Darkness Becomes Her (4 page)

“It’s quite simple, really.” Baal stepped between them and spread his hands out to either side of his body. “Just don’t ask me to explain how it works. This is your magical concoction. I only know that when you’re through with them, you return back to me as wholesomely evil as you’ve always been. Truly, one hundred percent yourself.”

The pounding in Heidi’s temples had grown to unbearable proportions. Only the hungry ache between her legs matched the thudding pain, each sensation vying for her attention. She rubbed her index and middle finger across her right temple, trying to keep her focus on the issue at hand.

“And just what, exactly, is it that these men do for me?”

“It’s not what they do for you, princess. It’s what you do for them.
To
them.”

Having grown tired of playing games, Heidi placed the hand mirror on the ground and lifted herself to her full height. “I’m listening.”

“As I said before, it’s simple.” He paused, letting the tension build until Heidi was ready to scream. She’d opened her mouth to do just that when he continued. “You fuck them. Then you kill them.”

* * *

Varin stood perfectly still in the Demon Guardian’s grip, his body held rigid as slow burning hatred simmered in his veins. He’d served Baal for centuries before his initial fall from his Lord’s grace. In all that time, he’d learned what the ruler of the Underworld was capable of. Deceit was among Baal’s favorite weapons. It left no scars -- no visible ones, anyway -- and allowed him to use as much or as little pressure as he wished to achieve the desired results. It was also the most effective method he’d discovered to turn friends, siblings and lovers against each other.

Judging by the look of horror and fascination on Heidi’s beautiful features as she glanced first at Luke, then at Varin, Baal’s plan was working. Without a touch of physical torture, he’d managed to get Heidi exactly where he needed her: willing to believe that she was a divine princess of the Underworld and able to destroy the men she’d come here to save.

Before his trip to the mortal realm, Varin would have considered Baal’s plan a magnificent display of his Lord’s dark villainy. Now, the only emotions that churned in his gut were contempt and fear. Not for himself, but for Luke. And for Heidi, who had no idea what she’d gotten herself into.

Damn it, Heidi! Why did you have to be so fucking determined to rescue us?

He darted a glance at Luke from the corner of his eye and felt the anger he’d directed at Heidi begin to dissipate. Looking at Luke, he knew exactly why Heidi had returned. She’d sworn to retrieve him from the depths of Hell if it was the last thing she ever did. This time, Varin thought, it just might be.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Baal said, his voice booming against the cavern walls.

Heidi gave no indication she heard him. The only evidence of her awareness came from the way her chest rose and fell with the force of her shallow breathing, lifting her breasts upward with each ragged sigh.

“I want you back to your old self as soon as you can manage it.” Baal strode toward the lava-drenched exit, not bothering to spare Varin and Luke a second glance. “Enjoy yourself, but do be quick about it. Fuck them senseless first if you must. It doesn’t matter to me. Just be certain they’re dead before you leave this room. You’ll know it when their souls have expired, as they’ll rise from their bodies and travel to the depths of the Underworld to join the billions of other damned souls.”

“So these men… they’re not dead?” She hesitated, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. “Like I am?”

“No, princess. They’re still human. That’s what makes this so much fun.”

Not waiting for Heidi to reply, Baal snapped his fingers. The Demon Guardians released their captives and fell back a few steps to stand guard on either side of the cascading lava door.

Baal waved his right hand, pausing the flow of molten rock while he stood inside the curve of the threshold, then turned back to Heidi. “Oh, one last thing you should remember as you play. Your toys will lie. They’ll do everything in their power to avoid their fate. In your natural capacity as my Queen, you’d remain unmoved by their pleas and no doubt quite persuasive arguments. In your current state, however, I’m not so sure they won’t get to you. So I’m telling you now, I’ll be watching you. If you give me any reason to believe they’ve convinced you of some lunacy or other, I am going to come in here and kill them myself. If that happens, though, I can’t guarantee what kind of effect it will have on you. Understood?”

Heidi shifted on the balls of her bare feet and shook her head as though clearing it after a momentary daze. “Got it. Sex and death. It doesn’t sound too complicated.”

Baal laughed. The rock amplified the horrid deafening sound until it echoed back in rippling cackles. Unmistakable evil rolled through the chamber, accompanying Baal and his cronies as they all left the room.

The torrent of liquid rock resumed its abundant gushing flow, cutting off any avenue of escape Varin, Luke or Heidi might have had. Not that it would have helped if he’d left the door unblocked. The three of them could have run through every winding tunnel in the Underworld for an eternity and they still wouldn’t have managed to find a way out, because there simply wasn’t one. Opening a portal through the fabric of space and time was the only method of transportation between the mortal realm and the dark recesses of Hell.

If Varin still had his powers, he’d waste no time tearing a hole into thin air and shoving Heidi and Luke through it. As it was, he had nothing but his body and the truth of his words, neither of which were a match for Baal’s convincing display of mastery.

“So…” Heidi lifted a supple arm, which undulated as she twirled blue strands of magic around her wrist. “I guess you have no say in any of this, huh?”

Varin opened his mouth to answer, but Luke was faster. He moved toward Heidi with the speed of a predator, his golden hair flowing behind him like an abundant lion’s mane.

“That’s not exactly true. We volunteered for this duty. It’s an honor to lay down our lives in sacrifice so that you might once again rise from the ashes of your mortal self and become the great deity you’ve always been.”

Varin knew his jaw hung open, but he couldn’t get words out. He’d expected Luke to fight Baal’s villainy with every bone in his body. Instead, he was calmly playing along.

Too calmly
.

Pride and unmistakable affection swelled up within Varin’s chest as he stepped forward and stood beside the younger man. “He’s right,” Varin said, pleased with the thundering confidence in his tone. “We’re…
honored
to assist you in any way we can.”

Assist you to remember who you are. And get you the fuck out of here as soon as your memory returns
.

He left the words unspoken, knowing she wouldn’t understand. Clearly, though Baal had stripped her of her memories, he’d left her in full possession of her magical abilities. The Lord of the Underworld had needed those to prove to her that she was who he said she was.

That mistake would have to be enough for Varin to use against him and send Heidi back to the mortal realm, where she belonged. If it wasn’t, they were all doomed, as it was the only miscalculation Baal was likely to make.

Heidi furrowed her brows. She glanced from Luke to Varin, then back again, confusion and a hint of skepticism playing across her face. Loosening some of the magical tendrils and letting them dissipate into thin air, she pointed a slender finger at Luke’s chest. “Did I do that to you?”

Luke glanced down to the spot she indicated. A smile curved one side of his mouth. “As much as I’d like to say those are love marks bestowed upon me, I’m afraid the truth isn’t nearly as seductive.”

“The guards.” Heidi pressed her lips together, her mouth thinning into a flat, bloodless line. “They looked like the type of men who’d enjoy hitting first and asking questions later.”

“You’re not like that.” Varin moved close enough to touch her, but stopped just short of reaching out. He didn’t want to frighten her and experience a repeat of what had happened earlier.

It was clear to him she had no idea who either of them were. She’d reacted out of instinct alone, using the demon powers Varin had given her, which were now as much a part of her as her curls or her blue eyes.

The longer Varin thought about it, the more devious Baal’s plan turned out to be. He’d allowed Heidi to keep all her magic, even though he could have yanked it from her in a heartbeat as he’d done to Varin. Ah, but it was so much sweeter to watch her struggle with the overwhelming energy at her fingertips as she grappled with the magical power that she still hadn’t learned to fully control.

With the snap of her fingers and a few well-timed words, Heidi could snuff out both of their mortal souls. He couldn’t let that happen. He
wouldn’t
let that happen.

Heidi ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing when her thumb nudged her horns. “What am I like, then? I can’t seem to remember much about my life before…” She waved a hand through the air, the gesture encompassing the chamber and perhaps the rest of the Underworld. “Before all this.”

Luke moved to stand behind her, his slate-gray eyes sparkling with genuine affection. From her vantage point, Heidi couldn’t see him, which was a shame, Varin thought. If she could get a glimpse of the tenderness and unmistakable ardor in Luke’s gaze, perhaps she’d begin to understand that their relationship ran much deeper than Baal had let on.

“You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met,” Luke whispered, trailing his fingertips across the nape of her neck.

Heidi shuddered visibly under his touch, her eyelids drooping slightly as he continued the gentle caress.

Emboldened by the knowledge that she wasn’t going to strike out at either of them again, Varin closed the remaining distance and pressed his body against hers. He lowered his head, pleased when she didn’t flinch or attempt to move away. Her breathing grew shallower and her warm breath tickled his lips.

“You’re bold and daring, courageous and unafraid. You don’t take orders from anyone, and you don’t back down in the face of adversity, no matter how bad the odds may seem.”

She smiled then, a genuine, lopsided smile that made his heart clench. Unable to hold back any longer, Varin swept the tip of his tongue into the crevice of her closed mouth. She tasted the same as he remembered, sweet and feminine, with a hint of something spicy, like cinnamon or clove.

His tongue traced her silky lips until she opened them and allowed him to delve into the warm, wet cavern of her mouth. Varin’s cock jolted with a fierce ache as he thrust inside her, remembering what it had felt like to slip his shaft in her mouth, to have her suck him deep between those full lips and moan around his throbbing rod.

He didn’t know what kind of response to expect from this woman who didn’t remember him. He’d have understood if she’d shied away or tried to push his aggression aside, but she did neither. Instead, she groaned softly, the sound of her willingness to give herself to him drifting into his mouth and lingering there like a whispered promise.

At last, Varin pulled away, driven by the need to see and touch and taste all of her. He trailed kisses over the side of her jaw and down the column of her throat, then dipped inside her cleavage and slipped his tongue into the luscious valley of her full breasts.

Heidi’s magic bounced out of control around them. It fluttered wildly, writhing in the air, binding them in a cocoon of euphoria. Varin’s heart skipped a beat as he wondered whether she’d learned to control her abilities. He’d had no time to train her, but he hoped her previous knowledge of all things magical would at least keep her from sending the currents of power spinning out of control as he brought her over the edge into the ecstasy of orgasm.

If she lost her grip on the fragile strands, she’d kill them all, whether she meant to or not. Varin’s only hope was to somehow remind her of who she really was. If he could do that without drawing Baal’s suspicion, she might have a chance to get out of this alive.

Banishing the dark thoughts from his mind, Varin dropped to his knees in front of Heidi and slipped his fingertips beneath the stretchy band of her leather panties. The exotic, heady scent of her arousal drifted to his nostrils. His cock responded instantly by growing fiercely erect, turgid with the need to sink inside her wet heat and lose himself in the tight grip of her cunt.

He’d never experienced the moist, intimate secrets of her pussy. That delight had gone to Luke the last time they’d been together, while Varin had contented himself with her mouth and ass. Taking her any way he could had been sheer heaven, yet now he craved more. He wanted to slide his cock between her slick folds and plunge into her tight channel in one smooth thrust, then fuck her until she screamed his name.

His fingers had never, in his centuries of being alive, trembled when he’d peeled off a woman’s panties, but they quivered now as he slipped Heidi’s thong down her thighs. He let them fall around her ankles and gripped her hips, yanking her closer to him, inhaling the scent of her cream.

Until that very moment, a part of him had refused to believe she was real. Yet kneeling at her feet, with his nails sinking into her flesh and her smell drawn deep into his lungs, he had no doubt that the woman who’d reminded him what it meant to be truly intimate with another person stood before him.

Suddenly, any lingering anger he’d harbored disappeared as though it had never existed. Heidi’s soft cunt hovered before his mouth. A thatch of hair as red as the curls on her head covered the silky mound, and delicate pink lips peeked from beneath the furry patch.

A moan tore from Varin’s throat. It might even have been a growl or perhaps a scream -- he couldn’t tell. The aroma of her arousal tangled in his senses and yanked him forward, until he pressed his open lips to the gleaming folds between Heidi’s parted thighs.

“Oh!”

Her sharp gasp of surprise excited him further. He slid his tongue into her velvet depths and parted the slick lips of her sex to nudge the opening to her channel. Heidi shifted her hips rhythmically and tightened her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to the moist folds of her pussy.