Descent

Seku was our agent at Ijon River. I clasped my brother's hand. "Thank you."

His jaw set. His grip tightened on my hand. "Besides, I will need the villagers' help to go back and hunt down Blossom. I will destroy that creature for what it did to me, to you, and to others."

I winced as I watched the men fight below, dull blades crashing into the hide covered wood of their shields. Blossom's power to seduce and control -- men and women -- was virtually irresistible without warding magic. The demon had held my brother for weeks, mating with him in a female form.

Zahar didn't know, I was sure, that Blossom carried his child. If he knew, it would make no difference to his quest for vengeance.

How ironic it was that the same subjugation that made me wet with longing drove my brother to seething rage.

"You are needed here in Namu, brother," I said, resigned. I pulled my hand away. "Just as I am."

*

Back at the villa, I stood alone on the roof terrace outside the bedchamber, looking out over the vast dark of the sea as sunset approached. Jinai had not yet returned.

I had prayed so many times, as I had in the family shrine that afternoon, hoping for the ancestors to show me my path.

My mother was right. I was foolish to think I could ever lead my House. As the dutiful albino daughter, I would never marry and never bear my own descendants. House San and my own mother stood in the way of my research. I wanted to help my city, but that even that quest played second drum to the lusts of a powerful old man.

I was weary of obeying those who did not deserve my obedience.

I opened the flap of my satchel, my hand delving inside until my fingers curled around the thick shaft of Blossom's stone. Heat suffused me as I stroked the raised patterns on its surface, like veins on a cock.

This was what I had been craving ever since Ijon River.

It was the answer I had prayed for.

"My Lady?" came a tremulous voice from the bedchamber.

My hand slipped from the satchel. "What is it, Lila?"

"I saw something I need to tell you." The thin girl walked out onto the terrace. "Jinai returned today. I came into the bedchamber to clean and found her searching it. She was looking under the bed, poking at the floorboards and going through baskets with your clothes. When she noticed me, she was startled."

"You were spying on her."

Lila wagged her head. "No. She acted suspicious is all, so I watched her. She told me to beware because you were close to sending me away."

"What was she looking for?"

"I don't know, my Lady."

What else could it have been but the summoning stone?

When she did arrive back at the villa, I would know. From my vantage point, I could peer down over much of the inner yard, to the gate and the guard that stood in lamplight.

"Are you close to sending me away my Lady?"

I shook my head. "No, Lila."

"All I want to do is serve you."

"Is that so?" I turned to her. Her gaze slid, subtly, down my body. I could almost feel the heat of it, adding to the effect of my yearning for Blossom. I pressed my thighs together under my caftan.

My desires were making me reckless.

"I have a task for you. Tomorrow morning, you will go to the Magisterium. Your duties here will be covered by someone else. You will deliver a message to Amankar San. Tell him that I wish to discuss his proposal, in private, here at the villa. Tell him he must come as soon as possible, and wait for his response. Speak to no one else about this."

When Jinai returned, she and I shared a cold supper in my bedchamber. A large bowl of goat stew, spiced with grains of paradise, had been prepared just as I liked it. There was no joy in the meal, however. The food lay flavorless on my tongue.

With her fingers, Jinai dipped a morsel of ugali dough into the stew. "I learned of a young factor today who recruits for House San out of a drovers' guild hall in Kitsuru District. He was at Kichinka when they were attacked by the demon," she grinned with satisfaction.

"Do you think we could get anything out of him?" I asked. "With a bribe, maybe?"

JInai shrugged. "It depends on what you want to get."

"Just his account of what happened at Kichinka, and after. Anything he knows about these travelers that were with the caravan, and where they are."

"What's wrong?" Jinai asked. "You seem unhappy."

I straightened my shoulders and looked her directly in the eye. Jinai knew me too well. I needed to be careful with her, more than anyone.

"My mother knows everything about my life. She wants to make all of my decisions. And not the right decisions."

JInai chewed thoughtfully.

"Did you tell her about us?" I asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"That isn't what I asked you."

"No. I told you not to be surprised if she knows. A half dozen guards probably saw or heard us, which means the whole House will know."

"I realize that," I said. "But she also knew about Amankar."

Jinai shrugged again. "Maybe House San told her. If they said it the right way, it might have looked like a compliment to House Oko. A peace offering."

I didn't reply. Everything she said could have been true. But it didn't matter.

I needed Blossom, not Jinai. All the information Jinai was seeking, I could get from Amankar in a single conversation, using the demon's power.

"What have you decided about Amankar?"

"I may have no other choice." I got up from where we were sitting. The food had no taste. "When you finish, sleep in the bed downstairs. I want to be alone tonight."

She stared, open-mouthed. "Keya..." A span of emotions crossed her face. Anger, confusion, fear.

I half expected her to grab me. To force the answers from my lips. To search for the summoning stone in the one place she hadn't yet dared to look. The satchel that lay by my bedside.

She would find it, eventually. And then Blossom would be lost to me forever.

"As you wish," she said finally.

When she was gone, I barred the door.

*

The atmosphere in the villa the next day was taut as a leather strap at its breaking point.

Jinai reverted to her official duties, which meant overseeing the two other servants who maintained the house. She ensured that water and stores were sufficient, that the guards were fed, and that my needs were met.

"Where is Lila?" Jinai asked, when she found me in my study.

I glanced up from my writing. "I sent her to take a message to San."

Jinai scowled. "Why her?"

"I want to know if I can trust her."

"And if she fouls it up?"

I looked back down at my work. "Then I will know I cannot."

Jinai eased out. The creak of the hardwood door was a tortured sound, like bones breaking.

I looked up again and took a deep breath.

I had only the beginning of a plan. I could get everything I wanted from Amankar San. I could wring the knowledge out of him like water from a wet cloth. But there was only so much time before what I did would be discovered, and Blossom no longer a secret.

Jinai knew I was hiding something. My time would be short. There was nowhere to escape that she wouldn't find me. Because she loved me. Because she was loyal to my mother.

Or perhaps for both reasons.

I could not loose Blossom on her, as much as it might solve that problem. I loved Jinai, and I would not steal her will from her. If I had fallen, I had not yet fallen so far.

If I could not escape, I would lose Blossom and be sentenced to the same life I had led for most of my years.

Sheltered, shunned and powerless.

If that was to be my fate, then I would choose to be with the demon once more.

Lila returned that afternoon. "Tomorrow before midday," she said simply. "He will come."

At the end of the day, I called for Jinai. She stood outside my bedchamber until I allowed her to step in.

"I need you to find this San factor tomorrow," I said. "Question him."

"He will not respond well to being questioned by an Oko servant," Jinai countered. "We've tried this before with San people."

"Tell him I will be sponsored by Amankar San. It is all but decided."

Jinai's eyes narrowed. "He is coming here tomorrow. You don't want me at the villa."

She knew me far too well.

"Because I have dignity, Jinai. I don't want you around while I have to degrade myself."

She came towards me, hands out, as if she wanted to embrace me. I shrank away.

Jinai flinched. "Why do I sense you are about to do something rash? Something like walking into an ancient tomb to surrender yourself to a demon?"

"Because I am."

She did not find that funny. "Keya, I-"

"Will you do it?" I said. The longer this took, the more likely she would see through my deception.

"-I love you," she said slowly. "No matter what. I will always protect you, if you just let me."

When she left, I barred the door again, sick with self-loathing.

*

The next morning, Lila prepared a bath and brought me a breakfast of sweetened coconut rice and mango.

"Tell me when Jinai leaves the villa," I told the little maid as I ate. "After she does, no one is to disturb me until Amankar comes."

She nodded, giving me one last curious glance before leaving me alone.

I was nearly naked, wearing a thin robe from the bath. The gossamer-like fabric had been a secret gift from Jinai. I slipped it off, baring my creamy skin to the morning. Then I took off my charms -- the consecrated amulet around my neck and bangles on my wrists that would prevent an infernal from touching me. I knelt on the bed.

I was almost always covered from head to toe. It was a thrill to be completely exposed. My nipples stood proud, like tiny pink soldiers. I rubbed my hands upwards over my breasts, hefting their weight and squeezing them together. Licking a finger, I touched each little nub, feeling the tingle of chill.

I opened a jar of jasmine oil and began applying it to my skin, rubbing it from a wet sheen to a rosy, fragrant glow. When I had done every part of my upper body that I could reach, I massaged the oil into my legs and feet.

During my bath I cut away the light brown hair that covered my mons, leaving the flesh smooth and sensitive. I played with my swollen nether lips, pinching them together and then folding them open to run a finger along the tender insides. Dipping a finger into my liquid core, I tasted the musky tang. Finally, I laid back, and slid an oiled finger deep into my ass, groaning as I did so.

I buzzed with desire. I lay back, closing my eyes and listening to the rush of my pulse. Birds sang outside the bedchamber doors, and the guards called to each other in the yard below.

"Sacred ancestors," I prayed, "if you have not forsaken me, show me the way to honor your legacy. Help me walk the path... Help me walk the path..."

I continued the soft chant until I heard a knock. "She is gone, Lady Keya."

"Come in, Lila."

I heard her enter, and the door close. When I opened my eyes, she stood over the bed, mouth open, looking down at me.

"Can I trust you?"

The girl nodded. "All I want is to serve you."

I ran a hand down between my breasts. "Is that all you want?"

She swallowed and shook her head.

"You could be punished for serving me. Even put in danger."

Lila nodded.

I glanced at my satchel on the floor. I don't know why I trusted Lila. Because I knew she wouldn't tell Jinai? Or because I wanted to see her tremble again?

"Reach inside, under the scrolls. Bring me what you find there."

I watched the play of the slim muscles in her arms and shoulders as she knelt on the floor and dug into the bag. The drab tunic she wore rucked enticingly over her knees. Finally, she drew out Blossom's summoning stone.

It was a phallus of polished wood, tawny in color. What looked like carved veins that entwined its length were actually vines, etched in the wood. It was thicker and longer than any human cock I'd ever seen.

Not that I'd seen any, in their aroused state.

I motioned for Lila to come to me, and rose to embrace her in a kiss. Her lips were delicate and tasted of waterberries -- a common fruit the servants often ate between meals. I had never shown her true affection before, but I recognized the risk she was taking now.

As our tongues dueled, I guided the summoning stone she held towards my sex. The smooth wood glided over my tender flesh. The shaft throbbed with warmth. I arched my hips as the tip slid over my nether lips, tracking dew across my skin.

I broke off the kiss as I humped against the phallus.

"You want this inside you?" Lila asked, her voice thick.

"Yes," I urged. "I want you to rut me with it."

Lila sucked on her fingers and ran them over my slit, perhaps surprised to find me so wet. Soon, she had three fingers probing inside me. As she bent over my sex, I rucked up the hem of her tunic, caressing her bare ass underneath.

"You are tight." She eased a fourth finger in, all of her small hand except the thumb. With her other hand, she flicked my little pearl of pleasure, making me gasp as tremors of sensation rippled through me.

"I am ready," I moaned.

I lay back and shut my eyes as I felt the smooth head of the phallus against the lips of my cunt. Lila spread them with her fingers and eased the shaft in. Once she found the right angle, I raised my hips, whimpering as the head of the wooden cock stretched my inner walls.

Lila drew the stone back and then pressed in again, over and over, easing inside me a bit farther each time.

"By the ancestors," I gasped. I looked down. Less than a hands-length was inside me and I already felt on the verge of a climax.

Blossom was coming to me.

This was the moment I had craved and dreaded ever since Ijon River. This was the path I had chosen. Even back then, in the tomb, I knew that I had summon the demon again. It was only a question of when.

"Rut me!" I cried. "By the Seven Fathers, make me come!"

Lila worked the shaft with both hands, thrusting ever deeper. My back was arched off the bed, my feet planted on the mattress. I reached down and twisted my nipples as she pounded me into oblivion.

"Yes!" I moaned. Waves of pleasure took hold, forcing me into convulsions as I came on the summoning stone. I twisted, my face shoved into the feather-stuffed mattress.

I groaned, opening my eyes again. Lila was sitting on the floor beside the bed, gaping. Though it was still morning, it seemed like a measure of light had been sucked out of the room, as if the sun had passed behind a cloud.

I followed Lila's stare.

Standing at the foot of the bed, was a human-shaped creature. I had never seen Blossom in daylight. Its skin was an abysmal black -- the color of the sea at night. Bright whorls and stripes decorated its flesh. I remembered one of the demon's slaves telling me that looking upon the creature was like gazing at a starry sky.

"It has been too long," Blossom growled.

The demon's eyes were tiny points of light that fixed upon me, themselves encircled by the bright, expressive rings painted around the eye sockets. The creature's jasmine scent washed over me. A living, burning scent, not like the oil I wore.

"Intriguing." Blossom's eyes flickered towards Lila, and then back to me.

I took a breath and focused my thoughts. The demon's fragrance was already dulling my senses. Lila seemed transfixed.

"I have need of you," I said to the demon.

"Of course you do."

As we spoke, Lila seemed to come out of her shock. She edged away from the bed.

"Come here," Blossom commanded, crooking a clawed finger. "No one will harm you."

Lila quivered as she shook her head. But even as I watched, she seemed to calm, her eyes growing dull. When she had completely relaxed, she crawled slowly toward Blossom.

"Let me share a grain of wisdom with you, pet," Blossom whispered to the girl, its voice like a forest breeze. She shuddered with lust as its finger caressed her cheek. The wooden beads around her wrists, warding charms like many of the commoners wore, offered no protection. "Demons are closer to the gods than men are."

"Every child knows that," I said.

"As well they should," Blossom replied. "While humans obsess over their dead, demons give birth to the future. It is only natural that humans should worship us."

I sighed. Blossom was arrogant beyond measure. "A man is coming to visit me, and I need to question him."

"And you need him to answer," Blossom replied. Its hands ran through Lila's short spiky hair, stroking her head as if she were a housecat. "Then you know what I must do."

"Enslave him," I said.

"And you know how that is done."

Blossom's seed had a powerful, drug-like effect which temporarily enthralled the demon's victims after they ingested it. When I found the creature, it had many dozens of slaves serving it.

"So," Blossom said, "that leaves the matter of what I will receive in return."

"What do you want?"

At this, Blossom smirked. "Oh, Lady Keya. You know what I want."

Demons ultimately only wanted one thing. To breed.

I nodded and swallowed, feeling a twinge of need. "That isn't possible now. I will call you again. Soon."

"For now, I will take her."

I looked down with surprise. Lila was already kissing the tip of the demon's cock -- a dense length of shadow that grew down the inside of its supple thigh.

Like all demons, Blossom was at once male and female. Sometimes one more than the other. The two modest swells on its chest and its slender shape mocked a female form. It had no hair to speak of. The organ that Lila currently slobbered over was decidedly male.

The demon pulled Lila's tunic over her head and shoulders. She let go of the cock only long enough to lift her arms and let the creature strip her. Then she lay her head against the mattress, sat at its feet, and began to suck at the tip of Blossom's cock like a nursing infant.

The infernal leaned over the sitting maid, planting its hands on the mattress as it gently began to thrust its hips.

I licked my lips, confronted by more needs than I could address at once. I desperately wanted to question Blossom, but there was little time. I had placed Lila in this position. She had fallen under the creature's spell more deeply than I expected. Now I felt I should protect her somehow. If she swallowed enough of its fluids, she would be useless to me for days, Blossom's servant instead of mine.

And every moment I stared at the demon's plunging cock deepened my desire to have it inside me.

"Where are we?" Blossom asked.

"We are in Namu, in a small villa with only a few of my servants and guards. All of whom would attack you or flee from you on sight."

"Naturally." The creature sucked in a long breath.

Thin streams of drool escaped Lila's lips, running down her jaw to her ear as she stretched to take the steady thrusts of the shaft.

"Fetch me a cup."

I slid off the side of the bed and went to the sitting room, where I'd left two cups and a jar of palm wine. I tried not to think of the times I'd shared these cups with Jinai. I tried not to think of the various ways I was betraying her.

This is my path.

When I returned to my bedchamber, the couple was on the bed. Lila lay on her back, legs splayed. Blossom loomed over her like an angry stormcloud, feeding its thick cock into her gaping sheath, holding her ankles up in the air. My free hand drifted to the folds of my throbbing cunt as I watched her heels flex and twitch.

I was drawn to them, drawn to the point of their union. Soon I found myself kneeling at the foot of the bed, where Lila sat minutes before. I marveled at the steady descent and rise of the shaft into Lila's clutching channel, the way the folds of her sex stretched like a sleeve sucking each withdrawal back inside her.

How I yearned to be in her place! I had never been with anyone else before Blossom. I had perhaps felt what Lila was feeling for a precious instant. But I had never witnessed it.