Krystallina's Crisis Read online

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  Amber Quill Press

  www.amberquill.com

  Copyright ©2008 by Adrianna Dane

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Also By Adrianna Dane

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  Adrianna Dane

  Amber Quill's Rewards Program

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  KRYSTALLINA'S CRISIS

  By

  ADRIANNA DANE

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  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  www.amberquill.com

  Also By Adrianna Dane

  Breathless Peaks

  Carnal Carnivale

  Closing Time

  Come Into My Parlor

  Esmerelda's Secret

  The Exile: Carved In Memory

  The Exile: A Seductive Tale

  Fertility Rite

  Graphic Liaisons

  Hidden Impact

  If You Dare...

  Tempt Me Not

  Therapy

  Train Me

  Unicorn Craving

  Vampyre Falls: Animal Heat

  Vampyre Falls: Morganna's Sacrifice

  I Want

  Images Of Desire

  Immortal Treasure

  Jebediah's Promise

  Jewel Of Niveka

  Legend Of The Beesinger

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  CHAPTER 1

  Leave now!

  Krystallina's eyelids snapped up. She wasn't certain exactly what had awakened her so abruptly, but the urgency would not abate. She scanned the darkened bedchamber. All was silent, except for the sound of deep breathing coming from the two men she was tightly sandwiched between, who still appeared lost to their dream world.

  Carefully, she turned to gaze at the man who had been her lord and master for the last three years. Did evil men such as him even dream? Krystallina decided she didn't even want to know if the man held darker fantasies than he exacted upon his slaves.

  Krystallina slipped from between the two warm bodies. She focused her thoughts to masking her movements from the two men. It was important she not disturb either of them—the large, dangerous man to the left, the powerful Underlord Kadin, ruler of the black underworld, or the one to the right, As-ya, another slave like her. As-ya appeared to sleep peacefully, probably just as exhausted as her from the activities of the night before.

  The underlord had chosen the two of them to entertain him last evening. If they performed to his satisfaction, he rewarded the slaves by inviting them to share his meal and his bed. If he wasn't pleased, it would mean a cold night in a wet cell without food or water and then seven days to follow with only bread and water to sustain them. It could include a session with the whip if the Master was so inclined.

  Last night the Master had been well pleased with his two possessions. He had used both of them in many and varied ways until he had drifted off to sleep after too much wine and more than an abundance of sex. Krystallina finally managed to disentangle her sore body from the males and black silk bedding. With caution, she tiptoed across the shiny black floor to where her clothes, what few there were, lay scattered about the room.

  Kadin had enjoyed her dance the night before. He had sat in his huge, golden throne chair, stroking his immense erection as she undulated and drifted across the floor, her clothes discarded here and there as her body was revealed for the Master's pleasure.

  Krystallina had learned the dance in her home province of Jovantu. It was meant to be a marriage dance, one designed and practiced for her intended. She shook her head, trying to break loose of the painful memories of what should have been the planned path of her life. If the caravan carrying her to her intended hadn't been attacked. If Kadin hadn't found her appetizing enough to add her to his human collection of sex slaves.

  The first year she had fought him to her very last breath, determined to die rather than remain his slave. But that was not in Kadin's plans, and she had paid a high price. The second year she had drawn on a strength she hadn't known she possessed and had turned her mind to outwitting the man who enslaved her. It was either that or lose her mind. And this last year, after finally managing to gain a glimpse into the underlord's thoughts—apparently without him realizing she had the power—she had given herself freely to the Master in all ways. Enough to bind with his mind and access the map to the labyrinth that represented her key to freedom.

  There was not time to return to the slave's quarters to find heavier clothing. She would only have one chance to break free of the underworld. Although she didn't know where the voice inside her head came from, out of instinct she knew this was the day she must make good her escape. She would have to don the seductive outfit she had worn the night before and make her best gamble for freedom.

  She slipped on the blood-colored corset, lacing it up the side. Then the matching transparent skirt. And, finally, she pulled on the matching ruby and emerald encrusted gold sandals.

  Taking a deep breath, she surveyed the tangled bodies and bedding, but saw no movement to indicate either man might be waking.

  Tiptoeing to the private side door Kadin's mind had revealed to her—one hidden within the framework of the stone wall—she searched for the hidden release. This was the only door in his underworld kingdom not guarded. Its presence was veiled from discovery, blending into the unblemished ebony stone facade of the wall.

  Encountering the hidden catch with the pad of her index finger, she pressed and the door slid open, revealing a torch lit passage beyond. Thank Goddess. Just as she stepped a foot over the threshold, a strong hand clamped down on her shoulder. She stifled a scream.

  Whirling around, eyes wide, fear stretching through her, she turned to face what she thought would be her imminent death. A relieved breath whooshed from her lungs when she realized it was As-ya who stood there. Krystallina grabbed his hand and yanked him into the passageway, and the door to Kadin's chamber slid closed behind them.

  If Kadin discovered they were both gone it would mean certain death. Slaves did not leave the master's bed without verbal permission from the underlord. Especially if they were discovered in this secret passageway, which none of them should have knowledge of. Krystallina didn't want to think what tortures could await.

  "What are you doing here?” she whispered.

  She saw the determination in his eyes. “I'm coming with you."

  "You can't. I could be caught and we'd both be killed. And you know it wouldn't be an easy death for either of us."

  "I don't care.” His gaze bored into her. “You're different from the rest of us. You aren't running blind in hopes of finding the way out of the labyrinth. You know how to get out."

  "That's crazy. How could I possibly—"

  "Don't lie, Krystallina.” His hand cupped the curve of her breast and then shoved down and clamped possessively over her mound. “Several of us have talked. Those of us who have had you. We know you're different. You pretend to yield, but you don't really. It's in your eyes and the way you hold your body apart from us. Oh, you respond, but there's a
part of you that is distanced somehow. We've all felt it. It was only a matter of time before you'd try to escape."

  Krystallina wanted to rip his hand away from her body, but she knew she had to tread carefully. One wrong step and her life would either be forfeit or be turned into an even worse living hell than it already was.

  In her time in the underworld she had discovered there could be worse tortures than being the living slave to the dark underlord. Just thinking of the undead horde made her shiver.

  "We were good together, Krystallina. Better than any others he's had. Few of them get to share his bed for the night.” His thick finger slipped through the slitted opening of her skirt to bury inside her pussy. He thrust it back and forth inside her narrow channel. She couldn't let this happen. Not here, not now. Kadin could awaken at any moment, and she would not allow the ingrained sexual training to take control of her.

  After three years in Kadin's service, it no longer took very much to arouse her body. She'd learned the hard way that Kadin could easily ascertain if she faked her responses. She'd had to find a way to force herself to respond on command so as not to be punished for her transgressions. Too many lovers, too many tricks learned to please Kadin. The virgin on her way to her marriage was now no better than a whore, climaxing at the touch of any slave the Master chose for her, even to the point of forcing her orgasm on the simple command of Kadin.

  Krystallina had no idea where she was going to go if she got free of this place, but fleeing the underworld was something she had to do now before she lost herself completely to the dark decadent world of the underlord.

  Slowing her breaths, she looked up into As-ya's eyes. His lustful gaze pinioned her as his fingers worked inside her body She was unable to control the powerful orgasm that surged through her. Trained to perform like a captured jungle cat of Jovantu, Krystallina's submission was rooted in primitive, responsive instinct. She hated what this place had made her, and was determined to loose herself from the dark, lustful province as quickly as possible.

  As As-ya slid his finger from inside her, she knew he would leave her no choice. Not if she wanted her freedom.

  "Well?” he demanded, then sucked the digit into his mouth. Habit. Every sexual act any of them performed had been branded into their psyche by Kadin. The finger popped free from his mouth. “Or do I go back in there and wake Kadin?"

  She lifted her head and set her jaw. Her body still quaked. “Very well. You can come with me. But if we manage to get out safely, we go our separate ways. Is that clear?"

  "We're good together, Krystallina. Why should we separate?"

  "Sex is not everything, As-ya. I don't want you. What I have become has been forced upon me, and I don't want reminders. I will start a new life."

  Turning away, she hurried down the corridor as quietly and quickly as possible. She sensed As-ya behind her. She could only hope they hadn't wasted too much time. She had to get out of here before she totally lost the sense of who she was, who she had been before her capture. Krystallina couldn't bear being defined as the sexual animal Kadin had made her into. She would have freedom or death. And yet maybe they both meant the same thing.

  Just ahead of them was the entrance to the labyrinth. She turned to look at As-ya. “Are you certain you want to come with me? It could be very dangerous."

  "I'm certain."

  Krystallina nodded and turned away to enter the unknown, hoping the map she had read in Kadin's mind was not false.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  CHAPTER 2

  Benjamin Sarek saw his future in the lightsmoke as he had with every full moon for the last three years. Kneeling before the glowing crystals, twirls of mist rising from their center, he observed the form of the woman dancing at the heart of the entwined misty vision. He knelt on the moist earth, surrounded by the forest of which he served as guardian, his magic magnified by the land he inhabited.

  He watched the woman with long, golden hair. The graceful beauty was fashioned of the stars and moon with powers yet untutored, untapped. She was a gift from the land he protected, infused with power she did not yet understand, magic that had been misunderstood, and her destined course warped from where it should have led.

  He'd meditated daily for the last three years in an effort to be shown why he was so restless and why the woman who tortured his visions was not with him now in flesh. Why was her location veiled from him?

  But tonight at last his destiny was revealed, and he understood why he'd been unable to find her. She had been transported to the underworld where his presence was barred by the laws of the Goddess. Just as the misted forest was closed to Kadin, so was the underworld closed to Sarek. But now he saw her emerge from one of the exits into the light.

  A man and a woman. His woman stepped into the sunlight. The two parted company and she set out on her own. The afternoon light struck her golden tresses as she strode purposefully across the land. This was the woman meant for him. Her magic and his would intertwine and protect the land with a force doubled and enhanced. He looked beyond her to the murky shadows trailing her, a snake of black smoke. She may have escaped for now, but Kadin was not going to let her go easily. The black mist tracked her as though attached to her energy. The lightsmoke started to dissolve, bleeding her image into the sky.

  "No,” he cried out. He hadn't yet located the exact passageway from which she had emerged. Nor did he know whether the image was from the past or the future. Too little information to act upon. At the very least he needed a landmark in order to find her. “Give me a sign; show me how to reach her."

  But even now Goddess Night collapsed the vision, leaving Sarek in darkness, no better than he had been before. Except this time he knew his destiny and the woman were real, and yet not. It was still possible to lose her forever. It figured that Kadin would be the reason Sarek's destiny was denied him.

  The vision had sapped Sarek's energy as it always did. He dropped to the ground, weakness overtaking him, limp as a trampled blade of grass. He stared up at the stars in the night sky, trying to call back the message from Goddess Night. She did not speak.

  Was it her intent to drive him insane with temptation? To leave his thirst unquenched? He needed the woman. She was out there, alone. She needed his protection. She needed him to show her the way to their shared destiny.

  He tried to lift up from the ground, but his body was too depleted and he was without strength even to raise a hand. It would be several hours before he would draw enough power from the forests to replenish his power. His eyes closed as he sank into an exhausted sleep.

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  Sarek felt the hands stroking over his body. He knew the touch.

  "Gar, I have seen her.” Sarek's voice was rough and his words slurred. Gar's strong hand wrapped around Sarek's cock stilled.

  "Where is she?"

  Sarek realized his head was cushioned in Gar's lap. His companion apprentice smoothed a hand over Sarek's chest and back down to the nest of hair surrounding his erect stalk. Sarek felt the familiar heat surge through his body as he looked up into his young companion's eyes. He saw worry expressed there. And there was something else he could not define.

  "I don't know. She was lost in the underworld but has escaped. I don't know yet which passage she has taken."

  "Goddess Night will reveal her position soon, I'm certain. You have waited so long for her arrival. It will happen just as you knew it would."

  Sarek reached up to cup Gar's neck and drew him down. Their lips touched and pressed together. Gar opened his mouth and Sarek slid his tongue inside. The young man had been sent to him two years ago by Goddess Night to help assuage his solitude and loneliness. A wanderer of the desert, Gar had stumbled into the misted forest, guided there by the light of the brightest star in the necklace of the Goddess.

  He'd come to Sarek with only his name and little memory of his past. Bloodied by some battle, horrors too many to be remembered, Sarek had taken him as an apprentice to assist him in
his duties as guardian of the forest. And then Sarek had accepted him in the role of his companion.

  Sarek had never hidden the fact that Goddess Night would one day reveal Sarek's destined wife, and Gar had accepted the role assigned by the fates.

  Sarek rose to his knees facing his lover. “You knew this day would come."

  Gar nodded. “I knew. I do not regret the role you have allowed me, Master. Will you send me away when she arrives?"

  Sarek cupped the side of Gar's face. “I must allow her to decide. If she is agreeable I will keep you as companion, but she will hold the position as first wife. And this is something you must accept."

  Within the land it was not uncommon for a lord of the provinces to keep more than one wife and several concubines, as well as a scattering of lovers. It was Sarek's lawful right. He had not thought to do so himself, but he was now torn. He desired the woman he saw in his vision, felt the undeniable connection to her, but he also felt affection for his apprentice. And he could not send him out into the world without some preparation. It was always possible that the woman would accept Gar's role in his life. For now he set the worry aside, knowing he was getting far ahead of himself in his concerns. First he had to find her.

  He looked at Gar and reached into his mind. He saw the unease and he wanted to soothe the other man. No decision would be made tonight. Nothing more could be done until Goddess Night revealed the location of his intended mate.

  He stroked the side of Gar's face and then pulled him close. Sarek fastened his lips to his lover's, piercing into the moist chasm. He reached down between their bodies to clasp his lover's thick erection and stroked along the length, swirling a finger over the broad tip. Gar shuddered against him.

  "I'll take care of you, Gar. Whatever happens, you will not be abandoned."

  "I love you, Master. I may not know what my past contains, I may never know. But the Goddess has seen fit to send me to you, and I will do whatever is demanded of me for your happiness and well-being."