Order of the Sacred Sword Ch. 01

"The demon has one goal, and that is to copulate with a human and produce demonic offspring. Their appetites are insatiable," he said, with a sorrow in his voice. "Our knights, both of this Order and the Sisters, offer the demon an inexhaustible outlet for their carnal urges and, when the demon is fatigued and can consume no more, destroy them."

Nothing I had come across in my search for information had come anywhere close to revealing this truth. I stood, eyes on the tapestry, erection raging, stunned. The picture seemed to be moving, the flames in the demon's black eyes flickering, the man thrusting further and further into her, the blade descending. It was either some kind of magic, or my starved imagination running away from me.

"I have heard many stories," I replied, after some time in contemplation. "But that is the most absurd."

"Whether you choose to believe it or not is entirely up to you," Althenon said. "And it does not change the facts. Our priesthood seeks out the demons, weakens them, and banishes them back to the netherworld from which they came. There are but twenty of us left, but we are strong, and we are winning."

"How can mortal men fight the succubi?" I asked. The demons my grandfather had fought during the war were one thing, but the succubi and incubi were creatures of great power, able to bend the will of humans almost without fail, given the chance. Only magic, it was said, could keep them at bay.

"We are in league with the Starlight Tower," he replied. "Our goals are the same, if not our methods. We train. We practice."

"I've heard tales of the ferocity of the demons," I said. "To withstand that must be quite a feat of stamina."

"One of them came to our side," he explained. "The sisterhood has a male or two as well, but their capture was much easier to accomplish. The incubi are governed by lust above all else, and residence with a willing group of women is more than enough incentive for the individual to stop their violent ways."

"I beg your pardon, but I must ask for proof," I said. "If I cannot be among your chosen, I believe my tithe has bought me at least that."

"That, and much more," Althenon replied. He raised his hand and beckoned to someone. We were not alone in the room.

Two armed and armored men approached, clad in silver plate from neck to foot. One of them was black of skin and shorter than the other, who was greying in the temples and had a scar across his left cheek. They reached us and stopped, without a word, hands on the hilts of their swords.

"Brother, please fetch Talaxel and escort her to the circle," he said to the dark-skinned knight. The man, who was only a little taller than myself, nodded and turned. With one hand on his sword he clanked across the room and disappeared through one of the doors.

"How may I assist you?" said the other man, who was smiling now, ever so slightly.

"Take young Quentin here to the meditation room," Althenon commanded. "He will go through the first rite today. I will join you there shortly."

#

"You have nothing to worry about," the older knight explained. I had come to find that his name was Sir Gregory. We had entered a small chamber and he was taking my belongings, piling them on the ground against the wall. It was no more than a closet, but it was well-lit by a window and warm, and in one corner there was an altar with many candles. There were only two doors: the one I had come through, and another on the opposite wall. "At the very least, you will emerge from the temple today having had a very memorable experience."

"What kind of experience?" I asked. I didn't know whether I should be afraid, or excited, or ready to prove my mettle.

"You will copulate with the demon who lives amongst us," Gregory said. He took my sword from me roughly, and placed it with the rest of my things.

"There is usually a little more poetry to it than that," Althenon added. He had silently passed through the door into the room. "But in essence, we will see if you are capable of fulfilling the basic duties required of a knight of our order."

"I didn't know," I replied. "I wasn't expecting this."

"If you have any moral compunctions, best to turn back now," Gregory said. "What awaits you beyond that door is pure evil, and the only thing keeping you alive will be the years we have spent perfecting the methods of keeping it at bay."

"Gregory, do not frighten the child," Althenon said. "Talaxel is only one of the half-demon offspring, and a gentle soul, at that."

"Soul," Gregory said, with a sharp left. "I have been with that woman many times. She has no soul."

"It is true that she did not come to us willingly, but she has lived among us for many years without incident," the older priest explained. "I have had many a conversation with her that did not end in argument or violence."

"Have you," I began, addressing Althenon. I could not finish the question, my nerves were so overpowering.

"A few times," he said. "But I am no knight, merely a steward with the willpower to resist the demon's temptation."

"Temptation," Gregory laughed again. He grabbed me by the shoulders, brought his eyes level with mine. "She will finish you with a glance. You will feel her power, and you will lose everything."

"That's quite enough, sir," Althenon said.

"I only wish to warn him," Gregory said. "I have been at this for quite a while. It takes practice, and resolve."

"Ah yes," Althenon said, a mocking tone in his voice. "Sir Gregory, the Cunt-Hammer. Why you insist on naming your weapon is a mystery to me."

"The demon is not easy to frighten," Gregory explained. "But word of a legendary sword travels fast."

"I don't know if I am ready for this," I said, unable to hide the quavering in my voice. The walls of the small room were creeping toward me, and I felt a sudden urge to trust Gregory, to run.

"You are ready," Althenon replied. From his robes he furnished a small vial, no longer than his hand, no wider than a coin. "Drink this."

"What is it?" I asked, taking the bottle and examining the blue liquid within. It was clear and featureless, but the bottle was ice cold.

"It is the potion that allows you to resist her powers, and to turn the demon to your purposes," Gregory explained. He gestured to his belt, where there hung a metal flask. "We never travel without it, especially during the hunt."

"It is a courtesy from the Starlight Tower. Drink it," Althenon said. "It will be unpleasant, but Gregory is right. Without it, you will certainly fail."

I complied, and found that Althenon was entirely truthful. It tasted like roots and dirt, and it was indeed colder than freezing water, but I gulped it down all the same, terrified of the alternative. Immediately, I felt the opposite of what I expected. A warmth consumed me and my heart pounded, pushing the fire through my body and into my loins. The fear vanished. I was ready for whatever lay beyond that door. Gregory grabbed my crotch through my smallclothes, and felt my hardness.

"My word," Gregory said. "I think the boy is prepared."

"Very well," Althenon said, his voice full of action. He moved between me and the door, breaking my focus on the task at hand. "You will know what to do. There will be brothers in the room to protect you should anything go wrong, and a wizard of the Tower, but I assure you that will not happen. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Are you ready for the first rite?"

"Yes."

"Very well," Althenon said. The knight removed my smallclothes and I was naked, vulnerable but heated with anticipation. "Sir Gregory, open the door and escort the boy through."

#

The room beyond was lit by candlelight. It was square and low-ceilinged, and around the edge of the room there was a circle of what must have been salt poured on the floor. Demons hated salt, this much I knew. It could contain them, along with a number of protective spells. In the center of the room there was a bed, the finest four-post bed I had ever seen, and atop it the finest woman I had ever seen. I couldn't see her face – her head was thrown back on the pillow in ecstasy – but her spread legs were pointed toward me, and I could see her sex between them. Or, I would have been able to see it if not for her hand, caressing her privates, blocking her pink from view.

When I overcame the awe of the sight before me, I finally heard the screaming. She had thrust her fingers deep inside herself and she moaned and cursed. I could not tell if the creature was enraged or on the brink of climax.

"Bring me a cock!" she shouted, moving in and out of herself with fury. The men on either side of the bed were silent, though those with swords appeared ready to draw them. A man in black robes, who must have been the wizard Althenon spoke of, stood by the bed, chanting and waiving a hovering hand over the bed. "Give me a cock this instant or I will kill every single one of you pathetic fools!"

A mad urge overtook me. I walked toward the bed at my own pace, and as I neared the edge the creature noticed me, and sat up. Her black hair tumbled behind her head and she stared me down with almond eyes, fiery green slits that cracked her perfect oval face. Where her forehead faded into hair there was a small horn on either side, spiraled, no longer than my index finger. For an eternity our gazes met, and I could feel the tendrils of her dark magic working her way through my mind. But there was another force there, a shield, and I used it to push her if not complete out, than back for a time. Her breasts were heaving, her pink nipples hard as stone. Crossed legs prevented me from seeing what was down below, but I knew I had to be there, and wanted nothing more than to pin her on the bed and push myself into her. Strain contorted her face as her magical seduction failed, and she let out a piecing screech.

"Human," she ordered in a voice full of terrible horror. "Come to me immediately. I command you to pleasure me, or I will destroy your body and consume your worthless soul."

I stood fast and took my member in my hand, gently rubbing its length. It was hard as iron, harder than it had even been, and seemed twice its normal size. Had I taken the time to examine it I would have seen that it was no illusion, that the power I felt from within was without as well. I scrutinized her body, its curves, the smooth canvas of her milky skin, and found that I was on the edge of release. I let my manhood go, but it did not move, standing straight out in front of me, throbbing with unnatural energy. I wanted nothing more than to take this woman, but I knew that would spell my doom. I knew what I had to do.

I took one step forward, two, until the length of my cock hung over the edge of the bed. It was within her grasp, and I stared her down once more, daring her to approach. Her hand found her slit again and she entered herself, sitting upright, her free hand running over and squeezing her ample bosom.

"You are pathetic," she said. "You cannot hope to resist me."

Though I knew I was possessed by a divine power, protected by a holy force, I like to think that the words I uttered next were my own.

"No, it's you who are pathetic," I replied. My cock was a foot from her sitting form, and as I took one more step forward, my knees against the mattress, I could see her lean forward, squirming in place. Something was keeping her from moving, or so it seemed. I glanced at the wizard weaving his spell, but he was deep in thought, and did not look up from his tome.

"I will consume you and every woman you have ever loved," Talaxel bellowed. Her voice was soft but gruff, a strange accent turning her speech into a harsh threat. Her body was wracked by heavy breaths, her shoulders rising and falling, her face reddening. A dark aura surrounded her, and for a moment she was the only thing in the room, the only person in the world. The darkness illuminated the curve of her neck, the roundness of her hips resting on the slick satin sheets. "I am the only woman left to you. I will have you. Now."

"I command you to surrender," I shouted. "Or you will never again know the touch of a man."

"I refuse. You will be mine."

"Surrender. You are powerless scum."

"Please," she said, a high-pitched squeal in her voice. I knew she was about to finish herself, and that I had pushed back her dark power, if only for now. What light had once been in the room returned, and she was herself, on the bed, almost appearing once again as a normal human woman. "Please take me. I beg you. Please give me your cock."

"Take it for yourself," I said, kneeling onto the bed.

Talaxel leapt upon my member, taking it first in her hands, and quickly in her mouth. Certainly she had a talent, and though her two hands could barely cover my length she worked my cock with skill and speed. She was a petite woman, and could barely fit the head into her mouth, but once she accomplished it she flicked her tongue around it, sucking with enthusiasm. Her eyes met mine, and though I was quite taken with the beauty in her face, I did not finish. Firm hands explored every inch of me, and cradled my stones with care. They tightened, and just when I thought they might release I pulled away from her.

"Why?" she begged, as I pushed her back onto the bed. On her back she was truly a vision, though I couldn't help but wonder how much of it was real, and how much of it was an evil illusion. "Please, come to me. I beg you, my darling, take my cunt."

She spread her legs again and through her soft hair I could see the dripping wetness of her pussy. I moved atop her and held her wrists above her head with one hand. She rolled and bucked beneath me, trying ever harder to move her loins closer to the head of my cock. Whimpering and sighing she struggled, and I took myself in my free hand and, barely able to hold myself aloft, teased her slit with the head.

"Fuck me," she whispered with her soft lips. "Please take me, master. I am yours. I have always been yours. Do with me what you will."

With one motion I slid into her, and her warm grasp took my whole length in three short thrusts. We were one being, just for a moment, and I could not tell whether it was her sorcery taking me, or my own power pushing her out completely.

"You are divine," I whispered to her. No evil could feel this good, or have the power to consume me so completely.

"Fuck me," she said. "Fuck me with your hard cock. I need your seed deep inside me."

I moved in and out of her for what seemed like no time, and all time. Her nails raked across my back and I bit into her neck, and when she came I saw a flash of fangs behind her lips. I fought back waves of warm pleasure, flexing inside her, stopping when I felt I would burst. She moved beneath me in rhythm, slamming herself into me, working my cock in circles as I filled her with it. A look of desperation took her face, and her dark hair was a cloud beneath her pale head. The horns there glittered, polished stone in dim light.

"More," she said, her eyes glowing green in the candlelight. "Please, give me more."

Still in command of the situation, I thought, I commanded her.

"Take it," I said, and we rolled over.

She rode me now, grasping my biceps with her thin fingers, my own hands around the curve of her ass. Her hips seemed to move independent of her body, her chest remaining inches above my mouth as she bounced on my steel organ. I could not understand how any man could resist this for long enough to impregnate one of these creatures, let alone long enough to enter one, without the aid of the potion Althenon had given me. It was something beyond any experience I could have comprehended, and as my climax approached I knew that I would never be able to live if I removed myself from her. She came again, and her cunt tightened around me.

"Please come," she said, meeting my eyes. Her face was set in a devious smile, her hear hanging down around our heads to block out the rest of the world. "I need your seed. Please give it to me. It will feel so wonderful."

She fucked me harder and harder, up and down, and I felt my hands running up and down her firm body, acting of their own accord. There was no amount I could touch her that was too much, that would slake my thirst for her perfect body, her perfect soul. My cock became white-hot with pleasure, and I knew that it was time. I would give her my seed and she would take it, and we would fulfill our destiny as lovers.

And it was gone. My eyes snapped open and I saw that she had been taken from me, pulled off my cock by the two brothers in the room. She kicked and twisted, held above the bed by four strong hands, and as she floated above me I exploded, my seed arcing across the bed and splattering on the pillow above my head. My body seized and I lost everything for a moment, the pressure of my orgasm exploding into nothingness.

"Release me," Talaxel shouted, her old self clearly reemerging from the fog of the spell. "I command it. You have wasted his seed and ruined everything. I will kill every last one of you."

But she could not fight any longer, and fell slack in her their grasp, whispering curses to herself. The two knights dropped her onto the bed and she landed on her back, heaving with deep breaths, unable to move her sweat-soaked body. I rolled off the bed and onto the stone floor, suddenly aware of what was happening around me. The light in the room was dull, and there were three men, and I was in the presence of a demon unarmed and naked. I watched her as she found her cunt with her hands and rubbed it, smiling and letting out a groaning breath.

"This would be the moment to act," Sir Gregory said from the other side of the bed. Yes, it was Sir Gregory, and the dark skinned night, and the wizard, who was still mumbling over the bed, doing whatever he was doing to control the situation. "But you have done well. I will make my report to the High Paladin. Sir Ballard will accompany you to a bedchamber so you may regain your strength while a decision is made."

The black knight approached me and took my gently by the arm, leading me toward the room's only door. I glanced back at Talaxel, but she had forgotten me. She almost seemed to be sleeping, and if not for her loud breathing I would have thought that the experience had drained her, killed her, rendered her no longer a living thing. I could certainly sympathize with that feeling.

#

Althenon came to the bedchamber shortly after I rose from slumber. Through the window I could see a grey sky and rain, but the morning light was unmistakable It appeared that I had slept for nearly a day. His robes were blue today, and he had not shaved. In his arms was a bundle of blue clothes, the same hue as his.

"How are you feeling, my son?" he asked, sitting on the end of my bed. There was no stool, and the cot on which I slept was the only piece of furniture in the room, aside from a chamber pot.

"Rested," I replied. "And not."

"I understand."

In truth I felt at peace, but could not reconcile the experience of the day before. I had battled pirates, fought three at once, and boarded an enemy ship with no promise of returning alive. But before my encounter with Talaxel I had never experienced that level of overwhelming emotion, that fear. I could not understand.

"We have heard the report of your first rite, and have come to a decision," Althenon said. "I wish we could deliver the news under more formal circumstances. There will be a ceremony later, have no doubt."

"A ceremony?" I asked. My trepidation turned to elation, and I knew what he was about to announce.

"You will be admitted to the Order of the Sacred Sword in two days' time," said the steward. "Afterward, you will train here for a time, then Sir Ballard will take you on as a squire."