Knight vs. Succubus

The domed ceiling gave way before the light, creating a hail of falling stones and shattered wooden beams. A column of gold raced into the sky, splitting the clouds apart with its passing.

The world fell silent. The light was gone from the hall. The rain all that remained.

"By Annovax...how is that possible?" A soldier from the line uttered to himself.

Mikaylson was stunned. Agrius was, by far, the strongest knight she had ever seen. His power shouldn't have been possible. What gift, what sacrifice had the Child of Light made? It was then, as the remnants of the stone ceiling clattered down to the rubble, that his words came back to her.

"The captain has given us this chance," Mikaylson said, "to Agrius, to victory, to the light!" She rushed forward, the scattered candlelight and the flashing lightning her only guide across the length of the hall. She did not turn or wait for the men, she trusted them to move, to follow, and sure enough, after a few steps forward into the waiting darkness, she heard plated boots scrape across the stone in pursuit.

The other end of the hall was in shambles. The dais had been shattered, the ceiling had left one of the lower level doors inaccessible and the only paths left were out into the courtyard, to the other end of the castle, or up to the watch-tower battlements, where they would be trapped. As she neared the hall, she found the captain sitting against a wall near the courtyard. His brown hair was matted with dust and there was blood along his left arm. He was gasping for air.

"Roshar, Viktor, get the captain on his feet and help him move, we need to get out of this hall, now!"

"I'm fine, lieutenant," Agrius wheezed. "I just need to catch my brea--"

Despite his protests, two men rushed forward and got underneath his arms, hauling him to his feet. As Agrius tried to take a step under his own power, he stumbled and nearly fell to his knees.

"Alright...maybe I'm not fine," the captain gurgled out.

He wasn't just wet from the rain, now that Mikaylson was close she could see the sweat that pooled above his forehead and down the back of his neck. He was soaked and the color of his skin had gone pale.

"We'll make a formation with the captain at our center. Beyond the courtyard we'll be heading into the armory and the store-rooms, then into the sparring yard. Once we pass through the sparring yard, we'll be able to leave through the rear-gate and regroup."

"We're going to run, lieutenant?" Sergeant Estes asked.

"We have no information on the enemy numbers. We get as far as we can, to a place we can fortify and send for reinforcements. We keep this contained, move out!"

Mikaylson led the Saintly Order into the courtyard. As soon as they were past the doorway of the dining hall, where candles still burned despite the opening in the ceiling, the dark swallowed them whole; there were no lights to stymie the encroaching shadow, no frail flame that flickered to show the way, there was only the night.

The curtain of the dark was pulled back by intermittent flashes of blinding white light that traced fire across the sky.

The lightning was the only way Mikaylson could see and she was left to navigate the path of the courtyard grass from the memory of the castle's layout. She marched at a steady pace across the ground, shielding herself from the force of the lashing rain, now stinging like whips against her skin. The ground was more mud than grass at this point and it was with a sign of relief that her steel-shod feet kicked against a stone pathway to the west of the courtyard. That was the path to the armory.

A deafening scream of thunder shook the ground. That was when the attack came.

The line was hit from the right flank by multiple hordes of skeletal bodies, barely lit by the storm. Mikaylson turned to see one of her men, clad in silver armor, pulled off his feet. The man screamed as ruthless hands seized his legs and pulled him from the path.

"Turn! Turn!" Mikaylson bellowed.

The men of the Saintly Order turned to face the oncoming attack, repositioning the shield wall. A skeleton to their left, cloaked in a swathe of darkness, exploded, causing a shower of bone to slam the formation as it swung. Mikaylson was knocked from her feet and her head struck the path. Her eyes went out of focus. The world blurred. Men screamed, but the sound was a distant thing, as if she'd fallen down a well.

Above, her eyes could barely make out vague outlines in the sea of storms, shapes with outstretched wings.

The ringing grew worse. She groaned and held the side of her head. She didn't move until a hand seized her ankle and began dragging her from the path.

Mikaylson whipped her sword in an arc and severed the hand of her attacker, shattering the delicate bones of the monster's wrist. Despite how the world continued to spin, she was on her feet again.

The battlefield was in shambles. The figures in the sky swooped over and behind the line of her men, picking them off, one by one, carrying them into darkness, barely giving them time to scream. The skeleton hordes crashed against their line like the waves of the ocean, without mercy, without rest and without fear.

"Fall back to the armory!" Mikaylson screamed, adrenaline had taken full control. Her head pounded like the chiming ring of a belfry tower. She gritted her teeth, if she didn't take control they would all die here.

A figure swooped down in a tight circle above the formation. A surge of lightning illuminated her silhouette; she had a human body, but large, outstretched wings with talons and claws for hands. It was a lesser succubus.

Mikaylson leapt forward and swung her sword as the figure descended over an unwitting soldier. The cold steel bit into the talon of the succubus's left leg, leaving a deep gash. The woman shrieked and soared back into the night.

They wouldn't make it to the armory at this rate. The shield-wall was crumbling and the hordes advanced on them, gaining ground with every attack. It was inevitable, like water on stone, the latter would eventually crumble, given enough time and pressure.

"Please, Child of Light, turn your gaze to your beloved servants and see my men to safety," Mikaylson whispered.

The lieutenant hefted her sword and surged forward. She didn't have the captain's power, his grace or his blessing, but she would have to be enough to give them a chance to escape now. She was a soldier. Death was her duty.

She came to the front of the shield-wall, a storm in her own right. Her sword struck out in vicious, quick strikes, cleaving rotten bone from flesh. Skeletal bodies fell to ash before her blade and she formed a small pocket of resistance. It was enough to give the shield-wall time to escape the writhing mass of bone, but the numbers were too one-sided.

Shrieks rained down from above and swirling figures fell from the sky. The succubi were attacking again and this time she couldn't stop them. They were coming, a half a dozen shapes in the dark, towards the men that fled towards the safety of the armory. She wanted to go to them, but it was all she could do to stop the flood of skeletons from surging up the path.

A golden light erupted from the courtyard. It was as if day had stretched forth the warm hand of the sun to the night. The mask of shadow would cloak the courtyard no longer. The succubi shrieked and changed course, trying to find the bosom of the dark once more.

Agrius was wreathed in a halo of brilliant light. Where the captain stood, no shadow could pass. The army of the dead ceased their charge, blinded by the gift of Annovax.

"Lieutenant..." he began, his voice dry and tired, "get them home."

"But sir, we can't lea--"

"You can, that's an order," Agrius interrupted. "I'm the one who led us here, the fault is mine, now you clean up my mess, get them home and tell Cristus what transpired here."

The lieutenant hesitated, but she knew in her heart there was no other way. The captain had the power to hold back the onslaught. He had the power to give them the chance to escape. She couldn't give them that. She closed her eyes, whispered a curse and bit her lip so hard it drew blood.

Thunder rattled the sky.

"Goodbye, Anna."

"Goodbye, Agrius." Mikaylson turned and led the men up the path. They moved warily, with many a glance back towards the skeletal army and their captain, glowing like the fist of the sun.

Kzani emerged into the courtyard, her flowing white dress still remained as vibrant as ever, not touched by the rain or even the mud.

"How far do you think they'll get, captain? I'm not going to let them go."

"What makes you think you're going to live through the next five minutes, monster?"

Kzani laughed and placed a hand to her chest. "Let's see what happens in the next five minutes then, shall we? Sisters, bring him before my feet, alive if possible. The rest of you, capture his men." The succubus slid back into the shadow, beyond the circle of light the captain's power made.

With a shrill shriek, figures raced down from the sky. One by one, six beautiful women entered the circle of light and stared at the captain with hungry eyes, but they weren't like Kzani, they were the lesser succubi.

These lesser succubi had talons and claws, where hands and feet should be, but they were no less beautiful in the face or the body. The true difference in their appearance were the eyes. The eyes would always tell. Where the greater succubi could mask the hollow death of their eyes, with something akin to the look of a human, the lesser succubi could not. The eyes of the six were hollow, no light, no laughter and no love shone behind them, just pits of unending insatiable hunger.

The army of bones rattled towards the armory.

The halo of light that surrounded the captain rippled, like a desert mirage, in front of the six lesser succubi, suddenly plunging them into darkness without warning. The light appeared again, shimmering like the tendrils of the sun in front of the advancing horde, then it swallowed their line in a flash of fire and golden embers. In the span of a breath, the army was gone and all that remained were cratered ruin of ash and melted bone.

One of the lesser succubi, a beauty with red hair, tried to take to the sky, but her head fell from her shoulders as Agrius appeared amidst the lesser succubi again.

A black haired succubus lashed out with her claws, but when they came away her hands were gone and what was left were cauterized stumps. Glimmering steel flashed out and she burned to death moments later in a fiery tempest of howling agony.

But the light within the captain was quickly fading, he was using up too much energy. He turned to face the four succubi that remained; they moved together, circling him, coming closer and closer. A feral looking blonde haired succubus and a second redhead with pretty freckles on her cheeks, leapt forward. He sidestepped one and ducked the other, only to have her claws rake across his back, finding a hole in the strap of his pauldron. A hot, stinging pain stretched along his skin and he felt trickling blood slip down his chest.

As another succubus lunged, driven wild by the smell of blood, her attack was too greedy. The captain turned her claw aside with a sweep of his sword. She tried to pivot and strike again, but he ducked her blind swing and sank a hidden knife deep into the cage of her heart.

On opposite ends, both ahead and behind, the blonde and the redhead leapt again, attacking in tandem. He rolled, landing hard on his injured shoulder with a wince. The two succubi raked one another in a flurry of beating wings and inhuman shrieks.

The captain stumbled to his feet. The light surged through him strengthening his muscles beyond their normal limit; he leapt at the two entangled succubi, ramming his sword through the blonde's back, till the tip pierced the front of the redhead. The light entered them, the sword acting as a conduit to their bodies and they erupted in golden flames.

The final succubus, a sweet, chestnut haired woman, fell upon him. Agrius was knocked off his feet, exhausted. The light faded and the darkness swept in to retake the courtyard. The succubus raked and clawed at his breastplate with frenzied strength. Her talons were sharp enough to leave deep gashes in the metal, but fortunately she wasn't able to split one of the leather straps that held his armor in place.

With a grunt of primal effort the light filled him, one last time, and he caught her raking talons in gauntlet clad hands. The light crackled to life with obvious effort, the energy within him no longer enough to make it flow freely, till it surged into the succubus's body, igniting her legs in golden fire. She fell to the ground, howling, rolling in the muck, trying to exhaust the flames, but she fell still when Agrius plunged the tip of his sword through her breast. The hollow eyes of the succubus closed forever, before she faded to molten ash.

He lay on the ground after that, the skin of his upper back and about his chest stinging with the pain of fresh cuts. He could feel hot blood drip down his shoulder, mixed with the cold chill of the rain. His eyelids were heavy, his muscles strained beyond their limit, he had given everything to get his men to safety, he hoped it had been enough.

"...and you call me a monster?" Kzani asked from somewhere nearby.

"You are a monster..." the captain said breathlessly.

"And what does that make you?"

"A monster for the good side," Agrius said without humor.

Kzani laughed again and knelt down next to the fallen hero.

"No wonder the Lord of Fire wants you so desperately," she smiled at him and brushed a lock of wet, black hair behind her ear.

Now that the light of Annovax no longer coursed through his veins, he stared up at the greater succubus and couldn't help but understand just how beautiful she truly was. It wasn't a beauty that only his eyes recognized, skin deep, it was a beauty that, even in the depths of his soul, he understood and it cut his heart to look upon her. Her blue eyes were the deepest parts of the ocean, with the faintest light from the sun scattered across the waves, her smile was the warmth of summer upon a hill of flowers, sweet and lovely, and she smelled of autumn rain on the prairies where he'd grown up.

Kzani pursed her lips and craned her head down to meet him. The ends of her soft, black hair brushed against his cheek. She was an angel, sent to pull him from the depths of hell. He closed his eyes and tired, grime soaked fingers ran to the nape of her neck.

Even through his armor he could feel the warmth of her body soak into his skin. The captain lifted his head ever so slightly and their lips met. For a time, the rain, the storm, the thunder and every worry that had lingered in the back of his mind melted away and all that was left was her.

She pulled away and flashed a ravishing smile. "I can't believe you let yourself get kissed by a succubus." She laughed and ran the tip of her tongue sensually around the edge of her bee-stung lips.

That was when realization dawned for Agrius. He could feel the poison actively leaching into his flesh. She moved to kiss him again, much quicker than before, but he forced his sword arm to move. With a quick arc he swept down, but the movement was sluggish, not nearly as composed as his other strikes. The muscles of his arm shook.

The greater succubus caught his arm and slammed it to the dirt. Her lips pressed against his mouth and forced him down. The poison burned, but it felt so good. He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He was so warm and comfortable. His muscles went slack. The world went black.

***

He awoke in a dimly lit room with barely any candle-light. His head was pounding. On the opposite end of the room was a single, full length mirror, and it was there that he saw his condition; he was chained with silver manacles about his wrists, tethered to the ceiling above his head in the center of the room. His legs were shackled, much like his wrists, so that he could barely move. He looked at his tired reflection and with a start realized he was completely naked. He strained against the manacles, trying to pull them free from the wall or just find out his range of movement, but they bit viciously into the skin of his wrist and only afforded him an inch.

"Mmmm...finally awake, pet?" a voice behind him asked. It came out as a sultry purr.

Over his left shoulder he saw Azani rise from a chair in the corner, a blue, almost translucent wrap was thrown about her shoulders. It draped the full length of her body and slid across the stone floor. She approached him from the side and ran soft fingers across the ridge of his shoulder, down to the toned muscles of his chest. A scream echoed from down the hall.

"Look at me, captain."

Agrius kept looking at the ceiling.

Kzani smiled to herself and pointedly looked at his body. Her fingers crawled down the curve of his barrel chest, down to the cuts along his muscle laden abdomen, before running against the curve of his hip. "You're quite a fine looking man, Agrius." She moved to his back and examined the network of cuts, bruises and muscles that ran down his body.

The succubus moved to his ear and her warm lips lightly touched his skin.

"This doesn't have to be a fight between us, that part is over. The more you resist me now, the more I will hurt you till you break," she whispered sweetly. "Now, I want you to look at me."

She moved in front of him again and waited.

Agrius stared at the ceiling, his eyes unfocused and his expression stone.

"Just remember that I gave you the choice."

Kzani opened the door to the chamber and two skeletal soldiers walked a blonde woman into the room, led by chains. She was wearing her small-clothes, a thin gray tunic that barely covered her athletic body and a pair of long gray cotton breeches. Kzani took the shackles from the soldiers and pulled her to the middle of the floor. She grasped the blonde's chin and lifted her head.

"Captain, you're alive!" Mikaylson exclaimed.

Agrius looked at her, his mouth open in shock. "Lieutenant, how...?"

Kzani leaned forward, eyes locked to the captain and kissed Anna on the mouth. Her fingers moved through her long, blonde hair and brushed it behind the lieutenant's ear, so that the captain could have an unobstructed view. Anna melted into the kiss and her body went slack. The succubus, without looking, pulled Mikaylson's manacles through hooks set in the ceiling, locking her in place. A few more screams echoed from the hall beyond.

The skeleton soldiers turned and exited the room, closing the door on the way out.

Kzani pulled away from the kiss with a lascivious smile, a thin trail of saliva dripped between them.

The captain fought against his chains, trying to lunge for the succubus, but they only opened the skin at his wrists and legs. Anna fell, but was caught when the steel that bound her arms went taut. The tips of her nipples poked through the fabric of her tunic. Her body shivered.

Kzani smirked and walked behind Agrius. She slipped an arm around his neck and chest, while the other strayed to his hip.

"I'm going to drive her mad with lust, captain, until she loses the ability to speak, until she goes insane with a desperate need that only I can fulfill." She kissed the side of his neck and the poison sent a warm heat throughout his body. "Then when she can't take anymore, I'm going to set her free..."

Agrius screamed and tried to thrash again. Kzani's fingers wrapped around the captain's steadily growing cock and began to pump softly while she whispered in his ear. Her other hand grasped the bottom of the captain's chin and forced him to look at the lieutenant.

"I won't stop torturing both of you until your mortal minds can't take it anymore. You'll break eventually, no one is coming to save you now. I have plenty of time."