“Don’t worry, Merlin. We’ll help put you out of your misery.” Merlin turned, his eyes locking onto the dual set of fangs that mockingly grinned at his distraught. “Your time here has ended.”
“We!” Merlin huffed as he leaned on his table, glaring at Cedric over his shoulder. “You brought more demons to my dear Avalon? How dare you defile this place!”
“No, I am the only demon standing on this hallowed ground.” Cedric held up his left hand, the missing finger left an unsettling gap in his large hand. “I came to cash in my payback for this and take back what is rightfully mine, wizard.”
Merlin’s stare with Cedric broke as something slithered across his hand. He paled as a two-headed cobra sneered up at him, its red eyes flashed. The speed in which it struck left him little time to react. Stinging pain crawled up from his hand where the two heads gnawed at his flesh. Veins were blackening as they snaked up his flesh. Tossing the snake to Cedric’s feet, more panic flooded the wizard. Trembling, Merlin fell to his knees, chanting desperately in order to slow the progress of the poison. His eyes glowed deep azure blue as he worked his magic. Slowing the venoms to almost a stop, he gave a smug grin to Cedric.
Nemaine approached from thin air, her snake slithered and coiled around her leg as she stood behind Cedric. Wrapping tightly around her ankle to the top of her shin, the snake turned to gold, its ruby eyes the only hint of life left. Her insane smile expressed her love for the ways venoms worked. Pain waved through Merlin, the black veins breaking into a run and stopping again. His magic was failing him as he stared up at the wild eyes of the venom sorceress. Nemaine looked like a Greek goddess staring down at the feeble old wizard, whose expression shifted to hatred at how easy it was for her to belittle him.
Tossing more balls of magic at them, Cedric and Nemaine dodged them. The heat and spark of the impact on the floor sent chills across Cedric’s skin. An injury from one of them meant instant death as he watched one more sink and melt into the stone floor. Another wave of Nemaine’s venom slowed Merlin down as he gripped the aching hand. Coughing up black ooze, he raged on muttering more healing spells. Nemaine once more let out one of her wicked laughs, seeing that she had managed to best a High Wizard as ancient as Merlin. Unlike the foolish wizard, Nemaine had been granted immortality for her devotion to her love of toxins. Merlin could only slow the bite of the Venom Goddess’ snake. No magic could undo the damage done. Feeling the godlike magic tearing him apart, Merlin stood once more, casting more spells and an onslaught towards them. His aim was skewed as his vision blurred.
Arms wrapped around Merlin from behind, one hand gripping the Amulet of Avalon as lips tickled his ear. “It’s my turn to have this again.”
Morrighan jerked the Amulet of Avalon free of Merlin’s neck, his eyes wide in terror. Nothing happened as Morrighan stepped back, attaching the amulet to her skirt. He laughed as he stumbled on his feet, still chanting under his breath. The Azure glow in his eyes was flickering in and out of his eyes, like a candle fighting gusts of wind. The two sisters looked to one another, neither of them sure as to why there had been no recoil. Merlin was building a ball of wizard’s fire in his hand, fuming in Morrighan’s direction. He reached his hand back, ready to launch the oversized fireball. Pain exploded across his hand again. Merlin looked back to watch his fingers fall to the ground and his wizard’s fire with it. The air filled with the smell of smoldering flesh as his own fireball devoured his fingers. A blade had sailed through his flesh; Merlin’s lack of focus had been a grave mistake.
“I don’t think so.” Cedric’s green eyes were wild as he sheathed his sword. “Let’s all play fair now.”
The point of a blade brought his attention to Cedric and the three Sorceress sisters. Badbh’s brass raven mask greeted him, her dagger drawing blood as Nemaine’s poison snaked up the wizard’s neck. Fear was taking its toll on Merlin as he stood there, bleeding, poisoned, and caught between the vengeance of, not one, but four powerful beings. Gritting his teeth, Merlin began chanting loudly, the air about them vacuuming into him. As the glow in his eyes grew brighter, the black marks of the poison retreated, fingers were coming back into existence and bouncing off the ground to rejoin the hand it had fallen from, making all normal again. Merlin was turning time back on himself and the shield around him had pushed everyone back.
Cedric’s jaw twitched as he spat on the ground. Nodding to the girls, they vanished. They had done what they could, but now it fell back to him. Merlin’s winds died down and he glared at him through glowing eyes. Wizard’s fire was building in both hands as the two of them now stood alone. Laughter erupted from Cedric’s mouth at the sight of the raging wizard. Sneering, Merlin threw the first fireball. Leaning sheepishly to the side, Cedric dodged it. He watched, amused, as Merlin’s face reddened at the notion. Rage was blinding the old man before him, and he continued to pull it out of Merlin.
“Are you forgetting something?” Cedric stroked his chin, closing one eye as he continued his nonchalant mannerisms. “You’ve been around long enough. Do you recall how a curse and recoils work?”
“That is of no concern—” A loud sucking of wind muted all sounds.
Surprised, Merlin turned about to face the direction in where this commotion originated. A small black hole circled about, pulling the wizard in, showing no interest in the other items in the room. Merlin struggled, stepping backwards, casting spells to slow its pull and gain any inch he could away from his recoil’s fate. Thud and cracking of ribs jolted his body, his feet losing their touch on the stone floor as the black hole sucked the wizard in. As he spun and twisted in the air, his eyes met the unmistakable yellow stare of Romasanta. The stern look on the Father of Werewolves wolf-like face was the last thing he saw before the black hole collapsed.
“You ok?” Cedric walked up behind Romasanta who stood staring where he had last seen Merlin. “I know it doesn’t fix things but—”
Huffing, Romasanta walked past Cedric. “You’re the only one who knows the truth about my curse and Merlin’s involvement. Let’s keep it that way.”
Changing back to his human form, Romasanta walked out into the hall. Rubbing the back of his neck, Cedric sighed. Merlin was gone and the weights of promises made in the last several centuries were repaid. His skin crawled with excitement; Merlin’s spells were breaking as they had thought. Smells were revealing themselves for the first time and one sent him in a run. The unforgettable smell of her salty skin sent excitement waving through him. As he instinctually ran through hallways, doors, and stairs, she was sending mixed waves of fear and excitement. It was clear she was aware he was there on Avalon, but the wards had fallen and the compass had stopped spinning. He was coming for her.
Landing a shoulder into a steel door, its hinges shattered. Thudding onto the dirt and stone, the weight of the block of metal vibrated the ground. The room was dark and chains rattled from the center of the dampness. There was an eerie silence as Angeline’s fear waved to him followed by more clanking of her chains. Cedric’s eyes dulled as his eyes adjusted in the cold blackness of the dungeon. Slowly he walked to where she sat. Her dress once white was torn and stained. The walls trickled with water, the floor splashed under his feet as he sunk to his knees beside her, tears racing down his face. Her fear washing over him was choking, and all he wished was to take it all away from her.
Gently, he took her pale face into his warm hands. Her brown eyes watered at his touch, their bond electrifying every sensation after going so many centuries without touching one another. He thumbed her broken lips, stitched closed. Memories of that painful moment flooded through him, he had felt every needle jab and the ungodly sensation of the coarse twine pulling through each hole. She nuzzled her face into the warmth of his hand, ashamed of all the years of feeling nothing but pleasure for such ruthless torture. Pulling her chimera-hilted dagger from his belt, he cut the strings, softly pulling each strand free of her skin and flesh. When the last of them hit the ground, he leaned forward and k
issed her cracked lips. She pressed harder into his lips, her chains scraping across the stone floor.
It took a few moments as he broke her wrists and ankles free of their iron homes. Scars littered her pale skin, serving as reminders to him of every moment he had felt them. Her hair was far longer than he had remembered and it lay tangled and damp all around them like a gothic form of Rapunzel. Throwing her chains against the wall, he hugged her hard against his chest. Kissing her damp hair, the smell of mildew and filth filled his nose. She was dirty, cold, and broken. Clenching his teeth, his tears fell harder as she trembled from the waves of regret and sorrow came from him. No words could come to him, but the emotions they exchanged were overwhelming. How she had lived through such torture and in such a place all this time was beyond him.
Angeline nuzzled his neck, her tender kisses and waves of arousal pulled him further away from his drowning in grief. Fangs scrapped across his neck, both of them excited from the sensation. His eyes grew wide as Angeline’s fangs popped through the skin of his neck. Hungrily she drank his blood, her warm tears sliding down her cheeks and meeting his skin only aroused him further. With a sigh of pleasure, he let her regain her strength through him. A wicked smile crossed his face as she bit down hard. His thoughts returned to the day she had been taken as Merlin’s words echoed in his mind, “I got here far too late and now will have to cleanse her of your filth.” This is why she had survived. The bonding had changed more of her than either of them had realized so long ago.
Shoving herself away, she had let go of her bite, panic erupting from her. Her mouth opened to form words, but her voice was still missing from having gone too long without using it. She was panting, confused and aroused, afraid and excited. Cedric pulled her back to him, shoving her on her back on the wet ground. Drunk from the excitement, his incubine instincts were reeling at the sight of his blood on her lips and chin. The pale color in her skin was fading away as warmth returned to her body. Scars were fading ever fast and her lips were returning to their rose petal softness before his eyes. Leaning down he began kissing at her neck, chills crawling across her skin as his fangs teased her with every slight touch. Suckling on her ear lobe for a moment, the warmth of his breath on her only added to her ecstasy.
“Don’t be afraid, my Angel.” Kissing her cheek, he wiped the tears from her face and kissed her blood covered chin. “With this, we can be together forever. I need you as much as you need me. We crave to drink from one another’s blood. Embrace what you have become, pet.”
“I,” Her voice failed her, but she swallowed and opened her mouth once more. “I love you, my Demon, my Savoir, my Lord, my Cedric.”
Passionately kissing, he ran a hand down her thigh. Her body trembled in excitement, no longer cold from the water that covered her. With every touch, every kiss and lick, their bond was reconnecting, remembering what it had once been. Cedric’s horns and wings came out, adding to the stimulation that was overwhelming them. Angeline’s memories of the night she had first lain with Cedric, where they had been bound to one another, flooded back to her. The compassion and tenderness of every touch and move from him focused on pleasing her.
Moaning and gasping escaped her lips with each gesture from him as her hands gripped his incubine horns. The ridges on his black horns felt like the handle to her dagger making her release arousing waves through him from her own excitement at the thought. His green eyes locked on to her brown ones, and she shuddered under the shadow of his wings. The motion and the overwhelming strength he held onto her let her know that he would never let her go ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Six: A Curse Broken
Tony was wiping off the new bar counter as he sighed. Stopping a moment, he rubbed the scar on his palm where Morrighan had ripped it open with her dagger. Rusty had sent him the deed to the bar, making the establishment his and hadn’t seen him since Lillith had taken him to his office the night the place was destroyed. A mysterious check had also come to his personal address with an insane amount of money. He had invested most of it to getting the bar in better shape than it had been before. It was now named “The Lion’s Den” and he couldn’t help but laugh to himself. He had definitely felt like Daniel that night with so many inhuman customers. The bell to the door called his attention to it but he did not see anyone there as it slowly closed again.
“You’ll never catch me actually walking in, you know.” It was his Thursday regulars.
Stopping a moment, he smiled pouring two vodkas on ice. “Here you go. Same as always I see.”
“I owe you the world, Tony.” Cedric’s green eyes flashed, grabbing the drinks up, no longer missing a finger. “How’s business?”
“Booming since Rusty left.” Waving at the short brown-haired girl, he sighed. “And how are you doing today, Angeline?”
“Perfect.”
About The Author
Valerie Willis, a sixth generation Floridian, launched her first book, Cedric the Demonic Knight, at the start of 2014. Since then, she has launched the second book to The Cedric Series, Romasanta: Father of Werewolves (2015), with several installments to come in this high rated Fantasy Romance Series. She pulls in a melting pot of mythology, folklores, history and more into her work with a remarkable amount of foreshadowing that makes reading her books a second time exciting. Also she recently published Rebirth the first book in her Teen Urban Fantasy, the Tattooed Angels Trilogy. Currently on the table to be completed is book two for the Tattooed Angels Trilogy, Judgment and book three in The Cedric Series, The Oracle.
Other Books By This Author
The Cedric Series
Cedric the Demonic Knight (1)
Romasanta: Father of Werewolves (2)
The Oracle (3) COMING SOON!
Expect a lot more from this series!
Tattooed Angels Trilogy
Rebirth (1)
Judgment (2) EXPECTED 2016
Death (3) COMING SOON!
Connect with Valerie Willis
Thank you so much for reading my book, Cedric the Demonic Knight! Keep up to date on my latest release, post reviews, even drop by and say hi! Here are some of the places that you will be able to interact with my work and me, even find some short stories to share online with friends:
Check out my Website: http://www.willisauthor.com/
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValerieWillisAuthor/
Tweet me here: https://twitter.com/Valerie_Willis
There’s always my Blog: https://willisauthor.wordpress.com/
Yes, I’m on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7822183.Valerie_Willis
Find Excerpts and more at Inkitt: https://www.inkitt.com/valerie_willis
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