Baron

by Plum Pascal

  “Where to now?” Cambion asks as he appears from the dark shadows.

  “There’s a portal in the forest that will take us out of the clouds and back to the Fae realm,” Dragan responds.

  “The forest?” Cambion repeats, doubt lacing his tone.

  “The forest,” Dragan responds.

  “Have you forgotten what’s in the Forest in the Clouds?” Cambion asks.

  Dragan turns to face him with an angry expression, no doubt exacerbated by the fact that Eilish hasn’t left my side since I returned. “Of course, I haven’t forgotten,” he responds.

  “Then you’d realize what you’re proposing is pure idiocy,” Cambion continues.

  “Returning to that palace is pure idiocy,” Dragan argues. “Or trying our luck against the Possession Runes is pure idiocy. At least we have a chance in the forest.”

  “The forest it is,” I say as I watch Eilish swallow hard.

  Dragan says nothing but assumes the role of leader and our ragtag group moves from the cover of the shed to the cover of the forest just bordering the palace.

  ###

  Cambion

  The Forest in the Sky

  We slept for four days in those cells. Lost time we will never regain. The guilt of Raflamir’s disloyalty rests heavily on my shoulders. I know they blame me. They aren’t exactly subtle—I can see the truth in their eyes. And it’s a truth that shames me to the depths of my being. Raflamir will pay for his treachery. He will pay for making a mockery of me.

  My gaze shifts to Eilish. I wonder what favors she performed in the privacy of Variant’s chambers that persuaded the false king to keep her alive. Not only alive but it appeared he’d become quite fond of her during the short time of their association. Her shimmering gown is proof enough. Yes, there must be a reason. Perhaps she willingly spread her legs for him, whispering sweet lies to stroke his ego.

  Variant has had his choice of women for as long as I can remember, and a good fuck was never capable of winning him over. Could it be that sex with the demoness is beyond good? It must be! If I’m to take Baron and Dragan as examples, the two of them are clearly blindsided by the Succubus.

  I will never allow myself to fall under her spell. I know the treachery that lies in the heart of the Succubae.

  She is no different.

  My thoughts return to the same subject that has been haunting me ever since we were captured—Theren, my brother.

  Aima’s arrival at Raflamir’s home only confirmed my suspicions that Theren played a starring role in our betrayal. I would not be surprised if Raflamir reported to Theren that we were housed under his roof and Theren sent Aima to gather proof. Then, once he had that proof, Theren reported us to Variant, who then ordered his soldiers to attack and take us prisoner.

  Aima…

  I’ve known Aima most my life, but she seems quite different from the woman I once loved. She was soft and passive then, a scholar more than a fighter, but she knew how to defend herself. Now, it’s as if that person no longer exists. And, yet, I saw glimpses of the sweet, young woman I had known all those years ago before my brother turned her into the person she is today.

  I have to admit I found myself staring at Aima more than I was comfortable. When she appeared at Raflamir’s door, I was wholly taken aback and once the surprise settled, I was overcome with old and raw feelings and memories. I had cared for her once. I had loved her.

  Perhaps Aima still has some sort of hold over me? A hold that protects me from Eilish’s seduction? It’s obvious that both Dragan and Baron, men who have never truly loved before, struggle much harder than I when it comes to resisting Eilish’s feminine wiles.

  But Aima is not mine and she never was. I loved her, yes, but she never returned the feelings. She loved Theren, instead.

  The years have lessened the pain. It is a beautiful truth about time—it does help to heal wounds. And the affection I once felt for Aima has certainly lessened as well.

  My eyes stray to Eilish once more. I feel the beat of my heart quickening when she glances my way. The sway of her hips is tantalizing, hypnotizing in the way she strolls through the tall grass.

  We walk among the rolling amber hills as the sun continues its descent beyond the mountains in the distance. Soon we will find ourselves in survival mode as the abominations of this forest take notice of us.

  Eilish stumbles, jostling me out of my thoughts, and I reach out to catch her. Once my hand touches her arm, I see a flash of white and a vision of Variant being thrown across the floor. Shocked, I jump away from her and she faces me with wide eyes.

  “What did you see?” she asks, fear in her expression.

  “Nothing,” I say, not in the mood to discuss anything with her. Instead, I prefer to avoid her wherever possible.

  I don’t allow her time to argue. Instead, I hurry past her and move in time with Dragan. “There’s nowhere to hide,” I say, motioning to the endless trees that surround us.

  “We must keep moving,” he answers. “How is your magic?”

  He already knows the answer to the question. My magic isn’t what it usually is, owing to the fact of having little sleep and even less food over the last few days. “I’m weak, just the same as you,” I answer.

  He nods and we grow quiet, each of us scanning the trees before and alongside us. The trees of this forest are enormous, gnarled oaks covered in lichen and moss. A musty aroma wafts through the air as we wander deeper into the forest. Thick, untamed underbrush covers the ground.

  “Where be them ugly ass creatures you was warnin’ us about?” the sprite asks as it appears directly beside Dragan’s head.

  “They’re out there,” Dragan responds. He’s right. The creatures of this forest already have us in their sight.

  “We must stay together and not for any reason follow the sound of water,” I say as I look at the sprite, then turn to address Eilish and Baron. The two of them walk so closely together, they almost appear as conjoined twins.

  “Why?” Eilish asks.

  “This forest is infamous, not only owing to the abominations that dwell here, but also due to its bewitching powers. The trees make the sound of rippling water to lure travelers to a place called the Harrowing.”

  “The Harrowin’?” the sprite repeats and gulps down his fear.

  “Yes,” I respond. “Anyone who ventures there gets eaten.”

  “Eaten by what?” Eilish asks.

  “The forest,” I answer. “The trees grow large and strong due to the constant nourishment.”

  “The nourishment of what?” Eilish continues.

  “The abominations will take your flesh and blood, but the forest takes your soul,” Dragan responds.

  “Very little in the realms is more sustaining than the soul,” I add.

  Eilish’s scent swirls around me with each step I take, and I force myself to start breathing through my mouth. I don’t want to smell her. I don’t want to look at her. I don’t want to think about ramming my…

  The forest is hot and murky. Fog hovers above the ground where thick roots spread across the sodden earth beneath our feet. My boots squelch on the moss. I hear the sound of footsteps picking up behind me and moments later, Eilish grasps my shoulder to steady herself.

  “These abominations you mentioned,” she starts but I can’t say my attention is on her words. Instead, another vision grips me and won’t let go.

  I see Eilish sitting in a chair, watching as Variant thrusts into Anona. The pleasure I see on the demon’s face is revolting, and the look in Eilish’s eyes is anything but blissful. Tears stream down her cheeks as her hand caresses the flesh between her thighs. As I watch, I realize Variant is forcing her to touch herself, just as he forces her to watch him fuck Anona. And then… then he does the unthinkable. He reaches out and pulls a blade from beneath a pillow, and severs Anona’s throat.

  Just as quickly as the vision attacks, it fades away.

  “Cambion?” Eilish says and then looks up at me in q
uestion.

  “Sorry… what?”

  She studies me for a moment or two and then repeats her question. It takes everything within me to focus on her words. “What are the types of creatures in this forest?”

  “Oh, um,” I start but the words fade away. “There are…”

  “Cambion? Is something wrong?” she asks.

  “No, I just… my mind is elsewhere.” I clear my throat and then look down at those wide blue eyes of hers and I can’t control myself as the words leave my mouth. “Did he…” I clear my throat again. “Did Variant force you to watch…”

  She flushes violently and then takes a deep breath. She doesn’t respond but drops back to join Baron, meeting his strides yet again. I’ve upset her—that much is obvious. But she’s managed to answer my question, all the same. There was no denial in her expression. Something happened in Variant’s bedchamber and Eilish is ashamed of it. I suddenly hanker to talk to her, but now is not the time.

  Why the fuck do I even care? I rage inwardly. Who gives a shit if she watched Variant fuck Anona!

  I try to tell myself that my interest is purely owing to curiosity. Then why do I feel strangely protective towards Eilish? Why do I feel a flare of compassion spreading through my chest?

  I watch as Baron and Eilish stare at each other, their expressions unreadable. Baron is the one who looks away.

  “The time has come,” he announces, even though no one seems to understand what the fuck he’s going on about.

  “What?” Dragan asks, sounding extra perturbed. It’s the tone he’s adopted where Baron is concerned and has everything to do with his jealousy, I’m convinced.

  “The time for what?” I ask.

  Baron doesn’t respond other than to push his sleeve up, revealing the glowing red sigil on his forearm. He then digs his fingernails into his skin, before smearing the blood over the sigil where Pyre marked him. Baron’s eyes go white, appearing just like Pyre’s. The voice that echoes in our ears isn’t Baron’s.

  “You managed to escape,” says the disembodied voice. “I was beginning to think I would have to stage an extravagant rescue.”

  “We’ve evaded the soldiers, but it won’t be long until Variant’s men hunt us down,” I respond with little amusement. I’m not in the mood for mockery from a disembodied spirit.

  “They won’t follow us into this forest,” Dragan says.

  “You have my protection in this woodland. Set up camp for the night,” Pyre continues, speaking through Baron. “I will find you.”

  SEVEN

  Eilish

  The Forest in the Sky

  At the mere thought of Cambion receiving a vision of that hideous event between Variant and Anona, where I was forced to watch…

  Thank God, he didn’t catch a vision of the evening the following night, when Variant’s face was buried in my pussy and my orgasm was all-encompassing. Even the thought of that event makes me shudder with humiliation, rage and self-hatred.

  What Cambion knows is bad enough and I suddenly feel ill…

  Cambion knows I fingered myself as I watched Variant take Anona, but how much did he see? Does he know I watched Variant kill her? It was pretty obvious Cambion hated me before, but what must he think of me now?

  He must think you’re the most disgusting, wicked creature in the history of disgusting, wicked creatures, I answer myself.

  To the untrained eye, it must have looked as if I was enjoying myself. Why else would I have…?

  I can’t even finish the thought. The memory of Variant and Anona makes me nauseous enough as it is, and now realizing Cambion witnessed everything that happened…

  Strangely, Cambion seems concerned about me, but I’m sure I’m simply imagining that concern. There’s no way he could be concerned about me. Not after witnessing what he did.

  But you didn’t enjoy it! I inwardly yell. You were forced into watching them and you were forced into touching yourself!

  Do you think it appeared that way to Cambion? I respond to myself. And, if it had, what are the chances he even cares?

  Shame and something much darker churn within me as I squeeze my eyes shut.

  Flumph lands on my shoulder and pushes my hair out of my face. He doesn’t ask any questions and I’m thankful for his silence, but worry is present in his eyes. I don’t want that worry to become pity, so I smile in spite of myself.

  Dragan hasn’t said much to me since we left the palace. He watches me closely, unflinchingly, as though he’s afraid I might suck the life out of him with just one glance. But, more than that, every time Dragan looks at me, there’s anger in his expression—it colors his eyes and tightens the corners around his mouth. I don’t understand his anger.

  I sit on a large crag of stone with my forehead against my knees as I bemoan my very existence. No matter what I do, it seems I make a mess of everything.

  According to Pyre’s announcement through Baron, we’ve decided to make camp for the night and then we will wait for Pyre to reveal himself. I’m sure Variant’s men are searching for us by now. Dragan and Cambion made it sound like no man in his right mind would enter this forest, owing to the hideous things hiding in every shadow, but I have yet to witness any of those hideous things. Pyre said we had his protection in this woodland—I suppose that’s the reason nothing has tried to devour us yet.

  Regardless of Pyre’s protection, Variant will want us back.

  Especially you, I think to myself. I can’t argue my own point because Variant is absolutely taken with me. Well, maybe “taken” is the wrong word. He’s definitely “interested” in me though, but I know it would simply be a matter of time before that interest would fade and he’d rather see me dead.

  And he knows about your wings…

  I don’t know how he knows. Maybe it was the blast that happened after he murdered Anona when I thought he was going to force himself on me.

  Or maybe it was something else?

  Whatever it is, he knows I’m an intact angel and that’s information that scares me. It’s also information I know I need to tell the others but I don’t feel the time is right. Not yet. Not until we find safety and we’re able to rest and make a plan for what to do moving forward.

  I don’t understand Variant at all. Each time he called for me from my prison cell, I was convinced it would be my last living moment. Yet, he just wished to make conversation—mostly small talk. He wanted to know things about my past: how I’d survived on my own, where I came from, what I was running away from—all questions I couldn’t answer, owing to my missing memory.

  Unlike our first meeting, Variant was decidedly better behaved during our next meetings. On more than one occasion, he was very curious about my relationships with Dragan and Cambion, but I held those cards close to my chest. He didn’t realize Baron was alive but instead believed Baron was simply a vampire who had coupled his lot with ours. That was fine with me.

  Yes, I didn’t and still don’t know what to make of Variant, and that’s unsettling enough. Throw in the fact that I find myself unwillingly attracted to him, and I’m now suffering unnerving feelings of uneasiness.

  I’m not supposed to be attracted to my warden and the man who will ultimately kill me!

  Cambion orders Dragan to fetch kindling to make a fire while the rest of us catch our breath. The wound in Baron’s arm is gaping and ugly, and he’s lost a lot of blood. He’s weak and he needs to feed. And I know what that means: he needs to feed from me, but I also need to feed...

  With every step we’ve taken, this yearning need within me increased and my energy decreased. At this point, I’m fairly zapped of any strength or stamina I had before. Since Variant separated me from the others, I haven’t been able to feed the Succubus and I’m now paying for it. Yes, Variant gave me an orgasm but that orgasm has done little to decrease this hunger. I’m of the belief that the only way the Succubus can feed is through true sex—a man must be inside of me in order for me to feed from him.

  Cambion
and Dragan bicker about the kindling chore for a moment, but then Dragan buries the hatchet and leaves me alone with Cambion. Exactly what I don’t want. I don’t want to face Cambion’s questions and his accusations about Variant. Deciding to relieve myself, I move a few steps away from Baron, Flumph, and Cambion to urinate behind a tree.

  When I smooth my dress back into place and walk around the tree, Cambion is there waiting for me.

  “Eilish, what happened in Variant’s bedchamber?” he asks in a slight whisper as he blocks my path. He stands so close; his light energy envelopes me and I feel invigorated within his company. It’s strange because I don’t feel this way when I’m close to Dragan or Baron. I figure it must be Cambion’s light energy that speaks to the lightness within me.

  I scuff bitterly. “So, you’ve decided to use my name again? Not demoness?”

  “No, not demoness.”

  “Only because you want something,” I mutter.

  “I want you to tell me what happened.”

  “Why should I?” I demand, facing him with an anger that surprises me. I’ve noticed that the longer the Succubus goes unfed, the worse my temper. I start to push past him, but he grips my upper arm and yanks me back, forcing me in front of him. He doesn’t let go.

  “Because you’re afraid and I want to know why.”

  That’s none of his business! I yell to myself. Cambion has been nothing but abrasive and cold this entire time! And now he’s being decent just because he wants me to answer his questions!

  My anger gets the better of me and I feel my cheeks glowing red. I have to ease it back down again. It’s simmering, just beneath the surface and ready to erupt any moment now.

  Maybe this is his way of waving the white flag? I reason.

  No, it’s not. It’s his way of getting more ammunition he can use against me later.

  “Eilish,” he probes, and I pull my arm away from his hand, taking a few steps back as I search for a way to sidetrack the conversation. I’m not going to give Cambion what he wants. I’m not going to further humiliate myself. “This is your fault!”

  “My fault?” he demands, anger overcoming his features.