The Warlock King (The Kings) (6 page)

Jason Alberich stood several feet away
, tall, well built, dark, and powerful. He was draped in the colors of night, his blonde hair a stark shock against his black clothing. His green eyes flashed in the moonlight. But he seemed at ease, confident and relaxed, his hands were clasped behind him as if to show her they were not a threat.

Chloe didn’t bother to ask him how he’d known what she was thinking. He was the sovereign of the warlocks. If he wanted to read someone’s mind, all he had to do was cast a spell.

“You’ve been running for a very long time,” he told her. He tilted his head to the side. “Surely you must be weary.”

Chloe could scarcely believe he was standing there in front of her
– that it was really him. She also couldn’t understand why she hadn’t sensed him drawing near. His magic should have overwhelmed her. It should have felt like gorging on a buffet after a starvation diet. It could have even felt like an orgasm.

But she felt nothing other than the enormous amount of trepidation strangli
ng her in that moment. Clearly he was sparing her.

But why?

“Invaluable,” he whispered suddenly. Chloe blinked. He smiled.

Chloe’s stomach knotted and her knees grew weak.
He had the most sinful smile.

Jason looked down at the damp grass and condensed earth and slid his hands into his pockets to slowly pace toward the wall beside her.
“The things I’ve learned about you, about Akyri in general over the last few days.” He pinned her with those eyes again, stealing her strength like candy from a baby. “The information is invaluable.”

Chloe swallowed, choking past the lump in her throat. She hugged herself though she was not cold. Not at all.

“Some people would sacrifice a great deal to obtain it,” he said. Those sharp emerald eyes slid over her form. “To learn about
you
.”

Chloe took a step back, her trepidation suddenly overwhe
lming her good sense. “Are… you threatening me?” she asked, her voice trembling. She had nowhere to go. There was nothing she could do against Alberich.

Jason shook his head. “No
,” he said softly – intimately. “I learned the hard way that threats actually gain you very little. However, as you’re already aware, the climate of our world is changing.” He paused and his expression became very serious. “You and I both know that you’re in danger, Chloe.”

From you
, she thought.
From you!

But she knew that wasn’t strictly true. At least not
solely
true. There was a greater evil on the rise. Chloe could feel it the way a sunbather would sense a sudden shadow. Darkness was coming.

“Tell me, Stardust
,” he said, turning to face her fully. She felt caged in by him suddenly, this black wall of towering muscle and magic. “When it comes for you, would you rather be as you are now?” He stepped forward suddenly, and whatever shield he’d been using to protect her from his magic dropped.

Chloe gasped and reeled backward, but his arm slid around her waist and she was pulled up against the hardness of his body. The night and the stars began to swim. She moaned as every nerve in her system crackled to sharp, erotic life.

“Or like this?” he asked, his words spoken across her lips.

She gazed up into endless green and felt as if she were staring into Oz. The man behind the curtain. The great and powerful….

“Hey Chloe, is this dude bothering you?”

The voice came from far off, and she vaguely recognized it. Matthew? Kimo?

Jason didn’t move. His arm remained locked around her waist. He stared down at her, his magic curling around her, binding her in place as effectively as steel chains.

In her peripheral vision, she saw his other arm slowly
raise palm-out toward the intruder.

No
, she thought. But she was helpless to speak. She could barely breathe. Energy infused her body, snaking through her veins, her muscles, and soaking into every pore like a godsend. She stood there in the Warlock King’s embrace and felt as though she’d been wasting away and barely alive – and now, for the first time in forever, she tasted
mana
. She imbibed in ambrosia. She bit into the golden apple that would make her a god.

Pleasure rippled through her, stealing what was left of the strength from her legs. They gave out and Jason supported her easily. His eyes burned, fierce green irises circling cores of sparking red.

Heat scorched across Chloe’s middle, pooling intimately between her legs, greedily feeding off of Jason’s magic and then egging her on, almost
demanding
that she have more.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jason’s hand heat up and begin to glow. The stranger who had come to check on her backed up a step. She recognized his stance now. It was Kimo. He had a short board under his arm. He’d been one of the men surfing.

“
Please
,” she managed. It took a world of effort and left her dizzy. The core of her womanhood began to throb. He was being ruthless.

But then she would have expected no less from him.

“Very well,” he said, his breath caressing her lips. “Since you asked so nicely.” He turned his attention onto Kimo, and Chloe was finally spared the intensity of his gaze. “Leave,” he commanded coolly. Chloe felt a pulse of his power release from the tremendous store he possessed within himself.

Kimo hesitated perhaps a single second before turning around and walking swiftly away.

Jason returned his attention to her. “Think on it long and hard, Stardust,” he whispered. Very slowly, his arm slid from her waist. He released her with great reluctance, and as he did, she felt his power leave her as well.

Like a receding tide, it unwrapped itself from her spirit, her bones, her skin. It eased away from her, leaving her feeling naked and exposed.

Freezing and utterly,
terribly
bereft, she felt like a woman who’d been moments away from climax only to have the pleasure ripped away and the covers torn from her body.

But she was in reality no different now than she had been before he’d allo
wed her a taste of his magic….

Was
she?

Jason A
lberich smiled a dark, promising smile. He let his hands drop to his sides and stepped back. “Until tomorrow, my queen.”

Another beat, another bated breath – and the Warlock King transported away, vanishing into the night.

Chapter Six

“Omigod, omigod, omigod,” Chloe ran a fierce hand roughly through her hair, where it promptly got tangled and yanked painfully on her scalp. She winced, ripped her hand out and spun in place. Her hair flew out around her like a silk
en white-blonde fan. “Oh my God!” she cried, and then fell back onto the couch.

Sh
e looked up at Miliani where her friend sat at the small bar that separated the living room from the kitchen. The fingers of one of Mili’s hands tapped rather frantically on the bar counter. Her other hand was wrapped around a koozied can of soda. Her white teeth worried her lower lip. She stared at nothing as she obviously tried to think of something to say or do. She looked almost as scared as Chloe.

“What am I going to do?” Chloe whispered, not really asking Mili, but needing to pose the question out loud.

Mili suddenly jumped from the stool at the counter. “I’ve got it! You know that labyrinth place in Up Country? That one that has a sort of vortex?”

Chloe knew what she was referring to. “Up Country” was the land you found once you started traveling inland, away from the shores.
The elevation rose and the greenery became thicker. Chloe had always felt that it was far more beautiful in
Up Country
than it was along the beach, especially when compared to the touristy areas. It was wetter, there were more rainbows, and the breeze was composed of magic.

Just
off of the Road to Hana in
Up
Country
, there was a place called The Labyrinth of the Sacred Garden. You entered through a tiny little store that sold novelties and then continued on to find various walking labyrinths of different sizes, a plethora of fountains and plants, a statue of Buddha with padded seats before it for meditation, tables to write on or drink tea, and a wooden swing – just for fun.

The owners made a little money from the small selection of
knick-knacks they sold in the gift shop and donations, but it was obvious they didn’t open the place to the public for the profits. It was also obvious they’d donated their own funds to its creation and upkeep. It wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

For Chloe, the energy present
at the Sacred Gardens was a literal thing. For her and her dark matter spirit, it was tangible. There was a dried up ravine in front of the wooden swing. Through the overhanging branches and across the outcroppings of limestone and centuries-old hardened lava, a breeze blew. It was a wind filled with the voices of the old gods.

They whispered, the old gods. They never yelled or screamed. They neither raged nor
bellowed. They only spoke softly, and it was up to you to listen.

If you could make out what they were saying, you received their blessing.

When she was feeling particularly drained or weak from the lack of warlock magic to absorb, that was where Chloe went, and like every other small thing she did to tend to her spirit - it helped.

“Yes,” she said in answer to Mili’s question.
She knew of the place. “What about it?”

“Well, couldn’t you go there? I mean,
if you stayed for a really long time, couldn’t you get enough magic there that you’d be able to fight Alberich off?”

Chloe blinked. She sort of wanted to laugh. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, she actually might have. “Umm, Mili, I’m honestly not sure any person on Earth can fight off Jason Alberich using magic.” To say nothing of a highly weakened Akyri whose response to the man’s power was like a cat to catnip.

Miliani stared at her a moment, unmoving. Then she blew out a puff of breath that fanned the hair in front of her face. “Yeah, I know. I was just throwing it out there.” She moved the hair out of her face. “Chloe,” she said hesitantly. “Are you sure you
want
to fight him off? I mean, if he’s right, and great big baddy is headed this way, and what you say is true too and no one is better at this type of magic than he is, then maybe you should just….”

“Just what?” Chloe asked. Her heart was pounding. “Give in? Surrender?” Her tone had an acidic bite to it.  “Bind myself to a warlock like a slave to a master? Be trapped forever? Maybe you’re right,” she said, in all honesty sounding as if she didn’t feel Miliani was even the tiniest bit right. “
Maybe I should have become an Akyri sheep long ago.” If she had, she would either be dead now or she would be well fed. Either way, she wouldn’t be suffering from weakness. Probably.

“Wow,” said Mili
ani. “Immature much?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You know the truth and you’re just afraid to admit it.” She shook her head. “But if you insist on taking this route and keeping your distance from the Warlock King, then you need a plan. And if you can’t use magic on him, then you’ll have to use
might
.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “What kind of might?”

“From what you’ve told me, there are lots of kings and lots of supernatural creatures roaming the planet. So why not go to someone who’s as physically strong as he is magically strong?”

“You mean you want me to pit king against king?” Chloe shook her head and held up her hands. “You don’t understand.
These guys are not only virtually untouchable and unreachable by anyone except each other; they stick together. They’re as different as night and day, and they come from completely different worlds or realms, but when they convene here in
this
one, they come together as allies, not enemies.” She shook her head vigorously, thinking of the catastrophe that a war between the kings would be. “Even if I could – which I
can’t
– I would never consider jeopardizing that.”

Mili took a deep breath and sat back down on the stool. “Well then you only have one option left.” She looked, just then, like the saddest person in the world as she raised her Coke Zero, wrapped in its Mickey Mouse koozie and placed it to her lips. “You run. Again.” She took a big swig and swallowed loudly, gritting her teeth.

“Actually, there might be another choice.” Chloe suddenly straightened on the couch. Something had occurred to her. It was a memory, distant and faint. Miliani’s Mickey Mouse koozie had jarred the memory awake within her. She frowned, trying to recall the details. “Disneyland.”

Mili matched her frown where she sat and cocked her head to one side. “Excuse me? Did you just say
Disneyland
?”

Chloe rose from the couch, nodding. “Yes,” she said, growing excited with the prospect of hope. “Yes, I did.” It had been forty years since she’d heard of him, since she’d listened to the rumors of the crazy, prophetic Akyri who couldn’t pull himself away from theme parks and carnivals. He’d slipped into Disneyland the day it opened and hadn’t left since. Or at least, he hadn’t left in twenty years – back when she’d heard the rumor… in something like 1975.