The Demon's Door
The young widower walked slowly through the market square, basket hanging from his left arm. Carefully, he surveyed the various stalls, looking for exactly what he needed. Soon, he thought, I won't be alone for much longer. That's when he saw him, the merchant dealing in jewelry and valuable metals. Making his way over to his stall, he waited until he finished with his customer, looking over his wares with little interest. As the young merchant looked his way, flashing him a friendly smile, his face didn't move at all.
"I am looking for something very particular. I was told you could help me find it." He said, coming straight to the point.
He slowed his pace at that and looked his customer over. He wasn't like most of the people in that town, his hair being so blonde as to be nearly silver, and his skin as pale as the moon. His face resembled that of a fox in shape, smooth and sharp at the same time, but it was his eyes that caught and held the gaze. They were like pure chips of ice.
"How...how can I help you?" he asked, for once not quick with a compliment to flatter his customer.
He simply gazed at him, his face showing no emotion. "I need a wide, shallow bowl, made of pure silver, exactly seven inches in diameter, with these symbols carved around the edge." With that he thrust a folded piece of parchment into his hands. "When can you have it done for me?"
He carefully unfolded the yellowed diagram and looked it over, his mouth settling into a thin line. "You ask me to do something very dangerous, sir. How much are you willing to pay?" Looking back up at the man, his eyes widened as he opened a drawstring purse and dumped a pile of gold coins on the table.
"I trust that this will be sufficient for your time. When can I expect my bowl to be ready?"
He carefully looked over the designs, then again at the pile of coins. "Come back in a week. It will be ready then." With that, he picked up his coins, turned and left the stall.
Soon...very soon...
Seven days later, he returned to the market, making his way straight to the merchants
stall. He was just finishing a sale and nodded to him, waving him around to the back alley. As he pocketed his customers coin and handed over the necklace he had sold, he locked up his merchandise and slipped through the back curtains.
"Do you have it?" he asked as soon as he stepped out into the alley.
"Of course I do, my sir. And do you have my gold?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than that bag containing the coins was tossed down by his feet. Nodding, he reached back through the curtain and picked up a small bundle there, handing it over to his customer. "It is just as you asked it to be. Though I must warn you, you deal with dangerous forces." But the man just gave him a sad smile and walked away.
*~*~*~*~*~*
It was the night of the full moon, and he had just finished his preparations as the moon neared its zenith. He sat in the center of pentacle, five white candles standing lit, one on each point of the star. A wooden frame stood five feet from the edge of the shape, inside a circle of powerful protective runes designed to contain magical forces. Make of oak and willow, it was carefully woven into the shape of a door, made only of wood that had fallen naturally. The bowl he had set in front of him, a small knife made of pure gold lay beside it. Picking up the knife, he mentally reviewed what he had to do, then took a deep breath, and sliced the blade across his palm, letting the blood from the shallow cut quickly fill the dish. "North, south, east, west, lintel, post, threshold and floor. Let the ancient magic flow, I call upon the Demon's Door!"
A sudden light filled the night, and he screamed as it blinded his. "Who dares to summon me?" he heard, the Demon's voice growling through the night.
"I do, oh ancient one." He replied, scrambling to his knees and bowing low before the beast which now stood before him, framed by the wood, surrounded by those ancient runes. "I called upon you to make a humble request, oh magnificent one."
The Demon let his gaze wander over the male figure before him, he not moving so much as an inch from his submissive posture. "Speak, worm, and I will consider the matter."
Taking a chance, he looked up, taking in the sight of the creature he had summoned, and his breath caught in his throat. The beast looked like nothing so much as a panther. It was over six feet tall, the color of the darkest midnight, and unmistakably male. He wore nothing to conceal his manhood, and as the man's gaze traveled over his body, all thoughts of freeing his wife's soul from this monster's clutch vanished, and in its place, he felt nothing but the desire to join her under the demon's control. Reminding himself why he was there, he looked the demon in the eye. "You kidnapped my wife, beast, and I wish her free."
If anything, the giant feline looked amused, and this was in fact the case. "You ask for a boon, mortal, but offer nothing in return. In truth, I have enjoyed your wife's...company. Do you truly think that you have anything I desire enough to replace her?"
Taking a deep breath, the man stood up and began walking forward, stopping at the edge of the containment barrier. "I do, demon. I offer myself to you, in exchange for her freedom, with no memory of what has happened to her, only with the knowledge that I am gone forever. Do this, and I come with you freely, to do with as you please."
The demon arched an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing speculatively. "Very well, human, I accept your offer. I was beginning to tire of her anyways, and it has been many centuries since anybody has come to me willingly. Step into the circle, and we shall seal this bargain."
"No," the man said quickly. "I wish for you to seal it in blood first."
Growling, the feline nodded once in agreement. His tail lashing back and forth angrily, he held one arm out over the runes that formed the circle, stopping just short of the edge. Extending the claws on the opposite paw, he drew one swiftly over his wrist and let a stream of blood fall onto the ancient language. "By blood do I swear, by blood am I bound. You're turn, worm."
Taking a deep breath, the man drew the gold knife over his palm again, then holding it over where the panther's blood had fallen and let his own cover it. "By blood do I swear, by blood am I bound."
Smiling, the ancient creature grabbed hold of the man's wrist and pulled him into the circle, crushing him against his furred chest. The human had just an instant to realize that neither of them were bleeding anymore before the demon pressed his lips roughly to his own, forcing him into a deep kiss. The human felt a moment of panic and tried to pull away, but he quickly came to realize that this was what he'd agreed to. With a low growl, the demon broke off the kiss and gestured behind him towards the wooden frame. As he did so, the aperture lit up, and he pulled his new toy into his own dimension. The man looked about him as he stepped through, into a long white tunnel, seemingly without end. Suddenly, movement from farther down caught his eyes, and he strained to see what it was, hoping that the demon hadn't found some loophole. Just as he caught a good look of her face, and realized that it WAS his wife, the tunnel vanished from around himself and the demon, and instead he found himself in a lushly furnished bedroom.
"I've kept my part of the bargain, worm, and now it is your turn." With a simple hand gesture on the part of the feline, the man's clothing disappeared in the blink of an eye, and he stood before the demon, completely nude. Making a purring noise deep in his throat, the creature looked him up and down. "Very nice," he said, "I may have come out of this better than I thought..." Digging his claws into the man's shoulder, the panther-demon forced his new slave to knees, the man's face inches from the creature's sheathe. "Now, worm, I think you know what needs to be done to pleasure your new master, don't you?" he said in a sultry voice.
The human closed his eyes for a second, trying to put off what he knew was inevitable, then slowly raised one hand to rub the sheath and massive balls of the demon. When he saw the creature's shaft swiftly emerging, he shuddered, but leaned forward anyways, slowly licking along the length, from base to tip. Then it was the demon's turn to shudder, but in pleasure rather than revulsion, and he hardened even more swiftly as the man plied his tongue along the pointed shaft. "Yes, worm," the feline growled. "Just like that. Now, I know you know what I want you to do. You wouldn't want to disappoint your new master, now would you?" he asked with a throaty chuckle that sent shivers down the man's spine.
Nodding, the man pulled down on the demon's long cock, until it pointed straight at him, and let it slide slowly into his mouth. He groaned, ashamed at what he was doing, and this just brought another amused chuckle to the panther demon. Closing his eyes again, he began to bob his head forward and back, forward and back, keeping his mouth tightly closed, trying to ignore the heat that pressed against the roof of his mouth and his tongue.
Before long, the creature reached down, digging the fingers of one hand into the human's hair, and the man felt the powerful claws pricking his skull. As he did, he also felt his new master begin to thrust into his mouth, and he had to choke back a gag as the hard cock pressed against the back of his throat again and again. The creature began to thrust faster into his mouth, purring in obvious pressure and anticipation, before finally shuddering, his seed shooting out in thick ribbons, filling the man's mouth even though he swallowed as fast as he could, daring not let any of the thick liquid spill out, else he offend the creature who's claws still pressed into the back of his head. It seemed to go on for ages, but for all the man knew, that could just be what the demon wanted him to think.
"Good work, worm." The man heard the feline purr. "I think I shall keep you around for a nice, long time." And that's all he knew before he felt one of those needle sharp claws prick into his skin, and his entire world faded to black, the salty sweetness of the demon's seed still coating his mouth.
* * * * *
The young widow walked slowly through the market square, basket hanging from her left arm. Carefully, she surveyed the various stalls, looking for exactly what she needed. Soon, she thought, I won't be alone for much longer...