Mara - The Lady Grief (Completed)

25 Pain and Pleasure... and Pain

Hanish barks another laugh. "Belen? Your love is a contagion, Captain. Belen's not the type."

A soft shriek of dismay meets my ears.

My stomach flips. How could I take my eyes off of my female for even a moment? I turn to see shadows moving around Mara, swirling ash and debris in whirlwinds that I know are malevolent.

I shove Poppy into Hanish's arms and start running toward Mara. The shadows are battering her, tearing at her veil, her cloths. Her face is revealed, then her hair, unbound and whipping in the maelstrom.

I hit the edge of some hidden barrier just at the edge of the house. Growling, snarling, scales erupting and fangs bursting from my gums, I fight against whatever force is keeping me from my female.

Mara's outer cloak is torn away, whipping through the air, then fluttering down to the street as it leaves the cyclone surrounding her. She is breathing in shallow pants, her eyes dark pools of pain and determination. Her lips are moving in a silent chant.

"Mara!" I roar, fighting against the barrier. She is bleeding, small wounds, scratches from the shadows that are attacking her. My demon starts to snarl, low and deep, a warning to the spirits who dare to harm our female. We fight, step by step, achingly slow, to her side.

I plunge my clawed hand into the first shadow I can reach. It feels of flesh and bone, as real and corpulent as I am. I search, plunging, again and again, until I feel the heart beating in my palm. I yank it out, the blackened, bloody organ pulsating in my fist.

Mara cries out, just my name, "Thelios!"

I grapple with the other shadow. This one is faster, harder to hold as ash flies into my eyes and blurs my vision. I am sweating and bleeding, my muscles aching to strain against both the barrier and the insane shadow. With another roar, I plunge my fist into his back, up and under the ribcage, to yank the heart out of its chest.

Everything stops. The wind, abruptly ceases. Blood dripping, I stare at my shaking, crying female. Biting her trembling lip, she kneels and scoops up the heart from the first shadow and puts it into the jar. When she holds the jar out for me I drop the second heart inside.

"I'll bury these and they'll be at rest," she explains in a soft, weak voice.

I grab her around her waist and pull her into my body. She sags against me. "What the fuck did you think you were doing?" I ask. "Was that barrier your doing?" At her nod, I growl, "don't prevent me from coming close to you, love. Not ever."

"They were screaming, Thelios. In my head. They wouldn't stop," she says to me, her breathing still too shallow.

I pick her up and carry her from the house. Ash has covered every surface in the neighborhood, coating it in a fine white-grey powder. It's looks like a village of ghosts. Those eyes that stared at us so angrily earlier are now shuttered inside their homes and shops, frightened.

"Are you finished here, my female?" I ask her.

"I'm finished. Let's leave. This place is bad for Poppy," Mara whimpers as I stalk over to Hanish.

I pick up our baby and kiss both my females on the forehead. "Let's hmm?"

Mara's wary eyes catch mine just a moment before I take off towards the temple.

---

Mara

My head is swimming. I feel as terribly as I did when I cut the bond between Sera and Tafia. My limbs are shaking, my vision blurry. I bury my face in Poppy's hair and just let her scent, mixed with Thelios', soothe my senses.