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Fantastica 1

Yamila Abraham

Cover by Himitsu Studio, Edited by Michelle Henson

reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by
any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior

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PLEASE READ! This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please do not share it

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***

Felix Humbolt passed through a gorgeously appointed corridor in the Rockwell’s

Manhattan penthouse. He moved without a sound, not even emitting a swish from the slacks of
his immaculate pinstriped suit. Some claimed he didn’t walk, but glided, and those same people
confessed it gave them the creeps. If the remarks were made to Eban Rockwell, the family’s
patriarch, he’d nod wryly, down his glass of wine and change the subject. Felix, in turn,
endeavored to keep his creepiness to a minimum.

When he neared the southern balcony a draft gave him pause. He went to slide the glass

door shut, but then spied Levi Rockwell perched dangerously on the marble balustrade.

Felix had to take the opportunity to admire him. The 26-year-old heir to the Rockwell

dynasty wore a fluttery white shirt that hung open enough to show his navel. He had lustrous
black hair with wild bangs. His dark pants had some kind of synthetic fabric sheen to them, and
he was barefoot. A long-stemmed glass of champagne sat within hand’s reach. He stared out at
the skyline as gentle wind stirred the dark tresses of his hair. It was a rare moment of
introspection for the family’s wild child.

“You’re not going out, Levi?”
He lifted his chin as though broken from a trance, and then set his eyes on Felix. The

rakish smile he was known for lit up his face. Even Felix found himself charmed by it.

“Felix, my man.” He beckoned him with his arm. “Come here. Hang with me.”
Felix crossed to set himself on the balustrade by Levi’s feet. He sat with his legs planted

on the floor—far less precariously than Levi, whose slender body stretched across the narrow
edge with his back against a column. His shoulder and a bit of buttock floated unsupported over
the city.

The words, ‘What’s wrong?’ were on Felix’s lips, but he already knew. Levi might have

seemed a vacuous playboy to most. He’d come to know him as someone astoundingly deep and
perceptive.

“So,” Levi said, pausing to sip from his glass, “when are you killing my father?”

Felix blew out a deep breath. His shoulders slumped. “It’s…it’s soon, Levi.”
Silence followed. It was long enough for anguish to knit a painful stitch in Felix’s chest.

He’d struggle to keep the emotion from his voice.

“I figured,” Levi said softly, while staring at the skyline.
“How?”
Levi fixed blue/green eyes on him. “Everyone’s always trying to rein me in except you.

‘Don’t party so much. Quit fooling with drugs. Stop fucking away your life.’ But not you.
What is it you always say?”

Felix hunched forward. “Go out. Have as much fun as you can. Enjoy the precious few

years of life I can grant you...”

Levi started speaking in tandem with him. “…and if you die…”
“…in the midst of your revelry, consider it a gift.”
Levi smiled sadly and swirled his drink. “Yeah. That’s it.” He looked at him. “You

realize you’ve been saying that a lot more often lately?”

Felix’s mouth went dry.
“So…so I figured my turn was coming up. And that means…that dad is…” His lower

lip began to quaver. A moment more and he leaned his face into his hand to weep.

Tears stung at Felix’s eyes, too. He felt just as cursed as the Rockwell men. It would

have been naïve to think his macabre task should have grown easier with each generation. Was
it too much to hope that it would at least not have grown more difficult?

He reached out to soothe Levi’s shin. The boy reminded Felix of someone who’d

devastated his heart long ago. Levi grew into the embodiment of this lost love more and more
over the years. Now, as a beautiful adult, his hellion antics and intoxicating charisma gave Felix
chills. He might have thought Levi was a reincarnation, except his beloved had not been human.
Still, the uncanny similarities made Felix adore him above all the other Rockwells he’d doomed.
This merely amplified his pain.

Of course, what he felt now wasn’t even the worst of it. He not only had to kill the boy’s

father. All too soon he’d be taking Levi’s life as well.

Levi looked up and snuffled. “How long’s he got?”
“Six days.”
His face crumbled for a new bout of tears. Felix felt helpless and repugnant all at once.
“Does…does Dixon know?”
“Not yet. Your father doesn’t know either.”
Levi darted incredulous eyes toward him.
“He told me not to—“
The boy bolted up. “Oh Hell no!”
Felix stayed seated as he stomped from him. “He told me not to tell him when it was

coming, Levi.”

“Fuck that. He’s got to face this.”
He wrenched open the glass door and was gone. The silence returned to fill the abyss left

in Levi’s wake. Felix remained still. His anguish felt like a heart attack, but alas no. His kind
only bestowed death. He’d never know the privilege himself.

***

Levi might have stormed to his father’s room in anger, but through the night Felix heard

sobs, muted voices, and then finally bittersweet laughter from behind their door. The boy stayed

with his father until morning, and then had servants bring in breakfast. Felix was touched. They
hadn’t connected in so long. At least Eban wouldn’t die with regret.

He didn’t see Levi again until the next evening. Eban was holding a small gathering of

close friends. Felix glimpsed Levi escaping the group of middle-aged guests through their foyer.
He wouldn’t have thought anything of this, except Levi dragged a designer suitcase on its wheels
beside him. He paused before the massive double doors, met Felix’s eyes with a glimmer of
determination, and then proceeded towards their private elevators. Felix excused himself to
follow him.

He found him seated on the ornate bench that separated their two elevators. His suitcase

bulged against its closure at his feet. Felix hesitated to join him on the bench. The boy had an
icy stare locked on him. He patted the empty place beside him and Felix sat.

“I’m not going to go apeshit on you. There’s just one question I have to ask. Give it to

me straight and I’ll move on.”

Felix’s heart beat faster. He tried to find a casual way to place his hands, but was

suddenly self-conscious.

“Is there any way my father can get out of this?”
Felix closed his eyes. The discussion drew up memories of past Rockwells beseeching

the same thing. His grandfather, the most distinguished man Felix had ever known, had dropped
to his knees to wail in tears and beg him. His father and aunt saw this and were forever scarred.
At least the trauma had resigned Eban to his fate. He expected no hysterics would demean him
in his last moments.

“There’s no way out for him, Levi.”
The boy became curt. “Why don’t you just not kill him?”
“If I fail to carry out my duties my master will come for him. He’ll murder him, rather

than allow him to die peacefully. Then, as per clause 126 in the contract, the life of an innocent
Rockwell will be sacrificed also. It would be Dixon.”

Levi cringed with an audible sound of distress.
“I’ll also be destroyed.” He added this as though it were an afterthought. “That won’t

save the family from the curse, however. A new agent will be assigned to you.”

Levi expelled a long shuddering sigh. Then he righted himself on the bench and nodded

as though Felix had told him a golf anecdote.

“Welp. That’s that then.”
“Are you running away, Levi?”
“What if I am? You going to come after me?”
Felix lowered his gaze. “No. If you shirk your contractual obligation it will…just pass

on to Dixon.”

“Pssh.” He shook his head. “Whatever. I’m just taking off for a while. I’m not going to

be all sobbing over dad’s bed. I’d rather go out and celebrate his life.”

This lifted Felix’s spirits a bit. “Yes, Levi. Go out and have fun.”
“It’s not like this was a surprise or anything. We knew he was going to eat it young. I

made sure to appreciate him.”

“You were closer than any Rockwells I’ve known.”
“You’re closer to us than any Rockwells you’ve known.”
Felix nodded without hesitation.
“Closer to me.”
He froze.

“I think you’ve got a thing for me, actually.”
Felix scoffed and then scowled. This was hardly a time for Levi to be teasing him.

When he glanced over he realized the boy was serious.

“Tell me that isn’t true.”
Felix’s scowl remained steadfast. “I admitted you reminded me of someone…someone

very dear. That won’t have any bearing in our relationship. If anything it just makes my
position harder.”

Levi reached over and ran his fingers through the neatly combed hair at Felix’s nape. He

leaned toward him and pressed their lips together. Felix’s eyes widened. He was too shocked to
respond. Their mouths combined into a hot moist seal, and then Levi plucked his sultry lips
away. Felix stared at him with heat pooling in his cheeks.

“I’ve got a thing for you, too.”
Felix blinked. Before he’d gathered his wits Levi had already pulled his bag to one of the

elevators and pressed the button. It dinged and slid open.

“What was his name?”
Felix looked at him, still addled.
“That demon lover I reminded you of. You never told me.”
He swallowed. “Hadyn.”
Levi nodded and pulled his bag into the elevator. “Don’t wait too long to tell Dixon,” he

said, once out of sight.

Felix shoved his hand into his hair at the tortuous reminder. “I’ll tell him…I’ll tell him

tomorrow.”

The elevator door closed and began dinging through its descent downstairs. Felix sighed.

He rose to collect himself in front of a large mirror before rejoining the gathering.

***

“Fuck yeah,” Levi whispered to himself in the elevator. The twinge of guilt from

manipulating his friend had already dissipated.

“Hadyn. His name’s Hadyn. We can do this.”
He bit the corner of his bottom lip consumed with both fear and exhilaration. He’d need

something stronger than booze to steady his nerves. GHB? No. Just a Valium or something.
He didn’t want to get totally knocked out.

Levi took a car from their high-rise to the Four Seasons and obtained a room without a

reservation. On the way over he’d called the family’s private doctor. A courier rang his door
while he was unpacking to deliver Ativan (which his doctor recommended over Valium). He
tipped with a $100 prepaid Visa, a personal trademark of his.

Then he surveyed the implements scattered over his bed: pig’s blood in a metal water

bottle, candles, and sachets of African ginger, mandrake root, and verbena.

He picked up a yellow legal pad to review his notes. Sprinkle African ginger in the four

corners of the room. Levi’s brow twitched. The suite was open on one side to an entrance foyer
and then had a curved wall leading to a sunken living room and… Oh, what the fuck! He just
started scattering the shit all over the place. Levi similarly fudged the rest of the herb
instructions, but took time to get the blood pentagram and candle placements correct. He drew
the shades, shut off the lights, lit the candles, and sat in the middle of the large blood pentagram
on the floor.

Then he realized he had no idea what to say or chant or whatever and felt moronic. The

wannabe wiccan who told him about a summoning ritual seemed too strung out to know her shit.

Levi leaned forward to put his face in his hand. The Ativan was mercifully kicking in now. He
took a deep breath to draw up some mettle.

“This is a summoning ritual for the demon Hadyn,” he said into the empty room.

“Hadyn. Yoohoo! Come on over here. Got a nice tasty soul for you.”

A candle flickered. Levi felt a chill. He wrapped his arms around himself and focused

on the floor.

“Um…” He started chanting. “Deus ex machina, cogito ergo sum, e pluribus unum, ipso

facto. Ummoningsay Adynhay, urryhay upay. I don’t know what I’m doing. Throw me a bone,
here.”

A gust of wind so powerful it almost knocked Levi over extinguished all the candles.

Levi steadied himself with wide eyes.

“Holy shit.”
He sat in abject darkness not knowing what to do. Goose pimples had risen over his

exposed flesh and an uneasy feeling lodged in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed hard enough
to hear it.

“Hadyn?”
A lamp turned on behind him. Levi gasped in terror at his own dramatic shadow.
“Yes,” Hadyn said, with a voice that sounded human, but slightly off. “I’m here.”
Levi covered his mouth with a trembling hand. He turned slowly toward the voice which

had come from the over-sized bed a short distance behind him. Levi looked back just enough to
see some black feathers, and his peripheral vision glimpsed some dark thing that took up the
entire bed. He darted his head forward again before seeing more.

“Oh shit.”
His heart thundered. Maybe the Ativan had him hallucinating? He’d never done the stuff

before. No, that couldn’t be it. It was just a prescription benzo. There’s no way that it…holy
fuck! That thing was real! It’s real!

It took him a minute to calm down. He placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes.
“Okay. Okay, right. Cool. This is what I wanted. Like, um, like…this is what I

wanted.”

He forced himself to his feet. After another steadying breath he spun himself around to

face the bed.

It was empty.
Levi’s lips parted. Relief hit first, then dread. He took shaky steps to the bedside.
“No…” His words felt stuck in his throat. “Don’t…don’t um…just leave. I…”
Just as he was about to touch the empty mattress he saw it again. Levi staggered back.

The thing hadn’t reappeared. It was as if it had always been there but the eyes he needed to see it
stopped working for a moment. The beast now stared at him in all its terrifying glory.

Levi covered his face with his hand. “Don’t…don’t do that.”
He could still see it through his hand and eyelids, however. Covering his vision wasn’t

enough to block the demon out. He felt it as much as saw it—like the essence of the thing
permeated him. This was a benefit, however, because Levi realized it wasn’t horrifying as he
first thought.

He lifted his hand from his face and took it in both with his eyes and his soul. It was in

the shape of a man no larger than himself. The only huge part of him was those outstretched
black wings. He crouched on the bed to give them room behind him. Levi sought his human
features and found plenty: a handsome face, black hair in glossy tresses that touched his

shoulders. He wore simple clothes halfway between angelic and peasant: a tunic, pants that
bunched and flared at the knees. He couldn’t see his feet (which was probably good). The hands
he crouched on had splayed black claws. Their darkness let Levi notice how paper white the
demon’s skin was. Another look over his face and he noted the black lips and blood-red eyes.
Even with these demonic features he couldn’t deny its beauty.

“I’m Levi…Levi Rockwell.” He didn’t extend his hand, though years of training made

the back of his hand itch.

“So…rich Americans think they can get away with sloppy summoning rituals?”
Levi pursed his lips. “Sorry.”
The wings disappeared (or Levi just lost the ability to see them). Hadyn sat up against

the pillows of the bed, spreading slender legs with black cloven hooves in front of him.

“You’re already inheriting a contract with a demon. Not for your soul—but for years off

your life. What do you want me to do? Get you out of it?”

Levi shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. “Yeah. End it for our family once and for

all.”

“No.”
He lowered his heels to the floor again as if deflating.
“Fantastica’s lord is a powerful demon, and one paltry soul isn’t worth a war with him.”
Levi squeezed his eyes closed. Then a memory sparked in his head and he fixed on the

demon again.

“What about Felix Humbolt? Is he worth going to war for?”
Hadyn’s lips parted slowly revealing sharp teeth. “Felix?”
Levi stared at him. The demon’s shoulders slumped and he cupped his hands together.
“So he’s your agent for the contract with the demon lord?”
“Yes.”
He turned his face to the side. “Felix spoke about me?”
“Yeah.” Levi scratched his head. “That’s how I found you.”
Hadyn closed his eyes. He still seemed caught in the trance of forlorn memories.
“He’s miserable.”
Now the demon darted red eyes toward him. They were vivid enough to leave tracers of

red light as he moved.

“I mean he hates his job. It’s torture for him. He sympathizes with us too much. He got

close to the family. Close to me.”

“Close to you?”
He caught the note of jealousy. “Yeah, well, I mean, I don’t swing that way. At least I…

I mean I tease him sometimes. I got him off balance with a little kiss so I could get your name
out of him. We’re just friends, though. Good friends. I can rely on him. My little brother
adores the guy.” Nervousness made him blather. He sealed his mouth shut.

Hadyn was estimating him with his dense eyelashes fanning downward. “He’s attracted

to you?”

“Maybe. Probably. I don’t know. He’s hard to read.”
Hadyn touched his chin with a dark claw. “I knew he’d hate working for…him. He

should have…” He winced and shook his head, then turned back to Levi. “Does he still look the
same? Still proper and stuffy?”

“Stiff as a board.”
This made Hadyn smile. “But handsome…isn’t he? Regal.”

Levi wet his lips. “Could model for GQ.”
Hadyn’s gaze went distant again. “When you could get him to lower his guard—get him

flustered…disheveled.” He closed his eyes in a moment of bliss.

“Sounds like…you…”
Hadyn fixed on him, no longer daydreaming. “Maybe I can help you. And Felix.”
“And my dad?”
He looked away. “There’s nothing I can do for your dad. He already satisfied his end of

the contract and enjoyed the benefits of it. He’s long past the point of no return.”

A bout of sorrow fought its way up Levi’s chest. He held it back.
“But perhaps…just perhaps…I can end the curse before it takes you, and free the future

generations of your family.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s got to stop. It’s got to! Not just for me. My little

brother…Dixon…I don’t want him grieving his whole life.”

Hadyn slid to the side of the bed to rise. The movement was serpentine and unsettling.

Levi took a step back as he stood.

“So, protect your little brother, free the family from the curse, free Felix from his

depressing duties. That’s what you want from me?”

Levi nodded. The demon moved toward him.
“I have free rein to do whatever I feel necessary to accomplish this?”
“Like…what?”
“I don’t know yet. You’ve given me a challenge. I’ll only accept it if I have full

control.”

Levi’s mouth went dry. “Just…just be reasonable.”
“Always.” He offered a clawed hand while staying fixed on his eyes.
Levi hesitated with a quaking hand, but then grasped it with businesslike gusto. He saw

the smile widen on Hadyn’s face.

The floor opened beneath Levi’s feet to reveal a black abyss. He sank into it too slowly

to panic.

“We’ll finish plotting in Fantastica,” Hadyn said. “I’ll join you shortly.”
It was cold wherever he was descending. Just before his head lowered he caught a

glimpse of Hadyn plucking his shirt off the bed and measuring it against his chest.

***

Felix braced himself for the abhorrent task of breaking the news to Dixon the next

morning. He’d put it off as long as he could to spare the child suffering. Now he knew he was
reaching the point where his inaction may have grown cruel. He found the ten-year-old in the
kitchen shrugging off a backpack full of schoolbooks. Dixon was a diminutive form of his
brother Levi, except his hair was cut short and neat as his private school required. His other
distinction was a pair of thick glasses that apparently had a prescription so extreme it could never
be transferred to contacts.

“Are you going to eat something, Felix?” Dixon looked amazed. “I’ve never seen you

eat anything. I didn’t even know if you ate at all.”

Felix smiled grimly. “Of course I eat, Dixon.”
“Like, what?”
He sat at the breakfast table. “It doesn’t matter. I…I have terrible news for you. Please

sit down.”

The boy’s face grew paler. “What happened? Is Levi okay?”

Felix spoke fast to break his wave of panic. “Levi’s okay. Everyone’s okay right now.”
Dixon gasped with relief.
“But it won’t stay that way, Dixon. Do you remember what I am?”
“A…warlock?”
“Yes. And I’m here because of that contract. Do you remember about that?”
Dixon slid onto one of the contemporary black chairs. “I remember that our great-great-

grandfather signed a contract, and that’s why we’re rich, but it…it also means dad is going to…”
His voice cracked with emotion. “…die really young.”

Felix nodded with a pained expression. “We never told you all the details. It’s time that

you knew. It’s important.”

Dixon rose to grab a juice box from the refrigerator.
“Your great-great-grandfather was a poor man. He made a deal with my master, a

demon, so he could have wealth and prestige. There was a price, of course. A heavy one.”

Dixon resumed his seat and sucked on the tiny straw. He became transfixed on Felix.
“My master gave your great-great-grandfather the ability to produce those glass works for

which the Rockwells are known. Each sculpture granted him wealth and prestige; however he
had to give up five years of his life in order to produce them. He was required to produce four
pieces of art per the agreement.”

“So…he died twenty years early?”
“Yes. And his son, your great grandfather, was cursed to continue the agreement, except

with each generation the price increases. Your great grandfather had to produce five works of
art, thus dying twenty-five years early. Your grandfather, six works, and thirty years. Your
father has fulfilled his requirement, seven exquisite glass works each valued in the millions of
dollars, and he’s forfeited thirty-five years of his life.”

Dixon grew pale again. “Why didn’t he just not make anything?”
“He had no choice. It’s an inescapable curse, Dixon.”
His glasses fogged with tears. “Well…if he’s fifty-two now, and if he’s going to die

thirty-five years early…then…then how much time before…?”

Felix pursed his lips.
The child took the news as he expected. There was little he could say or do to console

him. Dixon surprised him by soliciting a promise through his tears: “You’ll always be here
though, won’t you? You’re not going to ever leave us?”

Of course he would be. He wouldn’t leave until the curse rendered their family name

extinct.

That fact, along with the forty years of life Levi would be sacrificing, was a revelation for

another time. For now he led Dixon to his father, who welcomed him with an embrace.

For all his anguish Felix knew he’d recover. The Rockwells who loved each other fared

far better than the estranged or abused.

At least this cycle would be over soon.

***

Levi didn’t attend his father’s funeral. That left Felix and several distant family members

to console Dixon. It was only after the service, after the relatives had all left, that Dixon
enquired about his brother.

Felix patted his shoulder. “You know Levi. He’s out dealing with grief in his own way.”
But after eight more days Felix found himself equally concerned. It was time for the new

cycle to begin—time for Levi to accept his fate.

Two weeks after Eban’s death Felix panicked inwardly. Had Levi decide to run away

after all? Could he really do that to his little brother? Felix was torn. With two male heirs
protocol dictated he pass on the curse to Dixon. He wanted to wait—a month, a year—however
long it took for Levi to cope with his father’s death, but his master would not be so patient.

Felix cringed outside Dixon’s door. The youngest Rockwell had started back to school

that day and went to bed early. He couldn’t bring himself to wake him.

He vacillated from dread to anger. Levi was the rightful heir to the curse. He knew it

was coming all his life. Hadn’t he been bracing for it? He had his ecstasy tablets, ditsy whores,
and expensive booze. All those excesses were forgiven because of his indomitable fate. Now he
was going to let young Dixon carry his horrendous burden? Was he really so cruel? So
cowardly?

Felix retired to his own suite after a stiff evening toddy. Another week. At least another

week. Hopefully his master would trust him enough not to interfere.

Just thinking of Darius caused Felix’s eyes to stay wide in the darkness of his room.
“Don’t come, master, please.” He whispered the request as reverently as a prayer.

“They’ve suffered enough.”

The next day a servant came to tell him the prodigal son had returned. He sped to his

bedroom and entered without knocking.

Levi had his suitcase open and was halfway through unpacking. He set sparkling eyes

and a devilish smile on Felix.

“Hello, beautiful.”
Felix drew his lips into his mouth to wet them. Something was off about the boy. It was

his stance, his eyes, and his voice. Felix assumed he was on some new kind of intoxicant.

“I’m glad you’re back. You had me worried. Dixon, too.”
“Sorry.” Levi set a shaving kit down and walked to him. He caressed Felix’s cheek with

the back of his knuckles. “I didn’t mean to stress you out.”

Felix retreated a step back with his brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with you?”
Levi kept grinning. “Nothing. Just glad to see you. I missed you.”
Felix harrumphed. “Fine. Come downstairs and say hello to your brother.” He stepped

out the door.

“Hey, Felix.”
The warlock paused to turn back. Levi was looking him over with a sensual gleam in his

eyes.

“You look amazing.”
“Pah!” Felix strode away.
He wasn’t quite at the end of the corridor when his step slowed. His stomach felt tense

and there was electricity at the back of his neck. There was more amiss with Levi than a new
drug could explain. Felix couldn’t fathom what it was. He had a sense of déjà vu, and a weird
anticipation. He drew a deep breath to try and shake it off.

Felix watched Dixon run toward his brother in the kitchen.
“Levi! Levi, you’re back!”
Levi lowered to his knees to embrace him. The gesture was so touching, so out of

character, that Dixon started crying in his arms.

“Sorry you worried,” Levi said, with a voice weighted by emotion. “I promise I’ll never

run away again.”

Felix crossed his arms.

“You missed dad’s funeral,” Dixon said. “Everyone was there.”
Levi rose to his feet, but kept a hand on Dixon’s shoulder. “I just couldn’t handle it.”
Dixon nodded. “It was sad.”
“But I’m here for you now. I’m not running away anymore. I’m done with drugs and

partying and all of that. I’m going to take care of you from now on.”

Felix’s brow rose. Dixon didn’t say anything, but Felix was sure he was dubious.
“I’ll protect you.” Levi looked at Felix as he said this.
Felix met his eyes with confusion.
A maid came to say Dixon’s tutor arrived. He grabbed his books from the table and

dashed away. Levi leaned against the counter and stared at Felix.

“Protect him from what?”
“From the curse.”
Felix shrugged. “Dixon’s safe now that you’re back.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He stepped in front of Felix to brush some nonexistent lint

off his shoulder. “I’m going to end up as just another sacrifice for my great-great-granddad’s
selfish ambitions. I’ve made my peace with that, but I’ll tell you one thing—this curse ends with
me. That’s one of my two new life goals: Taking care of Dixon, and having my death end the
curse.” He straightened the neck of Felix’s jacket. “You’ll help me, right?”

Felix tolerated Levi invading his personal space due to the dire subject. “You can end the

curse by not having a son.”

Levi gave him a piercing stare. “That’s what I want you to help me with. Let’s settle

down together.”

Felix turned away. “What are you talking about?”
“I need someone to help me take care of Dixon. I don’t want a wife.”
He broke free from his hands. “Enough nonsense. Honestly, Levi.”
“It’s not nonsense.”
Levi’s tone made him pause.
“Knowing what the stakes are has made everything clear to me. I don’t have much time

left—and I know what I want.” He turned Felix’s chin back toward him. “I need you.”

He leaned in towards him. Felix had a moment where he could back away, but chose not

to. Levi closed his arms around him and compressed their mouths together. The first instant
Levi seemed to be testing him. When Felix accepted the kiss he grew passionate. He entwined
their mouths together with sensual movements. His grip on Felix tightened until their bodies
pressed together.

This wasn’t the timid kiss they’d shared on the bench. It was urgent—beseeching. Felix

sensed an unsaid tumult behind the act. He sought to show him something he couldn’t convey in
words. But why? Why had Levi changed toward him? He wanted to believe the boy’s passion,
get swept up with it, and relinquish his heart. Then he remembered the frivolous person he was
dealing with.

Felix broke away. “Enough, Levi. Your father hasn’t been dead long enough.”
Levi wavered inches from his lips with a tense brow. He searched Felix’s eyes. The

warlock remained resolute. He released him and stepped away.

“So what’s going to happen to Dixon after you kill me?”
Felix blinked. The change of topic left him addled. “What do you mean? The curse

passes to your son, not your brother.”

“Well, I—I mean we—aren’t having any kids. What now?”

Felix parted his lips, drew breath to speak, and then hesitated. “I’m…not sure.”
Levi traced a circle over the breast of Felix’s jacket with his finger. “So…” he said in a

voice Felix thought a tad too sensual. “Seems like we ought to find out.”

Felix tolerated Levi combing his bangs away from his scalp with his fingers. “Do you

think we’re already a couple?”

Levi stopped messing with Felix’s hair. “Oh yes.”
Felix turned to leave the kitchen. “I’ll show you the contract.” He strode away too fast

to be caught in Levi’s arms again. “It’s good for you to read it in any case.”

They went to a great room with broad stairs on one side. Felix led the way upward.
“Tell me something, Felix. Do you like working for your master?”
Felix darted an affronted face back at him. “How could you ask that? You know I don’t

like any of this.”

“Why did you commit yourself to him then? You had other options…didn’t you?”
He drew a long breath. They reached the top of the stairs to a mezzanine lined with tall

bookshelves on one side. The majority of the penthouse was visible below the railing on the
other side of them.

“I guess I never told you.” He searched his memory to be sure. No…Levi had never

pried. “I was a much more ambitious thing back then. I wanted to become a servant of
Fantastica, and the demon Hadyn helped me find my way. Hadyn ended up getting part of
Fantastica for himself in the process. He wanted me to become his servant and bargain for
mortals’ souls. The demon lord of Fantastica, Darius, got his power by absorbing life-force, that
is, taking years off a mortal’s life. I thought that was a far better deal for mortals than losing
their souls. Since Darius had no interest in souls it meant I didn’t have to sacrifice my own to
become his servant. Darius may be a cruel master, but I couldn’t resist these perks.”

Felix opened a door to another set of stairs, this time plain and narrow. He walked up

briskly without bothering to turn on the light.

“Anyway, your great-great-grandfather was my first client. That’s when I learned that

Darius enforced his contracts through generations, and each would pay more dearly than the last.
I’d been completely oblivious. Darius’ way is far crueler than Hadyn’s, who would only claim a
single mortal’s soul.” He halted to unlock the door at the top of the stairs. “Your father, your
father’s father, his father—they never agreed to this deal. I’m forced to curse innocent victims. I
detest it.”

He entered a small attic room with a sloped ceiling. The light was a hanging

incandescent bulb with a string. Felix tugged it on. There was a desk piled with dusty coiled
blue-prints surrounded by shelves full of leather record binders. Felix wiped the dust away from
the ones closest to him to read the spines.

Levi stood in the doorway. “If you had to do it all over again you’d probably work for

Hadyn, right?”

Felix pried a leather binder off the shelf. He opened it and spoke without thought. “If I

had it to do over again I would never have gone to Fantastica.”

Levi fumed.
“Hmm?”
He glanced back. The boy was looking downward with crossed arms and a petulant face.

Felix felt both puzzled and annoyed. He thrust the blueprints to the side of the table and set
down the binder.

“Here’s a copy your grandfather had typed up in the fifties to replace the frayed original.”

Levi moved closer to inspect it. “I’ll need a while to read this.”
“Of course.” Felix went back to the stairwell. “Take your time.” He left.

***

Levi closed the attic door and took his true form as the demon Hadyn. He gathered up

the binder and allowed himself to sink into a portal to Fantastica.

His hooves clacked down on a smooth gleaming floor that looked like black marble. The

territory he’d claimed in the realm appeared small: barely an acre in length, and the width of a
two lane road. A glance upwards revealed walls ascending to near limitless heights, pockmarked
with dwellings. Only demons who hadn’t shrugged their wings from their previous incarnation
could reside in them.

One such creature, a slender black entity named Pioche, flew down to join Hadyn.
“How was he?”
Hadyn paused to smile grimly. “Beautiful. Stately. Cold.”
“Are you regretting this?”
“No. It hurts, but no. It was fine enough just to be near him.” He gazed upwards. “I

can’t lose him this time, Pioche.”

“Don’t forget why you’re permitted in that realm. You must satisfy your agreement with

the mortal.”

“Freeing Felix and satisfying the agreement are one and the same.” He fixed on the

demon’s black face. “Where is the mortal, anyway?”

“He’s still with the witch Sara.”
Hadyn frowned. “So she’s been ignoring her duties to play with him?” He spread his

massive black wings and sprang upwards.

It was a short flight to the mortal level, which connected to the lower floors with ladders

and had no access to the ones above. He perched on the domed entrance and folded his wings.

Sara’s knotty oak door had a spell to keep demons away. Since Hadyn was immune, he

entered without knocking.

The quarters contained a facsimile of carpets and wallpaper surrounding worn furniture.

Hadyn quickly spotted the essence of Sara and Levi under a fort made from gypsy scarves in the
middle of the living room. The witch popped her head out with a toothy grin.

“I think I’ve got a new servant for you here.” The thirty-something woman had bad teeth

and a puffy mane of hair dyed magenta.

Hadyn eyed her. “What about your other duties?”
She pouted. “I figured I was getting a break to take care of him.”
He shook his head.
Levi crawled out the other side of the fort and stood. (He had eyeliner on for some

reason). “Hey…so what’s going on?”

Hadyn waved the binder at him. “Your contract. You and some of my more lawyerly

servants and going to go through it tonight.”

“Don’t you think if there was a loophole one of my ancestors would have found it

already?”

“If they did then they must not have realized how to act on it.” He tipped his chin

towards the door.

Levi made his way around the fort to follow.
“Aw! Don’t take him away,” Sara said. “I got him all interested in witchcraft, and

Fantastica, and everything. He was going to be my apprentice.”

Levi looked dubious. “I was?”
“Get to work, Sara,” Hadyn said.
They exited into the corridor. The demon Pioche stood waiting at the domed entrance.
“You’re interested in becoming my servant?”
Levi pursed his lips. “Um…no. I just want to know about all this. This whole world

messing around with ours. Just…you know, interesting.”

“Careful you don’t get sucked in.” Hadyn eyed him. “Power is a seductive lure.”
Levi concentrated. “What…kind of power?”
“See what I mean?”
Pioche hmphed.
Levi looked at Pioche, but spoke to Hadyn. “Anyway, um, when can I go back to see my

brother and stuff?”

“Not tonight.” He gave the binder to Pioche. “I want a modern human perspective on

this. The more eyes combing through the contract the better.” He walked away from them.
“Pioche will take you up to the wise ones.” He sprang off the edge.

“Take me up?” Levi said. “You mean fly with me?”
“Where are you going, master?” Pioche said.
Hadyn spun around in the air and ascended back toward them. “To Darius’ side. I want

to know where he stands.”

He dropped into a dive and was gone.

***

Darius’ massive parcel of Fantastica had Hadyn soaring for miles over black marble

stalagmites. He finally reached the imposing onyx façade of Darius’ fortress which
encompassed jagged towers and battlements. It was built into the furthest boundary of Darius’
parcel, a sheer black wall.

Hadyn landed on a demon watchtower and found a servant. The diminutive unwinged

wraith brought him to an armored demoness who Hadyn remembered vaguely from his past visit.
She had them wait in a corridor several minutes before returning to dismiss the smaller demon.

“Master Darius is in the bath,” she said.
Hadyn tipped up his chin. “Oh?”
“He’ll meet with you there.”
He followed her down the corridor with a look of consternation. The path ended at two

massive doors adorned with nymphs and sprites cavorting around a waterfall naked. The
demoness opened one side and gestured for him to enter. He walked into humid warmth.

Around a pillar he saw that the square bath was a large mosaic glass pool with waterfalls

on two sides. Darius sat on the far end with his arms propped up on the edges around him. His
eyes were closed.

Hadyn took his chance to look him over. The demon looked far less imposing than

during his only other visit, when Hadyn asked for Darius to give him the tiny chunk of Fantastica
he now ruled. Then the demon had worn samurai looking armor, and towered over a foot taller
than him. He imagined his relative puniness was what won him his request. Darius didn’t see
him as any kind of threat. In fact—he remembered being called a ‘pretty little bird’ or something
equally insulting. He’d humbled himself for the sake of his ambition.

Now he beheld Darius bare-chested and with his long silver-streaked hair wet and

molded to thick muscular shoulders. The only demonic trait visible was bull-ox horns curling
upward from his head. Hadyn knew he had an impressive set of hooves also.

He came out from behind the pillar and cleared his throat.
Darius opened his eyes, revealing yet another demonic feature. His eyes were as red as

Hadyn’s own.

“Well, well.” He looked him over. “If it isn’t my tenant.”
Hadyn smiled. “Not your only one, I presume. After all these centuries.”
Darius nodded slowly. “The only one I gave permission. There’s been a few squatters. I

devoured them.”

Hadyn looked away. “Ah. I see.”
“Well. Come and join me, pretty birdie.” He gestured to the space beside him.
Hadyn made his wings disappear and leant down to pull up the legs of his pants. His

insides felt as though they were twisting. He wondered how far away he could stay from the
demon without being insulting.

“Take off your clothes.”
Hadyn eyed him. Darius had a stern, challenging gaze.
He righted himself and smiled again. “Alright.”
He untied his tunic and let it fall from him, then stripped from the waist down in one fluid

move. Hadyn waded into the water quickly. As he approached Darius he remembered a rumor
he’d given no weight to long ago: that Darius was a pervert. He planted himself against the wall
just outside of his reach.

Darius’ eyes became heavy. “Come closer.”
“Can I say my piece now, Lord Darius?”
Darius made a low lascivious laugh. “Lord Darius, huh? Good little bird.”
“Is there anything you want from me?”
“Oh? Do I need to spell it out?”
Hadyn lowered his eyes. “I mean something from my parcel, or my business dealings,

that I could offer you in trade.”

“Trade for what?” His voice became sharp.
Hadyn remained demure. “There’s something you have, that I want.” He met his eyes

shyly. “One of your mortal servants.”

“Who?”
“Your most important servant.”
“Who would that be? And why the hell do you want them?”
“I want them for personal reasons.”
“Don’t be coy with me. What personal reasons?”
Hadyn slid closer to him. When he got near Darius’ arm the demon grabbed him and

pulled him against him. Hadyn winced, but maneuvered his bare legs across the demon’s lap
under the water. He resisted pulling his face away. Their mouths were now inches apart.

“You must forgive me my embarrassing secrets,” Hadyn said, staying fixed on Darius’

eyes. “I just hoped there was something I could offer you—so we could make a trade.”

Darius’ other arm slipped into the water. As Hadyn expected, the hand slipped between

his thighs. He parted his legs and allowed the demon to fondle him.

“It sounds like you’re offering yourself.”
Hadyn squeezed his eyes closed. Darius rubbed underneath his modest organ while

palming his balls. He’d been dormant so long the ministrations already had him erect.

“You—You’d accept something as paltry as my body in trade?”
Darius pushed a finger into his anus. Hadyn gasped.

“That’s just a service fee.” He kept fixed on Hadyn’s eyes while mashing his tender

insides. “The trade would be mortal servant for mortal servant. And don’t send me an idiot.
Are we agreed?”

Hadyn reached an arm up to steady himself on Darius’ shoulder. He bit his lower-lip.

The finger tormented an exceedingly sensitive spot. He feared he’d soil Darius’ bathwater soon.

“Ngh! Wait.”
Darius’ finger paused.
“I…I need the contract your servant is assigned on to be nullified.”
Darius yanked his hand free and pushed him off his lap. Hadyn splashed several feet

away from him.

“What fucking servant? Which contract? Is it Winslow? Ahood? Lee Chen?”
Hadyn struggled to regain his bearings. His hole and member still throbbed. “You…you

won’t negotiate over mortal contracts?”

“Of course not. What could you possibly give me in exchange for all that power?”
Hadyn shook his head. “Nothing.” He glanced up at him. “But I had to ask.” He turned

to wade back to the other side. “Sorry I bothered you, Lord Darius. It won’t—“

Darius dove at him and yanked him back. He pushed Hadyn against the edge of the pool

and put a hand around his throat. Hadyn kept his muscles slack. Darius didn’t choke him in
return.

“I’m still taking my fee.”
Hadyn’s eyes became defeated, but he forced himself to smile with one side of his mouth.

“How can I say no?”

Darius removed the hand from his throat. He tested Hadyn’s surrender by pinching his

nipples. The smaller demon grunted in a way Darius must have found satisfactory. He took his
time with Hadyn, cramming his enormous cock into him from multiple angles, and coaxing him
to climax twice with a forceful hand. When the lengthy bout was over he nuzzled him in the
water. He combed back the wet tresses of Hadyn’s hair with his fingers and kissed his lips
softly. Hadyn felt too devastated and exhausted to pose even faint resistance.

“You’ll forget about your request, right birdie?”
“No choice.”
“Good. Then we remain at peace.” He gave him a final languorous kiss and released

him.

Hadyn had to spend hours recuperating in the fortress before he had the energy to fly

home. A portal would have been divine, but Darius forbade them in his portion of Fantastica.
Fortunately the demon took no more interest in him.

***

When he finally returned a mortal night had passed. He flew toward the level of the wise

ones to see if they had made any breakthroughs. Pioche launched himself from a ledge on his
way and flew with him.

“You look haggard, master.”
Hadyn landed on an abandoned balcony and steadied himself against a wall. Pioche

perched beside him.

“That monster Darius fucked me.”
“No!”
“I’m fine—but it got me nowhere.”
“This can’t stand, master. We’ll go to war!”

“Don’t be an idiot.” He scowled. “We don’t have a hope to challenge him. He’s so

powerful now he’s devouring other demons, and he has so many servants he couldn’t even guess
who I was speaking about.”

He could hear Pioche’s teeth grinding in anger. Hadyn placed a hand on the lanky

demon’s shoulder.

“The only hope we have is to find a loophole—a way to trick him—and he can never

know I’m behind it.”

“You’re better than that scum.”
“But he’s stronger.”
Pioche growled, but then nodded.
They continued up to the wise ones, who lived on the top of Hadyn’s domain in an

atrium. He entered and found Levi sleeping on the floor while his four wisest demons huddled
around a table. Hadyn resisted the urge to kick the mortal and went to his servants.

“Why is he asleep?”
“Master!” Steel, the eldest wise one, rose to greet him. “I’m glad you’re back safe. How

did it go with Darius?”

“Don’t ask,” Pioche said.
“We let the mortal rest because his brain stopped working,” Electra, an ancient demoness,

gestured to the mortal’s sleeping body. “He did help a little, but was mostly in the way.”

“Did you find anything?”
Steel made a broad sharp-toothed grin. “Oh yes. Darius was sloppy with this contract.

There’s a loophole big enough to swim a dragma through.”

Hadyn blinked. “Oh really?”

***

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Dog of Aclon - Hardcore Yaoi

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Cadet Fince is a bully who
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When he finds out Reen is gay
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Reen is on his last year before
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Reen felt a dip on one

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Cold Beautiful
The novice prison
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Maelstrom

For Adults Only! Demetri
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Vampire Slave
Thalos, the world’s oldest vampire,
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