Baron

by Plum Pascal

  “No, all is going according to plan, remember?”

  He stands up and presses a kiss to my hand. “That performance in the tower was quite believable. If only they knew who you truly serve,” he says with the usual touch of arrogance. “You’re a compelling actress, Morrigan.”

  “Anything for you, my liege.”

  He grows quiet and studies me for a few moments. “Those were the same words you said to Abedon,” he says finally and I inwardly curse myself for my negligence. “Tell me, Morrigan, do you still harbor feelings for your former lover, for Abedon?”

  “I slit his throat the second you ordered me to do so,” I answer with no expression on my face. “My loyalty is to you.”

  “And what earned me this loyalty, might I ask?” he demands as he eyes me with interest. “You’ve never told me, you know?”

  “Long ago, I saw the man you would become. In a vision. And that vision came true,” I say as I eye the room around me before landing my eyes on Variant again. “And, I have since received more visions still. Prophecies.”

  He studies me as if to decipher if I’m telling him the truth or if I’m lying. “Prophecies?”

  “I have seen the truth, my liege. And it is a truth that revealed that only you, the one true king, could reshape the realms and evolve magic in a way that has never been seen before.”

  “There’s so much that needs to be done,” he states as he shakes his head and sighs.

  “There will soon be enough magic to tear down the barriers between the realms once and for all,” I offer, hoping to lighten his mood.

  “Then I will expand my borders and push towards the other kingdoms—those of the Veil and those of Silvanus’.”

  “Yes, my king,” I say with a pronounced smile and nod. But there is still one more subject we need to touch on. “What of Theren?” I demand. “His allegiance to you is fragile at best, my king. Should we not do something about it? We have an army at our disposal.”

  “Theren still has power as the Unseelie King. His defeat will not come easily.”

  “But, it is necessary all the same. And defeating Theren will further strike fear into the hearts of those who doubt you,” I add.

  Variant nods. “I can’t afford to have the people question my authority over the realms when I’m so close to getting everything.” He takes a breath and then faces me. “And it is important the people understand you serve me.”

  He truly thinks I serve him? Pitiful. It’s almost enough to make me laugh.

  Variant has no idea what sort of power churns within me and he has yet to even guess at my treachery.

  I do not serve him.

  He serves me and the fool has yet to understand that fact. Which is just as well. My plan is unfolding just as I intended and it requires continued patience and forethought.

  If I’m to defeat the one who poses a threat to my very existence, I need Variant to play his part. The silly little pawn is clueless.

  “What if we turn them against one another again?” He asks.

  “Them?”

  He nods and appears annoyed I’m not following his line of thinking. “Cambion and Theren.”

  It’s my turn to nod. “Unleash decades of tension between them, brother against brother. Yes,” I say with a grin. “You are quite brilliant, my liege,” I compliment him though it was I who planted this seed in his mind. But Variant must believe the thought originated with him.

  “They’ve forever hated one another,” Variant says.

  “Yes, they have. And there’s a treasure trove of anger beneath Cambion’s icy facade. We can use it to our advantage.”

  “I must admit your cunningness surprises me at times.” Variant’s smile is quite handsome, but it lacks the bloodlust that usually sends my heart aflutter. Even so, I stare at him from beneath my long lashes, giving him my best demure expression. Where usually he eats my praise like a starving man before a smorgasbord, now he appears perplexed, his mind elsewhere. I smile beguilingly at him.

  “What holds your mind prisoner, my liege?” I ask.

  He frowns and glances down at his fingertips where they strum against the arm of his throne. “The angel.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  “I… I don’t know. Her power…”

  “Is nothing compared to yours,” I lie.

  “I should have destroyed her when I had the chance,” he starts but then he shakes his head and stands, as though the very thought causes him duress.

  “No,” I say. “We still need her.”

  “I feel… I feel this… need,” he says as he begins pacing the room, stepping over the dead bodies that litter it. “I want her.”

  “And so you shall have her, my king,” I say as I eye him knowingly. “Just follow my council as you have done.”

  “I feel impatient where the angel is concerned,” he admits.

  “You must not bend to your impulsiveness,” I council. “When first I came to you and told you that Baron was your enemy and sought the power of the realms for himself, you acted swiftly and according to my council. You alleviated the threat of the King of Death,” I say and offer him another charming smile. “And look at you now. You have risen above both the King of Nature and the King of Shadow.”

  “This is true,” he says with a firm nod.

  “The angels are fading and the Fae live in fear of your name. The things we can accomplish together are beyond this life and the next... the possibilities are endless.”

  “Yes, endless,” he says and takes on that faraway expression of his that irks me to no end. It usually means he isn’t paying attention to the words coming out of my mouth. And on this next point, he needs to pay attention.

  “And we will continue to do great things, Variant, on one condition.”

  He faces me immediately. “Which is?”

  “You must keep your distance from Eilish for now.”

  “I don’t understand why,” he responds and there’s a pouty expression in his eyes. Clearly, he’s already taken with the girl. Fool.

  “Because she’s a danger and one you underestimate.”

  “And danger is a threat,” he says, nodding.

  “You will have her when the time is right, my liege,” I insist, knowing the way to ensure Variant’s acquiescence is to promise him whatever he wants. He’s quite like an impatient and demanding child in that regard.

  He faces me and smiles. “The future is ours, Morrigan.”

  I lean close to Variant, brushing a phantom kiss on his lips before I ease back into the ethers. As long as I keep him obedient and loyal, nothing can stand in my way. His little slip up with the angel will cost him in the end, but I will personally see to it that Variant cleans up his messes. And while this next chapter will see me in the company of my enemies, I will sway them in the same manner I’ve swayed all the others.

  The battles we fought throughout history still rage on outside our doors. And this ancient battle between myself and my enemies will tear the realms asunder. Not even the Veil can hide from the powers that will be at my disposal once the process is complete. And when the dust settles, I will be there to rise from the ashes as a pinnacle of hope for those who survive.

  The worlds will tremble beneath the might of my glory and they will call me god.

  ~

  To be continued in Cambion, the 4th book in the Sacred Oath Series,

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  ONE

  Eilish

  The Veil

  Darkness creeps across the ground like fog in the early hours of dawn. I wade through that darkness until I find a small hovel surrounded by large stones that obscure the light of the rising sun. The scent of crisp apples and dewy grass fills my lungs as steam coils from my mouth with each breath. Snow gently flutters to the ground, and I hear my boots crunch on the frozen stone beneath my feet.

  “Ellie!” someone ca
lls in a small voice. It’s familiar and yet not, but I follow the sound as though I’m drawn to it. I step inside and bask in the warm candlelight spilling through the room, breaking up the shadows. A woman with cascading silver hair sits at the table with a young child.

  “Ellie! Did you go to the city again?” the woman asks, concern lacing her voice. She stands up and approaches me. Suddenly, warm hands frame my face as she stares deeply into my eyes. I feel loved here. This woman... I don’t know her name or what she means to me, but I know she loves me and I know… I know she’s dead. And so is the child by her side.

  “Solya, go fetch a blanket for your sister. She’s freezing.”

  Sister? I have a sister? Why can’t I remember her? And this woman with the silver hair must then be my mother?

  The woman who holds me tenderly, my mother, begins to fade. Her skin cracks like fragile porcelain and she turns to dust before my eyes. Solya screams and I run to her, but I’m too late. She clings to my blouse, weeping as she cries out for me to save her, but I can’t.

  I don’t know how to. I don’t know what’s happening. All I do know is… I’m scared.

  I shoot up from my bed, sweat glistening on my heated flesh as the nightmare slowly recedes to the corners of my mind. I feel like I can’t breathe, so I stand up to open the window. Flumph squints at me, worry clear in his beady little eyes.

  “You been dreamin’ again? Or it somethin’ else?” the sprite asks.

  “A memory, I think,” I respond as I remember my mother’s eyes. “A memory of my mother and sister.”

  “I didn’t knows you had a family,” he says.

  “Neither did I.” I lift a hand to brush the sweat-tangled hair from my eyes and breathe in the fresh air that filters through The Veil.

  “Tell me ‘bout her?”

  “She was beautiful,” I say in a haunted tone. “Silver hair and blue eyes. I think she was an angel. My sister... she didn’t look like my mother. She had dark hair.”

  “Were she a succubus like you?”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t able to see much of her. But…”

  “What?” Flumph climbs up onto the windowsill.

  “My mother and Solya are dead. I don’t know how I know that… but I… just do.”

  “You sures?” he asks and eyes me narrowly.

  I nod. “It was this feeling I had—like I knew they were no longer with us. I think they died before the balance was disrupted.” Part of me hopes that memory never returns. Yes, I want to know who I am and what my life was like before I walked up to Anona’s precinct, but there’s so much going on now that looking back seems... pointless. Whatever happened, happened. I sigh. “Anyway, that’s what the dream was about.”

  “Well, if ya need me, just holler.” Flumph flutters across the bedchamber and into the bathing room. I turn my back to the window and watch my companions as they rest. Fighting to get the Midnight Queen was much harder than any of us expected, and some of us were injured in the process.

  My head throbs and I leave the bedchamber to find Noni. I push open the door to her room and find her hovering over the Midnight Queen. “How is she?” I ask.

  The house brownie shakes her head. I move to sit on the bed and press my hand to Morrigan’s forehead. She feels hot. “I was hoping to find her awake,” I say as I glance down at the beautiful woman. “There are still so many questions I want to ask her.”

  “Why pretty angel want to ask questions?” Noni asks, her large eyes like saucers in her face.

  I shrug. “I need answers—we need answers, if we’re going to finish this mission.”

  “What the mission?”

  “I thought it was to simply stop Variant, but there seems to be so much more going on now. Stopping him won’t restore the balance or repair the damage that’s already been done.”

  Noni blinks her cerulean eyes up at me. “Midnight Queen not getting better without her power. Noni will do her best but Master still not feeling good, either.”

  I reach over to the bedside table and take the rag from the bowl, squeezing out the excess water before dabbing Morrigan’s forehead. Her fever seems to come and go, but there’s no telling when she’ll wake up. It’s been two nights since we rescued her and my mind is prickling with curiosity.

  Why did she keep me safe for so long? Who am I to her? What will happen once Variant is stopped?

  So many questions. My mind is plagued by uncertainty.

  But then there’s the matter of my companions. I no longer fight my connection to Baron, but Dragan and Cambion still try their best to keep their distance. I turn to the house brownie as a question occurs to me. “Noni, have you met any angels before?”

  She shakes her head, causing her curls to bounce. “Noni never meet any angels. Just you. But she know lots of demons. Why you ask?”

  “What about a succubus?”

  “Oh! Noni know lots of succubus-es. Well, she did, before they disappear. Noni even met a Incubus before. He was real handsome. Eyes real black and skin all pale, but him’s wings... they was huge! Like a bat, but Noni don’t see him for a long time.”

  “An incubus?”

  She nods, her eyes growing even wider. “He was a king,” she explains. “When he left, the succubus needed to feed from regular fae, because he wasn’t their master no more. Noni meet Incubus in the mountains once. She like him. He big and scary like Master, but he nice to Noni. That the last time Noni see him.”

  It’s hard to imagine anyone could dislike Noni. “I never knew there were males like me,” I say. “No one ever mentioned it.”

  “No males, just one. And he disappear long before the succubus disappear.”

  “What were they like?” I ask. “The succubae that you met.”

  Noni sits on the edge of the bed and swings her feet. “When Noni meet one succubus, she know she not meeting them all. One ain’t never like the other. Everybody different. Some mean, some nice, some big, some small. Even Noni ain’t like other brownie. Most brownie are tricky, naughty things that get into lots of trouble.”

  “Then the succubus you met wasn’t nice to you?”

  “No,” she answers. “But, just ‘cause one succubus ain’t nice, don’t mean they all not.”

  We fall quiet once more, focusing on bringing down Morrigan’s fever.

  “Midnight Queen need her powers back.”

  “None of us can leave until the others are healed,” I reply. It’s for the best. We need this break—we need to rest and to heal. And there’s no better place than in The Veil, because we’re safe here.

  Noni teaches me a trick with my healing magic—how to channel it into one specific place so I don’t drain myself so easily. It helps, and it also reminds me that I haven’t seen Pyre for some time. When the Midnight Queen’s fever subsides, I head into the corridor and make my way down the stairs.

  Pyre is nowhere to be found. The fire still crackles nearby, filling the small cottage with warmth and it brings back tendrils of my dream. I close my eyes and see the face of my mother again. She looks like me.

  A hand touches my shoulder, startling me, and I turn around to face Pyre. The necromancer appears pained. His face is contorted into a tight frown, his skin ashen and a bead of sweat trickles down his temple.

  “Why are you up at this hour?” he asks, his voice sounding rougher than usual. “You need your rest as much as the rest of them do, Eilish. Go back to sleep.”

  I can’t. Not when I’ve seen his condition. “Pyre… what’s… wrong with you?”

  He glances down at the floor as if it has an answer for him. “It took much of my Necromantic energy to shape the Oluri,” he answers before taking a deep breath. The Oluri was a glass sphere that acted as a portal, allowing us to exit Variant’s castle and return safely to The Veil.

  “This… weakness is to be expected,” Pyre continues.

  “Because the Oluri captured a piece of your soul?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  I swallow
hard as I look at him. He seems to be crumbling by the second. “Pyre…”

  “I don’t need your pity.”

  “Not pity. Concern,” I reply reassuringly. “What can I do? You risked your life to help us. Let me return the favor. No matter what it is... Please.”

  He stares at me and for a moment, I forget he’s blind “Are you willing to trek through the dangers of The Veil?”

  “If doing so saves you?” I ask before nodding. “Yes.”

  “I must go to the Echoing Spire.”

  “What is that?”

  “It’s the place where The Veil’s magic pools. As the guardian of this world, I can tap into its power and restore my strength. But I can’t get there alone. I was hoping Baron would have been well enough—”

  “I’ll go with you,” I interrupt as I start to worry my lower lip.

  “What is it?”

  I look up at him, craning my neck, because he’s so tall. “We have to leave without the others knowing. They would never allow me to go, and I don’t intend to argue with them.”

  ###

  Cambion

  The Veil

  I’m here in the darkness and yet I can’t find the entrance to my garden, the place I visit when the reality of my fate is too consuming. I can’t get there and so I can’t get to her, to Eilish. Not the real Eilish, of course, but the part of her I can’t deny. My life would be much easier if it were Aima or someone else. This world, however, has never been kind to me. What makes me think the planes of the fabricated world in my mind would be any different?

  The sun is rising. I can sense it. Though my eyes aren’t open, I feel heat slithering through the darkness. The sun isn’t the same in The Veil as it is in the realms. Here—in a world trapped between life and death—the sun isn’t as bright, nor does the sunshine last more than a handful of hours. Day is fleeting and night reigns supreme. The spectrum of color that bleeds into the spirit world is vibrant and enchanting.

  I blink and see Noni sitting on my chest. She looks nervous as she fidgets with the hem of her small tunic.

  “M-Mr. Cambion? Noni don’t mean to wake you, but she worried. She real, real worried.”