ABN (Very Bad do not read this!!) (NANOWRIMO 2013)

Chapter 21

Dizzy, I felt dizzy being led around the echoing stone corridors. Heavy oil paintings hung ominously on the walls, their cold dead eyes watching us pass by. Large pots of flowers sat underneath or on either side of every painting.

Some were rather nice and scenic of mountains, and open prairies. Other were of dusty looking soldiers, bloody battle fields, or murder all together.

My eyes were stretched wide in awe I looked around myself, the surroundings were nostalgic. I had the feeling in my gut that I had been here or seen this all before exactly as I was seeing it now.

The smell in the air, the cool breeze that moaned through the hallways. The soft black carpet beneath my feet, I knew this all. It was like I was living a dream really, it was the most bizarre feeling of déjà vu.

“You have a lot to catch up on, you took a day longer than was expected. That’s a day of work you must make up for. We have men to execute, and preparations to make for next year. The humans need to be kept in line with duly made nightmare drops. I expect you to have that plan ready for me by morning.” Damien’s father began on his rant the longer we walked.

“Understood father, I’ll have the schedule written up after dinner and you will have it before you sit down for tea.”

His father nodded his head not looking back, Joko shook her head and actually glanced back at Notari, Damien and myself. She gave a small apologetic smile.

“I expect your schedule to remain the same as before. You’ll have to find ways to compensate if you slack off for any reason the time will be taken out of your ass.”

Joko pretended to gag herself silently flashing a toothy grin towards us, I fought not to snicker, I had a sneaking suspicion that Samhain wouldn’t take kindly to having a teenage girl snickering behind his back.

“Of course sir.”

“Dinner will be held at the arena, lunch will be on the terrace overlooking the garden. You will be in charge of showing the mistress and her keeper to their bedrooms. Do not doddle, we have a tight schedule to keep.” He veered off down a winding staircase leaving us standing in the hallway.

“That usually means it’s time for us to do as the highness commands” Joko groaned then a smile overtook her features, “Of course myself excluded, I get to follow the grumpy ass and consult. Good luck Kiddo.” She cheered before jumping down the stairwell.

Without wasting a second thought Damien turned pulling me back down the hallway, Notari followed struggling to keep up the pace. We came to the middle where we had started, Skylar was waiting patiently for us.

He fell behind as Damien swept past him dragging me along, he fell in step with Notari. After a while though they disappeared and I tried to stop but Damien just kept walking.

“Wait! Their gone!” I shouted at him tugging on my arm.

“They’ve gone to the bedroom she’ll be staying in, we need to get you to mine so you can change.” He said turning right pushing inside a room.

The light blinded me at first but my eyes adjusted, his room was spacious. The ceiling was high and there were two marble poles jutting up from the floor to the ceiling. The room was start white but the stone had wisps of black here and there.

There was a pool out on the terrace with what looked like a stream feeding into it. To the left was a large canvased bad, the cloth around it was black and it stuck out like a sore thumb in the room of white.

The sunshine shone straight through the tall arching windows along the wall right across from me. There were small bowl like pits set on pedestals here and there around the room. Small blue flames jumped from the middle of them.

“This is your room?”

“Yes, this is where you will stay until we either find you a room suitable and close enough to me, or you will remain here”

I shook my head and tried to pull away from him, “I don’t want to stay in your room. I’ll stay with Notari.” I murmured pulling on my arm.

“No you wont, Asha you have to stay close. With the Hallwofiers attack, and from what Joko’s said and what she will uncover you are at a great risk. Your friend Ashlaya did not only set you up to take her place, but she may have sent you to die.”

“Well I guessed as much, she’s always thought that would be hilarious. She has a twisted and sick sense of humour if you hadn’t noticed.” I sighed rolling my eyes at him.

He just stared at me with a confused look, “Seriously?”

“Oh yeah, she once pushed me in front of a car then pulled me back just before it ran me over. She almost suffocated with laughter about it.”

He pursed his lips and looked around his room again, “Seems I got lucky, nobody will even joke of doing such a thing to you Asha.” He said giving me a little tug.

“That’s great I still don’t want to sleep in your room.” I laughed weakly pulling my arm back again.

His jaw worked and he stepped towards me, “You don’t have a choice, I want you in my bed. Even when I’m not there I want to know your curled in my sheets.” He leaned in kissing me lightly.

I glared at him, “Kissing me doesn’t work, I hate you.”

Another kiss, this one a little deeper. It left me a little dazed I will admit, maybe it did work on me. But if I was left for dead in this place, maybe just maybe a little bad could be good. He chuckled and leaned back keeping a distance between us.

“Your body is warm now, isn’t it lovely? The sensation of lust, carnal sin. You love it don’t you?”

“Shut up and get on the bed.” I growled leaning up and kissing him, it caught him off guard and he stumbled backwards tripping over his own feet.

I felt a tang of regret as he slammed his hands on the floor stopping himself from falling to hard backwards. I pulled the skirt of the dress up and knelt down over his hips.

“We don’t have time Asha.”

“Make time Dee.” I snapped crushing my mouth to his.

What had come over me? I would never have… No I would never have done something like this. But for once I wanted to do something that would make me feel better. Even if for only a short while, his body and what he could do to mine, made me feel pretty damn good.

“The doors wide open Asha, Somebody will see.”

I pushed his shoulders back and grinned down at him, “My body is burning and it’s all your fault.”

“Just remember you started this.” He sighed grabbing hold of my hips.

“Damn straight.”

The colours that were lacking in the room seemed to burst up like a geyser gushing all this slight and vibrancy that wasn’t there before.

I doubted that sex with a human would have given me this clarity, this sensation, I was one of the only people who would know what Damien could make you feel. I was one hell of a lucky woman, but one hell of an unlucky girl.