by Adam Watson
“Why would the greatest Drakhar of modern times … perhaps even the greatest Drakhar of all time, call upon the services of the Sisters of Solace?” She turned to face Vuko. “You have intrigued us, to say the least.” She continued circling, slowly making her way towards Tasia, casually waving the blade around as she spoke and the closer she got to Tasia, the more nervous Vuko became. “It’s all right. You don’t have to say a word … we have ways of finding out what you really want.” The light in the room seemed to flicker, and for a split second it was pitch black, and she was gone.
Vuko was beginning to regret his decision to enlist these immortal assassins. Were they truly immortal? The legends had been around for centuries, and yet they were still going to this day. As long as she gives you want you want Vuko, that’s all that matters. He just had to endure her pageantry first.
There was a sound in Vuko’s mind. It sounded like it was far off in the distance and it was getting louder and louder like a lightning strike. ‘SSSSSSSSSH-CRACK!’ The strike sounded as if it hit inside the room and Vuko shut his eyes to shield them from any danger. When he opened them again, she was back, standing above Tasia the blade pointing down to Tasia’s heart; a pinprick of blood trickled from the point that touched the skin. Vuko’s eyes widen in anger. If he could stand, if he could reach out, he would take her by the throat and snap her neck.
“This one means much to you, doesn’t she?” Vuko couldn’t answer, but the look in his eyes told her everything. “It would distress you very much if something happened to this one.” The Sister of Solace held the knife between her fingertips, delicately balancing the blade on Tasia’s exposed chest. It was razor sharp, and one slip would mean instant death, as it would plunge straight through Tasia’s heart. Vuko knew the Sister was playing a game with him … but it was a dangerous game and if anything happened to Tasia - his vengeance would know no bounds. The Sister’s eyes widened as she smiled, but there was still no movement behind the veil.
"You, great general of the Drakhar, must be desperate … to call upon the services of Solace. You must surely have a great need." She flicked the hilt with her ring finger, and the dagger spun on Tasia's chest like a spinning top. How something so sharp didn't go through her delicate skin, Vuko didn't know, but blood did trickle between her breasts, down her stomach and into the water at a small but steady pace. It was a balance between life and death. Yes, she's playing a game, he thought … a deadly game. “Solace has needs too. The contract goes like this, a need for a need … that’s fair, don’t you agree?”
Again, Vuko couldn’t answer. She wanted him to agree? Just like that? He could be agreeing to anything. Is this the way the Sisters of Solace operated? Did she think she could just walk in here and do what she wanted, to whoever she wanted, and he was going to agree to their terms without even knowing what they were? What was she ... mad?
Anger began to overwhelm all sense, the fact that he couldn’t move only made it worse. He lay in the bath, his blood boiling. He tried to move his arm by sheer will, but it was futile, whatever had him paralysed, still had him firm in its grip. He just wanted to get up and choke the life out of her. The Sister lifted the long slender knife from Tasia’s chest and pointed it directly at Vuko.
“Anger takes you, now you seethe and you hate. Inside, your mind rages, but there is nothing you can do.” She began to laugh.
The laughter was soft at first, but then grew louder and louder until it was like an echo in his mind. The sound bombarded him from every direction. Laughs behind him, laughs to the side of him, laughter in front of him; it was maddening and was starting to overwhelm his senses. He tried to focus on the Sister, but her image darted all around him, blinking in and out of existence; never in the same spot twice, faster and faster until she became a blur.
Vuko wanted to scream, to lash out and make it stop. His state of paralysis wouldn’t let him, and even if it did, he wouldn’t have. She was trying to show him how weak he was, he knew that. He had to be calm and show no fear, he had to show her just how strong he was.
Suddenly there was silence, and Vuko opened his eyes. She was right there in front of him, her face only inches away from his, the point of her knife now drawing blood from the skin above his heart.
“You are like an innocent babe, helpless in the arms of Solace,” she whispered. It was beginning to feel very much that way. Vuko tried to calm his mind. Somehow, either magically or divinely she seemed to know what emotion he was feeling. He watched the veil that covered her mouth as she talked and was certain that the voice he heard did not come from behind it. “You want to enter a contract with Solace, but you do not know the price. You want to come to terms, you want to negotiate, but Solace will not negotiate.” Vuko stared at the Sister intently. “Solace doesn’t care what you want, she only cares about what you can give.”
Vuko closed his eyes, this meeting was beginning to get frustrating to say the least, if only he could talk or at least spit on her - he would bite her face if he could. The Sister changed her voice to a more appealing tone as if she could sense what he was thinking.
“Solace can give you what you want Vuko Vlad.” Vuko’s eyes widened, at last, she was saying something that he actually wanted to hear. “The prices are high, the contracts iron clad. The question is … do you have something Solace wants?”
Did he have something Solace wanted? How should he know? How could he possibly know what she wanted? He didn’t even really know who she was. Was she a person or a goddess? Some stories about the Sisters of Solace claimed that Solace was an immortal woman; others claimed that she was a goddess. Vuko had wondered if there was a difference. What price would he have to pay? What could a creature out of myth want?
He looked down at his chest. The knife dug in, and blood flowed from the wound above his heart. My life? He doubted it, she could kill him a hundred times over right now if she wanted to. The other possibility was that she somehow wanted to bind his soul to hers. Was it even possible? He could use the consul of Katra Varta right now.
He looked over to Tasia, her breasts were as smooth grey porcelain, her nipples dark and erect. She lay back as if asleep, her arms splayed to the sides. Vuko followed the trail of blood from her heart down into the water. She was still astride him, he was still deep inside her. The thought caused a stir beneath the waters as he began to harden. Would Solace take her away from him? He did not think he could bear it.
The Sister of Solace stood up and sheathed her knife in the small scabbard attached to her belt. She removed her armoured gloves from each hand and placed them on the small oak table next to the bathtub.
“Let us see what you really want … General.” She placed her hands to the sides of his head, covering each temple; her palms began to glow. He could feel the heat as she lifted his head and made him stare into her eyes. Their beauty took his breath away, their beauty made his heart race, but the beauty was just a mask, and nothing could protect him from her gaze as it burnt into his mind like fire - if he could have, Vuko would have screamed.
He writhed in pain as she searched his thoughts; his emotions were her guide, his needs a beacon. She sought out order from the chaos of his mind, smashing through the shrouds and bringing light to the shadows.
"You wish to free your brother and king from the shackles that bind him." He couldn’t believe it, she was doing it, she was reading his mind; his body shuddered and convulsed in her hands. "These … azure bonds need to be unlocked, but you are missing the key.” Vuko stared into the eyes of the Sister, what other thoughts could she read? “The key is a woman … the Oracle of Tempus … You want us to find her and bring her back … Only then can you free your brother and return your god to your people."
Vuko stared wide-eyed and blankly. His mind was numb, his thoughts unclear. He would have just told her all of this if she had just asked. Why go to this extreme? Why paralyse him? Why humble him? What was the purpose of all of this?
“You want to make a contract wit
h Solace, but you don’t know what it means. Once done, it can’t be broken. Solace will take from you whatever she desires, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You are a child.” Vuko wondered how much longer he would have to endure this berating. “And the price will be high, child, to get what you desire, but the question is …” she said leaning in close. “How greatly do you desire it?” She withdrew from his mind, not completely but enough to allow him to think for himself.
Vuko knew this wasn’t about him or what he wanted. This was about Solus Bal; this was about his god. What wrath would be laid upon his soul if he failed to give everything he had? In that moment, the decision was made. No matter what the price was, he would pay it. He could lose everything he owned. He could lose everyone he loved, but this went beyond that, this was for his people, his race, his world and his god - even his own soul was at risk. He rolled the dice, he knew that he was risking everything, but those cursed bonds had to be broken.
The Sister smiled, how he knew she was smiling, he did not know. He could see that she knew he was going to agree to her terms - whatever they were.
“The contract is now in effect. Solace will bring the Oracle of Tempus to you. Solace will give you the means to break those bonds. Your king will be freed, and your god unleashed. You will not thank Solace - Solace will take what she wants.”
The Sister was just about to fully withdraw from Vuko’s thoughts when she noticed something - there was another powerful emotion working inside his mind. Her mind went back in, searching, removing the shadows, seeking out the cause of this emotion. What other thoughts could be reigning inside his mind at this moment?
“Oh?” she was not expecting that. She glanced down into the water for a moment confirming what she had seen in his mind and when she looked back into Vuko’s eyes she seemed amused; she even laughed softly to herself. She had been so busy trying to humble Vuko to Solace’s will that she had forgotten what they had been doing.
It suddenly became apparent to her that General Vuko Vlad was not one to be embarrassed easily, even caught in the act he hardly seemed to care and the more she thought about it, the more astonishing it seemed. How was he able to have two strong emotions in his mind that opposed one another at the same time? They were polar opposites and at two ends of the extreme. He seemed to have murder, revenge and death in his mind as he looked at her and in the same instance and at the same time he was completely aroused by his secret love - the handmaiden.
Solace would like that, she thought. She knew what very few people in the world knew - Solace was decadent. Only the inner circle knew that. The sheer audacity of this handsome Drakhar was impressive and if he had the audacity to maintain that level of arousal during the humbling process … well then, she would take it upon herself to see that he gets rewarded in Solace’s name.
“Solace will give you what you want Drakhar.” Vuko looked puzzled, wondering what that meant. Once again, she placed her hands to each side of his head covering his temples; her palms began to glow putting their heat back into his mind. She tilted his head and made him stare into her eyes. Their beauty took his breath away, their beauty made his heart race, but their beauty was just a mask. This time though, her gaze didn’t burn him like fire - instead, it took him to paradise.
At first, it was pleasant, a sensation of goodness and wellbeing, a sensation that left Vuko feeling happy and content, but then as the heat in her hands got warmer the feeling became more and more intense to the point that he started to feel uncomfortable.
The more warmth that came from her hands, the more intense his emotions became. It started from his toes and went up to his head and then all the way back down to his toes again; he twitched as the feelings of pleasure ran up and down his body.
The feeling was too good and laying in one spot became incredibly uncomfortable. He writhed beneath Tasia, grinding himself up into her in a state of ecstasy. He could hardly move, but he needed more. He was as hard as a rock, and he throbbed desperately. He wanted to move, he wanted to thrust, he wanted to pound her hard, but he couldn’t do any of that. The denial was torture, and he would’ve begged to do more if he could.
The Sister of Solace knew, and she smiled that smile that only touched her eyes. That sweet Sister wasn't going to stop there, oh no, she had a mischievous look in her eyes. She knew what he wanted, she knew what he desired. She laughed softly to herself … yes, she would give him what he wanted, and she bent down so that she could whisper softly into his ear.
"Be careful what you wish for Drakhar … because you might just get it."
The power surged through her hands turning from a gentle stream into a raging torrent. There was no resisting, no fighting, all he could do was squirm uncomfortably as the pleasure began to intensify more and more and more. His heartbeat quickened, his breath laboured, he could feel himself pulsating wildly inside.
Vuko opened his eyes and looked upon Tasia's naked body. He wanted to grab her breasts, to lick them, to suck them. He wanted to pull her close and feel her cool skin, smooth as it slid against his. He wanted to take her head in his hands and pull her close and kiss her mouth. He wanted to whisper in her ear and tell her how much he loved her, but he was still paralysed, still barely able to move, and he could do nothing but lay there and writhe.
He lay on a knife’s edge, balancing between the worlds of pleasure and pain; caught in that place where every touch, every movement would cause one or the other. And he thinks I will stop there. The Sister began to laugh out loud.
The pleasure intensified yet again, and now her hands felt like they were burning his skin. He clenched his teeth to bear the pain, it hurt and burned his mind, but his body felt so good - he continued to jerk wildly inside without release. The intensity became a torment, and the torment became unbearable.
The power surged through the Sister even more. Her hands were hot irons burning into his flesh; her eyes were like devils fire burning into his mind. He began to scream as the pain wracked his body. Her laughter overwhelmed his senses, driving him mad. Every part of his body was tense, every muscle was cramped; his body shuddered and convulsed as his senses overloaded his mind - he fought just to stay sane.
In his mind, he struggled, consciousness was fading. He struggled to breathe, he struggled to see; he struggled to make from the world what was real. The pain was too much, the pleasure ... unbearable. His mind was going into overload.
Even as his body thrashed about, even as the pain flayed him, the pleasure was still there - ever building. Now he fought to stay conscious, now he fought to stay alive; now he fought just to keep his mind, but this intensity went way beyond anything he had ever dreamed was possible. It was too much, too much pain, too much pleasure; the mixture combined drove him to the edge. The world began to shake, and he screamed. The intensity pulsated through, and finally, the pleasure shot out of him like so many streams. When he had finished, his head slumped to the side, the release had taken everything from him, consciousness faded and the world went black.
13. TORAC: DESPERATION
In Goran's mind, he fought in a desperate bid to regain control over his own body. He knew that the dragon’s dread had him in its grip, and he knew that that was the reason why he wanted to run away like a scared child. He fought as hard as he could, but the beast from the shadows was too powerful.
Goran hated the fact that it was an ungodly magic that made him want to flee. Goran hated the fact that the dragon could use that same magic to strike terror into his soul. Goran hated the fact it that his mind was so weak and could be swayed so easily – he wanted to flee, but it was that very hate that held him steadfast. He knew it was a trick of the mind, and as terrible and cruel as the beast was, he knew in his heart of hearts that he had the courage to face it.
Even with his eyes clenched shut, Goran knew that Dray was still there, standing next to him. Aseeka had run off screaming, overcome by the dread. The berserker had lost no respect for her, most people would have done the sa
me, but he had gained a new respect for Dray. His mind is strong. Could Dray see him right now, quaking and cowering? And if he could what would he think? Would he think that Goran was weak? A coward? Or was he too standing there paralysed, the same as Goran? Goran wanted to open his eyes to see, but the dread would not allow it.
Then came a scream, the likes of which Goran had never heard before. It penetrated through the chaos and tore the dread asunder.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Dray's scream was so loud, so unnatural, that it broke the spell that bound them in place. Goran opened his eyes.
Dray was a ghost, his skin as white as snow; the air around him was crystallising into an icy mist. Goran had thought he had seen desperation on the faces of men and women during his campaigns in the North, but he knew now that those people had felt nothing - it was Dray that had true desperation inside of him.
Dray’s face seemed to be ageing right in front of Goran’s own. Bright lights crawled across the surface of his eyes like azure lightning bolts; his right hand was blue and burned like fire. Goran could not believe what he was seeing; particles were breaking away from Dray’s flesh and joining the misty shroud that was forming around him.
Goran could feel the heat erupt off to the side and even from this distance, it seared like fire. The sky lit up, turning night to day, as a tremendous blast of fire rained down from the heavens. Goran could see Kayla standing out in the open, and he knew in that moment that she was going to die, but then there was a flash of white and a bright light streaked past him, reaching Kayla one moment before impact.
Goran closed his eyes fearing the worst, nothing could survive that, only ashes could remain. When he opened them again, and the flames had died out; he was astonished by what he saw. Kayla was still standing, Dray was next to her; his arms cast out before him. An icy orb surrounded them both like a shield, stopping the flames from incinerating them. Goran watched in awe, this was surely a miracle. Who were they? Who was this Kayla? And from which of the Hells did Dray come from?
