Dark Possession - Aja James Page 0,56
I know why,” she said, and added with a peculiar sparkle in her eyes, “Dark child with a Pure soul.”
It was his turn to fall silent as he stared at her.
Was it so obvious what he was? Was his Pure soul some kind of taint upon his person? A shadow over his head? A weakness that wafted like a foul odor from his skin?
What he’d give to have been born a True Blood! He could proudly Claim Ashlu then. But because he’d been born Pure, then made into her Blood Slave, he was forever condemned as “not good enough.”
He was always “lesser,” never worthy.
“Have you ever thought that perhaps you weren’t meant to Claim her?” the old woman queried softly, somewhat tentatively, as if she knew he didn’t want to hear her question.
“That you were born as you are for a reason?”
“Never,” the Elemental answered immediately. “Ashlu is the one for me. I will defy the very Fates to make it so.”
“Is it just your birth that prevents the queen from accepting you?” she persisted, her squinty dark eyes almost kind, “Have you considered that there is another reason?”
The Elemental grew increasingly impatient.
No one ever spoke to him this way. Few people spoke directly to him, period. Most everyone was afraid of the “terrible” powers he wielded. He knew they called him names behind his back, for no one dared to confront him to his face.
But aside from the fear and awe, the Elemental simply didn’t care for the company of others. He wanted and needed only Ashlu.
“Why are you asking so many questions?” he returned. “Will you help me or not? I heard that you do not accept coins, but instead ask for promises in return for your spells. Ask me anything. I will give you everything within my power if you help me do this.”
She regarded him long and hard with shrewd, glittering eyes.
Finally, she said:
“A queen becomes Queen
A slave becomes Mate
A King falls in flames
A winner loses in games
A queen gives way
A Mate displaced
A Champion reborn
A King transformed.
A stone heart in fire
A soul dances higher
When True Love reveals
And old wounds heal.”
He blinked at her uncomprehendingly at the end of her stilted verse.
She simply waited for him to digest.
“I don’t understand,” the Elemental finally admitted. “What is it you want from me? What can I offer you to gain your aid?”
She cracked a small smile on that craggy old face, making the lines in her skin deepen unattractively. And yet, she looked strangely young despite all the wrinkles. Joy gave its wearer the appearance of youth.
“It isn’t fair for me to ask anything of you, young prince, for you have a long, long, arduous road ahead. But if I may, looking out for my Kind, as it were, if you ever run into red-headed witches like myself in the distant future, treat them kindly. Don’t make them cry. Even when they seem like the most frustrating little sprites.”
The Elemental frowned.
She made no sense at all!
What red-headed witches? Like her? But she was gray-haired…
And his time was running out.
“I promise I will do my best,” he said through gritted teeth, his infamous temper about to snap. “Now will you help me?”
“I will. But just remember that you asked for this. Don’t have regrets when it’s too late,” she warned.
“I never have regrets,” he countered confidently. “I only make different choices.”
She nodded and continued, “Know that I cannot conjure a face and form out of thin air. When you take the disguise, it will be in place of someone else with the same face and form. You will merely be borrowing what is his.”
“It cannot be a Dark One,” the Elemental inserted. “I cannot risk that Ashlu will encounter the real man later on.”
She reached for his hand with her own gnarled ones and patted him lightly.
“So be it. When the time comes, be sure to choose wisely.”
The Elemental did choose that day, and he made many choices since. He always chose wisely for the benefit of the queen he loved. But he chose poorly for himself, though he would not know this until far into the future.
So far, that he’d long forgotten the witch’s prophetic, enigmatic words.
*** *** *** ***
Eveline woke up with a snap, sitting suddenly upright in bed, disheveled and bleary-eyed.
The dream she just had made her feel so ill she had to rush to the bathroom to throw up. But since she hadn’t remembered to eat before crashing her feeling-sorry-for-self ass on the bed a few