Back with another chapter! And I didn't wait a year! XD Before I begin I must say "Fear not, BlueDragon11, there will be a twist I hope you all don't expect." My key word there is 'hope'. ;

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The Realms

Chapter Ten

Eve was way in over her head; she knew that as soon as she her control slipped that one time. Just remembering it made her shudder. Perhaps she needed Derek's help after all…. 'No! I can't get him involved with this…not yet. It was just one slip, it won't happen again, I won't let it.'

It had been three weeks since her encounter with Derek, three long and painful weeks.

/8/Three Weeks Ago/8/

As soon as Derek was out of sight Eve put her plan into action. She didn't have long, knowing Lucas he would be at her little tower in ten minutes max. Had he been stronger she knew her time would be less.

Standing in the center of the tower room she stretched her pure white wings out as far as the small cell like area would allow her. "Don't be afraid…don't be afraid…you're doing this for the good of the world, Eve, you can do it. Don't be afraid…don't be-" The mantra continued in her head as she slowly closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Hesitantly she pushed the light she had so recently recovered back, back into whatever part of her she had gotten it from. She kept her memories this time since she now knew what had caused her to lose them.

She imagined a solid door slamming shut on the light and a padlock locking it in the safety of whatever corner she had pushed it too. As soon as she did that she sought out the next step of her plan. The Darkness. Delving deep into her soul, her being, she looked for that tiny seed of evil every person carried within them. Once she found it she coaxed it to grow. Nudging the seedling as she feed some of her power into that dark core and watched it grow, feeding off the pure energy she was giving it.

When she felt that she had gotten it to the point where she teetered on the border of control she franticly cut off the power supply. Something within the darkness screamed angrily at her for doing so and lashed out. Eve grunted and fell to her knees as icicles of pain battered at her skull. 'Don't fight it! It'll just make it worse! Accept it...' Cooing softly to the dark she sweet-talked it into calming down, promising it more power when she regained it. It seemed to work for the pain faded and the dark beast purred and calmed.

Opening her eyes she gasped. Her wings were no longer purely white. Black bled up from the tips of her feathers, stretching towards the top which was still white. Still dazed by the sight she missed the sound of the door being unlocked and thrown open. Her gaze snapped to Lucas, however, when she heard his chuckle.

"Oh, my pet, don't you look oh-so pretty in black." He grinned and slowly looked over her wings. "I knew putting you in here to brood a while would bring you to your senses." He took a step towards her, pleased how she didn't back away.

She knew she had to pull on her acting cloak, although part of her told her she was no longer acting. She felt a cruel grin distort her lips as she looked at Lucas from beneath her bangs. "Oooohhh I so do love the color." Her voice was no longer something she recognized. It was a husky purr and laced with something evil. It scared her. This wasn't her! She didn't want to change; she only wanted to convince him she had switched to his side! Laughter exploded in her head, laughter that fit the grin on her face. -Oh, beauty, beauty…you shouldn't have fed meeee!- It sang like a child teasing a companion, -Hehe, now we're in this together…you have very little control of me, sweet. Control I plan on ridding you of. I will be my own entity and your body my play zone!-

Eve swallowed hard, eyes widening slightly as Lucas' pleasured laugh filled her ears.

"Wonderful! Now all we have to do is wait and bide our time until all that ugly white is completely turned black." He smiled and stepped closer to Eve, lightly trailing one black-taloned finger down her cheek. "I will help you get there, my love. Together we will take the power of the Dark Tempest and conquer all realms." He laughed and turned his back to her, walking back to the door. "Come, we've much work to get done."

Eve chuckled forbiddingly, wings folding against her back as she followed Lucas from the room. "I cannot wait…it shall be great fun!"

Lucas gave her a grin so evil it almost stopped her heart. "Oh it will be. For watching you go through the second step-the first having been changing sides-will be something both of us will enjoy." He quirked a brow. "How much of the light is left in you, child?"

Eve opened her mouth to answer but the voice from her head was the one that spoke. "Too much, but nothing I can't handle!" She gave a raspy laugh that was soon joined by Lucas. "Fear not, Milord, I will be rid of such a nuisance in little time." Tossing her thick hair over her shoulder she flexed her wings, watching as the black inched up slightly, swallowing more of the white.

/8/

Had Eve known what the 'second step' was she would have immediately changed tactics and called Derek in for help. But it wasn't until it was too late that she knew and by then the evil inside her-the evil which had started calling itself Roxanna-had obtained slightly more control than Eve herself had been able to detect. So when she tried to stop it…she had been powerless and forced to watch.

She had been presented with a young man, one whose beady red eyes darted around as if looking for an unseen threat. His eyes never seemed to stay in once place and every once and a while they rolled back into his head and all one could see were the whites of his eyes. He was dressed in rags and his skin was covered in dirt and dried blood from self inflicted wounds. He muttered incoherent words and often shouted about how 'they were out to get the secrets'.

The moment Eve saw him she felt sickened at his state and immediately pitied him, yet Roxanna had not let her feel for him. Instead she scowled and looked down her nose at the man. "What a waste of space this pitiful creature is." At her words the paranoid man's eyes stopped moving and glued to her.

"Secrets, keep secrets, must not let them, you, get them!" The man sputtered and suddenly lunged at her, arms out stretched and fingers curled like claws aimed for her throat.

Eve side stepped easily although she was surprised at the mans' sudden action. What she hadn't been expecting was for him to grab one of her wings and yank. Pain laced from the offended appendage and stabbed like knives down her spine. A roar of outrage so unlike her spilled from her lips and, yanking her wing free, she whirled on the man and grabbed his neck lifting him off the floor with strength she didn't know she had. Or was it strength she shouldn't have?

"Why you little vermin! How dare you think you can harm me and still live!" Eve's gaze turned red, blurring out everything from her vision as Roxanna laughed giddily in her head. -Yes! Yes! That's it, that's it! Doooooo it! Ahahahahahaha!- the laughter died and the red haze left her vision. A strangled gasp was caught in her throat as she looked at the still body of the man. His neck was twisted in an unnatural position and a pained expression distorted his face, the whites of his eyes staring blankly at nothing.

'No…no…I didn't…I didn't mean to…' She stumbled back a step and almost fell but she managed, somehow, to stay up right. When Lucas' laughter echoed in the room she twisted around to look at him, carefully masking the horror she felt in her face. She wasn't so sure she did a good job of it, however, for he frowned a bit.

"Ah pet…you shall get used to it." His wicked grin was back. "Why! Look at your wings! Even more black covers them now, you should be proud!" Laughing he turned and waked away, talons scraping over the stone floor.

/8/Present/8/

Ever since then it seemed that Roxanna was gaining more strength, Eve heard her more often and at an ever increasing volume. More of Eve's actions and words seemed less hers and more of the dark woman's. She found herself using magic more often than she had before and for the smallest tasks, mostly for killing insects or rodents that annoyed her. Once she even used it to cause another human pain since they didn't do exactly as she had told them. Frankly it was scaring the whits out of Eve and that was probably what was making her weaker to Roxanna's actions.

Her wings were slowly turning blacker and there was very little white still showing at the top. The thought of contacting Derek was always put off for Roxanna always did something that made it impossible. Besides, if Roxanna was as strong as Eve believed her to be it wouldn't be Eve talking to Derek it would be her other self. Then what would happen? Roxanna could trick Derek into coming then harm him or turn him over to Lucas who would, no doubt, torture him just for the hell of it and to get him out of his way. Eve wouldn't be able to live with the knowledge that she helped cause his death, even if her thoughts were becoming something not her own.

She was in deep shit. She had gone in way over her head and now she didn't know how to fix it. She had tied finding her light but she wasn't strong enough to fight her way through the dark consuming her soul. Once she had found the door to it but shadowy figures danced before it and lashed out at her every time she tried to get to it.

Perched in the center of her bed Eve pulled her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth, wings tightly folded behind her back so she couldn't see them. She wanted no reminder of what was happening to her while she was finally in control.

Lucas, having believed she was fully turned to his side, had placed her in more accommodating chambers. Her new room was huge, almost half the size of a football stadium with a large-possibly bigger than king size-bed placed in the direct center. Black, gauzy, curtains were pulled tight around the bed she huddled in while a blazing fire from the hearth not more than ten feet from the end of the bed kept the room warm. Besides a chaise and an overstuffed arm chair there was nothing else to sit on or relax on besides the bed. There was a small armoire tucked in one corner of the room and a door behind the bed that led to a huge closet filled with clothing fit for a queen. A Queen of Darkness that is.

The only thing keeping the room's size from making her feel tiny was a bunch of fur rugs thrown in random places and a few sculptures that went with the erotic artwork that hung on the walls. Eve shuddered ever time she looked at them. Honestly she was surprised Lucas hadn't tried to take her yet nor had he made any advances.

-Ahh, sweet. You understand so little which makes you blind to much. The husky voice purred in her mind. Do you not see? We are already stronger than that half man. He, in a way, is afraid of us. He will not try anything I do not encourage for fear of his death. A frivolous laugh then, We will have to kill him before that demon inside of him finally gives him all his strength. Then we would be as weak as a babe compared to him. That is…until you finally relinquish control to me, which you will little beauty. I do not intend to rule by Bird Man's side. I intend to rule by myself.-

Eve slammed her hands over her ears in a futile attempt to block out Roxanna's insane laughter, the kind that would make anyone shiver in fear of their life had they heard it. Yet, maybe Roxanna would be of help after all though Eve would never let her fully take over. Never! She would rather die first. She had to find a way to warn Derek! 'No! I can't risk his coming here, only the Gods know what would happen and if I do loose myself he needs to be alive to…to do what I can't!'

Resolved Eve stopped rocking and moved to the edge of the bed, throwing the curtains aside as she leaped from the bed. 'Alright, Roxanna, I'll play you're game for now but after we dispose of Lucas…you're gone.' Her only response was chilling laughter. Roxanna needed to words, her laughter said it all.

Eve would never be herself after this was over.