8. Cory
8
CORY
H eat and smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
Red light shifted and shimmered around me, dark as blood and ink in places, sparking with electricity in others. There were flames nearby, I was sure of it, but I couldn’t see enough to know where. My eyes were clouded, and I could only catch glimpses of the world around me.
I was alone, except I wasn’t alone, because I could hear something shifting in the dark behind me. Something heavy, moving through the shadows as the heat on my back built. Then it was right behind me, and sparks cascaded down my back.
Something sharp traced down my spine. A nail? A claw?
The image of a moragh filled my mind. Was that what was doing this? Was this what that creature in the gym had wanted, when it attacked me? Not to kill me, not to steal magic that I didn’t even have, but to take me to wherever this place was, to be its slave?
The claw traced down my spine again, and shivers broke out across my body. Was that what I’d been dreaming about, this whole time? A rotting, putrid corpse that wanted to desecrate me?
I whimpered, and the thing behind me laughed . I wondered if it took pleasure in my fear. Tenelkiri , my mind prompted. Tenelkiri, not moraghin. It’s feeding on your fear .
I looked left and right, craning my head to see the thing behind me, but all I could make out was shadows and crimson light. The creature laughed again, and the rumble seemed to shake the ground. It shook me, anyway. I felt it in my bones. Felt a tremor inside me, like my bones were trying to respond.
No. No, they weren’t. No part of me wanted this.
“Go away,” I panted. My voice was tiny, barely audible. I struggled to swallow, to wet my throat. “Go away.”
It was barely any louder the second time. You’d have to be next to me to hear it, and while the monster seemed to be everywhere around me, it hadn’t noticed my speech.
There were flames in front of me now, warming my entire body. I looked down, only to realize I was naked. My flesh glowed amber in the fire light. Sweat dripped down my stomach in rivulets, running into the channels of my hips, down to—down to—
God, my cock was rock hard. I was terrified, I had no idea where I was, or what the thing behind me in the darkness was, but energy pooled in my core and a surge of desire coursed through my body.
No, I couldn’t want this. I didn’t want this. I needed to get away.
I tugged, finding that my hands were tied behind my back. Rough rope fibers scraped my wrists as I twisted them, trying to break free. But there was no give. The rope dug into my skin, leaving it raw, but the harder I tugged, the tighter the knots became.
The monster noticed my efforts. I felt it hovering behind me, shadows made flesh. I felt its breath on my neck, felt its tongue lick along my shoulder blades, then curl up and lick the inside of my ear. I shuddered. Did it want to fuck me, or eat me? I wasn’t sure which scared me more.
“Go away,” I said, and it was still more croak than scream, but the creature heard me for the first time.
“You wish to leave?”
Its voice was low and gravelly, almost indistinguishable from the crackling fire and the roaring wind that howled around us.
“Please,” I begged, and suddenly the rope was gone. My hands had been mid-tug, and now they were flying through the air as the force restraining them disappeared. I was knocked off-balance and started to fall, when the thing grabbed me and held me upright.
I looked down to see shining, dark claws wrapped around my wrists. They were sharp enough to draw blood, but they were gently clasped around my arms, carefully not shredding even the smallest piece of my skin.
Was it holding me?
My breath came in short little bursts, my pulse so far up my throat that I swore I could taste it. The monster’s claws retracted, freeing my hands. I could move again. I was free to go in any direction I wanted. My heart thudded.
“Go,” said the creature. The sound of its voice—no, of his voice—filled my ear and reverberated through the air at the same time.
Go , I told myself sternly. Just leave. He’s letting you go .
It would be no effort at all to step a foot forward. To follow it with another step. To make my way into the darkness, and not look back.
If you leave now, you’ll never see what’s behind you , whispered the traitorous voice in the back of my mind.
But I didn’t want to see the monster.
Right?
I swallowed, my breath still coming in short gasps. I closed my eyes. I shook my head.
The laugh that curled out of the darkness behind me set my core on fire. Shivers cascaded over my body, and something slithered down my spine. I couldn’t tell if it was a bead of sweat or some part of the creature. All I felt was heat. And wet.
This was so wrong. But no one had ever wanted me before. No one had desired me the way this creature did. And I wanted more.
Something curled around my stomach, encircling my body. I looked down, expecting to see an arm, scaly and horrifying, trailing wisps of smoke and decay. Instead, I saw…a tail?
That was the only word for it. It was black, more leathery than scaly, and instead of trailing smoke, it felt wet. It was a thick rope of a thing, as big around as my forearm, covered in something clear and viscous.
That couldn’t just be my sweat. Sweat wasn’t that thick, or that smooth. It wasn’t that…soft.
The word made no sense. Everything else about this creature was hard and rough, but the tail felt like skin where it pressed up against me. As I watched, it snaked around my back and the tip came back to rest below my belly button. How long was it?
I was still sweating, but my midsection was covered in a mix of sweat and whatever coated the tail. I gasped as it squeezed me, then again as it uncurled, sliding away and leaving me relieved and desperate and quivering at the same time.
“ Please ,” I groaned. The word came from my mouth unbidden, but this time, I wasn’t asking the monster to stop.
This time, when the tail reappeared, it pushed itself between my legs. I wobbled, taking a half-step to the side, which made room for it to slide between my thighs. The tip, still smooth and wet, brushed past my balls, then slid around my shaft.
It wrapped me in tight coils of heat and slick until the tip of the tail reached the head of my cock, sliding around it, flicking and teasing. Jesus, that was too good. Too much. I shuddered, my knees shaking, and in an instant, the monster was there.
One clawed hand grasped my hip, the other rested on my shoulder. The other . For all I knew, the thing had eight hands. All I could tell about the creature behind me was that it was massive, and hot, and…and that it wanted me .
The monster’s claws were almost delicate in the way they steadied me. Once in place, they hardly moved, like the creature was frozen in stone. It was only when I shook or sagged, my body weak from pleasure or fear, that the claws pressed in, and only because my movements had pushed my skin against their sharp points.
All the while, the tail—Jesus Christ, a fucking tail —slid and grasped and slinked around my cock. I was rock hard, dripping pre-cum that mixed with whatever liquid coated the tail. I was so close. All I needed was another—
“Cory.”
Someone said my name, and I couldn’t tell where it came from. It wasn’t the monster. The voice wasn’t right. It was too high and raucous. Too insistent.
“Cory. Cory Cory Cory Cory.” My name crashed through the air. I twisted around, baffled. The creature still held me. It didn’t seem to notice the intrusion.
“Cory.” This time my name was accompanied by a sharp twinge on my face. My hand flew up automatically, touching my cheek.
“Ow,” I complained. I closed my eyes, trying to shake the pain away, and when I opened them again, I was back in my room at Vesperwood, lying in bed.
The raven stood on my chest, peering down like it was considering pecking me. Pecking me again , I realized, my fingers still touching the sore spot on my cheek. It had bitten me.
Relief and disappointment filled me as I stared up into its beady eyes. I was safe in bed. Early morning light came in through the window, which was open and letting in a cold breeze. The monster, the fire, smoke, and the tail had been nothing more than a dream.
I was more relieved than disappointed. I was pretty sure of that, anyway.
“Okay, okay, I’m up,” I grumbled, pushing myself up against the headboard. I glared at the raven, which I still hadn’t named. “You didn’t have to be quite so forceful, you know.”
“Cory,” it croaked. “Cory Cory Cory.” It hopped on my blanket like a child in a bouncy house. The look it gave me was smug.
Ever since the moraghin attack, it had come to visit me nightly, and most mornings too. I’d started leaving my window unlatched and propped open, so it wouldn’t tap incessantly as I tried to sleep. I didn’t know what it wanted, or if it wanted anything at all.
It hadn’t repeated the word ‘ Vesperwood ’ once in all this time, but in addition to my name, it had taken to repeating ‘ Good night ,’ ‘ You again ,’ and ‘ Peanut ,’ ad nauseam. I didn’t know where it had learned the word peanut, but it seemed to mean any small bit of food I gave it.
“Let’s see what you brought me this time,” I said, flinging the covers back and padding to the window. A dead mouse lay on the sill, its head lolling at an unnatural angle. “Gee, thank you.”
“Thank you,” the raven croaked, flapping over to join me at the window. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to bring me presents, you know. You’re not a cat.”
“Cat. Cat cat cat. Cat cat cat cat cat.” It sounded like a snare drum. I shook my head.
“I have to shower. If you leave before I’m back, please at least take the mouse with you?”
I had no idea if the bird could understand me, but I pointed to the mouse and shook my head sternly, hoping that would convey my meaning. The raven never stuck around for too long, and if it was a familiar, it had yet to show any hint of magical ability. With the possible exception of maybe being able to read my mind.
How had it known to say Noah’s name, that one time? I shook my head. I didn’t like thinking about that.
It felt good to shower that morning, like I was washing metaphysical as well as tangible grime off of myself. Every other night, I lay on Romero’s sofa and had a sex dream that ended in an orgasm, and yet my brain was still conjuring up monsters to fuck in its spare time. I felt gross, queasy, and exhausted.
Romero claimed that progress took time, that I would get better slowly and surely. So far, I hadn’t seen any signs of it. All I could do was be grateful that I hadn’t stumbled into the dream of anyone at Vesperwood. Or at least, as far as I knew, I hadn’t.
I supposed it was possible that Chad or Hasan or any of the other guys whose dreams I’d found were students here I just hadn’t met. If they were, I hoped I never did meet them. I didn’t think I could handle facing people whose dreams I’d invaded the night before. Especially not when I knew what we’d done together.
The raven was still in my room when I got back, but the mouse was gone.
I gave the bird a long look. “I hope you ate that, and didn’t just push it out the window.”
The raven flapped over to my desk and bobbed its head as I gathered my class books. “Window, window.”
“You again, huh?”
The voice came from my doorway, and I turned around to see Ash leaning against the frame, grinning at the raven.
“You again,” the raven repeated. “Ash. You again, Ash.”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”
“Ash, Ash, Ash,” the raven said, pointedly ignoring instructions.
All I could do was be grateful that with its penchant for repeating names, it had only said Noah’s name when I was alone with it.
“I still think you need to give that guy a name,” Ash said as I scooped my books into an old backpack that I’d picked up from Vesperwood’s lost and found bin.
“I don’t want to presume,” I said, slinging the bag over my shoulder. “I don’t know its gender. It might not be a guy.”
I turned back to the raven and stroked its head with my finger. Their head? That felt a little better than referring to the bird as an it . The raven bobbed their head against my hand contentedly.
“So give it a gender neutral name,” Ash said with a shrug. “Robin. Jesse. Desk.”
“I’m not naming my raven Desk,” I said, a little affronted on the raven’s behalf.
“Cat,” the raven croaked, stepping out from under my hand and fluttering back to the windowsill. “Cat cat cat.”
I hoped that didn’t mean they were off to go bring me more small animals.
“I think they’re telling you what they want to be called,” Ash said, grinning.
“I’m not calling my raven Cat, either,” I told him.
“Cat.”
The raven croaked the word one more time before flying off without so much as a by your leave. I stared after them, wondering where they were going, and just what they did with themself, when they weren’t harassing me for food or gifting me dead voles.
“Come on,” Ash said. “Felix is going to think we died if we don’t meet up with him soon.”
“Since when do you care about schedules?” I asked, giving the window a final look before joining him at the door.
“I don’t really,” Ash said with a shrug. “But it’s waffle day today, and I want to get one while they’re still hot and crispy.”
Did ravens like waffles? Maybe I should save the bird a few pieces. Though the pieces would be soft by the time I saw them tonight. And did ravens prefer waffles with syrup, or without?
My mind filled with these important questions, I stepped out into the hall with Ash. I could solve the mystery of the raven—and my dreams, and my incubus power, and a million other things—later. For now, I was going to concentrate on waffles, and put this morning’s dream behind me.
Somehow.