SEVEN
Eilish
The Forest in the Sky

 

At the mere thought of Cambion receiving a vision of that hideous event between Variant and Anona, where I was forced to watch…

Thank God, he didn’t catch a vision of the evening the following night, when Variant’s face was buried in my pussy and my orgasm was all-encompassing. Even the thought of that event makes me shudder with humiliation, rage and self-hatred.

What Cambion knows is bad enough and I suddenly feel ill…

Cambion knows I fingered myself as I watched Variant take Anona, but how much did he see? Does he know I watched Variant kill her? It was pretty obvious Cambion hated me before, but what must he think of me now?

He must think you’re the most disgusting, wicked creature in the history of disgusting, wicked creatures, I answer myself.

To the untrained eye, it must have looked as if I was enjoying myself. Why else would I have…?

I can’t even finish the thought. The memory of Variant and Anona makes me nauseous enough as it is, and now realizing Cambion witnessed everything that happened…

Strangely, Cambion seems concerned about me, but I’m sure I’m simply imagining that concern. There’s no way he could be concerned about me. Not after witnessing what he did.

But you didn’t enjoy it! I inwardly yell. You were forced into watching them and you were forced into touching yourself!

Do you think it appeared that way to Cambion? I respond to myself. And, if it had, what are the chances he even cares?

Shame and something much darker churn within me as I squeeze my eyes shut.

Flumph lands on my shoulder and pushes my hair out of my face. He doesn’t ask any questions and I’m thankful for his silence, but worry is present in his eyes. I don’t want that worry to become pity, so I smile in spite of myself.

Dragan hasn’t said much to me since we left the palace. He watches me closely, unflinchingly, as though he’s afraid I might suck the life out of him with just one glance. But, more than that, every time Dragan looks at me, there’s anger in his expression—it colors his eyes and tightens the corners around his mouth. I don’t understand his anger.

I sit on a large crag of stone with my forehead against my knees as I bemoan my very existence. No matter what I do, it seems I make a mess of everything.

According to Pyre’s announcement through Baron, we’ve decided to make camp for the night and then we will wait for Pyre to reveal himself. I’m sure Variant’s men are searching for us by now. Dragan and Cambion made it sound like no man in his right mind would enter this forest, owing to the hideous things hiding in every shadow, but I have yet to witness any of those hideous things. Pyre said we had his protection in this woodland—I suppose that’s the reason nothing has tried to devour us yet.

Regardless of Pyre’s protection, Variant will want us back.

Especially you, I think to myself. I can’t argue my own point because Variant is absolutely taken with me. Well, maybe “taken” is the wrong word. He’s definitely “interested” in me though, but I know it would simply be a matter of time before that interest would fade and he’d rather see me dead.

And he knows about your wings…

I don’t know how he knows. Maybe it was the blast that happened after he murdered Anona when I thought he was going to force himself on me.

Or maybe it was something else?

Whatever it is, he knows I’m an intact angel and that’s information that scares me. It’s also information I know I need to tell the others but I don’t feel the time is right. Not yet. Not until we find safety and we’re able to rest and make a plan for what to do moving forward.

I don’t understand Variant at all. Each time he called for me from my prison cell, I was convinced it would be my last living moment. Yet, he just wished to make conversation—mostly small talk. He wanted to know things about my past: how I’d survived on my own, where I came from, what I was running away from—all questions I couldn’t answer, owing to my missing memory.

Unlike our first meeting, Variant was decidedly better behaved during our next meetings. On more than one occasion, he was very curious about my relationships with Dragan and Cambion, but I held those cards close to my chest. He didn’t realize Baron was alive but instead believed Baron was simply a vampire who had coupled his lot with ours. That was fine with me.

Yes, I didn’t and still don’t know what to make of Variant, and that’s unsettling enough. Throw in the fact that I find myself unwillingly attracted to him, and I’m now suffering unnerving feelings of uneasiness.

I’m not supposed to be attracted to my warden and the man who will ultimately kill me!

Cambion orders Dragan to fetch kindling to make a fire while the rest of us catch our breath. The wound in Baron’s arm is gaping and ugly, and he’s lost a lot of blood. He’s weak and he needs to feed. And I know what that means: he needs to feed from me, but I also need to feed...

With every step we’ve taken, this yearning need within me increased and my energy decreased. At this point, I’m fairly zapped of any strength or stamina I had before. Since Variant separated me from the others, I haven’t been able to feed the Succubus and I’m now paying for it. Yes, Variant gave me an orgasm but that orgasm has done little to decrease this hunger. I’m of the belief that the only way the Succubus can feed is through true sex—a man must be inside of me in order for me to feed from him.

Cambion and Dragan bicker about the kindling chore for a moment, but then Dragan buries the hatchet and leaves me alone with Cambion. Exactly what I don’t want. I don’t want to face Cambion’s questions and his accusations about Variant. Deciding to relieve myself, I move a few steps away from Baron, Flumph, and Cambion to urinate behind a tree.

When I smooth my dress back into place and walk around the tree, Cambion is there waiting for me.

“Eilish, what happened in Variant’s bedchamber?” he asks in a slight whisper as he blocks my path. He stands so close; his light energy envelopes me and I feel invigorated within his company. It’s strange because I don’t feel this way when I’m close to Dragan or Baron. I figure it must be Cambion’s light energy that speaks to the lightness within me.

I scuff bitterly. “So, you’ve decided to use my name again? Not demoness?”

“No, not demoness.”

“Only because you want something,” I mutter.

“I want you to tell me what happened.”

“Why should I?” I demand, facing him with an anger that surprises me. I’ve noticed that the longer the Succubus goes unfed, the worse my temper. I start to push past him, but he grips my upper arm and yanks me back, forcing me in front of him. He doesn’t let go.

“Because you’re afraid and I want to know why.”

That’s none of his business! I yell to myself. Cambion has been nothing but abrasive and cold this entire time! And now he’s being decent just because he wants me to answer his questions!

My anger gets the better of me and I feel my cheeks glowing red. I have to ease it back down again. It’s simmering, just beneath the surface and ready to erupt any moment now.

Maybe this is his way of waving the white flag? I reason.

No, it’s not. It’s his way of getting more ammunition he can use against me later.

“Eilish,” he probes, and I pull my arm away from his hand, taking a few steps back as I search for a way to sidetrack the conversation. I’m not going to give Cambion what he wants. I’m not going to further humiliate myself. “This is your fault!”

“My fault?” he demands, anger overcoming his features.

Well… fuck him! He needs to know how badly he made a mess of things.

“If you hadn’t insisted that we trust Raflamir, even when every sign told us not to, we wouldn’t have been captured!” I rage at him. “It’s your fault we were taken prisoner and it’s your fault that Variant...” And then I lose my nerve, fully aware of what I was about to say.

“What, Eilish?” Cambion asks as he takes the step forward that separates us, grabs my wrists, and yanks me into his chest. He wraps his arms around me and holds me there like he’s imprisoning me with a hug. I’m panting and shocked and I’m not really sure what’s going on. Cambion has never wanted to be close to me before so this is confusing, to say the least.

“What did Variant do?” I hear anger and empathy in his voice, but I don’t trust the empathy. It’s fake. It must be. Cambion’s opinion of me changes from irritation to dislike to fury so quickly, it gives me whiplash.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I want to talk about it,” he insists. And I can suddenly see the king within him—he’s a man who’s used to getting his way.

“You’ve already made up your mind about me, so let’s not pretend otherwise,” I spit the words out as I try to lean away from him but he holds me tight, forcing my face against his chest. He’s so warm and he smells like the forest surrounding us. His energy seems to leach into me, and I somehow feel restored. I can only imagine what it would be like having sex with Cambion—what the high must be. But I can’t allow myself to think this way. Cambion despises me. “You know what happened.”

“No, I don’t.”

I take a deep breath and pull away from him so I can look him level in the eyes. He allows me. “I succumbed to my nature just the way you knew I would. I was the very thing you loathe, a demon of lust.”

There, I’ve said it. I’ve said exactly what he wanted me to say. And now maybe he’ll leave me drowning in my own self-hatred and shame.

Cambion tilts my chin up, forcing me to look him in the eyes. I look away in defiance, but the warmth of his touch is welcome even though I hate admitting the fact.

“Then you’re telling me you enjoyed it?”

My mouth drops open in shock as I shake my head, but I then realize the uselessness in trying to defend myself. “What difference does it make? If I defend myself, you won’t believe me anyway.”

“I saw the tears in your eyes when I witnessed the vision.”

I feel my stomach drop and I can’t look at him. “Then you know the answer for yourself.”

“You didn’t enjoy it, but you weren’t able to stop it.” His voice grows soft and I can’t answer him because there’s a huge lump in my throat. “That doesn’t sound like a demon of lust to me.”

“It doesn’t change the fact,” I start and then furiously bat my eyelashes as I try to get control of myself. “It doesn’t change the fact that I… touched myself.”

“You had no choice,” he answers with a shrug. “You were captured by Variant’s will. You had no control over yourself.”

“Do you believe that?” I ask him, finally finding the strength to spear him with my gaze.

“Yes.”

I’m surprised, so surprised I have no response.

“Tell me how Variant was able to control you,” he continues.

“I don’t understand.”

He nods as if realizing his words are confusing. “Tell me what he did that forced you to… touch yourself.”

I eye him suspiciously. I don’t trust him. “Why?”

“I could help you...”

Why would he want to help me? I think to myself. Usually, Cambion wants nothing to do with me and before we were imprisoned, he wouldn’t stop going on and on about leaving me somewhere to fend for myself. I don’t say anything, and he explains.

“I could teach you how to defend yourself if anyone ever tries to force themselves on you again.”

It isn’t like Cambion to ever offer anything. Since I’ve met him, he’s struck me as self-centered, proud, stubborn and too convinced of his own importance. Yet the hailstorm of emotions in his eyes causes my heart to clench. I won’t lie to myself and think he cares, but he feels something. He must. There’s no way anyone could fake the emotion I detect in his eyes.

I start to nod, and the anger flows out of my entire being. “Compulsion. Or at least that’s what I think it was.”

“Why do you think it was compulsion?”

I shrug. “Variant waved his hand and he took control of me, just like that. And no matter what I did or what I thought, I couldn’t curb his control. It was like I wasn’t even in my own body. He forced me… to…. to pleasure myself and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” The venom in my voice startles Cambion, but the expression in his eyes doesn’t change.

“Compulsion sounds about right.”

I nod but there’s hesitancy in me, at the same time. Hesitancy because I haven’t explained everything yet. I’ve left out some of the details because they’re details I’m not exactly comfortable with.

“There’s more,” he says. It’s as though he can read me.

I swallow hard and before I can stop myself, I begin to explain. “When Variant was… doing that to Anona,” I start, sounding as awkward as I feel. Cambion smiles a bit at my choice of words but says nothing. “I hated him,” I continue. “I hated the control he had over me. I felt disgusted and violated and…”

“And what?” he prods as he studies me narrowly.

I sigh. This is the part I don’t want to admit. This is the part I’m sure will kill whatever good will Cambion has towards me. But, it’s also the truth. “Part of me liked it, even though I couldn’t understand how or why. And I hated myself for liking it. I still… I still do.” Tears start to blur my eyes and I look away from Cambion again. It’s too hard to admit all of this and wonder if the understanding in his eyes is going to turn to judgement and disgust. There’s no way I’ll tell him about the following evening when Variant buried his face inside me. That will be a secret I’ll take to my grave.

Unless Cambion receives a vision of that too…

Cambion reaches forward and swipes my tears away with his thumb and I’m momentarily floored. “Why… are you being nice to me?” I finally ask.

He swallows hard and he’s quiet for a moment or two. “I don’t know,” he answers.

“That’s not a good response,” I say with a faux laugh, even as the tears continue to escape.

“I’m sorry, but it’s all I have,” he says and steps away from me.

I curl my arms around myself and sigh. “I know you think the worst of me. And, I don’t blame you at all. I think the worst of myself too.”

“That’s not what this is,” he nearly interrupts and closes the gap again. He looks like he wants to touch me, but he doesn’t. His eyes, however, are deep and… kind. I don’t understand.

“What this is?” I repeat.

“What happened—the way your body reacted—was natural even for someone who isn’t a Succubus.”

“He killed her, Cambion, in front of me!” I almost yell at him.

“And, tell me, Eilish, were you turned on at that point?”

“Of course not!”

He smiles. “You’ve just proven my point. You had no way of knowing Variant was going to murder Anona. All you knew was that you were witnessing a sexual act and you were forced to pleasure yourself. It isn’t your fault that you liked the way your fingers felt against your own skin. It isn’t your fault that watching Variant fucking Anona turned you on.”

I swallow hard because I’m more than turned on just listening to Cambion talking to me. And his body is so close, and his energy is so bright, so overbearing.

“It isn’t my fault?”

“No,” he answers as his eyes settle on my lips. I can feel the change in his energy—he’s stimulated—just as much as I am.

Before I can stop myself, I ask: “Would it turn you on to watch someone fucking me?”

I don’t know where the words come from or how I have the courage to even say them, but before I know it, the words are out. Cambion’s eyebrows shoot for the sky and he seems taken aback for a moment or two. Then he swallows down his pride and nods.

“I imagine it probably would.” Then he quickly adds: “I’m not saying that’s what I want, by any means. But, were I in a similar situation, where I was forced… to watch someone inside of you…? I’m sure my cock would act on his own natural impulses.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t respond. Instead, all I can think about is Cambion watching Dragan or Baron fucking me as he strokes his cock and then announces it’s his turn.

“My disgust is with Variant,” he says and interrupts my wandering thoughts.

“Thank you,” I say, and he appears surprised.

“For what?”

“For actually listening and believing me and trying to make me feel better.”

He nods. “Don’t get used to it,” he says with a smirk and then turns and walks away. I’m not entirely sure, but I think the bulge in his pants is a little more pronounced.

 

###

Baron

 

The forest is quiet. Not the sort of quiet that helps me relax, but the kind that puts me on edge. And through that silence breaks the sound of a trickling stream.

Every inch of my body aches with a newfound agony. Whatever was on the end of the blade that pierced me, must have been some kind of contaminator. And something I’ve never been exposed to, as I’ve built a tolerance to most poisons. Well, at least to the types of poisons one can build a tolerance to.

Cambion stands over me with my shirt in his hand. He dips it into a hollowed-out piece of tree trunk he’s magicked into a bowl. In the bowl is enchanted water that’s been given healing powers. As to whether the water will have any effect on my wound…? Who’s to say?

He runs the shirt over my torso, dripping the water over my wound in his attempt to clean it. It burns like all the fucking demons of hell. A slew of uncultured words drifts from my lips as I bare my fangs at the elf. Cambion, of course, ignores me with the same impassiveness that he ignores everyone.

I’ve mastered a similar cold indifference.

Regardless, I’m about to punch his skull into powder if he doesn’t stop touching me. I try to push him away, but my arms won’t move. The fucker must have cast a spell to keep me still. “Okay, enough,” I snarl as Cambion smears a poultice over the deep wound on my arm.

“I’m the only one keeping the bloody thing from becoming infected,” he spits back at me.

“At this point, I’d fucking rather die.”

“Well, lucky for you, you’re immortal and can’t die,” Cambion responds in that familiar teacher speaking down to a student tone of his that makes everyone want to take his head off.

Where the fuck is Pyre? I wonder.

“I don’t have anything to sew you up with, so binds will have to do,” Cambion announces.

“Binds? What binds?” I insist. I hate anyone fussing over me. It’s irritating and it’s even more irritating that it’s Cambion. At least if it were Eilish, I could hope to get a peek at her cleavage or her shapely ass.

“Whatever clothing we can spare,” Cambion responds as he turns to look at the rest of our group. “That means start donating.”

Dragan grumbles something unintelligible but strips off his black tunic and tosses it at Cambion. Flumph lifts his shirt as well, but the gargoyle stays his hand. “No one wants to see that.”

“Well, fuck you too, big fuckin’ ape!” the sprite says as he flies over to Eilish. She grips the hemline of her long, satin gown and rips it past the slit that ends at her knees. She rips it upward until we’re all endowed with the sight of her milky thighs. Then she rips the fabric sideways, thus making her long gown short. Noticeably short, in fact.

Her hands tremble slightly as she hands the fabric to Cambion, who makes it quite obvious he’s trying to avoid looking at her long, toned legs. If not for the intense pain and weakness I feel, I would toss her to the ground and fiercely satisfy her every need.

Cambion shakes his head as though he can read my thoughts. He drops the donated fabric to the side, before selecting the satin from Eilish’s gown and ripping it into a four-inch piece. Then he rips a piece of Dragan’s shirt and soaks it in the water bowl. He wrings the shirt out and wraps it around my arm, carefully tying it into a knobby knot at my side. He covers the material with the strip of Eilish’s dress and then uses the remaining satin for one more go-around.

The elf stands and then looks down at me before he nods, satisfied with his work. I want to snap at him, to tell him this act of kindness doesn’t redeem the fact that he got us captured by our enemy, but I don’t. For some reason, I sympathize with Cambion.

Each and every one of us has at least one act of pure stupidity tainting our pasts. Acts that remind us not to fuck up again. If not for trusting the Midnight Queen, I would never have allowed myself to be betrayed. As far as I’m concerned, Morrigan guided us through the oath and we followed obediently, claiming the thrones and our powers without question. The balance was restored, yes, but at what cost?

The more time I’ve had to think about it, the more I’ve realized our chief mistake was that unquestioning loyalty we placed in Morrigan. It was my own stupid trust that got me, er Baron, killed.

And I will never trust anyone again.

Everyone is capable of betrayal.