The Priest and the Demon Slayer

The Priest and the Demon Slayer

I was raised to be a priest. Not the kind of priest that serves the Vatican and must honor a vow of celibacy, but rather the kind of priest that dedicates his life to using spiritual power to defeat demons. My goal in life is to protect normal humans so that they never need know just how many demons there are in this world.

My mother was a priestess of immense spiritual power, and I inherited a good portion of her power. She knew that the demons would try to kill me, and placed me here for my protection. There was no place safer on earth than this temple commune. We lived on holy ground, and spent our whole lives training to slay demons, and help people.

“Marcus, a word,” the high priest bid me. I followed him to his private work room. I scrutinized him and realized how old he was getting. He had to be going on 80!

“Marcus… it’s high time that you went out into the world to use your powers. You’re strong enough that you will be our most valuable warrior.”

“High Priest… I don’t know what to say,” I was nearly speechless. I had been begging to go out into the world for years, only to be told that I was not ready yet. I was beginning to think I was a weakling with no power.

“Good, then just listen to me. In the past 20 years, most of our priests and priestesses have been killed. We are down to only 5, including you now that you are ready…”

I could tell this was devastating to him, and I knew that there were only a handful of trainees who would one day take over this place and way of life.

The High Priest continued, “It has long been our mandate to keep the power strong and pass it down to the next generation, however… Most of our most powerful have been women, like your mother. Women certainly can pass down the power, but not as well as men can. After all, they should not bear a child more often than every 2 or 3 years…”

“High Priest! What are you saying?” I was confused. It’s true that we are told we must see our power handed down at all costs, but he was making it sound like it was my sacred duty to impregnate whomever I can!

He had the power to read thoughts, and nodded. A small smile crumpled his lips as a reaction to my near shock. “You are correct. You do have a duty to impregnate as many women as you can. We NEED the next generation of warriors. We need them to be strong and powerful… like you.”

“Is the war against demons going so badly then?”

“You need ask? You own mother fell in battle, and she was the most powerful priestess we had ever seen.”

I bowed my head to cover my sadness. It was true that my mother had succumbed to an ambush and was outnumbered. She died only after killing a good half of the demons attacking her. Some say she may have killed them all, but no one knew for certain. All that was certain is that she had died… and that was 10 years ago. I was only 11 at the time.

“So you are sending me out to vanquish demons and entice women?” Part of me wondered where the downside was.

The high priest gave another smirk. “Yes, and not die in the process.”

I nodded in acceptance. If I died at the hands or claws of a demon, then I obviously wasn’t as powerful as the High Priest thought I was.

“At first, you will have a partner, Vera,”

Vera was in her late 30’s, but still a beautiful woman. I knew that after she had taken me out in the field long enough to make sure I wouldn’t do anything stupid, I would give her the first of the many children I was supposed to father. The thought was enough to make me grin.

*******

“But father!”

“No, Serena, I will not have you argue over this.”

I knew better than to even try. My father never let anyone argue with him. I suppressed a sigh.

“I know you want to avenge your brother, but you need to focus on your duty. When the time is right, the chance for revenge will present itself.”

I nodded.

“When I was 16, I couldn’t wait to go out into the world and slay every demon I came across. Thinking back on it now, I realize that it’s a miracle I survived. I know you are a competent demon slayer, and that you may even be better at it than I am, but even so… I could not bear to lose you too.”

“So you are going to go against tradition, and keep me here when I should be out fulfilling my duty,” I stated. I tried very hard to keep the tone of argument out of my voice. I felt like crying because my father did not trust me.

“No, not exactly. You will continue on as you have, fighting by my side.”

Well it was something at least! I sighed in relief. I’d thought for sure that my father would forbid me from using my skills… the skills he had taught me.

“Yes father,” I replied, and finished arming myself. I had been in the weapons room gathering what I needed for my first solitary mission when father had ambushed me. I had two guns with plenty of ammo, a deadly knife, various other small blades and poisoned needles, and my favorite weapon of all.

I stroked it lovingly. It was a technically a Chakram, but instead of being a simple circle of metal, it was shaped like a cross between a war fan and a Chakram. It had two spiked blades – one on either side – and a wickedly sharp curved blade between them.

It was perfectly balanced for throwing – it would always return to me – and had been passed down through my family for generations. My mother had given it to me when I was 12, and had taught me to use it well. It was around 500 years old, and filled with the spiritual energy of every woman who had used it since it was first forged.

I was honored to have it in my possession. The spiritual power of it was enough to slay even the most powerful demon. With this by my side, I will be invincible!

*******

“I am a bit disappointed in you, Marcus,” the High Priest said as he shook his head.

“I’m sorry I fell into such an obvious trap,” I apologized sincerely. I had been nearly killed by a group of demons, and lay in our sacred temple recovering.

“Ever since Vera deemed you capable of working on your own, you have been rash and foolish. This is the third time you have nearly been killed!”

“That may be technically true, but it’s the first time they’ve actually injured me,” I defended.

“Which means that you are getting more stupid and reckless!”

I gaped in shock. Stupid and reckless?! More like the demons are getting more crafty and devious! I am not the only priest or priestess killed or nearly killed in the past couple of months.

“Marcus…” Vera said softly as she approached my cot in the infirmary. “I am relieved to see you awake… You’ve been unconscious for days.”

I stared at the baby she carried. He was nearly a year old, and nursed on his mother’s breast as he contemplated me. I still couldn’t believe such a miracle existed.

Vera was now officially on inactive duty, staying on temple grounds to raise her son and the rest of the children of the next generation. The priestess who had been on inactive duty volunteered to return to active duty when Vera entered her third term of pregnancy. We simply did not have enough people left to allow everyone with a child to stay in the temple – otherwise who would fight the demons?

“Vera… I am glad to see you and the baby are well.” I smiled.

“I am glad you are still alive to carry out your duty. It may interest you to know that we received a call this morning from a woman. She says that she has recently given birth to a little girl, and this girl scares her. The baby needs only to wave her hand at something, and it floats.” Vera smiled. This was excellent news for the temple; another child destined to one day fight against demons.

I suppressed a sudden urge to sob. As important and sacred as my duty was, it was dangerous, and now I had at least two children doomed to follow in my footsteps. Vera must have sensed my melancholy.

“If we did not fight the demons, then all of humankind would suffer,” she informed me needlessly.

“I know,” I agreed.

The High Priest cleared his throat. “There is a family of demon slayers whose skill and power are nearly equal to ours. Some even consider them better than us,” he shrugged as if to say ‘who knows, maybe they are.’ “In any case, they too have found the increasing demonic activity hard to cope with, and so a decision has been made.”

I felt like I was missing a vitally important piece of information. “What decision?”

“Marcus, you need a partner to watch your back. I have no wish to see yet another of my sacred children fall at the hands of the demons that plague this world…”

I knew the High Priest referred to all of us as his sacred children even though only a few of us actually were. I waited for him to finish his thoughts.

“This family has a woman of great skill. She has been fighting demons all on her own for a couple of months now, and the demons have nearly killed her as well. Her father and I think it best if you two become partners. If the two best warriors in the world team up… you will be unstoppable.”

Was this a compliment or an insult? With one breath, he tells me that I am one of the best in the world, but with a previous breath, he called me stupid and reckless. Is he assigning me a partner to protect me, and merely calling it a good thing? Does he doubt my ability?

My thoughts were a jumble, but I knew that the priest would not change his mind now. “Yes High Priest…”

*******

I watched my partner as he flirted with a woman, and made my face smooth. I would not show my irritation no matter how much I wanted to kill him! I knew it was his duty to pass on the sacred powers to the next generation, but did he have to be so damn good at it?! Everywhere we went, he had another woman jump into his arms!

Today was my 23^rd birthday, and just once I wanted him to pay attention to me. We had agreed early on – when I had punched him to make my point clear – that I was not going to bear one of his many children. Getting pregnant would ruin the good thing we had going. As much as we were both loathe to admit it, we made an excellent team, and together we really were nearly unstoppable.

He used prayers, chants, and spells to attack the demons while I used my guns, blades, and sacred Chakram. He was powerful enough to immobilize an entire legion of demons, and once he had, it was easy for me to kill them with my weapons. We hadn’t been wounded or scratched in years!

I envied the woman in his arms. Not because she was going to bed him tonight, but because she was unaware of the existence of demons. To her, they were nothing more than stories told to scare children into behaving. She would find out though; if she became pregnant tonight.

Her child – while still in the womb – would lend her its powers, and she would begin to see them for herself. This night of passion may ruin her life – if she turned out too weak to handle the truth – but I would not stop it. I would not warn her either. Had my brother lived, he would also have the duty of procreating. Our kind – those who could see and fight demons – were slowly becoming extinct.

Who would protect the normal humans then?

Even so, on my birthday? I ground my teeth together in frustration. I knew a strange expression crossed my face, and I turned my head to hide it.

Marcus must have sensed a demon or something, because he separated his lips from the woman’s, and sent her away. He came over to me, and sat at the table I occupied. I made certain my face was blank.

“Do you sense a demon? A miasma? Something evil?” I asked.

“Yes… but not here. A town over perhaps? We will go there first thing in the morning.” Marcus informed me. It was better to travel during the day to avoid demon ambushes.

“Then why did you…?” I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

“I remembered that it’s your birthday, and thought we should do something fun to celebrate,” Marcus informed me. I was a bit flattered that he remembered, since I hadn’t reminded him. He only knew because he had demanded that I tell him when it is last year on his birthday. He had noticed that I never brought it up, whereas he had brought me to an arcade each year on his birthday.

“Really?” I asked dryly, pretending I wasn’t interested in the slightest. My brother had died days before my 16^th birthday, and I tried not to be happy at all the entire week in remembrance of him. Of course, I hadn’t told Marcus that either.

“What would you like to do?”

I held my breath a moment so that I did not betray myself. Then I released it slowly and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Why do you do that?” Marcus asked.

“Do what?” I wondered.

“Hide your emotions from me?” He clarified.

“Well… we can’t both be happy go lucky,” I said, avoiding the truth.

“Perhaps not, but must you always be so moody?”

“I thought you just said I hide my emotions; now you say I am moody. Which is it?”

Marcus laughed. “Both! You hide your emotions because you are moody and do not want me to know it.”

“And yet, somehow you do,” I replied, hiding my irritation that he could read me so easily.

“Serena, I am serious. We should do something fun for your birthday,” he insisted.

“Do they have a shooting range in this town, and if they do, is it even open this late?” I wondered.

Marcus laughed again. “You want to go to a shooting range for your birthday?”

“Well, yes. You said we should do something fun,” I reminded him.

“How would that be fun? You shoot things all the time!”

“Exactly, I like it; it’s fun,” I pointed out.

He rolled his eyes, and I suppressed the urge to punch him. Then a though occurred to me. “You really want to do something fun?”

I could see the wary suspicion enter his eyes, but after only a moment’s hesitation, he replied, “Yes. It’s your birthday. Anything you want.”

“I’m so happy to hear you say that!” I stated with just a hint of mischievous menace.

He bit his lip, and I knew that he probably had a good idea of what I wanted to do. Serves him right!

We left the bar, and went to the hotel we were staying at. It was equipped with a gym complete with studio for various exercise classes. The studio was empty at this time of night, so it was perfect for what I had in mind.

I studied him carefully. He was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans, and a form fitting black tee shirt. He was fairly muscular, and had been trained to fight. He hadn’t really needed to fight since we teamed up, after all, his spells were best performed from a distance. I grinned confidently, and watched him brace himself.

I knew holding back would be pointless. He could either hold his own against me, or he couldn’t. It was that simple.

I feigned a punch, and twisted to send my elbow into his ribs. He knew me well enough that he was able to block the brunt of it, but still took a hit. I was glad that he was able to defend himself, and decided that it was time to wail on him. If I was lucky, maybe he would be unable to bed a woman for a week once I was finished with him.

I threw punches and kicks and other – much more devious – blows at him. He was in the fight of his life, and he knew it. He honestly wasn’t holding back either, but it took everything he had just to defend himself. Lucky for him he had just enough skill to keep me from seriously hurting him.

“Serena!” He panted after he had flung himself away from me, diving to the floor. “Are you mad at me for some reason?”

“Why would I be, you suggested we have fun for my birthday, and we are.”

“You call this fun?!” He demanded.

“Of course. Don’t you?” I smirked. Don’t think I had abandoned my mission to put him out of action for a week. I used his supplication on the floor to practice a maneuver I had often seen in wrestling. I stuck out my elbow, and flung myself atop him, hoping to land a blow to his kidneys or abdomen.

“Are you trying to kill me?” He wondered as he rolled away from my attack.

“Oh please!” I assured him. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”

“That’s true,” he admitted. He knew I could easily poison him in his sleep. He realized that I was giving him an opening, and pounced on me. “Then why are you acting like you are trying to kill me?”

“I’m having fun,” I stated, and it was true. I was having a blast. I loved being able to spar with an opponent who could take everything I had to dish out, and manage to survive.

“Serena… I hoped that…” Marcus was staring at my lips, and I panicked.

I threw him off of me. “You lecherous, womanizing jerk! If you wanted to have sex tonight, why didn’t you stay with that floozie?!” If he thought I was trying to kill him before, he had no idea what he was in for now!

I took out my gun, and aimed at his heart. He made it difficult for me to get a good shot by running around, and since I didn’t want to go to jail for property damage, I kept my bullets in my gun as I waited for an opening. He was good at dodging and weaving and generally evading danger.

“You leave me no choice!” He warned, and rapidly chanted a spell to immobilize me.

Damn it! I forgot that his power worked on me too!

He approached me carefully, and I could tell that he thought I might be faking it to throw him off guard. He held his hands up to show me that he intended no harm. I forced myself to remain calm since there was no use panicking.

“Serena… You are angry with me; why?” He asked as he gathered me in his arms to hug me.

I was glad his immobility spell made it impossible for me to yell, because I love you but you never even look at me like that!

“You’ve never called me a lecherous, womanizing jerk before; is that what’s bothering you?” He asked.

I’m still immobile, you idiot. How am I supposed to answer you? Apparently he could read my thoughts in my eyes, because he smiled at me, and stroked my cheek. If I weren’t immobile right now…

“You are angry about that. Don’t you realize that you are the only woman I want by my side and in my bed?”

I glared at him; the liar! He had no problem flirting with and bedding every woman who’d let him. My only defense against his duty to procreate as often as possible was to pretend I didn’t care… Pretend I didn’t want him touching me.

He stroked my hair, and I wanted to push him away before I started to cry. I realized that I could move now, and was horrified to find myself clutching his shirt and pulling him closer. I buried my face in his chest to hide my shame over my weakness.

“I’m serious, Serena. I love you, and I am so afraid of losing you… to demons… to jealousy… by going too far and ruining what we have.”

I couldn’t admit to my feelings and risk getting hurt. If I told him that I just wanted one night… one night in his arms as a birthday present… that shouldn’t change things between us. We could remain partners and go on as if nothing had happened. Couldn’t we?

I kissed him unexpectedly, and clung to him as if my life depended on it. Marcus scooped me up, and carried me to his room. I wasn’t sure what scared me more; that he would make love to me, or that he would decide not to after all.

I decided to take matters into my own hands, tearing his clothes off him the moment his door was closed behind us. I wouldn’t let him reject me now. I was going to have sex with him if I had to kill him to do it.

Wait… Why would I think that? That would be just wrong!

I knew I had a sacred duty to procreate too. Obviously I could not have as many children as Marcus could, but the children I did have would be strong, and able to slay demons with ease. The thought that I might conceive one tonight made me falter.

I’m not ready to have a baby! I’m not ready to give up slaying demons in order to raise a child. I’m not ready to be a mom!

I pulled away from Marcus. “I…” I was suddenly shy.

“Don’t tell me that this is your first time,” Marcus cocked his head and gave me a strange look.

“No,” I admitted. It’s true, I have had sex before, but I had always been careful to do so when Marcus was too busy to notice, so I couldn’t blame him for thinking I was virginal.

He smirked, clearly thinking that I was lying to save my pride. “Don’t worry; I’ll be gentle with you.”

“Gentle?” I rolled my eyes. “Who likes it gentle?”

“Are you saying you like it rough?” Marcus laughed.

I forgot why I was suddenly shy and nervous, and vowed to show him exactly how rough I liked it. I wanted to devour him! I shoved him onto the floor, too excited to care that the bed was only two feet away.

“Ow,” he gasped softly as his head hit the floor with a small thunk. “You’re not still planning to kill me, are you?”

I laughed. “Maybe.”

He pinched my nipple as a warning; a reminder that he could defend himself if he needed to. I moaned in anticipation, and placed his other hand on my unpinched nipple. He complied with my silent request, and then rolled me under him.

He nibbled on my neck, and bit my earlobe. I felt a fire in my veins like never before. I growled like a wild animal… or was I purring?

“Bite me,” I commanded, and he understood that I wanted him to drive me crazy with his teeth.

*******

Man! She wasn’t kidding when she said that she wanted it rough! Am I going to have to beat her up in order to satisfy her?

I spanked her, and bit her. I pinched her, and dug my nails into her. I should have known she’d be into the really kinky stuff.

Me… I like it gentle. I like to give a woman so much pleasure that she would never forget it. I figured that it was the least I could do considering my ulterior motives.

I scratched her back; leaving marks that would fade in minutes.  I bit her stomach, and spread her legs so that I could taste her. Normally, I used delicate strokes of my tongue to stimulate a woman, but I knew that delicacy would not work here, so I carefully bit her clitoris as I pushed my fingers inside her.

I felt her muscles tighten around my fingers, and continued my assault on her. I prepared myself to be at this all night, because if her normal self-control were any indication, she would not allow herself to relax and orgasm for many hours. I was completely surprised when she smothered herself with a pillow a mere few minutes later. She muffled a scream as her body shook, and her muscles rippled around my fingers.

I decided the time was right, and positioned myself to enter her. It was strange to be having sex with her after 5 years of working as partners and nothing more. Of course I had half-heartedly tried to have sex with her before, but she had made it clear that she didn’t want me to touch her.

So why is she letting me touch her now?

I entered her slowly, making certain I did not hurt her. I was near nirvana! Honestly, no other woman could compare. I am pretty sure that the fact that I loved her made the experience so much more enjoyable.

I rested inside her a moment, and kissed her lips. I wanted to savor this feeling for as long as I could. I didn’t want to rush things, and climax too soon.

She turned her head away so that I could not kiss her any more. “Don’t stop now!”

I grinned, and pulled out a bit so that I could thrust back into her. I started out slowly, powerfully.

“Harder!” She demanded, and I ground into her. I repeatedly thrust as hard and deep as I could, and I had to admit that it felt good to be almost violent with her.

She clung to me, and bit my shoulder. The pain of it added fuel to my intense need to fill her, but I didn’t want to be done so quickly. I pulled out of her completely, just before it was too late, and roughly pushed her into a different position.

Now she was on her hands and knees, and I was behind her. I figured I would have better leverage this way, and could pound into her as hard as she wanted. Plus, I could spank her!

“Oh god!” She chanted, and I wondered why she liked it when I smacked her ass. I have never seen her let anyone touch her the wrong way. If she liked this, why didn’t she start more fights or something?

I tried to last as long as possible, but after only a half an hour in this position I lost control. I grunted in satisfaction as I filled her, and gripped her hips tightly to ensure I remained deep inside her. I collapsed atop her, and heard her laugh mysteriously.

The next thing I knew, she had rolled me on my back, and secured my hands to the headboard. Where in the hell did the handcuffs come from?! I tested them nervously to discover that they were real.

“Now the fun begins,” she informed me.

“Serena?” I wondered what she had planned.

“Don’t worry… I won’t hurt you too badly.” She cuffed my ankles to the footboard, and I was suddenly very afraid.

“Serena?”

“Shh Marcus… I will be very disappointed if you start begging already.”

I think I squeaked. Whimpered perhaps? I’m sure I made it clear that I was apprehensive. Was this why I hadn’t seriously tried to bed her before?

She stroked my shaft. It had gone slightly soft, and was overly sensitive. My breathing increased, and my heart felt like it was going to smash through my ribcage.

She attempted to swallow my entire shaft, and I struggled to get away from her. It was impossible, of course, and I wondered if she was serious about making me beg. I felt like I was having a heart attack! The pleasure was intense and bordered on pain.

When squirming and gasping didn’t cause her to take pity on me, I concentrated on my breathing. I hoped that if I could calm my thundering heart, she would see that whatever she was planning wasn’t going to happen. I managed to stop my heart from slamming into my ribs, and something unexpected occurred.

This felt incredible! My body was shaking, and I felt like I was cumming, but I wasn’t! I’d never felt anything like this.

“Now that I have your attention,” Serena announced. “I have something I’d like to say.”

Now? “I’m listening.”

“I know I can’t bind you to me, and I really don’t want to. I don’t want to change the relationship we have, and risk ruining it. You have a duty to procreate, and we have a duty to fight the demons that plague this world, but know this… I love you, and I would do anything for you.”

I grinned, it sounded like we were in agreement. She straddled me, and guided me inside her. I moaned in pleasure.

“We both wanted this night, and I plan to make it last as long as possible, but tomorrow… everything must go back to normal. I don’t think I could bear to stay with you otherwise.”

“What do you mean?” I wondered.

“Just that if I have to watch you with other women, then I want to do so from detached safety. I don’t want to be the one waiting for you to finish screwing someone else so that I can have my turn.”

I was too confused to reply. For the first time, I wondered just exactly how important it was for me to conceive children with random women. Don’t get me wrong, I love having sex with a variety of women, but I could give them all up. Couldn’t I?

She didn’t give me time to figure out a reply. She rode me for hours, finding her pleasure several times until I finally did beg for her to stop. I have no idea why I didn’t just go limp when I’d had enough, but nothing I did could make it go soft.

She showed mercy and lay down next to me. Her hair had fallen out of the bun she wore it in, and covered me in a wild and crazy mass. I longed to tangle my fingers in it, but I was still cuffed to the bed.

“Um, Serena?” I planned to ask her to remove the handcuffs, but a soft snore told me that she was already asleep.

I fell asleep, and the next morning, I awoke feeling like I could conquer the world! I smiled, and reached for my surprisingly kinky partner. She wasn’t there, but I was sure she must have returned to her room for a bath and some clean clothes.

It was somewhat routine for me to wake up in the morning, say goodbye to my lover, and go to Serena’s room so that we could plan out our day. For safety’s sake we always had a key to each other’s room. I dressed and let myself into her room.

“I was beginning to wonder how long you would sleep,” she stated. “I’ve already eaten breakfast, bathed, and cleaned all of my weapons. If you’re hungry, we’ll have to get something on our way.”

Down to business as usual. “Wait… shouldn’t we talk about what happened?”

“What’s to talk about? I told you, nothing’s changed, and we still have a job to do.”

She was right, and for some reason, that irritated me. We left to find the evil I had sensed last night, and life returned to normal. Only now we both knew that we loved each other.

A week passed. We’d found and killed two more demons, and I finally understood that she was serious about nothing changing. I’d bedded women, of course, but they did not satisfy me in the slightest.

We went to a bar – the best place to find women looking for a one night stand – and I realized that none of them appealed to me. I brooded over this fact in a corner, and for the first time, it occurred to me to wonder what Serena did after I found a woman for the night. I had never seen her with a man, but she’d learned skill in bed from someone, hadn’t she?

I chatted with a woman nearby, and then followed her out of the bar. I had only promised to walk her to her car, but Serena must think that we were going to my room. I waited a couple of minutes, and then returned to the bar.

Serena was sitting on the lap of a man I hadn’t even noticed earlier, and by the look on his face, she was whispering just exactly what she could do to him. I was consumed by irrational jealousy! How dare any other man lay a finger on my woman?!

I strode over to them. “Serena!” I uttered urgently.

“What happened?” She asked, forgetting all about the man whose lap she occupied.

“It’s bad, I need your help,” I lied, letting her believe there had been a demon attack.

“Hey wait!’ Her would-be lover protested.

“Sorry!” Serena called to him as she rushed after me.

“This way,” I led her to an empty field. She had a gun out, ready to shoot anything that moved. I wondered what to do now.

“I wonder where it’s hiding. Can you sense it?” She asked.

I started gathering my power, as if I were about to attack a demon, and then I flung it at her.

“Marcus! What the hell?!” Serena demanded as she dodged. I’d still hit her, but not as badly as it would have been.

“It seems like you only have fun when you fight, so let’s fight.” I had another ball of energy ready to blast her.

“What is wrong with you?” She asked as she flung herself to the ground. She rolled, flipped onto her feet, and stashed her gun in its holster. She grabbed her Chakram from her belt, and prepared to defend herself.

“I’m jealous as hell!” I shouted. I’d meant to keep that tidbit a secret, but I wouldn’t deny it now that I’d said it.

“Jealous? You?” She laughed.

I hadn’t expected her to laugh, and I let my power fade. She tossed her Chakram at my head, and I knew that I would quickly have no head on my body if I didn’t dive for cover, now!

“You’re jealous! You! You have a different woman 300 nights of the year! How the hell can you be jealous?”

‘I know, it makes no sense, but I am.” I admitted; half relieved that her Chakram had returned to her hand, half terrified that she would throw it again. I took a moment to throw another energy ball at her so that I could run for better cover.

She didn’t even bother to dodge. “What are you aiming at?”

“You!”

“Seriously, then your aim sucks!”

“No, not seriously. I don’t actually want to hurt you,” I muttered. I suppressed a squeal as a throwing star buried itself in the tree behind my head.

“You don’t want to hurt me?!” She asked incredulously. “Then why start a fight?”

To stop you from hooking up with that random guy, I thought but did not say out loud. I had to get serious about this fight, or else I would get severely wounded. I silently chanted a spell as I tossed another energy ball at her. This one I aimed for her chest, knowing that she was expecting it.

My spell temporarily blinded her, and I rushed to get close to her before she recovered. I had to be silent, or else I would never get the drop on her. I lunged, and then found that she had been expecting my move.

She caught me mid-lunge, and used my momentum to throw me to the ground. Temporarily blind or not, she didn’t need to see me to punch me once she straddled me; a knee on each of my arms, pinning them down.

“Serena!” I braced myself for the impact of her fist.

She halted her fist so close to my face that I was certain I could feel the punch anyway. I wriggled my arms free, and grabbed hold of her hips. I have no idea why, but I was hard and ready to possess her.

“Serena, please,” I begged.

She took a deep breath, held it for so long that I – having unconsciously held my own breath – felt dizzy from lack of oxygen, and then sighed. I think a tear may have escaped her eye. I wondered why.

“If we have children, will they belong to your temple, or my clan?” She asked.

“What?” I hadn’t expected that at all. “Your clan, I guess…” I have already provided the temple with plenty of children, so I don’t see how they could begrudge me her children.

“Good answer,” she whispered, and leaned over to kiss me.

“Does this mean that we can get married now?” I asked hopefully.

“Married!” She gasped. “But, your duty…”

“If I carry out my duty in the future, it will be only when you tell me to,” I replied, referring to bedding her, but then I realized that it could also refer to bedding any woman at her request. I shook my head, knowing that she was too jealous and possessive for that.

“Is that so?” She asked, and I nodded. She started laughing again, the kind of laugh that made me wonder what devious things she had planned.

“So you’re saying that you will be my love slave?”

I hesitated, but then realized that she was right. I would be. “Yes.”

She was laughing that nearly evil, spine-tingling, hair-raising laugh again. “I am so glad to hear you say that.”

“I think I may have just signed my death warrant,” I joked.

“Yes, but not for many years.” She grinned at me, and I couldn’t tell if she was joking. How had I not noticed her sadistic sense of humor before… or was it just plain sadism? I guess it didn’t matter either way. I was bound to her from this moment on, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Go To The Banished Demon