Note: The original draft of this section was written quite a while ago. It has been expanded and edited for 29 Days of Smut 2016.
When he had first heard the news, Avery's rage had burned white-hot through his grief, and his mind had been set in an instant. Myles and Susanne were dead, not six months after Rylan's resurrection, and there was no pretending that he didn't know why. For all he had hoped--had just short of prayed--that the game had ended with her loss, that he could even begin to dream of moving on from the deaths of the two women for whom he'd ever cared, Ion would never let that happen. In his anguish, Avery had strayed from the path Ion intended for him, and now his only other friends were dead.
He could only hope that Rylan hadn't been the one to do it.
The journey to the Pine Barrens took two days, and Avery made his way across the country fueled by only caffeine and fury. Once and for all, he was going to kill that fucking bastard, and if Rylan or any of the rest of those monsters killed him for it afterward, so be it. He probably deserved it at this point. Heaven knew he'd already let everyone down.
The forest took no pity on him, and it was another two days of water, drugstore sandwiches, and wandering before he managed to replicate the path he'd seen Rylan take so many times. Too many times.
But finally, even as a man who couldn't hear the Call, Avery made it to the Otherworld, and whatever qualms he may have had about his plan disappeared as he passed through the barrier into what might as well have been Hell. Ion was going to die, no matter what any of these people had to say about it. No one was going to be able to stop him.
And yet, as Avery marched toward the cottage where he'd last seen the two of them, he could feel his own resolve fading away. There were countless eyes on him, innumerable demons watching him pass through their midst, but they let him go on unimpeded. No doubt they recognized him by now, even if they hadn't expected to see him again.
Much to his surprise, Avery found Ion within minutes--or rather, Ion found him.
"Avery," he said in greeting, acting for all the world at of they were just estranged friends. As if what had happened with Rohan had somehow changed things between them. "What a surprise. I honestly didn't expect to ever see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Try as he might to harness the burning hatred and wrath that he'd been steeped in for days, it failed him now, drained away by the Otherworld. Perhaps, he thought, he had best leave before it took any more than that; perhaps he could lure Ion out of the Other Realm somehow, so it would at least be slightly fairer fight.
"Myles and Susanne are dead," he heard himself say, succumbing more to the disassociation as each minute passed. "The last two people in the world I cared about were just murdered. You know exactly why I'm here."
Ion just looked at him with laughter in his eyes, as utterly dismissive as be could be. "We didn't kill your friends, Avery. In fact, the reason we're here, Rylan and I; she wants me kept very far away from anyone she might still happen to love." His lips curved into a small smirk. "She isn't going to be happy to see you like this."
Avery hesitated. The urge to see Rylan... the Other Realm was drawing it out of him, and he was having a hard time suppressing it. Dear God did he hate this place. "Will she try to kill me?"
Ion had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Please. She wants you alive--you specifically and your little friends to boot. She won't be happy to hear your news... And as a matter of fact, unless you are inclined to break it to her yourself, I fear I may decide to simply... forget it. A century from now, it'll hardly matter anyway."
Avery was about five seconds away from deciding he'd had enough and fleeing this Eldritch nightmare while he still had a chance. But he couldn't do that to Rylan, not even after what she'd become. She had to know about Susanne. If anything could get through to her, it was the thought that Ion had broken his promise. And the monster undoubtedly had, even if he seemed surprisingly reluctant to confess.
Evermore [1/?]
When he had first heard the news, Avery's rage had burned white-hot through his grief, and his mind had been set in an instant. Myles and Susanne were dead, not six months after Rylan's resurrection, and there was no pretending that he didn't know why. For all he had hoped--had just short of prayed--that the game had ended with her loss, that he could even begin to dream of moving on from the deaths of the two women for whom he'd ever cared, Ion would never let that happen. In his anguish, Avery had strayed from the path Ion intended for him, and now his only other friends were dead.
He could only hope that Rylan hadn't been the one to do it.
The journey to the Pine Barrens took two days, and Avery made his way across the country fueled by only caffeine and fury. Once and for all, he was going to kill that fucking bastard, and if Rylan or any of the rest of those monsters killed him for it afterward, so be it. He probably deserved it at this point. Heaven knew he'd already let everyone down.
The forest took no pity on him, and it was another two days of water, drugstore sandwiches, and wandering before he managed to replicate the path he'd seen Rylan take so many times. Too many times.
But finally, even as a man who couldn't hear the Call, Avery made it to the Otherworld, and whatever qualms he may have had about his plan disappeared as he passed through the barrier into what might as well have been Hell. Ion was going to die, no matter what any of these people had to say about it. No one was going to be able to stop him.
And yet, as Avery marched toward the cottage where he'd last seen the two of them, he could feel his own resolve fading away. There were countless eyes on him, innumerable demons watching him pass through their midst, but they let him go on unimpeded. No doubt they recognized him by now, even if they hadn't expected to see him again.
Much to his surprise, Avery found Ion within minutes--or rather, Ion found him.
"Avery," he said in greeting, acting for all the world at of they were just estranged friends. As if what had happened with Rohan had somehow changed things between them. "What a surprise. I honestly didn't expect to ever see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Try as he might to harness the burning hatred and wrath that he'd been steeped in for days, it failed him now, drained away by the Otherworld. Perhaps, he thought, he had best leave before it took any more than that; perhaps he could lure Ion out of the Other Realm somehow, so it would at least be slightly fairer fight.
"Myles and Susanne are dead," he heard himself say, succumbing more to the disassociation as each minute passed. "The last two people in the world I cared about were just murdered. You know exactly why I'm here."
Ion just looked at him with laughter in his eyes, as utterly dismissive as be could be. "We didn't kill your friends, Avery. In fact, the reason we're here, Rylan and I; she wants me kept very far away from anyone she might still happen to love." His lips curved into a small smirk. "She isn't going to be happy to see you like this."
Avery hesitated. The urge to see Rylan... the Other Realm was drawing it out of him, and he was having a hard time suppressing it. Dear God did he hate this place. "Will she try to kill me?"
Ion had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Please. She wants you alive--you specifically and your little friends to boot. She won't be happy to hear your news... And as a matter of fact, unless you are inclined to break it to her yourself, I fear I may decide to simply... forget it. A century from now, it'll hardly matter anyway."
Avery was about five seconds away from deciding he'd had enough and fleeing this Eldritch nightmare while he still had a chance. But he couldn't do that to Rylan, not even after what she'd become. She had to know about Susanne. If anything could get through to her, it was the thought that Ion had broken his promise. And the monster undoubtedly had, even if he seemed surprisingly reluctant to confess.
"I won't let you do that."