The dark summoning: Hey you.
"The priests will open the gate,"the king barked to his nervous son."They swear there is an Olden One on the other side."He shot them a glare that had the men surreptitiously cowering."Once it crosses over, kill the girl. Don't hesitate or it won't be bound to you. The second it turns to you, name it. That will complete the binding."
Verlie gasped for breath on the alter, shaking over what she had heard. They were going to kill her. The soldiers turned away, leaving her there, and she fumbled her barrette knife away, praying no one saw it as she resumed sawing at her bonds. No one did. They didn't even look at her.
"What do I name it?" the boy whimpered, twitching.
"Name it whatever you want," the king snapped. "Just don't pick a stupid name, as you can't change it later. Don't fail me in this, boy. The king has always had a Olden One. You'll be a target for your enemies otherwise."
When the boy squirmed, the king slapped him again and laughed harshly. "He won't let me smack you around anymore... Though if he tried to stop me, my Olden One would go after him. He'll be your constant companion, as Thrall is mine. The only time Thrall is away from my side is in here, or when I'm with a woman. So be prepared to get used to it."
The prince looked down, obviously not thrilled with the idea. Verlie sawed desperately at her bonds, none too pleased herself. The white-robed man bowed to the king. "We're ready, my liege." The king nodded and stepped back, preferring to watch from the entrance to the corridor through which they had arrived.
Shaking, the prince walked to the altar. White-faced and trembling, he never looked at Verlie. His fear had nothing to do with killing an innocent girl, she saw, and she glared at him with terrified contempt. Still, if he didn't look at her, he couldn't see she had cut halfway through her bonds. Verlie hoped he maintained that unthinking dismissal of her even as he swallowed, shifting both his stance and his grip on the ornate dagger he held.
A circle appeared in the air above them, a sphere of shining energy. The priests chanted, their sonorous words filling the room, and the sphere went from gray to green to red to black. From there it went to a non-color, and the prince gaped at it in amazement while Verlie squealed and hurried, nicking her own fingers in her haste. The wounds hurt but the blood helped, greasing the rope even as it threatened to make her drop her knife.
A wind was blowing, whirling into the circle with a strange roaring sound. The fire dragons darted back, leaving the circle in shadow, and Verlie realized that there was something looking through that gateway, assessing them all. The prince sensed it too, and she saw his eyes widen even farther. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
The presence looked through the gate, assessing, deciding whether to cross. Verlie felt its attentions shifting, focusing... and suddenly she knew it was looking at her, bare and helpless on the alter. It saw her and wanted her, and she hacked through the last bits of rope as it appeared, huge and shadowy, not yet taking any distinct shape.
"Now!" the king shouted. "Kill her now!"
The prince started, gasping, and raised his knife. His arms trembled as he brought it up over his head. At the same tome, Verlie broke through her last bonds and sat upright, thrusting her tiny blade deep into his arm. The prince shrieked, dropping his knife and falling backward off the dais. Still bound at the feet, Verlie yanked out her gag and looked up... straight into dark red eyes. She yelped and dropped back against the altar, hands raised in surrender.
The Olden One landed on the altar, bracing itself atop her, a beast formed of smoke and lightning, staring downward. She felt its emotions, its interest and its curiosity. Its eyes stared into hers, and she blushed as it slowly looked down the length of her body and then back up again. It purred, bent its head, and licked her from her navel up across her abs and along her neck. Verlie couldn't see its tongue, but she could feel it and squealed, frightened, cold, and somehow hot at the same time.
What had the king said? Name it.
"Hey you," she managed, barely able to speak at all, she was so frightened. She swallowed, trying to get her tongue untied enough to ask its name, and it breathed warm air on her.
Heyou, it repeated softly, the sound echoing in her mind. Had she just named it? she wondered, and suddenly became aware that there was shouting. Startled, she looked away from the beast to see that the priests were backing away in terror, the soldiers moving in with real fright in their eyes, but still determined.
"Kill the girl!" the king bellowed, even as he ran up the corridor and away from them all. "Send it back, now!" The prince sat at the base of the altar, staring up at her in shock. "Help me," she begged the Olden One. "Please!"
The Olden One ducked its head, nuzzling her again, and then it rose up, roaring. Verlie could suddenly feel its hate as it focused on the men, and half of them backed away... which didn't do any good. Something like an arm lashed out, and a wave of destruction rippled from the altar, blowing into soldiers and priests alike and tearing then apart. Fire dragons dove to try and protect their masters but were obliterated as well, flashing for a moment and then vanishing. Everything inside the chamber vanished except the altar, and Verlie screamed, terrified.
The arm came around her, lifting her up against something warm. She felt it move, and abruptly they were flying, sweeping across the room and out the way she had come, arching up the passageway. At the top, the king ran away, bellowing for help as the cart horses screamed and reared. Heyou growled, but the king had reached what looked like a short, slim man with a bald head and unblinking eyes. The king's Olden One looked at Verlie and Heyou unwavering, and it was Heyou that flinched back, turning away.
The creature holding Verlie blew out the corridor through which she had been carted into the castle, making the stone passage suddenly fifty feet high. He swooped outside through the gap, and Verlie felt the cold bite into her as he struggled for altitude, lifting them both up over the castle walls, and headed toward the dawn. Verlie screamed, freezing and terrified, until black smoke wrapped around her, warming her, and then she fainted, unable to deal with any more. The Olden One looked down at her in concern, but she was still breathing. Heady with her scent and his freedom, Heyou flew on.
The End. For now...
Log in to comment