Red Tsonia & The Witch In The Dark

The dagger clattered to the floor, fallen from suddenly numb fingers.

"What? How?" the Overseer sputtered. He caught a breath to call for his newly-promoted Captain, but Tsonia was on him faster than a striking cobra. Her momentum carried both of them through the hallway, only to stop with rib-bruising force at the opposing wall. DuFrain's head spun and visions of his life sped past his eyes. But no life-ending stab pierced his breast, nor did any brutal beating rain upon him. Tsonia placed her finger on his lips.

"Shush. I'm not here to kill you today, Overseer," she purred. Taking his wrist, she guided him back into his office, effortlessly levering him into the cushions he had placed there for some after-work relaxation with one of his playthings.

"But... but..." DuFrain stammered, nameless dread coursing through his veins. "I had you killed!"

Tsonia chuckled softly. "I did meet Shaskar and he was a most cunning adversary. But in the end... his ambition burned too wildly."

"You've come for revenge then?" DuFrain wondered, daring to breathe again.

Tsonia returned to the desk and poured herself another goblet of wine. DuFrain observed every single movement with bated breath. This wasn't the same woman who had abused him so roughly almost a week ago. Nay, this vixen moved with the grace of a hunting beast... or a demoness!

"I also met Amalthra." Tsonia said, sipping her drink.

"Then you should know which powers are mine to call upon. Don't you dare-" DuFrain began, believing the tides turned in his favor again.

Another chuckle. "She helped me regain my shattered strength." Her hand caressed down her front, jangling some of the loose chain rings hanging off her lower garment. "She also introduced me to Xelathu, in a way you can't even begin to fathom."

"So... we are allies now?" DuFrain dared to ask.

Tsonia set down the goblet and laughed, a burst of full-bellied mirth ringing off the rafters. "Not even close, my dear Overseer," she replied once her humor had died down. "After what I am about to do, I don't think Xelathu will look too kindly upon me." She hefted her blade and favored DuFrain with a long, lascivious look.

Sweat beaded on the Overseer's brow. "If this is about Ivor and Tommek... I had to assert myself! I can't have lowly guards run roughshod over my authority!" he squealed, trying to crawl further into the cushions. The cold, hard stone wall stopped any attempt at flight. "Just think about my position!"

"Yes," Tsonia agreed, a sarcastic bite to her tone. "You had to maintain order. Those above you must be appeased and those beneath you must be made to obey."

Tsonia's cold, hard steel caressed his nose, cowing his nerve faster than any strike to his chest could have. DuFrain stared at her in mortal dread.

"Killing you won't magically return the gonads you took, nor would it their tongues," Tsonia continued. "But more importantly, killing you would cause more chaos than keeping you alive. For all your faults, DuFrain, for your misguided belief about being more than a glorified foreman in an unusual quarry, for the blood toll you exert on the population of your town—don't believe I haven't seen the cooling corpse in your bedchamber—you at least try to impose some kind of order on this wasteland. And as I learned before Amalthra died, order is the thing Xelathu hates most."

She sheathed her weapon and turned to leave.

"I am spurning a demon, DuFrain," she said from the door. "Never forget, you are only alive by my grace. Should I ever learn that you fail to keep The Cairn in order, I will return and collect the life I spared today. Do you understand?"

DuFrain blinked, head reeling with questions. "Yes?" he gasped, just to agree with anything the demoness wanted from him.

"Then this is goodbye, Overseer. Don't punish your guards for letting me pass. They did an admirable job to stop me, but they just were no match for Red Tsonia." Having said that, the fire-haired horror took to the staircase. DuFrain followed suit, anger and bile rising from his gullet.

On the next landing down, his guards lay, thick lumps forming where the hilt of Tsonia's blade had caught them. Their breasts were rising and falling feebly, but they would live. The door on the ground floor slammed shut with finality and DuFrain stood there, his own frantic heartbeat in his ears. His robes felt strange around his hips and when his hands found the source of the disturbance, he couldn't help but laugh. His lance, for the past five nights only a sagging, limp tube of flesh, stood proud and at attention, seemingly freed from the specter of the fire-haired she-devil.

Quickly, DuFrain returned to his study and cast his gaze over the wastes, all the while carefully stroking his throbbing manhood. There she was, a running deer racing across the golden sands, the morning sun casting a long shadow to the west. She was well and truly gone and for the first time in twenty summers DuFrain prayed to every god willing to hear that she might never return.

The End

Thank you for reading this twisted fantasy of ours. Loqui and I hope you enjoyed this wild ride. If you did, please leave a vote and comment if you feel especially generous.

(c)2022 by Blind_Justice and LoquiSordidaAdMe