by Jan Stryvant
"I thought devils didn't mind fire?" Roxy muttered.
"Djevels," Cali said. "And no, they burn just like everything else. It's the cold they like, not the fire. In fact, they hate fire more than most, and burn rather merrily."
"Well, they do seem to turn into tar when they die."
"Whoa, great outfits man!" some guy said, looking up from the ground where he was sitting. "You lose anybody this year?"
"Hmm?" Sean asked glancing down at him.
"It's to honor the dead, man. They're burning it down to honor the dead."
Sean nodded. "Yeah, we lost a lot of people this year." Grabbing the girls, he started to move slowly through the crowd, ignoring the looks they were getting.
'We got lucky, didn't we?'
'There's more to the world than even we understand. Sometimes God, the real God, takes a hand.'
'You think so?'
'Nah, we just got lucky!'
"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Chad's voice came over Sean's headset.
"Looks like."
"Great, where do you want us to land?"
"Put it down somewhere out in the darkness. This thing isn't going to stop burning for a while, and after that, the smoldering ruins will probably do our job for us."
"I've been thinking."
Sean looked up; Chad was standing there in his werewolf form, wearing his armor, with Max leaning against him. Sean had finally found a quiet spot around the far side of the smoldering ruins, and was sitting down with Roxy and Cali, just watching.
"About what?"
"About how to deal with the next gateway."
"Oh? What's your idea?"
"We just let 'em run rampant. See where they go, and pick 'em off once they're well away from the gate."
"Are you crazy? How many people do you think are going to get killed?"
"People are going to die no matter what we do, Sean. At least out here, there's not a lot for them to destroy. A few small towns maybe, we go after any who head for those."
"I fail to see the wisdom of your idea here, Chad," Sean growled.
"Okay, but just hear me out. First of all, we're not going to get the government on board until we have actual death and destruction. So we give them that death and destruction. The ole 'Welcome to the party, pal!' they so obviously need."
Sean grunted. "I don't like it, but you may be right."
"Second," Chad continued, "we have no idea what their tactics are like, their force structure, how they move as a unit across the field. We need to know that stuff, Sean. We don't have any of their books we can read, and we don't have anyone who's seen their army maneuver or fight across open terrain."
"The First has."
"Oh? And just how many tens of thousands of years ago was that? Our military changes its doctrine every decade or two, sometimes more. They're not going to fight the same way now as they did then. I'd rather get a look at their tactics now, when they can only bring a company or two through. Not after they've had the chance to bring a couple of divisions."
'He makes a compelling argument,' the First said.
'That's why he's got the job.'
Sean sighed heavily. "You're probably right. Let me think about it. But draw up your plans and show them to me when they're done. I don't want to be like that guy doing a controlled burn who then lost the whole farm."
"Don't worry. And is it my imagination, or does the center of that fire flare up every few minutes?"
"It's the djevels." Cali giggled. "They're very flammable."
"They're still coming through? It's been six hours!"
"Apparently there isn't any way to communicate through the gates," Sean said with a small shrug.
"Oh, really?"
Sean looked up and saw a truly evil grin on Chad's face.
"Am I going to have fun with that!"
Sean held up the hand he had around Cali. "Don't tell me, I don't want to know."
"Sure thing! Well, I'm gonna head back home and get to work on my plans. I'll leave Ryan in charge. He can handle it if something comes up."
Sean nodded and waved, then put his arm back around Cali.
"I just had a thought," Sean said as he patted both of the girl's bellies.
"Oh? Can't be anything to nasty, we're already pregnant!" Roxy laughed.
"Yeah, and you're almost four months along, Rox. Cali is as well."
"I'm not sure I like where this is going," Roxy growled.
"Uh-huh. I think it's about time you both stay at home, and not join me in any more battles until after the kids are born."
"Sean!" Roxy growled, and he could feel that Cali had stiffened up quite a bit.
"Sooner or later you're both going to have to stay home, and you know it," Sean said, giving each of them a squeeze. "So please don't argue with me about it. Because I can't do this job if I have you both locked up in cages and chained to the floor, now can I?" Sean asked sweetly.
"You wouldn't!"
"I shouldn't have to, and you know that as well. So think about it. Because the time is coming when you won't be fighting with me until after you've delivered. Thankfully I didn't have to have this conversation with Roberta, and Jo of course will be more than happy to stay home."
"Dae's not going to go along with this, you know."
"I'll sic her aunt Sarah on her," Sean said, grinning.
"That might work. Where is Dae, anyway?"
"She got bored and went back home to work on another one of her projects," Sean said with a yawn. "You were napping, so I didn't wake you."
"I wasn't napping," Roxy said, a little embarrassed.
"Rox, you're pregnant and in your second trimester. You were napping."
Roxy grumbled a few times, but settled down when he kissed her. Then of course he kissed Cali, too.
'So how's Tisha doing?'
'I think she wants Steve's babies,' the First said, laughing.
'Seriously? Oh man, Terri has got to be pissed.'
'Terri apparently has Tisha well in hand. I think they've moved on to the negotiation phase. Apparently Terri is rather good with a cattle prod.'
Sean just shook his head and sighed.
'How are they doing with the president?'
'Quite well, apparently Steve is winning friends and influencing people. That's why I think Chad has a point. The military isn't going to support you until they actually see that there's an enemy.'
'What good are they going to do? They're all human!'
'But they have a lot of hardware and support that you're going to need eventually. Besides, the time may come when you have to start infecting them.'
Sean shuddered at the thought of what that would mean, but things hadn't even started yet, and it was going to be a long time before they finished.
Estrella
Den Brune En dropped down onto her throne of skulls to sit. She hated the damn thing, it was ugly as sin and uncomfortable to boot, demon skulls not being known for making comfortable furniture. But it had one redeeming feature: it reminded all who came into her keep that she ruled here.
It also reminded them of what she would do to any who challenged that rule.
Building the chair had definitely been one of her better ideas, though she had to admit that it had come after a string of spectacularly bad ones. For all that she hated the damn chair and everything it represented, she'd had her people carry it from place to place until she'd finally found this one and built the keep.
Oh, her small stone tower with its bailey wasn't very grand; it didn't compare to the huge castles and forts built by the demon lords who ruled over so much of the Onderwereld, but her defenses were strong, and her will was unbreakable.
Also she was known to be one tenacious bitch, who would spend decades, centuries if necessary, to repay the slightest of slights tenfold. The skull of the demon lord Rothskar, the crown jewel of her throne and set at the very top, reminded every last one of them that Den Brune En was not someone to trifle with.
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Looking over at Første, her seneschal, she waved a hand. "Show the emissary in."
Første bowed low. "Yes, Brune En, at once!" He then turned and signaled to the lesser demons by the doors, who opened both doors as her other minions stood nervously to attention. While the emissary about to enter could kill any of them with ease, they all knew that embarrassing their mistress would earn them an even quicker end.
Den Brune En leaned back into the uncomfortable throne and draped a leg over one of the armrests as she propped her head up on her hand, her elbow sitting on the other arm. She hated it when they sent an emissary. Half the time she'd have to kill them, and then it would take days to get the tar of their dead bodies off her floor. The dark stains on the rocks before her throne made it clear that many had died there.
It was just another sign of power that she despised, but then everything here was despicable. But it was hers, and she ruled it, regardless of how much she disliked it.
The emissary stepped into the room and bowed, its head coming close to the floor as it did so. Den Brune En raised an eyebrow at the obvious sign of respect, ridders were not known for their humility; obviously Lord Taser Ansigt was serious about whatever this proposal was about. Considering that she'd slain his last three emissaries in this very room, it must be important for him to risk a fourth.
"Speak," she said, looking down at it with her best bored expression. Demons were all about body language, and it was always important to prove your worth with the obvious signs of disdain for those beneath you.
"Den Brune Dame," the emissary began in a rough low-pitched voice that reminded her of the sound of boulders tumbling down a hill. "My lord, the great and powerful Prince Taser Ansigt, bids you to be welcome in his castle this night, that you may join him and the other lords who have flocked to his standard for the upcoming war to claim that which is, by all rights, ours."
Den Brune En snorted. "So, he fancies himself a prince now, does he?"
The emissary's eyes narrowed for a brief moment, which she found interesting. It restrained itself from the insult against its master. Obviously this was something important enough to its master that it had been ordered to ignore any insults she might throw at it. She was tempted for a moment to see just how far she could push it, but the thought of having to smell its dead body in here for days put an end to that whim.
Instead, she sat up, put both of her feet on the floor and, leaning forward, she stared directly into the eyes of the ridder.
"Continue," she commanded.
"Many of the other lords have assembled under his standard," the emissary continued, obviously to justify its lord's claim to princely levels. "The gates to jagtområder open once more; the time has come for all to rally for the hunt and the feast. My lord would have you march with the others, and have you add your sword to his mighty force. He bids you to join with him and ride beneath his banner across the jagtområder."
"Oh, does he now?" she said as she considered its words. Gateways opened every hundred years to one of the demons' many 'jagtområder', or 'hunting grounds', and they would ride out to destroy it. She had never been invited to ride with any of the demon armies before; that they would ask her now made her wary. She doubted that she had won any acceptance from them; the concept was as alien to their minds as the concept of peace.
"He does. He has also bid me to tell you this offer will not last for long."
"Then why has he even made it?"
"Because this jagtområder is the frugtbare sletter of legend! Long have we awaited its arrival, and all will unite to seize it and join its lands to ours! Those who join with us shall be legend, and those who do not shall be ground beneath the feet of the victors until they have become dust."
Den Brune En almost rolled her eyes at the typical threat at the end of the offer. But it was to be expected. She could kill this one, that would definitely send the message that she was not interested. But if Lord Taser Ansigt really was assembling a large army of other demon lords under his banner, then the last thing she wanted to do was give him a reason to make a side trip to her small hold with all of them in tow. She knew she was not popular; it was only her fearsome reputation that held them at bay as individuals.
Perhaps his plan was to send this emissary in the hopes that she did kill it, to give him an excuse to finally be rid of her?
She smiled slowly at the ridder, making sure to show a lot of teeth in the process.
"Tell him his proposition intrigues me. Tell him that I will consider it." She waved a hand at him. "Now, begone from here. I must think."
The surprised look on the emissary's face confirmed her suspicions. She'd have to be on the lookout now. Then again, if his master thought she might just show up on her own, he might be content to wait for her to put herself at his mercy.
She watched as he turned and left, the doors closing behind him.
Første turned to look at her after the doors had closed. "Surely you see this for the trap it must be, Brune En?"
"Tell Anden, Tredje, and Fjerde to ready their troops and step up the patrols. Should any of these gates appear near to my lands, I don't doubt we'll have either Lord Ansigt's forces, or perhaps even those of the other realm, intruding into my lands."
"Will we be venturing out to feed, Brune En?"
She managed to keep the look of revulsion at the idea off of her face.
"We will wait, and we will see," she told him instead. "If this is the thing of legends, it won't be going away anytime soon."
Første bowed. "As you command, Brune En."
Monday - Paracetamol
Deidre walked into the office and found Sean was already there. She looked at the clock, then looked at Sean again.
"Master Sean, it's eight in the morning; what are you doing up so early?"
Sean jerked up and looked around. "It's eight?"
"Don't tell me you haven't been to bed yet, Master Sean?" Deidre chided him.
"Okay, so I won't tell you." He smiled at her. As always, Deidre was wearing a t-shirt two sizes too small, and not only was it form fitted to her large chest, but he could see her dark nipples through the stretched fabric.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking over his shoulder at the open web browser.
"When we got back here this morning, I thought maybe I should browse the web for evidence of other gates. Other demon activity."
"I thought we already knew where they were going to open?"
Sean shook his head. "We know about here, and we know about South America, but we don't know about the others. True, they're not supposed to show up for, I think, four months from now. But," Sean shrugged, "I thought I should at the very least get an idea of what's going on in the world."
Deidre looked at him; he had circles under his eyes. Smiling at him, she reached down and, crossing her arms, she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and peeled it up and off, over her head.
She wasn't disappointed; Sean's hands grabbed her breasts immediately, and he leaned forward and started to nibble at her neck.
"Somebody miss me?" he whispered.
"Somebody always misses you, Master," she whispered back and, grabbing his wrists, she started to move back towards the large couch behind her. Sean didn't hesitate; he was totally fixated on her large dark-skinned breasts, and the almost black nipples that capped them.
When Deidre felt the couch hit the back of her knees, she sat down slowly, pivoting as she pulled Sean down on top of her. Lying back onto the couch, she let her fingers run through his thick, dark hair as he slowly bit his way down her neck until he reached her chest, which his fingers had already been squeezing and mauling, to her distraction. Adding his lips, tongue, and even teeth to the mix, it didn't take long to drive Deidre to her personal nirvana.
Reaching down between them, she pulled at the spandex tights she was wearing, pushing them down enough to get them out of the way as one of Sean's hands slid down her body, exploring her, stroking and teasing her sex.
Deidre rubbed her leg against the large erection still trapped in Sean's pants. "Yes, she does."
Sean gave a throaty growl and started to work his way south over Deidre's still flat belly, for all that it was starting to thicken with their child, but she had other ideas and, sinking her fingers into his hair, she tugged at him.
"Hmm?"
"Up, I want to feel you inside me, Master, please, it's been soooo long."
Sean snorted; he'd made love to her only three days ago, but as Cali had shown him time and time again, dark elves could be needy. Plus, she was with his child.
Deidre smiled as Sean's head came even with hers, and her hands went quickly to work on his trousers as he took her head in his hands and kissed her. Pushing his pants down, she quickly found his erection, and after stroking it a few times with her hands, she guided him into her.
"Somebody's tight!" Sean grunted in surprise.
"You're just big, Master!" Deidre giggled and worked her body back against him as her fingers undid his shirt, pulling it out from between them so she could feel her nipples rub up against his skin as he slowly worked his way deep inside of her.
Sean smiled and, moving his lips to her ears, he licked and kissed them, running his tongue slowly around them until he came to the opening, and stuck the tip of his tongue inside, delighting in the way she shivered beneath him.
Deidre sighed in pleasure and delight, clinging to her lord and master as he took her. She worked her body against his, whispered words of love and adoration into his ear, urging him on. It didn't take long before Sean was panting and grunting above her, the sweat starting to bead on his body.
"Take me, Master, take me," she panted beneath him, pleased, as always, that this young man was able to do things for her no elf ever had. She could see the strain ease from his face as he concentrated on her, and only her, his eyes glazed as he drove himself into her again and again. She knew he wouldn't last long, but she didn't care. This was about him, not her. Her master needed comfort, release, and most of all, sleep.