Lips Painted Black (Part 6)

He was looking right at me, eyes wide, as I was preparing to tell him my secret. He must have noticed my eyes by now; perhaps he already knew what they meant.1

Just before I had a chance to say the words, the door was blown off its hinges in a heavy cloud of dust. It filled the room, leaving us blind for a moment, nearly suffocating the fire. As it slowly cleared, I saw a tell-tale sign of who had caused the wreckage- a billow of dense, choking smoke.2

Darius turned away from me to face the door. Perhaps he thought that it was his cousin, but no matter who it was, I could see that he was intending to confront them. He didn't even have a thought for the consequences, which, in this case, could be worse than death.3

He stepped closer to me, keeping himself between me and the door. He didn't even look away when he began to speak in a low, hurried voice.4

"Go into the kitchen," he said, "and bar the door. I'll take care of Cristov. It must be him, though why he would bring a fire-demon with him is beyond me. Unless it's Keily..."5

But I stood silently behind him for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Should I give myself up, or should I flee?6

There was no real question of what I should do. And I'd do it, to keep my love from being killed.7

So I stepped forward, gently pushing past his outstretched arm. The look of astonishment on his face told me that he thought that I was crazy, that I had somehow thought that I was invincible.8

I had to give him an explanation, then; I couldn't leave him in the dark any longer about what would happen.9

"Move out of the way, Darius. It's me that they want, and if you get in the way, they'll kill you. And I can't bear for that to happen. I love you too much."10

His eyes, when I could look into them, were blood-red in the fire light. He pulled me into his arms in a tight hug, and returned the promise before letting me go.11

Then I stepped forward, knowing that they were still there, waiting. When nothing happened for several minutes, I spoke into the night and the heavy smoke.12

"Come here, Jikkandir. I know that you stand out there with your slaves and wait, hoping that I will walk into your trap. Well, I won't. You shall have to change back and come and speak with me face to face."13

Several long moments passed with a rumble of deep voices before I heard his light tenor bounce through the smoke.14

"All right. But be warned that I come prepared to use force." he said, his voice trembling slightly.15

I grinned as I thought of the weak man that I remembered. He hadn't changed much, to judge by his voice. 16

Last time I'd seen him, he had been a hand-span shorter than I. His dishwater-blond hair had only been shoulder length (oh the poor man, how had he ever been able to cut his hair that short?), and his scraggly beard and mustache drooping. He had unusually grayish skin even when he let his glamour down, and his watery eyes were shades of gray. His nose was sharply pointed, like a rat's, though not nearly as keen. 17

But he was the Queen's best magician.18

As he stepped into the room, the smoke cleared away, and I could see the four slaves he'd brought with him.19

"Oh," I said, trying to strike up a bit of small talk, "I see you've brought the Elementals. Never get tired of them, do you?"20

"No. They serve me well."21

Looking out, I could identify each of the four dragons that stood in front of the cottage. The deep red one, the color of spilled blood, was a fire dragon, while the sapphire blue one was a water dragon. The yellow dragon was a dragon of lightning, and the mossy green one was, obviously, a dragon of earth.22

I imagine that Darius was horrified by the sight. He'd sunk to his knees and was shaking. His eyes were now almost coal black, and he was huddled in on himself as though he could become invisible by curling up tight enough.23

I asked him once what he thought about dragons, and his reply was something akin to a shudder. He told me that he didn't believe in them, but that they would terrify him beyond measure if he were to ever encounter one.24

And now I was making him face his fears for no reason other than the fact that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.25

I wanted to go to him, to hold his hand and tell him of all of their secrets, their weaknesses, but I couldn't. If Jikkandir knew that we were in love, he'd kill Darius, or use him against me. And the methods employed in doing so where horrible, and painful...26

So I ignored him, as much as it hurt me to do so. Looking right into Jirkkandir's strange gray eyes, I told him that I'd never go with him.27

"Oh," he said, and then a malicious grin slid onto his face, "but what if I told you that I'll hurt the vampire over there in the corner if you don't? Even he can't fight off four dragons, and by the way he's acting, he couldn't fight off one."28

When I refused to respond, he turned back to his dragons, and began talking to them quietly.29

"Let's see, let's see. Who should I choose? Should he burn, or be electrocuted, or freeze, or be engulfed by living things... or perhaps just eaten or shredded-"30

"All right." I interrupted, knowing that I had to give in or else see my love tortured. "All right. I'll come with you."31

"Good! I knew I could make you change your mind. Now, hold your hands out in front of you, palms down."32

After I complied, he continued.33

"Drop your glamour and whatever spells you might be holding ready."34

I sighed as I did so. 35

"Turn around and get on your knees."36

As I turned, I saw Darius looking at me in disbelief and awe. He took in my true appearance as I knelt- tri-colored eyes, skin glowing, my more normal human ears...37

And something must have clicked in his brain, because that's when he said, "You- you're a sidhe! And your eyes... you're Princess Jessinth, who went missing months ago!"38

I had to admit the truth. "Yes, I'm Princess Jessinth and yes, I'm a sidhe. I left home because I... well, because my life was in danger, and I couldn't remain any longer. That's what I was going to tell you earlier."39

And that's when Jikkandir wove a spell of binding around my wrists.40