CHAPTER SEVEN
EILISH
The Ashland
My hands tremble as I lean Pyre against the trunk of a felled tree. He breathes deeply, but I know each step is painful for him. My healing is all but complete, despite the hunger that continues to rise inside me. I need to feed. Pyre is too weak to be much good, so I have to control myself. What terrifies me most is that I can feel the hunger rising, but there’s little to no warning that the succubus side of me is taking over.
Flumph says my eyes turn black and I smell sweet, almost syrupy, but I’ve never actually seen myself. But I know each time I’ve fed from Baron, a strand of my hair turned black. From what the Midnight Queen said about me needing to balance the light and dark within me, I figure I need lovers from both light and darkness. Morrigan called me the manifestation of the balance, which means I risk losing one side to the other, if I’m not careful.
I feel so out of control whenever I feel the seduction take over.
“Pyre, why do I feel differently when I use my angel abilities than when the succubus takes over?” I ask. Pyre is somewhat a mentor to all of us, as well as a friend and a loyal ally.
He blows a strand of crimson hair from his brow. Those sightless eyes flutter closed, and he takes a deep breath. “One is instinct, one is skill. Your angel abilities are a gift, but they must also be nurtured and strengthened over time. It’ll take many years of practice and discipline for you to fully master them. The succubus,” he continues with a sigh, “that side of you is something that can’t be taught, only managed. It’s like your heartbeat, something that’s just part of who you are. You have no more control over it than you do a surge of adrenaline or the need for food and sleep.”
“I hate that,” I mutter.
He nods, but his attention isn’t mine. It seems as if another conversation plays out in his mind. “Just accept it.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’ve got unlimited power.”
“All power has its limits,” he replies. “And remember, this power didn’t come without its pound of flesh. It cost me my soul and bound me to the spirit world. You must still figure out what your power will cost you.”
I help Pyre to the ground so he can rest as I turn to scout ahead. I feel his hand around my wrist and I glance back at him.
“Your need,” he starts.
“I’m doing everything I can to try to suppress it,” I answer, swallowing hard.
“Let me touch you,” he replies.
“You don’t have the strength. You need to rest, Pyre.”
But his fingers are already moving down my waist and before I can stop him, I feel the heat of them between my thighs.
“Pyre, this won’t help me,” I breathe heavily, as he begins to tease me over the leather of my pants.
“I know,” he answers in a breathy voice. “I can’t feed your hunger, but I can… feed my own.”
“Your own?” I ask, surprised.
“Touching you and feeling you… does something to me,” he answers before taking a deep breath. “I feel… alive in a way I have not felt in a very long time.”
I don’t know if he uses his magic or I’m just not paying attention but suddenly my buttons are undone and I feel him pulling my pants down my thighs. And then his fingers are back on me, slipping inside my already wet flesh as he teases my clit. I close my eyes and grind against him, wishing he hadn’t pledged himself to remaining celibate because I need him.
I want him.
I moan as he plunges two fingers inside me and I feel myself gushing around them, taking him even deeper inside me as I sit down on him.
“Your scent is so thick in the air,” he growls.
He pulls his fingers out and maneuvers me so I’m above his face, straddling his head. He pulls down on my back, forcing my pussy above his mouth. When I feel his tongue lapping at me, I arch up and open my eyes, noticing the pronounced bulge in his pants. I immediately free him, wanting to feel his engorged cock in my hands.
He groans as soon as I pull him out and I run my hands up and down his shaft, watching as beads of his desire drip down his head. I feel his fingers pushing into me and I grind down on them as I take as much of him into my mouth as will fit. He lifts his hips and fucks my mouth as I fuck his fingers, wishing I could feel his throbbing length pushing into me.
I feel myself losing control as an orgasm seizes me and my entire body shakes. In response, Pyre loses himself within my mouth, emptying his seed as he breathes out deeply.
“I wish,” he begins but then shakes his head, as if he can’t finish his sentence.
“You wish?” I ask as I return him to his pants and I rest against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“I wish I could feel you properly, the way nature intended.”
“Me too,” I answer. Then I realize the implications of what we’ve just done and I lean up on my elbows, studying him. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I feel… energized. Better.”
I nod, hoping I haven’t further weakened him. That’s when I take a look around me, allowing my surroundings to sink in. The forest is different here. The trees are less dense. I can see beyond the thick, gnarled branches, toward what appears to be open land. I stand up and walk forward, reaching the edge of the forest. There, I see miles on miles of flat, gray stone. Cracks litter the ground, but there’s nothing else in sight.
A loud screech startles me and I jump behind a tree. I search the stretch of land before looking towards the sky. Winged creatures soar across an ebony sky filled with dark clouds that block the stars. One flies over the moon and I see right through the fleshy membrane that allows them to slice the air with the quick, precise movements of their wings. These aren’t creatures I’ve ever seen before.
Ash begins to fall like snow and I race back to Pyre to tell him what I saw. “What do we do? Can we go around them? Maybe take another path?”
“No. It’ll add another six days to our journey. Remember, time here doesn’t pass the same as it does in the realms.”
“So?”
“Do you really want to wait to see what happens if we give Variant an extra month to plot against us?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Pyre looks up at the sky with his unseeing eyes. “We must move through the harpies, but very carefully.”
“Is there any way we can cloak ourselves?”
“I’m no threat to the Harpies and they are no threat to me. We’ve lived in harmony for millennia. You, however... they’ll sense your soul.”
I hope that sounds more ominous than it really is. But, then again, this is Pyre—he rarely does anything that doesn't involve immense danger. "I just need to know if they'll attack me. I have my dagger, but I counted six of them."
“In a world where death rules, the living are not welcome. Yes, they will attack, and they’ll do so without remorse,” he answers stoically. “We can’t beat them, but if we move fast enough, we can make it to the other side of the Ashland. They can’t cross over.”
I can’t see any other way around it, so I push my shoulder beneath Pyre’s to help him regain his balance. He takes a minute, looking nauseous, and I feel guilty. If I hadn’t insisted on going to rescue the Midnight Queen, Pyre would be safe in his home right now. But what’s done is done. There’s no going back. And Pyre supported our mission anyway.
Pyre steadies himself and we creep along the edge of the forest. He steps out of the tree line first. The Harpies stop. They hover in the air and create a terrifying formation in the sky as if they’re honoring the Guardian of The Veil. Pyre continues to walk for a few more steps before he signals me to follow. For a moment, they just watch me. I take careful, measured movements, hoping they don’t see me as a threat or... a snack. One swoops down, stopping just inches from my face.
When I look at her, I see a beautiful but grim demonic angel. I feel a connection to the Harpy and wonder why. A split second later, she hisses, bearing her fangs at me. Her talons reach for my throat and I drop to the ground before she can touch me. I roll across the stone and then leap into a fighting crouch.
The Harpies swarm, falling from the sky in absolute grace. Their wings expand right before they hit the ground and I take off at a dead run. Pyre is in front of me. His long legs eat up the distance, but I’m right on his heels. Suddenly, I find myself yanked into the air by a pair of claws around my shoulders and I scream.
I’m maybe ten feet in the air when the harpy tosses me to another one flying just beside us. That one grabs me with her talons as her screech interrupts the quiet sky. I scramble to grab my dagger from my waist band and once I have it in hand, I slice through the Harpy’s clawed paw. She instantly releases me, causing me to hit the ground so hard I bounce. The air is knocked out of my lungs and I struggle to take a breath.
“Roll!” Pyre yells at me and I instantly roll to the side, feeling the air of one of the harpy’s wings as she misses in her attempt to grab me and flaps back up into the air. I glance back at Pyre and notice the Harpies blocking his path. He snarls something under his breath. I can’t hear him.
Turning onto my back, I look up at three of the winged creatures flying right towards me. I finally gasp for air and lash out with my blade. They screech and howl into the night as I fight for my life. One of them tries to bat my dagger away, but I hold tight. She parries each of my attacks. I duck, dive, and dodge, trying to stay alive.
My arms quiver with exertion. I can’t keep this up for long. Those jagged claws arc right toward me, and I sidestep. Hot liquid pours down my chest. I look down and see a long claw digging into my skin, causing me to drop my dagger. I grip the harpy’s claw, trying to keep her talon from penetrating any deeper. I also don’t want her to lift me into the air again. I have a feeling that’s how the harpy’s kill their prey—by tearing it apart. Pain echoes through my body as I fight the harpy from taking off with me. But she’s stronger than I am and before I know it, I’m airborne again. I try to hold on to her bony legs, but my vision begins to darken. Shadows creep along the edges, and that uneasy dark power begins to surge inside me.
I reach for it, feeling it uncoil and spread through my limbs until an explosion of light surrounds me. Everything goes dark then. I can’t hear or see, but I feel myself falling to the ground. Vibrations ripple across the stone, causing my skin to tingle.
Then, there’s nothing…
When I wake, I find myself propped against an obsidian stone. My eyes shoot over to that long expansion of gray rock and I watch the harpies circle above the scarlet stain on the ground like vultures. “Am I dead?” I ask.
Pyre chuckles. “No. Not quite. But you’re lucky. Your power will only continue to grow and if you have any hope of taming it, you’ll need to practice. A lot.”
“We need to stop Variant. I don’t have time to tame anything.”
“What good will you be to anyone if you end up killing yourself or us?” he asks, catching me off-guard. “If I weren’t immortal here, in The Veil, you would have incinerated me with that show of light power back there. You’re lucky the harpies flew off before the explosion, or else you would have had their entire flock hunting you across The Veil for killing their queen.”
“Queen?”
“The one that approached you before the fight,” he explains. “She must have sensed the succubus inside you and determined that you were a threat to their males.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like succubae, harpies accept multiple mates. They don’t feed from sexual power, but they use the males to breed new female warriors. Very efficient.”
“Noni said there was an incubus.”
“She was correct.”
“What do you know about him?” I don’t know why I’m suddenly so curious, but I feel as if knowing just a little bit more about my kind is important.
“There’s usually one incubus male for an entire nest of succubae, even though the females take other lovers. Incubae are part of an ancient bloodline that dates back to the beginning of time,” Pyre answers. “It takes a succubus queen and the incubus male to breed an heir that will take the place of his father, if he dies in battle. The last incubus male died without an heir. No more king meant no more breeding for the succubae in general. They could feed from other males to sustain their numbers, but they couldn’t grow their population.”
“Which was how they became extinct after Dragan killed Lamia and her daughters, right?” I ask and Pyre nods. “But how am I the last of the succubae and the last of the winged angels?”
Pyre gives me a strange look, and I almost think he knows the answer to my question but won’t tell me. Dragan, Baron, and Cambion never answer me directly either. But something tells me Pyre’s reasons are different.
“The only reason I can think to tell you is that you , Eilish, are the last of the incubus’ bloodline. The last surviving incubus must have broken the pattern, gotten your mother pregnant and then abandoned the nest before any of them found out about his secret, which is why there is no male heir.”
An eerie sense of peace washes over me. It has to be true. The woman from my dreams, my mother, was an angel. If succubae can’t breed without the incubus, then I have to be heir to the last incubus. “Could he still be alive? Hiding somewhere in The Veil?”
Pyre shakes his head. “If he were here, I would be able to sense him. I’m aware of every being inside the spirit world. There are plenty of succubae, but no incubus. He’s either dead and moved on to the afterlife, or he’s still in the realms. But I doubt he’s alive. Someone would have found him by now.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because incubae have a much stronger seduction than succubae. Their pheromones are hard to miss, and they attract females of all species. Lamia or someone else would have tracked him down and either returned him to the nest or sold him for breeding purposes or sex slavery.” Pyre stands and helps me to my feet. He looks no better than he did before I collapsed, but I’m grateful for the assistance.
I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders with regard to our conversation. I look at Pyre and smile with gratitude. “With how slowly my memories are recovering, I never thought I’d learn anything about myself. You’ll never understand how much this means to me, Pyre.”
He takes my hand and leads me beyond the obsidian stones. I know the path ahead will only become more dangerous. But there’s no one else with whom I’d rather trek through The Veil than this man.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BARON
The Veil
Dragan and Cambion limp beside me as I bite back a laugh. They look like two old ladies trying to make it across the street.
I heal much faster than they do, especially Cambion. The elf is far from the light of the realms, and his powers are negatively affected by the darkness of The Veil. I, on the other hand, would give my left nut to stay here. And for a man of my sexual prowess, that’s saying something.
“How far could they have gone?” Dragan asks for the hundredth time since we walked out the front door. My irritation is beyond rational at this point.
“Who the fuck knows?” I answer. I’m not sure we should have even left to go after them. Not when we’re in the shape we are. And not when we have no fucking clue where they are. Yes, Noni left us a map and she circled the Echoing Spire but no one has ever been there and I have no idea how difficult it will be to find.
All I do know is that the three of us couldn’t stand waiting around the cottage, all the while wondering where the hell Eilish and Pyre were and if they needed help. After about an hour of doing just that, we decided to come after them, our health be damned.
“Pyre’s going to get an earful when we find them,” Dragan says. “They should have waited and taken us with them. They could have used the extra manpower.”
“Look at us,” I respond. “You both can barely move and I’m not much better.”
Dragan isn’t given the chance to respond when two small figures run right into my legs, nearly knocking me on my ass.
A stream of colorful curses fall from Flumph’s lips. “MOTHER BITCH TITS! You fuckers won’t believe what the ever livin’ hell is goin’ on in the Unseelie Kingdom!” Then he looks pointedly at Cambion. “That batshit crazy brother o’ yours is stirrin’ up some trouble.”
I shove Flumph away from me and the fucking thing flies right up to my face and grabs either of my ears, looking me dead in the eye. I want to punch him.
“Flumph, get your dirty fingers off me, you little shit!”
He seems to remember who the fuck he’s speaking to and releases me with a little yelp. Noni, however, seems entirely immune to my intimidation as she tugs lightly on my sleeve to get my attention.
“Mr. Flumph be right. Noni go to see Unseelie Court, and we find the pretty fae lady and the satyr. He real big and strong, but they make him bow to them.”
“What?” Cambion asks. He plucks heroff the ground. “You saw Kolvar and Aima?”
“Yes, Noni see Kolvar and Aima.”
Cambion shakes his head. “Pyre was supposed to rescue them.”
“Fae lady never sent word,” Noni responds. “Master believe she had everything under control.”
“Well, she don’t!” Flumph shouts. “Them Unseelie talkin’ bout executin’ Aima an’ the goat! I damn near shit myself! Theren went on ‘bout soulfire . Noni say it’s somethin’ bout nothin’ an’ I don’t know what the fucks that mean.”
I ignore anyone who annoys me. So, that means I ignore Flumph as always, moving closer to Noni where she sits in Cambion’s hand. Her ears twitch as she shivers nervously. “Noni, can you take Dragan and me back to the Unseelie Kingdom?”
Cambion shoots me a fierce glare. But, again, I ignore anyone who annoys me.
“Yes, Mr. Vampire. Noni can take you.”
“We’re wasting time, Revenant. Theren won’t kill his lover,” the elf says.
“He turned his back on his own kin,” I respond with a glare. I don’t appreciate him arguing with me. “That means Theren doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to anyone else.”
“You can’t be certain,” he counters. “Theren could have killed Aima the moment he found out she betrayed him, but he didn’t.”
“That’s true,” Dragan says.
Cambion nods. “I don’t think we understand everything that’s going on here. We need to find Eilish before we do anything—”
“Look,” I interrupt. “I want to find her just as much as you do. Probably more so.”
“Not more so,” Dragan interrupts.
I ignore him and continue addressing the elf. “I don’t like the thought of her out there. But I know Pyre, and I trust that he wouldn’t have asked her to take him to the Spire if he didn’t think she could handle it.”
“Since when are you so trusting?” Cambion asks.
All right. That’s it.
Noni must have sensed my anger, because she jumps from Cambion’s hand and hides behind Dragan, of all people. I get up in the elf’s face and stare him down. “I trust those who prove they can be trusted. Pyre has shown more loyalty to me than either of you fuckers have.”
“Oh yeah, and how is that?” Cambion asks.
“He didn’t let me get killed by Variant, for one.” They both wince at that. I continue. “Pyre listens to me when I think we’re about to make a stupid decision. There are no questions, no dirty looks, no sneers. He shows unwavering loyalty and offers his friendship without strings attached. That ’ s why I trust him. You should take note.”
“Are you going to keep blaming us for what happened with Variant?” Dragan demands. “Why don’t you blame Variant ? He was the one who fucking stabbed you.”
“You may not have carved my heart out, but you sure as hell weren’t there to stop it from happening, either,” I snap.
“So, you want to just give up on finding Eilish to go save Aima and Kolvar?” Cambion asks, clearly attempting to change the subject.
“I didn’t say that,” I insist. “A blind necromancer and a headstrong angel-succubus can get into a fuck ton of trouble out there, but they aren’t under threat of death. Aima and Kolvar are.”
“He’s got a point,” Cambion says.
“Fuck,” Dragan mutters.
I turn my back on them and storm off towards the direction the sprite and brownie have just come from.
***
DRAGAN
The Veil
“He’s right,” I say to Cambion. Aside from Thoradin, Cambion’s the only person in my life I’ve known longer than Baron. But that doesn’t change the fact that I think Cambion’s wrong.
Flumph said there were only three days before the full moon, when Aima and Kolvar are set to be executed. Pyre says time moves differently here in The Veil, so I know we can’t argue this forever.
“He’s right about what?” Cambion seethes as he turns to face me.
“Not about the shit with Variant,” I correct myself, “but the fact that we need to save Aima and Kolvar before it’s too late.”
“I know we’re short on allies, but you can’t just leave me here while you run head first into danger,” Cambion counters.
“You were nearly killed by Variant when we were saving Morrigan. It’s going to take you another week, at least, to heal completely. Someone has to stay here with Morrigan in case she wakes up.”
“I wasn’t nearly killed by Variant,” he argues. “I merely suffered a flesh wound from his sword.”
“A flesh wound that would have killed you had Eilish not pulled you to safety.”
“Are we going to argue about that now?” Cambion demands.
“Regardless, you are weak,” I say as I glare at him. “And you need to rest and heal. If you come with us, you’ll be a hindrance, so fucking stay here and keep an eye on Morrigan.” I take a breath. “When she wakes up, your face is the one she’d want to see most.”
“Is that what this is about?” he demands. “My history with Morrigan? She was my mentor...”
“No, that’s not what this is about. I’m not concerned with your history with Morrigan, I’m worried about your history with Theren . He’s your brother. I understand that he betrayed us, but he’s still blood. I don’t trust you to keep control of your anger, much less your sympathy.” I attempt to walk away, but Cambion grabs my arm.
“Don’t do this to me, Dragan.”
“Stay with Flumph and the Midnight Queen, Cambion. We’ll rescue Aima and Kolvar. If we make it to the cottage before Eilish and Pyre get back, then we can go look for them then. But, regardless, I need you to stay here.”
He looks as if he still wants to argue, but he stops himself. I nod and scoop Noni into my arms. She climbs onto my shoulder and points me in the right direction. It’s not long before I catch up with Revenant.
“Did he put up a fight?” the vampire snorts, gesturing to my clearly irritated countenance.
“No. Why do you ask?”
“Then you always look like someone just shot your dog?”
“Shut the fuck up,” I grumble as I follow Noni’s directions to the portal leading to the Unseelie Kingdom. “Noni, how often do you listen in on the court’s discussions?” I ask.
“Noni listen all the time.”
“What do you hear?”
“Lots and lots of stuffs, Mr. Dragan. Noni hear the Unseelie Court talk about the naughty king. They say he a pawn, but Noni don’t know what that means.”
I stop in my tracks. Thoradin’s words echo in my mind—that Variant may not be the real enemy. Noni’s words all but confirm my old friend’s suspicions. If the Unseelie see Variant as a pawn, then there might be much bigger players on the board than we suspected. If the gods or other primordial beings are dipping their grubby little fingers into the swirling vat of bullshit that has become the realms, we seriously need to reevaluate our priorities.
“When we get back, we need to gather the others,” I announce.
“Why?” Revenant questions.
“Because there’s more going on here than any of us thought.”
“You? Thinking? That doesn’t sound good.”
“I’m serious, asshole.”
“So am I,” the vampire retorts dryly. “But I admit there is some weird shit going on with Eilish, too.”
“What the fuck do you mean?” I demand, not appreciating the fact that he’s close enough to Eilish to know something ‘weird’ is going on with her. Something I clearly didn’t know.
He gives me a dry expression. “Did you know she has nightmares?”
“No. How do you know?”
“Maybe because she wakes up screaming and clutching at the bed linens?” Revenant quirks a brow in my direction and I shake my head. When did he develop a personality?
“Does she ever say anything about these nightmares?” I ask as I wonder to myself why the fuck I’ve never noticed her crying out in the middle of her sleep.
“No. She just calls out names I’ve never heard before.”
“Probably memories,” I reply with a shrug. Then I turn to face him. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How are your memories? For a minute, we thought we lost you to Transmutation Stone.”
“Yeah, so did I,” he answers with an unconcerned shrug. “But the stone didn’t really reveal anything. Yes, some of my memories were returned to me, but not enough to make me actually feel like I’m Baron again.”
“You aren’t Baron,” I say almost reflexively.
He faces me with surprise but then covers the emotion with his usual callous expression. “You seem to be the only one who recognizes that.”
“Cambion suffers from wishful thinking,” I say with a shrug. I turn back to the subject of Revenant’s missing memories. “I thought Pyre was attempting to help you with your memories?”
“He says he can try to restore my memories, but he wants me to focus on the person I am now and not the person I was.” He grows quiet for a second. “He understands.”
Part of me envies Eilish and Revenant. They both seem to have found a good friend in the necromancer. There was a time when I almost considered Cambion a friend, but that died when I allowed myself to be seduced by Lamia.
Thoradin is right. I have to stop thinking about the past or I’ll never have a future. But something has been nagging at me since Baron returned as Revenant.
“You said the Midnight Queen raised you from the dead, right?”
“Yeah,” he grumbles.
“Why?”
“She says it was to protect Eilish,” Revenant says and stops walking near the stones Noni described. I walk up beside him and set her down. My thoughts turn to Eilish, as they’re wont to do.
As much as I don’t like the idea of her out in the untamed lands of The Veil, I know she needs to learn how to protect herself. And Pyre seems to be the perfect teacher, much though I don’t want to admit it. Even though the bastard is blind, it’s obvious he wants her. Just like every other fucking man.
Ghostly purple light opens a portal. Revenant shivers and shakes his head.
“What is it?” I ask.
“If you think it feels unnatural to be here, in The Veil, just imagine how I feel being in the realms,” he replies.
“What are you going on about?”
“I’m not alive, Dragan. No matter what the Midnight Queen did to raise me from that grave,I don’t belong in your world any more than you belong in the spirit world.”
I study him for a moment, reading between the lines. “So, you plan to stay here when this is all over?”
“If Pyre permits it, yes.”