Chapter Three

Seattle

   Lexa’s fury gave her the magical strength to flip Sava over the couch onto his handsome ass, the golden strands of his hair flying over his face. “The next time you invade my memories without permission, I’ll do worse than muss that pretty hair.”

   “Duly noted.” Sava groaned. Once on his feet, he ran his hands over his hair with pleasure, unable to resist her compliment. The Aellei were so typical. Inhumanly beautiful, tricksters of the universe, and so utterly vain as to be comical.

   Sava stretched. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, ready to return to Tanselm? I’ll even go with you. I need to talk to Arim about what happened at that mall.” He said the word with disdain. “Imagine purchasing pre-fabricated wares in an open forum. So incredibly common.”

   Lexa couldn’t help grinning. “You’re cute when you’re arrogant.”

   “Cute?” He looked affronted. “Try incredible. Magnificent. Godly.”

   “Yeah, yeah. All that. But I’m not returning to Tanselm yet. I have things to do here.”

   “Like what?”

   Like lick my wounds. Like try to get a handle on my weird libido that flares whenever Arim’s around, even after three hundred freakin’ years. “I’m not fully healed yet—”

   “Which you’re never going to be without help.”

   “—and until I am, I need to gather my strength.”

   “No, you need to grab that Light Bringer by the balls and make him see the truth.”

    “What?”

   Sava had the oddest manner of throwing urban slang in with his archaic rhetoric.

   “The truth that you and I have always known. That you’re not as Dark as you pretend to be, or even as you want to be. You didn’t kill Muri and Esel anymore than you could stop crying at the sight of Sercha mutilated beyond recognition,” Sava said bluntly. “We both know who killed them.”

   “No, I don’t.” She honestly didn’t. At one time, she’d thought ‘Sin Garu had murdered her hapless family. After some careful digging, she’d found that to be untrue. “I’m not discussing this,” she added coldly, getting well and truly pissed at the Aellein king trying to stir painful memories best left buried.

   “Lexa,” Sava said gently, returning to her on the couch. He sat across from her on her solid mahogany coffee table. “Until you put it to rest, you’ll never be free. With or without your soul intact.”

    He brushed her hair back from her cheek, his fingers frosting as she allowed her anger to bleed over into the physical.

   Shaking his hand, he clenched it tightly into a fist. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. Either you go to find Arim before night falls, or I’m dragging you with me to Tanselm. I’ve kept out of it for years, letting the two of you knock each other over with magic so in tune, it’s a wonder you haven’t been fucking each other senseless with every stroke of anger between you.”

   Lexa flushed at his crudity, and the jerk laughed.

   “Tell me you don’t desire him with every fibre of your curvy little body,” he murmured, his gaze roving over her with appreciation. “If I didn’t know for a fact that Ini was your mother, I’d doubt your Dark Lord influence. You’re pretty enough to be an Aellei, or even a lesser Djinn. But you have Ini’s eyes, as much as that must pain you.”

   “Nothing pains me, Sava.” She smiled, the expression absent in the icy gaze she deliberately gave him. “I’m a Dark Lord. We’re inured to pain, didn’t you know? We feed on it, like the carrions of the universe we’ve been bred to be.” She pushed his arm aside when he would have touched her knee. In comfort. She wanted to snarl. As if she needed his pity.

   For a while, she’d welcomed him. Been glad to find a friendly face amidst a world that didn’t notice her, visited by creatures that wished her serious harm. Now she remembered why she’d stayed away from the Aellei, and from Sava himself. That press of cloying sentiment, of like and affection, led to powerful emotions that had once crushed her almost to nothingness.

   Lexa had no plans to return to the wounded little girl ripped from her world. To the naïve, trusting fool who’d thought love could conquer prejudice and fear.  How wrong she’d been then, and how wrong she’d be now to embrace such foolish affection.

   “I think you’d better leave.”

   Sava stared at her, his dark eyes flashing into a white so bright it was as if looking into a mirror. Oh, so she’d annoyed him, had she?

   “If I find you’ve mentioned my whereabouts to Arim, I’ll curse you with magic you’ll never break. Dark magic.” She paused for effect, staring at his head. “Your golden tresses will never grow back.”

   Sava’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “You little witch. You’d curse me for trying to help you?” He quickly stood, surprising Lexa with the menace oozing from his being. For all that Sava could intimidate, he was still a Shadow Dweller. But right now, he felt as Dark and powerful as a Dark Lord, or the Night forbid, as righteous as a Storm Lord. “Fine. Wither away to nothing while your brother takes over Tanselm.”

   A low blow, referring to ‘Sin Garu as her brother. Lexa had made it clear years ago she wanted no ties to that malevolent creature.

   “Don’t come crying to me when it’s too late to save yourself from the Malinta demons. Because I’ve been there before, Lexa, and the pain you suffered is nothing compared to a few hundred years in the Pit.”

   He winked away into the between before she could say anything, and she stared in surprise at the empty space before her. Sava had been imprisoned in hell? How had she never known that? And how old was he if he’d been there for hundreds of years?

   As far as she knew, he’d been alive and well in Tanselm and Aelle since she’d known him. When she’d first met Sava, she had been young, a mere ten years old. She’d assumed Sava was the same. She couldn’t see her friend, or maybe ex-friend, in the bowels of the Pit.

   Lexa shuddered, remembering the screaming and dread welling from that bleak area surrounded by cursed rocks in the middle of demon hell. The demons had recoiled when touching the stones, and went so far as to give the entire area a wide berth. Sava had been jailed there?

   For a moment she felt bad about refusing his help. Then she remembered Arim’s scorn, the disbelief and hatred on the faces of those Light Bringers she’d once called friends. People she’d opened herself up to. People she’d trusted.

   No, a Dark Lord’s best friend was herself. She’d do well to remember that if she wanted to outlive ‘Sin Garu and the Netharat. Come Light or Dark, Lexa would make it out of this tangle with her feelings intact. She rubbed at the ache deep within her. Her soul, however, was another matter entirely.

* * * *

   Jonas stared with consternation at Sava—apparently unconcerned at being caught uninvited in Tanselm’s northern territory—as he paced back and forth in Jonas’ room. While the king of Aelle recounted his meeting with Lexa, he raged, seeming to grow taller. Jonas watched with both awe and amusement as Sava swelled with fury.

   “You want to keep it down? Need I remind you I’m barely tolerated in this place, much like you scheming Aellei?”

   Sava’s eyes glittered with anger.

   Jonas shrugged, unconcerned with the male’s power. He was impressed, but like all Djinn, he had little tolerance for royalty. Jonas didn’t even treat his own leader with reverence. He liked and respected Ethim, but he’d never bowed to his king and never would. “I told you she’s a handful.”

   “Stop acting so damned superior. I know she’s a handful. I’ve been around the woman since she was a child. Don’t tell me you think you know her better.” Sava’s glare turned as cold as ice.

   The energy in the Aellei’s being fed the Dark within Jonas, and he warmed with delight. “Ah. That rage feels really good. Not that I’m encouraging this displeasure, mind you.” Jonas grew tipsy on Sava’s energy. “I did try to tell you she’d reject your help. You’ve known her for years, but you haven’t spent much time with her recently. Why do you think I didn’t grab her when I sensed her at the mall?”        

   “Because she might have killed you if you had?”

   Jonas chuckled. “There is that. I knew she didn’t want to deal with Arim yet. Not until she’s fully healed.”

   Sava’s brows met in worry, his mood growing dimmer, his energy richer. Jonas forced himself not to absorb any more from the Aellein king and concentrated on the wrongness he could see in sparks and lights in Sava’s flickering aura.

   “Sava? What aren’t you telling me?”

   The man came to a stop a few feet from Jonas. “We have a major problem, Jonas. My people and yours have felt Tanselm’s rumblings for weeks now.”

   Jonas nodded. That’s how he and Sava had first met. Tanselm clearly had a thing for the Aellein king, and for Jonas, though he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Flattered, of course, but also a little worried. The sentient land had a way of loosening her magic. Suddenly, Storm Lords were marrying Darklings. Sava spent more time in Tanselm than in Aelle. Light mixed with Dark. Night help them all if Jonas would be forced to wed a Light Bringer.

   Sava continued. “For all that our presence here is soothing the gaping wounds left by these idiot Light Bringers, Tanselm needs more. I’m just a visitor, but I can feel the land clawing at me to stay each time I leave.” He rotated his shoulders with discomfort. “The perfect answer to our problems is hiding out in a distant plane, pretending she’s going to heal all by herself.”

   Jonas recalled how stubborn his Dark Mistress could be. “I agree. I sensed it the minute I stepped foot on the land. Lexa belongs here, same as I do. Tanselm wants her. I already know that. But Lexa’s strong, Sava. She’ll be fine. The things I’ve seen her do…”

   “What you don’t know is that Lexa won’t heal, not unless we involve Arim. She’s missing a part of her soul, a piece of her ripped out and kept caged by the Malinta demons deep in the heart of Malern.”

   Jonas paled. “You’re shitting me.”

   Sava raised a brow. “Nice turn of phrase. I see you’ve been spending a lot of time among those of the earthen plane. Slumming, Jonas?”

   Jonas sighed, loudly. “Cut the crap, Sava. Just tell me how serious it is.”

   “Very. Lexa, like you, is a true creature of Dark. The demons that took a vital part of her essence are, in effect, draining her life with each breath she takes. I can’t help her with this, and neither can you. She needs a strong presence of Light to help her combat the growing threat within her. And not just from any Light Bringer, but from the strongest in the land.”

   “Arim? You actually think he’ll agree? I don’t know. He wants her back, badly, but I don’t think it’s to help her.”

    “So he wants you to think. There’s a lot of history between those two.” Sava’s smug grin put him on edge. “Things you’re not aware of.”  

   “So tell me.”

   Sava studied him, and Jonas could feel fingers of magic trying to peer through his mind.

   “Cut it out.” Jonas sent a blast of Dark energy Sava’s way. Sava easily deflected the dark mass, dispersing it into the air, where Jonas easily reabsorbed it. But the distraction broke the tentative hold Sava had placed on Jonas’ mind, as he’d intended.  “My loyalty is to Lexa. She brought the Djinn back into Tanselm. For that I’d be her slave forever.” If she’d let me.

   “This information is sensitive. I trust it will stay here?”

   Jonas nodded, feeling the small bubble of Shadow Sava projected around them to stave off eavesdroppers.

   “Several hundred years ago, Arim and Lexa, as well as myself and a few others you’ve never met, attended University together in Tanselm’s Great Hall, where sorcerers, Dark and Light, used to study jointly. It was thought that a combination of the Light’s spectrum could only help our ability to harness particular magics.”

   No wonder Sava knew so much. He’d been here when it had all gone to hell.

   “Lexa grew up in Tanselm, a fact many don’t know. She was found abandoned as a baby in the between by a Light Bringer. Muri was her name, an enchanting woman with a full heart. Her family took Lexa in and raised her as one of their own. It naturally followed that as Lexa matured, she would take her place at University. She showed remarkable potential to harvest Dark energy from an early age.”

   “And the Light Bringers welcomed a Dark Lord in their midst?” Jonas didn’t believe it.

   “They did, such was the strength of Muri and Esel’s love for their adopted daughter. Both Light Bringers were extremely powerful sorcerers, and more open-minded than most. Tanselm treasured the pair, gifting them with an enchanting child named Sercha. Lexa was most fond of him,” Sava added quietly, a ripple of pain crossing his features.

   “There’s been much speculation about Lexa’s part in their murders,” Jonas admitted. The rumour floated that Lexa had murdered a powerful family of Light Bringers. The details were scarce, with no mention of them being her family.

   “No one’s really sure what happened, not even Lexa. One day Arim missed her in classes and went to check on her, concerned since Lexa never missed her studies. She lived for academia, and back then, for Arim as well. The two were inseparable, glowing with love. It was always expected they’d marry. There was such a feeling about the pair, as if they’d been blessed with Tanselm’s very grace even then.

   “Arim went to check on her and found, to his horror, Muri and Esel dead, Sercha butchered, and Lexa covered in blood, her eyes wild with horror. She was so incredibly angry, her energy bleeding everywhere, mixing with the Dark taint staining the home, that Arim only saw the surface.

   “He’d loved Muri and Esel as well, and their loss devastated him. But I don’t think he’d ever known such pain before. He mistook Lexa’s hurt and rage for aggression. He never told me exactly what happened once he found her, only that he and Lexa fought. They literally went at each other trying to harm the other, and then she vanished.”

   “But she’d never harm those she cared about.” Jonas couldn’t believe Arim wouldn’t have known that, not if he’d loved Lexa as much as Sava said he did.

   “No, she wouldn’t. But you’ve never seen her in a full-out fury, Jonas. I have. It’s a chilling sight, and I can understand why Arim would have thought what he did. He was new to love, then suddenly thrust into pain and fear. To my knowledge, he and Lexa had never even so much as argued prior to that. Quite a shock to find his young love covered in her parents’ blood as she tore through the house in anger. Don’t forget, a Dark Lord’s anger is extremely powerful, not to mention Dark. An instinctive threat to anyone with as much Light as Arim.”

   Jonas stared at Sava, understanding for both Arim and Lexa growing. “That just sucks.”

   Sava joined him in a chair by the bed. “It does indeed. I’ve never seen two people happier than Arim and Lexa in love. Watching them stab at one another for years has been unsettling. I’ve never quite gotten used to it, and I suspect, neither have they.”

   Jonas recalled each and every instance of Lexa’s behaviour where Arim was involved. “You know, anytime Arim came up in conversation, a subtle stillness would come over Lexa. The few times I observed her near him, she could barely take her eyes off him. At the time I thought it was from mistrust and anger.”
      “Probably those, as well as lust. Those two were made for each other. Even a Djinn can see that.” Sava crossed his arms over his chest and gave Jonas a droll smirk.

   “Yeah, well, this Djinn owes Lexa for what she’s done for my people. I’ll do whatever it takes to heal her. As far as what she and Arim have between them, that’s up them.” Did he want Lexa with a man who didn’t appreciate her?

   Sava’s gaze narrowed. “No, what’s between them is at the heart of Tanselm’s well-being. Those two are going to deal with each other, if it’s the last thing they ever do. And while they’re doing that, you and I are going to track down ‘Sin Garu.”

   Jonas opened his mouth to retort and paused. He could still feel ‘Sin Garu’s Netharat holding him tight, the insidious whisper of death at the hands of a dreaded Nocumat as fresh as if he’d been tortured just yesterday. “No offense, Sava. But I don’t see us defeating ‘Sin Garu, not by ourselves.”

   “Of course not. Honestly, it’s a wonder you Djinn emerged from the Dark at all. No. We’re going to track down ‘Sin Garu and let Arim know where he is. This is one battle that’s between a Light Bringer and a Dark Lord. The rest of us will just be in the way.”

   “But what about the Netharat? With that army, ‘Sin Garu, even weakened, is untouchable.”

   “That’s where we’ll come in. Between the Aellei, you Djinn, and the Light Bringer sorcerers under Storm Lord leadership, we’ll bring the Netharat to us and defeat them once and for all. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of my Nocumat drifting from my world to join a Dark Lord. Creatures of Shadow were never meant to invade worlds, to envision world domination.” Sava snorted. “We were created to enjoy life’s pleasures, to play and dance and laugh.”

   “Seems to me you’re always playing around,” Jonas muttered, getting a little tired of Sava’s highhanded insults towards his kind. “Maybe if the lot of you had any sense of discipline, you wouldn’t feel so threatened around the Djinn—the only race to give the Aellei a run for their money in the looks and magic department.”

   Score one for the Djinn, finally. As the Aellein glared holes through him, Jonas continued. “So what now, Sava? You seem to have thought of everything else. Why don’t you tell me how we’re going to get Lexa and Arim together without one killing the other?”

   “We’ll have to trick Arim and enspell him. Not so difficult for me, since he trusts me, to an extent at least. And we Aellei are the tricksters of the universe,” Sava said with typical arrogance. “I’ve an idea that’s been brewing since my last talk with Alandra. I’ll work on Arim while you go to Lexa and hold her there. Use this.” Sava muttered under his breath and suddenly a small bag appeared in his hands. “Put this in her drink and make sure she takes all of it. It’s enough to knock her out just long enough to put this plan in motion.”

   Jonas took the small pouch, conscious of the coldness seeping through the bag’s pores. “What is this?”

   “Demon breath.” Sava smiled, a sinister look that had Jonas taking a second look. “I’ve been saving it a while. Trust me, it won’t hurt her. But it’s got enough of a kick to bypass her Dark protection. In her present weakened state, you won’t need more than the small vial within the pouch.”

   Jonas nodded. “Okay. I take it we’re going now?”

   “Right now. We don’t have a lot of time to wait for Lexa to realise how badly she’s hurting. I don’t trust the little fool not to leave since I know of her whereabouts. You keep her under guard while I deal with Arim. I think it’s best if they settle matters between them away from Tanselm, at Lexa’s place, perhaps. Tanselm is way too interfering for my peace of mind.”

   “You got that right.” Jonas winced when the land pulsed Light at him in protest. He noted Sava’s unease as well.

   “Handling Arim’s going to be tricky, which is to say nothing of the danger he’ll present once I’ve captured him. He doesn’t take kindly to deception, not like my kind, so if I’m not spot on, this won’t work again. I have to catch him right away and bind him before he can do any return damage. ”

   “Bind him?” Jonas stared, suitably impressed. He’d seen Arim turn opponents into stone and ash for less. “Takes balls I didn’t think you had.” He grinned when Sava frowned. “For a prissy king, you have a will of steel, don’t you?”

   “I’ll give you prissy,” Sava muttered, but his eyes flashed with excitement as he waved farewell and vanished.

   Jonas wondered if he’d caught whatever contagious idiocy Sava had. Turning on Lexa? Pushing her at Arim when he knew she felt uneasy and vulnerable around the powerful mage? Irritate a woman who had the power to bring him to his knees and take him from this world in the blink of an eye? Yet, if Sava was right, only Arim could truly heal her.

   For all that Lexa had sacrificed, for all that she’d done for the Djinn, and hell, for Jonas himself, Jonas would do what he could to see the shadows lifted from her beautiful blue eyes. To see that she finally belonged somewhere, accepted for the caring woman she could be, and not despised for the cruel sorceress she’d been forced to become in order to survive.