Love as a Form of Binding Ch. 10

"The shrieks and the bellowing will come soon enough, "he said with a small grin, "just as soon as Laird Tobias starts loving wi' one of his two girls. It's fun tae watch 'em."

They stood up and he took a step toward the bolt-hole, but he found her tugging him back. He looked at her curiously.

She smiled, "Ye havna really thanked me fer what I did. What ye said was nice and it was so polite and all, the way that ye bowed tae me, but, ... well, I was really hopin' fer a kiss from ye."

Theiry smiled and stepped close to her. As soon as their lips met, they both sighed and it turned into them holding each other with her wings wrapped around them. Illa was maybe a half an inch taller, and they weren't the same creatures, but for them, they were close enough and nothing really mattered anyway.

That was how Zele found them a few minutes later. She could barely suppress the sigh that she felt coming to her as she watched them for a moment with a soft smile. "Mother wants Illa and Thiery to come back to the hall now," she said quietly, "Zele thinks that she is losing her pet, but she doesn't mind."

The small ones came out of their clinch and walked to the hall holding hands.

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He shook his horned head with a grunt. "Not Lord Racephet, "he said, "No longer, not for a long age now. Just Racephet."

"Racephet the disgraced," he sighed deeply, "Racephet the fallen."

Mother's smile didn't fade a bit. "No. You hold a Fury to you in Megaera here. That makes you still a demonlord to anyone, you only have no pit anymore, and that makes Lord Racephet very important to us all. Please meet Lord Tobias, his consorts, Maezou and Zele, and Tisiphone and Alecto, the other two Furies to your chained one, Megaera. Tisiphone, Maezou and Zele are my daughters."

She turned back to look at the small ones, "And I also wish to have you all meet Illa and Thiery, the imp and the kobold, two small surprises who are happy to have found each other, I see."

Racephet looked around him and saw Toby. They both knew at once who they were in the presence of and nodded.

"Racephet is the other lord who was tricked by Sir Hugo and it has cost him very dearly. Still, he is a lord and ought to show it, I think," Mother grinned.

Megaera leaned against him a little as she stretched up slightly to kiss his cheek. "The past is gone, my lord," she said quietly, "but some things are unchanged. You were never Racephet the fallen. You did not fall. These ones show you what I have always said. Show them what I see. Racephet the kind. Racephet the wise. Show them mighty Racephet."

The large demon smiled a little at the honor that he was being shown. He pulled his fingers into fists as he closed his lizard eyes for a moment and his head tilted back with the effort. He grunted, and everyone stared as the darkness around him was dispelled with a quiet whoosh and flames leapt up from his arms, wings and back.

His head came forward again and he smiled a little wickedly, "It feels good to do that again," he said, stepping forward to take Toby's forearm is a friendly gesture. The two small creatures looked as though they were about to run away again for a moment.

"Lord Tobias is a new lord, made by Maezou who was a huntress, "Mother said, "He has no pit either. We seek to plan his rise in a way that does not upset the power of all of the hells. We have no wish to start a war over nothing. We need your hall to prepare and to hide while he comes into his own. From what I know of you, you wish to have no pit anymore either. Is this still true?"

"Yes," the glowing one said quietly, "and I know you and your daughter from the time that I was her pit master. The best huntress she was that I have ever known. It is good to see you still alive and well, my girl. I feel that you have taken much more power from when I knew you."

He thought for a moment, "You may use my halls, both this one and the one below, though there may be foul things there which will need to be cleaned out, goblins and the like. I came here to hide myself in my disgrace, but I think the time for that is past if I understand what you have yet to say. You wish for me to ally myself to this Lord Tobias."

Mother nodded, "Feel his strength, Racephet. He has enough to take many hells. Maezou can take many as well, but they don't want to."

He nodded, sensing the power of the two. "How many could you hold?" he asked as he smiled at the old one.

"I want them even less than they do," she replied, "We all want only to be free. I have my freedom. Zele has hers by her nature. Maezou has taken hers, and Tobias wants to be free by her side."

The pots over the fire had been simmering for a little while and the aroma began to carry to them all. They sat down here and there waiting and talking amongst themselves. Megaera sat with the other Furies, feeling more at ease by the minute.

"I have never wanted to be a pit master," Racephet said in his deep voice, "It was just the only way to avoid being the slave of another. I served my time, and rose as I could. When I had the chance to take a hell, I did it only to be a little free. But it was never much of any sort of freedom. I had to keep everyone in line and working. There was little time to tell myself that it was what I wanted. It wasn't what I wanted. It was only what was better than being a servant."

He sat down with Mother, Maezou, Toby and Zele. "At least I can say that my hell did not fall," he smiled, "I released everyone, and after they'd all gone, I pulled it down myself and walked away." He looked over at the Furies for a moment.

"I will swear allegiance to you, Tobias. What I want is to remain free, and I want also to live free. I have taken Megaera because we love each other and it was a way for us to keep some power to ourselves. She is bound to me by her oath, and nothing else. She grew tired of reaving souls."

"They all have," the old demoness remarked, "Look at them. None of us know how it was that they were tied by their names to a Greek legend that became a Roman one in time as well. This is the first time that they have all been in the same place together, three soul reavers who knew nothing of each other but what had been told to them somewhere. But they are powerful, and they are known to all as the Furies. I would have my daughter Tisiphone and her lover swear to Tobias if they would. With you and Megaera sworn as well, we hold much power. I cannot swear to Tobias, though I would if I could, just as Zele here has."

The demonlord looked around and nodded, "I think that there might be enough to keep most of the lords quiet and grumbling to themselves, but if they ever joined against us ..."

"True," Maezou said, "but think of them. They cannot agree on anything as it is. Even if they could agree that it was needed to defeat us, they'd waste a hundred years trying to decide which of them should lead. Somebody has to be in charge."

It made Racephet laugh for a minute. "True, Maezou, very true. There would be hells falling just over that." He looked at her for a second, "The last time that I saw you, there were many marks of lords on you. Yet I see only one mark now. How was this done? You cannot remove the mark of a lord. It is not possible."

"Between Toby and my mother, it is." She shrugged and Racephet's eyes widened at what power that must have taken.

Mother called them all together at that point. After explaining what was to be done, she asked them each in turn to swear fealty to Lord Tobias. He felt like an idiot as he stood there at first, but he knew that this had to be done like this and he felt better once he'd thought of how it could keep them all safer.

"What do you hold here?" Toby asked Racephet afterwards in a quiet moment.

The demon shrugged, "As much as I wish to," he said, "I have not blocked anything in a long while now. At first, I had to keep only soldiers out, then peasants for hundreds of years. I have blocked nothing for a long time now."

"Well today, there are young ones who come to spray paint everywhere, for one thing," Maezou said, "There is some of it over one of the arched doors, and these windows have grates over them, and nothing more than that."

Racephet smiled as more stone was heard grating against stone. They looked up and the windows were closed over as though they'd been bricked that way from the start. "The tower is now closed off as is this place," he said, "Tell me if there is more to do and it will be done. When do you wish to enter the lower hall?"

"Tomorrow is good enough," Mother smiled as she saw that Tisiphone was bringing one of the pots to serve them as Alecto carried the bread and a stack of wooden bowls.

"I found these," she said, "they're clean -- but they're wood."

"Aye, " Illa said, "I cleaned them all. They was here, and they're not that old. They was just dusty. I dinna know where they're from Miss, I just made sure they was clean."

Racephet smiled and beckoned the imp and the kobold closer. They looked very nervous about it, but they held each other's hands and stepped closer cautiously to stand before him.

"I like the two of you," he said softly, "You may not wish to believe it, but I do not eat ones such as you. I have heard your thoughts and you need not fear me if I look at you. Tell me, what is it that you would like out of this rise of Lord Tobias?"

"We didna know much about it," Illa said, "and we've only just met everyone all together."

"I dinna know what it is that we want," Theiry said.

"Safe," illa nodded, "I know that it's not all important to one such as yer lordship, being big and strong and all, but to ones like us, it's something if we know that we're safe. It's bad enough if ye're small enough tae be stepped on by yer big friends, but we also need tae worry about other things. I'll no mind serving, as I'm sure Theiry feels the same way, if I'm tae speak fer him, but if ye can try to keep us a little safe, well I'll no mind that. I've been alone here for a long time and all that I ever remember being was afraid and hungry."

He smiled, "There is no such thing as truly safe. There are ones which I could fear if I thought about it, but I understand. That there are little ones like you here makes me feel safe -- as strange as it may sound to you -- for it means that you can be here, no? And after all of the time that I have spent turning away from everything, it is good to see that ones like you are still here." He looked around at the others who'd heard him.

"I don't think there is a single one here who would not try to help you both if you needed it."

The others nodded and smiled at the smaller ones. "None of us can promise that you can be kept completely safe," he said, "but I hope that this might make you feel a little safer than you were before we came here."

They nodded and thanked him before turning away to look for something to eat for themselves.

"What brought that out?" Mother asked.

"I was not always as I am now, my friend," he said, "For a long time, I did not grow much beyond that size. That part of my life was terrible, so I know how they feel. If they are here as parts of this, well there is enough to fear, no? I mean more than the fear of something real. Add the worry of just living your life afraid, and I know there are some who would not wish to live at all. That imp girl had that thought not long ago. I see it in her."

"Yes," Mother sighed, "that's why I made sure to go right up to her and meet her when I first came here. She didn't know that I could see her where she hid herself, but I did. Such a lovely imp she is. My heart went to her right away. Look what she did for us, Racephet. I only asked for a little work from her to clean this place. She did that and far more. I gave her a doe to eat. I'm sure that most of that went into this stew. In the manor house, they will soon wonder where all of their blankets have gone, "she chuckled, "I said nothing about that, but she has brought many of them here for us."

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The evening turned into night as they all ate and talked. Slowly, they all found a blanket or two and looked for a corner in the thirty-seven foot long hall to bed down. Megaera lay in Racephet's arms as he kissed her throat.

"How did it feel to find these supposed sisters of yours?" he asked her.

"Strange," she shrugged, "We have spent our lives all doing the same thing and none of us knows why, other than we always felt that it was what had to be done. None of us want to do it anymore but we've decided that we'd like to know each other better. They have a new love beginning between them and I asked about it. They only know that it is what they want. We are the same in many ways, but I have never wanted what they have now, though I can see in them now how I felt when you and I began. I had hope for myself then and I still do, Racephet. I am happy, just as they are."

She nuzzled into his neck and sighed as his fingers found the places on her body that she loved for him to touch. "They asked about you, you know."

He smiled, "They did? What did they ask?"

Her tail found its way to his abdomen and slid down, wrapping itself around his penis gently. "Yes," she sighed into his ear, "They wished to know how it was even possible to fuck with one such as you."

She smiled, "There were two things that they wished to know, the same two things that I wished to know from the first moment that I saw you. You were so sad then, but you knew that I wanted you. For the first time in hundreds of years, you made your flames for me to see how magnificent you are like that. They wanted to know how it felt to have a flaming hot and glowing demon's prick inside me. I told them the truth and said that it was not as hot as it looks and how it feels wondrous and hot without burning me, but the second thing caused me a bit of trouble. They thought that you were like a man, and that what you have grows even more when you are aroused, and of course it doesn't. It stays just the same good size and gets stone hard -- perfect for me. I left them that little mystery."

Theiry and Illa walked around the hall silently, watching the others who were mating quietly. They were careful not to look too long. Thiery felt Illa's hand slip into his.

She looked over to him, "Theiry? I don't really know how tae ask but, ... Do I look nice tae ye? I mean, we're not the same, are we? I see a man just my size wi' a tail and horns when I look at ye. But I've got these goat's eyes and horns and my wee tufty little goat beard on my chin. I must look like a goatish bat te ye. You look like a handsome kobold tae me and I'm likin' what I see so much, but, ... Am I fair te ye?"

He turned to stand in front of her and he saw her eyes open wide. Thiery knew what she was worried about. Illa's face had just a hint of a goat look to it, but mostly, her face looked much like a human girl's, though she had the teeth of any of the demon races, as did he, for that matter. She was feeling worry over nothing, he thought. He'd never seen a more lovely imp anywhere. He almost ached to see her eyes lidded down with lust. He had to do something to allay her doubts - and quickly. He gently took her horns in his hands and he kissed her.

"That's what I think," he smiled, "We're not the same. But we've both got our hooves, and I've a wee beard too, don't I? Look close, dear. I've eyes like yours, they're not as nice as yours, that's all. I've nae wings, but ye don't seem tae mind. I'm not sayin' we're close enough because it doesna matter. I've been wi' kobold girls and demon girls and even goblin girls, Illa. But I've never seen a girl as sweet and nice as the one I'm lookin' at now, so don't yae go doubtin' yerself. Ye can ask any of them here, and they'll all tell ye that ye're lovely and ye're just what I'm wantin' fer a friend and te say the truth of it, I lost ma wee heart when I almost fell intae the well."

He kissed her softly as he caressed one of her breasts for a few moments and then he slid his arms around her to hug her. His erection pressed against Illa's belly as she opened her mouth to let his tongue in. They stood wrapped in her wings for long minutes. When they pulled apart, he smiled, "I've never felt something so nice as when ye cover us both wi' yer beautiful wings."

"I'm glad ye're here, " she said again. "I'm wantin' tae do some of this wi' ye, Theiry, but I don't know much about it."

"Ye were doing alright outside before I opened my mouth and it made ye stop," he said, "I've been cursing maself ever since."

"But I didna know what I was doing. I was just holding it," she shrugged.

"And I loved it when you did, Illa," he said, squeezing her hand, "It's nae about being good at it at first, it's about caring enough tae want to do it for someone, and having them do things tae ye that make you feel good too. Come on," he said, pulling her hand gently, "I can see what Miss Zele and Miss Maezou are doing from here."

They stole silently over and Illa stood transfixed as Maezou and Zele took turns fellating Toby. Now and then one of them would open their eyes and smile at the two of them. Illa stared as Zele looked right at her while she was sucking Toby's balls. Maezou moaned softly a moment later and Illa noticed that Zele's tail was between her sister's thighs.

They stepped away after a while and went to the middle of the room. Illa looked at Thiery a little wide-eyed. "What was she doin' wi' her tail?"

Thiery smiled, "She can move it around. I couldna see, but she puts it inside Miss Maezou now and then. She says her eggs come out of it, but they don't grow or anything, they just come out later."

"I didna know something like that could be done, Thiery, the way that they were sucking his thing like that," she whispered, "I canna say that I'll be able tae do that fer ye, though it was a little nice tae see how much he liked it."

But Theiry didn't appear to have heard her as he stood on his tiptoes to look across the room.

"Let's go over there, "he said, tugging her hand gently. He led her to where Tisiphone lay back in rapture while Alecto used her mouth in ways that Illa had never imagined either. Tisiphone groaned and her spray shot onto her lover's face, and she redoubled her efforts while Tisiphone writhed in joy. Theiry had to do his best not to laugh when he looked over at Illa as she stood with her mouth open. Illa pulled him away after a few minutes.

"Didja see that?" She asked.

He smiled at her, "Never mind what she was doing, Illa. Did ye see what it was doing tae Miss Tisiphone?"

"Aye," Illa whispered, "I did. She looked like she was in a nice place."

"Well, " Theiry looked down for a moment before looking at her with a small shy smile, "I canna say that I can take ye to the very same place, but I'd sure like tae try very hard. That is, if ye'd let me."

She was astounded, "Ye -- ye'd do that fer me, Theiry?"

His smile remained very shy, "Yes. I've done it before, and I can say that I quite like doin' it, too. I'd do that fer ye in a heartbeat, Illa."

They heard grunts from one corner of the hall and followed the sounds. Megaera lay on her back and side with one leg over Racephet's shoulder and his hand helped her along as they copulated. She groaned loudly and her demon spray ran from his fingers in another second. The large demon lifted his hand and sucked the juices from his fingers.

They were both a little shocked when it hit him, and he turned her onto her back to grab her hips so that he could pound into her furiously. His eyes lifted from her and for a moment, they were looking into the flaming lust in his red eyes. Megaera's eyes were glazed and what came out of her was a long hissing moan as his glowing maleness plunged in and out of her.