A Stab in the Dark

"Like I haven't heard that one before," sneered Ashley. "Bring it on."

"I think I shall take more pleasure in delegating this particular assignment," Ephais purred. "Kathryn, take care of your friend."

"Don't waste your time," the sorceress laughed. "I know what magic you're using; oh, you can confuse people alright, but you can't make them do something that's fundamentally against their nature, and Kathryn would never kill me."

They both turned their gaze to Kathryn, who drew a dagger and turned to Ashley.

"Yes! Yes! Kill her, daughter of mine, and be free," the succubus whispered as she became nothing more than vapor in the air, leaving the material world once again. "Unleash forsake your attachments to this mortal world and embrace the our ways. Sacrifice the devil-kin and become strong again! Once you taste her blood you will unleash your heritage and never have to fear anyone else again!"

"I'm sorry, Aiva," Kathryn whispered, in the same shaky voice she had used at the mill. "I... she's right. I don't want to be weak anymore. I've become so soft since I started loving you. I have to end it all. You understand, don't you? I have to make sure I'm not vulnerable anymore. You're... a liability."

"I can't fight you." Technically, that was not true. Ashley had quite a lot of magic left in her, and knew several non-lethal spells that would have probably ended the fight in her favor. It would be more accurate to say that she would not fight. "Fuck it; if you're going to kill me, then I guess you'd better get it over with."

"See how weak she is," the succubus hissed in Kathryn's ear. "Unworthy of life! She who cannot defend herself deserves not to live! Strike her down and cast her from your heart, daughter of mine!"

"I'm so sorry," Kathryn wept as she lunged forward with her dagger. The blade slid between Ashley's ribs and embedded itself in her chest. There was a look of shock on the sorceress' face before she felt the effects of the poisoned weapon and collapsed in Kathryn's arms.

When the others arrived, they saw Kathryn kneeling over Ashley's still body, crying hysterically to her lover.

"Come on, Aiva, wake up! I was only kidding, I didn't mean any of it. We'll go back to the ship and I'll love you like I've never done before. Dammit, Aiva, get up! Open your eyes! Tell me you forgive me! Tell me you hate me! Aiva? Aiva? Wake up, dammit, wake up!"

Chapter 5

When Iago had first suggested that the company go to Calimsha for repairs and some relaxation, a catastrophic fiasco was the last thing on his mind. Kathryn had been such a reliable employee that the possibility of her screwing up on such a scale had never crossed his mind, though he himself bore some of the blame for his complacency.

Why had he let a tiefling pursue one of her own kind when he himself knew well the lures of the abyss? What a stupid, stupid move! If only he had put in a bit more thought into the team he had assigned - Bjorn, perhaps, would have been more suited to the job - he would never have had to clean up the aftermath in Father Renard's office.

"I understand one of your own was involved with the cult," Father Renard said to the warlock.

"That is true," Iago admitted. "She is in our custody as we speak."

"You did not turn her over to my men." It was a plain statement with just a hint of an accusation behind it.

"I thought that perhaps we could talk about that," Iago proposed smoothly. "I was hoping to appeal for leniency. Let me take charge of her punishment. I am their leader. It would be appropriate."

"For a demon-worshipper? Impossible!" The justicar replied. "The law is very clear on this point; those who aid demons are to be burned."

"Perhaps, but I am also under the impression that your laws allow for extenuating circumstances?" Iago continued, unperturbed by the paladin's refusal. "A succubus excels at manipulation. I would not venture to say that every person who helped the demon was beguiled, but I know Kathryn and she is not a demon-worshipper. She is just a confused woman who was seduced in a moment of weakness. Stronger and wiser have been led astray before."

There was a point in Iago's voice as sharp as a rapier, and Renard wondered if Iago knew... but no, surely it was impossible! That mistake had been made long ago, and the sands of time had surely covered it up?

"True, true," Renard found himself saying. "It is true, what you say. Why, some of my friends, even, in their younger days..."

"And they obtained absolution?" Iago inquired.

The priest leaned back in his chair. "They were allowed to atone, yes. Would Kathryn be willing to do the same?"

"I believe I can speak for her in this instance, and I would be willing to accept those terms."

"Very well," Renard said. "She shall be assigned a quest to undertake, and in exchange we shall grant her amnesty."

"Agreed," Iago bowed and excused himself. "In that case, my business here is at an end. I shall return to help your men hunt down the succubus before she strikes again."

Just before Iago reached the door, he heard Renard call his name.

"Before you go, I must ask... what would you have said if we could not come to an agreement?"

"Oh come now," Iago smiled. "It is such a beautiful day outside; don't you think it would be a pity to ruin it with unpleasant talk?"

-

Ephais stalked through the halls of her abyssal manor in a fury. Where was her daughter? Surely the journey could not have taken more than an hour? No other soul she had harvested ever took this long, though admittedly that was because she had caught them. Did you have to go through some sort of sorting process for suicide or something?

As if in response to the succubus' queries, a blue circle formed in front of her. Ephais barely had the time to register that it was a binding spell before she was sucked into the magic ring and abruptly deposited in a darkly lit room somewhere in the mortal realms. The only other occupant of the room was a tall blonde girl in dressed like a thief.

"We haven't been properly introduced," the girl said, "But I believe we have a mutual acquaintance. You'll be turned over to the Calimshan authorities for your crimes in due time, but before then I think I'd like to get a few words in first."

Pink flames sprang from the girl's hands as she advanced on the demoness. Ephais would have found it comical if not for the cold fury in her captor's ice blue eyes.

-

Pain was the first thing she felt. An immense, throbbing pain in her temples that felt like it would rend her head asunder. What the hell could have caused such a migraine? The worst she usually experienced was never this debilitating. Her eyes opened to see that she was in a bed with a curtain around it. She opened the curtain to see a dark room with a shelves and desks lining the wall. It looked familiar. Some of the shelves contained books, and others held strange liquids and powders. Medicine? They smelled of medicine.

There was a blue portal glowing softly at one end of the room. Was she on the ship, then? That would explain a lot. This did rather look like the doctor's office.

"Aiva? Good, you're up. I won't lie, we nearly lost you there for a moment," an old man's voice said. She turned around to see an aged priest sitting in the darkness with a medical book in his hands. "Your clothes are on the chair to your left, by the way."

"Hey doc," Ashley greeted. She picked up the clothes and closed the curtains so she could get dressed. "Catch me up, will you?"

"I've purged the neurotoxin from your system and closed your wounds. You can barely tell that you were stabbed. I think we've replaced all the blood you lost, but you'll probably feel a little off for the next day or so."

"Orion's arm, you're right," she moaned. "I need some willow-bark extract. My head's killing me."

"Coming right up." Doc quickly prepared the pain relieving potion and soon had a cup full of it in her hands. Ashley made a face at the bitter drink, but took it all in anyways.

"So... what happened to Kathryn?"

"I've got some good news and some bad news," Doc announced. "Good news; she broke down after stabbing you and stayed by your side, so we caught her. Bad news: she's going to be severely disciplined. More bad news: she's frankly suicidal. I found out for the first time yesterday that she keeps a cyanide pill hidden on her person, and that wasn't fun for anyone."

"Do you think... would it be alright if I saw her?" Ashley asked. "I... we need to talk."

"Well, I doubt I could stop you if you really wanted to," Doc said. "She's in the brig. You know the way."

"Thanks." Ashley eased her way out of the bed and walked out of the portal. The brig was located on the other end of the corridor she emerged onto, and she walked towards it slowly, going over what she should say and the various outcomes that could arise. Exactly what did you say to a lover who, quite literally, stabbed you in the back? Did you hate them or forgive them? Ashley supposed that everyone had a different answer; what would hers be?

The portal to the brig activated with a wave of the hand and Ashley stepped through it to a small room with several large cages, one of which was occupied. Brent stood guard over Kathryn, who looked at Ashley as if the sorceress had come back from the dead - which, Ashley supposed, was true.

"Brent, I would like some privacy," Ashley ordered. The construct saluted and marched out of the room, leaving the two alone. Ashley cast a spell and teleported into Kathryn's cage, startling the tiefling and causing her to fall back against the bars. They stared at each other in silence until Kathryn suddenly threw her arms around Ashley and started crying.

"Ashley... I'm sorry," Kathryn sobbed into the sorceress' shoulder. "Please don't hate me."

"It's ok," Ashley said, stroking the assassin's horns. "I don't."

"But you should!" The sudden contradiction was punctuated by Kathryn pushing Ashley away and pressing herself against the bars of the cage. "I betrayed you and almost killed you. You can't just forgive me for that!"

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I can't?"

"No! You should hate me!" Kathryn yelled. "You should be punishing me instead of comforting me. Lilith's blood, you know I deserve it!"

"Don't be silly." Ashley slowly walked forward until she had trapped the assassin against the bars. "You're much too fragile now. If I did anything, you'd break and never recover."

"Then break me, dammit. Break me, and make it so that I can never hurt you again." Tears were streaming down Kathryn's cheeks as she said it. "It's been done once; you could do it again."

A sharp slap resounded through the small room and gave Kathryn something else to focus on for a moment.

"Kathryn, I'm telling you to calm down." A gentle hand brought the tiefling's chin around to look into Ashley's eyes. "I don't want some mindless slave, alright? I want you as you are, even if that means I have to put up with a little trouble every now and again. You're worth it to me."

It took several minutes before Kathryn could recover from her shock. "But what will you do if this happens again?"

"We'll worry about that later," Ashley said, stroking her lover's cheek. "Right now, I need you to get a hold of yourself. No crazy stunts, alright? I don't know what's going to happen to you, but I promise that I'll stand by you no matter what. Because I love you."

Kathryn had stopped crying by now, but she was still a mess. Although Doc had neglected to include a handkerchief in Ashley's clothes, the sorceress still had her magic and used a cleaning spell to tidy up the tiefling. Kathryn remained silent through the process, though once Ashley had finished, she slid her hand up the sorceress' shirt and felt for the stab wound.

Ashley hiked her shirt up to expose the area. There was barely anything there now, not even scar tissue. The only sign that she had been wounded was a faint discoloration of the skin that blended in almost perfectly with Ashley's pale skin. However, Kathryn would always know exactly where it was; she could never forget how it came to be.

"I don't deserve you," Kathryn mumbled as she kissed the wound. "Heaven knows I don't deserve you."

"Probably not," Ashley admitted as she cradled the tiefling in her arms. "You're still stuck with me, though."