Gale Season

Chapter Eight

Arim stared at the outside of the club like an enemy he had no choice but to vanquish. Despite Aerolus’ words, he had a feeling Cadmus was out of his depth. The Dark magic seething within his nephew worried him, too much to sit back and wait for the little schemer to reappear at his whim.

A sudden elbow to his side caught his attention, and he glared at the hulking bruiser intent on shoving his way through the crowded line.

“I’m on the list,” the man slurred, his breath like a vat of soured ale.

With a disdainful frown, Arim relegated the xiantope to a non-threat and turned his attention back to the throng of overeager men and women dying to get into Outpour.

For once the club’s namesake didn’t forecast the weather. The chill in the spring air felt refreshing, despite Arim’s longing for the warmth of Tanselm. For all its quirks, this particular plane amused him more than any other world he’d found in years.

Passing his gaze over the crowd, he wasn’t surprised not to see Cadmus—or Lexa. Thoughts of the woman made his heart race and his palms sweat. Bitter amusement washed through him. How sad that just the thought of the traitorous female could still reduce him to a nervous lad of a few decades.

Steeling his reaction, he took a deep breath and headed to the alley behind the nightclub. Once assured of his seclusion, he used an omniscience spell to quickly scan inside the club. Spying an unoccupied corner draped in shadows, he teleported inside.

Exhaling heavily, he gathered his bearings and looked around. The omniscience spell certainly came in handy at times, but it took too much energy, and he couldn’t hold it for long.

He stepped out of the shadows and began weaving in and out of the crowd, his height giving him a clear advantage to scope the gathering. Had Cadmus not mentioned Lexa’s possible presence, Arim would have used a locator spell. But he wanted to keep his presence here fairly discreet. Of course, his physical presence would be noticed, but by toning down his aura, he would seem more a human look-alike than the great Arim, Sorcerer of Tanselm.

He planned on taking Lexa by surprise, and not the other way around.

Glancing about, he noted a familiar woman serving drinks at one of the bars. She was surrounded by men clamouring for her attention.

“Ellie,” he murmured, studying the woman who’d so captured Cadmus’ thoughts. If she was Djinn, she didn’t show it. She was certainly the loveliest woman in the club, but she didn’t possess the Djinn’s spark, that outer flame of darkness that crackled when it met the Light.

Ellie was, however, a sensual woman a man would be hard-pressed not to immediately desire. She was tall and slender, with an athletic frame that pleasingly carried full, rounded breasts. Her skin was not as pale as Alandra’s, but rather that of a woman who liked the sun. He mulled the thought, another detail that made her less a Djinn and more a xiantope female.

Long, blond hair was pulled back from her face, framing sculpted cheeks and a strong chin that hinted at stubbornness. Her full lips parted in a smile as she looked to her co-worker, and as the lights flashed over her face, he saw her eyes were a bright, burning blue.

She rose on her toes to reach for a glass above her and something twinkled from her abdomen. She’d had her navel pierced, and a sudden recollection of Cadmus’ feelings about the ring made Arim’s pulse race.

His nephew was obsessed about the woman, no doubt. But was she the Djinn Cadmus had encountered? Was the Djinn his nephew had met truly evil?

For all that Aerolus seemed sure the Djinn influence over Cadmus wouldn’t harm him, Arim had his doubts. Ellie might be innocent and she might not. But until he dealt with her one on one, he wouldn’t know for sure.

He started forward with the express intent of taking the woman for questioning when a sudden stillness settled over the club.

“Dammit.” He seethed as he watched the people around him slowing, the beer at the taps moving like heavy syrup until it stopped flowing altogether. Another time distortion, courtesy, no doubt, of the Aellei.

“Don’t you Shadren ever learn?” he snarled, not about to let his only lead to Cadmus slip away. As he combated the affects of the time warp, he noted slithering creatures clinging to the dark mingling amongst the frozen club patrons.

Great. He not only had Aellei to deal with, but wraiths as well. And he had to do his best to kill them without harming the innocent xiantopes around him. What else could go wrong?

Much later, he had disposed of the wraiths and all but two of the Aellei. He scowled when he noted Zartic was one of the surviving warriors.

“Didn’t learn a thing from our earlier encounter, hmm?” he asked, making his tone as menacing as possible. His ribs hurt, and he had to wipe at the blood from a cut above his eye. The slight burning in his side reminded him he wasn’t yet immune to the wraiths’ blue flame, despite the measures he’d been taking to withstand it. He felt tired but otherwise fine, and his anger grew as he realised Ellie had disappeared while he’d been battling to protect the crowd and himself.

“My lord, please,” Zartic begged, his face smeared with blood. He lay propped against a wall, his legs at an odd angle from his torso. His gaze darted beyond Arim, and he blanched. “So many dead, and for what?” he asked bitterly.

“Yes, for what?” Arim asked quietly, wanting an answer. Why the show of force? Why come after him in such a public forum, or had they been after someone else, Ellie, perhaps?

“For me,” a hard female growl answered before Arim felt himself shoved from this world to the space between.

Alandra rubbed at her forehead, a sudden shifting of Shadow making her wince.

“Alandra?”

She waved away his concern as the throbbing in her head faded. “I’m fine. Probably tension from thinking about this mess.” Her eyes fell to his impressive erection, and her loins quickened. “Of course, I’m certain you’ve a cure-all just waiting for me.”

He grinned and her heart turned over in her chest. She cleared her throat, squirming against the moisture pooling between her legs. “As I was saying, Lidra and Zartic, her Der captain, were lovers on and off again for several years. I’d learned growing up that knowledge was power, and if I truly wanted out of the royal courts, I’d need something really good to escape.”

Aerolus shook his head. “You’re talking about blackmail.”

“Of course.” She frowned. “Don’t even try acting holier-than-thou with me. You don’t grow up in a castle without being familiar with politics and intrigue, Prince Aerolus.”

He sighed. “Point taken.”

“I knew Zartic was Lidra’s current lover, so when they’d meet, I’d give them a few moments to do their thing.” She ignored his slow grin. “Then I’d listen in. And it usually paid off. On one particular night, I overheard Lidra talking to Zartic about Tanselm.”

Aerolus stilled.

“I hadn’t thought about Tanselm in ages, not since I studied your world in our battlements class. But I still grow tingly when I think about the power resonant there. Tanselm teems with magic, from the soil to the animals to its people.” She stared at him, suddenly aware of his close ties with the land. “Tanselm is part of who you are, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “Our elemental magic is tied directly to our world. My winds are Tanselm’s, Darius’ fire her fire, Marcus’ water her waters. And Cadmus, he is perhaps the closest to her bounty.”

“The Earth Lord,” she murmured. “It’s funny how alike you all are, but I don’t see any of them as powerful as you.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Maybe.” She stared at him, seeing the sensual magic that flared as he watched her, a tangible energy reaching out to her, and she hurried her explanation. Shadow’s Bend, but if she didn’t take him inside her soon, she was going to die of frustration.

“When Lidra mentioned Tanselm, I listened. I couldn’t believe what she meant to do. She ordered Zartic to take several dozen of the Der to meet and escort a Dark Lord, one of Lidra’s newest friends, into Aelle. The Dark Lords are greedy. Aelle is a land of Shadow, yes, but we’ve kept them out of our world for centuries because we know they aren’t to be trusted.”

“They’d take Aelle as surely as they’d try for Tanselm.”

“Yes. So I was shocked when Zartic nodded and left to do Lidra’s bidding. I was further stunned when, after he left, ‘Sin Garu appeared at her side.”

“He was there, in Aelle?”

“Yes. And none of us had known.” Her thoughts turned to Sava, who, contrary to his assertive nature, had begged Alandra to keep quiet about what she’d seen. Perhaps he’d been more aware of Lidra’s schemes than she knew. Glancing at Aerolus, she noted his eyes blazing with curiosity and continued.

“The Dark Lord began applauding, causing Lidra to burst into eerie, high-pitched laughter. I was creeped out, from ‘Sin Garu’s presence as much as Lidra’s apparent insanity.

“I stuck around for a while, until they continued where she and Zartic left off.” She could still see ‘Sin Garu’s bone white skin, the blue fire tattoo covering his lower back swirling and glowing as he mounted and thrust the Aellein queen into Darkness.

“Must have been a sight, ‘Sin Garu and Lidra.”

She shivered and grimaced. “You have no idea. I left as fast as I could, racing to Sava to tell him what I’d seen—”

“Sava?” He frowned. “Who is Sava?”

Alandra stared. Aerolus sounded jealous. “He’s a friend,” she said slowly, wanting to smile when an obvious frown darkened his face. She could feel his anger slowly licking at her magic and was thrilled at the notion he cared enough to feel that possessive. “He was a good friend to my parents. And he took me in when they died.”

The anger immediately left him and waves of compassion reached for her. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, not wanting to think about how much she still missed them. “Life ends in death, and that’s a fact no amount of wanting can change. My point is that I confessed what I’d seen to Sava, and he warned me to stay quiet. And that’s very unlike him. I was furious. I, ah…,” she paused.

“Didn’t listen,” he said dryly.

“No, I listened. I just didn’t have the patience to wait for Sava to take action. That man is so completely slow, so methodical about every little thing…,” she drifted off as she understood that those very traits existed in her Wind Mage.

Stunned, she wondered if that was part of what drew her to him. Could it be the comforting qualities of Sava, her foster father, had attracted her to Aerolus Storm, a Light Bringer?

She stared at Aerolus’ sultry face, at his perfect, muscular body that even now burned for her. He afforded comfort, no doubt, but Aerolus made her burn with lust and lo—like, extreme like, something only a lover could do.

“So, ah,” she floundered, feeling a blush creep over her face.

“He’s methodical,” Aerolus reminded her.

“Right, methodical. So I couldn’t wait a few years to see what he might do. I had to act now, to take Lidra in hand before she did something so stupid as to aid a Dark Lord.” She scrunched her face in distaste. “Did you know the Dark Lords make sport of the Shadren? They’ve taken Nocumat and loosed wraiths and demons in them merely to watch as the Nocumat die from engulfing so much tainted prey.

“I’ve seen them enslave Aellein females to use as toys, inflicting pain the likes of which threw the poor women into madness.”

“How were you exposed to such sights?” Aerolus sat up straighter, his tone grim.

“From studies. Our ‘Great Hall’, which we call Gray Keep, houses thousands of altee scrolls. They’re each spelled with illustrative text.”

His eyes widened. “You possess that many scrolls of enactment?”

She nodded, proud of her home. “It’s as if you’re actually there, watching the events unfolding before your eyes.” She waved her hands excitedly. “Can you imagine witnessing ancient battles fought by your forefathers? Seeing the Dark Tribes as they once were, before the Light split them?”

“Incredible.” He sighed, closing his eyes in pleasure. “What I wouldn’t give to hold an altee scroll in my hands. We have five at the Great Hall, but you have to be an elder sorcerer to touch one. That you have seen history unfolding, spellcasting from its very source, it’s remarkable. What else have you seen?”

Their conversation digressed from there, as each expounded upon the delights of history, from both Light and Shadowed perspective. Alandra had so much fun talking with Aerolus it came as some surprise to realise she and he were still practically naked, though both aroused now by academia instead of each other.

Aerolus must have noted the same thing for he shrugged with apology. “I’m sorry. I tend to get carried away when talk of scholarly pursuit arises.”

“No, I brought it up. Though I have to say I’ve never seen you so excited as you are right now.”

“Never?” he murmured and let his gaze roam her body. Immediately his flagging erection returned to full attention. “The only thing more exciting than learning about other cultures is learning about your body and what it does to mine.”

She grinned as he tugged her closer to him on the bed, forcing her to straddle his lap.

“So the reason they banished you from Aelle was because you disagreed with Lidra’s takeover plan against Tanselm?” he nipped at her earlobe, making her gasp.

“There’s more to it,” she paused as a moan worked its way past her lips. “But that can keep.”

Words were lost as sensation overcame them both. Aerolus wasted no time and shifted Alandra’s body over his, sliding her over him until he filled her with desire. Their coupling was rough, needful. He sucked at her breasts, gripping her thighs and buttocks hard enough to leave bruises.

She clutched at his shoulders, hugging him so tightly it was a wonder he could breathe. And all the while he rocked inside her, his massive shaft pressing deeper and deeper, rubbing against her clit with a tumultuous pressure that brought her to climax seconds before him.

“Alandra,” he growled and thrust up, almost unseating them. She was gradually aware of the wind caressing her, holding them steady as Aerolus continued to shudder within her. “Ah, love, at this rate I won’t have the strength to move from you, and we have much to do.”

She sighed, wishing they could avoid any unpleasantries for a while. “I know. Where should we start?”

He hugged her to him, lowering his mouth to capture hers in a soul-stealing kiss. “First we start in the shower, and then we find Arim. There are a few things he needs to know.”

She flinched hearing Arim’s name. Shadows, but she didn’t want to face him again anytime soon.

“Trust me, Alandra.” Aerolus gave her an intense look that made her wish she could read minds. Instead, she ignored her secret hopes for the future and focused on the practical. Aerolus might be a Light Bringer, but he was honest, loyal and compassionate. And he’d never intentionally hurt her.

“I trust you,” she said quietly, knowing she meant it, and that she hadn’t said those words in nearly a hundred years.

Arim swore as fire burned along his side. The ache in his ribs intensified, and the blue flame he’d been trying to master felt as if it had grown into a bonfire. The smell of stale nothingness told him he floated somewhere between, in the spaces connecting worlds.

A sudden flash threw him off balance, and before he could blink he was pinned to a cold wall, manacled and blanketed by a magical buffer. Surprisingly, the chill surrounding him felt natural and not at all Dark, as he’d expected.

“So predictable,” a husky voice drawled, capturing his attention.

He stared, his gaze stony though his heart stumbled, at Lexa Van Nostren, the woman he’d hoped never to see again, at least, not alive.

“Still the same old Lexa.” He gazed at her without expression, taking in her denim jeans and casual silk T-shirt. She’d obviously just been at the club, and despite his precautions, she had taken him by surprise. Anger surged, and he had to force himself to remain calm. “Slumming again, Blue? Or are you just desperate enough not to care who you fuck?”

Her lips tightened at his deliberate use of a nickname she’d been given in friendlier times, and he could see his insult hit home. “Well, rest assured I’m not so desperate I’ll fuck you.”

The blow hurt, more than it should, but he merely raised one brow and waited.

She glared, the pale blue of her gaze like an icy dagger. “Leave well enough alone before you do more damage than even you can possibly repair.”

“Oh?” She had the nerve to dictate his actions? He studied the spark in her eyes. Despite the inanity of her claims, she was indeed fully sane. Sane and tired, by the look of her. She still appeared a veritable beauty, but Darkness now clouded her ethereal splendour.

Where once innocence and integrity had been her course, in the end, her blood had run true. The Van Nostren line of Dark Lords continued with its most promising son, ‘Sin Garu, and now, its menacing daughter.

“I,” she paused, her mouth pursed in what promised to be an interesting lead. The paleness of her features only emphasised the full, bloody-red pout of her mouth. The dark shadows under her eyes made her gaze that much more piercing, the light blue so pale as to be almost ashen, but striking set against the inky blackness of her hair.

“Yes, Blue, you what? Wanted to see me again? Wanted to talk? Wanted me to forgive you? Take your pick.”

He stood against the wall, his arms and legs splayed, unable to do more than stand there. Yet his words had scored their intended damage.

“You forgive me?” She slapped him hard across the face, her slender palm shooting pulses of blue flame where it touched. “I hope it burns,” she seethed, glaring like a she-wolf prepared to strike. “You weren’t worth the effort then, and you sure aren’t worth it now.”

He sighed. “I’m shocked. After all this time, that’s all you’ve got?” He knew pushing her wasn’t smart, but he couldn’t help wanting to hurt her as much as he possibly could. And given her powerful magic and his inability to strike using his, words were all he had. “Sweetheart, you used to beg for my affection like a stray dog. So weak at heart, while so strong in Dark magic. But at least you left on a grand scale, killing Muri and her kin, a fitting tribute to your real family.” He shrugged, as if reminders of the thoughtless deaths hadn’t wounded him a thousand times over.

“I never killed Muri,” she said in a low growl, her eyes almost wraithlike in blinding white brilliance.

“And you never knew who your real parents were, right?” He stared with apparent disbelief. “Don’t tell me your intelligence has gone the way of your looks? Give me some credit for knowing you back then.”

She trembled, her fists clenched as she leaned so close their breaths mingled. “Your time is coming, and sooner than you think.” She kissed him softly, the cold of her breath scalding his throat and lungs. “I can only hope Cadmus isn’t as pathetic as you were when I left. That boy’s got potential.” She licked at his bottom lip. “Now I have better things to do than play with you. Thanks for the memories.”

Rage, the likes of which he’d only once before felt filled him, burning through the buffer and the manacles at his wrists. He balled his fists to gather a fuelling storm of violence when a sudden flash of light filled the room, then…nothing. Lexa had vanished, and with her the restraints holding him back. It was as if she’d never been there at all.

Her threat about Cadmus worried him, so much so that he teleported back to his room in Tanselm in the western kingdom. Disregarding his various wounds and the blue flame licking its way towards his core, he teleported Darius and Marcus to his quarters at once.

They blinked at him in surprise, no doubt taken aback by his rough handling and ragged appearance.

“Cadmus is missing, the Van Nostrens are aligned, and the Djinn are pushing closer than ever. I need you to return with me. Now.”