Mal snarled and shouted into the void, “Don’t youdarespit me out again. Bring me to him right now, or I’ll tear this entire place apart.”
Mal could do it too. When he focused, he could see the vague outline of the framework that the illusion magic was resting on. The pocket dimension had to be somewhat sentient in order to create the zones it had, which meant Mal could scare the shit out of it and drain its power dry.
He wouldn’t unless he had no other option, though. He didn’t know what would happen to the inhabitants of the realm if he destroyed it, so for the moment, Mal had to play nice.
There was a subtle tremor from the space around him, and an image appeared, projected onto the mist of the void.
In it, Elena and Naerith were playing with a chubby, redheaded toddler. They were walking through a forest, each holding one of the child’s hands. They would lift him in unisonand swing him between them, making the toddler squeal with delight.
“I said take me to him, not show him to me,” Mal snarled.
“Can’t… can’t… can’t…”It was less of a voice and more like a concept as insubstantial as the mist that drifted to Mal’s ears.
“Why not?”
“Can’t control… control… control…”
“Fucking useless.” Mal conjured a rock and kicked it into the void. It wasn’t an attack, just something to make himself feel better. “If anything happens to him, I will eat you slowly. It will hurt, and you’ll be screaming the entire time.”
Mal would relish every moment of it. He would wallow in the dimension’s cries for mercy, and there would be none. Mal wasn’t created to be merciful.
This time, the void trembled violently, but its response was the same.“Can’t control… control… control…”
“Then I won’t bother controlling myself if he’s harmed,” Mal said simply.
There was another violent tremor, but the void said nothing more.
Mal watched as baby Clayton—or Carwyn, as his parents called him—lived an idyllic life as a toddler. Neither Elena nor Naerith had bothered to mention they were fae royalty. Considering the situation and time crunch, Mal didn’t blame them.
Mal utterly failed to notice the soft smile on his face as he watched baby Clayton charm everyone around him. Clayton was the center of attention everywhere he went because his awe-filled curiosity and kindness were evident even at a young age.
Mal conjured a comfortable chair out of the mist and took out a bag of Grampy’s charbroiled graham crackers to munch on as he enjoyed the show.
“Speed up the time inside this spell. I don’t want the kids to wait forever for us to come and pick them up,” Mal ordered.
As much as he wanted to know everything there was to learn about his lover, he didn’t relish the thought of Marshall’s shield failing while they were stuck and helpless to do anything about it.
“Yes… yes… yes…”
Mal stopped enjoying himself when the day of the ambush occurred. He was on his feet, pacing and growling as he watched a tiny, terrified Clayton crying for his mother in the flame-touched darkness and chaos.
Elena scooped him up in a grip so tight that a mother bear would have been proud. Naerith was firing off ever-weakening spell blasts from a broken sword. Both of Clayton’s parents kept stumbling as they attempted to find safety for their small family.
Naerith’s face was sickly pale, and his hands shook as more and more of his blasts went wide and scorched the area around them more than their attackers.
Elena focused on herding a small band of children toward an outcropping of rocks on top of a hill while Naerith did his best to secure their retreat. One of the children tripped and fell, but instead of falling on their face, there was a shimmer of green and gold in the air around them, and they were on steady feet running at a swift pace once more. Mal caught a glimpse of the green and gold magic surrounding baby Clayton’s small, dirty hands.
Even through the terror, Clayton’s tiny face was a mask of resolve.
Even though he knew there was nothing he could do, Mal wanted nothing more than to storm into the scene and destroy anything that dared to threaten Clayton and his family.
There would be no mercy. No quarter. Mal would torture every last creature responsible for this tragedy.
Once the group reached the rocks, they were joined by three other fae warriors—a male and two females. Together with Naerith and Elena, they fought to protect their tiny sanctuary, but it didn’t take long to realize they’d all been poisoned and were suffering from the effects. Their spells and attacks were either underpowered or missed their targets more often than not, and after Elena had a shot blow up in her face, she was out of the fight.
In the darkness, white flashes were dotting the battle as portals opened and closed, ambushing fae and snatching children away. White essence meant demon magic was at play.
It was no surprise to him, considering the demons he’d seen earlier. Maybe if Mal was lucky, there would be more than two demons to eat when he got out of this zone.
