bottom of the ocean and everything was wavy and muffled. Finally my vision went black and my hearing thickened to the point that I could only hear a thrumming sound in the room. From somewhere far away, a door slammed and a rhythmic thumping approached. Hard, leathery hands grasped my arms and lifted me off the ground. I think I called out for Nille to help me, but he may have already been gone at that point. All I know is that he didn’t come to me. Apparently he had his own battles to fight. I was on my own. As usual.

~SC~

When I woke up I apparently was still under the influence of the magicked gown. My eyes saw only black when I opened them and my ears could only pick up a muffled whispering that sounded as if it were far away, but approaching fast.

I tried to move my arms and legs but they felt as if that two hundred pound anchor was still strapped to them. I began to panic.
How the hell am I gonna get out of this one?

I had to think, think, think.

My mental drawers were suddenly invaded.

Astra
?

Ohmygod, Emo. Where are you? I need your help.

I’m here. Hidden. I’ve called for help but they haven’t shown up yet.

How’d you get in here? Can you come get this damned gown off me?

Astra this is no time to talk dirty.

Ha. I think it’s been magicked or something, it weighs a ton and I can’t see or hear anything.

Power blocker. They’re trying to keep you from communicating with Dialle.

But I’m communicating with you?

Yeah, the king’s either forgotten about me or he doesn’t consider me dangerous. Big mistake on his part.

Emo, if I ever get out of this remind me to give you a big, wet kiss.

There you go talkin’ dirty to me again. When, we get out of this, remind me to take you up on it.

So where are you?

I’m hiding right in the middle of a really skanky looking crowd of dark worlders. There are probably around a thousand of us skanks here and we’re all just kind of standing around staring at you.

Shit.

Yeah, we’re waiting for his majesty to show up and start the ceremony. I’m trying to work my way through the crowd, but I don’t want to be too conspicuous. I’ll be able to move faster once Nerul gets the show going and everybody’s distracted.

Oh great, you should arrive about the time the gargoyle is finished raping me.

Now Astra, what do you expect when you dress like that?

Ha, ha. Just get me the Hades out of here, Emo, or you’re fired.

Hey, whatever happened to the big, wet kiss?

I’m a big believer in both positive and negative reinforcement. You figure it out.

Got it. Here comes his majesty the asshole now. I’ll get back to you.

Emo? What’s he doing? Emo? Shit!

I couldn’t believe I was probably going to just lie there and let them rape me, or kill me, or suck me dry, or whatever disgusting thing they had in store for me. It was so damned unfair. Why did I ever have to listen to Nille and put the frunkin’ gown on anyway?

Nille
. Had he known what they’d done to the gown? Was he in on this with them? My heart wanted to say no. But my brain couldn’t help remembering what the High Council had told me when I’d gone before the Angel Council. My friends may not really be my friends and my enemies might really be my friends—or some such useless drivel. Damn. Why didn’t those stinkin’ angels just come down into this cesspool and take care of Nerul and his throngs of blood sucking voyeurs themselves. What the hell did they think they were doing, floating around up there in their safe, pristine little world, pulling the strings and watching some poor little halfling get mauled, eaten, or just generally pounded to smithereens?