by Terri Lane
“A kiss,” he said simply. His lips lightly brushed over my skin, and I felt as though I were being set on fire. He was looking me right in the eyes, about to lean in and kiss me, kiss me properly, when Ben walked in.
“I found it,” he announced. Aiden and I pulled away quickly—too quickly. Ben had a strange look on his face. He knows, I thought guiltily, but he smiled his usual, easy smile.
“What did you find, Benny?” Aiden had, of course, recovered entirely. Ben held up a book.
“I found your demon.”
“How do you know?” I asked, and Ben looked down at the massive hardback book in his hands and began to read.
“Malak is one of the greater demons. He has a lust for power that has been growing since the Dark Ages,” he read, his finger brushing over the page. “He has increased his own powers by discovering the sigils that have the ability to do so. He carved them into his own skin, amplifying his powers tenfold. He has an obsession with power over the Dead and the Living. He walks about in the skin of a man, a man beautiful enough to charm women who have powers that he lacks.”
“That’s him!” I shouted, getting up and racing toward Ben. I wrapped my arms around him tightly. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Anything to help a pretty lady,” he replied.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said, pulling away and looking up and into his eyes.
“You could have. Just not as quickly,” he said confidently. I frowned with sudden realization.
“What do I do next? My mother didn’t say.” My heart sank with the realization.
“You have to find a way to trap him,” Ben replied, scratching his nose thoughtfully. “Since he’s a high demon, it has to be extremely effective. A long-term solution.”
“More reading?” Aiden asked sadly.
“More reading,” Ben confirmed. He headed for the shelves with the grimoires.
“I’ll make food,” Aiden suggested, stalking out of the room.
***
MEROE:
I faced the high demon. He was strong—too strong for me, I realized with a sickening lurch. The sigils that were carved into his skin glowed against the dark, burnt-looking flesh. They were amplifying his power. A sharp pain, like a knife, entered my head. I fought against it with all of my powers, but I was nowhere near strong enough. It was as though my head exploded into a million tiny pieces. All of my memories played through my mind, forced out by Lex’s enormous amount of power.
My memories spun, images passing by as though they were played on a screen before me. The ones focused on Samara began to appear, in sequence. The night we met, as children, at a coven gathering. Samara and I at school. Samara and I at the playground. Samara, high school-aged, her head thrown back as she roared with laughter. Samara and I taking the initiation ritual into the coven when we were eighteen. Samara the day that her mother died. Samara helping me do a working. No. No. NO! I tried to fight the flow—we were getting too close to the answer.
Then an image of Samara from the last time that I had seen her when I was alive flashed before me. She looked…tired. She was shaking her head, no. Then, I saw silver paths in the darkness. The path to Samara was glowing. I screamed in frustration, but I had lost any power that I might have had. I was dead. My protective spells had all died with me. Samara’s face appeared before me, sobbing.
Lex cried out in triumph.
It all stopped then. There was nothing more. Lex screamed in anger.
“Where…where is she, exactly?” he snarled at me. I smiled slightly.
“You do not know how to travel the Paths of the Dead,” I said. “That’s the only way that I went.” He screamed in a horrible, otherworldly voice. He had no affinity for the Dead. That is something that only a human Necromancer can do. A demon has no comprehension of Life and Death. Thus while he had a rough location for where Samara was, he didn’t have anything exact.
He reached forward, slicing into my insubstantial body. His touch burned. I looked him bravely in the eye. I would not give him the satisfaction of hearing my pain. Demons feed off of that. He looked over at Aurora, who stood in the corner of the room, like a shadow.
“Travel the Paths,” he ordered. Her eyes went wide.
“But—I…I might get lost,” she said.
“I don’t care,” Lex replied darkly. “I know that the only being that you care for is yourself. Find her, or you will lose everything that you hold dear.” He turned slowly to face her, and she flinched.
“Go,” he hissed. Aurora vanished. He turned to face me, a wild look in his eyes.
* * *
AURORA:
I traveled the Paths of the Dead. I could see the silver thread that led to Samara. It was faint. Someone was purposefully obscuring it—no, more than one person. The whole coven was working together. My heart raced—if I lost that thread, I could become lost here in the darkness forever. A demon cannot die, and the Paths of the Dead are many.
Several times, I became lost in the tangle of threads, losing the one that led to Samara. I could feel the power of her coven, seeking to keep me from my goal. My breathing became labored. The glowing string was before me. I stood still, afraid that if I moved, my surroundings would shift, and I would find myself hopelessly lost. Finally, in desperation, I reached out, grabbing the silver thread. I screamed in pain as it burned my hand. Before I could pull away, however, I was sucked in to the place where it led.
I found myself standing in darkness. There were a few streetlamps, glowing orange. It was silent. I looked about me. I was in a small town. It had one main street. There were no signs of habitation aside from the streetlamps and the cars parked by the tiny houses that lined the block that I was on.
I looked down at my hand, which throbbed with pain. There was a bright red, blistering burn across it, as though I had touched a scalding wire. That will not soon go away, I thought to myself. I tore off a strip from the hem of my shirt and wrapped it around the burn before turning my attention back to my surroundings.
The temperature was warm, and the air was dry. I could see the far-off shapes of mesas and saguaros. I was in the desert. What a hiding place—I would never have thought to look here! I would have assumed that the witches would have sent their own to somewhere comfortable—somewhere in the tropics, to wait on a soft beach with a fruity drink. Evidently not. This was far from paradise with its tiny shabby houses and dull dun earth. Suddenly, I felt my senses perk up. This place did have one thing.
Wafting along the breeze, I smelled the soft, delectable scent of a baby’s skin. I looked at the tiny white house that stood on a dirt lawn beside me. No lights were turned on. A window in the downstairs was open. I walked toward it, peeking in.
The crib stood right beside the window. A nasty bundle of sage was above the crib, and a bowl of whiskey for the sidhe was set out upon the sill. The child looked up at me. It was grabbing its feet, its innocent eyes wide. It showed no fear, making a tiny, happy mewling sound. My stomach growled in hunger. I could sense that Samara was nearby. She probably felt safe. We had located her more quickly than even we had anticipated. I reached inside of the window for a quick snack.
***
SAMARA:
I continued to page through the grimoire that I had been reading for what seemed like hours, leafing through its section on binding spells. I had the beginnings of a headache clawing at my temples, and my eyes felt dry and gritty. I looked up. Aiden and Ben were standing across the room.
Looking at them, I felt deeply confused. Ben was scruffy, but totally laid back and very sweet. Aiden was clean-cut with toned muscles. He was all confidence and flirtation. Together, they were the whole package. Why couldn’t they just meld together into one person? I thought with a sigh. Perhaps there’s a spell in one of these grimoires…I paused, squinting. The two dragons were whispering to each other, deep into some kind of a debate. Aiden said something, and Ben looked at him, doubtfully raising an eyebrow as he folded
his arms. He raised a hand to yank on his beard.
“I don’t know, dude,” I heard Ben reply in an undertone. “She may not want to.”
“I may not want to what?” I asked, my curiosity piqued. They both jumped, not realizing that I had noticed them. Ben looked surprised, but Aiden just smiled, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He tucked his hands into his pockets and began to easily stroll toward me.
He stopped right beside me. He was close. Very close. I could smell his aftershave. I craned my neck to look at him, but he leaned over, putting his mouth right up to my ear.
“We know you like us,” he whispered, his breath hot on the tender skin beneath my ear. “We know that you’re not just using us for our books.”
“I do like you,” I said, a little confused. “Both of you.”
“No,” he whispered. “You like us.” He pulled away to look me in the eye, his eyebrows waggling in exaggeration. I laughed and gave him a playful shove.
“What are you getting at?”
“Relax baby girl,” he said. “Let us take care of you.”
“What?”
“You’re so—contained. Don’t be that way,” he said easily.
“What do you mean?”
“You think that it can only be one or the other,” he explained, gesturing with each of his hands in turn. “You can have both, babe.”
“You aren’t—”
“Jealous? No,” he scrunched his nose as he said it. “It’s not really sharing, either.”
“You’ll have both of us. At the same time,” Ben explained. “That is what you want, isn’t it?” I was speechless for a moment. My mouth hung open in shock.
“Do you do this often?” I asked suspiciously. They both laughed and looked at each other.
“We may have done this once or twice,” Aiden admitted, his eyes wide and innocent. “But that was back in the fourteenth century, dearest.” He crouched down in front of me, placing a hand on my knee. I felt my body react to his touch. I bit my lip. “Play with us, love. Pretty please?” I sighed and looked at Ben.
“Oh, no,” Aiden said. “Benny is not innocent. He wants to play, too.” Aiden pouted a little, and Ben shrugged a little guiltily.
“Okay,” I said calmly. My insides were screaming out in lust. I wanted them. And I would have them—both.
“Atta girl!” Aiden said excitedly. “You’re in charge. Where do you want us?” He stood up straight. I thought for a moment and looked Aiden in the eye. I gestured toward an armchair in the corner. He grinned at me and stalked over to a chair in the corner. I looked at Ben and beckoned for him to come over to me. I stood and walked around the table to meet him. He reached down, kissing me. His beard brushed lightly against my skin. His kisses were soft, tender. I wrapped my fingers in his beard, pulling him in closer to me. I could feel Aiden’s eyes on us, and it added an element to the action that I’d never experienced before. I glanced over at Aiden as I kissed Ben. Aiden’s eyes were burning with desire. My insides caught fire.
As Aiden watched from the chair in the corner, Ben lifted my shirt, his fingertips brushing my nipples as he raised the stretchy black fabric away from my skin. I raised my arms as he pulled the shirt over my head, and then let it drop to the floor. He leaned forward, licking and then sucking my nipple, toying with the other with his fingers. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back in silent ecstasy. When I opened my eyes, I glanced over at Aiden. His eyes were glowing golden, irises turned to reptilian slits in his lust. As I watched, his skin shifted to golden scales.
I let out a small sigh, then returned my focus to Ben. Sweet Ben, who was gently tugging my shorts down, his fingertips running over my skin. My shorts dropped to the floor. Ben touched me through my panties, his fingers rubbing my slit, a soft, teasing gesture. I felt a pulse in between my legs, a deep throbbing of desire. Ben looked up at me and smiled as he pulled my panties down. He then picked me up, kissing me deeply, yet gently. I wrapped my legs around him, beginning to unbutton his plaid shirt. He set me down on the table, pushing on my knees, so that my legs were wide open. I sat up straight, back arched and breasts on full display. My nipples were puckered and flushed red.
Ben stood back, looking at me with eyes that spoke of his need—gentle and caring. Aiden sat in the corner, his look dangerous and hungry, desire rolling off of him like flames.
“You’re beautiful,” Ben whispered. Aiden let out a low growl, tendrils of smoke softly curling out of his mouth. He got up on the table, his legs folded beneath him. He pulled my legs up and on the table, placing each over his shoulders. He leaned down, his eyes on mine as he began to pleasure me with his tongue, light touches, exploring. I inhaled and moaned, leaning back on my elbows. I arched my back so that my breasts stuck out, and then looked over at Aiden. I held up a hand, beckoning to him and then closed my eyes
Aiden’s hand traveled along my sternum, his skin hot to the touch. He caressed my breast, cupping it in the palm of his hand. His other hand caressed my hair, grabbing a fistful of it and tugging lightly. I faced him. Placing his index finger beneath my chin, he stuck his thumb in my mouth. I took it between my teeth, then sucked on it. I kept my eyes on his, wanton, hungry. His look was hot—he was all heat and passion where Ben was soft and tender. They were opposites—but each possessed the best of the extremes. Aiden was unbuttoning his black shirt. He took it off to reveal perfect, toned abs covered by taught, caramel-toned skin. I watched him as he took off his jeans. His body was rock hard, toned to perfection.
Meanwhile, Ben’s tongue was driving me over the edge. He licked expertly, adding pressure to places that were particularly sensitive and causing me to pant with desire as I looked at Aiden. He placed a hand on my stomach.
Aiden stepped toward me, and I took him into my mouth. He was rock hard. He placed his hand on my head, guiding me. He exhaled deeply, a thrumming sound echoing through his chest. Ben’s tongue was insistent—my body responded. I came hard and quick, my mouth opening as I cried out. My whole body writhed in pleasure. Ben continued, his tongue pushing me onward. Aiden caressed my head with one hand, the other went to my breast, cupping it, rolling my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
As I began to come down from my orgasm, Ben stopped. I looked down at his face, poised between my legs. He gave me a small smile, his gaze sultry. He kissed my stomach and sat up. I did, too. I reached forward, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. Sliding off of the table, he removed them for me.
They both stood next to each other, naked, their gaze on me. The hunger and desire in their gaze was clear, and made me feel sexy. They both looked at each other, as though trying to decide who was going to go first. But I had just gotten a large infusion of daring.
“No,” I said. “Both of you.” Aiden cocked an eyebrow with a wicked smile.
“At the same time?” I nodded.
“You heard the lady, Benny.” Ben nodded, motioning that I get off the table. He went to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of lavender essential oil mixed with baby’s oil. He poured some in his hand before he sat on the table and pulled my hips toward him. I inhaled as he slowly entered me. He held me up by the hips, his arms wrapped around my mid-section as Aiden opened my legs wide with the palms of his hands. Aiden looked at me, his eyes dangerous as he placed his cock at my entrance. My body was screaming out for him. He entered me, slowly. I gasped. I had never felt so…full.
Behind me, there was a deep thrumming sound coming from Ben. They both began to move, and I cried out. Ben stopped.
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t stop,” I commanded. They moved in unison, one entering me as the other retreated. I felt as though I would come at any second. Aiden ran his hand over my body, looking at me with heat in his eyes…literally, they looked like twin wheels of flame.
“How much do you want us?” he taunted me in a husky voice.
“Very much,” I gasped. Ben’s hand snaked down over my abdomen, reaching down to massage my clit. I yelled out a
s Aiden pushed inward. All of my nerve-endings were alive. I was quickly coming to the crisis; my whole body being shaken by an immense orgasm. Aiden placed a finger on my bottom lip. I bit it.
“Come on, baby,” he said. “Let go.” My body reacted on his command, and I threw my head back as I felt the waves of my orgasm crash through me. Ben’s arms held me around my middle tightly, and Aiden ran his hands over me. I panted as it subsided. Aiden rolled my nipple in between his fingers and gave me a naughty smile.
“Again?” he asked. I smiled.
“Again,” I agreed.
***
MEROE:
I closed my eyes. The demon was still pinning me. His attention, however, was on the place where Aurora had just disappeared. I felt for the silver threads, grasping for them with my spirit—they were my only hope for escape. I could feel myself slipping away from the demon’s grip. I heard him scream in anger.
I rushed along the threads, hearing the clear sound of the one that led to Samara. I found her in the library, where I had seen her last. It was night, and she lay between the bodies of two sleeping men—no, they were something other; their cores shone too brightly. The three of them were naked, their limbs entwined. The scene was clearly post-coital. I arched my brow, impressed. Get it, girl.
Samara’s eyes opened. She gasped, flushing bright red as she sat upright, wrapping her arms across her chest. She coughed.
“Uh—Meroe,” she began. I held up a hand.
“There’s no time,” I replied. “Lex knows, roughly, where you are. You need to get to the safe house. It’s where you will have the combined protection of the whole coven.”
“How did he—” I shook my head sadly.
“He broke in to my memories,” I explained. “I’m so sorry.” My voice cracked.
“You tried,” she said, smiling at me lopsidedly. I nodded.
“He’s stronger than we assumed,” I added. “You need to get to safety now.”