Arcanus 5

[catriana_fiction]

Title: Arcanus (Previously known as Demon King)
Series: Original
Genre: Fantasy/Drama/Romance
Rating: M
Chapters: 16/??(WIP)
Summary: He is the Demon King of the West, one of the few true immortals of the western lands. When his kingdom is frozen by 'Olde Magick' he goes out into the world to find clues and answers. Along the way he binds himself to a young vampire, encounters a half-elf that is more than what he seems and quickly begins to realize that freezing his kingdom was only the beginning.
Notes: More grumpy Rioran.

 

5

xxxxx

“Vampireling, we shall have to continue this conversation later.”

While it was not as powerful as him, the demon king could sense something in the distance heading towards him at an incredible speed. Annoying, as he was currently trying to kill Monsters. Rioran was at Varian borders, deep within the forests. The wind was blowing unnaturally around him, streams drifting around his body as he regarded the twenty or so creatures that were beginning to surround him. His gaze was impassive, vivid green eyes hooded, mouth partially open as lips moved. He did not need to speak to manipulate the wind, but his attacks were not as powerful if he did not. Arms spread out he takes in the grotesque masses of flesh and muscle that used to be a human being and points his hand towards two to his left.

He speaks but the commands are swept up by the wind. Sharp blades of wind lash out like whips, slicing the two monsters into uneven halves. The trees that were hit in the crossfire begin to collapse and some of the Monsters hesitate, taking a step back. Outstretching his wings he lifts up into the air a bit, taking in the remaining creatures. He can sense the other and it is close. Trying to fight off all the Monsters and whatever it was that was coming for him would be highly annoying, so he crosses his arms, lips moving rapidly as he instructs the wind to do as he wishes.

It is done not a moment too soon, for as the blades sliced the Monsters and nearby trees into ribbons the other creature had arrived and he had barely had enough time to draw up a barrier before he was hit by a rather large column of earth. The redhead is knocked back quite some distance and he is a little stunned by this development as he takes in the newcomer.

It is definitely a Monster but the demon is almost positive it has been magically enhanced. Not that this wasn’t possible, it was that most individuals wouldn’t be insane enough to do something like that to a creature that could quite easily rip apart the caster after the fact. He was massive, much larger than the average Monster. It was sightless it seemed, for the top half of his face was covered in stone. Along with being large it was also covered in armor made from the earth. Earthen magic was a southern demon ability and this creature was not one of his blood. The demon king is quite confused, a Monster being able to use magic should be impossible as far as he knew of it. All demons’ blood did was corrupt, turning the human into a large mass of flesh and muscle with very low intelligence on top of being highly aggressive. The Monster did not gain the demons magical abilities, it was its own species of creature, demons didn’t even recognize them as one of their own even if their blood had made them.

Surprise fills him once again when the creature slams an earth reinforced foot down on the ground and another column of rock slams into his shield from below. Immediately, Rioran begins to retract his wings and lowers to the ground, ignoring the debris from where the earth had shattered thanks to his shield. Fighting on the ground was risky but his wings weren’t exactly for decoration. He could fly without them, but it was rather annoying and difficult. One of a demon’s weaknesses was their wings, they were highly sensitive and not having them was crippling.

With surprising speed the huge hulk of earth charges, slamming its fist into Rioran’s shield. It is reflected but barely and he is knocked back once again, scowling. He could kill it he just…

The demon king almost doesn’t block in time as his attention is split between the fight and Liari. Despite what she believes he never truly withdraws from her mind completely, he always has a hold on their link. At first he had been, for the most part, ignoring the background noise that was the vampire’s birthday party. It wasn’t until he heard something quite clearly that she now had a good portion of his attention.

“This party is really for formalities and to be polite, you are already engaged to me Lia.”

What in the hells did vampires do at these birthday parties? Something serious had happened and he was quite confused as to why. Liari had a few more years before she was considered an adult and they were already marrying her off?

Dodging another blow he shifted the majority of his attention to his life mate. She was angry, and rightly so since they hadn’t said anything to her and the prick had gone behind her back. But then after a moment she shifted into…resignation? It was strange because she obviously held feelings for the boy but she didn’t really want to marry him. After a moment she seems to shift in opinion, ready to tell him that she was fine with it.

Liari, don’t you dare agree to marry him.

Never in his life has he ever been jealous, it wasn’t an emotion he even thought possible for him. Yet when his life mate had almost all but decided to marry someone else besides him Rioran had been unable to block out the amount of rage that had hit him like a physical force. He was angry at the fact that she had even considered the option and the desire to go over there and rip the little manipulative bastard of hers limb from limb was strong. She liked that boy, liked him enough to marry him and the demon king was pissed.

He didn’t even remember killing the creature, one minute he had been dodging blows and the next it was crumpling to the ground in tiny pieces and half of the area had been leveled. He locked out his emotions from her when he realized that she was actually feeling physically ill from his inability to behave like a proper, rational creature. What in the hells was going on with him?

“We are engaged now,” Rioran heard the Lotros’ voice clearly “you may feed from me, if you wish.”

It wasn’t even something he could help, this jealousy. The thought of her feeding off of another male was absolutely infuriating to him, to the point of savagery. At that statement the demon was no longer thinking clearly through the haze of anger and he didn’t even try to pin back his emotions this time, he wanted that little prick to feel it.

Logically, he knew he was being an ass and an idiot, emotionally he didn’t give a shit. Logically, he tried to tell himself that he wasn’t even interested in the girl romantically because she was too damn young and he was way too old; emotionally he wanted to go up to the Lotros heir and tell him that Liari was his. He really wasn’t fond of this emotion because he had a rather short tolerance for stupidity and he was definitely acting stupid. What did it even matter if she had feelings for the boy and that those vampires thought she was going to marry him? Liari was bound to him, even if she wanted to she wouldn’t be able to fight it forever, just as he had been unable to. Eventually, when she was ready, he would claim her and that would be it. He knew all of this, he understood this, but for some reason he just didn’t care.

So he shot her an image of an area not too close but not too far away from the Varian castle and proceeded to act like an idiot.

You will go there, and you will summon me.

He was so angry he couldn’t even think straight so when she summoned him instead of being an intelligent, rational demon king he continued to act like an ignorant ass. At first he had tried to reign in his emotions because he was scaring the hells out of her, really scaring her, and that had snapped him out of it for a moment. Rioran would never hurt the girl so he tried to calm her down a bit by using his nickname for her. Then he started asking her really stupid questions that only a jealous asshole would ask until she had eventually gotten fed up with his nonsense and snapped at him.

“Why do you even care?” she snapped, surprising him “What does it even matter to you who I love or marry, you have never expressed an interest before so it’s rather hypocritical of you to all of a sudden become angry with me because I might hold an interest in someone else besides you.”

As much as he didn’t want to tell her that she was right, she was and they both knew it. In his defense, she didn’t actually know that the ‘boy’ she had been growing up with was actually two thousand years old and because of that he had been unable to grow those sorts of feelings for her like a normal boy would have in his shoes. And he was being a hypocrite and a bastard but once again Logic was being kicked around by Jealousy and Stupidity and he reacted.

They continued to argue and Rioran grew more and more frustrated as they did. Mostly he was frustrated with himself because it brought to him the stinging reality that even though she was, in fact, his life mate he hadn’t been showing it at all. He saw her as a child because she was a child and so had treated her as such. There was also his contempt for vampires which also had made him avoid the whole ‘romance’ aspect of their relationship. He didn’t hold her in contempt – and if she kept accusing him of it he was going to become seriously upset – but it obviously hadn’t helped their relationship over the years.

He truly did care for Liari, she was intelligent, kind, somewhat witty, and despite the fact that she had domineering males in her life she had still managed to hold somewhat of an independent nature. The years he had spent communicating with her had been enjoyable and while he would never admit it out loud he truly did desire to physically be around her more. His feelings weren’t romantic, at least, they hadn’t been until now. Rioran had never thought about it because he had been confident that once she had become an adult things would change. Apparently, the time he thought he had didn’t exist. He tried, and failed, to squash down the fear that she would indeed choose the Lotros boy over him. The fear had turned into anger and he had once again lashed out at her.

Then the Vampireling did something that probably hadn’t been the smartest move with the mood he was in. When he tried to force an answer out of her about her feelings for the boy she had tilted her chin up at him like the aristocrat she was and said two words.

“Make me.”

Oh really? Was the first thought that had sprung to mind and he grinned at the challenge. So that was the way she wanted to play it? Okay, he could play, he had already acted like an idiot thus far, might as well go for the gold. At that moment she was no longer a child, she was his life mate and apparently, he needed to make it clear to her just exactly who it was she belonged to.

“Alright. Just remember you asked for it, Vampireling.” Still grinning, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close, ignoring the wary expression on her face. Although she was only sixteen it was quite obvious that in a few years she would be absolutely breathtaking. Her skin was pale, like porcelain and her eyes…Liari had bright hazel eyes that at times almost looked golden and he loved looking at them. Long midnight hair had curls all over the place that settled along her lower back. He realized that it had been a long time since he had been this close to her and these unfamiliar feelings within hit him rather hard, confusing him. Because he was acting purely on – stupidity – emotions, his logical state of mind had absolutely no idea what he was going to do now that he had accepted her challenge.

Rioran had been just as surprised as she when he framed her face in his hands, tilted his head, and kissed her.

xxxxx

A few thoughts went through Liari’s mind when her childhood friend, in the heat of their argument, had accepted her challenge by kissing her. One, she was extremely confused as to why he was kissing her. Two, she was extremely surprised at the fact that obviously Rioran did have romantic feelings of some sort for her because he was kissing her. Three, she wondered if she should be happy or upset about the fact that he was her first kiss under the circumstances. Finally, she determined that he was rather good at kissing and she’d give him crap about actions later.

Rioran had never asked her how she felt about him although she wasn’t sure if she would have told him. Of course, she loved him, it was rather difficult not to fall in love with someone that was constantly talking to you in your mind and was there for you. He was her best friend, her confidant and despite their bickering and arguments he was the most important person in her life. When she had been in pain or upset he had been there for her, when she had accomplished something or was happy he had been genuinely happy for her. She couldn’t even count the number of mornings when they would talk until she had fallen asleep. He was her best friend and she had thought that was all he had seen her as, so she had never even tried to entertain the idea of them being together.

Now that she was standing here with him, arms around her waist with one hand sliding up her back, she didn’t really know what to think or do. So instead of thinking she responded, tilting her head and wrapping her arms around his neck. He made a low sound in the back of his throat, pulling her closer. He broke from her for a moment and when she gasped, slightly breathless, he closed the distance again. The taste of blood startled her when she felt his tongue move over her fangs and was even more startled when the motion caused another low sound as he practically crushed her against him, his other hand gripping in her hair. It had been years since she has enjoyed the taste of blood and idly she wonders why it’s only his blood that appeals to her.

Still keeping his grip in her hair they parted, breathless, and he pulls her so that their foreheads press together. He waits until they have both somewhat regained their breaths before speaking.

“Do you love him?” he asks, his voice low but soft. He no longer sounds angry, there actually seems to be a hint of…worry? How was she supposed to take that? What was she supposed to think or believe?

“No.” she answers honestly.

Silence reigns for quite some time as they stand there. His grip on her does not slacken and so she remains in his arms, confused.

“That question you’re always asking me,” his voice cuts into the darkness and he puts her at an arm’s distance away, his expression thoughtful “That stupid tradition you vampires have picked up has forced my hand. You will have your answer.” Taking in her shocked expression his smile turns wry “I told you there was a catch, remember?”

She did. She remembered every word because being with him, really being with him, even if for a little while meant so much to her. Hearing the words was one thing, seeing him say them is another. A sinking feeling emerges at his wry smile, whatever the catch is, she knew she wasn’t going to like it.

“I’m a demon,” he begins, his expression shifting to a blank slate “unlike vampires, we don’t really concern ourselves with things like ‘race’ or ‘gender’ when we become involved with someone, it doesn’t work that way with us. Unfortunately, vampires do not approve of their kin associating with demons, especially if there are feelings involved.” Once again his hands frame her face “In four years, I will come for you. All you need to do is say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when that time comes. If yes, we will be together for however long you wish, but you will have to leave the vampire community behind.”

Liari’s mouth dropped slightly before she clamped it shut, eyes widening. There were too many questions and not enough answers for the bombshell he just dropped on her. She asked the first thing that came to mind “You planned this from the beginning?”

There was no humor in his smile “Since the first night we met, yes.” He sighed “Liari, there are many things you don’t know about me, I will explain all of them to you when we meet again in four years. You will be hunted but you will be with me, there are very few creatures alive that can seriously harm me and I will protect you.”

Her brows furrowed at that last bit, because there seemed to be a catch there, as if there was more to it than what he was saying. The vampire’s mind was reeling; from that very first day he had wanted to be with her? Why didn’t he say anything? Why did he pretend not to be interested for so long? How was she supposed to feel about all of that? For years she had believed one way, had conditioned herself to that only to find out that her beliefs had been completely wrong. She didn’t think he was lying, he would not have stayed with her for the past eleven years if he hadn’t been serious about her. So all of these years…

“What if…” her gaze turned sad and she looked up at him “What happens if I don’t want to leave?”

His expression revealed nothing but she knew better, knew him better. “If you don’t, you won’t really have to worry about what happens to me now do you?”

She didn’t like how ominous that sounded “Rioran…”

“Four years, Liari.” He cut her off “I will ask you one question the very day you turn twenty. I will not accept an answer prior to that. Know this Vampireling, my intentions from the beginning have always been to claim you but only when you had become an adult. Do you understand what I am trying to say?”

This entire time he had been waiting for her to become an adult…something was off about that. Not that she wasn’t pleased, she was, but… “I’ve…Rioran I’ve been thinking about this for the past few years. The way you talk and how you seem to know things as if you’ve been there…”

His smile cut her off and she understood that it would have to wait until they met again. If she left with him he would tell her everything, she could sense this. So she returned his smile and he pulled her close once more, burying his face in the crook of her neck. They stayed like that for a moment before he spoke up again.

“There is one last thing,” his voice was a low rumble and it felt good and yet strange to hear his voice outside of her mind “you will not feed from any male besides myself. The thought of you doing that is extremely upsetting; I had no idea how much until the Lotros had made his offer.”

Liari almost smiled. His reaction hadn’t exactly been pleasant at the time but it was nice that he was no longer being indifferent towards her, that he did have feelings for her and she was something to him besides a good friend. Knowing that he actually wanted her to himself was…it felt nice. It had been what she had always wanted but had never dared to entertain. “I won’t, I promise.”

There was a small pause “Take what you need,” he did not raise his head and when she let out a small gasp his arms tightened “I can feel your hunger, you haven’t fed today, have you?”

Red dusted her face before she frowned thoughtfully. It was so strange to deal with him while he was so serious, she wasn’t used to a serious Rioran and it was off putting. She didn’t exactly know what to do or how to properly respond “I…thought it made you uncomfortable when I…”

“It does,” he admitted “but not for the reason you think. I am telling you it is fine, you need the blood and mine is the only one that tastes appealing.” He smiled against her neck “I promise by tomorrow evening my bout of idiocy will have faded but for now indulge me. It would actually make me more uncomfortable if you did not at this point.”

Liari hesitated, still unsure. There was a lot of emotional tension within, too many revelations at one time and Rioran actually liked her? Really? Licking her lips nervously she slid one hand into his hair, keeping him from moving his head. Dipping her head she hesitates once again over the pulse on his neck. She almost asks once again if he’s sure but remembers that he’s not a fan of repeating himself. Taking a mental breath she closes the distance, teeth sinking into flesh.

His grip tightens so much it is almost painful and like the other times a strained sound emerges. The demon’s breaths come out shallow and uneven along her neck but he says nothing. She quickly realizes that she had been quite famished and as always his blood tastes so wonderful. Where she would have stopped herself after a moment she now found herself unable to, like that first time so many years ago. After a long moment he shudders slightly and she can hear his breath catch.

“Liari,” it is a soft whisper, slightly breathy “that’s enough.”

Immediately she stops but his grip on her is still firm, worrying her a bit. She didn’t take too much or hurt him did she? Lips brush along her neck and she stiffens, blood rushing to her face at the intimate gesture. The sensation of sharp teeth moves along her neck, reminding her that although demons do not drink blood they do indeed have their own set of fangs. Her eyes widen, he wasn’t going to…

As if reading her thoughts he froze and she could sense confusion moving through him. Shaking his head lightly he pulls away from her, frowning. Shaking his head again he looks at her, face slightly flushed. His expression is a mix of thoughtful and confused, as if he doesn’t entirely know what’s going on. Jade green eyes take in her face and she really wishes she could control the flow of blood in her body because the intense look he was giving her was definitely making her face heat up considerably. Liari had forgotten how unique and haunting his eyes could be, especially when focused on something or someone.

Then once more she is pulled close and lips slide firmly over hers as he kisses her one last time. It is not long but it is passionate and when he pulls away there is a strange look in his eyes mixed in with confusion. He blinks and then it is gone, a hand rising, fingers brushing along her cheek.

“Four years.” He reminds her and his gaze shifts towards the distance “You should get back.” Looking back at her he once again hands her a small yellow piece of candy. She had no idea where he gets them from but she was grateful, she couldn’t exactly go back with the scent of his blood on her considering the circumstances.

It was so hard for her to get over how serious he seemed, she was not used to it and it made her feel a myriad of emotions although none of them were bad, not really. Liari watches his back as he leaves and she closes her eyes. All of this was definitely going to take a while to fully sink in and she had a lot to think about.

 

xxxxx

Apparently, there had been no limit to his stupidity tonight because he had almost done something that would have put her in a lot of danger. For a moment he had lost himself when she had taken his blood, the sensation had been almost completely different than when she had taken from his wrist and he hadn’t been prepared. His reaction had been to mark her and he had barely reigned in his emotions to stop himself.

Tonight he had acted like a complete and utter fool and now that he was a good distance away and calmed down he was fairly upset with himself. He wasn’t at all pleased with how things had gone between them, he had hurt and frightened her and the demon was better than that.

The only positive thing he could determine from the entire ordeal was that she wasn’t going to settle into the idea of marrying the Lotros. He had all but implied that he had always held feelings for her which wasn’t true – at least not in the romantic sense – and had practically forced himself on her, a deplorable action. In short, he needed to get his damn priorities straight and figure out what in the hells happened and what he was going to do about it.

Tonight Rioran learned that he did hold feelings for the little vampire, which wasn’t really a comforting thought. In his mind she was still too young yet at the same time he understood that he couldn’t keep seeing her the way he has been all these years, not anymore. The demon hadn’t expected it but he found that when the time came he wouldn’t mind having her with him, in fact he wanted that. Rioran had no doubt that she would accompany him when he came for her, she would be unable to reject the link between them.

“What happens if I don’t want to leave?”

If by some freakish, fate-defying chance she rejected him he would have to pass on his powers to his sister and, quite possibly, kill himself or risk insanity. He was bound to that girl and a demon could not live without their life mate once bound, it was impossible. Demons could not break the bonds they make which was why they never ever give their blood freely; one could practically become a slave if bound to the wrong person. Had she asked him that eleven years ago he would have told her that she honestly didn’t have a choice, but eleven years and being a solid part of her life had changed things.

Warmth began to flow from his pocket and he pulled out a small red gem. It was Naliel. Relieved for the distraction he brought the stone up, regarding the image of the half-elf.

“I have some information for you,” the other male begins and then pauses, frowning slightly “Rioran? Are you quite alright? You look like you’ve been to the hells and back.”

The demon king snorted “Thank you for that rather accurate observation my friend. I am fine, although I have learned tonight that I am an absolute idiot and simpleton when it concerns my life mate.” While the half-elf didn’t know everything, over the past few years the redhead has mentioned Liari a few times in casual conversation “I’m quite disgusted with myself and no, I do not wish to discuss it.”

Rioran realized too late that he had revealed a little too much to the sharp and highly intelligent half-elf “Ah.” He smiled knowingly “So, how fierce is the competition?”

There was a small pause “Remind me to beat the hell out of you when we next meet.” He snapped and ignored it when Naliel only smiled wider “I am assuming you did not contact me to discuss my love life.”

Naliel opened his mouth, realized that Rioran probably would get seriously upset if he made the joke, shook his head and looked highly amused “I did not, although watching your feathers all ruffled is quite amusing. You’re a bit of a smug bastard.”

An eyebrow twitched and Naliel laughed outright this time, holding up a hand “Alright, I will get to my point, as it is actually important. While father and I were communicating with the earth spirits a week ago we were pulled towards a certain human in a kingdom not too far from Lotros territory. I went and investigated and it turns out that this human was a part of a religious cult that is actively turning humans into Monsters. He apparently witnessed the transformation by accident and fled. When I found him he was on the run but I managed to bring him back to our lands. So it was exactly as you had suspected years ago.”

That was extremely good news. Finally they had a lead. “What have you gotten so far?”

“A bit and yet not much. He was just an initiate although at the time he had fully believed in the doctrine. The religion is called the Order of the Crimson Tides and they preach about human superiority. They are told that the vampires and the demons are working together to produce the Monsters in an effort to control and eventually wipe out humanity. It is not the only religion that preaches this but it is the most vocal. They are taught that if they are devoted enough they will be given powers from the gods. This is reinforced by the priests, who seem to have some rather unusual powers.”

“Olde Magick?”

“That is my assumption. When I tried to investigate the area where the temple resided the spirits could tell me nothing, it was as if the area was a dead zone. There is very little that can block out a spirit.” Naliel frowned “At the moment I am still investigating this particular temple, I will contact you in a few days when I have more. I do have some suspicions but I want to confirm them first.”

An order preaching human superiority? A laughable concept but it brought up a lot of interesting questions. The demon kingdoms being frozen, the blood being taken and given to humans under the guise of religion…whoever these people were, they were going through great pains to turn the humans against the two most active races in the land. Elves were still considered to be practically extinct and dragons…well they were dragons.

Why would people capable of using Olde Magick try to use humans to wipe out vampires and demons? Humans were the weakest race out of them all, the most they had going for them was tenacity and ridiculous reproduction rates. He would have to give this some considerable thought.

“Thank you friend,” Rioran finally commented “I will contact my sister and see what she can find on her end. Hopefully we shall both have more news when next we speak.”

Four years. Four more years and then he’d actually be able to do something besides sit around killing Monsters and doing correspondence. Gods help those bastards when he finally found them, they might be using Olde Magick but there had been a very good reason they had tried to freeze the kingdoms with the demon kings still in them. Rioran was going to ensure that they felt the pain of their failure to entrap him.

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