(( Due to the language in this story, I’m putting it all under the ‘ read more’ link! ))
Aeramin Firewind conjured another ball of flame and hurled it at the wall of his basement. He had just reinforced the spell wards in his practice area, and was sure they would hold so he held nothing back, including his language.
“That fucking whore!” he shouted as he tossed another fireball at the wall. The ball of fire sped across the basement room, spreading as it hit the warding over the wall and dissipating with a satisfying loud hiss as the ward absorbed it. “She fucking knew she was going to have it, and did nothing to stop it. She fucking knew. She fucking planned it.”
He stopped to conjure another ball of fire, the power of flame flowing freely in front of him. He was only vaguely aware of one of the imps jumping around on the floor next to him as he concentrated on forming a larger flame.
“Burn them. Burn them all! Burn all the whores!” Gibrik exclaimed as he jumped up and down excitedly.
Aeramin’s ear twitched as he sent the ball of fire speeding towards the wall. He was more aware of the presence of the imps now, thanks to Gibrik. “I don’t need your input,” he snarled while looking at the largest of the three imps. He began to conjure another ball of flame while the imp gleefully looked on. Aeramin glanced around wondering where the other two had gone off to. He saw Yappy. He had a strong connection with his first imp, and he felt his eyes were almost drawn to where the imp had chosen to hide under the basement stairs. He didn’t see Zorkin.
“That witch wants to ruin everything.” Aeramin waited a moment with his newest fireball hovering just inches above his hand before sending it off towards the wall. “She is ruining everything, and the worst part is, he thinks I want to go live with her and raise her little shit baby with her. I don’t even want the fucking thing.”
He quickly conjured another fireball and hurled it at the wall. He had been hoping to tire himself out so he could sleep, but so far, it didn’t seem to be working. Now, he was crying again.
He had cried earlier, while talking to Imralion. They had went together for a private supper at the school. Aeramin had taken him there specifically so they could talk without having to worry about anything else. He hadn’t been keen on talking to him at home, and burning their own meal, so it was better to let the school’s butler take care of the meals and the clean up. He believed he had at least made a good decision in that regard. He had cried, and if he had been cooking, something would have burned.
He tossed a few more fireballs at the wall while yelling out more obscenities, wondering when the hurt and anger would fade. He wasn’t angry at Im, and he understood that Im was upset too. He had been in similar situations before and knew both sides.. Did Imralion understand what he was going through? He wasn’t sure, but it had hurt tonight when Imralion refused to hug him.
Another fireball dispersed upon hitting the wall. “He hates me. I’m trash. I’m worse than my father. He at least tried to raise me.” Aeramin muttered as he tossed yet another fireball towards the wall.
“But Im doesn’t want the baby around either.” He shrugged before conjuring more fire. “This was all fine until the baby showed up. We had worked through it already. Fuck you, Cyannah. No, actually, unfuck you. Fucking you is the last thing I want.”
“Unfuck her!” Gibrik shouted.
Aeramin’s ear twitched as he loosed the fireball towards the wall. He glared at the imp.
“More fire, Master!” The imp jumped up and down, and rubbed his hands together.
“Gibrik, shut up.” He looked around the room again, “Where’s Zorkin?”
Gibrik shrugged, and pointed at Yappy’s hiding spot.
“He’s with Yappy?”
Gibrik shook his head.
Aeramin frowned, “He is down here right? He’s not allowed upstairs.”
Gibrik nodded.
“Good. The last thing I need to deal with is a lost imp.” Aeramin conjured another fireball. It was smaller and less powerful than the ones he had started out with. He was getting quickly getting tired, and realized just how much energy he had spent casting. He pushed the fireball off towards the wall, listening as it hissed into non-existence. He wished he could do the same with the past year.
Master?
The voice came to him in his head. He and his first imp had a very strong link with each other.
Yes, Yappy?
You know a chronomancer. Can he fix it?
He’ll insist it isn’t broken. I know him well enough to know that.
Oh, maybe there’s another way to get rid of the baby then. Gibrik told me that he would eat the baby for you.
No one’s eating the baby, Yappy.
The imp didn’t say anything else. Aeramin wouldn’t have heard him if he did. He was already drifting off. He laid back on the pillows he had brought down from the sitting room. It was a lumpy and uncomfortable bed, but it was better than sharing a bed with Imralion, and not being able to hold him. If he was alone in this, he’d be alone, not with someone he couldn’t touch. As he drifted off to sleep, the smallest imp, a pale white one, hopped out of his hiding place behind a bookshelf, and crawled into his master’s arms.
All the rest 