Sex, Drugs, and Oblivian
6/21
He leaned back, content, the large body underneath him rocking slowly, and Rillam in front, straddling.
"You like it here?" Rillam lisped as she nipped his ear and ground against him.
The male beneath growled and moved and Lucifer moaned his pleasure for all to hear. Grian wasn't the best coupling partner, but what the curly horned Lilim lacked in skill, he made up for in enthusiasm. The throwback's desire, held so very deeply, was for all to know he drew these sounds from Lucifer's coveted body.
Lucifer did not hold back his appreciation, and sandwiched between the two, he didn't have to pretend.
"You like earning coin, yes?" Rillam said in his ear.
Did she have to talk now? "Yes!"
Rillam sped up the shifting of her hips, pushing him toward his climax. So close…and she stilled, grinning at him. He grunted at her, captive as he was to her attention.
She started moving again, slowly, and licked at the place she'd bitten earlier. "Did you know that wall guards can bribe their way off the wall?"
Lucifer grabbed her hips, held her still. "No."
"They can, but you'll never earn enough coin from this place. They don't have it."
Grian snarled behind Lucifer. "Leave him be. Mazikeen will never bribe her way off the wall. The Soverain put her there, and there she'll stay 'til the Soverain chooses otherwise."
Rillam pushed Lucifer's hands off her hips and stood, stepping over and away. "This place, The Leviathan's Pit...throwbacks will never understand ambition. If you know what you want, you take it. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't."
Grian growled as she departed, and wrapped his arms around Lucifer's chest. He shifted them onto their sides where he could better move. "You may not be Lilim, but you're one of us." He thrust harder making Lucifer moan again. "We take care of our own, even if we're not flush with coin."
A chorus of agreements went up from the rest of the hair-moss group. They kept him too entertained to contemplate Rillam's words until it neared wind-rise. He'd spent the last few winds at the Pit already, it was time to stop in at the dome, sweep out the ash, keep the beetles out. He strolled the lanes heading home, and his coin purse was heavier than it had ever been. This quarter was so different than where he and Maze used to live. The domes were as dilapidated as the section near the wall for the guards. The Lilim he greeted were thin and wore ragged clothing, but they never spat at his feet when he walked past.
The coins weighed on him. He plucked at the chiton he wore; the common clothes he wore everyday were just as ragged as the throwbacks he was mingling with. The things that Maze and Izuden had picked out for him were far beyond what anyone here could scrape together. Rillam's words rang truer every step.
If what Rillam said about bribes was true, he'd never find that kind of coin here. Grian's words held truth, too. How could Maze bribe herself away when the Soverain ordered her into the post? The one thing that was certain; he'd never find out if he remained too poor to try.
Maze was in the dome when he arrived. The dome was well lit and warm and she had food cooking.
"Maze!"
"The winds are already high. Why were you out in it?"
Already off to a bad start. He shook out his scarf but held it up for her to see he'd been using it. "I was covered." He checked the tie on the door flap again and tugged it tighter. It never fit quite right. He sat near Maze, but she wrinkled her nose at his odor as he pulled off his chiton. He tossed it in the far corner to wipe down later. Why hadn't he walked a bit faster and bathed? He knew she hated to smell the Pit on him. The least he could do was give her some space, so as an excuse to move, he got up and poured a couple of flasks of alcohol from the storage shelf.
When he sat down, he put the fire between them. Maze accepted the alcohol and handed him a bowl of porridge in return. It was thick and lumpy and he smiled at the reminder of all the meals she'd fed him in the past. "How"—he cleared his throat—"how long will you be assigned to stand on the wall?"
"For as long as it takes," she growled.
"How long is that?"
"As long as Anilith wants me there." She grimaced and spat into the hearth.
He opened his mouth to ask what that meant, but she cut him off.
"Go to sleep, Lucifer."
It was a dismissal. He got up instead and did what needed to be done. He wiped off his chiton, swept the ash out of the corners that had collected there in the last couple of winds. All the normal things he did to keep the dome in order.
Maze ignored him. The silence between them stretched. Normally, when he was alone in the dome he'd take the opportunity to release his wings, stretch out. But there wasn't room for it with another present. And the way Maze looked away whenever his wings were present only served to remind him of his failure to her in the Spire. Better to keep them hidden. To spare her the scent of the Pit on his skin, he wrapped himself in his blanket and let Maze have the bedroll. It wasn't her fault he stank.
"Sleep well," she said, voice low, as she lay down on the bedroll.
"You, too." He didn't say more, not wanting to risk driving her away for an even longer period of time.
When he woke, she stood by the door flap, armor and helmet on, waiting for the winds to calm. He sighed and rolled tighter in the blanket. Things would never be okay between them as long as she had to stand guard duty. If Rillam knew a place he could earn more coin, how could he not take her up on it? The door flap opened and closed, and Lucifer drifted back to sleep.
He assumed Maze forgot something when the door flap shook and the ties were pulled outward to be undone. Who else would it be? He'd never seen another Lilim enter someone else's dome without permission, and so he stayed rolled up like a cocoon in his blanket and thought nothing of it.
"How the mighty have fallen."
He sat up and tossed the cover off. "Rillam?"
"I bet warrior Mazikeen never thought she'd end up in a place like this."
The green-skinned Lilim removed her cloak and plunked herself down on his blanket beside him. She leaned in close, inhaling the scent of his skin, and grinned. "Wanted to talk. Without those throwbacks around to interrupt."
He rolled his eyes. "Those throwbacks? Aren't you one of them?"
She hissed and let a low grumble sound in her throat. "Borderline. My stall is in the market. It is an advantage to sell my wares to whoever I want."
Lucifer stood up and sniffed the chiton before pulling it on.
"Did you think about the coin?"
He glanced her way. "I could make enough to get Maze away from wall duty?"
"You won't stand a chance at the Leviathan's Pit."
Sadly, what she said rang true. "What do you have in mind?" It was just as well she was here; at least he didn't have to seek her out.
"A new place. Better place." She joined him across the room and reached into his clothing basket, pulling out his best pieces and thrust them at him. "Get dressed and come with me."
He pulled on the tunic and leggings. But he wasn't finished. He picked up the kohl to outline his eyes. Rillam snatched it from his fingers.
"Let me?" she asked.
He sat still for her, as he did for Maze…or used to do for Maze. Rillam studied her handiwork after and then smudged her thumb under his eye, drawing it outward, and grinned. "Not bad."
Lucifer scoffed. Not bad? He knew he looked good. But he hesitated before following her out the door. He liked the Pit. He didn't know what kind of place Rillam wanted to bring him to now.
"You coming?"
He tied the door flaps in place. Rillam had led him to the Pit. She knew what she was doing. If she thought this place would make him enough coin to make things better for Maze, he had to try.
They left throwback district, heading toward the spire. Lucifer didn't look up as they passed the tower and into an area of multi-domed long-houses decorated in shells and carved bones. She brought him to a very large dome that had carved bone plaques built into the wall. He expected to be led past this area, but to his surprise, Lania took him right up to one of the multi-dome complexes. The carvings showed Lilim hunting four legged beasts far larger than themselves. Instead of a door flap, this structure had a solid shell-plate door.
Inside, the dome was divided in half. One of the first he'd seen with inner dividing walls. A homey hearth and wall shelves occupied one end of the open area in front of the door. Dead flesh roasted over it and a pot of fragrant tea simmered near-by. Lilim lounged on cushions, some of them simply lying alone with vacant smiles on their faces. Others coupled in groups of twos or threes. A haze of hair-moss hung in the air. It reminded him a great deal of the feel of the Pit, and that settled the nagging doubt that he shouldn't be here. A familiar smell tickled his memory underneath everything else. Old sandals, clothes that had been left wet and not allowed to dry correctly, perhaps.
A solid door blocked the partition.
"What's in there?" Lucifer asked Rillam.
She wrapped around him, and nipped at his neck. "Private rooms. You'll find out soon enough if Lania takes a liking to you."
Lania?
And there she was. He knew her. This female, darker toned like Maze, her face perfect and symmetrical. Her clothing only covered the front of her body, showing off the shimmering blue scales on her back.
A mix of confusing emotions soared through him. Disgust. Betrayal. This was the Lilim who led him from the commons. She'd promised so much, and he'd been left with the trash.
Rillam was a fool. He'd never be accepted here. Lania had manipulated him, broken down his glamour, made him expose his wings against his will. If Rillam expected him to pass some kind of test with Lania, he knew from experience he'd already failed.
"Lucifer!" Lania smiled, showing off her fangs. Before he could turn and walk out, she caught his arm, the sharpened claw of her index finger coming to rest on the soft skin of his inner wrist. "I am pleased to see you again."
He frowned. She treated him like trash. Manipulated—
Her gaze traveled his frame, "I wasn't sure we'd meet again. What did you tell your handler about our last encounter? Did you not enjoy our time together? You seemed to be having such a good time."
Yes, it had been good...at first.
"Did your handler Mazikeen tell you she visited us after? I admit, I hadn't known at the time how upset she would be at us for using her property without permission. Does she know you're here now?"
He frowned. "No, Maze doesn't control—"
"Poor thing. I never meant to get you in trouble." Lania continued, pulling him along to sit on a plush cushion. She poured hot tea into a small clay bowl and passed it to him. "We never meant to be too rough on you. I thought you liked it."
"I did," he said. Didn't he? So much of it was a blur. "You left me there."
"To sleep," she smiled. "I sent a messenger for your handler to come get you. She found you, didn't she?"
He remembered waking up. Had they really…
"How's the tea?" Lania asked.
Lucifer took a sip, there was a tinge of fermentation in it. Next, she placed a small disc that smelled sweet in his hand. He tentatively bit off the end. Oh, that was good.
"I love your outfit. You look so Lilim," she stroked the soft leather. "I hope you won't get into trouble with your handler for being here."
"I go where I choose," Lucifer insisted. "There won't be any trouble."
Lania poured more tea into his little clay bowl. "I heard about Mazikeen's troubles. It's a shame to waste a warrior in such a low position."
Rillam smiled and hissed lightly with her forked tongue extended as she interjected. "Coins. This is a good place for making coins."
"Oh?" Lania asked. "Are you short on coins?"
Lucifer looked from one to the other and nearly laughed. Did they really think they were fooling anyone? That he wouldn't catch onto their ruse? Rillam hadn't brought him here without purpose. Lania wasn't surprised to see him. They were plotting something.
"He's a favorite at the throwback pit," Rillam continued.
Lanai let out a brief snort. "This is not a pit for throwbacks."
He'd had enough. He wasn't about to be manipulated again. He glanced around the room. "And this certainly isn't as interesting or as varied as the Leviathan's Pit. I can't see anything here that will hold my interest."
Lania only smiled. "I always expected there was more to you than the rumors said. Rillam tells me you've developed quite the talent to please, and I promise you, there is a lot more here to hold your interest than you're aware."
He ate the disc and washed it down with more tea. The fermentation seeped into his limbs, easing his worry. "How so?"
Lania grinned. "Care for a tour?" She glanced at the partitioned area off to the side.
"Why not?" It wasn't like he had anything else to do. And this wasn't like before. He had experience now. He knew what the transaction was.
Or he thought he knew. Rillam gladly took over his clay bowl as Lania took his hand and escorted him to the other area.
The room she led him to was dark. "Candle," he said, and resisted all her advances until a small lantern was lit. There were fur rugs, cushions. Shelves of strange and various items, oddly many of them looked like weapons.
Lania walked around him, stalking. "Bring out your wings for me angel," she whispered.
He laughed. Not a chance. "No. I'll have to be enough, as I am."
She hummed. "You think you can be enough?"
"Is that a challenge?"
