CHAPTER THREE
EILISH
The Castle in the Sky
The heels of my boots click on the marble floors of the palace that lead to the entry to the North Tower where we should find the Midnight Queen. I steel my courage and glance down at my maid’s uniform as I smooth the apron in place and remind myself that I can do this.
Patrolling the Midnight Queen’s prison are two soldiers. They aren’t gargoyles, but they appear to be demons—owing to their long and curving horns. Regardless, Pyre’s enchantment clearly hasn’t worked on them.
I can only hope my Succubus powers of persuasion will. If I can defeat these two soldiers, I can gain access to the keys one of them wears around his waist. Then I’ll be able to unlock the door and allow the others access to the North Tower, where the Midnight Queen is imprisoned.
Up ahead, the two demon guards sniff the air and cast their gazes toward me. The Succubus is already swirling through me and she fills the room with the scent of my need. The soldiers are quick to respond.
One licks his lips while the other noses me on the air, at the same time he reaches for his weapon.
Succubus, I say to myself. Now’s your time to shine.
I feel something strong, proud and powerful rising within me and I smile inwardly.
I raise my hands high in a motion of supplication, lifting my breasts as I sashay towards them. “No need to worry,” I say in a voice that sounds foreign. My tone is syrupy sweet, flirtatious, and unlike my voice. “I’ve just come to clean the bed linens.”
My eyelashes flutter against the highpoints of my cheeks and the flush on my face causes their arousal to grow thick in their trousers. As much as they can smell my need, I can also smell theirs. It takes everything within me to focus on my task at hand. If the Succubus had her way, I’d be sitting on top of each of them, taking turns filling myself with their seed.
I cast my gaze down to the sizeable bulges in their pants and feel sweat glistening on my skin like dew on the leaves at dawn.
Be strong, I tell myself. Focus on freeing Morrigan, Eilish.
It’s not an easy order because the Succubus wants these men as much as they want her. But, I have to contain that need—for the time being. And I make that promise to her. She will have her time to feed but now is not right. Now, we have a mission and it’s an important one.
“What do you want?” one of them growls in a low voice. Clearly, he wasn’t paying attention when I said I was here to change out the bed linens.
“What do you want?” I return the question and pull the hemline of my skirt up my thighs so they can see the tops of my milky skin and the garter belts that attach to my stockings.
I hear a low growl as I walk closer to the two mountainous soldiers. Their large, curling horns are perfect to grip and as one of them grabs me, pulling me into his erection, I do just that—wrap my hands around his horns as he lifts me and pushes his hips forward, grinding against me. I wrap my legs around him while I hold onto his horns.
“Naughty soldier,” I say as I shake my head and smile up at him. The words aren’t mine—they belong to the Succubus and she’s fully in charge. And that’s just as well, because were this duty left to the angel within me, she would surely fail it.
A pained moan escapes the demon guard as he cups my rear and further grinds against me. He squeezes my ass and I gasp as the second demon pulls me away from the first and then shoves me against the wall, gripping each of my ankles as he lifts my legs and then spreads them, pushing his wide hips between them. They disgust me, yes, but my body needs pleasure. It needs to feel the thick length of their cocks sliding into me in a painful yet delicious…
Blood sprays across my face as one of the guards’ heads rolls onto the ground. The other demon’s eyes go wide in shock as he looks down and sees a blade jutting out from his chest. The tip of the blade is maybe an inch from my sternum. He drops to his knees as Dragan places his foot on the demon’s shoulder and kicks him off the end of his sword.
Then he faces me with a fury in his eyes I’ve never seen before. “You looked like you were ready to fuck them right here,” he growls at me as he grips me around the upper arm and yanks me forward.
“I was supposed to play the part and I did,” I argue, still shocked by his anger and the massacre I just witnessed.
“You weren’t supposed to enjoy playing the part,” he spits back at me as he faces the door before us. Before I can respond and defend myself, he opens his mouth as he scents me in the air. “Control it,” he barks as he turns his furious eyes back to me. “Fucking control it!”
“I can’t,” I respond while I feel the Succubus rising up within me once again. She wants Dragan and she wants him right here and right now.
Cambion walks up behind Dragan and takes his sword, wiping the blood of the first demon from it as he curls his lip at me. “Well done,” he says and I can see the tension in his words as he fights against the seductive aura coming off me in waves.
I struggle to gain control over my body, over the Succubus, but the hunger is like a fever, a fire beneath my skin that causes every nerve to itch. Flumph hands me his water canteen and I gulp down the cool liquid until some of the fire dwindles a bit. “Breathe, Pretty, ya gotta breathe!”
I close my eyes and nod as I take his advice to heart and breathe in deeply for a count of three and then breathe out again. When I open my eyes, Flumph grabs my face and studies me.
“Oh! Good! You ain’t so dark no more!”
“Dark?” I repeat, still panting.
He nods. “I seen yer eyes go all black.” He swallows hard. “But they ain’t black no more.”
I don’t respond other than to reach down and grab the keys from the pool of blood spreading across the marble like a horrific paint spill. The keys jingle in my hands as I retrieve them and I turn to face the door, feeling as if I’m in slow motion. The Succubus’s need still burns inside me and I feel strangely exhausted and, at the same time, desperate for sex. I literally have to keep my gaze glued to the floor or the walls or the door because looking at the men around me makes me weak.
For a minute I don’t look anywhere but at the lock.
“What’s she doing?” Cambion asks.
“Shh,” Revenant responds. “She’s fighting to get control.”
He understands. He sees what’s happening to me and I’m grateful to him for his understanding. I notice that Dragan says nothing but I can feel the weight of his stare and his judgement all the same.
I continue to focus on the locked door before us—at the intricate runes carved into the iron. “Iron repels faeries, right?” I ask, my voice coming out whispery and exhausted.
“Yes,” Cambion answers as he strolls up beside me and his aroma wraps around me like a blanket. I have to hold my breath.
I close my eyes and fight to get control of myself. “Why would Variant ward the Midnight Queen’s room against faeries when we’re in the realm of the Fae?” I ask.
“Technically we aren’t in the Fae realm,” Cambion answers.
“But the majority of the creatures here,” I start.
“Are Fae, yes,” he answers. Then he faces the locked door with interest. I stare down at my hands, watching them shake with the force of my attempt to keep my needs at bay. Were I to release the Succubus, she would throw Cambion to the floor, climb on top of him and ride him until she reached multiple orgasms. I almost smile at the thought of his reaction to such a scenario.
“We aren’t the only ones who have attempted to free her?” I ask.
Flumph attempts to touch the lock and it turns red hot, instantly burning the tiny creature. He lets out more curse words than I’ve ever heard from him before and shakes his hand. Baron rolls his eyes and digs out some sort of poultice from his bag of poisons and tinctures. He spreads it across Flumph’s injured hand in order to ease the pain and it appears to do the job.
I glance down at the ring of keys in my hand until I find a key that matches the runes on the door. I take a step forward before Cambion reaches out and stops me with a hand on my arm.
“Don’t touch me,” I whisper as I close my eyes and fight for control over myself again. “It’s hard enough controlling my impulses,” I explain.
He immediately drops his hand back down to his side. “Sorry,” he says.
I say nothing but grit my teeth as I fight the desire inside me. Cambion’s hand felt so warm and the warmth of his light magic continues to plague me, even after he pulled away.
“You’ll have to dissolve the wards on the lock first,” Cambion says in a soft voice.
I nod and remember the lessons Pyre taught me. I focus on the magic that surrounds the lock and tune into the sight offered me by my third eye—that invisible eye that exists in the center of my forehead and allows me to see the invisible.
Immediately, I see lights dancing and spinning around the lock in the door. They appear as short and long bursts that circle around and through one another. I reach forward and without touching the iron lock, I place my palm toward it and I imagine absorbing all the light energy. As I watch, the dancing lights began to move toward me. I continue focusing on them, drawing them closer. Soon they dance around my hands and after another few seconds, they dissolve into my palm.
“It’s done,” I say as I open my eyes and face the lock again, slipping the key into the iron opening before turning it with a crank of my wrist. The runes glow for a second and the door swings inward of its own accord. We’re immediately greeted with darkness and beyond the darkness appears a winding stone staircase.
I step forward, but Cambion stops me by clearing his throat. “The stone could be spelled. Let Dragan go ahead of you, he’ll be able to sense if there’s anything amiss. Just... to be careful.” The worry is evident in his voice, despite his best efforts to hide it.
Dragan concentrates intently as he walks forward and passes me. He won’t look at me and I notice that he holds his breath while passing me. When he enters the room, he closes his eyes and walks in a circle—first clockwise and then counter. He frowns over his shoulder at the rest of us. Well, at everyone else… save me. He doesn’t bother to look at me. He then shakes his head.
“There aren’t any wards in the stone.” He glances up the narrow staircase. “I don’t even sense a door at the top of these stairs.” He faces Cambion. “Only two demon guards and one easily opened lock to ensure the prison of the Midnight Queen?”
“Either she didn’t prove much of a threat or whoever attempted to rescue her before us didn’t,” Baron responds with a shrug.
“Whatever the reason, I don’t care. Let’s just get to her,” Cambion answers, shoving past Dragan and starting for the stairs. Dragan is quick behind him and Baron rushes past me as I continue to try and battle the Succubus for control. Allowing the Succubus out was a risky venture and it’s proven near impossible to bottle her back up again.
The sound of my footfalls echoes through the tower. I’m the last one to take the staircase and Flumph flits around my head. I’m nervous. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m about to meet the Midnight Queen—the woman responsible for keeping me safe all this time. The woman whose voice I’ve been hearing in my head all along. The woman who will be able to answer all the questions I have. I just hope I don’t disappoint her.
Baron turns around once he reaches the top of the stairs and comes back down, passing me on his way.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“We should have barricaded the door,” he responds. I glance down the flight of stairs to where Baron stands on the ground floor, facing the door. Then I watch him as he reaches inside the leather sack of potions around his waist and pulls out a vial of something I can’t make out. He simply dumps the vial on the door and whatever was inside it singes the stone floor, creating a wall of fog that surrounds the door.
My heart pounds in my chest as I crest the top of the stairs, Baron, right behind me. Dragan was correct—there isn’t another door at the top of the stairs, just a room. Crimson curtains flutter as the wind blows through an open window. Gilded molding frames the tops and bottoms of the walls, nearly outdone by the beauty of the marble floors.
The smell of lilies and vanilla tickles my nose as I scan the room, taking in its opulence. Standing against the far wall, with the light of the pale moon illuminating her profile, is a beautiful woman. She doesn’t turn to face us right away, but continues gazing out of her window. When she does finally turn toward us, I’m taken aback by her large and expressive eyes.
“The Midnight Queen,” someone says but I don’t know who. I can’t concentrate on anything other than this regal figure before me.
I can’t draw my eyes away from her. Her alabaster skin glistens in the faint light, causing the cascade of dark waves down her back to appear even darker. She smiles at each of the men before her attention falls on me and I feel the weight of her expression crushing me.
It’s her.
It’s the Midnight Queen.
Morrigan.
I feel myself curtseying in her direction as I catch the light that reflects off her jeweled crown. The jewels are of every color of the rainbow and they sparkle from her crown, somehow paling in comparison to her own beauty. I find myself entranced by her.
She stands and walks over to me, ignoring the others. The purple, velvet robes that drape from her shoulders reveal a tall, lean body with the curves of a goddess. In comparison to her otherworldly glory, I feel inadequate in my maid’s outfit.
The Midnight Queen wraps her arms around my shoulders and she smiles broadly, taking me in from head to toe.
“Eilish,” she whispers. Then she just stares at me and smiles as she holds me at arm’s length.
“Morrigan,” I say in a such a small voice, I wonder if she even hears me.
I feel her warmth surround me and I sigh. It takes me another few seconds to realize I haven’t had to fight the Succubus for the last few moments. It’s as though she’s as much in awe by this vision of a woman as I am.
“I am so pleased to finally meet you, Eilish.”
***
DRAGAN
The Castle in the Sky
It’s been a long time since I’ve laid eyes on the Midnight Queen.
Years.
Decades.
I’ve lost count.
But, now, as I look at her… I’m not sure how I feel or how I should feel.
She appears... well cared for despite her status as a prisoner in Variant’s palace. I’m surprised by this and also not surprised. Even if she is Variant’s prisoner, he’s treated her with the respect she deserves.
I come to stand beside Eilish, and that’s when Morrigan turns her gaze on me. She just stands there for a few moments as she takes me in and I return the expression. Then without any warning, she pulls me into an awkward embrace. Tears sparkle in her eyes and I feel a bitter sense of rebellion in my gut.
I’m not happy to see her and I don’t share the same joy she does.
I can’t explain why.
But, as the seconds tick by, I begin to take more notice of the prison surrounding us. The tower is nothing like the hole in the ground where we found ourselves. In fact, the Midnight Queen has a perfect view of the gardens below her. There appears to be nothing keeping her from escaping. Not even bars on the windows.
Cambion steps forward and Morrigan immediately envelops him in a warm embrace. He returns it and his smile is broad. I can’t remember the last time I witnessed Cambion smiling. I notice that Revenant remains at the entrance of the room, making no motion to step forward. I glance back at him and realize his jaw is tight. His eyes are even tighter.
I face Morrigan again.
“How were you taken prisoner?” I hear myself ask her.
The Midnight Queen ducks her head in shame as she inhales deeply. “Theren and Variant. They used their magic to bind my powers.”
“Bind your powers?” Eilish repeats, her expression revealing nothing but concern and empathy.
Morrigan faces her then and nods. “I have no power left.”
“Then that’s how Variant has kept you here for so long?” I ask. I can’t help the suspicion in my tone. I just thought it impossible to steal magic from the Midnight Queen.
She faces me and nods again. “I am kept in this prison with no bars and no locks, save for the one guarding the door. I’m left to overlook the gardens and to dream of escape, but all the while realizing there is no escape when my magic has been stripped from me.”
“When were you taken prisoner?” Revenant demands from behind me. His tone is similar to mine—only more condescending and more suspicious.
Morrigan turns her attention to him and her smile is wide. “Revenant,” she whispers and takes a step forward. He holds up his hand to keep her at bay. She appears surprised at his less-than-friendly reaction to her. Her eyebrows arch as her eyes narrow and her mouth tightens.
“When were you taken prisoner?” he repeats, this time more firmly.
“Not long after Baron… not long after you were killed,” she answers. “I thought... I’ve thought all of you were dead,” she finishes as she looks at each of us in turn and her expression is one of hope mixed with relief.
“Dead?” I repeat, unable to shroud my surprise.
She nods. “I had no way of knowing what was really happening beyond the walls of this… miserable place. Of course, Variant never informed me what the truth of the situation was.”
“But you knew of Eilish and you were able to reach out to her?” Revenant demands as he walks forward and stands beside the angel. “You spoke to Eilish in her mind, just like you’ve spoken to me, so wouldn’t it follow that you knew none of us was dead?”
“I have not been able to speak to Eilish for quite a while,” Morrigan answers, her tone suddenly firm. “I worried what had happened to her, just as I worried what had happened to all of you.”
“Why did you lose touch with her?” Revenant continues, spearing her with his gaze. He wraps his arms against his chest and regards her coolly.
“I can’t say for certain though I thought Silvanus had something to do with it,” she answers.
“Silvanus?” Eilish repeats but then I watch as she swallows down whatever was about to come out of her mouth. Instead, she glances down at her feet and I have the feeling she’s keeping something to herself.
“You seem upset with me, Revenant,” Morrigan says as she faces Baron.
“Upset is an extreme simplification of my feelings towards you.”
“Out with them then,” she says with a quirk of her brow. “You’ve never been shy about your opinions. No need to start now. I know you must have many questions.”
“We have no time for a game of questions and answers,” he responds icily before facing her again. “But I must admit there are a few topics I am curious about.”
“Such as?”
“Why did you allow Variant to kill me? And why don’t you tell Eilish why you wiped her memory?”
“Revenant!” Eilish whispers, her eyes becoming wide at Revenant’s audacity. But, he doesn’t seem interested in her surprise.
“Well, I can tell you that I didn’t allow Variant to kill you,” Morrigan responds.
“Yet you possess the gift of telepathy?” Revenant asks.
She nods. “It’s true that I can see the future, but I’m not all-seeing . My prophecies aren’t always clear and they constantly change. I did not know that Variant would stab you, or else I would have stopped it from happening.”
“And Eilish’s memories?” he demands.
“I was not the one who took them.”
“Then who did?” Revenant barks.
Morrigan shakes her head. “I don’t know, but I hope to help you figure it out,” she sighs as she faces each of us in turn. “Is that why you’ve come here, then? To get answers?” There’s something odd about her demeanor—she seems defensive.
“No,” Eilish responds as she looks at Morrigan and shakes her head. “We came to rescue you, to free you from Variant.”
The Midnight queen steps away from us and returns to her position beside the window, where we found her when we first walked into this room.
Flumph flies up to my shoulder. Surprisingly, I don’t swat the insufferable creature. From my peripheral vision, I can see him scowling at the Midnight Queen. “Why I get the feelin’ she don’t wanna come with us?” he whispers into my ear.
I nod my head subtly because I had a similar thought. Especially when the Midnight Queen moves to sit on her bed, looking up at us as though we’re strangers.
“Coming here was very dangerous,” she starts.
“It was,” Revenant responds.
She nods and then exhales. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing you made such a sacrifice for me when there’s nothing I can do to help you.”
“How can you say that?” Cambion asks, shaking his head as he takes a step forward. Morrigan turns to look at him and he stops advancing.
“You want my help in defeating Variant, do you not?” she demands, her expression harsh. “Putting an end to his reign of terror?” The air of superiority in her tone makes me see red for a moment.
“Reign of terror?” I repeat. “Then you were aware of what has been happening at Variant’s hands?”
“As much as I’m able to learn from this gilded cage,” she responds.
“Then you admit to turning a blind eye to the suffering that’s been occurring in Variant’s name?” Revenant continues.
“I admit to nothing but survival,” she responds in an icy tone. “You saw the lock on my door, but you fail to see the wards in this room because they were not spelled for your eyes to see,” she insists. “This is a prison of my own making.”
“How is that?” I demand.
“Because the very power that keeps me hostage flows in my blood,” she answers and it’s the first time I notice the cold depths of her eyes. “Variant bleeds me of my strength and uses that strength to his advantage. I have no control over it or him.”
“You are a powerful being,” Revenant begins, shaking his head as if to say he doesn’t believe her words. “You’re able to see the past as well as the future.”
“Yes,” she nearly interrupts him. “And I’ve seen what Variant has done in snippets, in visions whenever they choose to come to me. I’ve seen the plunder and witnessed it from this room,” she continues as she faces the prison around her with an expression of defeat. “And I’ve attempted to council him, to get Variant to see reason, but he is lost.” She shakes her head as she pauses.
“And you, of all people, could not help him find his way back to sanity?” I ask, hearing the doubt in my own voice.
“Variant is not the man he once was. His power is exceedingly stronger—and it grows stronger still as he zaps me of my own.”
“We don’t have time to discuss this now,” Revenant says. “We’re on borrowed time as it is.”
“Yes,” Cambion says. “We can discuss this once we’ve safely returned to the Veil.”
“I can’t leave,” Morrigan says as she faces us each and shakes her head.
“Can’t leave?” Eilish repeats, her eyes wide pools of confusion.
“The wards in this room would destroy me as soon as I attempted to escape them,” Morrigan explains.
“Then you’ve already attempted escape?” I ask.
She faces me with regret. “Of course, I’ve already attempted it.”
“Well, we can’t just leave you here?” Eilish asks.
Morrigan nods but drops her gaze to the floor below her. “Yes, you have no other choice.”
“We came all this fucking way,” Revenant starts and his eyes are furious. “We risked our lives.”
“And you continue to risk your lives,” Morrigan fires back at him, her eyes narrowed and angry. “Which is why you must leave as quickly as you can.”
Eilish moves closer to the mysterious woman and sits beside her, ignorant to the hesitance in all of our eyes. None of us trusts Morrigan—the truth is in our body language, our tone of voice and the way we look at her. But, Eilish does believe her. She trusts the Midnight Queen, though I’m not certain why.
“There must be a way,” Eilish says.
“You,” Morrigan says as she gives Eilish a smile. “You are the way, but the way is not ready yet.”
“I don’t understand,” Eilish says and shakes her head.
“You are Succubus and you are angel. Light and dark in one vessel,” Morrigan says. I don’t like the term, “vessel,” as though Eilish isn’t a person, but an object.
“But what does that have to do,” Eilish starts but Morrigan interrupts her.
“You are the living manifestation of the equilibrium, the balance of all things,” she continues.
“The balance?” Eilish repeats, clearly lost.
Morrigan nods. “But, you must maintain that balance.”
“How?” Eilish asks.
“If you feed from darkness, then you will become darkness. If you feed from the light, then you will become light. But if one outweighs the other, chaos ensues,” Morrigan responds.
“We need to leave,” Cambion says and faces me with concern.