by Plum Pascal
“They can’t see me! It fuckin’ work!” I call back an’ Gargoyle swat at the air in front o’ him like he tellin’ me ta keeps me voice down.
###
Baron
The red flashes die and I push forward with the others behind me. I can hardly believe Pyre was able to craft such a spell. The necromancer clearly has powers beyond our understanding. I stand tall as we move past the guards. Their unblinking gazes are foggy and the rigidness of their posture is unnatural—they don’t put up a fight.
I push open the door to the castle and find myself in the servant’s entrance. Cambion passes me first. Then Eilish and Flumph with Dragan taking up the rear. Cambion continues down the long, narrow corridor, passing the charred walls I left behind during my first extravagant escape.
Dragan and Cambion stand on either side of the door as I crack it open. I allow my eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness of the hall.
“Straight through,” I say in a low tone, still facing forward.
Dragan nods. “We can cut across the throne room and head to the North Tower from there,” he finishes as Eilish moves past him. Flumph flies ahead of her, his little crossbow aimed in front of him. Six guards line the hall but they’ve fallen under the influence of Pyre’s spell just like the guards outside the castle. We hurry past them without notice or incident and the sprite sticks his tongue out at them as he flits past their heads. Bloody annoying thing.
At the end of the hall is a door leading to the throne room. It’s quite interesting that there is no one manning the door. I have to assume it’s protected by wards and yet, the closer we come, the more I notice a lack of humming electricity that would point at protection wards.
Cambion takes the lead once more with Dragan and me flanking his advance. We move like a well-oiled machine, predicting one another’s movements before they even occur. I begin to feel like my old self again—the old Revenant, that is. My strength has returned along with a feeling of excitement that wells up deep within me. It’s moments such as this one, when facing danger, that I enjoy the most. My life has otherwise been quite the humdrum and dull existence. But, truly, nothing can compare to the sense of fear mixed with the anticipation of a dangerous exploit. And as I recognize the feelings billowing through me, I realize it has been too long since I’ve found myself in such a situation. Truly, I thrive on danger and I… need it.
I watch as, up ahead, six guards step out of the shadows. I lift my hand to stop the others in their progression and we stick to the walls as we take refuge in the protecting shadows. These soldiers are... gargoyles? I can’t help my surprise.
“Pyre’s spell must not have worked on them,” I whisper.
“Gargoyles,” Dragan grumbles at the same time. There’s disbelief in his tone that matches the same wonder rippling through me. God knows these bastards weren’t here when I escaped last time.
“Can you do anything about them, Dragan?” Eilish asks.
“Look at their eyes,” he replies and as I do, I notice their eyes are as black as night, not the usual gray of the gargoyle race.
“They’ve been out of the Shadow Realm for a long time,” Dragan continues. “Whatever Variant has done to them, they’re no longer under my command. I know them though. They fought with me on the battlefield and that’s where I thought they’d died.”
Of course, the gargoyles take notice of us and advance almost immediately. As I’m dressed as one of them, I step away from my crew and shake my head, pretending to have been taken hostage.
“Good thing I ran into you,” I say to the gargoyle soldier in front. He gives me a quizzical expression but then shakes his head, clearly not believing my artificial story.
The largest soldier steps beside this one and swings an enormous axe in my direction. I dodge the blow and retreat, only to come face to face with another stone beast. Even though this one is much thinner than his comrade, he possesses sharp talons.
Cambion and Dragan draw their swords as I reach for my satchel of potions around my waist. If I can find Petrifying Draught, I can return the gargoyles to their solid stone shapes, thus disabling them. At the sound of a gasp behind me, I turn to see Eilish as she kicks another gargoyle away from her. He drops to the ground and I immediately see the signature of Eilish’s dagger drawn across his neck.
She crawls between the legs of another, who appears locked in the net of her Succubae trap, and stabs her blade into the fleshy part of his thigh. He roars and grips her round the neck, lifting her off her feet until she dangles in front of him, flailing and kicking at him as she struggles against his hold. Flumph shoots at the large beast with his bolts, but they bounce against his armor and clatter to the floor uselessly.
“You!” Dragan roars at the creature who makes the mistake of turning to face him. Cambion takes advantage and strikes the lanky gargoyle across the head with his broadsword. The gargoyle releases Eilish immediately as he falls back and lands on the ground. She lands beside him and massages her neck as she breathes in deeply and the color returns to her cheeks.
“Close call,” Cambion says with a curt smile while he looks down at her and offers her a hand. She takes it and he pulls her to her feet as she nods her thanks.
“We’re running out of time, Revenant!” Dragan growls at me. At the same time, I locate a vial of Gelsemium Pulvil. Petrifying Draught is nowhere to be found so I’ll have to rely on the Gelsemium, instead. I dump the contents of the jar into my hand. Fine, red powder coats my palm as the others battle the remaining four gargoyles.
“Get down, cover your face and hold your breath!” I shout as I watch the others hit the floor hard and follow my instructions, facing the ground as they cover their heads with their arms. I waste no time in blowing the fine, red dust, watching as it spreads through the air in front of me, causing a red cloud of dust that grows pink at the edges. Each of the gargoyles clutches their throats as they fight for breath they won’t be able to take. Fairly soon, they drop at my feet.
“It’s safe to get up,” I announce once the Gelsemium has dissipated and the gargoyles are no longer a threat.
Eilish looks up at me with questions in her eyes as she pulls herself to a seated position and then stands. I simply shrug and explain, “It’s a type of paralysis powder.”
I was actually quite impressed with Pyre’s extensive apothecary and made use of whatever I could.
Dragan shoves his shoulder against the large door leading out of the throne room and heads toward the north wing of the palace. I’m surprised we’ve encountered no wards in crossing the threshold into the north wing. We stumble upon a nest of five or so guards but they appear passed out—clearly, Pyre’s spell seems to still be potent. I imagine we have another forty minutes or so before Pyre’s enchantment will dissipate altogether.
Dragan circles back from scouting up ahead. The gargoyle looks as though he’s taken a few hits—there are cuts and bruises marring one side of his face and his forearms. “There were three more gargoyle guards up ahead. I took them all down, and it looks clear all the way to the tower’s entrance,” he growls through his teeth. “This place is too fucking quiet. It’s giving me the creeps.”
“Yes, there’s a surprising lack of obstacles in our path,” I agree as I wonder about the magnitude of Pyre’s enchantment. I had imagined it might not work on all creatures within Variant’s employ, case in point: the gargoyle soldiers. But, so far, it appears the enchantment has worked on all the others, with the exception of the gargoyles.
“It’s not my manner to question a blessing, so let's keep moving,” Cambion says as he then turns to Eilish. “You’ll soon need to act the part of maid and gain access to the North Tower.”
She simply nods and gives him a smile that says she’s ready for her role.
SIXTEEN
Eilish
The Castle in the Sky
The heels of my boots click on the marble floors of the palace that lead to the entry to the North Tower where we should fi
nd the Midnight Queen. I steel my courage and glance down at my maid’s uniform as I smooth the apron in place and remind myself that I can do this.
Patrolling the Midnight Queen’s prison are two soldiers. They aren’t gargoyles, but they appear to be demons—owing to their long and curving horns. Regardless, Pyre’s enchantment clearly hasn’t worked on them.
I can only hope my Succubus powers of persuasion will. If I can defeat these two soldiers, I can gain access to the keys one of them wears around his waist. Then I’ll be able to unlock the door and allow the others access to the North Tower, where the Midnight Queen is imprisoned.
Up ahead, the two demon guards sniff the air and cast their gazes toward me. The Succubus is already swirling through me and she fills the room with the scent of my need. The soldiers are quick to respond.
One licks his lips while the other noses me on the air, at the same time he reaches for his weapon.
Succubus, I say to myself. Now’s your time to shine.
I feel something strong, proud and powerful rising within me and I smile inwardly.
I raise my hands high in a motion of supplication, lifting my breasts as I sashay towards them. “No need to worry,” I say in a voice that sounds foreign. My tone is syrupy sweet, flirtatious, and unlike my voice. “I’ve just come to clean the bed linens.”
My eyelashes flutter against the highpoints of my cheeks and the flush on my face causes their arousal to grow thick in their trousers. As much as they can smell my need, I can also smell theirs. It takes everything within me to focus on my task at hand. If the Succubus had her way, I’d be sitting on top of each of them, taking turns filling myself with their seed.
I cast my gaze down to the sizeable bulges in their pants and feel sweat glistening on my skin like dew on the leaves at dawn.
Be strong, I tell myself. Focus on freeing Morrigan, Eilish.
It’s not an easy order because the Succubus wants these men as much as they want her. But, I have to contain that need—for the time being. And I make that promise to her. She will have her time to feed but now is not right. Now, we have a mission and it’s an important one.
“What do you want?” one of them growls in a low voice. Clearly, he wasn’t paying attention when I said I was here to change out the bed linens.
“What do you want?” I return the question and pull the hemline of my skirt up my thighs so they can see the tops of my milky skin and the garter belts that attach to my stockings.
I hear a low growl as I walk closer to the two mountainous soldiers. Their large, curling horns are perfect to grip and as one of them grabs me, pulling me into his erection, I do just that—wrap my hands around his horns as he lifts me and pushes his hips forward, grinding against me. I wrap my legs around him while I hold onto his horns.
“Naughty soldier,” I say as I shake my head and smile up at him. The words aren’t mine—they belong to the Succubus and she’s fully in charge. And that’s just as well, because were this duty left to the angel within me, she would surely fail it.
A pained moan escapes the demon guard as he cups my rear and further grinds against me. He squeezes my ass and I gasp as the second demon pulls me away from the first and then shoves me against the wall, gripping each of my ankles as he lifts my legs and then spreads them, pushing his wide hips between them. They disgust me, yes, but my body needs pleasure. It needs to feel the thick length of their cocks sliding into me in a painful yet delicious…
Blood sprays across my face as one of the guards’ heads rolls onto the ground. The other demon’s eyes go wide in shock as he looks down and sees a blade jutting out from his chest. The tip of the blade is maybe an inch from my sternum. He drops to his knees as Dragan places his foot on the demon’s shoulder and kicks him off the end of his sword.
Then he faces me with a fury in his eyes I’ve never seen before. “You looked like you were ready to fuck them right here,” he growls at me as he grips me around the upper arm and yanks me forward.
“I was supposed to play the part and I did,” I argue, still shocked by his anger and the massacre I just witnessed.
“You weren’t supposed to enjoy playing the part,” he spits back at me as he faces the door before us. Before I can respond and defend myself, he opens his mouth as he scents me in the air. “Control it,” he barks as he turns his furious eyes back to me. “Fucking control it!”
“I can’t,” I respond while I feel the Succubus rising up within me once again. She wants Dragan and she wants him right here and right now.
Cambion walks up behind Dragan and takes his sword, wiping the blood of the first demon from it as he curls his lip at me. “Well done,” he says and I can see the tension in his words as he fights against the seductive aura coming off me in waves.
I struggle to gain control over my body, over the Succubus, but the hunger is like a fever, a fire beneath my skin that causes every nerve to itch. Flumph hands me his water canteen and I gulp down the cool liquid until some of the fire dwindles a bit. “Breathe, Pretty, ya gotta breathe!”
I close my eyes and nod as I take his advice to heart and breathe in deeply for a count of three and then breathe out again. When I open my eyes, Flumph grabs my face and studies me.
“Oh! Good! You ain’t so dark no more!”
“Dark?” I repeat, still panting.
He nods. “I seen yer eyes go all black.” He swallows hard. “But they ain’t black no more.”
I don’t respond other than to reach down and grab the keys from the pool of blood spreading across the marble like a horrific paint spill. The keys jingle in my hands as I retrieve them and I turn to face the door, feeling as if I’m in slow motion. The Succubus’s need still burns inside me and I feel strangely exhausted and, at the same time, desperate for sex. I literally have to keep my gaze glued to the floor or the walls or the door because looking at the men around me makes me weak.
For a minute I don’t look anywhere but at the lock.
“What’s she doing?” Cambion asks.
“Shh,” Revenant responds. “She’s fighting to get control.”
He understands. He sees what’s happening to me and I’m grateful to him for his understanding. I notice that Dragan says nothing but I can feel the weight of his stare and his judgement all the same.
I continue to focus on the locked door before us—at the intricate runes carved into the iron. “Iron repels faeries, right?” I ask, my voice coming out whispery and exhausted.
“Yes,” Cambion answers as he strolls up beside me and his aroma wraps around me like a blanket. I have to hold my breath.
I close my eyes and fight to get control of myself. “Why would Variant ward the Midnight Queen’s room against faeries when we’re in the realm of the Fae?” I ask.
“Technically we aren’t in the Fae realm,” Cambion answers.
“But the majority of the creatures here,” I start.
“Are Fae, yes,” he answers. Then he faces the locked door with interest. I stare down at my hands, watching them shake with the force of my attempt to keep my needs at bay. Were I to release the Succubus, she would throw Cambion to the floor, climb on top of him and ride him until she reached multiple orgasms. I almost smile at the thought of his reaction to such a scenario.
“We aren’t the only ones who have attempted to free her?” I ask.
Flumph attempts to touch the lock and it turns red hot, instantly burning the tiny creature. He lets out more curse words than I’ve ever heard from him before and shakes his hand. Baron rolls his eyes and digs out some sort of poultice from his bag of poisons and tinctures. He spreads it across Flumph’s injured hand in order to ease the pain and it appears to do the job.
I glance down at the ring of keys in my hand until I find a key that matches the runes on the door. I take a step forward before Cambion reaches out and stops me with a hand on my arm.
“Don’t touch me,” I whisper as I close my eyes and fight for control over myself again. “It’s hard en
ough controlling my impulses,” I explain.
He immediately drops his hand back down to his side. “Sorry,” he says.
I say nothing but grit my teeth as I fight the desire inside me. Cambion’s hand felt so warm and the warmth of his light magic continues to plague me, even after he pulled away.
“You’ll have to dissolve the wards on the lock first,” Cambion says in a soft voice.
I nod and remember the lessons Pyre taught me. I focus on the magic that surrounds the lock and tune into the sight offered me by my third eye—that invisible eye that exists in the center of my forehead and allows me to see the invisible.
Immediately, I see lights dancing and spinning around the lock in the door. They appear as short and long bursts that circle around and through one another. I reach forward and without touching the iron lock, I place my palm toward it and I imagine absorbing all the light energy. As I watch, the dancing lights began to move toward me. I continue focusing on them, drawing them closer. Soon they dance around my hands and after another few seconds, they dissolve into my palm.
“It’s done,” I say as I open my eyes and face the lock again, slipping the key into the iron opening before turning it with a crank of my wrist. The runes glow for a second and the door swings inward of its own accord. We’re immediately greeted with darkness and beyond the darkness appears a winding stone staircase.
I step forward, but Cambion stops me by clearing his throat. “The stone could be spelled. Let Dragan go ahead of you, he’ll be able to sense if there’s anything amiss. Just... to be careful.” The worry is evident in his voice, despite his best efforts to hide it.
Dragan concentrates intently as he walks forward and passes me. He won’t look at me and I notice that he holds his breath while passing me. When he enters the room, he closes his eyes and walks in a circle—first clockwise and then counter. He frowns over his shoulder at the rest of us. Well, at everyone else… save me. He doesn’t bother to look at me. He then shakes his head.
