Dark One Rising(15)
The steam danced in the air, and flashes of light were seen from the pit in the floor. The sounds were eerie, and then a ribbon of smoke emerged from the pit. It had a human form, but shriveled and deformed, and when it took its solid shape, Fallon had to turn his head away.
The creature looked as if he had burned in fire, skin scaly and black. His eyes which were not present right away, then gave off a red glow in the darkness. His hands were wrinkled and long fingered, with yellow nails, and there was no hair on any part of its body. It was neither male nor female in distinction, and it stood hunched over and stooped.
Fallon finally found the courage to turn toward the creature, needing to see for himself the image it would take when needed. Fallon felt himself shiver before the horrible disfigured creature, then watched as it transformed into a human.
As quickly as it had emerged from the pit, it morphed into a man, tall and lean, with a raw power that emanated from its skin.
Jaron bowed to his master and said, “I am here to serve you in any way you require. Our master has sent me here to do your bidding.” It wasn’t entirely true. The Dark One did not answer to man, but he needed Fallon to carry out the ultimate plan. If placing Jaron in service would help Fallon obtain the goal, he would sacrifice pride for the time being and allow things to unfold. Soon, Fallon would not be needed either, and the Dark One would finally rule over this world once and for all.
“I need help getting obstacles softened in order to get them to do what is necessary for my rule. I need you to bend the minds of the strongest so that I can present my plan and put it into practice, without high ideals interfering. This world will be mine, and I can only do it with the old rulers out of my way. I need you to help me start a war.”
“I am here to serve. Tell me what you want from me, and it will be done.” He bowed.
“Good, very good.” Fallon smiled evilly. Soon, everything would belong to him. Soon, the world would know a new leader, a new power.
***
Melenthia went straight to her room and slammed and locked the door behind her. She tore off her dress and threw it across the room. She flopped onto the bed and buried her head in her pillow, crying so loudly now she thought for sure someone would hear her. In just a few minutes, her make-up was running down her face and staining the silk case that covered the down filled pillow. Her thin shift that she had been wearing under her dress was getting wrinkled. She crawled under her covers and curled up in a ball. She couldn’t believe her father had done this to her. She knew that he was frustrated, and maybe she did push him too far, but she hated being pawed at and having men whisper lewd remarks in her ear. She shuddered again remembering Fallon’s comments. She didn’t like the nobles or who she was when she was with them. She wanted a man to love her for herself, all of her. She knew that riding horses like a man, and dueling with swords, grated on her father’s nerves. He had hoped that she would be demure and petite, but that just wasn’t who she was. She had always known she was odd, always had the feeling everywhere she went that she was different, but as a youngster, it never bothered her. As she grew and endured the looks and the whispers by the other girls in court, she knew that she was not a proper girl. Kevaan taught her things that he shouldn’t have, but those things came so easily to her. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Everyone told her how lovely she was, how much she reminded them of her mother, but it didn’t seem to matter. As soon as she showed a little bit of her private side, people snubbed her. Only the people of the kingdom loved her for her real self, respected her and came to her when there was a problem. They loved and respected her father and Kevaan too, but she just seemed to have a natural rapport that her father and brother didn’t have. She understood them. She knew how to deal with people, real people, not the fake demeanors that plagued the court.
She had known that eventually her father would put his foot down, but she never thought he’d resort to something so awful. She never thought he hated her that much. She always knew Kevaan was his pride and joy. He was the son after all, but she thought that he still loved her enough to just be patient a bit longer. She should have known he’d lose his temper, but this? And Kevaan, her brother, the only man in her life she loved with all her heart, had betrayed her. He knew and he didn’t tell her. He had said that he wouldn’t because it was father who should be the one to break the bad news, but she was angry at him anyway. He probably did nothing to try and talk father out of it. He was probably fed up with her lack of choices too. He should have told her, softened the blow, made her try to understand. He should have told her he would help her, that he would talk father out of it somehow. But no, he was the heir and could no longer be embarrassed by her either. This would be his kingdom soon; he needed to keep his honor intact. An old maid for a sister does not look good. She didn’t think twenty-one was old, but for most of the court it was. She was now even more enraged at him. How could he do this to her? How could Kevaan betray her like this, especially after knowing what Fallon tried to do to her. Well, it didn’t matter now. She decided. In the morning, she would be gone.