The Scale Empire

by Cate Farren

  He started to dress and I turned away, giving him some privacy. During this time someone came to check up on them after hearing the screaming, but Bram told them all was fine. I was a little disappointed in his guards and their slow reaction time. What if he’d really been in trouble?

  “Show me what happened,” Bram demanded.

  I turned back to him. His glistening naked body was still imprinted on my eyes. I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

  “I’ve already told you,” I insisted. “I fought the creature and it vanished. There isn’t much else to tell you.”

  “And was I…enjoying it?” Bram asked.

  “You seemed to be,” I admitted. “But then again you were in a trance or asleep at the time.”

  He sat on the edge of his bed and ran his hands through his thick, luscious hair. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through. Here I was, ogling his perfect body, while he’d been more or less sexually assaulted. I should be ashamed of myself.

  “I was having a dream about my wife,” he admitted. “It was quite a vivid, sensual dream. I’ve been having them for a week now.” He looked at me, concerned. “The dreams felt so real and intense. Has that thing been atop me every time I’ve dreamed of Lana?”

  “We should talk to Circe,” I suggested. “She might know what that thing was.”

  He banged his fists against the bed.

  “I was used!” he roared. “Some creature used me, and when I get my hands on them I’m going to [NJA6]rip them apart.”

  ***

  Circe waved her hands, recreating the scene. It was foggy but they could make out the blue-skinned creature, riding a sleeping Bram. She watched the weredragon in the present as he bit his lip to keep from shouting out. He looked horrified.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s a succubus,” said Circe. “But as they used to look many thousands of years ago before they adapted to look like humans. There are still some of them out there if you care to look for them.”

  “But why is coming after me?” said Bram.

  “You’re pining for your wife. You attract things like this easily. It would also explain your tiredness these past few days too. I’m surprised she hasn’t killed you by now.”

  We watched the brief battle I had with the thing before Circe waved her hands and the scene vanished. I was a little disappointed in myself. I’d been too surprised by the sight of Bram’s naked form to put up a decent enough fight.

  What happens if I’m thinking about him when I face Dorian?

  I should never have taken Rebecca’s advice. My feelings of lust for Bram are only getting in the way. I have to suppress them.

  “We need it gone,” said Bram. “I need to be at my best when we storm the palace.”

  “We’ll set up a trap,” said Circe. “Then I’ll kill it.”

  “I need to help,” I said. “It’s my fault she got away.”

  Circe eyed me with contempt before saying, “Yes, it was; and yes, you can help.”

  ***

  I felt the moist sea air wash over me, drenching my hair. It felt good. The boat was steady and the ocean waves were calm. I felt like I could fall asleep and relax all the way to Australia.

  I’d come out on deck to keep out of Circe’s way as she prepared spells to capture the ancient succubus. She said she’d call for me when she needed my help.

  I felt like such a failure. I’d allowed a dangerous creature to escape, and almost got Bram killed, because I couldn’t keep a lid on my libido. How had I come to this? How could one man stir such desire in me that I’d allow myself to be so careless? He was ruining what could be the final leg of my mission.

  I thought I was better than this. I thought I could control myself better than this. I’m a warrior, a witch. I have to control myself better than this. Being felled by silly amorous feelings for a man made me just as stupid as all the women I’d despised over the years.

  “Why are you everywhere?” someone complained.

  I recognised the voice but not the face. It was the man who’d been talking to Bram when I was coming out of unconsciousness. I hadn’t seen or heard him since then.

  “Do you have a problem with me?” I demanded, crossing my arms. He shrank back and I grinned. I loved intimidating people.

  “King Bram almost got hyperthermia chasing you across Alaska,” he barked. His long red hair was blowing in the wind, and his face, peppered with freckles, was in a permanent scowl. He only looked to be in his late teens. “I still don’t see how we need you.”

  “He needs me to help him with my brother,” I stated.

  “Bram is a weredragon. He already has a powerful witch. Why does he need you?”

  His question was a valid one. I hadn’t really stopped to ask myself why Bram had come for me. He had Circe. She was far more powerful than I could ever be. Why would he need my help? And how did he even know about me and where to find me?

  I’d done it again. I’d been so obsessed with Dorian that I’d looked past the obvious.

  “How did he know where to find me in Alaska?” I asked. “I’m sorry. I don’t know your name.”

  “It’s Nile,” said the redhead. He shrugged. “I don’t know how he knew where to find you. I just take orders.” Nile looked at me in horror. “Are you suggesting my king is up to something nefarious?”

  “I trust him. He’s just not telling us everything.”

  Nile looked away, his face troubled. He looked so young to be in such a position.

  “What do you do?” I asked him.

  “I’m the prince’s bodyguard,” said Nile, straightening his shoulders proudly. “Or I would’ve been once I turned eighteen.” At my confused look he said, “I was in training when all the other guards were killed. There was only me left.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t feel sorry for me.”

  He stormed away. I wanted to laugh, but I found his dedication to Bram endearing. Still, I had a lot to think about. When this business with the ancient succubus was over I had to confront him.

  Chapter 11

  Bram was laid back on his bed, wearing only a pair of obscenely tight white boxer shorts. They only outlined how sexy he was rather than obscured it.

  “We’re going to summon her?” I asked incredulously.

  Circe nodded smugly. “And when she appears she’ll get caught in my trap. Then we’ll have the answers we need.”

  I could feel the magic thrumming in the room. Circe had erected a lot of wards and shields. I wasn’t quite sure why she needed my help unless it was as a human shield.

  There was a flash of light. The ancient succubus appeared, floating over Bram’s prone body. She smiled and leaned in to caress his face, not noticing that he was wide awake.

  “You’re not naked,” she whispered. “I can soon remedy that.”

  She couldn’t see either Circe or me because we were surrounded by a shield. It took all my effort not to kill the thing as it slowly began to slide down Bram’s boxers.

  The succubus stopped. “Something is wrong.”

  She seemed to look right through us, as if looking for something she couldn’t see but knew was there. She floated away from the bed, coming toward us.

  “Who’s there?” she whispered.

  Circe grinned and let loose her trap. A dozen shields and wards snapped around the succubus like a bubble, trapping her in place. She thrashed around and shrieked like a banshee but she couldn’t move. She was literally imprisoned.

  We stepped out of our shield, revealing ourselves. The succubus screamed and clawed at her bubble prison.

  “What have you done to me?” the creature demanded.

  Bram started to dress as we examined the creature in more detail. It was extraordinary. Not only was it naked but it was hairless, with skin as blue as a tropical sea. It seemed to float on the air as if it were swimming, and its eyes were white, no iris in sight. Its fingers tapered into claws and it only had four toes on each f
oot.

  “Extraordinary,” said Circe, grinning. “I haven’t seen such a creature in thousands upon thousands of years! They evolved into the modern succubus long ago. How is this possible?”

  The succubus stopped her thrashing and licked her lips. “Maybe on this world we’ve turned into less pretty models.”

  “You’re from another Earth?” I asked.

  She laughed. “I’m a traveller. I flit from Earth to Earth, mostly out of boredom.”

  Bram, not fully dressed, slammed his fists against the bubble, shaking the succubus around inside.

  “Why are you targeting me?” he demanded.

  She grinned. “I’m not targeting you. I love you.”

  Circe placed her hand on the bubble. Electricity writhed around inside, passing through the succubus. The creature screamed in agony, grasping at the insides of her prison.

  “Tell us the truth!” Circe shouted.

  The succubus wiped turquoise blood from her mouth. “I go from Earth to Earth using a special ring. I was captured when I came to this Earth and my means of escaping was taken. I was to come to you and kill you and in exchange I would get my ring back. But…but I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. If I’d done my job properly you would’ve been dead days ago.”

  I considered this and realised she was right. She could have killed Bram the first night she turned up. She seemed powerful enough.

  “She’s too dangerous to live,” Circe announced.

  The succubus screamed. “NO! Don’t kill me!”

  I nodded. “I agree. She’s dangerous and we don’t need her getting in the way when we should be preparing for our mission.”

  The bubble around the succubus started to contract, crushing the creature inside. She shrieked in pain. I looked away, unable to watch.

  “No!” Bram cried.

  I heard the sound of someone being punched. Circe crashed into me, and we fell to the ground. I looked up just in time to see the succubus exploding from her bubble, leaping into the air with gleeful abandon. I prepared a spell to destroy her when Bram grabbed her arm.

  “Leave her alone,” he cried.

  Circe’s look was lethal. “You hit me to protect that thing?”

  “You were going to murder her,” said Bram. His fury was red hot and terrifying. His eyes were black and reptilian. “I don’t condone cold-blooded murder. I’m disappointed in both of you.”

  Circe left as I got to my feet. I couldn’t look Bram in the eye, yet I had to apologise. He was right. I should never have consented to having the succubus killed like she was some sort of sacrificial lamb.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “We were just trying to protect you.”

  “I’d never kill him,” the succubus protested.

  “Shut up,” Bram told her. He turned to me again. “She’s no danger to me. She might even come in handy.”

  The succubus grinned wickedly. “I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything for you, my love!”

  “How can we trust her?” I asked.

  The succubus spun around. A tight-fitting catsuit, light green in colour, appeared around her body, hiding her modesty. I didn’t know they could do that. The ancient kind of this species was definitely more powerful than their later, more human-like forms.

  “Makes me look so pretty.” The succubus grinned, her eyes devouring Bram. “What do you think?”

  Bram shrugged. “You’re not my type.”

  “My name is Sini, and I am everyone’s type.”

  She continued to stare at him, making Bram and me very uncomfortable. I may have been a little ashamed at wanting to kill her, but what were we supposed to do with her now? How were we supposed to stop her from trying to kill Bram or someone else on the ship?

  There was a way, but it would only work if Sini agreed to it. Bram might not like it either, yet it would keep them all safe. Sini’s succubus abilities might indeed come in handy later on.

  “Do you really love Bram?” I asked her.

  She nodded, eyes still fixed on him. “Of course.”

  “Then you will pledge a blood debt to him,” I said.

  She looked at me, curious. “I suppose. What would it entail?”

  Bram didn’t say anything as I outlined what I had in mind. The plan was to bind Sini into Bram’s service with a powerful spell. She would effectively have to do whatever he said. Doing anything contrary to that, such as killing or hurting someone without asking him first, would kill her.

  I knew what I was doing. It was a simpler variation on the curse spell that Victoria and her crony had put on me.

  “I don’t have slaves,” Bram protested.

  “When this mission is over you can let her go,” I said. “We can get her ring back from my brother and she can pop off back to her home dimension again. Besides, she wants to do this. She loves you, right?”

  Sini nodded. “I want to do this! I want to prove to you that I can be trusted!”

  Bram eventually agreed. The spell involved Sini imbibing some of Bram’s blood, then quoting her unyielding allegiance to him. I felt a little queasy doing it. It didn’t make me feel good, binding someone to such a spell, even if it was a murderous succubus.

  This is dark magic.

  Sini looked at her hands. “I don’t feel any different. I still look sexy but I…I don’t feel any different.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “You sure are full of yourself.”

  “You would be if you were as hot as I am.”

  I felt like punching her. I’d been described as exotic in my time, though mainly by white people who’d never seen a mixed race girl before. Still, I considered myself attractive.

  Bram seemed uncomfortable with the whole thing. I couldn’t blame him really. Maybe Sini was technically his slave, but it was the only way to keep him and the rest of us safe. We were going to let her go eventually.

  I thought back to the scars on my father’s wrists, made from years of wearing shackles. He’d been unfortunate enough to be bought by a very sadistic slave trader. He’d never talked about it and I’d been too afraid to ask. Slavery was an abomination and yet I’d just forced a sentient being into being a slave.[NJA7]

  “I have to go,” I said, running. I made it to the deck and to the side of the ship before I was violently sick over the side.

  Chapter 12

  “Are you okay?” Bram asked.

  I stared out over the waves, still feeling nauseous. All I could see in my mind was my father’s face, accusing me of being just like the slave traders who’d tortured him and made him use his witch powers for their own evil ends.

  “I’m fine,” I said tersely. “I just needed some fresh sea air.”

  I felt his presence beside me. He was warm. I wanted to hug him and have him tell me everything was going to be okay. Nothing was going to be okay. I was sailing toward my death.

  “We did the right thing,” he assured me.

  “Probably,” I said. “It still sickens me.”

  The boat hit a rough wave and I leaned into him. I pressed my hands against his chest, taking a good feel of his thick muscles at the same time. I pulled my hands away, embarrassed.

  “Talk to me about it,” he asked.

  I looked into his eyes. “I was born a slave on my Earth, as was my father.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  His hands lifted to my face, brushing the hair away from my eyes.

  “It was a long time ago, but the scars still remain,” I said, shivering from more than the chilly weather.

  “Sini offered to be in my blood debt,” he said. “It’s not slavery. She’s technically my servant.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel better – well, it does, a little.”

  He moved his hands and I felt cold again. By the look on his face he must’ve realised he’d made a mistake by touching me. Maybe he had. I wasn’t sure what to think any more.

  “Where is she?” I asked, eager to change the subject back to Sini again. “Not causing
trouble I hope.”

  I couldn’t think of my parents. They were dead now. Thinking of them only made me miss them and despise Dorian even more than I already did. He may not have killed them but he was directly responsible for their deaths.

  “She’s having something to eat,” he answered.

  I was shocked. “She eats human food?”

  “I ordered her not to feed off people’s sexual energy. She wasn’t best pleased, but she said she’d do anything for the man she loved.”

  A flock of birds flew over the boat. Bram’s eyes briefly glowed red as he watched the animals soar by. I couldn’t help but think about the time I saw him as a dragon.

  “I’m tired,” he said awkwardly. “I’m heading to bed.”

  “Wait.” He stopped, staring directly at me. “Your dragon form…it was magnificent.”

  He grinned shyly. “Thanks.”

  When he acted shy or awkward it made him look real. He may be six foot seven and have the build of a gladiator, but he was sensitive and intelligent and loving. Even when he was angry I knew that, deep down, he’d rather be gentle.

  I hesitated. “I know weres and shifters don’t like to change in front of people, but I’d be honoured it you’d change for me one time.”

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “The only person I ever changed in front of was…”

  Shit. This was a thing he’d only shown his wife! How could I be so careless?

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I understand.”

  “It’s only been six months,” he snapped. “I can’t forget her that quickly.”

  “I wasn’t asking you to. I was just…”

  He held his hand up to forestall any further talk. “Get some sleep, okay? It’s going to be a tense day tomorrow.”

  I watched him walk away, feeling like an idiot. How could I expect him to share something so intimate with me? I was a virtual stranger.

  Perhaps it was best we kept each other at arm’s length. Rebecca was wrong. I would rather die miserable than knowing I’d destroyed Bram.

  “What are you doing to him?”

  Sini was watching me from several feet away. She seemed to be standing straight, even as the boat bucked from a rogue wave. If looks could kill I’d be a bloody stain on the deck.