Forgotten Fates

by S J Doran

  Cass couldn’t jump up to challenge her, because Bas was holding him down, warning him to stay in his place. So he did the next best thing, and fed off her wrath. The energy struck him like a jolt of adrenaline, hardening his cock and making his heart speed up. Unable to resist, he drew in some more.

  Glasya swayed on her feet, her own Herald jumping behind her to prop her up. Her eyes narrowed, teeth bared.

  “I could rip out your throat. Then we’d see just how proud father is of you.” Her voice was weak, but still full of ire.

  Proud? Their father had never been proud of him.

  “Or you could have a nice little nap.” Cass pushed Bas’s hand aside and stood. “The poison you just ingested should put you out until morning.” He notched his chin toward the wine bottle that sat half empty.

  He stepped in front of her, picking up her chin, her blue eyes blazing with power she would not be able to tap into.

  “We’ll call it hedging my bets. You get to have a nice, safe sleepover, and I get to assess the situation without interference.” He could plan for contingencies just as well as she could. “Moloch if you will follow Basileus, he will show you to a room. Afterwards you can bring me all of the information my sister has gathered on Levistus.” He ignored the pang of guilt at the Herald’s grief-stricken countenance.

  “Yes, highness. Though- there are countless tomes.” Moloch stammered, his voice hoarse.

  He settled a cold glare on the ancient demon, trying not to notice the similarities to the woman. “Then bring me the pertinent information.”

  “There was a reason my father didn’t act against Levistus, and I will not go into this blind.” Glasya came here to start a war, and he’d thwarted her, it wasn’t right for him to sit back and watch her attention turn to another. He was King and it was time for him to take up those reins.

  He turned to Basileus, put his hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. “You don’t want to play this game with me. You may be good, Bas, but I learned its rules at the knee of the one who fucking invented it.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  just make up my mind for me

  He leaned over the arm of his chaise, absently flipping through the pages of the large volume. Basileus lay over his lap, his knees up, propping up his own book. Occasionally, the fire crackled, breaking through the silence of the room. They’d been at it for most of the night, both dozing off in the books and getting right back into them when they’d woke.

  All he’d gathered was useless information, emotionally charged rants, amended notes that told Cassius how severely imbalanced Glasya was. Cold, calculating, and obviously viewing things from a set perspective.

  Any evidence she’d gathered was to the end of supporting her mindset, and Cass was left to wonder if she would even be capable of perceiving facts any other way. It was up to him to be objective.

  “What are you thinking?” Bas asked, flipping a large page.

  Cass forgot that the demon could sometimes pick up on emotions. He’d have to take more care in keeping a tight rein whenever he was around, which was constantly. Strange how that never bothered before, he had craved his attention- now it grated. For the moment Glasya’s visit provided him with an excuse for the growing unease he felt.

  He wasn’t a fool, had always suspected a conspiracy afoot, but for some inexplicable reason had never been able to envision Basileus playing a part in it. Perhaps because of the intimacy they shared.

  With the exception of orchestrating his father’s downfall, he had made the Prince of Pleasures privy to his every desire, every hope he held, and every trouble which plagued him. Not this time, not ever again.

  It felt as if he were tapping into an undercurrent, a reality revealed by the lifting of a veil.

  “Levistus really did kill his Glasya’s mother?” Keep the subject neutral.

  Bas shifted his legs, his book now laying flat and looked up at Cass. “The answer to that question depends on who you ask. Levistus has allies amongst the denizens of Hell who would like nothing better than to see him acquitted of that charge.”

  Had that been a deflection? “I’m asking you.”

  A lazy stretch followed, one that usually served to pull his focus to Bas’s chest and hips. Awareness surged. The beguiling prince was practicing his wiles by seducing him. And with that awareness came perception- not just seducing him, a distraction.

  “Levistus was arrogant and in love with Benzosia, wanted her for himself. Our queen consort was loyal to Asmodeus and rebuked the advances made by the Prince of Secrets, Benzosia’s refusal sent him into a jealous rage.

  "Your father was devastated at finding his most cherished possession, his queen, murdered in cold blood. Even then Asmodeus could not bring himself to kill Levistus, instead he sentenced him to spend eternity buried alive within the ice of the Stygia.”

  “My father is incapable of love.” Cass added, drumming his fingers across the pages of the book underhand.

  Bas turned to look up at the ceiling, pulling an arm behind his head, brushing all the way up the inside of Cass’s leg as he did it.

  “I am unsure why you would think that Cassius.” Bas ran a hand up his side and Cass’s whole body tensed. “The heavens created him to uphold justice and love unconditionally, it was circumstance that shaped him into being what he needed to be. He sacrificed himself - good can’t exist without evil, there is no Heaven without a Hell to balance it.”

  He grabbed Bas’s hand and held it still, those wandering fingers irritating Cass to the point his teeth were grinding, the veneer he wore cracking.

  “He didn’t love her, though. That’s all I meant Bas.” Cass glowered down at the other demon, shifting so that Bas’s arm wasn’t pressing directly against his semi-hard erection. “Meaning, perhaps Benzosia would have left my father for Levistus. To be truly loved above all else, could any demon aspire to anything greater?”

  Bas glowered, snatching his hand back. “That seems far-fetched and optimistic. We are demons. You’re attributing virtuous qualities to irredeemable beings.”

  “No one is irredeemable.” Cass said, squeezing his eyes closed.

  “Cassius,” Bas sat up, letting the book drop to the floor, before turning over to straddle his waist. “Whose redemption do you think one such as you needs?” Bas leaned over and gave him a rough kiss, “your power grows daily. You rule over the all the Nine Hells, one day you will need answer to none. Then you will understand that power is more satisfactory than love,” Bas’s hands gently cradled his face.

  Cass flinched back, his sexual hunger growing to the point where temptation to take Bas was overruling trepidation. His power was a weakness, one Bas knew how to exploit.

  “I think we should summon Levistus and let him speak for himself. So far, I’ve seen no evidence of him acting against me,” Cass said, re-routing the conversation back to less intimate grounds.

  “You think -you- can summon up Levistus?” Bas perked up, intent now on the book Cass had been paging through. “He’s remained trapped there for centuries.”

  “I can.” He said with an assurance he didn’t feel. His power was growing, he still had no concept of how much was available to tap into.

  “I want to see this.” Bas’s expression was lit up with humor, and behind that, Cass could see the gloating.

  He didn’t think Cass would be able to do it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  always, with the power plays

  “Thanks for your contribution, Bas.” Habit and guilt had Cass place a gentle kiss the inside of the other demon’s arm, where he had sliced straight across to make him bleed.

  No sense in Cass himself being witless with blood loss. Not when he had to summon forth one of his father’s former adversaries.

  Carpets pulled aside he drew on the stone floor of his private quarters, using Bas’s blood to detail the circle with Levistus’s summoning sigil. Already he could sense the power building, energy humming and icy cold as he closed th
e marking in an unbreakable circle.

  “You’re ready, my lord? The summoning circle needs to remain intact, Levistus has no love lost for your father.” Basileus spoke as he wrapped his arm in fresh bandages, the effort more for show since the cut would take little time to heal.

  Cass nodded. “Yes, well. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” He side-eyed the still smug Basileus, “you’re not even certain I can accomplish this.”

  Unlike the Prince of Pleasures, he didn’t question his own ability, his power to summon the Hells to him matched his father’s.

  Basileus held out his hand, gesturing to the complex sigil, “we won’t know until you try.”

  “I could have tried sooner if I’d been appraised of what Glasya’s intentions were.” He watched Bas’s expression close off, confirming he was right to be uneasy. “Seems my sister has been keeping more secrets than we are aware of.”

  He watched Bas sigh with relief. Awareness was a tricky thing, it tended to leave one with more questions than answers, and the need to discover the truth was growing more urgent.

  Amara had upon occasion referred to the Nessus as a viper’s nest, at the time had discarded the comment as simply a result of her sharp tongue and dislike for Basileus, he didn’t believe that to be the case any longer.

  The priestess knew things, secrets which she tended to keep to herself. No, if he was to unearth the nest and purge his house, then he would need to find the answers for himself.

  He held out his hands, calling up Levistus, power pouring into the summons- far more than he’d anticipated.

  It was considered in bad form for demons to summon one another, since they knew how uncomfortable it was to be the one on the inside, however, Cass wasn’t about to go searching the Stygia for Levistus. After he was stripped of titles he had vanished from the archives, no more than a side-note of his frozen grave to be found.

  With a wet thunk, a frost covered demon landed in the circle, curling into a ball, an anguished roar building up into a crescendo, echoing through the room as the demon uncurled.

  Cass looked over to Basileus, expecting some sort of explanation, but the demon just looked on with a self-satisfied smirk, lids hooded.

  “So.” Glasya entered the room with a regal sweep, eyes glued to the pathetic heap inside of the circle that was still moaning and whimpering.

  “Little Cassius managed to break one of the great Asmodeus’s spells.” She tittered, clapping her hands with glee. “Break the circle. Give him to me.”

  She barked the order to Bas, who made a move to step forward to obey her command.

  Again, awareness came to him. Slowly, but he did just expend a great deal of power, so his mush brain could be pardoned.

  Bas had volunteered his blood not to aid him, but to be in control over the summoning circle, he had unknowingly surrendered the power to free Levistus. Levistus had been caught up in one of his father’s spells, neither Glasya nor Basileus were powerful enough to break one of his father’s spells, Cassius was, and he had just played right into his sister’s hands.

  The puzzling warning his priestess had given on the day he had ascended his father’s throne boomed through him his sluggish thoughts. You must always keep one eye open when sleeping inside a viper’s nest, sin-eater.

  How had he failed to noticed Basileus conspiring with Glasya before? True he had been distracting himself with other things, but surely he would have noticed. Amara had known, she had tried to warn him, then why was he only just now beginning to see the extent of it for himself?

  The room shook around them as his anger built.

  “Make one move towards that circle, Basileus and I will chain you by the neck to a corner of my bedroom for the rest of eternity.”

  Basileus visibly swallowed, shooting a glance to Glasya before backing up against the wall.

  Cass turned on his sister, her chin was high, eyes gleaming with malice as she looked upon Levistus. Cass stepped toward her, capturing her attention, her expression faltering minutely.

  He took another step, forcing her to retreat. Then another, until her back was against the wall.

  “You used me. To break him free. Why?” Cass spoke lowly, trying to hide the absolute rage in his voice.

  “I couldn’t get to him.” She said, a slight tremble giving away her nervousness.

  He made her uneasy. Good.

  “You couldn’t get to him to kill him. You told me he was raising armies. Lies upon lies.” Cass pressed forward even more, their bodies nearly touching.

  Her breath hitched and sped up, the scent of her desire tauntingly familiar. Awkward, but Cassius oozed lust. He couldn’t help it, couldn’t hold back the infectiousness of it. It was his nature.

  “He was…is” She swallowed hard. “Telepathically. Through his Herald.”

  “And what threat is that to me?” He raised his hand and gripped her arm to hold her steady. “Armies with no command…” his mind was catching up. “To protect against you. He was left defenseless, merely sought protection— against you.”

  She pulled her arm from his grip, but he wouldn’t let her side-step him.

  “This is how the game is played, youngling.” She bared her teeth with a hiss, trying to shrink back from him. “He killed my mother. The only person I had I could trust. I am owed,” she gave a screech and tried to push back with her power.

  He took it all in. absorbed it as though it were his own.

  Her jaw dropped, fear shining in her eyes.

  Then she glared, and he braced himself. “You wouldn’t know about a bond with a mother, since yours sold you away like the mongrel mutt that you are.”

  He flinched anyway.

  He remembered his mother, but vaguely. Warm, fuzzed memories. Lies as well?

  “I know all about revisionist history, dear sister,” he snarled out. “And until this creature,” he swept out his hand in gesture towards the mewling heap, “can speak for himself, you will have none of my Legions. I am withdrawing my welcome. You are banished from my realm until I seek you out.”

  He closed his eyes and set the cast, effectively banishing his sister and any of her minions from the Sixth. From one moment to the next, she was gone from his sight.

  His hands still trembled with rage, and no outlet.

  Except.

  He turned to Bas. “You knew this. You helped her to plot against me, while knowing she allies with our father, who even as we speak is plotting my down downfall”

  He grabbed Basileus by the throat and pushed him against the wall. He was breathing heavily, had to take a moment to steady himself, resting his forehead to the stone above Bas’s shoulder.

  The putrid little shit had been gloating because he’d been setting Cass up for a fall.

  Bas’s hands came up, grasping for him, resting on either side of his face.

  “I did it for you, Cassius. You need to know…”

  Cass squeezed his hand tighter, cutting off the demon’s twisting words. Then dropped him, stepping back as Bas landed on the floor.

  “Break the circle and leave me.” Cass said evenly. Bas made no move to get up. “LEAVE MY SIGHT,” he shouted, and Bas scrambled to his feet, kicking at the line of blood until it was broken, then scurried from the room without looking back.

  Cass hauled the demon to his feet, soaked and looking bluish around the lips- still incoherent. He propped him up and walked him to the door, handing him off to two of the guards stationed there.

  “Put him in a cell. Come and get me when he reclaims his wits.” Cass said, then slammed the door.

  His mind was blank, yet racing, as he made his way back into his bedroom, slamming and locking the door before falling to his knees and digging his hands into his hair.

  He had no one on his side. No one he could fucking trust. He’d chosen the wrong pieces for his board and every fucking move that followed would never be right.

  “You’re letting them win.” His ghost was back, and he was beginning to fear
he was losing his mind completely. She’d never been sentient before.

  “I’m not. They tricked me. Played me a fool.” His head was ringing, the power of breaking that spell doubling back and overloading his synapses.

  “It’s your game. It always has been. You need to set the rules and stop playing by other’s expectations.”

  He shook his head. He didn’t like that she was angry with him.

  “It’s not a game to me.” he whispered out loud, to no one but the ghost in his mind. “It’s a fight to survive.”

  “Your compassion is a crutch” a new voice floated up from his memories, not his ghost, a male. “It’s holding you back. You need to let it go.”

  He shook his head harder. “No. no, it keeps me from becoming a monster. From becoming like him,” he shouted, jumping to his feet and swiping his arm across his dresser, knocking everything to the floor.

  “You’re not a monster,” his ghost whispered soothingly. “If you were a monster, how could I love you this much?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  someone? anyone?

  He turned the red rubber ball in his hands. A remnant of someone’s childhood. He’d found it in an alley by his apartment in the mortal realm, collected it and brought it back to his room here. The sight of it made him yearn for something indefinable.

  He tilted the wooden chair back on two legs, his body nearly stretching the width of the narrow hall. The main dungeons of the Nessus weren’t part of his fortress as a whole, maze like halls attached them, but they’d never got modern upgrades the rest of the Malsheem had been treated to. The halls were still lit with enclosed flame, shadows and dim light played against the wall, the surrounding stone absorbing any traveling sound.

  Except the bouncing of the ball. That echoed nicely. Gave him something to listen to other than his own thoughts.

  He tossed it again. Bounce from the floor, against the wall, back to his hand. Thump- thud- smack. The motion became monotonous, reflex, and he lost himself in the sound.