by A. H. Lee
The panther grunted and yawned. “Did I fall asleep during the story?”
“You always do.”
“I’m sure I wouldn’t if there were more demons.”
Azrael was fishing something out of his coat that lay beside him. “The two of you can watch or go do something romantic elsewhere. The town is pleasant, and the woods are also quite nice. Meet me back here by sunset. A plague of wolves sweeps down on our heroes tonight from over this ridge. It’s not a good place to be in the book.”
“Whatever you say, Boss.”
“Also, I need to use some of your magic.” Azrael looked at Mal almost apologetically. “I’ll give it back when I’m done.”
“Is this you asking permission?” said Mal with mock wonder. “I’ve never seen that before!”
“This is me asking you to stick around and give me some focus for a few minutes. After that, I should be able to keep the spells going on my own.”
Jessica had taken off her boots. The grass was long and soft and completely without insects or prickly plants. She stood beside Mal and watched as Azrael held up something that looked like an old, weathered bone. He pulled out a little knife and pricked his thumb, then rubbed a smear of blood across the bone. He began to hum, low in his throat, a look of intense concentration on his face.
“What is it?” whispered Jessica to Mal.
“A tooth,” Mal whispered back.
“Really?” It was longer than Azrael’s fingers.
Mal nodded. “And I bet I know what it’s from.”
Swirling lines were forming in the air around the tooth. Azrael said a word that Jessica couldn’t understand. It seemed to fall out of her head the moment she heard it, and yet the word resonated in the air like music. Azrael let go of the tooth, and it hung there as an enormous skull took shape around it. The lines were iridescent blue, the same color as the wards she’d seen on his skin.
Azrael murmured another word that rang softly. Mal leaned forward, eyes narrow, quiet and focused. Vertebrae began to drop out of the air one by one behind the skull. Enormous scapulae appeared at the shoulders, and the bones of the legs dropped down beneath them. Monstrously long claws sprang from the front feet. At the back end, hip bones formed, the hind legs descended, and the final vertebrae curled into a stubby tail.
Jessica watched in fascination.
Azrael said another word—all liquid syllables, and the bones seemed to grow more solid, less blue, more white. At the same time, paler blue lines traced the shape of muscle and sinew over the bones.
“What is it?” whispered Jessica. “What’s he making?”
Without taking his eyes from his master’s creation, Mal said, “A giant frost bear.”
“Why?”
Mal shook his head as though he needed to concentrate.
The bones, now white, were disappearing under muscle that was turning red. Meanwhile, the blue lines of raw magic began to trace skin and shaggy fur. When Azrael had finished, a snub-nosed bear the size of a carriage stood in the meadow, its fur pale brown and frosted with white. Azrael turned to Mal and said, “Thank you; that will do.”
Mal grinned and stretched out on his belly as though he had no intention of going anywhere. “Now this is a show I will stay awake to watch. Please tell me you’re going to recreate the part where it nearly rips your heart out.”
Jessica finally understood. “That’s what attacked you?” The bear had claws like kitchen knives.
“A necromancer’s bound shade of a bear like this,” said Azrael. “It’s an extinct species, brought to life from bone memory—a mindless monster operating on simple directives, a kind of golem. Only it’s got a piece of me in it, which means it has particular power to harm me.”
“How did that happen?” asked Jessica, before she realized she was being impertinent. He invited me here to spend time with Mal, not interrogate him about his business.
But Azrael said only, “I’m still trying to figure that out.” He was walking around the immobile bear, scattering what looked like salt from a little bag. “This part is likely to be tedious, but you’re welcome to stay if you wish.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “Mal, you can take whatever shape you want until sunset.”
“He has recreated the thing that hurt him,” said Mal to Jessica, “and now he’s going to test defenses on it until he figures out how to protect himself. He’ll be at this all afternoon. Come on.”
They walked away slowly, heading towards the scattered trees at the edge of the meadow. Jessica looked back now and then to see Azrael still busy around the bear. She thought again of that tableau on the edge of the cliff—Mal flickering, Azrael lit up with wards.
“You’re not going to kill him,” said Jessica quietly. “You love him.”
“I’m going to eat him up,” said Mal. But he spoke in a flat voice, almost as though he were agreeing with her.
“There has to be another way.”
“It’s the strongest imperative of a summoned entity. Devour your summoner so that you can go home. If he didn’t want to be eaten, he should have sent me home a long time ago.”
Jessica shook her head. “Sometimes you have to act against your own instincts in order to be happy.”
“Humans do that,” said Mal. “Demons do not.” He hesitated. “At least not astral demons.”
“I thought you wanted to be treated like a person.”
There was a roar behind them, so loud that Mal’s back arched and he spun around with all his fur standing up. Jessica’s heart gave a squeeze as she turned. The bear had reared on its hind legs. Azrael was standing right in front of it. He raised his hand and said a word that rang like a bell. A golden net dropped down onto the bear, but the creature shredded it in a couple of strokes and lashed at him. Azrael jumped back, narrowly avoiding a recreation of the scene Mal had requested. The bear charged, but came up against some sort of invisible barrier—the salt ring, Jessica guessed. Azrael turned away from it and began calmly making notes in a little book, while the bear raged and flung itself at the barrier two paces behind him.
Jessica was still trembling, and Mal had a ridge of fur along his back. “Will he really find a way to manage that thing?” asked Jessica.
“Yes.” Mal turned back towards the trees. After a moment, he added, “I said I was going to kill him. I never said he wasn’t amazing.”
Jessica bit her lip. “Mal…I know you don’t want to hear this, but I feel I really must tell Azrael about me.”
Mal looked at her in alarm. “Jessica, no!”
“Mal, yes! The more time I spend around Azrael, the more confident I am that he will not do anything unnecessary or unkind. In fact, he may tell me things about myself that I need to know.”
“I can—!” began Mal.
“You are an astral demon!” interrupted Jessica. “You’re not an earth-born demon, Mal; you don’t know everything about me!” And I don’t know everything about you. Not half of it. She took a quick breath. “Your experience will not be my experience. Besides, I suspect that you are trying to use me somehow to get free. I want you to be free, Mal, but I don’t want you to kill Azrael!”
Mal’s eyes darted back and forth. “Alright, alright. How about this: if you get me loose, I won’t kill him.”
Jessica stared. For the first time since they’d met, Mal actually seemed like a demon to her—sly, calculating, and utterly inhuman. “Mal.” Her voice came out in a whisper. “You can’t…can’t do this to me, can’t put me in this position. It’s not fair. It’s cruel.”
But his eyes were implacable—sharp and green as poison. “If I get myself loose, he dies. And I will, Jessica. With or without you. Tomorrow or decades from now, I’ll do it. Demons always get loose eventually.”
Jessica felt betrayed. She felt lightheaded with anger.
“I don’t know what he will do if you tell him,” continued Mal before she could speak, “but I am absolutely certain that he will not allow you and me to meet ever again.�
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Jessica could feel tears threatening. We shouldn’t meet ever again. You are not a good person. Why didn’t I believe you when you told me?
Mal was still speaking. “You asked me once if demons could fall in love. I still don’t know. So I’ll give you this: Malcharius Thardarian Vi’aesha Charn.” The liquid syllables rolled off his tongue like one of Azrael’s spells, but unlike a spell, the words stuck in Jessica’s head. In spite of their strangeness, she knew that she would not forget them, could not forget them.
“My name,” said Mal, his voice gone soft and rough, “before you walk away…because I can tell you’re about to. Take it. You can use it to hurt me or bind me or kill me. I don’t have anything else to give.” He wasn’t looking at her anymore. His shoulders had drooped until he was looking at her feet.
Jessica sank to her knees in front of him. She felt pulled in every direction. “Mal.” Her voice came out scratchy and she tried again, “Mal, come here.”
Instead of stepping forward, he stretched out on his stomach and laid his head against her knees. Jessica stroked his nose miserably. “Why are you so hard to understand?”
“I’m not human?”
“I think you’re a little human.”
“Ew.”
“I couldn’t hurt you with your name. I don’t know how.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to figure out. Or just tell Azrael I’ve lied to him and he’ll hurt me for you.”
“I don’t want you hurt.” She waited a long beat. “I won’t tell him about me…yet.”
Mal let out a long breath. He inched forward until his head was in Jessica’s lap.
She lifted his chin and stroked his throat and chest. “For an enormous predator, you are awfully good at looking pitiful.”
Mal’s tongue flicked delicately over her face, licking up tears. “You want me to be less pitiful?”
“I think I’ve had all the pitiful I can stand for the moment.”
“Then can I lick you somewhere else?”
Chapter 34. Sex and Magic
Jessica laughed nervously. She glanced towards Azrael.
Mal rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing he finds less interesting than watching me fuck. He’s far more excited about that bear, I promise you.”
I’m not sure I believe that. Aloud, she said, “It still makes me feel embarrassed. Besides, the ground isn’t comfortable here. I saw better patches further in.”
So they strolled a little deeper into the trees until they came upon a sun-dappled hollow of deep grass, surrounded by birches and maples. In the real world, Jessica was sure there would have been insects and dead leaves and prickly things, but they were in a storybook. She stripped off her beautiful riding suit and folded it on the ground while Mal watched. She pulled the tie on her hair and let it tumble free.
“Aren’t you going to be a man?” You were dying to be one earlier.
He gave her a look that was all mischief. “This tongue is better.”
“Yes, but when you’re in that shape, it makes me feel st-strange.” He’d pressed his nose between her legs. Mal’s huge, wet tongue glided over her lower lips and curls. Jessica backed up against a maple tree, shut her eyes, and just let herself feel.
It was strange being naked outdoors. Part of her remained jumpy, certain that a hiker or woodsman would stumble upon them any moment. But the only sound was the occasional distant roar of Azrael’s bear, the wind in the leaves, and the twitter of birds. The tree bark felt rough against Jessica’s hands and back. Mal’s tongue was soft and supple between her legs. She was conscious of her own hair blowing around her shoulders, the kiss of the breeze on her bare breasts, the sunlight. Mal started to press more deeply, his tongue rubbing hard.
“Oh!” Jessica slipped down the tree, scratching herself a little.
Mal stopped licking. “Making your legs weak?” he purred.
“Yes.” Jessica took a wobbly step and sat down in the middle of the grassy hollow. Mal immediately pushed her flat on her back. Instead of going straight for her vagina again, he started licking her throat, her breasts, her belly, his soft fur ghosting over her whole body. The breeze felt startlingly cool on the wet tracks left by his hot tongue.
He paused to spend some serious time on her nipples. Jessica groaned. Every warm flick sent a stab of pleasure all the way to her groin. She was uncomfortably aware of the way he was lying between her legs, his downy fur brushing her inner thighs and vulva. She could feel his erection—bigger than any cat’s ought to be, pressing against her leg.
For a moment, she thought he was going to slide inside of her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. But then he started licking his way down her body again. He settled between her legs—now slow and lazy, brushing her clit, but never staying quite long enough. Jessica whimpered and tried to wrap her legs around his head.
Mal responded by backing off a little and slowing down even more.
“Mal…”
“I sort of get the idea you don’t want me to fuck you like this.”
Jessica covered her face with her hands. The tension he was creating felt unbearable. “Do whatever you want.”
“My favorite words.” But then he started licking her inner thighs.
In a burst of frustration, Jessica found the thread between them and gave it a jerk.
Mal immediately clamped down on their energy in a way that Jessica had never felt before. “Shhh. We can’t do that. Azrael will notice.” He pulled, and Jessica finally understood that he had been humoring her in their previous encounters. He was much stronger. He really could eat me up. The thread went slithering away from her. An intoxicating warmth spreading through her belly. Mal feeding. Jessica felt helpless, quite frustrated, and incredibly aroused.
Mal recommenced his lazy licking. “You are so swollen. It looks almost uncomfortable.”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh, you can try, but I’m a pretty toppy top.” Jessica stared up, glassy-eyed, at the white birch bark against the flaming leaves of the maple trees and the blue, blue sky. Her thighs were quivering. Dear gods, just let me come.
Mal’s rhythm faltered for an instant, and Jessica sensed something…pulling on him? On his magic? But it wasn’t her. Azrael, she realized. She could almost hear the spell, ethereal music on the edge of sound, an echo through their shared connection.
Jessica’s skin prickled in an almost unbearable full-body flush of pleasure. Mal stopped licking. He made a noise somewhere between a whine and a purr, and the next thing Jessica knew, strong, human arms were flipping her over. He dragged her to her hands and knees in spite of her shaking and held her tight against his chest with one arm, balancing them both with the other.
Jessica’s pussy was already clenching when Mal pressed himself inside, but her climax only intensified as he began to thrust. The pleasure rippled through her in waves as the magic ran between them, Mal’s feeding like a narcotic rush and Azrael’s spell singing bright fire in her head.
Chapter 35. An Incubus in the Family
“Does it feel good to you when he…takes?” asked Jessica.
Mal hesitated. “Sometimes.”
They were sitting in a little pub in the town, having just finished a pleasant walk through its winding streets. Jessica wore a necklace of dragon feathers, given to her by a fresh-faced boy in honor of the victory over the airship. Dragon feathers! Jessica couldn’t stop petting them. Mal had conjured himself a simple shirt and trousers. The clothes appeared to be made of cotton, although Mal described them as “claws, fur, and earwax.”
Jessica peered at him over her mug of ale. “Is it like being fed on?”
“Sort of. Not exactly.” After a pause, he added, “If my magic gets too low, I feel nauseated, like I’m bleeding.”
“But when it’s not too low?” persisted Jessica.
Mal looked a little uncomfortable. “Yes, sometimes.” He leaned forward with his chin on one hand—all bright green eyes and long dark lashes. “Do
you want me to tell you it’s like sex? It’s not, but it’s the closest thing we do.”
Jessica sipped her drink thoughtfully. The author of Skyfire had not been terribly inventive in regards to food. The menu was all mutton and ale, but Jessica supposed that if you didn’t have to eat in this world every day, it wasn’t too bad. Her mouth twisted into a grin. “Does he really read to you?”
“Sometimes. He used to do it a lot. He thought novels would teach me about being human, but I got frustrated because all the demons in the stories come to bad ends.”
Jessica frowned. Off the top of her head, she couldn’t think of any happy demon books, either.
“But he loves to read,” continued Mal cheerfully. “Stick around; he’ll read to you, too.”
Jessica smiled. “I would like that.” She had a mental image of Mal sprawled in panther form in front of a fire, herself curled against him, and Azrael reading in his low, smooth voice. It seemed at once easily possible and as far away as the moon.
Mal broke into her thoughts, “You said you think you know what happened with your parents. Is it something you’re willing to share? Because I’m curious.”
“Oh, yes.” Jessica gathered her thoughts. “When I was little, we had a family friend. Uncle Ashton. I have a lot of memories of him. But, now that I’m an adult, I find them rather odd. Like, I’m pretty sure he lived with us for a while. And he wasn’t an actual relative. My parents were casual around him…like not-very-many-clothes-casual. I even remember one time coming to my parents’ bedroom door in the morning, and Uncle Ashton stepped out and greeted me.”
Mal’s eyebrows rose.
“He was always kind to me,” continued Jessica, “very…appropriate. I was six when he left, so my memories of the whole thing are foggy. I thought it was normal, like lots of people have an uncle who lives with them and sleeps with their parents. But something happened when I was six, and Uncle Ashton had to leave. I remember my parents were extremely upset for a while. They still mention him from time to time, but I don’t think they know where he is.”