21.3.0

Before Erik could decide which way to go next in his search of the castle, a scream decided it for him. Far off, somewhere in the castle, an ear-piercing cry shattered the night's stillness.

"Someone's in trouble!" he realized, making haste toward the castle's living quarters in the direction from which the distress call had come. "Maybe it's Marko!"

Erik followed that sound. He had almost come to believe he had gone the wrong direction, when a second, shorter cry broke the silence a few minutes later. Lower in tone, this one ended abruptly, as though choked off. Now he knew exactly from where it had come.

The prince stared a long moment at a pair of heavy, metal-studded, oaken double doors. He would have recognized the insignia inlaid into the wood anywhere.

21.3.1

In Dirk's sleeping chamber, Zyrdicia smiled dreamily, her face pressed into the black silk of a pillowcase. She lay on her stomach, trying to catch her breath.

Behind her, she sensed Dirk smirk smugly. He mocked sarcastically, "'Not on command,' indeed."

She turned to see his face and protested, "I said 'usually'!"

The magical shackles fastening her wrists to the bed's iron headboard clinked loudly. They held her fast, preventing the movement. The shackles' sound turned his smirk into a broad smile. A strong hand pushed the back of her head, shoving her face back into the pillow. His hands then travelled down each of her arms to caress the bonds before entwining in her fingers. He let his body rest over hers, fully covering it.

"Dearest, if you challenge me in public like that again, I'll see to it that your situation becomes 'only on command.'"

"Oh..." she breathed, sounding intrigued.

He smiled, kissing the back of her neck. Now that they were finished, he made no move to unbind her. She knew better than to ask. He preferred her this way.

He pulled the fur coverlet up around them, then settled more of his weight atop her, pleased by her stillness. The room was absolutely silent but for the crackling of the logs in the hearth. He inhaled slowly, his cheek resting against the side of her neck. The familiar scent of her perfumed skin was lovely. Despite the warmth, a single, momentary shiver traveled down her spine.

Beneath him, she sighed contently. For her, being nearly suffocated by touch was a preferred form of affection. She enjoyed being wrapped up in crushing warmth. She reached out psychically to caress his mind gently, deepening the sense of closeness between them.

For several minutes, neither of them stirred. Finally, she broke the silence and smiled affectionately, "I win."

"Unlikely."

"You're finally initiating cuddling without me pouncing on you. You've come to like it."

"Only when you are chained to my bed," he corrected calmly, then nuzzled against her neck before biting it softly.

The sound of crashing wood in the ante chamber interrupted them. Someone had kicked in the main door to the king's quarters.

Erik Greystone burst immediately into the sleeping chamber, sword in hand. He froze instantly, his mouth hanging open in shock when he beheld the intimate scene in the semi-darkness.

Dirk propped himself up on one elbow, surprise giving way almost immediately to amusement when he saw his enemy's stunned expression.

"Hi," he smiled coolly. "I've been expecting you, Erik. I'm pleased you at least had the decency to wait until we were finished to intrude."

Erik bristled visibly, his face reddening. He had expected to find Marko being tortured. When he noticed the shackles holding Zyrdicia's wrist, his eyes widened. He tried to regain his composure. He had not found Marko, but someone did apparently need rescuing.

"Let that woman go, Dirk!" Erik commanded angrily.

"Oh, but I'm much too fond of her to ever agree to that," the king of the North replied icily, one hand caressing the scarified image of angel wings adorning Zyrdicia's bare back. "But unbinding her is an excellent idea."

He aimed the monocle at the shackles, sending a short burst of green light at them. They opened instantly.

Erik hissed, "I knew you were evil, but this is too much even for you! I heard the screams. You were-"

"Making me very happy," Zyrdicia interrupted, laughing as she rolled over and pulled the fur around herself. Her smile faded abruptly as she added, "Until you came along."

Without warning, second burst of the monocle's magic hit Erik squarely in the face. The prince flew backward, his body writhing in pain. He promptly lost consciousness.

21.3.2

Before Erik regained consciousness a few minutes later, Dirk took a moment to pull on a pair of leather breeches and retrieve his sword.

"Get dressed!" he barked impatiently at Zyrdicia. "I'm taking him to the dungeon."

"Why?" Zyrdicia pouted, annoyed by the abrupt interruption. She lay in bed propped up on several pillows. She adjusted the fur around herself, ignoring his command. "It's so fucking cold down there. Let's just kill him here."

"No."

"But it would be more fun," she coaxed, putting a peculiar emphasis on the final syllable. She held his gaze a long moment, biting her lower lip. "We weren't really finished. We could kill him slowly while we play..."

His lips curled in amusement, despite his impatience. "You are truly perverse."

"Like that isn't what you had in mind in the dungeon?" she mocked.

"I intend to kill him in the dungeon - with or without you. I'm sure you know which would please me more."

She watched him lay his thick, black shirt on the bed, then snatched it away when he turned around to get his armor. She slipped it on, not bothering to fasten more than a few of the silver buttons at its waist. It fit her like an over-sized tunic. She moved quickly across the room then to examine the unconscious hero.

Dirk scowled in irritation when he noticed the missing piece of apparel. "Give me that!"

"If you want it, come and take it!"

"This is no time for your games!" He smirked and added nastily, "You'll find the dungeon especially chilling if I have to drag you down there wearing only that."

Zyrdicia ignored him, bending over Erik and touching his forehead. She concentrated for a half a minute, dragging his most recent memories from his semi-conscious mind.

She frowned, "We need to do something about the castle security. It's unacceptable that he was able to get past all the guards so easily."

"How did he get in?"

"A tunnel beneath the South Tower. He's been looking for Marko."

"The guards he evaded will join him in the underworld later," Dirk muttered. In fact, the Captain of the Guard would soon receive orders to execute anyone and everyone who should have seen Erik enter the Castle, leave the dungeon or approach the living quarters.

Erik groaned suddenly then. He opened his eyes to see Zyrdicia's innocent, inquisitive face peering down at him.

Disoriented, Erik tried to focus his thoughts so that he could stand up. Every bone in his body ached. He could not take another blast from the monocle like that last one.

Zyrdicia sensed his fear instantly. She smiled, "Dirk's become adept with the monocle, with my help. He could have killed you if he wanted to. It would have been better for you if he had, I think."

"Ow, that hurt." Erik rubbed his eyes, trying to force his head to clear.

"The monocle will seem gentle compared to everything else we have in store for you, Prince Erik," she teased. Sensing in his mind that fire was the only thing he truly feared, she conjured a small halo of purple flames around his head.

He sat up quickly to avoid catching his hair aflame. "Not fire!"

His reaction evoked a chuckle from the King of the North.

"Where is Marko?" Erik stammered weakly.

Zyrdicia's eyes sparkled playfully. "I can't tell you. But I can show you first hand. I can take you where he is. Are you brave enough to go there?"

Dirk approached behind her. He smiled down at the prone man, his expression predatory. "What you say, Erik? How badly do you want to find out your vassal's whereabouts?"

"I 'm really not in the mood for this, Dirk!" Erik spat. "Where's Marko?"

"You aren't very sporting for a hero," Zyrdicia frowned petulantly.

The southern prince's eyes moved to her face. He seemed to be searching for something in her countenance.

Zyrdicia picked up the thought, then promptly burst out laughing. She grinned at Dirk and explained, "Erik is still looking for evidence that I'm your captive."

"Then admit that you are and put the issue to rest."

"A willing captive?"

"Precisely."

Erik stared at the exchange - and her obvious affection for his enemy. The prince was dumbfounded. Not five minutes ago she had been chained to the bed. "Dirk has enchanted you with the monocle," he warned to her.

"Enchanted me?" Zyrdicia purred, casting Dirk a sidelong glance. "Perhaps. But not with his monocle."

"You pathetic fool, Erik!" Dirk chided. His tone become more malicious when he added, "Your interest in my conjugal affairs is terribly boorish. Is that what really brought you here?"

Erik suddenly flushed red with embarrassment under Dirk's cold, knowing glare.

Zyrdicia grinned as the source of embarrassment became clear. Dirk's dark gaze warned her that whatever she had gleaned from Erik's mind should be kept to herself. His nostrils flared in irritation and disgust.

"I shall savor killing you," the King of the North warned the prince.

"Why don't you tell her you don't really love her, and that you are just using her like you use everyone, Dirk?"

Zyrdicia rolled her eyes. "I doubt he could use 'everyone' the way he uses me."

"My queen and I happen to be quite content with our arrangement, little hero," Dirk crooned wickedly. He reached out for her hand and kissed it elegantly before drawing her near. "We share so many common interests, you know. Like killing..."

"Pain..." she breathed.

"Power..." he purred.

"Destruction..."

"You are both insane!" Erik groaned, interrupting the exchange.

"Insane?" Zyrdicia smiled sweetly. "Is the wolf insane for ripping out the lamb's stomach? For failing to feel grief over the death of the rabbit it devours? What you call insanity, the cosmos calls the natural order of prey and predator. We recognize where we fit in that order, Erik. Do you?"

Erik's hand moved slowly toward his sword belt. A quick burst of energy from the monocle ended the effort. The blonde prince yelped in pain, his clothing singed.

Zyrdicia snapped her fingers as an idea occurred to her. Her eyes moved to the ceiling and her lips moved in silent evocation. Great black chains of hell-forged metal fell from thin air. The chains whipped about suddenly like live snakes grasping at the magic's target.

Open rings at the chains' ends for a moment looked as though they would snap shut beneath the captives armpits to hoist him up in the air. A minor miscalculation in the magic caused the rings to stray, snapping shut through the flesh and bone of both shoulders, just below the collar bone.

Erik howled in pain, and Dirk's eyes blazed in delight.

"Oops," Zyrdicia murmured indifferently.

The king of the North sheathed his sword for the moment, content to watch the agonizing struggle in the air. "Oh, lovely!" he whispered, his voice quivering.

"I told you it was better to stay here than take him to the dungeon," she grinned, acquiescing to a slow, leisurely kiss when he pulled her against him.

The new captive writhed, vainly trying to free himself while his captors momentarily ignored him.

"Tell me where Marko is!" the good prince gasped futilely.

Dirk and Zyrdicia's faces both turned toward Erik then, their cheeks pressing lightly together. The smugness of their expressions bothered Erik even more than the wounds in his shoulders.

"You wish to know where your vassal is, Erik?" Dirk inquired in a deceptively charming tone.

"Just tell me!" Erik begged, as though simply knowing were all he needed. His mind stubbornly refused to acknowledge the fact that even armed with the information, he now was in no position to use it.

Dirk turned away from Erik again to gaze at the woman next to him. His eyes fell to the side of her throat, as though it were far more interesting to him than the lump hanging from chains from the ceiling. He kissed the white skin, savoring its taste. After a long moment, he whispered just loud enough for Erik, "Marko's head now hangs above my castle's gate."

Dirk's carefully crafted indifference to the death made the news all the more unbearable for Erik.

"NOOOOOO!" the good prince screamed through the pain.

"Yes," Zyrdicia moaned happily, shivering in glee as the prince's thoughts exploded all around her at the same instant her lover's teeth impressed his affection into the side of her throat. Erik's agony, hatred, and grief came at her in an onslaught of negative emotion contrasting intriguingly with her own pleasure. She turned her face quickly, catching Dirk's lips on her own again. This promised be even more fun than Marko's death had been.

Dirk's gaze remained fixed on Zyrdicia as he addressed the Greystone heir. "Yes, he was dead before you even left to rescue him. Sending him to Geshna, you issued his death warrant."

Erik rewarded his captors with another impotent cry of rage and anguish. To them it was a lovely soundtrack for their amorous play.

Without interrupting the kiss in which they were engaged, Dirk carefully disentwined one hand from Zyrdicia long enough to tug delicately at one of the black, magical chains holding Erik. The ring tore against his enemy's flesh, evoking another scream of pain.

Zyrdicia gasped in delight, the smell of blood becoming stronger.

When they finally paused to look at Erik, the captive prince winced, "I'll kill you for this!"

"Such bravery even in the face of defeat," the king of the North taunted. "Perhaps you'll yet change your mind before you join Marko."

Dirk's attention shifted Zyrdicia's blood lust. Her pupils had dilated. Her fingers pressed painfully into his flesh. Still, she was exercising remarkable restraint, given her proximity to the dripping blood. She was close enough to reach and touch it if she so chose. Dirk grabbed her quickly and pressed her roughly against the nearest wall, removing the temptation for her.