Into the Arms of the Night

Chapter 16: The Magic of Death's Champion

When Tom tiredly returned to his and Harry's room in the Palace; he was drained mentally and exhausted from trying to negotiate. Tom, however, he immediately tensed as he entered. The room was bathed in Harry's magic that he felt succinctly despite his exhaustion.

And the magic was beginning to form about his mate enough for them to see it; the off-putting tell-tale colors of the black-red wisp-like smoke that curled like angry thunderclouds about to unleash torrential rain and other damages. He saw Harry then beyond the formed and coiling magic; who had already undressed to mere silken lounge pants.

He was kneeling in the middle of the central room; the mana he exuded was curling and billowing as his body and frame echoed sadness, anger, denial, disbelief, resignation, and so many more emotions that Tom had trouble keeping up with all of them as he observed him.

All of it flowing out of him and bleeding out of him into his magic. Yet, despite the flood of his negative emotions; Harry, he had not let it escape these rooms nor had he let it harm anyone else despite the malevolent feel.

His position that was tense spoke of something his mate had learned that was not good, and with Harry's slow to heal exhaustion; Tom did not like what was now happening. He began to wonder if pursuing the Elves as their allies first was going to become something they would later regret. What had Lady Life said to his mate to garner this response from the normally passive and peaceful person Harry was?

"Harry, mon coeur; I see that you are not happy now after your summons to see Lady Life in her hall and temple?" He spoke softly, "Are you...are you alright?"

Harry shuddered with fury as his body emitted black lightning charge sparks and bolts with enraged dark-red streaks to them over him and his face tightened while the deadened eyes conveyed his anger and rage to Tom all too clearly. Tom was honestly; he was honestly a little afraid of Harry and his magic right now.

As that same magic rolled over the room in anguish; lashed out and cracked the walls or scorched the dark wood floors. As Tom saw the immense hurt in his eyes; he knew, Tom knew that Harry had learned something that had hurt him personally. He went to him slowly as he minded the sparks that discharged and wrapped his body to his and tried to soothe him with his presence as best as he could.

Harry breathed sharply to that as he then shuddered intensely and got his control back; so as not to harm Tom with his magic. But emotionally; Tom saw and felt that Harry just...wasn't there. He wasn't the normally peaceful mate that he had come to know and to love.

Tom loved Harry regardless of what had happened; but, he silently admitted he wanted his mate back to normal.

"I need to speak to you more before we rest." He said cold and unfeeling as Tom tensed to that tone; the last time he had heard it...it had been during the confrontation with the necromancer in the forest; when Harry had nearly snapped after he had become the Prince of Hell. Before that; it had brought Bellatrix to her canine form and sent several others to his patron from an attack on him

Tom remembered that day clearly; he had trusted Bella to calm and let go at his insistence. She did not, and could not let go; Harry had been correct in that she was too far gone to accept it. Bella and her cohorts cornered Harry; the fight was bloody and a mess.

He recalled the crazed anger in Harry as he stabbed a dagger in the last man; ripping his throat out and then practically gutting him in the area of the attack for his innards. Bella; she lied as a dog unconscious and surrounded in a barrier. One man was pinned up to the wall; bleeding out as he hung there from knives Harry summoned.

His insides splayed out of him and down to the floor; blood puddled in a large shape underneath his corpse.

The second man; was half-eaten alive by whatever creature Harry had called to aid him. Then Harry turned to the last and overpowered him both magically and physically before he tore him apart.