Forgotten Fates

by S J Doran

  He didn’t say anything, his mouth softened into a frown, he slid over and unfurled his wing and Cass climbed in and lay on it, letting down his guard for the first time in what felt like ages.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  granting the gods strength

  With even pace she moved for the portal which was only hers to use, it’s doors wouldn’t open to any but those carrying the imprint of the high priestess. Not by her design, it had simply been this way since the creation of their realm. For it led to the Zigurat e’zagmi, the Inner Sanctum.

  Here, the essence of Asurim was housed and guarded, that sliver of magic taken from chaos, its primordial energy once powerful enough to sustain their realm and race.

  It had been a gift of the God Anu to Amara’s grandfather, the first warlock created from the mind of mortal men within ancient Sumeria. It had bestowed upon them the ability to wield dark magic, and from it her grandfather had created Asurim, charging his descendants with the care over both realm and its essence.

  Her grandfather had long since joined Anu, both God and warlock having faded into the ether after having been forgotten by the very same beings who once created them. The imagination and faith of mortal men made their feeble race the most powerful one in all the realms, and they didn’t even realize it.

  Heaven, Hell, and even the gods themselves were left at their mercy, for they all required faith to exist. It was fear, love and worship which kept them from the fading into non-existence. Yet mankind was fickler than even the gods they had created, and soon all had been abandoned and forgotten. Or so their fate would be, if not for Amara’s intervention.

  But her devotion did not come freely. Glorification restored divinity, with divinity came power, energy which could be harvested and poured back into Asurim. That was the price she demanded in payment from all the gods. All, save two.

  With care she lit the candles placed meticulously upon the altar of her private shrine. He had forgotten them, so she made sure to remember them for him.

  “Hail Inanna, queen amongst the Ethers,

  Accept this gift of light in honor of your radiance.

  May your power burn as brightly as the sun.

  To you I bow great Inanna, as I whisper your name to the winds

  for them to carry it beyond the realms and into eternity.”

  Steady fingers lit the dried herbs within the bowl. The scent of sage, dragon’s blood and eucalyptus filling the Inner sanctum as the plumes of smoke rose upward.

  “Hail Avrogale, mother amongst the Ethers.

  Accept this gift of essence in honor of your strength.

  May your power glow as luminous as the moon.

  To you I bow, great Avrogale, as I whisper your name to the waters.

  For them to carry it beyond the realms and into eternity.”

  She had called out to them often, they had never answered her. Perhaps she had performed the rites incorrectly and her prayers never reached them. Or perhaps she had been too late, and the fade had already claimed both goddesses.

  Even if she never heard from them, she would continue her prayers.

  The sin- eater had forgotten, but she would always remember the stories about his mother, his grandmother. And she would always remember him.

  Amara remained kneeled before the altar even long after the candles had extinguished and the last of the herbs had burned away.

  “Hail Cassius, lost prince of the ethers….

  As I give you my hand to hold

  So I give you my life to keep.

  To love faithfully through the best and the worst.

  Blood of my blood, and bone of my bone...”

  And there she stayed until the dawn approached, remembering him from the shadows. Ensuring the fade would never find her demon.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  might leave a mark

  She was hot and pulsing around his fingers, her juices trailing into the palm of his hand. Her moans were raspy by this point, it was the third orgasm he’d wrung from her.

  Anger still burned hot, kept alive by memories that slammed into him every time he let down his guard.

  Taking it out on the pretty Leira eased him. He was comfortable here.

  “Can’t... no more.” She moaned, her body limp.

  But she could. Her flesh was so swollen with need, it wouldn’t take much to bring her up again.

  He took out his fingers, tapping one on her bottom lip.

  “Take it.” He groaned when her tongue met the tip of his finger. “You’re going to take what I give you until I say it’s enough.”

  Her lips wrapped around his finger, tongue circling it, licking it clean, her silver eyes defiantly watching his. He groaned deep in his chest, his hand, sticky with her juices, moved down her neck to cup her breast, his mouth crashing onto hers.

  She broke off the kiss, panting against his mouth as her hand traveled down his chest and wrapped around his erection. With determination shining bright, she pushed at his shoulder and tugged at his cock, forcing him onto his back.

  She gave him a blinding smile, and climbed over his waist, her wings unfurling as she lowered her head. Hells and he loved those wings-

  He reached out to feel the velvety softness, choking out a gasp as she sucked him into her mouth with no warning. No prelude, or niceties… his hips shot up, his hand weaving through her hair.

  That was it then, he was going to get no mercy-

  Her untutored enthusiasm had his stomach muscles clenching, his release hovering around the peripheries. Her hand gripped him hard, her mouth taking him in until her lips met her fist and he was snug against the back of her throat.

  She was determined- and he tried to relax and give into her ministrations…

  “Cass I…” Jez swept into the room, frustration oozing from him. “Shit. Oh- sorry.” He started backing into his own room.

  Cass gripped Leira’s hair tighter when she made signs of stopping. She couldn’t stop now-

  “Just give me a bit Jez.” Cass said, dismissing the red-faced angel.

  Leira bit down, just enough that Cass eased his hand to let her up.

  “I don’t think I actually do make you lose your mind, do I?” Her eyes blazed with ire.

  His mind wasn’t his to lose.

  “Keep going,” Cass rasped out. “I was close.”

  Doubt shone in her eyes, but her pretty pink tongue ran across the tip of him. he cupped the back of her head again, encouraging her into a rhythm, focusing on his release.

  He could still taste her on his lips, still craved more- her lust was thick and heavy in the room and he was satiated to the point of laziness. More than happy to let her finish him off with her mouth-

  “Just going to the shower, not seeing anything!” Jez called out, his air of frustration replaced with embarrassed amusement.

  White hot pain tore down Cass’s side, trailing in the wake of Leira’s claws as they tore through his flesh, down through layers of muscle. His mind went blank, the shockwave of pain stealing his breath, his hand fisting in her hair, pushing her head down and ramming his cock down her throat as he came with hot spasms of ecstasy blended with agony- the sweet relief of mindlessness.

  He let out a hoarse groan, rocking into her mouth, waves of his orgasm still rippling through his body.

  When his thoughts re-composed, anger started buzzing. He lifted Leira off him, the pleased smile on her sated face notching the anger up even more. Without a word he climbed out of the bed and slammed into the bathroom, ignoring Jez’s shouts and dropping bottles.

  He turned to look at his side in the mirror, the pain blazing, but he couldn’t see all the damage, it was the wrong angle. He could see inside some of the gouges, and fucking hated how much he’d enjoyed that. Hated that part of himself.

  He opened doors, hissing with each movement of his arm, blood running down his entire side- damn it he knew he had bandages here. Jez stepped up behind him pressing him up against the wall, gasping when he
got a full view of Cass’s side.

  “What the fuck, Cass?” Jez lifted his arm to get a better look at the deep scratches.

  “I think …she was startled?” Cass said, trying to gather his thoughts. His mind was still floating with euphoria.

  Jez pushed him into the still running shower. “Wash. You smell like you bathed in her sex.”

  Cass turned his head back to smirk at the angel, whose expression was dark.

  “Wash off those cuts.” Jez said, his jaw ticking. “I’m going to go… send her on her way. Then I’ll get that fixed up for you.”

  He gingerly washed the area, his body starting to quake as the adrenaline washed out, nausea churning up as his head grew light.

  He didn’t remember sitting down, but there was Jez, pulling him up to his feet once more. He stood there in silence, letting Jez towel him off and wrap him up in gauze and tape, then followed him when Jez grabbed his arm and led him back to the bedroom. Jez’s bedroom.

  Cass lay on the bed, throwing an arm over his face, and Jez sat beside him, propped against the headboard.

  “Mephistopheles has agreed to your visit.” Jez said, voice devoid of emotion. “He has terms. Ridiculous ones. But Levistus and I will be allowed to join you.”

  Cass nodded, not sure he wanted to know all the terms.

  “He’s been an uncertain ally of my father’s since beginning times.”

  “He’s …odd.” Jez said, pulling Cass closer. “Are you certain that was accidental?” His hand brushed up Cass’s side to the bottom of the bandages.

  Cass closed his eyes and dropped his arm. It had been- just a fluke.

  “She doesn’t know- well, she does now,” he swallowed, trying to get moisture back into his throat. “That I …like…that.”

  “Do you then.” Jez looked down at him, anger bright in his eyes, “cause I didn’t get that you liked it. From where I stood, you looked wrecked.”

  “Had worse,” Cass said with a shrug, “it just caught me off guard.”

  Jez growled so softly, Cass might have been mistaken that he did at all. He slid down the bed, laying on his side to face Cass, pulling Cass’s head onto his shoulder as they faced each other.

  A knock sounded at the door and Cass stiffened, his body strung taut with adrenaline. Jez moved off the bed and made his way to the door, glancing over his shoulder with a look of concern before swinging it open to an angry looking Levistus.

  He swept past Jez, his eyes immediately drawn to the bandages up Cass’s side.

  “That happen during the ceremony?” Levistus asked, moving to the desk to fix himself a drink, giving it a careful sniff before slugging it back in one toss.

  Cass sat up, Jez settling beside him, keeping him propped up. Hells and he was done. Adrenaline spent, his body felt boneless.

  “Nope.” He answered Levistus, growing concerned when his advisor refilled his glass for the third time. “Fresh wounds. Why would you think I’d return injured from a fertility rite?”

  Levistus turned and pinned him with an intense glare, saying nothing for long enough to make things uncomfortable.

  “Were you with her?”

  Cass preferred the discomfort of his silence.

  A fresh wave of pain knocked the breath from his lungs, and Jez’s arm wrapping around his shoulder told him it wasn’t imaginary.

  “No.” His voice cracked, he stopped talking.

  “What did you want?” Jez asked Levistus with an exasperated sigh. “He needs rest.”

  Levistus bared his fangs, his obsidian eyes flaring silver. “I need to know who she was with.”

  Jealousy hit Cass so fierce it caused bile to rise in his throat. What fucking business of it was his anyway?

  “She didn’t want me.” Cass snarled with rage bubbling up from the pit of his soul. “She won’t want you. Her and the Fae King seem to be working things out.” His throat went completely dry, choking off any other words that tried to spew out.

  Levistus shoved a drink in his hand. “Drink.” He turned to Jez and made a jerking motion with his head towards the door.

  Cass drank down his port and felt more than the burn of alcohol. He’d laced it with something.

  His eyes wouldn’t stay open, his body slumping onto his pillows in a heap. Sleeping potion? His ears rang, he floated in surreal languor, Jez and Levistus’s conversation floating back to him like a dream.

  “Namtar was there.” Levistus sounded less angry and more concerned.

  Dreaming.

  Always of you-

  “How we are supposed to save him from himself…” Jez sounded angry too. “...mind is a mess.”

  “...death god… finding a way out…”

  “When we’re free, no one will use us again.” Her fingers wrapped through his, clinging tight with reassurance.

  “My soul til our lives should be done.”

  “Just sleep Cass.” Jez was back, wrapping an arm and a wing over him. “Sleep easy. I’ll listen out tonight, so you can just sleep.”

  He wouldn’t have to worry about him sneaking into his room tonight. He had a guardian angel.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  and the monsters, they were beautiful

  A great hulking beast sat upon Mephistopheles’s throne, upon a dais that sat high enough to overlook every corner of the cavernous room. Red skinned, bulbous horns, with an expression that spoke of fathomless depths of ennui. If a beast could be endowed with emotion, that is.

  Its black eyes gleamed with curiosity as Cassius approached, followed by Jez at his left and Levistus at his right, all of them dressed impeccably in suits, as per one of the meeting requirements. The beast didn’t sit up, merely tapping its fingers across the arm of the seat.

  The throne room was otherwise empty, the lush red carpet leading up to the throne clear of petitioners, unusual for a ruler in the Hells. Cass’s own throne room was never without armed soldiers, wayward demons seeking assistance, seeking favor… always in need.

  They stopped at the bottom step of the formidable dais, Cass giving the creature a brief nod of acknowledgement. He wasn’t about to show subservience. Even if nerves were eating him up inside.

  “I’d wondered,” the beast spoke with a deep rasp, one that made hairs stand up on the back of Cass’s neck. Dark promises and smooth seduction. “What sort of creature would come out of Asmodeus breeding with the descendant of Inanna. You do not disappoint.” The creature stared at Cass’s chest, as though it could see parts of him that he’d never admit to.

  He could feel Jez’s emotions, so loud they were screaming in his head. Disgust. Rage. Sorrow.

  “I’d wondered if I’d met you before.” Cass said, easing back so he didn’t have to continue looking up. He wondered if this beast was Mephistopheles. The first fallen angel, Lucifer himself.

  Pointed white teeth gleamed in the semblance of a smile, “and what desperation drives you to seek my lowly assistance?”

  And so it was. It took everything Cass had to school his features and hide his shock.

  “You guard the only gate to the Nessus. Is it not reasonable that I ensure it stands secure?” Cass said, catching the arrogance in his tone a tad too late.

  The creature did sit up at that. Swiftly and with menace.

  “Are you casting doubt, spawn of Asmodeus?” The beast stood, forcing Cass to look up once again.

  Cass shifted his feet, widening his stance protectively, Jez humming with pent up energy, Levistus the only one of them at ease.

  “Do you expect me to blindly have faith?” Cass scoffed. The very thing you fought against- he wanted to add, but managed to restrain himself. Allies. He needed allies, not to piss off one of the most powerful of the Arch-Deacons.

  The creature smiled again in that odd, disarming manner. Then laughed. Softly at first, turning into a booming chuckle.

  “You are an arrogant bastard.” Mephistopheles said, humor still glinting in his eyes, “brash and disrespectful. I like it. Much more s
traightforward than dealing with your sire.”

  Cass let out the breath he was holding. “Will you have talks with us then?”

  The creature inclined his head and moved down the steps of the dais. “I agreed, did I not? I don’t go back on my word. Bad for business, that.”

  “I just came,” Cass’s words were cut off when Mephistopheles raised his hand in a slicing motion, gesturing around the room.

  “We’ll take this into my private rooms.” The beast said, motioning them to follow.

  Cass finally took a good look around, he hadn’t noticed the damned souls decorating the walls, or the ones holding up tables- the damned furniture was made up of the damned…

  A few steps into the hall and the beast melted down into a man. The horns gone, the skin gleaming golden, heavy black wings flashing briefly at his back before they too disappeared.

  The man that now walked in front of them was dressed in a tailored suit with a top hat and walking cane- much like the one Asmodeus kept his Ruby Rod sheathed in- and had a blinding beauty that put even Basileus to shame.

  Cass wasn’t sure which was the glamour.

  He offered them seats at a large table in a room with two walls made of windows. The windows let in the orange glow of the pits, making the dark walls gleam. The chairs were comfortable- a little too comfortable to be dealing business from. Hard to say sharp when you were too relaxed.

  Fortunately, not a problem for Cass. He was so keyed up from his own nerves and Jez’s chaotic emotions.

  Mephistopheles studied him, his eyes kept snagging on his chest as though he were trying to get a good look but pretending he wasn’t. All in all, he was being obvious about studying Cass. They sat in silence with nothing to occupy them, each lost in their own thoughts. Cass left wondering was what the hell the demon was thinking.