If the footman had been a preview, it certainly didn't prepare us for the scene within the atrium. Each of the pillars had a bloody decoration, young noblemen and women hung from daggers and gutted. The reflecting pool ran red with blood, the smell of cooked flesh emanated from a number of incinerated corpses stacked up in one corner. They were the lucky ones, having died in the explosion. The list of horrors seemed to go on and on, what was most shocking to me was how quickly they'd done it, according to the guard, they'd done all of this in less than twenty minutes.

And of course, the perpetrators weren't finished, as we entered, there were seven of them spread throughout the room, mutilating more corpses and creating fresh atrocities. Rage flooded through me, the only good thing was that I could feel Livia, her connection to me well developed, she was still alive.

It actually took them a moment to realize we'd entered. They likely regretted allowing us that moment. With a whispered invocation, I tapped into my inner passions, channeling my anger and love and desire into my physical being. I moved forward with an unnatural speed, plunging my dagger into the nearest Disciple's neck. He'd been kneeling over a corpse, doing unholy things to it, I separated his spine from his brain stem just as my father had taught me. Another Disciple came at me, another close behind him.

He lunged at me with his dagger, I ducked under the strike, slashing his femoral artery with one blade before coming up and plunging the other into his ally's throat in a fluid practiced movement, feeling their strength flowing into me with every cut. I spotted another enemy across the room, running towards Meres. I cocked my arm back and sent one of my blades flying. It caught the man squarely in the chest, embedding itself deep from the divine-enhanced strength of the throw.

I spun around to see Meres engaged with two Disciples at once, with his sword in one hand and truncheon in the other. He parried the attack of one, using his weapon's distance to keep the man back and disarmed the other by smashing his wrist with the truncheon. Then he spun, slashing the now-unarmed man's carotid artery and kicking him at his friend. Then he lunged forward driving his weapon through the dying man, into his compatriot.

A slick move, also not taught in Guard training. Perhaps there was more to this officer than meets the eye. I tallied the kills in my head, scanning the room, one two three four, the two Meres killed.

My eyes narrowed, there were seven when we came in. Where was the last one?

I got my answer when he came running back into the room, this time with six friends.

Meres drew up next to me, "We don't have surprise anymore ma'am."

I shook my head, watching them fan out around the bloody reflecting pool, "No, we don't."

I slid back into fighting stance, adjusting my grip on my remaining blade. "There's a lot of them ma'am," Meres observed, covering my flank.

Before I could respond, a number of glass phials dropped into the pool, shattering and filling the room with fast spreading black smoke. There was a series of yells, grunts, and gurgles, followed by silence. Meres seemed to grow even more nervous at this new possible threat, I could see his grip tighten around his sword and truncheon.

"You should have waited for me." I grinned as, out of the smoke, emerged my stalwart Bosmeri companion.

"You took too long." In any other circumstances, I would have been laughing, but now I settled for a shrug.

"Did you find her," she handed me the dagger I'd thrown, which I gladly accepted.

"Not yet, but we haven't searched the rooms yet." I was already scanning the corpses for Vi Tempestatis uniforms.

The smoke faded enough that I could see Cassie's handiwork, each of the Disciples had been cut down with the same brutal efficiency that had been drilled into Cassie since childhood.

Meres grunted next to me, eyeing Cassie with something between respect and fear. "They aren't much for a stand up fight, are they?"

I closed my eyes, trying to hone in on Livia. Without looking, I already knew that Cassie was cataloguing the bodies, working out exactly who was dead and how important they were. "Disciples are all shock and awe. They're good at infiltration and that first strike on an unsuspecting victim, but they don't expect to get out alive, so they don't prep for an exit strategy."

I had to smile, even if it did take away from my focus, Cassie loved these little lectures of hers. "They're trained as individuals, not as teams. And since they spend so much time cultivating that fanatical loyalty of theirs to their Old Man, they don't spend a lot of time on combat training. They rely entirely on that first strike and the explosion. Survive the first thirty seconds after that, and you've already won." Under her breath she murmured, "not like the Dark Brotherhood."

There, "I've got her." I strode over the corpses towards the collapsed side of the Domus. The Disciples work had gotten more grotesque here, but I barely noticed it, all that mattered was getting Livia out of here.

The east wing had only partly collapsed, the southern half was still half way standing. It didn't take long to find the Vi Tempestatis soldiers I had sent with her. They were dead, the Breton had been stabbed multiple times and the Orc appeared to have been blown into a wall and buried under a collapsed column. Arrayed around them were the corpses of six Disciples.

It appeared the Tempests had gone down defending a door to one of the guest bedrooms. The door was covered in a reddish-pink sheen. I recognized it as a ward of the Goddess, and I could feel Livia was behind it. That gave me pause, Livia wasn't advanced enough for that technique, she would know the general form, but she wasn't ready to channel that much of the Lady's power.

"She's in here." I touched the ward and drained it's energy into myself.

"Thank you for clearing that ward," A strange voice came from behind us. Spinning around, I saw another Disciple grinning at me. He was stripped to the waist, fire runes glowed gently across his chest. "It was most irritating."

Without the ward, an explosion here would be enough to kill not only us, but Livia as well.

I'd been played. There was only one way to ensure that he didn't detonate his runes.

I motioned for Meres and Cassie to step back. I Invoked the Goddess and began to close the distance between the assassin and myself. He looked at me curiously, then his curiosity turned to puzzlement, and his puzzlement turned to arousal. He was hypnotized by the sway of my hips and the bounce of my breasts. He couldn't help himself of course, The Goddess's Seduction was difficult to resist when one was trained for it, for the uninitiated, it was impossible.

As I drew close, he dropped his dagger, and drew forward into my embrace. He leaned in to kiss me, I accepted, locking our lips together. Once the seal was complete, I began practicing the darkest art of Dibella.

In the process of making love, there is a give and take, and exchange of energies, life forces, souls some might call it. Both partners give the other a part of themselves. Instead of giving only a piece of myself, I forced my energy into him, completely overpowering and dominating his own. And once I had overpowered it, I took it, all of it.

Without the Seduction, he realized what was happening, and he felt the pain. I was ripping the life force from his body, to learn this technique, one had to have experienced a sample of it from a fellow Lily. Theodora had barely taken any of my essence, it had lasted less than a moment, and it had been excruciating.

It feels like every muscle in your body is being simultaneously ripped apart and crushed. It feels as if a dozen spikes are slowly being pounded into your skull and hot lead is being funneled into your every orifice. Your blood feels as if it is boiling inside your veins. And all the while, it feels as if your whole body has been set aflame.

For me however, it was nothing but pure ecstasy. My body felt stronger, my mind felt quicker, and all of the energy I had expended was returned to me twofold. And accompanying this was the feeling as if I was riding the highest peak of the greatest climax I had ever experienced in my life.

He thrashed in my arms, trying desperately to escape. It was too late though, he was far too weak and I was far too strong for that now. The light in his eyes began to die as he grew too weak even to thrash and resigned himself to his fate. When I had taken everything from him and there was nothing left for me, I dropped his desiccated corpse to the floor.

Meres was staring at me in horror, "By the Nine, what in Stendarr's name did you do to him?"

I turned back to him, trying my best to remain somber despite the sudden wave of pleasure and joy that had spread through my body. "Not in Stendarr's name, Dibella's, it's called the Kiss of Death. I drained him of his energies, it was the only way to make sure that he wouldn't detonate his runes."

Meres didn't seem pleased, but accepted it. Judging by his exlamations, he was a follower of Stendarr. They were notoriously militant and closed-minded when it came to anything magical not directly sanctioned by the Vigil.

Brushing past him, I pushed open the door. Livia was sprawled across the floor, unconscious, but her injuries seemed superficial.

Meres's expression was grave, "Is she…"

I dropped to my knees and felt her pulse, "She's alive, she tried channeling more of Dibella than she was ready for. The Goddess wouldn't have done it if it wasn't the only chance to save her life." I rolled her over, there was a thin stream of blood coming from her nose, but overall she seemed fine. I slid my arms around her and pulled her unconscious face to mine and opened her mouth. I gently brought my lips to hers and breathed my essence into her. She had drained herself dry and then kept pushing, she needed replenishment.

"Hey! Get your hands off of her!" Meres was shouting behind me, I ignored him, Cassie could deal with it.

After a few minutes, Livia's small wounds had healed, and her eyelids fluttered open, "Bella?"

"Yes Livie, come on, let's get you out of here."

I helped her up, only to almost let go of her when she let out an earsplitting shriek as she saw the slaughter.

"Livie," Cassie said in her Dominant voice, "Close your eyes and give me your hand."

It was a testament to their relationship that the young noble followed the commands without hesitation.

We picked our way back through the atrium, into the vestibule. Before we went outside though, I stopped us. "Officer Meres, pick up Lady Cerona."

He looked at me like I'd grown a second head, "Pardon?"

"Pick up Lady Cerona, in a bridal style preferably." Livia looked at me strangely as well, but knew better than to question it.

"Why?"

I shook my head; this is why I don't like working with people outside of my circle. "Don't question it, just do it. Livie, look unconscious, Meres, don't answer questions, don't comment, just keep your eyes straight ahead and get her into my carriage."

Meres looked like he was about to argue further, but Livia was already laying her arm on his shoulder and raising her leg for him to pick her up. Seeing no other choice, he did as he was bidden. Livia went limp and allowed one of her arms to hang loosely from her side while tucking the other against her chest. The picture of a rescued damsel in distress, if only Meres could stop blushing.

Still, it worked for the narrative.

...

Third chapter of the week guys. Hope your enjoying it.

I'll be honest, my fight scenes are always hit and miss, at least from my perspective. It's one skill I just have difficulty mastering. Magic is easier for me, I know more about standard combat, having my black belt, but magical combat is easier to write for some reason.

In any case, what do you guys think?

One more chapter left for this week, then we go back to the normal schedule of Thursday and Friday.

R&R People.