The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit)

by Nelson Chereta

  The rest of her remained as lovely as always, but in just a matter of seconds she had revealed herself for what she truly was.

  “Monster!” Someone screamed.

  In an instant the crowd that had been so angry and hostile was shoving and trampling each other as every one of them tried to run from her. Those who were too slow to move were pushed down and run over. They were all screaming for help.

  She recognized many of them. Men who’d flirted with her and paid her all sorts of unwanted attention. Just one look at the truth set them fleeing in blind panic.

  Slapping her wings down she launched herself into the air. This was the first time in her life she’d ever released her true form. She’d never once dared to, not even when she’d run away. The fear of being discovered had always been too strong to overcome. Now though, the only thing she could think of was trying to save Waldo. Everything else was tossed aside.

  To her immense relief she discovered that all of her natural instincts made flying as easy as walking. She flew high into the air as swiftly and gracefully as a hawk. The feeling of it, of defying gravity and rising up into the sky, was exhilarating. She didn’t have time to appreciate it though.

  Shifting her wings she swung over the river and looked straight down searching for him.

  All she could see though was the light shining off the water.

  Somehow though she knew where he was. Ever since he’d given her that magical kiss she’d had a sense of him in the back of her head. When she’d been up in her room she had been certain of the exact spot he was downstairs. She didn’t know what this was exactly, but she took it as a gift from him. A way to make sure they were never parted.

  Pulling her wings in she dived down towards the water.

  XXX

  He stopped flailing.

  It was useless. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. He wondered if when his brothers and sisters had died if it had been like this. Had their deaths also come as such surprises? Had they also thought about the sheer unfairness of it? He had never thought to ask Walter or Gwen.

  It didn’t look like he’d get the chance to now.

  Well maybe mom will bring him back as a spirit or something. She wouldn’t get to recover his body so being a zombie was out.

  Good, he thought. I’d hate to end up like Walter.

  His lungs were aching and he was about at his limit. He wondered if drowning would at least be quick.

  He was still staring up at a watery blue above him. He thought he saw a winged figure coming. Despite his impending death he wanted to laugh. An angel coming for me? Figures I managed to screw up even this.

  He’d failed to notice the sense of Alice approaching him.

  Just before she hit the water Alice pulled her wings in completely and stretched out her arms. She hit the water in an almost perfect dive.

  Her eyes spotted him and she kicked her legs and swam over to where he was. She could see him turn his face to her and was relieved that he was still alive. He was almost all the way to the bottom. His robes and his pack were pulling him down.

  With her powerful body she was able to swim right down to him.

  Waldo got a good clear look at her. He saw the horns and the folded up wings and the whip like tail. He recognized what she was.

  Succubus.

  Her left hand grabbed tight about his collar and her right rose up, claws ready to strike.

  She’s going to kill me? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to let me drown?

  Her right hand slashed down. Once, twice, three times in quick succession. Just that quick Waldo felt the weight pulling at him vanish. Both her arms wrapped around him and they were rising to the surface.

  He held his breath to the very last second and then opened his mouth when he just couldn’t hold it any longer.

  He coughed and choked, and gratefully breathed in the air.

  Chapter 9

  I Can See You’re Happy

  When they broke the river’s surface Alice heard him gasp and choke.

  “Darling! Are you all right?”

  Waldo needed a minute just to breathe and fill his lungs. “I’m… fine.” He managed between gasps as he coughed up water. Alice was holding onto him tight as they were being swept downriver.

  “Hold on to me and I will get us to shore.” Keeping one arm around his chest Alice used her legs and other arm to fight against the current and push them towards land.

  Having no idea how to swim, and having just nearly drowned, Waldo wrapped both arms around her waist and held on tightly as she pulled him along. Through their new bond he could sense that she was worried for him. She had rescued him because she genuinely wanted to.

  That wasn’t how it normally went.

  He knew most familiars would have been happy to just stand by and watch as their master died. A contract prevented a monster from physically harming a master, but if there was no direct order to help they were free to just allow things to happen. With the master’s death the contract was dissolved and they were free.

  Alice could have just let him drown and then walked away able to do anything she liked. Instead she had saved him, of her own free will.

  I guess I’m lucky she’s so odd.

  XXX

  Alice finally got them to the muddy shore. She dragged him out of the water and carefully set him down. Still breathing hard Waldo just lay there, staring up at her.

  “Are you really all right darling?”

  Waldo found it strange to hear concern from anyone other than his mother or Gwen. “I’m fine,” he reassured her. He then said something he’d never expected to say to a servant. “Thank you for saving me Alice.”

  His brought a wide smile to her face. She hugged herself and began to twist from side to side. “You are more than welcome. I’m your wife after all. Just knowing you are all right makes me really happy.”

  “I can tell.”

  “Really?”

  Waldo nodded. “I can sense your emotions through our bond. Also your tail is wagging.”

  “What?” Alice looked behind herself. Sure enough her three foot long tail was wagging just like a dog’s might. Not knowing how to make it stop she grabbed onto it with both hands and spun herself around a little.

  Seeing Alice literally chasing her own tail Waldo couldn’t keep from chuckling.

  Alice looked back at him mortified, while still holding on to her tail and being bent around. “Don’t laugh at me! It’s not funny! Why do I even have a tail?”

  “It’s just a part of normal succubus physiology, there’s nothing unusual about it. Your tail is as natural as your wings or claws or horns.”

  Alice let go of her tail and stood there with a look of disbelief.

  “What?”

  There was a puddle of still water near her. Alice looked straight down into it so that she could see her reflection. “I have horns!!!” She put her hands to her head and tried to cover them up.

  “What’s wrong?” Waldo could feel her distress in the back of his mind. He could not read her thoughts or feel everything she felt, but strong emotions were easy to pick up.

  “What’s wrong? I’m... I’m… ugly!” She quickly turned her back to him. “I look hideous!”

  Waldo noticed her tail was now drooping and lifeless.

  “No man would ever want to be with someone as repulsive as me!”

  “You’re acting like you’re surprised by how you look.”

  “I am! Before today I’d never taken on my true form. I was always afraid to. But when I saw you in danger I didn’t think about it. Now that you see what I really am you must be disgusted. You probably don’t even want to touch.”

  Waldo sat up and stared at her back. I wonder if this is because she is a succubus or because she’s a woman. He knew how a proper Dark Mage would deal with a situation like this. A typical master would order his familiar to stop behaving so foolishly. The relationship between master and servant was based on
authority and obedience. A Dark Mage didn’t waste time dealing with his familiar’s emotions.

  For some reason though Waldo could not bring himself to be so harsh to her. She had just saved his life, and even if she was just his familiar, he didn’t think it would be proper to simply order her to behave.

  He got up and walked over to her, not sure what he was going to do.

  On instinct he put his arms around her back and embraced her. Her folded up wings pressed into his chest and he could feel her tremble.

  “What are you doing?”

  Not knowing what the right response was he just said the first thing that came to mind. “I think you’re beautiful, like this or in your human form.”

  XXX

  Alice normally hated being touched by men, but his arms felt comforting. How did he know just the right thing to say? She slowly leaned back against him. She liked the warmth of him, the feel of his body pressed against hers.

  “Do you really mean that?” Alice asked in a small voice. “You don’t think I’m ugly?”

  “No, you’re lovely no matter what form you are in.”

  “Th… thank you. It makes me happy to hear you say that.”

  “I know, your tail is starting to wag again.”

  “Aaaah! Don’t tell me that! It’s so embarrassing!”

  Waldo just couldn’t keep himself from laughing.

  Chapter 10

  A Surprising Question

  When Waldo eventually stopped laughing Alice was able to calm herself.

  “I don’t even know how I changed. It all just sort of happened.” She was staring at her claws. “I don’t know how to turn back.”

  “It shouldn’t be hard. Enver would transform automatically with sunrise or sunset, but he could also change forms just by concentrating.”

  “Who is Enver?”

  “He’s a vampire who serves my mother.”

  “Your family has a vampire? Really?”

  Waldo felt a certain pride. “My family has all sorts of monsters and undead as both members and servants.”

  Alice shook her head slightly. “You come from a really strange place don’t you darling?”

  “No, where I come from is normal, it’s this place that is strange. Anyway, just concentrate on how you want to appear and you should change back to your human form.”

  “Just concentrate?”

  “Try it, relax and think of your original self.”

  XXX

  Not having anything to lose Alice shut her eyes and tried to picture the way she normally looked. After a moment she felt a slight ache creep over her skin and muscles. Her wings collapsed inwards and melded into her back. Her tail seemed to be reeled in until it vanished from sight. Her horns and claws turned to a powdery dust and were blown away. In less than a minute she was back to looking human.

  Opening her eyes Alice saw her fingernails were back to normal. She patted the side of her head and then looked behind her. She gave a relieved sigh and turned her attention appreciatively back to Waldo.

  “Thank you darling, I was really afraid I wouldn’t be able to change back. How did you know what to do?”

  “I’m a member of the Corpselover family. I have had an extensive education on many subjects, but I am particularly knowledgeable in the fields of monsters, magic, and the undead. I likely know more about succubi than you do.”

  “Well since I don’t know a thing you probably do. I mean except for being an embodiment of lust and all that. Elsa made sure I knew that much.”

  “Well actually, something you may not realize is that succubi are a… a…”

  “A?”

  “Aachoo!” Waldo sneezed. “Excuse…” he sneezed twice more. “Ah excuse me.” He rubbed his nose.

  “Oh! We need to start a fire and dry these wet clothes or we’ll both come down with a cold!”

  “We shouldn’t really need to. It’s a warm summer day and the horrible ball of fire is hanging above us.”

  Alice blinked. He certainly has his own way of talking. “I know the sun is out darling and that it’s warm, but we’re both soaked to the bone and our clothes are wet. Getting a chill is nothing to take lightly. I’ll get a fire started.”

  XXX

  The river had swept them a good distance from Stratford and there didn’t seem to be any farms or homes nearby. They were stuck in the middle of a forest by the river’s edge. Alice began to gather up from dried leaves and grass for tinder. She then stacked up fallen branches and sticks around them. She then took two sticks and began to rub them together.

  “I used to take care of the kitchen fires all the time,” she explained. “But I would always have a fire already lit.” She rubbed the sticks together furiously. “I think this is the way to do it though.”

  “Here, let me.” Waldo knelt down beside her. “Pyro.”

  A small flame came to life on the tip of his index finger. Waldo touched the tinder and kindling and the fire caught.

  “That’s amazing!”

  “Not really.” Waldo negated the spell and the fire vanished from his finger tip. “Even with my spellbook there were a lot of spells I couldn’t manage. All I have are the ones that are memorized.”

  “It’s still amazing, I mean you can do magic. What else can you do?”

  “Right now? I could create fire, levitate a book, cast a detection spell, repel the undead, heal someone, and I know a number of wards and trap spells. It’s not much.”

  “What do you mean? Don’t you know how amazing that is? How many people can use magic? It’s like something right out of a story. That you can do so much without a spellbook only proves how talented you are. I can already tell you are going to do incredible things and I am glad that I will be there to help.”

  “Thank you Alice, I hope I can live up to your expectations.” Thanking a servant twice in one day. Will wonders never cease?

  “You’re welcome.” She glanced at the camp fire that was now burning well. “Please take off all your clothes now.”

  “Huh?”

  Staring at the fire she began to tug at some of her hair. “We both need to take our clothes off to let them dry.”

  “I see, well I suppose that does make sense.”

  “But you have to keep your back to me! I mean, I know we’re married, but I want to wait until my heart is ready. You don’t mind do you? You said you would wait.”

  Waldo wondered if now would be a good time to tell her about the half-naked sex slaves that were just part of the scenery in Castle Corpselover, or about the things that happened on the Summer and Winter Solstice. Or about the fact that with her blouse wet he could make out the exact shape of her breasts.

  He decided to save all that for another day.

  Turning his back to her he began undressing. “No, I don’t mind.”

  Alice stood there silently watching as he took off his shirt, then his boots and socks, and finally trousers and small clothes. Though she had grown up at the Inn and Elsa had done everything in her power to turn her into a soiled dove this was actually the first time Alice had laid eyes on a naked man.

  Unlike most of the big burly folk she was used to, Waldo was scrawny. He had pasty white skin and arms and legs that were sticks. He had delicate hands that were the opposite of the beefy paws she was used to. Alice thought he was cute and adorable.

  She especially liked his tight little ass.

  Her face blushed as she felt the sudden urge to clutch and squeeze with both hands. What would he say if he knew what she was thinking right now?

  “So are you going to grab these?” Waldo asked.

  “What?”

  “My wet clothes.” He held them out with one hand while keeping his back to her. “Do I give them to you or do I put them by the fire myself?”

  “Ah, I’ll take them darling.” Feeling embarrassed she took his clothes then quickly removed her own. She spaced them by the fire so they would dry as quickly as possible.

  They both wound up sitti
ng down in the grass with their backs to each other as they waited.

  “I hope you’re not feeling ashamed because I’ve seen you in your skin.”

  “Not really,” Waldo told her. “My family doesn’t have any issue with nudity.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, why are you and your family so open minded? I mean is it because you’re mages or because you come from another country? I’ve known some noble bloods and I can tell you they are really traditional about things. They expect everything to be a certain way and won’t put up with anything else. Why are you so different?”