Angel

by Plum Pascal

  I close my eyes, then open them again.

  The fox is still there.

  I shake my head, disbelieving what my eyes report as the truth. How is it possible that a fox could survive in this shadow forest, a forest inhabited by abominations and monsters?

  I don’t have an answer for myself.

  My mind races, imagining the hideous monsters that would make quick work of this beautiful creature. Even though it takes all of my energy, I push myself closer to the animal.

  “Hello, little guy,” I whisper as I approach. Cautiously, I hold out my hand. “Come on, I won’t hurt you.”

  But then I remember the Glyph of Warding that protects our camp. The red fox won’t be able to enter. If I want to protect him, I’m going to have to go after him. I don’t even know if I possess the strength to stand, but I attempt it all the same. I fail.

  Instead, I roll over onto my hands and knees, then close my eyes against the dizziness that plagues me. After a few deep breaths, I open my eyes again, noticing the fox hasn’t changed position.

  He continues to watch me with intelligent eyes. I begin to crawl toward him until I reach the perimeter of our camp. Once I travel beyond the perimeter of the Glyph of Warding, I’ll no longer be protected. But the fox is standing so close, I imagine I might be able to reach over and simply lift him up and into our protective enclosure.

  He’s a wild animal, Eilish, I think. He’s not going to just let you pick him up.

  But I’m an angel, which means I have the ability to communicate with beasts, I remind myself. I’m not sure how I know this, but I know it all the same. I should be able to make him understand he needs me. I figure it’s worth a shot.

  The fox looks at me with suspicion.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I explain, holding the creature’s gaze as I smile and try to make him understand he’s in danger and he needs my help. I reach for him, but he startles and takes a few steps back. A howl sounds in the darkness and my heart starts to thunder. This fox isn’t going to last much longer; he’s a walking target.

  “Come on,” I plead, but the fox makes no attempt to come closer. “Please.”

  He just looks at me. It’s then that I realize if I want to protect the little guy, I’m going to have to go get him.

  I realize it’s madness but I take a deep breath and reach out, over the Glyph, so half of me is still within the perimeter and the other half is beyond it. The fox stands his ground—ground which happens to be just beyond my reach.

  I crawl forward until I’m inches past the line of the Glyph, still on my hands and knees. I’m no longer protected, and fear is starting to surge inside me. I feel myself growing more and more weary as the seconds tick by.

  “Please come to me,” I call to the fox, holding out my hand. “I can’t wait much longer.” I need to get back to the safety of my camp.

  The animal takes another step back and as soon as he does, a wind whips up around him. I close my eyes against the dead leaves and dust. When I open them, the fox is nowhere to be seen. Instead, I find myself at eye level with a pair of men’s knees.

  I swallow hard and time seems to stand still as I glance upward, following the lines of the man’s naked body until I’m face-to-face with… a stranger.

  Run, Eilish! The woman’s voice suddenly awakens inside my head, screeching at me. Get behind the wards, now!

  My heart starts pounding but just as I turn to try to scurry back, the man bends over and wraps his arms around my waist, preventing me from escaping. He lifts me and then pulls me into him and, as much as I want to, I can’t fight him. I’m so exhausted. All I can do is lay there limply, my arms dangling at my sides as my back rubs up against the coarse hair on his chest. It’s then that I realize the sheet covering my nudity has fallen down, and now lies strewn across the ground.

  I close my eyes as stars dance behind my eyelids.

  I can only hope my death will be a quick one.

  I will not harm you, this man’s voice sounds in my head. At the same time, he sets me down on my feet. As soon as he does, my knees buckle and he catches me, one arm beneath my back and the other beneath my legs. He lifts me again, and I glance up and find him staring down at me intently.

  I color as I realize I’m completely naked; my breasts are basically in his face.

  Do not feel shame in your natural state, he says, but his mouth never moves.

  How can I hear your voice when you don’t speak? I think back.

  We share a telepathic connection.

  Who are you? I realize with interest that we’ve never taken our eyes off one another. His are hunter green but as I watch, they morph into a deep brown, only to become ocean blue before darkening until they’re as black as the forest that surrouds us. I don’t understand.

  I am Silvanus, he responds. He’s extremely tall and broad-shouldered, with a barrel chest covered in wiry hair that almost resembles fur. I can feel the muscles of his body shifting beneath me as he walks. His heavy blond beard obscures his chin and his golden hair is so long, it looks like a lion’s mane flowing behind him. In fact, he reminds me of a lion with his large, round eyes, bronze skin, and his broad yet high cheekbones. He’s handsome, but in an uncivilized way.

  You are interfering where you are not invited! The woman’s voice within my head suddenly screams through me. My eyes widen as I realize she can hear him and, at the cold expression of recognition I can see on his face, he can hear her, as well.

  She is my charge! The woman’s voice continues raging. I am protecting her! She is not your business!

  Silence, Morrigan! He rails and her voice suddenly chokes, fading away until I can’t feel her in my head any longer. My heart begins to pound as if it’s trying to tear right through my chest and I’m even dizzier than I was before.

  How do you know her name? I ask. And who is she?

  It is a long and complicated story. One you are not ready to understand yet, he responds and breaks our gaze to face forward. I don’t know where he’s taking me, but his strides are long and purposeful.

  Are you going to kill me?

  He chuckles and the sound is warm. Quite the opposite. I am here to restore your health, young female.

  He stops walking and sets me down on a bank of wet earth. Then, he looks down at me, as if to appraise my condition. He’s as naked as I am but where I try to cover my nudity, he brandishes his. Clearly, he’s not in the least bit timid.

  Do not hide yourself from me, he says, facing me with a stern expression. You deny your true self.

  I don’t understand what you mean, I think in response, attempting to keep my eyes fixed on his. It’s difficult, given the fact that his penis is hanging directly in front of my face. My true self?

  Are you not aware of what you are, female?

  I’m an angel, I answer quickly.

  He chuckles and I can hear the sound emptying from his mouth. It’s warm and it fills me with balmy feelings. I can’t explain why. There’s no change to his physical expression, though; his face is just as hard as it was seconds ago.

  There is angel within you, yes. But you possess another side.

  Another side?

  A side you have yet to know, he says. A side that has been repressed.

  What am I? I ask, suddenly afraid for his response.

  You are sick, he answers. And I am meant to heal you.

  Then his eyes follow the lines of my cheeks, down to my neck. Freely, he gazes at my breasts before dropping his eyes lower still. Suddenly, I understand how he means to heal me, and excitement that makes little sense blossoms deep inside me.

  I swallow. Hard. And my eyes seek out the appendage between his legs. I feel embarrassment course through me as I look at him, but I can’t pull my eyes away. His erection is long and hard and it’s wide enough that all I can think about is the feeling of my lips stretching to accommodate it.

  I don’t understand why I’m thinking this way. I don’t know this man and he appears to be more e
nemy than friend—if I’m to trust the woman’s voice in my head, anyway. And, thus far, she’s done nothing but advise and protect me.

  I am not your enemy, the man interjects, and when I look up at him, his eyes are piercing.

  You can read my mind? I ask.

  Yes.

  I don’t say anything more but I watch his eyes as they shift from mine and travel once again along the lines of my face, resting briefly on my breasts and then continuing lower, until he unabashedly stares at the junction of my thighs.

  Beneath the intense exhaustion that’s been my constant companion, I feel something. Exhilaration, maybe. Something that thrills over the fact that his eyes are centered on the soft flesh between my legs. I suddenly begin to feel strength returning, a power that births itself from within me that I don’t remember ever experiencing before.

  Yes, he says without speaking. Become one with that power for it is yours, female.

  I close my eyes and allow the feelings of strength and exhilaration to spread. Tendrils of warmth branch out from deep inside me, carrying with them an excitement that reaches to every corner of my body.

  Reveal yourself to me, female, he says and, as if his words are a command to my body, I spread my legs. He looks at my eyes then. Allow your true self to come forward.

  I don’t understand. But I’m not given an opportunity to ponder the question for long because he drops to his knees and is suddenly between my legs. His erection is perched at my opening.

  He teases me with the head of his penis, pushing in slightly only to pull out again. I can feel myself growing wetter and I close my eyes as I tilt my head back, relishing the feel of his hard length as it traces my opening.

  Finally, I say to myself. I’ve needed this for so long.

  Yes, he chuckles. Allow yourself freedom. Be what you are.

  I’m not sure what I’m meant to be, other than what I am, but I open my eyes and watch him as he pushes forward. His erection enters me and my breath catches. He feels even better than I imagined. I arch up and moan, gripping his back and digging my nails into his skin. He presses himself deeper into me, and my body envelops him with an urgency that shocks me.

  He moans and begins to drive himself into me fully as I wrap my legs around him. I want him even deeper. I grind my hips down, needing all of him inside me.

  He stares at me. And never do I stop to wonder what I’m doing. Why I’m allowing a stranger inside me. Because I realize why. I need this. I’ve needed it, because it’s the only thing that will heal me. It’s why I’ve had such sexual reactions to Dragan and Cambion.

  More, I beg him.

  He drives into me even harder, lifting me up and plunging himself into me so forcefully, I can barely breathe.

  “Your seed,” I whisper in his ear. “Give me your seed.”

  My words surprise me. It’s as though my body is speaking for me, demanding what it wants and needs. He pulls out and plunges back in again and I begin to shake and convulse. At the same time, he thrusts as hard as he can and I feel him explode within me, matching the intensity of my orgasm with one of his own.

  And then I feel something burst from my back. I glance to the side to see huge wings billowing out of me. But they aren’t white and feathery at all.

  They’re rubbery and as black as night.

  SIXTEEN

  Silvanus

  The Raven Forest

  Shadow Realm

  Sleep, I say to the beautiful creature after she reaches climax and her body begins to heal. Already, her aura glows twice as brightly as it did when I first encountered her.

  Her eyes drift closed, and her body goes limp. I pull myself from within her slick folds and inhale deeply. Then, I reach down and lift her into my arms.

  The shadow creatures continue to watch us with cautious curiosity, and follow as I carry the female back to her companions. When I spot the white linen that was wrapped around her, I reach down and pick it up. I drape it over her as I place her limp body just beyond the line of the Glyph of Warding.

  She will remember nothing when she wakes. It is possible she might receive fragmented images from her subconscious mind, but she will think of them as nothing more than a strange dream. She is not ready to fully understand what she is. And that realization cannot occur until I decide what to do about Morrigan—an obstacle that is proving quite frustrating.

  ###

  Eilish

  I wake with a start.

  Sitting up, I find myself on the opposite side of the wards of our camp and I can’t explain what I’m doing out here. Suddenly afraid, I immediately stand and hurry into the safety of our protected enclosure.

  It’s then that I realize I’m no longer exhausted. Instead, I feel strangely invigorated. It’s the first time I’ve felt… good. Well, the first time that I can remember, anyway. Yet I also feel strange. Yes, I’m stronger and that horrible exhaustion seems to have disappeared, but there’s also a cloudiness in my head that I don’t understand.

  I notice Cambion sitting at the far end of the encampment. He’s still deep in his trance, his palms face up on his crossed legs, his eyes white and unseeing.

  In the distance, beyond the lines of the wards, I hear something. I glance out into the darkness and imagine I see numerous eyes staring back at me from the depths of the dark trees. But then the eyes are gone, and there’s nothing there but the forest.

  Kkkkk-krick

  When I hear the sound again, I back up. A hand presses to my mouth as an arm pulls me against a hard, but warm chest, and my heart starts to pound.

  “Shhh, Eilish,” Dragan whispers into my ear.

  Immediately, I feel relief. He releases my mouth and I turn around to look at him. He’s crouched and attack-ready. We lock eyes and he slowly raises a finger to his mouth. Shhhh.

  He must have heard the same noise I did. His wings are flexed behind him, black and foreboding. There’s no sign of Thoradin.

  I nod solemnly and look towards the woods, but I see nothing beyond the darkness. I know Dragan possesses Darkvision, and I wonder if he’s able to see whatever’s out there. I bring my gaze back to Dragan and notice how tense he is and powerful. His eyes are fixed on something in the distance.

  In the dim light of the dying fire, I can see only the thick trunks of two trees.

  Dragan stands and takes a quiet step forward, his jaw clenched in deep focus.

  Another sound, from behind a nearby tree. It’s followed by still another crack, and I feel my heart slide up my throat as I realize the sounds are coming closer. Whatever is out there is maybe two feet from us now. The seconds pass as if they’re hours and a moment later, Flumph emerges from behind the tree, his arms full of acorns.

  “Flumph,” I say on a sigh, half relieved, half annoyed to see him.

  “Angel,” he replies, looking pleased with himself.

  My shoulders deflate and I turn to see Dragan, who appears irate. “Fucking sprite!” he hollers in exasperation. In response, Cambion’s eyes roll forward and his posture loosens, and Thoradin suddenly appears from beyond the darkness on the opposite side of the camp.

  Flumph stops walking toward the fire. “What?” he asks innocently. “I got us some grub.”

  “What the fuck are you doing, wandering off?” demands Dragan. “Do you understand where you are?”

  “Yeah, we’re in the forest.”

  “The Raven Forest,” Dragan corrects him.

  “Raven, Hawken, Eaglen, Sparrowen, what frickin’ difference do it make?” Flumph asks with a frown.

  Dragan inhales deeply and his eyes narrow on the sprite. “The Raven Forest is haunted, you fool.”

  “Haunted, like ghosts, haunted?” Flumph asks, his previous candid manner now evaporating.

  “Ghosts, banshees, imps, ghouls, goblins, the list goes on,” Thoradin answers with a shrug.

  “Why do you think I told you not to allow the fire to go out?” Dragan continues, pointing at the fire which is nearly nonexistent. “What
if someone or something saw you? Or followed you?”

  I’m suddenly reminded that I awoke on the opposite side of the Glyph of Warding. I wonder if Dragan saw me, but I assume not. I then realize how lucky I was not to have been taken away by some awful creature.

  Flumph looks worried, glancing over his shoulder like he’s afraid something did follow him and is standing there now.

  “I thought you said you put a shadow cloak or somethin’ like that on us?” the sprite argues. “I thought we was invisible.”

  “We aren’t invisible,” Dragan grumbles as his gaze moves to Cambion and grows angry again. “What happened to keeping watch?”

  The Seelie King shrugs from where he’s reclining against a tree, appearing as comfortable as possible given our situation. He’s incredibly handsome, but I don’t trust him. And he doesn’t trust me. So, I guess we’re at an impasse.

  “Do none of you understand the position we’re in?” Dragan rails as he glares first at Cambion and then at Flumph. When his gaze rests on me, it softens.

  “Do you?” asks Cambion icily. “Last I checked, you were the one who brought us here.”

  “This was the safest place I could think of.”

  “The Raven Forest?!” Cambion yells at him.

  Dragan’s eyebrows arch in an expression of defensiveness. “Right now, our only concern should be guarding the angel.”

  “Alleged,” clarifies Cambion, and then glances past me as if he’s looking for a sign of my wings.

  The topic of my wings has come up so frequently and yet there’s still no sign of them; I begin to wonder if the sprite didn’t just imagine seeing them. Maybe I wasn’t the only one on Atacomite? Then I start to consider what will become of me if the sprite is wrong. If I really don’t possess my wings and I’m the same as all the other angels, what then? I figure Dragan will just turn me over to Variant, as his edict orders.

  “If she didn’t have her wings, then why would something have been chasing her in the first place?” asks Dragan, glaring at Cambion.

  “Chasing her?” Cambion repeats and seems at a loss.

  “When she arrived at Anona’s,” Dragan begins but the sprite interrupts.