Page 16

VARIANT

Mercenary Stronghold

Sunlight breaks through the curtains of my chambers. I roll over to find she’s still beside me, loving me even as she sleeps. I know her face. I know her scent and her taste, the rhythm of her heartbeat and the way her lashes flutter when she grows tired.

I am tired. So... so tired. My mind is weary and broken, torn asunder only to be put back together by hands that seek to craft me in their image. I fight her... not Eilish, no. Never her. Morrigan.

Morrigan holds no power over me and that is how I know this must be a dream, for reality would never allow Eilish to sleep so peacefully in my presence.

I’ve betrayed her in ways she never deserved.

I’ve betrayed them all... blood soaks my hands as I kick the Mercenary King’s head over the roof of his home.

His son screams in horror, followed by a sharp cry of “No!!”

I turn to face her, to beg her to release me from the Midnight Queen’s spell, but she doesn’t hear the screaming in my mind.

I attack her. The swoosh of my blade as it glides through the air is far too loud.

Eilish protects herself. Large, leathery wings block my advance.

I feel a rush of pain, but freedom quickly follows.

Clarity... sweet, sweet clarity awaits on the other side of consciousness… .

Here the sun isn’t a soft glow, but a fierce ball of fire. I gasp, sucking in a breath of hot air flavored with the rancid odor of cooking flesh. Dead bodies surround me as I lay in a pool of sticky, drying blood. It’s my own. I press a trembling hand to the large gash in my abdomen.

Eilish may have killed me, but she’s also freed me and my freedom will be worth my death. Just to know I’m no longer subject to the whims of the Midnight Queen... It’s enough.

I push myself up and sit back on my heels, kneeling in a pile of severed heads. Heads I had intended to take as trophies.

Tears spill from my eyes. It’s a beautiful thing to hear a voice in my head that’s my own. Finally my own. Morrigan’s words have poisoned my mind for far too long.

I lift my hand and whisper a spell beneath my breath.

Through the waves of heat that float from the ground, I see the great stag.

My mount bows to me and I grip the reins, using them to climb to my feet.

More blood pours from my middle. I don’t have much time.

I slide my hand over the saddle horn and toss myself into the saddle.

Pain threatens to consume me once more, but I fight through it.

Black spots dance in my vision as I cluck my tongue.

The gateway to Earlann isn’t far, but I still find myself wheezing by the time I reach the palace.

Guards rush over to assist me, pulling me from the saddle in order to carry me to the throne room.

Instead of easing me into a seat, the guards thrust me to the ground.

I kneel before the throne as Morrigan stares down at me with just a hint of worry in her eyes.

“Were you successful?” she hisses.

“The... stronghold has fallen.”

“And Eilish? Has she been captured?”

A guard answers for me. “He arrived alone, Your Highness. The army has retreated.”

Nails slash across my face, adding more blood to the endless stream of red that spreads over the floor.

“You disgust me! An inbred dog would follow my orders better than you have. I give you the last thrones in the realms, I give you legions to command, and I give you power beyond anything you could have imagined.... and still you’re useless!

I should have turned Cambion! At least he’s good for more than a decent fuck from time to time. ”

I look up into Morrigan’s sneering face and smile. “Decent? Even when you berate me, I can scent your arousal, Morrigan. Your mouth says one thing, but…” I trail my gaze down her figure. “Your body says another.” Just as I suspect, the heat flares in her eyes.

Morrigan reaches towards me, placing her hand on my chest and pulls magic from her talisman to heal me. There’s no light in the tainted magic the Threst gave her. I can practically hear the screams of the souls she’s taken.

As I heal, I drag myself to my feet. My hands slide up the curves of her hips and yank her against me.

Her arousal isn’t hindered by the blood that smears across her abdomen.

If anything, I can scent her even stronger than before.

I move one of my hands to the front of her robes and follow the trail of intricate embroidery until my palm rests against her throat.

The healing is complete. Morrigan grips my hair in a fierce hold and tugs me down into a kiss.

The breathy moans that escape our lips cause the guards to retreat from the throne room.

That was a mistake. But one I’m grateful for.

Morrigan’s lust for me makes her blind. I reach back with my free hand as I deepen the kiss and flip a small blade from a hidden sheath in my belt. Morrigan begins to climb her way up my chest, rubbing herself against me like a feline in heat. Her fingers curl around my shoulders for purchase.

Not much longer, now.

I force the blade into her with an anger that surprises me.

Yes, I hate her, but this… this goes beyond hatred.

I feel her gasp against my lips as the blade plunges into her heart.

Morrigan’s muscles constrict and she knocks me back.

She pulls the knife out of herself and drops it.

The blade clatters to the ground. She stares at me in horror.

“You... how dare… you?!”

“You no longer hold sway over me, Morrigan,” I growl low in my chest. Real fear reaches her gaze as it finally dawns on her that she doesn’t have the power to heal herself. And she doesn’t have the magic left to renew the link between us.

***

MORRIGAN

The Castle In The Sky

The blade pierced my heart deeply.

If I can defeat Variant, I may have the strength to call on a healer to fix the destruction he’s done to me.

Anger, betrayal, and fear stir within me.

Variant prowls like a predator in the wild as he watches me closely.

He’s no doubt waiting for another of my tricks.

.. but I have none. Variant has bested me.

I can’t show him as much, though, for I hope to win this battle.

And, though, I’m wounded, I’m not yet defeated.

A strong vibration radiates in my bones as I tap into the talisman’s power.

Now that Silvanus has risen and the Raven Forest has been destroyed, there’s a chance I may still get my power back from the despicable god.

But first, I must defeat Variant and take the castle and Earlann for myself.

It will require all of the remaining forces to defeat Silvanus.

“Do you have any last words before I kill you?” I demand.

Variant tosses his head back and releases an obnoxious bout of laughter. Ever the arrogant king, he saunters around with a ball of roiling magic in the palm of his hands.

“You can’t imagine how good it feels not to feel your power inside me.” He shivers in repulsion. “It was like a million spiders crawling beneath my skin as your voice whispered in my mind each and every day since I took that fucking oath.”

“I regret not… placing my efforts… elsewhere. Clearly, I made… a mistake.”

“Yes, you did,” he sneers. “You made many. And today is the day of your reckoning.”

Variant attacks.

I counter with a spell of my own. It isn’t enough. He evades my attack easily and I take a hit to the arm, dropping to the floor. I scramble back on my hands and knees as I try to put some distance between us.

Variant leaps into another attack, but I manage to blast him off his feet with a well-placed spell.

He shakes his head and stands as if the charm had no effect on him.

I hurry to the other side of the throne room and grab a sword from the wall, facing Variant without hesitation.

“We did great things together, Variant.”

“No, we did horrible things. You did horrible things and I was just your vessel. Vile things that make me wish for death,” he says softly.

There’s a world of sadness and guilt in his icy blue gaze.

“We slaughtered fae... we burned down cities and celebrated as the realms fell into disarray. The precincts toppled to ruin just like the Mercenary Stronghold. We allied with beasts and creatures I once scorned. Orcs, goblins, trolls, hounds, demons...” His voice fades but the anger in his eyes grows.

“I am an angel , Morrigan. I have the wings, but my fall from grace happened the day I trusted you.”

It’s my turn to laugh as I recall the naive little pledge that once basked in my shadow. “You were so eager to please. So ready to change the realms for the better that it took absolutely no effort to convince you that darkness was rising again. Do you remember what I told you?”

Variant flies towards me, but misses as I dodge his attack. He grabs a spear from the wall and advances still. “You told me Baron and Dragan were working together to bring Abedon back, that Theren had convinced them to join Abedon’s dark priests to start the singularity once more.”

“Yes and you believed it. Pathetic, isn’t it?

You still saw light and darkness as something simple, something black and white.

A child’s naiveté, really. You should be embarrassed.

” I encase the sword in enchanted flame and use it to block Variant’s attacks.

Already I’m winded, but I don’t allow him to see just how weak he’s made me.

“How does it feel to be a puppet, Variant?”

“Empty,” he snaps. “I went to you that day to find purpose. The realms were peaceful and yet they were barely surviving. Something never seemed quite right. We were warriors of our races, but not kings. You gave us crowns, knowing we’d weaken the realms so you could take advantage.”