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Mammon picked up the blob and wrinkled his nose as he examined it.
It clicked. When demons or angels fucked, it created visible energy that looked like colored smoke, and it turned into a pearl that they ate. That was how they fed so they could do magic, but if what little Aurelius knew was true, then demons lost their magic after a time outside of their realm. Or maybe it was only Earth. He wasn’t sure. A form of death had to count, right? Even fairy magic was supposedly because of something in the brain that allowed them to use it unlike humans, who were missing that crucial thing. It must have been the same for demons.
Perhaps something in his brain had atrophied in a way like a muscle that hadn’t been used in ages, and Mammon needed time and feeding before he could truly be his old self. Shifting must have been an ability that didn’t require energy.
There was only one being around that Mammon could feed from, and Aurelius went cold at the thought.
“You’ll do for a while even though I can’t get a child off you.” Mammon flung down the blob. “I was going to try with Aravitia’s daughter, although I’m not sure if that would have worked.”
Aurelius took a step back. This thing expected him to lie under it so it could feed with its disgusting magic. “I c-can’t,” he stammered.
“I’ll do the work. You can lie there and enjoy it.”
Aurelius’s heart pounded harder as he tried to think of a lie. “I mean-I’m damaged down there. The Zorians-”
Mammon flicked his tongue out. “Don’t lie. You’ve fucked. I could sense the energy although it was hardly enough.”
Elira, no, he couldn’t bear it. Something moved to his right, but he was already seeing the green. His breath caught in his chest, and he was sure he could smell blood.
Something slammed him down onto the floor, and he could feel the hands pinning him down like before, except there was only one face above him. A hideous, ugly face filled with glee and greed for something else it could take. And someone else.
His lion.
Mammon suddenly jerked to avoid the sword, shifted, and nearly smashed Aurelius with his foot. Jari ducked just in time as Mammon’s wing swung for him. What the fuck? He was supposed to be on the ship, not here. It was going to kill him like Gullveig.
“Aurelius!” Jari darted forward and grabbed his arm to pull him to his feet.
“Two to play with!” Mammon roared as he turned and blocked the door with his massive tail.
Aurelius almost tripped as Jari yanked him toward the pile so they could go over it. He struggled to breathe through his panic which hadn’t quite left him, and a new one was setting in since Mammon would surely kill Jari first. He couldn’t bear to see Jari with his neck snapped or his body crushed. The coins and treasure slipped under him, and he managed to snatch a sword.
Mammon growled as they reached the top and ran down toward the far side of the cave. “You better run faster, little fairies.”
Jari suddenly shoved Aurelius flat and fell on him. Heat pressed on Aurelius as gold fire blasted overhead, and the ground shook as Mammon came closer. Coins and objects clanked as the dragon climbed the pile with ease.
Jari yanked him up, and they ran for a gap in the wall. A narrow hall lay beyond, and Jari almost tripped on a piece of treasure that must have rolled in. Aurelius felt the heat again and dragged him along in his terror. The hall curved right, and they made it around without being scorched.
“Come on,” Aurelius managed to hook the sword on his belt. Thank Elira for this spot, although it was a short reprieve.
Bits of the missing wall didn’t lend much light, but they managed to get through the hall that sloped up. Aurelius had gotten used to the faint egg smell of the place, but a new one hit him as the floor leveled, and his foot bumped something. Slats of light came through narrow, rectangular gaps to his left like window slits, and he realized this must have been some sort of room for Princess Innogen, although he had no idea what he’d hit. The smell was strange and stale. It was likely some kind of furniture that had practically turned to dust over the years.
Through the slits, which Mammon must have made ages ago since they were a bit too perfect to be natural, he caught gold flashing. Perhaps the bedstead down there was intended so they could have sex, and Mammon had created a private space for her.
Except it wasn’t truly private. If she’d had a source of light, he’d always be able to watch her in his dragon form since he was tall enough to see in, like a creep peeping through a window and spying on a woman. Aurelius cringed as he imagined her stuck here and forced to breed with that beast while never having a moment of real privacy or a way to escape.
How were they going to escape?
Jari breathed heavily next to him as he clutched Aurelius’s hand, and the tip of his sword scraped stone.
Mammon growled as he peered in, trying to see them, and his head blocked the sunlight. “Come out, little fairies. I’ll let you both live if you behave. Jari, right? I’m sure you won’t mind watching if I fuck Aurelius first. You can have a turn afterward.”
Aurelius pulled him away, bumped something, and nearly fell backward. Jari kept him from falling, and Aurelius patted the wall behind him. His hand hit nothing a little to the left.
“Or I can eat your roasted flesh. Fairies are quite delicious.”
The head shifted, and Aurelius swore he saw fangs before he and Jari fled into the new space. In the dark, Aurelius hit the wall. The roar and heat came from behind as they stumbled to the right. Still clutching onto each other, they ran up while trying not to slip.
Mammon roared again and must have smashed the cave wall with his body. The whole cave shook, and they nearly lost their footing when they felt their way around another curve. A gap appeared in the wall ahead, showing that the hall curved right and continued up.
