Goetic Justice

It was a little unnerving, or at least it would have been if Ryan had not been completely consumed by his desire for Nahash. He barely registered them as they crowded around the pelt, heads adorned with gnarled horns swaying back and forth, peering over one another and jostling to get a better look like dogs lurking beneath a table in anticipation of falling scraps. They were lit only by the firelight, a ring of ghostly figures surrounding the two lovers, cast in dark shadow as they wet their lips and watched with a tangible craving.

He got the distinct impression that they would have jumped him had Nahash not already staked her claim, a dozen of the comely creatures taking turns, having their way with him to sate their supernatural lust. As good as that might feel, Ryan was smitten with his own Seirim, his lover squirming beneath him as he glanced up at the encroaching spirits.

Nahash noticed them too, her expression softening as though she felt pity for them. She had secured a mate while they had not, her sisters left to satisfy their own needs. Azazel had hidden the clearing from mortals who might come snooping and who would usually have served as sustenance for the hungry Satyrs. Soon they would resume their ancient activities, luring men to their bonfire in order to feed on their emotions, feasting on their pleasure and gorging themselves on the energy that sustained them. But not tonight.

There was something exciting about being watched by so many rapacious Seirim, Nahash smirking at him as he redoubled his efforts, running her dull claws up and down his spine as he plunged in and out of her. He was getting close, it was impossible to hang on for long with Nahash, the very purpose of her existence seemed to be seduction. Whether Azazel had conceived her with that goal in mind, or if she was merely the natural result of copulation between the Watcher and a beautiful mortal woman, she radiated sexuality in a way that made her irresistible to him.

Those nights that he had spent in her arms, the heavy globes of her chest pressing tantalizingly against his body, feeling her warmth and the slow beat of her heart but not being able to indulge the impulses that raged within him...it had been enough to drive him half insane. Now she was bound to him, the unnaturally heavy wedding band gripping his ring finger tightly as a constant reminder. Her libido was insatiable, and he doubted that a night would go by from now on where she didn't exhaust him.

Nahash increased her pace, their bodies slamming together with renewed vigor, pulses of raw pleasure rolling over him as her passage flexed and contracted as if trying to draw his emission from his body. She crossed her arms behind his neck, leaning forward and planting her puffy lips against his, stealing a wanton kiss as they fucked in earnest. He delved his fingers into the soft ruff of wool that lined her neck and shoulders, gripping it as one would the hair of a lover, pulling her towards him as he melted into her embrace. Her tongue slid into his mouth, his head spinning as her long organ squirmed and licked the back of his throat, unashamed and wholly without restraint.

It pushed him over the edge, and he felt a pressure welling inside him, an urge that was impossible to deny as the wracking pleasure seized his muscles. Nahash felt his member swell inside her, her thighs tightening around him and squeezing him close in anticipation, breaking off from her kiss and wrapping her arms around him. She plunged his head into her cleavage, his strained groan muffled by her flesh, the first pulse of searing pleasure driving a thick wad of his emission from his trembling body.

Nahash gasped as she felt its warmth spread through her like magma, her legs gripping him almost painfully as if trying to take him deeper. Ryan's mind went blank, his eyes tightly closed as another throb tormented him, his nerves lighting up like a Christmas tree as his body forced another flood of ejaculate into Nahash. Her pelvic floor muscles milked it from him, rolling up his shaft in waves, tighter and hotter than anything that he had ever felt. She came too, a guttural grunt slipping past her pink lips as her massive body began to quake. Ryan could feel the vibrations in her loins, the rhythmic contractions making her passage wring him of everything he could give her.

They clung to each other tightly, fingers delving into flesh, hands roaming across skin and taking purchase wherever they could. He heard her heart pumping as his ear pressed against her fluffy chest, her bosom shaking around his head as her orgasm tore through her. Over and over his muscles clenched, his climax almost painful in its intensity, pumping his ropy seed deep into her waiting tunnel as she trembled beneath him on the pelt.

The Seirim watched them, their long lashes fluttering, their golden eyes losing their focus as what must have been surges of white-hot pleasure washed over them. They felt what he felt, and while he wasn't sure how intense it was for them, they were visibly stirred. Hands shot between thighs and sought out breasts, long tongues wetting lips, the creatures practically salivating as they dined on his second-hand euphoria.

One last shudder rolled over him, his aching member expelling the last of its load, the thick fluid sliding down into Nahash's quivering depths as her silken walls coaxed it from him with all the finesse of a trained hand. He slipped out of her, the profane mixture of their syrupy emissions leaking from her twitching hole to fall heavily to the pelt below, matting the fur as strings of it clung to her milky thighs. Her ample chest heaved as she caught her breath, a hand sneaking down to rub her sodden mound, easing out one last shivering aftershock.

Ryan was glowing, he felt giddy, a satisfied ache permeating his lower body as his muscles recovered from their ordeal. His member was glazed in her juices, sticky and wet, and he fell back to sit between her giant legs as she smirked down at him.

In a second, the Seirim that had surrounded them set upon him, half a dozen pairs of clawed hands gripping his chest and arms. They slid across his belly and thighs, his body still tender and sensitive, a cry of surprise escaping his lips as their desperate explorations pierced the haze of his ecstasy and drew out another lingering flutter of pleasure.

"H-Hey! What are you..."

Three heads darted between his legs as they pulled them apart, Ryan too dazed and exhausted to put up much resistance, the Seirim jostling and bumping into each other as they attempted to get at his still rigid member. He clutched at a pair of horns as one of them curled its serpentine tongue around his cock and dragged it into her mouth, sucking away the viscous juices greedily. Before she could finish one of her sisters had pulled her away, taking her position as her lips crawled across his shaft. Another mouthed at his inner thigh, licking away whatever drops of fluid that it could find while a fourth dragged its tongue across his belly. Sparks danced before his eyes, his opposition melting as they cleaned him, one of the Seirim taking the face of one of her faster sisters in her hands and slipping her tongue into her mouth to get a taste.

The same was happening to Nahash, who was biting her lip as she watched some of her sisters eat her out, their long tongues digging deep inside her in an attempt to reach the lurid concoction that had been pumped into her deepest reaches. He could see flashes of pink as they licked and probed, two tongues winding into her passage at once as more of the frantic Satyrs cleaned her thighs like people dying of thirst licking the dew from a rock.

When they were done they scurried back to their respective pelts around the fire, the show apparently over. Ryan glanced at Nahash with drooping eyelids, and she reached forward to draw him close, collapsing onto her side and bringing him with her. They lay together, tired and satisfied, the orange glow of the rising sun just beginning to show over the forest as the embers of the fire smoldered.

"As I said, the fluids borne of our union have powerful alchemic properties. They are irresistible to my neglected sisters. I could not deny them a taste, I hope you don't mind their intrusion."

"I feel bad for them," he sighed, nestled in her arms as he rubbed his face in her feathery ruff and let her scent fill his nose. "Will they be okay? What will happen to them now?"

"Azazel sees no reason to intercede. This night was for our benefit, and once we have left, they will no doubt resume their ancient activities. They will lure wandering mortals with their dancing and revelry in order to feed on their sexual energy, things will be as they once were."

"Is that going to work out in the modern era?" Ryan wondered aloud. "News travels fast, what if they're discovered?"

"I honestly don't know," she replied, stroking his hair with her dull claws. "But I'm sure that they'll be fine under Azazel's guidance. He is wise and powerful."

"And you won't be coming back here?"

She took his hand in hers, showing him the black ring that clung to his finger.

"I have no need of summoning circles or sanctuaries any longer. As long as Azazel is fed with energy, then I shall not want for it either. Though if it's all the same to you, I would like you to keep the chalk circle that you drew on the floor of your apartment. It can be...soothing to rest within its boundaries."

"So that's why you were always crashing on my couch," he laughed. "So...does this mean that you're moving in with me?"

She chuckled, pulling his face into her fur.

"I go wherever that ring goes, and if you are living in that apartment, then I suppose that I am too. I can come and go as I please, of course. The immaterium is always open to me, but as you know, I prefer to be corporeal whenever possible. I love this plane of existence, everything from the feeling of firm ground beneath my hooves to the taste of the rain on my tongue."

"Suits me just fine," he said. "It'll be nice to have someone to come home to again."

Ryan felt a chill crawl up his spine, and he propped himself up on his elbows, looking over Nahash's prone figure at the fading bonfire. Azazel was crouched beside it, cast in dark shadows, its three ruby-red eyes staring at Ryan through the gloom. He heard it laugh to itself, a rumbling sound that was as much the bleat of a goat as anything of human origin, and then it unfurled a pair of great leathery wings. They must have been twenty feet across, kicking up dust as they flapped, lifting the great creature off the ground as the wind blew out the bonfire as if it had been nothing more than a candle. It cast the clearing into darkness, that trio of smoldering eyes all that was visible as it rose into the dark sky, the fading laughter heard only in Ryan's head as the beast vanished over the treetops.

He fell back to the pelt, that ominous voice echoing in his head, wondering what Azazel's deal was. Where was it going? Had he unwittingly unleashed some kind of monster upon the world? As bad as the fallen angel's rep was, it had done nothing so far to indicate any malice or evil intent, and yet its mere presence made Ryan's skin crawl.

Nahash pulled him close, her warmth driving away the cool morning air, and she whispered to him as fatigue began to overcome them both.

"Thank you, Ryan, for all that you have done."

"I should be the one thanking you," he replied sleepily, suppressing a yawn. "I might have been living in a tent in these woods right now if it wasn't for you and Orobas."

His life had taken such a strange and sudden turn, but against all odds, this was starting to feel normal. Maybe that was what it really meant to be a magician, having this insanity be a part of your daily life and being able to handle it without losing your grip on reality. He shuffled closer to Nahash, feeling her smooth skin beneath his fingertips, listening to her slow and steady breathing. It was hypnotic, and he closed his eyes, joining her in an exhausted and contented sleep.

CHAPTER 10: A TASTE OF FREEDOM

Becky mounted the steps of the apartment complex, muttering angrily to herself, tapping at her phone as she rounded the corner and made her way past the numbered doors towards Ryan's apartment. How dare he ignore her calls. She had wanted to teach him a lesson, that was all. He was supposed to realize what he had been doing wrong and man up, start giving her the attention that she deserved instead of taking her for granted. Instead, he had gone dark, dropping off the face of the earth and refusing to answer any of her calls or messages. She hadn't seen head nor tail of him since they had met at the coffee shop. Worse, she had seen a new car in his parking spot the last time she had driven by, a nice one. Had he landed a better job since they had split up?

She rapped on the door loudly then stood back and waited with her hands planted on her hips, silently seething as she heard the door unlock from the other side. She was ready to tear into Ryan as soon as she saw his face, a thousand curses and insults swirling in her head, but as the door opened the wind was taken out of her sails.

There was a woman standing in his apartment, tall and willowy, with pale skin and platinum-blonde hair that bordered on silver. She was wearing a fluffy, white bathrobe as if she had just gotten out of the shower. She was beautiful, and Becky was taken aback for a moment, her face reddening as she realized that she had been replaced. It was unacceptable, he couldn't do this to her!

"Where's Ryan?" Becky snapped, the tall woman cocking her head curiously as she examined her with a pair of hazel eyes that were so light as to appear amber under the right conditions.

"He is working," she replied. Damn it, even her voice was sexy, Becky fuming silently as she looked her new competition up and down in disdain.

"Well I need to speak with him, and he hasn't been answering his phone."

"You must be Becky," the strange woman mused, a smile curling her lips. "Ryan has told me all about you."

"And who the hell are you?"

"My name is...Natasha, pleased to meet you."

"What are you? His new girlfriend or something?" Becky spat, simmering with jealousy. She couldn't believe that Ryan had bounced back so quickly. A new job, a new car, a new girl. It was as if Becky had never existed and she couldn't abide being ignored, it was the one thing that drove her crazy.

"I'm his wife," the woman replied, raising her arm and brandishing a black ring so that Becky could see it. Her brow furrowed as her anger got the better of her, in the few weeks that they had been apart the bastard had gotten married?

"So you won't tell him to call me, then?"

"I could relay a message for you," Natasha said in that breathy voice, "what did you want to tell him?"

"Nothing now, just that he's a piece of shit. Where did he meet you anyway? Vegas? He can't have known you for more than a couple of months. What kind of woman gets married so quickly?"

"Don't you believe in romance, Becky?" Natasha asked as she smirked at her. The bitch was taunting her, unbelievable.

"Tell that loser that I hope he enjoys his new whore," Becky hissed, turning her back on the woman and storming off down the corridor.

"Wait," Natasha said, and Becky stopped to look back at her.

"What?"

A cold filled the corridor, chilling her to the bone, a smell like rotten eggs stinging her nose. The tall woman was standing outside of the apartment and just staring at her, those hazel eyes now glowing yellow like those of a cat. A shadow crept along the walls and ceiling to fill the hallway, crawling along the carpeted floor as if it was being cast by grasping fingers that were reaching for her. Becky wanted to scream, but the sound caught in her throat and petered out into a whimper, her feet refusing to move as though she was caught in a nightmare.

Natasha grew, the already tall woman stretching as Becky watched in horror. Her legs cracked and creaked as they snapped into a new shape, her bones appearing to break before Becky's eyes. A crown of gnarled horns sprouted from her blonde hair as if they were growing out of her skull, rising to brush the ceiling. Her fingers grew claws, her arms elongating, her face stretching grotesquely as the previously beautiful woman opened her mouth and brayed like a goat.

Becky's flight reflex finally kicked in, and she fled in the direction of the stairwell as if the devil himself was on her heels, stumbling over herself as she descended as fast as her feet could carry her. She reached the bottom, bursting through the door of the complex and out into the street, rushing past a startled Ryan without so much as glancing at him.

***

Ryan stepped through the door of his apartment, throwing his jacket onto the coat rack and finding Nahash lounging on the couch as she held a mug of steaming coffee in her hand.

"Welcome home," she said, taking a long sip as she watched him walk over to her. She made space for him and he flopped down beside her, kicking off his shoes, her free arm curling around him to pull him close.

"How was work?" she asked.

"Good," Ryan replied, "but the strangest thing just happened. I could have sworn that I saw Becky running out of the main entrance just now. She went by too fast for me to be sure, but whoever it was looked like they'd just seen a ghost. Did you...do something?"

She hid her smirk behind the mug as she took another drink.

"That was Becky, yes. She came looking for you, but I politely informed her that you had moved on and that you didn't want to see her anymore. She is a remarkably jealous woman, avaricious, I don't understand what you saw in her."

"Unfortunately I lack the ability to read people's emotions," he laughed, "sometimes you can live with a person for years and never truly know them. What have you been doing all day?"

"Exploring," she replied. "We had coffee back in my time, but I like yours better."

He looked at the floor below the couch, the chalk summoning circle strewn with wrappers and containers.

"Looks like you've been busy," he mused, leaning forward to pick up an empty bottle of hot sauce. "Did you...drink this?"

"I like the way it burns," she replied, delving her clawed fingers into his hair to stroke him as he sat back. He exhaled, his muscles relaxing, she really knew how to push his buttons. "Next time you buy food, bring me more like it. The spicier, the better."

"Or, you could actually put it on food as intended," he volunteered. "Hell, I'm making enough now to buy you whatever you want, I can think of a hundred things that you might like to try. It might not have been conjured by a Watcher, but I'm pretty sure I can find some dishes that you've never tasted before. We live in a global economy now y'know. Oh, that reminds me..."

He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small plastic packet, tossing it into her lap. She picked it up gingerly and examined it, struggling to read the brand name.

"Pop...Rocks? What is this?"

He helped her open the packaging and poured some of the tiny, pink crystals into his hand.

"Stick your tongue out," he said, and her long organ parted her lips obediently. He tipped them onto it, and she took them into her mouth, Ryan failing to suppress a grin as her eyes widened.

"What is that!?"

"It's just candy," he laughed, "I saw it at the food court at work, and I thought of you. I'll get you something sour next time, maybe a Warhead. I can guarantee that you didn't have those back in Sumeria."

She smiled as the candy fizzed on her tongue, every sensation, every taste and scent an adventure to her. It made Ryan realize how much he took for granted. The gentle breeze, the feeling of a warm shower on his skin, the sensation of a cold drink soothing his parched throat on a hot day. She was giving him a whole new appreciation for life. She had been deprived of a physical form for so long that she took pleasure in the simplest of things and he would do well to follow her example.