Aaron brushed his hand over the tops of dew covered red roses, blinking into the brightness of a spring morning. The air was heavy with the fragrance of flowers, damp grass and the chorus of birdsong. Above him was a clear, bright blue sky and all around was a rose garden with white lacey tops of Queen Anne's Lace and the rich blues of Forget-me-nots. Dazzled by the light, he covered his eyes with the back of his hand. Where was he? This garden was not in the least bit familiar.
Aaron walked forward along the well tended cobblestone path, venturing deeper into the garden. He searched the area, reaching out with his senses trying to get a sense of what sorcery was going on and found that the thrumming pulse of magic was everywhere. It was below, beside and even above. He couldn't gauge how high or low the barriers went but this was not anything he was familiar with.
He plucked a rose from a bush and turned it over in his hand. The stem was smooth beneath his thumb and its thorn pricked his skin, causing a stab of pain without any blood from the puncture. "This is a dream?" He turned and saw an endless sea of red roses stretching past the horizon. He sniffed the rose and felt the tickle of its petals against his nose. It felt and smelled real despite it being an astral body.
"So this is where you went," a familiar male voice mused from behind.
Aaron spun to face the apparition of the man he once knew. Iehan stood clothed in a soft long sleeve black tunica that fell to his knees under a brown fur vest with a black leather belt around his waist. A deep green cloak was fastened at this shoulder. His sword hung on his hip while his tanned thighs and legs were unadorned with brown leather covering his feet. His long hair was loose about his shoulder, and his face covered by a thick well trimmed red beard. Ice blue eyes appraised Aaron with growing curiosity.
Iehan circled Aaron with an amused smile. "Interesting."
"Master," Aaron greeted with a short bow. It was a gestured he'd seen thousands of times in Iehan's courts.
"I never thought you'd come to my garden." Iehan sat on a white stone bench that Aaron hadn't noticed before and patted the empty space next to him. Aaron sat beside him, uncertain of what to say. It was all so strange and new.
"Where is this place? I recognize it's magic." Aaron placed his hands in his lap, noticing that he was naked. "Why don't I have clothes?"
Iehan laughed. "You have to picture yourself with clothes on. You control your form in this domain."
Aaron imagined a set of clothing he'd seen in the closet and looked down at his now covered form. He ran his hands over the denim of his jeans and the soft cotton of his shirt. "Fascinating."
"I'm sure you have questions, Mayrion." Iehan stretched, watching Aaron's wonderment in good spirits. "It must've been frustrating all this time."
"I've never dreamed before. Never slept. The Abyss doesn't allow such respite." Aaron frowned. "It tortures you by leaving you in sensory deprivation alone with your thoughts."
"This is my dream realm. I control every aspect of it and I can allow whomever I wish inside of it." Iehan smiled as he explained. "Lille comes here sometimes but I don't think she knows how to reach me."
Aaron nodded. "She said that she dreams things but doesn't remember her life as you."
"It's probably best that she grows into her own path rather than living mine. I'm just a figment now." Iehan chuckled softly. "She doesn't need a stubborn old man ranting in her head."
"Why did you never seek immortality?" Aaron asked suddenly. "When you died, I was cast back into the abyss. If you hadn't we'd still be ruling those people."
Iehan stroked his beard. "I'm not that greedy. I watched the rise and fall of kings. My enemies laid out at my feet and my family flourish. I couldn't imagine that life without them." He somberly confessed. "Do you not get along with Lille?"
"No, it's not that." Aaron sighed. "I don't want it to end. You humans continue on into the wheel but I can't even die. I don't have a soul."
"I thought demons hated humans?" Iehan raised a brow.
"You humans are so beautiful. Your lives are precious, so precious that we went to war over you. I wanted what you have."
"Mortality?"
Aaron shook his head. "Freedom. I was built for a purpose to only do that one thing. I'm a destroyer but I had no choice in that matter. I exist. I fulfill my function and nothing else."
Iehan pointed to Aaron's body. "But you are in a body right now. Can't you live that way until Lille passes?"
Aaron's lips thinned into a frown. "It's not the same. This is possession."
"Of all my talents, I can't foresee the future." Iehan's hands dropped into his lap. "I'm not the full aspect of myself, just a fragment of the real me. It's like being a ghost. My soul is in Lille now. But I think things will be different for you this time." He smiled and gently patted Aaron's shoulder.
"She's a mercenary mage in a world where she's not supposed to use magic," Aaron commented softly. "Why did she pick this when she could be living peacefully somewhere?"
"She's testing her limits. You woke her power and she doesn't know what else to do with it." Iehan replied with a shrug. "That should make you happy to be on a new battlefield."
"In a way. I just don't want this to end again. I want to cement my place in this world." Aaron rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Why do you think they want Lille for the ritual?"
"I have a theory but no way to test it." Iehan folded his arms across his chest with a small gesture of his hand.
"What's that?"
"Lille was born under special conditions. I think her birth was orchestrated."
"What do you mean?"
"I think she was born under ritual conditions. I don't believe she's a nephilim but I remember reading about hellsaints." Iehan replied with a frown. "I think part of it's a consequence of our pact. We're marked with the stillness of the void but she's still whole. There is power to be had in breaking her soul apart."
The thought of Lille being broken made his chest hurt. "I can't let that happen." Aaron rose. "I've got to destroy that cult to protect her. The Heiput can't claim her."
"Are you are war with the other demons?"
Aaron's hand clenched into a fist. "I wasn't but now I am. I can't let them poach my partner. Heaven or hell, they can't claim her."
Iehan smiled. "Good. You should go back then."
Aaron blinked and woke in his bed, staring up at a darkened ceiling. They wanted a war and war was what they would have. He'd fight them all and rip them apart. Heaven nor hell was going to lay a finger on Lille. He needed to gather his power to regain his full abilities.