Sufferance Ch. 06

My reflexes by this point were probably faster than almost any in this Tower and he barely had time to raise his hands as I darted forward. I snapped his wrists into my grip, rammed his hands together to shock and bruise them, and got close enough to inhale his scent near his neck.

I smiled.

"Hello, wizard," I whispered.

"I knew it," he hissed, his fingers curled in pain.

"Out," I barked at the other two. "Now."

Their preference to stay and watch was in their first moment's hesitation, but the second moment saw them scrambling for the door, opening it only long enough to let themselves out before slamming it shut again.

"Shyntre, is it?" I asked, grinning. I still held his wrists and braced for a struggle.

He growled low and glared; I couldn't see the color of his eyes in the dark but I could detect the maturity in them and his face overall. He'd easily lived for at least a century more than me.

"So you made it," he said, glancing at my uniform. He knew what it was even if he couldn't see the color.

I was still grinning. "Must be a sour thing to swallow."

"Unlike my seed," he smirked.

"True. You'd been eating spiced mushrooms. Part of a longevity potion, perhaps? It didn't help the first time."

He tried to jerk his hands free; I proved to be stronger in a straight tug-of-war. His nostrils flared and I felt a tremor run through him, but he wasn't at all afraid.

"Easy there, Shyntre, if I can take your grudge fuck, surely you can take a jest."

"I so enjoyed every thrust, you slit."

"Good to have the moment. Now it's my turn."

At close range, a wizard doesn't have a lot of defense; though he was prepared the instant I let him go, a straight shot to his chest with the heel of my hand had him stumbling backward, his heart shocked and lungs struggling to breathe. He was lucky I hadn't broken a rib, but I'd pulled my punch.

My wizard recovered more quickly than I would have guessed, however, and he picked up something random from Callitro's floor and barely finished what I could consider a spell before hurling it at me. It was incredibly quick for a magic-user, I thought.

...*Oh, dung.*

I dropped, letting it sail over my head; when it struck the wall, bright sparks showered onto the stone floor. They all went out immediately upon landing, leaving us both blind for several moments.

All my other senses were more than ready; my ears heard the shuffle and scuff of clothing over the floor, I could feel a heat source, smell his scent so clearly. I knew he was retreating and getting closer to Callitro.

Whatever he had in mind, I didn't like it. I charged forward without my eyes, catching hold of him easily and throwing him to the ground, forcing a roll that gave me time to hook my around his throat from behind and get him into a full-body lock Jaunda had taught me. One of his hands was free, but the other was twisted at an odd angle, giving me leverage to cause him pain if I so chose. He tested the hold for a bit but quickly realized he should just preserve his energy instead as our eyes slowly began working again.

"No threat with the Sisters' famous dagger?" he wheezed snidely.

"I know I can't kill you. What would be the point?"

"You can't break my wrist, either, not without just cause."

"Don't have to break it to make it hurt."

I demonstrated, and he hissed, gritting his teeth. I kept on it until he choked out a response.

"A-alright! Point conceded." After I eased off a little, he asked, "So why are we here, then? What do you want?"

"An invitation to level eighteen."

He went still for a second but quickly got what I meant. "Well...why don't you orally service a mindflayer's shriveled peg instead, you over-sexed slit-sucker?"

"Such a sweet nature. Maybe I should talk with Raegel instead."

He stiffened again. "Why?"

"Not your concern."

"He wouldn't give you what you want, either. He blames your kind for what happened to his family."

"Sounds like the perfect candidate. And just what do you blame me for? You were the one who attacked me, not the other way around."

"I was ordered to," he said indignantly. "You know that."

"Which means you have some proclivity which they liked for that purpose. You seem easily played."

That caused a reflexive strain against my hold. "And no doubt you've learned by now...if it's going to happen anyway, you might as well enjoy it."

"Ah, we have something in common." I kept his wrist in hold but used my other to slip my fingers down his side and explore him a little.

"Fuck you," he growled.

"I'd love to. Feel free to undo your robe with your free hand."

"I'll choose not, thank you."

"Won't be a choice soon enough."

"If you mean that fake phallus your kind wears, I've already had it. You all look ridiculous wearing it, by the way."

"Always an option, I suppose, but not now. Too easy. Too much like what you would do." I nuzzled his neck, planting a light kiss, and he tried to shrug me away, tried to avoid the contact but couldn't. "Mm. Tasty."

"Nice act. I'm not so easy to roll as Callitro."

"Oh, I know. Trust me. It isn't an act. And you know very well I can force you to respond to me. And you won't care how I humiliate you when I do."

He snorted. "Won't be the first time. You're boring me, Sister."

"Now who's acting? Your body has already rebelled far too often for me to believe the words. You aren't ready to behave like Callitro. I doubt you'll ever be." I chuckled.

Oh, he was a delight, just as I'd hoped.

"You're all alike."

"There's a reason for that." I bit gently at his neck this time. "I don't need an invitation, you know. I just thought you might like to attempt a bargain. I've found you, so I'll be allowed back. Simple as that."

He was quiet a moment. "They didn't just tell you who I was?"

I paused as well.

"No."

At first I chastised myself for giving him information like that, but I tried to read his pause now after giving him a truthful answer, hoping to get something in return for the slip.

When he didn't speak, I made an educated guess, trying to probe him. "They kept their word, didn't they? Otherwise there was no point in your being invisible. I can't kill you whether you had showed your face or not. And you expected them to just give you up as soon as I made it as a Red Sister."

He stiffened but remained silent. His lack of a reply made me even more curious. It wasn't like him to suddenly seal his mouth.

"So why be invisible?"

"They ordered it."

"I don't believe you. I saw you run at the end. It mattered to you that I not see your face." I put my nose close to his neck and inhaled. "I still knew your scent and your voice, though. More than enough, as you see."

He still didn't speak, so tense in my arms. Apparently he'd run out of smart replies for the moment; something had sent him to thinking too much and he made it obvious. It was a common trait with wizards.

I considered where to go from here. We were laying on Callitro's floor, sharing body heat, our scents mixing in the dark. It had an odd intimacy to it, and I liked that things had shifted a bit more on my side, whether or not I fully understood his silence. Yet, anyway. Sure, I could try to force it out of him now, but it would all be improvisation and I could easily make a mistake that would ruin future opportunities. I didn't know enough; I was already bluffing far too much.

I supposed as long as something I'd said had surprised him, I might as well do it again. I released him, unwrapping my body from his and getting smoothly to my feet so I was standing between him and where Calllitro still lay unconscious on his bed. Shyntre actually remained on the floor for a few moments, indeed bewildered, before he quickly got to his feet as well, backing up closer to the door.

I smiled. "Until later, Shyntre."

He didn't say another word, but his face and body language still radiated resistance. He took his opportunity to leave Callitro's quarters and moved quickly, shutting the door behind him.

I waited for thirty heartbeats before I looked at the small item I had had plenty of time to filch out of his belt. A small pendant with no chain attached; sapphire, I thought by the wavelength even if I couldn't see the blue, and set in heavy platinum. It had a tiny symbol curling around the left side I'd never seen before: plain, but it looked like a sickle or a curved blade with no handle.

It was perfect for my purposes, though, and I pocketed it. I looked at Callitro, who had slept through the entire conflict without moving, and checked his breathing and his pulse. He was fine.

"Thanks for the help, sweet thing," I murmured, setting my lips lightly on his cheek and tasting our juices again. "Maybe we can do this again."

I took my leave, and as expected, Phaelous seemed to appear out of thin air at the base level as I approached the door. He was watching me with a calm expression, although he might have been smiling just slightly.

"A productive visit, young Sister?" he asked pleasantly.

"Quite," I responded, unable to suppress the smile as well as he could.

"You did not deviate from your path and you followed the rules of preservation. Thank you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. True, I had found a way around that and got Shyntre to come to me, but...

"I understand you could have interfered if I had, Phaelous." My expression implied a question, though I knew the statement was just that.

"At any time within this Tower," he confirmed with a nod. "Yes. You are... most entertaining, young Sister."

I smiled again. "Am I? Were you wishing for a turn?"

The elder Drow shook his head slowly and chuckled softly. "I am only the watcher here. I trust you'll return what you've stolen eventually?"

I sighed inwardly. So much for stealth. I nodded. "Of course. It's only a useful piece."

"That it is. I received a summons for you a candle mark ago, by the way. Please give Elder D'Shea my regards."

I nodded, both annoyed at his delaying the message, which both would get me in trouble, but appreciative that it had allowed me to find my invisible wizard at all. I also wondered of the suggested history between this wizard and my Elder.

"Certainly."

"Good hunting, Red Sister."

******

"I am displeased that you took that side-quest to the Tower, Sirana."

"Because I am late or because I found the wizard, Elder?"

"Because you did not update me. I hate being caught off guard, Sirana, and while most can't tell, Phaelous is one who can when he told me you'd arrived. You do not make me look good when you are spontaneous."

"I apologize, Elder. But some of my best inspirations come from spontaneity."

"Yes. Kerse being your prime example."

"Actually, I consider Shyntre my new best, Elder, with a close second being Auslan."

"Duly noted."

"May I can keep the pendant for now, Elder? You would agree with why I need it, yes?"

She glanced at it now, her face unreadable and nodded, tossing it to me which I caught with one hand. I tucked it away.

"Can't stop playing with those boundaries, can you?" She was still annoyed with me.

"Would you have me behave more like Qivni or Gaelan, my Elder?"

D'Shea sighed. "That would be an impossible expectation, Sirana, and no. It's been a century since I've found one with an odd perception like my own. I'd rather preserve it. But don't take it that you can do as you wish without punishment."

I nodded. "But you are pleased with my report, Elder?"

"Very. Auslan has much potential. And I'm pleased with your self-control in touching him, however temporary that control ultimately was."

"I needed to act right then, Elder, and it proved the best opportunity."

"Then remember your message pellet next time. Truly, Sirana, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all if you'd done just that."

"I understand my mistake, Elder."

"Good. As for your penance," my Elder began to remove her robe, opening it from the front and revealing her breasts, "you'll wear the Feldeu again, and we'll coax that alternate perception to the surface."

Penance, indeed.

When we worked instead on my keeping my own perception as the dominant one through a Feldeu coupling, drawing out my endurance and practicing my control, it could be pleasant enough, though it was not something I'd even attempt with anyone else but D'Shea at this time.

When she wanted the Duergar's impulses present—not even a true personality but just an mindless string of alien emotions and reactions—I did not remember much except for the overwhelming rush. I usually had to piece it together with clues from when I became self-aware again.

I didn't enjoy being lost like that, and Lelinahdara had been present for most of those. The fact that we were doing it alone now, and it likely wouldn't result in anything different, did mean that it was my punishment for failing to keep D'Shea informed.

"Undress, Sirana."

"Yes, Elder."

"Don't hold him back this time. Let him come."

After I'd cum this time, after a prolonged but vaguely-remembered struggle, I blinked my way slowly back to myself with the Feldeu still buried in D'Shea's netherhole. She was quivering, sweating, and on her knees and elbows; I was covering her, exhausted and draped over her back. When I withdrew, her distended hole was raw and bleeding a little, and she had several scrapes and bites on her shoulders and flanks. She moaned softly, but I recognized the sound somehow as a good one.

"Now you know... the answer to those thoughts," she murmured, looking over her shoulder and letting me drink my fill of her, keeping her legs wide open. Still strong, still in control of herself in spite of her position.

I felt a clash of emotions, true polar opposites: From the pulses of the Duergar, bitter disappointment and anger that the vicious anal rape hadn't broken her, and from me, a pure blossom of respect and pride and gratitude for her. She'd just proven to me—magic-user, Elder, whatever all she was—she was still a Red Sister at her core, and knew more of my internal struggle than I had realized. From my own experience, I should have been having dwarven thoughts of murder next, of killing her if she couldn't be broken.

I didn't.

It resolved part of the struggle right then, I felt something that was too hard inside me finally break and there was only relief afterward. I could believe I might ultimately achieve freedom from the results of the Duergar rape at some point, and gain control of the Feldeu entirely.

"Yes. ...thank you, Elder."

********

Thank you again for staying with me this far. There is so much more to come!

I must go on a trip today so the next update will take a little longer, but I'll be back. Promise! :)