by S J Doran
“Is that… one creature with three heads? Fascinating,” Mara said, tilting her head to study it.
“It’s got some big, pointy teeth,” Cass said as he pulled on clean pants. “Should probably help him kill it?”
“Why would we kill it?” Mara said, her hand on his chest holding him back. “We were the ones invading its territory.”
“We just let it eat poor Saed then?”
“No, he was helpful. Grab him… just… leave the creature in peace.” Mara quickly got dressed stuffing her dirty clothes into her bag, prompting Cass to do the same.
“You big softy.” Cass wrapped his arm over her shoulders, picking up both their bags in the other.
“I am not.” She tried to pull away. “Demon you take that back.”
“Hush wife,” he laughed, passing Mara the bags so he could drag out Saed by the collar of his rotting shirt.
Bathed, dressed in clean clothes with some stable ground back under them, they followed Saed to the banquet hall. All the while he held Mara’s hand firmly ensconced in his own, curiosity spurring him on as they moved through what appeared to be the ruins of a castle, it’s medieval features ravaged by time and decay.
They were seated at a long hall table, Cass at the right side of the head of the table, Mara across, as was their due. Their missing host was going to be seated between them, at the head of the table, making it a challenge to hide any revulsion. Lich were filling the dining room, certain ones finding seats at the table, the rest milling about setting things to order—they all looked the same to him.
His and Mara’s eyes met, a secret smile shared between the two. They didn’t even need to say it; she knew Cass’s feelings toward decomposing flesh. His breathing eased slightly when the creatures began to glamour themselves with the appearance of healthy flesh and fine clothing.
“Nothing but parlor tricks.” Mara’s tone went mulish as she too noted the changes, becoming aware of the lust-filled glances cast in her demon’s direction from behind lace fans and lowered eyes.
Their esteemed host made his way into the room, chairs scraping the floor as in unison the Lich rose to their feet, then lowered their heads in groveling deference. Hells, Cass didn’t even expect that level of obeisance within his own halls. Though—maybe he would from now on. It was one of those little reminders of power that his underlings sorely needed.
Neither Cass or Mara deigned to rise, and judging by the glances of abject horror, that was not to be borne. Obviously, they needed to be reminded who their ultimate ruler was, and in turn his future consort. They would damn well learn respect or have it shoved down what was left of their throats.
Sharp pain exploded through his leg, Mara’s pointed boot landing directly on his shinbone. The dishes stopped rattling, and he belatedly realized it was his own power causing the table to shake.
He looked up at Mara with an abashed grin on his lips and a jaunty shrug of his shoulders. So he wasn’t in the best of moods. Could hardly be faulted for that.
“Tonight we are entertaining the King of the Nessus himself, and the High Priestess of Asurim, the Warlock Queen,” Bloise, the Lich King announced in his booming voice.
“Future Queen of the Hells,” Cass corrected, meeting Mara’s startled gaze.
They hadn’t made any formal proclamations, he still considered it as good as done, and damn it, the Lich would be treating her with the respect her title deserved.
Bloise cleared his throat. “Is that so? I hadn’t heard the news. Congratulations, future Queen of the Hells.”
Mara was seething, he could feel it burning through his own chest. Her dagger glare was another really obvious tell. That and she was swearing at him under her breath.
It didn’t matter; she knew it was only a matter of time. He wanted her bound to his side in every way possible, and one way or another, he always got what he wanted.
Soon
Must be the regent of the Lich
“Your regent Imperium may have forgotten to mention, we’re here to see about Asmodeus’s Ruby Rod, not to be wined and dined.” Amara’s tone was cold, imperious. And she was avoiding his eyes.
Impulse had him slipping off his shoe, grinning as he ran his foot up the back of her calf. She bared her teeth at him. Too adorable for words. He stretched across the table, reaching for her hand, and after a few furtive glances, she allowed him to take it. Good. It would be quite the faux pas if his future consort was rumored to avoid his touch.
“Well then, Cassius. Do you mind if I call you Cassius?” Bloise lounged back in his seat, signaling for dinner service to begin.
Cass gave Mara a gloating smile. Payback, as they say, was a bitch.
“By all means. Bloise.” He poured on the charm and the Lich King’s glowing white eyes widened a fraction, a smarmy grin spreading across his raw-boned face that his ebony skin stretched thin to cover.
Mara’s eyes narrowed, and she dropped Cass’s hand. Behave, she mouthed to him.
“I’ve been the handler of your father’s Rod for some time now.” The Lich King managed to get both his and Mara’s utmost attention, possibly due to how hard they were having to concentrate to keep straight faces. “It’s been argued it’s the purpose of my race, none can contain the Rod like The Lich.”
Mara’s hand grasped his hand, the only outward sign that she was close to losing control.
“When Asmodeus first gifted me with the Rod, it was like nothing I’d ever before experienced.”
Cass choked out a strangled laugh, covering it up with a cough. Mara snatched her hand back from his as if to save herself from that which was clearly destined for disaster.
“Such power,” Bloise continued, oblivious to Cass and Mara’s mounting amusement. “To subjugate men to my will… it was a heady thing.”
Mara’s hand slapped over her mouth, her own laughter sneaking out as a muffled squeak. Thankfully, the Lich started filling their glasses and placing dishes in front of them, distracting Mara from her humor and Cass from his growing discomfort.
“Make no mistake, it’s still glorious and throbbing with power.” The Lich King looked Cass up and down with a slow lick down his lip, and Cass’ humor completely vanished. The innuendo was clearly intentional.
“It’s not as certain as it once was. These last handful of years it’s been unpredictable with its surges. One of these days it will bring down our house.”
“Indeed, Bloise, if any house were to be brought down by the Rod it would be yours,” Mara’s snappish tone cut in from her spot across the table. “Seems that the rod has been draining your rift dry of power.”
Bloise’s glowing white eyes landed on Mara, his elbow propping him up in his seat. Cass hadn’t even realized how close the Lich King had been leaning in.
“Would it? I thought that weakness ran in your own people, Priestess. Was that not your own mother’s undoing?” Bloise’s glamour flickered with his annoyance, reminding Cass of his true guise. “Her yearning for the Warlock King, his crown, and his magic is rumored to have brought your realm to the brink of extinction. It will of course cause quite a predicament when it becomes apparent that the Queen Consort is infertile.”
“Watch yourself, Lich.” Cass slammed his glass down, and the room silenced.
“Can I say how glad I am that your father’s power was passed on to your fine self instead of your bitch of a sister?” Bloise turned completely from Mara, his hand resting on Cass’s arm, his entire demeanor toward Mara baiting and disrespectful. “You’re truly as beautiful as he once was.”
Cass veered back in his seat, grasping for Mara’s hand, halting when he saw the green flame dancing upon her palm.
“Is it your intention to cause bad blood between us, Bloise?” Cass caught his breath before addressing the Lich again.
“Not in the least, you’ll have to pardon me,” Bloise said, making a gesture down the length of the table. “I am distempered due to hunger. Join us in feasting.”
Cass s
hifted uncomfortably, he never enjoyed it when males made advances, combined with the unapologetic arrogance of this one, he was off-kilter. Basileus’s lust filled gaze flashed through his mind. Cold hands ran down his heated chest, both ensconcing his erection from base to tip. His own hands were useless, held fast in cuffs secured to the bedposts.
“How do you want me to take you, Cassius?” Bas’s blue eyes shone bright with desire. “I could take your beautiful cock in my mouth… or would you prefer me buried deep inside you, working you with my hand?”
He couldn’t answer, his mouth bound with fabric. Wouldn’t matter even if he could, Bas would do as he liked… always did.
His head snapped up at the movement that ran up his thigh, settling against his crotch, and his hand slammed down, right over Mara’s dainty foot. He met her smug look with a shocked one, his hand pressing her foot to his now steel-hard erection.
His Mara was exorcising his demons before they took hold, replacing pain with lust. Bas’s touch was a taint he’d never escape. Mara had been right, he’d died too easily.
For a moment he was lost to sensation until the obnoxious throat-clearing coming from the Lich King.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Bloise said, leaning so close his shoulder nearly touched Cass’s. “My power came from your father, enabling me to sense lust easily as yourself.”
Cass nearly snarled at the creature. “Then you should have sensed that I wanted nothing to do with your appraisal.”
The Lich King’s brows rose as he drank deeply. “Let us eat, son of Asmodeus, and allow me to try to convince you otherwise.”
Cass’s stomach churned at the thought, his hand tight around Mara’s foot, no longer pressing it against him, instead, his thumb rubbed lazy circles across it. At Bloise’s signal the covers were lifted from the dish set before him, half paying attention, he nearly dropped the cloche at the sight that greeted him.
Where the fuck did one even find grub worms that large?
In a panic, he looked across to Mara, who was looking pale herself. How were they supposed to pretend to eat? The worms moved and Cass jumped to his feet, knocking his chair back, stumbling and nearly tripping. So much for trying to be good guests.
Still. The larva were… eating one another.
His stomach churned up again, his throat reflexively swallowing.
Bloise laughed heartily.
“I was waiting to see how long before you admitted you didn’t consume flesh, young king,” the Lich King said, wiping his tears of laughter from his cheeks.
“How very misinformed you are, Bloise,” Mara said, her tone syrupy. “Cassius consumes flesh regularly. In fact, there are many who’d attest to his insatiable appetite for it. I’m afraid it is your offering which lacks in appeal.” Her meaning not lost to either.
“I’m not here for games or tests.” Cass straightened, closing his arms across his chest. “I’m done with this.”
His next blink, the Lich was chest to chest with him, his hand freely wandering down Cass’s body.
“How very wrong you are, little prince,” Bloise whispered against his cheek, all pretense dropped. “You came here, to my rift, where I rule, given to me by your own father, my rightful King—I have plenty of rights.” His hand hooked under Cass’s belt, dragging him closer yet.
“Back off before I feed to the very pits of your corrupt soul,” Cass hissed back, his body quaking inside, his chest tightening.
A strange gurgling moan came out of the Lich’s mouth the next time it opened, his head dropping to look down at his chest, discovering the tip of a sword poking out.
“Hands… off.”
The Lich King’s glamour dropped entirely, the sword filling a gaping hole within his caved-in chest, slicing frail sinew that would not regenerate.
“How dare you damage me!”
Before the Lich could retaliate, Cass opened up his power, freeing it to feed, entangling with the corruption that shaped the Lich King, the infernal energy suffocating. One wrong move and this rift would collapse.
“You have no concept of what I dare...” Mara spoke directly into the Lich’s ear from behind, both hands on the hilt of the sword that still threateningly ran through the Lich. “Tell me where the rod is, or I’ll peel every last bit of skin from you and feed it to your…” She eyed the larva with distaste. “Dinner.”
“I’d listen to her. My priestess isn’t known to make idle threats. Especially when holding sharp objects,” Cass managed to snarl out as he simultaneously fed and used his power to keep the rest of the Lich at bay.
She wiggled the blade. “Sharpish. It might take me a few tries to scrape the bones clean.”
“I’ll…” The Lich King grunted and wheezed. “Take you.”
“Excellent choice. Drop the sword, amata. As soon as Bloise has kindly guided us to the Rod, we can be done with this disgusting heap of a rift.”
Her head popped up from behind Bloise’s shoulder, a brow quirked in amusement. “We really do need to give it a better name.”
With a rough twist of its hilt, the sword was pulled free from his chest, the sound of snapping bones accompanying its withdrawal.
“Careful!” The Lich king growled in anger, even as a collective sigh of relief was released around the banquet hall.
Unable to stop himself, Cass bent down to press his lips against the rapidly beating pulse at her neck. Easing her, while not taking his eyes off the Lich.
“Mara, where did you get a sword?”
Her body swayed into his ever so gently, as if drawn to him by a magnetic pull. A trait Mara herself wasn’t likely aware of, or she’d have fought it. So he’d never told her because even as the mindless sin-eater, he’d enjoyed it.
“I pilfered it from the minion when you were both distracted. You know us warlocks, simply can’t be trusted around shiny objects.”
He nodded, then frowned. “Wait, where the hells were you hiding it?”
She didn’t answer, only smiled up at him sweetly.
Bloise turned back to them after barking out orders to his underlings. “Come then, this way. Let’s get this over with.”
He stepped up to Cass’s side, picking up his elbow and steering him out of the room, leaving Mara trailing behind. Which she didn‘t seem to mind much, and he envied her the distance.
The lecherous Lich King had fallen silent after the punishment received at the banquet hall, the public display ensuring he’d been reminded to the identity of the true ruler of the Hell Realms. Not Asmodeus, not Bloise, not any of the Archdemons. He was Imperium, Amara his queen, and they would damn well be acknowledged as such.
Into the Labyrinth
With each step they took, their surroundings grew more barren. Gone were the castle ruins with its whispers of faded glory. The walls grew damper the longer and, it seemed, the farther they went, the water darkening the porous volcanic rock walls, the floor more uneven with each step. And if the walls felt like they were closing in on her, Cass’s warm hand guiding her kept her heart at an even pace.
Bloise kept sneaking glances at the two of them, jumpier than when they’d first met him, dragging his fingers along the jagged walls, leaving behind what she strongly suspected was bits of his flesh. At least he’d stopped making his sleazy innuendos.
But even through the loaded silence, they were traveling in, those undead eyes managed to speak loud enough to offend. Lusty glances at her demon, resentful glares at her. She didn’t like knowing the reason Cass kept spacing out and hated the Lich King for dredging up memories that had been better left buried.
They’d been walking through the cavernous tunnel system for what felt like hours, which made sense knowing that time moved differently within each layer of the Hells. In the rift of the Lich Kingdom, the minutes did not seem to do more than crawl.
Carved stone morphed into natural formations, stalagmites and stalactites of varying colors reached out like spikes, the ground beneath their feet slippery with
condensation. Damp, dark and cold, the endless cave should have been a torment to travel, but not to Mara, who was staring in fascination at the different versions of moss covering the rock walls, and the tiny worms concealed within, which were casting a blue and purple glow into the otherwise encompassing darkness.
“Beautiful.”
Her fingers trailed reverently along the surface, careful to not disturb plant nor creature while trying to satisfy her own curiosity. “They shouldn’t be able to thrive here so close to the Stygia…”
They seemed imbued with energy she’d not before encountered, its pattern didn’t match divine power exactly, but definitely wasn’t infernal or celestial of origin. In fact, it didn’t seem to belong within the Realms. A different universe than their own perhaps, that was possible. But why then was it manifesting here, within the Lich rift of all places?
Not only was this proving a puzzle, but it was also creating a problem. The worms spread their energy so widely that it cloaked any other current running through the atmosphere, which meant she couldn’t sense any portals, any potential threats, or even the infernal energy cast by the Rod.
“Cass?”
Her call had barely been a whisper, yet her voice echoed through the cave as if she’d spoken his name aloud.
“What is it?”
Some of her growing unease must have registered, for he instantly stopped in his tracks and pulled her close to his side, his hand closing over hers.
“I’m losing my markers.”
“We’ll buy you new ones.” He grinned down at her even as she glared up, then she recognized that his tease had simply been intended as a means to ease her building panic.
“No, Cass. I’m serious, we are inside a cavernous maze, and I can’t feel anything that would lead us back towards an exit. I can’t even sense the Lich themselves, we’re traveling blind and… I think there’s something else down here. Something seems wrong. The energy here is foreign, I’ve never sensed its equal before. From what we know about the Rod, it’s infernal of nature and very powerful, yet its imprint is so weakened I can’t pick it up. I rather suspect our guide is leading us away from its location…”