“Let me in!”
I looked up at her and narrowed my eyes at her.
“She can’t be that strong. I’ll kill her on my own terms. Thank you for… offering me your help, monster.”
It cackled insanely and filled my body with renewed energy. The pain in my leg and body was mitigated by becoming a dull ache all across my body, instead.
“I can respect that, human. Here’s a little gift to help you survive.”
The presence evaporated, leaving only a foul taste in my mouth. Just what the hell was that thing? I needed some answers, and the sooner I got some, the better.
A wave of energy struck me out of nowhere, as if a wall had crashed directly into my face. I could feel my nose break under the blow. A second wave slammed into my chest, knocking the breath out of me and forcing me to my knees. I lifted my head through the pain and tears, only to see the third attack coming. A wall of shimmering light, barely two feet wide.
I rolled to the side and flung my sword at the queen bitch. It was deflected by a similarly shimmering dome that enveloped both her and the one remaining woman. Before I could even stand, the bandit queen turned toward her helper and bit down on her neck. Blood splattered against her mouth, neck and domed shield. As a result, her power grew slightly.
“The fuck have I gotten myself into,” I whispered and readied myself for her renewed onslaught.
She turned towards me and stepped off the dais, swaying her hips from side to side. The burning braziers shone light at a strange angle, revealing what was hidden beneath the semi-transparent dress. I winced and stepped back, having laid eyes on a perfect body, far superior to both Sophia and Katya’s.
“What the hell are you?” I asked, andtook a step closer to her. She made her way toward me, blood gracing the corners of her mouth. Thoughts so primal yet perverse crossed my mind. That woman was no ordinary magician, far from it. Blood magic was very rare, and took a certain toll on the user, just like with me. Except she was able to restore her magic by using the blood of others.
“Why do you want to know? It’s not like you’ll live long enough for it to matter anyway, right?” she chuckled. Her voice was the sound of a cherub song, drowning me in its melody.
“So I know what I’m gonna conquer. I want to have you,” I replied and caught myself. Why was I even thinking along those lines? She was a monster, a demon. I didn’t want her anywhere near Katya, or Sophia for that matter.
“Oh, my dear boy!” she laughed. “Now that is a first. You have no idea what, or how old I am. You stand no chance against me, yet you want to ‘conquer’ me?”
I nodded slowly.
“Yes. I’ll make you mine, and hurt you badly for a very long time. You need to repent for all the evil you’ve done.”
I tried moving my toes. They appeared to be fine. The demonic entity wasn’t controlling me, which left me with no way to explain why I wanted to claim her.
“I see. Let me be honest. I’m all about hurting people, even when they’re hurting me, that’s the way I like it most,” she purred and winked at me. “But, you have to understand something. This world doesn’t work like that. If you want to own me, you have to beat me.”
I smiled and nodded my head.
“Yes. And that’s why I want to make a wager. Unless you’re not afraid of a small bet?”
“Hmm,” she replied, licking her lips. Sharp fangs protruded as she opened her mouth close enough to me that I could notice them. She became a greater and greater enigma with every passing moment. But I wouldn’t back down.
“If I win, you’re mine. If you win, I’m yours to do with as you please. Sound good?”
The woman shrugged.
“Why not? I don’t see any harm in giving you a ‘chance’, if you can call it that.”
I bowed my head slightly as she stepped right up to me. I could feel her cold breath on my skin, making me shiver in anticipation.
“What’s your name?” I asked. She brought up her hand, tracing up my face and brushed my hair with her fingers.
“Lilith,” she whispered. “My name is Lilith, mortal. Not that it will mean anything to you after I’m done with you. But a deal’s a deal, so first things first,” she said and cut her palm open with her fang and nodded for me to do the same. I shrugged and traced my spirit sword across my left palm.
“What now?” I asked curiously. Was she going to make me drink her blood or something equally odd?
“Signo sanguinem foederis tui mortale. Si administrare ALEPH tantum in me et ego tibi addicam legibus et pro cunctis diebus vitæ tuæ. Si perdet ego pol illum corde.”
“What… the hell did that mean?” I asked. I frowned at her as I waited for a reply. Instead, she pressed the palm of her hand against my chest. I followed her lead and pressed my palm in between her breasts. They were cold yet soft. My gaze dropped down to her nipples, hard and inviting. An incredible pain shot through my chest. I could feel my heart stop for just a moment before it beat again.
“Now, we are bound. If you manage to subdue me, I’ll be your slave, yet if I win, your heart is mine,” she whispered.
“Hey, Al? Why does her name sound so familiar?”
“I thought you’d never ask. I don’t know any more than you do, but based on what I could discern from your memories, Lilith is the name of a very powerful and ancient demon lord. Or queen. Whatever floats your boat.”
My eyes went wide as it dawned on me what amess I’d gotten myself into.
“Shit,” I muttered and clenched my hands around both swords.
“Yes indeed, mortal. Shit indeed.”
13
The slash across my chest caught me off guard. Her long nails raked against the leather armor covering my skin. I jumped back and almost stumbled over my own feet. She was fast, way too fast. The smirk on her face and the long tongue that kept licking her lips were more than unsettling.
I moved, circling, and released my left sword. It impacted the shimmering shield and struck the ceiling, showering us with rocky debris. I closed in and swung my left fist, but it didn’t pass through the barrier. Two fingers broke upon contact with the shimmering shield, sending waves of pain through my hand, all the way up to my head.
Lilith roundhouse kicked me in the gut, sending me sprawling to the ground. Blood trickled down my lips as I lay gasping for air. The tremendous blow had most likely cracked or broken multiple ribs.
"Weakling. You better not die, or I'll make your friends suffer a fate a thousand times worse!" she yelled. Fog appeared in front of me as if I was going blind. I blinked it away and pushed myself up, thanks to her holding back.
“Blood Forge,” I whispered and summoned my swords. Tiny tendrils shot out and buried themselves in my skin, turning red. Drops of blood fell onto the stone floor as my weapons began to hum violently. I could barely hold them in my hands, but as long as I could stand, I would do my best to beat her.
“What? You think red swords will do any better--”
I didn’t give her another chance to speak as I lunged in and slashed at the barrier. I was deflected, but only barely. I fought through the pain and launched a flurry of attacks, chipping away at the dome. My breathing was heavy as I stepped back and found where the light bent strangely. It had cracked slightly.
“You can’t go on like this for much longer. I give you two minutes in this mode, at best, or maybe thirty seconds in the next one. You should really plan on how to make the most of that time.”
“Go figure. Your self-preservation instincts rearing up?” I asked.
“Not really. I’m immortal, but you aren’t. If you die, I’ll just revive you and take over the corpse. You wouldn’t be quite as eye-catching anymore, if you know what I mean, but I couldn’t care less.”
“Hmph,” I snorted. “Why don’t you take over and beat her for me?”
“If I do, then I want a sacrifice. Ten of those slaves butchered by your own hand. In my name, of course. If you agree to that, I’ll take care of
her.”
“Fuck no,” I snapped back and whirled toward Lilith who looked on in puzzlement.
“Who are you talking to?” she asked and dodged my wide slashes.
“No one,” I replied and jumped at her, both blades angled down at her dome.
Lilith waved her hand and restored the dome, sealing the crack. I cursed under my breath as we collided. The deflection knocked me down, but I didn’t give her time to come after me.
“Go to the next level,” I whispered. Three times the amount of tendrils drilled through my skin and to my veins. I could feel my blood being taken from me, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was now or never.
“What’s going--”
Again, I interrupted her with a flurry of blows. Each strike chipped away at the shield, tearing it apart as the power ripped everything it touched apart. She stepped back, but found herself pressed against the cavern wall.
“Die!” I yelled, as my sword penetrated her gut. She struck out and slapped me with the back of her hand, launching me across the room. I looked up to see if the wound had been fatal, but it hadn’t been. Lilith disappeared from sight, only to appear sitting on her throne an instant later. Blood trickled down the corners of her mouth and hand where she pressed it against the wound. As I looked on, the wound closed up within seconds. I was done for. All of my energy and blood had been spent on that last attack, and it had amounted to nothing.
“We have a problem,” she said, her voice no longer enticing, but cold and low. “I don’t feel like killing you, and from what I can see, you’re in no state to keep fighting. I could easily kill you right here and now if I chose to do so.”
“Then get it over with,” I replied dryly.
“Very well then,” she snapped back, probably annoyed by my lack of respect. “Die!” she yelled and put up her right hand. A weird sort of arrow the color of blood appeared, hovering in mid-air. It glowed brightly, lighting up the room as air swirled around the projectile. Within seconds, it had grown to the size of a ballista bolt.
“Oh shit,” I cursed and sat up, pushing myself backwards. But there was no way for me to escape it. We were room with no exits, but for the corridor that was located on the other side of the area, easily a hundred feet from me.
“You could say that,” she replied with a smirk and threw the weapon. The tip pierced my chest before I could even take another breath, cracking open my rib cage and coming out the other side. I gasped for air, but I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see or think. I was done, dead.
“Will you sacrifice them?” the demonic entity asked. My eyes snapped open as I found myself on a meadow. It was enormous and lush with greenery, and I stood at the center of it. In front of me, a pitch-black shadow loomed over the entire area. Two yellow eyes stared down at me.
“Yes,” I replied, clenching my fists and teeth to ignore the pain. The monster’s presence was too frightening for me to talk back to the thing. Enormous teeth and fangs meant for rending appeared out of nowhere as it grinned.
“In five seconds, I’ll be taking over. If you don’t want me to kill her, you better do your best to stop me. In any way you can.”
The fog lifted from my eyes, but I had already lost control of my body. If nothing else, the demon was a thing of its word, all too willing to take over. My hands let go of the spirit swords and took hold of the ballistae bolt-like projectile and pulled it out. The gaping hole in my chest writhed as the skin stretched to cover it up. Bone and meat started growing back, healing the wound.
I tried to scream, but couldn’t utter a peep.
“Now, you die,” I said, instead. No, not me, but the demon possessing me.
Lilith frowned as she took a step back and put up both hands. The shimmering dome around her intensified, and turned almost physical.
“Who are you?” she asked, obviously shaken. Her eyes stared intently at me as the shield seemed to thicken even further.
“Oh, you should know by now, Lilly. It has been a long time, true, but not so long that you could’ve forgotten about me.”
“Fuck,” she cursed and closed her eyes.
So, they knew each other, I thought.
“Yes, indeed,” the demon replied as he hurled the enormous bolt at Lilith. It struck the shield and shattered four layers of it, before it went straight through her left shoulder. Half of it was gone once the bolt had passed.
She screamed in pain as her body lurched backwards and struck the far wall, just beside the projectile. Blood spurted from her mouth and nasty wound, both. And then, I felt his bloodlust. He wanted her dead, but he wanted to make it last. He wanted to torture her, maul her and enjoy every single moment of the experience.
“A-Astaroth. P-please, don’t,” she cried out and held up her right hand as if defending herself.
“Oh no, my dearest Lilly. You’re not getting out of this so easily. You’ve hurt my feelings one too many times. The reason I’m trapped in a mortal shell is your betrayal, after all. Now, you’re fucked.”
“No, don’t!” I yelled from inside my own mind. I could feel the demon Astaroth stirring. He was annoyed by my attempts to stop him, I could feel that much, but I was far from strong enough to actually do so.
“Don’t even try,” he replied, voice cold as steel. “She owes me her life.”
“No! I mean, yes, she owes me her life as well, which means once she’s bound to me, that she’s bound to you too, no?”
“Fifteen sacrifices. Then you can have her. Oh, and let me be very honest with you, regarding these numbers. Usually, I’d ask for a town or a city for such a favor, but not today. You were very forthcoming with me, so I feel you deserve some honesty.”
Something in me lurched. I wanted to throw up, get this feeling out of me. I’d totally repressed the fact that I owed him a sacrifice, and now, if I wanted this woman, this demon, to be mine, I’d have to kill even more.
“But, what about the bandits out there? Surely they must be more than enough!” I pleaded, hoping to reason with the monster.
“The dog ate them. I need souls to sustain my power and growth, so if you want her, you better pay for it.”
“Very well. Ask her to yield and be bound to me. If she doesn’t, hurt her until she gives up. Then, give me back control and I’ll give you the sacrifices.”
A low, rumbling laughter filled the cavern.
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me twice, mortal,” he replied.
14
Lilith still sat there, her back pressed against the wall as she clenched the wound tightly with her other hand. It was healing up slowly, just as mine had, but at a much slower rate. Tiny tendrils had interwoven a web of skin around bone and what flesh remained to close the wound. Her heavy breathing told me all I needed to know, she wasn’t getting out of this. Not with this demon still in charge of my body.
“I yield!” she cried out. I could taste the fear seeping from her body. She was scared senseless. Just what had happened between these two?
“No, you don’t. Not yet!” Astaroth replied angrily and pulled back my hand. My eyes couldn’t even follow what happened, it was that fast. It struck Lilith in the chest, leaving a fist-sized hole in her body as he pulled my hand out.
“No, stop! You’re killing her!” I cried out mentally. But Astaroth didn’t reply and instead leaned in closely. He licked the blood from her mouth and moved his head, meeting her eyes.
“I loved you. And now, I’m going to let someone else fuck you and do to you whatever else he wants. And if you ever try to escape, or do something to him, I’ll be there to punish you,” he said in a low, dangerous tone.
“I… yield,” she whispered, but never dared to look away. It felt like she was looking straight into my eyes, and not his. In a way, she was, but that didn’t make it any less intimidating.
“I accept,” he growled in turn and moved away from her. A bright light lit up the cavernous area and detonated, releasing a shockwave that knocked the chairs, tables and
braziers over. Burning coal spilled out onto the wood and caught fire within seconds.
The weight of my body and the pain hit me all at once as Astaroth gave up his control over my body. It felt as if it wasn’t my own anymore. The pain in my chest was otherworldly, my legs felt numb and barely kept me upright. Lilith’s breathing and stillness told me she was in far worse shape than me. Good. She should have just given up from the start.
“Can you stand?” I asked and offered her my hand.
“Yes, I can, with your help, master.”
Master. Yes, I was her master now. But that only meant I owed Astaroth his offering.
“Come, I want to get this over with as soon as possible and go home. I’ve got someone waiting for me.”
“I see,” she replied with a mischievous smile. “More… sex slaves?” she asked and winked. I pulled her up and let go. She winced and stood on shaky legs, but didn’t push it.
“My future wife, if you really have to know,” I replied. Something in me stirred, as if were cheating on Katya just by talking to this demon queen.
“No need to be like that around me. After all, this is what you wished for, no? To possess me for all eternity?”
I turned away from her and stepped toward the exit. The oxygen in the room was burning up fairly quickly as the fire spread ever farther, eating up the furniture. Lilith’s footsteps fell in line with mine as I entered the narrow corridor. A monstrous presence rushed toward me, and stopped barely five feet short of running me over.
“What the hell is going on?” Alpha growled as he stared past me at Lilith. “Was she the one who hurt you?” The fur on his back was standing straight up, making him look particularly vicious and angry at that moment.
“There’s a lot to talk about. Take us out of here first, I’ll tell you everything as we move.”
Alpha growled, but didn’t protest. He seemed to have figured out a good part of what had gone down here just by looking at us. No, wait, I forgot he could read my mind. Shit, he’d known about everything before we even ran into him. I briefly explained things, just to be sure.
Lillith Page 8
