A Fine Necromance

by Lidiya Foxglove

“I didn’t dare get them in trouble. I took Amtrak and then used a compel spell on a local man with a truck, if you must know the details. I’m not sure why you care how I got around.”

  “I don’t know why I just enjoy the thought of you enduring a long train ride. Coach?”

  “Unfortunately, they didn’t have a royal car,” he said.

  “Well…I’m glad Stuart let you crash here,” I said, taking the lantern from him.

  “You do realize you just agreed to behead a demon, Chosen One?”

  “Do you realize you did, Exiled One?” I ducked into the bathroom, feeling nervous about being alone with Harris. And, admittedly, also a little nervous about beheading a demon. I mean, really? Maybe we could just deliver the faeries a hand or something.

  The bathroom was rustic but very clean with flowers in a vase, blooming in the dark. The toilet was a bench with a hole in it, but I could hear some sort of underground river flowing under it and there was no smell although I hoped the stream flowed to the magical world and not our mountain. When I came out, Harris was gone and a petite red-haired woman was standing outside the door, waiting, with some flowers in one hand and a cloth in the other.

  “Oh! You startled me.”

  “I’m sorry, miss. I’m Penny, the house silkie. I’ll just clean up after you…” She looked anxious to get in behind me and replace the flowers with fresher flowers and wipe everything off.

  “I didn’t really do anything,” I said.

  She looked up at me twitchily, then went back to work wiping off every surface like a little magical embodiment of OCD.

  I returned to the main room. Harris had returned to the group and Auntie Adia and Firian were by the door, waiting for me.

  “I’m ready.”

  Auntie Adia smiled apologetically at me as we walked back into daylight. “I am so sorry we were never there for you, Charlotte.”

  You know that feeling when you’re being all tough, and you don’t even realize how much you’re denying your real emotions until someone gives you the okay to express them? And then suddenly you’re a mess?

  I mean, maybe that’s just me. But I wanted to say, oh, it’s totally cool, I know you were trying to protect me and I had my dad!

  Instead, I suddenly felt like I was about to sob. “I’ve really…been wondering…why my grandparents haven’t…contacted me.”

  Her brows furrowed. “They want to. They truly do. They were…trying to protect you. I know it’s an awful excuse. I told your grandmother that protecting people never does any good, and she said, I know. And then…we looked at each other and agreed we had to do it anyway, because we know what our enemies of capable of.” She looked really distressed, but I saw her shake it off. “And I know how happy a normal life can be. I married Richard and never looked back, to be honest. Well…I do miss being a bird, that’s all.”

  “I miss being a human,” Firian said. “I don’t suppose you have any idea how to fix that problem.”

  “Catherine is the one who fixed you in this form, isn’t that so?” Auntie Adia asked. “Your great-aunt?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “It will be hard to break one of her spells.”

  “We already know it will be hard,” I said. “That isn’t what Firian needs to hear right now. He’s already depressed.”

  “I’m not depressed. I’m extremely…vexed,” he said. I think he was actually thinking of a string of four letter words, but was being polite to Auntie Adia.

  “She was always a better witch than your grandmother,” Adia said. “She earned her place on the council. And losing both her children to forbidden magic has done nothing for her mood from what I hear. Still, I think the easiest way to break the spell would be to find a way to bargain with her, because it will be some time before you’re a match for her.”

  “Bargain…” I groaned. “So many bargains in the magical world, gawwwd. What am I supposed to offer?”

  “You give nice shoulder rubs,” Firian said dryly.

  “She’s not going to want anything I have.”

  “That may be true. But…if you see her…I would consider that she is a woman who lost her only daughter and has no grandchildren. Deep down, I know she doesn’t want to hate you.”

  “But she still hates my grandmother. You said that’s why my grandparents won’t come here.”

  “I didn’t say I had any easy answers,” Auntie Adia said, looking at the ground nervously. “I do have something for you, however. It will help you understand the situation.” She was carrying a big ol’ dowdy pink leather purse, that I instinctively felt was probably expensive despite its ugliness, although it wasn’t a label I knew. She drew out a stuffed envelope with what looked like twenty pages of photocopied pages of an old letter inside.

  “This is the letter your grandmother wrote to the council when they tried to get your mother to attend a witch academy,” she said. “Sally had been written out of the books and was being whispered about in the cruelest terms. They said she was a whore, corrupted and sinful. No one in her family or the entire magical world would even speak to her, but they still had the nerve to try and pluck Emily away to boarding school, where Sally knew full well they would have turned her against her own parents.”

  I clutched the papers in my hand and saw my grandmother’s cursive for the first time. Luckily she wasn’t old enough that it was really fancy and hard to read. Unluckily, I was absolutely terrible at reading any cursive. My throat still welled up, just seeing this new piece of my family history.

  “Thanks, I…I’m really…really glad you came,” I said. “I always thought my dad was enough. And he—he is, mostly. But he’s not magical. And—”

  She put her arms around me. “You were never abandoned, Charlotte. Now that we can’t protect you anymore…the good thing is that we can finally know you. All in good time. You’ll meet your grandmothers…and all of your grandfathers.” She gave me a mischievous little smile. “I hear it runs in the family.”

  “Erm.”

  “It’s all right, I know you don’t want to talk about it to an old lady, but I was a little bit wild once, you know. Richard and I once made love backstage at a concert.”

  “Depends what the concert was,” Firian said.

  She frowned. “Well, I must say I prefer my music to be sweet like the birds singing out my window. Sally liked it darker.”

  “It must have been bad,” Firian said.

  “It was ABBA.”

  “What? Holy crap, you ignored an ABBA concert? You are very cool, Auntie Adia,” I said. “Although I would have waited until the concert was over.”

  “Well, we knew when they were going to do Thank You for the Music. Richard had the set list and I’m afraid we just don’t care for that one,” she said. “Terribly sorry if that was anyone else’s favorite.”

  “I’ll try to tamp down my indignation,” Firian said.

  “Anyway, I wish you all happiness with your own four boys.”

  “Three,” I said, blushing.

  “Oh,” she said. “Just three?”

  “Just three.”

  “Well, then,” she said.

  Yeah, she knew what was up.

  Chapter Seven

  Charlotte

  “My grandma was awesome.” I was reading the papers by candlelight. “She wrote this letter to the council and she’s like, fuck you, you forced me out and I had sex with hot wolves and it was awesome, so I’m not giving you my daughter. We are in the middle of a full on rebellion, you know?”

  “I bet if things continue like this, I wouldn’t be the only familiar who wants more freedom,” Firian said.

  “It’s a nice thought, but it won’t be easy—at all—to bring the faeries a demon’s head,” Montague said. “And they are faeries, so if they don’t see an advantage in the long run, they can still say no and they won’t care how crestfallen you look.”

  “It will work out, or it won’t,” Alec said. “I think that’s the lesson. All we
have is right now.” He walked over to me. “And right now…” He took the paper from my hand and put it down, and then he kissed me, his hot breath brushing my cheek before his lips claimed mine, his tongue slipping in for a deep thrust.

  “No patience anymore,” I gasped.

  “I sat through a lot of talk to get to this moment. I was very patient. But I’ve been craving you all summer and you’re right, I can’t wait another moment. I warned you about me, Charlotte.”

  His words drove me nuts. I twisted out of my chair and kissed him again. “You did.”

  I still didn’t expect what happened next, which was that he spun me around so I was facing away from him and unbuttoned my shorts, yanking them off me. My skin temperature must have risen about a hundred degrees.

  “I warned you that I would need you…a lot,” he breathed in my ear. “But I was apart from you all summer. Even the dreams couldn’t be fulfilled. So now I have countless warm, lazy summer days of dreaming of you. Of those dreams, all pent up inside me, just waiting to come out.”

  “I’m up to date with the birth control spell,” I said. “So let them come.”

  “Even better,” he groaned, grinding against my underwear.

  “But—um—Firian,” I said reluctantly. “I don’t want to leave you out.”

  “You know I won’t make you put your life on hold for me,” he said. “But I am going to watch like an awkwardly staring pet.”

  “Oh—um—okay—”

  “I’m kidding,” he said. “It would be torture. I’ll go on a frustrated hunt. The small animals of Etherium better stay out of my way tonight.” He vanished.

  “I feel bad for that dude,” Montague said.

  “Maybe it’s…for the best right now,” I said. “I’ve never been with all three of you.”

  “Don’t tell me two is your limit,” Alec said. “I know when to move fast and when to take my sweet time building you up again. It’s written in my very bones to know what you want. And I definitely know right now…”

  Montague peeled himself off the bed where he’d been looking through a book, and came up to me from the front as Alec slid my panties down enough to slip his hard cock in between my folds from behind. He was so big he had no trouble reaching. Just thinking about that length of his, and how much I ached after taking it…in the best kind of way…

  Alec pulled up my shirt. Montague admired me with a small, knowing smile. “Thankfully, I am a little more patient than Alec.”

  “Because you have plenty of porn on your phone,” Alec said.

  Montague shot him a dirty look. They always hassled each other a little. I think this was what helped them get comfortable about being with me together. “It’s…not the same anymore,” Montague said.

  “But you still looked at it,” I said, with a little smirk.

  “It was a long summer,” he said.

  “It was,” I said. “So get your clothes off and show me how much you missed me, already.”

  Alec was already naked, at this point, having almost magically divested of his clothing. He took my ponytail in his hand and walked me backwards to the bed, where he flung me down and grinned. “Be careful what you ask for.”

  He thrust into me as far as one stroke would take him, which definitely wasn’t all the way. I had to work my way up to Alec. There was a little more sheer pleasure with Montague or Firian because they weren’t quite so big, but there was also an intense pride and satisfaction in knowing I could handle an incubus.

  “Oh…”

  “My girl,” Alec said. “You give me everything I want and more.”

  “Ahh…” Those were the words I had to choose from right now, oh or ahh. I was really turned on by the way he had just gone for it, even though… “Um…so you know what I want?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Because I like…a little more…finger picking and not so bass heavy.”

  “I’ll get to that,” he said. “But I’ll take my pleasure from you first.”

  The answer satisfied me. My inner walls burned hot as he fucked me hard, sliding in and out easily with my increasing wetness. I knew he wouldn’t leave me unsatisfied. With every stroke, I could feel much he needed me, wanted me, demanded me.

  Montague leaned over me, studying my face for just a second—I must have looked plastered already. Then he leaned over my chest, licking his lips as his teeth sharpened. He took one nipple in his mouth and sucked on it.

  “Don’t bite me,” I pleaded, terrified at the sight of my tender nipple inside that fanged mouth, but it also made me even hotter. That little edge of fear stoked me to even greater heights.

  Alec came hard inside me, pumping me full of his essence, while Montague was still teasing at my tender nipples, and I felt like a woman.

  “Done already?” Montague said, his voice a tiger’s purr in my ear.

  “Not me,” I gasped. “Just Alec.”

  “Good. So there’s room for me.”

  “I’m not done,” Alec said. “I’m just getting started. I wonder if it’s time to start expanding your horizons.” He reached a hand down, gently cupping my mound, feeling my heat. “What do you think about trying us both at once?”

  “Nervous,” I breathed. “Excited…”

  “Have you ever played back here?” His hand reached back to my ass, a slick finger gently circling the hole.

  “I can’t say I’ve never experimented,” I said. “But just a little. With toys. Not boys.” I laughed nervously.

  “You’re definitely too big,” Montague said to Alec. “It’s my turn to explore new territory…”

  “Like, is it messy?” I asked.

  Alec chuckled. “You’re too cute. I’m a demon. I don’t even care if it’s messy. I’ll just clean you up.”

  “Well, there’s no shower here!”

  “People had sex before showers were invented. But I can haul in a bucket of water for you.”

  “Shirtless,” I said.

  “Well, it’s Alec, so I think that goes without saying,” Montague said dryly. “The trick will be getting him to put his pants back on.”

  Alec stepped out and came back a minute later, posing in the doorway with a bucket of water in one hand. He flexed one muscular arm and slowly lowered the pail to the ground. The light of the cave was dim, but just enough to highlight ever contour of his abs.

  “Bow-chicka-wow-wow,” I said. “I feel like I ordered a really weird stripper.”

  He grinned and slid into the bed beside me, while both of them started kissing and caressing my naked body. I was quickly rendered breathless and almost useless by the melting quality of their hands and mouths on me, this overdose of masculinity after a lot of warm, hungry summer nights where I could only dream.

  “Mm…you guys smell so good…and you feel even better.”

  “Are you ready to be filled completely?” Alec asked, circling my nipples with his fingers.

  “Yeah…I think so…”

  “You’re definitely hot enough to catch fire down here…” He moved to my nub of desire, slowly teasing a sensation out of me that almost felt like an orgasm, but in super slow motion, and it never quite fully hit. All I knew was that it was driving me out of my mind.

  Before I knew it, Montague was stroking lube onto his cock. He kissed me gently while sliding a fingertip up my nether hole. “Getting you good and ready…”

  Alec lay on the bed and pulled me toward him, his tongue sinking into my mouth, his hands running along my back, gently urging me to lift my ass. I felt Montague enter me, just the tip of his shaft, his cool skin quickly warming against my heat.

  I gripped Alec’s upper arms, groaning.

  “Slowly,” Montague said. “Ungh…you feel so good, Charlotte.”

  “Look at your face,” Alec said, grinning.

  I chewed my lip as Montague carefully slid into me. I was so turned on, it didn’t hurt as much as I feared, but it was unfamiliar and I felt really full, and a little scared because I knew Ale
c wanted more of me too. Oh yeah, I knew what I was in for when I agreed to this.

  “I’m in,” Montague said. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah…yeah, I’m good…” I could barely speak. Alec’s cock was between my pussy lips, slowly sliding along the tingling nerves there, driving me insane. “Let’s do this.”

  “That’s our girl…we’ll take good care of you.” Alec nudged inside me, Montague shifting position until I was as close between them as I could be, my toes already curling as Alec’s thick length hit so many spots I was seeing fireworks.

  The only thing missing? Firian.

  When I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that some of the hands touching me were not Montague’s cool fingers or Alec’s strong hands, but Firian’s graceful ones. It destroyed me that he had to miss out on these moments, that we were unable to share our bodies anymore.

  Despite that tinge of sadness, I couldn’t hold onto it for long before Montague started to gently flex inside me, the motion also making Alec throb, my body clenching around them almost against my will. I was filled, spread, pinned. No matter how careful they tried to be, I was steadily driven toward a cliff of pleasure.

  “Ohh…” My fingernails carved half-moons in Alec’s skin. “Ohhh… you’re killing me…”

  “If only I could,” Montague said wickedly. “But only if I could bring you back again, and again…”

  I needed it to end. But I didn’t want it to ever end. It didn’t matter, I was reaching a climax anyway, and it wasn’t even until later that I considered everyone in the cave could probably hear me. Ohmigod.

  Well, in the moment I was just crying out incoherently as my body twitched and bucked, rocked by a full body orgasm that started in my core and rippled out to my fingers and toes.

  I think I only lasted about two minutes after that before falling asleep in their arms, dimly aware of Alec wiping me off with a cool washcloth and kissing my face. “Our beautiful witch…no more summers apart, okay?”

  Chapter Eight

  Charlotte

  In the morning, Stuart asked me to meet him by the Wyrd tree. First he—or rather, Orson and Penny—offered us a hearty breakfast of biscuits with the most delicious honey, lightly sugared berries and cream.