His Redemption (TheCorsair and Xana)

Shaking, Clara clung to Aurianna and sobbed. Matthias sat and watched the two women weep, listened to Ari swear revenge on Jeoram, and he mourned his own loss. He was all too aware that, once, he'd have sympathized. Understood the pain and fear that tore through them and been moved to try and help. But all he could feel was a faint contempt for their weakness, and the gnawing awareness that once he would have felt differently.

Clara eventually fell into a fitful sleep. Aurianna, worn by a nearly sleepless night and her own emotions, nodded off shortly thereafter. Matthias rose, draping Aurianna's cloak over the sleeping forms, then strode to the cave mouth. The scent of falling blood made his stomach rumble and his throat ache, and he felt the demon coil and stir within him. He remembered the taste of her blood, warm and rich, of her smooth skin and her dripping sex.

Growling a little, he turnedcand headed back towards the sleeping pair. By the time she woke, she wouldn't be able to stop him. Pressed into the floor, his fangs buried in her throat and his cock buried in her cunt, she wouldn't want to stop him. He could take what he wanted.

He stood iver them now, crimson gaze tracing the curve of her body under the cloak. He'd have her now, fuck her and feed on her until he was sated. And if her pet protested, then he'd show the yappy little bitch exactly why Ari had fucked him...

"Matthias..." Aurianna murmured, still sleeping.

He hesitated. Why, he didn't know. His demon stirred, irritibly, wanting blood and sex and pain and pleasure. Still, he hesitated. Finally, he turned away. She'd come to him willingly, he told himself. Surely, a Paladin spreading herself would taste better than one he took?

As he padded back to the cave mouth, he wondered how much he believed his own thoughts...

---

Clara awoke in stages. At first, she was aware only of warmth against her chest, and a sore right side, and a dull ache in her hands. Damnit, had Sue tried to hog the bed again..? Cracking her eyes, reality flooded back. She was sort of snuggled up against Lady Aurianna, and her side was sore from lying on a cave floor all night. "Uhm..." she mumbled, grinding sleep out of her eye with one hand. "Uh..."

"Morning, you two," Matthias called from the cave mouth. "Rain stopped about midnight, and I was able to bag a couple of quail. Should make a nice change from rabbit."

Clara shook her head, a little sadly and a little fondly, as Lady Aurianna and her demon disappeared into the treeline. It still hurt, a little, seeing them together lije that. But... well, Lady Afodisia and Lord Verrier were a mismatched pair, weren't they? So, why not a demon and a Paladin? Maybe it would be like the fairy tales, and he'd be redeemed by her love.

She smiled at the thought. Then she unbuckled her sword beltvand began stripping down. She'd take the Oracle's sword in with her, she decided. It would be a little awkward, but she wasn't about to be utterly unarmed in the Demonlands. She just hoped Lady Aurianna had things well in hand...

---

Matthias groaned as Aurianna's lips closed around the bulbous head of his shaft. "You... always did... have a mastery of... spears..." he gasped, hands gripping the rope as he tried to buck his hips and drive his meat deeper into her mouth.

He groaned again as she looked up at him, smiling around his cock as her head drifted back with his thrusts. She kept just his tip in her mouth, tongue laving his opening as one hand gently slid up and down his length. "It seems... you still.. remember... some of your... training.." he gasped out. "Establish dominance... bind the demon to... your will... and compel him to... obedience..."

His body arched, involuntarily, as he gripped the rope and tried to drive himself into the teasing wet heat of her mouth. "Fuck..." he groaned.

She went slow. She would not move at his pace, he would move at hers. Taking only the head for the time being, she waited for him to calm himself. Once he was done trying to fuck her mouth, she continued, taking inch by inch between the silken walls of her cheeks. If he tried to force her to take more, she would stop again, and subject his cock to the cool night air. She would wait for him to whimper with need before plunging him back into the sultry sanctuary of her mouth.

Of course, she couldn’t go too slowly now, could she? He was a demon with a far greater strength that she possessed. It was hard to tell how far he was indulging her game, nor had she yet had a taste of his true strength, for her to know if she would ever really be able to resist him. If she teased him too far, would his demon take completely over? Would he escape the rope bindings and force her to take all of him? Take everything from her until he was spent? The idea terrified and aroused her, forced her to work harder, slippery lips slurping down his shaft. Making her own noises as she imagined him, him pulling her into his arms, and fucking her into a tree, brutally until he filled her with cum. One hand came up around his waist, pulling him into her more, driving herself to take his length within her mouth and throat.

She had no intention of stopping before he was spent within her mouth. And when he did, she drank down every drop he would give her. She would drain his cock; suck him, dry and sore. She would leave him breathless and weak in the knees. Once he was quivering under the weight of his climax, she would let the rope up. Watch as he fell to his hands and knees, and grab him by the hair, forcing him to look up at her.

“Time to check if I was successful,” She watched him carefully, as she untied him. She had sucked him soft, but he still might try and take more of her. If he feed on her, he would be hard again in no time. The thought of him forcing her to the ground, to fuck her raw into the dirt scared her, her body shivering in fear and exhilaration. Still, she stood firm, tempting fate and his demonic nature. “You will repay the favor, with your head between my legs. You will bring me to orgasm with mouth and one finger, and you will not feed on me. If I am pleased by your performance, you may have more of me.”

The rope creaked as Matthias gripped it with both fists, groaning and snarling as Aurianna fucked him with her mouth. He couldn't look. He coukdn't look because the wet sounds she made and the feel of her mouth and tongue had him on edge. If he looked, saw his marble shaft disappearing between her lips...

Well, the inevitable outcomecwould happen sooner.

So he writhed under her sweet torture, moaning and snarling and blaspheming . Her free hand slopped between his thighs, gripping the meat of his ass as she took him even deeper. The blunt head of his cock met her throat, pushed in, and her every swallow massaged him. With a sudden roar of release he felt his seed gush from his cock, pumping into her mouth and throat. The wild bucking of his hips was met by suction and a greedy slurping sound, and he uttered a long moan as she sucked his meat dry.

---

Naked except for her sword and scabbard, which was slung over her back, Clara rubbed at her arms with handfulls of river water. Without soap, or even sand, it took more effort to remove grime and dried blood. But she persevered, glad of the chance to get even slightly clean. And then she froze as a shuddering cry sounded from the treeline.

Goddess! she thought as she heard another, scrambling onto the bank. She paused just long enough to drag on breeches and tunic, then caught up her mother's sword and headed into the forest.

---

Matthias slammed Aurianna against a tree, roughly dradding at her pants as he did. "Mouth and one finger, hey?" he growled, lifting one thigh over his shoulder as he knelt before her. "Remember... you wanted this."

His mouth covered her mound, tongue playing her slit as he did. It this posture she was spread ooen for him, lips parted and dripping with her lust. He groaned at the taste, tongue savoring her before his lips fastened roughly on her clit. As he sucked and tugged, one finger thrust into her channel. He grinbed, feeling her drip down his hand as he finger-fucked her.

His tongue replaced his finger, thrusting deep into her. The finger, slick and hot with her juices, left a damp trail as he slid it further back. He circledd the tight ring of muscle at her rear, then slowly thrust the slick finger in. One knuckle, then two, tongue fucking her cunt the whole tine.

He geinned lasciviously up at her, mouth and chin soacked with her juice. "Didn't say how to use the finger..." he leered. And then his lips found her clit as he fingered her ass.

Aurianna grunted hard as he slammed her into a tree, for the moment dreadful and excited that he was just going to fuck her. She helped get her pants off, not caring, for a moment, what he planned to shove in her.

“Oh Goddess!” She screamed as he brought his fiery tongue into her slit. Her body shook in the tension that had built up over the last several days, and her hips ground against his face as he sucked her clit. She was tight against his solitary finger, just tight enough for it to feel divine within. No pain, only pleasure. “Afodisia!” she praised, trying to make up for his earlier blasphemies by invoking the Goddess.

Everything he did felt so good to her, she had to grip his head with all her strength to keep herself up. So lost in the rapture of his tongue within her sex, she didn’t notice his finger trailing down, seeking her other entrance. It’s sudden intrusion shocked her.

“Ma..Ma..Matth..Matthias!” She cried, stumbling over the syllables in his name, as he sought admission into her forbidden hole. She expected pain now, as this had only ever been used to hurt her, but he was slow. Gentle, giving her a chance to adjust to the width of his finger inside her. His tender touch converted the pain that had been dealt to her into bliss, teaching her body all about sensuality. She would give herself to him, give him everything she was and possessed, and in return he would give her a world of joy. So she surrendered her ass to him, letting the tight right of muscles envelop his finger, quivering in pure euphoria as he taught her body indulgence.

“I’m cumming!” She moaned out into the night, her entire body writhing from the waves of ecstasy moving through her. She actually fell over half way through it, landing in his arms, and she shuddered happily. “You are mine,” She said into his mouth, tasting her pleasure on his tongue, before pulling away to catch her breath. “And I am yours.”

---

Clara stalked into the woods, concerned at whatever it was that could make her mistress and the demon cry out. More screams could be heard as she drew closer, from her mistress now, until she discovered the source of this disturbance into the otherwise peaceful night.

Clara watched as the demon slammed Lady Aurianna into a tree, her mistress squealing from the impact. He is going to hurt her! Clara feared, pulling her sword as she readied to dash at the traitor, watching in renewed horror as the fiend nearly ripped her pants off her. But, Lady Aurianna was not fighting him, not resisting this disrobing. She could see her mistress wriggling out of her breeches, wrapping a leg around the demon’s shoulders, as he pushed his face into her crotch. Clara knew she should stop watching now, that this was private time between them, but she couldn’t will herself to look away. Besides, if the demon did start hurting her, she wanted to be ready to strike him down.

Lady Aurianna had her eyes closed, as the demon worked between her legs, doing something Clara was not so sure about. But her Mistress seemed to like it, as she called to the Goddess, her face twisting in exquisite delight. Clara could feel her own body heating up now, remembering how Willam had touched her, and how good it felt as his slid his hand between her legs. She had almost forgotten the pleasure she had discovered that night, washed away by the horror that had followed.

She wished she could back to being that girl, that girl who had just discovered what it felt like when a boy came, and not the girl who had seen a woman raped in every orifice she possessed. She wished she could be the girl finding the precipice of joy, not the one who learned about the depravity of man. Yet, watching Lady Aurianna sign and moan and gasp at the demon’s attention, obviously enjoying herself, made Clara feel…hopeful. Lady Aurianna could indeed recover from what happened to her. She could still find happiness in this world She could-

“I’m cumming!” Her mistress called out, and Clara was surprised by this admission. Women can…cum? She had almost turned away at this point, but curiosity got the better of her, and she watched once more, intently now. Her mistress’ face contorted, eyes rolling into the head, mouth agape and head thrown back in complete abandon. Clara could feel her heart thumping out of her chest form the display, a blush crawling along her face that rivaled the deep shade of red her mistress was turning. There was an almost unbearable heat radiating from between her thighs as she watched Lady Aurianna tumbled into her demon’s arms, sharing a passionate kiss with him.

---

Aurianna nuzzled Matthias now, as she recovered from the intensity of her release, feeling herself turn into a giggling mess of exhilaration. Of course, she remembered now what she had promised him, had he done a good job between her thighs. Oh he certainly earned himself a reward, and she was loathed to deny him what he had earned, lest she risk the wrath of his demon. But there was some apprehension, that she was rushing into this again, so soon after her rapes.

“Do you want me?” She asked in a breathy whisper, looking into his eyes vulnerably now. She took a kiss as he answered, testing his reaction, his hunger. “Could you be gentle? At least to start?” She asked, quivering as the words left her mouth. She knew she was supposed to be dominant with him, demand his tenderness, but she felt so exposed now, it was hard to maintain a firm demeanor.

It flew in the face of his demon, and everything he promised her that he was. And yet, she remember the first time her made her orgasm, and how gentle he was with her, and how badly she had needed that tenderness from him then. He was capable of kindness, even if he didn’t believe it himself.

"Gentle?" Matthias echoed, voice hiarse with lust. His hands shook as he tore at the lacings of her blouse. "I had planned to tie your hands behind your back," he snarled, roughly squeezing the soft globes of her breasts, "and loop it round your throat, and pin you against that tree with my cock." He gripped her throat with one hand, fucking her mouth with a tongue that still tasted of her orgasm.

The hand on her throat tightened just a little, and then slid away. Instead, it caughtva fistfull of hair and pulled, dragging her mouth from his as her neck arched. "Remember," he growled, fangs tracing lightly over her skin as his lips slid down her throat, "you wanted this..."

---

She shouldn't be watching. Clara knew she shouldn't be watching. She should leave. But she didn't. Instead she knelt behind some bushes, telling herself she was making sure Lady Aurianna was safe. That was why she was watching. Not the growing wet heat between her legs.

She watched as Matthias kissed the base of her Mistress' neck, and gasped when she saw the rivulets of crimson trickle between her breasts. She groped blindly for her sword hilt once more, watching in thrilled horror as the demon lapped the blood from her skin, then stopped as she heard the sounds Aurianna made. She'd made similar, the night she and Sue had spent practicing kissing.

She was enjoying it! Enjoying having her blood drunk!

---

Matthias' tongue sealed the bite, and he leered at Aurianna with crimson lips. With a sudden movement he pushed her onto her back, pinning her to the ground with a hand on her throat. His other hand gripped his thick cock, lazily mastrubating himself as he pressed the head against the lips of her sex. "Say you're mine," he growled. "Beg me to use you."

“Matthias…I am yours.” She exhaled, quivering at the thought of it. “Everything I am is yours. Every inch of me belongs to you, and begs to be used by you. To feel you, every inch of you. Take your pleasure from my body!” She pleaded, biting her lip in anticipation. Her own hands traveled up his arms, squeezing, appreciating the strength within, recognizing his power. She caressed his face, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

“I want you to have all of me, to take all of me. I give all of it to you, so that it may satisfy you. You are the only one I…” She shuddered, her cravings choking her words. Her cunt drooled in desire, throbbed in the hope that it would sheathe him once more, in the dream that it would bury him in the heat of her body, in the prayer that he would fill her with himself and his lust.

“Matthias, I want you, I need you. I need this, you inside me, filling me, making me whole. I need this, more than my next meal, my next drink, my next breath, I need you. I am yours, Matthias, and I need you.”

---

Clara bit her lip as she watched her mistress lying on the ground, her demon positioned between her legs. She could see her mistress pulled the demon closer to her, hear the soft words begging for him, pleading with him, beseeching him to act. And Clara felt her own body doing the same, imploring her to touch herself, tension building at her core to the point it was nearly painful. She was only half-conscious of the hand working into her breeches, grazing the warmth of her slit, finding the sensitive nub of her femininity. She gasped as her fingers teased herself, playing at her sex excitedly.

Matthias' blood-stained grin became mure feral, more predatory, as Aurianna begged him. Beged for him. Swore herself to him. "Mine," he snarled, rubbing the head of his cock against her clit. "Bound by blood and oaths, you are mine!"

With a single thrust he buried himself in her, his hips slamming into her and his balls slapping her ass. "Mine to use!" he groaned, glorying in the slick heat of her walls and the lust in her eyes. Holding himself still in her he leaned forward and kissed her roughly, letting her taste her own blood on his lips. His hand tightened on her throat as he did, restricting her breathing.

"Don't call up that which you cannot put down," he whispered, still holding himself still within her pulsing cunt. His free hand squeezed her breast almost painfully, and he pinched and twisted her nipple as his tongue invaded her mouth once more. "And it takes more than just this sweet mouth to put me down..." He flexed as he said it, making his cock throb within her.

"Now," he purred, rising into a kneeling position and gripping her hips, "I am goung to fuck you without mercy until you learn that lesson." He began moving, pounding his cock into her with bruising force. With every thrust her bidy jerked and bounced. "You will cum, over and over while I use you, until you can make me orgasm!"

---

Clara bit her lip, trying not to cry out as her fingers slipped within her folds and thrust deep. She'd mastrubated before, but never like this. She'd always imagined sex while doing it, even if she'd been a little fuzzy on some of the finer details, but she'd never seen it. Not with people, at least - she'd been born on a farm, after all.

Gasping a little, she leaned against a tree trunk for support as she spread ger legs. Her other hand slid up under her jerkin, cupping her smallish breast as her fingers slid in and out of her pussy. Her attention remained fixed on the demon and the Paladin in the clearing, and without realising it her hand began moving in time with Matthias' thrusts.

Reckless. Impulsive. While she was his apprentice, it the main thing Matthias would harp on her. That she rushed into things she couldn’t handle, got herself into trouble. It was the main thing he tried to drill into her on towards the end of her apprenticeship. As the time until her vows neared, it was the last lesson they worked on.

And now, over ten years later, as he pinned her down with his far superior strength, he was still teaching her this lesson. Some things never changed. Only, this time, he may have found a far more effective instruction method than he would have ever used while she was his acolyte. Or not quite effective, as she groaned into the harsh fucking he was giving her, enjoying the way he cruelly used her. Moaned and cried and screamed into the night as he took her at her word, taking every inch of her and giving her every inch of him.

Oh how she tried to fight this invasion! She tried to clench her core muscles, squeeze him in place, but that just forced him even harder in her, ravaging her viciously. She wrapped her legs around his thighs, holding him within her, but still every thrust rocked her entire body, rubbing her ass raw against the hard ground.

There was nothing she could do now, but give into him. Give into his use of her, as he had to give into her sucking him off. She was his, had already offered him anything he might want. No not anything he might want. Everything he wanted. She submitted to him, and his pleasure, his use of her, to do more than just say the words. Live them, breathe them, accept them. His, his, she was his, and that was all she had ever wanted or needed in this moment.

“Master!” She screamed out, as he brought her to climax, suddenly transported back to the sixteen-year old girl who only had the faintest idea of what it would have been like to be his. If only she had bothered to learn this lesson then. Maybe he would be gentle with her now. Maybe he would have made love to her, instead of fucking her raw and ragged. Maybe he would have loved her, instead of just possessing her.

---

Clara was losing control of herself as her body awoke to new bliss. It was so hard not to moan, to cry out in joy. The noises her mistress was making were not helping the situation either, even the demon grunting and gasping as he penetrated her, their cries a conversation of lust and longing playing out between them. This was her punishment, for watching them, unable fully enjoy herself, having to hold back her own excitement, while they fucked each other in wanton abandon.

Clara gasped, as her thumb brushed her clit, her two fingers still stroking her tight sex. She put more pressure there, letting her thumb rub against it, the pleasure erupting in powerful shocks, making her body twitch and shudder. Goddess, I am dying. She feared for a moment as the blood rushed through her body, pulsating in pleasure into every extremity. She cried into the night, as her slit tightened around her fingers, a sudden heat gushing between her thighs. She was giggling. Women can cum.

Master.

The word was sweet as it tore itself from Aurianna's lips, as sweet as the way she convulsec beneath him as her orgasm took her. For a moment, Matthias considered letting go, filling her with his seed as he climaxed with her. Instead, he pulled out, the evening air shockingly cold on his glistening dick after the heat of her body. "You're not listening," he growled. "If you are going to bind demons, then you need control."

He rolled her over and thrust back into her drooling snatch, then reached down and caught her wrists. The air filled once more with the wet sounds of flesh on flesh as he plowed into her relentlessly, using her arms for leverage. "This doesn't end," he gasped out, "until you make me come, Ari."

---

Goddess.

Clara leaned heavily against the tree, gasping for breath. Her fingers were still buried in her sex, letting her feel the last flutters of the way she'd clenched down on them as she'd cum along with her Mistress. She'd given herself pleasure before, but nothing like this...

Her attention was drawn back to the clearingvas Matthias flipped Aurianna over, mounting her like an animal. Yet again, it was something she'd never imagined. But from the look on her Mistress' face, it must feel good. But... what did the demon mean by telling her to make him cum?

He liked it. She wasn’t sure what to expect when she said it, she didn’t even mean to say it. It just came out, her mind reoccupied by the thoughts of the girl she was. She half expected some lecture, the kind of lecture he would have given her when he was a Paladin. Paladin Matthias never looked at her this way, never would have pushed their relationship into this, let her seduce him. She supposed Demon Matthias had no qualms about fucking her. Obviously right?

She was tossed over, forced up on her knee as Matthias fucked her more, his cock hitting her even deeper, harder from this angle. Harder and deeper, as he pulled back her wrists and made her arch her back. She couldn’t let this continue. He would break her if this kept up. Oh, she wanted to believe that Matthias would never hurt her, at least not in way she didn’t like. But, there was the demon to account for. The demon that was all instinctual, all base desire, no rationality, no concern for what it did to others. Who was fucking her now? Matthias, or the demon? Was there as much distinction as she had thought? Had hoped?

He told her how to end it. Make him cum. How could she do that, when he held her tight by her wrists, controlling her every movement? She had to do something, anything, but it was hard, hard to think as he plunged into her again and again. Somehow, she wrested a wrist from his vice grip, bringing it to her slick sex, brushing against his cock entering her, teasing her clit. She was bucking into him, meeting his rhythm, not just taking him anymore, but also actively fucking him back.

He snarled as she wrenched a hand free from his grip, and tried to snatch it back. "Who said you could do that, Mistress?" he laughed, grabbing a fistfull of her hair instead. Pulling on it like reins, he continued ravaging her. And then his rhythm faltered as he felt her fingers stroke his cock. Releasing her other wrist, he pulled her hair harder and slapped her ass. "It won't work, Mistress," he laughed, slapping her ass again. "I'm going to use you as ny fucktoy until I choose to cum!"

Ari's only response was to stroke them both, fingers playing over his shaft and her clit as he fucked her. And now, with her other hand free, she had the leverage to fuck him back. Drawing on her strength as a Paladin, a strength equal to his own infernal power, her cunt swallowed him and her ass slammed into his stomach every time he thrust deep into her.

"This... changes... nothing!" he snarled, gripping her hips with bruising force as he tried to take control once more. His words burst forth in gasps, exploding out as her body met his. "You're... still... mine… to... use!" He tried to force her to hold still, to submit to being fucked without mercy, but she was too strong for that. She continued fucking back into him, inner walls squeezing him like a vice and fingers stroking his shaft as he plowed into her.

His orgasm hit without warning. He threw his head back, roaring her name as he drove himself deep into her one last time, gasping as he felt the first hot rope of his seed spray into her womb. She wasn't done with him, though. Her walls clenched around him as she continued moving, continued fucking his cum out of his thick, pulsing shaft, and he was helpless within her. All he couuld do was cling to her, shuddering and gasping as she drained his cock dry. Finally, utterly spent, he collapsed against her.

"Yours, Mistress," he whispered, breath hot on her sweat-slick skin. "Your bound demon slave, bound to your soul by ties of cum and blood." One hand lazily explored her side, then slipped beneath her body to cup her breast. "But understand that I will try to wrest control from you," he smiled. "From time to time. So you'll need to practice your binding rituals frequently."

---

Clara did her best to slip away quietly, moving on rubbery legs. Is that hiw Willam would have taken her in the Sanctuary, if she'd had the nerve to let him? Hard and long, until they werr both screaming? She remembered his seed on her hand, warm and sticky, and tried to imagine what it would feel like inside her.

She shook that off. Right now, she needed to get back to the river and clean iff again. And maybe do something about the damp heat she felt rising between her legs once more...

Yours. She smiled at the word, liking the way it sounded coming from his lips. Yours. It was enough, enough for her, enough for now. Yours. It was a triumph, a revelation of her own strength, and prowess. And the sign that he needed her, too.

For a few moments, it was nice, to just lie in his arms. The heat of their intercourse kept them warm. The scent of their combined lust was intoxicating. The taste their lips created together, as they had hardly the energy to slip tongues into the other’s mouth. The sight of his muscles gleaming with sweat under the moonlight, the dark red streaks of her own blood against the milky whiteness of her breasts was drawing her eyes. The sound of their breathing in tandem, as they both fought to catch their breath, to recover from the exertion they had spent.

It didn’t last nearly long enough. She was aware of the hard ground they were lying on, the dirt impacted by the force of their fucking, the flecks bonding to her skin. The light layer of sweat on her was freezing her now, as she shivered against his touch, the entirety of him form not nearly enough to keep her warm. They needed a fire, and blankets, and clothes at least, in addition to their bodies wrapped around one another. And they were still filthy, more so now, perhaps, with the proof of their lust sticking to their skin. So she forced herself to sit, wincing at the effort it took to accomplish that much.

“My demon slave, hmm?” She asked, running fingers along his arm, the one now wrapped awkward around her as she tried to get up. “How far does this extend? Can I order you to carry me back to camp? You did a number on me, and I am not sure I want to walk that far.” She realized her voice was hoarse, and her throat was raw. “Did I scream that whole time? Do you think Clara heard?”

"Carry you back to camp, Mistress?" Matthias chuckled, making a half-hearted attempt to pull her back down into his arms. He grinned playfully. "I think that, perhaps, it could." Abandoning his efforts, he stretched lazily, like a great cat. "And I wouldn't be surprised if the girl heard us." A pause as he struggled to sit up, and then another as he drew her close and kissed her. "I wouldn't be surprised if they heard us at the Seraphin Wall."

Another kiss, and this time he lingered over it as his free hand lazily explored her body. Then, with a laugh, he swatted her rear. "Come on. Let's find our clothes."

---

Shivering slightly in the chill night air, Clara drew the hood of her cloak up over her wet hair and scooted a little closer to the fire. For the third time since she'd finished her second bath, she wished they'd been able to bring some towels. Or that they'd been able to stop during the day, so she could have stretched out and let the sun dry her before getting dressed.

That thought led her to wish Willam could have come with them as well. Or Sue. Or both. Which led her to imagine the three of them naked beneath the sun. Perhaps with Willam behind her as she knelt between Sue's legs the way Matthias had and damnit! She shifted uncomfortably, trying to banish those thoughts - she was already a little sore from masturbating twice.

Where those two? She peered into the darkness of the treeline, trying to catch a glimpse of movement. Something stirred, and she gripped the hilt of her mother's sword. But it was just Matthias, cradling Lady Aurianna in his arms while he clung to his neck. Both of them were laughing quietly, sharing some private joke, and irrational jealousy flared through Clara. Not of them, but of what they shared.

"So," she asked, trying to sound casual. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Oh, yes," Matthias replied, voice laced with dry humor. "Several times."

Aurianna bathed, enjoying the cold water against her tender body, soothing the ache Matthias had left her with. It took a while to get all the grime off, and Aurianna was already exhausted before she had even started. With a sleepy smile on her face, she made her way back to camp, wearing her thick robe. Not wanting to awaken his demon any further, Aurianna opted to cuddle with Clara instead, easier this time since arranged it a head of time, instead of falling into in an emotion muddle.

---

Traveling along the Sarn was mostly uneventful. The easy access to fresh water made picking out a camp simple, and hunting for food was nearly effortless, as all the nearby wildlife came to the drink to drink. They even managed to bag a buck, ten days in. Which was rather fortunate, since it was the last thing they were able to catch, as an ominous aura rolled through the forest like a fog. For three days they had to make it stretch, until they were out of food and rations. Aurianna saved the liver until the last day, so she could feed Matthias, resisting the urge to let him take it from her body. “Once we get to Monsford, and have a degree of safety, I’ll let you feed on and fuck me to your hearts content.”

She hoped he wouldn’t push the issue. She knew Matthias wouldn’t, because Matthias was the one who first detected it, the forces of hell moving the distance. His demon was another story, and whether either of them had enough control of the monster was a toss-up. Still, the signs of imminent demonic invasion were becoming evident to all of them, in time. Matthias was the first because of his experience in leading such attacks, and then Aurianna who had over a decade of combat experience. By the time they neared Monsford, even Clara was aware of the impending demonic host. It then became of discussion whether they could even make it to the safety of the Twelve Kingdoms without another fight.

The day they set out for Monsford, dark clouds were rolling in overhead, promising a far worse bounty than blood rain. Massive craters of footprints lead the way to the village, and suddenly they were in pursuit of something large and fiendish, rather than ahead of it.

Ten days.

Matthias gripped the reins of his steed, trying to focus on the trail ahead of him. Trying to focus on anything other than the hunger that parched his throat and left his demon snarling and gnawing in his guts. He knew he could last longer than this, but it was hard. The demon in him didn't like deprivation, particularly when there was food all around him. Aurianna. Clara. Even the horses, although he didn't care for the taste of animal blood. It took an iron will to not feed on one of them, even though he'd been able to conserve his strength, and Aurianna's promise actually made it more difficult.

“Once we get to Monsford, and have a degree of safety, I’ll let you feed on and fuck me to your hearts content.”

She'd said that seven days ago, when she'd opened her veins and let him drink. Her blood had helped. But that promise... that promise left him hungrier. Left him imagining her writhing beneath him, his fangs buried in her flesh and his meat in her sex as she begged him to take what he wanted from her. When those fantasies came, it was all he could do to dig his fingers into his palms and force himself to think of something else until the urge passed. And the urges were coming more and more frequently, now.

If only he'd had the sense to bring the Demonqueller with him. He'd hated it, but it had silenced the demon.

Then he saw the distant movement. Shapes on the horizon, swaying against the wind. He reined in his horse, shading his eyes as he stared. What were they...?

"What is it?" Clara asked, slowing her own mount. "Do you see something?" Her hand fell to the broadsword that hung at her hip.

"I..." Matthias temporized, trying to decide. "I think so... yes..." Details came into focus, revealing the silhouette of a vast host on the move. He stared harder picking out details, then gasped. "Fuck me. It's an army."

Clara checked her mount. "An army? Out here in the Demonlands?" Dread crawled in the pit of her stomach, and the question she asked was one she was certain she knew the answer to. "An army of what?"

"Demons, of course," Matthias responded. "Flying the banner of Hydarnes, Mistress of Torment and marching in force." He swallowed, looking concerned. "Which means that the Dark Choir and Yarost'cherv go with her."

For the first time, the two Paladins saw fear in the demon's eyes. "We must ride, now! Ride for Monsford, and hope they're prepared for a siege!"

“Hydranes? She rides?” Aurianna pried, needing more details. Well, maybe not needing more. They were three and it was a force, that math was rather simple. If they were caught, they were dead. No, not immediately of course. The Mistress of Torment delighted in the pain of others, and only granted death when it would cause even greater pain to the others around. Weapons her creatures wielded would not kill instantly. The wounds would fester and rot, until the limbs fell off and the infection spread all over. The scars would burn for years, until someone could take no more pain, and hacked off the affected part, only to be tormented by phantom pains for the rest of their days. Allies hits with her arrows would retreat to their comrades, only to burst into unholy flames when surrounded by allies. The Mistress of torment relished in agony, and they would not be granted an easy demise, if they were caught. The three spur their mounts, racing for Monsford.

---

Clara looked over at the demon, remembering the last battle she was in. She could hear Master Marwyn’s voice in her head, soulful, pleading.

Have you forgotten me? What about my memory? Why do you let the monster yet live, Clara? He killed me!

Clara felt her hands tense as she gripped the reins tightly, quaking with renewed anger. She remembered the horrible laughter the demon let out as he carved up her master, how his horrible blade seemed to drink down his life. Demon, he is a demon! Why are we traveling with a demon? Not just any demon, the demon that killed Marwyn Conn! Why?

Clara swallowed hard, “Why are they heading for Monsford?” The words came out shakily, stunted. Her entire body heaved as she looked at the traitor for answers.

He is leading them there. He is leading an army to your home. To kill everyone you love.

Her hand was gripping tightly over her mother’s sword. Knuckles turning white as she imagined plunging it into the traitors flesh, repaying the treachery he had wrought. She hadn’t even realized she had pulled her sword from its sheath.

Kill him! Kill him and end it! Free Lady Aurianna from his influence! She had raised the sword, readying a wide swing, one that would take his head in a single blow.

“Clara?” Lady Aurianna called to her, distracting her for a moment. The swing came down, hacking his horse in the flank, spraying blood. The horse reared, knocking Matthias off and sending him tumbling along the ground. Clara jumped off her horse now, stalking after the demon traitor, sword raised high.

“This is your fault! They are here because of you! Everything is your fault! We had to leave the temple because of you! Master Marwyn is dead because of you! Why WON’T YOU JUST DIE!!!” Clara swung again, just missing him in her rage.

“Clara! Clara stop!!!” Aurianna screamed, wheeling her horse towards them now. Clara unleashed a powerful overhead slash, one that would have cut Matthias in two. It clanged off Aurianna’s spear, intercepting the blow just in time. Aurianna jumped off her horse now, coming to Matthias’ defense, just blocking Clara’s furious round of blows.

She is broken. Tainted. She was fucking him, begging for him. She wants to carry his child. She is nothing but the demon’s whore now. Killing her would be mercy…

“Why were you fucking him?” Clara shrieked, turning her attacks on her mistress now. “Why him? WHY?” Clara was on the offensive, pushing Aurianna back with every attack, while Aurianna sought only to defend herself

“Clara, this isn’t the time! What is wrong with you?”

“What is wrong with you? He is a demon! He doesn’t love you! He just wants your blood and your cunt!” Clara bawled, almost surprised by the words coming from her lips. Goddess, did she really just say ‘cunt’ to her Mistress? What is wrong with her?

“Clara, stop. Calm down. We need to get to Monsford, to warn them!”

“No! He’s a demon, and you’re a whore! Fucking him, letting him feed on you? Where is your pride, as a Paladin?” Clara wailed, catching Aurianna on the side as her mistress flinched from the accusations.

"Why are they heading for Monsford?" Matthias shrugged, turning his attention back to the Host of Torment. "I suspect that Hydranes plans to take the Twelve Kingdoms, perhaps even the Godslayer himself." He shook his head, faintly aware of a flat, dirgelike keening on the edge of his hearing. "If I were keading them, I'd want to..."

"Clara!" Aurianna yelled, and then his horse was screaming as his world spun wildly and he crashed to the ground. Head ringing with the impact and the peculiar keening, he barely had the presence of mind to dodge the girl's second swing. Rolling, he came back to his feet and tore his blade from his scabbard.

Too late. The maddened girl swung her blade like a wood axe, and Matthias braced for the impact - hoping he'd survive long enough to rip the bitch's throat out and use her blood to heal himself - and then he crashed heavily to the ground once more. Dazed, unable to comorehend why he wasn't desd, he stared numbly at the broadsword and the shaft of Aurianna's spear.

Clara turned wildly on Aurianna, hacking wildly and screaming accusations. She got inside Ari's guard, a heavy side stroke making Ari's armor ring with the force of the impact and sending the older Paladin to the ground. Matthias roared with fure, crimson eyes burning with rage and lust as he lept to the attack, driving Clara before him with a frenzied series of blows. Steel rang on steel as he hammered on her guard like an anvil. Then, with a sudden crack, both blades snapped - Clara's just above the hilt, and Matthias' in two seperate places.

"You want to know why she's fucking me?" Matthias laughed in the girl's face as he skammed her back into a tree. He grabbed her breastplate and heaved, snapping the straps and hurling it aside. "I'll show you, you little cunt!"

Laughing, holding her against the tree by her throat, he tore her jerkin apart. Beneath the leather and fabric her chest heaved as she gasped with mingled fear and fury. Pale skin flushed as he roughly squeezed one small breast. "Relax," he snarled, reaching for her belt, "and maybe you'll even enjoy it..."

An inarticulate scream if fury escaped Clara's lips, and she smashed both hands into his eats. Matthias staggered, overcome by the blinding pain, then crashed to the ground as something hit him hard. Clara, face distorted by an inhuman fury, smashed the hilt of her mother's broken sword into his face. "Die!" she howled, spittle flying as she rose her arm again. "DIE!"

Aurianna got back to her feet as Matthias and Clara traded blows, such fury between them both of their swords shattered form the impact. “STOP!” Aurianna screamed, terribly confused about what was happening before her, what could have sent both of them into such mindless fury. Dark Choir…Dark Choir, the words stood out, but she could hardly process them, with the rage playing out before her.

And then he did it. Slamming Clara against the tree, ripping off her armor. The same way he had done to her, when he brought her before Baath Me’el. No, this isn’t real. Aurianna’s fingers tensed around her spear, her entire being shaking, enraged by his display. She jumped at Matthias, as Clara defended herself, hitting him in the back of the head with the butt of her spear. He went down, as Clara continued to rage at him, smashing him with the hilt of her mother’s sword. Clara beat his face bloody, and Aurianna stood by and watched, immobilized by rage at him, not even caring for a moment that Clara might kill him.

She tried to steal your man… A voice in her head whispered cruelly. There but a moment of anger in Aurianna, before rationality kicked in. The utter ridiculousness of the thought pulled her from her wrath, giving her a moment of clarity. She grabbed Clara now, from behind, restraining her arms.

“Clara, there is something here. Something inciting us to fight each other. These aren’t your thoughts,” Aurianna said to her, firmly, into her ear. It took all of Aurianna divine strength to hold Clara still.

“He tried to…” Clara wailed, renewing her efforts to escape Aurianna’s grasp.

“I know,” Aurianna whispered, feeling her heart seize in her chest, anger and hatred and sorrow replacing what she once felt towards him. Was that Matthias, the demon, or the infernal thoughts pervading their heads? Did it even matter?

He is a monster. He told you this himself. And still you let him around your apprentice. Where he could hurt her…It was hard to tell infernal thoughts from her own dark thoughts, as hot tears burned her eyes.

“Clara, We have to go. If they get to Monsford, they will tear them apart from within. We have to warn them.” Aurianna tried reasoning with her, holding her tightly, guilt wracking her, even as she tried to focus on her duty.

“What about him?” Clara sneered, her tone laced with abhorrence. Aurianna looked at the demon, her heart hardened, yet not enough to plunge her spear into him.

“Leave him here. He is as good as dead, now. The Mistress of Torment will punish him, as he deserves,” Aurianna replied coldly, letting go of her apprentice. They collected their wayward horses, and made for Monsford.

Clara finally relaxed, a little, as Aurianna's words penetrated the haze of terror and blood-madness in her mind. "What about him?" she snarled, shaking with emotion.

“Leave him here. He is as good as dead, now. The Mistress of Torment will punish him, as he deserves,” Aurianna replied coldly, releasing her. Despite those words, Clara took a half-step towards the unconscious demon before her. Then, deliberately, she stepped over him and recovered the broken blade of her mother's sword. Carefully sliding it into her scabbard, she slipped the half with the hilt in after it.

Then, hesitating, she kicked Matthias in the head. "I hope you rot!" she spat. Then, forcing herself to walk away once more, she caught the reins of her horse and pulled herself into her saddle. With a final glare at the unconscious demon, she spurred her steed and galloped off along the trail.

Miles flew by as the horses labored. There was no time for talking, not now. Clara wasn't an expert on demons, not by any stretch of the imagination. But she'd paid attention, and she knew who the Mistress of Torment was. And the thought that her home town was in that monster's way, even if she hadn't been there for seven years, sent cold dread gnawing at her guts. So she ignored the wind billowing her torn jerkin around her, and clung to the reins and rode. Rode for her own life, and her Mistress' life, and the lives of her home town.

---

Skull aching, Matthias groaned as he opened his eyes. Spots danced before them, and a crimson haze that was part blood and part fury clouded his vision. Where was she? His mistress. His property? She'd abandoned him, left him for that little cunt! Well, he'd show them. Show them both. With a snarl he rolled over and pushed himself up on all fours, sniffing the air with a broken nose that still dripped blood.

Some rational part of Matthias, down deep in his mind, knew why Aurianna had fled. He'd lost control. Lost it, because of the influence of the Dark Choir. Oh, he knew them. He'd had dealings with Hydranes, back when he'd faithfully served Baath-Me'el. He knew what they could do. And he knew that it made sense that Aurianna would have chosen her apprentice over a blood-maddened demon. Knew it, and wished it could hurt. Wished he could feel something other than the vague sense of loss that a child would feel when a favorite toy is taken away. Wished he could feel something other than the fury and frustration of the demon.

He stilled as a dry, leathery scent reached him. The stink of snakes, and of old corpses left to dry in the sun. Carefully he crept forward, listening and sniffing. The scent came to him from the same direction as the droning atonal singing, and he followed both. Pushing through the trees, he saw them. A trio of the attenuated, skinless figures of the Dark Choir. Hate surged through him. These had cost him his toy! These had played with his mind! And they would be his key to regaining Aurianna, to returning to her good graces. He would build a cairn of their dripping, shattered skulls.

Breathing out, he let the darkness of their Infernal Chorus surge through his soul. Let them madden him. There was nothing here to vent that rage on.

Nothing but them.

---

"The ferry!" Clara called out. "Up ahead! The ferry!"

Here, the Sarn narrowed to less than three-quarters of a mile wide. Solid timbers had been driven into the bank, and a large flat-bottomed boat was tied up to them. The ferryman, who was in the midst of untying, looked up in surprise at the two riders. "You'd best hurry!" he called. "It looks like all hell's a coming, and I'll not be waiting!" And then he looked past them, gasping in terror as he did.

Clara looked back over her shoulder. Two winged figures, both clearly female, soared towards them. One wore full, black armor and bore a lance. The other was naked, or near enough, and seemingly unarmed. Not that Clara believed for a second that she was any less dangerous. Reaching over her shoulder, she drew the silvery blade the Oracle had left for her and then wheeled her horse around. "Afodisia!" she thundered out, spurring her horse and charging towards them. "Afodisia and Verrier!"

Pain gripped Aurianna heart as they rode for Monsford. She should have killed Matthias. He deserved it, for everything. And he didn’t deserve to suffer, not at the hands of the Hydranes. Hadn’t he suffered enough as Baath Me’el’s slave? He had shown her some mercy, rescuing her three times, twice form Baath Me’el and once from her murderous rapists. Killing him would have been mercy. She cursed the small fragment of love that stayed her hand. She could never love him again. Not after what he did.

Dark Choir. She tried to remember what it was, thinking back to her demonology lessons. She wished she paid better attention; all she got form most of her lessons was kill it without mercy. Dark Choir. They were not strong, easy to kill. If one can find them. If one can pull themselves together long enough to fight them. They never attacked lone warriors. Always groups. Why, why? All should could see in her head was Matthias, groping at Clara, full of vile lust.

It would have been easier for Aurianna to deal with he had gone after her. It made sense for him to go after her. She was his, she had given herself to him. Was that why? He already possessed her, and wanted to lay claim to Clara too? She almost turned around now, determined to run him through on her spear.

Dark Choir. Her mind tried to remind her, to bring her back from her loathing. What were they? Were they the ones who… The infernal thoughts! They had done it to Clara! Sent her into a rage to kill Matthias. They were doing it to her now, tempting Aurianna into killing him. Had they done it to Matthias too? Is that why?

No, it didn’t matter. The infernal thought couldn’t compel one to do things they wouldn’t want to do. It couldn’t drive her to hurt Clara. Matthias must have... Aurianna thought she could vomit, would have vomited, if she had eaten in the last couple days.

Up ahead was the ferry. They had made it! Or they would have, if two succubi weren’t following in their wake. Aurianna Was turning now, spear couched like a lance, ready to strike the bitch that dared to use the same kind of weapon as her. Rationally, Aurianna knew she was at a marked disadvantage now. Sure, she could jump like a badass, but her opponent had wings. Wings beat jumping. She didn’t care, feeling as though she had lost her reason for living.

So she jumped off her horse, leaping up at the demon bitch with all of the hate she could manage. The demon easily deflected, swatting down Aurianna with a powerful slam. She charged now, diving at the prone paladin with gleeful ire. Aurianna screamed out as the spear caught her in the shoulder. Using her other arm, as grabbed her opponent’s weapon, the succubus forgetting in the moment to let go.

She slammed her down with all the righteous anger she felt. She pulled the spear from her useless shoulder, dashing at the succubus. She jumped once more, as the fiend tried to fly away., catching her in the abdomen with her own weapon, pinning her to a nearby tree. Aurianna picked up her own spear now, as the demoness struggle to remove the weapon pinning her down. Again and again, Aurianna plunged her spear into the bitch, long after she stopped twitching.

Magic slashed the air as the naked succubus soared overhead, laughing and staying out of sword's reach. Clara swore, drawing on the full range of the rather limited repertoire she had at her disposal. The bitch was laughing at her, and the various spells she was calling on were making that laughter more than just an annoyance. Even with armor, she'd have been at a disadvantage. And she didn't have armor any more, not really. Hell, she didn't even really have a shirt anymore!

More magic flickered, and her steed screamed and reared as blood gushed from eyes and nostrils. Clara threw herself aside, barely rolling away as the mare crashed to the ground and thrashed in agony. It took two tries to stand up as she became tangled in her shredded jerkin. With a grunt of irritation she shrugged it off and tossed it aside. "C'mon, bitch!" she snarled, gripping the silvery hilt with both hands and trying not to feel extremely vulnerable. "I'm harder to kill than a horse!"

The succubus laughed, skeletal wings clicking as she caught a thermal and rose higher into the air. Dark flame lashed from her fingers like a whip, and Clara threw herself aside as it clawed the earth beneath her feet. Desperately, she wracked her brain for an idea. Swords weren't working, but... More black flame lashed at her, and she parried it with the silver blade. An ordinary weapon would have been reduced to scrap, but it remained unscathed. Magic, she thought. Divine magic.

An idea struck her. If she could just remember how the prayer went...

Leaping aside from another blast of black flame, Clara rolled and rose to her feet once more. Master Conn had drilled her on the basic prayers of the Church, and she was sure she remembered this one. "You pitiful twisted creaters, not of this world..." she began, holding the hilt by the left hand to make what she hoped were the correct gestures. "By the Light of Afodisia I possess, I bid thee: begone to the nexus of our two worlds!" Wind whipped around her now, and the succubus beat her skeletal wings in a frenzied effort to escape. Smiling, Clara raised her blade and pointed. "Megido Flare!"

Despite the impressive-sounding name, it wasn't an extremely powerful spell. It's chief purpose was to quell hostile thoughts and emotions in the living. But it was somewhat more effective against the undead and the infernal. The succubus howled in agony as her muscles convulsed, and she plummeted from the sky. Clara covered the ground, upon the demon before she could recover. Her silver blade rose once and fell, and black blood gushed from the fiend's neck stump. Gasping for breath, far more exhausted than she'd expected from channeling divine power, she watched the corpse wither and collapse.

Then she gasped, realizing the spell had also purged her own dark thoughts. Wheeling, she raced back over to her Mistress. "Lady Aurianna!" she cried out, watching her spear drive deep into the armored succubus like a wasp stinging a bee to death. "Stop! Something... something was controlling us! Controlling..."

She skidded to a halt, struck by a realization. Had Matthias... had he been under the same dark influence that had nearly consumed her? And... did that matter? For all that her Mistress cared - had cared - for him, was it really an outside influence that had led him to try to rape her?

But then, she had tried to murder him.

"Please," she called, grabbing Aurianna's arm and trying to stop the motion of the spear as it penetrated the demon again and again. "We have to go!"

---

Wiping black blood from his face, Matthias tried to consider his options rationally.

The copse was full of body parts. The three members of the Dark Choir he'd found were dead, and quite thoroughly so. Two he'd simply torn apart, and the third he'd kept alive long enough to feed on. He'd considered raping it as well, in hopes of quenching the lust that raged through him, but he'd decided against it. They were too fragile, and he'd have ripped it to shreds long before he would have had any release.

But now they were all dead, and he could think clearly. For the moment, at least. And he realized that his actions, whether or not they'd been driven by the Dark Choir or not, had well and truly driven Aurianna away. Perhaps, if he had assaulted her, it would have gone differently - she knew him well enough to deflect him, by now. But the girl...? An attack on her apprentice and a betrayal of their contract, all at once.

Snarling with irritation, he crushed the skull of the intact demon beneath his bare heel. He was unarmed, wearing only ill-fitting trousers, and without allies. To the east lay Monsford, two Paladins who would no doubt attempt to kill him if they saw him, and an entire community tough enough to survive on the borders of the Demonlands that would also try to kill him if they saw him. To the west lay the Host of Torment, and he'd be lucky if they just killed him.

Matthias laughed. And then he squatted down next to the mostly intact corpse he'd drained of blood. "You know something?" he asked, casually. "Back when I was a young man, still training to be a Paladin..." He blinked, miming surprise. "Why, yes! I was a Paladin, once. Now stop interrupting! As I was saying, when I was training to be a Paladin, Mykel - my Master, and now Lord Commander of the Seraphin Wall - once told me that the most dangerous opponent in the world is a man without hope. Because the only thing he has to live fore is killing you."

Rising, he strode towards the west. "So, let's go show them just how dangerous I really am..."

Aurianna struggled against her apprentice, as she tried to stop her mistress from breaking the tip of her spear off in the dead body of the succubus. Her right arm hung limply at her side. Useless. She had been stabbed, through her armor. She looked down, tried to move it. Her fingers twitched, but she couldn’t be sure if she was doing it or they were just dying.

“Help me, “ Aurianna commanded, undoing her own jerkin, to get a look at the wound. It seeped with black blood, and Aurianna knew what they meant. She would lose it. She feel to her knees now, large angry tears flowing form her eyes, as she was stripped of everything she was. She lost Matthias, she would lose her arm. She was…worthless now.

---

Clara helped her mistress to the ferry. Lady Aurianna was in some kind of depressed daze, hardly able to motivate herself to act. Clara watched her, sadly, having never seen her fall this far before.

“Mistress…” Clara murmured, trying to find some light in her empty golden eyes. The word seemed to summon some pain to her then, as Lady Aurianna sobbed wordlessly.

This is my fault! If I hadn’t given in to the infernal thoughts…Clara quaked in pain, in rage, in sorrow. The demon- no, Matthias. He had made her mistress happy. She didn’t understand how or why, but he had brought her joy. She had let her hatred of him die down, since that night, the night she watch her mistress and him. Lady Aurianna deserved happiness, after everything that had happened to her.

“Lady Aurianna, I’m sorry,” Clara tried to apologize, holding the weeping Paladin to her chest now, mourning the light that had died within her mistress.

---

A golden figure was dragged before the Ebon court, cheers erupting from those gathered within.

“Jeoram Sanal seeks on audience with Baath Me’el,” a booming voice announced, as the blonde former paladin was tossed to his knees before the demon lord. Baath Me’el looked up lazily from his throne, not terribly impressed, in the moment.

“Your Goddess abandoned you. What makes you think I want you?” Baath derided, lips pursed, waiting for the man to make the case for his servitude. Oh Baath would have him, certainly. He was attractive, and at the very least he would make a fine concubine. Even if he didn’t submit right away. No, especially if he didn’t submit right away. Training his sex slaves was half the fun.

“The Goddess betrayed me!” Jeoram snarled. “My fiancé spread herself for the demon traitor! And Afodisia punished me for cleansing her.

Baath Me’el breathed in deeply now, a devious smile playing upon his lips. “Hmm, yes. The one who slipped through my fingers. I thought I smelled her on you. The Paladin whore.”

“Yes,” Jeoram nodded,” Aurianna.”

“Oh, I want her back. She inspires men to break their vows. She is better at this than any succubus I have ever commanded. Bring me Aurianna, and I shall let you help me defile her.” Baath announced, to the roaring cheers of his crowd.

“Yes, my lord. And the demon traitor?”

“Matthias? Oh I want him too. Take back the demon I so graciously gave him to power his soulless husk. Make him watch as I violate his woman. See the failure in his eyes once she finally submits to me. Then offer him as tribute to Hydranes. I know she won’t let him die too easily.” Baath Me’el came down off his throne, approaching the fallen paladin kneeling before him. He stood before Jeoram, beckoning him to stand. “Very Well, Jeoram. Offer me your soul, and submit to me.”

“Yes my lord. I offer my soul, freely, in service to Baath Me’el.” Jeoram stood firm, while Baath moved behind him, taking a length of his long hair in his fingers.

“Good. Now, it’s time to submit to me.” The elder demon whispered in his ear, His body pressed against Jeoram’s back. The fallen paladin stiffened, suddenly terrified.

“Submit, my lord?” Jeoram’s voice cracked as he spoke the words. Baath Me’el burst into hideous laughter, running his Tongue from Jeoram’s collarbone to his ear.

“Oh, pretty and dumb. Just how I like them.” The elder cackled, grasping a fist of Jeoram’s flaxen hair. He kicked him behind the leg, driving the golden warrior to his knees. “Submit, boy! Or did you think you were going to get off easy? This is my court! I am the only one who gets off easily!”

As the ferry bobbed in the river's current, Clara scrubbed at her eyes with tge back of her hands. No, she didn't have time for this. Maybe later, she could throw a fit and cry and all of the other things she wanted to do. But niw, Lady Aurianna needed belp. And if she wasn't the one her Mistress wanted, sbe was still the one her Mistress had.

Scooting close, she undid the makeshift bandage on her shoulder - part if her cloak, with the rest wrapped around Clara's torso as an imorovised tunic - and hissed in shock at the sight of the wound. It was crusted and scabbed with dry blood already, and the flesh around the wound was greying and cool to the touch. "Poison," she said with a shudder, remembering her lessons about the Host of Torment. "Poison, or disease."

Wracking her brain, she tried the one healing prayer she could recall. The effort of channeling the energy left her pale and shaking, and frustrated. Whatever ill that demon-cursed blade bore, it was beyond her meager knowledge to heal. Briefly she wondered if Matthias would have known something more, then forced that thought away. He was gone, most likely dead now.

The ferryman helped her carry Aurianna from the boat. Nit that she needed the help, but she appreciated the gesture. Monsford was large, home to some four thousand men and women, with homes if solid timber and slate roofs and a ten foot thick curtain wall surrounding it. She helped her mistress through the Water Gate, trying to remember where her famiky home was from here. Four years if absence had allowed memory to fade...

"Welcome home, Clara Olgasdottor," a voice declared. "And who have you brought with you?"

"Aunt Ingrud!"

The woman before Clara resembled a taller, stickier version if the girl, only with wavr auburn hair. She had adopted a serious pose, one befitting the Lady Mayor of Monsford - but the broad grin on her face belied any thought of disp,easure. To Clara, she loojed enough like her mother that she felt an iverwhelming urge to thriw herself into Ingrud Kelvasdottor's bear-like enbrace.

Instead, she shifted her grip to keep supporting her Mistress. "Lady Aurianna," she said. "A Paladin of Afodisia and my teacher." She bit her lip, trying to control a surge of emotion. "We were attacked. By outriders of the Host of Torment, who even niw are less than three days off."

"We know, Clara Olgasdottor. Believe us, we know." Ingrud sounded weary as she said it.

"Lady Aurianna's been wounded, I think by a poisin blade. She neecs help!"

Nodding, her Aunt gestured. "Let's get her into our home, Clara. Then, as the physiker tends her, you can tell me more of what you know." Her eyes were grim as she looked west. "We'll need all of the intelligence we can muster, if we're to stand a chance."

---

Jeoram would have screamed in agony. He wanted ti. But, with his mouth and throat stretched around a demon's cock, the sound came iut as a pathetic whimper. He'd always heard that succubi brought infernal delight, but the hand wrapped around his shaft was rough and burned like cold fire.

But somehow, despite the freezing pain, his shaft was throbbing with an impending orgasm.

The grip tightened, hand moving in rhythm with the hips of the demon raping hus throat. Talons raked slow, bloody furrows in his back. "If you cum before he does," purred a voice that was silky smooth and soft as a week old corpse, "you will suffer." He tried to scream again as the talons pricked his meat. "I do so hope you will..."