catriana_fiction

Title: Arcanus (Previously known as Demon King)
Series: Original
Genre: Fantasy/Drama/Romance
Rating: M
Chapters: 18/??(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: OHOHO. So much happens here but I can't say what. For anyone reading out there, I'd really love to know what you think of the story at this point. Any feedback, positive or negative, would be appreciated. ♥ I'm so excited, I'll actually be able to get to chapter 20 before the end of the year!

xxxxx

He didn’t go home, what would he be able to tell his family? As far as they would know, he had disappeared five years ago. Five years of living as a different person, of being himself but not himself. Of slowly going insane inside a dead body. He felt ill constantly and he could feel that other personality fighting him, trying to gain supremacy.

Thankfully, he still had money on him and had been able to find a shop and an inn to change clothes and bathe. It had been weird, trying to find clothes to fit his new body. Apparently, although he had been frozen, his body had aged. He had gone from thirteen to eighteen almost instantly – which had been rather painful on top of the memory dump he had gone through.

“My, my, my.” A rich voice purred at him as he walked the streets of his old home. He was in one of the poorer districts, although more than likely no one would notice who he was anymore even if he went to the upper levels. “Veciel, what a naughty boy you are. I suppose I should have expected you to betray us eventually.”

Words that sounded almost like a litany escaped from his lips and immediately the area around them grew silent, even as people continued walking and talking. Growling, his hands began to twitch as his lips moved softly, summoning the moisture in the air to form ice-like claws.

Something he hadn’t been able to do five years ago. Something he could only do now because of memories from his former life.

“Zana.” Violet eyes took in the tall female. She wasn’t wearing an illusion, didn’t need to because of his spell, so he could see her in all her sultry glory. Tall, about as tall as a dragon, with black skin, black hair and haunting blue eyes that seemed to glow. She was completely naked, long slender tail moving back and forth, reflecting the amusement in her expression. He flexed his fingers. “My name is Vari vil Foclner, not Veciel.”

“And yet you have absolutely no problems using his abilities, now do you?” she tilted her head. If a brow rose he certainly couldn’t see it. “Little human aristocrat.”

“I owe you nothing.” He snapped “I will fight you, centarian. I don’t get all of this crap yet but a few days of rest have helped considerably.”

Rolling her eyes, she waved a hand dismissively “I could honestly care less what you wanted and your motives, Veciel, Vari, whatever you want to call yourself. I came here to see if you truly were going to use the elf in an attempt to break free of your bonds and you did.” She shrugged. “We don’t really need you anyway, but you did well in the five years you served us.”

When she moved he cursed his slow reflexes. In his former life, it wouldn’t have been an issue. Regardless, his clawed hand dug deep into her arm while hers wrapped around his neck. Eyes narrowing he began to whisper, attempting to freeze the blood flowing from her.

She recoiled sharply, stunned. Wincing, she rubbed at her arm, a red glow emerging. “I see your skills are formidable even as a human. You’ve been practicing these past few days.”

“As if I would have remained idle.” Gods, it was hard to focus like this. He could feel that other personality trying to fight him, to claw up and take over the more he used those powers and dragged up memories in an effort to deal with this powerful female.

Human...you...

Shut the fuck up! Vari didn’t want to hear from that guy right now. This is my body! You had your chance, you fucked it up. Twice. Stay in your corner like you’ve been doing for the past thirteen years!

The personality withdrew but he could feel Veciel’s amusement. Bastard.

He knew she was watching the silent war within him and felt a tingling sensation at the back of his mind. She was trying to invade. He scowled. “Stop that.” His fingers were beginning to numb; he still couldn’t fully control his abilities yet. If she pressed it, he’d be at a disadvantage and they both knew it. Regardless of how powerful he had been; he was now a human and his body simply couldn’t handle it. Not without time and training.

The tall woman eyed him blankly, her expression revealing nothing. Then a smile graced full lips. “I could give you your old life back, if you wish. It’s only been five years, I could take you back. I could even give you the age you were before we brought back your former self.” The smile widened and he supposed she thought she was looking warm and inviting. Instead she looked like a cat about to pounce on a mouse...literally.

She’s lying. He could feel the elf moving around in his mind. The scowl deepened.

I know that. Shut up, I’m trying to think.

You cannot fight me forever. What will you do once our personalities merge?

He had no idea and the prospect didn’t appeal to him. No matter how much he wished otherwise, Veciel and Varicen were one in the same. Now that the memories of his former life had returned, it would eventually become less of a separate part of him. Eventually, the disgusting, sick fuck that was Veciel Liunos would be Varicen vil Foclner. Except that Veciel was trying to ensure that he came out on top and Varicen wasn’t having it.

This was his body, not some racist, arrogant, uppity bastard’s with complexes that would give any psychology professional a hard-on.

Screw off, elf. Veciel’s response was to laugh in his mind and he grudgingly admitted to himself it was rather ridiculous to tell himself to go away.

“No.” he finally responded. “I’m not stupid, there’s a catch and not one I want.”

“Not as much as you’d think.” She crossed her arms. “With you having all of your memories, we cannot just let you roam around freely; not with the demon king out and about looking for us. Returning you would erase your memories. It is a win-win situation for both parties.” She gave him a knowing smirk. “I could even have you keep some of them...perhaps you could do things differently with a certain human mage.”

Rori. Stiffening, he avoided her gaze. From Veciel’s memories he knew a bit of what had happened to his old friend. It was surprising to realize that Rori was a legitimate magic user but even more surprising as to what happened to him.

That’s right; he owed that son-of-a-bitch Kaden a visit.

It is not as if you hadn’t warned the fool. Vari ignored the high elf. He had seen it; had known that Kaden had been slipping down to dark thoughts but in the end, he had been unable to protect Rori.

“Not interested.” He shifted, reinforcing the ice-like claws despite the strain it was beginning to take on his body. If he did not stop, he would suffer from frostbite and that was for starters.

Zana made a small noise and sighed. “That’s unfortunate. Then I have no choice. At least you can’t say I didn’t try to be nice.”

With speed he hadn’t known possible, the tall feline-like female shot forward and there was no way he’d be able to block in time.

Violet eyes widened to saucers as suddenly a wall of ice formed between him and the centarian. That hadn’t been him, although it was water magic.

“Vari?” the voice was familiar yet not. It sounded older. Much older than thirteen. “Gods, Vari, is that you?”

“You know this kid?” that voice was much deeper and the amount of power that he suddenly felt radiating from the man caused him to turn, fear ripping through him. What was going on now?

There was hissing and Vari watched as if a spectator in his own body as the female jumped back, claws extended and her full attention on the extremely tall male with silver hair and cold golden eyes. Not even Zana had sensed him? Why? Who was this man?

He’s a dragon. Look at his eyes, all dragons have golden eyes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was on par with a demon king, meaning that he can be no other than Xene; the king of dragons. Veciel sounded impressed, in awe, and terrified at the same time. He is...the stuff of legends. We should run, there is absolutely no way we could fight him.

We? What’s this ‘we’ garbage you’re speaking? He wasn’t going anywhere, not when he knew the albino male standing beside the dragon. He took in pale skin, white hair and bright blue eyes and just like before his heart jumped and a smile tugged at his lips. Five years had...done wonders for Rori. He looked good. Better than good, actually.

“What the hell are you?” Xene asked, scowling at the woman. “You reek of Arcanus magic.” Then the male stiffened, eyes widening slightly. “You’re...” realization dawned and a very dark smirk suddenly emerged.

Two things happened. One, Xene went from standing to snatching the woman up by her throat, lifting her off the ground. Energy crackled in the air as his hand began to glow a strange shade of purple.

Zana responded by casting two different spells; one that flashed an incredibly bright light and a sound spell. The scream that ripped from her throat caused the dragon king to jerk back, squinting, but otherwise unaffected.

Had she dallied a second longer he would have easily overwhelmed her. Instead, she casted another spell, circle magic – to Vari’s complete and total shock – and disappeared. Those people could cast circle magic?

Fool. If we can cast Arcanus magic what makes you think they can’t cast ours? He ignored Veciel, mostly because the man had a point and he didn’t want to acknowledge it.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off when something rough closed over his throat and he felt himself being raised from the ground, just like Zana had been. Vari struggled, dropping the ice claws to get a better grip on the dragon’s hand.

“Xene!” he could barely hear Rori over the blood roaring in his ears.

“You,” golden eyes narrowed “Also stink of Arcanus magic and your spirit is tainted.” The frown became thoughtful. “But your spirit has been cleansed before.” From the way the dragon said it, it shouldn’t have been possible.

“Xene, please!” hands grabbed at the arm holding up Vari and Rori tugged to no real avail. “He’s...Vari is...”

Grunting hard as he hit the ground abruptly, the blonde coughed and rubbed at his throat, looking up at the two as he blinked his burning eyes. The dragon was giving his old friend a very strange look, a mixture of shock and something else. Jealousy perhaps?

“What is this boy to you, Rori?” Golden eyes took in his young lifemate as Rori knelt down beside Vari, his arms going around the impossibly slender male. “Wait, could he be the one from that casket?”

More was said but Vari’s consciousness was beginning to flicker back and forth. He had used too much energy trying to fend off Zana and he was still reeling from what had happened to him days ago. Veciel was trying to take every advantage he could and he was just tired.

It felt good to be in Rori’s arms again. Closing his eyes, he leaned into the older male, sighing when he felt fingers move through his hair.

“Rori,” the other two had been talking but blue eyes immediately focused on him. With a strained smile, he raised his hand, brushing fingers along the albino’s cheek. “I’m sorry...I couldn’t protect you from him.” He closed his eyes, almost missing the shocked and then sad look that came over his friend. Vari wasn’t sure if he imagined the words said next or not.

“I’m the one who should be sorry, Varicen, not you.”

xxxxx

It was midnight, a vampire’s favorite hour. Standing on top of the roof of a cathedral, Larian’s bright grey eyes took in the scene before him.

She was here. He couldn’t wait to slide his blade through her sentimental, traitorous heart. He had never liked her; Liari had been nothing but a nuisance and a serious obstacle to his plans of taking over the Varian clan. He had practically kissed the Lotros heir when he had asked for Liari’s hand. Then she had to go and leave with a damn demon and of course he had been sent to deal with her.

“Reila.” He inclined his head towards the dark haired woman who had been Liari’s Guardian. She looked over at him, hazel eyes narrowing dangerously. She was his partner since she had failed in her duties – which had mostly been his fault - with Liari. He had used the older female, hoping that an opportunity would present itself where his half-sister would be in danger and have no one to save her.

Once Liari had defected, he had dropped Reila; had even mocked the now mutilated right side of her face – her punishment for failing as a Guardian to one of the highest clans. Considering who Liari had run off with, Reila should be thanking the gods that she hadn’t been killed.

“How long are we to wait?” she sounded irritable and he frowned at her. “I tire of these waiting games with these...freaks.”

“Cease your whining, I tire of hearing it.” Larian snapped, eyes narrowing. “You tend to forget your place often, Reila. Perhaps you are the reason for my sister’s rebellious nature.”

She stiffened. “That is not true and you know it, Larian!” she gave him a look “I have been silent about this but you have been –“

Reila was cut off when Larian was suddenly in front of her just before she was slammed onto the ground, gasping. He kicked her side hard, causing her to roll over on her back. Her eyes were wide with hurt and confusion and he snorted. Shameless. Sentimentality was a weakness, as was love and all those other foolish emotions.

All one needed to do was look at the former Lotros heir to see the results of ‘love’.

“Just because I allowed you to share my bed doesn’t mean you get to speak to me any kind of way. I am the Varian heir and you are nothing. Your usefulness ended the moment Liari left with the demon king, something that you should have been on top of. Instead, the boy and his Guardian had tried to protect her instead.”

Of course, he was the reason she had not gone with them when Eris had taken her to his home, but that didn’t matter. Kneeling, he grabbed her chin, meeting her gaze evenly. “Besides, what man would want you now? As if I would ever desire such a flawed creature.”

Standing, he ignored her as he turned to the newcomer he sensed arrive. Tilting his head, he frowned. Before him appeared not the black skinned female, but a red skinned male. “Where is Zana?” he liked dealing with her more...mostly because he liked admiring her body. He’d never sleep with her, she was much too tall for his tastes, but he could appreciate beauty when it was in front of him.

Rolling his glowing red eyes, the male centarian crossed his arms, looking bored. “She’s indisposed, you will just have to deal with me, vampire.”

“Bring her next time.” It was practically a demand. “Have you any news on my demon-loving sibling, Resvan?”

Resvan stretched, yawning loudly. His tail twitched. “I have something better. You will need to wait, however. The dragon king is in the area and he is not one to be trifled with.” He tossed an object at Larian. “When you get her alone, use that. It is a very powerful device; do not use it until you have her alone. It can only be activated once and will only last for a total of twenty minutes.”

He sorted. “I don’t need twenty minutes to kill her.” Liari had always been terrified of him; he had made sure of it. That would be her weakness and he would most certainly exploit it.

Arms lowered and the male took a few steps closer to Larian. “You do remember our deal, don’t you? It is important that –“

“The arrangements have been made.” The vampire male shrugged. What an annoying creature. He detested repeating himself or having his motives questioned. “The delay is in transportation but you will have it.”

“Good. Remember, only activate that once you –“

“Yes, yes, I got it.” Larian waved a hand as if to tell the other person to ‘shoo’. He was running at the end of his patience with him. “Now leave me, unless you have some information that would be useful.”

For a moment it seemed as if the angered centarian wouldn’t answer. “I do, actually.” Inwardly, Resvan smirked as Larian glared at him for not giving the information out immediately. He liked riling up the arrogant vampire. “You perhaps will need to sit down for this one.”

xxxxx

“I have told them to go ahead of us to the next village outside of the capital,” Naliel informed his lifemate. A full two weeks had passed and it was time to leave. Investigating the temple that Veciel had been running had led to a dead end; it had been completely emptied out of anything incriminating or revealing. It was still being led by the Crimson Tides, but the new preacher was human and had proven to be just another fanatic who knew nothing about what was really going on.

What they did learn that had been distressing had come in the form of the Bavarian king. Utransir di Bavaria was openly declaring war on the vampires and demons, and Naliel was able to determine that he had at least three of the thirteen major human kingdoms on his side. They were unable to get close enough, but Sarnaiel had been able to confirm through infiltration that many of the king’s advisors were Crimson Tides members and the king himself was one.

Upon further inspection, both Rioran and Naliel had been able to confirm the small hum of Arcanus energy that was somehow being blocked from being sensed fully. That was bad, because it meant that they had no deal idea just how thick the energies were in that palace and getting too close without knowing the enemy was foolish.

It was likely that the king was either being manipulated or was well aware of what was going on to a point where he felt confident about his decision. Bavaria was perhaps the most powerful kingdom the humans had. If Utransir went to the empire and was able to get the emperor on his side, the vampires would be decimated if the humans were taught Arcanus magic.

And apparently, such a thing was possible. According to the rumor mill; the king had established a council of mages. Humans that had ascended in the Crimson Tides order and were ‘blessed’ by the powers of the gods. Who they were taught by was a mystery, but they could supposedly perform ‘miracles’ and many people had already seen public displays.

Only Crimson Tides that were ordained could practice magic, but the organization was receiving a huge influx of humans wanting to join and possibly become ordained. Be it for power or for a chance to fight against the vampires on equal footing. Many were becoming Monster hunters; returning from their adventures to tell everyone what was going on and reinforcing the claims that vampires and demons needed to be wiped out.

If enough humans began to learn Arcanus magic and drew on the energies, it meant that whoever was behind this could possibly become stronger. The more Arcanus energy was fed to the planet and the spiritual realm the more it could be called upon for more powerful spells. If their world became saturated with the energies again...it would be in serious danger.

Was that the reason...they had gone to the humans? Not just because they needed the numbers for protection but that they could use that to coat the world in Arcanus energies once more?

There were more humans than any other race. They held short lives and reproduced at alarming rates. Even elven females could not become pregnant almost immediately after giving birth; usually it would be decades before she could or would become pregnant again. An elven woman with more than two offspring was uncommon.

Humans didn’t have that problem and they weren’t keen on population control either. They were the youngest race and the weakest by far. The demon kingdoms had been frozen fifteen years ago and there were already human Arcanus mages? It meant that they could be taught, and quickly. The youngest and weakest race was now on the verge of becoming one of the most powerful. With that power came hatred and the desire for genocide for anything not human.

The vampires wouldn’t stand a chance. The elves would fare no better.

It was imperative that they find these people and put an end to it, but how? They hid themselves too well and every lead was lost before they could even grasp onto it. There had been a small spark of energies a week ago but by the time they had arrived to investigate there had been nothing but a dead magical circle.

Sarnaiel was uncharacteristically silent as they walked; his gaze and expression thoughtful. He had been like that ever since Naliel had told him the truth about their mother and about...who he was. The silence worried him. He knew that Sarnaiel would never leave him; they had been through way too much for that, but the dark elf could be very capricious. Not even Naliel could always predict what his lover would do or say and he had a very twisted sense of justice and vengeance at times.

He had believed his childhood friend and lover when he had said he would never intentionally hurt Naliel ever again, but when someone or something hurt or threatened the older elf he normally reacted viciously.

The dark elf didn’t have to do anything physical to hurt someone; he knew that from personal experience. If Sarnaiel lashed out against their parents Naliel had no idea what he would do. It was possible he would be forced to choose and it seemed when it came to his lover and choices, he always picked the one that angered his lifemate.

Suddenly, Sarnaiel stopped walking. They had been on their way back to the inn to collect their things and follow the demon king and his mate. Upon rendezvous Naliel had planned on telling them what they had discovered. His lover’s back was turned to him.

“Sarna?” closing the distance, he reached out to touch the other male’s shoulder.

“Naliel.” The hard tone caused the brunette to pause, eyes widening slightly at how cold he sounded. Something hard clenched in his chest. “If you wanted to know why I was being so silent, you could have simply asked me instead of jumping to conclusions. Have I changed so little in your eyes over the centuries that you believe I would harm our parents?”

What? He could not hide his shock, even though the other’s back was turned to him. Had he been speaking aloud? He was so stunned that all he did was stand there, speechless.

He felt a strong sensation of various emotions suddenly. Anger, sadness, pain, and guilt. Lots of guilt. But they were not his emotions and he did not understand what was going on. Naliel was fairly certain he wasn’t an empath, if that ability even existed, but he was clearly feeling emotions that were not his own and Sarnaiel...

Wait. His mind began working, pushing emotions to the side briefly. Something had changed meaning something had caused it. The change was obviously affecting him if not him being the actual cause. The only thing he could think of was the suppression spell that had been placed on him. He was more powerful, he knew that much. His connection to the earth was stronger. Neither of those had to do with what he was currently experiencing.

Emotions that were not his and Sarnaiel seeming to be able to read his thoughts, unless he had truly spoken them out loud and he was sure he hadn’t. It took him seconds after that to realize what was probably going on.

You can hear my thoughts.

Silence. Then “Yes.” The dark elf continued walking but he said nothing more.

Have you always been able to?

“No.” Once again he did not elaborate, but that was because he was obviously upset.

So either he had known for a while and had said nothing or it happened shortly after his awakening. It was probably the latter, so Naliel concluded that it probably had something to do with the suppression spell. That was the only thing that had changed about him before freeing his life mate.

There was silence as they continued, the hunter deep in thought. He went over everything, any clue that could summarize what was going on. It did not take him long. Instead of feeling upset, however, he actually felt elated. If they could hear each other’s thoughts and could sense the other’s feelings, it meant that they were truly bonded. How deep the bond went was unknown but that didn’t matter to Naliel.

He had wondered, because there had really been no proof of it having happened during the centuries, but now he knew. They were truly bonded. They could truly spend eternity together. They really were lifemates.

“You are making it extremely difficult for me to say angry at you.” Came the thought and Naliel smiled inwardly.

How can I help but to be elated at the fact that you will never have to suffer the fate of watching me slowly die in the next hundred or so years?

“You forget; you’re immortal.”

He had forgotten. Before the truth had been revealed Naliel’s worry had been over dying before Sarnaiel. As a half-elf, he would have lived for only four centuries at best, meaning he had been at his half-way mark already. Most elves lived double that; some even reached a millennia but that was extremely rare. Naliel had wondered why he hadn’t started aging appropriately; by all rights he should have looked closer to the human equivalent of thirty or forty, like his father. Now he knew.

The elation quickly disappeared, however, because Sarnaiel was genuinely hurt and upset. Sarna...

“I have no one to blame but myself.” He said and while Naliel wanted to reach out to him, to show that it wasn’t what he thought it was, they both knew it was a lie. “I am not a kind person and in our youth I...did terrible things to you.”

He was still dwelling on that, it seemed. We were young and your anger growing up had been justified. You didn’t know how to deal with it any other way. I had always understood that, why do you think I remained?

“Yet you still think of me as that same boy, do you not?”

Stepping forward, Naliel grabbed hold of the other male’s wrist roughly, jerking him back. Uncaring of who was watching, they were cloaked in illusion anyway as two human males, he grabbed the back of Sarnaiel’s head and roughly closed the distance between their lips. His grip was sturdy, firmly keeping the slightly struggling male pinned.

They were breathless when they parted and his hands framed the darker elf’s face, tilting his head so that his lips were barely brushing against the other’s. “I love you, Sarnaiel. Good and bad. If I truly felt negatively about you do you think I would have remained by your side, even when we had been children? Many times I could have turned my back on you, I could have walked away. Just as one can fall in love multiple times, there are multiple potential lifemates out there. We didn’t have to end up together.”

His fingers slid through pale hair. “I was angry at father and mother, even if logically I had known they had made the best decision. Have I not said it before? Do you not remember the words I said to you so long ago?”

Crimson eyes closed and he closed his hands over Naliel’s. “Yes, I remember.” He sighed. “There is little I’ve forgotten about that day.” Pulling back, he smiled wryly. “So you were angry with them.” The smile turned into a smirk. “I understand. But doesn’t that mean that you’re the evil one in this relationship?”

“Define evil.” Smiling, he leaned against the other male when an arm came around his shoulders and they continued walking back. They ignored the stares, they were already hiding their appearance, they weren’t about to hide their feelings for each other.

“Considering the things you thought I could or would do...I’d say that makes you pretty damn evil. I had no idea you thought I was so malicious.”

Blue eyes shifted over and a dark brow rose. “You are joking. This is the same man who poisoned his biological brother, promised him to cure him if he gave him information, and then left him to die horribly as his insides literally melted from the inside out. Let’s not leave out the fact that you robbed him of his enchanted clothing and blades.”

Sarnaiel blinked, slightly surprised. “You knew about that?”

Naliel rolled his eyes. “Who do you think you are dealing with? Even with my powers suppressed, I had a strong command over the earth. The spirits told me what you had done and why.”

“Oh.” He looked relieved. “Well, that saves me time and effort then. Here I thought I’d have to defend myself for my ‘cruel and unusual’ behavior.”

“Your behavior was cruel, but not unusual. Not for you anyway.” He ignored the look the dark elf gave him. “Although I hadn’t agreed with the method, I understood what you had done and why.” He tilted his head, smiling “And despite your cruelty, I still love you.”

“Hm.” Sarnaiel smiled, looking down at the ground. “I don’t know which god’s ass I thoroughly kissed in a former life to get you, but I am eternally grateful. I know I do not deserve you.”

“You don’t,” he agreed, smirking, “But...”

Both men stiffened at the sensation of a familiar presence. Paling, Naliel moved to reach for his weapon and Sarnaiel already had two enchanted long daggers out that he had acquired. They weren’t his old blades, but they were sufficient enough.

Why? Why did this keep happening?

Just before the turn to the inn there was a young man standing in a small alleyway. Blonde hair with bright violet eyes. Familiar eyes. Naliel recognized him as the boy in the casket, but he looked older. He held up his hands although he was armed, his expression solemn.

“Hello Naliel. Sarnaiel.” The young man sighed but kept his hands up. “I am known as Varicen vil Foclner...but I can see that you recognize who I used to be.”

“Veciel.” With absolutely no hesitation on his part, Naliel switched from his bow to his sword and charged at the boy with every intention to kill.

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