Underworld - Book 6 - Chapter 44

Lilith had never so much as spoken a negative word to another succubus in her care, but this time she’d actually smacked the only succubus I hated more than her.

“Sister?” Mistress Nava said in hushed tones. I saw a wetness coating her too perfect eyes as she blinked uncontrollably.

“You don’t yet understand, but soon you will,” Lilith replied. “He’s the one I’ve been searching for.”

“Him?”

Running her finger across Nava’s brow, the Head Mistress cleared the misplaced strands of hair from her face. “I’ve had the Matriarchs gather and want you to be there when I make the proclamation.”

Like a little girl, Nava nodded her head and placed it on Lilith’s shoulder. “Okay.”

“Thank you sister. The humans you have raised will be given into Elorion’s care. But don’t worry, you will be given the chance to select more. Next time, do as I ask and don’t select those with such violent temperaments. Take a good look at this beautiful boy.”

They both turned to face me. Lilith was half a head taller than Nava and they both glowed with supernatural glamor. If only appearances were considered, there was nothing about them that seemed dangerous or evil, but I knew their natures far too well.

I watched as Russ and the guys silently tiptoed toward the girls and joined them. Their greetings were hushed, but the joy plastered over everyone’s face was clear. The one exception was Aeris. The deadness in her gaze made me fear that she really would never be the same.

As if treating me like a mannequin, the succubi walked toward me and looked me up and down. My skeletal armor only covered my lower body, and I resisted the urge to cast it over my chest and back. To do so would show that their actions affected me.

“You’ve tasted his Blue Magic firsthand,” Lilith said running a finger over the round of my shoulder. “But you haven’t experienced his true talent.”

Walking behind me, Lilith kept speaking while Mistress Nava stopped in front of me and glared up with a pout. A finger traced the line of my back. “I know you’ve been concerned about these humans being willing to kill, but do you know what this boy has done during the mission I gave him?”

Mistress Nava finally tore her eyes off me seeing Lilith had gone full circle and showed sincerity when she said, “Yes, please.”

A howl of wind cut them off. Aeris appeared behind the two succubi like a phantom and hovered before the bones of the dead Napalm. Even the Head Mistress turned to see what she was doing.

The Wind Sprite turned her attention to Mistress Nava’s group and spared each of them a second’s glance. Then without a word, Aeris’s hand shot out with her fingers wide.

“No!” Mistress Nava screamed but seemed to be helpless to act. It seemed liked she’d already forgotten that they’d been given over to me.

With the simple action of closing her hand, the greatest vacuum force I’d ever experienced appeared above the dead Napalm’s bones and sucked them up. The next moment, the air of the entire Living Quarters shuddered and each of Mistress Nava’s humans were lifted off the ground and pulled toward the vacuum with enough force to shatter bones.

Only the Korean girl who was hiding amongst my friends escaped the bone crunching impact when the eight living bodies collided as if they were fighting each other for the same point in space.

It wasn’t gravity she controlled but the air itself with such might and precision that these lowly humans had no ability to resist.

Neither Mistress Nava or Lilith stepped forward to save them. I was the one who rushed toward her and threw out a stream of Heal to sustain their lives as I appeared before Aeris.

There was no change of expression in her face. She only glanced at me and said, “What are you doing?”

I didn’t rebuke her but kept the stream of Heal going as I stepped up and slowly embraced her with my free arm. Placing myself between her and them, I didn’t even ask her to stop and took in the lovely face I’d missed with every part of my being. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” I said through mind-speak to keep our conversation private.

She dropped her eyes but didn’t drop her spell. Her voice chimed like a flute in my head. “I’m not worthy of you missing me. If you knew what I’ve done—”

“You really think I don’t know? Lilith told me before I left for the Vampire Gate.” I leaned forward and rested my forehead against hers.

Still, her numb expression didn’t change. “Then you know why I can no longer be with you. I’m disgusting.”

Leaning back so that she could get a good look at me, I laughed. “You think you disgust me? Even if you kill the people behind me, so what? Have you thought for a second, that I might’ve come back with more innocent blood on my hands than you? I should be the one telling you about how disgusting I am, but I’m too selfish to let you go.”

With my index finger under her chin, I lifted her head. She lifted her gaze in response.

“I know what you did, and why you did it,” I said. “Not only do you not disgust me, but I love you even more because of it. I know the price it cost you because I’ve had to pay the same price. I don’t care how disgusting you feel. From now on you’ll never leave my side.”

Her expression didn’t change, but there was a tension in her aura that hadn’t been there before.

Leaning forward, I whispered in her ear. “When killing becomes too easy it’s time to turn it off.”

She slanted back so that she could see my face and show me a stern expression. “You killed one. I’ll take care of the rest. There’s no chance of them harming the others that way.”

“I killed him because I couldn’t stop myself and you weren’t here. But you have me standing right in front of you. We can have a trial and kill them later if we decide that they deserve it. For now, put them down because hugging you with one arm is awkward.”

I hadn’t realized how deafening the sound behind me was until it started to subside. As her arm fell so did the force keeping her hovering in the air. Her almost non-existent weight rested fully in my embrace.

Giving the group behind me one last Heal, it should at least keep them living until I completely healed them later. I fully entwined the Wind Sprite in my arms even as she continued staring blankly. If her arms hadn’t gone through the motion of wrapping themselves around my back, I would have thought she didn’t see me at all.

A violent vibration started to come from her deceptively delicate form. When she was a twentieth of the level she was now, she had the metabolism of a hummingbird, but her current trembling was like 100,000 hummingbirds trapped inside her tiny body.

Instead of letting go, I tightened my grip. I realized she hadn’t felt the endurance and health restoration effect of my Light Magic for months, so I healed her.

Suddenly her eyes went wide as if she was awakening from a nightmare. Then she slowly closed them and rested her head against my chest.

As if commenting on her favorite movie, Lilith’s voice cut through the room like a peerless blade. “Do you see sister? They are capable of both diplomacy and carnage. And we need them both. Let me show you this one’s true ability.”

From where I held Aeris, the two succubi stood twenty feet away directly behind her. Lilith took something from her inventory that fit in the palm of her hand. With a surge of mana, Light leaped from the device and filled the air with an all too familiar scene. Like a projector that didn’t need a surface to function, the image of Jasmine peeking over the boulder of our basecamp played like a video from my personal perspective from that day. Even Lord Soroush’s frosty aura could be felt.

I’d succeeded in being strong for Aeris, but as the scene of the worst moment of my life replayed before my eyes I started to crumble. If it weren’t for Aeris catching me I would have fallen to the floor.

The sudden change in her expression barely registered in my engrossed state, as she caught my expression and turned to see what was going on.

Lord Soroush approached with the power of a glacier in each hand. Thousands of soldiers from the depth of the city had risen up into the air to give chase.

“Light Mage?” Lord Soroush roared. “Your scourge must die!”

As he moved to release his icy wrath, the built up brilliance in my hand finally erupted.

I wanted to look away but couldn’t.

Aeris gave a nod as she saw the high level vampire disappear beneath the blinding light, but she had yet to see why the scene was tearing me apart.

All that existed was a beam of light for a number of seconds until the scene went black.

The Wind Sprite in my arms looked up at me as if wanting to encourage me, but when I didn’t turn away from the projection above she turned back to watch.

As my consciousness returned in the scene, the massive devouring sun appeared above the city and looked to be killing the vampires that had been chasing me. Many of my friends watching called out as if to cheer me on, but a few moments later they started to realize the horror of what I’d unleashed.

Gasps replaced cheering and then silence.

The Scorching Sun continued to grow until it threatened the city. The screaming began.

My friends and enemies watched together as the city died.

Before it was done, I’d regained my composure and an emptiness replaced my unconstrained grief. It seemed I’d finally reached the limit of how much I could feel. My body had had enough and decided to shut that part of itself down.

With a tear soaked face, I watched Aeris as my Scorching Sun changed the landscape of the entire alcove.

When she looked back at me, I half expected her to show me the disgust she thought she deserved. Instead, she still had a face void of expression, but gave me an unyielding nod. “I will never leave your side again.”

I gave her a wooden grin.

The projection had stopped, and Lilith spoke where all could hear. “See sister. Such untapped potential. He also has the ability to find friends among enemies. That is a skill that the ruthless playthings you’re so fond of can never possess.” She turned her attention to me and the people of Sanctuary. “As I promised, you have been reunited and I will never separate any of you again. Elorion, the Master Ring if you would be so kind.” She held out her hand.

As I willed, the Master Ring immerged from where it was hidden in the flesh of my finger. Aeris felt my movement and flashed into a mass of air before reemerging at my side. I removed the ring and we walked forward together.

Handing it to her, she seemed to only have eyes for me as if the ring was only a fleeting thought. When she did scan it, she waved Nava forward to stand at her side. With the flick of her wrist, a small foot tall portrait appeared in her hand.

“This one commonly caught and enslaved our kind,” she said as if given a history lessen to the younger mistress next to her. “He was captured, and his essence was shared by a thousand daughters in the Nursery.”

“Mmm,” Mistress Nava responded like an obedient child.

In an instant, the portrait and frame burnt up and a second portrait ten times as large took its place. I knew she was freakishly powerful but seeing her hold the bigger than life painting between two fingers and her thumb, it still looked otherworldly.

From my angle I couldn’t see any of the vampire’s faces, but one after another she pulled them out and seemed to know every one of them. Most of them hadn’t been killed by the succubi, but even if they were assassinated by what should have been an unknown vampire family that had tried to hide their involvement, Lilith knew what had happened in detail. Even those that hadn’t been hostile to the succubi, she burnt their portraits to ash. It was only when she found the one she was looking for that the lecturing stop.

It wasn’t the largest or most ordinate painting she held in her hand, but it was sure to be one of the oldest. Even then, its internal mana still glowed strong.

She studied it for a long moment before it disappeared into her personal inventory without her saying a word.

I couldn’t read anything from her expression but seeing Mistress Nava’s doleful response as she stared up at her Head Mistress, it seemed the person in the portrait must have meant a great deal to her. I wasn’t sure if I were ready to believe that Lilith had once had feelings for a vampire, but it was the first time I’d see any of their kind have a favorable reaction to a man outside of the meal he might provide them. We didn’t count because the guys of Sanctuary and me were just a meal of a different kind.

Lilith took a step forward and reached out to hand me the Master Ring. “This is your prize, and it was well won. It’s a suitable tool for the master of Sanctuary. Take it and use everything inside of it as you see fit.”

I did as she asked but gave her no response.

When she saw our downtrodden expressions, she smirked. “Now to the business about the death of your friend. Do you really think he’d be able to die without me knowing about it?”

What was she implying?

Aeris’s hand found my wrist and squeezed it with imposing strength. In the next moment, we found ourselves heading toward the dining hall going faster and faster. We weren’t alone. Our friends were right behind us and the succubi followed at their own pace.

Aeris and I stopped in front of the table where the melted metal torso stood like a lifeless husk. None of the normal signs of life were present.

The crowd cleared as the Head Mistress came forward with her sister at her side. The more I saw them like this the more it seemed like Mistress Nava was little more than a child. Perhaps that wasn’t far from the case. From what I knew of succubi, once they were born they leveled quickly through the Nursery and their training to reach the level of Lady. Seeing the other girls who’d come with Aeris, it looked like they’d all reached level 10,000 in a matter of months. Though the leveling would certainly slow the higher they progressed, it was possible that Mistress Nava wasn’t much older than we were. Maybe even younger…

Come to think of it, I hadn’t checked her character sheet since I’d overcome the limit of Creature Observation. Casting it on her, I couldn’t help to see her in a new light. She was only level 41,000—a little more than 10,000 levels higher than me. Thinking back to her actions, I started to think that maybe the reason for her constant outbursts of anger were because she still hadn’t lost her childish nature. The way she doted on her pets and her insistence on not wearing shoes to show off her over the top pedicure ability was even more convincing. Then seeing how Lilith treated her made me think her original hatred of us was because she was jealous of the attention we were getting…

The Head Mistress stopped to stand beside Aeris and me. “Watch closely,” she said.

I’d observed him more than once and not seen a sign of life, but I examined him again. With Mana Sight turned all the way up I looked for any hint of change. Still nothing.

Lilith continued standing there, so no one moved.

When nothing happened, I was about to try to plunge my perceptions inside it or cast Forced Learn, but something stopped me. A tiny pulse of Metal Mana flew from the metal mass. Then it was still again.

“You see?” Lilith said. “A human’s power is in their blood, and that fact is even more prevalent in were-creatures. Especially with their high passive regeneration ability, you’ll find that they can be some of the most pesky creatures to kill. Elorion, if you would do the honors.”

“Yes, Head Mistress,” I replied, stepping forward. Aeris approached with me.

Leaning over what was left of my friend, I extended my hand that was transformed by Light Surgeon. I wasn’t sure how well this would work since he was literally covered in metal, but I pushed a Life Magic tentacle toward it as well as my perceptions.

Even as I touched it, it still felt like an empty husk. I found my Life tentacle was able to pass through it, so I delved inside.

The metal was many inches thick as I pushed my way into his chest. It was like paddling across a still body of water until all a sudden the water disappeared to be replaced with vibrant life. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Encased inside the metal husk was a still human heart. If it weren’t for the glow of Life, I’d still believe that it was all that was left of Travis’s corpse.

Like a thunderclap, the organ thundered into life with a single beat. It had no body to pump the blood into so the red liquid rushed out of the organ and bathed itself in blood before sucking it back in. He’d completely turned his body to Metal except for this slow beating heart to sustain his own life. The magic he cast must have held his last sliver of will as his mind was melted under the Acid Magic. What I was looking at was impossible, but I couldn’t care for the logic behind it as I began to channel every ounce of my Mana Per Second and didn’t stop there. I knew how painful it was to regrow limbs. How much worse would it be to regrow an entire body?

My perceptions returned to me as I watch the husk drown in Life.

Mistress Nava yelped as she scurried back. Lilith didn’t move from where she stood and encouraged me to continue.

I increased my channeling as millions of MP was soaked up by the now growing chunk of metal. At the speed of sight it began to resemble a living statue.

Tipping over, Travis’s Werewolf Form started to take shape as if curled up on the tabletop.

I had thought the regrowing of his mind would have taken much longer than the rest of him, but it appeared just as quickly. In less than 30 seconds, the Metal Werewolf opened his eyes.

Even without being in my Werewolf Form I could feel his fear and confusion. Taking a blanket out of my inventory, I covered his nakedness to return to him his full dignity.

When he saw me—really saw me—his Metal faded and so did his Werewolf Form. “Well, that happened,” he said, laughing to himself.

All at once, the people of Sanctuary swarmed him. I took a step back and watched him fend them off as if he were being attacked by a horde of zombies with a hunger for hugs.

“Okay. Okay,” Skyler howled. “Give the man some room. He was just stuck in a lump of steel for the sake of all that is tasty. Where’s Zorik. Get this man some food.”

Where was Zorik and Queen Degima? Both of them were missing.

“They are locked in the freezer,” a timid voice sounded from behind us. It was the Korean girl.

No one bothered with her and rushed toward the kitchen.

“Russ,” I called, and threw him two Intermediate Fire Orbs.

After catching them and giving them a look, he nodded that he understood and followed after the others. I doubted either of them were dead, but they were probably in sorry shape. Queen Degima’s life force came from a Fire Core and Zorik was an Incubus with a powerful Water talent. A frozen world wasn’t the best environment for either of them. She could literally eat the orb I’d thrown Russ, and as an Incubus Zorik could drain his. Mel hurried over with the group so he could also heal Zorik. I’d provide Degima with all the Master Orbs she could want later.

It was then Aeris and me with Travis and Olivia staying behind. Travis was getting dressed beneath the blanket I provided, and Olivia had come up and grabbed Aeris’s other hand. Seeing the fire in her eyes, it was obvious she was mostly the same. Unlike Aeris who’s silver complexion outshone her silver gown, Olivia wore a pale golden blouse that helped to emphasize the emerald color of her hair. It also brought out the warm tone of her dark umber complexion.

She saw me looking at her and was quick to respond. “It’s good to have you back Skeletor.”

Checking her stats, I then saw a pleasant surprise. She’d reached level 14,501 and was now the third highest level in Sanctuary. Though she hadn’t had the same opportunity Aeris had, it was clear she’d found her own way to greatly increase her level compared to the others. “Thanks Olivia. You too,” I replied.

Hopping off the table, Travis came up behind us and said, “So how about that snack that Russ mentioned.”

It was good to see that he’d found a way to keep ahold of his sense of humor through all of this, but I couldn’t miss the nervous twitch at the base of his neck that was appearing every minute or so.

He then noticed that the Head Mistress was present and stared at her blankly for a long moment before hurrying to say, “Thank you for keeping me alive.”

“You did that yourself,” she replied, grinning warmly. “Don’t underestimate your unique combination of abilities. Even more than Elorion and Aeris, you’ve surprised me the most, little werewolf. I’d take you back with me to raise your level, but I’ve already given my word that I wouldn’t separate any of you again. Also, because of my promise,” she said turning toward me. “I wouldn’t have let him die if he were truly in danger.”

She then waved her hand and what was left from Mistress Nava’s human group flew up from the ground as if dragged by an invisible force. “These human’s I’ll leave in your hands, but for now, I’ll take them with me so that you don’t have to deal with them today. When I return them in a few weeks, you can have your trial, or kill them, or make them your slaves.”

With a swipe of her finger, they all flew toward the open portal and disappeared. Then the little Korean girl suddenly caught air and flew over to float there before us. “Does this one please you?” Lilith said.

“Is she dangerous?” I replied, watching the girl’s dejected face.

“Very, but not to you.”

“Then let her stay. We can question her and if she’s honest we’ll find a place for her here.” Her eyes shot up to meet mine for a moment before darting away. I’d seen that look before. It was the same one I’d seen from Jasmine a thousand times.

Lilith slowly lowered her to the floor. The girl had no where to go so she just stood there.

“Now we come to the real point of business,” Lilith said, stepping up to stand uncomfortably close to Aeris and me. “When I originally plotted to bring human’s here, I had very little hope that I’d be able to accomplish my true goals. Feeding off your excess energy was enough to make it a worthy hobby, but here we are, and in the first group no less, I’ve found two extraordinary children. Either one of you would be sufficient but, with your loyalty to one another, things couldn’t be sweeter. I have a proposition for you.”

After she said the last phrase, I saw Mistress Nava freeze in place.

Aeris sensed it too, for her hand tightened in mine.

The Head Mistress continued. “Elorion, you have seen that the Underworld is filled with many Monster, Beast, and Humanoid races and which of them is good and evil isn’t as simple as which group you happen to belong to. Aeris, you have also seen this, but to a lesser extent. The succubi are no different. I want to offer you a place among us. To become a brother and a sister of the succubi.”

A gasp came from her side, and with a glance I saw Mistress Nava’s hands cupped over her mouth.

“I’m sure my reasoning is clear to you.” She reached forward and grabbed our tightly clasped hands. She held the both of them between her own. “You’re capable of fighting enemies that would be otherwise difficult and completing objectives whole armies cannot. The more you grow, the truer this will become. And together…” She closed her eyes as if smelling a delightful fragrance. “I want you to fight my enemies and help to protect my people. If you agree, not only will you receive extra benefits, but you’ll have the same rights as a succubus mistress. Those who come under you will have nothing to fear from us and even receive our protection.”

Stepping to the side, she singled out Aeris. “This means that any prisoner you deem worthy you could take as your own. My dear fairy of the wind, you could even voice your opinion at high council and seek to improve on our laws.”

Glancing back to me, her flirtatious charm had returned. “And you could shelter the entire Illuminated Cathedral if you so desired. Even the Tir Princess wouldn’t be out of the question and her entire family could be under your care. If you wanted to help her lift her family to the highest level of vampire nobility, or protect Eshana and her people, the succubi could help you achieve such goals. And we would.”

I felt Aeris’s inquisitive glare, but what the Head Mistress was offering was too good to be true, but also impossible not to consider. What startled me most of all, was that I believed her. If we were to fight her battles, to kill who she wanted, she might just do as she said. But I was also perfectly aware of what was being left unsaid. Not only would the people we put under our banner be protected, but they would also be held as hostages over our heads in case we ever wanted to back out. Their freedom and safety would be secure, but only as long as we stayed loyal to Lilith and the succubi. The worst part was that I knew we had no choice. With Lilith standing before us, there was no way we could grab the others and flee. Even if it were just Aeris and me it would be impossible.

I quickly relayed my thoughts to Aeris through mind-speak. There was no surprise that she was thinking the exact same thing. She mentioned something that I hadn’t expected though. “If we are loyal to her, she will absolutely be loyal to us. For all their faults, succubi are more loyal than a pack of dogs.”

Seeing her absolute certainty looking back at me, I sighed deeply before turning back to the Head Mistress. “We accept your proposal.” Even as the words left my mouth, I hated every syllable, but I realized, that if it would guarantee the safety of all the people I cared about, then I’d take the same trip through the Vampire Gate a thousand times without changing a thing.

A smile lit up Lilith’s face. “Then follow me. This will need all of our Matriarch’s approval and they will want to meet you.”

As she headed toward the still open portal, she issued Olivia a few instructions including for them to wait for our return. Even Mistress Nava seemed excited as she glanced back at us.

With one last look at my friends who were gathered in the kitchen, I slipped my arm around Aeris and stepped through the tear in space.

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