‘Huh. It might.’ Ceri took a small, wooden box from her bag and opened it to reveal the little thaumometer mechanism Yeland had built. She moved it toward the edge of the path, watching the needle rise rapidly. ‘It’s around twenty thaums near the edge. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s over thirty among the trees.’
‘Wild magic levels.’
‘Uh-huh.’
Lily looked out at the darkness beyond the seemingly fragile safety of Ceri’s light and took a couple of quick steps to bring her closer to her mistress. ‘It’s funny, I’ve never been in a strong magic field that didn’t make me feel horny before.’
‘Somehow that worries me more than the readings. Still, we’re both immune to the effects of a place like this. Let’s just get through it.’
‘An idea I can definitely get behind.’
~~~
They had been walking for maybe two hours when Ceri stopped, Lily almost bumping into her. ‘What’s wrong?’ the half-succubus asked, looking around and seeing nothing aside from the flickers of light, which always came in pairs, among the trees, but they had been seeing those for miles.
‘The path ahead. Whatever it is keeps the magic away seems to have failed. There’s a patch ahead where it closes in.’
Lily frowned. ‘So much for keeping to the path.’
‘Uh-huh. Well, it’s still not as strong as the field to the sides. Going back doesn’t seem like a good idea at this point.’
‘Sure?’
‘No.’ Ceri stepped forward anyway. ‘Keep your eyes peeled.’
‘I’ll need clamps to open them any wider.’
The pressure on the back of Ceri’s head seemed to double as they passed through the invisible wall of higher strength magic and the darkness pressed in, trying to overcome the light from Ceri’s staff. Lily felt it, the darkness crowding in like a living thing, and edged closer to Ceri. Reaching back, Ceri took Lily’s hand in hers and pulled her closer still.
Somehow, despite the deeper darkness, the trees were more visible. The trunks seemed to glow a dull, sickly green which shifted, almost as though the trees themselves were moving. The lights in the undergrowth were brighter too, and they looked a lot more like eyes. Red eyes and green eyes, without pupils, but definitely eyes.
‘I don’t like this,’ Lily said, sounding more panicked than Ceri would have expected.
‘Neither do I.’
‘They can see us.’
‘They could see us before.’
‘No, now they can see us.’
The number of eyes did seem to be increasing and, somewhere out in the forest, Ceri could hear something which sounded like heavy footfalls. She pushed on faster along the path, but it was becoming rougher and there were patches of the odd, sparkling grass growing in it. Had the path washed away? Ceri felt panic beginning to take root in her own mind; that tiny, niggling thought that they had strayed off the track. Perhaps, in the darkness, they had stepped to the side. Perhaps…
The ground shook and the sound of huge feet grew louder. What the Hell was that? The trees were not that big. A giant would have shown up striding through them. Unless, of course, the forest was even more unnatural than she had thought. Maybe the dimensions got screwed up in here. Wild magic could do something like that. Maybe it had been a bad idea coming through here. Maybe…
Suddenly they were stumbling out onto the path again and the light almost seemed bright around them. Ceri took in a deep, shuddering breath, feeling the terror ebbing. Beside her, Lily dropped to her hands and knees, breathing hard.
‘That,’ the half-succubus huffed out, ‘was… horrible.’
‘There must have been something in there that feeds on fear. That was too scary for what I could actually see.’
‘If you don’t mind, I’ll just stay here a moment… and learn to breathe again.’
Ceri was squinting at the view further up the path. ‘I think you can take all the time you want. Is that light up ahead?’
Lily lifted her head and shaded her eyes with one hand. ‘I didn’t think we could be out of this place that fast… but it does, yeah.’ Forgetting her fatigue, she pulled herself to her feet, picked up her chain, and handed it to Ceri. ‘I can rest when we’re in sunlight.’
The sunlight was so bright when they emerged from the trees that it left the two women blinking for several seconds. When their vision cleared and they could see what was actually in front of them instead of a haze of bright light, Ceri said, ‘No fucking way!’
~~~
The Queen stretched languidly in her bed, the black, silk sheets rustling softly as she moved, feeling sensuous and cool against her skin. She opened her eyes and looked up at the huge, dark mirror mounted over the bed and smiled.
‘Mirror, mirror, above my bed, tell me… who do I need dead?’
~~~
‘It’s not possible,’ Ceri said for the third time.
‘You said that,’ Lily commented.
‘A fairy tale castle in the middle of the forest? We would have seen it.’
‘You said that too.’ Lily trotted along behind Ceri as they walked down into the bowl the castle was sitting in. She was a little more sanguine about what “possibility” meant in a place like this.
‘Unless the high magic field has bent reality enough to create some sort of pocket dimension inside the forest.’
‘That’s new.’
Ceri stopped and looked around at her pet. ‘Do we have to stop so I can give you a spanking?’
‘Yes please, Mistress.’
‘You’re in a better mood.’
Lily looked up at the gleaming white spires set amid very green grass. ‘The field strength is higher here, but it doesn’t feel oppressive like the rest of the forest.’ She grinned. ‘I’m feeling kind of frisky.’
Ceri chuckled. Lily’s tickle of hyperactive libido was feeding through their link and raising her spirits too. ‘Well, it’s a castle and it doesn’t look demonic. Maybe we can spend the night here and go on in the morning. I’d love a bath.’
‘You should wear less. Those clothes just make you collect sweat.’
Turning back to walk further down the path, Ceri said, ‘Yeah, I’m sure you’d be far happier with me naked too.’
‘Oh no. You’re my mistress so you should be wearing something. That little outfit you wore to get me out of Grey Castle, maybe.’
‘That’s practically naked.’
‘The detail is important.’
‘Uh-huh. Well, let’s get to the castle here and see if the natives are friendly.’
~~~
The Major-domo bowed deeply to his queen. She was now clad on a long, white gown which sparkled in the light from the huge windows of the throne room. The throne, which she was perched on the edge of, was large, ornate, and covered in gold leaf.
‘We have two visitors,’ the Queen said. ‘One is powerful, the other beautiful, and they are invading our fair kingdom.’
‘That cannot be allowed, Majesty,’ the obsequious old man replied. He knew what she was not saying; one was more powerful than she was, the other more beautiful. The Queen was a jealous woman.
The Queen sighed. ‘Get me someone heartless and fearless. He can take them out into the forest, kill them, and bring me back their hearts.’
The Major-domo coughed, receiving a scowl in reply. ‘Majesty… You know what happened last time…’
Another sigh. ‘Yes, yes. We find someone suitable, he takes them out, they melt his heart and I get a delivery of stag heart. Then I have to have him tortured to death or fed to the mirror if they’re nice enough. It’s all so depressing. What do we have in the dungeon? We can feed them to an un-killable monster.’
‘Well, there was that Horg, but he was eaten by a succubus last winter. The wyvern choked on a Devim. The cockatrice caught sight of itself in a mirror. Our gorgon was killed by a hero with a polished shield. The hydra…’
‘Yes, I heard, it got into an argument with itself. I believ
e the problem here is that the term “un-killable” is not being taken literally enough. I suppose we’ll have to do it the hard way. Have them invited in.’
~~~
The huge doors opened as Ceri and Lily approached and a small man with grey hair wearing a liveried frock-coat came out to meet them. He was also wearing the most snivelling, obsequious smile Ceri had ever seen on anyone. And he was not a det. His body was giving off positive thaumitons and there was a core of energy sitting in the region of his stomach; this was a fae.
‘Welcome, welcome, we get so few visitors here at Scéal Caisleán. I am Edmond, the Queen’s major-domo. Queen Oona bids me to take you to one of our guest rooms to recover from your long travels. She will greet you when you have rested.
‘Uh… right,’ Ceri said, a little surprised that it was going to be that easy. ‘I’m Lady Ayasha, this is Lilith, my pet. A chance to clean up before meeting Her Majesty would be appreciated.’
Edmond smiled his sickly smile and reversed up the steps, waving for them to follow him. Ceri was impressed; the man had to be an absolutely world-class suck-up. Then again, that was probably his major job requirement. Ceri set off after him with a little tug on Lily’s chain, just for form’s sake.
The inside of the castle was, if that were possible, more fairy tale than the outside. The walls and floors were polished, white marble with red carpets laid in strips along the main walkways. Ceri suspected that was because most people would have ended up on their arses if they tried walking on the marble. If it was not frictionless, it had to be close. Edmond led the way up a sweeping staircase off the main hall, which was three stories high with a vaulted ceiling, and then down a corridor deeper into the castle two floors up. He stopped and pushed open a double door, bowing and waving them in.
‘Take all the time you wish,’ Edmond said, ‘and just ring when you are ready.’ He indicated a bell-pull beside the door. ‘You should find some… more regal clothes in the cupboard in the bedroom, should you wish to change. The bath is already heated and ready.’
Ceri was busy blinking at the room. ‘Uh, thanks, Edmond.’ She heard the doors close behind her, but ignored it. ‘Oh wow, we really must visit royalty more often.’
The room, and it was just one of the suite of rooms, was huge. The walls were white marble, but the floor was carpeted in red with material so soft it felt like you were floating. The furniture was incredibly ornate and covered in gold leaf. The bed could have held four people easily and had thick posts at the corners and a canopy over the top.
Ceri looked around and discovered that Lily had vanished. She was just wondering where she had gone when she heard the squeal of delight from a side room. ‘You wanted a bath?’ Lily called out. ‘This is a swimming pool!’
‘Be right there,’ Ceri called back. She started stripping her clothes off even before she got to the bathroom.
~~~
Ceri had found a black gown in the cupboard beside the bed which fitted well enough, actually amazingly well. It had a deep cleavage and was fitted down to her thighs before spreading around her shins, the fabric looked like slightly translucent latex, but slipped on like silk, and Lily had licked her lips encouragingly; not a perfect sign of a nice look since Lily would have thought she looked good in a plastic sack, but good enough. She had also found a little, black tunic with a belt to put Lily in. The dirty sandals had been dispensed with in favour of bare feet; the castle’s floors were unlikely to hurt her.
Properly dressed, they now waited in a dining room the size of High Towers’ entire ground floor for the queen. Ceri was seated at one end of a long, mahogany table with Lily standing just behind her chair. Ceri had dispensed with her shackles, but the effect of a slave waiting on her mistress was still obvious due to the chain between ear and lip, and her gleaming, silver collar.
‘Maybe she’s forgotten we’re here,’ Lily said under her breath after they had been waiting for fifteen minutes.
‘Royalty,’ Ceri replied, ‘they like to make an entrance.’
As if on cue the doors at the other end of the room opened and Oona swept in. She was stunning, a true elven beauty, clearly some sort of Sidhe royalty. Tall and slim, her hair was a river of blonde cascading down her back and across her shoulders. She was dressed in a gown which looked like it had been spun from gossamer and diamonds. It clung to her body in all the right places and was cut low to show off her substantial chest. As Ceri rose to her feet she could not help but note that that chest was not quite as substantial or firm as Lily’s and there was something of a hard edge to the queen’s features which took away from her beauty.
‘Lady Ayasha,’ Oona said, her voice effusive, ‘such a pleasure to have visitors in my meagre palace.’ She advanced upon them with a bright smile, though there was a hint of tension in her body which Ceri could not place.
This was clearly a definition of meagre only fae royalty were aware of. ‘It’s beautiful,’ Ceri said, ‘as is its queen.’ Oona looked the type to enjoy a little flattery.
Sure enough, Oona preened a little, but her face hardened slightly as she turned her gaze on Lily. It was unlikely anyone else would have noticed the slight shift in the muscles around her eyes, but Ceri saw it with the enhanced perception of her necklace. ‘And who is this exquisite creature?’
‘Lilith, my pet,’ Ceri replied. Her voice suggested that Lily really did not matter in the scheme of things.
‘If you wish, I can have her taken down to the kitchen for some food.’
‘No, thank you. She ate earlier. I don’t want her getting fat. The whole point of having a Lorril pet is to have something pretty to look at.’ Ceri grinned, not the least because of the little burst of shock she felt from Lily. ‘If you could have a servant take a few leftovers to our room after we’ve eaten, she’ll be fine.’
Oona laughed; to Ceri it sounded a little strained. ‘Please, sit down. We’ll have some food and wine, and then have a little chat.’
With the queen sat at the other end of the table, servants came in and brought the food. There was a rich, beefy soup followed by a main course of venison and seasonal vegetables. It really did seem to be venison, which Ceri found a little odd since deer were not native to the demons’ world. She was also happy to discover that the wine was just wine, not fae wine. It was very nice wine, richly flavoured and of a superior vintage, but it lacked the enchanted quality of wine from Otherworld. The final course was fruit torte which absolutely melted in the mouth. Ceri really hoped they brought some of that up to the room for Lily to try.
The meal was conducted in silence; with the two people enjoying it at either end of a table meant for forty people conversation would have been hard. Once they were finished, however, Oona led the way through a door at the side of the room to a much more comfortable chamber with two huge chairs set before a fireplace. Each chair had a small table beside it, and on each table was glass filled with a rich, ruby red liquid. Ceri could smell it before she even got to taste it; this was fae wine.
Sitting down, Ceri took the small cushion from behind her and set it at her feet. ‘Lilith,’ she said, and Lily sank onto the cushion, curling at her mistress’ feet.
‘She’s very well trained,’ Oona commented, sitting down and picking up her glass. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t serve the good wine with the meal. My supply is sadly limited.’
Ceri picked up her own glass and took a small sip. The tiny amount of liquid begged for her to drink more and Ceri felt her insides starting to warm. Fae wine was deadly stuff. ‘I’m surprised you have any. To be honest, I was surprised to find a group of fae living here.’
‘A sad story. My husband, Finvarra, never appreciated me. He was constantly going out and bringing back his little human whores, claiming they meant nothing to him. When I finally put my foot down and told him it had to stop, he exiled me here. I’ve heard the Sidhe once again rule in the land we once owned.’ Her tone was becoming more angry as she went on. ‘I’d imagine that he’s once again fuck
ing those ugly human bitches…’ She stopped, giving a flustered smile and taking a drink to calm her nerves. ‘My apologies. Some things hurt for a long time.’
Ceri smiled back at her. ‘Indeed. I caught my last pet with a stable boy. She’s in one of my dungeon cells being eaten alive by maggots. Has been for the last five years.’ She saw Lily’s lips twitch at the made up punishment.
‘A delicious revenge. I can see why your new one is so loyal.’
‘I took her down to see her predecessor during her first week with me. You were very impressed, weren’t you, pet?’
‘Yes. Mistress,’ Lily replied meekly.
‘I’m very good to my pets,’ Ceri went on. ‘They want for nothing. So their punishment is extreme should they stray. That’s fair, isn’t it, pet?’
‘Very fair, Mistress.’ There was another, tiny, twitch of the lips; Lily was enjoying this as much as Ceri was.
‘But, if I may ask, what brings you to pass through the forest?’ Oona asked.
‘I’m on my way to the Mountains of Khedra from Shilfaris. I’ve never been through this forest before so I thought, why not? A lucky choice, it seems.’ She took another drink and felt the buzz start in her head. Fae wine was dangerous because it tasted beautiful and tended to destroy your inhibitions. You wanted more, and two glasses was usually enough to have a human glad that they could not remember what they had done for the last twenty-four hours.
‘Very few people pass through the forest. It has something of a reputation as a dangerous place. I don’t think anyone has crossed through my lands in, oh, over a century.’
‘Most people go around, I think.’ Ceri drank more wine and was a little surprised to see half the glass gone. There was a delicious, warm feeling working its way out from her groin and her skin was tingling. Pretty soon she was going to have to make excuses and take Lily back to their room. They were not going to be sleeping much either.
‘That would certainly explain it,’ Oona said, sinking the remains of her own wine. ‘If you’ll excuse me, it’s getting dark and I like my beauty sleep.’ She rose to her feet with a smile.
Ceri stood up. The room seemed to sway a little as she did. ‘Of course. I’m sure I’ll see you in the morning before we leave.’
Thaumatology 10 - The Other Side of Hell Page 13