A Soul to Embrace (Duskwalker Brides #8)

Chapter 20

Zylah’s legs wobbled when she and Jabez materialised outside the tunnel’s entrance they’d crawled through earlier. Dizziness swam, and she reached out to grasp at nothing when it felt like her head was spinning and she was about to fall.

A strong hand wrapped around her forearm to steady her.

“I forgot teleporting can be disorientating for others at first,” Jabez muttered, as her vision began to clear. “Hopefully you get used to it, since this will be our mode of transport in the future.”

Zylah nodded, before stepping to the side and rushing forward with her tail wiggling behind her. Each twitch had her still hot, swollen insides quivering, but she liked the sore sting of it. She liked the constant reminder.

“Where are you going?”

“To the village!” she exclaimed, heading towards one of the entrances around the massive tree base.

“Not without a glamour you’re not.” When she turned to give him a puzzled head tilt, he turned towards the closest trunk, placed his hands on his hips, and looked up. “We’re also not going that way.”

“What do you mean?” she asked as she came back to him. “How else would we get inside?”

He pointed to the lowest branch, which was at least forty feet away, if not more. “I wonder how high you can jump.”

She cupped her hands over her stomach as her orbs lightened in their teal colour in worry, threatening to turn white. “I am... I don’t think I’m good at climbing.”

“Don’t know unless you try.”

Zylah stood close to the tree’s base and looked up. Maybe I can make it? Then again, she didn’t have much faith that she could actually jump that high. If she managed to grip it with her claws, the bark should allow her to stay attached to it.

Deciding it was just better to face her newfound fear of heights, Zylah lowered into a crouch until her backside touched her heels. Then she jumped.

She knew immediately that she’d fallen short by at least ten feet and tried not to scream as she headed back towards the ground. With her arms waving, she accidentally tipped her body backwards, and her sight darkened in preparation for landing on her arse.

Instead, she landed in a set of arms with an oomph .

The laughter that burst from him was bright and warm, and vibrated against her torso as if it came from his very chest.

“I didn’t actually think you’d try. There was no way either of us would make that,” he exclaimed around chuckles. “Fucking hell, Zylah. I guess my humour can be a little dry.”

Before her orbs could flare an embarrassed hue, dizziness assaulted her when the world went dark and then brightened. This time, her stomach fluttered with a queasiness she’d never experienced before, and she went lax in his arms as she tried to breathe through it.

Strange lights in the distance twinkled in her spinning vision, as did a warm and comforting orange glow.

“Like I said, teleportation is easier,” he explained. “Are you okay to stand?”

She shook her head and closed her sight so she could escape it. He placed her down on solid, rough ground with her legs dangling over the edge of something. Thankfully, when she shot her hand out to stop herself from falling forward, she found more hardness.

She opened her sight once more when she heard his clothing rustling as he sat next to her. With one of his feet flat against the gigantic tree branch they were seated upon, the other one dangled over the edge like both of hers. He folded one arm over his bent knee and leaned back on the other.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” he asked, nodding his chin to what lay before them.

Now that the dizziness had settled, she turned her gaze forward. Her gasp was loud, and she straightened her posture so she could get a better look.

“Oh, wow,” she rasped, eyeing all the buildings and different colours.

Most of the houses or establishments had either clay tile or straw roofing. Most of the structures were made of stone, more clay, or wood, and everything was lit up by hundreds of lanterns, which was where the comforting orange glow was coming from. Many of the buildings were two levels, some even perhaps three, and they were all closely cluttered together.

She could tell there were levels to the village, since stairs allowed people to climb down towards the centre with ease.

“I don’t know why, but I thought it’d be darker,” she commented, noticing hundreds, if not thousands, of Demons walking on dirt or stone paths. Every few feet, lanterns situated at the top of wooden poles, with colourful flags swaying underneath them, lit the way for all.

“Because it’s a village for Demons?”

Her orbs shifted to reddish pink. “Well... yes.”

“We seek the light as much as everything else. No one wants to live in the dark, and since we can’t enjoy the sunlight, we do what we can.”

She nodded as if she understood, then drifted her gaze upwards. She took in the long pieces of wide cloth that hung from the very top where the twisting tree canopy came together. Green leaves rustled from the lightest wind, creating a shaa sound. A few came loose to dance around the purple, red, blue, and yellow cloths that were attached to the lowest branches on every tree surrounding the circular village.

It took her a while to notice, but strange noises could be heard even from a distance. They didn’t overshadow all the chattering, but they did manage to soften it. They were odd, something she’d never heard before, causing her head to twitch this way and that as if it would help her understand them.

“What is that sound in the background?” she asked, intently scanning her orbs over the busy village in search of its many sources.

“Music,” he told her. “There is entertainment to be found all over. Many play drums, pipes, or guitars from their homes, or others will follow behind a performer. Ribbon and fire dances are common, and it livens up the place between all the merchants and stalls.”

“Why would they do all this?”

This... wasn’t what she expected at all. Then again, she had nothing else to go off besides her one adventure through a human town at night. She truly never expected it to appear so... happy, warm, or inviting.

“Demons who are near completion seek out company like any intelligent species. Spiral Haven gives all a chance to share their hobbies and interests in a place where they can be appreciated. Knowledge can be used as a way to trade for other things, such as clothing, food, and tools.”

“Can we go down there?” she asked with hope in her tone, turning her skull to him in a silent plea. “I’d love to see it all properly.”

“We’ll go down in a minute. I thought it would be nicer for you to see what it’s like from above.” He faced her slightly so they could connect gazes. “It means you can gauge what it’s like before dealing with all the people. It gets rather crowded, and I didn’t want you lost or confused while you initially took it all in.”

Even from way up here, she found it startling; she was new to all this.

Bright yellow lifted into her orbs, and she made sure she shone it at him, so he knew how much she appreciated that. He is so kind to me. He could have been inconsiderate and thrown her into a difficult situation without care, but he wisely hadn’t.

It was just another reason why she liked him so much.

Leaning back to get comfortable while crossing her ankles, she soaked it all in as her gaze drifted every which way. She even followed a particularly tall Demon with large bat-like wings as they made their way through the crowd.

In the middle of the village stood some kind of statue, and she thought it may have been a man. Since they were seated behind it, she couldn’t see its features well, but he did look rather glorious with his clawed hand raised in a powerful stance. He had long hair and horns like Jabez, but she couldn’t make out anything else – she figured these features were common in Demons.

Surrounding it was a path for pedestrians, with carts on the outside that had people lining up for whatever wares were being sold.

“I’m surprised they managed to make their own scent glamour,” Jabez stated quietly. “Since I lost my ability to use magic, the permanent glamour I placed over the whole area would have disappeared.”

She tilted her head at him. “You had a scent cloak on the village? Why?”

“They sell meat,” he answered, pointing to where she could see the statue. “It can be unpleasant for those who haven’t managed to control their urges against the scent of fear and blood. It also allows a haven for females, as it masks any heat pheromones. That cloak assists with many issues and allows everyone to walk freely without worry.”

I didn’t think of that. Her heart warmed that it was a safe place for females, and for those dealing with blood-lust. If she had scented blood, she may have already tried to climb down and hurt people.

“This place has always given me a sense of pride,” he muttered, his voice soft and filled with satisfaction. “When I was discussing problems with the more highly evolved Demons, they informed me that they wanted a place they could congregate. A place like the Elven city, or the human towns. They wanted to feel like people, rather than like beasts.”

Zylah turned her skull to him once more, and fondness swelled within her, hot and heavy.

He really did look more at ease now than before he’d reobtained his magic, and his gaze was filled with compassion. His lips had a small curl to them, but it was enough to round his cheeks and lightly crinkle the outer corners of his eyes. Long, loose white hair fluttered around his chiselled brown face in the light breeze, while his ears were pointed up but didn’t appear alert.

He wasn’t looking at her. Rather, his deep red eyes were fixated on the village of Demons, and they squinted with pleasure at different things.

Her heart quivered in her chest, as bright pink lifted into her orbs at seeing his handsome features so gentled. The unknown emotions that came with this strange, new colour were so bubbly and tender, awe radiated within her and kept her quiet as she listened.

“It took me months to grow the trees,” he continued, his eyes scanning them in the distance. “I mapped out the space between each one, ensuring there would be plenty of room, and then planted the seeds. I spent most of my days in the lake that used to be in the middle, trying to grow them.”

He let out a small chuckle, as if he was looking back at that time fondly. Her toes curled in delight at the dulcet sound.

“I would get so frustrated when it wasn’t working. I read a book on growth magic when I was younger, and the instructions were simple. Just obtain a mana stone, place the seed, and then concentrate. I failed repeatedly until I realised I was expending too much of the little mana I had trying to grow them all at once. I had to sit at the base of each one and grow them individually, and then network them once they’d grown deep roots. The lake dried up as they took the nutrients from it.”

Zylah couldn’t imagine how much time and effort it must have taken to do all that. He must always work hard. She knew it to be true by how he taught her constantly and trained his body to keep it strong.

“Where we were earlier was the bottom of that lake. I placed a protection dome down so the stone had a place to rest while still feeding them magic. We filled it with dirt and boulders as best as we could, but that’s why the village dips in at the middle.” He drew a circle in the air to show where he meant, then his smile brightened as he looked up. “Every year, there was a celebration where I’d go down there and check the stone, feed it some of my own mana, and I’d make the trees bloom with red flowers. They were unnatural, so they quickly died by the end of the day, but the Demons here liked the entertainment.”

“You obviously care very deeply for this place,” Zylah stated, her orbs brightening in their pink hue.

She didn’t know what the colour meant, and she didn’t care. It made her stomach flutter while her chest felt all fluffy and tingly. She adored the way it kind of hurt.

She wished she hadn’t said anything because his face grew clouded and the cheer in it waned. He lowered his bent leg so it would dangle as well and rested his forearms on his thighs with his hands between them.

“This is one of the few things I’ve done that I haven’t regretted.” Then, as if to mask the sorrow she’d witnessed playing across his features, he drew a line in the air towards the village. “I actually helped construct lots of the buildings you see further in. There weren’t many of us at the time, so it took everyone pitching in to help to get this place established. I think I should have made it bigger, since they started to run out of space a few decades ago. I just hadn’t expected we’d all still be here.”

“What do you mean? Were you planning to leave?”

He turned to meet her gaze, his lips parted to say something. Instead, his eyes snapped open wide, and he darted closer to get a better look at her skull. Zylah startled and leaned back in surprise when his nose was barely an inch from her own.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Mavka’s orbs turn pink before,” he said as he twisted his head, and a fang-filled grin curled his lips. “I wonder what this colour means. I thought I knew all of them.”

Zylah didn’t know why she felt the need to turn away and cover the side of her skull with her hand to hide it from him.

“I don’t know what it means either,” she grumbled, fidgeting shyly at the colour being commented on – which was odd, as she was usually fine with that.

“That’s okay,” he answered with a small shrug. “We can figure it out together. Perhaps it has to do with you being further from Weldir in blood, since I’ve also never seen teal until I met you.”

Zylah just nodded, unsure of how to respond.

As if he could sense she no longer wanted to speak about the colour of her orbs, he gestured towards the village with his chin. “So, are you ready to go down now?”

She looked out over the crowd of Demons below. “Yes.”

“I’ll need to place a glamour over both of us, though, as I’m unsure how they’ll react to a Mavka. I also don’t want to be noticed.”

Twisting to face her, he bent one leg on top of the branch they were seated upon while the other remained hanging off the edge. He was slow to reach out to her skull, like he was unsure if she’d be comfortable with the touch, and she quickened the pace by leaning forward.

Zylah trusted him with all her heart, and she had absolutely no qualms about him touching her. Actually, she was hoping anything and everything they did now would allow them to become intimate like what they did within the mana stone’s pocket of earth.

Since he was wearing his shirt and cloak, she couldn’t tell if any of his symbols lit up upon his body. She felt warmth buzzing around her skull like fluttering moths, and she giggled at the way it tickled. Her toes splayed and then clenched, and she squirmed a little.

“What kind of glamour are you giving me?” she asked, when the fluttering descended over her body.

“Nothing too substantial,” he answered, his brows furrowing as he concentrated. “I’m changing your face to look more like a deer’s with fur to match your antlers, since having them on a rabbit is a little strange and may draw attention to you. I’m also hiding your skeletal bones, and shifting your fur to look more like the night sky reflecting off water, as with most Demons. I’m also giving you eyes, since your orbs would be a dead giveaway.”

“Would that not make me look like a...” She had to think for a moment to remember what he called them. “Lesser Demon?”

“One’s appearance doesn’t always match their humanity level. If a Demon consumes many kinds of animals, especially the same type, and just as many humans, the physical transformation can be delayed.” He shrugged as he pulled his hands away, and the fluttering settled to only a tiny tingle. “There are actually quite a number of Demons that prefer to keep their beastly appearance for ease of life. Fayren, for example, was keen on keeping some of her fox nature because it makes her swifter. Some prefer to even keep their wings and tails. It really depends on the Demon, but being at that level of humanity means they can consciously make that decision.”

As usual, Zylah appreciated that he was always so willing to explain such things to her – and often with great detail. She just wished he was more forthcoming about himself.

Hopefully that will change. He did say he’d eventually reveal it all to her, and she held onto that.

She didn’t think anything he told her would make her have a change of heart. The pleasurable feeling in her chest from earlier hadn’t gone unnoticed, especially as it continued to linger, and she knew it had a deep meaning. She didn’t think her affections for him would wane easily, and it was because of the way he treated her.

Even now, his touch and words remained gentle. He’d always been kind to her, regardless of the fact that she was bigger, stronger, and faster than him. He didn’t treat her like a beastly Mavka, but like a being worth being soft to.

“My turn,” he stated, just as his features began to change.

His long hair morphed to black, while the red in his eyes brightened to mimic other Demons. Although his face shape didn’t change, most of the brown in his skin darkened to a glossy, void black and covered from his right cheek to up and over his left temple, leaving only his mouth, nose and jaw the same. He did the same to his fingertips, while changing his nails to proper sharp, shiny black claws.

Her heart stuttered a little when she noticed two of his nails had been trimmed from touching her earlier, and the fact he now hid them did little to settle her. It was hard to forget that, considering her pussy still felt swollen from his enthusiastic ministrations.

Next, his black horns began to take on a dark-taupe colour, and the tips morphed to point at the ground rather than the sky. Two boorish tusks appeared to push his lower lip forward before they grew to the edges of his nose.

The changes were startling, and she turned her gaze away since his face was now strange. She also noticed that his scent had changed, which added to her uncertainty.

She scratched at the fur around her neck.

“There are many people down there,” she started with an anxious note in her tone. “If I can’t recognise your face or scent, how will I find you if we get separated?”

He waved his hands at her, gesturing for her to bring her skull forward once more. She did as she was instructed, and he covered her orbs with his palms.

“Since you don’t have eyes, per se, I don’t know if this will work, but there’s no harm in trying.”

More warmth radiated over her skull, although this time localised to her eye holes before slipping down her snout. Before he’d even removed his hands, she could once more take in his proper scent – although it felt layered with the unnatural one he’d given himself.

When his palms slipped away, his face was normal again. Small dots of perspiration lined his forehead, as if he found this expenditure of magic tiresome.

“Did it work?”

Zylah nodded. “It did. Thank you.”

“Perfect,” he said, before he lifted his arms above his head and arched his back to stretch. He tilted his head both ways to crack his neck before relaxing. “I’m going to leave you here for a few minutes on your own.”

“What?” she exclaimed, turning her sight down to the long fall below her. The ground slipped further away, and her stomach tightened in nausea while her lungs seized. “Why?!”

“Because Spiral Haven has some of the best meat sticks and I’m fucking starving. If we want to have a good time, we need items for trade. Since it’s still nighttime, I can go to that village near our cave and steal a bunch of shit. Demons are fond of human coin, but they do prefer useful items, and I know just the place to pilfer.”

Her claws stabbed into her perch. “What if I fall off?”

“Don’t do that – it’ll hurt,” he answered with a playful hint. “Just be a good girl and sit still for a few moments. I won’t be long.”

Before she could argue with him more about it, his grin was wicked and mean as he disappeared in a split second.

Zylah was left by herself.

Okay. I can do this. She tried to focus on the wide array of pedestrians below, and how excited she was to be among them soon.