Shadows from the Past - Book 2 of To Be Claimed By Her

Chapter 8

Erebus

"Who are you?" I demanded of the small woman before me.

She laughed, but there was no joy in her voice. "I'm your ticket out of this place, shadow."

I felt a sharp pain as the space seemed to expand and with a fiery entrance, the dragon form of Victor Morgan appeared before me. His eyes were livid as he looked between me and the woman. She handed me a pendant and nodded for me to put it on. Once it hung around my neck my pain ceased, but Victor began to roar in agony, his talons grating as he tried to reach us.

"Sorry, Prince. It just wasn't meant to be this time around," she said with a smirk, then waved her hand and I found both of us standing in a desolate clearing as the portal to the chamber began to seal with Victor still inside. "Well, not that's done, shall we go? Deimos is waiting to speak with you," she said offhandedly.

"Who the fuck is Deimos and who are you?" I snapped, pulling her around to face me. "What game are you playing?"

"Oh shadow, don't worry so much. We're on your side, buddy," she tittered. "I'm Sang and Deimos is the demon who just made it possible to spring you from your little cell a few thousand years early - you're welcome by the way, now let's get going."

"Wait, how long have I been in there?" Was she really telling the truth? The way Victor looked at me, it appeared his hatred was still quite fresh.

"Less than a hundred years," she grinned. "Oh, and they're all immortal now, so you have lots of time to get your revenge, shadow."

"Stop calling me that," I snapped.

"Touchy, touchy," she snarked, "Oh, and did I forget to mention not only did we catch Victor, but we already have Gabriel and Loki as well?"

My eyes lit up, "Lead the way."

Deimos

My patience was wearing thin. It had taken longer than hoped to crack that damn portal, and so far nothing worked on Loki or Gabriel. While they were useless inside the cell, their DNA seemed to be resistant to every poison, venom, and toxin we tried. I'd even called in various witches and nothing changed beyond a day or two of screaming in agony, but they always remained unchanged. At least I'd been able to trap Victor in his dragon form before sending Sang to lock him in the chamber. All my research indicated that the longer he was forced into that form, the more difficult it would be to hold onto his human nature and sanity. By the time the chamber released him, he'd be nothing more than an animal driven mad with isolation.

"Your golden girl has returned, D!" Sang exclaimed as she walked into the room with a rather confused-looking Erebus following her.

"About fucking time," I grumbled. "So, you're Erebus. Hmm, not as impressive as I'd imagined," I told him, looking him over.

"Who the hell do you think you are," he growled, taking a menacing step forward as tendrils of black shadows swirled around him.

"Pfft, hush," I said and waved my hand, freezing his little shadows.

"H...how are you doing that?" he gaped.

"You're in my world now, Erebus. Now, I have a proposition for you, so sit down and listen like a good boy," I told him and made a chair appear, where he promptly sat. "Sang, go check on the prisoners, oh, and have the witches cook up something for a vampire. I already know we can't taint him, but when Nyx figures out her dear hubby is free, North could become an issue."

"Dead blood," Erebus muttered.

"What?" I asked him as Sang stopped mid-step to listen as well.

"It won't kill him, but it can cause immediate desiccation. Nyx will have to entomb him for quite a while to allow him to heal. Depending on the amount of dead blood ingested, it can take hundreds of years to recover." He explained with a sadistic smirk.

"How do I get him to drink dead blood, especially enough to put him out of commission?" Sang asked. I looked at Erebus to see if he would offer a suggestion.

"What's in it for me?" the Titan asked.

I chuckled, "The fairy." He drew in a harsh breath, and his eyes flared. Yes, that's his weakness. "The plan is to strip her bonds to all of them. We've already done it with Victor and are working on Loki and Gabriel. With the lack of bonds, she will be more susceptible to my suggestions and willingly submit."

"How do I fit into all of this? You aren't going to just hand her over to me, now are you?" He sneered.

I shook my head, "No, most certainly not, but I am willing to entertain your desires for her. I'm an incubus at heart, Erebus. I want her essence. Now, that can be at the end of my cock or another, or several, but no matter what, I want to bind that essence to me and dine on her for all of eternity." His eyes widened as he looked at me. "What, did you think I had some lovesick motive?"

"What of the men? Are they to be killed?"

Sang made a squeaking sound behind us. "No," I said. "My girls have requested playthings, so I am willing to allow it, provided they can be subdued - altered even, to meet my approval. Truth be told, none of them can be killed. They were granted the gift of immortality after defeating you. As I told my girls, if they cannot be made compliant and useful, then they are to be caged for eternity."

The Titan seemed to ponder my responses for a bit, then looked at Sang, "Even vampires are susceptible to incubus essence and control. Get him high and aroused, then magically replace his drink with blood. A freshly dead body will do best. He will still feel the warmth, and the process will be more drawn out. It may take him a day or even two before he collapses and they will need to seek out Nyx. She'll have to take him to the Void to stop the progression."

"What if someone else drinks the blood?" She asked.

"If you spell it properly, they will just think it's spoiled wine. It won't harm any of them that aren't vampires," he shrugged.

I extended my hand toward him, "I think this is going to be a rather prosperous collaboration for all of us, Erebus. Now, let me fill you in on the rest of my plan."

Author's Notes:  Deimos and Erebus could be a very deadly combination...