A demoness awakens XXI
Disclaim: The charas are not mine, they belong to Kim Harrison and her Hollow series. This is part twentyone of my fic.
Side-fiction: There exists a side-fiction to this storyline, it centeres around a what-if scene from Newt and Dali (triggered in part 14). Newt runs out of curses to tame her lust, and Dali got the short straw because he walks in on her at that time. The idea just popped into my head.
WARNING: Spoilers from "Black magic santion"
Pairing: Rachel / Al
Charas: Rachel / Al / Ivy
Summary: Rachel awakes again and checks her body and mind for traces of violation, after this she goes to Ivy's room to check up on her. She finds the vampire with a still broken arm and tries to talk Ivy into taking the curse Al gave her. Lets hope Rachel gets the right arguments.
There you go. Please enjoy
A demoness awakens XXI: Talking truths
- Rachel -
Slowly I began to feel my body again, my thoughts returned together with it. I started analyzing what had happened yesterday. Al and I were about to get hot and heavy again, right in his bathtub, fucking embarrassing, and it turned out that hair on places a woman shouldn't have any, wasn't a turn off in the ever-after.
Well obviously being a torturing demon wasn't a turn-off either, why the hell had I almost slept with him again? I hated that arrogant bastard and he had hurt Ivy, badly!
This was the thought which finally shook my awake; I shifted my sight over his bedroom and saw the demon lying beside me. Other memories came back to me, like the one about the silver and the curse he gave me. I started to growl lowly, and inspected my wrists; the silver was gone. Just to check, I reached for a line, and came away with no differences to the usual feeling. I inspect the rest of my body next, searching for sore places and sighed in relief since I had none, so I assumed he hadn't raped me.
Alone the thought about him doing that sent my blood boiling, and not the good way. My eyes found my demon again and I speculated about what curse he had given me. Short from waking him to ask, Ivy came back to the front of my head and I decided Al and his curse could wait. I seemed to be able to have clear thoughts as long as the demon was resting, why waste that.
I imagined the room she was trapped inside and jumped right over. It never felt so easy to do it, and after receiving Al's knowledge it had become second nature. The imbalance hit me right the moment Ivy noted me and I swayed on my feet, gripping the wall for support.
She whimpered almost inaudibly and looked pretty bad, as white as snow, sweat on her skin, her black hair sticking to her head, and her eyes were decorated with dark circles under them.
"Ivy?" Godness, I felt sick, and that I had almost screwed her torturer with all joy I could muster, made it even worse.
"Rach… el?" My roommate asked like she wasn't able to see me clearly. Without thinking about it, I was right in front of her, my fingers touched her face and a tear fell from my eyes. I had left her alone, all alone in that place, with a broken arm, and I hadn't wasted a single thought about her, once I was alone with the demon. This wasn't like me, usually I would have fought Al until one of us would be lying face down, which normally was me, unless I could trap him in a circle first and sent him back to the ever-after. But I hadn't even argued about Ivy and her broken arm. This change truly sucked!
"God, Ivy… I'm sorry." It sounded lame even to me; the vampire became more aware of her surroundings and receded from my touch. I let her, because everything else would remind me too much of Al's habitual reaction to force his will on other people.
"Let me help you, let me make this better. Did you take the curse?" I asked her and she focused her eyes on me, while she voiced a soundless 'no' with her lips.
My slitted eyes searched the room for the transparent bottle of liquid while Ivy tried to force herself into a sitting position.
"I'm not going to take it," were her first words beside my name.
"Ivy listen, you look like shit, and there is no hospital this side of the lines, I don't dare to bring you back to reality with that Cormel matter unsolved. This really works. Look", I showed her my own, now once again intact hand, which she eyed over with a pained expression on her face.
"Not worth it. It's a demon's curse, one of Al's, that you even suggest it. Rachel what has happened to you?" I found the bottle and used my rekindled hand to lift it. Her question was a good one; I asked myself the same question each few minutes unless Al distracted me.
"You have suffered more than enough pain in the last few days; don't add to it by being stubborn. Let my bond with that awful creature, and my change of species be of some good use, take the curse." I tried to convince her.
Her face twisted in something which might be disgust, but I wasn't sure, since pain was mixed in with the expression.
"Ah, the good side of being a demon? Are you nuts, Rachel? There is no good side." I looked down and tried to remain calm, while she got the meaning of her words.
"Oh shit, sorry I didn't mean that."
"Oh, yes you did. You just forgot that I'm now one of them and not the unlucky witch with the first prize of Kalamack gen-splitting treatment anymore. Don't worry about it. Just take the curse, I will invoke it and I will take the imbalance, since this condition is my fault."
"Rachel, this is not your fault, the demon did this."
"Yes, it is, he would have left you alone if I hadn't been too stubborn to accept his help."
"This wasn't help, it was blackmailing and torture. Rachel don't believe him, he is a fucking demon, they lie!" She said and it hurt me a bit to hear her speaking about my mate like that. As soon as I became aware of that feeling I stomped on it. This mating shit sucked dishwater.
"I'm not lying, I promised you a safe journey, I promised you that I would take care of Rynn, as well as that you would be brought back to reality. I'm not lying; don't make me a liar by refusing my help. He will not charge any payment for the curse, and you will not carry any blackness on your soul. It's win-win for you Ivy, I can't give you a better deal." I tried to reason with her.
"Rachel are you listening to yourself? Are you even thinking about your own soul anymore? How can your damnation be a win-win for me?" Worry swam through her eyes.
"I would feel better with the smut on my soul, than with you half dead. Beside, I think my soul was damned the moment I have been bound to Al. Please I don't know how long you will have to stay in Al's rooms, please don't do this to yourself, and to me." I kneaded my hands to get rid of the nervous energy.
"You really aren't kidding, are you? You want me to take that curse, and you want to use it. Tell me this is not your usual Rachel-has-to-save-the-world issue and not demon-instincts either." She demanded in her rough voice. Careful, I thought over why I wanted her to take it, and was silent for a long time.
"You're my friend Ivy, I have dealt you so much pain, enough to make you lose it and go for my life. Even after I lost it you trusted me to keep you save in the ever-after. I see your pain, physical and emotional, and though I can't do anything about your feelings, let me at least free you off your fleshly ones." My eyes shifted to hers right the moment she looked away. She felt uncomfortable about the remindment of her inability to control her emotions.
"I'm sorry for trying to kill you, Rachel, I didn't mean to." I touched her hand, and hoped with all my heart she would not turn her back on me. She didn't.
"I tried the same, and it's still a shock that I'm that dangerous. I have to learn how this can be controlled, and even if Newt is not a great example when it comes to keeping herself in check, it must be possible, or demon-kind would have been extinct long ago." There had to be a way to become a decent living being once more.
Ivy eyeballed me over and sighed while shaking her head, I was about to plead with her, but she took the bottle and uncorked it. Her healthy arm came to rest on my shoulder.
"I understand you have trusted me for as long as we lived together, you trusted me not to bind you after we tried for a blood balance. It helped me to find peace within myself; since you didn't fear me, and you weren't after the blood-ecstasy either, it's time I show that same trust to you." She said and retracted her arm, downing the demons curse in one go, coughing loudly in disgust afterwards.
"That's nasty, how could you take stuff like that more than once?" Her eyes widen with worry and she took hold one my shoulder.
"It's warm, is it suppose to be warm, Rachel?" Fear came up with her thin voice.
"You will be okay." I said and nodded, well it never had felt warm when I took a curse, but I wasn't a living vampire, and I hadn't been a hundred precent witch either. Refusing myself to feel my own part of worry I fixed her eyes.
"Ready?" Ivy just nodded and I closed my eyes, drawing in the line's energy through whatever made me able to reach the lines this far beneath the ground and invoked the curse.
Ivy went misty and reformed, I opened my eyes to check and she looked like Rynn. I flinched back and she looked at me even more worried.
"What's it?" anxiety spread through her and I draw a deep breath, assuring myself that this was Ivy.
"Well, äh… Al gave you a curse to look like…äh Rynn." I uttered somewhere between pissed and simply annoyed. I touched her once broken arm and examined it, while Ivy fought with this new fact. Abruptly she extracted her arm from mine and was at the other end of the room using her vampire speed.
"I trusted you…," She complained and fingered her arm.
"It's whole again." A thread of admiration followed her accusation and her fear diminished a bit.
"Do you want to see the result, Ivy?" The vampire was trapped between curiosity and worry, but after drawing her hands over the muscular body of the undead she nodded.
"Love to. Show me." I walked over to her and reached my elbow for contact and support, my ex-roommate took it and we jumped into the bathroom of my demon, right in front of his mirror. Ivy examined everything about her new form, even some parts of the anatomy you should keep your hands off while switching sexes.
"Impressive, and it's real, as real as your red wolf and Jenks made big, is it?" Her eyes found mine and she flashed teeth while grinning. My breath catched and adrenalin flowed through my system.
"It seems that our little vampire likes the gift of the curse I chose. Good morning my two lovebirds," Al muttered from the doorway, only clothed with a dark green robe of silk.
"By the way, it's very becoming of you Ivy, even if I like your other form more." Al came over to us and we watched ourselves in the mirror, before Ivy attacked the demon again.
Al on the other hand just laughed, while he caught her feet, holding it in the air with an effortlessly which left me gasping in astonishment.
"Dear Ivy, you have the appearance of the undead not their strength and speed. I'm in a good mood don't waste it." He let go of her feet and moved his eyes on to me, which left me starring unable to move myself, heat pooling into my middle. Ivy hissed at him and blocked my view of the demon.
"Leave Rachel alone!" She ordered, which made him laugh in turn again.
"Oh I love women who are demanding." Drawling in his British accent, he got closer to her, almost entering her personal space.
I growled at this, sensing some instinct-driven jealousy coming up, not knowing who of them was the source of my anger, and who inspired my desire. Al rounded Ivy with a sidestep and touched my shoulder while his arm went around my waist. My breath speeded up a note and Ivy in Cormel's skin watched us with black eyes and her own portion of jealousy.
My head was almost swimming in longing and my words flew away as I sensed some part of my demons anatomy, which was entirely male.
"Al, get off of me."
"I'm not even on you, right now, though I would love to change that." He whispered, which was taunting Ivy even more, a low moan fell from my lips. Crap on toast, damn us all back to the turn; it made me hot like hell. Alone the thought of his promise made true almost let my press my ass on his bulge. What was up with those demon-hormones?
"Al give me some room." Stupid demon, he always spoke about my instincts and control and he was messing it up each time we touched, unless our lives were on the line. So who exactly was the one with the control issues here?
"So, straight was your problem, why you never slept with your attractive little girlfriend over there." His breath blew over the skin of my neck and I moaned again, this time louder.
"Seems like being a demon has it's benefits after all, doesn't it. You could have switched her sexes long ago, why didn't you?" Al's tongue slipped over the skin and found my ear, while it took all of Ivy's self-restraint not to attack again.
God I was practically melting in his arms, and the vampire was able to smell it all over the place, Al's question and Rynn's odd appearance gave my will some focus to collect itself. My hand touched the demons leg and searched for the snake in his trousers, it made him grip me more dominate, which made the spreading of fire in my veins worse.
'Give yourself to me my mate.' He almost pleaded, his hot thoughts running through mine, almost crushing my bubble of own will, but it held.
And then I gripped his erected member and twisted pretty painfully, sending a bit of line-energy into his body. Al reeled back and cursed colorful in Latin.
"Because," I turned on him, showing my back to Ivy, breathing harder than expected.
"She is my friend, and I don't make her changing sexes just because it would solve my issues. I love her Al, more than I will ever love you. And she deserves a person who is able to take her, all of her without having to be male."
"Ouch, thanks a lot Rachel that hurt. I only tried to help, nice thank-you gift by the way."
"Helping, how the hell is manipulating me through this damn instinct helping anyone?" I snarled at him, while he slowly rose to full height again.
"Rachel you aren't the only person with instincts in this room."
"But I'm the only one who just got them on closing sale discount, for hells sake Al, you had over 5000 years to practice control, and Ivy had all her life, I haven't, so stop blaming your lack of will on me." I growled.
"All right, Rachel when was the last time you had sex, I mean beside me?" He asked a little angry now. Ivy got closer to my back, since I was able to feel her body's heat and her pheromones. Oh, not another one trying to prey on my libido.
"You know damn well, but if you want to hear it voiced aloud. Pierce and 9 days ago, satisfied demon-spawn?" I hissed into his direction and he smiled.
"Do you know how long it has been for me? I mean seriously sex, not the little games you can play with your familiars. You may take a guess, Rachel dove." Ivy's eyes seemed to burn on my skin and it felt damn good, but I wasn't in the mood. I wanted coffee and something to eat since the only thing I ate in the last 2 days had been a pizza, which was now resting on Al's kitchen-floor. I tapped a line and my hair went flying even this deep underground. Ivy stepped back, a bit of worry shifted through her.
"Look, it's none of my damn business when you had sex last time; I'm not a blow up doll for your little demon-stick."
"Oh little is not a way to described that part of my anatomy and you aren't my blow up doll Rachel." Great now he played hurt feelings on me, and it wasn't just a little bit.
"You misinterpret the significance of a bond Rachel. Do you think I would share everything with a blow up doll? I mean serious you're holding a part of my soul."
"Oh, I heard you last night, even if I was a bit out of myself. You said I took you against your will, more than once, so you technical didn't gave anything to me."
"Wrong! Yes, you took me against my will, but I could have killed you right afterwards, even if females are stronger with the lines, we are the ones with the physical strengths. Messing with the lines had knocked you out cold, I could have strangled you in your sleep, and all your great powers would have been worth nothing." I made round eyes on him.
"Don't think I wasn't tempted Rachel. Oh yes I was, and I would have liked you dead on my bed, but sadly I would have missed our game of besting, the constant temptation you emitted, that scent of yours, the red hair and all the other stuff. You're a demon-candy with all the trouble, insolences and strong will. And I was the one who you thought was able and worth of holding you. So I accepted the bond by not killing you, and now both of us suffer the consequences." I almost fell on my ass, his honesty was unbelievable, I wasn't sure whether I found his statement good or bad. Hell, I had passed out in his arms, had given him the chance to finish me off, and he didn't. Both the vampire and the demon catched me before my ass met the floor, both starring at each other, red eyes finding black ones.
"Guys I need room, both of you into opposite corners. I mean it." I growled while the pheromones of demon and vampire treated to rob me of my self-control.
This was going to get difficult, my arousal was taunting Ivy's vampire-instincts and Al was using his pull to make me all hot. What was the demon hunting, I remembered the church, the moment Ivy drank from me and my eyes found Al.
'Oh, tell me you aren't…' I uttered by the way of thoughts. Al's response was a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon, which made me sigh in complete annoyment.
'Hey, a guy can dream.'
"So you want to make out with another woman?" Something inside of me swirled around in anger.
"Not another woman."
"Ah, what then? Another guy?" Great, my demon was bisexual, as was Ivy, just my luck.
"Oh, not that I have a problem with another guy, but the reason I would invite your Ivy into my bed is not my own desire but yours."
"I'm straight Al, did you forget that?"
"You're straight," he laughed out loud.
"There is no such thing as a straight demon. Not after 5000 years of pure male population, besides demons can switch their sex, as well as other people's sexes at will. We are attracted by other objects than sexes, power for instance, will, scent and many other things which hold a personal meaning for us. For you it might be friendship and the danger of betrayal what does it, beside you already confessed your love for that woman, so technically this is not straight behavior anymore." He grinned.
"Shut the fuck up, I'm not screwing her." Ivy was dead silent behind me.
"And why not? She is a man right now, so not a problem anymore, is it? But be warned, this time I'm not only watching from the sideline. Imagine how this might feel, a vampire and your demon, both at the same time." Al really was doing it, he projected his fantasies into my head and I found myself panting on my knees, none of them moved.
"Stop that, demon; I never said I would be participating in that. Leave Rachel alone!"
"Ah, I was waiting for that Ivy. You might be only a vampire but you're as instinct-driven as a demon. It's not impossible to make you as helpless as we both already are. It only takes a little curse to make demon-sex-hormones work for you." Ivy and I went ashen at the same time.
"You didn't." We both exclaimed in utter bewilderment.
The demon laughed and walked over to me. Ivy's eyes found me and her gaze was pretty criminative.
"I didn't know, I swear by God, I didn't knew anything about that." And it was the absolute truth; my head spun around to Al, just in time to see him throw the black bottle from the board at Ivy. She was still glaring at me, so she didn't react in time, and I was to slow as well. The bottle exploded on her clothes and the black oil soaked through them like smut through an aura to the soul. She fell on her ass and grasped in short breaths, cramping her fingers around Rynn's sack coat.
"What did you do?" I bawled at Al's face.
"Satisfying your hidden lusts my mate." He grinned at me wild and untamed which sent a hot shot of adrenalin and lust to my core. I really, really hated being a demon.
Only one comment to put at the end.
"BAD DEMON"
But it's fun as hell to write him that way. Rachel is attracting trouble like crap attracts flies, lets hope Al isn't as skilled as her. Or even entering a new level of trouble with that little action of his^^.
I'm hoping you have as much fun reading it, as I had while writing it^^.