Darque Wants (38 page)

              “Have a good time,” she called back over her shoulder. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”

              “That's a short list!” Beth barked back in a hard whisper. And both the girls giggled more. Beth turned and started back down the hall to her secret tryst. Anna moved up the long, winding staircase toward the outside world.

              Anna emerged, as Beth had said, beside the stone wall that surrounded the library garden. The door was barely noticeable, set back in the corner where the wall met the building, behind a row of large bushes. As she came out from behind the hedge, she could see the forest stretch out behind the campus and fade into darkness. It felt good to be outside, alone. It filled her with a strong feeling of independence. She appreciated the safety of the Keep, especially after all the talk she'd heard of Hunters and evil magic out to get her. Anna had only ever half believed in the Boogey Man as a child. But, half was enough to account for a few nights hiding under her blankets with a strangle hold on her teddy bear as she shook in fear. And now, as an adult, to discover that it was real. That magic and curses and evil actually existed, the thought that there was something that went bump in the night gave her a shiver. Then, she realized, for the first time since this all began, that she was actually one of the things that went bump in the night. She had magic power, damn it, and that filled her with a surge of self confidence.

              “That's right!” Anna said into the cool night air. “I'm an Heir. Don't fuck with me.” At that moment, a steam vent opened by the loading dock with a loud groan that made Anna jump. “OK, I'm an Heir. Please don't fuck with me,” she said as she shook off the sudden fright and moved down the hill along the wall until she reached the bike path at the edge of the woods. As she reached the path, she felt the chill of early spring nights still nipping at her. But it felt good to be out, to be doing something all by herself for a change.

              The bike path was lit every twenty or so yards by a lamp post, and the full moon in the clear sky made the night bright. There really wasn't anything to worry about, Anna told herself. She straightened her back and stood tall as she walked past an oncoming couple who were holding hands and snuggled up to one another. Anna thought about Connor. Her mind bounced back and forth. It really was maddening at times. She did like him. Maybe she even loved him. He had a very powerful effect on her. But she hated feeling like she didn't have a choice that her whole life had been planned out for her. It reminded her of her high school guidance counselor who had called her into his office and sat her down one day. He had her test scores and had picked out a school, a program, a major, and everything. He had the pamphlets fanned out on his desk when she arrived, that started with school and led all the way to retirement. It just gave her the shivers.

              “Oh fuck!” She screamed, as her body shivered and jerked inside. There it was, that sound again. She hadn't heard it since the night of her wedding. The sound was like rusted metal blade being dragged across a window pane. It made Anna's heart pound in her chest and the adrenaline surged inside her. “I'm an Heir. I'm an Heir,” she whispered to herself, as she stood in the path trying to figure out which direction the sound had come from. Then again, it ripped through the night, this time much louder. It was coming from in front of her, and it was coming closer fast. “Shit!” she said as she turned on her heels and launched into a sprint down the bike path back toward the library. She felt gusts of wind building behind her as she ran. Her head started to pound with the pace, and a pain started to build in her head as she heard the sound again and realized it was very, very close. She wanted to look back, to see what it was, but she just couldn't force herself to turn her head. She just ran, ran as hard as she could. The gusts of wind at her back came in a striking rhythm, as if whatever was chasing her had wings. “Big fucking wings,” she thought. As the trees parted, and the back wall of the library came into view, Anna felt like she might make it, and her hope rose. The sound erupted behind her, right behind her. The piercing screech and the gust of wind that followed bowled Anna over, sending her tumbling of the edge of the path. Her knees smacked against the pavement of the bike path as she skidded off into the grass, smacking her head against the dirt. Her eyes clenched in pain, and she screamed out in fear as tears streamed down her dirty face.

              Suddenly, there was a clatter behind her. She heard voices and screaming and the gusts lessened as the sound faded into the distance. Anna couldn't move. She just laid on the ground with her eyes closed, sobbing.

              “Anna!” Connor's voice came, as she felt him picking her up in his strong arms. “Anna, Baby, are you ok?” he asked. She could hear the worry in his voice, and she felt so small in his arms. She pressed her face into his chest and cried. The earlier worries about what he meant vanished like a joke as she clung to him for safety. “Hush, hush Baby, it's OK,” his voice said calmly, lovingly, as he carried her back up the hill towards the kitchen entrance. There were others with him. Anna could hear their voices, but she didn't care. He was there and she was safe.

              “What was it?” Anna asked as she snubbed back the tears. “What is that thing?” She sat on her bed as Connor wiped the dirt off her face. She could taste the blood on her lip from where she had fallen. Her knee burned and ached from the pavement, and she knew she would be limping a day or two, at least.

              “That was a demon sent by the Hunters,” Connor said, sternly, but with a gentle look on his face as he cupped her head in his hands. “That is why Heirs don't go out at night by themselves.”

              “I am sorry. I just needed some air,” Anna said, feeling guilty, now, for all the things she had felt before she left the Keep. “I just get, I don't know, frustrated being stuck down here.”

              “I understand, Anna,” he said as he leaned down over her and kissed her forehead. “I grew up down here, remember? You have to promise me, though, next time, wake me up. Don't go alone, not at night.”

              Anna felt a pain in her chest and unbuttoned her shirt. She had a small gash between her breasts. Her pendant hung between them shimmering silver and red with her blood. As she looked at it the memory of that night washed back over her. The fear, the desperation, and the safety she felt when she ended up in his arms.

              “Oh, I promise!” she said. “I may never go outside again even at high noon!” She laid back on the bed as Connor knelt beside her to look at her knee. And she meant it. She felt embarrassed with herself for questioning him, for wondering who he was. He was hers, or at least she was definitely his.

              “Well, you don't have to go that far, dear,” he said with a slight chuckle. “I understand the need to get away a bit. But, first, you have to learn how to defend yourself when you do. Remember, you're special.” There it was again, “special”. That was the word he used that made her melt. No, she wouldn't be going out again, not without him by her side. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up and back in bed, dear.”

              “Oh, back in bed!” she thought to herself. The newly reinforced connection between them made her really like the sound of that.

              “What the fuck was it?” Kat asked as she knelt at Iris's feet. Her breath was ragged, and she felt dizzy and weak. She had stood before it. She looked it in its dark red eyes, and she quaked inside. She had stood her ground to make Iris proud, but the sound of its cry make her blood freeze in her veins and she was terrified.

              “Hush, hush Little One,” Iris said as she soothingly rubbed Kat's back and held her tightly against her legs. The sound of Iris's voice was like warm water rippling over Kat's body. It really did make her feel calm and safe. “It's ok. It's ok, Little One.”

              The two of them had gone for a walk in the cool night air along the edge of the forest. Kat loved to take walks with Iris, but they never went at night. Iris had always said it wasn't safe. But Kat wanted to see the stars. It is strange how you don't realize how much you love something until you haven't seen it for a while. Iris was usually very stern about the rules, but Kat had learned how to push her buttons to get what she wanted. So the two walked down past the wall of the farm along the edge of the trees holding hands as they looked up at the night sky.

              Then the sound came, a loud cry that was like nails of a chalk board. It burst out from the trees before either one of them had any idea it was there. Iris leaped in front of Kat, quickly displaying a large knife that glistened in the full moon light. Kat froze in place. Her feet would not move as she stared at it. Hovering in the air, only a few yards in front of them, was a terrible figure out of some God-forsaken nightmare. Its body seemed to absorb the light, like it was made of emptiness. It had the shape of a large bat or freakish bird. Its talons were long and hung from its gnarled limbs like knives.

              “Run, Kat!” Iris screamed as she placed herself between the beast and her bride. “Get the fuck out of here!” But Kat didn't run. The red eyes of the monster pierced her, and she was stuck like a stone before it. The wings flapped hard towards them and the edge of one caught Iris across her shoulder and tossed her to the ground with a sickening thud. The beast lurched towards her as she rolled on the ground.

              “No!” Kat screamed with every ounce of breath she had inside her. Before she thought or even knew she had done it, she leapt towards the beast. She felt heat swell inside her like she was bursting into flames from her core outward. As she moved towards it, her arms stretched outward, lighting up with a bright red glow that quickly swelled until it burst into a brilliant explosion all around them. And then, just as suddenly, the night swept back in. Kat fell to her knees in the dirt, desperate for breath, aching from her head to her toes. Iris watched in awe as her lover jumped to defend her. In the clan, she was usually the brave one, the one who jumped first and thought about it later, or simply never thought about it at all. As she pulled her sore body from the ground and limped towards Kat, she was stunned that the girl had so much power. She was also stunned that the shy scared little kitten she took to bed at night could be such a tiger. She realized it was for her. Kat had risked herself for her. As she stood above the, once again, weak little kitten who clung to her legs, she comforted her. But tears rolled down her cheeks as she came to grips with just how much she loved Kat, how much she actually needed her.

              “It's OK, Little One. Just calm down,” Iris said as she wiped the tears from her own face. “It's gone. You scared it off.”

              “What in the hell was it?” Kat asked as she collected herself and looked up into Iris's face. “What kind of fucked-up thing was that?” Iris reached down and helped lift Kat to her feet. The two started slowly working their way back to the main house.

              “That was a Fir Bolg,” Iris answered. “An evil spirit that scavenges and kills. The Guardians use them like hunting dogs,” she explained to her. “Hunting dogs with wings and really big claws.” They held one another up as they limped back toward the house. Kat felt drained and empty as if she would faint.

              “Why, why do I feel so weak?” she asked as they reached the door and the guards rushed to help them.

              “You used your power,” Iris said as the others took them inside and helped them to a sofa. “And you used it very well, if I do say so myself.”

              “Awww, are you proud of me, Baby?” Kat asked as she looked at Iris. “Are you actually proud of me?”

              Iris ran her hand down Kat's face and smiled. “I am always proud of you, Little One.” She leaned toward her and kissed her lips gently. “But you feel weak because your power comes from your lust.”

              “Mmmm, so does that mean I will feel better if you take me back to bed?” Kat purred as she leaned back into the soft sofa.

              “Well, I know I will feel better. I have to replenish my ego as badly as you have to replenish your strength,” Iris said after the guard had left the room to get help. “You saved me. No one ever acted like that for me before,” she whispered as she held back the tears again.

              “I owe you,” Kat said as she saw the feeling struggling behind her wife's eyes. She was proud of her strength. It meant so much to see Iris almost cry for her. “You save me every day.” Iris burst into tears, and she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Kat like a pair of steel vice grips. The two fell back on the sofa together and cried.

              Fiona stood in the doorway watching them as two women arrived with water and bandages to attend to their injuries. Fiona held up her hand silently and dismissed them. She watched the young women wrapped in their love, and the scene made her swell with pride in her daughter. But there was a fear that was building inside her as well. There were no happy ending, not for the clans. There would be no happy end for any of them. Fiona's heart ached for her daughter to have found her weakness, her love, knowing that is was only a matter of time until it destroyed her. Fiona pulled back from the door and left them alone.