Blood and Madness

by Michael Clement

  I valued magic over my lovers.

  My mind shook as another rib popped out.

  Tears filled my sleeping eyes. I was an awful piece of shit. Even if I was a Goblin, they were my… mates.

  Shuddering, I realized that I couldn’t go on if I let any of them die. Magic wasn’t worth losing any of the girls. Even my piece of shit father had never sacrificed one of his lovers for power.

  They were essential to me.

  And, just like that, my priorities changed.

  I wanted magic.

  But, not more than them.

  For the first time in my life, magic wasn’t the most important thing to me.

  And, the most important thing was now threatened on every side. Anger built up in my soul. I was pissed at myself, and Mockery, Azlin, and Shy. They had all painted me into a corner where I couldn’t win.

  And I wanted to win.

  Because losing the girls was unacceptable.

  - 33 -

  Screaming, I raged in my soul, trying to find a solution.

  Losing Taesa to Azlin’s misery was unacceptable. I had to do something.

  Control.

  Azlin couldn’t poison me.

  If I was in control of Taesa’s body, she couldn’t kill herself. Reaching out, I grabbed the rune on Taesa’s sigil that was now all the way upside down, allowing her the freedom--and curse--of free will.

  Wrenching it to the left, I started putting everything that I had into taking away the free will that would allow Taesa to kill herself. I would not let that happen.

  “Strike!” Azlin screamed at Taesa.

  But, her hand didn’t descend. Sweat poured down her face, and I suddenly realized something.

  Taesa was still fighting to survive.

  If I took that choice away, then I was no better than Azlin. Hell, I was worse than her.

  “Live!” I implored Taesa, stopping my attempt to rotate her control rune. “Live, Taesa! Please… I need you.”

  The words just tumbled out of my mouth, as I suddenly remembered making love to her in the Cadillac. I pushed that thought and several others to her.

  Our first kiss. How her lips felt pressed against mine.

  Bliss pushed through my soul, as I recalled climaxing in her and her surprised reaction.

  Something stirred deep in the depths of Taesa’s mind.

  My simple… please live, meant something to her.

  Sensing the change, Azlin wrapped her hands around Taesa’s wrist and began pulling downward, trying to force the dagger into her wrist. If Taesa wouldn’t kill herself, then Azlin would help her.

  I couldn’t let Azlin win. Losing Taesa was unacceptable. So, I sent visions of Taesa, Hana, Mary, and I all sitting around a dinner table, laughing and happy.

  Together.

  Family.

  She wasn’t alone. We were with her.

  Taesa snapped.

  Anger boiled out of the depths of her mind, dashing the despair, crushing it under pure outrage.

  I panicked.

  Shit.

  Wrong move.

  But, then I realized that she wasn’t mad at me.

  The dagger shot downward…

  Right into Azlin’s knee.

  Blood splattered my lover as the wicked blade plunged through cartilage and muscle, exiting the other side.

  Azlin shrieked in surprise and agony. Snarling, Taesa yanked the blade sideways, ripping away move flesh and almost severing the knee.

  The Elf lost her balance and collapsed onto her back. Howling, Taesa ripped the blade out and threw herself onto the Mournflower. The knife came up and then plunged down into Azlin’s neck.

  Up again, and then down.

  Over and over again.

  Blood covered the floor, the walls, and Taesa. Snarling like an enraged lion she just kept smashing the blade into Azlin.

  It didn’t matter that the Elf’s sightless eyes were staring up at the young woman in shock.

  It didn’t matter that her victim’s heart had stopped beating minutes ago.

  Taesa was past caring about all of that.

  Years of abuse, first at the hands of her parents, and later by the nuns of the convent, came pouring out of my lover. Emotions that she hadn’t felt in years boiled over, swamping her mind. Taesa had been trapped in the body of an emotionless, horrid creature for decades.

  Now, all the pent up emotion exploded.

  She didn’t stop stabbing Azlin until Taesa was so tired that she could barely move. The knife fell from her fingers, as my lover climbed off of the meat… for that is all it was anymore. Bloody, ripped up meat.

  Peering out of her eyes, I didn’t even recognize Azlin anymore. Her face was torn away. Blood and bone stared up at the heaven that Azlin, the Lady of IronHold, could never get into.

  The Lady of Plants had survived Mary’s vicious attack.

  But, the Lady of IronHold was dead. Her body wasn’t ready to repair the damage that Taesa had inflicted. Nor did she have the sorcerous reserves to survive. If she were still in her old body, Azlin wouldn’t have died.

  But the Elf.

  The Elf was dead.

  Gunfire roared outside of the room, but Taesa barely comprehended it.

  The savage, tut-tut-tut of automatic fire pounded into the door, followed by screams of agony.

  Then, the door was kicked hard. Slamming open, it rebounded off the walls.

  Two men stood in the doorway.

  Lady Shufen’s attendants.

  And, in their hands were AK-47s.

  - 33 -

  Fury, panic, and terror flowed through me as I stared at the men through Taesa’s eyes.

  Lady Shufen had sent them to kill Taesa!

  I felt the last rib that had to be removed snap inside of my chest. Somehow, I had missed the extraction of several of the bones.

  Panicking, I realized that the woman whose men were about to kill my lover was operating on me.

  Fuck!

  I fought and twisted in my mind, determined to do something. Even if I took control of her skin, her body still wouldn’t be of any use to me. Taesa was exhausted.

  “Mistress Taesa,” one attendant exclaimed. “We are here to retrieve you.”

  Relief flooded through my mind, and I swore that I heard Oba Shufen chuckle.

  Trust came hard to me. No one had ever had my back, no matter what. And, eventually, everyone who said, “I will help you,” had left me.

  Maybe, just maybe, this was the start of a new, and better, life.

  The first new rib slid into place.

  Electricity twisted through my soul, as it tasted the new spell, just the first of six, and found it savory and good.

  A powerful thrumming began to echo through my soul, as each new rib snapped into place. The noise kept growing louder and more powerful.

  My soul was trembling when the last one was placed inside of me. Suddenly, the sound of a crashing boom filled my mind. It felt like a giant stood inside of me, clanging heavy cymbals together.

  I could barely focus through Taesa’s eyes. The noise was so loud. But, I saw the attendants carry her out of the bedroom. Dead half-frog, half-human men were strewn about, ripped to pieces by gunfire. Sun’s men had cut down their own family to extradite my lover.

  The noise in my body was just too much. I could barely concentrate.

  Then… a single chime broke through the noise.

  And, the spell quieted.

  Taesa yawned wildly and then shut her eyes. Her mind was exhausted, and sleep was all she could think of.

  I wasn’t ready to return to my body, so I peeked out of Mary’s eyes instead.

  --M--

  The plants were all wilting and turning black, as Alagossa Felmorna drained their life force to replenish her own. Outside the windows, the Cicadas were withering and falling. The Lady of Fellmire was eating everything that she could find… to survive.

  Mary stopped and glanced behind her. A wave of black mold was devou
ring the plants that Felmorna had everywhere. While she watched, they turned to dust and then ashes.

  I could feel the Malignant’s magic, hunting my women. It felt like a hungry, wolf stalking them, chasing their scent, hoping that it could devour their souls as well.

  Mary calmly turned around and began moving quickly down the hallway. She turned a corner and found two Goblins lying on the floor. The black mold had already claimed them. Their skin bubbled and boiled, as the fungus feasted on their flesh and souls.

  My lover glanced behind them.

  All she could see was more mold spores. The corridor was so infected that it was black with death. Felmorna was devouring them all.

  Sighing, Mary turned around and entered a room. Slamming the door behind her, she made her way to a boarded-up window. There was no other way out. Either this worked, or she would feed the Malignant as well.

  Hana was still bleeding, despite the tourniquet. She had passed out several minutes ago, which made carrying her harder.

  But Mary wasn’t worried. Any emotions that had bubbled to the surface, during the crisis, were now safely locked away again. Her only real concern was saving Hana.

  Because Bazal loved her.

  Therefore, letting her die was unacceptable.

  Reaching up, Mary yanked and pulled the old crumbling boards down.

  Outside, Mary could see gravel and a metal culvert about two feet deep. The girls were in the basement. Somehow, she had missed the ground floor earlier and had gone too deep.

  Taking the remnants of one of the boards, Mary smashed out the window and then cleared away the damaged glass.

  Climbing out would be tough, but not impossible.

  But, saving Hana… that would be the trick. Mary’s tentacles were gone, and her magic reserves were used up.

  Her mind raced. How could she push the woman up into the culvert? It was too high for her to pick Hana up and stuff her into it. Plus, even if she could, how would she get Hana’s body out of the way so that Mary could climb into it also?

  Then, a red face looked into the room at her, upside down.

  Mary took a step back as the Goblin smiled, exposing his rows of sharp teeth.

  “Master’s bitch,” Xot rasped. “I am here to save you.”

  Looking Mary up and down, he sighed, “Though, I don’t know why. You are old and dried up. Hardly worth the effort to fuck. Master should just let you die.”

  --M--

  I slowly opened my physical eyes. Everything ached.

  Oba Shufen looked down at me and smiled.

  “You survived,” she murmured.

  My hands slipped down and ran over my ribs. The skin felt new and healthy.

  Then, I remembered the arm bone.

  Reaching up, I ran my hands over one arm, and then the other.

  “The arm bone had too many curses and hexes engraved upon it,” Sun told me. “If you want to use it, you will have to have The Bride remove her traps first.”

  Shit.

  That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

  “It will take you time to recover,” she murmured, as I tried to sit up and failed.

  “You saved Taesa,” I mumbled, forgetting my manners. I should be thanking her, instead of being upset about what she didn’t do.

  “Of course, I did,” Sun replied. “Losing the witch would have weakened you. I need a strong man right now. My daughter, Shy, is still alive, and so is Alagossa Felmorna. Both of them need to be dealt with before Columbia will be safe again.”

  I opened my mouth to ask a question, but exhaustion pulled at my thoughts.

  “Brynn,” I mumbled.

  “Yes,” I heard Oba Shufen answer. “Yes. The Heir of the House of the Serpent must be retrieved as well.”

  I fought my way back to consciousness.

  “Where is Brynn?” I demanded. Blackness was trying to yank me down again, but I needed to know where my wife was.

  “Brynn Tawret was packaged and shipped to Ashmouth,” Sun replied. “When you are healed, you must retrieve your wife… before her soul is ripped from her body.”

  Leaning closer, Sun whispered, “By your Father.”

  Thank you for reading Bazal’s second book! If you liked this story, please consider leaving an

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  Thanks again!

  Michael