by Anne Bishop
Sebastian shook his head. “I know what you are. I’m not going near water with the likes of you.”
The waterhorse tossed its head. Stamped a foot.
“No,” Sebastian said.
A whicker that sounded sad. Almost a plea.
Not knowing what to make of the demon’s behavior, he looked toward the glint of water—and felt a sick certainty that he already knew what the waterhorse wanted him to see.
He moved blindly toward the water, not even realizing his hand now rested on the waterhorse’s neck. They stopped close to the remains of something dark and bloated that rested on the bank of the large pond. He tried to move closer but couldn’t do it. The waterhorse had used its particular magic to bind his hand to its neck, preventing him from getting too close to the edge of the pond.
Not that he really wanted to get closer. Guardians and Guides, this was a pond, probably fed by small streams. The waterhorses were the creatures to be feared in this landscape. But something had not only killed a waterhorse; it had ripped out great chunks of flesh. Feeding.
The waterhorse’s body quivered as it backed away from the pond, pulling him with it.
No humans would regret the death of a waterhorse. After all, those demons drowned any humans foolish enough to ride them.
But the way that body was ripped up…
How many predators had found their way into the dark landscapes? And where had they come from?
“I…” Sebastian cleared his throat. “I have to get back to the Den. I have to tell the others about this.” He tried to step away from the waterhorse, but his hand was still ensnared in its magic.
It turned its head and studied him. Then it released its hold on his hand. But when Sebastian started walking away from the pond, it blocked his path.
“What do you want?” He was tired, hungry, frustrated, and scared. Oh, yes. He was scared. He didn’t need another demon playing games with him.
The waterhorse tossed its head, then lifted each foot in turn.
Four feet that weren’t tired. Four legs that could run faster than his own.
“You’re offering me a ride?” Sebastian asked.
The waterhorse bobbed its head.
“No tricks? No gallops into deep water to drown me?”
Head shake.
“Why?” He knew the answer before the waterhorse turned its head to look at the pond. They’re scared, too.
He wasn’t used to riding horses, and he mounted with little skill and no grace. The waterhorse didn’t seem to care, and as he felt the tingle of magic ensnare his legs, he acknowledged one advantage to riding this particular mount—unless a waterhorse chose to release its prey, a person couldn’t fall off.
So they raced over the land and splashed through streams until Sebastian saw a cairn. As they passed it, he felt the tingle that meant they’d passed through a border and were now in another landscape.
Borders and boundaries, Glorianna called them. Boundaries separated one kind of landscape from another—or the landscapes controlled by one Landscaper from those controlled by another Landscaper—and could be crossed only by using a bridge. Borders marked the places where similar landscapes belonging to a Landscaper were connected, despite how much physical distance existed between them.
That was the way things worked in Ephemera. A man might not be able to cross a bridge to reach a neighboring village if he didn’t resonate with that particular landscape, but he could cross a border and walk through a village in an entirely different part of the world.
A few minutes later, they were racing along the edge of a cliff Sebastian recognized—just as he recognized the lake. He felt the waterhorse hesitate, no doubt tempted by the combination of deep water and a rider. But it kept to the land instead of looking for a way to scramble down the cliff. Shortly after that, the waterhorse slowed to an ambling walk and stopped at the door of Sebastian’s cottage.
They could still hear the lake performing a slow dance with the sand and stone on the beach.
The waterhorse sighed—and released him.
Sebastian slid off its back, grateful for its help and wary of its nature. “Thank you,” he said, moving around the other demon until he had his hand closed around the handle of the cottage’s front door.
It watched him for a moment, then turned and trotted back the way it had come.
He’d intended to drop his pack and head out for the Den, but a lingering scent of woman made him check the other rooms in the cottage.
He found Glorianna’s note next to the bag of koffea beans.
Sebastian,
There’s something I need to see in another landscape. Then I’ll be back. We need to talk. Be careful.
No signature. She never signed her notes. Not even with an initial. Since he saw her so infrequently anymore, the unsigned notes made her seem less…real.
Considering what the wizards and other Landscapers thought of her, maybe that was her intention.
But—daylight!—the note meant she’d been close by. If he’d waited a few hours before riding out to Wizard City, he could have talked to her instead of facing Koltak.
A shiver went through him. He rubbed the back of his hand over his forehead. Was he ill? He certainly didn’t feel well. But that could be nothing more than a sick feeling in his gut caused by seeing Wizard City again—and remembering things he tried hard to forget.
He rode Philo’s bicycle back to the Den. As he coasted up to the courtyard, he wondered how long he’d been gone. Were the daylight landscapes now passing into another evening or just beginning to see the sunrise?
Since the Den never saw sunrise or sunset, what did it matter?
Admit it. You were disappointed that you hadn’t seen daylight. That’s one of the reasons you were willing to go to that city. To see the world in daylight. To feel the sun on your face. Didn’t happen, though. Hasn’t happened in years. After all, an incubus is the kind of lover women only want to meet in the dark.
Feeling unsettled, and trying to ignore the craving for the hunt growing inside him—a craving that was sharper than anything he’d felt in weeks—Sebastian walked the bicycle to the storage shed at the back of the courtyard. Teaser sat at a nearby table. Since there were plenty of tables available, the other incubus must have chosen to avoid the flirtatious games that usually took place at the tables closer to the street.
Which wasn’t like Teaser at all.
“Why aren’t you out trolling?” Sebastian asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
Teaser gave him a pale imitation of his usual cocky grin. “Wasn’t in the mood for it.” He raised his half-empty mug of ale, then pointed a finger at Sebastian.
A few minutes later, Philo came to the table with a full tray. He set down two mugs of ale, a bowl of melted cheese, and a basket of Phallic Delights.
“He’s been swilling ale for hours now,” Philo muttered, not looking at either incubus. “Get him to eat something before he’s so drunk he can’t even manage a blundering grope.”
Teaser snorted. “Like I’m interested in playing slap and tickle.”
Sebastian, reaching for his mug, froze for a moment. Teaser wasn’t interested? Teaser?
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian looked from Teaser to Philo and back again. “Has something else happened?”
Philo wiped his hands on his apron and kept his eyes focused on the table. “You didn’t tell him?”
“He just got here, didn’t he?” Teaser snapped. “Hasn’t even had time to swallow some ale and wash the taste of Wizard City out of his mouth.”
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked again.
Someone at another table called to Philo. He hurried away.
Teaser picked up a penis-shaped roll, swirled it in the melted cheese, and took a bite. Chew, swallow, swirl the next piece of the roll.
Sebastian plucked a Phallic Delight from the basket and swirled it in the cheese. The first bite was a sharp reminder that he hadn’t eaten anything while
he’d been away from the Den. Since Teaser didn’t seem anxious to tell him what had happened—or find out what had taken place in Wizard City—he gave his attention to the simple meal.
Then Teaser glanced toward the front of the courtyard and muttered, “Could have done without seeing her.”
Glorianna? Sebastian looked in the same direction, his heart suddenly pounding. Then he looked away as quickly as Teaser had, hoping the succubus eyeing the other customers was too preoccupied with her own games to notice them.
“Can’t say I’d feel sorry if that one disappeared,” Teaser said, tearing off a piece of the Phallic Delight before dipping it in the cheese.
“You don’t mean that,” Sebastian said sharply.
Teaser flinched. “No, I don’t. It’s just…well…that one. You know the bitch will ooze over here and make snide comments about incubi eating cocks.”
Sebastian huffed. “It’s bread and cheese. We don’t get a vote on what shape Philo chooses to make the rolls.”
“Tell her that.”
I’d rather not get that close. Since they usually weren’t competing for the same prey, the incubi and succubi who lived in the Den tended to get along fairly well—and sometimes even played with one another for a night of mind-blowing sex. But that particular succubus…She didn’t live in the Den, but she visited often enough, and every time he encountered her he felt…uneasy. She was sharper, darker, more predatory than the Den’s residents, and there was a maliciousness to the way she played with her prey that made it clear to those who also played the game that she deliberately stripped all the fun out of sex and turned her prey’s need into desperation and addiction. And she was just as malicious when she tried to lure an incubus into playing her particular game.
They sighed with relief when the succubus turned away from the courtyard.
Breaking the last roll in half, Sebastian scraped the remaining cheese out of the bowl. He handed one piece to Teaser and ate the other. Full, and yet still hungry for something food couldn’t ease, he leaned back in his chair. “You ready to tell me what happened?”
Teaser lifted his mug, then set it down again without drinking. “The alley changed.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s been altered,” Teaser said, his voice sharpened by uneasiness. He paused, clearly struggling with some strong emotions. “We figured we should move the…remains. Couldn’t just leave them there to attract other kinds of predators, could we? But the body was gone. In its place there are green plants growing in the middle of the alley right where the body had been.”
Teaser stared at him. Sebastian looked away.
“Belladonna was here,” he said reluctantly.
“So she did—”
“No. She wouldn’t bring a killer into the Den. She had to be the one who altered things after we left the alley, but that’s all she did. Although why she’d put plants in a dark alley is anyone’s guess.”
“Covering her tracks?”
Sebastian swore. “How many times do I have to say it, Teaser? I know her.”
“You know the girl she was,” Teaser replied. “Do you really know the Landscaper she’s become?”
No. But he wouldn’t admit that. Not to anyone. Because he had to believe Glorianna wasn’t so different from the girl he’d known.
Teaser hesitated. “Maybe you should stay at the bordello tonight instead of going back to the cottage.”
He almost snapped that an incubus couldn’t afford to be afraid of the dark. Then it occurred to him that Teaser was afraid—afraid to be alone right now and afraid that anyone he invited to his room might give him more than he’d bargained for.
“I’m going back to the cottage,” Sebastian said. “There’s only one bed, but the couch is comfortable enough.”
“You asking me to stay?”
Sebastian shrugged. He wasn’t willing to play scaredy-boy, but he also wasn’t going to insult his friend by indicating he knew which of them really needed company. Besides, Glorianna had said she would be back, and he wanted to be where she could find him easily.
“A couch,” Teaser grumbled. “Course, you’ve also got koffee, so I guess that’s an even trade. All right, I’ll keep you company. You settle with Philo, and I’ll see if I can snag another ride with a demon cycle.”
Sebastian remained at the table, knowing Philo would come to clear the dishes.
“Well?” Philo said, keeping his voice low even though there was no one at the nearby tables. “What happened in Wizard City? Did you get an audience?”
“We’ll get no help from the Justice Makers. They don’t care what happens in the Den.”
Philo sighed. “We’re on our own then.”
Belladonna will help. He didn’t think anyone else in the Den would find that thought comforting, so he said, “Yes, we’re on our own.”
It stretched out beneath the place where the Dark Ones dwelled. In the land above It, dogs howled a warning, only to be hushed or ignored; flocks and herds of animals stirred, alert and edgy, their simple minds aware that a hunter had come among them. But the best prey ignored their instincts, believing themselves powerful and superior.
It unfurled a thousand mental tentacles, sending them into that twilight place between wakefulness and dreams—that place that revealed the heart’s hopes and fears. The wakeful mind denied or caged so many desires. The dreaming mind cloaked fears in symbols. But here, in the twilight, the heart couldn’t hide or be denied. Here, in the twilight, was the true feast upon which It fed.
She’s acting strange. My business depends on her family’s wealth. Has she discovered I have a mistress?
I put those coins in the money box. I did! But they’ll think I’m a thief and will send me to a different landscape. Maybe even a dark landscape.
It fed, and fed on, the fears, glutting Itself as It hadn’t been able to do since that long-ago time when It lost the battle to control the world.
Yes, It whispered through the tentacles. You are right to fear that. It will happen, has already happened.
Sated, It withdrew the mental tentacles. It had found the Dark Ones. But something tickled old memories, nudging them into a different pattern. So It turned away, intending to leave the city, pleased that It knew where to find the Dark Ones but they didn’t know how to find It.
Then a mind, rising up into the twilight from uneasy sleep, caught Its attention. Seduced by the powerful emotions, It extended a tentacle, slipped into that mind.
Yes, It whispered eagerly. Yes, you have reason to fear, reason to hate. Yes.
But the mind was rising to wakefulness too fast. There was strength there…and power that would recognize an intrusion.
It left the city, looking like a rippling shadow as It moved under the landscape. The last mind It had touched puzzled It. So much fear, so much rage, so much loathing. But It didn’t understand the word that was the source of all those delicious feelings.
Sebastian.
Feeling awkward, Sebastian dropped a blanket and pillow on one end of the couch.
Foolish to feel that way. Lee had bunked on the couch any number of times when he’d come to visit.
But Lee was human. Teaser was not.
“Need anything else?” he asked.
“Nope,” Teaser replied, pulling off his boots.
“Sleep well.” Sebastian walked to his bedroom doorway. Before he stepped into the other room, Teaser said quietly, “Pleasant dreams.”
He turned to face the other incubus, who watched him with too much understanding.
“There’s a…feel…about you when you’ve abstained from hunting for too many days,” Teaser said. “I know you need to feed the hunger, but…Just be careful, all right?”
Not knowing what to say, Sebastian nodded, walked into the bedroom, and closed the door.
Was it apparent to everyone? Or was it that Teaser, being an incubus, could spot the signs of a craving that had taken on the sharp edge of need?
He undressed, tossing his clothes on to a chair to deal with them later. Then he slipped into bed, extinguished the oil lamp on the bedside table, and pulled the sheet up to his waist.
In the dark, he felt the steady beating of his heart as he unfurled the power that made the incubi what they were. He let his mind drift as he sought a female mind yearning for a dream lover. This time he wouldn’t try to shape the scenario. She could set the stage for this interlude. And in the twilight of waking dreams, he would provide a face and voice to her imaginary lover, would provide the sensation of touch, would create the stimulation that would arouse her until she came.
And he would feed on that arousal, on that orgasm, until it eased the hunger inside him. It wouldn’t hurt her. He never hunted to cause harm. But the feelings he stimulated in the female were as necessary to his well-being as food and water and air.
Please.
He narrowed his focus to that female thought that resonated with something inside him and tried to strengthen the link between their minds.
I didn’t want him to feel that way. I didn’t encourage him to want…lustful things…from me. I didn’t!
Ssh, Sebastian whispered soothingly. It’s all right.
Why can’t someone love me?
I can. I will.
The Landscapers will send me to a bad place. I just want—
What? What do you want?
I want to be safe. I want to be loved. I want to be someplace where I’m not afraid all the time.
He hesitated. This wasn’t a female yearning for pleasure. Daylight! Why had his power pulled him toward her when she wasn’t going to do anything to ease his hunger?
Please.
Something warm and sweet flowed through the link between them. Something that lived inside her, waiting to bloom. Something elusive and so seductive it took his breath away.
Come to me, he demanded. Come to me.
I—
The link between them snapped.
Sweating and frustrated, Sebastian furled his power.
What had just happened? And why? He had no sense of who she was or where she was. Nothing that would help him retrace his path and find her again.