Loyalty Oath

by Edmund Hughes

  “We can be quick,” whispered Eleanor. “Won’t you show me more of your dancing skills, Halrin?”

  She turned so that her back was to him and pushed her bare butt against his crotch. Hal reached around to her front, his hands palming her small breasts through her dress as he pressed his erection into her. He smiled to himself as he felt his heart pounding with excitement, both from his arousal and the risk of them getting caught.

  After a quick glance down the hallway to make sure that nobody was heading their way, Hal lowered his trousers just far enough to free his cock. Eleanor was grinding into him, her body eager and ready to be taken. Seeing her like that was enough to shatter any illusions he’d had about the sweet, innocent looking girl.

  Sweet and innocent is alright. But this… might be better.

  Hal kissed her neck and leaned her forward against the closed door of the entranceway. It took him a couple of seconds to find the right angle, but he knew immediately once he had, the tight crush of her wet, hot lane welcoming his shaft inside.

  They both let out matching sighs of pleasure as Hal slowly began to move, one hand massaging her butt under the skirt while the other took turns playing with her breasts over the outside of her dress. He thrust slowly, trying to keep Eleanor quiet as tiny squeals of pleasure escaped her lips.

  He was paranoid about being caught, and at first, it distracted him. Eleanor reached her hand back and ran it through his hair, pulling his attention back to her young, nubile body. He pumped his cock deeper into her, feeling the momentum of his pleasure building, drawing him in.

  Eleanor shifted, widening her stance and pushing her butt higher into the air. Hal took hold of her waist and let himself fall into a slow, deliberate rhythm, pulling her back into him as his hips pushed forward. He went back a little too far on one thrust and fumbled to get the tip of his shaft back inside her, to no avail.

  “You’re so cute,” whispered Eleanor. “Here.”

  She reached around and gave him a helping hand. Hal cupped one of her breasts and pushed as deep into her as he could go, savoring the sensation.

  He was about to begin building his pace again when a noise came from down the hallway, back toward the party. His heart skipped a beat as he rushed to make himself decent. Eleanor fixed her skirts and let out a nervous laugh, which made Hal laugh, too.

  The person who’d intruded on their encounter bumbled by them with drunken steps, taking zero notice of their ruffled hair and embarrassed expressions. Hal was about to suggest that they pick up from where they’d left off when a loud shout came from the ballroom, followed immediately by several more.

  He frowned, slowly making his way down the hallway, half expecting the party attendees to have discovered their hijinks, somehow. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of at least half of the crowd pressed up against the ballroom’s windows, peering out into the night.

  The floor suddenly shook, almost as though an earthquake had hit the estate. Earthquakes were uncommon in Cardvale, but not unheard of. Hal glanced toward Eleanor in time to see her making her way back toward her friends.

  Whatever had caught the attention of the crowd had also pulled it away from Karnas, who’d been flanked by hangers-on for most of the party. It was the best chance Hal would have to speak with him alone that night, and he decided to take it. He hoped that Eleanor would still be in a flirtatious mood when he got back, but when he looked over at her, he found that she’d joined the rest of the crowd by the window.

  “What is it?” asked a slightly overweight man.

  “I have no idea…” said Mauve, who was near the center of the crowd. Hal spotted Lilith by his side, and she was looking his way. She smiled and gave a slight nod. Hal took a single step and then winced as the stone on his necklace suddenly burned hot against his chest.

  He pulled it out and looked at it, impressed by how brightly it was suddenly glowing. He glanced up to see if anyone else had noticed it just as he heard the screams.

  Flames erupted through the windows along the ballroom, the same windows that nearly every attendee of Karnas’s victory party was pushed tightly up against, vying for the best view outside. Hal could feel the heat from where he stood, and had a perfect view of the horror as it unfolded.

  Lilith. Sweet, innocent Lilith. She’d been front and center. She hadn’t been given any time to react or to do anything other than be so tragically unlucky. The flames hit her in a direct burst, instantly turning clothing, skin, tissue, everything but a handful of bones into ash and dust. Hal felt a scream being torn from his chest. He had his pistol out, though he had no recollection of drawing it.

  Karnas was screaming, though it was as much for his own pain as for his beloved daughter. He’d been just far enough back to miss the brunt of the heat, but his hair and chest were alight. Hal stumbled forward, numb and unsure. He couldn’t think clearly, let alone understand what was going on.

  “Halrin!” screamed Karnas. “Run!”

  The ceiling of the Karnas estate caved inward in a cascade of roof tiles and dust, and something out of a nightmare poked through. A scaled black reptilian head half the size of a carriage stared down at Hal and his immolated father, watching them both with crimson red eyes.

  Its skin was shiny, segmented, and glistening in the light. Blood from an unknown victim already dripped from its dagger sized teeth, and faint trails of smoke escaped its nostrils in tepid puffs.

  “My daughter!” screamed Karnas. “You monster!”

  He charged forward, still smoldering where the fire had hit him. Hal watched, unable to find his courage or his voice, as his father made a made a foolhardy dash forward. The fight, if it could even be called that, was over in less than a second.

  The monster pecked its snout down like a chicken digging for grub, except it opened its mouth wide at the last second. Karnas was seized by its dagger sized teeth. The creature bit down on him once, the sound of it a wet, sickening crunch, and Karnas instantly went limp.

  Hal fell to his knees as he watched the monster chew and swallow, using a long, disgusting tongue to lick its teeth clean of the man who’d raised him. It didn’t seem real. It couldn’t be real. It was all happening too fast, and Hal was still right there, watching it.

  I can’t just sit here!

  He coughed as he forced himself back to his feet, smoke and the scent of charred flesh clogging his throat. The people who’d managed to avoid the creature’s first onslaught were letting out desperate screams as they fled the estate. Hal had no intention of running, though even if he’d wanted to, the flames from the earlier attack had already cut off most of his avenues of escape.

  He already had his pistol in hand, and he squeezed its handle tight enough to make his hand hurt. The monster had pulled back from its entrance point, not to abandon its siege, but to expand the hole outward, destroying more of the building’s roof.

  He lifted his gun in a trembling hand, took aim at the monster, and fired. The shot went wide, missing the monster’s head by several feet. It let out a roar and surged forward, its long neck stretching and pulling a fat, reptilian body into the ballroom along with it.

  The gnashing teeth were still covered in his father’s blood, and they snapped closed a few feet from his face. The monster exhaled near enough for him to smell its putrid breath. Hal was shivering, but he forced himself to stay upright, and forced his eyes to focus on what was happening.

  There was someone on the creature’s back. Hal stared up at a man wearing a golden full helm with a thin eye slit. A red cloak trailed off his shoulders, and loose chain mail covered his chest. The man seemed to pull at the monster, his hands digging into its neck until the grotesque thing halted in place.

  Hal sheathed his empty pistol and took a slow step back, his fear suddenly hitting him with a vengeance. The monster seemed to sense his weakness, and picked that moment to finally strike. It lashed out, not with its teeth, but with one of its claws, knocking Hal off his feet and pinning him to the floor in
a single movement.

  He screamed with all the air he had left in his lungs. The monster’s claw was wider across than his chest was broad, but only barely. It seemed to enjoy toying with him, letting the razor like claws dig into his skin, threatening to snap his ribs. He was sure that the creature could do it if it wanted to.

  Seconds went by. Hal had never in his life felt so tiny, fragile, and weak. He’d already vomited up what was left of his dinner, and his stomach was threatening to suffocate him through the continued dry heaves.

  The monster squeezed again. Hal screamed again. He shut his eyes, but that only made the reality of what was happening worse. He reached his weak hands up and tried to pull at the dragon’s claws. It was as though he was trying to put a bend into a sharp sword blade, and he only managed to cut one of his palms.

  Hal felt the pressure against his chest increase for an instant as the creature leaned over him, and then he was pulled into the air. His head whipped back from the speed of it. He had an instant to see the true carnage wrought by the monster on his family’s home. Dozens of corpses lay scattered across the lawn, and the estate itself was in flames. It would be abandoned, though he didn’t expect to survive for long enough to be around to care.

  The monster held him aloft for a few more seconds. Hal turned his gaze onto the rider atop it, hatred surging through his blood and bones for the man who’d orchestrated the deaths of everyone he’d loved.

  And then, the monster leapt into the air, still carrying Hal. He could hear and feel the rushing of its wings, a sound that reminded him of standing too close to one of Roth’s drums while he was in the middle of a furious rhythm.

  Hal got another look downward at what remained of the Kentar Estate as the creature flew off, carrying him like a predator after a successful hunt. It was his home, and it was now a funeral pyre, consumed by flames and thick with the smell of death.

  Heartgem Homestead