Call Of The Dark

"He was so fine till we came to Samhain. I don't know what Maeve told him that he got so influenced by her." When he had left her, he gave her the look like she was responsible for everything wrong in his life. It was as if along with her he would lose the Kingdom of Wilyra forever.

Emma wondered if Maeve actually proved to be the seductress. She didn't allow Lazarus to have sex with her. Did she allow him now? But Lazarus had told her that Maeve was an extremely delicate woman and they couldn't have it.

"I would have come to you over there and squeezed you hard if I weren't a vampire," Olya said, feeling very sorry for Emma.

For the past three days, the two girls had been together all the time. They would eat together and would be in each other's company till late in the night, till one of them would call it a night out. They had talked about Lore, witches, rogues and everything else in between. Emma even came to know about dragons. Dragons were mostly found in the Kingdom of Aztec and there were not many alive at this time. According to Olya, there were some who could summon dragons while there were some who were bound to it by soul. The King of Aztec, Brantley Frazier, was one who was bonded to a dragon.

"It's fine…" Emma muttered and then gulped some wine with blue cheese.

"But guess what?" Olya said excitedly. "I will be running away today!"

Emma gave her a sad look. The only friend she had in all this world was also leaving. "Be safe, okay?" she said in a patronizing tone. "Don't even think of sleeping in the same room as Magnus."

Olya chuckled. "Never!" Her deep brown eyes sparkled when she spoke of him.

"But I wanted to know that you are just seventeen. What if you turn eighteen and find your mate?"

Olya shook her head. "I refuse to believe that I will find my mate. I am so much in love with Magnus that I am sure Lore wouldn't bring forth my mate or his."

"You both are so sweet," Emma muttered. Suddenly, an ominous thought ran through her mind. "Is it possible that Lazarus is… killed?" The thought made her feel miserable as hell. Maybe that was the reason why he wasn't coming to get her.

"Emma," Olya said in a very soft voice. "Lord Lazarus is a very powerful vampire. No one can kill him and that is one of the reasons why his brothers and sisters are so scared of him."

Emma took a deep breath and went back to her brooding mode. "I am sure that Maeve had spun her web of seduction around him. He won't come back."

The night when he left her, she had fluttered open her eyes in the morning hours only to find him kneeling beside her and stroking her cheeks. She thought that she was dreaming. She had closed her eyes back and heard him murmuring, "Can't live like this…"

Two nights back, when she had cried and cried and had curled in a fetal position on her bed, she woke up to someone stroking her hair and kissing her hands. Once again, she imagined that he was there, murmuring in a language she didn't understand. Was that fae language?

And last night, she thought that he had slept beside her because she could feel his warmth when she nuzzled into something comfortable. "Don't come after me…"

Too many hallucinations. Emma lifted the wine glass and wondered if it was drugged. She sighed when Olya said, "It isn't drugged."

"I can't understand as to why is it that Maeve has never ever been attracted to him even though he is the most eligible bachelor of the Kingdom of Wilyra, there are thousands of girls who would want to seduce him."

Olya tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Are you in love with Lord Lazarus?"

"What?"

"Well that's understandable," Olya added. "You are his mate."

"I am not in love with him!" Emma snapped. "Which idiot would love someone who will execute them soon?" She picked up the bottle of wine and chugged a lot of it. "I was hoping to seduce him to free me." Her cheeks were flushed red. She was too drunk. She cocked her head and said, "Can I be the bride of Lord Lazarus?"

Olya sighed. "Maeve is the woman for him, Emma. He is too fixed, but when I compare the two of you, I can't help but feel sad. I hope that you get him and not Maeve. Somehow, I just don't trust that goddess!"

All at once, there was a ripple in the surface of the water. Both Emma and Olya shrieked, scared that some monster would come out. But both were stunned when it was Lord Magnus who emerged from the pool. He smoothed his hair back as he stared at Olya. He was wearing black tunic and pants.

"Magnus!" Olya squeaked and jumped in the pool to swim towards him.

Magnus glanced at Emma and dipped his chin to acknowledge her. His focus went on Olya entirely. When she reached him, he grabbed her by her waist and she flung her legs over his hips. Their gazes locked and for a moment there was silence in the air charged with electricity. And then as if the two couldn't wait, Olya threaded her fingers in his hair and kissed him. Magnus held her tightly against his body with one hand on her waist and the other behind her head. And just like that in front of Emma, he lowered himself in water.

Shocked, Emma bent over water to see what was happening. She saw the two slowly disappearing in the depths of water and a few minutes later the water rippled back to its original form. "Goddess!" she rasped. "They have run away?" She touched the surface of the water. "Was this a portal?" She gulped at all the magic that happened in Lore. "Bye Olya!" She shouted just in case Olya heard her.

With more sadness, she lay back on the soft towel. She swallowed thickly as her thoughts went back to Lazarus. The hair on her nape rose when a cool wind blew her hair in this cave with a hot spring.