by Jason Herc
I was positive now. My rage was definitely linked to the black Flames. I forced the black Flames back, and my rage subsided. I kept it ready, though, in case I needed to unleash it.
The voices shouted again. "We know you're in there, succubus. Give him to us, and we'll save you a piece."
Ember tried to move in front of me. "Let me go first."
I blocked her. "If they want a piece of me, I'll be happy to give it to them. Personally."
A flicker of black fire swirled around my bare torso, then leaped up my blade before dissipating. A dark, heaviness formed in my gut.
Something smashed into the bone door from the other side. A crack appeared, running along the length of the door.
"Human!" the voices screamed.
I readied myself alongside Ember. I caught a glimpse of red light coursing along her arm.
With a sharp crack, the door split open.
A trio of bull men stood outside our door, axes raised, along with a number of other demonic creatures.
"Get him!" the tallest bull man screamed as he charged.
CHAPTER 9
I prepared to meet the charging bull man, but one of the demons behind him cried out with a shrill scream that turned into the gurgling of someone choking on his own blood.
The attackers froze at the unexpected grisly sound from their own ranks.
I blinked as something sped past the doorway.
"My stomach!" One of the assailants, a six-foot ugly brute with gray skin screamed in pain as he doubled over.
A bull man in back cried out in pain as a wicked-looking shard or needle impaled his eye.
Someone else had joined the attack.
More shards rained down against the demons outside my door.
I used the distraction to dash forward and stab the leading bull man in his neck. My sword didn't pierce the thick hide as deeply as I had hoped, but when I drew the blade out, a spray of dark blood proved I had cut deep enough.
Yes, blood. Let the blood flow. The darkness within me stirred.
Ember followed up my stab with a punch into the bull man's nose. His head whipped back with such force that the wound on his neck opened up further, sending an even larger spray of blood upward onto the low ceiling.
I called forth the black Flame, letting the rage surround me for a moment, then swung my sword upward, catching the bull man from his groin up to his chest. My strike nearly cleaved the demon in half, and his broken body collapsed into a bloody heap on the floor.
Ember lunged into the group of demons just outside the door, her fists blazing fiercely now. She sent another bull man flying with an upper cut.
I paused to admire her handiwork. "Nice."
"Get out of the way, idiot!" A harsh woman's voice cried out.
Ember looked around, puzzled, then jumped back into the room as a hail of shards flew past the hallway.
"What's going on?" I asked. A man with skin made of rough bark howled in pain as he plucked the shards, each about six inches long, out of his tough, natural armor.
I focused on my Flame, this time trying to capture the white Flame and separate it from the black Flame.
I failed and resigned myself to summoning more of the dark Flame that seemed to come so easily to me when I needed it.
Black flames coiled around my sword and arm, and I plunged my sword into the bark-covered man's chest. The blade pierced entirely through his chest, erupting from the other side.
The demon's physiology was apparently close enough to a human's, and his body stiffened, then went still. I placed a foot on the bark exterior and pushed the heavy body off my blade.
I tried to peek out of the broken doorway to see who was helping us, but I had to pull back into the room as another group of shards zipped down the hallway.
"It's a succubus," Ember said.
"Another one? Like you?" I asked.
Ember bit her lip. "Yes." She paused to kick a demon that was falling into our room, sending it crashing against the far wall of the hallway instead.
I stabbed another demon rolling on the ground in pain, silencing it.
Nothing attacked us for the next several seconds. I surveyed the area immediately outside our door and found only the dead and injured.
"We're coming out!" I called out loudly. "She's an ally, right?" I asked Ember.
"I don't know." Ember tugged on my arm when I moved to step into the hall. "It could be a trick."
"We'll never know if we don't move forward," I said. "Besides, I've already dealt with one succubus trying to trick me. That didn't turn out too bad, did it?"
I caressed the side of her face as Ember lowered her head, blushing. Then, I stepped out into the hallway.
Someone on the ground tried to grab my foot, but I kicked aside the arm and stabbed downward with my sword. There was a brief scream. I looked up to see who had helped us.
Down the hall stood a dark-haired succubus with sensuous curves that easily rivaled what Ember's body offered. Unlike Ember, though, her horns were tinged with a reddish-pink, and her eyes glowed a dark shade of red. Her wings were also different, more of a fallen angel's feathery wings rather than the bat-like leathery wings Ember had.
"Are you the human?" the new succubus asked.
"What's that to you?" Ember asked. She stepped forward and spread her wings, shielding me partially from view.
"I smell the scent of sex on you, sister," the new succubus said. "You've taken his seed, haven't you? But how is he not dead? Did you enslave him?"
"That's none of your business—" Ember began.
The succubus swiped one of her wings at us, and a shard flew forward.
Ember cried out and spun around to wrap me with her leathery wings, but the shard flew past us. I gently peeled her wings off me.
"That wasn't for us," I said. "Look."
A shadow crept along the walls of the hallway behind us. It didn't seem to have a true body, appearing to glide along the surfaces it touched without taking a solid form.
A quivering shard was embedded in the far wall, which meant that the shadowy creature had dodged the attack. Or maybe the attack couldn't hurt it.
"Get down!" the succubus hissed.
Ember and I ducked while running over to the new succubus. She raised her feathery wings and beat them several times, sending a slew of shards at the shadow.
The shadow reshaped itself instantly to avoid the shards, turning thin in one part and elongating others. It was a blob of living shadow.
"Feed me," a creepy voice whispered.
I couldn't tell what direction the voice had come from. It had to belong to the shadow creature.
"How do we kill it?" I asked.
"Is that a Shadowling?" Ember asked in an uncertain tone.
"Of course," the dark-haired succubus replied. "You kill it be pinning it in place. They're slippery bastards, though." She unleashed another salvo of shards but the shadow dodged the attack again.
It crept closer to us slowly. While it could reform its shape instantly to avoid an attack, the Shadowling didn't seem to move over longer distances very quickly. The three of us stepped backward down the hallway.
"Let's see how well it can dodge a sword." I waited with my blade held low and extended. I intended to spear the shadow.
"Careful," the new succubus warned. "Shadowlings can be tricky up close."
She took several more steps backward while Ember and I remained where we stood.
Would my sword even be able to pierce something as insubstantial as a shadow? The fact that it had dodged the thrown shards seemed to suggest physical damage could harm it.
When the Shadowling was within striking distance, I stabbed forward and down. The shadow spread out to form a hollow area where my blade hit the floor.
I pulled my sword back out of the floor, but the Shadowling was quicker than me.
A tendril of shadow shot forward and latched onto my wrist. The tendril was ice-cold and sticky, and most surprisingly, qui
te heavy.
Ember pounced on the length of shadow between me and the Shadowling's main body, yanking on it.
The Shadowling's entire main body detached from the ground, and the dark shadow threw itself at Ember.
Ember punched, but it was like trying to beat a sheet of dough. The formless shadow absorbed her blows with no obvious effect. She tried to tear it apart instead, but the Shadowling simply reformed, then smothered her with shadows.
She screamed.
Once the Shadowling clung to Ember, I couldn't find a safe way to attack it without also striking Ember.
The other succubus had no such reservations.
A handful of shards zipped by me to bury themselves in the Shadowling, but the Shadowling had wrapped itself around Ember.
Ember screamed again.
I whirled around in anger. "What the fuck was that?" I yelled at the succubus.
"It's pinned!" she cried back. "Strike its core. Now!"
"What?"
"Its core! Kill it while you can!"
I grit my teeth in anger as I turned back to the Shadowling.
There. I spotted what must have been its core. A small section of the Shadowling wasn't as insubstantial as the rest. A bulbous region the size of a small plate glowed with a dim light. The core overlapped with one of Ember's wings.
Ember caught my eye. "Do what she says," Ember gasped. "Hurry! It's feeding on me!"
I didn't want to hurt Ember, but it seemed that this was our only chance to kill the annoying Shadowling.
"Sorry!" I shouted. I suppressed my growing fury with the situation, worried that I would harm Ember more than necessary. With nothing but my normal strength, I stabbed the Shadowling's core and Ember's wing.
Ember cried out in pain, but the Shadowling was distracted by the feeding or pinned in place by the shards. It didn't move, and my blade easily slid into the bulbous core.
The Shadowling made a shrill sound, then melted off of Ember, pooling at her feet slowly as a puddle of sticky, dark fluid. I quickly pulled out my sword from Ember's wing.
Ember plucked out the other shards that had pierced her torso and wings. She glared at the other succubus as she did so.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
Ember's brows furrowed in pain. "I'll heal."
The other succubus moved toward us, but I raised my sword in a guard position, wary of her intent.
She frowned at me, her hands on her hips. Her wings flapped once, and I raised my arms to protect my face, but no shards appeared.
"I just saved the two of you," the succubus said. "How about a thank you?"
She pushed my sword aside with her hand and stepped closer.
Ember wrapped me in her arms from behind. "I found him first!"
The new succubus paused and looked me up and down as if studying me. "This one is a fine specimen. Is he really human? How is he here?"
Ember responded by wrapping me in her wings like I was some Christmas present.
The succubus laughed. "You're weak and injured. I could take him from you."
I peeled Ember's wings off of me carefully, trying not to aggravate her stab wound.
"Enough of this," I said. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"Hush, human. I'll deal with you later."
A flicker of anger bubbled to the surface. My blade whipped forward with a mind of its own before I stopped it, inches from the succubus's neck.
"I'm giving you a chance because you helped us. But you also hurt my woman. Don't test me."
Ember stepped to my side. She raised her fists, which took on a reddish light, dimmer than before, though. "We can get rid of her," Ember said. "If that's what you want."
The other succubus's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that…" Her mouth opened wide in shock. "I thought I was imagining it before, but you're manifesting your Flame?" Her entire expression changed as she stared at Ember's fists.
She turned to me. "You did this to her, didn't you?"
"And if I did?" I replied.
Her lips pressed together, and she remained silent for a moment. I could see her mind churning behind her red eyes, calculating the possibilities.
"I want what she has," the new succubus finally said. Her eyes grew larger, brighter. "I can show you pleasure like no other. My sister here is young, inexperienced. I would—"
I laughed, and the succubus paused. Did she think she could seduce me like some idiot? I had already resisted one succubus, and I had only grown stronger since then.
"You asked if I was her slave," I said, jerking a thumb toward Ember. "I'm no woman's slave. You've told me what you want. I think that's obvious. Now why don't you tell me who you are."
The succubus looked unsure of herself. She glanced to Ember, who by now had lowered her fists. She looked back at me and nodded.
"I see. My apologies. I was mistaken." She bowed her head. "I'm Allura. And you?"
"Aidan. Aidan Ward."
"My pleasure," Allura replied. She held out a hand to shake. "And yours, too, if you desire."
She was persistent. I had to give her that. I reached forward and took her hand in mind, shaking it. When I withdrew my hand, she let her fingers trail along the inside of my palm, her nails lightly scratching me. Her pink tongued darted out from between her teeth for a moment as she licked her lips.
"Keep your dirty claws off him," Ember snapped. She swung the edge of one wing at Allura.
Allura neatly stepped out of the wing's path.
I wrapped an arm around Ember's waist. "Ember."
I was still trying to figure out what to make of Allura when Ember huffed and folded her wings back up behind her.
"Fine," Ember said. "She can come with us."
I raised an eyebrow. Bringing along another succubus had a lot of implications. Even more so with me, if my connection with Ember was any indication.
Could I handle two succubi at once? I was confident enough that I could deal with both Ember and Allura if all I had to deal with was the bedroom. But what would happen to my Flame? Would it interact with Allura? Would that weaken Ember? Or make her stronger?
Was it possible that the two of them were in this together?
I glanced over at Ember. No, I hadn't detected any deception from her, not since when we had first cleared things up between us.
"I wasn't aware it was your decision," I said.
"Oh, I didn't mean…" Ember tugged on my arm with an apologetic expression on her face.
I chuckled. "No, I think you're right. She could come along with us, although we'll have to be careful and not rush anything involving my Flame."
The journey to Duskfall so far had shown that the trip would be anything but boring. I needed to prepare for more dangers, and Allura had already demonstrated that she could be a useful ally.
"You said you wanted what Ember has." I gripped Ember tighter in my arm, claiming her as my own. "But you've got it backwards. Are you willing to be mine?"
"Yours?" Allura asked. After a moment, Allura smiled. "Of course. I can be anything you want."
Did she think she could twirl me around her finger? Well, I would show her in due time what I had in mind.
"When we reach the city of Duskfall, I'll let you have a taste of what Ember possesses."
Allura's smile broadened, a true smile now that reached her eyes. She wanted power, then.
Ember wasn't stupid, either, and must have known what Allura was thinking. They were both succubi, after all.
"He's right," Ember said. "You'll belong to him."
Allura dropped all pretense of seduction. She simply shrugged. "Then, that'll mean he's worth it. It's win-win, either way."
"Since that's settled then…" I turned to the demon corpses on the floor. "What do we do with them? Will Festus be mad at us?"
"Yes, Festus will be mad at you." The owner of the Gluttonbarge emerged out of a tiny side tunnel that I hadn't noticed before. "Ten patrons all dead, and business was already bad to begin with. I'll
be ruined at this rate! Ruined!" Festus shook a clenched cat's paw at us. "And the Gluttonbarge isn't too happy about you fighting in her guts. Do you know what a case of indigestion means for a Gluttonbarge?"
"Shit," I muttered, trying not to imagine the answer to Festus's question.
"Exactly," Festus snapped. "Shit. Lots and lots of shit. I'm sorry, but the three of you have done enough damage. Keys please." He held out his hand.
I stared. "You're kicking us out? For defending ourselves?"
Allura stepped around us and turned over the corpse of a bull man. "He's covering his ass. Look." She lifted the corpse's hairy left arm. A small hairless patch just below the armpit had some kind of tattoo. I moved closer to take a look. There were three black dots in a triangle.
Ember groaned. "Oh no."
Allura nodded. "These boviaries are part of a clan." She turned her head toward Festus. "You knew, didn't you?"
"You have five minutes to leave the premises," Festus said.
Ember grabbed my hand. "Let's go."
I stood my ground. "Hold on, what's going on? What's a clan? Something like a gang?"
"Yes, you could say that. Like a gang from your world," Ember explained. "And like them, they'll want vengeance for a fallen member."
"Which is why our gracious innkeeper doesn't want us anywhere near here when the real shit hits the fan," Allura added. She dropped the corpse's arm. "We should leave."
I was a bit annoyed that we were being kicked out when we hadn't even started the trouble, but if a horde of angry bull men were going to look for someone to blame, I didn't want to stick around. I glanced at the dead corpses. What a waste. Then, a thought occurred to me.
"What happens when you kill something in the Abyss?" I asked. "I mean, do you keep what you kill?"
"I suppose you could say that," Ember said. "Unless someone else steals your kill."
"Good." I drew my sword and moved toward the first corpse.
"What are you doing?" Ember asked.
Allura understood. "He wants their demon cores. Hurry." She moved to the next corpse and reached into her wings, pulling out two shards, one in each hand, from wherever they came from. She knelt next to a corpse and used the two shards like knives, opening up its abdomen.
Ember moved to her own corpse, using her claws to tear open the abdomen. I watched the two succubi carefully, then used my sword to cut open another corpse in the same area. I dug my hand into the gory opening and searched until my hand touched something round and firm, again the size of a golf ball. I wiped it clean on the corpse's clothes and held up the core to inspect it. The demon core was similar to the fire gnat's, a light yellow with dark swirling streaks, but the demon core had a stronger yellow glow.