His Redemption (TheCorsair and Xana)

The desperate lust in her voice, sweat-slick body against his, the feel of her fingers stroking his throbbing shaft as she fingered her clit... all of it combined to drive Matthias wild. "So fucking good!" he exulted, pounding himself into her depths without thought of anything but how much he needed to fuck, how much he needed to fill her with his meat and his seed. "So fucking good on my dick! Can you feel that? Can you feel me fucking you?"

The wet sounds of their fucking mingled with their words and cries and the sound of her back slamming into the wall to make an erotic chorus. He silenced her pleas for him to use her for a moment, his mouth covering hers and his tongue filling her mouth the same way his cock filled her cunt. And then she pulled away, body arching against his and walls convulsing around him as she screamed out “I’m cumming.”

"Cum for me!" he roared back, hips slamming into hers as he drove himself even harder into her depths. "Let me feel how much you love my cock!"

“I’m cumming," she groaned out, "Matthias! Make me cum, please! Make me cum like only you can!!!”

"Ari!" he groaned back, feeling his cock harden more and his balls grow heavy. "Ari... I'm so... ARI!" With that final cry, he sheathed himself as deep as he could in her and roared in pleasure as his orgasm erupted deep into her hungry womb.

---

Jeroam made his way down the stairs, followed by a half-dozen of his men. They'd returned less than an hour ago, and he'd initially gone looking for Aurianna. She wasn't around, though, apparently preparing to escort the Oracle on a pilgrimage. He'd nodded his approval of that - she clearly wasn't ready for a real mission, but a cake walk like that would be right up her speed. Let her feel useful once more. Get those silly notions out of her head. But, since she wasn't around, he'd suggested to his men that they go pay a visit to the traitor. Soften him up a little, as it were, for his trial. All of them had lost friends or family or both to the demons, so they readily agreed.

"Now," Arthur was asking, "you're sure we won't get in trouble? I'm already on the Lord Commander's shit list - I don't need more trouble."

"I'm sure," Jeoram laughed. "There's nobody down here at this time of night. Nobody but the traitor, that is."

"...please, please, please..." The distant voice echoed up from the dungeon.

Barnabas laughed. "Sounds like someone else worked that out, went looking for a little privacy."

Jeoram nodded, frowning. Something sounded familiar about that voice. Voices, actually, because they grew clearer as they reached the hall and headed for the stairs. And even louder as they approached the traitor's cell. And both voices sounded more and more familiar as he...

"Afodisia..." he breathed, shock and horror filling his voice.

The scene before him was one of utter, wanton sexuality. Aurianna, half-naked and straddling the naked body of the traitor. “I’m cumming, Matthias!" she screamed. " Make me cum, please! Make me cum like only you can!!!” His men shifted behind him, laughing uncomfortably as he stared. And then the demon roared her name, burying himself in her once more in an unmistakable manner. A feeling of betrayal gripped his heart - he loved her! Even when she'd accused him of rape, he'd loved her! And now...

The feeling of betrayal hardened, becoming icy hate. And now, rather than turn to him for comfort, she'd crawled down to whore herself out to a demon.

Ignoring the chuckles of his men, he tore open the cell door.

One last shuddering gasp as he pumped stream after stream of his seed inside her, her orgasm practically milking him, as they experienced it together. She knew this was it for the night, too tired and sweetly sore to go any more. She was about to lose herself in the rapture, when she opened her eyes, and saw several Paladins standing audience to her climax, including a furious Jeoram.
"
Dirty, fucking, WHORE!" He raged, tearing into the cell like wildfire. Aurianna felt Matthias hold her closer, protectively, as her feet found solid ground. Jeoram tore Matthias away, hurling him on the floor, signaling for his buddies, "Hold this fucker down." Three of his men put their weight on the demon traitor.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Aurianna?” He sneered, slamming her into the wall, a hateful counterpoint to the way Matthias just had.

“I…” she started, not sure what to say or even how to feel. Things between them were, well, complicated. They hadn’t exactly parted on great terms, what her punching him, and him fighting with Justine. She had tried to break up with him, but he wouldn’t let her, and they didn’t really get a chance set the parameters of their relationship or break. So, she felt some guilt in this, in him finding her like this.

“You try to ruin my life by lying to the Lord Commander about me raping you,” He charged her, tightening the grip on her shoulder.

“What, Jeoram that’s not-“

“And now I find you down here fucking your demon rapist?” He growled, slamming her into the wall again. She looked into his eyes with matching hatred.

“You’re the only rapist I see in here,” She lashed out, venom upon her lips. He landed a right hook against her ear, which ignited a fire within her. She brought her knee up into his gut, knocking the air out of him. Tackling him back into the bars, she let loose a barrage of punches into his face, breaking her knuckles on the bones of his face.

“Get this bitch off me!” he called out, gurgling his own blood. Three sets of hands grabbed her now, restraining both of her arms and wrapping around her waist. She kicked and flailed with all her strength, but the combination of three men’s strength was too much for her to overcome. Jeoram took advantage of her defenselessness, bringing another hard left cross against her jaw. A powerful uppercut into her diagraph left her coughing up blood, as Jeoram pulled her hair to make her look at him.

“I should ugly you up, so no man will ever want you again.” Jeoram taunted, his eyes bloodshot in pain and rage. She added to it, but a spitting a mouthful of blood at him in response.

“Oh Aphodesia! It feels so good!” Clara moaned, nuzzling her dark hair against Willam’s chest, giggling and heaving excited. Between her thighs, Williams fingers brushed the outside of her breeches, rubbing into her slit.

“Yeah, you like it?” He asked eagerly, running the tips of his fingers down her entrance, the cotton small clothes creating a delightful friction. “You are getting hot down here…” The teenaged couple had stolen into the Cathedral, to spend one last romantic evening together, before Clara would leave on her mission with Mistress Aurianna. They had packed a romantic meal, and even a half bottle of wine they didn’t even manage to finish. By now, both were half naked, and exploring each other’s bodies.

“OH! Right there!!!” Clara squeezed Willam tightly, as his fingers found a sensitive spot at the top of her slit. He pressed against the engorged nub, and it sent lightning shooting through her body. She bit into his neck to stop herself from screaming.

“Do you want to touch mine?” he asked, sliding a finger under her small clothes. She nodded readily, her hands already working at his pants, reaching in to find his hardness. Well, it wasn’t there yet, still kinda soft in her fingers. Nevertheless, she wrapped her hand around it, squeezing and tugging as it grew firmer, bigger.

“Oh Clara!” Willam called out, his eyes rolling in the back of his head, as he teased her clit harder, both teens were moaning and sighing, awkwardly fumbling their way around each other’s body. Willam grew even harder and throbbed in her hands, until she felt something hot and sticky splatter her fingers and his pants. He stopped, breathing hard, smiling at her, and kissing her deeply. “I should clean off.”

“So should I!” Clara laughed, looking at the strange white substance on her hands. “Is it always like this?” Willam nodded with a blush. He protested as she wiped on his pants “hey, you already stained them!” Clara joked, watching him dress with a smirk on her lips.

“Should I wait for you?” he called back, seeing she was still half naked.

“Nah, I am okay. I have more clothes to find and put on.” She said, crawling around the floor, looking for her tunic.

“Okay, I’ll miss you.” Willam called out, giving her one last glance, before turning to leave. Clara managed to find the rest of her clothes, and dressed clumsily, still feeling giddy from the drink and her own excitement. She heard the cathedral door open, and she peak out, to see if Willam had returned.
What she did see was far worse than an overexcited teenage boy. Her mistress was dragged by her hair, bloody and bruised, and tossed on the floor. She saw four men follow behind her, three she didn’t recognize, but the one seemingly leading them was unmistakable, at least to her. Lady Aurianna’s own fiancée, Lord Jeoram.

Clara gasped silently into her hand hands, as she watched him throw her on the altar and cut off her dress. She stared on in terror as Jeoram forced himself between Aurianna’s thighs, silent tears sliding down her face.

---

“You are a pathetic piece of shit,” Aurianna snarled at Jeoram, swallowing the pained grunts that threaten to escape her lips. He hit her again, not stopping his cruel pace within her swollen sex. She didn’t falter her gaze, golden eyes like daggers against his thrusts. His own eyes no longer matched hers, instead a dull shade of blue that was rather commonplace, among the mortals.

“You haven’t even figured out that you aren’t a Paladin anymore,” She assailed, smiling cruelly at him, pushing down the agony of him slamming into her battered slit.

“Neither are you,” He countered, throwing his head back in one last malicious stab, “Whore.” She groaned as he pumped his cum into her, disgusting by the slimy feel of it dribbling down her ass. He brought his cock up to her lips, holding her nose closed until she opened her mouth to breath. He forced as much slimy, softening meat as he could into her mouth, wiping the contents of her cunt on her tongue. He then put his cock away, and slapped her one last time, with the strength of a mere man.

“Have fun boys. She has enough holes to take you all at once.” Jeoram suggested, leaving her with hateful smile as he left the cathedral.

Matthias was curled up in his own private world of pain, hardly able to tell the new blows from the old injuries. He knew - remembered from past lessons at the hands of masters of pain - that presenting a smaller target would make him seem weaker. More beaten. And, unless these crude children were the equals of Baath-Me'el's Court, they'd take that for victory. And so he endured, fingers white-knuckled around the small leather bag that he clung to like a talisman, wishing he had something to pray to.

Finally, it ended. One of the Paladins spat on him as they left, joking about 'their turn'. He tried to uncurl, but found he lacked the strength. And, even if he could, what would be the point? He'd be trapped in his cell, and they'd have...

Aurianna.

---

"Fuck yeah!" Arthur laughed as Jeoram left. "Gonna get me some of this!" He grabbed Aurianna's hair, dragging her off the altar and onto her knees. His knife was in his hand as he opened his pants. "Now," he said, holding the blade in front of her eyes, "I'm gonna put this cock in your mouth. You suck it real good, you hear?" The knife drifted closer. "Bite me, and I'll cut you a brand new fuckhole, you understand?"

With that, he pressed his head against her lips and forced his dick in. "Aaah yeah!" he groaned, feeling the blunt head bump into the back of her throat. "That's better than your demon's, ain't it? Now suck it! Suck it like it is!" Even as he said it, he began thrusting his cock in and out of her mouth.

Ulric and Barnabas glanced at each other, then went back to watching Arthur fuck her throat. "Sloppy thirds?" Ulric asked, waving his hand at her.

"Naw," Barnabas answered. "Piece of ass like that, that's what I want."

"Suit yourself," Ulric grinned. "More for me." Kicking her legs apart, he slid underneath her and forced her sloppy sex down on his shaft. "Goddess she's wet!" he gasped, digging his fingers into her thighs and bucking beneath her. "Just like the fucking slut she is!"

Straddling Ulric's chest, Barnabas slid his cock up and down the cum that had dripped into her cleft and then roughly shoved his meat into the puckered hole of her ass. He said nothing, just pounded into her as he enjoyed the feel of Ulric's cock brushing his through the thin walls separating them. Every thrust of Arthur's cock into her throat forced her back harder onto his meat, and he returned the favor by slamming back into her. "Got... a... bet..." he grunted, in time with his thrusts. "First... one... to... cum... buys the... beer..."

---

Clara cowered behind the statue, wishing she could find the courage to do something. Anything. Because they were... were... Oh, Goddess, they were Paladins. Paladins didn't behave like... didn't... didn't rape. They didn't rape, and joke about it! And yet... Bile rose in her throat. She wanted to vomit, both from what they were doing, and from her own inability to do anything. Her own cowardice. Why didn't she have her sword? Or even a knife? Armed, she could... could...

Could what? What could she do, against three armed Paladins. She was good against practice dummies, good against the few minor demons she'd fought. But... not against three armed and trained men.

No, she was a Paladin! Or she would be! She could charge out there, grab one of their swords, and... and...

And get disarmed, and thrown to the ground. Raped, just like her Mistress. The very idea, combined with the horror of watching her Mistress being raped by Paladins, left her paralyzed with dread. Finally, she cowered back down behind the base of the statue, eyes closed and hands over her ears, trying not to see or hear what was happening. She was just a kid! Just a scared half trained kid, and the realization drew hot, bitter tears from her. One hand pounded the floor in frustration.

And brushed something hard and cold. She looked down, seeing the hilt of a broadsword just barely protruding from the space beneath the altar. A scrap of parchment was bound around the handle. Hand shaking, she untied it and read it.

You're stronger than you know, it read, written in a bold, graceful hand. Help her.

---

There was something about the bag. Something within it, that penetrated his pain-fogged brain. Untying the leather thong took too many tries with his swollen fingers, but finally he managed it. Clumsily, he emptied the pouch into his hand. And then he stared blankly at the object glittering in his blood-stained palm.

A small, oddly-shaped key.

She was limp as her three holes were violated, her body remembering the best way to avoid any unnecessary damage to herself. She tried to let her mind wander, tried to hold to the happiness she felt just a short time ago. She tried to remember the happiness she felt when she realized she wasn’t broken, but those memories were being repainted in pain, as her cunt and ass were stretched viciously. She tried to think back on some kind words he might have left with her.

“Very little is as cruel as people who believe themselves 'good'.”

Obviously, she thought bitterly, whimpering as the men underneath had managed to sync up their thrusts, awakening new pain within her.

"You deserve better, Ari. Someone better than me..."

Is this what I deserve, Matthias? She cried out again, louder than the cock in her mouth, rubbing against her tonsils. Suddenly she was rather hurt he hadn’t said it back to her, even if it were just a lie.

“Get off of her!” A familiar voice shrieked into the night. This one made her recoil in even more fear than anything these men could do to her. Clara, why are you here? Please run away, please….

Clara slammed the broadsword hard into the Barnabas’ back, clanging off his mail armor. The large man groaned, painfully, indicating Clara’s attack may have actually done some damage. Her assault stopped, as the three men turned their attention on her teenaged apprentice, tossing her aside with less strength then they brought her here with in the first place. They surrounded Clara, taunting her with the cruelties they had inflicted on Aurianna, and would inflict on her next. She defended herself well, even when all three came at her at once. None expected the girl to possess the strength of the three of them combined, nor had they expected to be weaker, at a loss for their divine blessings. Still, the unarmed apprentice would falter eventually, if Aurianna could not will herself to move.

"You're a Paladin, not some demon's whore." It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was what she needed to hear, now and then. One of the men had dropped his sword against Clara’s deflection, and Aurianna had already lunged to grab it. On her knees, She pierced it through Ulric’s undercarriage, fitting it in him to the hilt. “Take it all!” she growled savagely.

The key fit the lock!

Matthias' injured hand shook as he held his breath, not allowing himself to hope. His grip slipped once as he tried to turn it, and he swallowed and tried again. This time, he was rewarded with the softest of clicks. And the Demonqueller rune fell from his wrist.

Rage and fury surged through him, blotting out the pain and despair. He laughed, low and dangerous. Pain? He'd show these amatures what pain was! He pulled himself to his feet and gripped the bars. Locked, of course. So he tore it loose from its sockets.

Squeezing into the hall, the demon began to hunt.

---

"Why are you doing this?" Clara screamed, batting a sword away. "You're Paladins!"

She'd had no plan. Plan? Goddess, she barely had any clothes! She was half-naked and fighting for her life against three armored men with greater skill and experience. Finding the sword and the note had bolstered her courage, but she'd choked on her actual attack. She'd never killed a man, and had unintentionally pulled her stroke.

"Yeah, we're Paladins," one of the men laughed, forcing her back with a lightning quick attack. "Just doing our part to fill a sinner with the grace of the Goddess."

As much through luck as skill, Clara tore the man's blade from his hand with her parry. She tried to press her advantage, but was firced back by the other two. "Sinner?" she exploded, "she's..."

"Spreading herself for the demon downstairs," another of them interruoted, throwing her back on the defensive as he hammered at her.

"Liar!" Clara shouted, hacking back at him.

"Saw it meself," he taunted, "riding it like a pro an' beggin' for it! She..." The next few words were cut off by the clangorous impact of Clara's blade on his breastplate, and the clatter as he crashed to the ground. Before she could follow up, however, she was thrown back on the defensive by the third rapist. And the first, who'd drawn his dagger and was circling her.

"She's your mistress," leered the third man as he hammered at her defences. "Bet she taught you a thing or two. Maybe we'll find out if you're as goid as she is."

Sudden terror clenched Clara's heart.

"Sweet young thing like you," purred the first. "Bet you're nice and tight."

"Hell," laughed the first, "I bet she's alreadAAAAA!"

"Take it all!" Aurianna snarled as a blade erupted from his chest in a shower of gore.

Blood sprayed across Clara's face and torso as the sword tore free. The sight of her mistress, hurt and still fighting, lent steel to her spine. Just like in practice... She spun, chopping her broadsword into the dagger man's hand. He screamed as his hand was sheared away, only to stop suddenly as a backhand blow took half his skull off.

She was moving again as the dagger man went down in a welter of blood and brains. The last man standing parried desperately as she pressed the attack, steel ringing on steel like an anvil. He tried to say something, tried to beg fir mercy, but she wasn't listening. Whatever the thing before her had been, it was just another monster now. And her last blow shattered his sword and clove through armor and flesh and bone.

It was over.

Clara surveyed the room. And then, with a cry of horror and anguish, fell to her hands and knees. Shaking, sobbing uncontrollably, she retched and heaved,emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

Aurianna tried to rise to help Clara, as the last two men came at her with violence in their eyes, but the pain was too much. I’m failing her…Aurianna bemoaned, regretting the way everything she seemed to do hurt those around her. Still, Clara handled herself well, and before Aurianna had even realized it, her other two attacker were dead at her feet. Aurianna crawled over to Clara, who hadn’t the stomach to take the life of men, or so it seemed. She pulled the girl on her lap, smoothing her dark hair, shushing her in a comforting way, or so she hoped.

“Clara… Clara, I am so sorry.” Aurianna whispered to her holding her tight against her chest, letting silent tears falling into her students hair, as Clara’s tears washed the blood form her broken body.

“Mistress, why would they do that? Why did this happen?” Clara wailed, digging nails into her arms, obviously overwhelmed by everything she had seen and heard and done. “Why did they say you were with a demon?” her tear streaked eyes met Aurianna’s now, and Aurianna didn’t have an answer for her.

“Clara, I will tell you everything, but right now I need you to help me. You can help me can’t you?” She pleaded with the girl, hoping beyond hope that Clara would give her the trust she knew she didn’t deserve. Clara nodded weakly, threatening to break into tears once more. “More are coming, to hurt me. If you are here, they will hurt you too. I need you to get help. Please, get the Lord Commander. I'll hold them here, as long as I am able." Aurianna gave the girl a kiss on the forehead, fully believing that she would never see her again. Not because Clara wouldn’t obey her. No, Clara was a good girl, and would listen, like she was supposed to.

No, Aurianna knew that the paladins who were making their way here to join in her rape would not be happy to find their allies murdered on the cathedral floor. Their hateful lust would turn to murderous rage at her, and she only hoped she would be able to take one down with her.

“Okay, Mistress, I will be right back. Please, stay safe.” She gave her one last tight hug, before Clara disappeared out the small door, just off to the side of the altar. Just as that door closed, the large double door burst open, raucous laughter filling the otherwise deathly quiet hall.

“Some fucking demon! Rolled over like a little bitch!” one laughed, as his buddies joined in. “And speaking of bitches, where is she? Did you guys save some for us?” They called into the empty room.

“Why did they bring her here? We should have just fucked her in front of the traitor.” Another called, as the trio entered the main room of the cathedral. “Holy fucking shit…” as they saw the carnage strewn out before them, “She fucking killed them...”

Aurianna stepped put now, deciding to take credit for Clara’s kills, in hopes of psyching out her attackers. “I’ll give you a chance to run away, before I do the same to you.” She stood still, firm, hiding the fact that she would probably fall over if she took more than three steps. The pulled their weapons, and rushed her, coming at her form a place of rage rather than skill. She was just able to defend herself, pushed back with each advance.

One man came at her with a powerful lunge, invading her space with his strike. She just sidestepped out of the way, pulling his body to hers as her body found an opening in his armor. She filled him with her blade, as he coughed blood down her back. Using his dying body as a shield, she pulled back further, until she hit the wall. She tossed the dead paladin at his comrade, tripping him, but opening herself to an attack as well, from her other opponent. She blocked instinctively with her forearm, forgetting that she was not wearing her bracers. The sword cut deep into the meat of her arm, loosing the blade from her hand.

“Any last words, traitor whore?” He asked, pushing his sword under her chin.

Clara ran, ran as fast and as hard as her divine gifts would permit. She hated the idea of abandoning her mistress, but Lady Aurianna was right. They needed help. Unarmored and barely armed, they were no match for men girded for war. And so she ran, looking for... anyone. Anybody who could help, knowing as she ran that the Cathedral was mostly abandoned at this time of night. That's why she and Willam had chosen it in the first place.

Please, Lady of Love and War, she prayed as she ran. Please grant me a miracle! Please, Lord Verrier, intercede with your mate on my behalf!

Ahead, she saw an armored figure. Putting on a burst of speed, she caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "Sir! Please! My mistress... Lady Aurianna..." And then her tongue froze in terror.

Jeoram smiled down at her. "Oh? Tell me more..."

---

The demon stalked through the corridors, following her scent. There was little of Matthias left, at this moment. Awakened after weeks of deprivation under the Demonqueller to a world of pain and injury, the monster that filled the hollow where his soul had been had taken nearly complete control. And it was hungry. And the little bit of Matthias' rational mind that was left knew that it was a good thing the Cathedral was empty, now. Because the demon would kill whatever it could, at this moment.

The yawning doors of the chapel came into view, and both Matthias and the demon tensed at the ringing of steel on steel. He slunk close, peering inside, and crimson eyes narrowed in hatred. She was his, and he could smell the stink of other men on her. And they had wounded her, sought to kill her! Snarling in rage, he charged across the floor...

---

Aching, trying to catch her breath, Clara stumbled behind Jeoram. She'd been so surprised, so horrified, that she hadn't been able to defend herself when he kicked her in the stomach with his mailed boot. And now he used her long hair as a leash, dragging her in his wake.

"...nothing against you personally, you understand," he was saying. "Hells, I figured you were good for her. But, well, I can't let her live, now. Because I'm fucked if I do."

"You're fucked anyway," Clara spat, grabbing at his wrist. "The Goddess has..."

Jeoram cuffed her to the ground. She might be faster and stronger than he was, now, but he had the benefits of experience and a weighted steel gauntlet. A mailed foot caught her in the abdomen, and she mewled in pain. "I was betrayed!" he snarled. "By Aurianna, and now by the Goddess! I just gave that whore what she deserved!" He leaned down. "Or didn't she tell you how she was fucking her demon master in his cell? Because she was riding him, and begging for it!"

He kicked her again, disrupting any ability she had to discern truth from falsehood. Then he dragged her along in his wake once more. "So, she'll have to die. And I'm afraid you will, too. I don't need anything contradicting my story of finding her murdering my men at their prayers. And you..?" He looked back at her, a nasty look of hunger on his face. "You'll be found in the demon's cell, raped and slaughtered. What a pity, that you were entrusted to a woman who turned on the order."

---

Blood flooded down Matthias' throat as he bore one of the men to the ground, fangs buried in his throat. He drank hungrily, swallowing the man's life in great gulps, and with each swallow he felt his strength return. And with each gulp, he realized what he was drinking. Men. Not Paladins, men. They wore the trappings, but the gifts of the War-Whore had abandoned them. And so he worried at the man's throat, tearing the flesh further and letting the blood spurt faster. Finally, he brought carmine lips to the ear of the dying man. "And you'll still be mine, when we meet in Hell. And you'll taste just as sweet, there."

The second former Paladin came for him, swinging his blade. "Traitor!" he roared.

Matthias laughed, rolling lightly away and catching up the dead man's blade. "You and I both, Paladin!" he taunted, batting the man's strike away easily. "Where is your strength?" Ducking under the backhand slash, he darted in and caught the man by the throat. Laughing wildly, he hefted the man into the air with ease. "Where is your speed? Where are the gifts of your goddess?"

The man tried to kick him. Matthias slammed him to the ground and stomped his knee. The man screamed as the poleyn deformed under the blow, and a sickening crack filled the air as the joint burst. Still laughing, Matthias crushed his other knee as well. "Traitor? You judge me?" he sneered, driving the point of his captured blade into the man's hand. "Then call on your goddess! Beg her for aid!" The blade slashed across his face, splitting his nose in two. "You fight in her holy of holies! Surely she will hear you?"

Clawing at the flagstones, the man gabbled for mercy as he tried to drag himself away. Still laughing, Matthias tore the faulds from his armor. "I believe you wanted to give her some?" he asked, raising his captured blade and slashing. The man shrieked in agony, clutching at his crotch as blood spewed. Kneeling, he pulled the man's hands away and grabbed. The muscles in his arm bulged, and there was sickly wet rending sound that made the man shriek in further agony. "The do it," he laughed, pressing the mangled ruins of the man's torn penis and testicles into his hands. "Give them to her, and I'll let you live."

---

Jeoram's face had gone white. Bloodless. From his position in the nave, he'd seen it all. Unarmored, unarmed... hell, undressed, the demon had casually destroyed two of his finest warriors. And Aurianna, despite her injuries, had clearly killed one of them despite being outnumbered three to one. He stared in horror, feeling everything slipping through his fingers.

An impact made his knee give way. Crying out, he released his grip on Clara's hair in a wild effort to catch himself. Another blow sent his arm off true, and he crashed to the ground. Before he could recover, he was hoisted into the air and sent flying. The impact sent him bouncing head over heels in a clangor of metal on stone.

Clara's chest heaved with exertion and fury. "You son of a bitch," she snarled, starting after him. He rose to his knees, and she drove a fist into his face with all the power she could muster. "Rape my mistress? Threaten me?" She hit him again, rewarded by the sharp crack of bone as his nose flattened. "I'm going to kill you with my bare hands!"

"Just get the demon, next," Jeoram laughed, blood streaming down his face. "Because your mistress was fucking the thing that killed Marwyn Conn!"

Relief was not exactly the word Aurianna would use if asked to describe the sight of Matthias, bursting in to save her from otherwise certain doom. Perhaps at first, when his red eyes glowed in entrance as she looked down the point of a sword. When she dared to have a little hope she would make it out alive, or be avenged otherwise. But once she saw him in action, taking pleasure in tearing apart her tormentors, taunting them with their weakness, her blood ran cold.

I have no soul, Aurianna. Not any more. Just... just a demon, filling the void

He had warned her, hadn’t he? Had she spent so much time with him, under the effects of the demon binding runes, that she had forgotten what he was? That she had forgotten that of which he was capable? Truly he reveled in this brutality, offering her the man’s mangled genitals as though it might please her. As though more blood could wash away the terror they inflicted on her. She curled into herself, terrified at what she had once more unleashed upon the world. Matthias had come to her aid, yet again, but at what cost?

Is that the man you professed love to? Some dark part of her mind taunted, laughing in time with Matthias. Look at him! Look at how he returns your love, slaughtering those who would hurt you. “Matthias…” She cried out, terror palpable in her voice.

The opening of the Cathedral doors caught her attention. Jeoram passing through it, with Clara in tow, not unlike how he had dragged her before, made her blood boil, whatever little bit of it she still possessed. She tried to rise to her feet, so she could kill the man, run her blade through him as he had run his cock through her. Instead, she stumbled weakly into Matthias, interrupting his savagery with her own fragility. No, she could not kill Jeoram herself now, but she could unleash her demon upon him. Matthias would not deny her.

---

"Because your mistress was fucking the thing that killed Marwyn Conn!"

“What…?” Clara stopped short, stunned by the accusation. “No! It’s not true!”

I killed him.

“Mistress! Tell him! Tell him how you killed the demon that killed Marwyn!

I speared him through.

“When you escaped? Tell him you speared it through!” Clara begged Aurianna. Jeoram laughed harder now.

“From what I saw she was the one speared by him,” Jeoram mocked, climbing to his feet now. “That thing right there killed your former master, and knowing this, she still fucked him.”

“Mistress?” She sobbed, as Aurianna stumbled towards her, falling into his arms, his blood soaked arms.

“Clara, I’m sorry,” Aurianna exhaled, shaking hard, “I lied. I lied and about Matthias, and I lied about Jeoram. I just wanted to protect you, but I failed. I’m sorry Clara, I failed you.”

Clara stared at her now, as the demon traitor held her mistress, held her with the same hands that had killed Master Conn. Was Lady Aurianna a traitor? Jeoram was a rapist, despite her assurances otherwise. Perhaps Aurianna, too, was not what she appeared to be.

It’s all well and good to have a hero, someone to look up to. Just remember that they are in fact a person, with flaws to go along with their good traits.

Clara could see it, in the way her mistresses eyes glowed golden, filled with genuine pain. She is flawed, but she is still a Paladin. She is still my mistress. Clara turned towards Jeoram, who was already feeling from the Cathedral, surely for his life.

"Girl," Matthias snapped as Clara turned to pursue Jeoram, "get over here."

Clara whirled. "You dom't give me..."

"Your Mistress is wounded!" Matthias interrupted. "And I possess no healing magics. Tend to her!"

She stared wildly at the naked, blood-drenched figure of the demon - the demon that had killed Master Merwyn - and then looked at the wounded, pain-etched features of Mistress Aurianna. Grimly, she nodded and crossed the Sanctuary. Matthias pressed his lips to Aurianna's forehead, leaving a sticky smear of blood behind, then released the woman he... released his woman and stepped aside.

As Clara examined her mistress' wounded arn - the most obvious of the many injuries inflicted on her this night - Matthias began to strip one of the corpses. Despite herself, Clara stared in shock. "What are you doing?"

"I need clothes," he answered. "Unless you wat to flee the fortress in company with a naked demon?"

Clara didn't respond, not right away. She was busy trying to remember the words of the prayer that accompanied the ritual of laying on of hands. Finally, stumbling through it, she managed to stop the worst if the bleeding. Then, shuddering a little, she tore clean strips from a dead man's cloak and bound Aurianna's wound. "I..." she whispered as she worked, "I don't understand." There was pain in her voice. "Why?"

She didn't know what she meant. The horrors she'd seen that night? The fact that her mistress had lied about killing the demon? That her mistress had had sex with the demon? So she latched on to what Matthias hadcsaid. "Flee?"

The trousers he'd settled on wereca little loose at the waist, and an inch or two too short. "All of us are covered in blood, and we're ankle deep in Paladin corpses," he answered, cinching a belt down. "And that bastard's probably going to sing a lovely little song about two turncoats setting a demon loose, and slaughtering them."

"But that's not..!" Clara began, only to be cut off.

"Paladins are human, girl. I'm sure they'll apologize to your corpses, when they learn the truth." He buckled a sword belt ariund his waist, and cleaned his new sword on a cloak. "But it'll be healthier for all of us if we wait far from here while they figure things out."

He glanced around, hoping that one of them would magically be wearing boots that would fit. "Stay if you want. But I'm taking Ari and leaving."

“I suppose a bath is out of the question?” She asked to lighten the mood, as Clara’s healing worked its way through her body. It didn’t undo all the damage, but the difference between excruciating pain and considerable pain made all the difference in the world now, in terms of getting up and walking around. “Whatever the case, I am not fleeing again without armor, clothes or a proper weapon. Luckily, I packed most of those things earlier, when I thought I was leaving on a different quest.” She picked up a dead man’s cloak, and wrapped it around her nudity, before turning to her young apprentice.

“I don’t know that it would be safer for you to stay here, or come with us. Either way, I just want you to be okay. If you do decide to stay here, go to the Oracle. She should be able to give you sanctuary while the Inquisitors work through this mess.” Aurianna explained, as she caressed Clara’s face. Clara just shuddered. The Oracle was terrifying, as any demon as she had ever faced down, including the one in this very room. She hadn’t the courage to speak to her before tonight, and she doubted very much she possessed it now. Besides, the Oracle had never spoken to her before except…

You're stronger than you know. Help her.

“I’m going with you. I don’t trust that thing around you,” Clara declared, steeling her resolve. Aurianna flinched in place of Matthias, but nodded.

“Okay, gather your things. Only what you need, but make sure your armor and weapon are amongst it.” Aurianna instructed, with a hand on her student’s shoulder, “Meet us in the stables as soon as possible. We have a slim window to escape, and it is closing fast.” Clara nodded and took off, not waiting to disappoint her mistress. Aurianna walked over to Matthias, tying some too large boots tight enough to create some semblance of fitting him. “Come on, I don’t think we should split up.”

She led him back to her room, directing him towards the things she needed him to grab while she donned her armor. She decided against the plates for now, electing to let Matthias carry them. She strapped on her bracers, having learned a painful lesson about fighting without them.

“Anything else you can think of?” She asked, before they made their way to the stable.

Take only the essentials.

Clara stood in her room, tryig to decide just what "the essentials" were. She was dressed already, durable travelling clothes beneath the padded jerkin, and then chain mail and breastplate and bracers and greaves. Her mother's sword and a dagger hung from her waist, and a rucksack sat open on the bed she shared with Sue.

Extra clothes, she decided. Two sets went in, followed by her prayer book and scriptures. A hair brush went as well along with, after a moment's hesitatiin, a worn and faded rag doll. It was the only other thing she had left from her mother, and she'd be damned if she left it behind. Finished, she slung the Oracle's sword across her back and shrugged on the pack.

Then she hesitated, mixed emotions raging through her. Reaching a decision, she grabbed parchment and pen and ink from Sue's supplies and scratched out a quick note. Then she hurried from the room.

---

When Aurianna let the cloak drop to the floor, it took all Matthias' willpower to not shove her against the wall. He could still smell her attackers on her, and his demon took that as a challenge. Wanted to fuck her, fill her, mark her as his. And so he forced himself to gather useful item as she dressed, trying to distract himself from thoughts of the feel of her flesh against his, the sounds she'd make as he took her hard and fast...

His demon was a simple thing, all lust and instinct, with no rational thought.

"Anything else you can think of?" she asked, handing him a bundle of armor plates.

Your cunt stretched around my dick and your blood in my mouth as I fill you with my seed... "...No." The bundle clanked dully as he slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go."

---

"Jeoram!" Balthazar gasped at the sight of the blonde man stumbling into his room, his face a mask of blood. "By the Goddess! What..?"

"Au...Aurianna," Jeoram gasped out. "She... she's betrayed us."

"What?" Balthazar's voice was incredulous.

"Didn't... didn't wang to believe it myself. But..." he paused, composing his features in a mask of shock. "She... freed the traitor. Slaughtered my men... in... in... in the Cathedral."

"Gods," breathed Balthazar. "Wait here! I'll sound the alarm!"

---

Clara was saddling a third horse by the time Aurianna and Matthias arrived. All three were Percherons - a dappled grey mare, a chocolate gelding with a white keg, and an ill-tempered brown and white stallion that she secretly hoped would throw and trample the demon - and she'd selected them for endurance rather than raw speed. "There's a sack of oats fir each," she said, cinching the saddke down. "I'd rather have a pack horse, but..."

Bells began ringing wildly.

"But we're fucked if we don't ride now," Matthias answered, holding the stallion still as his eyes rolled wildly and he tried to pull away. Irritibly, he punched the horse between the eyes, the mounted as it reeled from the blow. "Shall we?"

Justine was roused by the sounds of the bells ringing in her head. Even with the urgency in the alarm, it was difficult to pull herself away from the warm naked embrace of Cassi. She rubbed sleep from her eyes as she dressed, quickly and simply enough, not bothering with armor. She took her position at the top of the Seraphim wall.

“Justine! You are the only one who can hit them now,” called Jaegr, waving her over to his position. Moving to meet him, she pulled her longbow from the rack.

“There,” he motioned toward a trio on horseback, just at the edge of her range. She drew the bow and aimed.

The sun was rising over the Vale of Scathan. The rosy fingers of dawn illuminated the Velicky mountains and spilled into the underlying valley, reflected back in the golden glisten of the rivers. There was enough light that the three could not hide in the shadows of the morning, and their figures were not obscured to Justine as she got them in her sights.

By the Goddess, No! Clara…Aurianna…Matthias, Justine felt her heart seize as their features could not hide who they were. “Justine, now! Before they escape,” came her orders, as her hands began to shake in conflict. She loosed her arrow, and watched as it came within inches of Matthias’ head. Gasps could be heard from behind her, but she didn’t care, throwing down her bow angrily.

“Even I miss, on occasion,” She concealed bitterly, fleeing the wall before she could be further questioned.

---

Aside from the arrow that just missed him, the party was able to escape the Temple of Aphodesia without further injury. After the carnage they left in the cathedral, the Lord Commander would know he would have to send twice as many, if he hoped to take them down. Whether he would commit a dozen Paladins to chase them down was unlikely. They were safe, at least some semblance of safe, for now.

They traveled the better part of the day, pushing against both the endurance of their horses and their own bodies. By mid afternoon they found a clear pond, with a cave nearby, where they could water their horses and take a small meal.

Aurianna pulled out the rations she had, sharing with Clara. Simple foods, dried beef, hard cheese, nuts and berries. They drained her water skin, and refilled it with clean water, while they had the access.

Uneasily, Aurianna turned thoughts to Matthias, and how he would find nourishment this day. Did he need it? She thought back to the last night, and all the blood he took from her as they fucked. On top of hers, he had drained two of her attackers. She wasn’t sure if that would be enough to sate his demon, but it would have to be. Aurianna had lost far too much blood between feeding him, and fighting with Jeoram. And Clara…Aurianna shuddered at the thought. No, Matthias would not feed on her, as long as Aurianna drew breath. Whether it was protectiveness over her young apprentice or possessiveness over Matthias, Aurianna could not completely piece together right now.

“When can rest in the nearby cave. You should sleep first, Clara, while Matthias and I take the first round of watch.” Aurianna instructed, as they built a small fire.

"No," Clara said, shaking her head. "You should sleep first, mistress. You've..." How to say it? "You've... been through an awful lot."

That was only part of the truth. But just from having seen what was done to her, Clara knew she'd be in for nightmares - not to mention the way she kept replaying the deaths of the two men she'd killed, even though she knew she'd had no choice. But, to have lived through it?

Then it struck her. Sleep would have to be even more difficult for Lady Aurianna. So, she nodded slowly. "All... all right. I'll go... get some sleep. But you be sure to wake me up for my turn at watch." She rose, then glared meaningfully at Matthias. "And be careful."

---

Matthias watched the teenage girl make her way back into the cave, and chuckled. "Oh, my. You'd think she doesn't trust me." Drawing his sword, he examined the edge critically before taking a whetstone to it. "Almost as if she's got the idea that I'm a demon and a traitor."

Several minutes passed, spent on honing the edge of the sword. Then he looked up. "Speaking of demons, we're on the wrong side of the Wall for anything resemblng safety. Any thoughts on where we're going, other than away?"

"We... we could head for... for Monsford."

The girl, Clara, was back. She'd removed her armor, but Matthias noted approvingly that she'd brought her sword. "Never heard of it."

"It's my home town," she replied, leaning against the cave mouth. "A little over a fortnight's travel to the northeast."

"Deeper into the Demonlands, then?" Matthias scratched his jaw. "That's hardly..."

"It's not part of the Demonlands," Clara countered. "It's on the river Saifair."

The demon furrowed his brow in thought. "That would be... holy shit! The Godslayer?"

"We{/i] call him Lord Verrier," she snapped. "But yes, it's the southernmost town of the Twelve Kingdoms."

---

Mykel swallowed his glass of brandy, poured another, and glared at the Oracle. "You said he had a chance at redemption!" She started to speak, and he cut her off. "And look at what happened! Six Paladins dead! Six! Because you wanted to show pity to..."

"Mykel." The Oracle's voice was suddenly inhuman, stern and beautiful and impossible to ignore. She rose, radiant and terrible, silver and gold light streaming from her body to wash all shadows from the room. "My Oracle speaks with My voice, My son."

Mykel fell to his knees, struck with awe and terror and love. Unable to speak, he felt tears course down his cheeks. The divine figure before him smiled. "I know the source of your grief and anger, Mykel. Be at peace. My daughters, and even My wayward son, are not the canker within My order.."

The light faded, and the Oracle sank heavily into her seat. "I..." she said wearily, "I believe I'll have that brandy, now."

---

Exhausted and heartsick, Sue entered her room. Clara.. Clara wasn't a traitor. She couldn't be! But... they were saying she'd helped Lady Aurianna and the demon kill six Paladins! And she'd fled with it! With them! She couldn't be a traitor, but why else run?

Weary, she almost missed the letter on the small table. She didn't even see it until she'd pulled her tunic over her head and tossed it into a corner. Casually, she glanced over it. And then she froze, rereading it carefully and gasping with shock. Fatigue forgotten, she grabbed her tunic once more. The... the Lord Commander himself needed to see this!

"Almost as if she's got the idea that I'm a demon and a traitor."

Aurianna poked at the fire and sighed, “We are all traitors now, and it’s my fault.” She hugged her knees as she watched the flames dance and die before her. Matthias was not about to let her wallow in self-pity, however.

"Speaking of demons, we're on the wrong side of the Wall for anything resemblng safety. Any thoughts on where we're going, other than away?"

“I wanted to ask you the same thing. I hoped you might have an idea from your time with Baath Me’el” She explained, not able to meet his eyes as she spoke.

"We... we could head for... for Monsford." came Clara’s voice from behind. Aurianna turned to face her, as she and Matthias spoke. She didn’t interrupt them, just listened as to the back and forth.

“The Godslayer?” Aurianna repeated, searching her brain, “The …dragon?”

"We call him Lord Verrier," she snapped. "But yes, it's the southernmost town of the Twelve Kingdoms."

Aurianna looked over to Matthias, “It is a better plan that I could have come up with. Let’s go there.” She stood now and walked over to Clara. “Why don’t I help with your stuff?” She unpacked the girl’s bedroll, rolling it out on the soft dirt. A ragged bundle fell out and landed on the ground. Clara quickly lunged to pick it up, her face turning a bright red.

“What was that?” Aurianna asked, trying to see what her initiate held in her hands.

“Nothing! Nothing it just…reminds me of my mother,” Clara admitted finally, looking down at the doll in her hand. The pain in her voice threaten to bring up Aurianna’s own pain, until she had an idea. No need for both of us to have nightmares this evening.

“Lie down. Why don’t you tell me about your mother?” Aurianna asked, finding the brush among Clara’a things. She put Clara’s head in her lap, and brushed through her short dark hair. She listened warmly as Clara told her stories full of the woman’s love and strength, and she held the girl until Clara fell asleep in her arms.

Aurianna made her way back outside to Matthias, as the moon hung full in the sky above them. It was an intimate, almost romantic setting between them, or would have been, under different circumstances.

“I’m torn between bathing now, and going to bed clean and refreshed, or waiting until tomorrow, when the water would be more temperate,” She admitted to him, watching him from the corner of her eyes for his reaction. She took off her bracers and boots now, dipping a toe in the clear water. It’s wasn’t so bad, a little brisk. She inhaled deeply, catching his masculine scent, and how it was still intermingled with her own from last night. “You should as well. You stink of me.” She suggested, trying to hold down a proud smile.

---

“What can you tell me about what transpired here, High Inquisitor Rielle?” Mykel asked in a resolved voice, careful not to let the anger boiling just beneath the surface escape. The High inquisitor was a stern woman, who inspired more fear among his paladins than most demons. Quiet and analytical, she was damn good at her job, discovering and rooting out corruption within their ranks, and well as interrogating captives, such as the demon traitor who had escaped the dungeons just last night.

“Six dead bodies, with three distinct set of injuries and causes of death. These two, Barnabas Whent and Arthur Pentdraven were killed by a large blade. Their killer used powerful wide strikes to cause maximum damage. Arthur’s right hand was completely lacerated, and still held a dagger in it. His head was sheared off cleanly, suggesting the person responsible for this was incredibly strong. This is further support by Barnabas’ injuries, where his blade was shattered and he was cleaved into through his armor. We believe it is safe to say Aspirant Clara Olgasdottor is responsible for these deaths, given her noted strength and weapon of choice, the broadsword.

“Ulric Sturmworg and Gilling Vekelson were both killed by single thrusts deep within their bodies that pierced all the way through. Both men were wearing armor, though Ulric was found without faulds or breeches and was incidentally punctured from there. Based on the precision both of the strikes and the strength exerted, we believe the Paladin Aurianna was responsible for these deaths.

“As for Bryn Corfield and Reinier Voskes, both men were torn apart with teeth and bare hands, to the point it is difficult, if not impossible to piece them back together. The completely inhumanity of these attacks leads us to believe that only the traitor Matthias Kavaltaja could have done this.”

“Is that consistent with the testimony of Jeoram Sanal?” Mykel asked, restraining his emotions in the clutching of his fist.

“Parts of it, yes. It does seem all these men were killed while in the Cathedral, where their bodies were found. However, blood splatter found in Matthias’ cell suggests that the altercation began there. There were nine sets of foot prints leading out of the cell. Most were indistinguishable, but there were two sets that we can clearly identify, as Aurianna’s, and Matthias’. From what we could tell, Aurianna was dragged from his cell, and lead to the Cathedral.”

Mykel could feel the blood leaving his face at this assertion, “Dragged? Why?”

“We aren’t sure, but we have an idea,” She started, carefully lifting a tattered brown dress in her gloved hands. It was stained with blood and cut down the middle, no longer keeping it’s shape. Mykel swallowed hard. “Based on its size and similarity to her other possessions, we believe Aurianna was wearing this that night, and it was forcibly cut form her body.”

“Forcibly?” His voiced raised, and his knuckles whitened over the pommel of his blade. Rielle looked up at him carefully, before continuing.

“Yes. Blood seeped into the very fibers of the leather, in places where it was cut. It appears she tried to resist. Are you sure you want me to continue sir?”

“She was raped,” He said out loud, grey eyes burning into the dress he held in his hands. “Clara and Matthias came to her aid.”

"It appears so, yes. It’s the best explanation for the evidence we have before us.” Rielle said simply, with sympathetic eyes.

“And where is Jeoram Sanal?” Mykel demanded, fury radiating off his massive form.

“He has not been seen since he made the report to Guard Captain Balthazar. He must have slipped away in the ensuing chaos of the escape.” Rielle admitted, shame in her eyes this time, “I submit myself for punishment, in this lapse, sir.”

“No, that will not be necessary,” Mykel turned away, pushing down his anger.
“Jeoram is responsible for this. And he will pay.”

"That was a miserable shot, Justine," the Lord Commander scowled. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and peering over his steepled fingers. "I expect you to be the best."

Stung, and aware that she'd let Matthias live, Justine lashed back. "I'm not perfect, Lord Commander! Only Afodisia..."

He smiled. It was weak, the first shadow of a true smile he'd had since the alarms had rung, but it was genuine. "Can grace our most flawless archer with the gift of inaccuracy?" He sighed, and leaned back. "Matthias may deserve death, but not for anything that happened today. And it was the grace of our Goddess that stayed your hand."

Justine's mouth worked for a moment, then closed. "...what?" Then she watched, dread pooling in the hollow of her stomach as pain and fury crossed the Lord Commander's features. "What... happened, then?" She didn't think she really wanted to know.

"Aurianna was..." He broke off at the sounds of a commotion outside. Raised voices.

"Get out of my way!"

"You can't go in there! The Lord Commander..."

"I have to see the Lord Commander! Now!"

There was an outraged squawk, and the sound of something being knocked over, and then his office door burst open. The slim, blonde figure of Susanna Orlan stood there, breathing hard and clutching a scrap of parchment in one hand. "Clara's not a traitor!" she burst out, waving the scrap of paper in one hand, and then lunging into the room as the Lord Commander's Senechal tried to grab her. "Lady Aurianna didn't murder anyone!"

"My Lord!" the flustered Senechal gasped, grabbing Susanna by the arm. "I'm soURK!"

Susanna kicked him in the balls, then lept forward and slapped the parchment on Mykel's desk. "She's not!" she protested, loudly.

"Susanna..." Mykel began, more amused than anything else.

"Read it!" Susanna shouted, practically begging.

"Aspirant Susanna Orlan!" Justine barked. "Is this how you address the Lord Commander of the Order?"

Flinching, Susanna jerked to attention. "No..." she said, blushing and clearly looking like she wished she could just be struck dead. The enormity of what she'd done was, apparently, just now sinking in. "I... that is..."

Mykel raised a hand and read the letter. His jaw tightened, and his eyes hardened. He slid it across to Justine. "Read it."

Justine picked it up, scanning the lines. "Sue," it read, "I'm leaving. Lady Aurianna was - Goddess, I can't believe it - she was raped! By her fiancee! And by three of his men! And I... killed them. Two of them. And it's not safe for us, Sue. Not now. I don't can't trust anyone right now. Not after that. Goddess, her fiancee! I don't know where we're going, Sue. But... we have to run. You'll hear a lot of terrible things about us, once we do. Please, please, please believe me that I'm not a murderer! I was trying to help her!"

Her hand closed in a fist, and fury danced in her eyes as she looked back up. "This... this is..?"

"It corroborates what the High Inquisitor found in the Sanctuary," Mykel said, voice flat.

Justine's fingernails dug into her palms, and suddenly she was on her feet. "I'll kill him! I'll kill that son of a bitch! Where is he?"

"No." Mykel's voice cut through her tirade, but she was having none of it.

"No?" She slapped her palms down on the desk. "You should have let me kill him when I punched him! That son of a bitch is..."

"Not our first concern!" Mykel roared back, catching Justine off guard. "He will face justice - I promise you that! But not now!"

"He..."

"Is worthless! But Aurianna is not!" His eyes bored into hers. "You want to help her? Then pick three of our best, trackers and Paladins familiar with the Demonlands. And go find her!" He slumped back, suddenly tired. "And bring her home."

"I..." she nodded. "Yes, yes sir." As she turned to leave, Mykel stopped her.

"And Justine?"

"Yes?"

He waved at Susanna. "Take her with you, as your apprentice." He smiled. "If she's got enough fire and steel to brave my Senechal to see justice done, she's got enough fire and steel to brave the Demonlands."

---

Matthias sat, watching the stars twinkle to life above the Vale of Scathan as the sun set. Within the cave, he could hear Aurianna and the girl talking of inconsequentials. Happy memories of home and family. He recognized the technique, and approved. It was something he'd used on Aurianna, and on other apprentices, years and years ago. Get the young to remember the past, to sooth the horrors of the present.

Finally the girl's voice faded and fell silent, and Aurianna emerged from the cave mouth. She sat beside him, at the edge of the pool, and stripped off her boots and bracers. “I’m torn between bathing now, and going to bed clean and refreshed, or waiting until tomorrow, when the water would be more temperate.”

"It's quiet now," he said, looking around. "No guarantee that tomorrow will be." He chuckled at the gentle splash her toe made in the water. "Probably better to do it while it's quiet."

She inhaled deeply, and nudged him. “You should as well. You stink of me.”

"I'd hardly call it a stink," he responded, dryly. "I rather like smelling of you." He shifted a little, turning to face her. She was beautiful in the half-light of the setting sun, the crimson light making her skin ruddy and striking bloody highlights from her raven hair.

"You're probably right, though. And... you should go first." He looked away, fighting the stirring interest of the demon within him. "I'd love to join you, but it would... it would be a bad idea."

He fell silent, then spoke again. "You... said something. In the cell. I don't know if you meant it, or if it was the heat of the moment. But I..." He considered his words. "I can't feel emotions like that, Ari. Demons don't love. They don't experience friendship, or caring, or.... hells, anything like that." A sigh. "I feel a... possessiveness. A..." his hands worked, groping for words. "A desire for you. A need. A hunger."

His eyes glittered in the shadows. "I can't love you. I can only... feel that you are mine. And I'm not even capable of feeling embarrassed that you might be appealed at that. Because my demon doesn't care."

He observed her reaction. "And after what happened, you need to rest and heal. And I won't let you, if we both get in that pool. Because I crave you." A quick grin flashed, one that might have been friendly if it wasn't for the fangs. "So I'll keep watch while you bathe, and then you keep watch while I bathe. And then, when you're ready, we can decide what we're going to do about that craving. Deal?"

"I'd hardly call it a stink," he responded, dryly. "I rather like smelling of you."

“That’s the problem. I rather like it too.” She blushed as she admitted it. Smelling herself on him made her feel warm, and tight at her core, in a way that was not solely lustful.

"You're probably right, though. And... you should go first." He looked away, "I'd love to join you, but it would... it would be a bad idea."

“I…I understand. You are right.” She nodded, looking at the moon reflecting on the water. She flicked her foot a couple times to create ripples to interrupt its perfect circle. She had an urge to reach for his hand, but he started speaking again. Of his inability to love her, his inability to feel that same way towards her. She watched him, struggling within himself for the right words and rested her head on her knee.

“I understand that as well. I don’t need you to love me. Jeoram told me he loved me rather often and…well we know how that turned out. I don’t need you to say it back, but you don’t get to complain if I say on occasion.” She replied, ending her comment with a smirk. “Besides, you’ve done things. Things that can’t be explained away by possessiveness, or need or hunger. You don’t have to call it love, but, there is something more there.”

She stood now, moving back towards the cave to undress from her armor. She slipped into a robe and made her way back to the pond, albeit, a short distance from Matthias and the campfire. He could look, if he had a mind to, but she wasn’t in his face with it. He was being respectful towards her, seemingly against his demonic nature, and she decided to honor that. Whatever the reason, he didn’t want to hurt her right now, and she appreciated that.

So she rinsed herself of the blood and sweat and other fluids, letting the cool water wash away the pain. She scrubbed herself until she was pink, and let her long hair soak until it was cleansed of oils and dirt. She didn’t take too long, the water was too cool to allow herself to relax, and when she finished she put her robe back on, coarse, rough spun, but warm and thick. She rejoined him at the campfire, warming herself and brushing through her own hair.

“What about feeding? I won’t be able to feed you again for a while, and even when I do, it can’t be as deeply as we did at the temple. I need to be at close to full strength as much as possible, and you are going to need even more as you use your demon… “ She reasoned, braiding her hair as she spoke to him, giving him a chance to offer a response.

“I think it goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyways. Clara is completely out of the question. I very much doubt she would let you, I am sure you knew we need her at close to full strength as well. And honestly, I feel possessive of you as well, in addition to love. You might be a demon, Matthias, but you are my demon.”

---

Justine held her wife close to her as the moonlight filtered through nearby window. Her hands moved down to Cassi’s breasts, moving slightly with each serene breath. She cupped the soft mound, feeling it’s weight against her palm. Cassi winced ever so slightly.

“Did I hurt you?” Justine whispered into her hair. Cassi shook her head, kissing Justine on the cheek.

“No, I’ve been tender there all day. Can you just hold me? So I can memorize your scent before you leave.” Cassi pleaded, cheek to cheek with Justine now.

“Whatever you desire, my love.” Justine announced, letting her lips trace the smooth muscles of Cassi’s neck. Her tongue lapped at the salty sweet sweat. She pressed her chest against her lover’s, bring her moth up Cassi’s jaw and cheek, and into her mouth. The kiss started softly, and built into a crescendo of love and need between the two women, until Justine was straddling her, holding her hands over her head as lips and tongued converged. Breaking off the kiss to rest foreheads together, Cassi spoke.

“Justine… I think…I think seed has taken hold.”

Justine’s green eyes grew wide, sit up over her wife now. “You mean…”

“I am carrying your child,” Cassi proclaimed, smiling with overflowing happiness. She brought Justine’s hand down to her soft stomach, feeling her wife quiver at the touch. “So you have to come back to me, okay? No matter what.” Justine met her eyes now, happy tears streaming down her face.

“No matter what.”

"Feeding," Matthias mused. "I've no desire to feed in the girl, not unless I have to. Not out of any qualms, mind you, but because it would anger you." He watched her brushing out her long hair. "And I can survive on fresh animal blood. For a time, at least. If we spend a little time hunting, and avoid seriius fights, I should be fine."

He chuckled. "And I seem to be your bound demon, so you do have a measure of control over my actions." Rising, he stripped off stolen breeches and boots - he'd declined the bloody rags they'd made of the shurts of the slain men - and waded out into the pool. With handfulls of sand he scoured filth and grime from his marble form, carefully eying Aurianna and licking his lips before giving extra attention to his cock.

"Of course," he said as his hand worked his ardening shaft, "you need to be careful about binding a demon. They always say you shouldn't call up that which you cannot put down..." His fist tightened, making the thick column of meat pulse visibly in his grip. "Not that you had any difficulty with that, earlier."

He came then with a hoarse cry, his hungry gaze never leaving her as his seed splashed into the water. "And I will have you again," he growled, still watching her as he licked the traces of his pleasure from his fingers. "Once you are ready."

---

Later...

Yawning and stretching, Clara emerged from the cave. The crescent moon hung high overhead, showing that perhaps half the night was gone. She waited until Aurianna had settled down, then hesitated. It was just sinking in that she'd be spending the rest of the night with the demon. Finally, steeling herself, she walked towards the pool.

"The water's not freezing," Matthias observed, not turning. "Wash up, if you like. It may be a while before you get the chance."

"Strip down in front of you?" Clara scoffed. "Not likely."

"I'm not the boy I can smell on you, girl," the demon laughed, "and if I wanted you then I'd have you, clothes or no. But suit yourself."

Simultaneously blushing and shuddering, Clara sat down and leaned back against a rock. Yesh, this was going to be a long night.

They were silent for a time. Matthias contented himself with staring out into the darkness, distantly aware of the uncomfortable shifting of the girl. Finally she spoke, voice laced with bravado. “Did you hurt her? My mistress? Did you force yourself on her?”

"There was no need to force myself on her, girl." He laughed. "Hells, she fucked my brains out. Threw me down on the ground and..."

“Why would Lady Aurianna even want you?" Clara interrupted, clearly not wanting to hear the details. "She is so beautiful and amazing. She could have nearly anyone she wanted. If she was just lonely, she could have done much better than you.”[/i]

"I couldn't begin to answer that," was Matthias reply. "I knew she had a crush on me, back when she was younger than you. She didn't think I knew, but she carved my name in the back of her shield. Decorated it with little hearts." There was something approaching fondness in his expression. Then his eyes went distant, as a powerful image of Aurianna's face dripping with blood filled his mind.

"But, no. That doesn't explain it at all. Maybe she's confused me wanting her for myself with love. Maybe she's just clinging to the thing that saved her from worse torments in the Ebon Fortress." A shrug.

The image continued to fill his mind, as blood dripped down her throat and breasts, and more coated her hands as she straddled Jeoram. He cried out in agony, body convulsing beneath her as she fucked him and fed on him.

"Maybe she just wants to get fucked good and hard, and likes the bad boys." He shifted, looking at the increasingly uncomfortable Clara. "But I didn't hurt her. It took a while before I did anything to stop her from being hurt, but I didn't hurt her. Not unless you count drinking her blood."

“I’m sorry, I didn’t save you any,” she admitted to him, with guilty eyes.

“Hmm, let me just take it from your body then,” he growled, pouncing upon her.

Clara's eyes narrowed, and he watched her rest her hand on the hilt of her sword. "Why didn't she just kill you?" she spat.

He shrugged. "Dunno. She probably should have."

He, pinned her against the altar, his hard cock slipping easily into a slit well-lubricated by a dead man's cum. His fangs sunk deeply into her shoulder as he pounded into her, and she cried out in mingled pain and pleasure as the force cracked the stone behind her. Talons tore into his back and her fangs tore into his throat, and he drank deeply as she drained him.

Stiffly, Matthias rose to his feet. "I'll be back," he said, voice thick. "Just got to go relieve myself."

Clara didn't respond. Matthias staggered away, feeling Aurianna's sex gripping his cock like a silky vise. She screamed her pleasure, clinging to him with claws and arms and thighs as he fucked her brutally. His blood and hers lubricated their bodies, letting her slip and slither against him as she shifted and bounced with each thrust. His own talons dug into the meat of her ass as he used her, more blood trickling down his fingers. He jerked her head, fist tight in her hair, and lapped their blood from her crimson-slicked breasts...

Well away from the cave now, out of sight of the girl, Matthias tore open his breeches as her fangs tore into his chest, spilling more blood as she drank hungrily. His talons raked down her back, slicking his hands with her blood, and he drove his meat harder and harder into her slick flesh. With a sudden, wild cry, he pulsed within her and her walls convulsed around him, her body draining him of his seed as her fangs drained him of his life...

Gasping, Matthias braced himself against the stone wall of the pass with one hand and watched his spunk dribble down the wall where it had splattered. "Well..." he gasped, "at least I got my pants off, this time."

Clara was on the attack now, angry at the demon, for ruining everything. He killed Master Conn, he captured Lady Aurianna, and he was the reason they had to flee the temple in the middle of the night…

Except, he wasn’t the reason. Not really. Jeoram, and the other men. The men that hurt her Mistress. The men that would have hurt her, given the chance. The demon wasn’t responsible for that, except in the fact that he was the man Jeoram found Aurianna with.

Clara sighed, looking out across the pond, lamenting her fate. “Lady Justine was right. Lady Aurianna has horrible taste in men.”

It was early morning when Aurianna rose, still feeling a touch raw form the rough dream she had. She had to question if it were even a dream, completely, or had Matthias taken her while she slept. The thought that he might do such a thing made her tense and bite her lip hard, not sure if she was intrigued or frightened by the prospect. Perhaps more frightened, if he took her as raw and violently as he had in her dream, as she fantasized about having killed her rapists. She wasn’t covered in blood, and there were no new marks, so she was able to convince herself it was just a dream. She dressed in her armor straight away, and joined the other two outside.

“Didn’t sleep?” She asked Matthias, putting her hand on his shoulder. The feel of his skin awakened memories of clawing at him while he fucked her, but she pushed it down with a deep breath. He said something about not needing sleep so much with his demon, and she merely nodded.

“That’s fortunate for you. And us, I suppose, if you can stand watch most nights. I wish I could take a night off from the rather vivid dreams I have been having.” She admitted, looking away from him, hoping he wouldn’t press the issue. I dreamt I fucked you to death, is probably not what he wanted to hear.

“We should try and hunt, before we start traveling for the day. I’d like to make this rations stretch as much as possible. Clara, why don’t you make sure the horses are fed and watered and ready to go.” She approached her initiate now, and whispered in her ear, “And I ‘ll take him with me, so you can bathe in privacy, if you like. Just keep your wits about you.” She motioned towards Matthias, and took her spear into the woods.

“Didn’t sleep?”

Matthias looked up from where he leaned against a stone, absently resting his hand on hers. "Not much," he admitted. "But I don't need much, really. The demon's awake, when I sleep."

"Yeah," Clara said, covering a yawn. "But he snarls."

“That’s fortunate for you," Aurianna decided. "And us, I suppose, if you can stand watch most nights."

"For the most part," Matthias agreed, stretching as he rose, "although you'll probably want to let me sleep some."

"Oh?" Clara sounded curious, now. "Why? I mean, if you don't need..?"

"The demon's awake, when I sleep," Matthias answered. "I'm rational. But the demon? Pure instinct. Instinct, and no concern for what it does to others."

"Oh." Clara repeated again, sounding disturbed.

"I wish I could take a night off from the rather vivid dreams I have been having," Aurianna sighed, glancing away.

"You and me both," the demon answered. "My nights aren't as restful as I'd like, when I sleep. Still, we should probably get moving."

“We should try and hunt," Aurianna countered, "before we start traveling for the day. I’d like to make this rations stretch as much as possible. Clara, why don’t you make sure the horses are fed and watered and ready to go.” She stopped to whisper something else to Clara. Matthias, for his part, ignored them in favor of examining the stream bed and selecting a dozen smooth, egg-sized stones. When Aurianna gestured, he slipped them into a pouch and followed after her.

"Not a bad idea," he whispered. "Whatever we kill, though, let me bleed it. It'll help sate my hunger." His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. "One of my hungers, anyway." As he spoke, he drew a stone from his pouch. A single lightning-quick throw later, and a rabbit shrieked as its head was crushed. He trotted over and scooped it up, biting into its side

"Phaugh," he hissed, wiping his mouth. "Not much there. But it'll still make a decent meal for you and... Clara, right? Shall we try and bring a few more down?"

She nodded as he took the lead hunting, acutely aware he was going to be better at this than she was. Heightened senses and reflexes perfectly suited to this. He was a natural predator, after all.

Whatever we kill, though, let me bleed it. It'll help sate my hunger." His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. "One of my hungers, anyway."

She watched him slay the rabbit, before speaking, not wanting to scare away their prey. “You are not the only one who feels that kind of hunger, Matthias. I am not immune to your taunting, or what you did last night.” She watched him drink from the rabbit, taking the corpse after he finished its blood. “At least you’re not damaged goods.” She replied bitterly, scanning their surroundings for more.

“Shall we try and bring a few more down?"

“A few more, yes. Like you said last night, we have a measure of peace for now, might as well take advantage of it.” She reasoned, trying to take her mind off the dark thoughts that would consume her if she stopped for a moment.

Roused from an underground den, several brown rabbits darted out, scattering in every direction. Aurianna managed to skewer one on her spear, bringing the still twitching creature up to Matthias’ face for his consumption. While in most cases her spear was considered slender and precise, it was big compared to the small animal, and tore a huge hole in it’s abdomen. Matthias brought the gaping wound to his mouth to drink, and blood poured down his chin. By Aurianna’s estimates, he had more on him than in him, and the thought made her laugh. She brought a hand up, to catch the blood dripping down his face.

Their eyes met as he brought her blood-soaked fingers to his mouth. She was sighing as he licked and sucked at her digits, reminding her more of the dream she had. Distanced from the immediate the horror of it, she thought of it fondly. The savagery in which he took her, filled her with his cock, was suddenly appealing, if only to sate some animalistic need. She wasn’t ready for him again, but dammit how she wanted him. He was hers, finally, but still they couldn’t act on their desires.

Fucking Jeoram, that jealous piece of shit. She should have killed him that night. Should have let Clara shear his head from his body, or let Matthias rip out his entrails and string him up by them. Not that it would undo the damage he had done to her, or make her unspoiled, untouched, or unharmed again. Thinking of her own injuries made her incensed, and with that, she took an angry kiss from Matthias’ blood soaked lips.

Focused on the hunt, and on drinking down the questionablyilling rabbit blood, Matthias was caught off guard by Aurianna's actions. Her fingertips were fire on his skin as she trailed them through the blood coating his face, and then they were in his mouth. He closed his eyes, shivering with barely-restrained desire as he licked the blood from her fingers, sucking greedily to get the last sticky drops.

Her lips found his, her mouth hot and demanding as her tongue thrust into his mouth. With an animalistic growl he tangled his hands in her hair and pierced her tongue with his fang. The sweet coper taste of her blood filled his mouth and he pressed her against a tree, grinding his body against hers ss he sucked greedily at her. His hands tugged at her jerkin, desoerate to find the smooth flesh beneath.

With a gasp, he pulled his mouth away. "Stop me," he gasped, lust and greed in his gaze. "Stop me, or I will fuck you raw here and now." He kissed her again, pulling one leg up around his waist so he could grind his erection against her. "I will use you," he snarled, "without mercy, until I am spent…"

Just then, a piercing shriek rang out.

---

Half-dressed and shaking and wide-eyed, Clara crouched on a large rock. Her hair clung to her face and back in long, wet ropes, and she was wikdky throwing chunks of stone at a small brown snake. "Go away!" she shrieked, pitching another missle that shattered and pelted the animal with rock fragments. "Go away!"