Tender Mercies

Snarling in pain and anger, the giant took one hand off its sword and backhanded Kevin, knocking him to the ground senseless. It pulled the sword out of its stomach and examined the wound. Blood poured freely from it and the pain was intense, but the giant did not consider the wound mortal.

It remembered Martin then, and turned back around to deal with him. Martin was not where it had expected him to be, however. A whistle brought his attention over to the rock Martin had been hiding behind earlier. The giant stared down the length of the arrow shaft Martin had drawn, blood loss slowing its understanding and, more importantly, reaction time. Martin let go and smiled in grim satisfaction as the arrows flight was prefect, slamming into the eye of the giant and sinking in so deeply that the metal tip protruded from the back of the giants head.

Martin let his bow slip down to his side, then he sank to his knees and rested against the rock, breathing heavily. Kevin groaned a few moments later, rousing Martin from his pain induced stupor. He struggled to his feet and limped over to check on his companion.

"Well done, lad," Martin said, kneeling beside the downed woodsman and examining his injuries. The broken leg was easily the worst of his wounds, so Martin looked about for something to help him.

Spying the giants club, he rose to fetch it. Using his magical hand and a half sword, Martin cut the club into three separate foot long pieces. He returned to Kevin and giving the man one of the pieces of wood to bite on, he quickly set Kevin's leg. Kevin groaned in agony and left marks in the seasoned wood. Martin took the wood back and, using some rope from his pack, made a splint around Kevin's shin.

"Rest here, I'm going to check to make sure they're all dead," Martin said, struggling back to his feet with a groan and hobbling off to check on all the giants. All of them had been slain, the one with an arrow in his groin by Eric as he had ran past him to return to Fyrentennimer.

Martin returned to Kevin and found him sleeping. Martin sat down beside him painfully and tried to rest on his side. He kept an eye on the pass through the Periphery, determined to do his job as best he could until the army arrived.

*****

Alesha had to remind herself she was not in Viconia any longer many times. She had been ready to leave her house wearing her armor and sword, but Brian had reminded her of the troubles she would run into.

He had gone strangely quiet ever since Alesha had not only survived the terrible wound Rosa had inflicted with the butcher knife, but had survived without a scratch. He could explain away the other things that had happened as strange and unusual behavior, even his own. He could not explain the miraculous healing the Alesha had undergone, even after the power he had felt transferred through him during their strange sexual encounter.

"Brian, take care of Jeff and clean up around here, I will be back later," Alesha said, her tone commanding again. She had gone upstairs and slipped into a short brown leather skirt, white bikini top, and the same knee high griffin hide boots she normally wore.. Regrettably she left her sword in her room with her armor.

"Yes Mistress," Brian said, responding automatically to Alesha's back as she went into the garage to get her car. Not understanding why he had said it, he found himself dragging Rosa's body into the kitchen and towards the back door of their house.

St. Petersburg, like many cities in Florida, was known for the many bodies of water scattered throughout the area. And in Florida, where there is water, there are alligators. The Koronski family was fairly well off, their father being a partner in a law firm. As such, their house was good sized and even had lakefront access in their backyard.

Dusk had just started to set in, allowing Brian the perfect cover to do what he needed to do. Dragging the body of their maid across the lawn, he took her to their dock and carefully pushed her off the end. Seeing her floating in the water concerned him, and he looked around quickly to figure out what to do. His answer was in the form of the anchor in the sailboat they owned. He pulled it out of the boat and managed to loop the rope around her a couple of times before he let it sink in the water. Only ten feet deep at the end of their dock, it was enough to take Rosa beneath the water at least five of those feet.

Brian came back inside and saw the mess that Jeff had made of himself. Disgusted, he kicked the man once, hard. Jeff curled up in a fetal position defensively, mewling pitifully. Brian could tell the mans mind was gone. Sighing, he dressed him in his clothes again and led him to his convertible Firebird. Jeff had gone strangely silent. Brian checked repeatedly, but the man simply seemed to be in a trance.

They arrived at their destination, a resort called the Suncoast. Known as a large gay resort, Brian forced Jeff to look at him and he stared deeply into his eyes. "Jeff, go to the guard at the gate and pay him the cover charge to enter, then go in and head for the leather bar. Do whatever you want to in there, but never think of Alesha again and never return to our house!"

Jeff grinned stupidly, nodding his head as a child with a new toy. He got out of the car and went up to the doorman, clumsily pulling out his wallet and giving the doorman some money to let him in. Then he went inside, moving around the grounds looking for the infamous leather bar. Brian knew that once Jeff was in there, some of the rougher and scarier men inside would take care of him, whether that was taking him under their wing or submitting him to even crueler and more perverse things then he had already been introduced to. Brian shuddered at the thought and quickly drove back home to clean up the blood and other mess still in the house before his father got home later that night.

At no point did he stop and wonder why it was he was doing what he did, nor did he stop to consider why it was he was able to order Jeff around so easily.

Alesha drove around the seedier sections of St. Petersburg, looking. It was not until she saw it that she knew what she was looking for. The Slavepit, a goth club. She knew she was home. Showing the doorman her ID (it had taken her a moment to remember to take her purse with her), she went inside and looked around. It was already swinging in the bar, with the promise of being much fuller later. All manner of men and women were inside, dressed in black clothing and leather, with lots of studs and spikes and collars. Extreme make up was in appearance too, black eyeliner and lipstick being the most, but some took things as far as possible, dressing in costume and even fake fangs to pretend to be a vampire.

Alesha smirked at the last, and decided she could use some of those herself. A simple thought and a touch of magic and her canines grew longer and pointed, she smiled felt her new teeth with her tongue. 'Yes, those will do nicely,' she thought, and sat down at the bar to study the club.

"Hey there, it just might be your lucky night!"

Alesha turned to the man who had spoken to her. Only a little taller then her, he had black hair almost as long as hers, and spiked bracelets on. Pierced eyebrow, nose, chin, and tongue, she could only imagine he had other piercings as well.

She smiled at him, showing her new fangs, "Yes, I think it is."

Taking that as acceptance, the man said, "Who knows, maybe it'll be my lucky night too... Can I buy you a drink?"

Her smile never dropping, Alesha said, "No, your luck ran out five minutes ago."

The goth punk's smile faded and he shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he said, turning away to try and pick up another girl somewhere else.

"I could use that drink though," Alesha said as he was half turned around.

The guy spun back to face her, an annoyed look on his face. "You just told me I wasn't going to get lucky with you, why should I waste my money on you bitch?"

"It'll only hurt for a minute, I promise," Alesha said, her face changing to that of a pouty girl.

"New teeth?" The guy asked, confused as to whether he should spend any more time with Alesha or not.

Alesha smiled and nodded her head. The guy laughed and stepped closer to her, leaning forward to kiss her. Alesha returned the kiss, her arms circling around him and reaching up to caress the back of his head with one hand, his shoulders with the other. She broke the deep kiss and smiled at him, her tongue licking her lips suggestively. His hands roamed over her body as well, caressing up and down her back and grabbing at her ass.

Alesha let her tongue glide down the stubble on his neck, finding the sensation pleasant. Coming to rest where she wanted to, she opened her mouth wider and sank her teeth into his neck. He spasmed against her, surprised. He tried to fight back, but she held him tightly to her, her lips sealed over the twin wounds and drinking deeply and feeling the energy pour into her being with his essence. He struggled against her, hitting her in the back with his fists and kicking at her with his legs. Alesha sent waves of pleasure into him, but even the pleasure did not override his desire to continue living. After a few minutes, Alesha licked each hole in his neck, using the power she had gained from him to mend the wounds. She pulled away from him and let him go.

He stumbled back away from her, his hand going to his throat. He felt around, but could feel no wound. Pulling his hand away he looked at it, there was no blood on it. He glanced around nervously, then looked back at her. "What the fuck was that?"

Alesha opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, it was coated red with his blood. His eyes got really wide and he checked his neck again. Sitting down heavily on an empty barstool, he just stared at her a minute. She had closed her mouth and was smiling sweetly at him, but he could tell there was something powerful and sinister in her smile as well.

"What did you do to me? Am I... did you make me... I mean..."

Alesha said, "I told you your luck ran out tonight."

"Are you a vampire?" He asked, almost whispering. He paid no attention to what she had said.

"Is that what you want to be?" Alesha asked, smiling maddeningly at him.

"I dunno... I mean, it'd be kinda cool. But I'll never see the sun again, will I?"

Alesha laughed scornfully. "You fool. You will serve a purpose, but as my example, nothing more."

He looked confused. Glancing around again, he looked back at her to see her hold up her hand, palm open as if to catch something. Following the direction, he saw one of the bullwhips on the wall as decoration come flying off the wall and land in her hand. He gasped in surprise and jumped to his feet. He looked around quickly and found the exit and began to head for it.

Before he could get lost in the crowd, Alesha sent the whip sailing towards him. The tip parted the leather jacket he wore effortlessly, cutting painfully across his back. He stumbled forward, falling into a table and collapsing to his knees. The crowd around them stopped talking, turning to watch in shock. It spread quickly, and by the time that the man had turned around to face her, tears running down his face, even the band had stopped.

"What do you want?" He pleaded, trying to crawl away from her.

In answer, Alesha made the whip crack in the air, then sent it snaking towards him again, wrapping around his ankle. Using only one hand, she pulled on it and he came sliding back towards her on the slick floor. The bouncers were now moving through the bar, coming towards her. Big men, they expected to have no problems with the small looking girl. She looked at each of them, causing them to halt in their tracks. They stood by, watching helplessly as Alesha let the whip rise and fall expertly, stripping the mans jacket and shirt off of him and leaving bleeding gashes across his chest and arms.

He screamed in fresh agony each time the whip fell, gasping for breath and pleading with her in between lashes. Finally Alesha stopped, his shirt torn and the decorative leather jacket ruined. He was sobbing quietly on the floor, laying there and looking like a roman slave flogged for poor behavior.

"Stand up," Alesha said, not entirely sure his tortured thighs would obey him. He stumbled slowly to his feet, teetering once or twice before he made it. The amount of blood he had lost from earlier, as well as the fresh dripping gashes on him, made him totter unsteadily on his feet. In spite of the pain, he was so tired, he just wanted to get away from her and be able to lie down and close his eyes.

The pain and fear he exuded was nearly as pleasant to her as his blood had been earlier. Neither compared to the power she derived from sex, but in a pinch it certainly did wonders for her.

Alesha walked up to him, whip tapping lightly at her hip. She walked around him and studied the crowd. They were interested, disgusted, aroused, and terrified, all at once. Alesha completed a full circuit around him and stopped, looking at him. She glanced down at his pants and sent a surge of power towards his cock. It flared to life, standing out in his leather pants plainly. She smirked and with another magical assault, caused him to gasp and collapse to his knees, an intense orgasm shooting through his tortured body.

Alesha shook her head, disappointed that he had fallen. She turned away and, using the same trick she had used when she had first gone to Mezarbolle, caused him to be immolated in cold black fames that sucked the warmth and the life from him. He died quickly, screaming all the while.

"Who's next?" Alesha asked, gazing out at the crowd. Some people nearer to the doors turned and tried to run, but with a glance at the door, they slammed shut, magically unyielding to the strongest shoulder.

Another man pulled a switchblade and charged at her. Alesha let him get close then exploded into action, driving her hand into his wrist and breaking it. The knife fell from limp fingers, but it hit the ground about the same time as her kick to his chest drove him to his knees. He gasped for breath and stared at her, stunned. Smiling cruelly, walked behind him and grabbed his hair, pulling his head back painfully. Terrified, he looked up at her.

A shot rang out then, then another. Alesha jerked both times, then looked down at herself. Two bullet holes leaked blood from her body, one just above her right breast, severing the bikini top string, the other bullet hole was in her belly, just to the left of her belly button. She used her magic to patch the two wounds up immediately, and felt a wave of weakness rush through her. Her power was dangerously low, but only she knew it.

She saw the man who had shot her staring at her, pistol in his hand. Like everyone else in the crowd, he had seen her jerk and had seen the wounds. Then they had seen them heal before their very eyes. He dropped his gun and fell to his knees. Satisfied, Alesha looked down at the man who still remained kneeling with his head jerked back. Bending over, she sank her teeth into his throat, drinking deeply from him. She drained him to the point where his heart had little to pump, and fluttered quietly to a stop. Alesha lifted her lips then, feeling drunk with the new power surging into her. Streaks of blood ran down her chin and neck, draining perfectly into the valley between her breasts.

She let go of the dead man, seeing him collapse limply to the ground. She also noticed that her severed bikini string allowed that part of her bikini to flop down, releasing her breast for the publics enjoyment. She smiled, not caring in the least but figuring it would further mess with the spectators minds.

"Why did you shoot me, when now you worship me?" Alesha asked, her voice ringing out clearly in the silent nightclub.

The man who was now kneeling looked up at her fearfully. "I'm sorry, Mistress, I did not know who you were!"

"And who am I?" She asked, as curious to hear his answer as everyone else was.

"I... I still don't know," he admitted. "But you must have been sent by Satan to have such power!"

Alesha laughed scornfully. "Nay, pig, you are wrong. I am Alesha! I am the chosen, but it is I who have sent myself! I worship a being far greater then what this world calls Satan. His powers are greater, and so are his rewards for faithful service."

A few people openly feinted now, their ability to comprehend what was going on at a limit. Considering them no longer a threat, Alesha released the bouncers from their magical binds. One charged at her from behind, but the kneeling man scooped up his pistol and rolled to the side, coming up in a firing position. Two more cracks sounded in the bar, the first one stopping the bouncer, and the second sending him crashing to his back as his blood and brains leaked out the hole in his forehead. The other 3 bouncers stayed where they were, terrified.

Alesha smiled at the man with the gun and sent a magical wave of approval at him. He grinned proudly, feeling he had done well. He tucked the gun back into his jacket where he had hidden it before. The man was bald with a long beard and powerful muscles. A thick leather riding jacket hid his gun, with jeans on his legs and cowboy boots fit for riding a motorcycle on his feet.

"What kind of hog you got?" Alesha asked him, singling him out for a moment.

"Fuck that," He spat out, forgetting for a moment who he was talking to. Then immediately he realized his error by the narrowing of her eyes. "It's a Honda Valkyrie, bigger and better then any hog I've ever seen."

Alesha nodded once then turned to study the crowd. "I'm establishing a new order!" She called out. "Join me and you will be rewarded!"

"What the fuck is going on here?" A man called out, walking out from behind the bar. A door was open where he had been during the entire order.

Alesha spun to face him. "Who are you?" She demanded, squeezing onto his mind with her magic.

He groaned and trembled. "Alan... I own this club," He said quickly.

"Not anymore," Alesha responded. "My question is, do you agree with me or do I have to kill you too?"

She released him then, letting him act on his own so she could be certain of his actions. He looked to his bouncers and said, "Why the fuck haven't you kicked this bitch out of here?"

One of the bouncers motioned to the already dead bouncer. He looked at him and looked back at Alesha. "Who let this cunt bring a gun in here?"

"Nobody did," the biker said, "I shot him."

"Charlie? Why the hell are you shooting my help? I can't help you out this time!"

Charlie, Alesha's surprising ally responded by saying, "Alan, this chick is the real thing. All that shit we used to ride for and try to get going... she does it man!"

Alan looked around nervously, afraid that his image as a businessman was about to be ruined. "What the fuck are you talking about?" He growled.

"Enough!" Alesha said, tired of their chatting. "Give me the club or die, simple as that. I have a lot of preparations to make, and this will be a good place to begin them."

"What, are you going to shoot me now, Charlie? How many times have I saved your ass and given you a place to crash after you got outta jail?" Alan said, scoffing at a women being in charge.

"Man, I don't need to, she can kill you just as soon as look at you," Charlie said, almost pleading with his friend to relent.

Alan reached in his own suit jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Alesha and smiled. His smile faded when he saw her grinning. A girl off to the side started screaming then, and she tried to run to the door. Without meaning to, Alan turned and shot the girl five times in the back. He stared in horror at her corpse and then at the gun in his hands. He tried to drop it but found he could not do it. Then his hand came alive again, betraying him by pointing the gun at his own face. He stared nervously down the barrel, feeling his finger begin to squeeze the trigger.