deadly night shade 10

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Divine Intervention
Shade reluctantly dialed Windfire’s house phone number. He could feel his heart pounding louder and harder with each ring. “Hello?” Ravenwater asked.
“Raven?” Shade asked, hoping he’d listen.
“Shade?” Ravenwater asked, not believing his ears.
“Do you have to work today?” Shade asked quickly.
Ravenwater blinked a few times in confusion, “No.”
“Will you meet me for lunch then?” Shade asked without missing a beat.
“Sure, where at?”
“Delerosa’s Italian Restaurant,” Shade said quickly. “Lunch is on me, order whatever you want.”
“Okay and what time?”
“Now, as soon as you can,” Shade said eagerly.
Ravenwater approached the restaurant and saw Shade looking distressed as he sat on a bench outside the restaurant. “Good afternoon,” Ravenwater greeted Shade.
“Oh, good,” Shade said, desperately hugging Ravenwater who stared blankly ahead and patted the warlock on his back. “Thank you.”
“Do you want to tell me why you’re being weird even for you,” Ravenwater asked, taking a step back from the jumpy man.
“It’s about Windfire,” Shade replied nervously.
“I could infer that much,” he said quietly as they entered the restaurant. After they were sat, Ravenwater sat, watching Shade.
“Okay, do you remember the necklace?”
Ravenwater leaned forward, “From Windy’s possession?”
Shade nodded quickly, “It was a special necklace…”
“What did you do?” Ravenwater demanded.
“She called us soul mates,” Shade muttered.
“And? You’re in love with one another and you’re going through hell for a little affection here and there. That’s not an ordinary relationship human or otherwise,” Ravenwater said flatly.
“I don’t have a soul!” Shade blurted.
“You’re becoming a warlock, we all know you don’t,” Ravenwater reached for his drink and waited for Shade to continue.
Shade began to cry, “I had one before she was possessed. I destroyed my soul so she wouldn’t die with the demon leaving her body!”
Ravenwater found himself at a loss for words. He stared at the sobbing, love-sick warlock for a few moments, not knowing exactly what to say or what he could say to Shade. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Do you think she can love me, still?” Shade asked.
Ravenwater shook his head, “Please tell me that’s a rhetorical question.”
“I’m serious. I need your help,” Shade said as he reached for his coffee.
“I won’t tell her since that’s your secret to tell, but I know she’s irrevocably in love with you and every time you leave her she is heart-broken. So think about her before you let your pride get in the way,” Ravenwater said more sharp than he intended.
“Alright,” Shade said, knowing he’d done his beloved wrong. He made a face, “I don’t want her to think less of me, and I know you and your cousins aren’t my biggest fans.”
“We’d accept you if you just would make her happy like you used to,” Ravenwater replied.
“Thanks for this,” Shade muttered.
“I’ll give you a good kick in the ass when you need it, snake-tongued narcissist,” Ravenwater grinned.
“Snake-tongued?”
“You heard me,” Ravenwater laughed.
“Why do you think I have a forked tongue?” Shade asked, appalled by the accusation.
“Because you’re a warlock,” Ravenwater replied.
They walked out of the restaurant and gave the sky an uncertain glance. “Snow in the beginning of October?”
“You’re a warlock. Weird things shouldn’t shock you,” Ravenwater asked.
“Will you be okay walking home?” Shade asked, not shifting his gaze.
“I’ll be fine. Are you headed down to Windfire’s office?”
“Yes,” Shade replied.
“Are you actually going to talk to her?”
“I might just stop pussyfooting around and get this off my chest, Shade replied, smiling weakly.
“I hope you do,” Ravenwater muttered.
“If I don’t I’m just going to kick myself,” Shade said, hating his foolish pride.
Shade started down the road, cutting in front of the traffic, making his own way across the streets. His knitted his eyebrows together, watching a few flakes of snow fall freely. “I wish I dressed warmer…” he muttered.
Shade continued down the street, stopping when he could see his breath. “This isn’t a normal cold…” Shade said, darting up to the building where Windfire worked.
Windfire stopped in her tracks when she spotted Shade who looked concerned. “What are you doing here?” she asked, not wanting to get hurt again.
“I’m not sure, Shade replied flatly, looking up at the sky.
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t feel it?” Shade asked, finally looking at her.
“I can, but I don’t know what it is,” she said as she walked past Shade.
“Where are you going?” Shade asked, following her closely.
“To get a coffee and get back on track with my work,” Windfire said quickly.
“Windy…” he said, smiling when she stopped. “I love you.”
“Shade,” Windfire turned around, “I love you, but I can’t deal with this right now. I only have today to work before my requested time off. We can deal with this then.”
“Deal with this?” Shade repeated, not sure if he heard her correctly.
“Yes,” she replied as she continued walking again.
A loud roar shattered the peace of the autumn afternoon. “Want to deal with this?” Shade asked.
“Damn it, I have to,” she cursed. She turned to Shade, glaring at him, “Why does something always happen like this when you come to see me?”
Shade shrugged, “Soul mates do strange things.”
“You’re evil,” she said, hating him using her words against her.
“Evil is a point-of-view,” Shade retorted. A large black shadow glided over the office building, the streets, some small businesses and so on until it was out of the city. “Well, it flew over the city, that’s a good sign.”
“Dragons are never a good sign,” Windfire muttered.
Shade grabbed her hand and teleported them out of the city. They wound up on the crunchy frosted grass in a small clearing on the outskirts of the city. “I wish I had my sword,” Shade complained, reaching instinctively for where his scabbard should have been.
“Your sword?” she asked.
“Okay, the sword I stole from you,” Shade corrected himself.
Surprisingly for its size, the dragon moved swiftly, landing a few feet from the pair. “I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess it is an ice dragon.”
“I’d assume,” Shade agreed, noting the unusually cold conditions.
The mighty beast roared, knowing that it had two challengers who had trespassed onto its territory. It opened it’s wide mouth revealing a row of small, sharp teeth, throwing its head backward and roaring as it unfolded its deep blue wings.
“It’s going to charge,” Windfire muttered.
“I know,” Shade replied, stepping in front of Windfire.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Protecting the woman I love,” Shade replied. Windfire stammered, trying to object but she knew it was useless with her bull-headed boyfriend. Shade muttered something that sounded like gibberish receiving an odd glance from Windfire.
“What was that babbling?”
“Warlock tongue,” Shade whispered.
“What did you say?”
“I’m trying to see if the dragon understands the warlock orders I’m giving,” Shade replied. “I asked it if it understands me.”
The dragon nodded and replied in a similar sounding babbling language that Shade had spoken first in.
“What just happened?” Windfire asked.
“He understands me and remarks on me protecting a white witch,” Shade replied.
The dragon growled again, babbling on to Shade.
“He says you smell good,” Shade whispered.
“Tell him I’m taken,” Windfire said quickly.
“He means in the devouring you for lunch kind of way,” Shade explained sheepishly.
“You’re serious?” she asked.
Shade continued babbling in the warlock language, his indignant tone was the only thing she could understand.
The dragon opened its mouth and started calling a bolt of ice into its mouth. Shade used the familiar dark curtain as a shield to give them a fighting chance.
“Run! It doesn’t understand English,” Shade urged her onward. The bolt of ice barely missed them, knocking down Shade’s curtain of darkness.
“Oh my Goddess, what are we going to do?” Windfire muttered as she tried anticipating the next attack.
“We’re going to need to trick this thing,” Shade said quickly.
“How?”
“Just trust me…” Shade said before he pulled her into a kiss.
Windfire blushed, watching Shade dart toward the dragon. “Shade…”
Shade’s fists each began to glow a dark red. He shot fire at the dragon, causing it a bit of pain. The dragon snarled, and threw out its wings, kicking up some snow and sharp winds. Shade threw his hands over his eyes to protect himself from the painful razor sharp winds and debris.
“Windfire!” Shade said, turned around quickly and teleported forward. The dragon had stopped its flight, just hovering above him, facing Windfire. HE dove toward Windfire, catching the most of the icy blast himself as they fell to the ground. Shade used the last bit of his strength to cuddle as close to Windfire as he could, hoping to not die in vain.
An old man came down from the mountain side, poising himself on a single stick that he used for walking and as a weapon. He was dressed in brown friar’s robes with pure blue eyes and white hair.
He put a friendly hand up to the dragon that loomed over its dying prey. “Glacies, leave them be. You’ve done your part in testing them,” the old man said calmly.
Immediately the dragon calmed down and went back to lazing about on the frosted grass at the foot of the mountain.
The old man stooped down and went to check Shade’s pulse, only to have his hand swatted away by the indignant and over-protective warlock. “Your pet I assume?” Shade snapped, his obsidian eyes smoldering with rage.
“You could say that,” the old man replied calmly. HE bent down to touch Windfire’s neck with his index finger and middle finger, only to find Shade nose to nose with him. “Is there a problem?”
“I always have a problem with a man who orders his pet to attack my fiancé,” Shade snarled. “And don’t touch her. I can handle caring for her as I always have.”
“No, he didn’t attack either of you. He lured you here as a test,” the man replied.
“And what twisted test would this be?” Shade demanded as he slowly scooped up Windfire.
“To test you love.”
Shade glared at the old man, “I love her and that’s all a stranger needs to know.”
“Let’s get her home and warm, shall we?” the old man suggested.
“There is no ‘us’ involving you,” Shade said threateningly.
“Ah, you don’t know who I am,” the old man said happily.
“Nor do I care,” Shade said as he pressed his lips to Windfire’s forehead.
“You asked for me yourself,” the old man said with a bubbly tone.
Shade rolled his eyes, ignoring the old man. He teleported onto Windfire’s porch and was about to ring the doorbell when Ravenwater opened the door. “What happened?” Ravenwater asked, wide-eyed.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Shade said flatly as he walked into the living room. “She may be frost-bitten, so bring some aspirin to the bathroom. I’ve got to treat this…”
“Alright…” Ravenwater darted into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of aspirin as well as a glass of milk. He knocked on the bathroom door and entered with Shade’s reply. Shade was applying a warm rag on Windfire’s shoulder as she was coming to. “How is she coming?”
“I’m awake…” she said, sounding strained.
“Here’s some aspirin and milk,” Ravenwater poured two aspirin into her open palm and handed her the milk.
“Glad to see we got away from the dragon,” Windfire said weakly.
“Dragon?” Ravenwater inquired.
“An ice dragon is being controlled by some weird old man,” Shade explained.
“That explains the cold temperatures out of nowhere,” Ravenwater whispered.
“Controlled by an old man?” Windfire asked as Shade wrung out the rag of hot water.
He reapplied the rag gently, “I woke up to some old man trying to check my pulse and who went to check yours. I heard him calm the dragon.”
Windfire looked hesitant for a moment as she watched Shade. “You came to see me for a reason, right?”
Shade stopped, not expecting her to want to talk to him, “I did,” he finally replied. “But we have more important matters like your frost bite.”
“You’re not going to tell me?” she asked.
“You really should tell her,” Ravenwater said as he took the empty glass and left.
“Let’s get you to bed,” Shade said with anxiety.
Windfire blinked in confusion, “I understand your concern, but why don’t you want to talk to me?”
“Personal reasons,” Shade said quickly, walking with her into her bedroom. Shade stopped and stood protectively in front of her when he saw the old man standing in front of Windfire’s dresser. “What the hell are you doing here?” Shade snapped.
“I’m here to oversee your love,” the old man replied.
“Our love?” Windfire asked.
“Yes, my lady,” the old man bowed.
“You are definitely staying with me,” Windfire said to Shade.
“I planned on it,” Shade said flatly.
The old man stood in silence as Windfire laid and rested and Shade sat protectively on the bed beside her. “You make a handsome couple,” the old man commented.
“Heh,” Shade sneered, glancing down at Windfire instead of the old man.
“What you can’t take a compliment?”
“I’m not going to take a compliment from the man who tried to kill us and who won’t leave us to peace,” Shade said sharply.
The old man nodded, “You are definitely protective of the beautiful witch that lies between us.”
“And?”
“It’s beautiful,” the old man smiled. Shade didn’t say anything to that remark. He sneered again and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you have against being open with me?” the old man asked.
“You’re not Windfire, so I have no reason to tell you anything,” Shade replied.
“You don’t tell Windfire everything,” the old man folded his hands in front of him.
“I have my reasons, Shade said softly.
“She won’t stop loving you,” the old man whispered.
Shade frowned, “I’m going to smoke,” he started to get up but stopped when the old man started going through Windfire’s top dresser drawer. “Get the hell out of there!” Shade snapped.
“You blush because this is the drawer where I’d find her delicates,” the old man said as he pulled something out.
“Put that back!” Shade was beside the old man and stopped when he felt metal hit his wrist. “W-what? What is that?”
“I knew she kept those there,” the old man grinned.
Shade took a good look at his wrist: he was handcuffed to her headboard by his left wrist and her handcuffs. “What the hell is the big idea?” Shade demanded.
“You promised to stay with the witch,” the old man said simply.
“Windfire knows I smoke,” Shade said through gritted teeth.
“Yes, but what if she wakes up when you’re not here?” the old man asked.
“She knows that I smoke, so she wouldn’t panic,” Shade said indignantly.
“Get over your escape from the pain of love and embrace it,” the old man said darkly.
Shade glared daggers at the old man, “You don’t even know the half of it!”
“I know that you haven’t told her how much you love her and what you would sacrifice for her! I know that you’re running from your love because you’re afraid you’re going to hurt her,” the old man said quickly.
Shade stared down at the floor, not able to look at Windfire or the old man. “Who are you?”
“My name is Eros,” he said quietly.
“And why do you care if I do what I do?” Shade asked.
“Because I need you to love her with all of your heart,” Eros said flatly.
“What are you? An angel trying to get your wings?” Shade asked with a crooked smile.
“You could say that,” Eros said with a nod.
“I already love her unconditionally,” Shade said quietly.
“And she loves you,” Eros assured him. “So I’ll release you if you at least promise to think about telling her what you’ve feared to tell her?”
“I’ll tell her in my own time when the time is right,” Shade whispered. “I’ll have to. I can’t hide it from her.”
Eros smiled and used the key to release Shade’s wrist from the handcuff. “Then I take my leave and warn you that if you don’t tell her before your wedding I’ll make certain your love doesn’t last.”
“W-what?” Shade asked.
“You really don’t know who I am, do you?” Eros asked with a frown.
Shade shook his head, “Your name doesn’t ring a bell.” The old man nodded once and disappeared into the thing air.
Windfire stirred, “Shade?” she asked weakly.
“I’m here,” he assured her as he stood.
“I’m hungry,” she muttered as she sat up.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Shade smiled. He started toward the door, and then stopped, turning toward Windfire. “Who is Eros?”
“The God of Love,” Windfire replied. “Why?”
Shade shook his head, “I heard the name and couldn’t remember where it was from.”

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deadly night shade 12