Baron, a Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance Series

by HP Mallory

  Morrigan reaches out and touches my cheek. “So much sacrifice and sorrow for a future that’s still unknown.” She shakes her head and pauses. “Do you remember the days when the world was simpler? When scholars like you and I could study the arcane arts in the peace of our temples?”

  “I don’t remember such peace and, regardless, now I don’t believe in it. Not until Variant is removed from the throne and the balance is restored.”

  Morrigan’s lips curl into a sultry smile. “You’ve grown wise, Cambion.”

  “I had a wise teacher.”

  “Had?”

  “You’ve been gone for a long time, Morrigan. I’m not the young scholar you once knew. But, I still feel the same sense of duty and obligation that comes with the throne. We must right the wrongs, reestablish the balance, and bring justice to the realms. We owe it to ourselves and to our people.”

  Morrigan kneels down and brushes her hand along the floorboards. I watch runes appear as glowing sigils in the air. I struggle to read them before they disappear. “Nothing short of a miracle will allow me to leave here, so unless you have one of those in your pocket, then it’s best you leave the way you came in. And quickly.”

  “Funny you say that,” I utter with a faint smile. “One of our allies is a bit of a miracle worker.”

  “Your allies?” she asks with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes, he’s the one who was able to grant us access into the castle and he’s found a way to get us out. All of us, Morrigan, that includes you.”

  “Who is this ally?”

  “His name is Pyre. I don’t know much about his magic, but I’m certain Revenant can explain it.” I glance back at the others and notice the worry in their gaze. “As soon as we leave this place and make certain we’re safe, that is.”

  “Pyre?” she questions with a shake of her head. “I don’t recognize the name.”

  “You wouldn’t. He fought with us in the war.” I take a breath. “The point is that his magic is strong enough to release you from this prison, these wards.”

  “I doubt,” she begins but I interrupt.

  “It’s at least worth a shot?”

  She’s quiet for a few seconds but then nods her agreement.

  ###

  Baron

  The Castle in the Sky

  Cambion and Morrigan return after their private conversation beside the window. The way the elf appears to place all his trust in her makes my skin crawl. I know she was his mentor at one point, but that does very little to remove my suspicions. Sure, she raised me from the dead and perhaps I should be thankful, but it’s difficult to celebrate someone whose answers come with a certain air of convenience that causes my breath to hitch. Breath I don’t even possess.

  “We must leave,” I say as I face Cambion.

  “Now,” Dragan adds.

  “Yes,” Morrigan agrees. “We are all living on borrowed time.”

  “We’ll have to fight our way back to the throne room if the spell has worn off,” I say as I face the others. “Then we open the portal and return to the Veil.”

  “And how do we do that?” Morrigan asks.

  I pull the Oluri from within my jacket pocket. “With the help of Pyre,” I answer.

  “Cambion mentioned this Pyre. I’m not familiar with him,” Morrigan says.

  “He’s a necromancer, the Guardian of The Veil,” I respond as her eyes go wide. “He protects the spirit world from the corruption of the realms and he is very very powerful. I’ve never seen anyone who can match his abilities.”

  The Midnight Queen jumps back, staring down at the orb in obvious horror. “Forbidden magic,” she hisses. “You ally yourselves with a necromancer and you expect me to follow you?” She glances back at Cambion. “You failed to mention just what this Pyre is!”

  I tuck the Oluri into my pocket and move towards the Midnight Queen. “You will come with us and stop stalling. Pyre didn’t risk his life for us to give up and return to him empty handed. You either come willingly or I’ll drag you out of here, kicking and screaming.”

  The rest of them appear surprised by my surly tone but I can’t say I care. I was charged with a task and that task was returning the Midnight Queen to Pyre and that’s what I intend to do. I’d rather die fighting Variant’s soldiers than to return to the Veil without her.

  We promised the necromancer that his pain would not be in vain and I intend to keep that promise. In the short time I’ve known Pyre, he’s proven himself to be a loyal friend and ally, something of which we’ve been in short supply.

  Of course, I know about the tryst between Pyre and Eilish. The necromancer was man enough to tell me himself rather than attempting to keep it a secret. I respect him for that. It’s the sneaking and the lies that rub me raw, which is why I can’t fully respect Dragan and Cambion. They lie to one another almost as much as they lie to themselves.

  ###

  Eilish

  The Veil

  We run down the staircase to Morrigan’s room and Baron holds his arms out on either side of him to keep us from going through the door. That’s when I remember the door and threshold are barricaded with his magic, still glowing with a faint greenish light.

  Baron rifles through the poisons around his waist and produces a vial of a dark blue and cloudy liquid. He pulls the cork from the tincture and the liquid turns to gas as it makes contact with the air. The gas takes the form of a purple cloud and moves toward the glowing green of the door, blending with it instantly until both colors eventually fade into nothing.

  Baron then reaches forward and pulls open the door. Strangely, there didn’t appear to be wards in any place around Morrigan’s room or on the stairs, but the lock on the door seems to have some sort of effect on her. Her steps slow significantly once we pass through the archway.

  “What’s wrong?” Dragan asks her.

  She shakes her head and then bends over, trying to catch her breath. “The power of the magic surrounding this room is… too much for me,” she says.

  Dragan curses under his breath and lifts her into his arms. Already we hear the sound of boots coming down the corridor. I stand beside Baron and Cambion, ready to fight our way toward the throne room.

  The demon blood from the two soldiers Dragan slew continues to bubble up on the marble floor, beside their bodies. The scent of the blood and flesh stings my nose with its pungent aroma, but I push on with the others. Four orcs appear from the far end of the hall and begin bellowing their anger. I guess it’s safe to say that the hour shelf-time of Pyre’s enchantment is now up.

  Flumph immediately flies ahead of me, carrying his strange crossbow apparatus and shoots his arrows at the orcs, knocking two of them unconscious, but he quickly runs out of ammunition. Cambion creates a ball of light between his hands which he unloads on the orcs. The ball of light seems to keep them occupied as Baron leads us down the same path we took to get to the tower.

  Suddenly Baron stops short and I nearly run headlong into his back. Baron nods toward the left where two more gargoyles block our path, but they’re both facing the opposite direction and haven’t yet noticed us.

  Baron draws one of the dual daggers from his belt and I watch in awe as the vampire creeps up behind the gargoyles and in one split second, plunges his blade through one of the soldier’s ears, killing him instantly. Meanwhile, Baron douses the other with a silver, translucent powder. The gargoyle pulls a face as though he’s in excruciating pain, but no sound comes from his opened mouth. Instead, his skin begins to bubble as though it’s burning and his muscles and bones appear to melt into the rest of him. Fairly soon, he’s reduced to nothing more than a pile of steaming clothing.

  The smell is atrocious.

  Cambion moves to flank Dragan as the bigger man carries the Midnight Queen through the hallway toward the rear of the castle. I protect the other side of Dragan, as I look for any sign of trouble. Baron kicks open the door to the throne room. A dozen pairs of eyes or more look back at us. I’m not sur
e who is more shocked—us or them. Baron curses loudly but rushes the crowd. Truly, his courage knows no limits.

  Quickly, my attention moves past the soldiers who swarm us, and I find myself focusing on Variant, where he sits on his throne in the middle of the room with an unsettling smile on his face. He’s surrounded by so many soldiers, there’s no way we could cut through them to reach him.

  He doesn’t seem to even notice Dragan, Cambion or Baron. And his attention never focuses on Morrigan once. Instead, he stares at me and I find myself returning the insistence in his gaze. Maybe because I don’t understand it. His expression isn’t what I expect. Instead of anger or rage, he smiles.

  Moments later, he snaps his fingers as he mouths a silent command to me and points to the open space in front of him, clearly expecting me to obey his command to come to him. I can feel the intent pull of his compulsion magic, but I resist. I remember the days before we left the Veil, and more specifically, the lessons Pyre taught me about how to push back against compulsion spells. And I use those lessons now.

  Shock registers on the false king’s face and he stands up from his seat, walking down the short set of stairs to the flat stretch of marble flooring below him. His wall of soldiers reacts by moving in time with his own steps, maintaining their line around him. He snaps his fingers again, and his focus on me is unwavering. I can feel his compulsion as it surrounds me, barreling down on me, forcing me to my knees.

  “Eilish,” Dragan says as he realizes what’s happening.

  I can’t answer him. I have to focus on fighting Variant, on forcing his magic away.

  I push against it. And him.

  Using all the strength in my body, I stand up.

  “You will kneel!” he yells.

  But, I don’t kneel. I continue to stand against him, forcing his magic back.

  Baron and Cambion, meanwhile, fight to push back the orcs who have freed themselves from Cambion’s magic. The Midnight Queen simply leans against the wall on the sidelines, out of the way of the fighting. She bends over and I can see she’s still in pain and the magic of the wards still works against her.

  Still, Variant never pulls his gaze from me. Even as I stare at him, I make my way to Baron, carving my blade through an orc who gets in my way.

  “Revenant!” I yell to the vampire. “Get the portal open!”

  Baron attempts to break away from our group, but more orcs come through the doors, caging us in. Flumph tries his best to help, but I can tell he’s winded and owing to the fact that he’s out of ammunition, he now just uses his crossbow to hit as many soldiers over the head as he can, which only adds fuel to their irritation.

  I glance back at Morrigan and find she’s barely standing as the palace wards leech the strength from her body. Glancing back at Variant, he continues to stare at me. His lips move as his magic continues to attack me, but I manage to fend it off.

  That’s when I notice Cambion cutting through the wall of soldiers that guard Variant. I don’t know if it’s simply coincidence that Cambion is so close to Variant or if he’s actually going after the false king.

  Variant apparently notices Cambion coming closer as well because he raises his hands before him and creates embers of fire in the air.

  “Cambion, your audacity truly knows no bounds!” Variant yells at him.

  “I could say the same of you, fucking bastard,” Cambion responds.

  Variant hold his sword up high and runs it through the embers that still burn in the air before him. As soon as the blade hits them, they ignite into roaring flames and Variant hurls them towards Cambion. The elf dodges the attack, but the flames singe his hair and clothing.

  Variant swoops down low with his sword at the same time I jump forward and reach out, grabbing Cambion’s arm as I yank him backwards. Cambion loses his balance and goes careening into me as Variant’s blade grazes his stomach instead of mortally wounding him.

  Variant roars and before I know what’s happening, he’s on top of me. I don’t know how I’ve made it through his wall of soldiers but it doesn’t matter. Now, I’m fighting for my life. Variant grips my arms and throws me to the floor. I hit the ground so hard, the fall steals the breath from me and I see stars momentarily as my head bashes against the marble. It takes me a moment or two to fill my lungs with air again and in doing so, my chest feels as though it’s on fire.

  I feel Variant’s hand as he encircles my throat and squeezes. He forces me back, pushing me until I feel the back of my head against the wall. All the while, he glares down at me.

  “I did not expect this from you,” he says in a low voice.

  “I don’t know why,” I manage to spit out as he tightens his hold around my neck.

  Even though he pins me, he doesn’t seem overtly angry which makes little sense. “I thought us better friends, angel.”

  “We aren’t friends,” I spit back at him.

  He laughs and then releases me, pulling back as he stands up and towers over me. He doesn’t make any motion to go for the sword at his side. His actions make little sense to me.

  “You will come back to me, Eilish,” he says with a confidence that surprises me.

  “No, I won’t.”

  He shakes his head. “You won’t be able to resist.”

  “I will always resist you,” I say.

  “I know the prophecies that hang over your head and I know how this story ends, my pet,” he finishes, laughing all the while. “There’s nothing you can do to stop the hunger that only I can satisfy.”

  I listen to his words and swallow hard as I remember Morrigan’s words—that I will need to feed from the light as much as the dark.

  “You need me as much as I need you, angel,” he finishes.

  From the corner of my eye, I see Cambion moving into position behind Variant and I’m sure to fix my gaze on the false king, to distract him from Cambion.

  “What makes you think I need you?” I demand, trying to keep his attention.

  Cambion holds his blade high above Variant’s head, ready to strike, but a sudden blast of light energy sends everyone careening toward the walls. I screech as I feel the heat of the blast warm my face. I close my eyes against it and when I open them, all I see is smoke. I can hear the sounds of coughing and spluttering.

  I hear something crack as I pull myself up into a seated position. My entire body aches but I manage to limp over to Cambion and Dragan who appear a few feet from me. There’s no sign of Variant. Whatever the blast, it wasn’t picky as to who it downed. My friends and foes are both down. Luckily, my companions recover much more quickly than the orcs they were fighting.

  Dragan lifts the Midnight Queen into his arms once more as Cambion shuffles to my side and helps me stand. There’s something in his eyes when he looks at the woman in Dragan’s arms, but I can’t decipher what his expression means. A loud squeal catches my attention.

  One of the soldiers swats Flumph out of the air and the sprite falls to the floor unmoving.

  “No!” I yell as I wonder if the soldier has just killed him.

  I hurry toward the soldier and the small mass at his feet. I hear Cambion yelling my name from behind me, but I pay him no attention. All I can see is Flumph. When I reach him, I watch as the soldier collapses just in front of me and I realize Cambion has taken the soldier out with his magic.

  I scoop Flumph into my arms and then race back towards Baron just as he stomps his foot on the Oluri. The portal flares to life with a blinding flash of magic that causes the air to ripple. I jump through the portal first with Baron on my heels. Next, come Dragan and the Midnight Queen with Cambion bringing up the rear.

  The rift closes a second later and I fall onto my back, staring up at the familiar sky above the ghostly forest. A pair of boots comes into my line of sight and I smile.

  ###

  Midnight Queen

  The Veil

  Though my body is not well, I am free to move through the astral planes. I walk along the thin line between
the realms, along with the ethers themselves from which I draw my magic.

  The necromancer will be a problem, this much I do not doubt, but he is not here in this moment.

  Instead, I watch as Variant sits amidst the bodies of his fallen soldiers in the throne room. Those who did not die by the hands of his enemies, died by the hands of their king. He takes a deep breath and stands, returning to his throne. There he sits and overlooks the scene of the dead surrounding him.

  I smile as I allow myself to project into his world. Though I’m only there in spirit, Variant can still see and hear me.

  “You have done quite well, Variant. I am proud of you. I almost believed her power was strong enough to throw you.”

  “It was,” he grumbles, pressing his hand into his forehead the way he does when he’s upset about something. “I failed you.”

  “No, all is going according to plan, remember?”

  He stands up and presses a kiss to my hand. “That performance in the tower was quite believable. If only they knew who you truly serve,” he says with the usual touch of arrogance. “You’re a compelling actress, Morrigan.”

  “Anything for you, my liege.”

  He grows quiet and studies me for a few moments. “Those were the same words you said to Abedon,” he says finally and I inwardly curse myself for my negligence. “Tell me, Morrigan, do you still harbor feelings for your former lover, for Abedon?”

  “I slit his throat the second you ordered me to do so,” I answer with no expression on my face. “My loyalty is to you.”

  “And what earned me this loyalty, might I ask?” he demands as he eyes me with interest. “You’ve never told me, you know?”

  “Long ago, I saw the man you would become. In a vision. And that vision came true,” I say as I eye the room around me before landing my eyes on Variant again. “And, I have since received more visions still. Prophecies.”