soulofawitch_463-9e1.htm

by Soul Of A Witch (lit)

  It was a sweet thing to say, but she had no illusions that if the Overlord ordered it, they’d all be dead in seconds.

  Concentrating, she surrounded them all with the same white light she used around the ship. It was a protection of sorts. Against the spiritual evil, yes. Against laser fire, no.

  The ramp completed lowering, and the edge settled onto the cobblestones that stretched everywhere. They descended the ramp in a group, and met Fredrico and his crew midway between the two ships.

  Fredrico glanced at her between the men’s bodies, but said nothing. Instead, he nodded to Sinya and strode ahead. They fell into step behind him, Beulah more than aware that the menacing pirates had fallen in behind them.

  She saw now that grey, stone walls towered overhead, and to each side. Everything was cold looking, and the chill wind that blew made the area appear even bleaker. Underfoot were grey cobblestones, and statues of monstrous proportions and appearance lined the wide path they trod.

  Evil permeated the very air she breathed, and Beulah knew the worse was yet to come.

  Ahead of them yawned a dark opening, a tunnel that led into the depths of the huge tower. They entered it, and she immediately felt as though the very darkness was trying to touch her. It was comforting to see the white glow that outlined the pirates and herself. It kept the darkness back.

  The tunnel was long, interspersed with glowing torches of light on the walls, that shed a dismal light. Up ahead she could hear the low hum of voices, followed by screams of pain and laughter.

  Sinya glanced back over his shoulder at her, and she smiled up at him and nodded. He returned her nod, his face sober, and turned back to the front again. She could feel the press of her guarding pirates on either side, as they effectively wedged her between them. The heat from the three pirates behind her assured her of their presence and closeness.

  It was comforting, she had to admit.

  The glow from ahead grew brighter, until the tunnel suddenly ended and they found themselves in a huge hall. The ceiling was low, the light murky, causing dark shadows in corners. Tables lined the middle of the hall, plates heaped with food filling every available space. Mugs and goblets stood and lay on their side amidst the plates, wine and ale dripping onto the floor. People sat in chairs, laughing and talking. Sofas stood against the shadowy walls, and couples sprawled across them. The rich satins and silks the occupants of the room wore proclaimed their richness.

  A screech of laughter from one corner, followed by a scream of pain, drew Beulah’s attention. Three people moved on the sofa--two men and one woman. They were a tangle of naked limbs and bodies, their clothes a rich puddle of material on the floor beside the sofa. The woman was sandwiched between the two men, and even in the dim light, Beulah could see the mixture of pleasure and pain on the woman’s face, as both men entered her at once--one from behind, one from the front.

  The woman loved the pain. Beulah could feel her lust from across the hall. She screamed and writhed, and the men laughed, grunted, and pushed in and out of her.

  Every emotion hit her at once. Lust, pain, hate, vengeance, lying, and every other emotion that went with the darkness. The smell of sex was thick in the air, mixed with blood and food, grease and ale, wine and sweat.

  As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she saw that couples, even groups, of people writhed against each other on the sofas at the side of the hall. Other people continued conversing, sitting in chairs at the long tables in the center of the hall, ignoring what was happening around them. Several walked around the hall.

  From Sinya and his pirates, she felt their distaste, tension, and even curiosity from a couple. But nothing that indicated they enjoyed what they were seeing. In fact, they were solely focused on spotting any threat before it happened.

  Pain beat though the air on a orange haze, this one complete pain without enjoyment. She saw why when her gaze was drawn upwards to see a man hanging upside down from the ceiling, twisting slowly. Blood dripped from his fingertips, spattering onto a side of roast meat on a table beneath him. He was unconscious, but his pain was still tangible.

  The horror of everything threatened to crush her. She saw the weakening of her barrier, and suddenly knew how much danger she was in. If the barrier broke, if she allowed every emotion in the hall to get to her, she would be lost in a sea of madness.

  Forcing herself to look inward, to focus on the golden glow deep inside herself, Beulah managed to block the horror from her senses. She covered it in layers strong enough to hold it until she was in a safe place later.

  For now, she had to focus on keeping herself safe, and thereby the men with her. She had to remain focused on the reason they were here in this hell hole.

  Wes.

  The white light brightened again, pushing back the darkness and emotions. Though only she could see the white light, it didn’t matter. She knew they were safe from anything spiritual while encased in it.

  As their presence registered in the hall, conversation died, until the only thing that could be heard was the grunting and gasping of the copulating couples and groups. It sounded obscene in the silence but Beulah was able to ignore it.

  Every eye was turned to them, the gazes hard, calculating, and curious.

  Fredrico stopped at the end of the hall, and gestured to the stone stairs. "The Overlord awaits you both, Sinya. You and the witch-woman. Go up."

  He and his pirates moved to the sides, and the only ones left standing at the steps were Sinya, Beulah and Sinya’s pirates.

  Without a word, Sinya turned and held out his arm to Beulah. Stepping forward, she linked her arm through his and settled her hand lightly upon his forearm. Under the billowing sleeve, she felt his muscles flex. There was strength and confidence in every line of his lean body. His face, when she looked up at him, showed no emotion, yet she felt his concern for her.

  Taking a deep breath, she looked ahead at the steps.

  As one they moved, two of Sinya’s crew taking the lead, the others falling in behind Sinya and Beulah, forming a human barricade before and behind them.

  The steps led up into another dark room, which opened fully onto the hall below, giving the occupants full view of everything. Torches flickered in the back of the shadowy alcove, outlining the high-backed chair that stood in the middle. The torches on either side of the alcove cast a dull gleam on the chair, and she knew it was made of gold. It had wide, winged armrests.

  And evil sat on the chair. Evil and slyness, danger and genius, all rolled into one creature.

  At first glance, he looked harmless. Strange. His skin was pure white, white enough to make a person flinch at first sight. A long-sleeved purple cloak covered him completely, from the neck down. White hands lay on his lap, a gold sceptre with a carrion-eater etched in marble upon the top held tightly. The head of the creature was elongated with a small lipless mouth, and holes where a nose should have been. Round, pink eyes gazed straight at Beulah, and the black pupil at the centre dilated.

  "At last we meet, witch-woman."

  She knew without a doubt who this creature was. "Overlord."

  "I have long awaited this day."

  She met his gaze, careful to keep all expression from her face. "You have been expecting me?"

  "I have been monitoring your progress here. So yes, I’ve been expecting you." He leaned forward in his chair, and a rattle of chains drew attention to the woman at the end of the chain. She was sitting by his feet, lost in the shadows. "I’ve been watching with interest, witch-woman. Yes, much interest."

  Since she wasn’t sure what to say in reply, Beulah kept silent.

  The Overlord turned his pink-eyed gaze to Sinya. "Ah, pirate. Betrayer. Thief. You are all of those, aren’t you?"

  Sinya answered without hesitation. "Yes."

  "Honesty in a pirate is to be deemed suspicious--but then, you’re not like most pirates." The Overlord leaned back in his chair. "Your brother is in trouble, Sinya."

  Beulah felt Sinya’s tens
ion beneath her fingertips. "I understand you know of his captor’s fortress."

  "Hortra." Elongated pupils thinned, and the Overlord sat back in his chair.

  Silence fell upon the alcove, and it was echoed in the hall below them. Beulah was conscious of every ear straining to hear the exchange of conversation between the visitors and the Overlord.

  Even the sounds of copulating had stopped.

  "I was told that you knew the location of Hortra’s fortress where he resides," Sinya said. "I have come to ask that you give me this information."

  "And why should I give it to you?" The Overlord studied him.

  "Because I ask you."

  Laughter broke out in the hall below, mocking and sarcastic.

  "Because you ask me," the Overlord repeated. "Is there nothing you can give me in exchange?"

  "You have riches beyond that which I can give you. You hold the centre of the Outlaw Sector in your hands. The worst of pirates, murderers and outlaws seek shelter in your area, at your mercy. What do I have that could possibly interest you?"

  "How interesting. You tell me you have nothing to give me in exchange, yet you expect me to give you the information. I’m not known for my charity, Sinya."

  Beulah felt Sinya’s frustration, but also his tight reign on his patience and temper.

  "Are you sure there is nothing you have to give me?" The Overlord’s gaze drifted to Beulah. "Absolutely sure?"

  Now the tension swept through Sinya, stiffening every part of his body.

  Eleven

  Beulah spoke quietly. "You can give only what you own."

  "Is that so?" The Overlord looked her up and down. "Your tongue is glib, witch."

  "I speak the truth, nothing more."

  "Yes. The truth." Leaning back in his chair, he studied her. Suddenly he raised his sceptre and pointed to the hall below with it. "Honestly, now, witch-woman, what do you think of my home?"

  "It is not to my liking, Overlord. But then, we have such different tastes."

  He started laughing, low and secretive. "Do we now? Do we really have such different tastes?" Pupils expanding, he speared her with his gaze. "Do we not have the same thirst for knowledge, the longing for closeness with another? Is that not the base of all humanoids?"

  "Closeness with another comes in many forms, Overlord," she replied calmly.

  "Closeness of the flesh, then." He looked at Sinya. "Closeness with this man, perhaps. With the men behind him? With Fredrico? He’s a handsome-looking fellow, so the women think."

  "That is closeness of the basest kind. It is not the sharing of flesh, but the taking of something simply because it is there."

  He fell silent, studying her over the top of the marble head of his sceptre that he held pressed to his mouth.

  Again she felt something press against the barrier surrounding them, a force seeking a way in. A dark shadow made the torches flicker, and suddenly the smell of rotting meat filled the air. Phemar appeared in the shadows behind the Overlord’s chair, as though blending in from nowhere. Beulah wasn’t surprised, but she felt the start of surprise in Sinya’s arm, and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. The strength under the billowing sleeve gave her comfort.

  Phemar bent down and whispered something into the Overlord’s ear.

  The Overlord’s eyes narrowed. "You came in here armed, witch."

  She heard the shuffling of the pirates behind her, but didn’t remove her gaze from the Overlord. "Not so."

  "What do you call that barrier Phemar sees around you and the pirates?"

  "Protection."

  "You do not trust me?"

  "I seek protection from the unknown."

  The Overlord gestured with his hand. "Lower the barrier."

  "No."

  A gasp arose from the hall behind her.

  His pink eyes flickered. "You would refuse me? Refuse my order?"

  Danger was suddenly in the air, more danger than earlier. She heard the sound of lasers being armed, and immediately saw Sinya’s pirates draw forth their own weapons in response.

  The situation was suddenly explosive, the threat of death in the air. Sinya’s arm lowered, his hand sliding down to clasp hers in a strong grip. Ephim came to stand beside her.

  The Overlord started laughing. "Your numbers are puny. Do you really think you can run from me?"

  "I didn’t know we had to," Sinya replied grimly.

  "By thwarting me, you walk a deadly edge."

  "He didn’t thwart you, I did." Beulah stepped forward, drawing the Overlord’s attention back to herself. "You wanted my honesty, and I gave it. Why would you seek for me to lower my barrier? It didn’t bother you until Phemar mentioned it."

  He grew silent once more, studying her closely. Finally he said, "You are a mystery, witch-woman. You give off this innocence, yet I sense something more inside you."

  "I am what I am. No more, no less."

  "Do you think so? Do you really?"

  "Yes."

  Phemar whispered something else in his ear, and the Overlord waved him away. "I saw it, Phemar."

  Silence resumed as he continued to study her, his gaze flickering from her to Sinya and back again.

  "Honesty, then, witch-woman. Why won’t you lower the barrier?"

  Everyone held their breath, and anticipation of bloodletting was tangible in the air.

  "The emotions in your hall are not those to which I am used to, Overlord. I would not have them come to me. Surely you can understand this." Beulah lowered her voice so only those in the alcove could hear. "After all, are you not similarly armed?"

  The Overlord stared at her, then his lipless mouth curved in a parody of a smile. "You are indeed gifted, witch-woman."

  She inclined her head.

  "Join me in a meal, and we will talk of other things." He gestured to the curtained area to his right. "Bring in the table and food."

  This wasn’t good. The Overlord expected them to eat with him--here. In this hall full of the stench of everything corrupt. But to refuse him now...

  Beulah glanced up at Sinya, and though he kept his gaze on the Overlord and his surroundings, he gave her hand a small, comforting squeeze, enough to let her know that he felt some of her inner turmoil. And shared it.

  They watched in silence as a huge table was brought into the alcove from a door in the side. Set in the middle of the alcove, it was soon laden with plates of food. Chairs were brought and placed around it.

  "Come, I invite you to take your place at my table. There is room enough for us all." The Overlord moved his hand.

  His chair lifted in the air, and glided around behind the table so that he again faced the hall below the alcove. The chained woman got up quickly and followed him, and Beulah was able to see that she was naked. The woman smiled at the Overlord and stood behind his chair, seemingly unconcerned for her naked state.

  Sitting at his table was the last thing Beulah wanted to do, and it was only the discernable tug of Sinya’s hand that made her step forward. He led her to sit at the left end of the table, and sat down beside her. His crew took chairs close by them. She wasn’t surprised to see Fredrico and some of his pirates take the remainder of the chairs. The rest of his pirates disappeared into the shadowy hall below.

  The chained woman took a plate and walked around the table, leaning between the men to pick up the food she selected. Beulah managed to control her embarrassment over the woman’s nakedness. Lust showed on several of Fredrico’s pirates’ faces, though Fredrico himself didn’t once look at the woman. His gaze was concentrated on Beulah, Sinya and the Overlord. Sinya’s pirates carefully kept their gazes averted from the chained woman. Sinya himself was watching the Overlord.

  The noise in the hall below resumed the proportions it had before, but the acoustics of the hall and alcove meant that it wasn’t so loud where they were sitting, and for that Beulah was grateful.

  The woman placed the plate of food before the Overlord, and subsided back at his feet, under the table.r />
  "Help yourselves." The Overlord gestured to the table.

  Fredrico and his pirates started to fill their own plates, moving around the table and taking choice cuts of meat.

  One of his pirates leaned over Beulah, allowing his arm to brush against her. She could feel the dark lust rolling off him, the intent to torment and tease, to intimidate. Reaching past her, he took a leg of the big, cooked bird on the table.

  Turning his face, he looked at her out of hard, malicious eyes. "And what would the witch like? I can get you anything you want." His voice lowered. "Anything."

  "I need nothing, thank you." Beulah kept her vice calm, but she felt the nervous press of butterflies in her stomach. This outright lust was not something she was used to feeling.

  Whereas before she could handle it, now it was different. Then, she had the openness around her, distance from the ill-meant desire from Fredrico’s pirates, but here in the great hall, that lust was all around her. So close, it beat at her barriers and her own inhibitions in regards to the open coupling of those in the hall, and the chained woman flaunting herself, made her uneasy. Protected by her barrier she might be, but her uneasiness was all her own.

  It was with difficulty that she kept her face calm, for it wouldn’t do to allow the Overlord to see her discomfort. If they suspected how she felt, they were more likely to fall upon her like a rabid hound. She had to be strong for the sake of Sinya, and Wes.

  No sooner had the reminder of Sinya beside her brought a sense of relief, than his arm shot past her nose and his hand clamped around the arm of the pirate leaning over her.

  "I think you’ve got all you need," Sinya stated in a deadly quiet voice.

  "Not everything." The pirate’s smile was merciless.

  "There’s nothing for you here."

  "There’s something I have yet to taste." The pirate’s gaze switched to Beulah’s face. "Someone I have yet to taste. And she looks so yummy."

  Sinya moved faster than Beulah thought possible. Before she realized it, he was leaning forward, half standing, with his laser pressed to the pirate’s forehead.