Out of the Shadows, Part 35
You follow Lily back to her study, where she sets her staff down again, leaning it against the wall before walking over toward her chair. Such is her trust of you that you don't even think she notices—or, perhaps, cares—how defenseless she is leaving herself. She sits down, her shoulders slumping a little, then looks up at you with a small smile. "Thank you," she says. "For... everything. I'm sorry to keep putting you at such risk."
"Think nothing of it, my mistress," you reply smoothly, offering her a bow and a knowing grin. The kind of grin one co-conspirator gives to another. "This temptation is what I do. It is what I am, since the very first day I spawned in the depths of the Abyss. I could ask for no better task... and no better summoner to set me on it."
Lily flushes slightly at the praise. She looks a bit conflicted—since you're praising her for things she never would have done if she wasn't in such a desperate position—but she can't help but feel good about such reassurance. Especially from someone who has become such a pillar of support for her to cling to in the midst of her terrible situation.
"Are you saying that you've done something like this before?" she asks, curious.
"Not quite on this scale, perhaps," you admit. "But the differences are not so great as you might think. The heroines arrayed against you are powerful, true. Yet when it comes to matters of desire... well. Even the most powerful enemy can be enticed. We need only convince them that the delights we offer are better than their sad, lonely self-denial."
You pull over a nearby chair, spinning it into a reversed position and sitting leisurely down, your arms resting on the chair's back between you. "And I certainly have experience in that. The tales I could tell you, of what it's like when you mortals truly understand what you've been missing..."
You can see curiosity and nervousness warring in Lily's eyes. "What... kind of tales?"
You pause for a few moments, stroking your chin in a show of thought, letting her imagination run wild in the silence. "Well..." you finally muse. "There was one time back in the Second Circle when I was given a particularly tricky task. One of the first assignments I had, as a very young devil."
Despite herself, Lily leans a little closer as you expertly weave your tale, your voice drawing her in. "Now, the gods and goddesses of the dead across the countless worlds are usually objective in their judgments. But not always. Sometimes, they have... unique... ideas about how it should be done. Sometimes, instead of sending mortals to experience the fullest culmination of the Virtue of Vice that they lived for while alive... they can end up in places they're not prepared for at all."
Lily frowns. "You mean... one of them was sending souls to your Circle that didn't deserve it?"
"I wasn't told the details," you say. "But from what I manged to piece together, there was at least one world whose psychopomp deity was absolutely convinced that every single whore or prostitute belonged in the Second Circle, without exception. Never mind how little lust had to do with their decision. Some of them were even forced into that life with such violence and brutality that by the time we got them, they were terrified by the very idea of sex. When they realized where they'd been sent for their afterlife, some of them would just... break down into screaming and wailing."
"And one of them was assigned to me. A frightened little thing by the name of Nyali."
"What did you do with her?" you mistress asks, concern in her eyes for the wayward soul.
"At first?" you say. "Very little. I could tell that pushing her wasn't what she needed. So I took it slow. Soothed her until she finally stopped crying, talked at her until she finally started to respond. I've always been particularly charismatic, even for my kind... but earning her trust was the first true challenge I had. It forced me to hone my skills, forced me to study her in more depth than I ever had before." You pause, then chuckle wryly. "It was also the first time I really realized what fascinating, perplexing creatures you mortals can be."
As you tell the story, the long-ago memories return, surprising you with their nostalgia. "It took a long time," you say. "But... it was worth it. Watching her come out of her shell... watching her accept more and more of my touch... watching her understand the true allure of pleasure, until she could let herself drown in it. And then, when she finally gave herself to me, without any fear at all... "
Despite herself, Lily leans a little closer, transfixed by the picture your words are painting. "You mean, she was... happy?" she asks in a small voice. "She... wasn't hurting anymore?"
"Oh, quite the opposite," you assure her. "It was a long road before she was ready. But if it's in the service of teaching a mortal that kind of pleasure... I'm willing to be as patient as I need to be."
You look into her eyes, and Lily swallows, unsure of how to feel. Your story creates a peculiar kind of reassurance: that even with the soul completely under your power, you did not push Nyali in a way that might have been painful for her.
And yet... there is still the undercurrent of realization there. Of what still happened to Nyali anyway, as a result of that patience.
For a few seconds, you let your mistress mull over the conflicting possibilities of what that might mean for her. Then, at just the right moment, you continue onward, sweeping her into a different story. An even lighter one this time. You regale her with tales of your even-younger years, sneaking out with acquaintances to try and visit the souls in the pleasure houses even before you had earned permission from the succubi... and the panicked comedy of errors that ensued when Cevariel's misstep almost got your small group caught.
Then you tell of your first-ever summoning, called forth by a mage so inept that you wondered that was able to summon even the most low-ranking (at the time) of incubi. You retell the ill-thought-out mission of seduction that he sent you on and your increasingly-exasperated attempts to wrest something successful out of it, always complicated by his blundering through even your simplest plans.
By the time you launch into your animate description of the final, ridiculous, multi-part orgy that it all finally devolved into (with each section trying to keep themselves secret from the others) Lily is desperately trying to hold back her giggles. She knows that a good girl shouldn't laugh at such absurd debauchery... but you tell it with such a roguish flamboyance and expressive timing that she can hardly help herself.
It goes on like that, until you hear the door open behind you, announcing Verika's return. She's wearing an outfit that looks nefarious indeed, black with spiky metallic studs, its cut very tight and very skimpy, leaving her midriff and one shoulder bare, with a bottom that covers little but the barest essentials.
Kelissa and Khaytala follow behind, the latter looking disappointed. She was probably hoping for a chance to tease her friend while she went through the same embarrassing fitting as her. But Verika simply wears the theatrical garment with utter self-confidence and fearlessness. No doubt she'll switch to something more practical on any actual missions... but for making an impression, it's quite eye-catching as a dress uniform for the forces of evil.
Looking around, even you are surprised to notice just how much time has passed while you were caught up in your storytelling, taking you late into the evening. Still, it certainly had an effect. The residual worry is gone from Lily's face, leaving her centered, composed and... happy. "You've done excellent work as always, Kelissa," the Witch Queen says to her maid. "It looks wonderful. Now we just need to determine what our next moves will be."
You nod. "And the first step will be to figure out which heroine we're going after next," you say. "There are a number that might be useful, but we'll have to make our choice carefully. Especially since this will probably be the last attempt where we have the element of surprise."
"You're right," Lily says. Then she moves back to her desk and picks up a stack of parchment. "Here, this might help. Spymaster Iskro put this together for us. It's to help us keep track of everything we've learned so far, so we don't forget anything."
You flip through the pages, a compilation of the most important information you've collected on your targets so far. You can deduce potential gains and losses for each, some of them with extra risks or possible connections that you could leverage in any number of ways. Some of them with vulnerabilities you could use or prepare for, some of them particularly risky to tackle, and some of them with their rewards or dangers simply unknown.
The situation is complex and multi-faceted. Still, as you consider the angles, you feel that the best choice is going to be...
