Serrated Love's Deceit

Chapter 9: Library

After getting out of the pool, pale blue hands lift me up and out of the water on to the dark edge of the pool. Warm orange flames encircle us then disappear back into the blackness beneath us. Still in his arms, he takes us down a dark hall with orange flames dancing on the walls.

Tall slender, golden double doors with sigils and drawings etched all over it slowly open. A rumble echoes through the orange corridor around us. Inside a massive library with varying sizes of scrolls and textbooks. They sit on shelves as tall as a skyscraper. A fireplace far on the other side of this massive room full of books, gives a warm light to the ancient architecture. Bookshelves made of gold with symbols etched on their sides levitate over the tan stone floor. Orange flames sit on golden chandeliers. I look up at him and he ignores my gaze. He walks us to a massive golden desk fit for a giant of his height with a huge black chair with plush cushions on it.

He slowly releases his hold on me. "Don't go anywhere. Ok? I've got you." He says. I land on my feet and he sits in the big chair near the desk. I sit on his lap and he readjusts me on his lap until I am halfway facing him. I massage my hands through his soft, silvery; white hair and his irises briefly shift to a magenta hue.

I kiss him and close my eyes to deeply enjoy the passionate kiss. He pulls away out of breath and rubs my waist in a circular motion. I open my eyes and cock a brow. He snaps his fingers and a huge golden textbook with blue glowing sigils float to the desk. The book automatically opens and pages itself to a page full of drawings of ladies with odd figures. They have a variety of extra body parts, sharp teeth, claws, and etcetera. "What am I looking at? Your wildest fantasies of what you want on a lady?" I ask. He chuckles.

"Those were supposed to be your sister wives."

"What happened to them? Are they still around?" I shift to the edge of his lap and he pulls me back further on his lap. He sighs.

"Touch the images." My bewilderment looks back at me in the reflection of his eyes.

I touch an image of a lady with big sharp teeth, long claw nails, and reptilian skin. Through his eyes I see him shift from blue to bronze with claws just as big as the nude beastly female before me. She wraps her charcoal snake like body around the massive bronze torso beneath my view and the bronze claws dig into her so viciously, blood sputters out every deep gash they leave in their trail up her torso. Very violent indeed.

I pull my hand away from the page and he grabs it. He lightly holds it while releasing heavy warm breaths over my shoulder. "You have to see it." He says. I give him a quizzical look and a halfhearted smile. With our hands intertwined, he places our hands on the page. Visions of ladies getting claws, fangs; talons digging into their torsos and jugulars until they cease moving sweep past my view. The screams that accompany them follow. So many screams and screeches until the visions stop and the silence of the library envelope us.

I take a purposeful deep breath and turn to look up at him. "Where did the dried blood on your clothes and cloak come from? If you were nude and shifted to other forms to sleep with these other ladies?" I ask.

"You have no sister-wives. All of those ladies are dead and destroyed. I think you should rethink mingling with me. None of these ladies from different: races, creeds, factions, and shapes... None of these ladies made it to even give birth to any offspring of mine. They didn't make it. I don't know if I'm too strong or they were bred to be too weak. I do like your company and I don't want to destroy you. So, I think it's  best we don't copulate." The sadness and disappointment hanging on every word he mutters gives me a brief pause. My jaw drops and tears dance at the edge of my eyelids.

"So, you think all of those other ladies are stronger than me? You think they're more worthy to carry your children?" The silent tears blur my vision momentarily and stream down my cheeks.

"That's not what I said or what I meant. Look, the blood on my clothes are from the soldiers that died from the lands those ladies were from. Some of their soldiers I killed before taking them as wives and some after. I need to hide you for a bit. I'm going to put you in an ash tree." I cross my arms and look away from him.

"I want a power boost. Are you going to give me some more of your blood?" I look at him through the side of my eyes. He sighs and look up at the orange flames in the chandelier.

"Fine." He says and shrugs. He pulls the sigil engraved dagger out and nicks the tip of his index finger. The sigils glow blue and he nicks my finger and the glowing sigils turn magenta again. I lick the bloody tip of the blade. "Ew! This tastes like bitter tea. You said it tastes sweet. Ew! Your taste buds are broken. I'm not taking your advice on how things taste anymore. Oh my gosh!"  I say and twist my face into a brief lip pucker. He laughs and I pull his bleeding index finger to my mouth. Mmm... tastes like blueberry candy. I suck it until it stops bleeding.

"Your blood tastes sweet. You're delicious." I say and smile up at him. He laughs louder and places the hand holding the glowing dagger flat against his chest.

"Sweet? It tastes bitter to me and anyone that has come in contact with my clans blood says it tastes like ink and it burns. Yet, you think it tastes sweet. You are very interesting. I like you."