Dark Sonata Page 10

  Chapter six

  “Keep your hood down.”

  Victoria almost tripped over a branch. “I am just trying to see where I’m going,” she paused as she looked around, “and at the moment I have absolutely no idea.”

  The short fat man nudged her as if she were a prisoner being led to her doom. “To a place where women think I’m a God, of sorts,” he shrugged, like it was no big deal to him. “It’s normal for women to worship men in Sydonia. I do not mind.”

  She seriously doubted anything he said. And she also doubted that he knew he was wearing a woman’s cloak. Victoria looked back to Ezra as he led them deeper into the Irish wilderness. “I have agreed to help you, I get that. But I want to know where we are going. I am not a prisoner.”

  Yes, she had agreed to help him.

  After she threatened to make a scene and call to the heavens above, he relented and told her his plan. It took her an hour just to soak in all of the information thrown her way in such a short time. Dear God he claimed to be a demon prince. She would have called him crazy if she didn’t witness him carrying her in midair before she blacked out. Sound proof.

  Victoria looked back at Ezra’s strong profile and her heart skipped a beat. She supposed she had a soft spot for him and didn’t know why. Well, that was a lie. It had a lot to do with him wanting to be saved, something so dark, searching for light.

  Searching for hope.

  Seeing the sincerity of his words tore at her heart strings, not being able to turn him down. He promised that no harm would befall her and he would explain everything else in more detail once they were in safer territory. Things like, why was she so important? That was the main question she needed an answer for. It also frightened her, hating that she didn’t know what she was or where she came from. She hoped that her helping him didn’t backfire. She knew she was crazy for helping him, for no sane Lady would do such a thing. But she wasn’t like most Ladies.

  “Elm, Tiny, go on ahead and inform them we are on our way,” Ezra ordered.

  “Inform who?” Victoria asked as she watched the two men disappear right before her eyes. She gasped, thinking she’d never get used to seeing people disappear like that. Fear started to sink in. “This better not be some sort of trap,” her voice wavered, doubting her decision to help.

  Ezra finally spoke. “No harm will befall you, you have my word. If the Liorians do not comply with my request I will still hand you over to them. I would rather die than to give you over to my father,” he paused with a rude smile, the disgust for his father quite evident. “Do you realize what treason I have committed? A demon of my ranking? I was in line for my father’s legions, commanding millions. Now of my betrayal, I may never again enter the Underrealm where demons like me thrive. So I think it’s safe to say that I am telling the truth about your safety,” he murmured and gave her a wink.

  Victoria gazed up at him, realizing what risk he was taking to gain his soul back. At least, she thought, he was trying to save himself, rather than give up. She tilted her chin up and demanded, “I want my questions answered before I fully agree to help you.”

  His mouth twitched, like he thought her demand humorous. “Love, I will tell you everything you want to know but we can’t do it here. The scouts are not far away, and I already sent my only two men ahead to inform Sydonia of our arrival. And, not to mention, my father is no doubt commanding his men to kill me and take you at any cost.”

  Victoria peered around, taking in the early morning darkness. “Wait … they’re coming here? Now?” she asked, not wanting to see any more demonic things. She had seen enough to fuel a lifetime of nightmares.

  “Of course, my father will die without you. Moray will try and move Heaven and Hell to get to you,” Ezra stated matter-of-factly. “Which is why we can’t stand out in the open like this.”

  “Sydonia? I have never heard of such a place,” she said carefully, her anxiety rising.

  Ezra smiled and held out his hand. “Sydonia is a Demon Sanctuary here on Earth. It is legalized through the Liorian council as long as no trouble is caused. It’s not far from here. Think of it as a safe house for the corrupt.”

  Victoria furrowed her brows. “Charming. Why would demons need a safe house on Earth and the angels—er, Liorians are OK with it?” That didn’t make sense. Well, nothing at this point made any sense.

  Ezra gazed around. He grabbed both of her shoulders startling her. “In a nut shell. Sydonia is for demons that are exiled from the Underrealm or any other realm and can go nowhere else. Earth is the only place that no being can be exiled from because it’s not under anyone’s rule. There are safe houses everywhere, Sydonia being the biggest. The reason the Liorians condone this is because a treaty was signed. To live in Sydonia, one must not feed on human souls. Because, without the safe haven, the exiled demons would run wild making the Liorians’ job to deport them very hard. It is a place of mutual peace for anything without a soul, not just demons.”

  Victoria did her best to soak up the needed information. She finally nodded, his explanation actually making some sort of sense, or was she just losing her good sense? She decided not to reflect on that. “Where is it?”

  “Here in Ireland, underground. We will have to fly there and use a bit of my power. We have no other choice,” he said forcefully, holding out his hand impatiently.

  Victoria glanced at his hand, not liking the sound of a demon safe house.

  “You have to trust me.”

  She glanced up at him, his pale eyes shining down at her. Her breath hitched, his despondent expression arresting her, holding her captive. Taking his hand was the last moment she remembered, for she seen no more. Blackness overtook her consciousness.

  * * * * *

  Her eyes fluttered but didn’t open immediately, sparkles of mixed colors seeped through her lids as she tried to open them. Something warm and strong held her, Victoria tried to move but couldn’t.

  “Victoria? Can you hear me?” came a voice that sounded far away.

  “Yes …” she murmured as her swimming vision stilled. Ezra held her tightly, her body scandalously pressed flat against his. As her mind returned she tensed when their gazes clashed, her face heating. Being this close to him was unsettling, especially when she wasn’t expecting it. Victoria pulled herself back and looked the other way. “Why must I pass out every time we do this?”

  “Because I have not taught you how to keep your consciousness yet,” he said without emotion. “We are here.”

  Victoria looked around, frowning. There was not a thing around them, not even a tree. It was just an open field with lifeless grass and weeds. “Where?”

  She looked back at Ezra and gasped. He held out his hand while his eyes appeared to be lit from within. Through his ripped shirt she could see the ink symbols on his skin flicker with light. “Ezra?” she questioned gently, her limbs starting to tremble. Instantly it felt like the ground tilted producing a wave of nausea which washed over her. Victoria blinked rapidly and focused, seeing a rectangular hole in the ground.

  “Follow me.”

  Swallowing, she inched forward, her eyes fastened on the opening that hadn’t been there before. The hole looked as though someone had dug a grave but instead of a casket, a long row of dirt stairs disappeared into complete darkness. The opening looked claustrophobic, terrifying her. “Ezra … I don’t know. When you said Sydonia, I pictured something a little different.” His breathy laugh made her eyes jerk up to his in anger. “I don’t want to go in there, it looks frightening. Like I’m walking into a grave. My grave!”

  He gave her a lighthearted grin that made him almost resemble a child, the darkness that surrounded him vanished for a split second. The seductive gleam in his eye paired with such an innocent half-smile was almost her undoing. She had never seen him look so handsome, so full of life. Victoria had to look away, to regain any ounce of grip she had left.

  “Love, I said you are going to have to trust me. I must inform you of so
mething before we enter,” he said and walked up to her, running his hand down his face. “This is no longer Ireland or England—whatever you’re used to. Whatever you see you must do your best and fit in. And please, do not show your shock …”

  “Wait …”

  “Let me finish.” He eyed her intently. “You are entering a world that is completely foreign to you in every way. The beings that inhabit this place will know instantly what you are, and will imagine, fantasize you in their dark thoughts …”

  “What am I?” she whispered.

  He paused and looked her over, like he didn’t know what to say. “Just know that you are very, very valuable. Never in any circumstance can you be left alone with a full blood demon or vampire. Only half-breeds.”

  “Oh my god! Vampires?!” she gasped. “I thought they were not real?”

  He exhaled. “There are many things you do not know. Vampires are not as dangerous as demons. Vampires are humans without a soul; demons are Liorians without a soul. Big difference.”

  She stared in silence, not being able to form words. Dear God, she was going to this place? With monsters? Victoria thought as she bit her lip, wondering if she could trust him. Did he deserve her trust?

  “I’m sorry for throwing you into this without the proper preparation,” he paused with a smile, “but to make you feel better, I think you will find Sydonia very agreeable.”

  She looked down at the opening and shivered; it did not look agreeable.

  “We must go in now.”

  Victoria took a deep breath and took his firm hand, wanting to pull it back desperately. He directed her to the opening and nudged her back, urging her to start the descent into Hell, she was sure. She felt his hand on the small of her back as she stepped down into complete darkness. After what seemed like forever she had to ask, her fear rising. “Ezra, how far down does this go?”

  “Until we reach the bottom.”

  She rolled her eyes and kept pressing on, smelling the rich scent of mud and something strongly earthy. There was not a sound as they both traveled down further, only their breathing could be heard. The steps were soft under her feet, the damp mud giving a little under each step. “Is there light in this place? Or is everyone nocturnal?”

  “There might be a candle or two.”

  Victoria could tell from the way he spoke that he was smiling. “Stop laughing,” she said irritably.

  “I’m merely trying to be encouraging,” he said innocently behind her.

  She turned back and stuck her tongue out at him. Childish, definitely not.

  “That wasn’t very nice.”

  She tensed. He can see in the dark? Of course he could.

  He softly laughed and leaned down. “Stick your tongue out again and I’ll use mine,” he threatened next to her ear.

  Her whole body instantly lit on fire. The seductive tone of his voice moved over her whole body like melted honey. Victoria was so distracted that she didn’t realize that there were no more steps and tripped. His arm was around her waist before she even knew what went wrong. Her heart was hammering as she felt the flat ground with her foot.

  “Be careful.”

  She wanted to tell him to stop talking to her so boldly but didn’t, not trusting her vocal cords to work.

  “Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way? It will be complete darkness for a little while longer. And, yes, I can see fine,” he said next to her.

  His arm was still wrapped tightly around her waist and her backside was pressed firmly into him. She could feel the sheer strength of him, the power radiating from his body. God, just the feel of him made her knees buckle, imagining him touching her. Victoria squeezed her eyes shut knowing she was acting so wanton! She needed to stop this.

  Victoria felt Ezra bend down and in the next moment she was in his arms. She had to wrap her arms around his neck, bringing her dangerously close to him. She couldn’t see him but could feel and smell him, wanting to put her face in his neck and inhale but she dared not. Maybe she could pretend she was cold and nuzzle his neck?

  Stop it.

  Bad, bad Victoria.

  Victoria heard him breathe out as he started to walk silently but with purpose. It was like the air around them was charged; it always felt like that when she was too close to him. It seemed like forever as he carried her through the darkness, each minute embarrassingly long. She felt nervous being carried by him, her mind in a frenzy. Her thoughts horribly irrational and disconnected.

  Ezra set her down, her feet lightly touching the soft mud floor. It was so quiet, she could hear her heart thumping in her chest. “Are we here?” she whispered, not sure why her voice was so slight.

  “Yes, but …” he faded off as if lost in thought.

  She tensed when she felt his hand brushing her hair away from her face, his fingers smoothing over her cheek. A shiver shot up her spine as his fingers lightly trailed down her jaw, feathering across her neck.

  He expelled a breath. “You need a little straightening up. Your hair, and dress are a little rumpled.”

  Blast! She wished she could see something. Victoria had no idea how she looked and she also had no idea if she was presentable enough for this foreign place. She must look a mess.

  Victoria felt his hands straightening and smoothing the fabric of her dress under her cloak, his hands close to her bust line. She felt heat touching her cheeks. “I can do it, thank you,” she got out then blindly tried to smooth her skirts out when he grabbed her hand, preventing her from doing so.

  “I can see, let me.”

  Probably a bad idea.

  Distraction.

  “Oh, well, I think I can do it just fine by myself. And, by the way, what kind of people live here…” he silenced her with a kiss. His warm lips moved over hers for a couple blinding moments before she actually had the wit about her to react. He barely pulled back and she could tell he was grinning from the way his voice tickled her lips.

  “Just stop talking, love, you’re making this more difficult than it has to be,” he barely said. “Just let me.”

  Victoria would like to object to that, he was making her head spin. He was the difficult element here, not her. He opened her cloak as if to peer at her, as if to appraise her appearance. Mercy, she wished she could see his expression. It was a little maddening not to know where he was looking and what his expression told. Disgusted? Approval? Her heart was doing a palpitating beat that she was sure wasn’t normal. She should probably get that checked out.

  She all but jumped out of her skin when she felt him touch the upper swell of her breasts with the back of his fingers. It was like shocks of electricity went coursing through her body. Ezra’s fingers swept down the valley between her breasts ever so slightly, applying pressure at random, making her feel faint. She was too scared, nervous, to move. His hands tugged at the fabric at her hips, lingering dangerously close to the junction between her thighs. Her mind was misfiring again, her breathing becoming audible, embarrassingly so. She needed to stay calm with pure thoughts but as his lips touched her bare shoulder, any pure thought she ever possessed was engulfed in her mental-mind-flames.

  The sound of him groaning in pleasure almost undid her. Ezra could make any normal situation into something so darkly erotic that it was mind boggling. His hands now … they were moving closer … down there … his breath was becoming harsh like her own … mercy … she couldn’t find the right amount of air to breath … she needed some water …

  But then his lips paused.

  His hands also suddenly stopped making her mind scream in denial.

  She was confused, trying to think where she was. Her tummy was twisting and her body tingled with anticipation, but his arms dropped.

  He took a moment, like he was regaining his breath. “There’s not much I can do about your attire. We will fix it later.” He continued after another breath, “Sydonia is through these next doors.”

  Her mind was still fighting the loss, working through her
confused thoughts of desire. Remember where you are Victoria. Pull yourself together. Right. Sydonia; it sounded exotic. Anything to take her mind off what just happened. Curiosity was eating her alive. She wanted to get out of this darkness and maybe get something to satisfy her hunger, besides Ezra. Hopefully they had food and not just … blood? That thought made her shiver, not fully understanding what she was getting herself into. Victoria heard Ezra grunt as he opened up two heavy sounding doors and instantly she felt wind rushing by her.

  And she could see …

  Victoria had to shield some of the light with her arm, squinting through her lashes. The brilliance of the long hallway before her was shockingly vivid, especially given there was no obvious light source. The vision stole her breath away; it looked as though the passage was made out of gold. The ceiling, floors and the walls shimmered like they were enchanted. Walking into the entry she could now see more detail as her eyes adjusted.

  This place looked like it came out of ancient Egypt, with inscriptions everywhere.

  “Don’t get too excited, this is just a hallway,” he said looking back at her with a wink.

  “You didn’t tell me that we’re entering Heaven instead of Hell,” she muttered, feeling mystified.

  He laughed at that. “This is a far cry from Heaven, love.”

  Victoria frowned and followed him, her eyes traveling over the workmanship of the golden walls. It was breathtaking. Artwork was carved into every inch of the wall and the closer she looked the more detail she made out. It would have taken the artist a lifetime to complete given the intricacy of what she was seeing. She gazed up to the ceiling and her eyes widened.

  Naked women were carved out of the gold and were crafted with great detail. In fact, every inch of the ceiling was covered with the scandalizing images. It was like when someone saw something shocking or horrifying, it was human nature not to look away. Curiosity won almost every time. She’d never seen anything like it, but what proper lady would? Her eyes stared, seeing men doing unthinkable things with women. Flames danced up her neck, seeing women tied up and the men seeming to enjoy this. Some of the images had slave women surrounding only one man, as if one woman was not enough.