The Court of Souls?

by Andur

  There wasn't any concrete evidence, but at least now I know what we are dealing with. And as for my suspicions... those will have to wait until the storm expands and encloses the ward.

  The rest of our way back doesn't cause any problems, though I caught Elona digging up some strange roots and gnawing on them. I have to feed her as soon as we get back.

  It takes a while, but finally we arrive back at home where Elona immediately disappears in the kitchen. In the meantime I take a break in the living area and use it to think about the new implications. Chloe and Shawn are also present, but they are deeply engaged in a game of chess.

  As fate would have it, my thoughts are soon interrupted by Elona. She has a plate piled up with dishes in her hands and tears in her eyes.

  Her expression surprises and frightens me a little. “What's wrong, Dear? Did something happen?”

  “I don't know. Something is wrong. I am eating and eating, but the hunger never subsides. It got worse over the past week. While we were at the mana storm it was better, but since we returned it is unbearable. I feel weak and hungry,” She sobs with food in her mouth.

  Chloe looks up. “Oh... didn't you eat well enough?”

  “I am eating all the time,” Elona sniffles.

  Chloe places both hands on her cheeks. “I didn't mean food. I mean life force. A succubus needs a constant intake of energy. Especially when you are carrying a child. Didn't your husband provide you with enough power? It must be very draining, even more so since your baby is a god. When I was pregnant, Shawn had to do me at least three times a day.”

  “Whaaaat? Elona almost killed me yesterday. There is no way that she needs even more sex!” I call out, not even thinking about my words. Shawn looks up and glares at me with hate in his eyes.

  Elona stops chewing and gulps. Then she hands the plate to Chloe. “But I didn't leech as much on your power as I could have!”

  “Shade, you have to help your wife with her energy resources. When a succubus forms a child it is very energy consuming. The poor child,” Chloe complains.

  “You should have told me earlier, Mom!” Elona hurries to my side and pulls me to my feet.

  “I didn't think it as a problem. You were having so much sex, who knew that you didn't draw on his energy.” Chloe shakes her head.

  Elona pulls me towards our bedchamber, ignoring her mother and father, who is still glaring at me.

  When we arrive at the sleeping room, she locks the door behind us and starts undressing. “Is something wrong, Shade? You look so pale.”

  Pale. Yes. “Elona? I am sorry. But I don't think that I can do it!” The memories from yesterday are still too fresh and my balls hurt!

  Elona rips off my shirt and pulls down my trousers. “Don't worry. I'll take care of it.” She grabs my manhood, but as expected, nothing happens. I am a little relieved to be honest.

  She snorts and pushes me back towards the bed until I fall onto it. “I might have to use force.” She rummages through the drawer and pulls out two handcuffs.

  “Elona-”

  “Shhh... let me do the work.” She chains me to the bed with my hands spread. I am lying on my back and Elona crawls on top of me. I get a full view of her breasts while she is handling the handcuffs. Then she smirks at me and does something to my ear.

  I have to confess that I have conflicted feelings about this. That pair of breasts is enough to drive me mad, but it simply won't work today. I am out of ammunition.

  Elona gives me a French kiss and then her tongue wanders down my chest and to my left nipple. I want to cry at the fact that this actually turns me on.

  Before I can say something her lips wander further down, kissing my belly, and then her mouth is on my member. She starts with slow, sensual motions and then I feel something from our wedding ring. I feel her need, her desire! I can't help it. My body simply reacts as she cups my balls in her hands.

  Her kisses wander back up to my mouth until she makes eye contact. She is grinning and pressing her breasts to my chest.

  Moving her hips into position, she impales herself on me ever so slowly and I growl. It feels like sparks are going off throughout my entire brain. The wedding rings should be forbidden!

  I feel my energy pouring into her. “Elona! That's- mh!”

  She shudders with her first orgasm, although I did nothing. Grabbing my head, she shuts me up by pushing her breasts into my face. Then she starts sliding up and down my entire length. “Shade! Yes!”

  “Oh, by my balls! Elona you-”

  She seals my mouth with her lips as I come. But she doesn't stop rocking on top of me. Instead it goes on and on...

  This is limbo!

  41. ~Deception.~

  “Hecate or Hekate (/ˈhɛkətiː, ˈhɛkɪt/; Greek Ἑκάτη, Hekátē) is a goddess in Ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding two torches or a key and in later periods depicted in triple form. She was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Semper Fidelis

  Elona

  “Are you well, Elona?” Chloe asks and hands me a drink. We are in the kitchen and Mom is giving me a lot of attention recently. She is all over me because she is becoming a grandmother and looking forward to it.

  “I am fine. I am just a little concerned about Shade.” I purse my lips and squint my eyes, adding up the recent events and his behaviour.

  “Did you two have a fight? If he isn't giving you enough energy, we could find you some townsfolk to empty. You don't have to kill them,” Mom offers.

  I vehemently shake my head. “I would never do that!” And besides, even if I let them live, Shade would make them disappear as soon as he gets wind of me taking a snack.

  “What is it then?” Chloe asks concerned.

  “First, I was thinking about our spy problem and why we can't use it to our advantage. Second, Shade is up to something and I don't know if that's a good thing,” I mumble.

  Chloe takes a seat right next to and places her hands on the table. “You were the one who jumped right into this soulbond thing. If you think that he isn't trustworthy and you realize that only after you got yourself with child...”

  I shake my head. “It isn't that. I trust Shade and his previous personalities. He is a good natured fellow towards those who he regards as family. I am just concerned that he might do something stupid, or is in the process of doing something stupid. He likes to jump head first into danger, just to keep me out of it.”

  Chloe furrows her forehead. “How so? He seems very competent to me. And likeable, once you get to know him. Though he isn't good with first impressions; we have to work on that.”

  “Yeah, that's just until he deems it necessary to throw himself into some dangerous situation to unravel a mystery that was bugging him. Taking a look at the mana storm got him thinking, I saw it in his eyes. And if he tackles a magical problem that interests him, he doesn't hold back when finding answers. This time he is locking up and trying to evade my questions.

  “That almost certainly means that he has some suspicions about the mana storms. The implications may be dangerous, so he is trying to keep me out of the loop to protect me. But not this time. I know him. I am thinking about a solution to the spy problem, so that he doesn't get impatient,” I explain, grumbling.

  Mother takes my hand and smiles at me reassuringly. “You are the best daughter to have. And I am sure that you don't make mistakes about your men. So, what are we going to do?”

  “I thought about using the spy against them. The circle of people who you trust is small, but that may play to our advantage. We can set up a trap for them. So far, we kept our small expeditions a secret. Even the fact that we are secretly observing some people,” I take a sip from my drink. Turns out that it is one of Mother's favourite herb teas.

  “I und
erstand. But how would you go about a trap? How can we give them a convincing target?” Mom asks.

  I close my eyes and gather my thoughts. “We have to give them something that poses an opportunity which they can't pass on. It has to be big enough to be believable. Several of our higher immortals have to be gone from the city.

  “I suggest spreading the word that we are in dire need of resources. For that reason we have to send a group of fifteen higher immortals to Parle's old city. There they are supposed to start a mining operation for iron ore. Parle had a small mine going under their city. It didn't yield much, but if we put together a story about enhancing our anti teleportation wards, that might draw their attention. All our people would have to do, is to excavate the entrance.”

  Chloe studies my face for several moments. “I don't like it. What you are suggesting is to open ourselves to an attack. Doreen and Tisha will never allow that. And what guarantee do we have that they won't send another spirit for us.”

  “Ah, but that's the trick. Our people won't waste their time with labouring inside the mine. Instead they will put up a teleportation circle to instantly rejoin us if necessary. We will do the same in case they become the target.

  If Shade is right, then they can't make spirits on demand. He left an observer at the mana storm and, so far, the storm hasn't changed. I suppose that the storm would have to grow and shrink again to create a spirit.

  As long as we act fast and decisively, there may be a window of opportunity. But I need your help to back me up against Doreen and Tisha. I am sure that Shade will stand behind me when he hears of the plan, but Doreen may need a little nudge.”

  Chloe licks over her lips. “Oh, I am sure that I can do that, but are you certain that such a risk is necessary?”

  I grumble and bite my lower lip. “I find it much more reassuring if the whole clan comes up with a risky proposal, than having Shade cooking up one of his own ideas.”

  “Is that so? I suppose I can assist you when we talk to the others. And quit gnawing on your fingernails. Go and get your husband to do some kinky stuff if you are desperate for a good boning.” Chloe snorts and gets to her feet.

  “He is avoiding me, except for my meals. And he has problems getting it up. I guess I exhausted him a little.” I answer contritely.

  Chloe bends down and grabs my tail. I am so surprised that I let out a little shriek. At this point I would not put it past her to do something which might destroy our bumpy mother and daughter relationship. Instead she pushes the tail's tip into my mouth and smiles victoriously. “There you go. You are a succubus, but unable to bridge the time until your mate returns? Pathetic. Don't make me join you in bed to refresh your techniques.”

  She turns and walks out of the room.

  Refreshing my techniques? I pull the tail out of my mouth and study it. Admittedly, it has the right size, but what about the tip? I blush as a dirty thought crosses my mind. So I curl the extremely flexible tip into something that resembles a screw. Damn! Why have I never thought about using this thing to my advantage!

  Shade, or Angrod, always used my tail against me. But what if I use it on him instead? I guess I have to test it first. Pushing up my skirt, I guide it between my legs and past my panties.

  “Fuck, this is good!”

  Minutes later I am still writhing in my chair and panting heavily. My forehead is on the table to keep me from falling off. This is good. But with a guy it must be even better.

  Suddenly the door opens and Shade steps inside. “Elona? Your mother said that you need me. What... are... you... doing?” He actually looks a little distressed.

  “Hah... I was exploring another way to get you going.” My expression turns into a wide grin and I pull out the wriggling tail. “My mother gave me an idea!”

  His expression turns blank and his entire face pales. That's certainly not how he imagined feeding me his energy.

  Then he turns to flee and I pounce!

  42. ~Hearth.~

  “Witches, in the mythological sense of the term, are female practitioners of magical arts activated by association with supernatural powers. Their male counterpart would be a warlock. There were two fundamental types of witches. Black witches who dedicate themselves to demons, and white witches who worship the gods.

  The principal difference between the two is that white witches adhere to some form of religion, often termed paganism. Black witches are bound to the service of a demon and all his host of demonic creatures. Despite the forbidden truths black witches are said to receive, they commonly do very little with the knowledge.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Semper Fidelis

  Shade

  “Wow, for a god of Chaos you are quite good at this,” Doreen compliments my work while studying the items which I requisitioned from a jeweller. “What is it for?”

  We are in the kitchen. I chose it for doing my work, because it is the room where I am most likely left alone in the evening.

  She takes one of the engraving tools and pokes her finger with it. The fine pointy end causes a drop of blood to flow, but that doesn't bother her in the least. “You use this one to make a sketch of what you want to write?”

  “Yes, it is just to draft the outlines of what you want to engrave. But I don't need it to cut the beatgold. Gold coating something is much easier than actually making in-lines or fusing the item together,” I explain.

  I take a look at the oval amulet with the metal frame. The frame encases the thin, marble plates which hold the fine magical circuits. I engraved them into the stone and used the meagre amount of beatgold to have a conductor for the magical energies.

  So far I've stacked nine layers of magical circuits on top of each other. And there are still eleven more to go until the item is complete.

  “You still haven't answered my first question,” Doreen reminds me. She puts the tool back to its place and focuses her attention on me.

  “Revenge,” I answer mysteriously and add another layer to the amulet. Normally I wouldn't waste my time on such a meagre craft, but the situation is dire and I need an advantage.

  “And why shouldn't a god of Chaos know something about magic and artefacts?” I ask miffed.

  She makes a dismissive gesture and smiles. “Just asking. It surprised me. I always imagined someone who personifies Chaos as crazy,” Doreen muses.

  “Oh, please. Chaos is not about being crazy, well, maybe a little. It's about being unpredictable. Like never doing what your opponent might expect you to do,” I answer.

  “Like facing an entire army of immortals alone? And inviting them to dinner right afterwards?” she asks.

  “Yes.”

  “Or like loving a strange girl in a really masochistic relationship? I don't want to pry into the affair between you two, but are you really okay with it? I can't help but wonder at times. You work well together on most days. Unfortunately there are also occasions when you two seem like day and night,” Doreen continues.

  I stop my work for a moment to think of an answer. “Yes. We are like day and night and our relationship is certainly not an easy one. But when I go through all my memories, then I have to say that it's worth it. I would hate to have a woman who has no teeth.

  When I am with Elona it is a constant struggle for who comes out on top. I can't imagine it any other way. And when I do something stupid I can be sure that she is powerful enough to pull me out of the fire.”

  “Sounds like you two are made for each other,” Doreen expresses with a weak smile. “So you are really okay with her latest idea? Setting a trap for our enemies?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “I guess so. The important part is that it doesn't interfere with my own plans. If you want to catch your opponent off guard, then it is good to set as many plans as possible into motion. Even if one or two fail, the rest are bound to succeed.”

  I add another layer to the amulet. What I am doing is like folding up an electric circuit to make it as
small as possible. Of course that goes hand in hand with a lot of problems. I have to take the interferences from the various layers into account. Then there is a heat problem which has to be handled.

  Finally there is the point that this is really delicate work. I am trying to make it as small as possible. That's bound to end up in some mistakes. One wrong connection and I can trash the entire circuit, which I did three times so far.

  “So, you have an idea where they will attack us?” Doreen continues the conversation.

  That's actually an interesting question. We sent fifteen of our people to the ruins of Parle. They are supposed to bail out if they are attacked. It was a good idea to choose the mine as their supposed target. The mine is easy to defend and our people can set up a big enough teleportation circle without the fear of being spotted.

  What was a far bigger problem, was choosing the right people. We actually took a big risk in adding another ten people to our circle. If the plot works, we might get a solid lead on our enemies. But if it fails, they will know that we suspect something. Given that nobody talks.

  But we chose mainly my people for the trap. They pose the smallest risk.

  So will they attack our city, or the mining operation? It's hard to say without knowing their reasons. We think that Moonray wants to gather minions. He has to crush our faction and pick up the remains. So attacking the mining operation is surely not furthering his goals. He wants survivors which turn to him after a catastrophe. We opened ourselves to an attack, so the city is the only logical target. Given that he falls for the trap, this is a unique chance to break the city.

  If he attacks the mining operation, the survivors would simply return to us, so he wouldn't gain what he wants.

  “I think that they will attack the city. It's even likely that the slavers will show their faces again,” I reply.

  At last, I add the final layer of the amulet. The only thing I have to do now, is to test it.

  “That looks really neat. You are a fine artisan. I would have never thought that you have such skill.” She let's her eyes wander to survey the room. “But I also would have never thought that Elona would turn into a housewife. Before she started remembering most of her previous lives, she never even entered a kitchen. In fact, she kept away from it as far as possible. That's quite a change in her behaviour.”