The Creators: Book Two, Chapter 3_(1)

Chapter Three: Father

Prelude: Wrath

DIAMOND

The sun was dark in the astral plane. It stayed low in the sky, some part of it always dipping below the horizon, as through perpetually setting. It burned around the rim like a great circle surrounding a void, and that bit of radiance that escaped the edges, illuminated the astral plane in twilight.

“It’s being eclipsed by the true sun,” a familiar voice said beside me, “but the true sun doesn’t shine in the world.”

“Hi, Arby!” I grinned at the little man. His eyes were orange surrounding green now, and I didn’t doubt that mine were purple surrounding emerald.

“Hello, Diamond,” the old dwarf smiled, his kindly wrinkles sinking into his face, “it seems that you’ve found your way to your garden.”

“Mother’s garden,” I mused, looking around the plush, overgrown estate. It looked like it had been abandoned. Stone pergolas and gazebos were crumbling and entwined with vines, marble statues were defaced and laced with foliage, the earth had reclaimed what might’ve once been a great pavilion, “or what’s left of it, anyway.”

“This is her gift to you,” Arby said, “it is yours now. It is in rough shape, but you’ll tidy it up in time.”

“How do I do that?” I frowned at the decay around me.

“Just by living.” Arby chuckled, “This is the realm of cognizance, Diamond; it is a thing of experience and memory. Right now, the vestiges of your mother’s existence are diminishing to give way to your own. Look over there,” Arby pointed to a well-trimmed shrub that looked entirely out of place, “that one’s new. What is it? My eyes aren’t so great, even here.”

“My first blowjob.” I said simply, looking at the bush trimmed to excruciating detail.

“Oh.” Arby said, shifting beside me. My eyes drifted around the garden, where little bits of renewal were springing-up from the decay.

“If all of this is going away, does that mean I’ll lose all the things Mother taught me?” I asked.

“No, those things are a part of you. What you see here, is already dead. Your mind is just clearing real-estate for new thoughts.”

“Mom sure had a lot of experiences.” I mused, looking at the vast, derelict expanse of marble and foliage. There was even a palace in the distance, with the dome caved-in, and vines spiraling the pylons that supported it. A procession of maple trees led to its classical entrance, whose columns were festooned with glowing mushrooms.

“That is where your mother’s oldest memories were.” Arby said, “That is the center of her realm. Over the millennia, her borders expanded with her expanding knowledge, and as you can see,” Arby gestured over the grandiose spectacle, “her knowledge was vast.”

My eyes wandered to the south, where the hint of a stone path could be discerned through moss. It led to a gate, whose iron bars and stone supports looked as new as anything here.

“Where does that go to?” I asked.

“That is the end of your realm,” Arby said, “and it is firmly locked and shut for a good reason. You are untethered, Diamond; you must never venture from this place.”

“I’m what?”

“Untethered. I can walk the astral plane with impunity, because I have a safety-line back to the world of life. You have this realm, and in this realm, you are safe, but venture beyond the gate, and you will be exposed. The astral plane is not like the real world, Diamond; space and time don’t follow the same rules. In the voids between realms seconds can be minutes, feet can be miles, and the gate you exited will not be there when you turn back. It’s best if you just- hey, what the hell are you doing?!”

“Leaving.” I said as I skipped down the path.

“Didn’t you just hear me?” Arby said, jogging alongside me as I bounded toward the gate.

“You’re coming with me, aren’t you?” I smiled at him, “So since I’ve got you, I don’t need to worry!”

“Just because I can navigate the astral plane, doesn’t mean I’m safe!” Arby was huffing as he tried to keep pace with me.

“I thought you said only Mom could kill you?”

“Safety is more than just not being dead.” Arbitrus said, red-faced, “There are great dangers here, Diamond, and it’s best to observe them from a great distance, preferably in the physical world. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to wake up Wrath and Sorrow, and ask them about Corruption.”

“WHAT?!”

“They probably know her, so they seem to be the right people to ask.”

“Diamond,” Arby grabbed me by the arm, “remember those ‘great dangers’ I just told you about?! Well, two of them are Wrath and Sorrow!”

“And I am neither sad, nor angry,” I offered my dazzling smile, “so I have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s not how it works,” Arby shook his head, “also, why do you need to learn about Corruption? Your mother is just going to kill Night Eyes and be done with it anyway. Diamond? Why are you smiling like that?” Arby’s face fell, “Julia isn’t going to kill Night Eyes, is she?” My smile grew wider, and Arbitrus’s face fell further, “Because Julia learned the truth about her… shit.”

“You old bastard!” I laughed, “You knew all along!”

“Well, I heard it from your other mother,” Arby grumbled, “so obviously she didn’t feel like telling you either. Willowbud needs to die, Diamond; there’s no way around it.”

“That’s not what Mom thinks,” I said, taking Arby by the hand, and continuing my skipping, “I don’t know what she’s doing, but whatever it is, she’ll need my help, and what better way to help, then to find out all of Corruption’s dirty, little secrets?”

“There’s no way to dissuade you, is there?” Arby asked.

“Nope!” I grinned, and unlatched the gate.

The astral plane outside of my realm was not… anything. Mountains turned to oceans turned to forests turned to deserts, never staying one for long, always transitioning. The sky turned from orange, to pink, to blue, then to black, a canvas of billions of stars blanketing each hue, never the same constellations shown. The one constant in the ever-changing world, was the stone path we walked upon, and I knew that if I released Arby’s hand, the path would not be there for me, and I would be lost in the chaos. Suddenly, we were walking through massive stalks of grass, and an ant the size of a mountain crawled above us, its footsteps shaking the earth. Then, I was walking through blackness, my face hitting specs of light that I realized were stars, each one orbited with its own system of planets almost too small to see. That gave-way to an immense field of lava, where fish leapt from the inferno and walked on two legs to sit around a camp fire lit with water. Then, there was a gate. Wrought-iron and imposing, it stood tall with black statues of warriors siding the path.

“This is the realm of Wrath,” Arby sighed, “and I will go no further.”

“Why, are you scared?” I teased the ex-Heat Bringer.

“Terrified.” Arby said quietly. Maybe Arby’s foreboding tone was meant to give me pause, but I was too excited to meet an ancient being of evil to share in his fear.

“Well then stay out here, you weenie!” I laughed, and pushed open the gate.

Wrath’s realm was one of contrast. The sun shown a blood-red, and the shadows it cast didn’t form gradients, but sharp changes from light, to dark. Hundreds of thousands of black statues were stuck in poses of struggle, a still-image of epic battle that stretched to either horizon, where jagged mountains marked the boundaries of the realm. Great fortresses of obsidian shot from the earth, their walls shear and without windows or doors, their battlements standing hundreds of feet above the hardpan earth. The visuals were deafening, but the world was silent.

“Hello?” I called out, “Wrath, are you awake?”

Boom. The sound thundered across the valley, echoing against the iron walls, singing through the statues. Boom. It was closer now, sharper. Boom. The earth began to shake. Boom. I stumbled. Boom. I fell to my knees, hands clutching at the gravel in a vain effort to level myself. Boom, boom, boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. It sounded like footsteps now, and they were getting closer. I looked up, and saw a shadow on the horizon. Immense, and hazy with the fog of great distance, its red eyes barely glinted from a face that was miles away- and he was right in front of me, red eyes staring into mine, black skin shining, white teeth filed to points and grinning at me. The shadow that had seemed massive so far away, had kept the size of its perspective, now making him eight-feet tall, instead of the thousand-foot behemoth he had seemed before.

“Hi!” I smiled back at him, “My name’s Diamond, and I-”

“Hello, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One.” Wrath interrupted with a deep, boisterous voice, “I am Wrath, spirit of battle, spirit of rage, spirit of glory and blood! Why have you come to my realm?”

“Well, I have some questions about-”

“But where are my manners?” Wrath yelled over me, “I have a guest, and I have not offered her food, nor drink, nor bed! Forgive me, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One.”

I was sitting at a massive table, a feast of only meat covering its expanse. Suckling pig, slabs of beef, turkeys, chickens, and a few animals I didn’t recognize, all steaming and moist. And I was a vegetarian.

“Your mother,” Wrath said through a mouthful, apparently three-plates into his dinner, “used to come to me from time to time. She was quite a warrior, Passion was. We would spar in my arena, and the bouts we had were TREMENDOUS!” the whole table shook with his voice, “The crowd would roar as our steel clashed, as the sweat dripped from our bodies, and the blood dripped from our blades. Do you enjoy the exhilaration of the contest, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One?”

“Well, earlier today I got in a fight with a-”

“EXCELLENT!” and we were in a massive arena, stone risers stretching to infinity, the crowd all wrought iron statues, frozen in expressions of great excitement, but silent. Wrath paced across from me, naked save for a loin cloth, his black, orc body bulging unnaturally with muscle, his movements that of a tiger; graceful, but hinting at great power. He wielded an enormous sword, almost comically big, and I realized I was holding two blades, my body encased with tight-fitting leather.

“Your mother was a natural at dual-wielding,” Wrath stretched his neck this way, and that, “she would cut me to a thousand pieces before I got my strike in, but when I did, I would TURN HER BODY TO MIST!”

Wrath let out a great bellow, and charged headlong across the sand. I yelped, threw away my swords, and sprinted to the wall, frantically searching for an exit. Of course, there was none, and I squawked in terror as Wrath’s enormous blade came crashing down on me. I dove to the right, tumbled, rose to my feet, dove to avoid another downward strike, then grabbed my swords from the sand, rolled away, and skidded as I spun, my pivot heel digging into the sand, my trailing heel creating a semicircle, and kicking dust into the air. Wrath was on me again, and I ducked his decapitating swing, scrambled between his legs, and drew blood along his calves with my outstretched blades. He didn’t make a sound as steel cut through flesh, but simply turned on his heel, and dropped his shoulders for a moment.

“Fabian tactics!” Wrath bellowed approvingly, “Make your enemy come to you, on your terms. Feign weakness to goad him, then show your strength when he is committed. I like it!”

“Yeah,” I gasped, “that’s what I was doing.”

“It will not work again!” Wrath grinned broadly, “It is now in my memory forever, and I will use it against you, you can be certain of that! You should have saved it for the killing blow!”

Wrath charged again, back arched behind him as he raised his sword over his head, red eyes bulging, his black torso stretched to reveal too many abdominal muscles. I sidestepped the downward strike, barely hopped over the dragging swipe, then spun in the air, and stuck my blades to the hilt through his bicep. Once again, Wrath didn’t seem to acknowledge the great wound I delivered him, and I almost lost my swords as he moved his arm for another strike. I pulled my weapons free, scrambled from a thrown elbow, ducked a slice that would’ve cut me in half, then charged in, screaming at the tops of my lungs as I lunged toward his exposed chest. A foot caught me in the stomach, and I was hurdled away, rolling and tumbling on the sand, scraping my skin, losing one sword, and barely holding on to the other. I struck the wall with a thud, my blurred vision seeing a black figure surging toward me, a cloud of dust in his wake.

“I told you I would use it against you!” Wrath cackled as he charged, “You must listen, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One!”

I lurched to the side just as Wrath’s blade cracked the stone.

“You are nimble!” Wrath yelled.

I hopped over another sweep, ducked the elbow, but didn’t lunge for the exposed chest. Instead, I stabbed him in the foot that was meant to intercept my would-be lunge, then jumped away as that foot gave-way to a knee, barely pulling out my sword in time.

“You learn fast!” he yelled again.

He swung overhand, and I stepped into the blow, letting it pass over me at the last second. His entire body was open to me, and I raised my sword to put it through his chest, but speared him through the thigh instead. I didn’t wait for the blade to sink deeply, but pulled it across fast, spurting blood, then diving between his legs, and rolling away from his stomping foot. Wrath turned around, his wound a gruesome display of red and pink, but not seeming to affect him in the least. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“But you do not have the killer instinct,” Wrath smiled, “you had my heart in your sight, but you went for a disabling blow. Perhaps I was wrong about you, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One. Perhaps you are made of flaccid and soft things. Perhaps you are as weak as that cock between your girly legs.”

Did that just goad me? Was I really that easily manipulated? At first, I was annoyed. Then, I was mad. Then, I felt… not anger, but… rage. It burned behind my eyes, pounded in my chest, ignited in my muscles. Oh, did it feel GOOD! My teeth were practically cracking as they ground in my manic grimace, my hair was standing from my flesh, my knuckles were white against my hilt. My bones felt like titanium, my muscles felt like they’d burst from the skin, and that skin felt like it was impenetrable. I’d been in a cage my whole, fucking life, and now someone had just left it unlatched, and the animal would have her revenge. I screamed, and the sound was as joyous as it was wrathful, and I charged at the orc with my teeth bared, no longer caring for my safety, no longer bothering with being “nimble.”

Wrath shared my manic grin as we exchanged steel. I moved with the recoil of my sword, faltered back to let his blade pass over me, then I dived at him, catching his fist on my ribs, hearing the bones crack, and welcoming the pain, relishing it, hoping for it. I spun with the change of momentum, my sword held tight to my chest, my manic eyes searching in slow-motion for the opening, until I saw it. The aorta in Wrath’s neck was bulging, pumping with his heart, and my blade sung forth, and sliced it. The fist that had struck my ribs had an elbow following it, and I smiled my last smile as bone met jaw, and my face caved-in. It didn’t matter. I had won. I had killed. I rolled across the dirt, seeing teeth fall from my unhinged jaw, watching my bit-off tongue flop in the sand, and I grinned internally as the pain screamed against me. I stopped, rose to my feet, realized that my left lung had collapsed, but I wasn’t feeling too bothered by it. Wrath was still smiling at me as he collapsed to his knees, blood burbling from his throat. He let out a strangled laugh, and fell onto his face. Soon after, so did I.

“Ah, it does feel good to taste to defeat again,” Wrath said as we lounged in his hot tub, drinking ale from the horns of some great beast, “I don’t get many visitors, but the ones that come are often too full of bluster, and die too easily.”

“Who comes here?” I asked, enjoying the jet of water riding up my ass crack.

“Oh, all sorts,” Wrath said, “I leave my door on the other side open to any mortal who cares to test me.”

“There’s a door on the other side?”

“Of course!” Wrath laughed, “How else would I journey to the world when I am called for?”

“Where is it?”

“There is a great hole beneath the Gratoran Desert,” Wrath said, ale dripping down his chin, “it is an immense cavern, filled with the heinous beasts that seek shelter from the heat. It was once a city, if I am not mistaken.”

“Droktinar?” I asked.

“THAT’S IT!” Wrath boomed, “Droktinar! Any warrior who can fight through the ground-dwellers of Droktinar and reach my door, is worthy of seeking audience with me. If they defeat me in battle, then I may meld with them, and give my gift to their hordes!”

“Is that what I felt? Your gift?”

“So full of questions, you are!” Wrath laughed, “But yes, you tasted my gift. Did you find it to your liking?”

“I did.” I grinned at him.

“As did your mother!” Wrath seemed to yell everything, “She would taste my gift, and I would taste hers, and we would have the most VIOLENT SEX THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN! Good Mother, do I miss her already!”

“You follow the maternal path?” I asked, “Shouldn’t you be a Creationist?”

“Why would I be a Creationist?” Wrath inquired. “The heathen gods are temporary things, but the Holy Mother is eternal!”

“But, you were created by Trenok, so…”

“I do not know of what you speak,” Wrath said, taking another drink, “I was created by the Holy Mother so that I could lead her crusading warriors to glorious victory!”

“The Holy Mother is a pacifist!” I exclaimed.

“IS SHE?! Than why is the earth stained with the refuse of war? The Holy Mother desires her creations to be made of iron, to be sharpened to the finest point, to be forged in the great smelter of battle!” Wrath said, as if his words were prophecy, “She wants BLOOD! She wants DEATH! She wants the bowels of hell to be filled with the weak, and the halls of heaven to be blessed with the strong! I am the filter of her purpose, and I have yet to fail in my assessment!”

“That’s not what I was taught.” I mumbled.

“THEN YOU WERE TAUGHT WRONG!” Wrath bellowed veins bulging in his neck. This was obviously not an argument worth having. If Wrath wanted to believe his version of the maternal path, who was I to say otherwise? I didn’t believe in the version Mom taught me anyway. It was strange that he didn’t remember how he was created, and I wondered if he remembered anything of what he once was.

“Halok.” I said quietly, carefully watching Wrath from the tops of my eyes. He gave me an inquisitive look, like I was speaking gibberish, then redirected his attention to the horn of ale in his hand. He doesn’t remember anything, does he? Does even know what he is?

“What do you know about the most ancient one?” I asked.

“Who is that?” Wrath asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Corruption?”

“A great problem in politics,” Wrath frowned, “often only resolved through revolution, and bloodshed. It is a weak man who sells his nation for coin. If a man desires wealth, why not simply seize it through conquest?”

“Corruption the Sentient?”

“What babble is this?” Wrath looked perplexed, and a little annoyed.

“Corruption, Sorrow, and Wrath?” I asked, exasperated, “You know, Sentients? What you are?!”

“I have heard enough of your blathering nonsense, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One. Let us retire to my chambers, and-” Wrath stopped abruptly, inclining his head as though listening intently. A wide grin stretched across his black face.

“Sun Man!” he grinned at me. In a flash of black, he was gone, and then he was back, a very terrified Arbitrus Gen in his arms.

“Sun Man!” Wrath bellowed, tossing Arby into the hot tub, clothes and all, “I have not seen you for generations! Sun Man, this is Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One, this is Sun Man. Sun Man used to visit me often, but does no longer. He would also ask me silly questions. Sun Man, why have you not come for so long? My realm is always open to you!”

“Wrath,” Arbitrus sputtered, “wait just a sec-”

“But where are my manners?” Wrath yelled over him, “I have a guest, and I have not offered him food, nor drink, nor bed! Forgive me, Sun Man.”

“I bought you time, now use it!” Arbitrus hissed to me right before Wrath seized him. The two immortals were gone in another flash of black, leaving me alone in the hot tub.

“You and I used to clash steel for hours, Sun Man,” Wrath’s voice boomed from far away, “tell me, do you still enjoy the exhilaration of the contest?” Arbitrus probably mumbled something, but all I heard immediately following Wrath’s question was a robust, “EXCELLENT!” as though it didn’t matter what Arbitrus said, which was probably true. I grimaced to think how many times the geriatric dwarf would die before Wrath got bored. I shook myself from my contemplation, slid from the hot tub, and left the steaming bathhouse.

Wrath’s realm didn’t seem to be organized in any pattern, and there certainly wasn’t any indication of a center. The fortresses that dotted the landscape were often tilted at odd angles, as though they’d been dropped carelessly from the sky. Trenches ran with no heed for placement, battlements jutted like jagged teeth from the hardpan, siege weapons pointed in all different directions. I couldn’t find one structure that looked different than the others, nor any path that would guide me. Wrath’s realm was chaotic, but it was uniformly chaotic.

“If I remember correctly, you were partial to the hammer.” Wrath’s voice echoed across the desolate realm.

Did the trenches form a web of some kind? Would it lead to the center?

“Ah, I see you’ve adopted biological tactics! You’re not the first warrior I’ve faced who’s introduced bacterial attacks to their arsenal; I have seen this move before!”

Was there a pattern to the placement of statues?

“Did you place poison in your tear ducts before this bout? How crafty you are, Sun Man!”

Maybe there’s a tunnel system between the fortresses? How would I- the clash of steel rang across the valley, and the entire world suddenly shifted. In one motion, every statue turned, and pointed their weapons. The ring of steel faded, and the statues shifted back to their positions, their movements eerily mechanical. Another clash of steel, and all the warriors pointed again. I followed the path of their blades, my eyes leading to one fortress. It looked like all the others, but as I squinted my eyes, I realized it had a door.

A great shriek of pain cut through the air, spurring me into action. I sprinted toward the fortress as Wrath’s disappointed voice echoed.

“Disembowelment on the third strike? Sun Man, what tactic is this? Have you hidden weapons in your intestines?”

I grasped the handle and yanked the door open. The fortress was pitch black, lit only by slotted windows that allowed red beams to illuminate the confines. Each beam ended on a pedestal, and each pedestal displayed a painting. The nearest was of a woman, pale and with crimson irises. The portrait was abstract, as though the image had been distorted in memory; nose and eyes misplaced, fangs overgrown, hair a wild mess. I moved to the next painting. It was of an orc, the portrait even more distorted than the one of the vampire. I moved to the next painting, and it was so abstracted, that I could not tell what it had ever been. Each successive painting was worse and worse, each memory distorted to nothing, the remnants of Halok turned to smears of paint that could’ve been created by a child. Had Wrath painted these? I realized as I moved down the line, that they had been painted by a child. Paint brushes turned to pencils turned to crayons turned to finger paint, until the last picture in the lineup was nothing more than tiny, red handprints on a white canvas. But that was not the last pedestal. The last pedestal was a book. The bible of the Maternal Path. I frowned, and opened it.

In the dawn, there were but two. The Holy Virgin walked alone upon the world, bathed in her light, while The Interloper walked beneath it, reveling in the dark. The Holy Virgin found peace in her solitude, but The Interloper could not. He climbed the ladder between worlds, beset himself upon The Holy Virgin, and… I’d read this before. It was different than the version Mom had taught me, but I’d since procured my own copy of Mom’s favorite book, and realized she was sugarcoating it. What Wrath had here, was word-for-word the same things as… wait. …and on the third day, The Holy Mother birthed Wrath. “You will be my forge,” The Holy Mother said to him, “you will be the rage that sharpens man to my purpose. You will be the divider of the strong and the weak. You will be the wind of war.” On the fourth day, The Holy Mother created the birds and the butterflies, for the sky was so empty of life…

“What the heck?” I whispered. Every other line in the bible was the same as the original, but the third day (which if I recalled correctly, was the creation of wind), had been replaced with Wrath. I examined the paintings once again. There was no doubt in my mind that Wrath had made them. He had been born here, and put to canvas the memories of a dead man, as though expelling Halok’s legacy to make room for the new. I recalled Mother’s derelict palace, the center of her astral cognizance. It was massive, capable of fitting galleries and libraries, and it undoubtedly had. Passion had been Silvia Dawnbark once, and she had not lost that part of her, because she had not degraded to Sentience. What was left of Halok, was ten paintings, only two of which were discernable. And a bible that told lies. Had Wrath created his own origin story, or had someone made it for him? I closed the book, puzzling over the mystery. If someone had made it for him, who was it? Corruption? But Wrath didn’t know Corruption, had never met Corruption, and did not even know she existed. Did he know of Sorrow? Did Sorrow know of him? Did Sorrow of know of Corruption?

“Using your severed leg as weapon! Now THAT is ingenuity! Look, your tibia has punctured my femoral artery; A KILLING BLOW!”

I rushed to the exit, scrambled up a hill, and was back in the bathhouse just as Wrath, and a very traumatized-looking Arbitrus, plopped into the hot tub.

“Hello again, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One!” Wrath boomed, “Have your muscles warmed and loosened? Would you care to dawn armor, and kill, or would the bedroom be more to your liking?”

“Actually,” Arby said, painfully hoisting himself out of the tub, “I must take Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One back to her realm. She has many battles to fight on earth, many armies to lead, and many nations to conquer, and she can’t do it if she is stuck here.”

“Ah, of course she does!” Wrath laughed, “The daughter of The Destroyer must have enemies by the millions! If you are ever in need of aid, Daughter of Passion, Daughter of The Destroyer, the Untethered One, please find my door in Droktinar, and seek my meld. I will turn your armies into hordes of savages! I will strip fear from their minds, and place death in their hearts! They will pillage, rape, and burn without regard! They will cast a shadow of terror across the very sun, and that shadow will have your shape! They will carve your likeness onto face of the earth, and paint its detail in BLOOD!”

“Thanks!” I said brightly, pulling myself out of the tub, “I’ll definitely consider it!”

“PLEASE DO!” Wrath yelled, toasting us with his horn of ale as we stepped from his bathhouse.

“I hope you found what you were looking for.” Arby said through gritted teeth as he dragged me away.

“I didn’t find out anything about Corruption,” I frowned, “but there were some weird things about Wrath. Did you know he has a doorway to his realm, and he put it in Droktinar?”

“He’s told me several times.” Arby said, “The irony isn’t lost on me, though I suspect it is lost on him.”

“Do Sorrow and Corruption have doorways?”

“Yes, but I do not know where they are.” Arby replied, “Wrath’s meld is something sought after, so the location of his door, while secret, is not completely unknown. Sorrow and Corruption’s doorways are hidden from all, as I doubt anyone sane would want to seek audience with them. Granted, I thought nobody sane would want to seek audience with Wrath, but ambition has a way of clouding judgement.” Arby looked pointedly at me, and I gave him an apologetic smile.

“There was something else,” I said as Arby guided us through the wrought-iron gate, “Wrath had a version of the Maternal Bible in his center. It was the exact same as the one I’ve read, but it was altered to include his origin story. Judging by the its placement in his center, it was the oldest memory he had.”

Arby stopped at that. “That is odd. It also explains why Wrath believes he is ordained by god to do what he does.”

“Did somebody put it there?” I asked, “Or was it made as he was made?”

“I don’t know, Diamond.” Arby frowned, “I don’t know why Sentients become what they are. I suspect that during Halok’s degradation, his mutating mind created a purpose for his new self. Perhaps that bible is the last act of Halok.”

“That would explain why it was legible,” I mused, “everything after that looked like it had been made by a toddler, but the bible looked as though it had been written and bound by scholars.”

“Well, mystery solved.” Arby said, recommencing his dragging, “Now, let’s get you back to your body. While I waited for you, I took a peek into your realm, and saw a very confused-looking young lady calling for you. Was that Angela Sorenson?”

“Yep!” I said, now skipping beside Arby, “She’s keeping my body safe while I’m adventuring.”

“And does she know that’s what she’s doing?”

“Nope!” I giggled, “I just left without telling her. Is she untethered, like me?”

“Yes, though she is more a part of this world, than the other.” Arby said, “She builds her own realm without her knowledge, and it is expanding with her memories and thoughts. Look,” a projection of a realm filled with rolling hills and villages floated above us, the eclipsed sun tinted yellow-green, “it is her mind, and it is beautiful. If she is not bound or tethered before Brandon passes, then it will decay into something simple, and lifeless, like Wrath’s realm.”

“Wow.” I whispered, “Can she go to it?”

“Not while she’s trapped in your body, and her astral self is trapped in your garden. Come on.”

“No.” I said, stopping, “No, there is more I need to learn.”

“Diamond…”

“Do the things I learn here, go back to my garden?” I asked Arby. He nodded. “Then Angela can see them. I want to talk to Sorrow, and see what she knows.”

“You learned nothing from Wrath, what makes you think you’ll learn anything from Sorrow?”

“She’s much older,” I frowned, rubbing my chin, “maybe she knows something we could use.”

“What makes you think she would help you, even if she could?”

“What’s the harm in finding out?”

“Do you know how close you came here?!” Arby pulled me down to his level, “Do you know what would have happened if I hadn’t intervened? Diamond, Wrath would never have let you leave. He would have fed you, fought you, and fucked you for eternity. Wrath likes me, I’m his ‘Sun Man,’ so I was allowed into his realm, but Sorrow doesn’t give a shit about me. If you go into her realm, and I can’t follow to pull you out, then you’ll be lost. You. Are. Untethered!”

“There is something here, Arby!” I hissed, “I know it! The key to saving Willowbud is-”

“THERE IS NO ‘SAVING WILLOWBUD!’” Arby yelled, “She expelled Corruption a year ago, something that to my knowledge, has never been done before, and Corruption still got her! I thought that once you saw Wrath, and realized the depths these things have fallen to, you’d abandon this moronic venture and come to reason, but I guess not, so let me give it to you! You are going back to your body, and you are going to explain to your mom exactly what I told you, then Julia is going to do what she must do-what she promised to do- and the world can move on from this impending disaster! There is no other way!”

“I am going to Sorrow’s realm,” I said, peeling Arby’s finger off my shoulder, “and you are going to take me there. You owe me this; you could’ve told Mom the whole truth, but you decided to deceive us.”

“So did your mother.” Arby whispered, “There are some things better left unknown, Diamond.”

“I loved my mother,” I replied levelly, “but she would have kept Mom captive until she wasted away. Passion was a great woman, but she was not a good one. You were a great man, but you were an evil man, Arby. Even necessary evil, is still evil. Now, are you going to help me, and do the right thing, or are you going to do the necessary thing?”

I held out my hand. Arby stared at me for an excruciatingly long time, then took my hand, and led us through the chaos of the astral plane.

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Part One: Temples and Followers

LUCILLA

When I woke up, she was gone. The dawn sun cast its golden rays over a mess of sheets and covers, all kicked to the end of the oversized bed. I sighed, and reached for Diamond, but Diamond wasn’t there either. For the first time in god-knew-how-many years, I woke up alone. It didn’t take much investigation to figure out why.

Can you read this? Draw your finger against the wall like you’re writing. I’ll be able to see it. The stone message on the ceiling read, the letters imprinted into the rock. My eyes followed the conversation, each response from Julia obvious by Willowbud’s next reply.

Can’t sleep? The next line read, Me neither. Read the next, Maybe we could help each other. And then, Why not? Because of the princess? Which lead to, She can’t give you what I can. And then, No, Brandon’s off limits, you whore! We have a deal! And then, If you do that, then I get Diamond and the princess, and I won’t be nice to them. Followed by, I’ll fuck you in the ass, Sister. And I could practically feel Julia’s thoughtful pause before Willowbud hammered the nail in with, I’ll let you do it to me first. I’ll even put on a skirt for it. And then a final, Meet me in the parlor. Don’t worry, I’ll erase this before Lucilla sees it. With an added line that was undoubtedly just for me: 😉

“Fucking bitch!” I hissed, my face red with rage. I battled with the plush bed, struggling to hoist myself out so that I could march down to the parlor and… and do what, exactly? Give her a piece of mind so that she can laugh at me? Scream and thrash for her amusement while Julia shakes her head pitifully? Maybe I should suck her dick again, that might throw her off! I fumed silently, swallowed the bitter anger, and huffed back into bed. I had a feeling that all those lessons about inner-peace Julia had once taught me were going to come in handy during my stay at The Screeching Siren. If only I’d been listening to them.

BRANDON

When I woke up, she was gone. Her messages to Julia were scrawled across the bedroom ceiling, left without a care for what I’d think of them. I actually didn’t care that Willowbud was fooling-around with Julia, but it did feel incredibly odd waking beside just one beautiful woman; I guess that made me a spoiled son of a bitch. Tera snuggled contentedly against my side, but Astrid was conspicuously missing, and Justina was sleeping in her work place (daytime bedroom) with Diamond.

“What are you doing?” Tera groaned sleepily, her supple, bronze thigh resting on my crotch, her lips breathing on my chest.

“Sending a message to Lucilla,” I said, growing vines out the window that would snake three rooms away, to where Lucilla was undoubtedly fuming alone, “I want her to know she has friends here.”

“That’s nice of you,” Tera’s voice was thick with sleep, “I like the little princess. She’s fun.”

Did your girlfriend ditch you too? my vines formed the words in her window. I grew a large-petalled flower below my message, and indicated with a miming vine that she should trace her finger against the petal to reply.

And my adoptive daughter 🙁 Lucilla’s message read.

Well, fuck ‘em. We don’t need those losers! Come hang out with the cool kids. I grew a marijuana leaf from one of my vines, and a question mark beside it. A few seconds later, I got her knock on the door.

“I will not be joining you two.” Tera groaned, stretching her body, which was always fun to watch.

“Why not?”

“I have to make amends with my fighting partner,” Tera sighed, snaking off the bed, “lest she feel like adding me to her tattoo collection.”

Tera pecked me on the lips, opened the door, gave Lucilla a surprisingly-passionate kiss which left the princess wide-eyed and blushing, then strutted away, her tail flicking behind her. Lucilla held her fingers to her stunned, gaping lips as she watched Tera go, then she looked at me, and by the glint in her eyes, I could tell the joint in my hands wasn’t what she was interested in anymore.

WILLOWBUD

When I woke up, she was still inside me. Her morning glory pulsed in my pussy, throbbing in congruence with her little snores. It was oddly comforting to feel her there, to feel her heat invading me, to feel her rigidity stretching me with her sleeping shifts. I snuggled into her oversized breasts, smiling contentedly as milk leaked from one nipple, and drippled to the corner of my mouth.

“Hmm,” Sister Julia moaned sleepily in my ear, “it’s a strange thing to wake up, and realize my dream has come true. Good morning, Night Eyes.”

“And a good morning to you too, Sister.” I giggled, “Did you sleep well?”

“I hardly slept at all,” Sister Julia smiled, “your insomnia cure is a lie; I thought you told me you were the most honest person I’d ever meet?”

“That sounds like something a liar would say.” I grinned on her lips, then pressed mine to hers. I rolled my lewd muscles up her length as I passed Corruption’s gift between our mouths. I felt Sister Julia mold herself to me, her heart slowing as she breathed in my offering, my narcotic for the soul. Then, just like before, she pushed it out, shooting it back into my lungs, sending a jolt of fear through Corruption, but only exhilaration through me. What a challenge you are, Sister Julia. More powerful than me, stronger-willed than me, and even more dominant. Oh, how I want to see your evil. Oh, how I want to taste it. I surrendered my body to her, grew limp atop her, waited for her to retaliate, to abuse me like she’d done so beautifully all night long. She rolled us over, her weight pressing down, her mouth curving to a grin against mine, her cock pushing deeper, touching my cervix, almost pushing through it. I shivered in pleasure, and she pulled out.

“WHY?!” I screamed my frustration.

“Because if we’re going to play this temptation game, then you need to follow the rules.” Sister Julia lectured into my mouth.

“Rules are so boring.” I outlined her red lips with my tongue.

“But they are necessary.” Sister Julia sighed as she rolled over, revealing a back covered in scratches, welts, and bitemarks. Her perfect, pale ass was still the color of her hair with my handprints, and its center was dotted with a bejeweled plug that sparkled tantalizingly from the good sister’s asshole. “And if you aren’t going to play fair, then I’m not going to play at all.”

“Liar.” I grinned at her, shifting my body alluringly, “You want me just as much as I want you.”

“Maybe,” Sister Julia smiled, “but I’ve spent my life denying myself. I can go days, weeks, even months without release, but Corruption has made you a creature of impulse. How long do you think you’ll last?”

“Fine.” I grumbled, “Friends and family are off-limits, and I won’t try to corrupt you when it’s your turn.”

“Which starts now.” Sister Julia grinned, and pulled out the rubied plug, leaving her rim gaping exhaustedly, before slowly contracting into a pink star of spiraled spokes. She crawled over to me, back arching, shoulders hunched, hips swaying behind a devious smile, and she gently placed the metal tip of the plug against my lips.

“I used to be a very unruly child.” Sister Julia pontificated as she deformed the outline of my mouth, “So one day, Mother Septina taught me a lesson that has stayed with me to this day. She said, ‘Julia, good things are only granted to those who earn them through suffering. If you wish to taste the honey, you must first stomach the bitterness.’”

“But your bitterness is so delicious.” I hissed, lathering the filthy cone with my tongue.

“That’s not my bitterness; you’re sampling my honey.” Sister Julia snickered, “I want you to remember what it tastes like when you don’t think you can stomach my medicine.” Sister Julia pulled the plug away, and slowly pushed it into my ass, “I want you to remember what it feels like,” Sister Julia whispered the words against my moan, “when you begin to think it’s not worth the suffering.”

“What do you want?” I groaned, my hips twisting as Sister Julia rotated the plug. Anal was a new experience for me, and ever since Sister Julia had introduced me to it, I’d been a slave to its wrongness.

“I can’t scare Corruption out of you, but you’ve expelled her before.” Sister Julia’s breath was hot on my neck, her body was heavy atop mine, “How did you do it?”

“She made me kill my father.” I hissed, legs parting for her, back arching.

“You already told me, but that’s not what I asked,” Sister Julia’s cock slid between my petals, her stiff heat flatting them, smearing my secretion onto her teasing shaft, “I asked how you did it.”

“I don’t remember.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s the truth!” I growled, unable to keep the desperation out of my voice. I could feel my pussy flushing with desire, oozing with want, aching with emptiness. I molded myself to Sister Julia, meeting her gaze with big, needful eyes.

“OK, Night Eyes,” Sister Julia said, “if you can’t remember how you rid yourself of Corruption, then tell me how you made the meld.”

“Go fuck yourself, Sister.” I snarled.

“You know what?” Sister Julia grinned, “I just might.” And she hopped off the couch, her cock wagging stiffly from her crotch, her ass bulging from cheek to cheek as she walked away. She looked back, smiled teasingly, then disappeared around the corner. I almost leveled the whole tower in my frustration. I clenched my fists, gritted my teeth, felt the power teem beneath my flesh, and… then I felt the plug inside me, and tasted Sister Julia’s filthy sweetness on my tongue, and I sighed. She had me. She had me dead to rights, and she knew it. I groaned, defeated, and sunk into the cushions. How do I turn the tables on you, oh pious sister? What is the temptation you cannot deny? What is the key to your darkness? I looked out the window, across the expansive cityscape, until my eyes fell upon the spire of a church, with the crescent symbol gleaming atop it. Your darkness walks hand-in-hand with your righteousness, as we saw yesterday when you almost killed me. What stopped you? What is the divide within you that separates good from evil, and how do I destroy it?

JULIA

I sighed, drying my hair in the mirror, running through the conversation I was going to have with Lucilla. The truth was always the best route, as I was terrible at lying, but still, I sought a way to sugarcoat it. I am performing a therapeutic service; it’s hard to explain. You see, Night Eyes needs to be corralled so that Willowbud can be free, and since she’s such a sexually-driven individual, well… that would hardly work, Look, I’m not kissing Night Eyes because I have strong feelings for her. You see, every time Night Eyes kisses me, Corruption… no, telling Lucilla that a Sentient was tempting my very soul would not make things easier. The truth is, Lucilla, that Night Eyes is giving me something that you can’t. She feeds my darkness. What is my darkness, you ask? Well, it’s all the evil that I keep hidden away from you. Night Eyes wants me to dive into the wretched depths of myself, and drink guiltlessly from the temptation that dwells there. And Lucilla, there is a part of me that wants to do it, and she’s getting louder.

“Good Mother, what have I gotten myself into?” I asked the mirror. I looked down, and realized I still hadn’t taken care of my throbbing problem. I’d shamefully masturbated during my days as a nun, usually following and preceding an hour’s worth of prayer, but I’d never done it with my new manhood; not when I had Lucilla and Diamond eagerly awaiting to do it for me. I wrapped my fingers around my cock, eased myself onto the toilet, ran my other hand between my legs, and pushed my digits inside.

Lucilla is on her stomach-no, her back-, legs spread, eyes staring lovingly up at me. I clasp her chin, and kiss her softly as I slowly push myself inside. Diamond’s behind me, and she’s sucking my neck while penetrating my womanhood. We move slowly, sensually, moaning quietly as our bodies shift in the dusk light. I run my hands through Lucilla’s hair, and pull it a little. She grins at me; she likes it when I do that. I pull a little harder, and her smile gapes with the pleasure of it. I pull even harder, and now there’s a touch of pain in her eyes, but she doesn’t protest. I pull harder, and now the pain is evident. I pull harder, and I see fear. Her chin juts forward, her eyes well with tears. I’m not making love to her, but fucking her into a writhe of jiggling, porcelain flesh, her glowing patterns nothing but streaks of light, flashing like a strobe with my untamed lust. ‘Stop!’ she screams, but I just laugh. I slap her face, whipping her head to the side, her neck wrenching back as I yank her hair, the roots stretching her forehead. ‘Julia, stop! You’re hurting me!’ Lucilla screams again. ‘Don’t stop, Mommy,’ Diamond whispers, ‘keep beating her, and I’ll fuck your ass.’ Only it’s not Diamond anymore, but Night Eyes. She’s squeezing my breasts, matching my thrusts, compelling my hips to move with the motion of her own. She bites my neck teasingly, hinting at her violence, hinting at the darkness she wants to share with me. ‘Julia, please stop!’ Lucilla is weeping now, her face a red ruin of handprints, her back forced into an arch by the pull of her hair, but her cunt squeezing me, her abdomen flexing with ecstasy. She’s in chains now, her nipples pierced and stretched by hooks that I’m pulling, her body wrapped in leather, the same leather Astrid wore yesterday. ‘Please stop, it hurts, it hurts!’ she cries, yet I can see the euphoria her body is enduring, I can feel the contractions of her insides as they react with glee. ‘She wants it to hurt,’ Night Eyes whispers, ‘she wants you to rape her. Every time you hurt someone, Sister Julia, it’s because they wanted you to do it. You’re not to blame. It’s not your fault. They asked for it. They wanted your darkness.’

And I came, my back arching against the wall, my juices dripping into the toilet, my seed shooting across the room. As the catharsis left me, and the heat of lust faded, I saw my reflection in the mirror, and my eyes were black. I blinked, and they were white again. My hands were trembling when I put my face into them, and I realized my legs were trembling as well when I rested my elbows on my knees. I reached between my breasts, and clutched the crescent symbol of The Holy Mother.

“Diamond, Lucilla, God.” I whispered to the tiled floor, “Diamond, Lucilla, God. Diamond, Lucilla, God. Diamond, Lucilla, God…” I said it for ten minutes; not a prayer, but a reminder. A reminder of what made me, me.

JUSTINA

“…Arbitrus… Wrath… maternal path…” Angela’s enslaved voice moaned the words, her violet eyes rolled halfway into her head, her slender, olive body slowly thrusting against me as I laid on my stomach.

“Specifics, Angela!” I half-hissed, half-moaned, turning over my shoulder to look at her. My handwriting was getting noticeably worse the longer this went; the notes I was taking becoming less detailed, and devolving into single words. Angela lifted one of my bent legs, and splayed it to the side, allowing her to push deeper into my slit. My belly pressed into the bedding, my shoulders relaxed, and a resigned groan sung from my purple lips as my face fell. This was no way to do research.

“Diamond… was… with… Wrath…” Angela’s words came from her in a drawl, “…in… his… center… the… origin… of… him… is… a… lie…”

“What?” I hissed. Angela held me loosely by the hips, her motions slow and gentle, almost mechanical as her body acted solely on instinct; most of her mind in the astral plane.

“Diamond… thinks… someone… gave… Wrath… his… story… She… thinks… maybe… Corruption… is… the… one… Arbitrus… thinks… Wrath… made… it… himself…”

“Keep going.” I whispered, though I wasn’t talking about the research anymore. There was something about the plodding, methodical way in which Angela’s possessed body moved that was gradually driving me insane. My back curved as I purred through smiling lips, and I closed my eyes in blissful surrender, and pushed my ass into her crotch. My arousal dripped from my purple petals, my pussy welcomed the invasion with little clenches, my tail curled behind me in contentment as my body began to tense with the imminence of orgasm.

“Diamond… is… not… coming… back… today…”

“What?!”

“She… is… going… to… see… Sorrow… Arbitrus… says… she… might… not… ever… come… back…”

And that dour note was what I came to. My moan rose in pitch until it was a teeth-gritted whine, my thighs trembled as the feeling ballooned to my extremities, and my eyes closed tightly as my mind was flooded with the euphoria. Angela thrusted three more times, each movement as automatic as the last, then climaxed without emotion or reaction. But I felt it. Oh, did I feel it as she pulsed and throbbed inside of me, pouring nectar into my starving womb, giving me what biology demanded I covet. I panted my ecstatic relief, and eased my pelvis slowly down, taking care not to spill any of what had been pumped inside me. I held Angela fast as her seedless-spunk sated me as well as it could, then I released her from my enslavement.

“What did you just say?” I gasped. Angela’s eyes rolled forward, turning from violet, to blue, then to emerald when she applied the astral meld.

“Diamond’s going to see Sorrow now, because she thinks Sorrow might be old enough to know Corruption.” Angela lifted my back end up as she pulled out, like I instructed, “Wrath doesn’t even know what he is, so he was no real help.”

“No, I meant that part about her not ever coming back?”

“Arbitrus knew Wrath personally, so he was allowed into Wrath’s realm,” Angela pulled up her pants, “but he doesn’t know Sorrow at all, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be there to help Diamond. I still can’t believe the old inn-keeper used to be a god. I guess his liver had to be divine to last this long.”

“So, if Arbitrus can’t help Diamond, and Sorrow doesn’t let her go, then…” I gulped the last words. I glanced over the piles of open books that scattered my room; all the information I could find on Creators and Sentients, all practically useless. Our only source of reliable info was coming from Angela’s borrowed brain, and its provider’s absence was the very reason Angela and I were so fervently researching.

“We just have to wait and hope.” Angela sighed, sitting beside me, “You ready?”

“I’m not much of an actor,” I laughed nervously, “now that I think of it, this is a stupid plan.”

“I’m an even worse actor.” Angela replied, “I couldn’t even pretend to be you when I was inside your body; that’s why we need to do this. If anyone spends more than five minutes with me, they’ll realize I’m not Diamond. It’s a good plan.” Angela squeezed my thigh encouragingly, “We’ll be fine.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” I snorted, “Julia won’t kill you if you’re inside her daughter.”

“Exactly,” Angela grinned, “all the pressure is on you, so don’t fuck up, or you’ll die! Now, let’s go!”

TERA

There were times when I saw Astrid, and I didn’t know who I was looking at. The dawn sun caught half her face, the other half shrouded in a thick layer of smoke that billowed slowly from her mouth. The cigarette dangled casually from her lush lips, like it was a part of her persona, and not a habit she’d picked up barely a week ago. The stiff, formal way in which she carried herself had given away to a nonchalant laziness, as if everything was to be leaned and lounged upon, but only a fool would think she was any less deadly.

“Tera.” Astrid said, not looking up as she sharpened her sword. The sound of stone on steel seemed to soothe her, like it was her form of meditation. Either that, or she was getting ready to use it on a treacherous succubus. Brandon had healed the burn scars that plastered her neck and chest, but she insisted that he leave the blade mark that crossed her gullet. It was a small scar, but my eyes were inexorably drawn to it.

“Hey… Astrid.” I said, fishing for words, “I… I’m, uh… I’m…”

“You’re sorry that you used me.” Astrid said, looking at her reflection in the blade. I just nodded. “You’ve never been unsure of your tongue before, Tera,” Astrid mused, “is it painful for you to come to me?”

“Yes.” I said quietly.

“I forgive you,” Astrid said, tilting her head back, and watching me through her veil of smoke, “but I won’t forget,” she grinned around her cigarette and ran a finger over the scar, “I’ve kept a memento.”

“Why?”

“Mistress would’ve killed me just to prove a point.” Astrid smiled, “Not out of hatred for me, or anger with me, or even annoyance at me. My death would’ve had nothing to do with me. I’ve destroyed myself so that Mistress would love me, and she tried to kill me for emphasis.” Astrid examined the scar on her neck, “It is a lesson I am fortunate to have learned and survived. Mistress will never love me, will she?”

“No.” I said, “Corruption only wants Brandon, and Julia is just a conquest for your Mistress; like you were, until you fell.”

“And Mistress has no interest in the fallen,” Astrid let the smoke tumble from her mouth, “it’s those yet to fall she cares about.”

And you have fallen far, my dearest friend. I thought, God, if your mother saw you now, would she even bother trying to rescue you? But it’s not question of ‘if,’ is it? Freydis Skyborne is coming for her daughter, but Astrid of Iona is dead. There is only Angel now.

“Astrid,” I said, crouching down to her level, “the reason I needed you to distract Willowbud is… there’s something…” How do I say this?, “your-”

“I don’t want to know your secrets, Tera,” Astrid interrupted, “they’ll just sound like excuses to me, and you’re above that. You used me, and I accept that, and I forgive you.” Astrid finished sharpening her sword, then grasped the handle with one hand, and extended the six-foot length of steel outward. It would’ve taken me two hands just to drag the thing across the ground, but she held it straight-armed before her like it was a twig. She inspected the pummel, the crossguard and the hilt, and then swung her arm until the point of her blade was a whisper from my chest.

“That’s nine feet,” Astrid said quietly, “nine feet between you and me. You’re good, Death Kiss, but I’m the best there ever was. If you ever fuck me over again, you won’t get a chance to touch me.”

I nodded, and Astrid pulled the sword away. “C’mon,” she said, yanking me onto her lap, “show me how sorry you are.”

ANGELA

“OK, first stop is Astrid.” Justina said, taking a deep breath, “She should be the easiest, so she’ll be our practice run. You ready?”

“Yeah.” I said, steeling myself, “You got this one, right?”

Justina nodded. “I’ve got everyone but Mom.”

“Why do I have Tera?”

“Because I can’t lie to her!” Justina hissed, “She’d see right through it, and compel the truth from me with just her fingers, but she wouldn’t dare touch you with Julia around.”

“Why don’t we just tell her the truth?”

“Because it’s a dangerous fucking truth, Angela, and I don’t feel like putting my gladiator-mother in any more danger than she needs to be!” Justina snapped, then took another deep breath, grabbed the door knob, and opened it.

“Don’t stop, you whore!” Astrid screamed, her back arched, her magnificent wings spread, her tattooed body gleaming as she straddled Tera’s face. She turned toward us, leaning forward and resting her hands upon Tera’s breasts, then squeezing until I could hear Tera’s muffled scream of delight. “Hey Diamond, hey Justina!” Astrid said warmly, like we just caught her baking cookies, “Would you care to share Tera with me? She is in an apologetic mood, which means she’s feeling very generous. Aren’t you, Tera?” Tera moaned her muffled concurrence.

“Um…” Justina said, her voice trembling, “no. We’re uh… well, we’re…” Justina looked about ready to piss herself, “D-D-Diamond and I… you see… we…”

“Justina and I are deeply in love!” I yelled, affecting Diamond’s speaking mannerisms, “And we have decided that we will only be physical with each other from now on. Please respect our decision, and our privacy. Thanks!” and I slammed the door shut as Tera wrestled her way out of Astrid’s leg lock.

“Justina?” Tera’s voice came from the other side of the door, “Did I just fucking hear that?!”

“Oh no, you don’t!” Astrid’s voice replied, the sound of crashing furniture following, “You owe me an apology, remember? Open your mouth wide, and say ‘sorry!’”

“We’ll give your mom some time to cool off.” I said, grabbing the ashen-faced succubus and pulling her along, “Who’s next, Brandon? He should be pretty easy, right?”

I hadn’t seen my brother since yesterday, and was feeling a knot of anxiety, but I knew the worst he’d give us would be a gentle teasing. Still, I didn’t know how my new body would react to him. We rounded the corner, and I ran face-first into Julia’s tits.

“Well, good morning to you too, Sweetie.” Julia chuckled, pulling my head from her bare bosom, “Did you want some breakfast?”

“Um… Justina and I… uh… Justina and I… are…” I tried to find the words, but they were lost in a gridlock of panic and stupid arousal. My body still remembered the way Julia touched it yesterday, and my flesh teemed with the memory of her rigid heat throbbing between my grinding thighs.

“What is it?” Julia asked me, then turned to my friend, “Justina, why are you shaking?”

“D-D-D-Diamond and I are love!” Justina screamed, “Which means we won’t be fucking anyone else! This is our decision, please respect it!”

“In love?!” Julia laughed, then turned back to me, “Diamond, is this your attempt at humor?”

“No,” I barely mumbled, “it’s what I really feel. She’s my violet rose, and I’m her diamond in the rough. We made passionate love all night long, and can’t bear the thought of being with anyone else.”

Julia looked frankly at me for an agonizing moment, then burst into laughter. She pulled me into a tight embrace, practically smothering me with her sparkling breasts.

“Sometimes, I forget how young you really are.” Julia sighed, then held me at arm’s length, an endearing smile on her face, “Of course, I’ll respect your ‘love,’ Sweetie.