Dan's Inferno, Book IV: Vengeance

by Jan Stryvant

  "So use a shrinking spell on the paper, after you write it and before you imbue any power into it," she said and kissed him.

  Dan blinked, grabbed Lofn tight, and kissed her long and hard. Why hadn't he thought of that?

  "Because you're inexperienced. Also, you don't know how to cheat."

  Sliding his hands under her blouse and cupping those marvelous breasts of hers, he kissed her again. It was so obvious now. He'd work on a spell specifically made to shrink the paper to the size he wanted.

  "Tomorrow," Lofn purred.

  "Yes, tomorrow," he said.

  The next morning, after they left, he took a moment to reach out to everyone and touch their power. He then spent the rest of the day practicing his magic, then touching Fawn, Lofn, and Olivia separately, drawing a little power from each of them to replace some of what he'd used while practicing his magic. He also tapped Wrath and Aella, but only once each, and only for a small amount of power, to see if he could get any information about them when he did.

  He wasn't able to, unfortunately, but maybe over time, as he got better and more experienced, he might be able to.

  That night when they settled down, he spent an hour working on a simple spell to do what Lofn had suggested before calling it a night. Tomorrow they'd be moving through to Innsjo, and he didn't want to be tired, as he had no idea what to expect.

  Of course the girls still did their best to wear him out.

  "Is it just me, or am I stronger now than I was back home?" he asked no one in particular when they set out the next morning.

  "That's your demon side showing through," Fawn said with a grin.

  He bit his lip and shook his head. "No, I don't think that's it."

  "You probably absorbed some of the strength from that ram you ate," Olivia said with a shrug and looked over at Lofn. "Isn't that how it's supposed to work? You eat somebody, and you gain their power?"

  Dan noticed Lofn looked embarrassed.

  "Umm," she said looking down at her feet. "I don't know if it works the same for a sobek as it does for a succubus."

  "Wait," Dan said thinking about that. "I know you get power from feeding, but I thought that was like, well, just eating food?"

  Lofn shook her head. "I get energy when I feed off of you or one of the others. That's like eating food. But if a succubus consumes somebody, takes all they have and kills them, they get a small fraction of their powers. But that's only temporary."

  "Huh."

  "Something to think about," Olivia said, handing him his pack as she grabbed her own. "You took everything he had, and," she looked at him and smiled lustfully, "digested him. He's a part of you now, Dan. So I'm sure you got some of his strength. The question is only how long that lasts."

  "Ooh!" Fawn said, perking up. "We need him to eat Weson!"

  "What!" Dan said, looking a little shocked. But part of him liked the idea.

  "She's right, you know," Olivia agreed.

  "She always is," Lofn said with a nod.

  Dan made a face—in the heat of the moment, maybe. But planning to do it? He wasn't sure he could do that.

  "It would help in our confrontation with Mr. Wiles after Weson is gone," Lofn said in a soft voice, "as much as I hate to suggest it."

  "Lofn, we've already condemned him to death for what he's done; you shouldn't be feeling remorse over it," Olivia said, coming over and giving her a hug.

  "I don't know if I can do it," Dan admitted, looking down at the ground himself.

  "What do you mean you can't do it?" Fawn said exasperatedly. "You've done it twice already!"

  "But those were in the heat of the moment! Someone was hurting you! I can't just go around eating people!"

  "Of course…" Fawn started but suddenly stopped. Looking up, he saw that Olivia had put a finger over Fawn's mouth and was shaking her head.

  "We can discuss this later," Olivia said. "For now, we need to reach the gateway portal and get through it. I want to get to Innsjo early enough that we can get a ride to the next portal before sunset over there."

  Fawn sighed and nodded, coming over to give Lofn and then him a hug.

  "Fine, let's get moving. We'll talk about it later, after we've gotten Wrath and Aella back."

  The rest of the trip to the gateway portal wasn't a long one; they got there well before noon local time without any trouble. But Dan couldn't stop thinking about what they'd said. When he'd eaten the sobek in his dream, when he was dying, the power he'd gained was permanent—it hadn't gone away. He'd thought that had just been a psychic metaphor—accepting what he was and embracing it.

  When he'd eaten the felish, he hadn't noticed any difference, but then, he was still learning his powers and his abilities, so maybe he'd missed it? Or maybe the felish hadn't had a lot to give?

  The ram he'd eaten had been strong, probably stronger than he was, and looking back, he'd definitely gotten a little stronger. But the reason for it hadn't hit him. Now it had.

  The logic of it was plain to see. Even if the power gain was only temporary, eating Weson was something he needed to consider and probably do. Because it would help in dealing with Wiles. The name of this game was power. He was coming to realize that now. True, he had more than the average mage, because not only was he part demon now, he could tap the girls. But Weson had a ring that let him tap seven people to his five.

  Who knew what Wiles had?

  He wished he could ask his father about it, but again, he had to face the facts and figure this out on his own. It was his decision. He was sure his father would tell him to eat whoever he wished and not worry about it. That's what a god would do after all, right? A demon also wouldn't think twice about it.

  Then again, there were his women. His girls. His wives. When it came to them, he'd do whatever he had to without thinking twice about it. They were his, and he would do anything, absolutely anything to protect them and make them happy.

  When they got to the gateway, it was unguarded, just like the last one they'd gone through, and it didn't appear as if anyone normally lived there.

  "I thought most gates had a toll of some sort?" Dan asked, looking at Olivia.

  "The more traveled ones tend to, because people can make money by extorting those coming through it, or by taking care of it and providing some sort of service to those using it."

  "The guys at the last one were pretty much extorting folks," Fawn grumbled.

  "That guy in California seemed okay," he replied.

  "That's cause the types who extort people don't last long if it's a portal with a lot of powerful people coming through it." Olivia told him. "Also, those who provide services and keep the mundanes away on Earth tend to make a lot just in tips."

  "Yeah, no one wants the mundanes stumbling into things," Fawn agreed with a nod. "Because when enough of them get killed, it always leads to problems."

  Dan remembered the comments about how humankind outnumbered all the demons combined and nodded.

  "So I take it this isn't a popular portal, then?"

  "Not on this side, but the other side is different. There was someone on the other side the last time I came through here," Olivia said. "It's rare to find somebody on both sides of a gateway."

  "What category did they fall into? Extortion or helpful?"

  "Helpful. They're the ones who'll sell us the mounts we'll be riding. Most of the people heading in this direction don't care much for extortion."

  "Mounts? Like horses?" he asked as they got ready to step through.

  "Well, not exactly, but they're close enough to call them that if you want."

  #

  "Dan!" Wrath said, and he suddenly found himself being kissed and hugged by Wrath and Aella within moments of stepping out of the gateway portal. The trip across Innsjo had been as quick as Olivia had said it would be, and the mounts, while not horses, were close enough. Plus they could swim quickly, so they didn't have to bother detouring around any of the lakes.

  He hugged them both back and k
issed them, letting them drag him away from the gateway to keep from blocking anyone else as Fawn, Olivia, and Lofn joined them.

  "So now what?" Fawn asked.

  "We've got a room at a nearby inn," Aella growled.

  "And we fully intend to use it!" Wrath growled along with her.

  "What about Weson?"

  "Weson," Dan said with an arm around Wrath and another around Aella, "can wait!"

  The moment they got into the room, Dan was mobbed by both Aella and Wrath, not that he minded. He immediately grabbed the base of Aella's shirt and pulled it up over her head and off of her as Wrath's fingers undid his belt from behind and quickly divested him of his pants. He went after Aella's pants next as her own hands helped him push them down and off of her, while her tentacles quickly stripped him of his shirt.

  Naked, he stepped out of his pants and walked her now equally nude body backwards until he had her pressed up against the wall. Grabbing her ass as she started kissing him passionately, he lifted her up off the ground as he felt Wrath reaching between his legs and grabbing his stiff cock to guide it into Aella's sex as he lowered her back down, filling her tight wet heat with his shaft.

  Spreading his feet for balance, he continued to kiss Aella, their tongues dueling, while he began to fuck her as hard as he could. He'd missed his little black kitty demon and he not only needed to show her just how much he loved her, but he needed to claim her once again for himself.

  To remind her just who she belonged to.

  Aella responded by wrapping her legs tightly around his hips, while her tentacles wrapped around tightly his body, as she ground and bucked back against him, pressing her full chest against his hard body. She had her hands to either side of his head, holding her man, her lover, her mate, as she felt the complete and utter love he had for her, as she delved once more into his mind, enthralled once again by the absolute depth and sincerity of his feelings for her, for all of them.

  Dan gave a little growl of lust as he suddenly felt Wrath's hands on his ass, then her tongue on his balls as she pulled herself between his legs. Letting go of Aella's ass, she wasn't going anywhere with the way she was wrapped around him, he reached down and grabbing Wrath's horns he pulled her head up, forcing her to put that long tongue of hers to work on the base of his shaft as he plunged it in and out of Aella's dripping sex.

  When she started curling it around his shaft as he plunged in to Aella, he was impressed, but she was now using the fingers of one of her hands to tease at Aella's clit, while the other was massaging and tickling his balls. It didn't take Aella much longer to go off on his shaft, as she growled, purred, and bucked back against him, her sleeve tightly squeezing and milking at his plunging shaft.

  Dan didn't last much longer himself, and when he finally came into Aella, he hilted himself inside of her letting the first few shots of his essence fill her. He pulled out then and rammed his shaft between Wrath's lips and forced it in to the root, feeding her the rest of his cream as her tongue laved his pulsing length.

  When he pulled out, Wrath put her tongue to good use on Aella, teasing a few more shudders out of her as she panted, still pinned to the wall by Dan's body.

  Catching his breath, he untangled from the two of them, and then dragged them over to the large bed in the center of the room, pushing both of their naked bodies down on to it. Smiling he looked at them a moment, sprawled sensuously on the covers, then turned to look at Fawn, Olivia, and Lofn.

  "Why are you still dressed? Aren't you going to join us?"

  He laughed at the explosion of clothes that suddenly went flying all over the room as he turned his attentions to Wrath, who was now being teased by Aella's tongue and tentacles.

  "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked Wrath.

  "Yes," she panted, smiling.

  "Well, then let me tell you all about it some more!"

  Almost Home

  "So where do we go from here?" Dan asked Wrath the next morning as they were showering.

  "Why are you asking me?" she replied.

  "Because I don't know where the gate to Earth is?" he said. "Also, I didn't know if there was anything we needed to take care of before we go home." He shrugged then. "I think the first thing we need to do when we get back is get our gear together, then go kill Weson."

  Wrath smiled at him but shook her head. "The first thing we need to do is move into our new house—you know, the one we just bought? Then replace all our gear, because whatever didn't get destroyed in that fire was in our van, and I don't think we'll be seeing that again."

  Dan grumbled a little but nodded.

  "Also, a trip to the Zoo is in order, so we can find out what's been going on while we were gone."

  "I just don't want to lose our surprise advantage," he said with a sigh.

  Wrath snorted. "The moment we're back on Earth, our oaths kick back in, and he'll be losing magic to us again. Oh, he's gonna realize we're back."

  "Do you think he gave us the money we were asking for?"

  "If he hasn't, I'm going to spread the word that he's an oath-breaker," Wrath said with a growl.

  "There's one thing I'd like to do before we leave," Lofn called from outside the shower.

  "What?" Wrath called back.

  "Get some decent magical gems set in my whips and Daniel's mace!"

  "And who's gonna pay for that?" Fawn's voice called out. "I didn't have any cash on me when we got booted!"

  "Well, there goes that idea." Dan sighed. "So, how far is the gate back home from here?"

  "A day's travel," said Wrath. "We can be home by sunset."

  "I guess we need to dry off, then, and get started."

  "I guess," she said turning off the water. "I've been meaning to ask, where did you end up?"

  "Where do you think? Where I was conceived, just like the rest of you."

  "So how'd you find your way to where Lofn was?"

  "My dad sent me."

  "Your dad?"

  Dan nodded. "He felt it when I arrived there. He was…" Dan shook his head. "He wasn't exactly what I expected. He really didn't give a damn about me at first, and he said as much."

  "So why'd he send you, then? To get you out of his territory?"

  Dan grabbed a towel to dry off. "Once we'd cleared the air between us and I told him I wasn't really mad at him, we started talking, and I ended up calling him 'Dad' once he'd acknowledged that he was my father. After that, we settled down and really got to talking, and it turns out we really got on well with each other. He even expressed a little remorse that my mother had never called out to him and asked him for help, especially at the end there."

  "Would he have?"

  "Helped her?"

  Wrath nodded.

  "Yeah," Dan said with a thoughtful look, "I believe he would have. He was actually happy to see me, once I'd made it clear I wasn't there on purpose or to give him any grief. He was actually quite happy to learn about all of you." Dan motioned to the girls in general. "We sat and talked for hours. He even taught me a few things that I'm still trying to wrap my head around."

  "Such as?"

  "Such as, I need to take what's mine and not second guess myself. He wants me to kill Weson, then lay down the law with Wiles, and kill him if he doesn't agree. He told me we're not demons, we're gods, and I need to act that way."

  "Gods?" Olivia snorted. "Now I know why you didn't turn Fawn's mom down!"

  "What happened with Fawn's mom?" Wrath asked, looking over at Olivia.

  "She came onto Dan pretty hard the morning after he ate that asshole who was trying to take Fawn. Apparently watching someone go down our Dan's throat gets sheep-girls really horny."

  "And your father didn't complain about this?" Wrath asked, looking at Fawn in surprise.

  "He was off putting my brother in charge of the village the idiot had come from. You see, Dan killed the father after eating his son." Fawn shrugged and then grinned. "I suspect Mom told him to do it. I have a newfound understandin
g of where the power lies back home."

  Wrath just shook her head and looked back at Dan. "Gods? He said you were gods?"

  Dan tossed the towel onto the bed and got dressed as he talked.

  "He said we're not like the rest, we really aren't demons, we were worshipped as gods once, and a bunch of stuff along those lines."

  Wrath stopped and stared at him a moment.

  "Why'd he send you to Lofn first?"

  "He said she needed me the most, and that she needed me right away." Dan paused a moment, "Huh, wonder how he knew? You don't think he was right? That sobek are gods?" Dan asked with a goofy grin.

  Wrath snorted. "Of course not! While there's lots of gods among each of the demonic races, there's only one from the sobek, and HOLY FUCKING… What in the name of the twenty-nine did your father say his name was?"

  Dan shrugged. "He didn't. Once I agreed to call him 'Dad', he never once told me his name. Said he'd rather I kept calling him that. Otherwise it would change our relationship. Why?"

  Wrath dropped into one of the chairs, letting go of the towel.

  "Damn, damn, damn…by the gods of the twenty-nine, or maybe I should say 'other twenty-eight'! Why the fuck didn't it occur to me?"

  "Why didn't what occur?"

  "There's probably only one sobek still around who can do what your father did!" She hesitated a moment. "Well, maybe some of his sons could do it, too, but after this many millennia, I doubt any of them are still around…"

  "So wait, you're telling us…" Fawn trailed off, looking at Dan along with all the others.

  "I'm telling you I think our Dan's father is the actual god of the sobek! The Lord of Faiyum!"

  "Well, shit," Dan said and gave an exaggerated sigh, "and I didn't even ask him for a favor."

  "Dan!" Wrath growled, "I'm being serious here!"

  Dan laughed as he buckled the belt on his pants. "Wrath, love, light of my life, and the cutest, hottest, red-furred winged demon that I love to fuck?"

  "What!" she said, still growling softly.

  "If there's one thing my dad isn't, it's serious."

  "What?"