Seventh Seal - Jacquelyn Faye

Chapter 1

The stone door slid open, the sound of granite on granite echoing slightly in the damp smelling hallway. My heart started pumping faster as the darkened room beyond came slowly into view. The guards parted and ushered me into the dryer, warmer section of the Temple of Night. The only piece of furniture visible was an ancient table of black wood covered in scrolls and tomes. Seated on the other side of said table was Delron, poring over an open scroll and jotting notes down on a separate sheet of vellum.

"Lord Delron, she has come."

He looked up and his eyes met mine as a small smile splayed across his face. "Lady Dorothea, welcome." He stood and walked around the table, his feet shuffling beneath a hooded, heavy black robe, pausing in confusion as Yuki stepped between us and handed me a five-dollar bill over her shoulder.

"You win."

Delron stopped and blinked in confusion.

"Don't mind her." I laughed and took the money, stuffing it in the front pocket of my jeans and walking the rest of the way to greet the dark elf. "She was convinced this was a trap."

Delron chuckled and knelt before me, kowtowing in respect. When he stood, he rushed forward, closing the final distance between us, pulling something from his robe and stopping when my vampire familiar had him in an armlock, shaking it until the loose sleeve flopped down enough to expose the glowing red jewel he held in his hand. He stared at her in shock. "I mean her no harm," he said innocently.

Yuki turned her head to me, resigning herself to my judgement.

"Let him go, Yuke."

She did and stepped aside, but not before Delron rubbed his wrist and shot me an apologetic look. "You have to know, my lady, I would never intentionally harm you?"

"No. I've become jaded as of late. It seems that everybody wants to harm me."

Sadly, he nodded. "Well, from the unseleighe court you have nothing to fear. You are our goddess."

"I'm no goddess, I just want to give you back yours. God, not goddess. You know what I mean."

He nodded. "Sit, please."

"What is it you were trying to give me?" I nodded at the jewel in his hand.

"A token of thanks for resurrecting our lands and bringing back the night." He smiled and offered me the jewel.

"It's just a jewel, right? It didn't go so well the last time I touched one of these." My fingers hovered over the surface, waiting for an answer.

"It is whatever you make of it. We gifted one to your father millennia ago. He chose it to be the receptacle of his power when the higher planes called for his imprisonment."

I nodded and took it from him, holding it up in front of me. Letting my magic flow through it, I saw he wasn't lying. It held nothing, but I could feed whatever I wanted into it. Memories, magic, or power. I tucked it into the other pocket of my jeans.

"Sit, please," he motioned toward the two empty seats on the closest side of the table and went back to his. He stood until I parked my butt.

"That was a neat trick with the unicorn," I said drolly and crossed my legs in front of me.

He beamed proudly. "It was the only way to get him to you. I hope Lord Jaeren wasn't too distraught that his Yule gift was actually from us?"

Yuki snorted.

I smiled in appreciation of the entire situation. Jaeren had been so proud, but when the unicorn introduced himself to me, he shimmered and morphed into a stallion of the purest shimmering black, eyes of red, and two horns of matte ebony. He wasn't technically a unicorn, but a cousin of sorts. A bicorn of unseleighe stock. The seleighe king sputtered and began a tirade of elvish curses that lasted until Dar and Shea dragged him inside the house and got him calmed down with a glass of wine and a box of crayons.

Yuki had been convinced the entire thing was a trap and had even bet me we were going to be met with swords.

Delron sat back in his seat, clasped his hands, and positively beamed at me.

"You said you found a way for me to get to Tartarus?"

He nodded and smiled before motioning toward the guards by the door. The same grinding noise told me they left and when their footsteps returned, Elleslyn of Willowmere was between them.

"Ellis?"

"Greetings, my lady." He gave me the same reverent display as Delron and practically