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The Life of Windsire

Chapter 5: Demonic Protection

Sponsored by ShaeSullivan

By Draconicon

Four years had passed since the event with the naga, and since Jayanta had taken his name. Over the course of those years, Windsire slowly grew to make a name for himself beyond the simple status of being Prince Saunak's bodyguard, and his reputation grew accordingly. From stopping a war between Aparajita and Hell after a demonic incursion to being one of the Mongoose Court's foremost defenses against the Great Hood, Windsire had made himself not just part of the family, but a staple of Aparajitan court life, as well.

It was just a little annoying that he was still confined to the loincloth as a uniform, but Jayanta liked it, even if he didn't. It flopped around when he walked, when he stood still in the wind, and most importantly, when he was fighting.

Tack, tack, tack, went the wooden blades between himself and Girisha, the mongoose general chuckling as they circled each other. Exchanging blows that would have broken lesser soldiers, they came together, each of them holding two blades and pressing down with all their strength against the other. For the first time, Windsire could feel his old teacher pushing back and shaking with the strain, barely able to hold him back.

Girisha grinned.

"Hehehe, I remember when you would have broken when I pushed this hard...look at you now."

"I've learned much from you, and from the rest of the family."

They split, the mongoose spinning his blades as Windsire set himself. The crowd of soldiers around them were cheering for the pair of them, most for the general, but some for him as well. He didn't let his smile show, but it was a good feeling to have them on his side for once.

He circled around from the other side, taking his time to find his footing. The stone courtyard was smooth underfoot, but hard, making it a little more difficult to keep thumping along the way that his body wanted to. He had to take it slower than he wanted, which gave Girisha the slight advantage. As muscled as the general was, he was a lighter species, able to move faster without pushing so much weight around.

They darted together again, wooden swords clacking and cracking against each other. A rapid exchange that was quickly broken, followed by another. He blocked a kick from the side with his leg, and brought one of his blades down low to block the follow-up blow towards his sack.

"Rough, sir. Very rough."

"Heh, you'd take the same opportunity."

Windsire smiled slightly, and Girisha's smirk dropped by the same amount.

"Oh, fuck."

The stallion followed up on that with a hard kick, and managed to get a glancing blow in on the general's family jewels. Leaping back had managed to soften the blow a little bit, but he imagined that Girisha had felt that one just fine.

As the mongoose general panted and gasped for breath, shaking his head, Windsire resisted the urge to leap forward and finish the fight. Jayanta wanted it, as usual, but he didn't want to follow up one cheap move with another. Instead, he spun his swords around in a lazy circle.

"Is that better than you expected, general?"

"Better than I hoped. Mmmph."

Girisha shook his head a few times.

"I'll have to keep an eye on what I'm saying, heh. Damn, boy, but you've learned well."

"I've had the best teachers."

"I'd say so. You had me, of course."

The general chuckled, the soldiers around them still cheering for the fight to continue. The idea of actually winning against the older mongoose, showing just how strong he'd become, was something that was actually in his grasp. He could prove that he was just as good as the stories told, build up a legend now.

Windsire smiled as he set himself. Almost twenty years of working under the general, nine years serving as Prince Saunak's personal bodyguard, and four years of being the defense of the Court had paid off. The royal guard no longer feared him, no longer wished him cast out. Or, at least, the old hands didn't.

"Cheating demon."

The words cut through the cheers, and the gathered soldiers all went silent. Girisha whipped his head around, narrowing his eyes into the assembled soldiers.

"Who said that?"

Nobody answered, but Windsire already knew. He knew, because Jayanta knew, and the demon was not happy.

That rhino. There. That one right there. He's the one that still thinks that we don't belong.

He's new. He's not used to seeing someone like us.

Doesn't matter. He's still seeing us as something less, something that shouldn't be here. He should be feeling lucky that his country has us serving it, working for them and making sure that it stays safe. Oh, this...this guy...

Windsire shook his head. The fact that his other half was pushing at his arms enough to actually make the muscles start twitching was worrying, but he felt that he had a reasonably good grip on the demon. He wasn't going to get free that soon or that easily. As long as this didn't escalate any further, they should be...okay.

Escalate? I just want to defend myself here. Ourselves!

Girisha is in charge of the soldiers. Let him decide how to challenge this.

It was down to protocol, something that he knew his other half didn't like. Demons dealt with challenges like this, fought it out, and finished it without others getting involved. But that wasn't the way that it worked in a day to day life. They needed to be normal. They needed to use their power responsibly, needed to actually let the authority figures that the soldiers respected and were actually in the hierarchy give permission, first.

Girisha suddenly reached into the crowd, pulling the rhino that Jayanta had spotted out. The older mongoose pulled the soldier's arm behind his back, and then shoved him to his knees.

"What did you say to my student, soldier?"

"I said he's a fucking cheater! He's a demon. You shouldn't even be fighting him."

"You think that I'm in any danger here?"

"General, he's a demon! Anyone would be in danger." The rhino whipped his head back up, glaring at the horse. "Should have banished him soon as the prince was of age. That's all I'm saying."

Jayanta growled in the back of the stallion's head, and Windsire's own anger, long suppressed after the way that the royal family had embraced him over the things he had done for them, was on the rise as well. After four years of working to reverse the Great Hood's advances in the city, after stopping a war that could have devastated the country, after all the things that he had done for the city and kingdom, he had expected people to start changing their minds about some things. About him, if not about demons as a whole.

Let me at him...please, fucking hell, let me at him.

Wait...just wait for it. Girisha has something up his sleeve.

He glanced at the general, and the general looked back. There was a slight wink, just barely noticeable, and then the rhino was pulled to his feet.

"Alright. You want to teach a demon a lesson? Go ahead. I'm not gonna stop you."

"Sir?" Windsire asked.

"Same rules as when you're fighting me, boy. Just fight."

"Sir!"

The rhino's eyes bugged out, whipping around, but Girisha shook his head.

"You wanted to challenge someone's honor, soldier? Back it up."

"But I don't have a weapon."

"Heh, fine. You want a weapon?"

The prince whistled, and a cart was rolled up between the stallion and the armored rhino. A whole cart of metal blades, spears, daggers, and other weapons was on offer to them, and the general gestured.

"Both of you, arm yourselves the way you like."

"I'll continue to use these, sir," the stallion said, lifting the wooden blades.

The rhino, on the other hand, immediately lunged for the biggest weapon he could grab. A two-handed axe, curved in a half-moon on either side, with a metal shaft that was nearly as tall as he was, was soon in his hands, and the rhino spun it around before pointing the sharp point at the tip at the stallion.

"I'll cut you down."

Windsire looked at the weapon, and set himself in a defensive position, one sword at mid-body, the other held back and down.

"You're welcome to try."

Let me out. Let me out. Let me out. Let me out.

Ignoring Jayanta's pleas, Windsire let the rhino make the first move. The soldier lunged at him, charging with the axe as if it were a spear. He ducked to the side, clacking the ends of the wooden swords against the shaft and riding it down, slapping the flimsy blades against the rhino's fingers before he passed by. The soldier yelped in shock, and Windsire turned and waited.

After that, the real fight began, with the rhino spinning the axe around with deadly intent. The stallion ducked and dodged around it, catching it on the thicker parts of his swords where he could, and using his speed and reflexes to get around the weapon when he couldn't. Every impact left a chip in the thick wood, and he knew that the practice weapons wouldn't survive the match.

In and out he darted, clacking the sides of the weapons against the unprotected sides of the rhino's head and neck, avoiding striking at the middle of the body where the leather armor would dull the blow. He slid along the weapon when it was thrust at him, and swung out and struck the rhino's fingers when it was twirled in his direction.

The rage in the soldier's face continued to build up, getting stronger and stronger until he was roaring with every attack.

"Abomination! Monster! Creature of lies!"

They were familiar words, ones that were shouted regularly at him by the Church of the Soul, one of the last holdouts against his presence in the city. Windsire damped down his own anger, resisting the urge to swing up with more strength than usual and neuter his opponent. With how strong he'd become, he could do it, even through the leather armor.

Why are you holding back? Just end him!

I don't want to finish this with a death.

Girisha said that it's the same rules as with fighting him. Don't hold back.

But he did. Much as he could end it fast, he didn't want to. It would be too easy to go too far and break something, or even kill the rhino. He was supposed to be a guard, not a killer, and he wasn't going to cross that line today.

In and out, darting back and forth with as much speed as he could, until the first sword broke. The blade shattered at the hilt, the wooden length flying off into the distance and likely embedding itself into a rock from the force that it was broken. But that wasn't the problem so much as the fact that the blow it was intended to block was now coming right for his face.

Windsire reacted without thinking, just swinging his fist upwards into the bottom of the axe blade. The speed and force was borrowed from the demon, and it shattered.

With metal shards flying everywhere, some of which nearly hit him in the eye and others of which scraped along his cheek, Windsire ducked back a pace. The rhino, on the other hand, looked utterly shocked. His opponent stared at the broken edge of his weapon, looking from it towards the stallion.

Along with some of the other soldiers, Girisha clapped his hands. The general chuckled, stepping forward.

"Alright, boy. You're done. Let's see to some of those -"

"Demon! You cheated!"

"He was fighting you the same way that he fought me. Now, you're -"

"No! He cheated, just like he always does."

Before Girisha or anyone else could react, the rhino was already charging forward, one hand pulling out something from beneath his clothes. Windsire dropped the practice swords, setting himself to grab the blade. Just as the axe came in range, though, it glowed. It glowed a bright white.

Oh, gods be damned.

Jayanta's mutterings proved true. As soon as he touched the glowing metal, his hands were seared with the holy power rushing through it. He shouted in pain, pulling backwards, barely keeping out of reach of the frantic stabbings that the rhino made.

He's gone crazy. He just wants us dead now.

Well, it's time that we did something about that.

No, Jayanta, no!

It was too late. The pain pushed the demon to the surface in a way that few other things could. A shimmer of crimson ran down his body as Jayanta stepped forward, pushing him back. The stallion was forced to watch as his demon half took charge, taking the fight to the rhino more directly.

They flickered, pushing from the shadow of the spear to the shadow of the soldier, appearing behind him. Jayanta chuckled through his mouth, the orange, then red eyes flickering and tainting the world red around him as he grabbed the rhino in a headlock.

Already, Windsire could feel their cock hardening as the demon held control, and he battered at the slight barrier between their two personalities.

Don't you dare! You can't do this, not in front of everyone!

"Do you know what it means to get a demon angry?"

Windsire shivered as he watched his other half growl in the rhino's ear, stripping him of the protection of the amulet and throwing it to the ground. Even in front of the soldiers, the demon was growing harder and harder, his cock pushing up and throbbing against their attacker's backside, getting thicker and heavier as he thrust and ground forward.

"We don't like to leave threats behind, you know. It's so much easier to either kill you...or change you."

"D-demons...knew you...were like..."

Windsire battered at the barrier again, but Jayanta held him back, pushing him down and growling away at his attempts to seize control again. He shook his head, pulling back and trying to think.

Gotta get out of this. If he holds control for much longer, we're going to lose everything that we've gained. Have to take it back. Have to.

Knowing it would hurt, Windsire pulled at other memories, things that Prince Surya had taught him a long time ago, back when he was first learning to be a bodyguard. It wouldn't be enough to force the demon into submission - it hadn't been good enough then, and it sure wouldn't be now, but the barrier would break, he hoped.

He started muttering holy mantras, and instantly the pain hit him from using them. The taint of Hell was spread through him nearly as much as through Jayanta, but the effect was instantaneous. The demon pulled back, letting the rhino go, and the barrier weakened. Still chanting, Windsire crashed into the space between them, rushing for the front of his mind.

Their personalities wrestled with each other, one forcing the other down. He felt one of his eyes go back to normal, mortal vision warring with demonic. Jayanta glared at him in their head.

This is what we deserve to do. He was going to kill us.

And we stopped him. We don't need to take it further.

So? And what if he does this again?

Then we do this again, and again, and - oh gods, you already affected him.

Through the demon vision, he could see the taint that had been passed to the rhino beneath them. The soldier was panting, gasping for breath. While he hadn't been fully infected by the corruption, as he pulled himself to his feet it was clear that his cock was throbbing, fully hard beneath his armor and begging for attention. Windsire shoved his other half down, and finally took control again.

The first thing he felt was how hard he was, throbbing and erect. His cock pointed right at his former attacker, and it took everything that Windsire had in him to take a few steps back. He panted hard, shaking his head as he oozed and dripped, and forced himself to keep repeating the painful mantras until the Hell-fire around his crotch and along his balls faded.

Girisha was there, pulling the rhino's arms back behind his back, and tying them off. He shook his head a few times.

"Fanatics. Don't know why any army tries to use them..."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. Just need a priest before it gets much further."

The rhino was groaning, muttering under his breath, and looked up at him. The stallion winced at the glazed look in the rhino's eyes, having seen that too many times when Jayanta came out and had his fun with others. It wasn't a total mind loss, not like Manoja all those years back, but it was near enough to it.

"Mmph...demon...demon's not...not sexy...don't want...don't want to serve...don't want to...to suck dick...to...do..."

The rhino lowered his head, panting and gasping, his hips giving little micro-thrusts as he tried to hold himself back. The demon's power had affected him mightily, leaving him whimpering and shivering, gasping and needy compared to his former haughty self.

Windsire glanced around the soldiers that had assembled for his fight with Girisha. They were mumbling to themselves, but he couldn't tell if they were blaming him or blaming the rhino for starting the whole thing. The sound was too muddled, too confused for him to make out.

As the mongoose general stood up, patting his shoulder and muttering for him to take a breather, Windsire was fighting his own panic, as well as fighting to make sure that his other half stayed quiet inside. He didn't want this to be the breaking point, but he could tell that his use of the mantras had pissed Jayanta off to no end.

It had been years since he'd resorted to that. The last time that he'd used them was three years back, when they were dealing with a hide-out of the Great Hood, populated by their minions and a number of their slaves. Jayanta had wanted to have some fun with them, take a few of the hypnotized slaves for their own, under the guise of using demonic corruption to 'cure' them of their hypnotized state. He had turned the demon down, and Jayanta decided to insist. The mantras had been the only way to chase him back down into the depths of his mind, but even now he regretted it.

He felt the other half of himself stewing in the back of his mind. There was no response when he reached out, but that was better than having to fight him again. The last thing he needed was to break down more than he already had.

"Sir, sir!"

One of the palace guard ran up, pulling a chubby crocodile along with him. Dressed in brown robes, he looked more like one of the missionaries of the western lands, but he had the proper amulets of wood and gold that marked him as one of the purifiers of the kingdom. Girisha turned to him, the mongoose clearing his throat.

"Are you good with the purifications?"

"I'm skilled at it, of course. Not sure why I'd be wearing this robe if I wasn't."

"Whose church are you part of?"

"None, really. Freelance."

"Freelance? Heh, mercenary. Get this rhino back on his feet, and I'll pay double your rate.""Good enough for me. What happened, anyway?"

"My fault."

Windsire couldn't help but mutter it, but when the crocodile turned to him more fully, the stallion looked up and spoke louder.

"It's my fault. I lost control, and...it was my fault."

"Son, stop blaming yourself. Hell, if I had a demon in me, I'd probably have done the same if some ass was charging at me with an axe like that. Now, sit down and take a breather. We'll talk about this when it's done."

"Your fault? Hmm...hmmm..."

The crocodile looked at him in a way that he didn't understand, nor was he entirely comfortable with. Windsire looked down and away, trying not to think about what the consequences of losing control like this were likely to be. He was probably going to get a talking to from the king, at the very least, and that was if he didn't get kicked out completely.

Investment. How many fucking times do I have to tell you?

Yes, you try and think that when you just did this...fuck, you did do this. And it still doesn't matter to you.

He looked down at the ground as he slowly slumped down. He ended up squatting with his heels pressed right against his ass, his arms folded across his chest as his shaft finally slid down and into his sheath. It was like he was posing, he felt, but for all the wrong reasons.

#

Eventually, the rhino was able to stand up, and he was arrested on the charge of attempted murder. The crocodile collected his fee, and tried to approach him. The stallion turned him away, and Girisha backed him up, the general sending the crocodile on his way. When the other soldiers dispersed, the older mongoose grabbed him by the arm and gently pulled him upright.

"You okay?"

"I almost corrupted someone to the point of losing their mind. No, I'm not."

"You were saving your own life, boy. That's not something that comes lightly. You think that any of us are going to blame you for that?"

"I should have been better. I should have maintained control rather than letting him out."

Girisha groaned.

"Look, boy."

"Stop calling me that."

"When you start thinking like a man, I will."

The general pulled him along, and as always, that iron grip of the Lord of the Mountain ensured that there was no escape. Not without resorting to the demon's power, which he wasn't about to do after what he'd caused. The mongoose kept talking as they walked towards a small building that the soldiers had put together in the center of the palace grounds, a tavern of sorts that would cater to their likes rather than forcing them to go out into the city and find something that was open on their rare off-hours. Girisha kicked three other soldiers off of a table, and the big guy sat down with him. Ordering a honeyed ale, the older man turned back to the stallion.

"You think that I care what happens to a new recruit that comes after you like that?"

"He's one of your soldiers. You're supposed to look out for him."

"And what do you think you are, huh?"

"I'm a...a half-demon."

"That happens to be one of my very best soldiers, and one of the guys that I think needs looking after most."

Girisha took his drink, chugging it back before looking him in the eye once more.

"You are one of the best fighters that I've ever seen. I pushed you hard, and it shows. It damn well shows, and I'm not going to let you start throwing that away. Do you think I wanted you to just let yourself get stabbed or something?"

"I could have done something else. I could have not panicked."

Groaning, the mongoose grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him in. Windsire jumped as he was pulled in close, and the mongoose shook him hard enough that his teeth rattled, a very new experience for him.

"Get it through your head, boy! I'm trying to tell you that you're fine!"

The entire tavern went quiet, the bartender and the dozen-plus soldiers that were off-duty turning to stare at them. Windsire went redder than usual, trying to pull back, but the old mongoose held him in too tight a grip. Those fingers were digging into his arm painfully tightly, pulling him back.

"You think that you're the first soldier that did something dangerous when they freaked out? You think you're the only one that thought of something different after the fact? No. You're just one in a long line of people that did the best they could because they were trying to live. And you're going to find a way to be okay with that, or so help me, I'm locking you in a room with Princess Yami to hear her double-talk you into sense."

"Oh please, not that..."

He shivered, and Girisha chuckled.

"Okay, maybe that might be a bit too cruel."

Finally released from the mongoose's iron grip, Windsire leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. He could feel Jayanta tapping at the back of his head, and he opened the metaphorical door.

He's right, you know.

I know. I get that. But it was still hard to see.

Why?

Because for you, it wasn't a quick decision. It was the best one.

And that was the hard thing for him. Jayanta was part of him, was him in the biggest way. They were two sides of the same coin, two halves of the same person. The demon was just the stronger of the two of them, and the one that he had to rely on to do his job more often than not. It was why he pushed himself so hard in his training sessions, trying to get strong enough to do things without needing to lean on him.

But even then, moments like this proved that letting Jayanta out without some sort of supervision was too dangerous. The demon could have ended the fight with a headlock, keeping the rhino from fighting further, but instead, he wanted to break the soldier, wanted to take it past the point of no return and leave him a gibbering mess rather than allow him a chance to learn from his mistakes. The demon didn't want a lesson. The demon wanted annihilation followed by putting him back together.

Windsire took a deep breath, and looked back at his teacher. The mongoose had already taken two more honeyed ales by that point, and was starting to sway at the table.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, sir. Thank you...thank you for setting me straight."

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna let you torture yourself. You've done a lot for the kingdom, and for me. Think I'm going to let you go unappreciated after all that? Think I'm gonna let you fuck yourself up?"

The mongoose looked down at his latest ale, shaking his head.

"Not damn well likely."

"I'm sorry. I'll make sure that I don't let myself get too down like this in the future."

"Only over something that deserves it, boy. This sure as hell doesn't deserve it."

Windsire nodded, getting up from the table. Just as he was about to leave, Girisha grabbed him by the wrist and stopped him. The mongoose turned, looking up at him.

"What's the demon's name?"

"...Jayanta."

"Jayanta. I want you to hear this, now. I taught you at the same time that I taught this horse. I know you, and I've fought you, though Windsire doesn't remember anymore. You're a good fighter...but a lousy judge of how hard you need to hit. Listen to the fucking boy, and maybe the two of you will get along better."

The demon glared through the back of his head, and Windsire doubted that the words were appreciated. He stepped around his teacher, not wanting something to explode, and made his way back out to the courtyard.

He considered going out in the city, but the way that Jayanta was storming in the back of his head, he felt that was probably a bad idea. There was every chance that he might lose control and the demon would find someone else to 'enjoy,' to finish spreading the corruption that he'd started with the rhino. There were no distractions for him at the moment, no prince to rescue. Prince Saunak had been sent along with his twin, Princess Shakti, to the neighboring kingdom of Bagheecha on a diplomatic mission of some sort. They wouldn't be back for months, and with the pair of them together, Prince Saunak had better protection than the little pervert would ever have from him. Even Jayanta was scared of Shakti.

But the tower was empty, and he could go there. The harem quarters were warded against his demon side, so he wouldn't be able to go inside and corrupt them, and it would be a place where he and Jayanta could have an overdue talk.

He started walking across the courtyard, only to be interrupted by someone else. Another mongoose, another member of the Mongoose Court, Princess Sati was seldom out of her tower where someone else could find her. He hesitated, knowing her power, but knew that to run off now would be rude. The chubby mongoose walked over to him, her purple and red wraps doing nothing to hide her somewhat swollen curves.

"It's good to see you, Windsire. I was worried that you'd run off."

"I'd thought about it, after what he'd done to the rhino."

He blinked at his statement. He'd meant to say what he had done, 'what I had done,' but it had come out differently.

The power of Sati was a blunt one, but powerful. Anyone that stood within a fifty-foot radius of the woman was forced to speak the truth in the bluntest way possible, answering questions and speaking with no vagueness in the slightest. He had been surprised the first time he was caught in it, and this was no exception.

The mongoose woman walked with him, and he felt almost like he was escorting a child, considering she barely came to his chest in height. The seven-foot-tall stallion tried to clear his throat, gesturing that he'd like to walk alone, but she stayed with him.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Heh, the big bad demon horse a little bit worried about being all demon, rather than half-demon?"

"Yes."

The answers were getting forced out of him, in a way, but done in such a way that he couldn't deny their truth. He had been telling himself that they were different, that he had other reasons for what he did, but that was the crux of it.

Jayanta didn't want compromise. Jayanta didn't want to be just part of his life. The demon wanted all of it, wanted to live life in a way that their father did.

"Would that be so bad?"

"For him, no. For me...not entirely," he admitted. "But I'm afraid for everyone else. I don't want to be what people imagine demons to be."

Sati nodded, and he could hardly believe what he'd just admitted. Jayanta was snickering in the back of his head, and he knew that he'd hear about that later, something to use against him in their argument.

They were almost at the tower, and he turned, bowing to the princess. She bowed her head in return, and leaned up to pat him on the cheek.

"Dear, don't be so hard on yourself. You've proved that you're a part of the family. We know how much you care for us, and we care for you the same way."

She leaned up and kissed him after pulling him down.

"One last question before you go?"

"Okay."

"What do you want? If you could have anything, Windsire, what would you want?"

"I...don't want to hold back," he said. "I don't want to have to hold back, just to be accepted."

She smiled slightly at that, doing so in a way that made him more curious than anything, before patting his arm.

"Thank you. That explains a lot. I'll leave you to yourselves, now. Be well, Windsire. Be well."

He watched her go, shaking his head before ascending the stairs. He could already feel Jayanta forming up behind him, and knew that this was going to be one of their more intense conversations.

The End