demons anyway."
"And now you're really going to follow me
around?" Kara asked, adjusting the sack with the ogre's head in it.
It was heavier than she would have liked. But Evaard was sure to
want the magic ingredients. Ogre's eyes are worth more than their
weight in gold, he had told her many times.
"Not just follow. Serve, Mistress. Why, is
that a problem?"
"Well..." Kara said slowly, "You're a
succubus. And I'm a paladin."
"Ex-paladin," Lilette said a little too
quickly. Kara winced, that still stung.
"I'm sorry, Mistress."
"It's okay. You don't have to be a paladin
to do good." It was an easy thing to say, but it was going to take
some getting used to.
Maiden's
Chains
Nalia went to sleep in bliss. She awoke in
chains and darkness.
The young witch shook her head, trying to
clear the fog from her mind. The last thing she remembered...
She had used the forbidden ritual to summon
the demon Raum. And he had seduced her, trying to gain his freedom.
No, that wasn't quite right. She had seduced him as well, hoping to
make the demon break his contract.
And then.. then they had ended up in each
others arms, making love until the morning. She remember Raum
running his hands through her sweat soaked red hair as she had
clutched desperately to his lithe, muscled torso.
Nalia's eyes were beginning to adjust to the
darkness. And now, somehow, she was here. Had she failed? Had Raum
betrayed her?
As she scanned the room searching for a
familiar sign, she ran a hand over her clothes. Her black witch's
robe was gone, replaced with a simple cotton skirt that fell to her
knees and a simple smock.
Nalia knew enough to recognize a cell when
she saw it. A bed, a chamberpot, chains, and an iron door. Someone
didn't want her leaving.
She didn't have to wait long to find out
who. Soft footsteps echoed down the hallway, stopping at her door.
The door swung open smoothly, and a girl entered. She was a year or
two younger than Nalia with short brown hair that bobbed when she
moved.
The girl bowed awkwardly her bangs falling
across her eyes as she clutched her simple white cotton robe. "I am
sister Eliza. Please come with me."
Nalia felt a rage building within her. The
sisters of light might think they could slap a few chains on a Red
Witch and call it a day, but Nalia had power they had never dreamed
of.
Reaching out with her mind, Nalia grabbed
the girl's essence and tossed her body across the room like a
ragdoll.
Or at least, that's what she tried do. What
actually happened was Nalia reached out with her mind and she fell
screaming to the ground. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think.
Fire burned into her neck, searing her throat shut.
Sister Eliza rushed to her side. "Please, do
not hurt yourself." The girl's voice had real concern in it.
It took all of Nalia's strength just to nod.
The pain was gone now, but her body was still quivering.
"It's the collar." Eliza explained
helpfully, busying herself unlocking Nalia's manacles. "The sisters
have sealed your powers. Try to use them and you will be
punished."
"Good to know," Nalia managed as Eliza
helped the sorceress to her feet.
When she regained her strength, perhaps she
could overpower Eliza, but for now she was weak as a kitten. Eliza
helped Nalia down a sparse, stone hallway. From a few of the rooms
they passed, Nalia could here screams and moans.
"Do not worry." Eliza reassured her seeing
the look on her face. "They are being purified, repenting of their
evil ways."
Nalia felt her throat go dry. "Is that
what's going to happen to me? I'm going to be purified?"
Eliza nodded solemnly. "It is the fate of
the wicked."
"And Raum, what about Raum?" Nalia didn't
quite know why she asked. What did she care what happened to some
demon that she picked at random from a book? But she found herself
hanging onto Eliza's words.
"Raum?" Eliza wrinkled her forehead. "Oh,
you mean the demonspawn." She shook her head. Nalia felt her heart
jump into her throat.
"No one has ever