A demoness awakens XXXVII
Disclaim: The charas are not mine, they belong to Kim Harrison and her Hollow series.
Side-fiction: Taming ones lust
WARNING: Spoilers from "Black magic santion"
Pairing: Rachel / Al
Charas: Rachel / Jenks / Ivy / Al / Dali / Cormel / Miss Black / Tilly / Mina
Summary: Al left the business-partners of Vampiric Charms alone. Rachel is still trapped in the circle hold up by Tilly. But for how long, and what will happen to Cormel's scion after she had been given Al's smut.
Please enjoy
A demoness awakens XXXVII: Deals and loop-holes
- Rachel -
The girl tensed up and started screaming. Cormel's eyes were fixed on her as everyone else ran around like headless chickens.
"It hurts!" the vampire cried aloud and twisted in his grip, unable to deal with the imbalance the demon had just forced on her.
Part of me wanted to help her, but the other half wanted to be asked and paid with a mark. The inner conflict kept me silent. Jenks whispered something about helping her into my ear, which I answered with a small shake of my head.
"Done playing nice, this is not my mess." My voice was deep and threatening, while the screaming went from bad to worse.
The girl crawled up the undead's arm in agony, not caring that she hurt her master.
He was near panic and would have probably summoned Al for a second time this evening, if it hadn't been for the banshee. Miss All-in-black turned around to me and hissed upset, "Help her, demon-spawn!"
I licked my lips. So how did Al do this scaring the crap out of people thing?
"I would love to, but I'm trapped in this circle. And that, sadly, makes me unable to do anything about it." My finger poked the barrier. It burned me, and pain ran up my whole arm. I ignored the stinging sensation and smiled.
If I was lucky they would let me out without binding me to an agreement first.
"What has the demon done to her? Mina is dying!" Cormel looked pretty helpless in his current state.
'Mina? as in Mina Murray from Dracula?' Was he even serious? Some vampires were just too deep into their nature.
I shrugged at him.
"Nothing serious, he just did exactly what he said he would. He gave her the smut for two trips through the lines. Have you ever asked youself why demons always turn up pissed when summoned?" I asked casually, like this whole display wasn't tearing big holes into my soul.
The girl's screaming grew even worse, and I knew how much fighting a curse's imbalance hurt. My guts cramped up with the need to help her.
'Need a summoning out, dove?' Al's voice reached my mind; even with realities separating us he was able to communicate with me, scrying-mirror devoided.
'The girl is dying. I can't just pop out of here. He'd never forgive me. What was this about him being a sex-slave-replacement for Ivy anyway? You know Ivy is not a sex-slave, don't you?' My mental voice was colored with displeasure.
Fear flashed through me as I remembered that Al knew my name and could summon me whenever he saw fit.
It would leave Ivy and Jenks at Cormel's mercy, and as I watched his scion fighting for her life, I worried there wouldn't be any left for my friends.
'That's beside the point. Screw that damn vampire, did you really think your little plaything would be important enough that a master-vampire would throw away his freedom, belongings and pride just to see her dead?' the demon laughed aloud through our shared thoughts.
'So you knew he wouldn't…' Insecurity was coloring my question weak.
'Rachel, Rachel, you really have a lot to learn about this demon business. So what about summoning you? I don't like you being over there without my protection. Besides, the stupid idiot never said anything about summoning in general, did he?'
So this was the big fat loop-hole in Cormel's deal. There were a hundred possible ways of using it to literally fuck Cormel up the ass, only I wasn't demon enough to unleash them. I had to save Mina, though, and it needed to look like it had been their idea.
'Summoning me out would leave Ivy and Jenks behind, and with his scion dying it would mean their deaths, too.'
'Like I care,' he sounded like it would mean as much to him as a sack of rise tipping over in China.
'I care!' That came over with a little too much force, and my demon answered with a low groan for the headache this must have caused.
'So you want to stay over there? Rachel, I can't help you unless you summon me back.' Mina's scream shook me awake, out of my communication with my bloodthirsty demon.
"Help Mina!" Cormel's storm-gray eyes gave him the expression of being old. The little blond girl was drooling all over the parquet, the spastic convulsions the only sign of life.
The banshee's eyes were as black as the rest of her, only her skin was as white as snow. She confirmed my worst fear.
"Her aura is breaking apart."
"I will, but in exchange, you will take Ivy back into your camarilla. No further threats, no harming her, no causing her first or second death, no making her uncomfortable or selling her off as a blood gift. We'll all just pretent that you never sent her off under a death-threat to make me her scion or shadow. And, Rynn Matthew Cormel, you will never try anything like that ever again! Got it?"
One of his gofers hissed at me. Everything I understood was a low 'demon', the rest was lost to me. It made me turn into his direction.
"Not even close to how demonic I could be if I chose to be." With that comment he went ashen and shut up. After Al's little performance fresh in our minds, it would have silenced even me.
"I take her back, like nothing happened, and you will save my scion? You will not hurt anyone in these walls or beyond. No kidnapping anyone, no killing. And don't even think about using your sleepy-time potions. In short, you have to behave like a good girl." This was one of the times I desperately wished to be able to do the one-eyebrow trick.
'Behave like a good girl?' What the hell was he referring to? But given that he made no further demands, I could probably twist this one like I saw it fit.
"Deal, now drop the circle or she is going to die her first death before I have the chance to do anything about it." His eyes found the fat witch; she raised her arm, most unwillingly and touched the circle enclosing me.
A short impulse to hurl a black curse at her flashed through my thoughts and died quickly.
Finally I was free again, but instead of fleeing or fighting, I crouched over the dying vampire. If I remembered Al's lessons correctly, I had to touch her aura to access the imbalance of her soul. So I reached for her skin, and Cormel objected.
"The other one never touched her!" he complained.
I hissed at him.
"Grow up, will you? I'm not as experienced as Al." After this little confession he reluctantly let me touch her cooling face. My mind went to the line and I engaged my second sight. Mina's aura was a chopped-up mess and fading away all too quickly. The blackness, though, was still trying to find its way in.
I sent my own aura to touch the cold, cutting threads of imbalance my demon had left on her soul. It went still, almost like a living being, as it became aware of my touch. There was a feeling like recognition on both sides and the blackness began to rub itself against my aura like a big black cat that desired to be petted.
It felt totally strange to sense its touch, but it wasn't uncomfortable. To be honest it felt familiar... It even felt… good.
'That might be the right moment to get worried,' I thought. My mind reached for the purring darkness.
It came at me with an almost erotic brush of warmth.
"I take it." My voice was warm and husky as I tasted Al's imbalance coating my aura. Accepting smut on my soul never had felt that luscious.
Mina went slack under my hands as all the tension drained from her. Cormel eyed me over while I got to my feet.
"So easy?" he asked as the banshee appeared almost by my right. She was a very unpleasant presence beside me, but this could have been due to my experiences with Mia.
"Yes, so easy! I will take my leave now. Come on, Jenks. Ivy, are you with us?" I asked and put a bit of distance between the black-clothed banshee and myself.
"Rachel, we agreed that you wouldn't take anyone from this room." Oh swell, so he wasn't the only one who had missed an important point in the deal.
I gaze at him again and allowed myself to smile.
"Kidnapping was the term you used, but taking a willing person is not kidnapping. I don't think Ivy or Jenks will object. Besides, Ivy belongs to me."
"You agreed to the terms. Are you going back on your word, demon?" He stood up and brought the senseless Mina with him, cradling her like a bride.
"No, and I hope you don't do it either, vampire. You hurt them and … " I searched for an appropriate treat, almost settling for the line Al once used on me: 'and your soul will be mine'.
The only problem with that was, soul stealing wouldn't work on the soulless.
So what is a threat a demon could use on the undeads?
"Watch out, Rache!" Jenks exclaimed, and I evaded the touch of Miss All-in-black totally on instinct for a second time.
"Keep her on your fucking leash." I pointed at the banshee, who grinned.
"Well now, little rookie, you've never made deals where you were the demon, have you? You never said a word about your safety- or the little man's- and I'm pretty hungry." She licked her lips and a spike of fear ran through me.
"Cormel!" I hissed angrily at the vampire-master. He had given his scion to another vampire and was back again.
"Not part of the deal, Rachel." He smirked as he fingered his phone open.
Anger formed itself into a big lumb in my throat.
'Fucking coward!'
"Not part of the deal… ? Can you guest what else wasn't part of the deal,Rynn Matthew Cormel?" A demonic grin appeared on my face as the easiest solution to the problem appeared in my mind.
A little uncertainty moved over his face, but was gone a moment later.
"We want you to dcontinue your research on business of how to let vampires keep their soul after they died for the first time. In exchange, we will allow your friends and family-members to remain among the living." He pointed at Ivy and one of his underlings.
"Get her out of here!" His order sounded cold as steel in the winter, and I had no illusions about him holding up to his end of the bargain. Damn, I wanted to sic Al on him; I would really enjoy seeing my demon painting the walls and the floor with his blood.
Shock went through me as I imagined a really lifelike picture of it and sensed the tickling of imminent arousal. As soon as I became aware of it, my true self rose to repel my inner demon. I really shouldn't allow those fantasies.
The vampire flunky who tried to move Ivy to the door got an elbow right were it hurt. It was clear as daylight; Ivy wasn't going to leave me behind either.
Jenks was right over my shoulder dusting angry red and flashing his garden-sword at the vampire master. Thanks to my agreement, I had rendered myself totally defenseless. Short of summoning Al to rescue me, I was pretty much out of options.
"You're free to leave with that pixy of yours as soon as you agree to give that soul curse to me," Cormel finished.
My eyebrows rose.
"That wasn't part of the deal. I'm doing that research for Ivy, not for you. If you want that curse you'll have to buy it, like any other demon summoner" I really wasn't willing to give it to him for free. Even if I was able to figure out which curse would do the trick, after everything he had done he wouldn't get it without oweing me a favor… a big one!
He had trapped me in a circle, threatened my friends, my mate and last but not least, me. Cormel was acting like I was a demon, only without the respect you usually pay that sort of creatures. If he wanted a demon, he would for fuck's sake get one!
"You're going to owe me. There must be some custom for dealing with the soulless, and I bet Al would love to tell me about it," I said, while Cormel's lip twitched up.
"Don't be so hasty, Rachel; there is something you should know before you demand further payment." His fingers danced over the surface of his phone.
I growled at him, halfway convinced I should just summon Al.
"It has something to do with your family. If I don't call up my men at the right time, they are going to finish them off. So you'd better let me make that call." He spoke with glee.
"You might have saved Ivy from my wrath, you might be able to protect the little fly with you, but you sure as hell can't jump to an unknown location to save your relatives," he laughed.
If I haven't been half senseless with fury it might have felt nice.
The other end of the line clicked in place, but there were no words spoken; just silence, some street-traffic and …
'Why am I able to hear it?'
It took me seconds to figure out that he had switched on the speakers of his phone, so I would be able to hear both sides of the non-conversation.
"One word, and the first one will die!"
"What the hell." Again that damn banshee tried to touch me; I evaded her touch, itching to kick that stupid bitch in the face. Ivy was engaged in a fight with the living vampire that was supposed to get her out of here.
"How about I keep your brother alive for the next week and you give that curse to me. For each additional week of their lives, you will give a curse to me. How about it Rachel?"
"You can't do that!" I complained, sounding totally myself and utterly beaten. This was worse than fighting the damn Coven. At least those fuckers were only hunting me, but Cormel knew that I didn't care as much for me as for the people I love!
"For each refusal, one of them will die. Your brother, his soon to be wife, your mother, her new boyfriend and if this doesn't work, how about your friends." A tear ran down my cheek.
"You're worse than every demon I've ever met!" I hissed at him and rage was rising fast.
'Stupid, stupid Rachel!'
He must have seen it or, maybe he scented it in the air, because he raised his forefinger in warning.
"You going back on your word and Ivy will die her first death right here, right now. If you don't give me what I demand, you kill everyone you hold dear."
The damn banshee was trying again and this time Jenks had to help me escape her attack.
Rage, wrath, darkness, and the line were hot and fast at my command. The growl that came from my lips made the banshee stop her attempts to steal my aura.
'Stop behaving like a witch!' the pulsing was back, taking control from me in little flakes of self-determined will.
"How about I call up my demon right here, right now, and give you to him gift-warpped in paper. Remember his sexual fantasies?" I licked my lips as lust came at the image of Al stripping that bastard of his control.
Cormel looked worried for a second, only to find his assertiveness again a blink later.
He probably knew I was bluffing. It was sad that he was surer about it than I.
"Rachel, neither killing nore hi-jacking me, is going to save anyone. The contracts are out. And if I don't call them up in time, no one can hold them back anymore. This equals, every-one you like and love this side of the lines, dies!" The undead had the same damn smug on his face as my demon, and I wanted to punch it right through the middle of the earth.
"You wouldn't dare!" Even my demon-voice sounded unsure. With all that power I could command I still felt utterly helpless.
"Accept the deal Rachel. It's the only thing that will save them!"
Al was not the only one who was able to laugh like an insane madman; Cormel was doing a pretty fine job as well.
'Fucking fuck fuck … shit,' what was I supposed to do now? My attempt to keep everyone alive was going to kill everyone I ever cared about.
Of course I could summon my demon, I could call up Dali. I could level the building, since its destuction was never part of the original bargain, but it wouldn't save my family.
The freaking undead had me in his hands. This was so screwed up six ways to Sunday that I failed to think about anything.
Jenks whispered something into my ear that was totally lost to me.
Now a cold touch was trying to get my attention. Someone was drawing at my aura.
I knew the feeling of coldness that came with it, but I did nothing to defend myself, even if I knew that it would kill me.
Someone ripped the cold touch from me and warm arms caught me. Ivy's voice was beside my ear, as was Jenks', hurting me with his fast and high tone.
Miss Blackness made a low, wet noice, which reminded me of nothing in particular, but it gave me the suspicion that the shit had just hit the fan.
"What the hell!" Cormel sounded furious, and liquid rained down on me. I opened my eyes, just in time to see another head explode in a fontain of blood and gore.
"You!" the vampire hissed and eyed me over with black eyes.
"It… wasn't me!" I said almost tonelessly. But the vampire's eyes were so full of hatred that I could have promised him all the demon-curses in their database, and he nevertheless would have ignored my words.
"Kill him!" he hissed and turned the display of his mobile in my direction. It flashed the scene from some rooftop. The barrel of a weapon aimed at a man who looked like my brother. He was walking across the street with some paper-bags.
A loud bang of a weapon exploded through the speakers of his phone. My heart stopped beating for a few seconds as I expected my brother to die.
My eyes switched black with an enragement so pure I had no words left for it.
This time the uneasiness stayed on Cormels face, because the only word he might fear worse than Death fell from my lips.
With satification, my demon followed the pull of his password and appeared right before the undead. His fingers went around Cormel's throat.
"Oh, I have been dying to get you little vampire!" Without having to take a look, I knew Al's eyes were as black as my own.
My fingers found the dropped mobile and without a thought I watched the street, looking for my brother. Al would take care of the vampire. I felt numb, so hollow inside that there were no words to describe it.
"Al, that little stupid has put contracts on everyone Rachel knows. If he doesn't call up the killers, they die." My senseless mind started to whirl around in circles, centering on my family, on my friends, and even on my foes, who were destined to die… only for the crime of knowing me. More tears came at that thought while my restless hectic gaze found the last one of our team. Dali.
The older demon had his hand on his son's shoulder.
"You kill him now, and we will never get the names of the killers he hired to do his dirty work." His voice was level and bereft of all emotions.
Al growled at him and shoved the undead into his father's arms, hard. Unprepared, both of them went down. While one of them turned misty, the other collided with the floor.
Jenks was furiously yelling at me, but all I was able to hear was a static buzz in my ears, sort of a tinnitus. I knew with an unnatural clearness that something in me has just broken… something important!
God, Cormel turned out to be a total ass. Al want's to kill him and Dali... well there you have to wait. Cormel sure as hell is toast. ^^
It's not that I don't like him... well okay, after the stunt Piscary pulled... I don't trust him much. In my fiction doubting him proved to be the right decision.