Matsdotter and Adrastus, page 1
Matsdotter and Adrastus
When a Human Falls In Love with an Archdemon
Aelina Isaacs
Neshama Publishing
Copyright © 2024 by Aelina Isaacs
Book Cover illustrated by Foxglove Faun.
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Contents
Dedication
Before Reading
Gods of the Nether Isles
Watch Your Language
Who Goes There?
Where Are We?
World Map
Regional Map
City Map
Prologue
January
New Town Times
I Know
Basic Physics
A Fucking Archdemon
A Stepping Stone
Ready To Move On
Like A Charm
Agian Snails
Someone Else's Sins
Coffee With Dragons
Measure Up
Transcript
More The Merrier
February
Lecture Of A Lifetime
Wayward Witches
Sweet, Secret Relief
A Careful, Tender Offering
Old and Wrinkly
Fred And Dave
Think I Like You
Frazzled
Is This Okay?
The Truth Stands
Northern Isle Weekly
March
Extravagant
Love Without Reason
Very Few Chances
Isn't It A Sight?
Sacrilege
Miracle
Holy Ground
He Loves You
April
Empty Shell
Salvation
November
The End
Character Guide
About the Author
Also By
Acknowledgements
Dedication
For the people with gaps in their memories and holes in their hearts; our trauma doesn't own us, but one day we will own it. Together.
Before Reading
This is an adult fantasy novel with queer characters who swear, smoke, and get tattoos. Several of the characters live with mental illness, and one of the main characters receives therapy and takes medication.
There is discussion regarding a previous prolonged domestic abuse situation, which included grooming and homelessness. Other things to be aware of include stalking, gore and violence, discrimination, dead naming, and death. There is off-page implied sex work, and brief on-page sexual assault. There is a brief, off-page instance of police brutality that is discussed. Lastly, there are on-page sex scenes.
I want to emphasize that this is a feel good story focusing on characters who are healing, and battling the demons of their past, and there's so much pining that it hurts. I have included a comprehensive character guide in the back, and it may contain spoilers.
Enjoy,
Aelina
Gods of the Nether Isles
Creator Gods
Hizoh: God of Dusk
Ogmes: God of Dawn
Typhine: Goddess of the Moons
Ulena: Goddess of the Sun
Caretaker Gods
Awah: Lust
Artune: Hope
Ben: Family
Da’haut: Knowledge
Dinphine: Magic
Emolite: Laborers
Kiroli: Fertility
Loborn: Arts
Nicen: Souls and the Underworld
Mithys: Logic
Mishlat: Companions
Ryvara: Trickery
Soleyar: Luck
Xvaldin: Music
Ylos: Love
Yrlan: Judgment
Watch Your Language
The ‘Old Common’ used in the book is based on the Hebrew language, and some meanings have been adjusted to fit the story. They are listed here in the order they appear.
Bashert: A term used to describe the spiritual union between archcelestials.
Shomer: Guardian
Abracadabri: The magickal force of the universe, passively used by magickal creatures and can be actively tapped into by witches, considered a type of potential energy. Also means ‘to create.’
Ob: Spirit of the Dead
Schlemiel: Idiot
Sheol: The Underworld, where the righteous and unrighteous go while awaiting reincarnation.
Gehenna: Hell
Sha’mayim: Heaven
Krav Maga: A type of martial arts.
Yom Tov: Holiday, Festival, or Celebration. In this case Yom Tov Ogmes is the Festival of Ogmes.
Polinya: A flowering plant native to Jaqul, commonly used to treat sepsis and clear toxins from the blood.
Levaya: Funeral
L’chaim: To Life
Tchotchke: Little Thing
Khawbar: An internal spirit inside shedim that awakens only when bonding to another soul.
Isa: Salvation
Also, the celestial nobility use a naming system that refers to a person by their lineage.
Bat: Daughter of
Ben: Son of
Xir: Child of
Who Goes There?
In addition to the usual elves, dragons and centaurs, there are a few homebrew magickal races in this world. Here are the basics and their rarity in regards to Levena’s population. Rarity will differ depending on region.
Behema: A general term for animalistic shifter races, defined by their ability to shift at will regardless of the lunar cycle. Most behema choose to live in their shifted form which can range from mostly humanoid to complete animal. Common.
Draconian: Dragons in their humanoid forms, characterized by their vertical pupils. It is uncommon for most Draconians to live in highly populated areas. Uncommon.
Dybbuk: A type of malicious spirit that feeds on a soul while possessing their body with such ability they often go unnoticed. When the soul has been devoured the Dybbuk must move to a new host body, living or dead with a trapped soul. It is considered ‘contagious’ as it can efficiently invade a body. Rare.
Gadol: A humanoid race that is born in the same form as Humans but grow exponentially after puberty, reaching heights up to thirty feet tall. Rare.
Golem: An undead race that can vary widely in appearance but is characterized by the lack of a beating heart, common form is similar to Humans. Common.
Katan: A short-statured, humanoid race ranging up to four feet in height, with slightly pointed ears. For every fifty male births a female is born, making this race slightly uncommon.
Khatool: An animalistic shifter race defined by their feline characteristics and dislike for the cold. Rare.
Krakeni: A semi-aquatic race with eight to eighteen tentacles, able to dwell on land for short periods of time with misting. Common.
Malakim: A celestial race of angelic origins, characterized by their feather-type wings, their influence over the shedim race and passive magickal ability to sense good. Uncommon.
Mayimet: An aquatic race characterized by the need to always be submerged, their massive size, and cannibalistic nature. Rarity unknown as they are deep sea creatures. Rare.
Pitriyot: A humanoid race characterized by mycological features, such as an ability to asexually reproduce, fungi-like skin that bruises easily, and an umbrella-like head. Uncommon.
Qieren: A humanoid race characterized by their colorful skin tone, at least one set of horns on their head, and a prehensile tail. Common.
Selth: A humanoid race characterized by a star shaped array of prehensile tentacles protecting their mouth and lack of pupil, possessing completely black eyes. Uncommon.
Shafan: A humanoid race with rabbit-like characteristics, such as the snout, strong hindlegs, fur, and elongated ears. Rare.
Shedim: A celestial race of demonic origins, characterized by three different wing types, their influence over the malakim race, and passive magickal ability to sense evil. Uncommon. The three basic types of Shedim are based on affinity.
Esh: Shedim with an affinity for fire, physical features include leather wings, horns, and a spearpoint tail. Common type shedim.
Mayim: Shedim with an affinity for water physical features include crystal scales, fins, and a paddle-like tail. Common type shedim.
Jinni: Shedim with an affinity for abracadabri, physical features differ due to shapeshifting abilities. Rare type shedim.
Tannin: A shifter race with draconian characteristics, lacking the ability to shift to full dragon form. Their shifted form is humanoid in appearance with iridescent scales, a full snout, tail and leather-type wings. Common.
Tzipor: A humanoid race with bird-like characteristics such as talons, a beak, and wings. Uncommon.
Where Are We?
Prologue
To be honest, I don’t know where this story truly begins, or why I’m the one that was chosen to begin it. Lochian says it’s obvious why, but I’m not so sure. Sure, I’m a writer, but that doesn’t automatically make me an expert on our experiences. The letters help, I suppose.
You see, we’ve been writing to you. Wow, it’s been … years, now. Anyways, the letters became a collection of stories. Chronicles of our time spent waiting for you.
It’s easier to absorb everything that way, I think.
So here it is. The story of us, ready for your perusal. It’s all true, and perhaps more detailed than need be, but every bit is important. And our story is first, apparently. Which brings me back to my original point.
Where do you begin?
How do you skim through the memories of your life and say, ‘Yes, here it is, the moment when my life truly began.’
Ah, well.
In my case, you have to understand something about me.
For most of my life, I ached for a friend. A genuine, true friend. I begged for one. Allowed myself to be treated terribly in exchange for false words. Beautiful lies sung by a person who said I was everything, but they treated me like I was nothing. There’s a difference between words and actions, and it’s been said actions speak loudest, but oh how I scavenged for those words.
I doted. I praised. I covered up the damage. I worshiped.
All for someone who never cared for me. Not really.
And the thing is, now that I have people who do truly love me, because I have found not one friend, but many, I’ve never been more terrified in my life. Life is a fragile thing, easily uprooted. You never know just how far one’s roots go, and what—or who—else they may be entangled with until they’re torn from the ground and exposed for all the world to see.
What would I do to keep that from happening?
What are the limits to love?
Because if I endured all of that pain and humiliation for the benefit of someone who treated me so poorly, it’s not hard to imagine what I would do for someone who actually deserved it.
With this in mind, I think I know where to start, now.
In the dead of winter on a Tuesday night, an old classmate of mine holds a bag of frozen peas to my cheek. It’s the first time we’ve seen each other in years, and we aren’t even close. Not really. We went to the same university and maybe ate lunch together a few times, but that’s it. We ran in different circles. I graduated ahead of her, and everyone else. Again.
But that didn’t stop her from choke slamming my boyfriend against the floor on a snowy, technicolor night.
River pulled me into a putrid alcove near the bathrooms, the floor slick with vomit from the last person who took shelter there. There was a little stone ledge in there, dusted with the ashes of who knows what. Given the neon yellow particulate that accompanied the soot, I had a pretty good idea.
River trapped my hands on the ledge with his own, thrust against my back despite my protests. There were people lined up in the hallway to the bathrooms, right outside the alcove. We were separate from the bottom feeders of Levena, but no less private. I should
I broke free from his grip and told him no, not here. That I wanted to go home. He backhanded me, rings shredding my eye and cheek. No one else cared, they never did. The place was a run down bar in the northeastern part of Levena that I hated, but River loved it because he could be himself there. I’m sure you can already infer that he’s the type of man that always gets what he wants. And there, he wasn’t an uncommon type of folk.
But not that night. That night an elf and a qieren were on a mission, searching for a regular in the bar for reasons I didn’t come to learn until later. The couple were walking past the alcove when River struck me. The qieren, purple skinned with fearsome horns, tore through the line to the bathroom. She cleared the way for her elven companion who snatched River by the back of his neck. I was terrified for the seemingly delicate blonde, but she dragged him out into the hallway just fine.
And to my complete shock, the elf lifted him up like it was childsplay. River fiercely clawed at her arm, and she slammed him down into the old planking which shattered upon impact. After knocking him out cold, the elf wiped her hands off on a gorgeous sheer black dress, then offered it to me. It was then I recognized her.
“Lindsey?” I asked, voice trembling. I was so cold, and covered in so much filth I didn’t dare soil her. All I wanted was to go home, but I didn’t know where that was anymore.
“Yeah, kid. Come on, let’s get you fixed up.”
The qieren stood protectively in front of us, arms crossed and tail snapping dangerously at those passing by. She was dressed just as beautifully, both of them wore short dresses and tall heels, their lethal beauty able to wound even the strongest of hearts.
And something in me said, ‘enough.’
It said, ‘take the goddamn help.’
It said, ‘run.’
And I did.
They brought me back to the place that had been my house for the past eight months. It was a home to me, once. As I rescued my backpack from the closet and efficiently packed it, running through a plan I’d crafted again and again during the precious hours of night, the fact that this place was more prison than home became more clear than ever. Lindsey insisted on bringing only what I needed or was sentimental, anything else can be replaced.
Wordlessly, I did as she said in fear of telling her never mind. That I don’t need help.
But I didn’t.
It took me less than four minutes to fill the backpack. A few changes of clothes, my notebooks once buried under the bed, and the contents of a shoebox once hidden behind a paint can in the little cupboard under the stairs, is all I brought with me. Lindsey brought me back to her place, which brings us to now.
Peas on the face.
The qieren, Kitt, paces the den as she talks on the phone. She’s dressed in jeans and a sweater now, as is Lindsey. When Kitt mentions a healer, I shake my head. An action I immediately regret. After holding back a groan, I say, “I don’t need a doctor. It’s just—”
Lindsey rolls her eyes, readjusting the frozen peas. “Your face is split open, sweet cheeks. Do you feel like explaining that, the other cuts from those damned rings, and the bruise covering half your face? Besides, I said healer, not doctor. Don’t worry, it’s all under the radar.”
I swallow. “Do you—do you know a witch?”
Lindsey gives me a flat look. “Several. Is that a problem?”
“No, I just … I haven’t met a witch before.” I admit.
“Oh, well—”
A knock rattles the front door three times in quick succession. Everyone in the room freezes, but my heart doesn’t get the memo. It drowns out all noise, throbbing in my ears. It screams, ‘run run run,’ but I can’t move. I watch Kitt pocket her phone and move towards the door.
Lindsey sets the peas on the cushion between us and stands up, fists clenching at her sides. Kitt reaches behind a towering plant in a vase beside the door frame, then pulls out a baseball bat inscribed with runes and embedded with massive spikes.
“What the fuck …” I whisper, not meaning to have said it all.
“Go in the bedroom,” Lindsey says, but I can’t move.
Kitt looks through the peep-hole, then back at us with confusion pinching her features. “Either of you know a wolf behema?”
I shake my head, and Lindsey does too.
Then the qieren grins, accepting the challenge of unannounced strangers like a long lost chest of precious treasure. She opens the door, twirling the bat around like a baton. Kitt cheerily says, “Evening. Anything I can help you with?”
From my vantage point on the couch, all I can see is a lumbering figure on the other side of the threshold, partially hidden by the qieren. After a tense moment the person asks, “Are you Kitt Meissa?”
Lindsey gives me one last look, then leaves me to join Kitt’s side. Kitt tilts her head. “Who’s asking?”
“I am Dr. Atthias, and I work at Heartstone Medical, in the psychiatry unit. I was under the impression that you are Arlo Rook’s power of attorney?”
The silence is so damn thick that I could choke on it. Lindsey gently takes the bat from Kitt, startling her. Kitt glances between Lindsey and the behema a few times, then asks, “Do you have some kind of identification?” A moment passes, then she adds, “Alright, come in. Where is Dr. Kensworth?”
Half-shifted, the behema gives me a cursory glance upon entering, then shifts their attention to Kitt. They say, “I apologize for intruding upon you so late, but this matter is urgent and I felt it should be discussed in person, without Dr. Kensworth. I will be blunt with you, Ms. Meissa, you have been lied to. Mr. Rook is not refusing your visits, he’s been in solitary confinement for over thirty days now. Through my colleague’s findings and my own, we have found that not only is Dr. Kenswoth discriminating against Mr. Rook for his being a witch, but others in the unit as well.
