Willow, p.1
Willow, page 1
Willow
Angelic Blood Chronicles
Book 3
by Zavian Glory
© 2024 Zavian Glory
All Rights Reserved
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except in quoted segments for review purposes, without written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover art by Deranged Doctor Design
Content Warnings: violence, wildfire, sexual themes, explicit sexual content, polyamory, worldbuilding based off Christian mythology that some might find offensive or potentially triggering of religious trauma
Chapter One
Willow
There was something amiss in the forest.
As one of the fae, Willow was quite used to the normal routine of the forest where he had been spawned centuries ago, just as he was used to sensing what was far from normal.
Orange light dancing before his eyes was certainly not normal.
Willow emerged from the comfortable cave where he made his home. It was a cool May night – or it should be. Heat radiated from around him as flames danced across the night sky, the trees on the horizon lighting the forest with an unearthly orange glow. There was no smoke and no sound, unlike the usual sort of wildfire
He had heard of fires that burned orange without smoke or the crackle of flame and wood. It was hellfire, something used by some demons who existed merely to destroy. He had never seen it, but it was all that it could be. Could the humans extinguish it?
A figure materialized before Willow, appearing at first to be a tall human man, but its energy signature declared it to be a demon. One who sparked flames with each step it took, and one with eyes that were filled with fire.
"Why are you doing this?" Willow demanded, aching for the life he could feel perishing beneath the flames.
"Leviathan commands it," the demon answered in a snarl. "You are not to serve the nephilim's army. Leviathan will not be prevented from returning. Begone little fae of the forest."
Willow jumped back into his cave as the demon raised its four arms before it. The cave had protected Willow from the ravages of wildfires before, but those had been natural fires and he had had time to prepare his shelter. Now he did not have that time, and the fire was demon-set.
Some subconscious thought called to him and he drove his hands into the mossy dirt of his home, begging the earth to protect him.
A wall of green erupted in the cave entrance, blocking the orange glow of the hellfire as it roared toward him. The foliage grew thick and strong, drawing all the moisture it could from the depths of the earth. The cave grew terribly warm, making Willow wonder if he could be cooked alive. He had seen his siblings perish in wildfires before, but never while inside a shelter.
None of them had ever been able to build walls of nature to protect them, either.
The memory of a sweet nephilim he had briefly known nearly eight years ago came to him. Nephilim gave powers to lovers, but never before they were thirty. He couldn't have been gifted this power. Unless his own angelic creation had drawn it from the nephilim in some way. He'd never known any of his siblings to have nephilim as lovers, especially nephilim who were under the age of thirty and didn't know what they were. Perhaps it was possible.
Marshall.
Yes. That was his name. What was such a sweet nephilim doing tangling with a dread demon?
A blue light cut through the orange glow and the heat began to recede. After a few moments, the foliage covering the entrance to the cave folded within itself and back into the earth. Willow cautiously drew close to the entrance and looked out. The fire was fading away around him, though the air was still hot and stank of sulfur. His gaze was drawn to the angel who stood before him, appearing as little more than a column of light to Willow. It bowed to Willow, then ascended into the air in the form of an owl.
Willow wasn't certain why an angel would have saved him from the demon, but he was thankful for its intervention. Perhaps it had merely been helping to look after the valley to protect the mortal species, as was their duty on Earth. If that were the case, it should have intervened much sooner. Willow could feel the death of the plants and animals around him that had not been able to escape the raging hellfire. The forest was always filled with death, but that death was always accompanied by life; the insects that fed off the decay, the creatures who fed on the flesh of dead, and the tiny organisms smaller even than the insects that consumed every last sign of flesh and life.
Everything was dead. Even the life that could hide away from natural fire had been consumed by the demon's destruction. There was no life among the death, only death surrounding him.
The grief was nearly too much for him. It would take careful tending for the forest to recover from such an unnatural blow. He had much work to do.
Though, perhaps first he should learn what the demon meant by being a part of the nephilim's army. If there was something taking place surrounding Marshall and Leviathan, it was best to learn what it was. It would allow him to be prepared for another demonic attack, at the very least.
Shortly after dawn he heard the distinctive sounds of one of the little four-wheeled vehicles the humans used to traverse the forest. An ATV, he reminded himself. He liked the horses they had once used much better. He stopped his investigation of the land around him to meet the humans at the clearing they always parked at. It was Mindy and Alex, the two who visited most often. They were dressed in bright orange vests and helmets. Fortunately, they both also knew of and understood, at least more than most humans, the beings they called paranormal and supernatural. They knew he was of the fae, which made conversing with them quite a bit easier.
"What happened?" Mindy asked, removing her helmet and climbing off her ATV. Though she was older, for a human, she did it just as easily as Alex, at half her age, did.
"It smells awful," Alex added, sniffing the air.
"A demon set fire to the forest," Willow explained. "It was looking for me, though I don't fully understand why."
"The fire was spotted and called in," Mindy told him, "but then it was reported as being out. Did you do that?"
Willow shook his head in the way he'd learned from humans. "No. An angel vanquished the demon. I don't know when it might return, however." He knew precisely what he needed to do now. "You coordinated the staffing for the research projects in the valley. Do you keep those records for some time?"
Mindy nodded. "They get archived, but we always keep them. Why?"
"About eight years ago there was a man named Marshall here. I don't believe I learned the second name you humans use, though. I need your assistance contacting him. I must speak to him, but I can't leave this valley."
She nodded again. "I will do my best. Without a last name it might be tricky, but at least his name isn't John or something."
"Is there something special about him?" Alex asked, appearing curious.
Willow thought back to the way the foliage had appeared at his request for protection. It surely came from a power even he did not possess as one of the fae. "I believe so. Tell him a demon was here under the command of Leviathan, and that I am a fairy. I expect he will understand now."
"I'll begin looking for his name and contact information as soon as I get back to the office," Mindy assured him. "Hopefully whatever phone number he put down is still valid. Whatever it takes, we'll find him for you. And we need to find a way to explain this in our report. I don't think the National Park Service is going to accept 'demonic activity' as a valid explanation, even if it is the truth. And, of course, we need to keep you safe from them."
Willow bowed his head. "Thank you."
Now he simply had to hope the destruction did not continue in the meantime and that they all remained safe. Especially Marshall.
Chapter Two
Shale
"You heard what Dun said. We need to make sure we keep our bodies fit so it's easier to fight. The angelic power is limited by our physical form."
Shale scowled at Ro, his husband and his fellow nephilim – created, as Shale had been, to prevent the return of the dread demon Leviathan. They'd been together their whole lives, but had only learned about their angelic blood on their thirtieth birthday, when they had begun coming into their powers. That had been less than a month ago and there was a lot they were still getting used to. For Shale, getting into a much more intense workout regime than he was used to was one of those things.
"We just spent all morning practicing knife fighting so Bryce could train and now you want me to run on a treadmill?" he demanded.
"Just a mile," Ro replied, smiling his ridiculously sweet smile at him. He was leaning casually on the monitor of his own treadmill, the centermost of the three included in the workout room in the basement of what was technically Shale's house, though they lived together in the house next door. He was twirling an earbud in one hand. "Then you can do weights like you wanted."
"Perhaps he's still feeling some muscle soreness from your early morning activities," Bryce said as he stepped onto the treadmill that was behind Ro's. He winked at Shale before popping his earbuds in and starting the treadmill. Shale did wonder briefly if he truly needed to workout or if the natural trait of concubi being conventionally attractive by default made working out pointless. Shouldn't his body just b
In the five days Bryce had been living with them, Shale had gotten pretty used to seeing the model-beautiful incubus and hearing his French accent every time he spoke. He'd still somehow completely forgotten about him that morning when he'd rolled over to Ro after the birds in the woods outside the house woke him in the early morning hours. It wasn't until afterward, while he lay breathlessly beside an equally breathless Ro that Bryce's voice in his mind had jolted him back to reality.
Mmmm. A wonderful breakfast. Thank you.
The tone had been genuinely appreciative and calmed his brief embarrassment. After all, the last time he and Ro had had sex had been Bryce's first night with them, and they had done it with him. Bryce had told them he only needed to "feed" once or twice a week, so he had probably been starting to get hungry and truly did appreciate the meal, especially considering he'd been locked in a vault to starve for weeks before coming to live with them. As he'd explained, he didn't need to have sex with them to sustain himself. All he needed was to be able to absorb the energy they generated from their activities and orgasm, even if it was simply by getting himself off.
Shale supposed he'd get used to that, too.
"I'm in perfectly good shape for that, thank you," Shale told him, even though he knew Bryce couldn't hear him. Then he sighed and reluctantly stepped onto the third treadmill, the one on Ro's other side.
Ro patted him on the shoulder, then returned his earbud to his ear, grinning.
Shale popped in his own earbuds, started his music, and turned on the treadmill. He kept it at a speed that only required an easy jog, and he was bored almost immediately. By the end of the first song he looked down, hoping to be done with his mile, but he wasn't even halfway there. Muttering a curse he knew Ro couldn't hear over his workout music, Shale started letting his gaze wander over the basement.
Most of the basement was taken up by the workout equipment in the home gym Calhoun, their household angel, had arranged for them – and now Shale understood why there were multiples of everything in the gym: they were in the process of locating all the partners they'd had during their twelve years in a long-distance open relationship and bringing those partners home to form their army that would fight Leviathan before it could bring destruction and chaos to the world. It had started with Bryce, and they were currently waiting for word on where to go next to locate whoever needed them most urgently, now that they knew Leviathan's minions were targeting their partners to clear the way for Leviathan's return. Shale hoped they would be going to help someone soon because the waiting was stressing him out. The thought of any of his past partners – people he had considered friends – being hurt in the meantime was painful.
He continued looking around the basement, for the first time wondering if a single washer and dryer in each basement was going to be enough for all the people who would be living in the houses soon enough. Maybe they'd have to set up a laundry schedule.
Dang, the things he never realized he'd have to think about just a month ago. He'd gone from planning a life for him and Ro to planning a laundry schedule for potentially fourteen people.
There was plenty of storage space in the basement, though, with shelves stretching out across the other side –
Shale missed a step and quickly hit the stop button on the treadmill. He stared in front of him for a moment before turning off his music, as if it would help him process what he was seeing better somehow.
"What are you staring at?" Ro asked, sounding barely winded for someone running while he talked.
Shale pointed ahead of him. "You see this?"
Ro's treadmill beeped and his steps slowed until he stopped. Bryce slowed, too, on Ro's other side.
"The basement?" Ro asked. "What's so weird..."
Shale glanced at him and saw that he looked completely baffled. "So you see it?"
"What are we looking at?" Bryce asked.
"The basement is bigger than it should be," Shale answered.
Ro hopped off his treadmill and walked to where Shale was certain there should have been a wall, but was now open space. A series of metal support beams were mirrored by a second row about three feet back. Though the other side of the basement was dark, Shale could see some of the storage shelves he'd gotten used to seeing in the basement of the house that was technically Ro's next door. Shale half expected Ro to hit an invisible wall as he got to the first row of supports, but he was able to walk right into what should have been a completely different basement.
Shale abandoned his workout and joined Ro, looking at the ceiling like it held all the answers. Nothing showed that a wall should have been there – a wall Shale was certain had existed the day before. He did notice that the vertical support beams were separated by approximately the same distance the houses were above ground.
"Nothing looks that odd to me," Bryce commented as he walked over to them. "What are you looking for?"
"There should be walls where these supports are," Ro answered. "At least, there used to be. The basements of the two houses should be separate, like the houses are."
Bryce was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke he sounded like he was choosing his words with deliberate care. "If you were both any less confused I would assume you were playing a joke on me, but I see you're serious. Nothing looks any different to me than it has since you showed me the workout room on my second day here. Concubi are typically very good at staking out their surroundings. For many reasons."
Shale glanced at Ro, who still looked confused. "How could we have missed this changing?"
Ro shook his head. "Unless Calhoun was hiding it from us somehow. I don't know why she would, but I'm going to ask her."
"Good idea," Shale agreed. "If anyone can explain, it would be her."
"But it can wait a while. Back to the gym."
Shale sighed. "Well, so much for that."
Ro laughed and went to slap him on the back, but Shale turned and grabbed his hand, then pulled him into a light kiss. Ro shouldered him playfully before turning back to the treadmills where Bryce, apparently unconcerned about the house or their sanity, was already getting back to jogging.
Chapter Three
Ro
Calhoun did not appear at all surprised to be asked about the basement that evening while she puttered about the kitchen making their dinner, which was one of the tasks she took seriously as their household angel.
"Of course the basements are one," she told them, barely sparing them a glance. "There are many things about this land that will become clear to you with time. It isn't my will to decide when you learn its secrets. The very land itself is saturated with generations of angelic energy. Humans might say it has a mind of its own, in many ways. All of them, thankfully, are harmless or beneficial to you and your family's home here."
"Like the willow tree?" Shale asked.
"Indeed," Calhoun answered simply.
The massive willow in the backyard had been a refuge for them throughout their childhoods, especially in their teenage years when they'd thought they were being sneaky going there during the night to fool around. Shale had recently been able to sense the age of the tree – over three hundred years and much older than it should have been able to get to. It was also a magical portal to secret glade that seemed to be a place where everyone who had lived on the property had taken their lovers for sexual activities. Ro didn't fully understand why everyone had taken their partners there, but he had a feeling it must be connected to the property's angelic mind of its own.
"We're going to have to take all of our partners to that glade in the willow, aren't we?" he asked.
"How else will the land know who is family and deserving of protection?" Calhoun asked in response.
Ro didn't like that answer one bit.
Bryce, who had perched himself on a stool at the kitchen island, leaned across it to question, "What would have happened to me if I had not gone to the willow with Marshall and Rowan after I arrived here?"
Calhoun turned to him and smiled. "I have no answer to that, because it has never happened. All partners have gone to the willow soon after arriving. All the nephilim who came before took them there without instruction, other than how to enter the glade at first. Perhaps it's the land causing the instinct to go there. Perhaps it asks in some way to meet the new member of the family."
