Caged in Darkness (19 page)

Whispering in my ear, he said “If you don’t
tell me what he did, I am going to assume the worst and hunt him
down. The way I promised him I would if he hurt you.”

“Fine!" I jerked my body away from Ash. "He
was dating me, because his mother ordered him to. They wanted me to
join their coven.” My voice caught on the last word. Ash spun me to
face him, with a concerned expression on his face.

“It’s their loss. You wouldn’t really have
left us, would you?”

“Of course I wouldn’t. I just feel so
stupid.” I covered my face with my palms, as though hiding my
embarrassment, but I knew it was futile.

Ash leaned forward to gently kiss the tip of
my nose. “Don’t. They’re the stupid ones. Besides, it’s going to be
nice not seeing Liam anywhere near you.” His right side of his
mouth quirked up in satisfaction.

I smacked his shoulder and danced into my
bedroom. I didn’t hurt anymore. Ash had healed the crater Liam had
left in my heart. It merely took a frenzied make out session to
erase the emotional decay that had eaten at me earlier.

I was beginning to feel fickle, but the
truth is that even when I was with Liam, I had wanted Ash. Now that
Liam was out of the picture, I ached marginally, but Ash bared me
from any further pain.

It wasn’t long before Maye came home to find
me lying on my bed. I remained on my back with my gaze fixated on
the ceiling. At least, that is what it would look like to everyone
else. I was actually sorting through Kit’s memories. It was
interesting to look at the world through the eyes of a cat. They
processed their memories differently and relied heavily on senses
rather than emotions. Emotions were developed over time, but once
they had grown, they remained firmly in place. A feline could love
with an intensity that humans couldn't match.

“Darling, how was your date with Liam?”

I turned onto my side and propped my head up
with my hand. “Let’s just put it this way, you were right… he’s bad
news. I should have taken Josephine’s vision more seriously.” I
allowed my head to plop back onto my pillow with a vengeance.

“I take it that means you won’t be seeing
him anymore?” Her voice sounded annoyingly optimistic.

“You guessed right. Please, just don’t ask
for more details.”

“Alright, child. If you decide you need to
talk, you know where to find me.” Instead of leaving my room, as I
expected, Maye came forward to sit on my bed. “Is there something
going on between you and Ash?”

I sat up straight and scooted as far from
her as possible. I racked my brain for the right thing to say, but
the truth was that I didn’t really know what was going on between
me and Ash. We hadn’t defined the changed between us or what it
meant for the future. How could I answer Maye’s question, when even
I didn’t know the answer?

“I don’t know.” I said, decisively.

“You don’t know or you don’t want to say?” I
remained silent, because it was a little of both. “Child, I love
you and Ash. I’ve watched your relationship grow. If you have
feelings for one another don’t worry about my acceptance. I want
the best for both of you. Now, give me a kiss. I’m going to bed.” I
kissed her cheek and she laughed, as she exited the room.

“Well, that’s a relief.” I was shocked, when
Ash pushed the door open.

“You were eavesdropping?” My pillow hit him
square in the chest.

“The door was open and sound carries in this
house. You expect me to ignore your conversation when I am the
subject of it?”

“Yes, no, I don’t know! It’s just rude! What
if we were having a private conversation?” Ash could be so
frustrating sometimes, but he was also strangely adorable.

“Well, if that were the case, I would
recommend closing the door and talking in a whisper. Otherwise,
it’s impossible for it to be
private
.” He laughed and moved
forward. “So, what
is
going on between us?”

I couldn’t look him in the eyes. I felt bare
in front of him. My other pillow lay on the bed in front of me; I
grabbed the pillow and wrapped my arms around it. “What do you
think is going on between us? Other than all the kissing…”

Ash sighed, “I think you like kissing me and
I think that you shouldn’t be kissing anyone else.” His eyebrow
raised to question how I felt about it.

“I do. Like kissing you, that is… Now that I
know the truth about Liam, I don’t plan to be kissing anyone else
anytime soon.” I shrugged and avoided his eyes. Instead, I focused
on my quilt.

“
Ever
. You don’t plan to kiss anyone
ever
again.”

The dangerous possessiveness I had seen at
the bonfire was back. Ash’s intimidated me when his back
straightened and his pupils melted to an acidic fire. I half wanted
to flee the intensity that filled the room, but the other part of
me…yearned for him? The feeling began in my throat, trailed along
the side of my neck, and rushed down my spine to pool in the lower
half of my body.

This was something new. Evidently, I am the
type of woman who likes a possessive alpha male …Huh, who would
have thought?

“Ash, I can’t promise that and I am not
going to lie to make you feel better. I can promise that you are
the only guy I want to be kissing, now.” I nibbled on my lip in
uncertainty, because I knew this conversation was going to change
the fabric of our relationship. It was as though we had spent years
sewing a quilt and now we were removing the stitching to start
over.

“S, we can’t do this half way. You know
that, right? I mean, you are either
mine
or you're not. Half
and half won’t work, because it would ruin our relationship.”

I nodded. I had been worrying over the same
thing. We stood balanced on a teeter totter. Once small move on
either part could leave one or both of us sprawled against the
sandy ground. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll give you my answer first
thing tomorrow. Okay?”

Ash nodded. “That’s reasonable, but S?” I
looked up. “Make sure that you are certain about your decision,
okay?” He didn’t wait for my response, but closed the bathroom door
firmly behind him.

I watched the door for what seemed like
forever. I was afraid of what it would mean to make the decision,
because it would impact our relationship forever. I wasn’t even
certain I should be making a decision like this given everything
that was going on. I just got out of my first relationship and
still felt betrayed. Plus, the demon was still out there and I
hadn’t figured out what to do about that.

Something moved within me and Kit appeared
in spirit form to pace around my room. His fur was silvery blue and
his lengthy form took up most of my room. He sniffed the perfume on
my dresser and sneezed; shaking his head in agitation. I laughed,
when he pawed at the bottle, pushing it away from him. His eyes
were curious as he paraded around to examine every corner of my
bedroom. Once he was satisfied, he fell to the floor on his back,
and wiggled his body in contentment. He kept his eyes on mine,
while rubbing his back against the floor.

It was amusing to watch a panther cavorting
like a kitten, but I needed to get some rest. I changed into a
white satin slip, climbed under the covers and patted the blanket.
Kit jumped onto the bed to lay his head on my legs with the rest of
his body squeezed against my side. I thought he would be heavy, but
the pressure was no more than the weight of a feather.

I remained awake, thinking about everything
that had happened to me in such a short time. I wasn’t sure what I
wanted to do about Ash, but I didn’t think I could avoid kissing
him. I couldn’t kiss him and keep our relationship as it had always
been. Ash explicitly stated that it was all or nothing. I would
have to choose
all
, because I couldn’t face being left with
nothing.

My decision was made. Sensing my peace, Kit
raised himself over me and his spirit sank back into my flesh. We
became one again and I was reassured by his presence. At least
there was one amazing gift Liam had left me. I would cherish Kit
for the rest of my life, however long that would be.

12
: Divine
Energy

In sync with my recent dreams, the demon
plagued my every vision. I worried that he might be really
affecting my dreams. I reasoned that if he could haunt me in
person, why would he choose to terrorize my dreams? Wouldn't
reality be worse than fantasy?

Asmodeus's face swam into my vision and I
struggled to get away. His arms grasped me to squeeze the air from
my lungs. I tried to pull away from the darkness, but it smothered
me, pulled me down into its oceanic depths. I began to
hyperventilate, while crying for someone to help me. Did my
thoughts lure him to my dreams? Had he come to finish what he
started?

I forced myself to be still and breathe
evenly. Blackness permeated my eyesight, but my other senses
sharpened. I squirmed in an attempt to escape my assailant until I
breathed in the smell of wildflowers. A cool breeze tossed my hair
into my mouth, and I heard leaves flutter. I was in the forest.
This
was my territory. I knew this forest and I could easily
find my way home once a chance to escape presented itself. Willow
and I had built a fort here when we were younger. I usually sought
it when I was troubled and thought it would make a wonderful hide
out.

My attacker stopped to set me against a tree
trunk. The wood rubbed my shoulder blades raw through the satin
fabric of my nightgown. I felt vulnerable. A rush of air collided
with my frame, but before I could kick my abductor; he took off my
blindfold.

My eyes swam with tears, but focused enough
to see Ash smiling at me. I slapped him. “What the hell are you
doing? Are you crazy?” I smacked him, as he laughingly danced out
of reach.

“You said you would give me an answer
first thing tomorrow.
It’s midnight, which is first thing
tomorrow.” He held his hands in front of him, as if expecting me to
launch an attack.

“Ash! I meant after a night’s rest! How
could you do that to me? I thought you were someone trying to kill
me!”

Ash cleared his throat and looked around,
causing me to take in my surroundings. My jaw dropped. We were
standing in a place of divine energy. Places of divine energy were
inordinately powerful and hidden from ordinary humans. Witches had
to cross a threshold of power to access them. There were only
certain times, when we could cross the threshold. Witchlings
weren’t allowed to enter these places, but I wasn’t a witchling any
longer.

Divine places had been described to me many
times, but never had their description lived up to the reality. I
was standing in a field surrounded by a forest. A full moon
brightened the star in the sky. Colored lights, which resembled the
aurora borealis glistened across the inky blanket. The moon
highlighted the azure flowers that pollinated the field. Everything
had an dream-like inner glow. Animals weren't afraid of us here; a
deer grazed in the far parts of the field near the foliage of the
forest, while a falcon watched from a nearby branch.

“It’s beautiful.” I walked into the field of
flowers and trailed my fingers against them. Tingling started in my
fingers and quickly spread to the rest of my body. The sensation
intoxicated me. Laughing, I spun in a circle with my arms stretched
wide.

Ash stood a few feet away and watched my
excitement with an amused smirk. “There is a reason why they call
this a divine place.” He nodded towards the flowers. "Taste the
petals." I looked at him in digust.

“Ew… I don’t make a habit of eating flowers.
I’m more of a meat and potatoes kind of girl.”

“Nothing in this place is as it seems.
Seriously, try it.” He picked a flower and handed it to me.

I looked around and realized that he was
probably right. This placed looked, felt, sounded, and even smelled
different. Why wouldn’t it taste different? Shrugging, I plucked a
petal and hesitantly placed it onto my tongue. It didn’t taste the
way I expected. Instead, the taste was like pure emotion centered
on my tongue. The petal liquefied as I rubbed it between my tongue
and the roof of my mouth. The petal went straight to my head and
intensified my emotions.

“Oh my God, this is amazing!” I looked at
the flower in shock and back at Ash. “Is everything like this? I
mean, do the leaves taste like this too or is it only the
flowers?”

“Everything tastes different, but I don’t
recommend eating bark; it's a little too tough and I don’t think
you would enjoy having splinters in your tongue.”

Kit could feel my joy and emerged from my
body to run across the field. The deer looked up at the intrusion
and hurriedly went back to eating.

“What the hell is that?” Ash jumped back
several feet and looked at Kit in horror.

“
That
is Kit. He’s the only good
thing I got out of my relationship with Liam.” Kit rushed back and
butted his head against Ash's hip, which nearly knocked him
over.

“Okay. How did you get
Kit
?” He still
had a stricken face, but he had warmed to Kit and was petting the
panther.

“He was dying and Liam’s coven performed a
bonding ceremony. Kit is my spirit animal; I can take his shape and
he can live in transparent form outside of my body.”Ash nodded in
acceptance and pulled me into his arms.

“You owe me an answer.”

Seizing the change of subject, I danced out
of his reach and attempting to be coy. “Hmmm… I think this place is
a little too distracting. I don’t know if I will be able to give
you an answer.” I looked around, laughed, and ran for the forest. I
jumped over logs, ducked beneath branches, and moved as far into
the forest as my feet could take me. Ash made noise as he ran to
catch up to me and quickened my steps.