Celestial Matters

I swallowed ... Still no good. No matter how many times I tried to dismiss it, but it would not fade away. It made me ... uncomfortable, like a forgotten memory combined with a hint of nausea.

... It is hard to describe.

I looked down at the beautiful Aethling whom I was grasping by the hair. Tears fell freely from her glistening silver eyes. Her pale legs quivered with the effort of standing and suffering an unwanted orgasm.

She looked to be about at her breaking point.

The ball was still at the back of my throat.

Is this ... guilt?

I don't know.

She looked so beautiful. She looked so fragile. She looked so hurt ... and I was the one hurting her.

I dropped her hair as if it burned me.

She thumped gracelessly to the hard wood floor. She squirmed and moaned.

What have I done?

I quickly tear my gaze from the blonde vision tangled in bed sheets on the floor.

I walk back to my desk in a daze, and sit down heavily. My hands cradle my head.

I don't know what is wrong with me. That damn ball still sits in the back of my throat ... and I still couldn't bring myself to look at Maria.

I did this every time I had a mistress. Slowly I'd enslave her using either my magic or my blood ... and then I treat her as chattel ... until she bored me.

Then I savored killing her. After which I moved on to my next tryst.

This time felt different though.

All I knew was the guilt. And it consumed me.

-------

Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours ... and the moon crept through the skies. Miserably I stared at my desk with my head in my hands.

I didn't know what time it was.

I didn't care.

I felt soft arms wrap around me. I felt hair tickle the back of my neck, and warm breath on my cheek.

"Devnik ... Devnik ... I'm fine ... please look at me ... please just look at me."

I slowly raised my head. Maria was standing behind me, she quickly maneuvered herself into my lap. Her shining silver eyes sought mine.

I couldn't look away.

She was so soft in my lap.

She spoke.

"Devnik ... is that how you treated the other girls?" Her words were soft, as if she were inquiring about the stars or the weather. There was no accusation, in those honeyed words.

I was startled that she knew of my other mistresses. But surprise lead back into the feelings of guilt, and I was miserable again.

"Yes." I said quietly.

She nodded, as if understanding that I dominated and murdered countless young girls before her.

She pressed her head into my shoulder. Her blonde tresses fell in waves on my arm. They were as soft as a silk weave.

"Why couldn't you treat me that way Devnik? I wouldn't resist if you did."

I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"I can't Maria. Something about you prevents me from using you like that."

She quietly reached up and pecked me on the cheek with her soft lips.

"I'm glad." She said in her same soft cadence. She once again burrowed her head into my chest. I stroked her back gently with the tips of my fingers.

I gazed down at the top of her little blonde head. I swallowed. The ball was still in the back of my throat.

"How can you be so calm about all this?" I asked dejectedly. "You just saw firsthand what a monster I can be. Do you know what I was thinking about when I was holding you by your hair?" I paused.

I felt a soft shake from her head.

"I was wondering if I could fuck you so hard that you would bleed. Then if you did bleed I would have thrown you across the room for bleeding on my study floor ... it is an old routine I have done for decades."

There was silence...

Then she spoke... "What would you have done next."

I paused... "I would have listened to you beg for mercy, and then if I still wanted to keep you I would continue fucking you ... if I didn't ... I would have killed you."

She shivered.

"How many girls have acted out that little dance with you Devnik?" She asked morosely.

"Eight."

She broke down into tears again.

"I don't believe you ... your nice ... you were nice to me before today ... why did you think to do that to me?"

I sighed. "It's what I am." I replied coldly. "Demon's have no conscious ... watching entire families burn means nothing to me."

As I said that, the little ball of guilt seemed to grow larger.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do ... you were getting too close ... other girls have been in love with me before ... but I never felt anything for them.

I felt her stiffen in my lap. "You think I love you?" She asked.

"I know you do." I replied softly.

She nodded as if accepting it as fact.

"But you don't love me." She said timidly.

I paused, and carefully thought of my answer. I took a deep breath.

"A week ago I would have said a demon couldn't love ... I'm not sure I love you ... but I at least ... feel something for you."

Her body relaxed into mine.

"That will do for now." She said contentedly.

She started to hum quietly in my lap. I continued to stroke her head.

We sat like that for a time.

-------

Maria eventually fell asleep in my arms, and began to snore prettily into my shoulder.

I let her sleep her traumatic experience away.

I quietly disengaged one of my arms from her, and raised it.

I snapped softly.

Instantaneously Jon appeared before me.

"Yes sir," he said in a whisper.

I studied my butler.

"Jon, I want you to spend the daylight hours tomorrow finding out everything you know about Angelic Awakening. I want to know its bylaws and its customs, I want to know its strengths and its weaknesses, and I want it by the time I awake tomorrow night."

Jon bowed low.

"At once milord."

Jon turned tail and exited through the double library doors.

I turned my attention back to the little ball of girl sitting in my lap. Her lips were pouted and half open, and her hair was a strewn mess.

I protectively wrapped my arms around her. I promised to myself I would take care of her.

I finally swallowed the ball of guilt.

-------

Sin or Suicide

-Daniel Fleeting-

(1097 AD. Somewhere outside Jerusalem)

The battlefield was decided. It was a great dusty plain, with mountains to the far west, and Jerusalem straight ahead barley visible in the distance.

I could see the banners of the Seljuk Turks standing their ground a mile ahead of our regiment.

I grasped my holy weapon tighter. I paid no mind to the mortal foes that made up the enemy rank. I kept my eyes moving constantly, searching for the demon.

Father Fredrick said I'd know him when I saw him.

Hours rolled by. Our two opposing armies simply stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Then I saw him. A tall man in black armor strode out in front of the Seljuk lines. A red mist clung to his body, and I felt an overwhelming sense of evil from him.

He began to pace in front of the enemy. He was talking to them, encouraging them to slay God's soldiers. They began to stomp their feet.

A steady beat began to fill the air. It was a beat of death, and the demon was conducting.

Then the demon casually pointed towards us.

The Seljuk's roared and ran at us. They ran past Satan's creature as if he were a rock fixed in a stream. They came on horses and they came on foot.

They came bearing sword and axe, bow and spear. I heard Crusader Commander Williams raise his voice.

"Men at the ready," he yelled.

And then they hit us.

The first one to fall was one of ours. He took an arrow to the throat. He was a youth with blonde hair and round eyes.

The second was an older Norse man. Someone I suspect simply marched across the world to die on a battlefield. An axe was planted in his head, cutting it in half.

The deaths mounted exponentially, seas of blood stained the dirt field.

Over the din of the shrieks and cries of pain, I heard laughter. I tore my eyes from the heathens slaughtering God's warriors.

My gaze once again found the demon.

He was laughing.

It was the most beautiful sound that I had ever heard. It was like a lilting flute intermingled with bird song and a babbling brook.

It was terrifying.

My sword started to glow.

A golden aura seemed to emit from it. My terror seemed to subside, and a feeling of warmth washed over me. I felt my feet take a step forward towards the demon.

Suddenly the demon stopped laughing.

His blazing red eyes and beautiful pale face locked onto mine. My blood stopped in my veins.

A thins sneer emerged on his fine lips.

My sword grew brighter, and I kept walking toward him. No enemies stepped within my path. I proceeded unchallenged, and my steps grew larger. The demons sneer turned into an ugly grimace.

His lips didn't move, but I could hear his voice, it

was cold.

"Little human, you know more than the rest of the puppets, yet that sword you hold is not a toy. Turn around, for you know not what you deal ... you should just..."

His voice all of a sudden sounded muffled. Instead a warm buzz seemed to fill my ears. I felt concentrated, and focused. His presence was cleared from my mind.

All of a sudden he broke out into a huge grin. The smile twisted his face even more, making him seem like a snarling animal.

I stood not ten feet from the monster. Well within hearing range. The demon began walking towards me.

"You're a Judicair," he said calmly.

The warmth was still present in my mind. I simply nodded serenely. A voice spoke through my mouth. It sounded like my voice, yet the words were not mine.

"Yes Prince Devnikolus, Lord of Destruction, I am a Judicair, and I have come to return you to hell so you may meddle in this war no more."

Devnikolus cocked his head to the side.

"You're new." He said. "Your Celestial personality has not integrated with your human one," he paused, "If I remember correctly, that means you were made this year, perhaps even this month."

I felt the voice talking again. "It is true that we are not yet one, and that we are new, but Raphael himself wishes you banished back to hell. Much holy power has been invested in us for this task."

I didn't remember being told all this. But the voice seemed confident. I contented myself to simply watch.

All of a sudden the voice was speaking to me, silently in my head.

~Daniel, you must fight, I am too weak and too new to fight this demon. But we have been given power, great power to vanquish our foe~ The voice said.

I gripped the blade tighter. I knew my task.

Devnikolus shrugged, "It would seem you are not to be dissuaded, very well." The demon waved his hand, and a red spark appeared.

The spark grew and glittered, and formed shape. The demon now held a sword with a black blade and a silver hilt, with a blood red ruby in it's pommel.

I remembered what Father had told me.

I threw the cross down on the ground. A green spark flashed. The demon screamed. I looked up at him. He was gazing at the cross. His eyes seemed less red, as if they had been drained.

The voice spoke through me again. "Prince Devnikolus, I challenge you to a battle of immortality."

The demon tore his eyes from the cross, his face still twisted in obvious discomfort.

"Clever," he whispered. "I am obligated to accept your challenge." He maneuvered his sword so that the point touched the ground. "To begin our battle touch the tip of your blade to the earth." He said.

I complied, and slowly reversed my glowing blade till it pointed downwards. I slowly sunk it into the earth.

I didn't even see him move.

He was a blur of motion. His blade suddenly cleared the space where my head was ... or would have been had my legs not decided to move themselves.

~Your mortal speed is not fast enough to fight Devnikolus. You must use my power. I cannot help you like that again. Our connection is still too new, I exhausted myself saving us. The voice said.

'How do I tap this power?'

~Just think it~

I thought it.

Suddenly, I could see better. It was if dirty had been wiped from my eyes that had been there my entire life. I felt full of energy.

The demon snarled.

"I guess I'll have to give this a decent go." He said half amusedly half angrily."

I turned my new and improved eyes at him. It was if he was moving slower. Not slow ... but like an agile human, rather than a blur of unholy speed.

I easily brought my sword up to counter him. My parry caught him by surprise. The look in his eyes was incredulous.

I slid my sword down his blade and tried a basic riposte. The demon blocked easily, though he looked surprised to be on the defensive.

~It's no good. You might not realize it, but we were moving at the same speed as him. Raphael must have grossly underestimated this demon. I know you didn't know, but when you attacked at that speed you wasted almost half of our given energy.

I gulped.

'What happens when we run out of power?'

~We slow down, and he goes back to being a blur ... and I won't be able to dodge us a second time.

While our mental conflict was going on the demon was viciously attacking us, furious that we could keep up with his blindingly fast attacks.

I was purely using defensive maneuvers, and trying to move as little as possible.

~We have a little less than a third of our powers left.

'So you mean we've failed? The army will be slaughtered by this monster!'

~Maybe we are not meant to survive this encounter.~

'What do you mean? If we die then there is nothing stopping him.'

~We could take him with us. Swordsmanship is useless if your opponent is willing to die to kill.~

A small part of me felt a twinge of fear. I have always feared death. My priest at home told me this was why I devoted my life to God, to escape death. I disagreed wholly, but ... still.

~Do not fear Daniel, I will take control, I have enough strength for this.~

I wanted to protest, but I felt my limbs go numb, and no matter how much I was screaming at the voice in my head, I could feel him taking over.

My body all of a sudden dropped it's guard.

The demon pounced, and sunk his sword into my shoulder. It was a mortal wound. But this was the voice's plan. For as soon as his sword pierced my shoulder, the voice drove our sword into his heart.

The demons sword disappeared in a wisp of smoke, and my sword stopped glowing. The voice let go of the pommel, and it stayed stuck in the demons chest.

The demon, however, did not shriek or cry, he simply stood there.

"I am bested it would appear," he said in a calm melodious voice. "Your wound is killing you, but mine is fatal."

I felt myself gain control of my limbs again, and with it came the pain. My shoulder felt as if it were on fire. I fell to my knees in front of the demon.

The demon continued. "In a moment I will burst into flames and burn away. In the ashes will be a small black stone with a glowing red pentagram etched into it. To claim your immortality simply hold the stone to your heart and say 'I accept'.

The demon took a deep breath, and grimaced slightly. "This really hurts you know," he said, indicating the sword.

Suddenly flames seemed to spring from nowhere, and engulf the demon. They spread quickly, but the demon made no sound. As quickly as they had come, they disappeared, along with the demon.

~We did well. Leave the stone be. We will succumb to the wound in a moment, and then we shall pass into nothingness, until the War on the demons is won, and the Lord comes and judges the living and the dead.~

I wasn't listening. I was slowly crawling my way to the ashes, my eyes fixed on the luminous red glow.

~What are you doing ... STOP ... STOP ... you don't know what you're DOING.~

I slowly clasped my hand around the stone. It was warm to the touch. It seemed to thrum with a life of its own.

Like a little miniature heart beat.

~STOP, no, you'll condemn us both. Accepting demonic deals is a SIN!~

With trembling hands I tore away my worn leather jerkin, and placed the rock next to bear skin, right over my heart.

~No, no, NO, I don't have the energy to take over again. STOP, for the LOVE of GOD STOP!~

The rock felt right against my chest, as if it were staving off the cold of death that seemed to be seeping from my wound.

In the background the voice was weeping hysterically.

"I Accept."

-------

My Dark God

(France 1623, Chateau)

-Maria-

Visions of sunshine and lilies danced before my eyes.

A beautiful green field with a sparkling stream babbling cheerfully in the background. The sun was a warming beacon in the sky, allaying my worries, whispering softly that everything was all right.

Then why did I feel so uncomfortable?

Suddenly the field turned cold, and the warm sun turned to an icy moon. A chilled fog rolled into the meadow, and the stream no longer sounded inviting, but rather a dread promise of bone chilling waters.

I was no longer alone in my field.

To my right stood an Angel with flaming red hair.

It was Cariel.

She was dressed in a blinding white. It was a white so pure and bright that it hurt my eyes to look at it. It seemed to glow even in this darkest of nights. In her hand she grasped a silver sword. It had golden runes etched on it that seemed to move and glide along the flawless blade. She was a picture of perfect beauty, and deadly grace.

Yet she did not look at me.

Her gaze was fixed just past me. Her eyes were locked on the other side of the field ... because that was where Devnik stood.

Devnik stood calmly amongst the grass and flowers of the field. He was wearing a dark black cloak, which was clasped with a dark ruby at his neck. His dark black hair framed his pale face, and accentuated his raw prowess. He loosely held a blade as dark as night in his left hand. His red eyes were glowing, and his face was turned down in a sneer. He had never looked more the warrior. He had never looked more the demon ... and it was intoxicating.

I had never felt more owned by him ... I wished to simply drop to my knees and serve this ... creature ... this ... dark god.

He could tell me to slaughter and kill innocents and I would do it. I would do it happily ... simply because he asked ... because I wanted to please him ... because I needed him to be pleased with me.

Suddenly Cariel's voice pierced the frigid night. It was the dream like candor that I remembered, except this time it was laced with power.

"We know who you are, Prince of Destruction ... I have been sent to correct this unholy blemish upon the order of things ... I will send you to hell, and Gabriel, Michael and Raphael will assemble, and wrest the control of the Aethling from your demonic control."

Devnik's sneer turned into a full blown snarl, his red eyes flashed, sending a lurid glow across the field.

"She is MINE." His voice sounded inhuman. Like a mix between a wild animal and a vengeful spirit, bent on enforcing its will.

Yes, I thought ... I am his ... I belong to him ... to my dark god. This time I really did fall to my knees. My eyes fixated upon Devnik ... upon my master.

Cariel's silver eyes glittered dangerously.

"You will fall to my might demon," she shrieked.

Cariel suddenly became a blur of silver, as she streaked towards my dark god.

My master raised his sword, and grinned the grin of a mad man.

Just before their swords clashed his eyes met mine.

I woke in a cold sweat.

I was in a bed, with soft silk sheets.

Devnik was behind me, his strong body pressed against me from behind. I felt his cock. It hard even though he was asleep. It was wedged between my bottom. His arm lay draped across my body, and his hand was possessively holding my breast.

I let out a small sigh, and tried to sink into his comforting embrace. The room was dark and cool, but not cold, and it was warm in the bed.

It was safe in the bed.