A Tale of Revenge Ch. 01

"Do you agree not to interfere with my mission if I adhere to your terms? Will you not deter me or claim my life or body when it would mean compromising my goals?"

"This is all you ask?" he asked quietly.

"And for the power to carry it out," she said, realizing at once that this would be the last thing she did as a free woman. The image of her family and friends' twisted bodies came barreling into her mind, stamping out any doubt. She squared her shoulders, looking up into his perfect face again. "I agree to your terms."

"I believe you should take the time to fully consider this. As I stated, your pain is driving your reason. You should try to recover before selling your soul."

Had his voice softened or was she imagining it? Anna couldn't understand his tactic. He had her; she had agreed. Why was he hesitating now?

"I don't wish for more time. I cannot sit idly and consider this offer. I was willing to die for the chance of revenge. I will accept the consequences for the chance to seek justice for my family. There will never be another choice. There is nothing left for me to consider."

His eyes slid over her face, searching for something, though she wasn't sure what. She held herself high, trying to ignore the nagging thought that she was selling herself as a slave to this man, though he wasn't a man, he was much more. The crumbling remains of what was once her home around her helped to solidify her determination to see this through. She would punish those who took the lives of everyone she had ever cared for.

The god straighten off the wall, appraising her still. "Disrobe," he said finally.

Anna gaped at him. Her brain came back screaming at her to run away, to keep her dignity. But she was selling him her body, along with many other more precious things. This was only a drop of rain in a much larger storm. She stilled her shaking hands and reached to untie the bodice of her dress. She fumbled with the familiar ties but finally she cast it to the side. Her dress followed it to the floor and her undergarments after them. She let her long dark hair fall forward, offering her the smallest bit of modesty as she clutched her hands together in front of her. She had never felt as vulnerable as she did now.

Anna set her jaw. She would be owned, yes, but she would be powerful and she would finally have the means to the end she had never considered possible. This was the price she had to pay. So be it.

The god did not move for a moment and Anna stole a look up at his face. His eyes raked over her body, his movements were unhurried. He, of course, had all the time in the world. Anna held her breath and waited.

Finally he moved towards her, until she was staring directly into his chest. She winced as his fingers slid along her shoulder, pushing the long strands of her hair back behind her. His hands slid down her arm, drawing conflicting sensations of disgust and comfort from her. He reached her hand and moved to her body, allowing the tips of his fingers to slide over the skin of her thigh and belly until he reached the underside of her breast. Anna squeezed her eyes closed. She had never been touched so intimately before. While most of her struggled with the humiliation of standing and allowing him to do it, some small part of her mind relished the touch of someone else. She had thought to die without ever touching another being but in violence.

His hand flattened out and he ran his palm over her ribs, following them to her back. Once more his arms were around her as he pulled her into his body. It felt as though some current was running along him that was spreading over her exposed skin.

"Look at me, Anna," his voice commanded. She tilted her face up to look into his. She saw now that his eyes were the clearest blue, like the deep glass that the gypsies had been selling in town years ago. They burned into hers with his power, catching her, holding her focus steadily. The abyss that had lurked at the edges of her consciousness for so many days ebbed away until it was nothing more than a whisper in the back of her mind.

"For your body, I grant you the knowledge of war and the ability to carry it out." The room faded from her perception. She felt like she was floating, held up by his arms. The darkness that surrounded them was no longer as terrifying as it had been when he had plucked her off her tree.

"For your soul, I grant you the power to change the fate of others." His voice seemed to emanate from within her as he pressed her closer to him, melting their bodies together.

"For your innocence, I grant you the power of clear sight and the ability to cloud the sight of others." The soft glow that surrounded his body grew brighter, spreading over the pair of them, burning in the darkness.

He paused, moving his mouth closer to hers. "For your mind, I give you power over your surroundings and the ability to bend them to your will."

With every word his power pulsed through her, filling her skin with prickling, crackling flames. She barely noticed his face moving towards her as her body was suddenly overcome with the new painful power that throbbed inside her. His eyes never left hers until the last moment, when he tilted her head back, his hand cupped at the base of her skull, and brought his lips down on hers.

Anna felt a searing shock of heat run through her, as if his kiss was pouring fire into her body. At the same time, she felt some energy deep within her—so deep she had never truly appreciated it as a separate entity from herself—flow out towards him. Her lips parted in a gasp as the exchange continued. She felt his tongue run against her lips. He deepened the kiss, pulling her further, drinking the life and energy from within her as he poured his promised powers back in their stead. Anna felt the world fade. Their bodies pressed so tightly together she wasn't sure where he ended and she began. Unthinking, she raised her arms to cling to him as they hung in this unearthly place. It was as if she was weightless, floating in a sea of lightning.

And then he was gone; his body seemed to flow into hers until there was nothing left in the room. Anna fell to her knees. Her skin felt over full, bursting with energy she couldn't contain. The pain was unbearable, as if everything inside of her had turned molten and was trying to push its way out. She screamed in agony as she felt the foreign energies thrash inside her. She screamed again in anger, beating back the overwhelming fire before it could consume her. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood and her focus with the pain. She would not let it take her, not now, not when she could possess it.

The pain receded enough for her to open her eyes. She was back in her house, alone, the flame-blackened walls still standing around her. She looked down at her hands as her vision began to swim.

"What did I just do?" she whispered to them as the dark edges of her vision closed in around her and she collapsed.

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Thanks again to Goldeniangel for permission to use her story as inspiration and her encouragement and advice to get me writing.

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