Chapter 7 Eryx
ERYX
The gnarled branches of the forest curl together overhead like finger bones.
The magic of The Woods dances on the mild wind, tugging at the ends of my frayed cloak.
After wandering aimlessly, my destination finally appears in a small clearing.
A decaying oak tree rests atop thick, bumpy roots and leaf litter.
Its pale bark glows like the moon. Its leaves hang limply from twisting branches with dark sap bleeding from each frail stem.
The trunk is split in half, leaking more putrid sap down the front—magic pulses from the petrified tree. The metallic taste coats my tongue. It’s been an age since I last found myself here in front of this deity.
God or goddess, I do not know. My maker has never been a creature of many words.
Our paths had only crossed once before on the day I felt the oily lick of their magic during my creation.
Since then, I have made it my mission never to go looking for my maker, lest they undo me on the spot.
All of my kind that have ever gone searching for this power have met that fate.
Yet, foolishly, here I am standing in the shadow of their great power for even the sliver of a chance to make things different. I’ll beg if I have to—I’ll do whatever I can for her.
Nory.
I’ll beseech this deity for more time with her—to spend as much time with her as I am able.
One night in her bed, holding her close, tasting her blood and her decadent mouth changed everything.
I had made peace with my end as I had felt it looming for some time.
In those dark, starving moments between feedings, I had longed for my undoing to stop this endless nothing.
Now I have a new lust for life brought about by my beautiful human.
She is kind—brave—and so many other wonderful things.
This cannot be the end of me, not when I’ve barely gotten a chance to explore her.
I don’t know how much time I have left, but it is not long.
That is why I am here, begging this powerful being to be merciful.
Last night was a revelation. It had awoken something in me I didn’t know I possessed.
Feelings of longing and devotion followed me into sleep, where for the first time in centuries I dreamed.
Glorious, warm dreams of Nory—of her face, her scent, of our life together, and what that could be.
I never would’ve left her bed at the first rays of morning light if it hadn’t been important.
I had to find my maker and pay whatever price is necessary to stay my undoing.
With a sigh, I kneel on my cold armour plates before the imposing tree.
They dig into my thin flesh, sending icy pricks along my body.
Without Nory’s warmth, I will surely freeze to death.
Lowering my head and pressing my palms to my thighs, I assume a posture of pure supplication.
The air around me goes still, the hum of life falls away.
A soft buzzing rattles my ears as my senses are overwhelmed with the scent of magic.
The air thickens as the tree pulses before me.
Dazzling white light spills from the broken trunk.
It swirls around me—tendrils of power brush against my shoulders, and I suppress my shiver.
After a few moments, the light consolidates into a solid form.
My maker is made of only power, a being beyond this world that I am about to bargain with.
My plight is a foolish one, but for Nory, I would do anything to keep her at my side.
“My child,” my maker hisses. “Coming before me now, when our eternal reunion is not too far off. Why?”
I swallow, tasting Nory’s sweet blood faintly along my tongue.
“Dear maker—I’ve met someone. I come before you today as your humble servant, and beg you to postpone my undoing to give me more time with her.”
The being glows brighter. The white light is too powerful for even my lifefire to stare at.
The silence between us stretches, and unease tickles the back of my neck.
Finally, my maker makes a soft chuffing sound.
A laugh? Surely not. A being of this power has no use for fickle emotions such as humor.
“Does your human wish the same?”
My nod is emphatic. “Yes—yes, I believe so.”
“Hmm,” they hum. “Curious that. You are a monster—I made you that way.”
“And I’ve felt like one for centuries. All until her. I beg of you, extend my time in this world at least until she reaches her own mortal end. A handful of decades—nothing more. I beseech you, dear maker.”
Humans live such frightfully short lives. Merely blips in time compared to the centuries I’ve wandered. To think of Nory no longer being in this world makes my stomach hollow. Once she is gone, I will long for my undoing, knowing I could no longer roam this world without her in it.
My maker seems to consider my words, their stark light cooling in contemplation. After a moment, their rasping voice breaks the silence.
“Did you ever wonder why you were the last of your kind? My longest wandering creation that’s outlived all the others.”
“Stubbornness,” I reply bitterly.
Again, a soft chuffing comes from them that I am forced to believe is the sound of amusement.
“My child, I made you different from the others. Many thought I was foolish to do so, seeing as you have not lived up to your full potential.”
Their light fades nearly to gray.
“I apologize for displeasing you,” I say. “Whatever it is you wish me to do, I will. So long as I can have more time with her.”
“A lover’s plight,” they purr. “What’s given must be earned, child. Never forget that.”
Their light returns to brilliance as they float down from their perch atop the trunk. Self-preservation silences my tongue as I feel them float towards me. The whisper of warmth ghosts over my cold cheek, but I dare not look up.
“An extension will not be given on this day. In two weeks, you will be undone just like all the other revenants before you.”
My stomach hollows as bile rises in my throat. The world tilts at odd angles around me. Two weeks is nothing. How will I ever—
“Unless,” my maker sighs, “you do the one thing no one of your kind has done before.”
Their power presses into the side of my face. I grit against the sting of their power cutting into the flesh of my cheek. Their light touches my ear, and in a hushed whisper, their demands are bestowed upon me. My lifeline from them is nothing more than an impossible ultimatum.
The last bit of my hope leaves me as they pull back.
“But how will I—”
“Silence. Those are my demands, and they must be met. Speak to anyone about what I have told you, and my magic will undo you before your next breath.”
Icy shock coats my skin in frost. Metal invades my lungs and coats my tongue.
The light presses in on me, smothering me until there is no air left in my lungs.
I choke, writhe on my knees before I feel the power snap.
I greedily such down lungfuls of breath.
A greasy sheen coats my skin, and I know our bargain is struck.
“Maker,” I rasp, bowing my head.
By the time I gather the courage to look up, the being is gone. The clearing is just as still as I found it. I take stock of my body, feeling the familiar press of my armor and the worn edges of my cloak. One male entered this clearing, but another is leaving.
One who is determined to accomplish this daunting feat. I rise on shaking legs and turn back towards her—Nory. There is no time to waste. Each moment has become more precious than the last, with our finite time together barely more than a handful of days.
It spurs me to move fast—cutting through The Woods until I find myself at the outskirts of her town. Despite the odds, I have to try to fulfill this bargain.
Even if it kills me.
This plan she’s presented me with has to be more foolish than the last.
I am pressed in amongst a clustering of evergreen trees, a few feet from the simple road.
At least the scene before me looks believable enough.
The only praise I can think of as I take in the broken horse’s bridle in Nory’s hand.
We took it from the blacksmith’s shop before making our way to a quieter part of the Snowlands.
The biting chill of the weather seemed worse out here for some reason. Yet, Nory was once again dressed in her scarlet dress. The way it hugged her body made my teeth grind together. Now that I know what she feels like against my palm, I have to swallow my groan and will my errant cock to behave.
Her pink cheeks and the loose tendrils of auburn hair clinging to her brow make her even more enticing.
There is a tightness in her muscles, indicating her unease at the situation.
Still, she is here to help—that kind heart of hers pounding soundly against her ribs.
I can practically taste her pulse and hear the rushing of her sweet blood.
When I had returned from The Woods, it had been nearly late evening.
I had snuck unseen into her cottage, finding her in a state.
Was it merely my hope, or had she seemed genuinely pleased to see me?
Like she had missed my presence throughout the day, and now that I had returned, she could relax.
Her shoulders had sagged a bit upon my entrance. That has to mean something.
Unless it is my own unchecked fantasy, but then she said she believed I had departed early, forsaking our bargain entirely.
“I am a male of my word,” I had said. “There is nothing in this world that could persuade me to leave with you on the line.”
Color had stained her round cheeks, and the look of pleasure danced in her green eyes. The subject of my abandonment was dropped then, and she imparted to me her ludicrous plan.