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Red Winter

Chapter 7: Just a Taste

Sneak Peek

The door opened and the wards dimmed. Kaleth and Bereft blinked slowly, the tears leaving their vision blurry and their eyes itchy. They couldn’t quite see who was on the other side of the glass. After having been blinded by holy light for so long their vision was permanently marred.

Bereft, I can’t see. Kaleth’s thoughts trickled by through the fever dream that was their existence.

I…I don’t want to watch.

That was fair. Kaleth knew what it was like to see your death coming. When Tobias slammed that knife into his chest, the pain and cold that came with it left a permanent mark on his soul. He deserved better.

I can watch for you.

Kaleth could feel Bereft’s essence squirming like an earthworm in salt, trying to wring his worry out and fail miserably. There were a few heartbeats, some murmured words on the other side of the glass. Then Kaleth felt his eyes healing, the searing pain vanishing as Bereft’s power restored their vision. The milky gray orbs in his sockets bled back to life with color.

“Ah, good,” a smooth voice rang on the other side of the glass. “We haven’t sapped you of all your power. Wouldn’t be good for interrogation if you were completely braindead.”

“Who…” Kaleth tried to speak, only to cough. His throat was so dry. He tried to swallow, only managing to get his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He knew who was on the other side of the glass. She wore a DSC habit and had pristine white fur. The tabernacle warped her image so it was difficult to place at first. Was Kaleth always this slow before Bereft augmented him? It was hard to tell.

“Maybe we left you in the light too long,” Yule said as she sat down in a folding chair before Kaleth’s prison. “Is there anything left in that husk or are you just going to lay down for the void?”

You want me to talk to her for you? Kaleth thought maybe Bereft could sit this out and he could speak on his behalf.

“No…” Bereft’s voice squeaked out dryly, the challenge striking a nerve and causing their shared eyes to glow red. “You…you’re the cunt from the EC office…” Bereft healed their mouth, watering it with a little energy to make them speak more clearly. “Or should I say dick.”

“Words from a dead man walking don’t have the same punch as when they’re threatening me in my office,” Yule smiled weakly. “I have some questions for you. First and foremost, Tarnish, are there any other demons here under your care?”

“N-No…” Bereft hissed at being compelled to speak, trying to resist the spell for a brief moment before giving in. There was no use. “I command no other demons on this plane.”

“How many do you command on other planes?” Yule asked.

“Currently none,” Bereft responded, relaxing into the interrogation.

“And before?” Yule’s eyes narrowed.

“Legions,” Bereft growled it out.

Seriously? Legions? Kaleth asked, but Yule appeared to share the same skepticism.

“So, a pretty powerful demon,” Yule nodded. “Now, are you exaggerating Tarnish?”

“I’m down playing it,” Bereft let it slip like it was a surprise even to him. He peeled back his lips in a silent snarl. He should know better than try to trick someone who’s lived through a demon deal twice now.

Oh, Kaleth was shocked.

“Oh,” Yule had heard many demons boast before, but typically cut their ego down to size with that last question. This time it gave her pause. “You actually are a powerful demon.”

“You saw me sew the flesh of someone’s soul ripped eyes back together, and you still thought I wasn’t powerful?” Bereft cocked a brow. “Why so interested?”

“I need to assess you before you’re to be exorcised,” Yule relaxed back into her chair, but her heel was bouncing.

Bereft narrowed his eyes and sniffed a few times, but couldn’t smell anything through the tabernacle, but he noticed her unease.

“Oh,” Bereft smirked, a dark thrill slipping up through his spine. “You wanted to know if I could actually make good on the deal I offered before.”

“Still grasping at straws? Do you think I’m stupid enough to set a demon like you free for the chance to change my body? Don’t make me laugh.”

“I never even said what I wanted out of the deal, but you’re already going high.” Bereft chuckled dryly.

“If you think you’re getting out of this room without someone with Holy magic to touch the wards, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Relax Father Berg,” Bereft groaned. “I know I’m not in a position to negotiate, but I also ain’t giving something for nothing.”

There was a pause before Bereft spoke again.

“Cat got your tongue?” Bereft mocked.

“Don’t ever call me that again?” Yule rumbled.

“What? Father Ber—”

The amount of blaring light that roared around them blinded them again, the wards being cranked up so high that even the outlines of the runes were gone. It was like being in the center of a sun, roaring flames all around. It was like hell, only far more painful. Their scales blistered and popped, cracked as more of their size dwindled off them. Just as soon as it happened, it stopped. Bereft was breathing hard, their eyes slowly coming back into focus, the color an enraged purple.

“You bitch,” Kareft huffed out, the two of them yelling at the Sister. Though, yelling wasn’t the best word to describe it. It was more like dry rasping and crackling vocal folds.

“Better,” Yule was curt. “At least your insults are about the appropriate gender. Don’t make me do that again. I doubt you’d be able to speak after another shock like that.”

“Then out with it then bitch,” Bereft spat, a bit of a whimper in his voice, the blisters popping and healing over. “What the hell do you want?”

“I need more information—”

“Enough with the interrogation charade,” Bereft barked back. “You already know everything you need to about my work here on this plane. From Mathias and Tobias, to the piss ant I’m bound to. You destroyed my brood nest, you captured my thralls, what more do you need to know? Nothing, that’s what! You just want a taste of what I can give you, don’t you.”

There was a pause as Yule glared at them through the glass.

“I bet you’re not even officially supposed to be here,” Bereft croaked out before swallowing hard and trying to find any semblance of saliva to coat his throat. “Did you sneak back in here?”

“I’m here on official business,” Yule countered, but the lie tickled Bereft’s ears and made them twitch.

“You naughty little wanna-be nun,” Bereft chuckled dryly, in more ways than one. “You think you can get a third deal and make out with your soul?”

“I’m not looking for a deal,” Yule set her book down beside her chair. “I’m demanding you do as I say.”

“You really think I’m going to help you? You’ll be exorcising me as soon as you get what you want.”

“And I’m not going to let you have my soul, nor am I going to give you your freedom. If there is nothing I can give you the point is moot.”

“You can agree to not be the one to exorcise me,” Bereft spoke flat.

What are you doing? Kaleth asked.

Shut it, let me work here. Bereft chided his body mate. “I will give you a taste of what you desire, for a vow that you’ll never be the one to exorcise me.”

“Just me?” Yule cocked a brow. “What good would that do, Tarnish?” She emphasized it with his name to get a straight answer.

“None,” Bereft answered truthfully. “It does nothing. I’ll still be trapped and at your mercy, yours to pluck at my brain with my name until you get everything you need. Then you can just get someone else to exorcise me.”

Bereft, what do we even get out of this? Kaleth demanded. What’s the point?

Time! Bereft shot back. I’m getting us time! As long as we have time, we have a chance.

Oh, Kaleth knew it was a desperate scramble for any semblance of control, to stave off the inevitable void, but who was he to stop him. Bereft deserved as much time as he could scrape out of the situation. The thing Bereft needed most in this moment was hope, and he wasn’t going to be the one to cut him down.

Yule sat there for a moment, mulling things over.

“You know a vow isn’t the same as a demon deal,” Yule pursed her lips. “I would be making a sacred promise, bound to my word to God that I would follow through. That’s asking a lot more than your typical demon would.”

“I’m not a typical demon,” Bereft smiled darkly. “Besides, a demon deal would mean nothing if you were to kill me, you’d be breaking the code waiting for me to enact it on you. But I’d be dead. That’s dealing in bade faith, and you nuns are all about having faith, right? We’ll I think we can go over my head and have your God be the arbiter of your fate if you break your vow. That way you won’t be inclined to kill me as soon as you get your taste.”

Taste? I’m confused, what are you talking about? Kaleth tried to keep up with things, but Yule already knew what Bereft was talking about. He didn’t understand how one could get a taste of a deal without striking one.

You can’t entice someone into selling their soul with words alone, Bereft explained quickly. Contrary to popular dogma, faith isn’t so common amongst the clergy. They want proof.

Proof? Kaleth felt more confused.

Just watch and learn.

“So, for a taste of temptation, you want me to vow that I won’t be the one to slay you?” Yule cocked a brow. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Bereft nodded.

“What’s your angle, Tarnish.” Yule spoke.

“I’d rather look Lorain in the eye when she kills me and not some wanna be nun,” he smirked darkly. It was true, but if Yule pressed, he’d spill his guts.

But she didn’t.

“I think I can agree to that,” Yule nodded. “Hypothetically of course.”

“Sure, whatever hypothetically gets you hard,” Bereft chuckled, but it cracked off into a cough. “We have a deal then?”

“Yes, I accept your deal,” Yule spoke it, and Bereft’s essence rippled, the faintest hole in the warding allowing him to reach out and touch Yule’s soul, another contract written on her soul without claiming it.

“Careful there Yule,” Bereft warned. “You’re starting to look like a hell mage on the inside.”

Something with how Bereft said it struck Kaleth. For some reason, he knew that was meant for him.

“Your words mean nothing to me,” Yule winced at the prickling fear from her soul being marked. She then felt the energy welling inside of her, the demon deal prepping her vow. She sighed and did a sign of the cross, her finger tips glowing as she did so. “I, Yule V Berg, solemnly vow under the eyes of the angels and saints to not be the one to exorcise the demon Tarnish.” She went on to say something in Latin, followed by a string of identifying info like her rank and station in the DSC. When she finished, the energy inside of her dissipated, her vow accepted and bound upon her soul.

While she was signing her vow, Kaleth felt a chunk of his soul being ripped. The fear he felt numbed by the light of the tabernacle.

What are you doing? Kaleth shivered.

I’m taking you with me.

Taking me where?

“Alright,” Bereft cracked his neck, the only thing the tabernacle allowed him to move. “My turn.”

Bereft! What are you doing?

“Don’t try anything funny while you’re in there either,” Yule warned.

“I can’t,” Bereft hissed. “You know the rules of negotiation as much as I do. We’re both free of harm during negotiations. I can’t harm you.”

But you can. Bereft’s voice curled around Kaleth’s ear like the hot breath of a snake.

“I meant not to try to break free while we’re doing this. I can keep these wards together in my sleep. I can hold open the crack for your essence to reach me, but you won’t be able to get out without shredding your essence to bits.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see,” Bereft felt Yule’s mind open up to him, his marks on her soul giving him a back door to reach in as long as she were to leave it open. And she was wide open for the taking.

Kaleth’s mind’s eye stretched, the world warping before something snapped and the world was a dizzying slurry of black static and oily hews.

***

Kaleth jerked the wheal back into alinement to keep from swerving into oncoming traffic.

“Watch it!” Yule shouted from behind. “Are you trying to kill me? We had a deal?”

“I…I um…” Kaleth’s hands gripped the leather of the wheal to keep from shaking. “I…”

“Tarnish? Is this some kind of joke?” Yule spoke with distain.

“Your destination is on the right,” a mechanical voice came from the navigation on the car’s dash. Maybe Yule didn’t recognize the voice, but Kaleth did. That was Bereft’s voice warped by the car’s speakers. Kaleth shook. He had never driven a car before. Not since driver’s education, but he never got his license. He slowed down, his muscles moving out of an instinct he didn’t have. Bereft was moving him, slowing down and shifting into park. “You have arrived at your destination.”

Kaleth looked back using the rear view mirror. Yule was sitting in the back in her uniform. She did cut quite a cute figure when it wasn’t warped by the glass of the tabernacle. But how did they get out? Where the fuck were they?

As Kaleth’s body put the car into park, Bereft’s influence left him, leaving his body to move freely. Though, he wasn’t sure what to do. He looked over himself and noticed he was wearing a DSC uniform, the navy blue leaving him trim and proper. He looked like a young soldier who had just gotten his first vows and stripes. They had stopped next to a modest looking home, much like what Mathias had. White picket fence, beautiful oak tree in the front yard, and a veranda wrap around porch. The siding was white, the shingles a brilliant blue, and all the curtains blew in the soft breeze let in by the open windows.

The sound of a lawn mower cut out and Kaleth glanced over to see that a snow leopard, a tall and powerful looking man had stopped mowing the lawn. The man was bare chested, strong pectorals above a sweat slicked set of abdominals. His athletic shorts were airy, hints of his junk pulling the fabric with his swagger as he came up to the car, his tank top tucked into the back of his shorts at having taken it off during his yard work. He got too close to the back door for Kaleth to see, but when he looked in the side mirror, the snow leopard’s eyes were red, a sly grin playing at his lips.

Then he opened the car door for Yule.

“Welcome home darling,” he spoke in a warm, loving tone, the smell off freshly cut grass, sunshine, and sweat of a hard working man’s brow graced Kaleth’s nose. The faintest smell of sun warmed earth hinting behind him.

“You dare take his face?” Yule sounded warry. “I thought you weren’t trying to torture me.”

“Sorry,” the snow leopard chuckled shyly before looking back up with a soft grin, golden eyes full of a believable love and comfort. It was as though looking upon Yule was more refreshing than a glass of ice water on that warm summer’s day. He then held out a hand for her, his pads calloused and graced with earth, his wedding ring scuffed and dim from working in the yard. “I guess it’s in my nature. Can’t help it.”

Despite the comment alluding to the fact Bereft was torturing Yule, his voice was warm, apologetic, caring. Kaleth believed deep in his bones that this man wanted nothing but happiness and comfort for this arctic fox.

It was a few heartbeats before Yule reached out and accepted his hand. She did pause for a moment, noticing the ring on her own hand before being helped from the car. Yule lifted herself from the back seat and was brought up to the curb, her boots clicking on the concrete.

“I don’t need to remember him like this,” Yule adjusted her glasses, but the snow leopard crouched down, the man surprisingly tall. He had to have at least two feet on the dainty fox. She was much daintier than in reality, Kaleth was sure of it. The snow leopard then gently took her glasses off and slipped them onto the hem of his athletic shorts before the kindest smile welled up over his muzzle.

“You have the most beautiful eyes, Yule,” Bereft spoke it as though the words welled up with so much care and beauty, that there was nowhere else for the words to go. It made Kaleth’s heart melt, his knees shook just from the memory of how those words flowed from the demon’s lips. Though, Yule had a very different reaction.

Yule slapped him. The sweat struck from his brow glittered in the sunlight as she did.

“How dare you,” Yule’s shoulders were heaving. “H-How dare you use those words against me. You…you…”

“Demon?” The snow leopard looked back, his eyes just as golden as before and his words just as honeyed. “You know how this works Yule.” He spoke her name like a jewel he let drop from his tongue. “I pull from your deepest desire, the greed in your soul.”

He lifted his hand and moved it to cup her muzzle, but paused, a gentle parting of his lips and a furrow of his brow a silent request for permission. Yule simply closed her eyes and he took that as consent to bring his hand forth. Her face cradled into his palm, the warmth of those fingers contrasted deeply from the warmth she last felt them in.

“We both know you’d give anything for more time with Erling,” Bereft spoke it with such tenderness, as though he were worried Yule might break under the words if they were any harsher.

“But a demon cannot give what belongs to God,” Yule bit her lower lip. “You monster. This isn’t want I wanted. I wanted something that you can provide. My body…”

“I know, I know,” Erl spoke in hushed tones, trying to calm Yule. “But why not rewrite an ending or two while we’re here? We can do something to change those nightmares into sweet dreams. Yule, let me do this for you. Please.”

“Is…is it right?”

“You’re worried about that?” Bereft chuckled softly, kneeling down further, his legs spread wide as he looked up into Yule’s eyes. “You’re here with a demon? What greater sin could be committed? Besides, this is all in your head, but we need not pretend it doesn’t feel real.”

Bereft accompanied his words by tenderly rubbing his thumb against her pristine cheek, a slight smudge of dirt marring her otherwise perfect fur. She felt that, the warmth in his thumb, the light grit of dirt from working the flower plots, the heart he put into the yard, his still beating heart.

“I think I can allow that,” Yule let the words slip from her lips like it was a prayer she meant to keep private.

“You sure?” Bereft was so gentle, so kind, it almost felt like he was an entirely different person.

“Yeah,” Yule sniffed. I think I can handle that.

“That’s my girl,” Erl gave her a soft smile. “I’d hug you, but I’m kind of all sweaty—oh!”

Yule didn’t care. She flung herself against the snow leopard, a soft thud of her chest hitting his accompanied the Bereft’s grunt of surprise before his arms came down. He hesitated at first, not wanting to get sweat on her uniform. He knew how much she cared about keeping it clean. Not many women make it into the DSC. But then he abandoned the worry for the cloth and pulled Yule into a deep hug.

“I missed you,” Erl murred out, his tail curling around her as well as though he couldn’t hold her close enough.

“It’s been so long I almost forgot what you smell like,” Yule signed.

“Darling, it’s only been a day,” Erl chuckled. “Come on in. I could use a break from yardwork anyway. Made some fresh lemonade too.”

The two started their way up the walkway to the house. Kaleth swore everything he saw was true love, a deep devotion that ran through them.

“Hey! Dip Shit!”

“Fuck!” Kaleth jumped out of his skin. “What the…”

“Over here!” Bereft ordered to Kaleth. The drake looked into the side mirror where the snow leopard’s face was still reflected despite having left, only instead his kind yellow eyes were blazing red. “Hey, get to work finding a way out of this.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“You still braindead from that holy light! Look alive!” Bereft snapped. “You want to prove you’re not a chicken shit coward, now’s the time.”

“What the fuck do you want me to do?” Kaleth lifted his hands up. “I still don’t understand what’s going on.”

“I don’t have time to spell it out for you,” Bereft huffed. “I’m distracting the dick chick here. You go find where she’s keeping the wards up.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“We’re in Yule’s head, shit for brains! Get to work while I work the skank!”

With that Bereft’s image burned away.

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