Page 21 of Bound By Darkness

When it was finally revealed that Lamia was a minion of Variant all along, it was too late to do anything to stop what was already in motion.

Variant had won the war and the only weapon he’d needed was a woman.

“I won’t fail again, Dragan,” I say.

***

BARON

It was with great reluctance that I returned to the mortal plane after my time with theTransmutation Stone. I’d expected the visions to come at once, for my memories to fill in and for the roaming questions I’d entertained for the better part of a century to be answered.

Such was not the case. Instead, I’d received an eclectic mix of visions that made little sense.

It was as though I were falling into a dream—one I had no way of controlling. There was no rhyme nor reason to the images the stone revealed; they were erratic and disjointed. It was like glimpsing someone’s life from the view of their open doorway. Yet, it was addicting.

If knowledge is poison, it is one for which I have no immunity.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that I didn’t feel as though the events were happening to me, but I felt no real attachment to the individual, Baron. I found the scenes of his coronation, along with his death, to be two-dimensional and boring. Never did I feel as though it were myself I was viewing. This Baron person was foreign and unknown to me. He still remains as such.

I’m not Baron.

I’m Revenant, such that I was when I was pulled back to life and forced to claw my way out of my own grave.

Of all the memories and images the stone revealed, what fascinated me most were those of Variant. I was given a window into my enemy that allowed me to better understand him. Never before had I seen this side of Variant and now after having witnessed it, I feel better prepared to unseat him. Knowing thy enemy is commandment number one in the art of war.

Whatever score Baron had to settle with Variant before his murder, I would settle it for him. But such is the extent of my allegiance to him. As far as I’m concerned, Baron died the day Variant stabbed him. And though I was reborn for reasons still unknown, I was reborn as someone entirely different.

Regardless of what I once was, I am no king now.

I’m an assassin, but armed with a king’s knowledge, I can and will take down the High Angel, once and for all.

“I need to understand how you hear the Midnight Queen’s voice,” I say to Eilish as I study her. Even though I’ve resigned myself to a lifetime dedicated only to revenge against Variant, I want her. And I’ve wanted her since I saw her. Of course, I attribute this need to the fact that she’s Succubus, and as such, desirable to all men.

Even telling myself as much does little to curb my hunger.

“I don’t know how I’m able to hear her,” she admits.

“How often does she visit you?”

She cocks her head to the side. “Usually in moments when I’m in danger, I hear her voice guiding me or advising me what to do.” She pauses and appears introspective for a moment or two. “I haven’t heard from her recently.”

“Neither have I,” I admit with concern.

“When was the last time,” she begins but I interrupt her.

“I haven’t heard the Midnight Queen’s voice since I was roused from my grave,” I admit. “I’m still unsure of the reason why she brought me back.”

“To defeat Variant?” Eilish asks with a shrug, as though the answer is obvious.

“Perhaps.”

“And maybe that’s the same reason she guides me?” she asks. “Maybe we’re both meant to help defeat Variant?”

I’m not convinced such is the case but I say nothing. Eilish is full of naieve hope and optimism. I am not.

“You were able to see a vision of the moment I was reborn,” I say as I face her.

She nods and appears confused as to why I’ve brought this subject up.

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