Lord Agonmeir

Naomi jumped on her feet and backed away from me, afraid that I’d finally taken down her walls and broke free from this bloke. “Now, don’t be rude. That’s no way to welcome your king. You’re lucky I’m not at my best, or I would have shown you where you belong, at my feet….” I got up slowly, adjusting to Nero’s body. The effort of getting off the ground was surprisingly taxing, something so simple exerting more energy than it should. I was still adapting to freedom, sensations and feelings hitting me all at once. But shit did it feel good to finally be free!

I flexed my fingers into a fist, noticing that they were veinier. I took on a slight mass, and my fingernails were sharper and pitch black. When I turned to the reflection of myself in the river, I noticed that I’d gained some of my features back, too. From my sanguine eyes to my royal insignia markings on my face that trailed down to my navel.

My skin was still painfully pale, but I still had a long way to go from looking my best. I couldn’t expect much on my first try, so I patted myself on the back, before Naomi started to mutter her spells under her breath.

“Shhh,” I warned her, putting a finger to my lips. “We won’t have any of that. You put me back into your box, and I just might get angry and… who knows? Nero here could end up missing a limb.”

She stuttered, “H-how, did you—”

“I can ask you the same thing!” I said, grinning ear to ear. “Now, don’t get me wrong. I knew you were powerful, but being able to bring me from the grave and keeping me caged up in this worthless vessel? Cess, I never knew your talents could reach such heights. I must admit, I am impressed.”

Naomi clenched her fists, her lips forming a thin line as she glared at me. “You know nothing of my strength. You never did!”

“Ah yes,” I replied with a dismissive wave of my hand. “Your strength lies in your invocations and enchantments. It’s really quite something I’ve never managed to understand. Your magic is a true work of art. And I envy you for it. But wasting your talents and your time on this annoying, righteous, super hero, meta stealing wannabe?” I scoffed. “Now, that’s just flat out embarrassing. It pains me to see a witch like you soften up to him like that. I’d like to create something else, too,” I mocked her in a pitchy voice. “Oh, I bet you would! Is that the kind of fantasy that runs through your head nowadays, Cess? Living in wonderland with your cute little garden, in your quaint little house, with Nero fathering your cute little kids?”

“You get his name out of your mouth!” she threatened.

I stuffed a hand in my pocket and shrugged. “Or what?” I scoffed as I stroked my chin, eyeing her up and down. “You know, I’m beginning to regret making you my pet. Maybe I should have made you one of my concubines. A woman with power like yours, well… let’s just say I would have treated you a whole lot nicer. Being nice to you clearly has its perks.”

Naomi’s eyes sparked with fury. “I am no one’s pet or concubine! Least of all yours!” she spat, her voice getting louder on me.

I laughed, “Such defiance! With all the things I made you do back home, I could only imagine how long you’ve been holding that one in your back pocket!” I said, a lopsided grin splitting my face. “But you know, you really should work on hiding your feelings better. It’s all over your face; everyone knows how much you care for him. And me, I have to see it every day…” I finally frowned. “It’s sickening.”

“I’m done being your slave! I am free now, and I get to make my own rules!”

“Free? You’re far from it. You’re not only a slave to this cage you created for me, but you’re a slave to your own careless emotions, too. You didn’t think this plan of yours through, did you? You infuse my soul into Nero’s body to save him from dying a horrible and gruesome death, recite a bunch of shit to keep me caged up, and then you seal the deal by casting a spell on me to keep my essence from eating him from the inside out. But you didn’t bank on my powers spilling through the cracks of your enchantment. I leaked out, despite your efforts.” I raised my hand and stretched out my fingers. “Five specialties of many. You had no idea…. It’s not your fault, you didn’t know. So you obsessed and obsessed until you found something that worked. And now, Nero hasn’t gotten more of my powers. You’ve managed to shut me out, at least, temporarily.” I cackled. “You know me, Cess, I’m a very impressionable demon lord. Tenacious too. And you know I won’t stop until I get what I want.”

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I strode toward her, the curves of my lips still self-assuredly cocked in an impish grin. Naomi flinched as I drew nearer, like a terrified fawn bracing itself against a lion. She didn’t try to defend herself, her love for this vessel prohibiting any sudden movements on her part. But the fact of the matter was that I couldn’t hurt a hair on this vessel’s head—not yet. I needed to find a way to escape him first, or I’d be lost between the limbo of life and death.

Maybe she hadn’t realized I was bluffing. All the better for me.

I tilted my head to the side, studying her in the moonlight. She was even more defiant when furious, and I enjoyed goading her more than anything else.

“You honestly think you are fit for this world, and it’s sad. After all the evil you’ve done, you are fighting for a second chance. This set up for failure and disappointment, it’s beyond me. You’re a demon, and you’ll be nothing more than a demon. When Nero finds out, do you seriously think he’d forgive you for lying to him?”

“Stop….” Her voice shook.

“Sure, you might have gotten him the powers he desperately wanted, but at what cost?”

“I saved his life!” she cried.

“He’s not going to see it like that. In fact, he won’t see any of it once the truth is out there. The friendship that you built, the trust and loyalty. All of that will become irrelevant when he realizes you’re no different than the monsters he kills for a living. You’re reaching for something that will never come to be. A human would never live in harmony with a demon. We are the by-products of the things they hate! Greed, lust, envy, pride, gluttony, sloth, and wrath. And Nero, someone who hardly has a corrupt bone in his body, would hate you even more. Talk about making my life in here a living hell. His pure soul is eating away at my existence, corroding a piece of me bit by bit.” I shuddered. “I get nauseous every time I think about it. Did you know that I’ve been trying to get him to take a bite out of Reina?”

Her eyes blew up.

I chuckled. “Yeah, and that good natured spirit of his would fight back every time. That dumbass is in so much denial, that it’s making my job so much—”

Naomi leaped, throwing a punch at me. She caught me off guard, and I nearly fell on my ass as I tried holding my weight at the heel of my foot. I’d gotten her upset—clearly she didn’t know how much I’d been messing with him. When I felt something trickling down the corner of my lip, I ran my fingers over my skin, looking down at the warm streak of red.

“Hmm… that’s interesting… I’m… bleeding….”

“You leave him alone!” she barked at me. “I don’t care what you think of me. I don’t even care about what you think of Nero! You can stand here and say whatever you want about him, he’s not your typical vessel! He’s a vessel strong enough to contain you! If he’s been resisting you this much, then that means he’s so far from sin that you can’t even reach him! He’s not dumb, and he’s not weak! He’s the smartest and strongest person I know! And if I had to save him all over again, I will!” she cried, streaks of tears rolling down her face. “Maybe I don’t deserve a second chance. Maybe I’m so rotten that no amount of good can redeem my past. But if I have one thing to keep on fighting for, it’s him. He will conquer you and own your powers….” She seethed through her teeth. “He will make you wish you’d never spawned from the belly of your filthy realm! Nero will bring what’s left of your kingdom to the ground!”

She triggered me, my arm reaching over to snatch that thin little neck of hers! But she stopped me with her powers, and before I could say anything, a red glowing ring with script along the inlays began to rotate around my feet.

“You’ve lost it!” I growled. “All of this for the love of one insignificant insect?! You think this will make you feel better about yourself at night? After all of those people you killed! After all of the suffering you caused! You’re delusional if you think your twisted vision of redemption will make any difference in the future! You can’t erase your sins, Circessa. Even a thousand lives saved... it won’t bring back the ones you’ve ended!” I growled. “This world is mine! Obrihden will soon learn to bow down to me! And so will the rest of you good for nothing, low-bred demons!”

“Anah-saie!” she cried, the markings along my skin glowing. I felt a symbol carve on my forehead, and before I knew it, I was on my hands and knees, resisting her magic.

“You hopeless bitch….” I grunted. “Always underestimating my power. You think your spells can break me? Oh, how little you know me, Cess. Or should I say, how little you remember. You can’t keep this up forever! I see the toll it’s taking on you… that blood coming from your brain… my power is working you down!”

“You will heel, Agonmeir, dragon demon, lord of fire, brother of ice. Relinquish your authority to me!”

Ignoring the agonizing burn that spread from my forehead through my veins, I fought her spell. It was doing me no good. She stretched her hand over my head, power permeating her body. I hated the way she looked down her nose at me! That wrench! I was still very weak, and she was quickly bringing me down.

“I heel to no one.” I smirked. “Just you wait. When it’s time to dispose of this body, I will hold you down and make you watch me pull the skin off his bones. And then, I’ll shove his flesh down your throat while you choke on your hexes!”

“Anah-saie!” she shouted again, and I curled up. It felt like a shit ton of weight was on my back, and I was trying to keep myself from being crushed.

“And then… Cess… weaver of spells, curator of my demise….” I snickered maddingly. “I will show you a torment like no torment you’ve ever seen before….”

“Ahi-stei!” she said, sealing my fate. I felt my essence being dragged into the depth of this body, and I was tucked away before I could say another word.