CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EILISH
Earlann
My heart is pounding, and I feel faint.
I suddenly feel the need to leave the table as images of the vision still dance in my head. I stand up and excuse myself into the kitchen. Dragan and Baron glance at me in question but I don’t spare a look at either of them.
Instead, I hurry into the kitchen, where I catch my breath as I try to force the pictures of Dragan and that awful woman, Lamia, aside.
But my heartrate won’t calm and my breathing is still coming just as fast. I’m overwhelmed, taxed beyond my ability to cope. Yes, my reaction is owing to the vision, but it’s also so much more than that. Everything suddenly feels like it’s weighing down on me, pushing against me until I find it difficult to get enough air into my lungs.
It’s impossibly difficult to maintain this facade of calm when truly, I’m waiting in nervous anticipation for the next time Cambion threatens to leave me somewhere, or the next time Dragan looks at me like I’m equivalent to a pile of shit he just stepped in. It’s just all become too much.
It feels good to escape. Of course, I wonder if Cambion will come after me, worried I’m going to make a run for it now that I’m no longer bound.
Yes, I continue to be surprised that Cambion hasn’t attempted to bind my wrists with something else, now that he destroyed the rope. Granted, he’s been more than a little busy since this morning—perhaps my freedom is merely an oversight, where he’s concerned.
Saevel walks into the kitchen and doesn’t spare me a second glance. Instead, she wordlessly retrieves a bucket of water and a scrubbrush and begins scrubbing a stain on the kitchen floor. I pass her with an uncomfortable smile, but I notice she doesn’t return it. No matter. I step into the nursery just off the kitchen which is comprised of four glass walls. Inside, plants of all sorts grow in the humid room. My fingers brush against their leaves and petals as I try to identify each one in turn.
One plant in particular catches my attention: Deadly Nightshade . I gather some of the red berries and the dark green, spiky leaves for Baron, placing them in one of the pockets of my jeans. Thankfully, Flumph convinced me to change into something more practical than my gown before we joined the others.
“That’s stealing, you know?”
I gasp and spin around to see Dragan leaning against the archway that leads back into the kitchen. He moves closer and shuts the door behind him. My heart starts pounding again and I feel like a mouse caught in a trap.
“It’s Nightshade ,” I say. “And it’s for Baron. He needs it because he’s… out,” I finish lamely.
“Revenant,” he corrects me.
“Revenant,” I repeat with a quick nod.
Dragan stops walking just inches in front of me. My eyes come to rest on his chest and the size of the gargoyle makes me shiver. I know what power coils in that massive body. And, God, do I miss it.
“Regardless,” he points out, “it’s still stealing.”
I trail my eyes up his torso until I’m ensnared by his light gray gaze. His eyes are piercing, narrowed in an expression of suspicion. I wonder if he has any inclination that I received a vision when he touched me. So far, it doesn’t appear as though he’s aware.
“Won’t the others wonder where you are?” I ask.
“No,” he answers quickly. “They know why I’m here… to keep an eye on you.” He takes a breath, eyeing me even more narrowly. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”
“I, uh, needed to get away.”
“Why?”
I decide not to tell him about the vision. I’m sure the memories are ones he’d just as soon forget and I’m not sure how he’ll feel, knowing I witnessed them, knowing I know what he went through, the pain and humiliation. “Because I haven’t had any time to myself and being around the three of you takes a toll on me,” I say. My statement is still true, even if it isn’t the proper answer to his question.
“Why is that?”
I take a deep breath. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Wouldn’t I?” he comes even closer and wraps his hands around my waist. Then he lifts me off my feet, placing me on a small potting table behind us. He steps between my thighs and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Teasing me under the table was… ruthless, Eilish,” he says. “But if you’re trying to break me, you’ll need to try much harder.”
“Break you?” I repeat, shaking my head because breaking him is the last thing on my mind. Instead, all I can think about is how I can make things better between us—or if I can make things better. “I’m not trying to break you.”
“I can’t figure out what the fuck you’re trying to do to me.” There’s anger in his tone but it’s not as weighty as the desire in his eyes. He wants me and proof is written all over his face. My heartrate increases and a flush steals over my skin.
“I’m not trying to do anything to you,” I whisper.
“Yet you are,” he tells me, pressing his erection against my core. I feel his hardness through both his pants and mine.
“I don’t understand you, Dragan,” I admit.
“What’s there to understand?” he asks with a chuckle, as though my comment is silly and naieve. “I’m losing my mind,” he continues as he shakes his head.
“Why?”
“Because I want you even though I shouldn’t.”
“Then why do you?” I insist, thrilling over his words because I want him, too. I’ve never stopped.
“Because—”
“Because I’m Succubus, so you have no choice?” I finish for him, the words coming out bitter.
He raises his eyebrows. “That wasn’t the answer I was going to give you.”
“What then?”
“There’s power in you, undoubtedly,” he says as he studies me and begins rubbing my upper thigh with his hand. His touch is hot and the heat from his body melts into mine, making me lust for him even more. “But it’s not the same power as Lamia’s.” He takes a breath as I wince at her name on his tongue. “Your power feels… different. You feel different.”
“But even if I am different to… her , you still believe I have power over you, that I can bend you to my will?” I ask.
“I don’t know if you’re bending me to your will.”
“But you believe I’m making you act in ways you otherwise wouldn’t? Because I’m Succubus?”
“Yes, you have power over me,” he admits as he studies me and drags his fingers up my leg, to the center of my body and higher still. He pauses at one of my breasts and begins drawing circles around my nipple, making it as hard as a rock.
“But I’m not convinced I’m acting any differently than I would if you weren’t… what you are,” he finishes.
I catch his finger and trap it in my hand as his eyes widen in shock. Clearly, he’s not used to me being in any way dominant. Not that I’ve ever given him reason to believe I can be.
“But I am what I am,” I say. “Which means you’ll never know if you want me of your own free will or if I’m forcing you into wanting me, simply owing to my nature.”
“True,” he agrees and pulls his fingers free. Then he reaches down again and traces the pattern of my lace bra over my long-sleeved, cotton T-shirt. He drops his gaze to my breasts and I instantly feel a shiver run up and down my spine.
Then, as if remembering something, he snaps his attention back to my face. “I have a question I want answered.”
“What is it?”
He clears his throat and his eyes narrow as he studies me. “Has Revenant… been inside you?”
I hesitate for a moment because I’m not sure how to answer the question or what it is he’s looking for, exactly. Regardless, I will be honest with him. “What are you asking me?”
“Has Revenant fucked you?”
“Why are you asking me that?” I ask, deciding to toy with him a bit now that I’ve got him on my line. I’m surprised at this side of myself but I like it, all the same. It feels good to turn the tables and be the one with the control once in a while.
“Because I want to know.”
“It’s none of your business,” I say with a small smile as I try to read his expression. There’s anger simmering just below the surface and I wonder if I’m playing with fire.
“That’s a yes.”
“I didn’t say yes.”
“Then it’s a no?” he asks immediately.
“Make of it what you will,” I respond and then I feel equal amounts of irritation and courage brimming inside me. “And even if Baron did fuck me, what does it matter to you? I don’t owe you anything.”
“Really?” he asks and glares at me. “Is that what you think? That you don’t owe me anything? After everything… we’ve done? Everything I’ve done for you?”
My irritation heightens. “With the way you’ve treated me after you realized I was part Succubus, yes, I don’t believe I owe you anything. You helped me when I needed it, yes, but all those good deeds have been stained with your actions lately.”
He takes a deep breath as he nods and looks away. Then he faces me again with determination. “I can’t argue with what you’ve just said.” I’m surprised and the surprise shows on my face. He continues. “I’m well aware that whatever happened between you and Revenant… I drove you to it,” he says, and his eyes soften.
“I wish things were the way they used to be between us,” I admit, feeling an inexplicable sadness overcome me.
“As do I,” he whispers. I brace my hand against his chest, feeling the comforting throb of his heart beneath my palm.
***
DRAGAN
I lean forward, needing to touch Eilish with my lips, to taste her mouth. There’s something about this woman that makes me lose my fucking mind and I’m tired of fighting it. Maybe she’s the same as Lamia and she’s trying to destroy me, destroy us, but I don’t believe that’s the case.
I’m not sure what I believe.
Regardless, I want her, and I’m tired of the wanting.
“Dragan!” Cambion calls from the other room, his tone of voice one of panic.
I instantly pull away from Eilish and her eyes go wide. At the same moment, a stampede of boots sounds through the house and I realize what this means. We’ve been found out.
I lift Eilish down from the table and face her earnestly.
“Stay behind me, no matter what happens. Variant wants you just as much as he wants us, if not even more.”
She nods as I ease into the shadows and lead her into the main room. Cambion and Revenant are standing on either side of the front entry. Pyre’s mask is back in place as he creeps toward the door, closest to Revenant. Kolvar and Aima press themselves against the wall nearest Cambion. Whatever the threat, it’s outside the front door, and most probably surrounding the entire place.
My eyes turn to the sniveling Raflamir still sitting at the table. I notice with interest he’s made no motion to move. He doesn’t look up from his hands where they sit clasped on the tabletop. What strikes me most is his lack of surprise.
He yelps as I grab him by the collar and force him out of his chair. He stares up at me with petrified eyes.
“You snitched, didn’t you?” I scream at him. “You told Variant we were here!”
He doesn’t respond and my hands curl around his throat of their own accord. His silence speaks volumes. Not wanting to waste valuable time on him, I release him with a hard shove. He falls against the floor and stays there. No one says anything.
Saevel is nowhere in sight, which means she knew to hide before the soldiers arrived. Pyre stiffens, hearing something beyond the veil that no one else can. He looks over his shoulder at me and shakes his head.
I take it to mean there are too many of Variant’s men and we won’t make it out. I glance back at Eilish when I feel her tentative fingers encircling my arm. Her eyes are wide with fear and she swallows hard.
I won’t let them take her. I’ll protect her, even if it means I go down fighting. Variant can’t get ahold of her…
“How many?” I ask, facing Pyre again.
“Thirty,” he replies, and maintains his calm. “They’re surrounding the house, spreading out to cover the roads and cutting off the alleys that lead to the gateway out of this realm.”
Pyre walks over to Eilish, where she stands behind my back, and hands her a dagger with a serpent on the handle, complete with obsidian eyes. The faint light in the room reflects off the serrated edge of the blade. She glances down as she accepts the blade, and her expression reveals her hesitation. If we make it out of this alive, I’m going to need to teach her the art of self-defense.
“We are more apt to survive if we split up,” Pyre suggests. “Numerous targets are more difficult to hit.”
“Go,” Cambion tells the necromancer. “If we escape, we’ll need allies on the outside.”
Pyre nods and approaches Revenant. The two look at each other for a moment and though neither says anything, understanding passes between them all the same. Pyre reaches out and touches the vampire’s arm. Instantly, Revenant grits his teeth and closes his eyes, appearing as though he’s in excruciating pain. He immediately breaks into a sweat as his fangs lengthen, the tips pointing into his lower lip. When Pyre steps away, Revenant opens his eyes. There’s a strange mark on his arm that seeps into his skin with an eerie red glow.
“It’s a blood rune,” Pyre explains. “Cut your flesh and touch the mark. It will allow me to find you.” Revenant nods as Pyre continues. “I will use the guidance of my spirits to locate the others when the time comes.” He glances at Eilish again, before returning his attention to Revenant. “Guard her with your life.”
“I will,” Revenant assures him, and I immediately feel that jealous anger settling over me again. It’s my fucking job to guard her. I’ve already taken up that mantle. Fuck whoever says or thinks otherwise.
Pyre nods to the rest of us before he disappears into thin air.
“Open the door,” Aima says. Cambion looks at her as if she’s lost her mind. I have to admit, I’m surprised as well.
“Aima,” he starts.
“Open the fucking door,” she repeats. “And then get upstairs and out of view. The best way out of this town is by rooftop.”
“Thank you,” Cambion says and she nods at him before turning towards me.
“Gargoyle,” she says, unsheathing her sword and tossing it to me. “Take this. I’ll get it back from you later…”
I nod my thanks as I take a step back and allow the impressive blade to fall on the ground so it doesn’t take my hand off. Then I reach over and pick it up. “Later?” I say to her. “That means you expect us to survive?”
She smiles. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I chuckle and watch as she simply walks through the door, as though she hasn’t a care in the world. Kolvar is at her side. It’s clear she’s buying us time to attempt an escape, and the last thing I want to do is squander that opportunity.
With Aima’s sword in one hand, I start for the stairs, Eilish just behind me and Revenant behind her. Flumph floats around our heads and I have to bat him away a few times. Bloody annoying thing.
We pass Raflamir, who whimpers, “I’m sorry... I had no choice.”
As he walks past, Revenant punches the Steward’s face, and Raflamir goes limp as he hits the ground. Cambion follows closely behind Revenant. They take the stairs two at a time. Once on the second, hidden floor, we crawl out one of the windows and climb onto the roof.
Aima was correct—the roof is untended by Variant’s men. They’re all on the ground, surrounding Raflamir’s derelict house. It won’t be long before they spot us, though.
I run ahead, showing the others where to jump to the next rooftop. Holding Eilish’s hand, I tell her not to look down. Meanwhile, shouts from the ground reveal the fact that we’ve been spotted. Fairly soon after, soldiers begin to climb onto the roofs that surround us. Before I know it, one appears on the rooftop onto which we’ve just landed.
I dodge a sword as it swings toward my head. Then I run the bastard through with my blade. Grabbing his sword, I throw it to Cambion, who nods his thanks.
“Back up,” I say to Eilish as another soldier jumps in front of me. I block a few of the soldier’s attempts with his blade and then thrust my sword clean through his stomach.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Cambion and Revenant fighting two other soldiers, as still more attempt to climb up to the roof. Eilish gasps as a hand appears just beside her foot. Using the dagger Pyre gave her, she stabs the soldier in the hand, where he holds onto the lip of the roof. He screams as something dark feeds from the dagger and sinks into his skin. Soon, his eyes are black and the mist travels out of his nostrils, his mouth, and his ears. He topples off the roof and slams into the ground. His body begins to smoke and, moments later, all that’s left is his clothing.
Eilish stares down at the weapon in her hand in horror, shaking from head to toe. “Wh… what did it do?”
“It’s a soul blade,” I inform her. “Necromancers us it to leach the souls of their victims into the hilt of the dagger to fuel their power.”
Eilish glances back down at the blade and her expression is one of fear.
Cambion shouts above the fray, taking a soldier who approaches him head on. At Cambion’s back, Revenant uses his fangs to tear the throat from one of our attackers. Blood pours down his chin.
“Go!” Revenant screams at me, motioning to Eilish. He wants me to get her out of here and understandably so. I nod and grab Eilish as I prepare to jump to the next rooftop.
“Wait,” Eilish says, turning to look at the sprite who is in the midst of vomiting off the side of the roof. Once finished, he faces us, flapping his wings as he tries to catch up. Eilish drops my hand and runs to the sprite, catching him around the middle as she turns around. Instantly, there’s a soldier in front of her. Judging by his pitiable swordsmanship, he’s been poorly trained. I easily disarm him and gut him, grabbing her hand as I lead her forward.
“Don’t risk your life again for anyone,” I yell at her.
She says nothing and Cambion rushes to my side with Revenant on his heels. “Raflamir had no choice,” he says, as if to defend his choice in coming here. “Variant threatened to take everything from him.”
“I don’t fucking care,” I snarl in response.
“Raflamir could have died with honor,” Revenant growls, and I agree.
“It wasn’t so long ago that we were in a similar situation,” Cambion argues.
“Of course, you side with the traitor!” I shove Cambion away from me. “There’s more at risk than just Raflamir’s livelihood.”
The elf shoves me back. “Traitor? You fucking lied to me about what that witch truly is!” Then he glares at Eilish which only incites my fury even more.
“I never lied to you. I just omitted,” I correct him as I remind myself to save this conversation for another time. I ignore Cambion and turning my back on him, leap to another rooftop, Eilish right behind me.
“If you want to discuss the subject of traitors, you’re the ultimate example!” Cambion yells at me.
“No more arguing!” Eilish shouts. “Now is not the time!”
We’re surrounded by Variant’s men. There are six of them on the rooftop with us and countless more on the ground below. And there are no more rooftops on which to land.
“Fuck!” I yell as I take the soldier nearest me with my blade. He drops, but where one falls, three more appear. They climb up the side of the dilapidated hovel on which we’re standing and face us with desperation in their eyes. Part of the roof has already caved in and I can see a hive of Variant’s men infiltrating the house below us.
An endless sea of Variant’s forces swarm from all directions. I fight them off as best I can, but I’m overpowered.
“Dragan, what do we do?” Eilish cries from beside me. I glance down at her to see her eyes wide with fear.
“We keep,” I start but at the feel of a slight pain in my left thigh, I glance down to see what appears to be a dart sticking out of my leg. A poison dart.
Fuck.
Reaching down, I yank the offending thing out of me, but the poison has already leached into my bloodstream. I already feel woozy and lightheaded. Eilish cries out as soldiers surround us and my sword is unceremoniously thrust from my hand. I feel her being ripped away from me but there’s nothing I can do. The poison forces me to my knees. The scenery surrounding me begins to blur. I have to shake my head to keep my wits, but they’re fading fast. A foot slams into my neck as my face crashes into the roof beneath me. Shingles scrape my cheek. Someone claps spell-crafted cuffs onto my wrists after pulling them behind my back.
My vision goes black.
I fight against the sleep that seeks to lull me into oblivion.
The last thing I hear before losing myself to the shadows is the sound of Eilish’s panicked cries.
The End