The Seeker, Chapter 36
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The Seeker, Chapter 36
By William W. Kelso
I listened attentively; or at least pretended to, as My Mistress and Great Lord Ba'al discussed their courses of action. I have mastered the art of staring intently as if fascinated by something someone was saying, but was actually pretty close to being asleep. I get a lot of good naps that way. Basically it seemed that My Mistress and I were supposed to find two of the mysterious keys, while the Great Lord would try to find the other one, possibly with the help of angels. I snorted softly, he was welcome to it! Give me a pissed off Mistress or forty foot sand hydra ANY day! Plus I was on Heaven's shit list. But something did occur to me, so I gently nibbled at one of My Mistress's wingtips, but she just ignored me until I nipped her.
"Not NOW, Pet!" Vulva hissed in irritation, giving me a soft smack with her tail.
"Mistress, I whispered, I have an idea." Ever hear a dragon whisper? I might as well have had a bullhorn, and I froze as I realized everyone was looking at me, including Great Lord Ba'al! With a squeal I prostrated myself.
Ba'al chuckled, a deep rumbling sound like a fast freight train passing in the night, and said,
"Rise Seeker, let us hear your idea. I am open to any suggestions which might aid in our endeavors."
Oh please, Vulva thought, putting a hand over her eyes; do NOT piss the Great Lord off!
"Um, OK, I hissed. You said one of the keys is in the possession of one of My Mistress's acolyte's, and we need to go get it. Mistress, if I remember correctly, doesn't the Slayer know her too? Didn't she help him out when he was attending to his, er, business? If you send him, we'll have more time for the bubble thingy." Then I ducked my head in case I got smacked.
Vulva stared for a moment in pleased surprise, she constantly seemed to forget that Pet was NOT stupid, just accident prone and maybe a little dense. Great Lord Ba'al raised his eyebrows, a very impressive sight, and asked,
"Well, Mistress Vulva, what say you?"
"Great Lord, my familiar is right! The Slayer does indeed know Madam Marian and possibly the other acolyte! In fact she helped him to gain his revenge, and I believe they were even, um, intimate. She would trust him, I am sure of it! And Pet is right, it would save valuable time!"
I raised my head and blew a smoke ring. I'm bad, uh-huh! This little dragon ain't as dumb as everything thought! Though; honestly, my 'good' ideas are about as rare as ice in Hell. Usually they result in something blowing up.
"Is this true, Slayer?" Ba'al asked the shadowy figure standing in a corner, almost unnoticed.
"Yess, Great Lord, the Slayer hissed as he approached the table and gave a deep bow. I was once human, and Madam Marian did aid me in taking revenge against those I sold my soul for in order to be able to bring them to justice. She is a...remarkable woman, and I think she would welcome me."
I looked at the black winged lizard creature. By Hell's standards he wasn't all that imposing. His lithe muscular black scaled body was fairly smooth except for nasty spines lining the back of his long whip like tail; had can snap his tail and throw them like little spears, and when he opened his snout you could see several rows of teeth that would make Jaws jealous. I shuddered, Slayers were a demonkind who were enforcers of a kind, their specialty was tearing up other demonkind, to the death if necessary. He could take on a fire drake with relative ease, and I was glad he was a friend of a sort, a once human changeling like myself, one of My Mistress's other 'pets'. You could almost forget he was there; almost, as he seldom spoke and blended into the shadows. I liked him as he didn't treat me like an idiot, and was as devoted to My Mistress as I was, and in fact sometimes shared her bed, which made me happy for him. He didn't get many offers from females, unless they were female Slayers. If a demonkind messed up bad enough the rulers of Hell would send a Slayer after them, and it wasn't pretty. I know, I've seen him in action.
"Then so be it! Ba'al exclaimed, Mistress Vulva and her familiar will retrieve one key from the time bubble, the Slayer will retrieve the one from the mortal realm, and I will seek out the remaining one. Once we have them all we will proceed to the portal and open it, having hopefully found out what we have to do once we've done so. In the meantime hopefully more reinforcements will arrive; I have put a call out for as many Slayers and smaller fire drakes as possible, as well as for Absalom Baldric, but no one seems to know the whereabouts of that sneaky Cambion. But I'm sure if he receives the summons he will come."
Oh yeah, he'd better! I thought. One did NOT ignore a summons from Great Lord Ba'al, it tended to really piss him off. Ask his rugs.
As they left the chamber none of them noticed a slight 'shimmer' in one corner, but it only lasted for a second as Razas renewed the invisibility spell. The spell was very difficult; it only lasted for short periods, and he had been using it constantly for several hours as he scouted the activity in Mistress Vulva's new domain. Had the Slayer or dragon been actively seeking him the spell would not have saved him, but they had no reason to believe they had an uninvited guest, and the numerous demonkind packed into the small chamber had masked his scent. He smiled, and thought, how very interesting, I think my employers will be pleased with this information. I should get a bonus for this! He waited a few more minutes, then leaving the chamber he headed for the depths of the domain, using the lava tube they had so conveniently provided by redirecting t the flow of the lava.
After that we adjourned to get ready for our little trip, and as we headed back to the armory to shed our armor; which wouldn't be needed for this little 'excursion', I asked My Mistress,
"Mistress, what's a time bubble, or whatever the Great Lord called it."
"Exactly what he said, a bubble in time, Vulva replied. Certain events are so catastrophic or terrible they leave an imprint on the fabric of time, and repeat over and over. Usually it's something like a great battle, or natural disaster, in which a great many mortals die. The Little Bighorn is an example; Custer is still making his last stand."
I snorted, "OK Mistress, so if it's already happened, how can we go back in time and get involved? Won't that, like, change history, or something?"
"Pet, Vulva said, we won't go back in time, just to the bubble. Since it's already happened we'll only change things in the bubble, but time will be unaffected. Think of it as a skipping record that plays the same thing over and over, or an old movie into which we can step."
"Mistress, I said, looking cross-eyed at the end of my snout, my brain hurts."
"I know Pet, I know." Vulva said fondly, reaching over to pat the dragons flank as they walked.
I gave a snort of relief as the armorer's stripped off my armor, and then roared in pleasure as I snapped my wings open, and crouching down snapped my tail a few times to get the kinks out, the armorer's scattering . Oh yeah, that felt good! Then I went to find My Mistress.
Despite my size I can move pretty quietly, and My Mistress was so busy taking her armor off she didn't see my head peak around the entrance to the stall. The Imp helping her did, and started to say something, until I held a finger up to my snout. He got the idea. As he undid the last of her armor, the back and chestplates, I drooled in lust. I needed My Mistress, badly! All the excitement, the battle, then more excitement had made me horny, which believe me is almost a painful condition for a demonkind. It had been almost two 'days' since I'd mated with a female, and I felt the demonic beast in me taking over. Slathering quietly I started towards the object of my desire, my penis sliding from my cloaca, dripping burning pre.
Vulva was tired, so tired, and stressed out. She was so intent on getting out of her lovely; but horribly uncomfortable, armor, that she didn't realize she was being stalked. As her breasts spilled out she raised her arms and sighed in pleasure, causing them to thrust out impressively, the firm flesh jiggling slightly. Her first clue something wasn't right was when the Imp helping her began to back away, hissing nervously.
"What the Hell is wrong with you, slave!?" Vulva snapped, and then caught a sudden movement behind her, a large shape looming over her, and she gave a shriek at the sight of sharp claws and drooling fangs.
With a roar I pounced on my Mistress, knocking her onto all fours and pinning her, my fangs gripping her neck; as gently as I could in my aroused state. I hooked a leg around her tail and pushed it out of the way, and then mounted her with a roar of pure lust, and began brutally servicing her, hissing in pleasure. This female was MINE!
"WHAT THE FUCK!!" Vulva shrieked, trying to turn and face the attack, but the attacker was too fast. With a squeal she fell forward, instinctively throwing out her hands to keep from falling on her muzzle, and then screamed in pleasure as a huge penis slid into her vagina, and Pet's thick male scent filled her nostrils as he started mating with her.
"UGGHHH, HISSSSSS, OHH, OHHHH, PET!! YESSS!! HARDER MY LOVE!!" Vulva hissed, her eyes closed in bliss as he lunged into her again and again, lifting her hindquarters off the floor every time he hilted. He always knew what she needed! And she needed this, badly. Needed to be taken by one of her mates like the demonic animal she was. She felt her own beast awaken, her words turning to snarls and growls as the triumphant dominant male claimed his prize. It was wonderful beyond words, and only he made her feel this good. Then her shrieks and roars became even louder as his nether tongue snaked into her, adding its own unique kind of pleasure to the huge penis plunging in and out of her impossibly stretched sex. But this was what she did best, and though there was some pain it was of the type a beast like her relished. He was so strong, so dominant, so MALE!! She shrieked in delight as his thrusts became even faster.
I roared and bellowed through my fangs as I mated with My Mistress, not daring to open my mouth and let her neck go. Though I was larger than she was she was a demi-demoness, and very powerful. She'd thrown me off more than once in her throes of ecstasy as she instinctively fought me. But her struggles just made the sex even more enjoyable, for both of us, a demon loves it when a female resists. Both the demonic beast inside me; and my still partially human part, loved our Mistress. The beast saw her as one of his mates, the human part as that, and so much more. It didn't take me long to reach my first climax, hissing loudly, my eyes tightly clenched in agonizing pleasure as I came, which triggered My Mistress's own orgasm, and she bucked and howled. But I didn't slow down, I was just getting started.
Vulva moaned and snarled as Pet took her again and again, and no matter how she struggled her kept her pinned, each of her orgasms more pleasurable then the previous one as his molten cum blasted into her. She shrieked as the incredibly incandescent pleasure exploded deep in her quivering sex again, her head hanging and forked tongue lolling out as she panted in sexual bliss. He was going a little slower now, the edge taken off their mutual need, and she felt some of her intelligence returning.
I sensed it as My Mistress calmed down, and carefully let her neck go, ready to bite again if it was a ploy, but I was pretty sure it wasn't. As I moved in her I gently licked the back of her neck as my bite had broken the skin in a few places, but the small wounds quickly healed under the careful laps my tongue. She raised her head with a moan of pleasure, and I licked her muzzle, hissing quietly.
"Ohhh Pet, Vulva mumbled, what did I ever do to deserve you??" Not even aware she was speaking out load, as the pleasure began to build again. "UGGH, oh-oh, Ssssss, yesss, oh Peetttt, Uggghhh!"
You love me, I thought, which was all I ever wanted. I sped up my thrusts, and then we both threw our heads back and roared as the most pleasurable orgasms yet washed over our bodies like a molten wave of pure ecstasy. I remained inside her for awhile until my penis slid back into my cloaca, and then as I dismounted My Mistress fell over on her side, then rolled over on her back with a happy hiss. Lowering my head I began to clean her sex with my tongue, and she stroked and scratched my head while I crooned softly. These were the moments I treasured most, and I crooned as I finished my post sex cleaning ritual.
Vulva felt wonderful, being 'raped' by Pet always made her feel that way. What to a mortal; or angelic being, would seem like a horrible sexual assault was in fact one way in which a demon could show his love for a demoness. By taking her 'against her will' he showed he found her desirable enough to fight, and subdue, in order for the privilege of mating with her. Nothing turned a demoness on more than that. She gently licked Pet's snout as his long muscular tongue licked her scales, leaving her clean and shiny.
"That was lovely, Pet, Vulva hissed, you haven't lost your touch! I never suspected a thing, you sneaky little beast!"
I hissed in pleasure at the compliment as I kept licking her. She was clean now, but I could lick her for hours if she'd let me, which she sometimes did to my great delight. Then she gave my snout a gentle whack with her tail, and said,
"Come on Pet, we need to get ready for the trip to the time bubble. We'll have to cast some spells to give us more human forms, and find some suitable clothes."
"HUMAN form, clothes?? I hissed, why Mistress?"
"Because we'll have to fit in, the people in the bubble will be able to see us; and two demonkind running around naked; or two 'people' I should say, will attract unwanted attention."
"Oh." I said. Well, that certainly made sense. But clothes? Yuck, only pervs wore clothes in Hell!
I can change my size now; one of my new elemental powers, but not my shape other than to become a kind of molten blob, like living lava. So My Mistress had another demoness who specialized in those kinds of spells cast shapechange spells on both of us. I didn't like it at all, and whined a lot, and as I began to shrink and change shape I squealed a little as it hurt some. Shapechange spells are different from transformation spells; they're only temporary and last for a few hours at the most depending on the strength of the spell. They're really hard to cast, and we were lucky there was an accomplished demoness in the domain who specialized in those kind of spells. As it progressed I got smaller and smaller, my wings and lovely tail shrinking and shriveling, my body becoming leaner and thinner, my scales fading into smooth tan skin. When it ended I was on my hands and knees, and with a moan stood up.
First I realized I wasn't entirely human, I still had a short stump of a tail and a few small patches of scales. My teeth still felt a little sharp too, and as I ran my tongue over them I realized it was still forked. The most obvious sign though were I had only three fingers and a thumb on each hand, and while my nails looked pretty human they were still razor sharp and hard as steel. But I definitely looked more human then demon though, and found myself strangely embarrassed at being naked like this, especially considering the rather large set of genitals hanging between my legs, and I put my hands over myself. Then I watched as My Mistress stood up too, the change for her had been much easier as she had been smaller and had more 'human' features to begin with, and my jaw dropped as she turned to face me. She still had her full voluptuous body, and her new 'look' was Latin or Italian or something with a dark sensual beauty, and I felt my penis spring to attention.
"Pet, Vulva said, can't you ever think of anything else?"
"I, er, I mean, you...!"
"Well, we don't have time for that right now, Vulva said, and besides I'm still satisfied from your lovely rape, but maybe later if the spell lasts long enough. It would be interesting to mate in this form. It's not that bad looking; is it?"
"Uh, no." I mumbled, and followed her as she left the chamber, my cock aching.
I followed her to what was a costume shop, and she begin sorting through the racks of clothing from all periods, most of it original stuff. Demonkind do like to 'dress up' for costume parties sometimes; or just wear clothes for some kinky sex. But usually I got stuck with something really lame, like a sheep or Booboo the Bear. I HATE costume parties. As she looked over the selection I paused in front of a mirror and looked at the 'new' me. Aw man, I thought, she looks like Raquel Welch, and I get Marty Feldman! It wasn't fair! I had a big nose, eyes that almost bulged, and had a kind of overall 'ratty' look that was emphasized by the short rat like tail. Ugh, I thought, glad it was only temporary!! I missed my lovely scales and tail! And no wings! Bummer!
Finally My Mistress settled on a very impressive fancy dress for herself, and what looked like an evening suit for me, very old fashioned. I grumbled a little as her dress covered her from neck to toes and I couldn't even see her feet! Plus it had a big ugly hat too. I thought she looked like Mary Poppins. My suit was black with a white shirt, nasty tight collar with tie, and it even had tails! I felt like a penguin, and started waddling around going "Wak, wak, wak" until My Mistress smacked me, and said.
"Pet, knock it off! You look handsome! Now come on, we need to use the special pentagram for this one. But first, put these on."
I looked at the pair of dark glasses she gave me, and said, "What's with the specs, Mistress?"
"Our eyes, Pet." Vulva said.
I looked at hers and realized they were still reptilian, and realized mine were too. One thing demons can't change is their eyes, no matter what form we take those that know us can recognize us by our eyes, they're the windows to our dark souls.
"Oh, right Mistress." I said, and put on the dark glasses. Great, now I looked like a bind Marty Feldman! I thought about getting a cane and stumbling around bumping into things, but figured that would be pushing it.
I followed her to the 'special' pentagram, sulking a little, but otherwise behaving myself. I knew this was very serious, but acting like an idiot sometimes helped me to cope with life in Hell, which even as a demonkind can be brutal, but by Hell's standards I had it made. The 'special' pentagram was seldom used, and then only for more unusual or powerful spells or transports. Pentagrams are Hell's version of 'transporters', and in fact bear a passing resemblance to those from 'Star Trek'. There are all different kinds too. Some are strictly for transport within the confines of Hell, and are 'fixed' as you always go from one point to another. The ones used for summoning and/or visits to the mortal realm are not fixed; at least at the other end, as they can be drawn and opened anywhere. The ones I use when I'm sent on a 'mission' to grab an errant soul are 'floating' pentagrams, they can form anywhere without having to be drawn on the 'receiving' end, but close as soon as I pass through, then open again when I'm ready to return. They have to have an 'operator' to open them as close to my targets as possible. If the operator sucks; or doesn't like you, you can end up knee deep in shit in a New York City sewer, I know, it happened to me once. And yes, there are Alligators in the NYC sewer system, great big hungry ones! And only a very few demonkind can use those 'floating' pentagrams, otherwise there'd be a mass exodus from Hell and you'd end up standing next to a behemoth in an unemployment line, and you wouldn't believe what we'd do to property values if we moved into a neighborhood. I eyed the 'special' pentagram with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. In the whole time I'd been here I'd never used it, or even seen it used. It looked pretty normal, but was in a sealed vault only a few demonkind had access to, and I wasn't one of them, which was fine by me. But My Mistress was, so yours truly had no choice but to tag along. Not that I'd have let her go alone.
We stepped into the pentagram, My Mistress muttered a chant in the old demonic tongue which was only used for special spells as it was so powerful, and after a moment of intense disorientation, we were somewhere else.
Razas bowed the shadowy figure in front of him, and the insect like demon said,
"You have done well spy, I am impressed. You shall have your bonus, as promised. Now return to find out what else you think may be of use."
As the small demon turned and left; the larger one turned to face its fellows. "You heard our spy; he clicked and chittered, we must take action to prevent the retrieval of those keys. At least one, if not all. Time is short, so assemble your slaves best suited for this task." The others bowed, and faded into the shadows, some dropping onto their multiple legs and skittering on their bellies.
I stood up and stretched, My Mistress doing the same. "I'll never get used to that Mistress!" I said. We'd been sitting down for the transfer; otherwise we might have lost our balance and fallen over, which did not impress mortals. That was one reason for the puffs of smoke and other 'demonic' stuff; it gave us time to recover our equilibrium. And I was glad I don't have a gag reflex anymore, otherwise I'd probably barf about half the time, again not a very impressive sight. If you're summoned, fall flat on your snout and/or puke, it does not a terrifying first impression make.
"I know what you mean, Pet." Vulva said as she stretched too. Damn this dress was uncomfortable! But at least she'd hadn't worn any underwear, then it would have been sheer torture.
"Where the heck are we, Mistress?" I asked as I looked around. We were in a fairly small; but very luxurious, room. It had wood paneling, velvet looking wall paper, and fancy furniture and fittings, and there was even a small fireplace. I tried to pick up a fancy clock on the mantle, but to my surprise it was bolted down. Weird. And I had the distinct impression we were moving! Plus there was a low soft kind of throbbing sound. And I also realized; no windows! Weird and weirder. I was so involved in looking around I didn't even hear the door open until My Mistress said,
"Come on Pet, we need to get moving! We only have a couple of hours to find the key!"
I followed her out the door and into a hall that was as fancy as the room, it had thick carpet and wood paneling as well. Must be an old five star hotel, I thought. Nice. But why the heck did it feel like we were moving? It was subtle, but my sense of balance is acute, and I could tell. As we walked down the hall we passed a guy in a white jacket, and he bowed politely, and asked,
"Good evening sir and madam. Enjoying your voyage? May I be of any assistance?"
"No, thank you my good man, Vulva said, come dear, or we'll be late."
I'd stopped, and just stared at the man. Voyage?? As on a SHIP?? A ship on WATER!?! My Mistress had to give my sleeve a hard yank to get me to move again, and I just smiled at the guy like an idiot. We reached a double door with glass panes, and as we stepped through I caught the scent of salt water, and it was cold. I hate the cold AND water. I realized we were on a wooden deck, the sky overhead clear with the stars incredibly bright. By now I was holding onto My Mistress's arm, rather tightly. I have an intense fear of water; fire demons and water do NOT go well together, I don't even drink the stuff anymore. Then the worst shock of all came, and I lost it; and totally, completely, freaked out, and went starker's.
"PET! What the FUCK?" Vulva screeched as Pet suddenly took off down the deck screaming at the top of his lungs. "You get BACK here, right now!" But he'd already disappeared around a corner. Now what in the HELL set him off?? She wondered, looking around. When she saw the lifeboat with "RMS TITANIC" painted on the bow she muttered, "Oh dear." She started running after him, but the long skirts she was wearing slowed her down.
"AAAAHHHHH, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!" I shrieked, totally panicking as I careened down the deck, this was a nightmare come true!
It was cold, bloody cold, and even hot mugs of coffee did little to help warm up the two lookouts in the crow's-nest. They were warmly dressed, but still had to stamp their feet to keep warm. If it weren't for the extra pay, Fred thought, he'd sod this job and be done with it!
"'ere Fred, whot's that noise, then?" His fellow lookout asked.
"What are you on about, I don't hear nothing." Fred replied, clapping his hands together.
"No, really, listen! His friend said; sounds like a cat whot's had its tail stepped on!"
Fred leaned out a little farther, and he could hear it now too, a kind of high pitched shrieking sound. As he looked down a man came running down the deck, and started to climb the mast to the lookout station, and he was yelling and raving about something.
"What the bloody Hell?" The other lookout muttered.
"He's a right nutter! Fred said; don't let him in here with us! He's bonkers!"
I was still pretty much loony when I decided the best place to be was as far away from the water as possible, and seeing the tall mast I figured it was the safest place to be, it was nice and high, so I grabbed the mast and started climbing, digging my claws into in for a grip. Just before I reached the bottom of the lookout station; ignoring the two humans yelling at me, I took a quick glance around. My night vision is excellent, the darkness holds no mysteries for me, and I saw a huge shape looming out of the night directly in front of the ship! It was as clear as day. I froze for a second, then pointed and screamed. "LOOK!" as loud as I could.
Distracted by the commotion; and the sight of a man climbing the thick metal mast like a monkey, neither lookout had been paying much attention to anything else. But Fred heard the man's loud scream, and turning to look where he was pointing saw a vague shape directly ahead of the bow, and knew it could only be one thing. He grabbed the phone to the bridge, and ringing the bell, said "Iceberg! Right ahead!"
I held onto the mast like a lover, and watched with big eyes as a mountain of ice slid down the side of the ship, and a low moaning grinding sound echoed over the deck. Then with a shriek I dropped to the deck, and ran off wailing like a banshee.
I rounded a corner, and squealed as someone grabbed me by the neck, threw me to the deck, and sat on me. "LEMME GO!!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! MAN THE LIFEBOATS!" I yelled.
Vulva; still stumbling along in her stupid dress, heard Pet coming before she saw him. Good thing it was late, and due to the cold not many people were on deck. She hadn't seen anyone except for a couple of deckhands, one of whom was kind of cute, but she didn't have time for that now, thanks to a certain paranoid little demon. As he came around the corner she grabbed him; did a body slam, and then sat on him until he calmed down. She blamed herself, she'd known where they were going, and knew about his paranoia concerning water, but she hadn't expected him to react in quite so spectacular a way.
"PET!! Vulva hissed, CALM DOWN! It's me, you're safe!"
"Lifeboats, I wailed, we have to launch the lifeboats, Mistress! The ship's sinking! Demonkind and children first!"
Vulva looked up as two well dressed men approached, one in a uniform and the other civilian clothes, and the officer said,
"Good heavens, madam, do you need assistance? Has this scoundrel accosted you in any way?"
"Oh, thank you sir, Vulva replied, but my husband has a fear of ocean travel, and has been quite seasick. He tripped, and I'm afraid I did too and landed on him. I think he'll be all right now, WON'T you DEAR?"
"Ummpffff! Nuggg!" Was all I could say as My Mistress had stuffed a glove in my mouth.
"The poor chap! The officer said, well, at least the sea has been calm. Get him in bed and I'll have the ship's doctor pay him a visit."
"Not now, Mr. Moody, the second man said, we don't have time for that, we have to get to the bridge and find out what's happened, find out if there's any damage!!"
"Yes Sir, Mr. Ismay, the officer replied, then helped Vulva stand up. "Are you sure I can't be of assistance madam, your husband looks rather, er, distraught."
"Thank you, but no, Vulva said, I'm used to his...condition. He just needs a good lie down, as you were kind enough to point out."
As the two men disappeared at a run Vulva dragged Pet; who was still squirming, into an alcove and sat down on him again, but at least he'd calmed down some.
"Pet, Vulva said, you need to stop this nonsense, right now! We need to find the key and get out of here; we only have a couple of hours! I won't let you go down with the ship, I promise!"
"Really?" I asked, holding onto her leg.
"Have I ever lied to you?" Vulva said quietly.
"No Mistress, I snuffled, I'm sorry, it's just; I have nightmares about this kind of thing. Being on a sinking ship, and I can't get off."
"I'm sorry Pet, Vulva said, I didn't know that. But I cast a water repelling spell on you like that time at the Marquis de Sade's. You'll float, and you can't drown."
Now THAT did make me feel better. I'd been on a pirate ship that sank; after I blew it up, and had popped right to the surface and floated like a cork.
"OK Mistress, I said, you can get off of me now, I'll...I'll be good."
Vulva pulled Pet to his feet, and frowned. He was starting to change back to his demonic form! It wasn't that readily noticeable, yet, but he was definitely showing some signs. It must have been the stress when he panicked, she realized. They had to really hurry now! If he got too big he wouldn't be able to fit through the more narrow doors and hatches, let alone the effect he'd have on the crew and passengers! She looked up as some crewmen ran by, and people in civilian clothes had started to venture out on deck, curious as to what was going on.
"Come on, Pet, Vulva hissed, we have to find that key, ASAP!"
As I stood up I realized something, my toes had split the leather shoes I was wearing, and claws were sticking out! They were black like the shoes, so it wasn't really all that noticeable yet, but if someone looked closely you couldn't miss them. But that wasn't supposed to happen!
"Mistress!" I said, and pointed at my feet.
"I know, now come ON!" Vulva said, and headed for the nearest stairwell to the next deck down.
A pentagram opened briefly in one of the cargo holds, and five figures stepped out of it before it faded. One was much larger than the others, and all looked somewhat oriental in appearance. They looked around, and then headed for the nearest hatch. As the larger one walked his gait didn't look quite right, too loose and 'uncoordinated' making him seem to lurch a little bit, but he showed no signs of losing his balance. The hatch was secured, so he just turned the wheel until the bolts snapped, and kicked the hatch open.
"Where IS the key, Mistress?" I asked as we pushed our way through a hallway that was becoming increasingly crowded. A few people muttered stuff like 'How rude!', but I ignored them.
"All I know is it's supposed to be inside one of the secure vaults in one of the holds, the mail room, or the pursers office, but not which one! It's part of a collection of ancient artifacts that was being shipped to New York for display. We need to check them all!"
I slowed down a little, and said, "Holds! You mean we're going DOWN?"
"Yes, Pet!" Vulva said as she started down a stairwell.
I hesitated for a second, and then followed her. The ship's sinking, and we're going down, I thought, typical.
Soon we passed out of the opulent 1st and 2nd Class decks, and entered 3rd Class and then steerage, and it was chaos. As in crowds of people running every which way without knowing what the Hell to do, over a dozen different languages being spoken. As we moved down one corridor a man in a stewards uniform tried to stop us, saying, 'Sir, madam, you have to get on deck, they're loading the boats!' My Mistress just gave him a shove in the chest and he flew backwards, and I stepped on him, but said 'Sorry'.
As we went down another hallway we passed a stairwell that was blocked with a heavy metal mesh gate, and I saw it was packed with panicking people. My Mistress just walked by and kept going, but I hesitated, and then grabbed the gate and tore it off, throwing it to one side. The people in front just stared at me for a second; suddenly quiet, their eyes wide, then one said "Gor'bless you mate!" And he led a stream of people into the hallway and up the nearest stairs. I winced a little, he'd really meant it. Being blessed is not a good feeling for a demonkind.
Once we left the passenger areas it got quieter, and more organized. Most of the crewmen seemed to know what they were doing, but we did get a few odd looks. We came to one large watertight door that hadn't closed yet, and some men were trying to close it manually. They stood aside in amazement as we passed through, then I turned, and grabbing the door, pulled it down with a metallic 'thud'. When My Mistress looked at me and raised an eyebrow I just shrugged. Couldn't hurt, I thought.
It wasn't too evident yet, but I could tell the deck was starting to tilt just a little bit towards the front, and that's the way we were heading, which I didn't care for very much. And we kept going down.
"Mistress, I said, where are we going, anyway?"
"Like I said Pet, the vault rooms and safes, we need to start in the lower ones first and work our way up. The Purser's safes are the last we'll check."
I just nodded, and kept following her, I do that a lot. She leads, I follow, which is just fine as far as I'm concerned. With her in charge things usually work out pretty good, by myself, not so good. We passed through rooms with all sort of equipment and other mysterious things that hummed and rumbled, including one with huge humming generators.
"Mistress, I said, where ARE we, what are those things?"
"They're called dynamo's Pet, Vulva replied, they make the electricity for the ship. We're almost to the first vault, come on."
Cool, I thought, looking at all the big humming generators. The men tending them looked at us, but kept on doing whatever they were doing. I paused and looked at a big board with lots of neat switches, but refrained from pulling any of them as I figured I'd get yelled at if I did. Finally we came to a quieter area, and entered a large compartment with a large vault in one corner that was riveted to the floor, and the door had been ripped off and was lying on the deck! I hopped up on top of a large stack of crates and looked around, while My Mistress examined the breached vault.
Vulva gave a hiss of shock; the vault had already been opened! And not with a key, the door had been ripped off! "Pet, she hissed, keep watch!" Whatever had done that had to be very powerful, and she could only think of one thing...another demonkind was here too, and also looking for the key!! Had Ba'al sent another search party, just in case?? But no, he'd have told her, and there hadn't been any time. She had a really BAD feeling about this. She crouched and sniffed around carefully, and caught a whiff of...acid. Vermin! She knew that smell! The 11th Level of Hell reeked of it. But what would a vermin demonkind want with the key?
"Come on, Pet! Vulva hissed, we need to catch up to them! If they have found the key it could be a disaster!"
"Who, Mistress??" I asked as I followed her out of the compartment.
"Vermin, Pet, Vulva said, something from the 11th Level is also looking for the key! We can NOT let them have it!"
Ugh, I thought, a vermin demonkind! I didn't care much for them; not many other demonkind did, and they kept pretty much to themselves. But you did occasionally see them running around on the 'admin & commerce' level where My Mistress has her domains. They were horrid nasty things, and had all kinds of insect forms. Roaches, mantises, centipedes, worms, etc. Ever try to have a conversation with a giant cockroach? Nasty! There were also rat and other rodent demonkind in that Level, but they had their own area, and they and the insects don't get along very well. I greatly preferred the rodents over the bugs, I HATE bugs, especially ones that big. The Rats could be fine fellows, depending on their disposition at the time, but they were also plague bearers and numbered disease as one of their powers, though they used it mainly on mortals; most demonkind being pretty much immune. Occasionally the Imps caught some new nasty bug they came up with though. But overall they weren't that bad, but you did have to keep an eye on the snacks when they were around, and they'll eat anything. They also make excellent spies.
The next vault we checked had also been opened and plundered, and from the way the contents were thrown around Vulva was pretty sure they hadn't found what they were looking for yet. There were also two dead humans in the compartment, who had evidently confronted; or stumbled onto, the looting and been killed for their trouble. Vulva hissed, that was usually frowned upon, the random killing of humans was a BIG no-no, the higher-ups didn't like the bad press. But in a time bubble it really didn't matter, but it still made her mad. She thought for a second, then said,
"Pet, they're evidently moving fast, so we're heading up! We'll try the mail room safes first, then the pursers! We need to hurry though, the mail room is forward!"
"OK Mistress!" I replied, bringing up the rear as usual.
As we moved forward I could tell the deck was tilting even more, the downward slant was getting obvious. We passed through a room where huge pumps hummed and labored under the care of some crewmen, and I knew they were buying the ship some precious time even though they knew it was hopeless. I couldn't help wondering if those poor guys had a chance at all of making it to any of the lifeboats. Probably not, I realized. How do you define bravery and self sacrifice? How about staying at your stations in the bowels of a sinking ship? Well, I'd just seen a prime example. If that didn't get them a free pass and ticket to Heaven nothing would. It made me feel humble.
With a hiss the large 'man' dug his fingers into the heavy steel door of another storage vault, and with relative ease pulled in off its hinges, and then tossed to one side. The two smaller figures entered and began tearing through the contents, shredding paintings and destroying works of art as they looked for the key. The other two smaller ones had been sent to find; and keep an eye on, their adversaries. Unless the others found the key they would just observe, then call for reinforcements if necessary. Several minutes later the two smaller ones bowed to their Master, and reported failure.
"Regrettable, but not your fault." The larger 'man' said in a strangely raspy voice like he had a really bad sore throat. Then he turned and left the compartment closely followed by the lesser demonkind slaves.
As we entered a new deck we encountered a few crew, mostly heading in the other direction, and one confronted us.
"Can't go that way, Sir, Madam, the watertight doors are sealed, and some of the compartments are flooding! Follow me; I'll lead you to the boat deck."
"No thank you, Vulva replied, we need to reach the Mail Room! I have some very important papers in their safe!"
"Sorry Mum, the crewman said, the mail room staff are gone, it's starting to flood! There's no one there to open the safes for you!"
"Oh dear, Vulva said, well dear, guess we'd better follow the nice man!"
As the man led us up through a hatch I waited until he was on the other side, then closed it and jammed it shut by bending the latch. I waved at his startled face as I shut the hatch.
"Good boy, Pet, Vulva said, now come on, we need to hurry!"
When we reached the mail room I had to fight down a returning sense of panic. It WAS flooding, and was already knee deep in ice cold water, and we had to push through floating mail bags and other debris to reach the saves. The water steamed gently around my legs as I waded after My Mistress as I turned up my body heat a little to offset the intense cold. If the water was this cold INside the ship, I could only imagine what it was like outside, and I couldn't help but whimper just a little bit. I was worried about My Mistress too; she couldn't control her body heat as well as I could. That was one advantage of being a fire drake.
"Pet, Vulva said as she found the safes, open these, please."
"Yes Mistress" I said, yanking open a heavy metal mesh door that was in the way. I went up to the first safe and gave the double handles a hard yank, and they came off in my hand. Oooookay, plan two. I heated up my hands, and dug them into the steel like it was soft dough, traced the outline of the doors, and they fell into the water with a sizzling splash, raising a cloud of steam. Then I stood aside and moved to the next safe as My Mistress searched the first one.
Vulva pulled flaming documents and other items out of the safe and just threw them into the water as she searched for the key. Leave it to Pet to use the most direct and impressive approach,but under the circumstances the condition of the contents was of no importance. She had to admit he was useful to have around though, in more ways than one, she thought with a little smile. Had they more time she could have opened the safes herself, but he was much faster. Finally, with a hiss of exasperation she finished going through the last safe. And NO sign of the damn key! And the water was waist high now, and her stupid dress was soaked, and with a squeal she tripped over the thick heavy skirt, and fell down with a splash and gurgle.
"Mistress!!" I yelled as she suddenly disappeared under the water, and bending over I grabbed her, and carried her out of the flooding compartment as she spit and hissed. As I carried her I warmed up my body some more, she felt like ice!
Vulva hugged Pet as he waded through the water, which was now bubbling and steaming around his body, and she realized he'd turned up his body heat. She'd panicked a little until she'd felt his strong arms find her, and then lift her out of the water, and now she hugged him close, relishing the heat his body radiated.
Reaching a still dry corridor I set My Mistress on her feet, but kept holding her for awhile until she stopped shivering, steam rising from our wet clothes. I tried to straighten out her hair; which was a sopping mess, by combing my finger through it, but at least she'd lost that stupid hat. As I did she looked up at me, thanked me, and then smiled. Before I even realized what I was doing I gave her a long, intimate, kiss. It felt strange to have soft lips again, but it was very, very nice.
"Thank you, Pet, Vulva said; that water was cold!" She looked at him, and seeing his look of concern, gave him a big smile. She was a little startled when he suddenly gave her a kiss, but pressed back just as hard, hissing in pleasure at the sudden show of affection. Damn clothes she thought, she wanted, needed, him, but that would unfortunately have to wait. He could be spontaneous like that, and she liked it, and the way he kissed her, she knew he meant it, that it wasn't just a physical thing.
"Well, Vulva said, that was...nice, but we'd better hurry."
So I followed her again, smiling. This time we went up; thank you Dis! Soon we ran into swarms of increasingly panicking passengers, and it was obvious the crew was starting to lose control of the situation. They'd pretty much given up trying to keep the 3rd Class and steerage passengers below deck; even the most callous among them had given up trying to enforce rules that no longer had any meaning. We came up on deck and it was like a somewhat subdued riot. We passed a couple of lifeboats still being loaded, and one sailor tried to get Mistress to get in the boat, but she politely refused. Then I jumped when one little kid suddenly said,
"Mommy, why does that man have a tail?"
Oh crap, I thought, feeling behind me, and yup, I had about two feet of scaly tail sticking out from a tear in my pants! The little swim in the mail room must had accelerated my change back to my 'natural' form a little bit, the more excited; or scared, I got, the harder it was to maintain the change. "Jeffrey, a woman said; don't be rude!"
Yeah, Jeffrey, I thought, shut the fuck up and mind your momma. I tucked my tail between my legs, and yanking on My Mistress sleeve, whispered,
"Mistress, we got a problem!"
"What is it, Pet?" Vulva asked, turning to look at her familiar. "Oh, I see." She said a second later. Pets return to his normal form was still occurring, and his jaws had begun to push out, but no scales were showing on his face yet, and he could still pass for human, albeight a rather ugly one.
My tail, Mistress!" I said, and flicked the tip out from between my legs to show her what I meant.
"Well, keep it tucked Pet, nothing we can do about it." Vulva said, worried that his reversion might be speeding up. But they didn't have all that much more time and the purser's safes were the only place the key could still be, unless the other demonkind had found it first.
As we neared the purser's' offices a crowd of panicked humans came stampeding past us, both men and women screaming. That doesn't look very promising, I thought. Suddenly I caught of whiff of something bitter and caustic.
"Pet! Vulva hissed, you smell that?"
"Yes Mistress, I replied, verminkind!" Nothing else smells quite like a giant bug.
A second later gunfire came from ahead, a sudden barrage of shots that ended rather abruptly.
"Come ON!" Pet, Vulva hissed, breaking into a run, pushing her way through the crowd of panicking people.
"Right behind you, Mistress!" I said.
As we neared the Purser's offices a crewman yelled at us, "Don't go in there, there's bloody monsters!"
Well, I guess that pretty much confirms it, I thought.
I followed My Mistress through the door, and it was a slaughterhouse. Evidently the other demonkind hadn't bothered to ask politely for a look-see in the safes, and had just torn up anyone in the way, including a small group of brave crewman with revolvers who'd tried to stop them, but of course bullets had been useless. I crouched and hissed as a lesser vermin demonkind; one that looked pretty much like a giant cockroach, dropped a body he was feeding on, and stood up. Another one jumped up on a counter and hissed back. A bigger one was rummaging through some safes, and suddenly gave an excited chittering/hiss,
"I have it!"
"Master, one of the others said, demonkind!"
"Hold them!" The big one said, and turned and fled through another door.
I understood them of course; all demonkind can understand each other. My own 'speech' is more grunts and hisses most of the time, though I can make myself understood in English, or Latin, if necessary.
"Pet, Vulva hissed, you take care of these two, I'm going after the key!"
"YES, Mistress!" I replied, and leapt at the bug nearest the door the big one had left through. He was the one on the counter, and we fell over on the other side in a tangle of legs. I guess the slaughter had 'excited' the bugs, and they'd completely shed their human disguises, and he clawed at me with all six legs, his mandibles trying to bite my face as I held him at arms length. The second bug hesitated, then decided to go the aid of his 'friend', and jumped over the counter and joined the party. I was hindered in the fight because of my form, but I didn't dare take on my true one; I would have been way too large. So it took me longer then it should have. They were nasty, but no real match for a fire drake; not to mention elemental, even though I reframed from using those powers as I wasn't honestly sure what would happen. Things were already bad enough, I didn't want to add a raging inferno to that and/or blow the ship up. I didn't think My Mistress would be too keen about that.
The fight was short and nasty. Basically I pulled one's head off, and eviscerated the other with my claws. Then when it kept clawing at me I pulled its legs off, well, four of them anyway. It was a no holds barred fight, and I AM a demon. They were a threat to My Mistress and our mission, and I felt no real regrets about destroying them; a little sadness maybe, but no guilt. They wanted a fight, not me, and they got what they wanted. Then with a loud hiss I turned and followed My Mistress.
As I followed her scent trail people got out of my way, and I soon realized why. During the fight the bugs had pretty much ripped most my clothes off, and my skin was fading into scales, and my now longer tail was too large to try to conceal, so with a hiss I ripped off most of the rest of the annoying clothes that remained and dropped to all fours for better speed. I'd lost my glasses too, and a large red lizard with glowing eyes must have scared the shit out of the already panicking humans, at least they got out of my way in a hurry. The trail led down a stairway, and I knocked several slower humans out of the way as I bounded down it several steps at a time.
Vulva hissed in frustration, damn it, the vermin demon was fast! And with the crowd of milling humans it was hard to follow his scent. Finally she dropped down and sniffed at the floor, and when a man tried to help her up she turned her head and snarled at him, forked tongue licking over sharp fangs, and the man said,
"Good Heavens!" And with a yell ran off into crowd.
Vulva finally picked up the trail again, and with a roar took up the chase again. The trail led into the crew spaces, and once the crowds thinned out she was able to start to catch up. Finally she saw her prey squeezing through a hatch in the floor, and it slammed it shut in her face. With a hiss of rage she just ripped the hatch off instead of opening it, and went down the ladder head first.
Vulva found herself in a large hold, and saw a large man shaped figure trying to open a watertight door across from her. She gave a deep hiss, and said,
"In the name of Great Lord Ba'al, Give me the key, NOW!"
The figure slowly straightened, and as it turned to face her it began to grow. As she watched it lost all semblance to a human shape as it's neck pushed out and large compound eyes formed, three interlocking sets of mandibles gnashing, it's body swelling as eight leg unfolded, and a long segmented tail ripped of the remnants of its trousers, a large stinger dripping ichor. It hissed back at her, thick slime dripping from its gaping maw.
"Lord Gris-ik-ik-ick, Vulva said, what are you doing here?"
"Mistress Vulva, the thing chattered, the same as you, retrieving the key."
"Then we shall take it to Great Lord Ba'al, together." Vulva replied.
"I think not, the huge insect said, I have another who desires it."
"What are you talking about, Vulva hissed, we need it to defeat the darkness, it may be our only hope!"
"Noo, Gris-ik-ik-ick said, it will never reach Great Lord Ba'al, nor any other who would use it for that purpose!"
"But...but WHY!?" Vulva asked, in genuine confusion.
"Too long have the verminkind languished, the creature hissed, shunned and looked down upon by other demonkind, denied our rightful and deserving place! When the old order is destroyed WE shall be the NEW masters of Hell!"
Vulva shed her own guise, her soaked and ruined dress falling away as her wings snapped out and her body swelled. She needed all her powers, both natural, demonic, and magical, for this fight.
"Are you insane? Vulva snarled, that darkness will destroy everything, there will be no Hell, or Heaven, or mortal realm! There will be nothing but darkness! Now, give me the key and I will forget this ever happened!"
The huge creature's only response was to suddenly spit a large gob of caustic snot like goo at Vulva, which she nimbly dodged, and it hissed and bubbled where it hit the deck. She gestured, and a bolt of power slammed into the verminkind, but his shields absorbed the blast, and he replied with one of his own. Vulva deflected it, but staggered a little from the intense power of the bolt. This was full fledged Lord, and very powerful. She would need help.
'Pet, where are you? Vulva called via their mind link, I need you!'
'Coming Mistress!' I replied, bowling over a couple of crewmen who didn't move out of the way fast enough.
As the verminlord turned to start tearing at the hatch again Vulva fired another bolt at him, but it just detonated harmlessly on his screen, and with a metallic shriek the hatch gave way, and he began enlarging the hole. With a snarl Vulva flapped her wings, and landing on his back began to tear at his neck with her fangs, about the only way to kill such a demonkind was to bite its head off, which of course was much easier said then done.
Gris-ik-ik-ick had no choice but to respond to the threat posed by the smaller demoness on his back, and with a chitter of rage he snapped open his wings and threw her off. Then he grabbed her and threw her brutally against the bulkhead; denting the thick metal, and before she could recover he straddled her, and plunged his stinger into her stomach, and she shrieked in agony.
I came to a small hatch, and hearing the sounds of conflict, at first frantically tried to find a way around as it was too small for me now, I'd grown some more. But when I heard My Mistress cry out in pain I roared and just forced my way through, tearing the thick metal with my claws like cardboard. I took in the scene with one quick look, and with an even louder roar launched myself at the huge verminkind standing over My Mistress.
Gris-ik-ik-ick fully intended to give the meddlesome demoness another sting, which would have destroyed her, but was caught off guard as a large form slammed into him and knocked him off balance. He'd seen it coming with his full peripheral range of vision, but there was just no time to react as it moved so fact. But he responded instantly, and managed to fend off the attack. As he did he hissed in pain as flames swept over his chitin, but they died away before any serious damage was done. His thick chitin armor and fire resistance spells were enough to resist even drake fire, and he saw with relief the drake was a fairly small one. A full grown battle drake would have been a different matter. He knew he could handle a runt like this one.
I tried to get purchase with my claws as I slammed into the hulking insect, but slid off his shiny slick chitin, and he spun away from me. OK, plan B, frying his ugly butt. I snapped my head back, then lunging forward hosed him with my fire plume. And as it died I was dismayed to find him only a little singed, and he chittered in amusement, and said,
"Well, little one, you'll have to do better then that, much better!" And launched a power bolt at me.
Now I'm pretty good a dodging, My Mistress gives me plenty of practice, but in that enclosed space I really didn't have anywhere to go, and the bolt hit me. It blew me backwards from the sheer power, but didn't really hurt me that much, not that it felt good. The deck had such a tilt now that I slid down and ended up next to My Mistress. As I gathered my feet under me I heard My Mistress moan, and shrieked as I looked at her.
"MISTRESS!!"
She was unconscious, and there was a large bubbling sore in the middle of her stomach, filled with a sizzling green slime like substance, and I could see it eating away at her body.
"MISTRESS!!" I screamed again.
"Do not worry; the bug said in amusement, she will not die, at least not for awhile. My venom can kill even demonkind, and there is no antidote. Maybe in Hell she would have a chance, but not here. I suggest you take her home."
Fuck the stupid key, I thought, and started to pick up My Mistress. She gave a moan as I moved her, and her eyes flickered open.
"Don't worry Mistress, I said, I'll get you home, you'll be OK."
"The key, did you get the key?" She asked.
"No, Mistress, I replied, I have to get you back to Hell so Great Lord Ba'al can heal you!"
"NO, Pet, Vulva hissed in pain, get that key! He's working for chaos, the stupid fool! We HAVE to get that key!"
"But, Mistress, I said, I can't just leave you!"
"PET, Vulva said, you go and GET the key! I order you, in the name of Great Lord Ba'al, if you don't, nothing else matters!"
So I had no choice, I had been given an order I could NOT refuse, under any circumstances. But leaving her like that was the hardest thing I'd ever down in my life.
The verminlord had already ripped a big hole in the bulkhead, and was picking his way towards it across a large hold full of cargo that was beginning to shift as the deck tilted more and more, making the footing treacherous, so he wasn't paying as much attention as he should have. Big mistake. I landed on his back with a roar, and tore off one of his wings.
Gris-ik-ik-ick gave a loud rasping sound of pain as he suddenly felt one of his main wings ripped from his body, and spun around frantically as his attacker tore at his body like a demented quisinart, tearing gauges in his chitin. If not for his eight leg/arms he would have lost his balance on the pile of shifting cargo, but finally a large stack gave way as the tie-downs snapped, and his attacker was thrown from his back as they both were buried in an avalanche of crates. It was that damn fire drake again! Now, where WAS it!? Then he chrrred in pain as something grabbed on of his legs, and he felt sharp fangs crush a joint as the lower segments were ripped off.
I poked my head out from under a pile of crates, and found one of the verminlord legs right in front of me, and I'm not one to miss an opportunity. So with a hiss I grabbed it and bit down as hard as I could on the nearest joint, and it shattered and my mouth filled with bug juice as I ripped the lower part of the leg off and threw it at him. Oh yuck, I thought, he tasted as nasty as he looked. Yeech, phooey!
The verminlord scuttled away from the snarling dragon, and turning opened his maw and spit a stream of acid at the beast, but the nimble creature dodged behind a stack of teetering crates. Suddenly a barrage of heavy crates came flying over the stack and he was kept busy batting at them, then as suddenly as it had started the barrage stopped, and he stopped shielding his head and tried to locate the thrice damned dragon, but there was no sign of him. It was getting a little hard to see as the acid was dissolving several crates; and the steel floor, producing a cloud of caustic fumes, which also interfered with his sense of smell. Where WAS it??!
I scuttled along one of the overhead beams supporting the deck overhead, hugging it tightly. I could see the verminlord in gaps in the cloud of nasty fumes, and kept as tight against the beam as possible hoping he wouldn't see me. As I crept along I suddenly froze as I saw My Mistress trying to drag herself over the torn edges of the hatch, and almost went to her. But no, I had my orders, besides, I was going to get his asshole one way or another, it was personal now. I snarled silently, flaming drool dripping from my fangs.
Gris-ik-ik-ick still wasn't terribly worried about the small drake. True, the little beast was feisty enough, but already he was healing as his wing and leg grew back. Being what he was he was almost impossible to destroy, but then again the dragon would also be very hard to kill, but one good sting should do it. Only the fires of Hell, or an even more powerful demonkind, could heal that kind of wound. Otherwise it was a slow, but sure, death. He leaped over the stack of crates, but nothing was there. Crouching he crept towards another nearby stack of crates.
Hello ugly, I thought, as I let loose of the beam, and turning over I spread my legs wide, claws spread, as I dropped onto his back, and digging in my claws I clamped my mouth around his neck at the base of his head and started gnawing.
The verminlord shrieked as he whirled in circles trying to tear off his tormentor, and felt his armor giving way to the deadly fangs and claws of his adversary. His armor was incredibly tough, but those fangs and claws could tear through steel like tinfoil. Finally he managed to slam his back into a beam; bending it, and scraped the hissing snarling whirlwind off his back, and turning lunged with his stinger, but the angle was wrong and it just skittered across the dragons scales leaving a trail of steaming venom.
Vulva looked up, and smiled as she saw Pet land on the verminlord's back and start tearing at him. That's my Pet! She thought in pride, before the pain made her black out again.
I regained my feet and dodged another spray of acid; man that had hurt! That beam probably left a mark! As I backed away, hissing and snarling, I suddenly stepped in cold water, and turning my head briefly saw water flowing into the compartment over the edge of the ruined hatch, and My Mistress lying limply in it, her head under the surface. I don't have to breath, though I 'go through the motions' more out of habit then anything, but I wasn't sure about My Mistress. Could she drown?? I just didn't know! So I backed farther away, then turned and ran to her, and throwing her over my shoulder I carried her to a still dry part of the compartment and put her on a top of a heap of cargo. When I turned around the big bug was starting to tear open another hatch on the other side of the hold. Oh, no you don't! I thought. I grabbed a huge crate and chucked it at him, and he was knocked off his feet with an enraged chitter, legs flailing wildly as he landed on a mound of shifting cargo.
I was on him in a second, and managed to tear off another leg and chew him up a little before he threw me off again. He hocked up gooey acid all over me, and I had to duck in the water to wash the stuff off as it steamed and burned my scales. And the water was getting a lot deeper. This has GOT to end soon, I realized. We were too evenly matched, I could hurt him, but he just healed, and he was doing the same to me. And I had NO intention of 'going down with the ship', fuck that! A trip to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean inside a hold of the Titanic was WAY down on my list of 'fun things to do while I'm damned.' So I decided to do something that I'd really wanted to avoid.
So I threw myself at him with a hissing screech, and wrapped my arms around him again, but this time I just dug in and didn't try to tear him up. He immediately started tearing at my sides and back with his legs, but my spines kept away his mandibles. Then I started to raise my body temperature.
Gris-ik-ik-ick clawed at the dragon as it clung to his abdomen, his pinchers digging grooves in its scaly armor. He felt the dragon start to heat up, but wasn't really concerned. A demon lord of his strength could withstand the heat of molten lava for awhile, and fire drakes; while they could get hotter, it wasn't that much hotter. It might be a little uncomfortable, but would not be dangerous, so he kept clawing at the beast; it was only a matter of time until he found a vulnerable spot.
As I reached my maximum 'normal' body temperature, flames dancing over my scales and from my eyes, I kept going, hotter and hotter as I took on my true form, that of a fire elemental. My body became incandescent, then a brilliant white hot too bright to look at, and going molten I flowed over the body of the now frantic and squealing verminlord, and kept turning up the heat.
The verminlord tore desperately at the drake as it became hotter and hotter; impossibly so, and he felt his shields start to fail, his only intent now to throw the source of the burning pain from his body. This was impossible; no drake could get this hot! He felt his internal body fluids began to heat up and the drake softened and flowed over him like molten lava as the drake lost all shape and form like some sort of molten blob. The verminlord thrashed and clawed frantically, keening as its guts began to boil.
I felt myself rejoin and merge behind the verminlord's back, encasing him in a living shroud of white hot molten death, from which only his legs and head now protruded. I could feel his whole body trembling as the heat went up and up, and he went crazy as he clawed at me and tried to tear me off. Then he suddenly stopped, quivered, and blew up as his boiling entrails ruptured his chitin like a bomb going off. His head flew off on top of a geyser of molten guts, and his body collapsed inside of my embrace. As I flowed back together and took on my normal form what was left of his body fell into the rising water around the heap of cargo. When I'd resumed my normal shape I was squeaky clean, every trace of bug guts having turned to steam, much to my relief. I HATE bugs, and I HATE having bug guts all over me just as much. I still gave a shudder as I flexed my wings though, that was gross! As I watched his head; which had landed on top of a large crate, turned to dust as it dissipated. I was sorry I'd had to destroy him, but knew he'd have done it me in a second, and...My Mistress!!!
Fortunately the big pile of cargo I'd put her on top of was still above the level of the water, the compartment over half flooded now. I hissed in fear when I saw the horrible wound in her belly, it had gotten larger! Hissing softly I licked her snout, and she opened her eyes and moaned, then seeing me she smiled, and said,
"Pet! The demon lord...??"
"Toast, Mistress. I hissed as I licked her snout, I tore him up."
"Good, good, Vulva said, and the key??"
Rats, I thought, I'd forgotten all about the stupid thing! "Wait one, Mistress." I said, and went to look for it. Sometimes my luck isn't totally shit, and I found it almost right away. The verminlord had been carrying it in a special pouch, and it had landed on the same crate his head had. I picked up the pouch; which had survived the heat as it was made for that, but the velvet pouch containing the key was ashes, but the key itself was untouched. It looked like gold and should have melted, but was just as untouched as the day it was made. I carried the pouch to My Mistress, carrying it in my mouth as I had to dragon paddle a little bit, leaving a trail of steam. When I got back to her she looked at it, and smiled.
"Excellent Pet, Vulva said, now I think we'd better get the Hell out of here."
"Gee, Mistress, are you sure? I said, I kind of like it here."
"Pet! Vulva said, you can't be...!!" Then as she saw his smile she realized he was just messing with her, and gave him a weak smack on the snout. She tried to laugh too, but could only hiss in pain.
"Pet, Vulva said, trying to hand him the pouch, you get out of here and make sure Great Lord Ba'al gets this, I can't move anymore."
"Then I'll carry you", I said, and started to pick her up.
"Pet, No! The key!" Vulva hissed weakly.
"Mistress, shut up." I said as I slung her over my shoulder. Leave My Mistress? No way in Hell.
And with her protesting weakly I swam across the hold to the other hatch, and as I opened it we were washed into the next compartment on a small wave of water. I put her down and reclosed the hatch as best I could despite the damage, managing to make it watertight again by heating up the metal and sealing it. It would buy us a little time, and I knew where I had to take My Mistress, what I had to do to save her. So I went down into the bowels of the sinking ship, having no idea how much time I had left.
I slipped through a hatch and looked at the huge boilers lining the cavernous compartment. It was still dry, though the steepening tilt of the deck was making hot coals pour from a couple that had been left with their doors still open. I put my Mistress down, and used a shovel to start shoveling coal into a boiler. When I decided it was enough I turned to pick up My Mistress, and then staggered as a form slammed into me. It was another one of the lesser cockroach demons! With a roar of rage I grabbed the thing, and turning threw it into a boiler and slammed the door. I could hear it scratching at the door, but it couldn't get out. I started to pick up My Mistress again, then froze as I saw another one climbing up the bulkhead! This is getting ridiculous, I thought, and I picked up one of the long iron stoking rods, and throwing it like a spear I pinned the chittering bug to the bulkhead. It would probably get loose, but that would take awhile. Then I grabbed My Mistress, and climbed into the boiler, shutting the door behind me.
I knew what I was doing, but had to be careful. Enough heat would burn out the poison, but too much would burn her as well. Though she was a powerful demoness, like Lord Gris-ik-ik-ick she could only take so much heat. It can heal demonkind, but can destroy them as well. So Ibent over her in the inferno of the boiler, and carefully began to burn the poison out of her wound, and she screeched in agony and clawed at me, but I held her down and kept working. If she didn't make it, well, I wouldn't be going back either. I literally chewed mouthfuls of the festering venom out of her, and spit it out. If I'd been a normal fire drake I don't know if I could have done that or not, but I wasn't 'normal' anymore. Finally the last of it was gone, and I used my own demonic healing powers as best I could to seal the horrible gaping wound, and the rest was up to her. But she one was strong, tough, and stubborn demoness.
Suddenly the whole ship lurched, and I heard a horrible ripping/tearing screeching sound, and the tilt to the deck became much less. What was that??? I wondered, not knowing the ship was breaking in half. I kicked open the door, and was halfway out of the boiler when the bulkhead collapsed and a wall of water came pouring in, and My Mistress and I were washed back into the boiler.
As the bow of the ship slipped under and began its long plunge to the bottom of the Atlantic there was a low rumbling explosion as her boilers tore loose and some exploded, and then a large red scaly ball was blasted high into the air on top of a geyser of superheated water and steam, screeching like a banshee.
I curled around My Mistress as the water washed us back into the boiler, then thing got confusing for awhile. The next time I was aware I was high in the air, still going up, and when I started to fall again I snapped my wings open, holding My Mistress tight against my chest, and began flying in circles over the horrible scene below. The ships lights had gone out at some point, but I could see perfectly in the dark. The stern was starting to rise; the propellers well out of the water. Suddenly My Mistress stirred, and said,
"Pet, where are we??"
"Flying over the ship, Mistress, I said, we kind of got...launched. It wasn't my fault, really."
"I know Pet", Vulva said. She felt like crap, but it was better then she'd felt before. The horrible burning agony that had been eating her alive was gone. "Pet, look for a boat, a black boat!"
"A lifeboat, Mistress? I said.
"No Pet, you're too big for a lifeboat now, but you'll know it when you see it. I made arrangements for a ride, called in a few favors with Charon."
And sure enough; bobbing on the water in the center of a little patch of fog, was a fairly large black shape, and with a hiss I dropped down towards it. As we got closer it looked kind of like one of those gondola things you see in Venice, but much larger and fancier. There was a large dark cloaked figure standing in the stern working a great big oar or rudder, and he waved a lantern to attract attention.
I hovered over the boat, and then carefully touched down; grasping a bench with my hind leg, and; hissing softly in concern, gently set My Mistress down on pile of soft cushions.
A deep spooky voice came from somewhere under the hood of the figure at the helm, the darkness inside that hood impenetrable even with my sight. "Your Mistress, she is injured?"
"Hi Charon, I hissed, yes, but she'll be OK now."
He was an old acquaintance of My Mistress, and he'd visited her office a few times on business, so I knew him. He was pretty creepy; most demonkind are, but was a pretty decent sort. At least he was polite, even to me. He'd had to branch out since the River Styx business kind of dried up, and runs a charter service now. Best fishing in Hell. He knows all the good spots. He still picks up the occasional soul for a one way trip though, but charges more now. Inflation.
"Then the sooner we return to Hell, the better." He said, and started working the oar, the boat cutting crisply through the water.
I turned and looked at the stern of the Titanic; just as it began its plunge, faint screams and wails echoing over the waves. "Can't we do anything?" I asked.
"Alas, no, Charon replied, they are ghosts, their souls already having gone to their rewards; or punishments, almost a hundred years ago. We are merely witnessing what will happen again and again, until the time bubble eventually dissipates, if it ever does. I often bring interested parties of demonkind here to be spectators to history repeating itself."
I gave a sad hiss as the stern disappeared in a froth of churning water, then turned away trying to ignore the ongoing screams and cries. I leaned over and licked My Mistress's snout, but she seemed to be asleep. Her wound was still nasty looking, but it was healing. I pulled her into my lap and put a wing around her to help keep her warmer.
"How far to the pentagram?" I asked Charon.
"A league or two, not far." He replied.
I looked out over the calm ocean, Charon's boat reflected in the still water by the light of the lantern.
"Row, row ,row your boat, Gently across the sea, Merrily, merrily, merrily, We hope it doesn't spring a leak ad sink." I hissed softly.
"Pet..." I heard My Mistress say faintly.
"Yes, Mistress?" I said, lowering my head.
"Shut the FUCK UP!" She screeched in my ear.
"YIPE!"
The End
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