The Temptation of Gheeran

"What?"

"You heard me. She was not the one I was after. But she was so tasty."

"You never said anything about a specific soul!" I protested, trying to push her off me. With a soft growl, she pinned my hands to the bed, her hips rising and falling again. "How should I know what you want?"

"Oh, so I forgot to mention that tiny detail?" Xanthul'ilia threw back her head and gasped, her tunnel fluttering around my dick. "What a scatterbrain I am." She bent her head down again, long curls covering her face. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Can't we alter the deal?" I pleaded. "I mean, you have a soul now. Let me have my sight—"

She closed my mouth with hers, her long tongue reaching to my throat. Sighing in pleasure, she let me come up for air, a long, shiny thread of spittle connecting our mouths as she withdrew her tongue.

"I'm in a good mood tonight, Gheeran. So I will give you another chance. Find me a soul I want and you shall have your sight back, permanently."

I felt betrayed. Violated. Even her magic wasn't able to keep me hard, and with a hint of satisfaction I noticed my dick sliding out of her. I placed both my hands onto her breasts and pushed her off me.

"Oh, taking charge, are we?" Xanthul'ilia taunted, rolling onto her back and spreading her legs. "Come on, I still want you." She licked the tip of her tail and grinned. "You plug me, I plug you. It will be fun. Let's consummate our renewed deal."

I sat up and willed my dagger into my fist. Xanthul'ilia laughed behind me. "Oh, you like it rough? What a coincidence. I do too."

"You know, right now I would love nothing more than to sink this into your black heart," I whispered..

"Oh, I know. But I also know that you'll do anything to keep your precious eyesight. Come on, just one more soul and you're done."

"What kind of soul?"

"A spellcaster, of course. Normal mortals make lousy demonspawn." Xanthul'ilia sat up and caressed the glowing area between her breasts. "It will take ten of her caliber to make one Temptress, but your average spellcaster, they are so ambitious, so greedy, so willing to sacrifice everything and everyone, they are practically demons in disguise. Just one spellcaster, Gheeran. That's what I want. Three days, honey. And I know you'd love nothing more than to get Moira back for what she just did to you, eh?"

With a bright little smile, she folded in one wing and bit off a piece of the black membrane. "You know how to find me. I'll be waiting, sugar." And then she was gone. All that remained of her was a small piece of black leather. All that remained of Lady Dunwall, though, was a pile of ashes at the foot of the bed.

Feeling utterly alone and despoiled, I climbed back into my torn costume and left. I couldn't stand being in that room or in that house any longer. Using a larger group of revellers as cover, I slipped from Ser Ethan's manor and disappeared into the grey pre-dawn. With the cold night air biting at my skin where my costume had been torn by Lady Dunwall's rough advances, I stumbled through Castle Ward. I wasn't drunk, sadly. Instead, I was struggling with the triple betrayal I had suffered this night. Rokun had shown his true colors at last, acting more like a dark elf than anything else. I had foolishly believed we were friends, but then, friends don't visit only once every decade and ask for huge favors like I had done. Maybe I was to blame. Or maybe not. He didn't hesitate when attacking me, so his mind was made up to begin with. Or maybe Moira had promised him untold riches. What did I know? Moira. Her betrayal hurt the most. I was just a pawn to her. And fool that I was, I thought she could have actually felt anything for me. And Xanthul'ilia? I should have known better than to trust her.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a carriage approach.

"Hey, Gheeran," someone called from the driver's box. I turned around. Sloane, one of Rokun's cronies, was driving down the street. Under the gaudy silk cloak, I willed my dagger to appear in my fist and prepared to strike.

"What do you want?" I asked, forcing myself to sound friendly and relaxed.

"The boss not with you?"

I heard the suspicion in his voice and turned around, facing him.

"No, he's still at Ser Ethan's. I left a little early."

"Is that so?" He picked up something from the seat next to him, a loaded light crossbow. Slowly, quietly, he trained the weapon on me. Too bad for him that I was still able to see. I threw my dagger at him, aiming for his eyes. He flung himself to the side and avoided the weapon by a few hairs, then I heard the click-and-thrum of the released crossbow. I was already in motion however, levitating upwards. The bolt passed through the space I was in and buried itself into the wall behind me with enough force to crack the mortar. The dagger was back in my fist by then and I kicked off the wall and sailed through the air, landing on top of Sloane. He was somewhere between dropping the crossbow and drawing a blade when I crashed onto him. A quick scuffle later, he was bleeding out on the carriage roof, his throat slit from ear to ear. I dropped off the vehicle and slapped the rear quarter of one of the horses, sending them into a frenzied dash down the street.

Storm Harbour would become a very unfriendly place very quickly, that much was certain. Even if not every member in the Guild would be after my head for killing two of their number, at least Rokun's friends would be. And what business did I have here anyway? After tonight, I was damn sure that whatever soul I would offer to Xanthul'ilia, she would find new ways to keep me leashed to her. A spellcaster, she said. Yeah, I knew some. Kelonin and Moira. Oh, and Shilana and Arach and Tear as well. But could I offer any one of them to this monster in exchange for my eyesight? Moira suddenly became a tempting idea, but going by what she had hinted at, she would be hard to get at. And I didn't fancy being hunted by Storm Harbour's City Watch, which incidentally included Leo and Shilana. No. I needed to leave, quickly.

I used the back door to my room to enter the Toothless Godling and ripped the costume off me. I slipped back into my normal clothing and tossed all my belongings into a bag. What did I need my eyesight for anyway? To go back to Ya'tyrr and become an assassin full-time again? After that night, the idea of killing people for mine or someone else's personal gain sounded like a sick, cruel joke. If the last few hours were any indication, it wouldn't be done with just one last job. There would always be something else which needed to be done, and one of those jobs was bound to end with my demise. Heck, even tonight I was this close to kicking the bucket. Maybe it was time I started looking at other options. Maybe settling down somewhere far off the beaten path would be a good idea. I didn't bother to leave through the taproom. There was a good chance Muffins was there and I didn't want to run into him again. So I crept out through the back door.

* * * *

"That was five years ago," I said, sliding my fingers over the fretboard of my lute and strumming a few chords.

"What happened then??" Arach asked. I heard her move on the cushion on the other side of the table, probably sliding her hand into Tear's robe.

"Once I fled the party, I had barely enough time to find Kelonin and make it out of Storm Harbour. Moira made good on her threat. On our way out, we saw people putting up wanted posters with my description on them already. Thankfully, Kel knew some illusionist magic and disguised me as a surface elf. We ended up here in Valcrest and Davec was kind enough to offer me asylum."

"What about Moira?" Tear asked, her smooth alto voice like a caress.

"What about her?" I hissed. Even after five years, thinking about her stung like a knife to the gut. "Everyone knows she married her bloody uncle and is now a Storm Lord. For all I care, she could rot in the Burning Pits. No, I think I'm done with women for a while."

Kelonin, sitting next to me, cuddled against my side, his hand caressing up and down my spine. I leaned into him and he pecked a kiss onto my cheek.

"You're cute together," Arach chuckled. "And Ya'tyrr?"

"He actually showed up once," Kelonin said. "I nearly shit my robes when he appeared in our bedroom."

"And I thought you were naked back then," I said. "I distinctly remember you making quite a mess of my back when he said 'hello'."

"I meant that figuratively," my friend and lover grumbled.

"I know what you really want to ask," I told Arach. "Did he offer me a place with his gang again? Yes, he did, but I respectfully declined. My assassin days are over. I didn't offer another soul to Xanthul'ilia. In fact, I haven't summoned her at all since that night."

I pulled a piece of leather from my belt pouch. "I would be grateful if you could destroy this. Preferably without burning it."

Arach took the scrap form my hand. Her clothes rustled as she put it away somewhere.

"Don't worry. We'll soak that in holy water and bury it. No one will be able to use it. You make one handsome bard," she said.

I smiled and played a little melody, just for her.

"Thank you. I have Davec to thank for that too. He said I shouldn't waste my dexterity and do something worthwhile for once. Learning to fight is a cakewalk compared to this," I said, holding up the lute. "While he's away on adventures, I try to keep the Bored Basilisk running. So far, there were few complaints."

On and on we talked, late into the night. Eventually, Kel led me back to the room he and I shared and we climbed into bed together. It was truly ironic. I had tried so hard to find answers amongst the Surface dwellers, only to be badly burned. Kelonin, a dark elf of all people, was the one showing me true love.

I had sacrificed my eyesight, aye, but I found something else, perhaps something better. Happiness. No glamorous life as Gheeran, master assassin, just a simple life as Gheeran, the blind ministrel. But I was able to make people sing and dance, all without a hint of magic.

The End.

*****

I hope you enjoyed this warped little fantasy. If you did, let me know. Vote and/or comment. It's the only way for me to know if and how you liked this. Thanks for your time.

Blind_Justice