SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Four
Rhol was making his way to his office to meet up with his special team after they had gone in search of the Thyest bow but he noticed a familiar pattern of Jinn essence coalescing in front of him. Rhol recognized the signature black shoes, the black suite the blood red shirt with a silk black tie and the handsome face, a replica of his own but lacking the brutality. The Jinn corked his eyebrow at him and smirked as he adjusted the patinium calf-links of his shirt. Patinium was a transparent crystal like that of a diamond which had veins of rare metals. Patinium was very expensive.
“You look like you are about to kill someone.” The Jinn noted.
Rhol resumed his walk. “If you don’t watch out, you’ll be my victim, Yosurn.”
Yosurn was Rhol’s younger brother and the High Lord of The Realm of The Dark. After he moved to the Great Hall, he met his mate there, a mermaid named Selma. Now, Yosurn had decided to reside in the Realm of Water for his mate’s sake and also because it was much safer there than the Realm of The Dark. But every once in a while, Yosurn returned home to provoke and taunt Rhol before returning to Selma. It was unfortunate that he chose the wrong time to do so this time around because Rhol was not in the mood.
“The only times I see you like this is when yet another mutilated body had been added to the body-count. How many more?” Yosurn frowned following his brother behind closely.
“We’ve lost count but that’s not worrying me.” He stopped in front of his door and pulled out a paper from his shirt pocket. “This is what is worrying me.”
Yosurn took the paper and scanned through the contents while Rhol entered his office and found Darius, the captain of his special ops team flipping a knife casually. His bright eyes turned to him and a small malicious smile appeared on his face.
Darius was a killer through and through. He thrived in the presence of blood. He was a predator and when he hunted he always made the kill. However, Rhol was worried that the Jinn was losing a piece of his soul every time he went hunting with the others and decided to send him into other operations.
“My king.” He got up and inclined his head then turned to Yosurn and crossed his arms. “It’s been a while, Yosurn.”
Yosurn nodded tightly and turned to Rhol. “I thought you took him out of the team. He’s become a threat.”
“I need him in the team.” Rhol growled. Because of a lot of hunts he had gone through whether it was hunting down strayed Ghouls, traitors and enemies, Darius had become very good at tracking his prey. He never missed a scratch on a tree, a partial print nor a broken twig. Though at times was lost control and became hard to talk to, he was the best warrior Rhol had.
“He’s a danger to the team and to himself.” Yosurn stated.
Darius corked his eyebrow arrogantly towards Yosurn still flipping the knife in his hands. “The only person I’m a danger to at the moment is you, if you don’t shut your mouth that is.”
“I’m your High Lord!” Yosurn exclaimed. “Show me some respect when your address me.”
“Forgive me, my lord.” Darius bowed. “For that was self-defense from a disrespecting coward hiding away behind his title.”
Yosurn growled.
“Enough!” Rhol barked. “This is not the time to have a go at each other. We have a crisis and we need to deal with that first.”
Darius and Yosurn eyed each other for a moment but they knew better than to go against their king so they both relaxed and turned to the matter at hand.
“Where did you get this?” Yosurn referred to the drawing of the triangle with a circle at each corner and the word resurrection written in the middle in the old language.
Rhol sighed and took his place on his chair behind the big desk. “It was burnt on the skin of Marcus of Hawk but I doubt that was his body. Marcus died long time ago and I’m not wrong, there is foul play here and we have a necromancer performing the forbidden arts.”
“A necromancer?” Yosurn turned to his brother in surprise.
“It’s either that or we have ourselves a very strong sorcerer who can reach across into the after-life and bring back lost souls.” Darius droned in.
Rhol nodded. If that was the case then someone was utterly messed up because in order for you to bring a soul back, you needed to do an exchange; a life for a life. “But why would this sorcerer/necromancer waste valuable souls on Ghouls?”
“It was a test run.” a female voice came from the door and all the three males turned towards it.
Muriel entered the office. She wore a long pale peach gown that trailed on the floor and her auburn hair was plaited back from her face. One hand was rested casually on her plump stomach while the other held a piece of paper. Because she was heavily pregnant, Rhol didn’t want her to do stressful work for him but at this time, he needed for her to find out what happened to the black goo and if there was a possibility that it could cause trouble for them at the fortress.
“A test run?” Rhol asked.
“Yes.” She sighed softly rubbing her stomach lazily. “They are searching for a body that could carry the returned soul without it destroying its host. So far, the Ghoul is a total failure since it didn’t even last the night. My guess is that they will look for other races until they find the one strong enough to carry the soul without damaging its vessel namely the body at which it will be contained.”
“And how do you know this?” Yosurn asked her.
“Because I have seen it being done once.” She turned to Rhol, her eyes full of shadows and forgotten memories. “This is the most sacred of taboos for a Mage. We are absolutely forbidden to bring back the dead. We can consult with them in the after-life by using their manuscripts or something that they left behind that would enable you to connect with them, but bringing their souls back to this world was considered a sin that could never be forgiven.
“There lived a strong Mage once name Vanel. He had a mate that he loved dearly but unfortunately the mate died before her time. Through the grief and pain, Vanel decided to bring her back so he carried out all the old manuscripts of his forefathers, looking for the spell that would bind his wife’s soul back into her body. The spell was there alright but it was not finished.” Muriel went and sat down before continuing. “Driven by desperation, Vanel used the spell as it was binding his mate’s soul back into her body. It worked but he didn’t know that he had opened the gateway through the afterlife and many horrible things escaped torture there and invaded his mate’s body, using it for their own lurid purposes. So much evil escaped into the world and Vanel was killed by his mate right before he could anything to close the door. There was no spell to close the opened door. The only way was to kill the vessel and once more Vanel’s mate was killed by the elders.
“From there on, all the pages in the Mage manuscripts that had that spell were ripped out and burnt, never to be seen again.
“Well.” Rhol sighed heavily. “It seems that someone managed to keep the spell until now.”
“Then it must be very old Mage turned sorcerer. None of the young Mage even know that the spell once existed.” Muriel said and corked her head to the side pensively. “While I was cleansing the Ghoul’s cell, I noticed something very disturbing.”
And here Rhol thought it couldn’t get any worse. “What is it?”
“The Black Fortress has been infiltrated by black magic.” Muriel turned to him and regarded him steadily. “The ghoul carried something in his body, an altered string of energy. This energy can seep through anything, tainting hearts and spreading evil. Is is susceptible to Mage especially since we drawn our energy from our surroundings. No Mage should try a healing session nor absorb energy from the fortress until I find it and destroy it.”
The first person that entered his mind was the royal female Mage in his quarters. As if Muriel read his mind, she smiled warmly.
“You don’t have to worry, I’ll go and take care of her.” She flashed out of the office.
“Her?” Both Yosurn and Darius inquired simultaneously.
Rhol crossed and his arms across his chest. He didn’t have to explain himself to anyone. “Darius, who far have you gone in finding out where the Thyest Bow is?”
Darius eyed him suspiciously but he dropped the subject through Rhol knew it was for the time being. “According to the information we got, he could be anywhere in the ice caves under the Legin glacier. That was the last place Uzrel was seen before...”
I killed him. Rhol finished the sentence in his head. “Prepare a team to go and scout the caves as soon as possible.”
“But my king, you do remember the rumors of what lives under there, right?” Darius narrowed his eyes at him.
“Don’t tell me you also believe in folklores.” Rhol raised his eyebrow tauntingly at him.
“Not that I believe in them but rather what I should do if they are true.”
Yosurn scoffed. “Maniacal Darius is scared of the ice princess. That’s a new one.”
Rhol turned irritatedly as his brother. “First of all, what the fuck are even doing here? And secondly, how would you like to have your head first in the ice princess’ ass if you don’t shut up?”
Yosurn rolled his eyes then closed them and pinched the bridge of his nose before answering. “That is a grotesque thing to picture but I know you’re very capable of carrying out such an attack. I’m here because I have some news.”
“Spill it.” Rhol snarled at his younger brother. He didn’t have the patience to start dealing with long stories. He wanted him to go straight to the point.
“The Realm of Water has a new queen and she has assigned her late sister’s lover as the new High Lord of the realm.”
“How come the queen was able to take a new lover after her mate’s death?” Darius asked pensively.
“It’s because you are daft that you don’t understand the simplicity of such circumstances. The late king and queen of the Realm of Water were not mates. They married because the king had fallen for Queen Seranis’ looks and she had fallen for his title.” Yosurn explained. “Anyway, she refused to hold the Lord Mage liable to what happened to Queen Seranis. You can imagine how well that went given mer-people are the most cruel and cold-hearted beings in the enchanted world.”
Darius grunted in agreement.
“There is a rebel group of mer-people that has broke out of the rule of their new queen and they are seeking to assassinate the Lord Mage.” he finally announced.
Rhol couldn’t understand why everyone was out to get the Lord Mage. He was the most wanted male in the whole of the enchanted world. Now, some things he could ignore because the spell-caster brought them on himself but the story of him causing Queen’s Seranis’ death was a different story altogether. He feared that somehow the Dark Energy had found its way into the Realm of Water too.
“Is it known how many rebels we might be talking about or who their leader is?” Rhol asked.
Yosurn shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea but what you need to do is to warn the Lord Mage before he loses his head.”
“I can go there again if you want me too.” Darius gave him a toothy smile. “I have unfinished business with a fish-boy from there.”
Rhol didn’t even want to know what transpired when he sent Darius to convey the message that he was not taking part in the conference. “You have the ice-cave to search. You are going nowhere near the Realm of Spells.”
Darius rolled his eyes and cursed out softly.
“Get your team ready to move out.” Rhol issued the command.
Yosurn smiled smugly at Darius. “Say hi to the ice princess.”
Darius flipped his High Lord as his body turned into swirls of black smoke.
Rhol turned irritatedly at his younger brother. “Don’t you have a mate waiting for you somewhere?”
“I do but I’m more curios about yours. So, what is she? A phoenix? A Dragon? A Ghoul?”
Rhol snapped his head towards his brother and growled at him. “It doesn’t concern you.”
Yosurn settled on the seat Darius had just vacated and clasped his hands together. “I have been waiting for this day for a long time. I never thought you would get a mate, Rhol.”
Rhol grunted lightly in agreement. He too never thought he would fall under fate’s most wicked of tricks. He thought himself immune to it. He heard all the compliments from the females about his fallen angel face and his wicked ways in bed. They wanted to possess him and tame his primal ways but he was a beast through and through and no female could ever own him.
“So, are you going to tell me or do I need to go snoop in your chambers?” Yosurn corked his eyebrow.
Before Rhol could answer two females flashed in before him. He watched in annoyance as Yosurn turned to the new presence and how his face paled and his eyes widened in shock as he laid his eyes on Lyrah.
“May the heavens fuck me sideways!” he breathed as he got up and looked from him to Lyrah then back to him. “Your mate is a fucking royal Mage?”
Lyrah frowned at the foul-mouthed replica of Rhol who was examining her like a fine horse in an auction. Yosurn. She knew him because he was always at the Great Hall like her. As he was about to touch her, she grabbed his hand, squeezed it and twisted it until the male was staggering for a sure stance.
She didn’t miss this slight twitch on Rhol’s lips and the amusement that entered his eyes.
“Be polite, Yosurn.” Muriel corked her eyebrow at him.
“Damn!” Yosurn gritted his teeth. “I’m sorry, High Lady Lyrah!”
Lyrah immediately let him go and when she saw the thunderous glare Rhol was sending Muriel she quickly intervened. “Don’t put blame on Muriel, I asked her to bring me here. I need to tell you something.”
“I wonder if the Lord Mage knows about this union?” Yosurn asked pensively eying both his brother and Lyrah.
Just the thought of Tyran knowing about her mate being Rhol made Lyrah tremble with dread.
“You. Leave. Now.” Rhol snarled at his brother.
A wicked smile appeared on Yosurn’s face as he flashed out of the room.
“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Muriel patted Lyrah’s hand in a motherly way and she left using the door.
Muriel was much older than her. She was a Mage of Truth during Gregor’s reign. Lyrah couldn’t remember her because she wasn’t even born by then. She was even older than Tyran.
The Mage of Truth mostly made up the Historians. They knew of every past, of every law and of every sentence a traitor was sent. The made sure that the King’s word was followed and sometimes intervened when the King’s interest conflicted with that of his subjects. The Historians also made the king’s advisory board.
“What is it?” Rhol asked her.
Lyrah noted that Rhol’s voice had toned down. It was as though he was talking to a scared child. She watched as his tattoos took that violet glow and sighed. “I want to help you find this—this thing that has my skin creep and much heart heave.”
Rhol frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Can’t you feel it? There’s something very evil in this fortress and it is seeking for a victim...for a host I guess—i don’t know but it is making me very uncomfortable.” She rubbed her arms.
Rhol moved around his desk and stood towering over her like the way his Black Fortress towered over Karah. “It’s nothing my warriors can’t handle.”
Lyrah looked up at him. “You don’t understand. I know the thread to this evil. It was once a thread of pure energy but someone changed it. I think I can neutralize it.”
“No.”
“What?” Lyrah asked incredulously.
“I will not have you endanger your life any longer.”
Lyrah couldn’t believe the words she was hearing. “Are you serious--” before she could finish, she felt the cold fingers of dread creep across her back. She span around, injuring her leg once more just in time to see the inky substance ooze out from one corner of the office.
“Lyrah, get out of the way!” Rhol barked as his unleashed his tattoos and sent them scaling up the walls towards the abomination.
Lyrah didn’t wait and she too unleashed her energy. Yellow veined pulsed against her body as she created the purest of energy and concentrated it on the inky substance. The cries were blood-curdling as her pure energy neutralized it. Even Rhol’s tattoos shrunk away from the power she released towards the evil.
A pungent stench escaped into the air as the inky abomination began to evaporate until there was nothing. That cold feeling faded from Lyrah’s heart as she got hold of herself and stopped the attack. She turned around at Rhol and his face looked like it was cut from living marble. He was beautiful even with that grim face of his.
“See, you need me.” She assured him then suddenly she felt the trickle of something from her nose. She rubbed it with the back of her hand and when she looked down, she found that it was blood. The world tipped on its axis and from a distance she could hear someone calling her name but she couldn’t make out who it was as her surroundings blurred then disappeared into darkness. The last thing she felt was something warm engulfing her body before she was totally gone.
There was muffling of voices from a distance and it sounded as if two people were arguing. Lyrah’s head throbbed as if someone was chipping against her skull with an ice pick. She cracked her eyes open and darted them through the dim room. It looked familiar yet it wasn’t hers. She tried to remember what happened then memories began to gush in like a broken dam. She remembered being in Rhol’s office and arguing about her not endangering her life. She remembered that horrible and nauseating feeling she had just before that dark strand of energy tried to attack her. She also remembered the clear warning Rhol sent to her to step out of the way. This rest was very vague.
She blinked several times and noticed Leah sitting next to her with a bowl of clean water in her hands and a towel. A little further from the bed was a large brooding male dressed in black and right beside him was Zafrina and Muriel. It looked as if they were trying to tell him something but he wouldnt hear of it.
Typical. She thought as she shifted slightly to make herself comfortable. She must have used up too much energy in killing that abomination because she felt as light as a feather.
“She’s awake!” Leah exclaimed looking at her with big bright eyes.
Everyone’s attention was turned to her. She could almost hear the reprimanding that was about to occur. Was all her life going to be based on everyone around her telling her of how she was to behave and what she could or couldn’t do?
“Lady Lyrah!” Muriel exclaimed touching her cool hand with her warm ones. “How are you feeling?”
“Drained.” her throat was dry. “Can I please have something to drink?”
Leah bobbed and quickly went to the table behind her to pour a glass of water before bringing it to her. Zafrina moved forward and helped her sit up. All the while, Rhol stood right at the back with his face black but dark and dangerous. She had no idea what he was thinking but feared for her life. She had seen that kind of calmness before and she didn’t like what followed.
“You should have taken it easy.” Muriel fussed over the covers of the bed trying to keep her warm. “You are still trying to heal yourself. You shouldn’t have used that much energy.” She stopped abruptly and sighed then smiled. “I have heard the rumors about Gregor’s gifted daughter; Mage of life, but I have never imagined how powerful you are. With enough practice you could be rivaling with your brother.”
Lyrah couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not nearly as powerful as my brother.”
“But you could be. But for now, try not to strain your body. Give it time to heal before trying anything like that again, okay?” Muriel’s face was full of concern.
“Everyone, get out.” Rhol’s deep voice growled from behind.
Leah was the first one to find her way out while Zafrina and Muriel eyed Rhol wary.
“Don’t stress her, Rhol.” Muriel warned.
All Rhol did was turn to look her before he stepped to the side to give them space to leave. Muriel went out the door but Zafrina puffed her way out.
Lyrah felt her heart jerk in her ribs. Now, she was in for it. She watched as Rhol stalked closer to the bed. It reminded of the night he came for her at the Nosferatu’s house. He shook his head light as if he couldn’t quiet understand something then looked up at her. “Tell me something, Lyrah, do you have some sort of a twisted death wish or is it just mind imagination. I wonder why is it that every time my back is turned, you’re out there risking your life without the care in the world.”
“I don’t have a death wish, Rhol.” She answered and she would have pouted if he didn’t look like a lethal warrior in front of her. “Both of us were in danger and I had to do something.”
“It was not your call. I’m the king of this fortress. I say what should be done and this is the last time you ever do that, understand?”
Lyrah’s eyes narrowed at him. “You can’t do anything about it if you can’t feel it. Muriel might be able to recognize the evil of it but only I can pinpoint its exact location. You need me.”
“I don’t need you for that, Lyrah.” he hissed making the hairs at the back of her neck rise. “I never did. You are injured and can barely heal yourself so why don’t you do us all a favor and stay out of this? This is not your fight.”
Rhol’s words were like a slap on Lyrah’s face. His stubbornness reminded her so much of her own brother. To the both of them, no matter how much power she harnessed, she was still very weak. She didn’t even know what to tell Rhol. She couldn’t argue with him if he had that kind of mindset. The only thing left was to prove herself with actions.
“This fight is for the entire enchanted world, Rhol. Now, I don’t care what you think of me but know this, you can’t dictate to me on what I can or can not do.” Lyrah’s sparkled. “If you can’t bare the sight of me aiding out my world and my people, I suggest you turn the other way.”
“You are my mate!” Rhol roared and his tattoos became solid and slithered in the air.
“You rejected me!” Lyrah cried back feeling the energy veins pulsing around her body.
They stayed like that for what felt like eternity waiting for the other to back down. Lyrah was tired of being treated like an egg. She never had to prove herself to anyone before but right now, she wanted to show the whole world just how capable she was. She might be the Mage of Life but she was still as strong as the rest of them especially having Gregor and Sapna’s blood running through her veins.
Before she knew it, Rhol’s tentacles wrapped themselves around her forearms and pinned her on the bed. Lyrah gasped in surprise as he moved closer to the bed and crawled over her, his face hovering inches from hers and his body so close that she could feel his heat seeping in her body right into her bones.
“You are my mate!” Rhol gritted his teeth as he growled at her. “Mine, no one else’s. You should learn your place when you challenge me.”
“I don’t have to do anything.” Lyrah spat as the temperature of the room lowered and shadows began to dance around them. “As much as you don’t want me here, I sure as hell don’t want to be in your presence. Let. Me. Go.”
“No.” his eyes moved from her eyes to her mouth and the tattoos started changing color. They became a deep violet color. “You deserve punishment for going against me, dirani peeta.”
“Get off me.” Lyrah pushed hard against the heavy body but it didn’t even flinch.
A warning growl reverberated from deep inside Rhol’s body as he came down and nipped hard on Lyrah’s lower lip.
Lyrah cringed away from him but she wasn’t prepared for that electricity that seared through her body and ignited her womb. She wanted to fight him off but his tentacles held her tightly underneath him. His were darker than the darkest night and the intent in them was as raw as the wound on her thigh. This was not Rhol. This was that primal beast inside each male that always wanted to claim his mate. Some males were able to control it but others weren’t so lucky.
“Rhol, don’t do this.” She desperately tried to get the male back.
Rhol didn’t say anything but claimed her lips in a hard, hot and demanding kiss that had all her bones melt into ponds of heat inside her body. Rhol’s lips burnt against hers, making her mind reel out of control. She tried to pull herself together and come up with a sane thing to do but her body was not hers anymore. It belonged to Rhol to command it as he saw fit. This was the same male who wanted nothing to do with her yet here she was responding to his kiss and having her hands itch to touch him. His tattoos caressed her, their warm penetrating deep into her core and causing it to clench deliciously inside her.
She was a slave to the mate bond and so was he. This was what happened when mates were constantly in close proximity every time. The bond became intolerable.
Something at the back of Rhol’s mind told him to stop what he was doing but his body wouldnt listen to the commands. Lyrah was injured just a few hours before and now here he was on her trying to claim her as his mate. She wasn’t fighting him. In fact, she was returning all his kisses with the same ferocity. She was maddening and that rage turned into desire he had never felt before. He watched as she challenged him, watched her stubborn chin rise up defiantly and all he could think of was to take her body and make her realize just who she belonged to.
He didn’t want it to come to this but the pull was just too intense. He erection was throbbing inside his pants to the point of pain. Not even Jezeray had ever got him that hard before. Kissing her lips was like nothing before. He couldn’t even compare to the other women he bedded because everything about Lyrah overshadowed them. She was his mate, someone he wanted as far away from him as possible but he doubted he could do that now.
Rhol was a hard male who endured a lot in his long existence. There were times when they found themselves going for days without food or having wounds that were all pain. He endure the pain and the almost-starvation because he could but now, he even stunned himself that he couldn’t endure just two days in Lyrah’s presence. He wanted her with every fiber of his body.
Her skin was soft and her scent was a pheromone, fueling up the lust that was threatening to consume him from the inside. Her pale hair felt like silk as he ran his fingers through it and held her head in place, kissing her and tasting her until she was out of breath. Rhol had to stop the insanity. This was not the time for such things. Her body was simmering with heat because she was still trying to heal herself. She passed out right after neutralizing that abomination and now here he was trying to seduce her. With his last string of control, Rhol yanked himself away from her and retreated to the darkest corner of the room.
Lyrah was breathing hard and her eyes were drooping with the power of their kiss. She parted her lips as if she wanted to say something but it came out as a short moan as her eyes rolled and she fell into unconsciousness once more.
Rhol returned to her side, his heart thudding loudly in his chest as he rested his hand softly on her chest. Her heart was still beating but she was exhausted. He pulled the sheets over her small body and walked back to the corner where he sat the other night watching over her. The deed was done. There was no way of sending her back now that she was in his system. Fuck! But that didn’t mean he had to succumb to the weakness of the mates. He was a potent male with needs and he had a very high sexual appetite. As his mate, she needed to see to his needs. He just hoped she was strong enough to endure it. With a sigh, Rhol rested back on the chair and settled his eyes on his beautiful mate while in her sleep.