Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons Book 2) Read online

  Bat Out of Hell

  Promised to the Demons Book Two

  Lidiya Foxglove

  Copyright © 2020 by Lidiya Foxglove

  Cover art © 2020 by Covers by Christian

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  More Romantic Fantasy from Lidiya!

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Bevan

  “Will she pull through?” Despite my relief at seeing the fae healers tending to my beloved girl, she looked so small and fragile.

  I didn’t want to find out I made it this far only to lose her to some stupid swamp sickness.

  Lord Cyrus turned his attention to me. He was a dourly handsome man, dressed in black, with a short sword at his side. “She’s stable,” he said.

  I let out a breath. “Thank the gods.”

  “You gave her some powerful tonic already, by the looks of it,” Lord Cyrus said.

  “Tonic…” I glanced back at Piers, who was sticking by the door, knowing he didn’t really belong here. “Piers picked some mushrooms that he thought might help and we steeped them into a broth, but they didn’t seem to do much.” Other than that, I had only given her some common herbs to help a fever.

  “Do you mean Blood’s Salvation mushrooms? Those did plenty,” Lord Cyrus said. “In fact, they probably saved her life. It’s a good thing you knew what to do.”

  “All my studying comes to some purpose,” Piers said, but he shook his head. He didn’t look like he wanted any credit.

  I stared at him. I was still feeling a little breathless, just knowing Jenny could have died before we had any chance for a life together.

  “I’m glad you came with me,” I said to Piers. “I mean that.”

  “I’ve used what I know for a lot of…unsavory purposes,” Piers said. “But…this was a good reminder of why I initially loved to study magic.” A faint smile passed across his scarred, pale face.

  “Don’t make me start to like you,” I said, giving his arm a little punch.

  “I’m sure you don’t have to worry about that,” Piers said. I hadn’t really meant it as a joke, exactly, but I’m not sure the guy would have gotten a joke if it punched him in the face anyway.

  Wyrd, the realm of the fae, was the weakest, smallest and most fragile of magical realms. It had only recently become known to the rest of the magical world after centuries sequestering itself. It was now making moves to gain power, however. A thought worthy of keeping in mind as I approached the fae queen for an audience.

  "Welcome, fair companion to the von Hapsburg family," the queen greeted me. Then she looked behind me to Piers. "You have brought this one to our doorstep..."

  I bowed to her, although it felt weird. I'd never been much for royal trappings.

  When I brought Jenny to the court, thankfully, they rushed her to their healers right away. They didn’t even ask me for my name, although I could have told them that I was an ally. With Jenny safely tended to, now I had to face the queen of the fae herself. She was the last of the high fae, so they said—serene and beautiful, frail and willowy. But she was also a tiny bit intimidating to me. I don’t know if I could say why. Maybe familiars were just the dead opposite of high fae. We were pretty simple, down to earth types.

  ”My name is Bevan Soundhunter. I'm actually here seeking help for a girl who needs a healer. Both of us became bound to a high demon, who proceeded to try and force me on her with the use of aphrodisiac spells. Unbeknownst to us, he also watched while I tried to treat her with care. He knew we were in love and had hoped to destroy the relationship by making us his pawns. Jenny ran away out of humiliation when she learned that Lord Variel and his other servants had watched her lose her virginity. For some reason, the paths led her to Lord Variel's castle, where she was stricken by the swamp sickness and is now delirious with a fever. I'm here to beg your help, because no one in Etherium will aid us as long as we're connected against our will to the high demon. I love Jenny. I'll do anything you ask of me in exchange for saving her life."

  "Did you bring Piers Nicolescu as prisoner in exchange for her life?" Queen Morgana asked.

  I looked at Piers. His face was completely stoic.

  Oh, for crying out loud.

  It would be so easy to just hand him over. I guessed it made sense that the fae had a beef with him too.

  But now I couldn’t just throw him to the faery queen's mercy. "Well...," I said. Piers still wasn't reacting at all. Maybe he expected me to trade his life. Maybe he didn't even care if he rotted in a faery prison. I sighed. "Piers...helped me get through the swamp safely and make healing tonics for Jenny. So I didn't bring him as a prisoner of war."

  "Oh, puh-lease," a very American voice rose above the gentle murmurs of the faery court.

  The queen raised an amused eyebrow. "I imagine you have something to say about this, Lady Daisy?"

  Piers' ex-fiancee swept out of the crowd with three imposing men just behind her. "Bevan! What the ever-living fuck are you doing hanging out with Piers in the first place? Let it be known throughout the land that he is the literal worst."

  "You remember me," I said. "How do you recognize me out of bat form?"

  "You just announced yourself," she said.

  “Yes. I did." Dumbass.

  To be fair, Daisy could throw off a lot of people. She was wearing a bright yellow gown that sat off-shoulder and showed off her breasts, but it also had billowing long sleeves, and a sweeping skirt slit up to her thigh, with gold stiletto sandals. Daisy had always been a lot to handle. She grew up in the same elite circle of wizards as my family, where inheritances and patriarchal arranged marriages were the order of the day. The only reason a familiar like me knew Daisy was because she was betrothed to the younger brother of my witch. When he fell for someone else, Daisy was passed to the older cousin--Piers. When that went south, she agreed to marry a faery lord just for the alliance.

  Needless to say, Daisy understood transactional relationships.

  "Are you aware of all the absolutely horrible stuff he did?” she asked me.

  "I am extremely aware and have been reminding him of it frequently," I said, irritated. "But still, I have to acknowledge that he was helpful in Sinistral and..."

  "And so, he can go to jail," Daisy said. "Man, just when I think I'll never have to see this guy again, he keeps popping up like a pimple. Not that I have a lot of experience with those..."

  "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Piers Nicolescu?" Queen Morgana asked.


  "No," Piers said.

  "Nothing in your defense?"

  "You all know what I did," Piers said. "And you probably know why I did it. If you need to send me to jail, I would say that all is fair. I would have done the same thing. I just hope you won’t blame Jenny for being acquainted to me. She needs your help.”

  "I might hate martyr Piers even more than unrepentant a-hole Piers," Daisy said.

  "Lass, do you think it's possible he might just be tired of a life of crime?" asked one of Daisy's male attendants. "He looks like he's been through the wringer already."

  “Orson, don't treat him like a hurt cow," Daisy said. "I don't think he deserves even one hand. He once tried to grope my boobs with that hand--and very clumsily."

  "I was trying to put an arm around you," Piers said, turning slightly pink. His blush was stark because he was so pale.

  "I say again, puh-lease!"

  The faery court was getting a good evening soap opera out of all of this. I couldn't believe I was thinking this, but I actually did feel the tiniest bit sorry for Piers. I had no doubt he was a lousy fiancé for her, but I also could tell he had no sense of how to be suave and romantic, and even if his intentions were okay, anyone with Daisy's personality would have crushed him. She needed someone who could handle her.

  “Piers,” Queen Morgana said. “I have heard of your various deeds from Lady Daisy. This is the realm of the fae, where both chaos and order have their place, and fighting for your territory is not a crime, but cruelty…well, you will be judged if you are to stay here, in a way that will give you a fate you deserve, be it kind or cruel.”

  “I understand,” Piers said. I don’t think he expected anything good to come of it.

  I appealed directly to Queen Morgana. "Look, I won't stand in the way of the laws of your realm. But I came here to get help for Jenny. I would feel better if I personally repaid the favor, because I am the one who loves Jenny and her health is my personal responsibility, not Piers. I have a number of skills which I would gladly place in Your Majesty's hands until the debt is repaid."

  "Didn't you say you were already bound to a high demon?"

  "Yes...but he isn't a very powerful demon. He's stuck in Etherium. I think he'll have a hard time forcing me back to his side if I'm sworn to repay a debt to you."

  In the back of the room, by the main doors of the hall, the herald blew his horn. Queen Morgana looked up, startled.

  Lord Variel was being led into the hall, with his legs in shackles made of thick vines so his steps hobbled, and his arms bound behind his back. His bonds were being held by four faery guards, but he led the way down the aisle to the queen.

  "Queen of the Fae," he announced. "I am Lord Variel the Devourer, son of Lord Vorsiel, and I have come to offer my repentance in exchange for knowledge of the origins of the familiar race, so that they may--" He suddenly noticed me and Piers where we had moved off to the side. "What are you doing here?"

  Chapter Two

  Lord Variel

  "I'm wondering the same thing," Bevan replied. "Are you really here to find out about familiars?"

  It was almost impossible to admit that I actually wanted to help Jenny in front of Bevan. High demons were not supposed to help lesser beings.

  "I sense that this demon could not have breached the gates of our realm this day unless he had a true intention to pay for his crimes and act to benefit someone else," some old hag in the crowd said.

  It was always a hag to cause trouble with her truth-telling. "I'm not sure I'm as benevolent as all of that," I said. “It's just that I wish to marry the toad maid. The fates have chosen her for my bride. And so, to her and her alone, I must prove myself. Where is Jenny?" I asked Bevan.

  "Jenny contracted swamp sickness in your fen," Piers said, and I could tell he was actually pissed off at me. "I tried to heal her with the Blood’s Salvation mushroom but she had an especially bad case."

  "Jenny is never going to leave me for you," Bevan said. "You know this is pointless. We’re already taking care of her."

  "Hmmm," Queen Morgana said. "So all three of you are here simply to aid and protect this girl? It's clear to me that she must be a very special girl if she could unite such a group in wanting to help someone else. I will provide her with the best of care and I will have her judge your crimes. Then, I will speak to the familiars about what knowledge I can provide."

  “What’s that? Jenny will judge my crimes?" I repeated. I knew Jenny, with her gentle heart, would never wish for my maiming or execution, or even any torture. The queen might as well say I would not be punished at all.

  "Yes. Jenny alone will decided your fates." She smiled and waved a hand at a female attendant. "Please see to it that she has the best care and use these three men as aides. They all seem to want to help her, so make use of them at her sickbed. Daisy, my flower, please make plans for a gathering to welcome her to the court when she gets better. I would like to invite all the mages, our best military leaders and captains of the royal fleet. Perhaps a little theatrical to lighten our spirits, and then we will decide what to do with these men.”

  "Wha? If...that's what you want." Daisy wrinkled her nose at Piers. One of the three fae men at her side patted her shoulder and said,

  "I'm sure the queen knows exactly what she's doing."

  Bevan didn't look happy either, but he composed himself. By now I knew that Bevan could not be easily provoked, and he must guess Queen Morgana had a plan.

  One could never trust the fae, but they also were incapable of lying, so she meant what she said. Maybe she intended to persuade Jenny to punish me more harshly, but there was no universe in which I could imagine Jenny choosing of her own free will to hurt me.

  For now, I would have to accept this as a good result. The fae guard released me from my bonds at Morgana's order, and I was able to return to my servants, who were waiting outside the palace.

  "Master!?" Gillian said nervously. "They set you free?"

  "Indeed... Bevan, Piers and Jenny beat me here. Jenny is sick and I will be allowed to tend to her. When she is well, she'll decide my punishment."

  "That girl couldn't punish a flea," Uram said. I had finally allowed him to talk again.

  "My guard is certainly not lowered," I said. "Something is afoot. Still, we're out of that accursed realm, and my magic is flowing better here." When we landed in the fae realm, we found ourselves in the middle of a wetland, still far too sunny for my taste, but it was a vast improvement from Etherium. I was even able to hunt and eat fish and game again. After days of travel, we stumbled upon the faery palace. Bevan, I supposed, had traveled straight to the heart of the realm without any troubles. The landscape would not have resisted him as it did me.

  A young woman in a starched white apron came up to us outside. "There you are. Shall I show you to your quarters? The queen welcomes you to the palace. Once Jenny is in stable condition, you will be able to take a shift tending to her, so we request you wait in your chambers for a summons. Your rooms are well appointed with books, instruments and games so you will not just be left to pace with worry!" She smiled.

  What the hell is going on, exactly? I wondered. The last thing I expected was a warm reception.

  The girl led the way to rooms that were just as nice as described. Uram immediately picked up a lute and started picking out a love song.

  "Well, this is what I'm talking about,” Jameson said, looking out the window at a view of a small garden, one of many on the grounds, and each with different types of flowers. A few attractive fae maidens were walking by the window and looked up at him, giggling. When I came up behind him they hurried off.

  "There are so many beds!" Gillian exclaimed from the next room. "There's a big bed for the master, and a bed for each of us, and even a whole extra bed just in case one bed gets spoiled!"

  "I can think of no reason you should expect a bed to be 'spoiled', whatever that means," I muttered. "But...the quarters are very generous. Please do thank Queen Morgana fo
r me,” I told the maid. Of course, I was still very suspicious, but I could at least be polite, as a Lord to a Queen.

  "Yes, sir. I will tell her right away and I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear it,” the young faery maiden said, bobbing her head to me. "Will you be needing anything else?"

  "No, thank you..."

  I already saw a basket of fruit and hard cheese to carry us until dinner after our long days of travel, and I dared not ask for clean clothes yet.

  The rooms were not to my style, of course. Potted plants and wooden furniture, mostly left natural but with trims of bright, cheerful paint in the forms of knots and greenery, made every room seem light and insubstantial. While the faeries enjoyed gold and gems as much as anyone, generally they eschewed displays of wealth and power. It seemed a little shabby to me, just a step up from a roadside inn. But it did welcome one, and the servants were springing on the beds and eating the fruit.

  "Please comport yourselves like adults," I said. "I need the faeries to understand that I am a dangerous man. I really shall whip all three of you if anyone heard you laughing. Any one of you."

  "I really haven't been whipped in a while," Jameson said languidly. “But you don’t have a whip. You might have to put us over your knees and give us a good smacking.”

  Jameson could ruin anything. ”Just...quiet. This is important. I don't trust anything that's going on here."

  "But it's so nice," Gillian said. "The apples are the tastiest I've ever tasted."

  The more idyllic everything seemed, the more nervous I grew. I was sure I was being tricked and I vowed not to eat any of the food left in the room.