Prelude to Night

Curiosity101: Ah, this writer is no stranger to the dreaded writer’s block. It has halted the progress of many a story. But have no fear! I find myself thoroughly enjoying the progress of writing this particular piece and have a good idea of where it’s going and how I want it to develop. As for Honey, I’m almost afraid my readers are seeing more into her than I am. It’s like you guys know something I don’t. O.o

Midnightsscream: While Fyren would certainly love to get into Daralis’s pants, he knows better then to try and go up against an experienced magic-wielder like Honey. Daemons don’t like magic, not being able to weild it themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Faustivult was distraught as they made their way up the mountain trail the next morning.

“You two spent the night together? Without me?! Daralis, how could you! And here I thought to call you brother!”

“Yes but, like every older brother, I must aspire to tear you down at every step.”

“Oh, you cold fiend. I fear it is you who was been bewitched by the Daemon’s wickedness, not I.”

“Nonsense, the two of you are so very much alike. Cut from the same cloth, so to speak.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?”

“Do you two always argue in the morning?” Honey asked from behind the two bickering friends. This caused Faustivult to flush in shame as he slowed his pace to match hers. Daralis continued on ahead of them silently as he heard the Human flirt shamelessly with their new female companion.

Fyren hadn’t showed up at all last night, the half-Fay thought. It was unlike the Daemon.

He and the Boiijan waitress had camped out all night in the clearing, much to Daralis‘s distress. He had only felt safe after convincing Honey to put up some protection wards. When the entire night had passed and a not single hair had been seen of the obsessive Daemon, Daralis had been forced to ask Honey about it on their way to retrieve Faustivult from the inn. The Boiijan had only given him an enigmatic smile and said that the Fay had nothing to worry about.

As the giggling and flirtatious laughter continued on behind him, Daralis thought back to all that she’d told him last night. Which wasn’t much, he thought. So much for answering my questions. Although, Honey had confided that she was already aware of the temple’s Daemon origins.

“But it’s necessary,” she insisted. “My presence is required at the temple.”

Her presence is required…Daralis sighed and waited for his companions to catch up, having fallen behind in their distraction. I wonder if I’ll ever understand her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After taking his rage out on a nearby forest, Kieon’s mood had bounced back fantastically. Honestly, the Daemon thought, there’s nothing to improve one’s mood like destroying imaginary Princes. Humming a lively tune, he swung his legs back and forth restlessly from his position on top of the temple. Occasionally, some of the newer troops would look up at him warily before returning to their duties, but otherwise he wasn’t bothered.

“I couldn’t have been given a better assignment even if I had asked for it,” he exclaimed, chuckling with glee. Especially if I asked for it. Casually supervising his men as they went about setting up more traps, Kieon mused on his good fortune. The rumor he had tried so hard to inform the Prince of was about a temple built in honor of Etsurill, Goddess of Temptation and Resistance. They claimed that a traveler from enemy lands had come across the temple and destroyed it completely in a single night. So now I’m here, guarding another temple built close to foreign borders, far away from the Prince, Kieon thought happily. He soon began adding words to the lively tune and waited patiently, mentally urging the criminal to take his time getting there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their trip through the mountains had been without incident so far. As the temperature began to drop, Honey insisted the three of them rest before going further. Seeing Honey try to wrap the robe tighter to herself, Faustivult hurried over and offered to warm her in his embrace. Unaffected by the cool air, Daralis rested his back against a tree and watched his two Human companions snuggle close together in order to share body heat.

“At the rate we’re going, we should be through the mountain pass by midday tomorrow.”

Honey nodded and the three travelers all looked to the sky, watching the sun as it descended.

“I only pray that the Daemon won’t force us too far off the path,” she finally replied, causing Faustivult to cringe. He feared what Miss Honey’s reaction would be after her first encounter with the Daemon. Would she be so disgusted by Fyren’s obsession with his friend that she’d leave? What if the possessive Daemon tried to hurt her for the time she’d spent alone with Daralis last night? At that thought, Faustivult glanced over at the Fay before returning to his musing. His friend had insisted that nothing had occurred, but he couldn’t help feeling that the two of them had a secret they weren’t letting him in on.

Noticing the worry lines in Faustivult’s face, Honey brought her hand up to smooth them away.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Faustivult,” she reassured him, “I have faith in you two.”

Faustivult smiled at the sentiment and was about to reply when Daralis suddenly took his sword out and turned around, his eyes piercing through the trees. Honey and Faustivult froze and listened. Now that they were paying attention, they could hear a faint growling growing nearer and nearer.

“Shade,” Daralis whispered, “it’s already caught our scent, so our only hope at this point is to try and startle it.”

“Any ideas, mate?”

“I have a few flash bombs in my pouch. You need to circle around towards the forest so that, when I stun the Shade, you can go in for the kill.”

“Right.” Faustivult slowly stood and took out his own blade, moving towards the forest as Daralis instructed. Just as Faustivult got into position, a black streak leaped towards them.

“Faustivult, now!” Daralis shouted as he threw the bomb. It gave off a flash of bright light and the Shade yowled as it was momentarily blinded. Honey stared at the creature and gasped. She had heard stories of them told by visitors to her town, but this was the first time she had every seen one. It was a large beast, coming up to Faustivult’s chest. It’s fangs the size of her forearm, it could easily rip any one of them in half. Dark, shadow like tendrils curled around it’s form, moving as if they had a mind of their own. It shook it’s shadow-like mane and fixed Daralis with a piercing, yellow gaze. Faustivult hesitated at the sight of the creature and that was all it took. Snarling, the beast lunged at Daralis.

Honey screamed as the Shade bit through his left arm, Daralis having brought it up to defend himself. While the beast was preoccupied with his arm, the Fay brought his sword around and pierced it through the heart. As the Shade died, it’s grip loosened and fell to the ground, the tendrils shuddering violently before disappearing.

Staring at Daralis’s bloody arm in horror, Faustivult sank to his knees and groaned, clutching his head. Honey barely spared him a glance before racing over to the injured Fay’s side. Ripping the bottom of Daralis’s robe, she created a makeshift tourniquet before muttering a spell of healing.

“It’s no use, the Shade’s venom is preventing me from healing this. You’re going to have to work the venom out of your system first before I can repair the damage.”

Throughout the entire process, Daralis had been glaring angrily at Faustivult, who had started to shake his head back and forth violently. After Honey had given her diagnosis, he swiftly stood and approached the shocked Human before punching him squarely in the face with his good arm, laying Faustivult flat on his back.

“Do you understand now? This flight of fancy is not a children’s game. We are going to be entering Blodtacan, enemy territory. We could die. We’d be dead now if I wasn’t experienced with fighting Shades. So,” Daralis said, grabbing Faustivult by the collar and hoisting him up, “pull yourself together. It’s time to grow up.”

But Faustivult wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were unfocused and wide with fear, hands still clutching his head as if to keep it together. His lips were moving fast as he began muttering continuous nonsense, the words “Daralis“, “don’t”, and “forgive” thrown in occasionally. Confused, Daralis put his friend down, just in time to see the sun disappear over the horizon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kieon’s head snapped up as he felt a sudden disturbance in the atmosphere. The Shades they had rode in on were pawing the ground nervously as the temple suddenly glowed blue. His eyes widening in awe, Kieon jumped down from the temple and stood at the bottom of the stairs leading to the doors. Some of his men were already there trying to force the door open. This caused the Daemon to snap out of his daze.

“Stop that! Get out of my way.” Using his enhanced speed, he ran towards the door and threw whatever poor fool had been stupid enough not to heed his warning. The symbols on the door glowed with the same ominous blue as the rest of the temple, telling of the great power that laid within.

“Asutiri,” he whispered reverently and placed his right hand on the door. Suddenly, Kieon was no longer standing in front of the temple doors. He was inside, floating a few inches off the ground as the temple halls rushed past him. Everything came to a stop, and the Daemon attendant found himself standing before the statue of Asutiri. The glow is coming from her, he thought.

Before he could move to kneel at her feet, he suddenly saw shadow images flitting around the room. A pair of traveling Humans, one male and the other female. They were crossing what appeared to be Lake Asutirill - a Daemon with short black hair carrying an unconscious Fay, his red eyes glaring at Kieon, as if daring him to hurt his ward. The gaze held tell-tale signs of the Thirst - a ship out at sea, two Human males, one of them Boiijan, arguing on the deck - a Boiijan female performing what appeared to be a ritual dance - a female Fay noble standing proudly on top of the wall dividing Tarille and Blodtacan - another Daemon, his features similar to the previous one but his hair was longer, wilder, than the other image. He was laughing maniacally, his eyes consumed with the Thirst and fire rose up behind him, spreading throughout the room.

The images were coming at him fast as they moved through the room, circling around him, but slowed after the image of the laughing Daemon had faded. This new scene was of a battlefield and-Kieon watched with abject horror-his form was standing over the body of his king, his hands covered with the other Daemon’s blood. His eyes, like the other two Daemons, were filled with the Thirst. An equally Thirsty Prince Errol stood behind him as their images turned to gaze out towards Treo, towards Human lands.

The scene flickered out. This time, the unconscious Fay from earlier was standing before him, surrounded by a group made up of all the other creatures he had seen in the visions, the form of an unfamiliar beast lurking in the shadows. The Fay was saying something and pointing in Kieon’s direction. The Daemon looked down and choked. His chest was covered in blood. My blood, he realized. This image didn’t go out like the others had. Instead, the images started to die, dissolving slowly as they hit the floor. This continued until Kieon was left alone in the room with the image of the Fay. The Fay’s form glowed blue with the rest of the temple as Asutiri’s voice sprang from his lips.

“I have chosen to show you, Kieon of Cliewen, what will come to pass. You must prevent it, or Aeden will fall.”

“How,” Kieon faltered, “How am I expected to prevent this? You have shown me that I will become one of the affected. How can I be of any help to you if I am overcome by madness?”

“You must not let this come to pass.” With that said, the image of the Fay disappeared and became a stream of blue energy, moving towards the Daemon and swirling around him.

And Kieon was back outside the temple, the glow from the temple fading. It took him a few seconds to realize that the piercing scream he heard ringing through his ears was his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fyren grabbed a hold of Daralis and clung the Fay tightly to his chest as he glared at Honey over Daralis’s shoulder. Daralis stilled, knowing better than to try and put up a fight against the Daemon with only one good arm to work with. Fyren growled warningly at Honey as she stepped forward, then said hoarsely, “When I bring him back, I expect you to be awake and ready to perform the healing spell again.” With that, he picked Daralis up bridal style and dashed through the woods.

Surprised, Daralis clung to the Daemon with his good arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Saving your life,” was the growled reply. They stopped a few kilometers away from their previous spot, the area they were now in completely secluded. Fyren put Daralis down but didn’t let him go, staring into his face earnestly as he explained.

“She can’t heal your arm until the Shade’s venom is gone, but by the time that happens you’ll have lost too much blood.” Taking two of his fingers, the Daemon moved to place them in Daralis’s wound, causing the Fay to jump as he tried to move away. Fyren’s eyes grew sad at the reaction and he sighed.

“I won’t tell you I’m sorry for what I did, but I need you to trust me now. What I’m about to place in your system isn’t an aphrodisiac. Because of the special relationship the Daemons possess with the Shades, our bodies are able to produce a…chemical filter of sorts. It will attract the Shade’s venom and separate it from the rest of your blood, making it easier to get it out of your body. Thanks to the Human girl‘s quick thinking, the venom should still be in your arm, meaning it can leave via the wound.”

Daralis looked up at Fyren warily. It all sounded legitimate, but the Daemon wasn’t looking him in the eye anymore.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Fyren winced as the accusation rung true. “You’ve already lost a lot of blood. The process needs to be…sped up.”

“How?”

“Adrenaline would be the quickest and simplest way to do it.”

“And the easiest way for me to produce adrenaline…”

“Is through arousal,” Fyren finished.

Daralis was silent as he thought of the implications. Without warning, he grabbed the Daemon’s hand and put it near the wound.

“Do it,” he whispered viciously, “Just do it. Even if it means enduring the filthy touch of your Daemon hands, I refuse to let myself die here. Not until I’ve rid Faustivult of your pathetic existence.”

Fyren’s heart leapt into his throat at the words but, instead of protesting them, he merely pushed his claws into the wound and got to work divesting the half-Fay of his robe.

Removing his claws, he placed a hand on Daralis’s chest and felt the subsequent shiver make it’s way through the Fay’s body. Closing his eyes, Fyren basked in the feeling and let himself believe, for only a moment, that Daralis was with him here willingly.

Opening his eyes to the harsh reality of the situation, he fell to his knees and grabbed onto the Fay’s hips.

“I’ll try to make this as quick and painless for you as possible…my Daralis.”

He slid the Fay’s pants downs, exposing his beautiful length to the cool night air. Daralis shivered at the feeling as he watched Fyren go about his task with cold eyes. This was a life or death situation. He refused to let it be more than that.

Feeling a tentative lick on the head of his member, Daralis gasped, his toes curling at the feeling. It’s nothing more than a pathetic Daemon trying to save my life for his own amusement, he thought to himself, this is nothing more than that. But Daralis looked into Fyren’s eyes and, shocked to see Fyren staring back at him, saw a depth of emotion unlike anything he’d ever witnessed before. Unable to look away, Daralis watched as the Daemon continued to lick up and down his already hardening length.

While his mouth worked diligently on the Fay’s arousal, Fyren made sure his eyes never left Daralis’s. He knew the Fay would never forgive him, but Gods be damned if he gave up without a fight. The Thirst suddenly made its presence known and began tempting him with thoughts of being inside Daralis’s deliciously tight heat, whispering into Fyren’s ear that it could be weeks before another opportunity like this presented itself. Doing his best to resist the Thirst, Fyren made sure he had a good grip on the Fay’s hips and began swallowing his length.

Daralis moaned at the feeling of the warm heat around his cock and whined when he found himself stopped from bucking into the Daemon’s mouth. The pace slowed and Daralis thought the Daemon could fit no more of him in, but was pleasantly surprised when Fyren began deep-throating him, pulling the rest of the Fay’s arousal into his mouth. Daralis moaned even more loudly at the sight before the sound turned into a lustful scream as the Daemon began to suck, bobbing his head up and down the Fay’s arousal.

The sound of the Fay’s pants and groans filled the air, causing Fyren’s own cock to harden. Tightening his resolve and pushing the Thirst down one more, he flicked his tongue across the engorged vein on the underside of the Fay’s fully erect member. This brought another series of moans from the body above him and he felt Daralis shudder with pleasure as he repeated the motion. Flattening his tongue out once more, Fyren carefully made sure his teeth were out of the way as he created a vacuum with his mouth.

As Daralis felt the familiar warmth pool itself in his stomach, Fyren’s pace increased and, just when Daralis thought the pleasurable sensations to be too much, began to hum around the cock in his mouth. The feel of the vibrations brought a whole new wave of pleasure and Daralis found himself screaming the Daemon’s name once more as he was sent over the edge.

Swallowing the cum down and slowly letting Daralis’s limp member fall from his lips with a pop, Fyren stood, forcing Daralis to lean against him for support. Gently, he fixed Daralis’s paints around his waist and took the tourniquet off of the Fay’s arm, using it to clean the dripping Shade’s venom from the wound. Picking him up bridal style once more, Fyren began racing back to where they had left Honey.

Just as Daralis was drifting off to sleep, a murmured “I love you” followed after him.