Page 7 (1/2)

7 "He was bound to love you"

Either Dankan’s side Thanks to thee flames in her eyes caused byin her presence I hated knowing she was scared of me ME! The reason she was alive Her source of co went as planned she’d be rushing out of that door any moment Hopefully, heartbroken and ready to listen to an’s tear streaked face i her cry I’d set Dankmar up A voodoo spirit in the for so

"I’ll take you home," I said from a distance I needed her to come to me

She spun around and stiffened immediately as her eyes founddown her face I ached to go wipe the tears for her Before I could et her alone She took a step toward me

"Sure, thanks Leif I could use a ride"

That was not what I had been expecting This was just too easy Opening the passenger side door, I stepped back and let her cli her was too much, too soon First, she needed to see that I was still the same boy she’d once cared for Not the evil Voodoo Prince she was told to fear Once she was safely inside, I closed the door and took one last glance back at the door Dank closer I wouldn’t have time to take her away safely He’d find her I had to take her to my hoan was dangerous But then, I figured Death protected her body and I owned her soul How bad could it be? She’d been sleeping since we arrived Her body hadn’t been able to handle it as well as I’d hoped Stirring in her sleep she mumbled, "Dank," then whian Don’t get all worked up I’ve got you" I assured her brushing the hair back from her face

"Leif?" she whispered

"Yes, I’h her body

"Where am I? Why can’t I open my eyes?" I could hear her uncertainty

"You’re with ed You’ve been mine since the moment I chose you ere both just children And as for your eyes they’ll open soon enough Your hu with the travel and for that I’m sorry"

"I don’t understand" She replied No, she wouldn’t understand Not now There was so much I had to tell her But not while she was like this

"Just rest You’ll feel better soon"

She slowly drifted back to sleep Carrying her to my bed, I laid her down I’d let her sleep this off a little while longer Father needed to know I’d brought her here It was better if I explained things to him first Just in case Death descended on us sooner rather than later

After speaking with Father I hurried back to check on Pagan Having her here, in Vilokan, in h, I couldn’t keep her Not yet I just needed to talk to her Get her to understand It had been impossible to speak with her any other way Dank as hell transporter who I didn’t want to cross The blonde transporter was one scary fe as I entered the roo in the center of the room

"Where are we?" She asked in a shaky voice

"My place You like it?" I quipped hoping to ease her anxiety

"Why a to

She took a step toward me and a fierce expression had taken over her worried frown "I don’t belong to you, Leif I’m not a possession I’m a person Please take ht of her belonging to Dank inside me "So that Dankan" I had to cal what she believed to be true I had to get a hold of myself

"You see he was bound to love you You’re different He saw that But what he failed to explain is that you’re different because Iabout you has beenout my hand I took a step toward her, "it’s okay, trust an shook her head frantically and began backing away from me Why? All I’d ever done was protect her Why did she have to seeevil? I loved her "Have I ever hurt you, Pagan? Listen to your soul It knohere it belongs The fire flashing in your eyes right now is your soul reaching for ive me your hand"

"Please Leif, take o ho et her to touchto have to work on the trust issue

"What must I do to make you trust an--he is Death How can you trust a creation meant to take souls froet hurt I’ve never left you alone But he shows up and you fall mindlessly under his spell What did he do to deserve you? He didn’t save your life He would’ve taken your soul when you were a kid Left your ain It’s what he does" I was desperate to get her to understand

"But why did you save me?" her question didn’t surprise me She never did understand how incredibly special she was

"I’an Iand I chose it My father chose it He agreed you were meant for me Now it’s up to you to accept that the life you have always lived is co to an end It’s past time You were supposed to die that day on the road and when Death came I was to take your soul instead You would’ve trusted me Your soul and my spirit are one But Death broke the rules" The frustration inwasn’t exactly so that would ease her fear of me I stopped in front of one of the ht the roo what he does when he takes a special interest in a soul, preparing you Instead, the fool was falling in love with you"

Holding y flickering againstback around to look at her "I may not control Death but I do control the dead; those whothe darkness under my father’s command Under my command I need someone to fill the loneliness You’ve been my companion for over fifteen years now even if you don’t realize it But your memories will slowly return You’ll see that you do, in fact, belong to an shook her head as her eyes focused on the ball of fire into take me from earth? What about my mother? I can’t just leave her"

No That wasn’t what I planned to do Shaking uished the flame in my palm and walked back over to stand in front of her "I’ll take you back soon She won’t even realize you were gone I just needed a place where I could talk to you To explain, without," unable to control the distaste over her affections for Dankmar, I snarled, "that stupid transporter or Dankh of relief in her voice told ht the worst of an, you know me better than that When have I not made sure you were happy? When have I ever intentionally hurt you? Never" I reached out and took her hand in rasp, I pulled her beside me

"What is it you want to talk tosound of her heart had eased

"That’s better Your heart has slowed down I don’t like having you scared I never want you to fear me," I squeezed her hand in reassurance of my sincerity "Come for a ith me, please We can talk while I show you around" I reached for the stone wall that I kneould open up onto Bourbon Street

Pagan stepped out into the war Her eyes widened in shock as she scanned our surroundings The bars, dance clubs, and voodoo shops were all lit up against the darkness of the night Tap dancing kids, drunken men, and topless wo performed just for her The faar as I watched Pagan take in the lewd behavior I’d grown up a She didn’t belong She was too good, too pure