Lost Bloodlines Ch. 08

Elena noticed as I turned to look for the Victoria, who at the moment was trading blows with Draco near the ceiling. "I see you made the connection. Yes, your armor is a gift from the Valkyrie. And so we arrive at the crux of the matter. While you will need to train with your abilities just like any other, you have another path to power. You can amass tremendous power by joining with a wide array of monsters and humans, just as your patron did thousands of years ago."

"By being a slut, you mean. That's your sage advice? Fuck as much as I can?" I couldn't keep the derision from my tone. Despite already dipping my toe into the realm of polyamory, this seemed a little much for my sensibilities. Being with someone I'd developed a real bond with was one thing, but indiscriminate sex? The thought just made me feel...cheap. I had trouble enough working through the discomfort of my forced joining with Elizabeth, and to do that over and over again?

"Quite. I admit, I expected more enthusiasm. I'm sure millions of men the world over would kill to be in such a position."

I sighed. "Not this one. Even when I was just a normal man, that kind of life...definitely not for me."

While Elena's look betrayed some trace amusement at my discomfort, her reply was stern. "It is now. Those girls out there? They're relying on you to be strong. The entirely of Gomorrah is expecting you to be strong. And if you're not?" The witch's eyes bored into mine as her voice lowered. "Your children will turn on you. If you aren't useful to the demons here, they will find a way to replace or eliminate you. The angel and the Valkyrie will be killed outright, and the others likely forced back to Earth to face the humans. So, Lilith, unless you decide to 'be a slut' as you so crudely put it, you will be far too weak to survive in this place. Do you understand me?"

I was completely taken aback by the sudden heat in the witch's tone. "But I don't want..."

"Hell doesn't care what you want. You don't have that luxury yet. In just two days, Lucifer will hold his grand reunion, and all of your children will be back in Gomorrah for the first time in a millennium. So this is what you are going to do." Elena grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face the training arena, her nails digging tightly into my skin through my shirt. Her breath was hot in my ear. "You and that werewolf will stop circling each other like uncertain children and sleep together. Then you'll get over whatever dregs of heterosexuality you're still clinging to and fuck the angel and the dragon. The power boost from those two alone will be enough to make you a force to be reckoned with amongst the Kings of Hell. After that, you'll spread your legs for every Pit-damned monster in the city if that's what it takes."

Each sentence was like a slap on the face. I pushed out of Elena's grasp and whirled on her, my cheeks darkened with some combination of anger, embarrassment, and panic. "What the fuck, Elena? Where is this coming from?" Despite the vitriol in her voice, the witch's lined face just looked sad. Slower this time, she reached out and placed a hand on both of my trembling shoulders.

"Because Lucifer is insane. Belial and his lackeys are greedy, short-sighted, and will kill anyone that attempts to usurp their authority. The other factions are misguided at best and apathetic at worst. The Legions have been at each other's throats for a millennium, and your return may very well be the catalyst that sends them into open war. And given what's happening on Earth right now...we can't afford that. The world can't afford that. That is why you need to do whatever it takes to regain your lost power. The Legions will follow you, but only if they're more scared of you than Belial and the others."

"Who said I wanted to lead anyone? I'm sorry, but I could care less about Hell's power squabbles. I'm not your new messiah. I just want me and my friends to be safe!" My voice was rising with every word, and my heart speeding up. I didn't want this, fuck, I couldn't handle this kind of pressure. "Find someone else to fix your fucking problems. I need to...," I stepped away from the witch as my heart seized again. It was getting hard to breathe. "We need to get out of here..." I gasped, stumbling forward. Victoria's name formed on my lips, but I felt a wave of dizziness overtake me, and my vision was darkened by black spots. My knees crumpled, I tumbled towards the hard floor...

...and someone caught me. Or, rather, I caught me. Was it me? I couldn't tell. Those were my hands holding me up on the marble tile, black talons extended and gleaming menacingly. Wait, no they weren't. My hard were larger, pale white with light blonde hair on their back. They were soft, not used to hard labor, more often stained with pen ink than not. Faith always said she loved my hands...

Dimly, as through a drugged haze, I felt my body right itself. Posture perfect, back straight and chest thrust out proudly, I turned on a dime to face Elena. The witch's expression was concerned, but at my rapid shift in demeanor, there was an element of confusion seeping in. Maybe even a tinge of fear.

As though underwater, I heard my voice speak. "Worry not, bound one. I have calmed Charles; he is in no danger."

Elena gasped, and in an instant fell to her knees and prostrated herself. "Mistress Lilith! I am sorry to have caused your host distress, I only..."

"Hush. It was something he..." I felt something poke at me, some sort of probe that tingled as it circled my head. It almost tickled. "Hmmm. Some small progress then. It was something she needed to hear." Ghostly shocks ran along my fingers as I brought Elena to her feet with a graceful hand on her chin. "You have done well. You are a loyal servant of the Legions, Elena Morgan of Aberystwyth. I will make sure she heeds your advice."

Who was I talking about? And why did I sound like that? For a moment the lassitude of my thoughts began to clear, and I started to think that maybe something was wrong. But then another comforting blanket of numbness enveloped me. I heard myself begin to speak again, but I just felt so tired all of a sudden, and I slowly drifted off...

"Lilith!"

I jerked awake with a start. "Huh? What?" I was standing, but leaning heavily against someone else. Pushing myself back, I found that it was the Elena who was holding me up, a soft smile on her lips. I shook my head to clear it. "What happened?"

"You just got a bit worked up and stumbled, dear. How are you feeling?"

Hmmm. That was a good question. My body felt lethargic, like I was just waking from a long sleep, and my head was still muddled. "Tired."

The witch tutted. "You've had a long day, I imagine. What was the last thing you remember?"

"I...you were telling me something about...sex?" Fuck, it was all jumbled in my head. Something about Cyri, and Belial, and... "Wait, you wanted me to take control of Hell!"

"Yes, I'm sorry to have sprung that on you so soon."

My heartbeat began to pick up and I felt some odd sense of déjà vu, but then the tightness in my chest suddenly disappeared. Confused at the odd reaction, I just shook my head. "It all just seems like a lot to think about right now. I need some time, okay?" I expected the witch to be disappointed or even angry, though I wasn't sure why. Her expression was nothing but supportive however.

"Of course, Lilith. We can talk about it another time." When whatever negative reaction I expected never came, some of the confusion and fatigue in my head seemed to fall away.

I cleared my throat and took a step back, out of the witch's supportive embrace. "Thanks. So...what now? Should I go join the others?" I was somewhat surprised that Victoria or Aqua hadn't shown up when I collapsed, but it seemed like they were too caught up in their mock battles. Clangs of metal and shouts of exertion had filled the room when I wasn't paying attention.

"Not yet. I had one more thing to discuss with you before you can join your friends." Elene lowered herself to the floor, and stared up at me expectantly from where she sat. I followed her example a second later. The witch's hands began to slowly carve little symbols into the air as her magic activated, and little sheets of light began to dance along the ground between us. "You still have another innate ability you have yet to tap into, and luckily enough, it is one of my specialties."

The little bands of light began to form images on the ground; unfamiliar streets and buildings of some small hamlet. Elena continued speaking with a smile. "Let's see if I can't teach you something about illusions."

-00000-

With a barely muffled curse, I tossed yet another shirt behind me, my frustration mounting. Clad only in a set of lace panties, I stood in the middle of a scene of destruction. Every corner of my luxurious walk-in wardrobe was piled high with discarded clothes: dresses, blouses, and lingerie scattered about in disheveled clumps. Even with the dozens of articles of clothing piled high around me, more victims awaited my rage on the massive racks before me.

"Water, water, everywhere," I muttered, pulling down a deep purple top with a daringly low V-neck, before tossing it, "and not a drop to drink."

There was a surprised yelp behind me, and I spun just in time to see Aqua peel off the top that I had accidentally plastered to her face. With incredulous eyes she took in the devastation surrounding me, finally letting out a little giggle as she beheld my form practically vibrating in suppressed frustration and nervousness. Aqua bit her lip as her gaze shifted to what this nervous energy was doing to my free-hanging breasts.

With an affronted grunt, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Did you come in here just to eye-fuck me?"

"Mayyyybeeee." The siren sauntered fully into the room, flashing me her patented mischievous grin. "Especially if it means you'll return the favor."

I snorted, but she did at least manage to get a little smile out of me. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't think I've got the time." I waved a hand vaguely at the mess around me. "I've already wasted an hour in this purgatory."

Aqua threw herself down on one of the clothing piles with a pout. "Hmph." When she didn't say anything more, I just shook my head and returned to the infernal rack. For another few minutes I hemmed and hawed over the literal thousands of options hung up before me, only managing to sink myself deeper into hopelessness.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Aqua called from her makeshift seat. I grimaced. A common theme this afternoon. I had spent nearly two hours trying to master Elena's little magical glyphs to form an illusion, with absolutely no success. The lack of instant skill was surprising and deeply frustrating. And now I had been defeated by a clothing rack.

"No. No, I do not." I looked pleadingly to the siren. "Help?"

She just grinned brightly and hopped to her feet. "Tori told me about your little date tonight. Figured that you'd have no clue what to wear." As she spoke, Aqua began to pick over the options still left along the wall. "I noticed that pretty much all you've worn since you got here have been hoodies and jeans."

"They're comfortable!" And I actually understood how they worked, unlike the infinite vagaries of feminine fashion laid out before me. "Normally I'd just put on a button-down and some nice slacks or something, but I didn't think that'd work for...this." I gestured to my nearly naked body.

Aqua's eyes flashed appreciatively over the offered view again before she returned to her task. "For a sophisticated older woman like Dr. Lima? Definitely not."

"Sophisticated, pfff." I'd be lucky if Isabel didn't just rip whatever I showed up in to shreds in her enthusiasm.

Whatever Aqua had uncovered seemed to satisfy her, and she emerged from the racks with several garments draped over her arm. She cocked out a hip and looked me up and down with a critical gaze. "First of all, Glamour on."

I lifted my eyebrows, but did as she asked. With a thought, I allowed the magical disguise to take hold and my supernatural extremities disappeared in an instant, replaced with smooth, dusky skin. "Why? She hasn't even seen me in human form before."

With a tut, the siren handed me a lacy bra, which I dutifully put on. "Exactly. It'll be both surprising and comforting. I'm sure Gomorrah is as overwhelming for her as it is the rest of us. Going on a nice, normal date with a human will be exactly what she needs."

"But...what if she doesn't like it?" The siren just gave me a look, and I commenced shutting up and putting on the next article she handed me. Yes, I knew I was being a nervous idiot about this. In my defense, every time I ended up with a new woman, it just seemed to happen, almost an accident even. This was very much planned and in my control. And it scared the shit out of me.

"You know," Aqua mused as I slipped into a dark skirt that clung tightly to my curves, "you could always just slip her some of the pink stuff if you're so nervous. I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting to the fun part of the night early."

"I'm not using the lust aura on her, Aqua. That's how I got into this mess in the first place. She deserves better than that." I shrugged on the last piece, a pitch-black blazer that split into ruffles at the waist. Fixing up the buttons, I shifted uncomfortably at the unfamiliar tightness to the outfit. "This...seems a bit fancy for what I was intending Are you sure about this?"

Aqua looked me up and down and smiled hungrily. "Sexy and professional. Yum." She reached out and tugged at the skirt. Her fussing turned to an opportunistic grope seconds later that I batted away. I stepped in front of the full-length mirror and...holy shit. She wasn't kidding. 'Yum' was definitely the right word. The skirt clung suggestively to every curve, the dark material of the blazer and skirt contrasting enticingly with a white low-cut top that left a substantial hint of cleavage. It looked like I should be heading up some Fortune 500 company, crushing the working class under my heel while they begged for more. And speaking of which...

"The final touch..." Aqua spoke from behind me, holding a pair of black stiletto heels and wiggling her eyebrows in the mirror.

"I would rather die."

"But your ass would look so good. You have to at least try it."

"Flats, or nothing. I don't want to stumble around like an idiot the entire night."

The siren grumbled in response, but she thankfully found me some footwear I could actually walk in. Dressed to kill and feeling like I was clad in a very different kind of armor, some of my anxiety began to fade. And still I picked nervously at my straightened locks of hair.

"What about the hair? Does it work? I didn't really know how to do anything with it so..."

"Lilith, it's perfect." Aqua paused thoughtfully, and an evil little smirk appeared on her face, "Though I suppose you could always ask Cyri to do it up for you."

I glared at her, my cheeks heating. "Things between us are already awkward enough, I'm not going to ask her to braid my hair for a date with another woman."

"Oh, so its okay to ask for help from a woman you're already sleeping with then?" She raised an eyebrow dramatically.

My face immediately paled. "Oh my god, Aqua, I'm sorry, I didn't think..."

My words were cut off by the pure chimes of Aqua's laughter. I narrowed my eyes as she practically doubled over, holding her stomach as she laughed. "Oh, you should have seen your face!" She straightened, wiping a little tear from her eye with an insufferable grin. "I'm absolutely on-board with you fucking the shit out of the sexy cougar. Another sister for the harem!"

"Oh god, please don't call it that."

Aqua's grin only grew, and she slid up close to me, resting a hand on my chest and the other on my cheek. "Does Mistress not like that idea? A bevy of hot and horny women waiting on your every sexual whim and fantasy? Mmmm, I bet we can find some oil to rub all over each other's bodies, getting every crease and crevice hot and slick and...MMM!"

I cut the minx off with a searing kiss and a handful of her pert ass. She melted into my touch and eagerly returned my passion, only to let out a pained whimper when I slipped out of her grasp with a parting slap to her rear. I smoothed out the slight wrinkles in my blazer from her touch as she stared piteously at me.

"You know, historical harems actually weren't anything like that. While the Ottoman Imperial Harem did have a sexual function, the seraglio was actually a vital political and social institution in the Sublime Porte, though scholars often disagree about..."

"Ugh, I forgot that you were a history nerd," Aqua groaned. With a rueful shake of her head, she shooed me out of the wardrobe. "I've done all I can. Just promise I'll be the only woman left unsatisfied tonight."

I rolled my eyes at her self-pitying tone. "Please, I'm sure you and Victoria will be locked between each other's legs for half the night."

"Irrelevant. Now, go!"

Laughing, I did as she said, exiting out of my rooms to the main halls of the villa. The building was quiet, abandoned as always, though the maids kept the entire structure spotless somehow. More magic if I had to guess.

As I passed the dining room where we had been meeting for meals, I saw Cyri and Sam sitting at the long table, playing cards to pass the time. Cyri's back was to me, but I saw her ears perk up and swivel backwards towards the sound of my footsteps. At the same time, Sam looked up from his hand, noticed me, smiled this cheeky, horrible grin, and gave an exaggerated wolf-whistle.

I flipped him the bird. "Fuck off." Stepping up behind Cyri, she flashed me a quick smile before going back to concentrating on the cards on the table. Judging by the impressive number of utensils stacked up in front of the angel, it seems they had found a creative alternative to poker chips, and that werewolf was either terrible at poker, or exceptionally unlucky. Figuring I still had some time to kill, I moved to sit down and join the pair in their intense match, but a polite cough behind me interrupted.

One of the maids, Portia, I thought, stood near the door. "Pardon the intrusion, Mistress Lilith, but there is a human at the gates. She says you are expecting her." Sam and Cyri shared a knowing look. Fucking Victoria, already blabbed to everyone. Sighing, I got to my feet again. Time to face the music.

I placed a friendly hand on Cyri's back. "Win it all back for me, okay?" She just smiled again and nodded, but there was a tightness to her lips that hadn't been there a second ago, and her ears seemed a little droopier somehow. I wanted to say something, ease this awkwardness that had appeared between us ever since her transformation, but I didn't know how. Even if I did, now was certainly not the time.

"I am indeed, thank you, Portia." The imp, as that was her apparent subspecies of demon, merely nodded. Well, at least I got her name right. "We'll be in the garden if anything happens."

"Of course, Mistress."

Quickly, I made my way outside, the setting sun throwing long shadows over the carefully curated greenery of the villa's courtyard. Beyond the villa, the neon lights of the surrounding city were just coming on as darkness began to fall over Gomorrah. At some unknown command, as I neared the villa's outer gate, it opened inwards, revealing the cause of my nerves this night.

Standing impatiently on the other side was Isabel, dressed simply in weathered jeans and a tight shirt. With fingers tucked into the waist of her jeans and one foot tapping, I began to wonder how long Portia had kept the woman waiting to leave her in such a state. Upon catching sight of me, Isabel's eyes lit up, but then immediately narrowed in confusion. She looked me up and down.