The Seduction of the Kore Ch. 01

"I am Daemon," he replied, gently taking her hand.

A million thoughts and feelings flooded her mind and body as his icy skin touched hers. Icy skin that was shockingly familiar. She thought of her erotic dreams from the previous night, the way the breeze had caressed her skin the day before.

She knew this man. And he was dangerous.

Daemon saw the recognition on her face, and he reached for her other hand before she reached a state of panic, as he had feared she would.

Calista trembled and attempted to break free, but Daemon maintained his grip on her small hands.

"You've been...my dreams...here, yesterday..." Calista muttered disbelievingly. Daemon's eyes pleaded with her to calm down.

"Yes, Calista. But I mean you no harm. I am going to take you with me to prove to you how much I intend to please you," Daemon said. Calista reached panic then, and she shook her head furiously, and violently attempted to free herself from his grip.

"Take me where? Who are you?" she shrieked, kicking and flailing her arms to no avail. Daemon stood then and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him.

"Relax, Calista. The travel to my world will be difficult for you if you are panicking," he reasoned softly. Calista began to cry and she continued kicking, becoming increasingly discouraged as she realized her strikes held absolutely no effect on him.

"Let go of me! My mother will be very worried!" Calista pleaded. Daemon gently kissed her cheeks, willing away her hot tears.

"That is why we must leave now, sweet. I really must urge you to relax," Daemon said again. Calista continued furiously kicking, clawing at any part of his body she could reach. Her eyes widened in horror when her nails broke against the skin of his arm as she tried to scratch him, not even leaving a mark upon his cold, hard, pale flesh.

Daemon was overcome with guilt as she struggled in his arms, but he was resolved in his decision to take her to his world. As selfish as it was, he knew he needed to have her with him, as his. And he was committed to making it as enjoyable for her as possible.

Calista began screaming as she continued to fight, and Daemon was impressed by her will to be free. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone heard her screams, however, and acted quickly, reopening the ground to transport her to his world.

Calista released a silent scream as the earth beneath her opened, and she was suddenly overcome with the feeling of falling. No sooner had the earth opened were the pair rapidly dropping beneath the crevice, and Calista clung to her captor out of fear of dying.

The feeling of falling was overwhelming, and Calista felt herself growing sick from dizziness. Images were whirring past her too fast for her to identify, appearing as mere streaks of red, black, and finally gray. She screamed in terror as they approached an opening of fire, and Calista felt as if she were suffocating, drowning, freezing, and burning all at the same time. She felt like every tiny piece of her body was being torn apart, and she passed out from the pain, welcoming the darkness.

Calista groggily opened her eyes, and was met by the gaze of her handsome, frightening attacker. She was in his arms.

"Close your eyes, love."

Calista passed out again.

Calista opened her eyes again, awakened by the unsteady feeling of being on water. Calista looked forward, and saw a rotting corpse, more skeleton than flesh, rowing a boat through the seemingly endless fog.

It turned towards her, its sunken, empty holes where its eyes should have been staring right through her.

Calista passed out again.

Calista opened her eyes, and found herself in an unfamiliar room, in the center of a large bed. The room was opulently, yet darkly, decorated, as far as her bleary eyes could tell. She sat up on weak arms, and collapsed in dizziness.

Daemon's cold hand was instantly on her cheek, calming her sick-induced fever. Fearfully, she pushed his arm away.

"I'm going to be sick," she said weakly, and she crawled away from him, and retched into an empty basin on the floor by the bed. Calista wondered if it had been placed there for that very purpose.

She felt Daemon's cold hand on her back, coaxing her, and she shrank away from it. His touched made her spine stiffen, and her skin crawl.

Her fear of him made his heart ache.

"I know the travel was difficult for you," Daemon murmured tenderly. The softness of his voice shocked Calista. Why would her kidnapper be gentle?

"Where am I?" Calista said, slowly sitting up on her knees. The room was spinning, as if she were still in the water.

Daemon brought his hands to her cheeks, and brushed away the stray hairs that clung to the damp sweat of her clammy face.

"I have brought you to the Underworld," he replied. Calista frowned, and began to panic again.

"Have I...am I dead?" she asked. Daemon shook his head.

"No, love. You are very much alive. But the travel has made you sick, and you will need to rest," he answered, standing up from the bed.

As much as he frightened her, Calista was even more afraid of being alone, and she weakly crawled to the edge of the bed, hoping he would stay with her.

"Why have you brought me here? I want my mother," she said solemnly, beginning to cry. Her tears caused pain to manifest in his chest, and he reached for her again, but once more, she shrank away.

"I can't take you back to your mother, Calista. Bringing you here was the only way for us to be together. I brought you here to be my bride," Daemon replied.

Calista mulled over his words, piecing together the different aspects of her surroundings. She recalled the way he had managed to manipulate her dreams, his frightening appearance, the fact that he had brought her to the Underworld, and her veins ran cold with dread.

"You...you told me your name was Daemon," she said softly, looking up at him fearfully. Daemon frowned, and released a long sigh. He was hoping he would have more time to help her adapt to his world, to him, at least until after she was healthy again, but Calista had managed to approach the end he had tried desperately to keep out of her reach.

He knew he had no choice but to reveal himself, and he stared back into her large, frightened eyes.

"To mortals...I am known as Hades."

Calista passed out again.