by Rae Magdon
She was not surprised when Eva pulled away and replaced her mouth with the firm pad of her thumb. The sweet fullness within her finally burst, and she clawed at the edge of the stone sepulcher as the pearl of her clit twitched and throbbed beneath Eva’s fingers. Eva’s tongue dragged back down, thrusting forward just in time to catch the rush of heat that poured from deep within her.
When Lilith’s orgasm finally faded to aftershocks, she reluctantly pulled Eva’s head back, smiling with some satisfaction as she noticed the wet, shimmering lower half of her lover’s face. “That’s enough. I want you up here.” She patted the muscle of her right thigh and waited for Eva to climb on top of her.
It did not take long. Eva climbed eagerly into her lap and straddled her bare knee, pressing hard kisses all over her face. Soft hands wandered to the edges of her furled wings, and soon, Eva was rocking desperately against her leg. Lilith let her hands wander to Eva’s breasts, toying with her nipples and catching them between her claws. “Fuck,” Eva breathed against her lips, “I...I need…”
“You’re already close, aren’t you?” Lilith teased. She could feel Eva’s desire coursing through her, feeding her, giving her strength. She did not even have to reach out and take it. It flowed over her like warm water, bathing her in lust. “I bet I could make you come just like this.” Eva’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and Lilith knew that she was right. Eva was close, and if she continued what she was doing, she would not be able to hold back. She bent down, grazing her lips over Eva’s throat, teasing with the edges of her teeth. “Well? Should I release you?”
Eva’s hips pushed forward, and a shudder rippled through her body. “Please,” she whispered, grinding down frantically above her knee. “Please, let me…”
“Come,” Lilith growled against the slick, salty skin of her throat.
Her permission was all Eva needed. She bucked and threw her head back, her hair falling between her shoulder blades. Lilith felt more heat course through her, and she reached out, touching and taking with invisible fingers. She fed from each ragged pulse of desire, drinking it through Eva’s skin and stealing it from her breath. She took until she was full and Eva was a sobbing mess of need, grinding into her thigh with each contraction. Something warm smeared across her skin, and she looked down, groaning when she noticed a dark patch of wetness spreading along the seam of Eva’s pants.
Finally, Eva collapsed against her chest, clutching weakly at her shoulders and nuzzling into her neck. Lilith wrapped both arms around her, cradling her close. “I can’t believe you made me come in my clothes,” Eva whispered against her shoulder, only sounding slightly upset. “So embarrassing...”
“I thought it was hot,” Lilith said. She trailed her fingertips down the groove of Eva’s spine, enjoying the way she shivered at the touch. ”Watching you rub against me, not even bothering to take off your pants because you wanted me so badly...”
Eva pulled back, blushing as she pulled the straps of her shirt back up over her shoulders. “It wasn’t my fault. What chance do I stand against a succubus?” Lilith’s face fell. Although she knew Eva had only been teasing, the joke stung. Her greatest fear was that Eva would become addicted to her powers, regardless of any feelings of love she might have. “I’m sorry, Lilith,” Eva whispered, squeezing the side of her arm. “That wasn’t what I meant…”
Lilith sighed and turned away, gently nudging Eva off her lap so that she could begin searching for her own pants. “Are you sure about that?”
She glanced back just in time to see Eva sucked her bottom lip guiltily between her teeth. “Yes. I shouldn’t have joked about it. I know it bothers you when you think you’re… manipulating me.”
“I just worry that you don’t fully realize the danger. I need to feed from you in order to survive. But… you know I would never force you to feed me, don’t you?” Lilith asked, her voice softer than before. Simply asking the question hurt. “If you didn’t want to, or if you changed your mind...”
“You know you can feed from me whenever you want,” Eva said. “I’m... rather proud of the fact that I’ve been able to take care of almost all your needs myself.”
“Even when I pester you for sex?” Lilith let her wings melt into her back, and her horns and claws retracted as her skin shifted from red to cinnamon-brown. When she gave Eva a weak smile, her teeth were no longer pointed.
“Especially then,” Eva said.
Lilith watched her finish straightening her clothes, and she felt another pulse between her legs as Eva wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She was sure that both of them still smelled like sex, but otherwise, they were mostly presentable, aside from the small stain at the juncture of Eva’s legs. “Come on, let’s find Lady Godiva.”
Eva reached out to take her hand as she stood up. She laced their fingers together and smiled. “Right. She’s probably tired of waiting for us, and to be honest, this Circle creeps me out more than the others, even if nothing in it is trying to kill us.”
Canto XIII:
And between this and the embankment’s foot
Centaurs in file were running, armed with arrows,
As in the world they used the chase to follow.
After several minutes of searching, they finally found Lady Godiva near a large tomb that rose up from the ground. She leaned against it, ignoring the smoke and flames that seeped through the cracks in its sealed door. Eva leaned closer, squinting to read the lettering on its side: ‘Pope Anastasius I hold, whom out of the right way Photinus drew.’
“There are popes down here?” Eva asked. She was not particularly surprised by the fact that a pope could go to hell, but she wanted to avoid discussing the reason that Lady Godiva had left them in the first place. She still found their guide’s timely exits whenever Lilith needed to feed embarrassing. Her eyes flicked over to Lilith’s face, and she was pleased to notice that her skin was smooth and unbroken.
“Popes, cardinals, priests... and that’s just the Catholics,” Lady Godiva said. “There are religious leaders of every faith down here. Unfortunately, corruption often runs deep in organized religion.”
“Corruption runs deep everywhere,” Lilith said. “Human nature at its worst. Come on, let’s not waste time here. We’re almost at the entrance to the Seventh Circle. We only have three more to cross.”
With Lady Godiva leading the way, the three of them approached the edge of the silent graveyard. Eva found that the way became more difficult as the ground sloped downward. Walls of rock rose around her on either side, and the path descended into a steep gorge. “You know, I just realized that going back the way we came is going to be a real pain in the ass,” she muttered. “This entire trip has been downhill, and that’s the least of our problems. How are we going to get back up without being murdered by all the things that nearly killed us the first time?”
Lilith did not often look uncomfortable or nervous, but as she turned, her expression was a mixture of both. “I haven’t figured that part out yet,” she admitted, reaching behind her head to rub the back of her neck. “The bottom of the Ninth Circle leads out onto the Mountain of Purgatory on the other side of the world, but that involves climbing on Shaitan’s back...”
Eva swallowed. “Um, I vote we go back up the way we came, then.”
“Shh,” Lady Godiva silenced them, holding out her arm to halt their progress. “Don’t go any –”
Eva did not obey in time. As she stepped forward, a horrible smell burned through her nose, making it impossible to breathe. “Oh God,” she spat, hunching forward with her hands on her knees. “That – that is the most disgusting smell I’ve ever...” She rubbed a hand over her watering eyes, trying to shield her mouth and nose. The horrid stench drifting up from the gorge between the broken rocks was overpowering enough to make her dizzy.
Lady Godiva shook her head. “I told you to wait…”
“I
always forget about this part,” Lilith muttered, swaying slightly on her feet. “It’s the pitch from the Eighth Circle... the heat from the fire makes it smell even worse than usual.”
“What do we do?” Eva asked. “I’m not sure I can even walk any further... wait, did you say pitch?”
“The Eighth Circle punishes fraud,” Lady Godiva said. “Its name is Malebolge, and each of the pockets is reserved for a different type of fraud. The second pocket is where the flatterers are punished.”
Eva forced a smile in order to suppress her gag reflex. “So, flatterers are forced to spend all of eternity covered in shit? That’s probably the most disgustingly literal interpretation of a sin we’ve seen so far.”
“Shaitan has a sick sense of humor,” Lilith said. “Here, we can sit on the rocks for a few moments. We’ll keep going after we adjust to the smell.”
“I’m not sure I want to adjust to it,” Eva muttered, but she knew that she did not have a choice. She plopped herself down on one of the broken rocks lining the gorge.
Lady Godiva selected her own rock to perch on. “The smell should go away once we reach the Ninth Circle, but it will get worse after we cross the Phlegethon.”
“And the smell of boiling blood isn’t exactly pleasant, either,” Lilith added.
“A river of blood?” She made another disgusted face. “Well, I guess if there was a place for it, the Circle that punishes violence is it.”
“There are actually three rings within the Seventh Circle.” Lilith leaned against one of the broken slabs of stone, bracing her weight on her elbow. “The first ring is the Phlegethon, where murderers are submerged in the river, but we have to pass the Minotaur to get there.”
Eva heaved a sigh. “Of course we do.” She ran her hand through her hair. There was no untangling it, but she tried anyway, raking her fingers through the knots until it was slightly more passable.
“You know,” Lilith said, looking around at the fallen rocks that surrounded them, “I don’t remember the gorge looking like this the last time I was here.” A frown crossed her face as she examined the black stone. “It looks like some kind of earthquake shattered the rocks and caused a landslide.”
Lady Godiva smiled. “When was the last time you visited the Seventh Circle, Lilith?”
“It must have been over two thousand years ago...” Lilith’s eyes widened as realization dawned. “Oh. He did this?” This time, Eva noticed, the word ‘He’ held no bitterness as she spoke it.
Their guide nodded. “Twice.”
Lilith stood up, kicking aside a few of the smaller rocks with her foot. “Come on. We should be able to climb down now.”
They descended further into the gorge, picking their way along the rocks and trying not to breathe too deeply. The large black shadows stretching beneath the walls of stone cast them into darkness, but an eerie red pulse of light shone before them at the end of the crooked furrow. Soon, they broke out into a wider space, and Eva immediately wished they hadn’t.
Standing before her was a giant beast covered in thick ropes of muscle and fur. Two horns erupted from its sloped forehead, and it had the snout of a giant bull. Its torso was clearly human, as were its arms and hands, but its thick, stocky legs led down to a pair of giant hooves. She froze, too afraid to breathe, but the Minotaur did not seem to notice her. Instead, it stomped across its patch of earth, silhouetted by the glowing red light as it thrust its nose up into the air.
Eva heard a soft noise behind her, and turned her head just enough to see Lilith crouching down, picking up a small stone in her hand. “Get ready to run. We’re not fighting this one.” She tossed the rock off into the distance, and it sailed over the Minotaur’s head.
When it heard the stone hit the ground, the Minotaur charged in the direction of the noise, lowering its horns and bellowing its rage. Its hooves clattered across the rock, and Eva felt Lady Godiva urge her forward with a gentle push in the center of her back. “He’s not exactly the smartest Circle guardian,” she said as Lilith scooped up another rock and tossed it even further in the opposite direction. The Minotaur beat its chest, smoke snorting from its nostrils as it raced off toward the new sound.
Quickly, they crept out from the mouth of the gorge and scrambled down a low, sloping bank, hurrying until they were far enough to duck out of the creature’s sight. Its roars echoed into the air, but the Minotaur made no attempt to pursue them, still engaged in combat with its phantom adversaries.
“He went a little –” Lilith stopped to twirl her finger beside her head, “– after Theseus and Ariadne killed him. Not that he was ever sane.” She straightened up and began walking along the black-sanded bank at a more casual pace. “Come on, the river isn’t far.”
If walking over the rocks had been tiresome, walking across the sand was even more obnoxious. No matter how carefully she moved, Eva still couldn’t prevent the fine black grains from trickling into her shoes. They were the color of smoky ash, and she wondered if some of the mountains they had seen before were active volcanoes.
Finally, the red light surrounding them grew brighter, and they came to the edge of a lazily winding river. It crept along at a snail’s pace, bubbling and popping with immense heat as the viscous fluid oozed past. Its shape bent in a great bow, and thick steam drifted up from the surface. Instead of water, the entire river ran red with blood, swirling from a deep, staining crimson to nearly-black sludge. Eventually, it dripped over a lazy waterfall, clotting together as it fell. Huddled figures stood in the river, some up to their waists, and some to their chins. Others were completely submerged beneath the burning surface.
Eva ran her tongue over the inside of her mouth, trying to dislodge the coppery taste that filled it as she breathed. “How are we supposed to cross?”
Lilith pointed at the opposite bank. “With help.”
At first, it was difficult for her to make out anything clearly through the steam, but gradually, a line of shadows began to take shape. They solidified into long, sleek creatures that stood on four legs. Their heads and torsos were human, but their bodies cut off at the waist, spreading out into wide, muscular flanks that clearly should have belonged to a horse.
“Centaurs,” Lady Godiva said. “See the arrows?”
Eva had been too preoccupied with their strange appearance to notice that the centaurs were armed, but she quickly turned her attention to the bows and quivers they carried. Several of them had already fitted arrows to their strings and pulled them back, taking careful aim. One stepped forward, detaching himself from the rest of the group. “Unto what torment come you, unfortunate souls? This is not your place. Tell us from there, or I draw my bow.”
Lilith held up her hand, stepping forward until she had reached the edge of the bank and the river lapped at her boots. “I am the First One. I come to claim my soul from Shaitan, beyond Judecca.”
The centaur did not seem impressed. He snorted, pacing the bank in front of his band. “You have no business here, demon. Find another way, and take the living one with you before we force it into the river with the rest of the damned.”
Before any of them could object, a second centaur stepped forward to confront the first. His flanks were a dappled grey, and he had a matching beard sprouting from his chin. “I will carry them, Nessus. Let them cross and leave this place. You have other souls to torture.”
“You would subject yourself to that indignity, Chiron?” the first centaur said, raising his voice in alarm. “Become a common packmule for humans?”
“The First One is hardly human anymore. You addressed her as ‘demon’ yourself. The others are her companions. Let her pass, and they will be no more bother to you.”
To Eva’s surprise, Nessus backed down, although his expression was far from pleased. “Carry them, if you wish. The rest of us will not help you.”
Chiron waded into the river of blood, seemingly unaffect
ed by its boiling heat. It swirled around his flanks, but his great height prevented it from rising past the tops of his legs. Although the river was wide, it did not take him long to cross, and he reached the opposite bank in a matter of minutes. Blood dripped from his coat, staining it an unnatural shade of red, but there was a large clean patch on top of his back that had remained above the waves. Slowly, the great creature knelt down until he was at their eye-level. “Climb on my back. I can carry all of you.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Eva said. Even kneeling, Chiron was far taller than the three of them.
Lilith stepped forward to help Lady Godiva mount the centaur’s great back. It was so broad that their guide had some difficulty swinging her leg over. “Thank you, Chiron. I knew there was a reason I liked you better than the others.”
“It is their nature,” Chiron said. “They know no other way. You next, living one. How you came so far down into Sheol without perishing, I cannot begin to guess.”
“Lots of running, and lots of hitting things over the head,” Eva said, dipping the nose of her staff as she approached the great beast. Lilith’s hand cupped beneath her foot, giving her a boost as Lady Godiva caught her arm. With their help, she managed to position herself on Chiron’s back. Lilith was next, leaping up behind her with almost unnatural strength and dexterity. For a moment, it looked like she was flying even without her wings. “Trying to impress me?” she asked, turning to look at Lilith over her shoulder.
Lilith smirked. “Perhaps.”
“Hold tight,” Chiron said. “If you fall into the Phlegethon, I cannot say whether the other centaurs will let you surface again.” He began wading back into the river, barely seeming to feel their weight. Eva could not resist looking down past Chiron’s side, and she watched in fascination as blood crept up his long legs. The thick, steaming red sludge clotted near his flanks faster than she expected, and she pulled her feet higher.