Chapter One
“Anything Bad That Can Happen, Will”
A scream rent the air of my castle walls in the pre-dawn
hours of the morning. It was shrill and
loud, raising my hackles and chilling my blood cold. It was a scream of terror and pain, and one I
would recognize anywhere. Having heard it many times over the last
eleven years, every time my charge would find herself in trouble.
Before I could consciously consider what I was doing, I
had leapt to my feet, over the desk in my chambers and was flying down the hall
to Rin’s rooms. Materializing a moment
later just outside her door, I was nearly knocked to my knees by the horrible
stench that wafted to my nose. It was
vile; like rotten flesh mixed with the petal blossom scent that made up her
natural fragrance. It was enough to make
me physically ill.
Rin.
With the smell of venom laced blood floating thickly in
the air, I pushed past the Rin’s frantic handmaiden that met me upon opening
her door; blubbering about the end of days.
It was difficult at first to decipher much more than that at the time;
the woman was far too upset and that I didn’t fully understand either, until I
say Rin with my own eyes.
With a quiet snarl, I brushed past Shiori without the
slightest care to her wellbeing. Rin was
all that mattered and my Rin was in danger.
Rin was my only concern.
As I approached her bedside the noxious smell of venom
grew stronger, sickening me more with every step. It was not so much the smell that weakened my
stomach or threatened to tear my feet from under me. No.
The sickness lay within the knowledge that that horrible smell was pouring
of my Rin in waves.
She was so obviously sick that I was furious with the
other for not have noticing before now, but mostly I was angry with
myself.
If I had just checked on her.
In the past I had always considered myself a strong
demon, a specimen worthy of my bloodline; a demon that feared nothing or
no-one. But in this moment I found
myself completely terrified. My beloved
Rin; my reason for living was failing right before my very eyes.
My eyes widened at the sight of her thrashing form. It was as if she was possessed as her body
arched off the bloody linens. She was
sweat soaked and pale. Her breathing was
labored and she seemed to be in great pain.
But most shockingly of all was the human blood that seemed to be
releasing itself from her every pore.
Faster than I thought myself possible I took the space
behind her and pulled her back tightly to my chest as I tried still her lashing
arms. She seemed to calm ever so
slightly as I assumed she would. This
strange little human always appeared to be comforted by my aura instead of
frightened by it.
“Jaken!” I snapped
in my irritation. I felt completely
helpless to the situation at hand; not something I found myself comfortable
with and my anger was quickly getting the better of me.
He appeared almost instantly looking bed haggard and
rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a tiny clawed hand.
Worthless, I
thought as he stumbled through the open doorway completely oblivious to the
goings on within, muttering hatefully about the hour in which he’d been woken.
“Yes, My Lord,” he
bowed as he addressed me without looking, still in a partial dream like
state. “How can this faithful servant be
of use—
Rin wailed again, her back completely arcing out of my
arms as her chalky pale and cracked lips parted in a scream of agony; deafening
Jaken’s groveling. His eyes bulged at
the sight of us both drenched in her blood as I held her and snapping him into
action and out of his gaping stupor.
“Rin!” He yelled,
horror lacing his tone as he dropped his staff and rushed to my side.
As something caught my eye and a low growl rumbled in my
chest as I held up a hand for him to be silent.
Two puncture wounds desecrated the beautiful pale skin just above her
left breast and I seethed internally as visions danced through my mind; of all
the sickening ways she might have ended up with another demon’s fangs in her
chest.
There was venom lacing the wound as well; the spidery
black veins that sprung from the bite and spread across her chest was enough to
tell me that much. The smell was
pungent, vile and upon closer inspection I realized it was the venom of that
damnable dragon demon I had slain not but a few hours ago.
My mind raced, question after question as I wondered how
I hadn’t realized she had been poisoned.
How I had not realized she had even been bitten was a mystery, one I
could only blame on my anger. I had not
been paying attention and had it not been for her screams, she would have died
and I would have been none the wiser.
Jaken was still spluttering about the room, muttering
spells and potions under his breath. He
was only trying to think of ways to help but right in that moment nothing more
could have grated upon my shaky nerves like his voice. I couldn’t very well think with his constant
jabbering.
“JAKEN!” I snarled
after finally having heard enough. “Be
silent.”
His mouth instantly clamped shut at my command but before
his eyes welled with tears and he started sniffling. Whether it was for fear of Rin’s death or
because I scolded him I decided didn’t really matter, only that he was finally
quiet.
With my mind able to think clearly an old remedy from my
mother’s land sprung to thought, it might not work on a human but the attempt
was worth it if the results were in Rin’s favor.
“Go to the gardens and instruct Yuri to steep me a tea of
Blue Curl. Then bring me a basin of cool
water and some fresh clothing for Rin, the smell of this filthy venom is making
me nauseous.”
Jaken remained silent through the entirety of my order
and appeared to be calculating it all in his head; possibly trying not to
forget anything, but my patience had long since passed and fury was seeping its
way into my blood.
A menacing growl emanated from my chest as I let my
irritation slip and Jaken gasped.
“What are you waiting for? Go!” I
snarled again. It was a completely
involuntary action now, my mate was in dire need of healing and he was standing
there gaping at me still. Should Rin die
this night, I feared for the safety of the occupants of this castle, none would
survive my rage.
He quickly sprang into action as he bolted through the
door and went screaming down the hall, dragging Shiori behind him and barking
out orders left and right; sending my castle into chaos. And yet, I still didn’t care. Rin was all that concerned me.
It felt like hours had passed as I waited out the return
of my vassal and the arrival of Yuri, and yet I knew it had only been moments
since Jaken’s departure. Rin was still
violently shaking in my arms like an evil spirit had enveloped her body and was
trying to rip its way out through her chest.
Her heart was hammering like the galloping hooves of wild horses and I
knew she had to be in a substantial amount of pain.
In a need to comfort my dying mate, I placed a hand over
her heart and she whimpered at my touch.
It was sound I truly never wished to hear from her lips for the rest of
eternity.
As another powerful spasm wracked her body, she screamed
again; this time begging me to kill her and spare her the pain. Her words were slurred and garbled but I
understood them well. She honestly
wished to die and it was a token that she didn’t have much time left.
She couldn’t have known that killing her was something I
could never do. For how could she when I
had never even breathed a word of my affection for her. It made me despair, for now I might not ever
regain that chance.
Please don’t die, I
silently begged. For someone who had
never begged for anything in his lifetime, I would bend upon knee to the lowest
human if they could just save her. I
would beg now. I would beg for her life
and give mine if need be, for I couldn’t imagine a world without her sweet
smile or the bell like sound of her song.
It was then that I saw the blood streaming from her eyes
like a river or red pain and I knew then, that I was out of time. I had but one choice left and I prayed it
wouldn’t kill her.
I prayed to every deity and even my long absconded father
that this last hope would bring her back to me.
It did not anger me as I thought it would to beg my father for help and
I surmised that it was because I understood him now; understood how he could
have ever let a mortal steal his heart.
As I said my last prayer, I pulled myself away from Rin’s
body to lay her gently on the soaked surface of her bed and loomed over her
prone form before I bit into the supple skin of her breast. For long minutes I worked, pulling and
spitting the toxic bile from her body; all the while raging at the blood
memories I found there. She had suffered
so much while in the captive hands of that retch from Takada and it was I who
failed to bring her home safely.
As I continued to suck at her soft and heated skin, she
let out weak sigh in what I believed to be pleasure. Could it have been that she felt such desire
from my touch that she would openly express it even in her pained state?
I would have to think upon that a later time.
Jaken and Yuri rushed in just as I was spitting the last
mouthful of vile waste from her system.
Jaken seemed almost sickened by the sight, and a sight I’m sure it
was. But Yuri; one of my long trusted and
faithful servants – looked to me with affection and some emotion I couldn’t
quite place. It was almost as she was
proud of me.
As heartwarming as this moment should have been, I was
getting irritated again by their standing about.
“What are you two fools doing? Bring me what I have asked for!” I growled.
They seemed startled by this and they snapped into
stride; quickly rushing to my side with the commodities I demanded.
Rin had long ago stopped screaming but her breathing had
gone labored and her heart was unsteady and slow.
My Rin was fading.
Lifting her up, I retook my position at her back and
brought the steaming cup of liquid to her lips as I silent begged her to
drink. She would not.
“Please,” I
audibly begged. “Drink for your Lord.”
A weak smile ghosted across her lips as her eyes
struggled to remain open and she croaked out,
“Anything…for you.”
Gagging at the tonics bitter taste, she managed to drink
it down and all we could do was wait.
“It isn’t working, My Lord.” Jaken cried in a near whisper as he slumped
against the wardrobe at the far right of the room, obviously wanting to come
offer his comfort but too terrified to approach. It was by far the smartest thing I had ever
seen him do. There was not a possible
way to predict how I would react to anyone who threatened the tranquility of my
den.
As his words reverberated through my mind, reality
crashed down upon me like boulders from the sky. It wasn’t
working.
Just as I finished the thought, Rin rose up and with her
body came the tea of the Blue Curl as she violently expelled the potion and what
seemed like the last of her human blood with it. She fell back harshly onto my blood-soaked
chest and heaved her final breath. Her
skin had turned ashen in a matter of moments, and her eyes that had been so
warm and full of life were now black as coals and were as dead and lifeless as
she was.
