CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CAMBION
The Forest in the Sky
I walk alongside Baron who looks back at Eilish and Dragan who falls in step beside her. Baron curls his lip. “I’m sick and tired of them,” he snarls.
“Why?” I ask, quite delighted I’m not caught up in this battle Dragan and Baron have over Eilish. As much as I want her, I’m glad I haven’t had her. Let them duke it out between the two of them. I’d rather watch from the sideline.
“Either fuck or fight, but I’m sick of the indecision.” The vampire looks up at the canopy of stars above us.
“What difference does it make to you what they do?”
He’s quiet for a moment as he weighs my question. Then he shrugs. “I suppose it doesn’t.”
We both walk in silence for another few moments before Baron pipes up again.
“It feels different in this fucking forest after being in the Veil, doesn’t it?”
“It does, I suppose,” I respond. “Perhaps the only true difference is that we were safe there and we aren’t here?”
“Maybe,” Baron says. “What do you think of Pyre?”
His question surprises me. “What is there to think of Pyre?”
Baron nods. “I’m missing that part of my memories of knowing Pyre before.”
“I wouldn’t say any of us truly knew him,” I correct. “Knew of him, perhaps.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I do,” I nod. “Pyre’s only motive in all of this is to restore the balance to the realms. Removing Variant from control would be restoring that balance. So, yes, I do trust him.”
“He’s dark, but in a way that none of us are,” Baron continues and seems quite puzzled by Pyre.
“He’s death, such as you’re death.”
“True but while I might not have a life force inside me, at least I’m not tethered to a realm that feeds off my soul. That... that’s dark shit.”
“It is dark.”
We walk in silence for another few minutes, both of us absorbed in our own thoughts. Baron is a difficult person to read—sometimes he seems forthcoming with his thoughts and feelings and other times he’s completely caged and inaccessible.
“Why do you insist on going by Revenant and not Baron?” I ask, wondering if I’ll be lucky and he’ll answer my question. “Don’t you believe you and Baron are one and the same?”
“No,” he answers almost at once.
“You don’t believe you were Baron?”
“I do believe I was Baron,” he responds and lifts his attention from the rocky path before us to the never-ending treescape in front of us. “But I’m not Baron any longer.”
“How do you figure?”
“I was reborn a different man. My experiences over the last hundred years have shaped me in a way that ultimately changed me. I’m not the same man I was when Variant killed me. But, strangely, it feels like each day brings me closer to him, to Baron. And then I get visions of waking up six feet under. I can feel the dirt weighing me down and the stale air in my lungs as I try to claw my way through the splintered, wooden coffin and through the wet dirt.”
“Is there anything so wrong with allowing Baron to resurface within you?” I ask. “Just so you’re aware, of all four of us, Baron was the most noble. He was the most just and the fairest. When Dragan, Variant, and I were imprisoned by our own sense of self-importance, Baron was usually the peace maker among us.”
He nods but doesn’t seem impressed. “I’m not that man anymore.”
“You are, but you either don’t want to acknowledge it or you don’t recognize the traits within yourself that haven’t changed.” I take a breath. “You are still the same creature of darkness. You are who you always were, just a little more jaded than you used to be.”
The vampire gives me a puzzled look and it forces a tendril of laughter from my lips. I shake my head and continue weaving through this seemingly unending forest.
“You have a gift of oratory, Cambion,” Baron says, his voice low. “You say the right words and you’re able to deduce the right direction, yet you’re miserable.”
“Miserable?”
He nods. “I’ve died and come back, but even I know how to live.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You walk around more blind than Pyre, for fuck’s sake.”
“More blind than Pyre?”
“Cambion, can’t you see that Eilish wants you? And it’s not just because she’s Succubus. There’s something going on between the four of us and I’m apparently the only one who recognizes it.”
“I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me,” I answer, rather staunchly.
“When I feed from Eilish, her blood satiates me in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
“No doubt it’s the angel or perhaps the demon within her?”
“No,” he shakes his head. “It’s her . And it’s me. It’s us together. And the two of us together—it feels right .”
I instantly feel jealous although I’m not sure why. Then I find myself irritated—both with myself for my silly reaction and with Baron, as I’m really not in the mood to listen to him tell me he’s in love with Eilish. It appears that’s where the conversation is headed and I can’t help but ask myself what is wrong with these two morons, Dragan and Baron, that they’ve allowed this woman to get under their skin to such an extent. The call of the Succubus is strong, yes, but I appear to be the only one who still possesses his fucking wits!
“I suppose I’m happy for you?” I grumble.
Baron shakes his head and it appears my irritable mood has spread. “I don’t want your congratulations, you fool. That’s not what I’m asking for.”
“Then what the hell are you asking me for?”
“Not your happiness,” he spits back. “I want you to listen to me.”
“I’m listening.”
“There’s something missing between Eilish and me,” he says abruptly but then his voice dies down and he’s quiet for another second or so. “As much as her blood satiates me and provides me with energy as well as an abundance of other benefits, I can’t give the same back to her.”
“You appease the Succubus,” I point out with a shrug. What more could she want?
“That’s the point,” he insists, his eyebrows meeting in the center of his forehead as though he finds my company vexing. Ah, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black. “I don’t appease her.”
“If we are now voyaging into the realm of your impotence, I am afraid the conversation must end here, old chap, as I’ve no interest in discussing your male… issues.”
“I’m not impotent, you fucking twat!” he rails at me.
“Then what,” I start.
“If you’d just stop talking for a fucking second, I’d explain.”
“Very well, explain.”
He glares at me, but continues. “I’ve watched Eilish and by watching her, I’ve noticed that after I fuck her, she’s still in need.”
“Perhaps her appetite,” I begin.
“It has nothing to do with her appetite,” Baron interrupts rather rudely, I might add.
“Then what does it have to do with?”
He frowns and then drops his gaze to the ground as though he quite regrets the words that are ready to fall off his tongue. “As much as I hate to admit it, I believe you’re a necessary part of this equation.”
“Me?” I repeat and shake my head to make him understand I’m lost.
“Are you really so foolish?” he asks.
“I suppose with regard to this conversation, the answer would be ‘yes’.”
“Eilish isn’t just Succubus, Cambion, she’s also angel.”
“I’m not that foolish as to have missed that fact.” I glare at him. “I’m fucking aware she’s a fucking angel, for fuck’s sake!”
“So, if she’s angel, perhaps the problem is that I can only feed the Succubus inside her,” Baron continues. “It’s the same story with Dragan—the two of us can’t touch the angel, because we aren’t angelic. We aren’t born of light magic. Shadows animate us and those same shadows allow us to feed the Succubus side of her, but not the angel.”
Now I begin to understand. And as realization dawns on me, my interest in that realization begins to dwindle forthwith. “Ah, so you believe I need to feed Eilish’s angelic side with my light magic—light magic that travels through my magic cock, is that it?”
He glares at me and clearly doesn’t approve of my humor. Bloody bore. “Eilish needs lightness as much as she needs darkness. And in order to soothe both her appetites, she needs you as much as she needs Dragan and me. Were Variant still one of us, I would say the same to him, but clearly he’s not. And that just leaves… you.”
“I have no interest in feeding anything inside her,” I respond immediately, quite put off with this whole conversation. We have more important subjects to consider and Eilish’s sexual needs are not among them.
“Don’t tell me you aren’t attracted to her?” Baron asks in shock.
“Of course, I’m fucking attracted to her! I’m not blind, for fuck’s sake!”
“Then?”
“I just… I just don’t trust her.”
“When are you going to realize she isn’t what you think she is?” he demands, clearly perturbed with me. Well, let him be perturbed. When you speak sense to idiots, they quite often mistake you for the idiot.
“We don’t know anything about her or the consequences of giving in to her seduction,” I counter. Baron huffs and falls silent. “What happened before, with Dragan and Lamia, I can’t, and I won’t go through that again.”
“Lamia shouldn’t even enter into this conversation,” he grumbles.
“Easy for you to say as you clearly don’t remember the situation, but it was horrible. And to see that same situation repeating itself now worries me.”
“That same situation isn’t repeating itself,” he argues. “Eilish isn’t Lamia.”
“You don’t know that!” I fire back at him.
“Even without my memories intact, I can promise you they aren’t the same. Eilish is measured and balanced by her angelic side. Lamia was pure demon. It’s like trying to compare apples and oranges.”
“Both are fruit,” I answer immediately.
Baron frowns at me. “You know what point I’m attempting to make, you stubborn bastard.”
“Regardless, I don’t trust Eilish and neither should the two of you. Dragan has somewhat regained his senses and he attempts to keep his distance from her.”
“He’s failing,” Baron interrupts.
“Regardless, he’s changed his tune about her, and I can’t fault him for that.” I take a deep breath and exhale it. “I can’t allow myself to fall into her trap just as you and Dragan have already. If anything, one of us needs to maintain his head in all of this.”
“I am maintaining my head in this.”
“No, you’re not,” I argue but then quickly move on. “For all we know, our falling for her seductive trap could be part and parcel of her grand scheme of plans.”
“Grand plans?” Baron repeats, shaking his head. “One of these days you will get it into your thick skull that Eilish is just a girl. She’s angel and she’s Succubus, yes, but at the end of the day, she’s nothing more than scared and lonely. She’s just trying to find a place to belong.” He falls silent for a moment. “And the sooner you realize she belongs with us, the better.”
***
We reach the edge of the forest by nightfall. I share a glance with Baron and we step away from the tree line.
Eilish sniffles from behind me and I turn to see her wiping her eyes. I try my best to avoid asking what the hell Dragan said that upset her so much. I’m irritated that she’s become my problem. But, thus is the nature of being a leader, I suppose. You have to deal with everyone’s shit.
“What is it?” I ask finally. The truth is that I can’t stand her sniveling any longer. Better to meet the situation head on and diffuse it so I don’t have to continuously listen to her sniffling.
“I hate him,” she responds as she swipes her eyes with her sleeve and looks down at the ground as she kicks a small rock out of her path.
“No, you don’t hate him,” I argue.
“He’s just so… so… he goes from hot to cold and back to hot again in the blink of an eye! It’s like he changes his mind in an instant and it makes absolutely no sense to me!” she rails and I suddenly wish I were not playing the part of best friend. It is a part for which I am sorely unprepared. I imagine in these types of conversations, I am most usually playing the role of the offending party!
“Because he can’t decide what to do with you,” I respond with a shrug. It’s so obvious to me, I don’t understand why it’s not obvious to her. Women are considered the weaker sex for reason, I suppose.
“One moment he’s jealous of Revenant and me, and the next minute he’s distant and cold. One second he’s joking with me and the next he won’t look at me.”
“He has his reasons,” I respond.
“We all have our reasons,” she spits back at me, anger in her gaze. It’s not an expression I’m accustomed to seeing on her and it confuses me for a moment. I study her and find her flushing cheeks quite comely.
“Perhaps Dragan has more reasons than most,” I offer as I pull my gaze away from her. She truly is a stunning creature. Such a shame she houses a demon within that… curvy fortress. “He was held captive and used as a sex slave by the Succubae queen and her daughters.”
“I’m aware,” she grumbles.
I nod, feeling the need to drive home my point. As I glance down at her cleavage that protrudes over the top of her corset, I feel the need to drive other things home as well. “Years of seeing nothing but the ceiling of his bedroom as those… demons… ruled his realm and used his body in any way they deemed fit has changed his outlook.”
“I don’t know why I’m even discussing this with you,” she says as she turns her head and looks at the forest that neighbors the path on either side of us.
“Because I’m here,” I answer. “And I’m the only one you can talk to, save that foolish sprite.”
She shrugs. “I’m sure you agree with Dragan.”
It’s my turn to shrug. “I believe he’s playing his cards as close to his chest as he can and were I in his position, I would do the same.”
“Well, you aren’t in his position and you’re still doing the same.”
I cock my head to the side. “Trust needs to be earned, not given.”
She nods. “Then you still don’t trust me?” As she asks the words, she looks up at me, hope appearing in her eyes.
“No,” I answer honestly. The hope fades as she nods and appears sad. “But, suffice to say,” I continue, feeling irritated with myself that I’ve hurt her. “My dislike for you appears to be lessening.”
She looks over at me and a smile haunts her lips. “I can always count on you for your honesty, Cambion.”
I nod. “Returning to the subject of Dragan for a moment,” I start.
“You don’t have to do this, you know?” she interrupts.
“Do what?”
“Talk about this with me,” she finishes. “It’s clear you and I aren’t friends and I’m sure you’d rather think about… other subjects.”
“While both your points are valid,” I begin. “Such is the nature of being a leader.”
“A leader?”
I nod. “As I am in charge of our rather ragtag group, so I have to listen to the squabbles between you and lend my wise advice.” Her smile deepens and I find myself returning her smile even as I don’t realize I am. I clear my throat and return to the subject that seems to cause her the most discord—the gargoyle. “What you went through with Variant was hard,” I begin and capture her attention instantly. She nods and drops her attention to the ground again. “Now imagine experiencing something similar but spread over a much longer period of time. Imagine decades of being unable to control your body, of being debased until you’re nothing more than a shadow of your former self.”
“I understand all that,” she says as she raises her attention. “I really do. But, why doesn’t he just talk to me?”
“Was it easy for you to talk to me?” I ask with a shrug. “I daresay you still regret the fact that I know what happened in Variant’s bedchamber?”
She takes a deep breath. “I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. You saw a vision of what happened, and you forced me to explain.”
I nod. “While this is true, the point still remains the same. It was your secret to keep, just as Lamia and her daughters is Dragan’s secret to keep.”
“I understand,” she says, sounding rather dejected.
“Give Dragan time,” I offer, and she looks at up at me in surprise. “You might not resemble Lamia physically, but there are similarities between the two of you that even I can’t deny.”
She turns color as if I’ve struck a nerve. “Like what?”
I shrug as I try to place my finger on the pulse of my argument. “The aura of seduction that surrounds you at all times.”
“Aura of seduction?” she repeats and then frowns up at me. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“You have a magnetic pull, Eilish. And it’s constantly reaching out towards every one of us.”
“What does it feel like?”
“Hmm,” I puzzle the question for a moment or two. “It feels like we are both magnets of opposite polarities. And no matter what I do, my body naturally wants to gravitate towards you, like the north pole of a magnet immediately attracting the south pole of another magnet.”
“Interesting,” she says.
I nod. “It felt quite the same way with Lamia—like I was always fighting my attraction to her. My guard always had to be up, my shield in place, because if I forgot myself for even a moment, she would draw me in.”
“That sounds… exhausting.”
I nod. “I remember the night Dragan and I first saw her. Variant had already revealed his true colors and the three of us were in the process of waging war against him. It was on the battle field that Lamia waltzed right into our camp where we were stationed in the mountains. How she found us, I will never know,” I continue as I lose myself to the memory that returns with such a vengeance. It’s hard to believe it occurred more than one hundred years earlier. “Lamia offered to help us turn the tides of the war. She told Dragan that only he could stop Variant, and in doing so, she appealed to his ego that was already inflated.”
“But she betrayed you,” Eilish says, as though she’s already familiar with the way this story ends.
“She betrayed Dragan, yes. And, in doing so, she was the reason we lost the war. Dragan, I’m quite certain, has never forgiven himself.” Then I turn to face her. “So, you can see why he has such a difficult time where you’re concerned.”
“I see why all of you have such a difficult time where I’m concerned,” she answers. “Except for Revenant.”
“Except for Baron,” I correct her. I’m damn tired of calling the vampire by his adopted name. It’s tedious and unfamiliar and it vexes me.
“Why?”
“Because Baron has no memories of Lamia. He doesn’t understand the costs we suffered at her hands.”
“Or maybe he just realizes that Lamia and I are nothing alike.”
“You are both,” I start.
“Variant is angel,” she interrupts. “If there were any angels left, would you fault them for the fact that their sovereign is corrupt and crazy?”
She makes a good point. “Angels have always been allies to the Fae.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“After seeing the destruction and death accomplished at Variant’s hands, I am aware of just how powerful angels can be,” I offer.
She quirks a smile at me and her eyes narrow. “You’re not doing a very good job of avoiding the question, Cambion.” She takes a breath. “Do you judge all angels based on the acts of Variant?”
I’m quiet for a few seconds as I inwardly curse her. “No.”
“Then how can you blame me for Lamia’s actions?” she fires back.
I swallow. “I suppose I can’t.”
EILISH
The Forest in the Sky
The enormous walls surrounding Variant’s fortress tower over us as though they were designed to keep out titans. As I stand there, staring up at them, I gulp down my anxiety, but it does little to pacify my nerves.
Our plan makes me edgy, edgier than I’ve felt lately. But the anxiety within me has little to do with our impending future and more to do with the Succubus in me. She’s demanding and has been. I can feel her need building up and it’s affecting me—making me impatient, crabby and exhausted. Even though what passed between Pyre and me was sexy and remembering it makes my knees weak, it did little to take the edge off my hunger.
I need sex and I need it soon. The truth is that I can think of little else—even in the face of the possibility of our pending doom. The Succubus has a one-track mind—and the only thing on her mind is satiating herself. The wetness that pools between my legs each time I glance at Baron, Dragan, or Cambion causes a flush to blossom on my cheeks.
I see their nostrils flare as they catch the scent of my need. It affects them—they seem surlier and shorter with one another and both Dragan and Cambion appear to be doing everything in their power to avoid me. But just as they can scent me in the air, I too can scent their arousal on the wind—as potent as my own.
Baron smells of raw iron and clean sweat. Dragan’s is a heady aroma like rain on hot concrete. But Cambion’s scent is what drives my hunger wild. It’s just so different from the other two. The earthy notes of sandalwood, ash, and hearth-fire mixed with something like the clean scent of soap characterizes Cambion. It’s a scent I could recognize anywhere and when he’s near me, I wish I could just close my eyes and inhale him.
I don’t know what to think of Cambion—sometimes he’s almost… nice? And other times, he skewers me with his comments. And as to the subject of me watching Variant and Anona… I’m surprised Cambion kept the truth to himself. I didn’t think he would. Yes, he surprises me and I’m not sure how to act around him. During the times he’s actually being congenial, I’m always afraid I’ll say something that will send him off in the other direction.
And regarding Variant—he’s a subject I like to ponder less than the subject of Cambion’s changing moods. Last night, while I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to Dragan snoring while Cambion muttered in his meditation and Baron managed to remain completely quiet, I found myself in the vision state and I dreamed of Variant inside me. The dream was so vivid, I could actually feel the stretch of his claim.
Now, as I remember those images, they cause bile to crawl up my throat, but even so, I can’t stop picturing Variant above me, pushing inside me as our eyes meet and he entwines his fingers into mine. Eventually, the image of Variant fades into Cambion.
I feel my cheeks flame once again when the memories of the dream come back to me. Cambion wasn’t the only one in my bed—Baron and Dragan were there as well. I feel myself flush with a mixture of shame and embarrassment. But I can’t deny the truth all the same. I want to feel them... all of them and all at the same time.
I need all of them.
Dragan turns and arches his brow at me. My steps falter as I suddenly wonder if he somehow knows what I’ve been thinking about, but then I realize there’s no way he could.
“We should talk,” he says, but he refuses to look at me.
“About what?” I demand.
His jaw grows tighter. “About… things.”
“Right now?” I ask as I then look up at the castle that looms in front of us, beyond the walls that keep us out.
“No, obviously not right now,” Dragan grinds out. He’s in a bad mood. Fouler than usual. “Later. After… this.”
“If there is an after,” I say and then sigh.
“You can’t think like that,” he spits back and there’s concern in his eyes. “There’s always an after.”
I don’t want his words; I think to myself. I want something else.
I force my eyes to remain on his as I try to push the Succubus back down again. She’s getting more and more difficult to control.
My skin feels too hot and a bead of sweat trickles down my spine, getting trapped in my corset. Dragan licks his lips and I want them on my body. I want to feel them kissing down my chest and teasing me until I’m breathless.
He reaches out and grips both my hips, dwarfing them with his enormous hands. Then he looks down at his hands as though they’ve betrayed him. “You have to turn whatever it is you’re doing off,” he rumbles, but there’s not as much anger in his voice as there was. He appears to be fighting this connection between us as much as I am.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Yes, you are. Without realizing it, maybe,” he grits his teeth. “We… we need to focus,” he continues and as I watch him, a bead of sweat breaks out along his forehead. I notice that his hands are still around my waist. “I can’t concentrate on our… plan when all I can think about is…”
What? I want to ask but I don’t. The answer is already obvious—he can’t stop thinking about me, my body, pushing himself into my body.
“I’m not trying to do anything,” I whisper, but I feel strangely victorious at the same time. “I just… I just need… something.” My voice softens and I can’t stop staring at his lips.
“Something?” he repeats as he takes a step closer to me and he tightens his hold around my waist.
“You,” I finish while I fight the desire to reach out and touch his face, his cheeks, his lips. I want to force my fingers into his mouth so I can feel the hot wetness inside. I can see the same fight echoing in his eyes.
He shakes his head, drops his hands from around my waist as he takes a step back and snarls, “Save it for the guards.”
My stomach drops at his callous words and the air catches in my throat.
What does he think I am? And does he really believe I’m going to have sex with the guards? How could he say such a thing?
I miss his touch as soon as it leaves me. The muscles of his back clench and stretch the fabric of his tunic. My mouth waters for a taste of his skin. Resisting Dragan would be much easier if I didn’t already know what it feels like to have him thrusting inside me.
Fingers snap in front of my face and Flumph smirks obnoxiously.
“How we gonna get in?” he asks as he buzzes around everyone’s heads and they all respond by trying to swat him.
Cambion pinches the bridge of his nose and appears to be in the middle of deep thoughts. Dragan begins pacing up and down alongside the twenty-foot stone walls, while Baron stares up the length of the section closest to us and shakes his head.
“Flumph should fly up and use his sleep bolts on the Sentries guarding the wall on this side,” he says. “If Flumph clears the Sentries, we can climb up and over the wall. We’ll have to move quickly, but it’s possible.”
“It’s a risky idea,” Cambion starts.
“But it’s the only one anyone’s presented,” Baron interrupts him.
Dragan nods. “I say we give it a try.”
“Cambion?” Baron asks.
The elf is quiet for a few seconds but then simply nods.
“Ain’t no one gonna ask me fer my opinion?” Flumph demands.
“No,” they all respond in unison.
“Well, fuckin’ easy fer you say ‘cause ain’t none o’ youze riskin’ yer asses,” he responds.
“It’s just a matter of time before all of us start risking our… asses,” I inform him.
Flumph shakes nervously but then nods and tightens his grip around the strange crossbow implement Noni gifted him. I lift him above my head as high as I can, and he flies up to the wall. Each of us holds our breaths as we watch him disappear behind the curve of one of the walls. I feel my heart hammering in my chest as I hope he’ll accomplish his task and stay alive in the process.
One of the soldiers falls over the edge of the wall, dropping to his death, maybe thirty feet below us. A small, narrow dart sticks out from his neck where Flumph shot him. The sound the soldier’s body makes on impact is horrifying and I doubt I’ll ever be able to clear it from my memory. I watch as Baron at once starts out for the fallen soldier and begins to strip him of his armor.
“What are you doing?” I ask incredulously.
“This isn’t part of the plan,” Cambion adds.
“Backup plan,” Baron replies as he pulls the stolen armor over his own clothing. Baron’s face is now concealed behind the soldier’s helmet. “If we get stopped at any point, I’ll play the part of Variant’s minion.”
No one argues because Baron’s idea is a clever one. A few minutes later Flumph sticks his head over the side of the wall, breathing heavily. His smile is huge and proud.
“These dickheads are faster than they look,” the sprite explains. “This whole side o’ the wall be clear though. So climb yer fat asses up an’ don’t bother thankin’ me none ‘cause we ain’t got time.”
“Wait,” Cambion starts and we all look back at him.
“It seems we’ve forgotten Eilish’s costume,” he says as his eyes settle on me.
“Her costume?” Dragan repeats.
“Did we or did we not agree that Eilish is to be cloaked in the mantle of a scullery maid?” Cambion asks with irritation.
“Right,” I say with a quick nod.
“Hurry,” Dragan adds.
Cambion faces me and narrows his eyes as he holds his hands up, palms facing me. Then he closes his eyes and his lips move as he weaves an enchantment around me that feels like armies of ants marching up and down my skin. It’s maybe another few seconds until he opens his eyes and drops his hands. When I glance down at myself, I notice I’m now dressed in a light blue and white frock with an attached apron and white stockings. I feel my hair and realize it’s pulled back into a bun at the nape of my neck and there’s a peculiar little hat perched on my head.
“Carry on,” Cambion says as he glances at me and then nods at the wall.
I grip the stones on the wall and pull myself up, one brick at a time. Dragan climbs behind me. His arm brushes my thigh and my knees buckle as the Succubus rears up again. Really, she’s becoming exhausting. He grips my leg with one hand and pushes me back up.
“Get ahold of yourself,” he snaps.
“I’m sorry,” I answer and then flush.
“We can’t afford for you to lose control now,” he continues.
“I… I need to feed,” I answer, hoping he’ll understand how tough this is on me—how it’s affecting me on every level. As it is, I feel so exhausted, I can barely move. And the thought of having to climb the rest of this wall is something I don’t want to think about, let alone do.
The feeling of his palm against my leg is almost too much. “Move, Eilish. Now.”
He pushes me up a bit and I scramble to find security on the stones. Cambion reaches the top first and then clears his throat as his eyes find Dragan and me. He watches us both with interest, although I’m not sure why. I’m nearly at the top when I glance up and see Baron leaning over the top of the wall and offering me a helping hand. I accept it and he pulls me up the rest of the way. My arms burn from exertion.
“You need to feed,” he says with a curt nod. “You won’t last much longer.”
I nod because he’s right. He squeezes my hand and I glance down at his. Just feeling his hand on my wrists causes a moan that gets stuck in my throat.
“I feel dizzy,” I say as I take a deep breath.
“If we survive this, you do what you need to,” Baron says and then he glances over at Cambion who glares at us both.
I don’t really understand what Baron means but I choose not to ask. Baron tightens his hold around my wrist and I’m instantly reminded of the way he handles me when he’s inside me—his determination and his dominance. I moan. I can’t help it.
“Eilish,” he warns.
But, he’s not able to say anything else when we hear the sound of footsteps. All of us turn as one as we spot one of the guards along the far end of the wall as he walks around a corner and faces us. Dragan barely has time to knock him unconscious before the soldier shouts out, warning his comrades.
“Revenant,” I whisper, because something is coming over me—a feeling I can barely control. And I feel dizzy and exhausted. Baron groans low in his throat and sinks his fangs into my wrist.
Cambion curses quietly as my orgasm rushes over me like a hurricane. My scent grows stronger as Baron’s bite takes the edge off my hunger and his. That familiar darkness coils between us. He pulls away from me with a devilish look in his eyes.
“Make her stop,” Dragan says as he closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“I have no control over her,” Baron responds. “She needs to feed or it’s going to get worse.”
“We don’t have time,” Cambion says as he faces me. “For fuck’s sake!” He walks right in between Baron and me, then grips me by the hands and upper thighs and forces me over his shoulders. He carries me to the far side of the wall and glances over the side. The downwards jump to the street below is maybe ten feet.
Using the magic inherent in his species, Cambion mumbles something unintelligible and then jumps off the wall. When we land on the street below, it feels as if there’s little to no impact at all—as if Cambion simply hopped off a step and not a wall.
He puts me down in the dirty road and makes sure there’s some distance between us, but I see the outline of his erection in his pants. He isn’t as indifferent towards me as he likes to pretend. Even so, I look away to give him some time to get control of himself. The last thing I want to do is embarrass him, as I’m more than aware of doing so won’t do me any favors.
“You need to get yourself under control,” he announces.
“I was going to say the same thing to you,” I retort, before I can stop myself.
He frowns and inhales deeply. “Being near you when you’re… giving off what you are… isn’t easy.”
It’s similar to what Dragan said. “I’m sorry,” I answer. “I haven’t fed and the Succubus is doing everything in her power to make that happen.”
“You need to do everything in your power to control her,” he barks at me.
“You have no idea how difficult that is,” I argue.
If he would just give in, if he’d just fuck me… I think to myself.
As if hearing my inward thoughts, he marches away as the others land on the dirt street just beside me. Together, we peep down the length of the alley. The scent of baked bread and roasted meat blend with the aromas of Variant’s flower garden that isn’t far from our current location.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” Dragan begins, snapping me out of my daze. “We need to get off the streets and somewhere safe while we wait for Pyre to do whatever it is he was going to do. Those damn guards are going to wake up any minute now and they’ll be looking for us.”
“Agreed,” Cambion says and he seems annoyed that Dragan took the lead when Cambion clearly thinks of himself as the leader.
Dragan doesn’t seem to notice though and moves ahead of the group. I flinch when he suddenly takes my hand, but I take comfort in his hold, even though I know it’s foolish. Comfort is a word that will soon be meaningless.
***
DRAGAN
The Castle in the Sky
I don’t know why I grabbed Eilish, but the action is beyond my control. Seeing Cambion hold her when he scaled down the wall only added to the irritation that Revenant caused by biting her like a fucking animal. But Eilish’s eyelids grew heavy and she looked as though she was enjoying it. The sheer strength of her pheromones is exhausting, to say the least. Each pull of air into my lungs is flavored with her arousal. My boots pound against the cobblestone, matching the rhythm of my heart as the heat of her palm seeps into my flesh.
I can’t help but think of Lamia and the way her dark seduction overcame me. Eilish is not that different that I can look beyond her nature. Her Succubus side grows stronger every day and her need to feed along with it. It’s only a matter of time before we’re forced to serve her. Revenant has already proven he’s willing, but Eilish seems insatiable. It’s becoming fairly obvious that she desires all of us.
It wasn’t unheard of, back before the Succubae were extinct, that her kind would take multiple pleasure slaves. Queens especially would have a harem of male concubines to use as they pleased. In fact, there had been many gargoyles who left my command to willingly serve their Succubae mistresses.
Revenant stops. He lifts a hand to stall our advance before pressing a finger to his lips. The vampire leans back against the wall and slowly eases around the corner. Three guards stand side by side, smoking from a pipe that sends coils of blue smoke from the bowl. Revenant straightens and walks over to them with an air of confidence that I hesitantly admire. He says nothing as he draws nearer. The soldiers stand at attention, dropping the pipe, entirely unaware of what danger lurks in their presence. As far as they’re concerned, Revenant is a soldier to Variant, just like they are.
They ignore him and I watch in rapt fascination as Revenant grabs one of the soldier’s heads with lightning-quick reflexes and twists it at an awkward angle. Before I can blink, he uses his dagger to sever another soldier’s throat and then bashes the skull of the final guard against the brick. A scarlet river of lifeblood flows down the wall as Revenant sheathes his dagger without as much as a change in posture. He waves us over as though he’s bored by the lack of challenge. We hustle to his side, creeping through the alley, and moving closer to the castle.
***
FLUMPH
The Castle in the Sky
We take a turn ‘round a corner an’ I near swallow my tongue when that freaky ass necromancer be standin’ right there, lookin’ at me all scary-like with hims mask over his face. I stand up as tall as I can soze he don’t thinks I’m scared or nothin’.
“Everything is in place for you to make your entrance into the castle,” he say. “But, first, there is something I ask you to do.”
“Something?” Vamp-Bat ask.
“Before you reach the castle, proper, I wish for you to take shelter within a dilapidated structure that was once a library. Wait there until sunset.”
“Why?” Pretty ask an’ I be thinkin’ it be a good question.
“It will be easier to break into the castle with shadows on your side,” Masky answer.
“And what is the purpose of us waiting until sunset in the library? Why shouldn’t we just wait in the Veil, where it’s safe?” Cambion asks.
“There is something within the library I believe you should all see,” Masky answer.
“Okay,” Dragan say as he face Masky. “And how will we know what it is you want us to see? Or are you going to tell us?”
“You’ll know when you find it,” Masky answer real secret like. “And once you do, you can carry on with your task.” He take hisself a big breath. “You’ll see flashes of red light. When you do, move toward the light and move as fast as you can or else you risk getting caught in the spell, yourselves.”
“What kind o’ spell is it?” I demands, crossin’ me arms against me chest as I shakes me head. “I ain’t goin’ nowheres lest I know.”
“It’s a spell similar to the possession wards surrounding the palace, but much much stronger.”
“Much strongers how?”
Masky face me with them glowin’ white eyes an’ it’s alls I can do ta keep lookin’ right backs at him.
“The spell will trap the guards in their minds and they’ll be motionless for about an hour. Get as close to the far end of the castle as you can before the spell wears off. Once inside, move towards the North Tower. Get in and get out as quickly as you can.”
“The spell will trap all the guards’ minds?” Cambion ask.
Masky cock his head to one side like he ain’t sure what his answer should be. “There are those creatures who are more susceptible to magic and those who are less,” he say.
“What?” I ask.
“Do the best with what you’ve been given,” he say, pretty grumpy like.
“And when we finish our task, you’ll be ready to see us back out again?” the vamp ask, studying Masky with this weird sort of awed look on his face. I ain’t never seen that expression on the vamp befores.
Masky hand him a weird lookin’ ball er orb er somethin’. It be small’s enough ta fit inside Vampy’s palm.
“Crush the Oluri and it will open a rift to the Veil,” Masky explain.
“The Oluri ?” Pretty repeat.
“This globe,” Masky correct hisself an’ then he look down at it likes he’s introducin’ it ta all of us.
“Where will the rift take us?” Pretty ask an’ she gots that same expression ridin’ on her face—like Vampy and Pretty both got theyselves a crush on Masky-man.
“To my home in the Veil. The rift will close less than a minute after it opens.” The necromancer’s hands be shakin’ like he a damn junky, lookin’ sorta like the vamp when he were in love with that fuckin’ rock. Masky grab onto Vampy and say, “Be very careful with the Oluri . It is very dark and forbidden magic even for a necromancer like me.”
“What the fucks is that globe thing?” I ask, my voice all high and squeaky ‘cause I don’t wants to get captured again or blown the hell up by that glowin’ ball thing.
“It’s a piece of my soul that’s tethered to the Veil,” Masky answer like his answer make sense. It don’t make no sense to me though.
I hear Pretty gasp over my shoulder. She move closer to Masky and touch hims arm. Gargoyle and the others don’t seem to likes that much. Actually, neither does Masky ‘cause he take hisself a step back.
“Casting the first spell to get us into the castle already drained your magic,” Pretty say in a real concerned voice. “And you’ve already severed a piece of your soul… Pyre...”
“I don’t want your concern,” the necromancer answer real tight-lipped like.
Pretty nod, but the concern still be there on her face, all the same. “Thank you. For everything, thank you.”
Masky nod as he looks at her. “This might be our only chance to free the Midnight Queen. This is a necessary risk, but one that comes at a very high price.” Masky look up at the rest of us. “Just make sure it was worth my sacrifice.” He face Pretty again befores he look at the others. “And keep her safe.”
“We will,” Cambion answer, like Masky was just talkin’ to him. That elf got him a real self-importance problem.
Masky walk over to Gargoyle who be all broody. Then Masky whisper somethin’ in hims ear that make the Shadow King frown at his boots like they interestin’ all o’ a sudden. I flys up to the table where the elf sittin’ an tap him on the shoulder real quiet like.
“You gots a plan if this fuckin’ thing go sideways? I ain’t too keen on gettin’ my ass roasted over an open fire for Variant’s supper. Hear he like hims sprite nice an plump like me.”
Elf, he roll his eyes like I don’t know nuthin’. “Variant doesn’t eat sprites, you fucking moron.”
I pull my shirt down where it rode up my belly an’ grab me crossbow. I think I’ll call her “Tilly” ‘cause I can’t remember what the fuck’s Noni named the damn thing. Yeah, I like Tilly.
The End
Find out what happens next in:
MIDNIGHT KINGDOM
Book 5 of the SHADOW GUARDIANS Series!
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