A Glow of Stars & Dusk by Eve L. Mitchell

I watched them prepare,and after several minutes, I thought it only prudent that I ask what they were doing. I was the one being unbound, what were they preparing for?

Chaz and Pen were using what looked like a pestle and mortar to grind herbs and weird looking spiky white flowers. I decided they were the safer option to approach as Der and Ros built a huge bonfire, which they assured me no one else could see. I found it hard to believe since we were on top of a big ass cliff, but felt it better not to argue with them. Zel and Sam spoke together on the other side of the grounds as they checked weapons. Why we needed weapons, I didn’t know. I was leading up to that question though.

“Hi,” I greeted the two safer demons. Both looked up at me with the same polite smile. “Can I help?” I asked as I watched Chaz sprinkle a fine powder into his stone mortar.

“Not just now,” he said and flicked his eyes to Pen.

“You should get comfortable,” Pen told me as he looked me over.

I was wearing jeans and a purple hoodie under my thick black double-breasted woollen coat. “I am comfortable,” I told them as I sat down beside them.

“Did Sam see your clothes?” Chaz asked casually.

“Yes, he was with me when I got dressed,” I answered easily even as my cheeks reddened at what I had just confirmed, and I saw Chaz wince at my easy tone.

Pen looked over at Sam and Zel, and frowned. “One moment.” He stood and made his way over to them.

“Are you okay?” I asked Chaz quietly as I plucked a blade of grass from the ground and studied it in the dying afternoon light.

“Of course, Star,” he replied as he crushed more leafy things together. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, I just want to make sure you aren’t sore with me,” I admitted as I looked around the castle ruins and studiously avoided eye contact.

“I don’t understand, sore?”

“Oh, I mean mad at me.” I sighed. “No, not mad, it means put out. Upset.”

“Oh.” Chaz blinked in surprise. “Why would I be upset?”

“Um…” I felt like an idiot. Chaz and I had a connection, yes, but it was friendship. Okay, I had contemplated flirting with him, but if I was completely honest, the only demon who had held my attention the whole time had been Sam. From the time we were buried together, the attraction had been there. Even before then, if I was honest. It had always been Sam, well, except when it was Yeqon. I heard the loud snap and looked over to find glowing green eyes stare back at me. Oops. Smiling, I turned my attention back to Chaz. He was watching me with a sad smile as he looked between the two of us.

“You are beautiful, inside and out,” Chaz told me. “And I would have been honoured had you picked me.” He looked over at Sam with a faraway look in his eyes. “But you were not meant for me.”

“Huh.” I plucked another blade of grass and looked back over at Sam, who was once again talking to Zel, their heads bent together. Pen had moved over to Der and Ros and seemed to be deep in conversation with them. “Funny you say that,” I mused.

“How so?” Chaz asked as he sprinkled more powder into his bowl.

“My gran, when she passed, she came to me at St Andrews,” I told him. “I was with Ruairidh, and I knew she had gone.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “And I remember I took his hand, and she looked at it and said he wasn’t meant for me.” I looked once more at Sam, who was watching me across the space. “She said he is not your destiny. Let him go, Star, a much darker one waits for you.” I turned back to the blue-eyed male across from me. “Is he my darker, Chaz?” I asked softly.

“You should start to prepare, we do this at dusk.” Pen sat back down beside me and handed me a bundle. “You need to change.”

Standing, I unfurled the bundle, and a long white dress dropped to the grass as I held it in front of me. “Getting strong vibes of Kate Bush telling Heathcliff she’s come home,” I murmured as I studied the dress. I saw their blank faces. “Too much ‘Wuthering Heights’ and not enough clifftop in October. You get me?”

“You won’t be cold when the ritual starts,” Pen told me confidently.

“Ritual?” My brain stumbled slightly, but I pushed past it. “And until the ritual?”

“You have a coat,” Sam said as he wrapped his arms around me, “and me to keep you warm.” He turned me in his arms. “Come, I’ll help you change.” I ignored Zel’s disgusted snort of contempt and Ros’s muttered yeah, right.

I followed Sam back into the castle, and he led me to the Brewery area. It was fully enclosed and made me skittish because of the plaque outside it about the “ghostly hauntings” which, considering I could see the dead, was stupid. My head snapped up and around.

“What is it?” Sam asked as he produced a torch from thin air, it seemed.

“There are no spirits here,” I said as I looked around and pulled inwards slightly. “Not one.”

“It is not uncommon for spirits to avoid places,” Sam said as he shrugged.

“But that plaque tells of at least three ghosts, so where is the woman in green plaid, where is the deerhound, where is the soldier? Where are any of the soldiers burned in the church?” I chewed the inside of my lip as I considered it. “There is nothing, this place is void.” I looked at Sam. “Zel said this place is soaked in the blood of traitors, enemies, innocents, where are they?”

“They must have moved on.” Sam shrugged again. His finger trailed slowly along my jaw. “It is not for you to worry about just now.” He looked at me as his eyes glowed slightly in the torchlight. “Okay?”

I nodded even as I sighed. He kissed me softly and then with more urgency. The torch was laid down in the old brewing vat, which was a circle indentation on the floor where they used to brew the castle’s ale. The torch flared, and soon we had our own low-level lighting as Sam’s hands pushed my coat open and off, catching it seamlessly before it fell to the ground. My hoodie was pulled over my head, and I gasped into his mouth when he lifted me before I was pressed against the wall. My hair was in a messy bun, which I was grateful for as my head rested against the wall while Sam’s hands made short work of my jeans.

“Sam,” I protested as he pushed my jeans down. “Should we be doing this?”

“Absolutely.” He nodded as his lips kissed their way down my throat.

“Aren’t we busy?” I asked just before my whimper mewled out of me as his strong fingers moved my underwear aside and he pushed them inside me. His fingers were perfection as he strummed my body like I was his instrument.

“I am definitely busy,” he agreed, and I caught his smirk before he was on his knees before me, his tongue moving through my folds.

“Oh shit,” I groaned as my hands twisted in his hair. “This is so inappropriate,” I murmured as he pulled my underwear down and, lifting my leg, placed it over his shoulder. I felt his smile just before he lapped at my core. “Mmm more,” I encouraged him as his fingers picked up their pace. The wall scraped my back as I rubbed myself against his mouth, greedy for the sensations he created within me.

Swiftly he stood, and even as he picked me up, he was loosening his own clothes. Sam lifted me higher against the wall, and then I was being lowered onto him. “Oh fuck,” I moaned as he filled me and instantly started moving his hips. My head lolled backwards as I clung onto his shoulders. Sam was teasing my breasts as he fucked me hard against the wall, and all I could do was hold on. My arms looped around his neck, and my legs curled around his waist as he somehow got deeper and deeper within me.

“This is insane,” I whispered before I felt my orgasm rising. My nails dug into his shoulder blades while he swallowed my cries as I came undone for him. Sam caught me as I staggered when he let me down, and with a gentle push on my shoulders, I was on my knees, my tongue moving over him eagerly as he encouraged me to take more of him into my mouth.

“More,” he whispered in the dimly lit room, looking down at me with stark hunger in his eyes as he pushed at the back of my throat. His hand caught my chin, and I tilted my head back slightly, allowing more of him in. His eyes flared bright green as I worked his length, my hand keeping rhythm, stroking him, as he thrust into my eager mouth. “So fucking good at this,” he whispered as his head tilted back. Sam’s hand loosened my bun only to catch most of my hair as it fell free in his hand. “I need to dictate the pace now,” he warned me, and I nodded as I braced my hands against his strong thighs. Thank God he was holding my head steady, otherwise he would have broken my neck or knocked me over completely. He was almost violent in his thrusts, but it was so hot, watching his face twist in pleasure, knowing I was the one making him lose control, that I didn’t complain, and then he suddenly stopped and spilled in my mouth. His groan echoed in the chamber, and I continued to lick him gently while he softened. He dropped his head against the wall as he recovered, his breathing heavy, as he ran his hand through my hair.

Tentatively, I drew my head back and tapped his thigh. “Just realised my knees are sore,” I admitted awkwardly. Sam helped me up, and I studied my grazed knees. “Do you think there’s dirt in them?” I worried as I watched Sam straighten his clothes.

“I have a salve I can rub on your knees and your back.”

“My back?” I twisted my head to see, but I’m not an owl and my neck only allows so much movement. “Is it bad?”

“No,” Sam assured me as he held out the dress to me. “Put this on. I’ll tend to your scrapes outside.”

I held the dress up dubiously and then with a resigned sigh, I looked for my underwear.

“They need to stay off.” He was looking at me, and I hesitated slightly at his expression. “I think I stood on them,” he told me. “They’re best left where they are.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip. “Not sure this dress allows for commando,” I said as I looked at the floaty white skirt. “A strong breeze, and the others will be up close and personal with my lady parts.”

Sam’s hand snatched out and grabbed the dress, using it to pull me closer. “Only I get to be up close and personal with any part of you,” he growled possessively.

“Well, I wasn’t offering a gang bang,” I snapped as I shrugged out of his hold. “Settle, petal.”

“What does that even mean?” he asked me in frustration.

“It means calm the fuck down,” I told him waspishly. I shrugged the stupid dress on. “I hate this already.”

“Your bra needs to come off.”

“Excuse me?”

“It has metal in it; your clothing has to be natural.” He held his hand out. “Trust me, you don’t fuck with spells.”

“I may as well be naked!” I protested, but his scowl stopped the rest of my words. With a disgruntled mumble, I unhooked and wiggled out of my bra under the confines of the dress. “Happy?”

“Happier, wouldn’t say I was happy.”

Well okay then.

As we made our way back to the others, I had no idea what I looked like, but I avoided Pen’s look as he passed behind me. My hair hung loose over my shoulders, I knew my lips were swollen from his kisses and other things, my legs were still weak from being wrapped around him, and my knees were scuffed. On top of all that, I was in a dress that sacrificial virgins wore in horror movies.

I stopped dead on the grass as I looked around and down at myself. I was dressed like a lamb for the slaughter, and the demons were preparing for a fight. This was more than me unlocking a spell. “You fucking bastard,” I whispered in dismay.

Sam turned and looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “Witch?”

“You fucking tricky bastard!” I yelled at him. My wild glare took them all in, only half looked guilty. “You had sex with me all day so I would have your fucking seed in me!”

“You didn’t complain,” Sam said coolly as he crossed his arms over his chest as he watched me. “Do you scent her?” he asked the others casually. They all nodded. “Perfect.” His smile was colder than the sea behind me as he watched me.

I met Zel’s gaze, and the scarred demon did not look away from me. “I’m already unbound, aren’t I?”

“For two nights now,” he confirmed.

I shook my head as I refused to make further eye contact with any of them. I felt a tear slip free and wiped it away angrily. They didn’t get to see my tears. “Why?” I tilted my head back and looked up into a clear sky. The sun was setting in the west, the red and pink hues spread across the sky even as the moon waited to rise fully, and I could see it was already tinted with red. Some stars were already in the sky, eager to come out. “What was the point?”

“You needed to be marked,” Sam told me bluntly.

“I’m not an animal.” My eyes snapped to his in fury. His eyes glowed in the dimming light. “You heartless—”

“Demon,” Sam finished my sentence as he took a step forward in irritation. “I am a demon. We are demons. You keep forgetting.”

“Samyaza?”

I turned to the newcomer. He was tall, slender, his skin was a deep golden brown, thick chestnut curls rested on his head, and amber eyes fixed on mine. “Is this the morsel you offer me?” He inhaled deeply. “You tasted my witch,” he scolded playfully before his eyes narrowed in anger. “You did more than taste.”

It was very weird that he was discussing me as if I was a sample platter and stranger still that he had a smooth, slow American drawl. It was exactly as I imagined a gentleman from the Deep South would sound. Only it was clear he was no gentleman, despite his three-piece burgundy suit with crisp white dress shirt and shiny black shoes. He even had a black cane, and I saw Pen lick his lips as he watched the cane tap impatiently on the grass.

“She is the witch who can clear your blood curse,” Sam informed him, his words hard. “I did more than taste,” he confirmed with a self-satisfied smirk. “I told you a long time ago, she is not for you.”

“And you think she is for you?” The demon laughed into the cool of the evening as he stepped towards me but hesitated. “You place her in a protection circle? From me?” He cast a sly look at me before his attention was back on Sam. “Or protection from you?”

I was in a circle?I glanced down and realised that I was indeed in a circle. The weird spiky flowers and the powder had formed a solid barrier, and I realised Pen hadn’t been creeping behind me, avoiding my post-sex state, he had been sealing me in. Oh my God, I realised with dismay that I was encircled in Hamish. That was the powder Chaz kept adding in. I was going to be sick. Maybe this was a retelling of an old horror movie after all.

“She can undo the curse. Let her do the spell, return Araqiel to us, then go, Asmodeous.” Sam’s look was full of contempt for the prince of hell who stood before us.

“The witch needs to bleed,” Asmodeous hissed as he glared at me. “Her bitch of an ancestor cursed me, and I have her burning in oil daily, but this one will bleed as well.”

“She will not.” Sam’s voice was loud and clear. I was almost, almost glad he was on my side. “Witch.” His eyes flicked to mine. “The spell’s in your pocket.”

Of course it was. Arsehole. I hoped he could hear my thoughts now. Reaching into my pocket, my fingers brushed the animal hide. As I withdrew it from my pocket, the Scavengers arrived in full force.

“You brought friends?” Sam deadpanned.

“More than friends.” Asmodeous grinned evilly. “I brought brothers.”

Yeqon and two others walked out from amongst the Scavengers. “Star, you don’t smell as sweet,” he greeted me jovially. “I fear you have lost your delicious taste,” he mocked.

“Has everyone fucked the whore?” Asmodeous sneered as he glared at me.

“Fuck you.” I’d finally found my voice. “Fuck all of you.” I reached for my powers, and my eyes flew to Zel’s in outrage. “You bound them?”

“You need to do the spell,” he told me firmly as he looked at me steadily.

“This spell?” I held it up in front of me as they all watched. Asmodeous took a step forward. “Fuck your spell.” With a strength born of fury, I tore it in two. A strong burst of wind erupted around me, and I let the ripped hide go. It whipped into the air once, twice, three times, and then it flew over the edge of the cliff. “Go find another witch.” I held Sam’s carefully controlled stare with my angry one. “I’m done with demons.”

“Kill her,” Asmodeous snarled.