"Yes this Avis or Ava for short." He said moving towards her and stroking her affectionately. She looked as though she loved it, moving her head up and under his hand. I couldn"t help but laugh in shock.
"She"s magnificent!" I said not being able to close my mouth and she looked as though she understood me as she squawked at Draven.
"She wants to know why you have been so scared of her?" He said as he now moved his hand to stroke her chest and at this she puffed her feathers, stretching out her wings making me jump back.
"Really she wants to know that?"
"Ava is my eyes to the sky, when I couldn"t see you for myself I would possess her and it would allow me to look over you while you slept." He said so matter of fact.
"You could see me, so every time I ..." I said thinking back to all those times I had seen her.
"Not every time no, when I couldn"t myself I would have Ava look over you but you used to frighten her when you reacted badly...she was a bit offended actually." He said looking down at me and so did Ava as if I was being judged by them both.
"Umm sorry..." I said feeling a bit guilty but considering this bird could most definitely take me, I think I had been justified in being frightened.
"Do you want to stroke her?" Draven asked and I instantly withdrew my hands around my back.
"Umm that"s ok, I don"t think she would appreciate that...plus she likes it when you do it...so I will just watch," I said being a coward. He just laughed at me.
"You"re not scared are you Keira?" He said pulling the reverse psychology c.r.a.p on me.
"Come, give me your hand." He said giving me a stern look. Of course when I didn"t immediately, it wasn"t enough for Draven to give up, now it was time to use force. He put both his arms around my back and bent his lips close to my ear making his hair fall forward. His hands found my wrists and gripped them tightly.
"Come now you will upset her...she just wants to be friends." So knowing guilt would most definitely work, I gave in and let my hands be led to the waiting bird.
"She will behave... won"t you Ava?" This was a command and she ducked her head forward for me to stroke her more easily. When my hand was about to reach up to her I stopped, hesitating.
"She won"t hurt you Keira." And his hand overlapped mine and moved it to her soft black satin feathers. I ran my hands over her back letting my fingers run through to her body and she squawked again, in what I guessed was pleasure as her beak hadn"t yet torn my hand off. I moved down under her neck by her chest where I had seen Draven go and she made me jump as she flashed out her impressive wingspan at my touch.
"Ava, don"t show off!" He scolded and she turned her head at him tilting it as if to say "why not!" I couldn"t help but laugh at her expression.
"Yeah why not... Ava?" I said in her defence, which seem to seal the bond between us because at this I was now her new best friend. She walked along the railing closer to my body and gently rubbed up against me making her feathers tickle my neck. I giggled stroking her back affectionately.
"Umm interesting...she doesn"t usually like other woman but you seem to be the first." He said and I shot him a crazy look.
"And you tell me this now!"
"Let"s just say I had an idea she would love you." He said as he whispered something to her that I couldn"t hear. Then he did the unthinkable. He held out a bare arm as he still only had a pair of jeans on and said "Aqui!" Which I knew meant "Here" in Spanish. Then she jumped on his arm digging her claws into his skin, which didn"t even tear and more amazingly he didn"t even flinch. He grabbed her beak in his fingers and shook it playfully.
"Are you ready for it baby?" He asked her as he was now looking up into her beautiful face and her eyes widened with what seem like excitement. She squawked an answer.
"Well you wanted to show off, so you"d better make this good old girl!" He teased before he produced something black and spiky in his hand. He then teased her again pretending to move his hand as if to throw it, catching her out. It reminded me of what I used to do to my grandparents" dog Sandy, trying to make her go for a stick before it had left my hand. The second time however he did throw it making it rocket through the air and it went so far I couldn"t follow it for long. He then put his arm down and lifted it quickly to send Ava off into the sky after it in a graceful dismount. She flew off until out of sight going so fast it was like trying to watch a bullet hit its target...too fast for human eyes.
"What was that you just gave her?" I asked as we walked back inside.
"You don"t want to know," he said smiling to himself as if I was missing something he didn"t want to tell me.
"Yeah, sure I do," I said hoping that I did.
"It was a bird"s foot," he said laughing at my face which was now screwed up as if I had just smelled something bad...like Frank"s feet!
"She eats other birds, it"s how she consumes her souls...and well for some reason she favours the feet, saving them for last."
"Yuck! That"s really gross. How do you know that?"
"Well firstly, I did tell you that you wouldn"t want to know. Ava lets me into her mind but we share it when I am there and sometimes...well...she gets hungry!" He said pulling his own Yuck face!
"Ok I think I just hit my limit on the weirdo scale!" He laughed at my humour, which sent little sparks of pleasure down to my stomach. I loved the idea that I could make him laugh.
"So where did she come from?"
"Ava has been with me since the beginning, a gift from my father to keep an eye on us all. She is a demon of course, being a cross between a raven and a golden eagle to you and she has her own powers. But since she was sent she favoured me from the start and this is why she doesn"t like...well you know?" He started to try and find the words I already knew he wanted to say so I finished them for him making it easier.
"You mean other woman you have been with!" I said rolling my eyes at him at his reluctance to finish that statement.
"Well yes, but I knew her connection with you would be different...she pleased me...trust me she is never normally that well behaved and has given me the run around a few times in the past. When she was young especially, she went through a stage of terrorising small villages, scaring them and aiming for the younger ones...for some reason she hated children!" I looked on wide-eyed trying to imagine how terrifying that must have been, as not so long ago I was also in the same mind.
"But with age she has become quieter and grumpier, spending most of her time alone as she prefers."
"Aww, well I think she was sweet" I said putting my arms around his neck which seemed to be a weak spot of his as he melted into me doing what I wanted him to.....which was of course kiss me.
"I hate to put a downer on this good mood of yours but you will not think so kindly of me in a minute." He smirked at the thought of me turning into an angry kitten no doubt!
"And why is that?"
"Because in a moment my sister is going to walk through those doors and take you away from me." He didn"t look happy at the prospect.
"Why?" I said hating the idea of even spending a minute from his side.
"She has it into her head that she is going to get you ready for the party tonight." OH NO!
"No, no, you have to talk to her, reason with her," I said pleading with him but he just held up his hands in defence.
"I would love to but she is very persuasive."
"But you"re her brother and surely she will do what you say...I mean reason with her...please, she has to be stopped!" I was close to begging at this point which he was still smirking at.
"Keira, it is not that bad and besides, you think I am hardcore when I get angry...you have never witnessed Sophia"s temper!" He said and I couldn"t be sure whether he was teasing me or not, so I put my hands on my hips to show him I wasn"t going to accept this. But then as usual my display went out of the window when he put his hands on my sides and pulled me into him kissing me on the forehead.
"Demon remember...and she is determined." He noticed my frown and continued, "It is simply best to let her have her way, after all, she is excited as she has never had a sister to..."
"Use as a human doll!" I finished his sentence with sarcasm.
"I was going to say love." And as soon as he said it I felt the guilt that he was counting on.
Then he moved away from me and walked towards the door opening it before Sophia had even chance to knock. She strolled in looking as if she had tried very hard to look casual but of course failing miserably. She looked just like she"d just finished her photo shoot for Paris fashion week.
She wore tight fitting jeans that looked as if she had rather been sewn into or they had been painted on. She had added a long dress style top that was white and fell off on one shoulder. Her hair was causally pulled up into a high ponytail making her curls looked contained yet fighting to get free. One thing was for sure...she looked b.l.o.o.d.y happy!
"Dress up time!" She said, smiling like the evil Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. She turned around knowing that I would have to follow and I couldn"t help but drag my feet at the thought. I mean she wasn"t even giving me time to change...this was going to be a bad idea. I walked past Draven with my head down but he stopped me, kissing me on the top of my head, saying, "Play nice Keira!" Of course knowing that I was about to go and play with a Demon didn"t make me think there was going to be anything nice about this game...
Chapter 45 - Down the rabbit hole.
I followed Sophia for what seemed like forever, up and down staircases, along pa.s.sageways and through G.o.d knows how many doors! Finally the last door was opened for us by Zagan of all people. He nodded at me but I didn"t miss the wink he sent Sophia"s way, which she tried very hard not to react to. However she was still smiling when we entered her bedchamber. Well I say bedchamber, it was more like a whole floor of a department store and we were in the soft furnishing department!
She had different beds scattered everywhere making it look more like a cabana club than a room. She had different tent style rooms to the sides which towered up into elaborate metal points giving it a Moroccan vibe. There were couches of all shapes and sizes, and luxurious material framing the walls and furniture. I noticed there was even a bar in one corner and this made me realise that this was a separate club of its own...a private one.
"Sophia what is this place?" I asked as I caught up with her, as she was moving towards a more private part at the other end of the room. This was part.i.tioned off by a wall of fabrics that hung down overlapping each other and I wouldn"t have known where to begin to try to get through it all. But Sophia just held up her hand and they moved apart, flowing up and down and through one another, allowing us pa.s.sage through the gap they created.
"This is my bedroom... amongst other things," she giggled before continuing, "I have asked Draven if you would like to join us but he is very set against the idea, so you will have to miss out...he never did like to share. This way" She said motioning me through the last door, which finally must have been where Sophia slept. This looked more like a "Sophia bedroom".
It was a Gothic dark fairy princess"s room, with a huge wrought iron bed that was covered in the same fabric that flowed around the posts. It looked both deadly and cute at the same time. The room also had a punk vibe as the walls were papered with the most unusual design. It was black velvet with the biggest bright pink roses that looked lethal with pointed sharp petals, some tinted at the ends in what was blood red. I knew one thing and that was RJ would have freaked out seeing a room like this! The furniture was a fairy tale design but it was black and it screamed out that this belonged to a girly demon!
"Ok, first you need to take a bath," she said opening a set of double doors into a ma.s.sive bathroom that held a different feel. It was like walking from evil to pure good. This room was like a tropical paradise, with plants and flowers up the walls giving off an incredible scent of a rain forest. She must have seen my face drop.
"Like it?"
"It"s amazing, I just...it"s just... the Garden of Eden!" I said as it finally came to me. At this she clapped her hands like an excited child.
"That"s the look I went for... now wait until you try my bath!" She said pulling me further into her private heaven. Around one corner was an actual waterfall that flowed down the wall behind her bath. The bath was sunk into the floor so you had to step down into it and I realised that the waterfall wasn"t just there for effect, it was the shower. The whole bath was like an infinity pool that just overflowed into an abyss I couldn"t see. She let out a laugh at my face and I was starting to feel thankful that she wanted to share this with me and well at least if this makeover went horribly wrong I got to use the most awesome bath in existence.
"I will leave you to it. There is a bag there with all the usual stuff you use...you know?" She said making me laugh as she pretended to shave her armpits. She was just the most unpredictable girl I had ever known.
She left me alone in paradise and I nearly ripped off my clothes to get in there quicker. I lowered my naked body in the water, which was the perfect temperature and let the liquid caress my skin, making it soft and smell amazing. All I wished now was that I had Draven in here with me and that thought alone was enough to make me start fantasising about what naughty things we could be doing in here.
After a long soak I decided that I should start on the reasons I was in here in the first place, so with that in mind I reached over for the bag that Sophia had pointed out. It was filled with all the things I needed but it amazed me to find it was the same make of razor I used, the same gel, I even found a new toothbrush for me to use later. It felt strange doing all the usual things you do in a bath, because in this one it felt as if it was only meant for two things, relaxing and the other was for a more erotic activity, one that I was getting desperate for. Draven was most definitely like a s.e.xual drug, the more I had, the more I wanted...no not wanted more like NEEDED!
Once I had showered under the warm waterfall I squeezed my hair, ringing out the last drops from washing it with the most marvellous smelling products. I got out as my wrinkled fingers told me that I had spent too much time in there already. I looked around for a towel as I dripped on the floor but couldn"t find one.
"You will be needing this" Sophia"s voice startled me and my hands flew to my more private parts as she held out a lush thick white robe.
"Sophia I"m..."
"Yes, yes, you don"t need to worry, you don"t have anything I haven"t seen before...well except them," she said nodding to my arms and I blushed.
"Sorry I didn"t mean to be so blunt...I usually just say what I think without ...well thinking about it." She said as I hid my nakedness away under the soft towel material.
"It"s fine... I guess it just takes some getting used to," I said quietly hiding my past.
"Well we have work to do...or more like I have work to do, so come with me and we will get this show off the roof!"
"Isn"t it show on the road?" I asked laughing nervously at what she had planned.
"Not when you have wings my dear!" She giggled as my face dropped. She took my hand with ease and pulled me to what looked like a Moulin Rouge boudoir. There was a grand looking chair waiting for me in front of the biggest gilded mirror I had ever seen, which filled the whole of one wall. I swallowed hard knowing there was no way I was getting out of this and Sophia knew it too as that evil grin reappeared when she held out a hand for me to take a seat.
"What are you going to do?" I asked sitting down slowly and looking at the entire contents of a beauty counter on the table in front of me.
"Don"t you trust me?" She said pulling my hair from under my robe and holding out a pair of scissors. This did slightly unnerve me at the sight of someone I knew to be a demon coming at me with a sharp implement in her grasp.
"Not with those in your hands!" I said panicking at what my mother would say if I cut it all off.
"I"m only going to trim a bit off the bottom, don"t worry Keira...try and relax. I"m only going to enhance the beauty that is already there." She said brushing my long waves and for a demon she was a h.e.l.l of a lot more gentle that Libby had been.
"Plus Dom would have my head if I were to change you too much, I have had my orders," She said rolling her eyes at the memory.
"Sophia, can I ask you something?" I once again played nervously with the sleeves of my robe as Draven had pointed out earlier.
"About?"
"About Draven" I said looking down, feeling the heat in my cheeks.
"Keira, I think it is about time you called him by his first name don"t you?" She said amused at the idea.
"Well I wanted to know about Aurora?"
"I think that is a question best left for him, don"t you?" She said stopping the comb for a moment, which told me she knew where I was going with this.
"But I have asked him!" I said regretting it as soon as it was from my lips.
"And?"
"He wouldn"t tell me anything." I said deflated.
"Then what makes you think I would?" She asked taking pride in her grooming me, which made me feel a bit like a pet horse of hers.
"Because I have bribery in my favour"
"Oh really and what bargaining power are you playing with?" She asked intrigued.
"Well if you were just to answer a few of my very innocent questions then I will let you do whatever you want to me with no moaning about it...free rein!" I said swivelling my chair around to face her.
"Or I could just put you in a trace and do that anyway," she said bringing out her c.o.c.ky side that reminded me of Draven.
"Sophia please...I won"t tell him and besides, wouldn"t you want to know?" With this I had her, knowing that she would most definitely do everything in her power to find out, after all, her and her family had found out everything about me!
"Ok well I can understand it when you put it like that...but Keira he is extremely powerful and he will already know we are having this conversation." This shocked me and I couldn"t help but turn nervously towards the door as if readying myself for him to come bursting in the room.
"So you won"t tell me?" I said like a sullen child.
"I didn"t say that but let me ask you, do you love my brother?"
"Yes of course!" I said full of certainty and she smiled.