The Seeker, Chapter 37
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The Seeker, Chapter 37
By William W. Kelso
As Charon grounded his boat I hopped out, and he helped me carry My Mistress further up the shore. How we got from the Atlantic Ocean to the shore of an underground river in Hell I'm not sure, but I thought it had something to do with the creepy mist we'd passed through. Charron had told us to keep all appendages in the boat, and that he couldn't be held responsible for anything that happened if we didn't. I'm curious, but not stupid, so did as he said. Besides I'd already figured out it probably wouldn't be a smart thing to do anyway due to all the weird moans and other noises coming from the swirling mist. After we laid My Mistress down I stood over her and licked her face worriedly, she was tough, but had taken one Hell of a beating from that butthead verminlord, which made me feel a whole lot better about terminating his existence with extreme prejudice. Mess with My Mistress and you get the whole whup-ass, and I WILL tear you into little pieces AND rip out your soul, if you have one.
"Pet? Vulva said, as she felt a big tongue slobbering all over her, knock it off and help me sit up! Where the Hell are we??"
"Good guess, Mistress." I hissed.
"The bank of the River Styx", Mistress Vulva, Charon said in his hollow sounding voice. He looked kind of like death, or a really creepy monk, take your pick. He wore a voluminous black robe, and all you could see of his body was white bony hands, but instead of a sickle he carried a lantern on a pole. There was nothing visible under his hood except pitch black, and I felt NO urge to try and take a peek. Nope, uh-uh, not this little dragon!
"Good, Vulva said, we're not terribly far from the domain! Help me up Pet, we need to get back there as soon as we can and let Great Lord Ba'al know we've been successful, and find out what's been happening during our little voyage."
I gave a snort and a puff of flame; little voyage my big scaly ass! Being a stowaway on the RMS Titanic was NOT my idea of an 'ocean voyage'. Now say 'sheer terror', and that would be a LOT closer. I did NOT like the water OR the cold, and being stuck on a ship sinking in the middle of the Atlantic; with icebergs all over the place; not to mention giant homicidal bugs, was MY idea of HELL!
I helped My Mistress stagger to her hooves, and worriedly nuzzled her snout and licked her face, "You sure Mistress, you're still weak. If you want you can ride me, or I can carry you." I really was worried, she still looked pretty shaky, and with a worried whimper I licked her muzzle.
She gave me a little nibble on the tip of my own snout, to my delight, and said, "Yes Pet, I'm feeling much better, thanks to you, my little jelly bean. But I think I can walk now."
Charon said, "May I be of any further assistance, Mistress?"
"No, Vulva said as she leaned against Pet, your assistance was greatly appreciated. I am in your debt, old friend."
"Always my pleasure, Lovely Lady." Charon said, and walked back to his boat. As he pushed away and disappeared into the roiling mists, I heard him mutter, "Little jelly bean, ah-ha-ah-ha-ha!"
Oh, that's just great!! I thought; I wish she wouldn't call me that in public! He'd probably blab about it all over the place. Demonkind are notorious gossips.
We made our way down the shore for a ways hunting for the exit, but it was slow going, she was so weak. I finally tried to carry her, but even though I was bigger then My Mistress now she was just too big, and it was too awkward. After I'd stepped on her tail a few times, she finally hissed, and said,
"Pet, put me down! This isn't working!"
I helped her sit down on a handy boulder, and licked her muzzle until she pushed me away with a hiss of amusement. "Knock it off before you drown me, Pet!"
"What are we going to do, Mistress??" I was anxious to get back to the domain too and see how the war was going; but was even more anxious to fly to my lair and check on Lydia and our eggs. I'd been away way too long.
"Well, first you're going to fuck me, Pet." Vulva said.
"Are you sure Mistress??" I hissed, I mean, don't get me wrong, when My Mistress orders me to service her I'm the dragon for the job, but she was still weak and hadn't fully recovered from her wounds, the one in her belly still looked raw and painful, and when I licked it gently, and she gave a sharp hiss of pain. And when we mated it was usually pretty brutal; in the way of our kind. Brutal, but wonderful. Frankly, I was worried I might hurt her, especially if I lost control and the beast took over. It wasn't only because I was physically larger than she was now; I was also extremely well endowed, thanks to her.
"Yesss, Vulva hissed, remember, you are my familiar, and I need your strength. Now service me until I order you to stop, slave! I need you, Pet!"
Ahhh, I thought, I'd forgotten about that! As her familiar she could draw on my own life force and physical strength! We seldom did that; since we were so hard to hurt we just didn't need to very often. It would leave me a little weak and spent feeling, but not too badly. And, oh how I needed her too! The battle with the insect demonkind, and the terror of being on a doomed sinking ship, had made me incredibly horny, so I needed her in a way only a demon can need a demoness.
With a deep hissing growl I licked her breasts, and then thrust my snout between her legs as she spread them for me, and she grasped my horns and hissed in pleasure as I ran my eager tongue deeply into her equally eager sex. Her multiple pairs of nether lips and vaginal muscles sucking and caressing my tongue as I 'ate her', her fluids sweet and tangy on my tongue, and I groaned in ecstasy. Her sexual fluids are a powerful aphrodisiac, and I'd never gotten used to what they did to me, to me orally pleasuring My Mistress was the highest of honors, a reward for my faithful service, and most importantly a way to show my love for her by giving her the pleasure creatures like us so desperately need.
Vulva clutched at Pet's horns as her nosed between her legs, and gasped as his tongue slid into her already wet and ready sex, grunting in pleasure. He rubbed his hard snout against her swollen throbbing clitoris as his tongue plunged into her depths, and she hissed and groaned in pleasure. She looked into his reptilian eyes and saw his love for her in their depths, and she knew he also saw her love for him. It was all he'd ever wanted from her, and she gave it to him without hesitation for she truly did love her strange and wonderful familiar, still amazed she could even feel that emotion. She ran her claws gently across his hard scaly snout, her forked tongue flicking over her fangs as he pleasured her, and he did it so well, with such enthusiasm and passion! Of all her legions of lovers no one 'ate her' as well as he did, gave her so much oral pleasure. It still amazed her she'd found someone who could love an old evil and depraved demoness like herself with such total devotion, with no cares as to what she was, and being her familiar he knew exactly what she was; but he never judged her, or found her wanting. She was lucky, so very lucky. And he could take her as brutally as any other demon; make her scream in agonizing ecstasy as he brought her to orgasm after orgasm, or make slow gentle love to her until she was begging him to let her cum, and he always knew which kind she needed. She wrinkled her black rubbery lips in a smile; hissing in pleasure as his tongue pushed deeper into her quivering sex, as she remembered the shy, scared, and desperate for affection little demon she had taken into her home as her slave and familiar, and her life had never been the same since.
Finally I couldn't stand it any longer, and with a wet slurp I pulled my tongue from her sex, and rearing up I roared in lust, my cock jutting out rampant and hard, throbbing its need, pre oozing from the tip in long glistening strands. My Mistress snarled at the sight and gave a loud hiss, licked her snout, and rolled over onto her stomach, tail raised and ready, and with another roar I hooked her tail out of the way and mounted her, and she gave a screech of pain and pleasure as I lunged into her. Due to my size now it took me some time to penetrate her to hilt, my lunges spreading her pussy lips more and more with every thrust until I felt her warm furry rump rubbing against my belly bands as I started fucking her with rapid powerful thrusts, grunting and bellowing in pleasure. I ran my nether tongue out of my cock, and roared in ecstasy as I serviced My Mistress as I had been ordered to do, the ultimate pleasure, the ultimate reward, what I lived for more than anything else.
Vulva clawed at the surface of the boulder as Pet's weight settled onto her back and his huge cock pushed irresistibly into her aching needy sex, and shrieked in pain and pleasure as he lunged in deeper and deeper. It hurt some; he was so large now and her wounds were still raw, but she could handle even bigger phalluses because of what she was, and it was the best kind of pain, the kind that only intensified her pleasure by tempering it. She shrieked again as his nether tongue slid even deeper into her quivering vagina, coiling back up around the large shaft filling her so well, and at times the tip slid out of her and gave her clitoris a squeeze before sliding back inside as he thrust into her again, and she would never get tired of that amazing feeling. And he fucked her fast and hard, his tongue licking the back of her head and snout as she turned her head sideways, and shrieked,
"YES, MY PET, HISSSS, YESSSS!! FUCK ME!! HISSSSS!! AAHH-AAHHHH!! OH YESSS! DON'T STOP, DON'T EVER STOP, MY LOVE, MY PET!! OH-OH-UGGHHHH, HISSSS!"
"YES MY MISTRESS! RAAARRRGGHHH!" I roared, and sped up my thrusts, and she groaned and squealed as she writhed under my weight, my belly slamming into her rump as I serviced her, hilting with every thrust as I grunted and hissed in bestial pleasure.
When my first orgasm came I bit her gently on the back of her neck, my eyes tightly closed, and groaned as my cock pulsed and throbbed, my whole body shuddering from the intensity of my orgasm, it was almost as painful as pleasurable. Oh, by Big 'L', how I'd needed her, how I loved her! And I felt more then just my cum flowing into her depths. Yes, Mistress, I thought, take what you need! I think it was the longest orgasm I'd ever had, wave after wave of sheer ecstasy washing over me, and I felt my power flow into her.
Vulva could only give a deep moan of sexual euphoria as she finally felt Pet's cock explode as they both orgasmed, and with each spurt of his molten seed she felt her weariness and weakness washing away on waves of ecstasy more intense then she could ever remember experiencing before, which both shocked and delighted her that she was still capable of experiencing even more intense pleasures. She felt him giving himself to her, letting her take what she needed, what she wanted, and she'd never felt such strength before, or love, and she also felt a joy that was a new experience for her as well as he gave himself to her, willingly, completely, body and soul.
"OHH, OHHH PET!" Vulva sobbed and moaned as she finally passed out, completely overwhelmed by pleasure for once in her long existence; his roars of ecstasy ringing in her ears.
As my orgasm slowly dwindled I gave a deep groan, and slowly slid from My Mistress; cock still dribbling cum, and collapsed next to the boulder, my head resting between her large firm breasts, my tongue licking over those amazing globes of hot firm flesh, her nipples rigid. I'd never felt so spent or satisfied before, and after just one orgasm! It was amazing! Gently licking her nipples I fell into a deep restful sleep, my exhaustion catching up with me. And thankfully there were no nightmares, my sleep was filled only with the warm contentment of someone who knew he was wanted, and loved.
I have no idea how long we slept, it's almost impossible to tell time in Hell as clocks don't work for some reason, wind-up or electric. The hands either don't move at all, or spin wildly, often backwards. But I could tell it had been awhile.
Vulva woke up first, and smiled as she looked at the large scaly head snuggled between her breasts, his hot breath ruffling her fur. Gently she caressed Pet's snout, and when she scratched his favorite itchy spot at the base of one of his horns he gave a soft hiss of pleasure, kicked one of his hind legs, and his large forked tongue flicked over one of her nipples. With a hiss of her own she tweaked his nose, and when his eyes opened sleepily, she said,
"We need to get a move on, Pet, and I can't do it with you lying on top of me."
I wrapped my tongue around one of her breasts, the forked tip squeezing her nipple, and hissed in contentment. "Can't we stay like this, forever, Mistress?"
"No Pet, but it's a nice thought, Vulva said as she gave his snout a lick, now get off, we need to get out of here."
"Yes, My Mistress." I said, and reluctantly stood up and snapped my wings open and shut a few times, and stretched with a loud hiss of pleasure. Boy, did I feel great! Mating with My Mistress always leaves me feeling like that.
Vulva stretched too, snapping her own wings a few times and flapping them before folding them, and bent over and did some squat thrusts to help limber things up, she was still a little sore, but there was no sign of her wounds. She smiled as she saw how Pet was admiring the view, and lifted her tail a little to give him an even better view. When he gave a soft hiss of lust she reluctantly lowered her tail again, they just didn't have enough time for that again. But later, ohhh yes!
With My Mistress leading the way; I'm a follower, not a leader, we soon came to the exit from Charon's domain. It was a pretty nice place if you liked big caves with a big black river flowing through it, but I'll stick with the lava flows though, thank you very much.
We exited through a side tunnel, and were soon basking in the glare of Hell's bright skies, windblown sand sshhing wonderfully against our scales. Home! I guess it shows just how far gone I was; how little humanity was left, as I realized how glad I was to be home, back where I belonged. The only real home I had ever known, Hell. I had to admit the place kind of grows on you. With an eager roar I followed My Mistress as she took flight, and we winged our way towards her newest domain, and as usual I took up my station behind, to the left, and slightly lower then she was as befitting my status as her slave. But we didn't get far before she spiraled down towards an ancient stone paved road winding through the drifting dunes and bare rocky terrain. I settled down next to her and folded my wings, and we both watched as various kinds of demonkind straggled along the road, and there was no mistaking a beaten army. They passed by in ones and twos, as well as larger groups, and there was no sign of the usual confidence and cockiness. Most were more common demonkind, slaves with no rank, but here and there a Demi or Lord was mixed in with the rest.
Vulva watched the retreating demonkind in dismay, in her long existence she had never seen the Host defeated. Finally she trotted down to confront a Demi-demon she recognized, and asked.
"Master Anthrax, what has happened? Where are you going?"
The demon paused, and looked at her blankly for a second, then shook his large armored head, and croaked, "Mistress Vulva, I'm glad to see you survived. I'm going back to my domain to make my stand there, with my family and slaves."
"But WHAT happened?" Vulva hissed loudly.
"We're beaten, the demon replied, we can't hold it. The blackness has broken through everywhere, except in the West. Lord Dracul's forces are still holding their line, but not for long now that the flanks have fallen. They're retreating towards the Fortress of Doom, fighting a delaying action. Caligula's Legions and the Armored Brigade are the only units still intact enough to fight."
"What!?! Vulva hissed in dismay, but we need to regroup, support Lord Dracul and the Emperor so they can withdraw! Where is the rest of the Host?"
"Scattered, destroyed! We can't, we've tried, the demi-demon said, we don't have anything left! We lost so many, Lords, Ladies, and Great Lords, and I have no idea how many common demonkind and Imps. And it's everywhere, in every Level of Hell, and in Heaven and the mortal realm as well. It's moving underground, popping up unexpectedly at random. Nothing works against it, my mightiest spells were useless. Come with me, I can use your help."
"No, Vulva replied, I need to fly to my own domain; Great Lord Ba'al is waiting for me there."
"Well, then, good luck." The demi-demon said, and merged back into the ranks of beaten creatures. The lesser demonkind and Imps didn't even bow to him, and he seemed to not even notice the lack of respect. I think that scared me more than anything, even the intricate social structure was breaking down.
I'd been listening to all of this, and was shocked. The Host of Hell numbered in the millions, and even a 'common' demonkind was a formidable foe, so if the whole Host had been beaten it must be really bad. And how long could Lord Dracul hold on his own without support?
"Mistress, I hissed in dismay, what are we going to do?"
"Do? Vulva replied, what we have to do, get the key to Great Lord Ba'al, and hope we're not too late! Come, Pet!"
As we landed in front of the portals to the domain they were closed tightly, and the outer defenses were unmanned. Fuming, Vulva waited as Pet banged on the huge doors; he was so good at that, hollow booms echoing from inside. After a few minutes a smaller door inset into one of the huge main doors opened, and Lisa stuck her head out, and then squealed in joy.
"Mistress, Pet!! Oh, thank Glixnax, I've been so worried!" She shrieked as Vulva swept her into an intimate hug. Then Lisa gave my snout an affectionate hug, and I hissed in delight as I licked her large firm breasts. Dragons aren't much on tits, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate them, and hers were world class.
"Good to see you too, Lisa, Vulva told the pretty little bat demoness, where is everybody?? Why are the defenses unmanned??"
"Great Lord Ba'al sent them to reinforce the front lines, the domain is almost deserted now, Lisa replied. Only myself, non-combatants, and a few guards are left, except for the force the Great Lord is putting together. He's called in some more Seekers, Fire drakes, and Slayers. But he's been waiting for you anxiously; he's in the main office. Mistress, what's happening, we haven't heard anything!"
Vulva gave Lisa a quick kiss; with tongue of course, and said, it's not looking good; I think the main lines have broken everywhere but in the West. If any demonkind or Imps turn up looking for shelter let them in, we need all we can get to help to defend the domain if the darkness makes it this far."
"Yes Mistress", Lisa said; looking worried, and nodded at the two Imps; who were the only other guards other than her, and they closed the door after Mistress Vulva and Pet had entered the domain. She looked at the huge doors of solid helliron, and hoped they'd hold, and then gave the terrified Imps a big smile to help reassure them.
Ba'al leaned back in the chair and snarled in frustration, the damn Hellnet had been going on and off intermittently for several hours, and it now appeared to be down for good, which only screwed things up even more. Now he was on his own, no more outside help other than those that had responded to his earlier calls. The force he had assembled was small, but the best; or worst, depending on your point of view, that Hell had to offer. Seekers, fire drakes, Slayers, a few Salamanders, and an assortment of other demonkind. The reports towards the end had been getting bad, it would appear the darkness was breaking through in many areas, domains were falling, and the Host was retreating. That was almost inconceivable to him, and if he hadn't personally seen what they'd been fighting he never would have believed it. And from what he had heard many old friends; or at least 'loyal opposition' had fallen. But no time to mourn, they would not have wanted him too. Ba'al looked up, startled, when a deep sibilant voice suddenly hissed,
"Great Lord, Mistress Vulva and that retarded dragon of hers are on their way, and will be arriving shortly."
Damn Slayers, Ba'al thought, he hadn't even heard the demon; no, demoness, it was female, enter the room, and she was hard to see in the shadowy corner, only her eyes and fangs visible. But of course that was one of their powers, though not invisible they might as well be. They could draw the darkness and shadows to them and weave it around them like a cloak. If they didn't want to be seen they wouldn't be, unless you knew exactly where to look, but by then it was usually too late.
"Very well, Ba'al said, as soon as they arrive send them in. I hope THEY have good news. Oh, and demoness?"
"Yes, Great Lord?" The Slayer hissed, bowing.
"A word of warning, Ba'al said, I wouldn't call Pet names within range of Mistress Vulva's hearing, she is quite...fond of him.
"Yesss, Great Lord, thank you." The Slayer hissed, and left as swiftly and silently as it had arrived. Damn things creep me out, Ba'al thought, but they did have their uses.
But he brightened somewhat as Vulva swept into the room and prostrated herself, her familiar Pet doing the same as he covered his head with his wings in abject terror. He grovels so nicely, Ba'al thought, and the nice part was, he meant it. Ba'al was so tired of faked or 'mandatory' groveling, so it was nice to see the real thing.
"Rise Mistress Vulva, and Pet, Ba'al said. Please tell me you have some good news."
"Yes, I am pleased to say that we do, Vulva replied, and walking forward she bowed as she placed the pouch containing the gold key on the Great Lord's desk. Well, technically it was HER desk, but she wasn't about to bitch about it if the Great Lord wanted to borrow it for awhile.
Ba'al opened the pouch and looked at the golden key in his hand, the strange gold object made from a material he was unfamiliar with, and he could feel the power in it. So much trouble for such a small trinket, and now all they needed to do were to find the other two.
"Have you any news on the location of the other key, Great Lord?" Vulva dared to ask. They knew an acolyte of hers had one of the two remaining keys, but the third was rumored to be in Heaven. And from what she'd heard Heaven had problems of its own.
Ba'al looked up from his examination of the key, and said, "Well, yes and no. The good news is that I have discovered the location of the third key; Gabriel was surprisingly cooperative in that respect, but I knew we were fucked when he laughed as he told me. It's in the Vatican Grotto, in the crypt of one of the Pope's.
"Oh crap." Vulva hissed in dismay.
"Oh crap, indeed, Ba'al said. But he is sending us an envoy to help us gain access to the Holy See. It is the only way one of us can gain entrance."
"Great Lord, I also have some most disturbing news, Vulva said, fellow demonkind are conspiring against us, we were attacked by a verminlord and other vermin demonkind while retrieving the key. If not for my familiar they would have succeeded. He destroyed Lord Grish-ik-ik-ick in a pitched battle."
"Yesss, that IS bad news, though I had suspected something of the like, Ba'al replied. The vermin had been restless for quite some time, but I never thought they would dare to betray Hell! It is one thing to stage a coup, but to ally with Chaos is something else entirely. Grish-ik-ik-ick you say? He was a very powerful Lord; I'm surprised your familiar could handle him, even as talented as he is. Well done, Pet."
"Thank you, Great Lord", I said, my reply muffled as I still had my wings over my head. I felt better if I couldn't see him.
"Yes, he is rather talented, Vulva said, in more ways than one." Which got a booming chuckle from the Great Lord, and Vulva bowed her head with a smile. Oh yes, she thought, he is SO talented!
I took a chance, and folding my wings I got up and rubbed my head against My Mistress's leg, and she scratched me between my eyes as I hissed in pleasure.
Ba'al watched, smiling, as the familiar showed his affection for his Mistress, and felt a pang of jealously. None of HIS slaves rubbed their heads against his legs! Well, not that he could blame them; he'd probably bite them off if they did. But still, it might be...nice.
"Yes, he is quite talented, Ba'al said, now, to business. But I am remiss, Mistress Vulva, you have my permission to sit in my presence, and Pet, have the Slayer in the outer office fetch some drinks and snacks. For all of us."
"Yes, Great Lord!" I said, and turned and left. It gave me a good excuse to get the Hell out of there. He was my Great Lord and Master, but I'm still scared to death of him.
"Great Lord, Vulva said as she sat down in the only other chair in the large room, I'm honored!" And she was too, such permission was rarely given.
Ba'al waved a hand dismissively, "Nonsense, you have earned it. Now, here is the situation, at least so far as I know, but it could change at any time. I have sent a small force ahead to secure that mysterious door, and will follow shortly myself with the rest of the forces I have assembled; we will need them if the vermin move against us, but I have one other task I must complete first. We need to coordinate a counter attack with Heaven and the mortal realm to buy us time, so I must attend to arranging that since you and Pet will be busy. Now here is the tricky bit, I need you to retrieve the key from your acolyte, and need one other to retrieve the last key from the Vatican."
"You mean Pet, don't you?" Vulva asked quietly.
"Well, yes, Ba'al admitted, he is uniquely suited for the task. As Hell's envoy to Heaven he still has 'diplomatic immunity', and can enter consecrated ground and the Light of Heaven will have no effect on him. Plus Heaven is sending someone to accompany him and 'clear the way', so to speak."
"Great Lord, think about this VERY carefully, Vulva said earnestly, do you REALLY want Pet running around loose in the VATICAN? I mean, as much as I would like to see the Holy City laid waste, can we afford the consequences?"
"Vulva, do you think I WANT to send him? Ba'al replied, the very thought scares the Hell out of me! But remember, we underestimate him time and time again. There is far more to that strange beast of yours then meets the eye. So, yes, we will send him and hope for the best; or maybe worst. If he burns St. Paul's cathedral to the ground it matters not as long as he gets the key, I certainly wouldn't be terribly upset. But he will have help, and that help should keep him under control."
Don't bet on it, Vulva thought, even SHE couldn't keep him under control half the time. But still, it would be interesting. "Very well, Great Lord, Vulva said, do you want to tell him, or should I?"
"We both will, Ba'al replied, while he's groveling you can sit on him so he can't get away when we do."
Vulva sniggered, and then gave a hiss of amusement. "Yes, that might work, good idea, Great Lord." She said.
Ba'al leaned back with a grunt, and massaged his temples. He was in his one headed form, it was less impressive, but it was easier to concentrate with only one. And he had one Hell of a headache, and the damn Tylenol wasn't working worth shit, how many bottles full did he have to take, anyway?
Vulva got up and walked around the desk, and said,
"Here, allow me, Great Lord." And she began to massage the great demon's shoulders and neck between his folded wings. He was SO tense!
"Hmm? Oh, yes, that's nice." Ba'al said as her felt her fingers dig into his bunched and sore muscles. He'd been doing a lot more flying then usual, and his flight muscles were overworked.
Vulva massaged his muscles for awhile, and under her expert touch they began to relax and loosen, and Ba'al gave a groan of pleasure. Then she gently pulled his head back, and pressed her muzzle against his, and gave him a long; very intimate, kiss.
As they broke their kiss, Ba'al said in a deep throaty growl, "Mistress Vulva, you are a marvel; you always know what I need most."
"Yes, I do, Great Lord, Vulva replied, after all; it is what I do best."
Vulva gave a squeal of pleasure as Ba'al mounted her, he'd taken on his 'normal' three headed form, and as his dual penises penetrated her pussy and ass it felt absolutely wonderful, and from his grunts, snarl's, and hiss's of pleasure she knew he was enjoying himself just as much as she was. As he began to brutally service her she gave a deep hiss of ecstasy, what a male! The great beast was a regular 'lover' of hers, one of the best. And she was honored that out of all the demoness's in Hell she was one of his favorites.
Razas watched the rutting demonkind in amusement, and maybe just a little jealously, then quietly left the room to give them some 'privacy'. He went out into the tunnel, and gave a soft hissing/clicking call, and soon what looked like a giant cockroach came scuttling across the floor towards him. He let his invisibility spell diminish so it could see him, and gave it the information he had overheard. His 'employers' would pay him well for this new and pertinent information as to the location of the two remaining keys. The vermin demon gave a wave of its feelers, then turned and scuttled off. Razas reinvoked his invisibility spell and returned to the office to see if he could overhear anything else of interest, but from the loud roars and hisses of demonic pleasure coming from the inner room he figured it would be awhile, and settle down to wait. He had plenty of time.
I went with the Slayer to fetch the goodies, mainly because I knew where they were and the Slayer didn't. I hadn't been told to, and could have let her just wander around the labyrinth of tunnels, but the Great Lord had said he wanted some goodies, so I figured I'd best make sure he got what he wanted. I glanced at her from time to time as we walked down the tunnels. She was a sleek winged reptilian creature, all fine black scales, bat wings, and fangs. But unlike a male she had no crest, and was even more slender and had a definite 'feminine' aura, at least as far as demonkind were concerned. To a human she'd just look like a big scary winged lizard, to a demon she was quite beautiful. It was a shame I was so much larger then she was. Being what she was she could have coupled with a fire demon with no trouble, but I was just too large in more ways then one.
When we reached the break room there were a few other demonkind hanging around, but they made way for us in a scramble. Slayers, being what they are, have no problems finding seats; or in our case, standing room, if the other demonkind know what's good for themselves. Fire drakes usually get the same reaction. Slayers were made for tearing up other demonkind, which makes them kind of unpopular, but the ones I'd met seemed decent enough to me. At least they don't lord it over the other demonkind, unlike a lot of others. They tend to be quiet and keep to themselves, it's not in their nature to be very social.
To my surprise the bar hadn't been raided too badly: I guess the 'Stay Out or Die, by order of Mistress Vulva' sign had something to do with it. My Mistress does not make idle threats, and everything knows it. In short order I found; and devoured, a box of Tidy Bowl Urinal Cakes, fixed a big pot of green sulfur tea; withOUT blowing up the Samovar for once, and then fixed a tray with more urinal cakes and brimstone cookies. As I got ready to leave with the goodies I looked around for the Slayer, and to my surprise she was in corner with another Slayer. I hadn't even seen the other one when we came in, but recognized him as one of My Mistress's other pets. He and the female had their snouts close together and were obviously getting along just fine, so I left them alone. It was the first time I'd seen my 'brother pet' with a female, so I thought, lots of luck dude. He deserved a break. Then as an afterthought I took down the 'Stay Out or Die' sign and ate it, then said, "Bar's open everybody, help yourselves!" Then I ran out the door; carefully balancing the tray of goodies, as the riot commenced. I figured since there was a good chance a lot of them wouldn't be around for much longer they deserved a treat. I'd probably get in trouble for it later, but the Hell with it.
The Slayer huddled in a corner of the break room, politely ignoring the other demonkind who were just as politely ignoring him, and brooded. He did that a lot; there wasn't much else to do. Oh, he accepted what he was now; he'd made a deal and honored his part of that demonic bargain. Mistress Vulva had given him the means to seek the revenge he desired, and he'd given her his body and soul as payment. Fair enough, he had no complaints; she had been good to him in her own way. He was a creature of Hell now as much as she was, and once his mind had followed his body it wasn't so bad. But still, he was so lonely, so perhaps a trace of his former humanity still lingered. His kind of demon were feared and shunned by the others, and while he understood why he still wished it otherwise. Plus other Slayers were so rare, he'd only met one or two others the whole time he'd been here and they had been males. So when the female Slayer entered the break room with Pet he was caught by surprise, and though staring in Hell with blatant sexual interest is not really considered rude; quite the opposite, he probably overdid it a bit. But it wasn't just sexual interest; it was desperation to have someone to talk too as an equal, someone like himself.
Of course as soon as she entered the break room Lork became aware of the male Slayer in one corner of the room, the area immediately around him free of other demonkind. She would have blushed if she'd been capable; he stared so fixedly at her, his gaze intent. But she was used to it; the males always stared at her. For some reason the ratio was around one male Slayer to ten females. Their kind was so rare it was unusual to meet another, and in fact there were several other Slayers in the domain as well; a gathering which was quite unusual to say the least, but she knew all the others. Since he was a stranger she made her way through the other demonkind; who stepped aside hurriedly, to introduce herself. He's big, and handsome, nice full crest, she thought as she walked up to him, claws clicking on the floor.
For a minute she just looked at him, and he looked at her, their eyes glowing with interest. She realized he was different from the other Slayers she knew, even more reserved and quiet. By their nature they were loners, but he was even more withdrawn then usual. It suddenly occurred to her, he was shy! What she had first thought was a kind of standoffish rudeness was just that he wasn't sure how to react to her.
"I'm Lork, she hissed quietly, I haven't seen you around before. Who do you belong too?"
"I belong to Mistress Vulva, he said, I'm...pleased to meet you." And that was emphasized as a ripple ran down his blood red crest, his spines rustling quietly.
"What is your name, or has your Mistress not given you one?" Lork asked.
"I had a name once, long ago, but no longer." He hissed sadly, and she noticed he was playing with something on one of his fingers.
"Does that hurt?" Lork asked, indicating the gold ring embedded in the scales on one of his fingers.
"No, not really, he replied, it helps me to...remember sometimes."
"Oh, I know of you! Lork said, you're the Slayer who used to be a mortal! I've heard about you. Tell me, what was it like, being mortal?"
"I...I don't, can't, really remember." He hissed softly. It hurt too much.
Hearing the anguish in his voice, she leaned forward and licked his snout, and said "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked a question like that, it was rude of me."
"No, it's OK, he said, I really don't remember. I'll always know I used to be a mortal, but all of Mistress Vulva's 'pets' forget much of their human memories over time. We have to, otherwise we'd go insane. It's a mercy. I am content with what I am now, that life is gone forever."
"I can't imagine what that must have been like.", she hissed, moving a little closer, her tail curling around to stroke his gently, her offer clear. When he brushed his snout against hers she licked him again, and this time he returned the lick as they nuzzled one another, taking in one another's scents and taste. Around them other demonkind were doing the same. The other demonkind were raiding the bar and starting to break off in pairs and small groups, some already energetically coupling, hissing and grunting in pleasure.
"Not here" she hissed a few minutes later. While public mating was no big deal the break room was crowded with increasingly rowdy demonkind as they finished emptying the bar of just about everything and the orgy got under way, besides, she wanted them be alone this time anyway.
"I know a place." He hissed, her spicy scent making him feel light headed. He had mated with other demoness's; some found Slayers very attractive, but never with a female Slayer. No one really paid much attention as the two Slayers left. Soon a full blown orgy was under way in the break room, and began spilling out into the tunnel.
I set the tray of treats down on the receptionist's desk in the outer room, and rummaged around for a small towel in the drawers. I knew there were usually a few in there somewhere for cleaning up messes; ones that I was usually responsible for. Just the other day I'd accidently let the tip of my tail dip into the fish tank, and something had latched on to it, and while I was running around in circles squealing I'd slapped Lisa right in the face with the nasty little fishy. So it was a good idea to have towels on hand when I was around, and a fish net. But as I dug around in a drawer I suddenly noticed a faint scent, and pausing, I flared my nostrils trying to get a stronger scent. I'd noticed it earlier, but hadn't paid much attention as I was too busy groveling at the time, and I knew that I remembered it from somewhere, but just couldn't quite put my claw on it. With a hiss I slowly lifted my head, and flaring my nostrils; tongue flicking to better taste the air, looked around the room. As far as I could see I was alone; or at least it looked that way, but looks in Hell can be very deceiving. But I could swear I smelled something, or somebody! Then I heard a slight noise, the faint scrape of a claw or scale on stone, and with a roar I pounced. A-HA! GOTCHA! I KNEW it!
As soon as I grabbed it the demon became visible, his invisibility spell dispersing with a loud 'pop' and smell of ozone. He was a lot smaller then I was; so it wasn't much of a fight, but boy did he squeal and kick! And he got in one good bite on my snout, the little twerp. But I soon had him pinned under one of my front paws, and smiled down at him; which scared the crap out of him as my 'smile' is all fangs and flaming drool.
"Hiya Razas, I hissed softly, long time, no see, whatcha been doing?"
"Lemme go! Razas squealed, I'm not doing anything wrong!"
"Oh, I don't think so, I replied, I think My Mistress and Great Lord Ba'al would like to have a word with you, ask you what you're doing sneaking around their office. Don't you think?"
"NO, not HIM!" Razas sniveled.
'PET, I suddenly heard in my mind, what the HELL are you doing out there, and what's all that ruckus? And where are the snacks, the Great Lord and I are hungry!'
'I'll show you in just a second, Mistress.' I replied via our mind link, and picking up Razas by his tail with my mouth I proudly carried the shrieking flailing demon into the main office. Then I dropped him in front of the huge desk, pinned him with a front paw, and prostrated myself.
"Look what I caught, Mistress." I hissed. Then I gave a sniff; jeez, the place reeked of sex, didn't she ever give it a rest?
"What's this?" Great Lord Ba'al demanded, in a 'don't fuck with me' tone of voice.
"Oh, Great Lord, Razas squealed, this dragon attacked me unprovoked, I was merely coming to offer my services."
"Well?" Ba'al said, and I knew he meant me.
"Great Lord, I said, he was in the other office using an invisibility spell, and I know I smelled him before in the tunnels by the hidden door and in the main office earlier, I just didn't recognize his scent then. Great Lord, he has been spying on us."
"Indeed, Ba'al rumbled, well that would certainly explain how the vermin knew what we were doing all this time. I had wondered about that, and this certainly does explain it. Mistress Vulva, would you be so kind as to help our guest up?"
"With pleasure, Great Lord" Vulva hissed. Bending over she said, "Pet, let him go." And as soon as Pet's large paw was removed from the demon's chest she picked him up by his neck and flung him against the wall, and Pet's tail swatted him back to her. "Ooops, sorry." Vulva hissed as she threw him on top of the desk. She had no liking for the small demon, their paths had crossed more then once.
Razas found himself on his back looking up at Great Lord Ba'al's terrible visage, and as he watched the Great Lord's head blurred and split into three different heads, and they all spoke at the same time, "Worm, I hunger to add another fool to those writhing in my belly, and I care not if he be mortal or demonkind. Tell me one reason why I should not devour you? And know this, you will not die, oh no, you will writhe in agony in my belly for eternity!"
With a little hiss of terror Razas's eyes rolled up in his head, and he passed out.
"Pet, Vulva said, get some water from the fish tank; that should wake the little schmuck up."
I did as I was told, using an empty trashcan for the water, and then doused Razas with it as he'd fainted. Great Lord Ba'al had that effect on people, and demonkind, and me. I fainted a lot in his presence.
Razas woke up with a splutter, then squealed as something bit him on the nose, and with a hard yank removed the scaly fishy thing that had bit him and threw it away.
"Ooops, sorry." I hissed. Then I retrieved the nice little fishy, and dropped it back in the fish tank.
"WELL!" Great Lord Ba'al thundered. Then he said, "Oh, damn it, not again!"
"Pet, water." Vulva said.
"Yes Mistress." I replied. This time I made sure there were two fishies in the bucket, ones with big toothy fangs.
"Hmm, Ba'al said, think I'm overdoing it?"
"Maybe just a bit, Great Lord, Vulva said. You are most...impressive in your righteous rage. Let me give it a try, mix a little pleasure with the terror."
Vulva gave Pet a dirty look as she removed a fish that was gnawing on Razas's nose again, but he just gave her his 'who, me?' look in return. Then; as she gently dabbed at the water soaking Razas's fur, her large firm breasts rubbing against his own chest, she gave him a long sensuous kiss, and said,
"Look Razas, you'd better tell us everything. The Great Lord's belly is rumbling, I think he's hungry."
Razas looked over at the three headed Demon Lord who was regarding him intently, and the center head ran a forked tongue over impressive fangs, and when the heads all smiled at him he almost passed out again. And he was also very aware of the demoness's proximity and scent, and felt his cock slide from its sheath as it became hard.
"Better do it dude, I hissed, I've seen him eat things, and it's not pretty. All the screaming and squealing, yeech."
"I'm sorry, Razas said, they made me do it! They said they'd do horrible things to me if I didn't!"
"Yeah, I'll bet." I hissed in disbelief.
"Pet, shush!" Vulva said. Then she leaned over and began to tongue the demon's rampant cock, then swallowed it with a slurp, her tongue wrapping around the shaft as she sucked gently, and reaching between his legs she began roughly kneading his balls.
That's My Mistress; I thought in admiration, she could make a statue sing like a canary! Poor little demon didn't have a chance.
"Tell me, worm, Ba'al growled, snarled, and hissed at the same time as all three heads spoke; which WAS pretty impressive, just what did you tell the vermin?"
"Uggh, um, just about, grunt, the keys, Razas said, moaning in pleasure as the demoness 'raped' him, they, ugghh, they already knew about the door. Errrr, ugh, ugh, it didn't seem, ugghh, like a big deal." Then he bucked and arched, squealing in pleasure as his cock exploded inside Vulva's mouth, and she sucked hard to get every drop, then lifted her head licking her muzzle in satisfaction. Then as his orgasm faded, he begged, "Please, please don't eat me, Great Lord!"
"No, I won't eat you, Ba'al said, you are not worthy of that honor, you'd probably give me indigestion anyway."
Honor? I thought, yeeuck! Rather be a rug!
"Oh, thank you most merciful one!" Razas squeaked as he visibly relaxed and gave a sigh of relief.
"Oh, do NOT thank me, Ba'al said in his multi-voiced way, I shall not eat you, but I SHALL punish you! Then we'll see if you still want to thank me."
Razas cringed, Vulva holding him down, and squeaked "W-What do you mean, G-Great Lord?"
"You shall become what you are!" Ba'al thundered.
Razas suddenly arched and screamed; almost throwing Vulva off of him, as pain and nausea exploded in his guts, his whole body shuddering and convulsing as he began to change.
Vulva hissed in approval as Razas writhed under her hands as she held him steady so he wouldn't fall off the desktop. She watched; hissing in delight, as his fur began to fall out and his legs began to grow together, and as his arms were pulled into his sides and absorbed. She licked and teased his still hard cock, bringing him to one last orgasm as he his penis began to pull into his body; his screams of terrified ecstasy fading into gurgling mewls. Soon his wriggling hairless body began to soften under her grip as his skin turned a purplish pink color and began to ooze a slick mucus. His head changed last as his body lengthened and formed segments, and at the last he was able to rear up and see what he was becoming.
I put my hands over my eyes; I just couldn't bear to look. But I peeked anyway. It was horrible.
As Razas looked down at himself, his new tubular slime covered body writhing bonelessly, he screamed a loud gurgling wail as he realizes what he was becoming.
"Nuuuhhhh, urrggg, G-Glate Lurd, urrggg, puhlzz!! Sluurrpp! NUHHH!! Puhleezzz, urrrgggg!! Nod diss!!! Slurrrpp! Urg-urg-urrrggglllleee. Slurp!"
Then as his head finished changing, becoming featureless and blunt except for a small toothless wet mouth, his pleas became wet slobbering smacks. Then all the giant worm could do was squirm helplessly in a puddle of its own slime. All but blind, deaf, and dumb; its senses limited to those of the simple creature it had become, but with its memories and awareness intact.
Gross, I thought.
"Yes, Ba'al said, you make a much better worm then a demon. I hope you enjoy the rest of eternity. Pet, take this repulsive thing outside and let it go."
Gross, I thought again, as I carried the huge worm down the tunnels. Ever try and hold onto to a fifteen foot earthworm? It was slick and slimy, plus it was wriggling like crazy and kept trying to get away, and making wet slobbering sounds and drooling all over the place. I took it to one of the huge hellbat caverns that had eons of guano and other deposits on the floor; I figured it would be 'heaven' for a worm, and set the nasty thing down. It instantly began to burrow into the huge mound of gelatinous guano, and soon the tip of its tail disappeared as it helplessly followed its new instincts. Have fun, I thought, and turned and left. I didn't feel sorry for Razas at all; frankly I thought he'd gotten off easily. Guy was a creep, even by demonic standards.
As I headed back for the office, I heard My Mistress call me via our mind link. 'Ohh, Pet, please come here my little jelly bean."
Uh-oh, I thought, if she was being nice to me it usually meant she wanted me to do something I really wouldn't like, or was trying to lure me within range so she could smack the Hell out of me. But she'd called me, so I had no choice, and I was anything if not loyal. 'Yes Mistress, I replied, almost there.' I mean, what else could I do?
"NO! HISSSSS!" I screeched, trying to run out the door, but she had me by the tail and was digging in her hooves. Despite our sizes she was still stronger then I was.
"PET! Be reasonable! Vulva hissed, you're the only one qualified for the job!"
"NO, NO, NO, NOOOO! HISSSSSS! I hissed, I don't wanna go to the Vatican, and you can't make me! Besides, they won't let me in!"
"Maybe I can't, Vulva said, but Great Lord Ba'al can."
Oh, right, I thought, I'd forgotten about him. Actually she could too, I had to obey her every command. So I stopped trying to escape, and sat down with an angry hiss.
"But Mistress, I whined, I don't think I'd fit in, if you know what I mean. Last time I checked dragons were pretty rare there, not to mention demonic dragons. And all those Nuns with their crucifixes and rulers will beat the crap out of me!"
"Don't worry, Pet, Vulva said; we'll give you a more human form again."
"That's what I WAS worried about!" I sniffed. Last time I'd been given a more human form I ended up looking like Marty Feldman AND got a one way all expenses paid trip on the Titanic! It was NOT fun! I was one unhappy little fire drake, let me tell you.
"While you're getting the key from the Vatican, I'll be getting the other one." Vulva said.
"WHAT! I hissed with a puff of flame, I have to go ALONE? You're going alone TOO!??" Getting up I went over to My Mistress, and pressing my head against her leg, I said, "Mistress, don't make me go alone! I...I won't know what to do without you! Pleasssse, Ssssss!" I didn't add that I'd be scared shitless too.
"Pet, Vulva said as she stroked his snout, someone has to get the other one, and since it's one of my acolytes's I have to be the one. Besides, I can't enter the Holy See, I'd turn to dust. You don't want me to be dissipated by the Light of Heaven, do you?"
"No, Mistress, of course not!" I hissed in horror, it had almost happened to her once, it had been terrible! I still had nightmares about that. I pressed my head a little harder against her, and asked "Are you sure you won't need me to protect you?"
Vulva was touched by his obvious concern, and lifting his large scaly head she looked into his; to her, beautiful glowing eyes, gently licked his snout, and said, "That's sweet of you, Pet, but all I have to do is pop up in Madam Marian's pentagram, you'll have the hard one. But I have confidence in you; I know you'll make me, and Great Lord Ba'al, proud of you. And Hell needs you again. For that matter, so does Heaven and the mortal realm, as weird as that may sound."
I gave a soft croon of love for My Mistress, and thought, yes, that would make me happy, to make her proud of me. And Great Lord Ba'al of course, I did like to impress him. He was less likely to turn me into a rug that way, or a worm. And it WAS pretty weird to have Hell AND Heaven depending on little old me. It's was scary too.
Vulva loved that strange sound he made when he was happy; a kind of rumbling purring sound, she'd never heard another demonkind make anything quite like it. As he rubbed against her she scratched the base of his horns, and said,
"Don't worry Pet, you won't be alone. Heaven is sending someone to help you with your quest."
Ohhh, I thought, a quest, neat! Then I had a sudden nasty thought, and lifted my head, and said,
"It's not Archangel Michael, is it? I hissed; that guy's a real butthead! Besides, I don't think he likes me."
"Well, you DID bite his ass last time you met, so I'm sure he's not very fond of you either." Vulva sniggered, which was echoed by Great Lord Ba'al. "But don't worry Pet, it's not Michael, but it is someone you know."
"Well, OK, I said, I hope its Gabriel, he's not so bad. He's a gentleman."
"Come, Pet, Vulva said, we need to get you ready. Then we'll meet Heaven's representative in the special pentagram chamber, and you can leave on your quest."
"Yes, Mistress." I said as I followed her out the door. I thought, I'll do it, but I won't like it! I get stuck with all the shit details!
Ba'al watched quietly as the two demonkind bowed, then left the office. Reaching up he scratched the nose of his left head; it had a runny nose, and giving all three a shake, he stood up and left to take care of his own 'quest'.
As we walked down the tunnel I asked, hopefully, "Mistress, do I have time to check on Lydia real quick? I promise I won't take very long. She must be really worried."
Vulva paused, and said, "No Pet, I'm sorry, time is very important." At his worried and utterly crestfallen look she gave a sympathetic hiss, and said, "I promise I'll send a couple of fire drakes to tell her you're OK, and help guard the eggs."
"Really, Mistress?? I said, that would be great. I hope the eggs haven't hatched yet, I want to be there. And I'm worried about our kids, and Vulkna and our hatchlings too."
Hell, I was worried about ALL my kids, I'd lost track of how many I'd sired on the demoness's that My Mistress had rented my stud services out to. I care about them all, which was pretty weird for a demon. But then again, I AM pretty weird for a demon.
"They're all at the Great Lord's Fortress of Doom, Vulva said, he allowed them to seek refuge there. It's probably one of the safest places in Hell. I'm sure they'll be OK, but we need to find those keys! They're our only hope."
I felt a little better when I heard that, the Fortress was one Hell of a, well, Fortress. And I was bound and determined to get the key no matter what, my mates and children were depending on me. I wouldn't let them down, I couldn't let them down! They were all I had.
After the transformation magic had been worked on me again; you got it, I ended up looking like Marty Feldman AGAIN, we headed for the 'special pentagram' chamber were Heaven's partner in our little adventure was waiting. Let him wait, I thought, rather uncivilly, as I was in a rotten mood. Maybe I'd bite whoever it was anyway. I hated being 'human' again, AND I was wearing a stupid brown monk's robe too. I felt like Friar Tuck. I hunched over, let my tongue hang out of the corner of my mouth, started shuffling, and drooling started saying 'Sanctuary, Sanctuary!' until My Mistress smacked me.
I'd been to a 'special pentagram' room once before. Since they were direct links to Heaven they were warded, and guarded, heavily on BOTH sides. Heaven didn't want any demonkind running around loose, and we sure didn't want any Angels running around in Hell. Tends to drive down property values and scare the kids. Of course a demonkind would usually just go 'poof' in the Light of Heaven, but I'd been given 'diplomatic immunity'.
We passed through several warded doors, finally entering a small cavern with a large glowing pentagram in the center, and it was different from those I normally used on my regular excursions to the mortal realm in search of errant souls, or stupid keys. I felt an instinctive need to stay as far away from it as possible; and from the way My Mistress's tail was twitching I knew she did too. We turned our heads, eyes closed, as a brilliant pure white light flared, and when it faded; squinting, I looked towards the pentagram again, then gave a squeal of delight and ran to greet the small figure as he stepped out of the pentagram.
The man smiled and gave me a hug, and when I heard a loud 'A-Hem?' from behind me, I turned, and said,
"Mistress, this is St. Francis, he's a friend of mine; he was nice to me while I was in Heaven. St. Francis, this is My Mistress, Mistress Vulva."
St. Francis gave a little bow, and Vulva nodded her head. The small human certainly didn't look very imposing, if anything he was rather plain, but she could sense the power in him. Saints were like that, not quite angels, but not much less.
"My thanks for showing my slave kindness, Vulva hissed, you made an impression on him. Not many demons would admit to having a Saint for a friend."
St. Francis smiled, and replied, "So you are Mistress Vulva, well, it would seem your loyal servant was not exaggerating your, um, charms. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, but I wish it was under other circumstances."
Vulva couldn't help but give a smile when Pet shuffled his feet, his face turning red as he could blush in his current form. "Tell me, she said, how goes the battle in Heaven?"
St. Francis frowned, and said, "We hold our own, but just barely. That is why they sent me, none of the Seraphim or Archangels could be spared. The darkness, the chaos, is like nothing I have ever seen, even the Light of Heaven has little effect, and our other weapons seem almost useless."
"Mistress, St. Frances, I asked, why doesn't Big 'L', and 'you-know-who', just blast the thing back to wherever it came from?"
Vulva and St. Francis looked at each other, both speechless for a change, as they didn't have an answer to that question. The Lord God and Lucifer were mysteries even unto their most powerful servants, and for whatever reasons they had left them on their own. Finally, Vulva hissed,
"I have no idea, Pet, but it is not our place to question." Which was as good an answer as any, and St. Francis nodded.
"Um, OK, I guess." I said, I was kind of used to answers like that, it was My Mistress's way of saying, 'I don't have the faintest idea, so stifle thyself.'
"Well, St. Francis said, it is time we were on our way. I have a contact at the Vatican who will be waiting to receive us. We cannot appear within the boundaries of Vatican City, but there is a special pentagram nearby. Only a few of the most powerful church officials know of its existence though. We must hurry."
I took My Mistress's hands and gave them a lick with my still quite long forked tongue, and asked, "Mistress, are you sure you won't need me to protect you?" One of my main duties IS protecting her, and it always worries the HELL out of me if she's on a mission by herself. If anything happened I'd never forgive myself for not being there.
Vulva smiled at the obvious concern in Pet's strange human sounding voice, and said, "Don't worry Pet, I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about, but St. Francis will make sure you don't have any trouble getting in; and out, of the Vatican. You just be careful, and don't take any chances. If...you just come back to me; that's all I want." Then she turned her gaze on the Saint, and it wasn't as gentle, "You WILL make sure nothing happens to him, won't you?" She hissed.
St. Francis smiled, and said, "If he doesn't come back, then neither will I."
Vulva nodded her head, and said, "Fair enough."
Vulva waited until they had stepped into the pentagram and disappeared, then with a tired sigh she turned and left the chamber. He was on his own now; and even if he ran into trouble she couldn't help him. Damn it, she thought, why does it always have to be him? Stupid dragon!
I looked around as we appeared somewhere else, and from the looks we were in a basement, a rather old and dusty one. "Where are we?" I asked.
"In the basement of a house near the border of Vatican City, St. Francis replied, and there should be someone waiting to greet us. Do you sense anyone; your senses are more sensitive than mine."
He was right about that, I can see in pitch dark as easily as day and my sense of smell is incredible; I think my eyes provide their own version of infrared light or something. But I didn't see; or smell, anybody or anything.
"Nope, I said, we're all alone."
"That's odd, St. Francis mused, Brother Cornelius was supposed to meet us with the proper papers to gain access. Otherwise we'll never get past the Vatican Guard and other security measures."
"For such a Holy place you mortals sure are paranoid. I muttered, what about all that 'love your fellow man' stuff?"
St. Francis sighed, and said, "A sign of the times, I guess."
"Yeah, I replied, I know what you mean. OK, so what do we do now?"
"We go forward, we have no choice." He answered.
Well, I thought, should have known I wouldn't get off that easy. "I was afraid you'd say that, I said. Follow me, if we run into anything nasty, let me handle it."
"Oh, St. Francis said, don't worry, I will!"
I gave a snort of amusement, and headed for some stairs, which were the only exit from the basement. They were steep and narrow, and if I'd been in my true form I never would have been able to go up them. As it were they squeaked under my weight; though my body was smaller my mass was still much denser. So we went up the stairs, trying to be sneaky, but the stairs had other ideas.
"Squeeeak. Shshhh, be careful! Squeeeak, creeak. Ssshhhh! I AM trying to be quiet! Sqquueeeakkk, pop! Ssshhhh-oh, forget it! Squueeeakkkk. Sorry. Creeeaaakkk!"
I pushed the door at the top of the stairs open slowly; didn't they ever oil anything around here, the loud creak of rusty hinges making me grind my fangs. If anyone; or anything, was in the house they'd know we were there for sure. We'd made more noise than a monkey in a blender. I stuck my head slowly out of the door, looked around warly, and when nothing tried to bite it off I gave a hiss of relief, and no sign of Nuns with rulers either.
"Come on, I said, the coast is clear."
The place had been ransacked, as in torn apart. The furniture had been smashed, all the appliances unplugged (couldn't figure out that one), pillows torn up, pictures hung back on the walls upside down, and no one was home.
"Either someone's been here looking for something, I said, or whoever lives here has mental problems, and is a real slob." I said after we checked out the whole place.
"I don't understand, St. Francis said, Brother Cornelius is a very tidy man, he would never let his place get like this!"
"I was being sarcastic, I said, it's obvious the place was trashed on purpose, and I know who did it, or I should say, what. You smell that?"
St. Francis took a sniff, and turned slightly green. "What IS that!?" He gasped.
"Formic acid, I hissed, vermin demonkind have been here, but are gone now. And from the smell at least one was destroyed, dissipated. Looks like your friend put up a fight. Good for him."
"Vermin demonkind?" St. Francis said quizzically.
"Great big ugly bugs, I replied with a shudder, very nasty. They're after the keys too, but I was hoping to avoid them."
"Oh dear, St. Francis said, what do we do now?"
"Can we get in the Vatican without those papers?" I asked.
"It would be very hard; we'd probably have to fight our way." St. Francis replied.
"Can't you do a miracle or something for them?? Pull rabbits out of a hat, turn wine into water, or something? I asked, I mean, you ARE a saint."
"Doesn't work that way, he smiled, I am but a man, I do not have all the powers of an angel. It's hard to explain. We're the go-betweens between Earth and Heaven. There are very strict rules against angels visiting without express permission from On High, but we can. But while on Earth we are just human."
"But you do have the power of faith, I said. That can be a very powerful weapon against such as I, don't forget that. If we encounter demonkind; and I think we will, use your crucifix on them, they can't come near it. And Holy Water will make them melt like the Wicked Witch of the West."
"But they had no problem with the Holy symbols here", St. Francis said, indicating crucifixes and other religious items that had been thrown to the floor or hung upside down.
I bent over and picked up a metal crucifix, then held it until it glowed white hot and melted, dripping through my fingers like butter. "It's not the symbols, I said, it's the faith. Had you been holding this I couldn't have touched it, or gone anywhere near it without feeling extreme pain. That's the power mortals have over us, we're only dangerous if you lose your faith, or deal with us intentionally. Do you understand?"
"Funny, St. Francis said, I'd always thought it was something like that, but you just proved it. Thank you."
"My pleasure, I said. Now, I think we had best follow our unwelcome visitors and see what they're up to, they haven't been gone long. I have a feeling they might have your friend, since there is no sign of a body. Even if they'd eaten him I could tell."
St. Francis shuddered, "Oh, poor Cornelius! Yes, indeed, let us find out where they have taken him. Can you follow them?"
I smiled, and tapped my nose. "Best snooze in Hell, I hissed. They stink, and I can follow them blindfolded. Shall we?"
"Yes, let's, St. Francis said, lead the way!"
Before we excited the building I put my dark glasses on, my eyes were still those of a demon, reptilian with the fires of Hell flickering in their depths. That's the one thing that we can't change about our appearance, the eyes always give us away. My 'disguise' was that of a blind and mute monk that St. Francis (his disguise was Monsignor Xavier) was escorting to one of the many shrines in the Vatican in hopes of a cure. I guess it really works sometimes, like I said, it's all about faith. Those who have enough faith literally cure themselves, that's how it works. Angels don't do it, you do, but they provide the way to focus your faith, to channel it. At least that's what My Mistress told me, and despite what we are she's never lied to me before, not once. I had a white cane to go with the alias, and tapped it in front of me as we walked through the streets.
The vermin weren't that hard to track, they leave trails of pheromones and a reek of formic acid for their fellow verminkind to follow, and of course; being a demon, I could follow those trails too. A short distance away we came to an abandoned house, and I kept walking past it, then when we rounded a corner a couple of blocks away, I stopped, and said,
"They're in that abandoned house we passed a couple of blocks back; I didn't stop there as I don't want them to know we're here. They probably had a watcher, but hopefully he didn't scent me." Since there was a fair amount of pedestrians I figured he most likely wouldn't have been paying that much attention, and in this form my own scent would be diluted.
"What now?" St. Francis asked.
"We go in the back door, I said, without knocking first. Here, take this."
As I handed him my white cane, St. Francis looked at me a bit confused, and said, "This isn't much of a weapon."
I smiled, fangs glinting, and said, "Appearances can be deceiving, My Mistress gave it to me, it's not only a cane, it's a power wand. See that button, the one that looks like a decoration? Yipe! DON'T push it yet!" I squealed; and ducked, when he pointed it in my general direction as he inspected the cane. "The button activates it, just point at your target, push the button, and 'boom'. Probably won't kill them; except maybe the lesser ones, but will definitely ruin their day."
"Goodness, St. Francis said as he inspected the seemingly innocent cane. We have similar weapons, but don't, um, conceal them like this."
"Well, I said, we demonkind are good at being sneaky, kind of goes with the job description, I guess. Hiss, hiss, hiss."
Our plan of attack was simple. I went in first, and while they piled on me he would go in and see if he could find his friend. It was pretty basic, but we didn't have much time to plan anything more elaborate. I really wished Carl and a few of his security demonkind were with us, he'd have made grease spots out of the vermin. And if they did have his friend time was of the essence, we are not kind to prisoners I'm afraid; our idea of hospitality leaves a lot to be desired.
Fortunately the alley behind the row of houses was empty, the only residents a few mangy cats, which split as soon as yours truly showed up. I have that affect on animals, they know what I am the second they see me. Who says animals are stupid? I stripped and stashed my Friar Tuck outfit in an empty trash bin as I didn't want to get it ruined in the coming fight. Naked there was no doubt I wasn't human. Though my form was basically humanoid, the short tail and scattered red scales were a giveaway, not to mention the sharp claws on my toes and faintly glowing eyes. I could have taken on my true form, but that would have made it really hard for me to pass myself off as a blind and mute monk later as once I'd done so I wouldn't be able to reassume the more human form.
I figured they'd be watching the rear door, so I went in through the wall, and it hit the fan. I ended up right in the middle of their nest, and they weren't overjoyed to see me to say the least. In this form most of them were even larger then I was, and they took on their true forms instantly. It was a nasty, no quarter asked, and none given, brawl. They're nasty things, but I'm nastier, and soon bug guts and parts littered the floor and were stuck to the walls and ceiling. Basically I just dismembered them, pulling them apart, which didn't kill them until I pulled their heads off, which did the trick.
At one time it might have bothered me to be killing fellow demonkind, but no longer. They were traitors to 'Big L' and Hell, and I was a loyal slave of Hell, and so I showed no mercy. But even as I slaughtered them I had to admire their ferocity, they fought with a total disregard for their own safety. They died like demonkind. Had any asked for quarter I would have given it, but none did, and I hadn't expected it, and I could only approve. As far as demonkind go they're not especially powerful, but what they lack in power they make up in numbers, and there were lots of them. But it certainly wasn't one sided, they chewed the shit out of me. Most were lower cast slaves, but a couple were demi-level demonkind. Those were a problem as they were much more powerful, but it just took a little longer, and I got chewed up some more. They tore my tough hide with razor sharp mandibles and claws, and spit powerful corrosive acid at me that sizzled wherever it hit me. But finally it was over, and I let the last vermin drop to the floor, its head rolling into a corner, mandibles still gnashing. Then I staggered and sat down with a moan. Shit! I felt the same way too.
The room was an abattoir right out of Hell, literally, but the bugs remains were starting to dissipate into slime and dust. No bodies, when we die we just cease to exists, and no afterlife either, whatever we have for souls just wink out forever. That's the worst part of being damned. We're immortal, but we can be destroyed, and once that happens that's it, there's no place for us to go after that. But the room was still drenched in acid and other nasty fluids, as was I. And I HATE having bug guts all over me! It's GROSS! It's a good thing I can't puke, because I wanted to, really badly.
Up to that point I hadn't used my fire flux; didn't want to burn the joint down. But I was all torn up, my hide hanging in strips, one ear torn off and hanging by a shred, three fingers broken, great gashes all over me, my molten blood seeping out and popping and sizzling as it dripped onto the floor. I felt, and looked, like total shit. A human would have been dead, or unconscious, but demonkind have a higher pain threshold. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though, just moving was agony. So I summoned the fires of Hell, my body glowing incandescently as I healed myself. And when the glow died I had to stamp out the fires my feet and rear had causes where they touched the floor. But I felt a LOT better. Then I looked up as I heard a tentative knock on the open door to the room.
"Um, can I come in now?" St. Francis asked.
"Better not, I said, the floors unstable, we kind of tore it up. Better let me come to you." And I took several steps, and fell through the floor.
I picked myself up, brushed myself off, and looked around. I was in a basement, and wasn't alone. An older man's body hung from a beam, and I winced.
"Are you OK?" I heard St. Francis say, genuine concern in his voice.
"Yes, I'm fine, and I found your friend." Or what was left of him, I thought, but didn't mention that. He had been butchered; though it was evident the vermin had kept him alive for a long time. Gently I took him down, and covered him up with a tarp I found. There wasn't much left. I was used to stuff like that, but still...
I looked up as St. Francis came down the basement stairs, and he said, "Where's Brother Cornelius?"
"He's over there, I said, and when he tried to push past me I grabbed his arm in a firm grip, and said, don't, he's dead. It's not...pretty."
He looked me in the eye, and when I saw the strength there, I let him go.
"Thank you, he said, but I need to administer the last rites."
I looked around as St. Francis knelt next to the now blood soaked tarp, his voice low and reverent. I found what was left of the man's robes on a table, and in one pocket I found a packet of papers. I guess the vermin had overlooked it, or didn't consider it of any importance. I doubt they'd even questioned the poor guy very much, just had fun with him. Vermin demonkind are not much on imagination, they go right for the 'fun' stuff.
As St. Francis finished giving last rites, I said, "For what it's worth, I doubt he told them anything."
"What makes you say that?" St. Francis replied.
"He'd still be alive if they hadn't gotten what they wanted, he wouldn't have been so..., um, like that. He must have made them really pis...um, mad."
"His faith would have sustained him, St. Francis said, he knew had nothing to fear from them. I just don't understand how intelligent beings can do something like that."
"They're demonkind, I said, it's what we do."
"You're not like that." St. Francis said.
"You don't know me as well as you think, I replied, but no, I'm not like that. My specialty is something different, but I don't do things like that." Well, technically that was a lie, I sometimes lose control if someone, or something, really makes me mad. I'm not proud of it. "Neither does My Mistress, I added. But make no mistake, we are evil beings."
"Sometimes I wonder what the true definition of 'evil' really is." St. Francis said.
"Let me give you a tour of Hell sometime, I said, and you'll see plenty of examples." I wondered what he'd think of My Mistress's 'animal husbandry' breeding pits where she bred humans and animals to produce Imps and beasts. Even I didn't like that much, and only went down there if I had to.
"I think I'll pass, but thanks for the offer." He replied.
"Smart choice, I said. Um, I found these papers in your friend's robes, are they what we need?"
St. Francis took a quick look, and said, "Praise the Lord, yes! Brother Cornelius worked in the Vatican's passport and ID office, so these documents are 100% authentic. I'm surprised the...bugs didn't destroy them."
I winced at the sound of the Others name, and snarled, "Please, not where I can hear!"
"Oh dear, I'm sorry, St. Francis said, my apologies."
"It's OK, I said, just remember what I am. Your faith is...overwhelming, just saying certain names or phrases in my presence is painful to me. Start praying and I will be out of here so fast your head will spin."
"I thought head spinning was a demonic thing?" St. Francis replied with a straight face.
"Oh, hiss-hiss, good one, I said. Yes, the possession demonkind do think that's impressive, scares the Hell out of mortals, that and the green vomit. And as to why the bugs didn't destroy the documents, I doubt they even saw them. Vermin demonkind aren't too bright. They're good at running errands and tearing things up, but not espionage."
"Well, what next?" St. Francis asked.
"That, I said, is up to you. You have to smuggle me into the Vatican Grotto, and then back out again with the key. Hopefully without being seen. At least once we're inside we won't have to worry about anymore bugs."
"Well, let's pra..., I mean, let's hope nothing goes wrong."
"You and me both." I hissed. I cocked my head, and added, "And we'd better go now, I hear sirens. I think my little, um, altercation may have attracted some attention."
"Well, it was quite...impressive, St. Francis said, it sounded pretty much like feeding time at the zoo."
As we left the basement and walked to the back door I saw the remains of at least two bugs splattered on the floor and walls, the remains slowly dissipating. Huh, I thought, looks like St. Francis knows how to use a power wand!
"Not too shabby." I said, nodding at the dissolving remains.
"Just because I'm a Saint it doesn't mean I don't know how to kick ass, when necessary." St. Francis replied, maybe just a little smugly
"I will keep that in mind." I said.
I put my disguise back on, and no one paid any attention to the small nondescript priest leading the blind monk down the street.
The End
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