Chapter Twenty-Seven

 

Slipping into Luther’s home was easier than she’d thought it would be. The enormous house was turned upside down. Sticking to the shadows, Lani was able to learn that the Overlord was coming for a visit. The frantic pace with which every servant moved proved to her just how terrified everyone was of him.

She dimly heard Luther bellowing in the distance, though his words were indistinct. Ducking along the deeply shadowed walls of the hallway, Lani made her way towards Luther’s voice.

It was simple enough to sneak upstairs. Everyone was so preoccupied with readying the house they never saw her when she had to venture out of the shadows. The second floor of Luther’s mansion was nearly silent now. He’d stopped yelling, but she still heard the soft murmurings of conversation.

The door to his room was open, light spilling into the hallway. Keeping to the shadows around that fall of illumination, Lani rested against the wall opposite the door. She saw Luther sitting in one of the ornate chairs in front of the bedroom window. He was talking to someone moving around on the other end of the room.

“Be sure you have all the blood cleaned from the carpets here, and the dungeon downstairs,” he was saying as he flipped through a book on the table in front of him. “I don’t want anyone breathing a single word of Shade’s visit. Got it?”

“Yes, master,” a soft voice whispered.

Luther stood, dropping the book with a sigh. “The master will want treacle pudding for last meal. Have the cook prepare it.” He clasped his hands behind his back, looking out the window. “Have the two imps who took Shade out of here killed before the master arrives. I don’t trust them.”

“Yes, master.”

“Go,” Luther ordered his servant with a negligent wave of his hand. “I want everything done to my specifications or you’ll be the next one in the dungeon.”

The servant bustled into view, a smallish imp with greasy black hair, and the expression of a frightened rabbit on his face. He kept his back to the doorway, bowing all the way out of the room without turning away from his master.

Once he cleared the doorway, he took off down the hall, his fear evident in his trembling limbs and rolling eyes. Lani watched Luther for several long minutes. He didn’t move. He just continued to look out the window, his hands behind his back. What was he thinking? Was he frightened of his master’s impending arrival?

It didn’t matter, she told herself. He’d taken her sister, and he would die for that. She stepped forward.

*****

Luther felt a prickling on the back of his neck. He ignored it, staring into the night. Some premonition told him his time was finite, but his arrogance refused to believe it. Who would or even could kill him? The master was on his way to find out the latest information on Cromwell’s assassination, and to make plans for Shade’s indentured servitude.

He grimaced. He still didn’t like the idea of the master having his Shade. Too many years shaping her into the perfect weapon had left him with a strange possessiveness. Having had her in his dungeon again, if only for a little while, reminded him of how much he’d loved having her there. She was full of emotions again, the old Noelani staring out at him with hate he could almost taste. The master would break her as he hadn’t been able to, and something that resembled sadness weighed heavily on him.

Perhaps he could arrange for some kind of accident to befall Shade, something that would make it look as though she’d died. It wasn’t unheard of. The Overlord had faked his death as well; all Luther needed was a powerful witch and then he could keep her here in his home forever. He shivered at the thought. He didn’t really care about Shade’s sister. She was simply an ideal, not solid, not Shade.

A whisper of sound attracted his attention. The servants should have a care for his privacy, he thought angrily. Spinning around, he gave the doorway his darkest glare.

At first he saw nothing but the empty doorway and the splash of light in the hallway. No one was there. Then, something stirred in the shadows beyond the light. His heart thundered.

A small black-booted foot stepped into the light, then another. Curvy legs encased in black pants then came into view as the figure took more steps into the light then, a pair of rounded hips. The light revealed a pair of pale, silvery hands relaxed at the being’s sides. Sweat beaded on his brow. A torso appeared next as the being slowly crossed the threshold. Silver hair swirled around fragile shoulders. The slender neck, then a pointed chin before she stood bathed in light.

Air whooshed out of his lungs as fear gripped him. She’d come to him on her own. She’d never once in nearly two hundred years appeared before him without force. Yet, here she was, green eyes glittering with grave intent. Looking into that familiar face, Luther knew without a doubt, he was facing his executioner.

“Luther,” Lani breathed, feeling the thrill of the impending battle in her heart. “Where’s Shikoba?”

Luther’s mouth gaped for a moment before a spark of anger lit his eyes. For a moment there, she feared he’d ruin her revenge by having a stroke, but now, seeing the fury in his face, she smiled.

“What are you doing here, Shade?” he asked, his hands coming to rest on his hips. “Do you have so little care for your health that you’d traipse into my home without permission?”

She smirked. She could see the sweat on his forehead, could almost smell the acrid scent of his fear from across the room. He was scared of her, scared of what her presence meant.

“I wouldn’t have come if you hadn’t taken Shikoba,” she replied, sauntering forward confidently. “I wouldn’t have come looking for you so quickly, but you had to let your greed and lusts bring you to this.” She shook her head almost sadly. “Now, where is she?”

He laughed. “Is that why you’re here? You think I have your sister,” he said wonderingly. Reaching up, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Where’s my cold, indifferent Shade? What happened to her on this assignment?”

Lani raised her chin, giving him a haughty smile. “She doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Oh, I beg to differ, my love,” he drawled. “You’ll always be Shade. You can save as many innocents as you like, refuse any number of assignments, pretend you’ve never felt another’s lifeblood has stained your hands, but you’ll always be Shade. You’ll always be my creation.”

She waved her hand at him. “Whatever, Luther. Where’s Shikoba?” she asked in a hard voice.

He smirked. “I don’t have her. Yet. Now, it’s time for you and me to have some fun.”

Still smiling at her, he touched the vial in his hands. Lani felt the whiplash of his power swirling through the room before he channeled it to concentrate on the vial. For several seconds, he spilled power into the glass of nothingness he held. Slowly, his smile died. Strain showed on his face, but nothing happened.

“What-″ he began, his voice shaking.

“Oh, did I forget to mention the spell is broken?” Lani asked sweetly. When she smiled at him, she read the fear in his face, the terror that the monster he’d created had finally come back for vengeance.

*****

Piko crept closer to the master’s door. He hadn’t found the imps Master Luther wanted killed. Every instinct he had screamed at him for returning to the master’s chambers with the bad news, but what choice did he have? Master Luther was the second most powerful being in the world. He would find Piko whether he told him the truth or not.

He heard Master Luther talking to someone and breathed a sigh of relief. If someone else was there to channel Master Luther’s anger, Piko might survive.

Creeping closer to the room, he peered through the door. His breath caught in his throat. The master was facing off with his fairy slave. She looked better than the last time he’d seen her, although that wasn’t saying much since she’d looked near death. Piko couldn’t help but admire her as she stood up to the master.

They looked like those human characters, David and Goliath. He bit his nails as he listened to them talk. The fairy smiled and it wasn’t nice at all. The master looked shocked and more than a little sick.

Piko made a sudden decision. He wouldn’t alert any of the guards about the fairy’s presence. She was only doing what so many of them had wanted to do for centuries. If the master killed her, he would be satisfied. And if she killed the master, no one in the house would mourn his passing.

Nodding to himself, Piko tiptoed back down the hall. He might have decided to let the fairy and the master be, but he wasn’t going to stick around to see who won.

*****

After several hours of finding out all the pertinent information, Malachi felt as though he finally had a good idea of how Lani had ended up working for the Eturians.

Shikoba, Lani’s younger sister, had crept from her home after listening to her parents talk before two of their guests arrived. Wikolia, Lani’s mother, had made it very clear that as soon as she could manage it, she would find a way to kill Lani if someone named Luther didn’t do it for them. Malachi’s stomach had turned at the fear and revulsion in Shikoba’s face, only able to guess at what Lani had experienced at their hands.

Now Shikoba sat trembling in a corner of the sectional sofa in Lucian’s den, her arms wrapped around her waist for comfort. It had taken some coaxing to get Izzy to leave the fairy alone, but once he’d assured her Shikoba wasn’t going anywhere, she’d finally caved.

“You can stay with me and my foster daughter,” Malachi found himself saying.

It was eerie how closely she resembled Lani and he couldn’t ignore the urge to take care of her. He’d take care of Lani too if she’d let him, but if they managed to get out of this mess alive, Malachi knew she’d want to be at his side making decisions with him.

“Why would you do that?” Shikoba asked slowly, cringing slightly as though she expected him to berate her for asking the question.

He smiled. “You remind me a lot of Lani,” he said simply. “She’s a lot more um,” he waved his hand trying to think of a non-offensive word for Lani.

“Dangerous?” she supplied helpfully, a shy smile on her face.

Malachi snapped his fingers. “Exactly. She can take care of herself, but you haven’t learned how yet. You’re also her sister and I know she’d want someone to watch out for you.” He knew it in his heart that Lani would fight to protect her younger sister. The fairy was innocent, though damaged from her years with her parents.

“Thank you,” she whispered, staring down at the rug in the middle of the floor. “Do you know where she is?”

He shook his head, trying to fight the panic again. He was worried sick about Lani. When she’d become so important to him, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly and the when didn’t matter anyway. All he knew was that he needed to find her, to protect her from whatever Luther, her parents, and the Overlord had planned for her.

Shikoba bit her lip, looking at the Halfling sitting across the room from her. He had been very kind to her the moment he realized she was his beloved’s sister. She hadn’t even known she had a sister until she overheard her parents talking, but once she found out what they had planned for Noelani, she’d known she needed to find her sister help. She just hadn’t expected Noelani to be in trouble from more directions than their sick parents.

Malachi’s face was etched with worry and fear. Dark shadows under his eyes stated quite clearly just how concerned he was for Lani’s safety. Koba twisted her hands together. She could help him. At least, she thought she could, but she didn’t want to mention it if her abilities weren’t as strong as other Shadow Knights.

“Um,” she began, stumbling to a halt when he fixed tormented brown eyes on her. Her heart melted. He loved her sister, it was there in his face for anyone to see. Always sucker for a happy ending, Koba was determined that her sister have a happy-ever-after. “I think I can find Lani.”

*****

“H-how?” Luther stammered, taking a step back, eyes wide as the implications of the broken spell hit him.

Lani shrugged one shoulder, stepping closer to him. “I bit you, remember? Then you hit me. The blood mingled and voila, I’m free.” She sighed dramatically. “I’ve waited and waited to be free of you, and now I am. Finally.” Her lips curved into a cold smile.

He shook his head. “You’ll never be free. Every time you see the marks I’ve put on your body, you’ll remember me,” he protested. Malicious glee gleamed in his eyes. “Every time you let another between your legs, you’ll remember me. You’re mine. Always have been, always will be.” He smiled confidently.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down her nape. Was it true? Would she always remember him?

Sensing her doubt, he pressed. “You’ve remained hidden from the world, always on the outskirts of it, never a part of it. What do you think they’ll do when you try enter it, Shade? You think they’ll welcome you with open arms?” He laughed. “They’ll lock you away just like I did. They’ll probably even torture you. Is that the kind of freedom you want?”

“It’ll never happen,” she boasted as confidently as she could. But the seed of doubt had been planted. What could she do on the outside? He was right in that the world would never look kindly on a killer, no matter how much she atoned for her sins.               He smirked. “Do you think Cromwell will protect you?” He laughed outright when he saw her start in surprise. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t know who put his claim on you? I could smell his possession on you. You submitted to him, to him when you never submitted to me. Tsk, Shade, letting that filthy Halfling between your legs. I thought you were smarter than that.”

She shook her head. What was he talking about?

“Oh come now, do you think he’ll give a shit if you’re thrown in prison, or executed?” He laughed long and hard, his eyes studying her coldly. “He wants his vengeance against the Eturi. What do you think you are, my sweet?”

“I’m not an Eturian,” she protested, though she knew better. The look of pity he bestowed upon her made her stomach rebel. Oh Gods, she was Eturian. She might’ve been working for them out of ignorance, but she would still be held responsible for the lives she’d taken.

“Exactly, my dove,” Luther cooed. “You can still save yourself. Just bow to me now, call me “master” and I’ll forget this ever happened. Bow to me, swear on your life you’ll serve me in whatever capacity I wish, and I’ll hide you from the master.” He looked at her benevolently, his eyes awash with the same twisted love he’d always shown her.

“What about Malachi?” she whispered. She felt numb now. If she gave into him willingly, she’d be signing on for an eternity of pain and humiliation.

He waved his hand. “He still needs to die. The master is adamant that Cromwell suffer for defecting,” he answered airily. A sudden spark lit his black eyes. “We could kill him together,” he suddenly breathed. “Yes, I like that plan. We’ll kill him together. That will prove to me that you know you’re mine.”

Hate twisted inside her heart. He would ask her to kill Malachi as a way to prove her loyalty? She pulled the gun out of the holster. Some part of her took a big step back, as though to assess the situation properly.

She imagined herself, pale, but resolute with a gun nearly as big as she was. She saw Luther, swarthy skin losing color as he stared down the barrel of a Dämon-Fluch, looking at his own mortality.

“You’ll never lay a hand on him, or my sister,” she swore, squeezing the trigger.