A laugh erupted from the Dark Lord, “Just like her Grandmother. Would you? Would you endure any torment?”
“Yes,” Alburet managed to reply.
A genuine smile spread across the God’s lips, “Very well. I wish you luck in your life here, Alburet Two-souled. Your path just became rockier than you can imagine. You will either make my people’s lives easier, or plunge us all back into chaos again.” A blinding flash of light and a dense, billowing cloud of sulfurous smoke followed hard on the Dark Lord’s final words.
“Does he always grandstand?” Alburet asked, swaying slightly.
“He does love to have the last word,” Mother’s voice came from the doorway. “I’ve brought some refreshments and a mirror for you. Stacia, take him to the seat over there.”
Stacia and Kitten stood on either side of Alburet, supporting him as they guided him to the chair. Alburet blinked, trying to adjust to the changes in his vision. Colors were far more vivid, and there seemed to be more of them. Everything was much more sharply defined, which did odd things to his depth perception. He looked up to watch Mother directing a small group of Succubi arranging the carts they brought in, along with some large covered thing.
The Succubi that followed Mother’s directions were the most refined and sensual creatures Alburet had ever seen. He could see the differences between Stacia’s demon form and their forms, though most of the refinements were subtle. Their wings were the most pronounced difference, being much larger than Stacia’s. Alburet saw one Succubus using her tail as a third hand, which Stacia was not able to do. But most telling was the way they moved. Dancers all over the world would have killed to be half as graceful.
“My daughters and granddaughters. These are the Succubus Ladies, equal in rank to the Destroyer Lords and Imp Lords.” Mother told him. “Alburet, would you like to view your new form before or after you have refreshed yourself?”
“Mirror, then food please, Mother.”
“Ladies,” Mother gestured and two Succubi moved forward before they pulled the cloth off what proved to be a large mirror in a standing frame.
Alburet blinked at his reflection. His face, hair and eyes were still the same. His skin now had a pronounced ruddy tinge to it and two small horns were on his brow, just visible through his hair. Baring his teeth, he found his maxillary canines had lengthened noticeably, but not to the extent of the Dark Lord’s fangs.
He stood up, still feeling rather wobbly, and pulled his chest armor and shirt off. The skin on his torso was a blackish hue that reddened as it went towards his extremities. He thought he might also be an inch or two taller. “Huh. So an imitation of the Dark Lord, then?”
“You’re the first to resemble him so closely after taking the Half-blood elixir.” Mother motioned and the curtain was put back over the mirror. “You should sit, please, and we’ll set out food for you.” She motioned again and the other Succubi moved their carts in closer, removing covers from plates and bowls.
Alburet sat down and with Stacia’s help got his shirt and armor back on. “Where are Tiny and Bob?”
“We are here, master,” Tiny rumbled from behind the Succubi.
“Did you help hold me down?”
“Yes, and you kicked me clean off of you,” Bob replied as he darted forward. “I mean, yeah, it wasn’t your fault and no hard feelings, but you threw me right into the wall!”
“Did you manage to hang on for eight seconds first?” Alburet asked, his lips quirking up.
“I had you for a good ten,” Bob said, looking puzzled.
“Then you get a prize,” Alburet chuckled as the Succubi finished setting up.
“I will arrange for that,” Mother said. She nodded to the two Succubi closest to Bob. “Ladies, this Imp has earned my favor along with his master’s. Treat him well, and attend his every need until his master calls for him again.”
“Oh, Mother, thank you! Thank you. I’m not worthy...” Bob kowtowed, not quite daring to kiss her hooves in his gratitude, “Thank you.”
“Bob,” Alburet said to get his attention. When Bob looked his way, Alburet smiled, “You’re done helping me for today. Go enjoy yourself, I’ll call on you again tomorrow.”
Bob sprang to his feet, feet dancing a mad jig and his wings fluttering almost quickly enough to lift him off the floor. He took the hands of the Succubi smiling down at him from either side, grinning up at them. “Two succubi, one bed. I mentioned that once, right?” With a cackle, he skipped out of the room flanked by the Succubi. Alburet was reminded of a small terrier tugging eagerly at its leash as Bob and the two Succubi Ladies left the room.
Alburet couldn’t help chuckling as he watched Bob go, “Tiny?”
“Yes, master,” Tiny rumbled.
“Go see to your wives, enjoy the rest of your day.”
“As the master wishes,” Bowing, Tiny walked out of the room.
“He has gained status as your Destroyer,” Mother told Alburet. “Soon, he will have more ladies vying to join his family.”
“I wish him luck, then,” Alburet said, eyeing the food displayed before him. “Will you be joining us for the repast, Mother?”
“Alas, other duties require my attention. My daughters here will be more than happy to stay with you and entertain you as you desire.”
Alburet shook his head, “I’m a one wife kind of guy.”
“You need not marry them,” Mother laughed. “Even the Dark Lord has no true wife. So, feel free to sample anything they offer you. I think you do not fully understand the privileges that accompany rank here. And you have considerable rank.”
“He be nay interested in others, Mother. I have told him it be fine, but he insists on his way for now.” Stacia said softly as she gently stroked Alburet’s neck. “He be silly, but I be lovin’ him all the same.”
“You know I’m right here, right?” Alburet replied. “I wish you a good day, Mother.”
With a small bow of her head, Mother swayed from the room. The other Succubi finished arranging the carts, ensuring the refreshments were all within easy reach of Alburet.
“May we speak with your wife while you eat, Alburet?” One of the succubi asked, her voice soft.
“She can speak to whomever she wishes,” Alburet replied absently, putting a sandwich together, which he then handed to Stacia. “I do not curtail her words, nor will I.”
“Let us step away from me master while he eats, Ladies,” Stacia accepted the sandwich and a kiss, then led the group away from him.
Alburet watched her go and his lips twisted just slightly. He knew what the conversation was going to be about. He wondered for a moment if maybe he should give in to what Stacia obviously wanted. No single man would turn down the bevvy of flesh that he could sample here.
As he chewed, his mind wandered back to his father. He’d been a god-fearing man who held to the sanctity of marriage. Alburet’s eyes grew moist at the memories and he wished his father was here. Just one day with his father, to discuss life and show his father that he’d found a woman who loved him, even if she was a demon.
“Would you approve, dad? Or would you curse me for loving a demon?” Alburet barely whispered between bites. “Would mom finally be happy that I found someone? Or would she hate the fact there would still be no grandkids?”
He was still lost in his thoughts when Stacia touched him gently. “Master, be ya done?”
Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up to find them alone and the carts gone. “Sorry, I got to wondering if my parents would be as accepting of you as your family was of me.”
“They love ya, master,” Stacia told him. “I be sure they would have been happy tha’ ya found love.”
“Of course,” Alburet said, getting to his feet. “How was the talk?”
“They all be askin’ to be considered to join us. They could nay grasp ya stance on marriage, but they be demons so they will wait patiently for me to give them an answer.”
“You could have just told them no,�
�� Alburet told her.
“Iffin I did tha’ and ya changed ya mind later, I would nay have a ready pool to pick from. What was the line Gerald said the other day? ‘Always be prepared’?”
Chuckling, Alburet pulled Stacia into a hug, “Yes he did. But let’s head home. I think I should sleep.”
“As ya wish,” Stacia murmured into his ear.
“I love you too, my little fire kitten.”
Together they drew out their Homestones and used them, reappearing before their home and guildhall. Alburet was vaguely aware of Stacia in both her human and demon forms leading him inside, to the bedroom, and putting him to bed. He was briefly aware of two naked bodies against him as darkness claimed him again.
Chapter Sixteen
Alburet woke to the sound of Stacia’s muffled moans of pleasure. He turned towards the sound to see her engaged with her Copy in a sixty-nine. He watched them with a smile as she brought both of her bodies to orgasm at the same time. When they collapsed into a heap, Alburet dismissed the Copy, which allowed him unfettered access to Stacia’s quivering flesh. He pinned her arms down as he loomed over her. “An interesting way to wake, Kitten, but now you’ve gotten me up.”
She gasped as he pressed forward, her legs wrapping around his waist. “Mayhap ya be goin’ to punish me for it?” she moaned as he began to take her.
Sometime later, when they were both sated from the morning exercise and cuddling on the bed, Alburet stirred. “I should check in with Ioaniss, Rolland and Kim this morning. We should also see what the others want to be doing today.”
“As ya wish, master,” Stacia murmured into his chest. “How do ya feel today?”
“Fine,” he replied as he stroked her hair.
“Ya passed out as soon as we got home,” she told him. “Mayhap it was just a way for ya body to adjust to the change.”
“Possibly,” Alburet gently untangled them and got to his feet. He stretched, and checked his new body out. He was relieved to see that nothing below the waist had changed, aside from the color of his skin. He hadn’t been paying much attention to those sorts of details earlier. Curious, he brought up his character screen to check if anything had changed. His race now was listed as Half-Blood Infernal. Tapping the race brought up an information screen, which he read over.
Half-Blood Infernal:
You are half Infernal, either by birth or by deed. Your demonic heritage grants you abilities based on the demon type of your Infernal half. Imp blood grants the ability to forgo the verbal components of spells. Destroyer blood grants resilience in battle and passive damage reduction. Succubus blood grants the passive ability to influence the emotions of others. The more powerful the bloodline, the more powerful the ability for those who are directly tied to that bloodline. Your blood comes from the Dark Lord himself. You gain the abilities of all bloodlines, at maximum rank.
You also gain 50% resistance to fire damage from all sources.
Negative side effects include lowered reputation with all factions by one full rank and slower reputation gains with all factions.
Alburet whistled softly, as he checked his reputations and saw that they had indeed all dropped by one standing. “Wow, that was quite the reputation hit,” he muttered.
“Aye,” Stacia said from behind him as she wrapped her arms around him. “Are ya goin’ to be okay?”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Alburet told her as they went into the bathroom to clean up.
Almost an hour later, Alburet sat at the table sipping coffee as Stacia started breakfast. “You really are insatiable, aren’t you Kitten?”
“Tha’ be nay true. I be perfectly content at the moment,” she replied. “It nay be me fault tha’ every time me eyes land on ya I be thinking of being under ya hand.”
Chuckling, Alburet pulled out his Mindstone and sent off messages to everyone. He filled his friends in on his day and sent messages to Rolland, Kim and Ioaniss. Not a minute later his icon lit up and he checked who had replied.
Message from Karen:
Can we come over and see? Fluff is with me.
Message from Gerald:
After my meeting we were thinking of hitting the Snowblind Hills, what do you think?
Alburet replied to both of them in the affirmative, telling Stacia. “Put two more sets of food on, love. Fluff and Karen are on their way over.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than knocking came at the door. “That was fast,” he laughed.
Answering the door, he found not the duo he expected, but his in-laws and friends. “What’s wrong?” Alburet asked, seeing visible worry on their faces.
They all stared at him with varying degrees of shock, except for Lilith, who smiled at him. “I’m sure you are not aware, but the Dark Lord informed his followers last night that he had bestowed his favor upon a Two-souled. We could think of only one person who might manage to procure such an honor, so we came to check.”
“What did you do?” Stewart finally said, having gotten over his shock.
“Come in and I’ll explain,” Alburet said, stepping aside. “Stacia, your family is here.”
Stacia looked over as they all came in, “We be expectin’ others in a few as well. Ma’, will ya join me in the kitchen an’ help get food enough ready for all?”
Lilith nodded as she glided over to help her daughter as the others all found seats. Before Alburet could close the door Fluff and Karen came around the corner. “We have company, so things might be a little tight for places to sit,” Alburet greeted them, giving them each a hug as they came in. Stewart and Grimgar gave up their seats to the ladies before anyone said anything. “Okay. Since everyone is here, I only have to tell the full story once.”
He began his story, and was interrupted very quickly by questions about how he’d come to have Ioaniss’s information. He cut them off and asked them to wait until the end to ask that and any other questions they came up with, and continued with the tale. Half-way through, Stacia and Lilith served plates to everyone, then taking their own seats in their husband’s laps. Alburet found it difficult to continue his story as Stacia alternated feeding him and herself, but he managed. He left out any mention of his memories. The subject still bothered him, and he wasn’t yet ready to share his concerns. There was a few minutes of silence as everyone finished eating when he’d concluded the tale and invited questions.
“I would love to know how ye even had Sir Jones’s information,” Grimgar said.
“He exchanged it with me back when I talked to him at the castle.”
“What about the Magiblood couple? Why were they so eager to go with?” Stewart asked.
“They’re good friends, and Rolland has an interest in all forms of magic. I saw no harm with them tagging along. I don’t know what he planned to ask the Dark Lord.”
“Ioaniss must be after information about the Forgotten Prison or something else equally obscure,” Alistern mused with a distant look.
“Did it hurt?” Fluffball asked softly. “The change. You said you took some kind of elixir, but not how it affected you.”
His eyes closed briefly as he considered how to explain it. “It is, without a doubt, the most physically painful thing I’ve ever experienced. It was as if my blood was boiling inside of me, and my bones were being twisted around and my teeth yanked out of my mouth without any anesthesia. Sprouting horns is the worst headache you can possibly imagine.”
“What does it mean? To be a Half-blood Infernal? Does it give you any cool perks?” Karen asked, garnering a look of puzzlement from the others.
“You aren’t upset about him being a Half-blood?” Stewart asked.
“No, why would I be?”
“Because Half-blood Infernals are barely tolerated in the city,” Fluff replied. “Alburet probably took large hits to his reputation for his change.”
Alburet opened his reputation tab. “Lost a full ranking with each major faction. Didn’t seem to affect individual reputations, those will probably change when I
interact with specific people.”
Reputation with the Stormguard Guards has been reduced to Friendly.
Reputation with all Stormguard factions has been reduced to Liked.
Reputation with all Dwelden factions has been reduced to Wary.
Reputation with all Elven factions has been reduced to Wary.
Reputation with all Lunari factions has been reduced to Wary.
“That isn’t horrible,” Karen said.
“My rep gains will also be much slower now,” Alburet told her. “As for perks, it depends on which demon your blood comes from. Stewart, are you half Destroyer or Imp?”
“Imp,” Stewart informed Alburet.
“So you can cast spells without words?”
“I usually say the words. Fewer questions that way,” Stewart told him, glancing sideways at the two people he didn’t really know.
Alpha Company (Alpha World Book 3) Page 20
