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“There you are,” Aisilyn said as she found Genna in their room. “Mother has been looking for you.”
Genna closed her cedar trunk and turned around. “I must not have heard her call me.”
“With your head in your trunk, I’m not surprised.” Aisilyn sat on her bed, the skirt of her teal gown fanned around her feet.
Genna went to her and took her hands. Her sister tried to put up a happy front, but her nerves had to be near the breaking point. “Are you . . . ?”
“If you ask me if I’m all right, I may scream.” Aisilyn’s voice was no more than a whisper. She ducked her head as a blush crept up, a sure sign of her embarrassment. “Every five minutes, someone has asked me that today.”
“We’re all worried,” said Genna, as gently as she could manage. “Even though we try not to be—or at least not to show it.”
“It’s been a long day,” agreed Aisilyn. “Jacob came by earlier, but he couldn’t stay. He did ask about you, though.”
“I suppose with the extra guards posted, he will be on duty tonight.”
Aisilyn nodded. “I’m worried about him. I don’t want him encountering the Demon’s Warrior in the night.”
“And worrying about him takes the edge off worrying about yourself.” Genna sat on the bed next to her.
“I’m not troubled,” said Aisilyn. At Genna’s look, she amended. “I’m trying not to be troubled. I’m trying to let my faith guide my course. But in truth, I’ve had a prayer in my heart since my feet hit the floor this morning.”
“Me, too.” Genna smiled to reassure her and stood. “I’ll go see what Mother needs.”
Deirdra looked up when she entered the kitchen. “There you are. I’ve hardly seen a hair of your head since breakfast. Aisilyn has helped me with all my chores today.”
“I’m sorry,” Genna said, and she meant it, but she couldn’t explain what had kept her so busy.
“What have you been doing?” Her mother seemed determined to use her as a scapegoat for her anxiety.
“Praying.”
“Oh.” She deflated a bit and returned to chopping the tomato on her cutting board. After a moment, she sighed. “I’m sorry, dear. My nerves are frazzled.”
Genna nodded, moving to her side and putting her arm around her mother’s shoulders. “It’s nothing. What can I do?”
“I’m putting together a salad to go with the fish for dinner. Why don’t you mix the dressing?”
Genna grabbed a wooden bowl and started putting in ingredients, but her mind was back in her cedar trunk. She hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything. Would it really matter if she had?
“Genna!” Her mother’s tone cut through her thoughts. “I don’t want mustard seed in the dressing, please!”
Genna looked at her hands, one poised over the bowl with the container of mustard seed. She righted the container and put the cap back on. “I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
Deirdra sighed. “Please try. Though I don’t know why I’m going to such trouble to cook a meal no one will feel like eating.”
Genna crossed to her mother and put her arms around her shoulders. “It will be all right.”
Her mother’s head drooped, the despair in her heart evident. “How can you know?” The words came out a strangled whisper.
“Faith.” What else could she say?
Deirdra patted her hand. “Thank you, dear. I don’t know what I’d do without you . . . or Aisilyn.”
Genna’s heart constricted. “We will be fine,” she managed. Another squeeze of her mother’s shoulders and she returned to mixing the dressing for the salad, this time more aware of what she put into the bowl.
Dinner smelled heavenly, but no one could eat. The darkness that fell after sunset seemed somehow darker than ever before. Not even a sliver of moonlight shone through the windows. Every member of the household jumped in surprise at the slightest sound. At last Aisilyn excused herself for bed.
“Wouldn’t you like to sit up with us a while longer?” her father asked. “We planned to stay awake for a bit.”
Aisilyn kissed his cheek. “No, thank you. I find I’m quite tired.”
Genna stood. “I’ll come with you.”
“Thank you.” Aisilyn smiled at her.
Genna detoured through the kitchen, spending a few minutes to brew an herb tea for Aisilyn. She carried the cup carefully to their shared bedroom.
Aisilyn had changed into a soft blue velvet gown. “When he comes, I’d rather not greet him in my nightdress.”
“I understand.”
“It’s strange,” Aisilyn said. “All day my nerves have hummed in anticipation, in dread. But now I feel strangely calm. I feel as though I can accept my fate.”
Genna nodded. “I worry more about the whispers that a union between the Demon and a maiden of Light would allow him access to the City. All the people would be at risk.”
“What about the prophecy that said a union of great love can destroy the Demon?” asked Aisilyn. “I have to believe God means for this to happen.”
Genna held out the cup. “Here, I’ve brought you some herbal tea. I thought it would help.”
Aisilyn accepted. “Thank you.”
Genna didn’t want to appear too eager as her sister sipped the liquid. “I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”
Aisilyn nodded and swallowed, handing her back the cup after only a couple of sips. “I appreciate it.” She crawled into bed and Genna pulled the covers up around her.
Genna sat on the bed beside her sister and stroked her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Aisilyn said. She grasped Genna’s hand. “Thank you for the tea. And for staying with me.”
“Of course,” Genna said over the knot in her throat.
Aisilyn’s eyes slid closed. “You will comfort Mother and Father, won’t you? Tell them I accept my fate. I don’t want them to worry about me.”
Genna kissed her sister’s forehead. “I will.” Her heart constricted on the lie.
Once Aisilyn’s deep, even breaths confirmed she’d fallen asleep, Genna rose from the bed, kissed her one last time, and then went to her trunk where she’d placed her well hidden shoulder pack. She pulled the letter out and placed it on her pillow. How she’d agonized over the final words to her family. Clutching her pack to her chest, she sat on her bed facing the door and waited. Anticipation made her skin crawl. She didn’t even try to sleep, knowing the effort would be fruitless.
She sensed him before she saw him even though he stood in the doorway. He ducked as he entered, his jet black hair brushing the top of the doorframe anyway. He wore padded, black leather armor under a black cloak, and had a sword strapped to his waist. Genna saw no other weapons. Either he hadn’t anticipated a fight, or only needed the sword.
His dark eyes went from her to Aisilyn asleep in her bed and then back to Genna. When he spoke, his deep voice easily breached the distance between them.
“You are the maiden, Aisilyn?”
Genna stood. “I am. Shall we go? I’ve already packed.”
His brows knit together. “My master is not easily fooled.”
His simple statement brought instant panic. Genna’s chest constricted. Could her deception be so effortlessly discovered? How could he know she was not her sister?
He continued. “Is this a trick, then? Are there men hidden just waiting to attempt to waylay me from my mission?”
This time Genna’s eyebrows came together. “No. Why do you ask?”
The Dark Warrior smirked. “No maiden of Light would willingly accept such a fate.”
Her knees grew weak with relief. He thought her eagerness a deception? Ha. She pressed her lips together to stop her smile. “I only want to avoid waking my sister. She has nothing to do with this.”
“You think to protect her, then?” he asked. His fisted hands went to his hips. “I have no interest in her. My mission is to take you safely to my master, the dar-King.”
“The dar-King? I thought the Demon called for me.”
“He is the same,” the Dark Warrior said. “Your people call him a demon, but he is truly the dar-King, the Lord of all Darkness.”
Genna nodded in acceptance, though shivers of fear coursed through her. “Shall we go?” she asked again.
In response, he reached into a pocket of his cloak and pulled out a wad of shimmery black material. Genna recognized it immediately as a match to the cloak he wore. He held it out to her.
“Put this on. It is a gift from your future bridegroom.”
Years of teaching had taught her to vehemently reject any gift offered by a demon, or even the servant of one. Yet she stepped forward and allowed him to tie it around her neck. This was the first step into her new life. This would protect Aisilyn forever.
His nearness proved unsettling, and Genna gratefully stepped back after he’d finished. She looked up at his face. No one had warned her evil could be so attractive.
“Follow me.” He led her through the sleeping house and out the front door. They didn’t encounter the guardsmen who’d been set to keep watch, and Genna wondered about them. They passed through the streets in silence.
“It’s so quiet,” she said.
He turned back to her. “The cloaks mask our movement so we make no sound that any person can hear. Animals sense us, however, so we must be cautious.”
“Why?”
“I’d rather not kill any of your countrymen if I can avoid it,” he said.
His matter-of-fact tone silenced her. Genna was sorry she’d asked.
She followed him through the city and into the fields where the farmers lived without any further attempt at conversation. Shimmering in the distance, she could see the Barrier that protected her people from the evils of the outside world. She’d never been so close to it, but tonight she would pass through it. Genna started to shiver, and slowed a bit to seize a few calming breaths. The Dark Warrior looked back at her. His fierce expression spurred her to catch up.
The Barrier drew nearer. All her life, her mother had cautioned against ever approaching the Barrier between Light and Darkness. Genna heard those words now in her mind. “One doesn’t have to tease the line between good and evil. Our place is as far from evil as we can possibly be.” Genna hoped her parents would find the note she left on her pillow. She knew they would despair at losing her, but she took comfort in the fact that they would not lose Aisilyn.
Panic rose the closer they got to the Barrier, but Genna would not let her resolve weaken. She couldn’t give the Dark Warrior a sliver of doubt that she was the true Aisilyn. Rather than think of what she was about to do, Genna thought of Aisilyn and Jacob’s marriage. If her family followed the suggestions she’d left in her letter, then they would begin the fasting and prayer. Just three short days after that they would be married. If Genna could keep up the ruse for a mere seven days, then her sister would be forever out of the Demon’s grasp. If they didn’t, if they continued with Aisilyn’s original plan, then Genna may not be saving her at all.
Yet, she had to try.
“How long will we travel before we reach our destination?” She couldn’t bring herself to say the Demon’s lair.
The Dark Warrior did not slow. “It should be a month long ride.”
Ride? Genna’s heart fell but she resisted questioning him further and risk raising his suspicions. If the Demon discovered her deception before Aisilyn married Jacob, would he send someone else to the City of Light? And what would they ride?
The question stuck in her throat. The Barrier loomed before them. At the last moment, Genna dug in her heels and stopped—unable to continue one more step. Surprised, the Warrior let go of her wrist.
He looked back at her, his brooding expression several degrees less than friendly. “What is it, maiden?”
Genna barely managed to keep the tremor from her voice. “I have never crossed the Barrier before.”
His expression suggested he’d rather toss her over his shoulder than reason with her, and Genna knew him to be more than capable of forcing her through. Why did he hesitate?
“My master has called for you,” he said. “You cannot escape your fate.”
“I know.” Genna sighed heavily. “I need a moment. Please.”
He folded his arms across his chest, somehow making himself more foreboding. “No longer.”
The reprieve, however brief, surprised her. She nodded, took several deep breaths, then stepped forward. Genna stretched out a hand to meet the Barrier first. It felt warm to the touch. Some who claimed to have crossed the Barrier spoke of a shock going through their body. Others spoke of pain. Genna felt nothing but warmth as she slowly passed from the safety of her home into the unknown darkness.
The Dark Warrior followed much more quickly. As she watched, his cloak and armor seemed to smolder for a moment after he’d passed through the Barrier. Her surprise must have registered on her face.
“Your Barrier does not like items of Darkness,” he said.
“I didn’t think anything evil could pass through the Barrier,” she said, chiding herself the moment the words left her mouth.
“Creatures created from evil or by evil cannot penetrate the Barrier,” he said. “I am neither. I am but a servant.”
She resisted the obvious query, and only nodded. “Which way do we go?”
“The shortest path will take us through the forest,” he said. “We will come to the base of the far mountains, where the entrance to my master’s lair sits. From there we will descend into his realm.”
Genna shivered. “Don’t batik live in the forest?”
The Warrior looked at her. “I am sworn to protect you. There is no need to fear.”
Of course not, she thought. Seeing as the man sworn to protect me is the servant of a demon.
He took her wrist again and led her to a nearby tree. “My master has one more gift for you.”
Genna hardly heard him, for he was leading her straight to a monster. “What is that?”
“He is Lagos,” said the Warrior. “A black unicorn.”
The last had been unnecessary. Genna could clearly see where the beast resembled a unicorn, but his appearance was so wrong it hurt her to look at him. If he’d been a horse, he’d still have been the largest, darkest horse she’d ever seen. But his shimmering, onyx-like spiral horn belied any resemblance to an ordinary horse. His eyes flashed fire as he stamped and pawed the ground at their approach, snorting loudly. His shining black mane and tail hung wild.
Genna couldn’t ride that thing. She would undoubtedly disgrace herself. It looked like it could skewer her at the end of its magnificent, menacing horn at any moment.
She couldn’t fight the fear. “I’ll walk.” She backed away from the beast. “I can be fast.”
The Warrior turned to her, his exasperation making him seem even larger. “You cannot possibly keep up with a black unicorn on foot. We will ride.”
Genna shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
His brow furrowed. If she hadn’t been so frightened, she’d have found it comical. “Sorry?” He advanced on her just one step, but it was more than enough. “You’re sorry?” Had his shoulders just expanded?
“I can’t ride it.” The beast snorted so loudly Genna jumped. “Him. I can’t ride him.”
“You must.” The Warrior approached the unicorn and pulled something from his saddle bags. “Give me your hand.”
His tone left no room for refusal. Genna’s hand shot out before she thought better of it. As she watched, he slid a silver bracelet around her wrist. She shivered when she looked at it. It was a serpent, and the clasp made it appear as though the serpent was eating its own tail. Set where the eyes would be were two shimmering rubies.
“What is this?” she asked, shivering against the warm night as a cold darkness fell over her.
“Another gift,” he said. He returned to the unicorn and untied his lead from the tree. “Come, Lagos.”
Genna watched him as he walked away from her. What was he doing? Did he plan to leave her there? He’d made it twenty paces from her before she called out. “What do I do?”
He didn’t pause or turn. “Follow.”
He had a sadistic streak, all right. Genna took a step. “And what if I don’t? What if I run home?”
“Go ahead.”
Perhaps it was that he wouldn’t even look at her, but Genna hesitated only briefly before turning back toward the Barrier and home. She’d only made it three steps before her arm started to throb, then burn. Pain shot from where the bracelet hung on her wrist up her arm, across her shoulders and down her back. Five steps and she gasped from the pain. She slid to her knees, unable to make a sixth step toward safety.
She didn’t hear him approach, but suddenly the Warrior knelt at her side. “The bracelet is enchanted,” he said. “It compels you to continue to the Demon’s lair. If you fight it, if you turn back, the enchantment will destroy you.”
Genna looked up at him through tears. His mouth was set in a grim line but his eyes had a sparkle in them. Definitely sadistic.
He pulled her up by her arms and led her back toward the unicorn. Immediately the burning in her arm ceased. Genna took several long breaths to help recover.
The unicorn, Lagos, apparently annoyed by her noise, whinnied loudly.
“Hush, Lagos,” said the Warrior. He looked at Genna. “Are you ready now?”
She glared at him. “I will not ride that beast.”
He growled low in his throat and stepped closer to her, clearly trying to intimidate her with his size. “You will not make me late.”
“For what?”
“My master must marry you at the height of the double eclipse, when the world is plunged into darkness,” he said. “If we arrive even an hour late, it will mean my death.