Prisoner of Darkhaven (10 page)

their souls. The more chaos they caused the stronger these demons

became. Most had perished in the wars between the Ethereal and the

Nether Realms.

The ones who survived had become embittered with his father

Lucien, claiming he did nothing to protect them. However, his father

had little patience for the foul creatures and instead of pacifying them

like they were contemplating; he exiled the Boggarts to live amongst

the humans. Losing their status in Hell, even for the lowly Boggarts,

was as humiliating to a demon as pissing ones trousers in public.

This Boggart was quite powerful. It indicated he had been building

strength for quite a while at the expense of mortal souls. Damien

needed to find its name fast. Once he had that, he could conjure a

binding spell and stop the demon from accomplishing whatever evil

deed it plotted.

He had narrowed it down to the names of all the two hundred living

Boggarts. Now to narrow the list down to which ones were active

within his jurisdiction. Damn, his fucking curse. Had he been free,

the name would have immediately come to him the minute he picked

up the demon's aura.

Refusing to dwell on his problems, he focused harder on the

registry of demons in his keep as the guardian of Darkhaven. It was a

small kingdom, so he quickly narrowed down the Boggart demons to

two. The first one, Bjorg was a harmless house pest, who got his

kicks by moving furnishings, making hideous growling and grunting

noises to scare the human hosts that have the misfortune of inviting

him in. Now the other one was a different story.

* * * *

wooden tray firmly gripped in her shaking hands. Taking a deep

breath, she held it as the door creaked open. The minute the door

closed, Elise struck.

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Using all her strength, she swung the tray at the back of the young

maid's head. It collided with the woman's skull with a sickening

crunch. She fell to the floor instantly. Elise dropped the tray and

stared down at the woman she felled with a mixture of horror, relief

and pity. She could barely catch her breath. Her heart pounded

heavily in her chest and she had to clench her fists to steady her

shaking limbs.

Tensing her muscles, Elise wasted no time in recovering from the

initial shock of thrashing another human being. She dragged the

unconscious woman to the small bed. After hauling her up on the

bed, she removed her tattered dress and stripped the clothing from the

maid's body.

Once she had dressed in the maid's dowdy brown dress, apron and

servant's bonnet, she pulled the cover over the naked woman's body,

grabbed the tray with the empty plates and walked out of the room.

"Hey you, lass! Hold on a minute!"

Elise froze. Behind her, a burly guard towered over her. She

turned her face slightly giving him a semi profile.

"I am to return the gully. My chores are waiting. Is there

something you need sir?"

It seemed like everything had slowed to a snail's pace. Elise waited

for the guard to recognize her and throw her back in the room. Or,

worse, get DeMumart, who would no doubt punish her severely for

trying to escape. The guard reached around with something in his

hand. Elise braced herself for his beefy hands to seize her.

Instead, he placed a cloth napkin on the tray, "You dropped this..."

Relief flooded Elise. "Thank you, sir."

She gave a quick curtsey and hurried down the hall. Placing the

tray down, she practically flew down the spiraling staircase. Her

breast heaved up and down with her anxious breath. Her heart

hammered beneath her ribcage, but she didn't stop.

She had to find the pendant had to get to Damien and warn him.

The problem was she had absolutely no clue where she needed to

search. If only she could somehow call on Damien to help her.

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However, the Curse of Darkhaven blocked any subliminal

communication. She needed the stone!

She focused on finding the necklace, willing herself to somehow

connect with the magic inside the pendant, in the hopes it would lead

her to the location. Hours seemed to have past as she walked around

the dark corridors that twisted and turned in an endless maze. How

could anyone find their way around this castle?

Her head pounded from all the forced concentration. What did she

expect? She only wasted time. Elise rubbed her temples, trying to

easy the dull ache throbbing behind her eyes.

The minute tension released from her muscles, an invisible force

tugged at her chest. It seemed to be prompting her to turn left. She

did. The pull became stronger. Elise barely had time to register what

was going on as her feet led her down a hall she hadn't noticed before.

Her legs moved as though someone or something else possessed

them. The sensation in her chest grew stronger.

It was leading her to the pendant! It must be! She allowed herself to

relax further. No longer walking, she ran down a staircase, turned

right into a narrow corridor and stopped at a door.

Her body tingled. Whatever had brought here, left the moment she

grabbed the door handle.. Elise took a deep breath, then turned the

handle slowly and opened the door a sliver, just enough that she could

look in.

A large oval basin sat on a fat stone pillar about three feet off the

floor in the center of the room. Two torches provided some light,

giving it an eerie golden glow. The air smelt of wet dog and marsh.

Off to the left near another arched doorway, sat a small wooden

table. Something lay on the table. It glowed red. Elise's heart

jumped with joy as she realized just what it was.

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Taking a deep breath, Elise slid quietly into the room. Inching her

way against the wall she made a wide circle around the ominous

basin. Silver liquid filled the basin. She wondered what purpose the

strange tiny pool of silver water served. Whatever it was she wasn't

going to take any chances.

When Elise reached the small table, she squealed with delight

despite herself. Picking up the pendant, she held it close to her heart.

Relief filled her. She closed her eyes and imagined Damien. The

familiar feeling of weightlessness crept slowly through her. She

welcomed it like a lost lover.

Voices interrupted her concentration. One of the voices she

recognized caused renewed panic to grip her chest. She opened her

eyes and looked around nervously. DeMumart was not in the room.

Turning to her left, she saw the open archway leading down a short

flight of stairs. Scolding herself for her curiosity, Elise inched her

way to the top of the steps. She fell back into a dark corner and tried

to get a view of the conversation downstairs.

DeMumart paced at the bottom of the steps. He spoke to another

person blocked from her view

Damn. Taking a shaky breath, she slipped from the corner and

down a couple of steps.

DeMumart moved away from the steps. He had his back to her..

She pressed herself against the wall, hiding in the shadows. The

stairs curved around a large stone pillar, which gave her enough cover

to hide while she watched the scene unfold below.

Elise clasped her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping aloud,

when she saw who, or what DeMumart was talking to.

An enormous pool much like the one in the room, where she found

her pendant, sat in the middle of the floor. It appeared to have been

dug into the ground and decorated with mosaic stone that traveled the

outer rim. It took up most of the space. A three-foot circular

walkway left enough room for a person to stand.

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In the center of the pool, a creature stood. It was actually solid like

a person, but more like a mass of silver fluid that took the shape of a

man. However, it wasn't really a man. Elise couldn't describe it. It

appeared to have the same stature DeMumart had when he had shrunk

to his true self.

DeMumart remained with his back to her. Elise focused on their

conversation, her hand firmly grasping the pendant, in case she

needed a quick exit.

"It won't be much longer. My human army is almost ready..."

The silver creature twisted and lurched slightly towards DeMumart,

Elise was surprised to see him cringe away.

The thing hissed, "Too long, Rumpelstiltskin! We want out now!"

Elise gasped.
Rumpelstiltskin?

"Soon, soon. Memnon, soon you and the rest of the Boggart souls

will have new bodies. Human bodies. Strong and virile. Hell will be

ours!"

So, that was his plan? The human army was simply a vessel for

Demon spirits to possess! Elise had heard enough.

Armed with this new knowledge, Elise refocused on summoning

Damien. Nearly a minute later she was back at Darkhaven.

* * * *

Damien ripped the scroll in to pieces. No matter how hard he tried,

he could not say the name. He knew the name. Could repeat it in his

head over and over again, however, the moment he tried to verbalize

it, his voice failed him.

"FUCKING CURSE!"

"Damien?"

He turned towards the voice. For a moment, he thought his eyes

were playing tricks on him. The minute Elise ran and threw herself in

his arms, Damien's chest filled with exhilaration. The emotion was so

intense he couldn't help laughing aloud, picking her up and twirling

her around.

"Elise, I thought you were..."

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Unable to fathom the thought, he pulled her close, wrapping his

arms tightly around her.

Elise chuckled, "Well I guess you missed me."

Damien pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. She was so

beautiful. Immediately his body hummed with growing arousal.

"The Demon who imprisoned me came for a visit. He said that he

held you captive and even implied that you may be close to death."

Elise wrapped her arms around Damien and laid her head on his

chest.

"He would have, but I managed to escape with the help of the

pendant and your magic," She held the pendant for him to see. It

glowed brightly and pulsed with bright red light.

"It's not my magic. You have somehow bonded with the pendant's

demons."

He smiled at her confused look.

"Demons come in all shapes and sizes and can take possession of

just about anything. The little creatures that helped you actually live

in the pendant."

Elise looked down at the beautiful ruby stone in awe. "But it's so

small."

Damien laughed out loud loving her innocent ignorance of all

things otherworldly.

"It's like a gateway to their dimension." When she looked at him

even more bewildered then before, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"There are many things you have yet to learn." He stroked the side of

her face with his knuckles, traveling down her arm with a feather

touch "But right now I wish only to teach you about a more pleasure

subject."

He saw the passion glaze over her eyes. He moved his hand to her

breast and squeezed gently. His cock was as hard as stone, had been

from the moment she'd thrown herself at him.

Elise swayed towards him as he fondled her breast through the ugly

maid's clothes covering her body. He frowned at the attire. His Elise

was much too lovely to be dressed so plain.

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An instant later, she was in a black silk shift that clung seductively

to her body. Damien took a step back and licked his lips. His cock

jerked, pressing uncomfortably against the front of his trousers.

Elise stood, like a goddess.

He walked around to stand at her back. Her breathing labored a bit

and he could smell the spicy scent of her arousal. It only ignited the

fire below his waist more, making his cock grow harder, pulse and

wet the front of his trousers with pre-cum.

He bent his head down and placed tiny kisses on the exposed skin

of her neck. His hot breath sent shivers down her body. When he

reached her ear, he licked the rim before nibbling on the lobe a few

times.

"I want you Elise and I won't let you go. The king can go fuck

himself."

Elise quivered in his arms. She turned her head so that her lips

were barely touching his.

"I don't want to leave. I want you Damien. Forever."