“But you’re mine!” the ghoul hissed, the unholy strength in those long arms forcing her to her knees. “And I’m going to make sure you never forget it. Right here. Right now, in front of your little gertling friend.”
“P-please-“
“Save your breath, slut. You’ll beg far better than that soon enough. Let’s start with those rags!”
Dana cried out as the ghoul ripped off her shirt and skirt, baring her pale curves to the cool night air, his claws leaving thin red lines over her body. Dana whimpered, already feeling the heat of his venom begin to spread through her once more. No. No! She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to do this!
The ghoul tore away the rest of her clothes. He grasped her breasts, squeezing them painfully. Dana gasped in pain. But worse was to come. Worse was the weak moan she tried to suppress. A soft cry of pleasure from the sensation that burned through her veins in foul poisons of the ghoul’s toxins.
“That’s it,” the ghoul laughed, pinching her nipples until she whimpered. “Come on now. Let’s hear that pretty voice.”
“P-please…” Dana gasped, tears cutting streaks down her cheeks as she tried to deny the lust that twisted like fiery serpents through her. “I… I don’t…”
“What? What don’t you want? Don’t you want this?” the ghoul asked, grasping her plush ass and squeezing, leaving long red marks across her flesh. “Or this!” he laughed, cupping her mound, scraping his talons across her tender points.
Dana cried out, falling back. Her skin burned. Her breath steamed the air as she writhed, struggling against the lust that pounded through her. Her nipples hardened despite her loathing for the brute. Her thoughts burned away in the face of the pure animal need that raged through her. She clawed at the grass, whimpering, trying to think. Trying to resist.
The ghoul laughed. He gave her ass a sharp spank that sent her sprawling with a squeal of pleasure. “Look at her, Girki!” the ghoul said, glanced back to where Girki kneeled. “This is what humans deserve to be. This is all they are! Nothing but animals to pleasure us. Look at her! Did you think you would get anything from her? Look!”
He grabbed Dana’s hair, wrenching back her head so Girki could look at her face. The gertling winced at the sight of her parted lips, her glassy dark eyes as she panted, shaking with desperate need.
“Look at this,” the ghoul laughed, releasing Dana, who instantly pressed herself against his leg, pawing at his groin with whimpers and pants. “She’s nothing. Nothing but another toy to break. You should have taken her when you had the chance, Girki. Now, you get to watch me fuck her. Make her scream and beg me for more. And then, maybe I’ll even let you lick my cum from her cunt. I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Girki shook in anger. With a cry the gertling surged to his feet, snatching up Dana’s knife. The ghoul gave him an amused, contemptuous look.
“Look at you! You pathetic little thing. What could ever care for you!”
The peal of a horn silenced the ghoul’s mocking laughter. The monster whipped about as hooves thundered on the bridge, his yellow eyes widening as horsemen burst into the clearing, surrounding them. Girki scrambled back from the kicking hooves, scuttling into the underbrush before the knights could see him.
The ghoul released Dana, letting her fall. He lunged for the woods but before he could escape the knights closed the gap. He staggered back, hunched forward like an animal, eyes darting about for an opening. Some of the knights carried torches, the light of the flames gleaming off steel helms, scarlet ribbons and pennants bearing a flowering red rose.
“Don’t come any closer!” the ghoul howled. He grabbed Dana again, talons at her throat. “Don’t you come any closer or I’ll kill her!”
“Try it and your head will decorate my pike and your corpse my fire.”
The ghoul’s yellow eyes narrowed at the pitch of the knight’s voice. His eyes shot down the knight’s figure suspiciously. Only then did he note the slimmer cut of their forms, to say nothing of the particular portions of their armour. “You’re women,” he said.
The knight who spoke pulled off her helmet, revealing a head of snowy white cropped short. Her eyes were hard and green as she looked down at the ghoul. “We are the Sisters of the Rose, monster. Now release the girl, and we will give you a painless death.”
The ghoul frowned, stroking Dana’s throat with a talon as he thought, feeling her shuddering breaths. “...Attack me and I kill her. But, I might have another option.”
“Speak quickly,” the knight said sharply.
The ghoul’s grin widened. The initial shock of the knight’s charge was over, and now he was in control once more. Though the ring of steel still filled him with a quiver of unease, it was women he was dealing with. And he knew well how to deal with women.
Slengk cupped Dana’s chin in his hand. “You knights are always on about your honour and your pride, aren’t you? So. Fight me. One on one. If I win, you give me your word of honour I may go. If you win, you can have her. How does that sound?”
The knight looked down at the ghoul in disgust. She glanced at the panting, helpless Dana and her lips tightened further. “Very well, creature,” she said, dismounting. She tossed the reins of her horse to one of her companions and swung about her sword towards the ghoul carefully. “Defeat me, and you may depart.”
The ghoul grinned widely, knowing well the potency of his venom. And by the look of the martial women in the circle, he suspected he knew their kind of order. Chastity and self-denial would be their pride and their devotion. A mere nick of his toxins would have the knight mewling helplessly at his feet.
But no sense in taking any risk. Slengk chuckled, and suddenly threw the dazed Dana at the knight. Startled, the silver haired warrior dropped her sword to catch the moaning barmaid. With a howl of delight the ghoul hurled himself at the tangled pair. All three went down, the ghoul clawing for the knight’s exposed face.
Her mailed fist smashed into the side of his head. The impact sent Slengk’s thoughts spinning as he fell off the pair. The knight pushed Dana away and staggered to her feet, looking frantically about for her sword. She saw it at last, right beside the ghoul, who was already beginning to rise.
She gritted her teeth, and heard something thump near her foot. She glanced down in surprise to find a slim dagger resting near her boot.
She didn’t question it as, with another howl, the ghoul hurled himself at her again, slavering with anger that this woman would dare strike him! Would dare challenge him! His yellow eyes burned with the fury of the thwarted coward. She ducked down, snatching up the blade. She threw her shoulder against the monster’s chest as he fell down on her hearing the breath rush from the creature’s lungs in a great rush of fetid air. As the ghoul staggered back she brought up the dagger, slicing him from his groin to his shoulder.
The ghoul moaned in pain, collapsing to its knees. He looked down at the great gash down his chest, the yellow glow of its eyes flickering. “N…no…” Slengk wheezed, touching his rotting chest as fouled, brackish blood poured from the wound. “You...”
The knight looked down at the ghoul as the light of its eyes dimmed to nothing, and with a rattling wheeze he fell over to lie, still, on the forest floor.
“Well done, Sister Sabine.”
The white haired woman turned back to the watching knights and bowed her head. “It was my honor, sisters.”
“What of the girl?”
Sabine looked down to Dana, who continued to whimper and shudder in the throes of the ghoul’s poison. “I will carry her back to camp. She needs aid. Perhaps the healer can do something.”
The leader of the knights nodded once. “If so, you will take charge of her. Have you any objections to her care?”
“None, grandmistress.”
The helmeted knight nodded. She barked out a crisp order and the knights arranged themselves to depart. As two sisters piled kindling on the ghoul’s body, Sabine went to retrieve her sword. She picked
up the blade and recalled the dagger. She looked out onto the dark forest thoughtfully, turning over the blade still fouled with the ghoul’s blood. At last, she tossed aside the dagger and sheathed her sword. She returned, lifting the moaning Dana and propping her up on her horse before mounting behind her. As they passed the ghoul’s corpse, a torch was tossed onto the body, the rotting flesh catching quickly in a sudden immolation of scarlet flames.
As the riders vanished, clattering over the bridge, Girki slunk out from hiding. He creeped warily towards the dagger he had thrown to the knight and picked it up. He glanced towards the fire that was the ghoul’s corpse with grim satisfaction, then hastened to the edge of the bridge, stopping at the edge and watching the knights ride towards the vast camp which he now saw surrounded Alpinosk’s walls, the banner of the rose snapping from pennants atop tents.
“You safe now, Dana,” the gertling said softly. “You safe…”
Girki held the blade tightly, then wiped it clean on the grass. He stuck it into his belt and turned away, walking slowly away and along the river’s edge. East, Dana had said. Along the river, and to Heimsvak.
Healing Hands
Sabine watched nervously as the healer looked over Dana. The barmaid lay on a simple army cot in Sabine’s tent, and even in the weak light of a lonely lantern Dana’s face was obviously flushed, her ripe, curvy frame shifting beneath the thin blanket they had tossed over her for the sake of modesty. Sabine felt her own cheeks redden as the girl again and again pushed the blankets down, revealing generous breasts with pink nipples hard and quivering with need.
“Mnnnn,” Dana moaned weakly, panting.
The healer sighed, releasing Dana and rising. The priestess of the Rose turned to Sabine and shook her head. “It was the monster’s venom. It courses through her veins like fire.”
Sabine nodded. She didn’t question the priestess. As the Sisters were the blade of the goddess, the priestesses were the tenders and the knowledge. Their spells for healing and defence were what made the Sisterhood truly a force to be feared in those uncertain times. “What can be done?”
“It must work through her system. It may take time, but it will be done eventually.”
“Can’t we help her?”
The priestess eyed Sabine from beneath her veil. “There is a way. It is a poisonous lust which works through her. The monsters such as the one you’ve slain use it to corrupt the bodies of women and take advantage of the weakness of their desires. She must be purged of such a lust.”
Sabine felt a blush climb her cheeks. “You mean…”
“It will sort itself out,” the priestess said. She crossed her palms before her in the sign of the rose. “Goddess watch over you, Sabine.”
Belatedly Sabine mimicked the motion. “And you, priestess.”
The priestess gathered up her poultices and slipped out of the tent, leaving Sabine along with the young woman. The knight took a slow breath, trying to ignore the soft mewls and gasps from Dana on the bed, but the words of the priestess continued to spin about her head. Goddess, how could the tent be so warm? This accursed country was damp, chilly and both since she’d arrived.
“Mnnn. F-fuck… ahn…”
Sabine glanced at Dana and felt her blush deepen at the sight of the young woman. She had pushed her blanket down to her knees, revealing her plump thighs and soft stomach. And moreover, the delicate golden thatch of hair which hovered above her pink quim. The girl moaned, rubbing her thighs together, stroking her slit weakly.
“P-please…”
Sabine swallowed, unable to look away. The girl was so weak. So tender and soft. So…
Needy…
Sabine glanced at the door of the tent. She wiped the sweat from her brow and pulled off her gauntlets. She kneeled beside the bed and took the young woman’s hand in hers. “Miss. What is your name?”
“D-Dana,” Dana moaned. She rolled her head towards the voice, her body tingling with awareness of the other woman. Sabine found herself staring into those dark, lust drunk eyes. “P-please,” Dana whimpered. “Please… I… I need… need to cum… I have to…”
Sabine realized she was trembling. She glanced back towards the door of the tent. “Miss. I…”
“Please,” Dana moaned weakly. “Please…”
Sabine looked again at the flap of the tent, then back to Dana. “Alright,” she breathed, leaning over the other woman. “Alright. Just stay calm. I’ll… I’ll help you…”
Nervously Sabine ran her hand down Dana’s stomach. Her heart fluttered at the other woman’s gasp, Dana’s lips parting, lashes flickering with the quickening of her lust. Lower still Sabine’s hand wandered, crossing the line of Dana’s waist, and finally reaching the other woman’s mound, still marked with the ghoul’s scratches, already fading from the priestess’s healing touch.
“Mn!” Dana gasped, hips rising a little at the shy touching of the knight. Sabine nearly snatched her hand back in surprise, but resisted the urge. Her tongue felt thick. A bundle of nerves were in her throat. Uncertain, stalling, she moved her fingers in a slow circle around Dana’s slit. Each time her fingers slid over the red mark of a cut Dana’s breath hitched.
Inevitably, Sabine’s fingers began to move in towards the other woman’s damp cunny. The young knight knew something of pleasuring a woman. Though the sisterhood forbade its members to take lovers, it was inevitable that some would experiment. Certainly while they were young. Those nights in the cloister still haunted Sabine’s dreams, and though she knew she should not give in to such temptations, she had felt the caress of her own fingers many times over the years.
Now, her hands moved as if with a will of their own. One finger glided up Dana’s slit, gathering some of the barmaid’s hot juices. Sabine kept stroking her, slowly, enthralled by Dana’s soft mewls of needy pleasure. Her hips bucking up with weak movements.
“D-deeper,” Dana whimpered. “G-Girki…”
Sabine glanced back at Dana, but the other woman’s eyes were glassy with her toxin fueled lust. Slowly, Sabine slid a finger into Dana’s hot cunt.
“Ooooooh,” Dana moaned, arching weakly, her breasts quivering, her breath hitching. Sabine was stunned at the spaciousness of the other woman’s cunt. Far looser than her own, even as Dana’s inner walls clutched at her finger.
“Shhh,” Sabine said softly, sliding another finger into the woman. “Shhh.”
“Mnnnn. Yesssss,” Dana moaned softly as Sabine fit three of her fingers into the lust drunk woman. She started to thrust, stroking Dana’s inner walls with growing confidence. Her own breathing was growing ragged, her eyes intent, enthralled with the gasps and moans that escaped Dana’s plump lips.
Before she knew it, Sabine was leaning over Dana. Her lips quivered an inch from the barmaid’s, and then Dana closed the distance. The shock of the kiss shot through Sabine like hot lightning. She gasped, then melted into it, leaning in closer, her fingers driving in and out of Dana’s sopping cunt frantically. Her own pussy was damp, clinging to her undergarments. She longed to pull down her pants and drive herself to orgasm. Joining Dana in a peak that would send the both of them crying out in pleasure.
But she didn’t dare. She knew it was mad to do this, her tongue swirling about Dana’s, her fingers driving the other woman closer, closer to her lust addled peak. Sabine’s other hand came up, capturing Dana’s breasts in a gentle grasp. She marvelled at the soft, elastic teat in her grasp. She gently molded it, thumb teasing a budding nipple, Dana mewling and kissing eagerly back.
Their lips broke. Sabine gasped, breathing heavily.
“Oh,” Dana panted, her whole body undulating in time to Sabine’s thrusting fingers. “Oh. Oh. Oh! Ohhhmmmnnnnnnn!” With a cry Dana stiffened, her whole body quivering as her orgasm raced through her like liquid fire. She cried out softly, clutching the cot she lay on as she came, spurting around Sabine’s fingers.
The knight gasped, pulling her hand free. Dana sighed, collapsing onto the cot, breathing heavily
. But the feverish flush slowly bled away, her dim eyes focusing slowly on the world around her once again.
Sabine caught herself staring. Abruptly she realized what she had done and hastily wiped her fingers clean on the blanket. Her cheeks were aflame with embarrassment and desire, her lips still tingling with the sensation of the other woman’s lips.
But she didn’t feel wrong about what she had done. As she listened to Dana’s breathing ease, the flush of her cheeks fading, she found herself smiling. Nervous, but happy.
“Mnn,” Dana moaned, her eyes fluttering open. She looked up at the white haired knight blankly. “What… what happened? Where…”
“Easy,” Sabine said, gently pressing Dana’s head back onto the pillow. “You’re with the Sisters of the Rose. We were camping outside Alpinosk when we found you under attack by the ghoul. We slew the beast and brought you here.”
“The ghoul…” Dana shuddered. Her eyes snapped wide open again. “Girki! Er, I mean, the gertling. What…”
Sabine’s brows furrowed. “Gertling? Was there one with you?”
Dana looked at the knight with fear for a moment. She shook her head. “Um… No. No. There had been one with the ghoul when… when I first met it. If the gertling wasn’t around, it must have been abandoned by it.”
Sabine frowned a little. There was something in the girl’s answer that rung false for the knight. Dana must have sensed this, for she hastily changed the subject. “What are you doing here in Alpinosk? I’ve never heard of you before…”
“We are not from your empire. Our order’s home is in Heimsvak,” Sabine said, pushing Dana’s former question out of her mind. “But we came at a request from the Grand Duchess.”
“The empress?”
“Yes. She has begged for assistance against her brother, the emperor. She has declared him unfit to rule, and has pushed for his abdication. We have come to support her in her bid. I am sorry,” she added immediately. “But you may be forced to march with us for a time. We cannot risk word getting out that we are here.”
The Pillaging of an Empire Page 30