TITLE    : Demonic Submission Ch. 28
STORYID  : demonic-submission-ch-28
SUMMARY  : She learns the truth about herself, and seeks comfort in him.
AUTHOR   : TheLastChaosLord@lit
DATE     : 2013-09-12
CATEGORY : erotic-horror
FLAGS    : h
TAGS     : |demon|incubus|red head|


<i>Hello all.



I'd like to start off by thanking WanderingMindGames who helped proof this chapter, and who is as always, a wonderful sounding board for my various ideas. 



This chapter is about Celestine recovering from her 'punishment' as well as Tristan dealing with Helena and what not. The later half of the chapter is a good summary of what the Fell Born are as Celestine finally forces the issue with Tristan.



As always, I hope you all enjoy, and as ever, I'm open to feedback and commentary. 



Thanks for reading!</i>



~~~~



"Oooww...." Celestine hissed out as she awoke; her whole body stiff with the pleasant post sex ache that she was becoming more and more accustomed too. However, there was also a very sharp and painful tenderness present in her ass... She slowly tried to sit up, but the pain was enough to make her gasp and she quickly fell back onto her side. "Well... that shouldn't be a surprise..." Celestine said to herself dryly. Tristan had taken her anal virginity after all, and by the end of it, both of them were so absorbed in fucking each other that it was no wonder Celestine was in pain now. She was silently thankful that she bore the Demonic Marks. Without them, she doubted if she would even be able to move at all right now. Tristan had been gentle at first, but once she became accustomed to him in her ass, he had really let her have it. If she were a normal human, she'd probably be in some serious trouble.



Celestine eventually relaxed, not really recalling how she had gotten back into her room. Though she supposed it didn't really matter. The thought of Tristan carrying her here and slipping her under her covers sent a pleasant tingle through her that she didn't resist. Thinking about him drove Celestine's mind to wander back to her morning activities... Of how Tristan forced her to toss away the shackles that she once used to protect herself by binding her physically. Of how he began to dominate her even before her eyes were open by binding and blindfolding her... And how he had reinforced his command over her by finger fucking her in the middle of a hallway, for anyone too see, only to reinforce it again later, when she had tried to get off her knees, by pushing her down again and forcing her suck his cock... 



Celestine surprised herself when she found herself smiling happily as she recalled such things, and how her pussy warmed and began to grow damp again, even though the memories had taken place no more than a few hours ago... She began to force her deviant thoughts down, entirely on impulse. Old habits telling her that feeling such things was wrong, and that she shouldn't fall prey to her baser emotions and desires.



<i>Seriously? After all that, and our big epiphany, and that oh so magnificent fucking, you're going to clam up again and lock everything away? </i>Celestine wasn't surprised to hear her inner voice speak up. While it still sounded lovely and tempting, Celestine could hear the disbelieving and annoyed undertone to it. <i>Some days I can't believe we are one in the same...</i>



"Hey now." Celestine responded openly, "I didn't mean to bottle it back up okay? It's just a habit." Celestine relaxed and shivered lightly as she let herself experience her memories instead of repressing them. Remembering how she drove Tristan into an almost rabid lust made her giggle lightly to herself, and made her heart skip a little faster as she knew how badly he wanted her. Still, she didn't let herself be overwhelmed by her memories, and took care not to lose herself to them. 



<i>A habit I'm happy to see us breaking free of, even if you are still restraining yourself. </i>Celestine felt her other side's presence snuggle up along behind her before she felt its spectral arm wrap around her side and hug her gently. It's presence seemed to ease the soreness throughout Celestine's body, especially the sharp pain in her bottom... <i>Though I hope this isn't a temporary thing and that you've finally figured it out. </i>



"Oh shut up." Celestine grumbled lightly. "I get it alright? I get that denying myself like I was only meant that I was hurting myself." Celestine let out a slow sigh and eventually continued, her voice far less sure of itself. "I find myself wondering if my life has been... wasteful. I mean... this morning felt wonderful... Even as I was bound and hampered in almost a half a dozen ways, I felt... free... For the first time in a long time I felt free." 



<i>Heh... at least you are beginning to get it... But I don't think I'd call our life thus far wasteful; deprived and sheltered perhaps, but not wasteful. But does it really matter anyway? Why linger on the past...Why not keep enjoying our present and look forward to the future, hum? We loved every second of this morning; at least we did after we got over our fears and hesitation that is. </i>Her inner voice assured.



"It... It was pretty good..." Celestine admitted, a shy blush coming to her cheeks. She found it hard to see herself in those memories, wanton moans and wails escaping her lips... it just seemed so out of character for her. A pleasant shiver ran through Celestine and she wasn't sure if was hers, or if it belonged to her spectral partner's, or if it perhaps belonged to the both of them.



<i>Good? It was fucking great and we both know it. How he controlled us, how he paraded us around proudly... Remember how those demons wished they could have us? How we could smell the scent of desire surrounding us? I bet by the time we were leaving, they couldn't help but start fucking each other senseless... Imagine that... we triggered an orgy. </i>



Celestine blushed harder, even as a second shiver ran through them both. Now Celestine was sure. Sure that the flush of erotic pleasure that ran through her other side, ran through her as well. But she eventually answered. "I guess it could have happened, given how Tristan was talking... But I don't recall smelling anything... Besides, desire is an emotion, not a smell..."



Her other side giggled pleasantly. <i>Oh it has a scent. But I'm not surprised you didn't really notice it. By that point Tristan had his cock in our face, and I'm guessing that was all you could focus on... Not that I can blame you.</i>



Celestine began to think of that exact moment and didn't realize she was lightly licking her lips hungrily at just the memory of it, a slight lustful longing written on her features. A moment later she blushed all over again as she found herself unwilling to stop the memories from flooding back in. The taste of him in her mouth, his size and shape, how hot his cock was against her tongue... The feeling of him cumming into her mouth and how the taste of him made her cream herself in front of everyone... A light moan escaped Celestine's lips as she recalled the wonderfully erotic experience... 



<i>It's just a shame we couldn't see them all. </i>Her other side commented. 



"What do you mean? It was kind of hot being blindfolded like that." Celestine responded, smiling naughtily at her own brazen words. 



<i>Oh don't get me wrong, it was. But maybe just at the end or something, when we were being led out by Tristan. We would have liked seeing how we made them lose themselves utterly to their lust. I bet they were tearing each others clothes off and fucking each other out of their minds by the time we were walking out. Imagine what that would have looked like, full of desperate unfulfilled lust as they fixed their eyes upon us...wishing they could fulfill their perverse and debased fantasies upon our soft and inviting flesh...</i>



Celestine shivered again at the vivid picture her inner thoughts painted. She saw herself, naked and helpless, before an audience of demons... They looked at her hungrily for a moment, but no more than that, before they threw themselves at her, burying her beneath a tide of hot flesh and carnal desires... Celestine felt her hand beginning to slide down towards her crotch, but she stopped herself before she actually started touching herself. She couldn't help but chuckle at herself for how quickly she went to masturbation. One would think she would be satisfied after a morning full of fucking and utter carnal debauchery. 



<i>Oh please... </i>Her inner voice spoke up in response to Celestine's thoughts. <i>That's the great thing about fantastic sex...you can never really have enough. Like earlier when Tristan fucked our pussy, damn that was good. We honestly expected he'd keep going like that all morning, and we both know we would have welcomed it happily if he had. </i>



Celestine sighed to herself, reminded of how great it really was by the pleasant throbbing ache in her pussy. "Yea... I really did expect him to keep going... But... well..." Celestine worried at her lower lip as she paused, suddenly feeling slightly self conscious. 



<i>Well what? </i>Her inner voice asked playfully. Celestine even felt her invisible fingers walking up her side, tickling Celestine slightly as they ascended. 



"You apparently know my thoughts, so it's not like I need to say it." Celestine responded stubbornly. 



<i>Of course I do. I am you after all, just a different side of you. But that doesn't make saying what you have on our mind any less important. </i>Celestine rolled her eyes at her inner voice's point, even though it was accurate... They both knew how putting thought to word had an impact on a person. Tristan had proved that when he forced her to admit that he was in control of her...



"I wouldn't have minded if he kept going the way he was... But I'm happy that he did the anal thing too... despite the resulting discomfort." Celestine admitted; her voice lighter than she suspected even as she fought off the lingering pain. "I mean... I've been wondering what anal would be like for a while now." 



<i>We've wondered what it would be like? Yea Right... It would be more accurate to say we've fantasized about it, and more than a just a little. Hell, he more or less fulfilled one of our biggest fantasies of forcing himself onto us and taking us up the ass, whether we wanted him to or not. Just like in our dreams, we were worried and confused by it first... </i>Celestine felt the spectral presence shift lightly from behind her, almost like she was moving to whisper in her ear, and when she spoke again, her voice was low and had a raunchy undertone. <i>But soon we realized we fucking loved it, and started driving back into him, trying to get him to blow his load in our ass... </i>



Celestine quaked hard at her own thoughts and the memories that poured in after them... For a long moment she didn't say anything, and instead just writhed in the erotic recollections and the pleasure that coursed through her... It was only after a few minuets that she realized that the euphoria she felt wasn't waning like she expected. But then that was likely because her hand had slipped between her legs at some point and began playing with her pussy and clit. Celestine whimpered as she helplessly watched her hand play with her cunny, finding that she couldn't stop herself. The notion that she had no control over herself only made the pleasure she felt grow stronger as she began to twitch and buck at her own touch. 



"Y-you're doing this, aren't you?" Celestine asked weakly as her hips began to grind against her own fingers, moving as if with a mind of their own. 



<i>Yes. </i>Her other wide whispered lowly. <i>Do you want me to stop? </i>



Celestine felt her toes beginning to curl as her building orgasm began to loom over her. "Y-you know what I want..." Celestine tried, her voice betraying the pleasure she felt.



<i>Yes I do. But you still have to say it.</i>



"D-Don't stop... Please don't stop!" Celestine almost shouted out suddenly, a shudder rippling through her as her breath accelerated and her heart began to thunder.



<i>That's right... We both want this... Thinking about this morning has made us horny again, and there's really only one proper way to fix that. So just sit back and let's enjoy this.</i>



Celestine quaked again as her orgasm began to loom over her. Despite herself and knowing she should be concerned about how her other side seemed to be able to take over, Celestine did in fact take her invisible partners' advice, and just let it happen... 



Soon though, Celestine began to feel her other side pulling back, even though she hadn't reached her peak yet... Without even thinking about it, Celestine picked up the slack, and her free hand slipped down between her legs and began to finger herself quickly, even as her other hand continued to slide up and down her slit. It didn't take long for Celestine's whimpers of pleasure and short gasps to fill the room as she shivered and bucked at her own touch, obscured from sight by her bed covers as thoughts of how Tristan had fucked her so completely this morning kept running round and round in her head. She couldn't help but remember so much of this morning: the taste of his cum in her mouth, the feel of him pounding her pussy so perfectly, the sensation of him blasting her insides of her ass with his seed... These were the things that sent her tumbling over the edge into her orgasm.



Celestine came hard while gasping Tristan's name, and quickly collapsed again as her orgasm played itself out. Soon she was numb and sore all over again, and weariness began to tug her back towards sleep once more. Weakly, Celestine spoke to her other side, who still lingered over her. "How...how do you do that? Control me like that..." 



<i>There we go again, asking something foolish. I am you, you are me...We did this to ourselves, nothing more nothing less.</i>



"But it happened without me even thinking about it..." Celestine replied as her eyelids began to droop and grow heavy. 



<i>It isn't a question of thinking about it or not. Pleasure is best when it's spontaneous and natural. We're beginning to just let it happen, and there isn't anything wrong with that... </i>



Celestine mumbled something incoherent as her eyes closed, sleep dragging her down again, a satisfied ache still running through her as a fulfilled smile spread across her lips.



~~~~



"My Lord... might I ask something?" Ivy queried carefully, following behind Lord Durial and Claude as they walked together. 



"Of course Ivy." Durial replied happily. Ever since he came back from whatever it was he was doing, Ivy had noticed Durial had a bit of a spring to his step. She had heard him roar out in rapture a little while ago, his voice literally echoing throughout his home for all to hear. Ivy suspected that whomever he had been fucking had been a great lay indeed and despite her most recent error in judgment, Ivy felt slightly envious of whoever had had the pleasure of being fucked senseless by her Lord...



Still, she spoke up, keeping her own desires in check for now. "I was curious as to what sort of person we'll be examining? I mean... I think I'll be able to recognize the 'infection' once I see it, but there is no guarantee I'll be able to coax said soul out."



Claude responded easily. "The woman in question is normally a very proud woman. I do not foresee any issues with you being able to remove her soul." 



"I do not mean to question you sir, but... I'm a demon of lust... It's kind of my specialty... wouldn't a demon of pride be more suited to this?" Ivy asked, trying to point out reasons for why she shouldn't be doing this. 



"Nonsense." Durial replied. "I know your second sphere is pride. We all know you love crushing mortals under your boot simply because you know you are better than them. Grinding whatever pride they have into dust before turning them into punishment hungry fiends. No, you will do perfectly well for this I think." Durial elaborated. 



Despite herself and her reservations, Ivy basked in what she perceived as praise from her Lord and pushed her worries aside for a moment. "Well, if you think I am up to the task my lord, than who am I to refuse?" Ivy was rewarded for her words with a slight smile from her Master before they continued on. 



Eventually they reached what Ivy guessed was one of the parlors in Tristan's home. However she was slightly surprised when Claude opened the doors to reveal a chamber full of darkness. What light entered the room was from the hallway, and the large windows had been covered up with heavy curtains... Claude stepped back into the hall and brought in a large candle stand, which he preceded to light once he had it set up in the center of the chamber. 



Ivy had no problem seeing in the darkness, and she knew Lord Durial had no issues with the inky blackness, so she wondered why Claude would do such a thing. But it quickly became apparent after a few moments when from the dark corners of the room, a human scurried towards the light. In an instant Ivy saw that the woman was frantic and half mad with fear... Her eyes continually darting back and forth, glaring at the looming shadows that filled the room, as if something horrible would leap out and feast upon her. Ivy however saw beyond that as well, and could sense a great deal of broken pride in this woman... She had been humbled, and humbled badly by someone quite recently... Bad enough to shatter whatever sanity she had once...



Durial caught her attention as he snapped his fingers a few times. "Miss Variess, it's time that you answer a few of my questions. Do you think you could do that for me?" Durial asked, and Ivy could sense him beginning to press his power very lightly, making the mortal forget her fear for a moment as she looked him over hungrily. 



"Y-yes..." The woman croaked, and to Ivy's ears, it sounded as if she had spent hours screaming... Though there wasn't a mark on her, so Ivy doubted it was because of physical torture. Still, after a moment the woman glanced to the flames on the lit candles again, and seemed enraptured by them, like they were the most important thing in the world to her. 



"Good... Now let's start with a simple one. Helena, you were once Celestine's manager; is that correct?" Tristan asked softly. 



Helena's eyes snapped to Tristan, anger flaring in them for a moment. "I <b>am</b> her manager. Stupid slut just doesn't know her place. Has she been telling lies about me behind my back!?" Helena snapped out at Durial, quickly jumping to conclusions. 



Ivy saw Helena had more to say, but was silenced when Durial reached out to one of the dozen lit candles, and pinched it out calmly. Instantly the room grew markedly dimmer, and Ivy noticed Helena became very still and quiet. "Now... are we going to have any more outbursts, or are you going to answer my questions calmly?" Durial asked plainly, even as Ivy saw Helena shudder lightly. Still, Ivy wondered who this 'Celestine' woman was...



"Y-yes... please... just don't put out any more lights..." Helena begged, hands lifting slowly as if reaching to shield the small torches. 



"That depends entirely upon your behavior and how you answer me." Tristan replied easily. "Now... you've known Celestine since she joined the company you work at. During those first few weeks, what were your impressions of her?" 



Helena frowned, anger beginning to overcome her sense again before she spoke. "She was a conniving little bit- Wait! I'm sorry!" Helena desperately cried out as Durial reached for another candle. 



"I want honesty Helena, now tell me the truth." Durial warned plainly, apparently unconcerned about how much this woman seemed to fear the darkness. 



"Fine... Yes... I..." Helena lifted a hand and began nibbling at her nails as she tried to think. Gnawed on what was left of her nails anyway... Ivy could see her finger nails had been bitten down to raw stubs, her fingers bloody in some cases... "She... she showed promise... I liked her... thought I could... could help her? Yes... I think that was how I felt." Helena answered, apparently confused by her own memories. "I wanted to see her advance in the company. But not the way I did..." 

<hr pg="2" />Durial seemed to share a knowing look with Claude before looking back to Helena. "When did that all seem to change?" 



The mortal frowned for a long moment, eventually responding. "I... I think it was when a quarterly review came up... Some of the higher ups noticed some of her work and were impressed... They joked that she was going to leapfrog me during a project review." Helena only seemed to be more confused as she continued to speak, apparently drifting off into her own memories for a moment. That was until Durial snuffed out another candle, snapping her back into reality. "I'm sorry!" She cried desperately, beginning to reach up for the remaining candles, only to see another one be snuffed out.



"Stay where you are Helena, or I'll put them all out." Durial warned coldly. "Finish your story... And don't you dare waste my time by drifting off like that again." 



Ivy giggled to herself, enjoying herself as she watched her Lord be cold and brutal. He wasn't often like this. Usually he was relaxed and cavalier, so it was a treat to see this side of him. Helena however nodded desperately and even backed up a little, even as she glanced worriedly as the shadows which were much closer now... "They made their joke, but Celestine said she'd never try and usurp me like that, and didn't really play along with them... They laughed at her seriousness, but it felt... felt like they were telling some dirty secret of hers... like they had accidentally shared her secret agenda and that she was trying to shut them up..." 



Durial frowned, as if not believing her. However he didn't immediately snuff out one if the few remaining candles. Instead he allowed Helena to continue her tale. "I... I asked her about it later, not wanting to doubt my prized employee... She told me again that she never intended to do anything like that... That she wouldn't betray me like that." Helena ran her fingers through her slightly tangled hair, pulling at it awkwardly. "But something about how she said it... gnawed at me... day and night... Every day... every hour!" Helena began to become more exacerbated as she continued. "I started seeing her attempts to usurp my authority everywhere! I tried to ignore them... Brush them off as nothing more than me just seeing things!" Ivy smiled as she saw this woman, once proud and full of confidence; begin to fall apart all over again, right in front of her eyes. 



"I didn't want to push her down! I didn't! But I had to be sure! She would remain loyal, even if I kept her down... Right?!" Helena asked towards Durial, voice desperate and afraid. "I was afraid that she didn't need my help..." Helena whispered suddenly. "Afraid that she could climb the ladder without me... and leave me behind..." None of the demons lifted a finger to help her, even as Helena fell to her knees. "So... so all I did was give her a gentle nudge back... that's all... I wanted her to take her time, and not rush head long... But she kept trying so damn hard!" Helena suddenly hissed. "She was always making me look bad, even when I was always trying to help her! I didn't report the sexual abuse claims because they would drag her into the view of the higher ups! She didn't need that... No... she was better where she was... beneath me!" 



The light in the room was suddenly cut in half as Durial put out several lights at once... cutting off Helena's rant as she looked up, suddenly remembering where she was. "Wait! I'll answer your questions! I won't scream any more, please!" 



Ivy saw Durial smile coldly at the pathetic mortal. "Oh... I'm fairly certain you'll scream..." Her master answered as he quickly put out the remaining lights, filling the chamber with darkness again. 



It seemed that her Lord was right, because Helena started screaming and wailing as she knelt on the floor. It wasn't long before she was thrashing and kicking at nothing, as if thousands of gnawing insects were crawling all over her, being vomited forth by the blackness that surrounded her. 



Ivy loved hearing the woman's cries, and was so focused on the mortal's pain and fear that Ivy was startled when Claude spoke up, over the raving mortal. "Now, pull out the wretched woman's soul and silence her incessant howling." Claude ordered, voice stained with annoyance. 



Ivy took a step forwards but paused, hesitation gnawing at her. She didn't want a repeat of what happened at her home... "Do... do we really need to do this? There is something clearly wrong with her... why not just kill her and be done with it?"



"Because that won't help answer our questions. Now get to work." Claude ordered bluntly. 



Ivy still wavered though, memories and instincts telling her not to mess with this woman's soul... "But... But why me? I mean I nearly got killed by one of these things already, so why do I have to do it?" 



Claude shook his head. "Because you are expendable. Even with all your value and influential contacts in the human world, you are still expendable." Claude's words stunned Ivy as she found herself rooted in place, suddenly more afraid of Claude then anything else as he loomed over her. It felt like he was measuring her up, and found her more than wanting... "Would you rather our Lord risk himself? Are you that disloyal?" Claude continued, his words cutting Ivy. 



Durial sighed. "Damn it Claude... could you be any harsher?" 



"Forgive me my lord, but it had to be said... Better that she risk her life than you risk yours." Claude replied frankly. 



But Ivy spoke up, voice surprisingly full of determination. "I am not disloyal! I would never risk our Lord! Never! I'll do whatever my Lord wishes, even if it means pulling some creepy soul of this bitch's chest." Ivy finished, still clearly concerned about having to do this.



Durial smiled as he looked to Ivy. "It'll be alright. Just don't drop her soul back into her body and we'll be fine. I'm right here with you Ivy." Durial reassured, and to Ivy's delight, she began to feel better. Him just looking at her made her buzz pleasantly and triggered the desire to impress him... So Ivy nodded lightly, completely unaware of the fact that Durial was using his powers on her, to help assure her and make her more desperate for his approval... More willing to do something dangerous for him...



Without any further hesitation Ivy pinned Helena down and began to tear out her once prideful soul. Even as she died, Helena screamed out, begging for light to chase away the darkness. Almost immediately, Ivy found herself smiling. She was a lust demon, but she enjoyed a soul full of broken and tattered pride too... And from what she saw? Helena's soul was as rife with shattered pride. Hell, if left to her own devices, Ivy suspected suicide was a definite option for Helena and was something she probably considered several times since she began staying here...



However it didn't take long for Ivy to realize again that there was something very wrong with Helena's soul. The infection wasn't hidden like with Sig's soul, where it was deep beneath the outer layers. Instead it was on the surface, writhing and spreading to what was left of Helena's mortal soul. With Sig, it had been small... almost hardly there... But with Helena, large patches of her soul were blackened and sickly looking. And even as she watched, the infection oozed some sort of foul brackish slime, only to quickly evaporate with a foul rotting stench. 



The three demons looked at the befouled soul with some confusion, but Ivy was the only one of them that was terrified. Even as she held the soul by the purest patches of the glowing orb, she got the distinct feeling the infection was trying to move to gnaw at her... "Master... Please... this thing is disgusting!" Ivy glanced at her Lord and found his face one of hard contemplation... It dawned on her then that he was pondering putting the corrupt soul back in the now silent and very dead corpse it once belonged to...



"Was Sig's soul this foul?" Durial asked frankly.



"N-no... I had to scrape away a lot of it before I found anything like this." Ivy responded. "And it wasn't so... well it was gross, but this is a whole different level of disgusting..." Ivy explained, trying to hold it as far away from her as possible. 



Durial didn't even attempt to hide his curiosity as he glanced to Helena's corpse... However before he spoke, a voice of reason came from Claude. "My Lord... I don't doubt that you'd survive... but the questions that such a creature would bring if others saw it are too dangerous..." Claude gave Ivy a warning glare, reminding her never to speak of this... ever. Somehow she knew if she ever did, the horrors he would visit upon her in retaliation were beyond her worst imaginings. 



Durial eventually sighed and nodded looking back to the foul soul before stretching his hand out over it. Even as Ivy watched, the wretched thing began to shrivel and die, being torn apart by her Master's power... Within a moment or two more, it was gone, and they were left in the darkness again. 



When Durial turned to leave, Ivy and Claude moved to follow suit. It didn't take long but once outside the room Durial spoke up to Claude. "I want you to set Ivy up with the Hanlina sisters at their skin bar on the east end. Those two could use some company as well as a dominatrix to fill out their roster for their clients." 



Ivy almost whimpered when she heard that. She had hoped she would be staying with her Lord in his home. Yet she didn't argue... part of her knew that staying here might get her volunteered to check over more souls for infection, which was not something she was looking forward to at all. "My Lord?" Ivy spoke up. 



"Yes?" Durial responded while still walking. 



"Am I going to be forced to stay there for long? With the Hanlina Sisters I mean?" Ivy asked carefully. 



However she was surprised when her Lord turned placed his hand upon her cheek. "Now now... there is no need to fret. I'm not sending you to them to serve them; I'm sending you to rule them." 



Ivy blinked twice before almost exploding in joy. "M-My Lord? Am I to become a Noble?!" 



Durial chuckled lightly before shaking his head. "Not quite. Think of this as a dry run. You've proven you can handle yourself, and despite an urge to spend time with me, you may be able to cut it in the higher ranks. If you do well, we'll see what we can do about getting you set up with your own place again, perhaps even with a small domain." 



This time Ivy couldn't stop herself from leaping up in joy. "I won't let you down my Lord, I swear!" She giggled before pausing for a moment as if struck by a sudden thought. "But... but what about my own power? I mean... I'm not strong enough to protect a domain, even if it is small."



Durial smiled at her and she nearly swooned. "That's why I'd be sending someone with you to act as a guard. Plus, with your own domain, you'd be able to hunt freely, and as a result grow stronger. But that's only if you do well with the Hanlina Sisters. Their place has been losing whores one after another and I want you to get it sorted out. I'll be coming by in a few days to inspect your progress and deal with the sisters if they are being too bothersome. Make sure their place becomes profitable again before my arrival and then we'll talk, alright?" 



Ivy nodded quickly and darted off to get her things together again after bowing to Durial. Once she was out of sight and earshot Durial waited for Claude to speak up, but was slightly surprised to find that his butler had nothing to say on the matter. "I'm surprised... I figured you hated Ivy." 



Claude shrugged lightly. "Not particularly. I dislike her taste in broken pride, but beyond that I have no qualms with her. I said those things to shame her into action so she would protect her pride and to prevent you or me from having to do it." Claude explained easily.



"So you manipulated her." Durial pointed out with a slight smile. 



"Of course." Claude replied like nothing was wrong. "And might I say that you did well distracting her from recent events with the notion of possible future advancement. She knows just enough at this point to realize that if she does talk, she'll jeopardize her own chances at advancement. She might not understand what it all means, but we don't want her letting it slip to anyone who is smart enough to put dots together either. At the same time, you are able to test the ability of one of your servants, whom may end up becoming a minor noble in her own right if guided correctly, plus she is clearly quite loyal to you already, reducing the risk of future betrayal. All together, that was very well played my Lord, the way you are manipulating her." Claude complemented lightly. 



Tristan couldn't help but chuckle at Claude's examination of his motives. "So you noticed that huh?" Tristan asked, clearly amused. "Well, she has proven herself useful, might as well kill two birds with one stone. Regardless of Ivy, have you made arrangements for Helena's body?" 



Claude bowed. "Yes. We have arranged for an anonymous tip to go to the authorities that one of her superiors is responsible for Miss Variess's death. We've made sure he was one of the individuals who she slept with in order to advance in their company. A Mr. Keebler Thanan if I recall correctly. I've also seen fit to prepare a number of false letters between the two of them to be stored near where we dump the body. The letters will document an ongoing argument between the two of them, and will detail demands from Miss Variess for Thanan to leave his wife in favor of Miss Variess. It also mentions that Miss Variess will go public with his adultery if he does not do as she says." Claude explained. 



Tristan grinned with cruel amusement. "And you said you were not good at this. Where are you planning on dumping the body?"



"We will be depositing it in a storage shed that belongs to Thanan. He owns a large estate, and apparently his wife enjoys gardening, even though their aids do the majority of the work. As a result he has three sheds scattered around the grounds, though only two of them are used during the summer months. The third is used to store winter equipment for blowing out snow and the like and is left untouched by anyone during the summer. That is where we will dump the body." Claude elaborated. 



Tristan nodded lightly. "Well that lines up nicely. How will he have murdered her?" Tristan asked, almost with a playful inquisitiveness. 



Claude smiled. "Multiple stab wounds to the chest and throat, as well as several slashes across her groin and vagina. We'll be using one of the Terrorgiest to possess her body while conducting the injuries. If all goes well, it should be able to reanimate parts of her body long enough to mimic death by the knife wounds." 



"Nice touch. It shows abject hate and rage, not only for her, but the thing he lusted after from her. Even if someone sees through your deception, it should throw them off long enough that the trail to us will have gone cold." Tristan complemented. 



"I do live to serve, my Lord." Claude said bowing his head lightly.



~~~~~



Celestine awoke again later in the afternoon to the sounds of shifting cloth and her closet door being opened. Cautiously, Celestine stretched her senses, and quickly recognized who was in her room with her. She smiled lightly and spoke up eyes still closed as she lay unmoving. "Good afternoon Claude." Celestine announced calmly before she opened her eyes to find him hanging up her freshly pressed clothes. 



"Good afternoon Celestine." Claude responded nodding his head to her lightly before going back to his work. "I hope any soreness from your experiences this morning has faded." Claude commented idly. 



Celestine did a mental check and found that the Demonic Marks had done their job well. She wasn't nearly as sore as she was earlier in the day, though her bottom still stung with painful sharpness. "For the most part... I'm still stiff here and there but that's manageable. My ass still stings pretty badly though." Celestine admitted as she began to slowly sit up, wincing in pain the whole way. "That bastard could have been a little bit gentler. It was my first time for crying out loud." Celestine grumbled as she winced once again.



As she sat up, Celestine paused and noticed dampness staining her sheets and a sticky sensation that ran down her crotch. It was then that she recalled that she had masturbating earlier and was likely the responsible party for the stains. "Damn it all... Claude? Where are the spare sheets? The bedding needs to be changed over..." Celestine asked simply as she tried to hide her annoyance with herself. 



"Hum? Oh think nothing of it Celestine. I will see to them being changed over before you take your rest again." Claude explained easily as he hung up another set of clothes. 



"Thank you." Celestine responded simply. After a moment she stood from the edge of her bed and immediately gasped, surprised the by the sudden stinging in her bottom. It faded to a low throbbing after a moment, but she knew moving around wouldn't be very easy right now. "Okay... so maybe a little more sore than I thought." Celestine admitted to herself. 



"Then I'd recommend taking a hot bath. It will help relax the muscles and should ease your pain some." Claude suggested.



"And I could stand to get cleaned up." Celestine added without modesty. "After this morning I'm fairly certain I'm a mess." Celestine continued as she began towards the bathroom with a bit of a limp. Surprisingly, she found Claude at her side, offering an arm to lean on. Celestine smiled apologetically and took his offer of help. 



It didn't take long before she was warming up the water, but as she waited for it to reach a proper temperature; Claude began to pull out the sliding shades that would shield her from his view. "Claude?" Celestine asked, not entirely sure what he was doing. 



"I thought I might stick around for a while, in case you had need of anything during your bath." Claude explained as he continued to move about. He surprised her again as he laid out a bathrobe for her as well. Celestine watched as he tended to her needs and couldn't help but smile appreciatively until everything was set. 



Celestine moved behind the screen and for a long moment, pondered if she should send him away or not. Eventually she gave a shrug and began to disrobe behind the screen before heading into the water. Claude could hear her tender shuddering gasp as the water slipped over her still sensitive skin, followed by the low relieved sigh that escaped her lips as she finally sank down into the hot water. 



For long minuets, the two of them simply sat in silence. The only sounds being the movement of water as Celestine bathed herself. For her part, Celestine was recalling how Rena bathed her this morning during their intermission. Of how she washed every inch of Celestine's skin and then kissed each patch in obvious adoration... Celestine wondered if she would ever be able to return the favor to Rena, though somehow she doubted it. Celestine also wondered about Claude, and tried to think about what he might be pondering about there in the silence. 



Eventually it was Celestine who broke the quiet, after she had finished scrubbing herself and was just letting herself soak to relax her sore body. "Claude, after we first met you told me that I was free to ask questions of you, and that you would answer them as completely as you could. Does that arrangement still stand?" Celestine asked calmly. 



"Indeed it does Celestine. Do have you something you wish to ask me?" Claude responded with perfect polite calm. 



"Several things actually... However the first is perhaps the most important. Rena told me that when Tristan was displaying me to the other demons, that she was present. Can I ask what you were doing during that time?" Celestine asked simply, trying to keep herself calm, even though a part of her suspected the answer. 

<hr pg="3" />"I was present as well, though I hid my presence from you as per my Lord's instructions." Claude responded without hesitation. 



Celestine couldn't help but envy Claude for his sense of ease. She was thankful for the screen as well, because she was fairly certain she wouldn't have been able to ask these questions if they were face to face with him. Still, she pressed on regardless of her uncertainty. "Will you tell me why you came to watch?" She asked, surprising herself with how easy it was to ask that.



"Of course." Claude responded. "I initially came to watch my Lord ply his talents as well as to act as a form of security in case any of the demons that were invited got out of hand. I understand that was the reason Rena was there as well, though she was aware that I was present and would have been enough to deal with any issues that arose." Claude elaborated calmly, apparently not fully understanding Rena's reasons. 



Celestine cocked her head, surprised by how his answer made her feel. She wasn't disappointed per say, knowing that he had come to watch Tristan more than herself. But she did feel the ding to her self confidence. She couldn't help but smile as she realized that she cared if Claude found her attractive or not. It was very unlike her... but then she hadn't been herself for days... No, even that was wrong. She stopped being herself as soon as Tristan kidnapped her. But then she found that she couldn't complain about those changes... Hell, she found herself welcoming them. Still, Claude's response brought an curious thought to Celestine's mind. "Hum... An interesting answer. Forgive if I offend Claude, but I must say that the more I get to know about you, the more I think you may be into men, rather than women. Or that perhaps you might find both sexes attractive." Celestine commented simply. 



"Perhaps I do give that air off at times. Though I would like you to know that isn't the case. It would be more accurate to say that I am 'into' my Lord rather than men or women." 



Celestine frowned lightly. "Hold on. Are you saying that you are sexually attracted to Tristan?" Celestine slowly turned around so she was facing Claude, even though she could only see his shadow through the frosted screen.



Claude's laughter filled the room in response to her question before he eventually managed to get a hold over himself. "Ah, forgive me Celestine, I do not mean to laugh at you. I just find your views very interesting and refreshing. To answer your question, no, I do not find my lord sexually attractive. Yes, I find him remarkable to look upon, but I would not be inclined to take him into my bed... Mind you he could probably force such attraction onto me if he were inclined, such is his power." Claude added simply. "What I feel is not love or even arousal when I look upon my Lord. Instead I feel joyous loyalty and pride, knowing I can say 'this demon is my Lord, Master and Friend'. Forgive me if my answer confuses you my dear, but it is the most accurate description of my feelings that I can give." Claude finished proudly. 



Celestine smiled again, though it was a slightly distraught smile. "Well... that still answers my question I suppose. Ultimately you did not come to see me; rather you came to see Tristan." Celestine pondered for a moment. "Do you think it makes me selfish... wishing that you had come to see me instead of him?" 



"Not at all. In a situation like that, where you are intended to be the center of attention, I suspect it could be quite disheartening to know that for some, you are little more then a minor part of the larger experience. However at the same time you should recall that I said I initially came to see him. As the event continued, I found myself increasingly impressed with your performance and development. I must admit, that despite my loyalty to my Lord, I found myself viewing you as someone who equaled his presence on that stage." Claude elaborated. 



For a long moment Celestine sat in the hot water, pondering exactly what Claude meant. And slowly, bit by bit she found herself swelling with pride. Still, she fought to keep herself from becoming big headed, and eventually spoke up again, voice light and relaxed. "Thank you Claude. Strangely, that is somehow better than knowing that you were attracted to me. I originally figured that you might have thought me lacking when I was up there." 



Claude chuckled again. "Indeed, that would have been a fair assessment if it were anyone else. However I can see the rapt honest joy and pleasure your presence brings my Lord. So no matter what measurement I may come up with, that one fact makes you are worthy of at least some of my praise." 



This time Celestine laughed lightly. "It's strange, hearing someone praise me for reveling in such debauchery." 



"Speaking of which..." Claude began. "There was a very distinct change in you when you were up there. As if some sort of inner conflict had been resolved. And if I might be so bold, I think this change is for the better. I was wondering if that was temporary or-"



But Celestine cut him off. "It is permanent." Celestine said firmly. "I'm done chaining myself down like I have been. I'm done not allowing myself to feel pleasure and joy. I'm done feeling wrong or immoral whenever someone looks at me with desire and lust in their eyes. What I feel? There isn't anything wrong with it. And I'm not going to let myself feel like it is wrong ever again." Celestine finished, voice calm but determined. 



"Does that mean you are... giving into my Lord?" Claude asked cautiously, pleased by her response so far. 



However Celestine surprised him again with her response. "I don't recall ever saying that." Her voice was light and amused, almost playful as if she expected his question. "If Tristan seeks to force pleasure upon me, I'm not going to hate myself for enjoying it. But that doesn't mean I'm going go to him begging to be fucked either. Besides, Tristan doesn't want a simpering fuck puppet... He could get any number of those if he went to a club and started using his powers. He wants someone that he has to conquer over and over again." 



"Is that someone you?" Claude asked without any hesitation, taking Celestine aback with his simple forwardness. 



Celestine didn't respond for a long moment, as if measuring her words. Eventually she replied, her voice level but not entirely sure herself. "He seems to think so..." 



Claude smiled lightly but otherwise left the subject alone. "Hum... I see. Regardless, shall I go and begin preparing dinner for you my dear? I suspect you are almost done with your bath and are likely hungry, given that you have not eaten yet today." 



Celestine chuckled at his unveiled shift of topic. "Thank you Claude, I would appreciate that." Celestine responded as she began to get out of the bath, her shadow showing through the frosted screen as she began to dry off. 



"Of course." Claude responded, before rising and heading towards the kitchen.



~~~~



"Mnnn... It should be illegal for food to be this good." Celestine complimented easily as she began to cut another mouthful of French toast. 



"Ah, but what kind of butler would I be if I couldn't do this much?" Claude asked pleasantly. 



Celestine couldn't help but chuckle at Claude's question and shrugged. "Probably not a very good butler. But seriously, what made you make French toast? This is hardly a proper dinner meal, not that I'm complaining."



"I have always suspected that you've had a bit of a sweet tooth." Claude replied. "A sweet tooth I suspect you largely kept yourself from indulging in prior to your stay here." Claude continued. 



Celestine smiled a little bit before looking back to her plate. "You'd be right on both counts. I love this stuff but I know it's not exactly good for me so I only eat sweets very rarely. The strange thing is, I generally work out enough to burn off any excess calories that sweet foods have. I didn't eat it because... well I suppose I didn't eat it because it made me feel like I wasn't in control of myself. That I was giving into silly desires that had no real basis other than it tastes good." Celestine finished before she ate another mouthful. 



"I see. But that has changed now hasn't it?" Claude asked as he cleaned up.



"Yea... I think so anyway. I'm not going to be stupid and eat only sweets of course. But I'll enjoy them from time to time." Celestine reaffirmed. 



"That is for the best I think." Claude paused and listened carefully. "Though I would enjoy them quickly. I do believe trouble is on her way." Claude said with a slight smile. 



Celestine paused, not sure what he meant, but it didn't take long for Celestine herself to sense Rena approaching quickly. A moment later, Rena came barreling into the dining room and skidded to a stop behind Celestine. "Ah, finally found you!" Rena announced wrapping her arms around Celestine's shoulders and as she leaned onto her friend. 



"YEOW!" Celestine snapped out instantly, making Rena leap back in sudden panic. "Ow ow owww..." Celestine shivered in pain as she bore with the sudden sharp agony that flared up in her bottom from the extra weight. 



"Wh-... What's wrong?" Rena asked, suddenly terrified she had hurt Celestine badly. She hesitantly stepped up to her as Celestine's breathing began to level out again, the pain waning. 



"I do believe Celestine's derriere is still tender from this morning's festivities..." Claude answered for Celestine. "You should be more careful Rena." Claude chided.



Rena shot him an angry look before looking back to Celestine apologetically. "Sorry... I thought you'd be okay by now." 



"Jeeze Rena, it was my first time for god sakes... and it's him for crying out loud! It's almost a miracle I can walk around at all..." Celestine replied, still sore. However when Rena stood there abashed and staring at the floor in shame, Celestine eased up. "Rena... I'm alright okay? It was just a bit of a shock is all." 



Rena looked up cautiously. "Really?" When Celestine nodded in response Rena smiled apologetically. "I really am sorry. I really did think that you'd be okay by now."



"Eh, it's okay... I have comfort food so all is well with the world." Celestine replied as she ate another bite. 



Rena watched Celestine eat for a moment before she turned to Claude. But just as she opened her mouth to speak Claude spoke up, cutting her off calmly. "No, I will not make you dinner." 



Rena snorted. "Why not? You made dinner for Celestine."



"Celestine is our guest, where as you are one of Lord Durial's servants. If you wish to have dinner, you can make it yourself." Claude explained as he put the last of the cooking tools away. 



Rena grumbled. "You know I barely know how to cook anything at all!"



"Than I suppose whatever you make will be most unappetizing." Claude responded with perfect ease. "If you will excuse me Celestine, I have other duties to conduct before the eve." 



"Later Claude." Celestine responded easily as Claude took off, leaving Rena without anything to eat. 



"That jerk..." Rena grumbled out, her anger simmering hotly. 



"Come 'ere brat." Celestine announced, drawing Rena's attention back to her, as Celestine idly held out her fork with a morsel of syrupy French toast. "We can share." Celestine continued, smiling to her friend. 



Rena almost pounced Celestine again as she took the mouthful and shivered with delight at the sweet breakfast food. It didn't take long before the two of them were laughing like kids as they shared a meal. 



Elsewhere Claude went to conduct his duties, and reported in to his Lord without hesitation... "She seems to be well enough my Lord, though her bottom is still quite tender." Claude reported with a slight smile. 



Tristan ran his hand through his hair before replying. "We both went a bit overboard for her first time. But still, I'm glad to hear she's more or less alright. What about her state of mind? Is she showing any signs of regretting what happened?"



"Not at all my Lord. The change we saw in her seems to be sticking, and if anything she seems to be opening up to other avenues that she once denied herself. You may be surprised to know that she has a bit of a sweet tooth." Claude added with a slight smile. "However at the same time I don't believe she is simply going to abandon herself to her pleasure. You've made a great stride forwards today my Lord..." 



"But there is still a ways to go." Tristan finished for Claude. 



~~~~



Celestine snapped awake with start sharp frightened gasp and she found herself covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest and the worried gnawing of fear pulling at her. It took her a moment before she began to calm down, but as she glanced about her chamber, she realized she was alone, and that there was nothing to be immediately afraid of. 



She began to wonder if she had had a nightmare of sorts, and upon thinking about it, realized she had... She could recollect short snippets of memories from the horrible dream, and immediately she felt cold as a shiver ran through her body. She remembered seeing the world, awash in black flames. She saw mortals running and screaming, only to be set ablaze with the fell flame. She could even remember the stink of them burning. The stink of burning fat and meat was there, but there was something on top of it... something that somehow made it worse. 



Strangely enough, all her memories showed the world through the eyes of whatever the people were fleeing from... like they were fleeing from her. The memories continued to play and she found herself turning towards an office building, and seeing dozens of people looking down from the windows in primal fear. She also saw the thing they were staring so fearfully at, blurrily reflected in the windows back at her. 



It wasn't herself... instead it was some vaguely humanoid... thing. And more than anything else, this is what turned the dream into a nightmare... This was the thing that, just like everyone else in the dream, Celestine found herself terrified of. It was tall and black, with long arms and strange multi-jointed knees. Celestine could see it's eyes though... the irises of which glowed an emerald green, and were disturbingly familiar. Everything but those brilliant green eyes was a haze of shifting black wisps coiling around a central body... But above the crown of its head a halo of glowing black light hovered above the creatures head, like some twisted mockery of an angel...



Celestine realized that she wasn't breathing, and quickly forced herself to take a deep breath. "It was only a dream." She chided herself. "A simple nightmare... nothing more." Yet despite her words, Celestine found herself shivering again...



~~~~



Unwilling and unable to go back to sleep, Celestine simply got up and was surprised to find that it was still early morning, and that the first rays of light could be seen on the horizon. She hadn't planned on sleeping through the whole night, but ultimately she was glad for the rest. Her body wasn't sore any more, and while her ass was still a little tender, it wasn't anything serious. Yet as she got up and ready for the day, she found she almost missed the pleasant ache that constantly reminded her of her 'punishment'... 



Still, she took this early morning opportunity to get a workout in. It had been days since she last had a proper workout and while she had had plenty of physical activities, she didn't want to let her schedule slide completely. It wasn't long before Celestine found herself in the small gym and deep within what many would call a harsh work out, and with weights that seemed impossible given her apparent muscle mass. Yet even as she pushed against the heavy weights, she knew it wasn't all her. The Demonic Marks she bore gave her strength that even professional weight trainers would find impressive. She wasn't superhuman by any means, but she wasn't far off either. That said, Celestine never considered herself weak, even before the marks.



Over the following two hours Celestine worked herself almost to near exhaustion, all the while ignoring the niggling pain that still remained in her body. To her, this was her place of silence. No demons were here, and Tristan seemed far away, leaving her in peaceful solitude for a few hours at least. Each rep allowed her to keep her mind clear of everything that was going on in her world, and all the confusing feelings that came with it. It was during this calm moment of solitude that Celestine realized Tristan had yet to tell her about the Fell Born, and she began to wonder if he would be forthcoming without her pressing him. 



Probably not... For all his appealing traits, Celestine always had to remember he was a demon, and that he was probably keeping things to himself for his own sake. Still, she felt that she had fulfilled his conditions, and if he had been honest, she should be hearing from him soon. Again though, Celestine was forced to remind herself that he was a demon, and that he wouldn't hesitate to lie if he felt it was in his best interest.



Celestine put away the weights and let out a long sigh. Despite the fact that this place was supposed to be her sanctuary, thoughts of him had invaded her mind and ruined the tranquil focus she had been enjoying. It didn't matter though, as the sun was beginning to rise over the trees that surrounded Tristan's home, and Celestine found herself wanting to experience those first few rays as the world became one of light again. So, in hopes of clearing her mind again, Celestine took to the paths around the mansion, walking along the building and through the groves and gardens that surrounded it. 



Just as the sun was beginning to tip over the trees, Celestine heard something odd. It disturbed the surrounding bird song that came with each dawn, and she quickly recognized the rumbling as a diesel motor of some sort of vehicle. Pausing, Celestine realized that it was likely driving towards the front of the complex, and Celestine moved around the building to go see what was going on. A part of her wondered if someone was coming to visit this early in the morning, but that seemed unlikely as she figured she would have been warned if someone was coming to visit. 



Her answers came as she rounded the corner and saw the truck come into view. It was a hauling truck, and from her vantage point, she saw several individuals begin to disembark, some of which seemed to be coming from the rear gate of the storage compartment. Several of those seemed even to be spectral in nature, like they weren't wholly there. But even from afar she recognized one of them at least, as she saw Claude get out from the driver's seat and begin to head towards the stairs that led to the main entrance to Tristan's home. It was then that she sensed the presence of someone coming out from the front door to greet them, and even before she saw him, Celestine could feel it was Tristan. The Demonic Marks relayed that he was pleasantly anticipating something, and after a moment, Celestine saw him step down the first few steps to greet Claude, who bowed lightly as his master showed himself, as did all the others that got out of the truck. 



Celestine skirted along the wall and did her best to sneak up closer, hoping to overhear whatever it was they might start talking about. She was able to get closer, and eventually got behind one of the many columns around Tristan's home, apparently in time to hear Tristan and Claude begin speaking. 



"It's done then?" Tristan asked aloud.



"Yes my Lord. The body has been deposited as we planned, and no one was the wiser. The fatal injuries were made to be as realistic as possible, including defensive wounds to suggest a short but ultimately futile struggle." Claude reported proudly. "The incriminating letters were also planted, and after a poor clean up, we stored the body in one of the bins found in the storage shed. If all goes according to plan, authorities will find enough evidence to suggest that whoever did this tried to clean it up and then hid the body away for later disposal. One of the Terrorgiest was able to infiltrate the home itself, and collected samples from our fall man's hair brushes that we proceed to plant on the body, to place him there at the scene of the murder. Additionally, we inflicted the wounds with a kitchen knife collected from their home." Claude finished with perfect ease. 

<hr pg="4" />Celestine however, still hiding behind the column, stood confused and more than a little horrified by what she was hearing. As far as she could tell, she was overhearing the details of a frame job against some poor soul for the death of one of Tristan's victims. However she was startled when Tristan spoke up, his voice louder and obviously meant to reach her clearly. "A very good job, wouldn't you say Celestine?" 



Cursing herself for thinking she could sneak up on Tristan, Celestine eventually stepped out from behind the pillar and strode firmly towards him and the group of demons, keeping her eyes locked with Tristan's each step of the way. Her seriousness seemed to amuse him however, as she saw his slight smile grow a little as she approached. "It sounds like a very complete and thorough job. Though I wouldn't necessarily call it 'good'... It sounds like you've gone and set someone up to take the fall for one of your victims." Celestine declared simply. 



Tristan shrugged and looked to the assembled demons. "You are all dismissed. Thank you for your continued loyal service." The demons once again bowed in unison before they began to disperse. Celestine watched as they went, and found the spectral demons to be of particular curiosity. It was more accurate to say they were a collation of wisps of black fog and smoke than a solid form... However as they disappeared and went about their business, Celestine noticed one of the smoky demons to be lagging behind the rest, as if he were half drunk or something. His movements were jerky and its head seemed to be twitching badly from time to time...



Unbeknownst to Celestine, Tristan seemed to take note of the erratic Terrorgiest as well, glancing to Claude before speaking over the Demonic Mark shared between the two of them. <i>("Claude... what is wrong with him?") </i>Tristan asked coolly, half suspecting the answer already.



<i>("I am not sure my Lord. Vorak has been showing increasing signs of agitation and sporadic behavior ever since he left Miss Variess's body. He was the Terrorgiest that reanimated her basic functions to lend credence to our murder plot. He was also one of the three Terrorgiest that originally brought Helena to us.") </i>Claude replied, reporting as factually as possible. <i>("He assures us that he is fine, and I was given to accept that when we started heading back, but he has gotten much worse very quickly...")</i>



"Humm..." Tristan watched the demon disappear into the building before turning back to Celestine. "You are mostly correct. Claude and those demons just finished setting up one of your former superiors for the murder of Helena. Though, it would be more accurate to say that she was your victim, not mine." Tristan finished with perfect ease as he stepped down the stairs slowly, coming closer to Celestine with each step.



Celestine blinked up at Tristan, as if surprised by his words. "W-...Wait... are you saying Helena is already dead?" Celestine asked, stunned by the mix of feelings that washed over her. 



Tristan cocked his head curiously. "Yes, she is. She died yesterday afternoon, after we had finished with our festivities." Tristan explained. "You seem... perplexed by that outcome." 



Celestine blinked and after a moment shook away her confusion. "uh... No. I knew that it would eventually happen. I mean... I dragged her into this knowing that." Celestine paused, trying to sort out her own feelings. The emotions that buffeted her were scattered and disjointed... One moment she felt elated that her vicious and cruel manager was finally gone from the world, only for the next moment to be filled with surprise at herself, for being happy about the death of anyone. Only for that to be followed by frustration and maybe even anger at not being there to see it, for being left out like it wasn't something she should be included in. But then she wondered how Helena died, and realized that it might have been a good thing she wasn't included. Tristan seemed to be 'creative' when it came to ways of punishing people, and Celestine certainly doubted that it was quick and clean. But then Helena hardly deserved quick and clean, and that thought would start the cycle of conflicting emotions all over again. 



However a new thought invaded her cycle of chaotic emotions, which seemed to put it all on pause for a moment. "Hold on... you said you are framing someone for her murder. Who?" Celestine asked, suddenly realizing that Helena's death was beginning to have a ripple effect.



"Hum? Oh one of her superiors. A Keebler Thanan if I recall correctly." Tristan replied, glancing to Claude who confirmed it. 



"Mr. Thanan? What? Why him?" Celestine asked quickly. "I mean... I didn't really know him. Helena kept me away from him as best she could but in the few times I did meet him he was a kind man...he was Helena's boss and-" 



"And he promoted her because she let him fuck her on a semi-regular basis." Tristan cut in, his voice amused but not overly cruel. He waited patiently as Celestine looked to him unbelieving at first, but enjoyed seeing her understanding begin to dawn. 



"Are you saying that was why he was friendly with me? He wanted to..." Celestine stopped, finding the rest of the sentence to vile to finish. 



"Sleep with you? Perhaps he did, but perhaps not. I don't know for sure. But I do know that I were in his position I'd probably would have tried for you too." Tristan replied with a shrug. "But than I might be biased." 



Celestine glared at Tristan. "Positions of authority aren't supposed to be abused like that." Celestine said firmly.



"Why not?" Tristan asked trying not to seem too amused. "Far as I can tell, both of them exchanged services, and both were more or less happy with the results. Helena got her new position, and Keebler got to get his dick wet. Me? I'm just taking advantage of a situation that they created. I couldn't care less if Keebler goes to jail for the rest of his life. Besides, do you really care if Keebler takes the bullet for this? Wouldn't you brand him as scum based off how he treated his employees? Never mind the fact that he's adulterous."



Celestine blinked once or twice before thinking about Tristan's point. "I hate saying this, but you make a valid point. He's terrible and deserves to be punished. Better he rots in jail than some innocent who had nothing to do with this." 



"Sure." Tristan replied. "But none of that really matters. It's done and that's all there is to it. Helena has been disposed of and the world keeps turning." Celestine glanced to Tristan again, eyes showing her frustration and being kept out of the loop, making him smile a little bit more in response. "Oh well this is a surprise..." he began as he reached over to her, gently taking her chin in hand, making her look straight at him as he pulled her closer. "You are angry because you weren't there to see her die... aren't you?" 



"You're crazy." Celestine answered bluntly, though it was completely transparent. 



"And you're evading the question." Tristan replied before gently letting her go. "But that's okay. I do apologize for excluding you, but I felt it best to do so, given the unique way she was terminated." 



"What?" Celestine replied defiantly. "You don't think I could have handled it?" She asked firmly, even though a part of her was silently thankful she wasn't there to see it. 



"Oh, it isn't that I don't think you could have handled it. It is that I don't think you would have liked the questions it brought up." Tristan replied. 



"Questions?" Celestine asked, frowning to Tristan lightly.



"See? I told you wouldn't like them." Tristan said with a grin.



Celestine huffed before bringing up a different topic. "What about the Fell Born thing? When are you going to get around telling me about it? And I have questions about the Nephilim and other things too. You've been keeping me in the dark for a while now, and I think it's time we discussed this. I've fulfilled your conditions haven't I?" 



To her surprise, her words seemed to make Tristan go quiet for a long moment. Eventually though, he sighed and nodded. "You have actually, so I suppose I have no choice but to share what I know. Come to me in a few hours and I'll tell you what I know..." Tristan replied simply.



Celestine smiled victoriously, happy to have gained this concession. "Alright. I'll get cleaned up and get something to eat before coming to find you. And you better not hold back either. I want answers that are complete as possible." Celestine challenged. 



"I'm sure you do. However, Arzal is going to be visiting this afternoon as well, so we won't be able to talk all day. Not saying I won't answer your questions, but know I have other things to deal with today as well." Tristan explained softly. 



Celestine's heart almost skipped before she spoke up again, her mind working with sudden vigor as she fought to keep her voice even, and taking special care not to use proper names. "Is his servant going to be joining Arzal when he visits?" 



Tristan didn't reply right away, apparently surprised by her question. But when he did, it was almost a hurried response, as if attempting to cover his surprise. "Yes. I told Arzal to bring him. I have business with him as well after all." Before Celestine could reply to that, Tristan turned away and started heading back inside, Claude following his Lord. She wasn't sure, but she felt like she saw frustration weighing on Tristan's shoulders, and despite knowing she shouldn't, Celestine felt a little elated knowing that she had done that too him. She suspected that Tristan was hoping that she had forgotten about Markus... 



It was only after a few moments that she realized she was smiling lightly. A smile triggered by the naughty joy that came from knowing that she made Tristan jealous again. She knew he wanted her for herself, and the idea of sharing wasn't something he welcomed, despite his own views on having multiple partners... 



~~~~



"My Lord?" Claude asked carefully, being sure to stay out of arms reach.



"It's nothing Claude." Tristan replied roughly, fuming at how quickly Celestine had asked if Arzal's servant would be joining them this afternoon. Tristan had secretly hoped that he had driven out any desire for him from Celestine after yesterday, but it seems that wasn't the case. Regardless, he had other things to deal with, not the least of which was a Terrorgiest that was beginning to slide into madness. "Where is Vorak?" Tristan asked, forcing the subject to change. 



"I believe he will be in his quarters by now. I know where they are." Claude responded simply. 



"Good. Bring me there. If he has been affected by Celestine's power somehow, it means we are going to have to do some damage control." Tristan replied frankly. That said, if he were being honest with himself, Tristan would admit that he half hoped Vorak was showing signs... That was he could vent his frustration on something...



Claude took the lead without a word, calmly showing his Master the way, even though he knew his Lord had other things on his mind.



~~~~



"Well that isn't encouraging..." Tristan said bluntly as he looked upon Vorak, who was currently involved with trying to tear down the walls of his own abode, when he wasn't thrashing and convulsing uncontrollably. Even as he and Claude entered, it was obvious that Vorak didn't even recognize them, though it was apparent that he was completely and utterly terrified of them, as he was currently trying to claw through the walls to escape them. 



"I do believe he's forgotten how to use his powers..." Claude suggested, clearly disgusted with Vorak. "If he knew how to use them, he would just slip through the walls in his spectral form..." 



Tristan nodded, trying to make something out in the jerking wispy form in front of him. The chamber was almost pitch black, and while Tristan could see, his night vision was largely without color and tone, which was exactly what he needed right now. Sighing, Tristan lifted his hand and forced his power into it, making it to coalesce in his hand brightly and light the room with a golden red light. Instantly Vorak fell into a seizure, as if the light itself was poison. To the Terrorgiest, darkness is power, because it holds a primal sort of fear for most creatures, but to see him reduced to such a state from only a single light was... unsettling. "His power has been turned against him..." Tristan commented coolly. "His greatest weapon is fear, but he's obviously mad with terror... Most unsettling." Tristan commented. 



"My Lord... do you think it is because of Celestine?" Claude asked, being careful to stay close enough to his master in case he needed to hurl himself in the way of Vorak. Fear could make even the weakest people lash out with surprising power...



"I fear it is... You see it too, don't you?" Tristan asked Claude grimly, nodding towards Vorak.



At first Claude frowned as he looked for what his Lord was referring too. However, it only took a moment before Claude took a step back, his guard rising further. "The myths are true..." he whispered, voice beginning to show the first signs of fear before he reined himself in again. 



"Yea... they are..." Tristan responded, as he picked out the glowing black flames that seemed to slip out from between the wisps of smoke that made up Vorak's body. "A fraction of the Celestine's power must have been left in Helena after Ivy took out her soul. When he possessed the body, the remnants of the infection probably migrated into him, seeking out his own demonic soul." Tristan proposed.



"That would make sense... Terrorgiest possess the soul as much as the body and if even a sliver of Helena's cursed soul remained in her body, Vorak would have melded with it, probably without even realizing it. That might have been enough to cause this..." Claude supposed. "His demonic power likely reawakened the infectious curse and gave it enough fuel to start growing again."



"Yes... But it seems weak. It isn't consuming him like how Ivy described when Sig was transformed." Tristan pointed out. "But then if the myths are to be believed, Vorak wouldn't transform... Instead his sanity will continue to slip away from him and his body will eventually consumed by those black flames."



"I suppose we are lucky in a way." Claude began. "It is likely that the only reason Vorak maintained some semblance of sanity for as long as he did was because there was almost nothing left of Helena's soul in her body. With so little of it left, it couldn't affect him completely, at least not right off the bat." Claude supposed. "It is also probably why he hasn't been completely consumed by those black flames yet." 



"Agreed." But even as the two of them stood there talking, the flames flaring from Vorak were becoming more frequent, and are growing more intense, scorching anywhere the flames touched. But it wasn't like the flames were actually leaving ashes... It was more accurate to say that they were simply taking bites out of reality, and leaving charred scars behind. "We can't let this continue." Tristan declared bluntly. As much as he wanted to observe what was happening to Vorak, he knew it was too dangerous. Infections had a tendency to spread after all, and he wasn't going to risk it going any farther then this...



Claude was more than a little pleased that his master had come to such a conclusion on his own, with no prompting from himself. He had half feared that Durial would be inclined to study this situation in greater detail, but the danger was so great that even his whimsical Lord felt pressed to act. Claude watched on, proud of his Lord, as Durial pressed his demonic energies against Vorak. The light in Durial's hand changed, from shining brightly, to glowing malevolently, before the Lord of Lust forced it upon his diseased servant. Claude noticed that his lord never physically touched the corrupt demon, and backed off after sending the deadly payload into its target. 



Claude watched as the creature of shadow and fear went rigid, and saw the golden red light begin to grow within the doomed demon, burning out all the darkness within, even as the black flames continued to lick and hiss from its spectral form. A few moments more, and puffs of Vorak's form began to slip away from him and dissolve into nothingness like a waning fog. A moment more and Vorak simply started coming apart completely, as his life finally gave out. There was no body, just a few billows of inky smoke, still burning with the black flames, consuming what was left of Vorak, until there was nothing left of him, and even those baleful flames guttered out and faded from existence.



"My thanks, for many years of loyal service..." Durial announced to the now empty room. "May you find peace, knowing you died for my desires." He finished, turning away from the room and leaving, Claude following calmly. 



"I find myself wondering my Lord... would you have such words for me, should I ever fall in your service?" Claude asked with morbid humor. 



"No my friend." Durial replied, surprising his butler. "I would not say such few words for you. My eulogy for you would fill tomes, and I would not say them over wherever you may die, but instead I would roar them out over the corpses and broken bodies of those who took you from me, so they may know how great you were, and how foolish they were for laying my friend low." Durial answered his butler, before glancing over his shoulder at him, and rewarding him with a light smile before he turned back forwards. 



Claude continued to follow, his heart full of burning pride, pride knowing that he was held in such esteem by such a mighty and noble lord. "My thanks my Lord. I think I would not resent dying so much, knowing that you would sing my praises like that." Claude replied, voice level and polite as ever...



~~~~



Celestine sat, trying not to fidget as she waited for Tristan to arrive. They had arranged for the two of them to meet here in a few minuets, and as it stood now, Celestine found herself nervous and anxious at the same time. She wanted to know, but at the same time half feared what that knowledge might mean for her. Thankfully Tristan didn't give her a lot of time to think about it, and arrived as her thoughts began to run in circles. 



Despite herself, when he entered she stood up from her seat to greet him. "Seems like you decided to come after all." Celestine announced, surprised by the delight that tinted her voice. 



"Of course I did. I did promise this to you after all." Tristan replied, smiling lightly to her as he moved to sit across from her, lounging back in the large comforter seat. "Besides, I think it's time you knew this anyway. If things progress as I expect them too, your life might become more difficult soon." 



Celestine frowned lightly but nodded. "Humm... Let's set that aside for now. At this point, I want to know is what a 'Fell Born' is, what proof you have that I am one, and why you think I'd be in so much danger if anyone else knew about me being one. Assuming of course I am one, which I'm not totally sold on yet."



Tristan chuckled a bit before responded. "Well, I'll tell you some of what I know, which I admit is not much. The Fell Born are as much a myth to my people as the boogie man is to humanity. The only difference being that the Fell Born are real and my kind take them very seriously." Tristan paused for a moment, frowning as he tried to think how to put what he was going to say next. 



"In essence, and I don't mean to offend you here, the Fell Born are walking manifestations of moral corruption." Tristan summarized, before waiting for her response. 



Celestine blinked once or twice before cocking her head slowly. "I'm sorry...did you just call me the anti-christ or something? Aren't <i>you </i>and your kind the physical manifestation of moral corruption?" Celestine asked somewhat disbelieving. 

<hr pg="5" />Tristan couldn't help but smile at that, but he still shook his head. "Thank you for the complement, but no. Not in the way I'm referring to anyway. A demon doesn't create new sin in humans; instead it only imposes its own sins upon the human in question. However, once we stop, the human usually reverts back to who they were before, and in most cases, regrets their actions, even if they don't understand them. It usually takes constant and long term exposure to our powers for mortals to actually change who they are on the fundamental level. We might be able to influence their emotions for a time, but it isn't permanent in most cases. In order to achieve permanent results, it requires either physical modification like what you saw with Nefas and Cameron, or long term training from when the target mortal was young and pliable, like with Navira and her dolls. The third option is finding an already sinful person and coaxing them to become even worse morally speaking." 



"Fell Born however, are quite different. As far as I can tell, the Fell Born seems to almost act as an unstoppable catalyst of sin in the mortals around them. The closer the individual, the more of a catalyst the Fell Born will be on that person. Friends and close co-workers are prime examples of this..." Tristan paused, giving Celestine a moment to realize he was referring to Cameron and Helena. "Unlike the powers of a demon, a Human affected by the power of a Fell Born does not appear to be immediately influenced. Instead, it acts more like a seed of sin, which grows and sprouts over time. The more that seed is subjected to the sins it is associated with, the faster it grows, and the more powerful it's influence becomes, literally changing the mortal's soul and personality to become more focused on that sin..." Tristan finished calmly. 



Celestine sat and listened to Tristan's words, and when he was finished, she seemed to be mulling it over for a long while, before she eventually responded. "So... what? Are you saying that I'm subconsciously hurting all the people around me, and making them all evil monsters?" 



Tristan shook his head. "No. If anything, I suspect it has more to do with the people around you and how they treat you, and less to do with your subconscious thoughts or intentions. I suspect if someone goes out of their way to hurt you somehow, or looses themselves to one of their sins around you, the affect is far more likely to take hold, and will be quicker to advance. I know this may be a touchy subject, but let's look at Cameron as an example. You told me that when you two first met, she was particularly aggressive towards you. Do you recall why she was like that? Or do you have any guesses?" Tristan asked calmly. 



Celestine thought for a moment but eventually nodded. "It all began when she started cutting me down for my red hair and it sort of got out of hand from there. When we eventually got over our differences, she admitted that she actually liked my hair too, and that she was just trying to piss me off by saying it was ugly and things like that. I mean we were high school girls, shit like that isn't all that surprising. At first, I thought that she might have just been envious of my hair, but I eventually brushed it off, given that Cameron had such beautiful lustrous black hair..." Celestine explained. "It was then that I actually started growing closer to Cameron. I realized that she was actually very self conscious, and that my arrival on what, up to that point, had been her scene, had been very threatening to her. In a way, I felt like I had to look out for her, because it was my presence that made her world so unbalanced. That need for protection eventually grew into friendship, and no matter how Cameron turned out, I think we were really friends, for a time at least." 



Tristan smiled lightly and nodded. "I suspect it was after you two first met that it all began... I didn't know Cameron from back then, but I think she was actually quiet envious, and not just of your hair, but you in your entirety. I suspect that even while you were young, you were quite fetching, and that her insecurities opened the way for the seeds of envy to be sown. After all, she herself admitted she befriended you in order to draw attention back to her. Over the following years, Cameron might have grown less insecure as a whole, but there probably was always that weakness in her personality, where she couldn't help but compare herself against you. It's probably why she tried to push you down so often, to shore up her own self confidence to make it easier to compare herself to you. But every time she did so, I suspect the seeds grew a little bit more, and Cameron changed more and more, until she became the backstabbing vicious bitch she we both know."



"So... what you're saying is that the Fell Born... that <i>I </i>somehow take the worst parts of people and make them far more prominent?" Celestine asked coolly, half horrified by his words, while at the same time, not totally surprised. Most of the people around her always seemed okay at first, but over time things seemed to get worse and worse... 



"If they expose those aspects of themselves to you, yes. And, the more they show those immoral traits too you, the stronger that corruption grows. I expect in a normal case, whoever is affected long term would eventually become a very sinful and despicable person, no longer even capable of making 'moral' decisions or take any actions the populace at large would consider wholesome." Tristan confirmed gently, though he was clearly amused by the concept of a 'moral' decision.



Celestine frowned at that, wondering if every person she ever came across was tainted by her somehow... "What about my parents?" Celestine asked, trying to poke holes in his arguments. "Neither of them were horrible people." 



"How close are you to your parents?" Tristan asked bluntly. 



Celestine hesitated in answering. "Not... Not very. Ever since I got into high school we started growing apart. Not that we were close to begin with. I mean I love them and everything, but we rarely connected on a really deep emotional level. My parents didn't get along great, so there was never a real sense of family amongst us. They split up shortly after I became self sufficient, and I'm pretty sure they were only staying together for my sake." 



"Hurm... I can see two possible reasons for why they were not impacted by your powers. The first is that despite being your parents, the emotional distance between you protected them somewhat. You could say it kept them 'out of range' of your affect. The second, and more likely reason, is because you didn't have those powers earlier on in your life, and therefore they were only very lightly exposed, if at all." Tristan proposed. 



"Hold on a moment... Are you saying I wasn't always a Fell Born?" Celestine asked, wondering if there was some way of going back. 



"Not really. At least I don't think that's the case. I suspect that your powers simply weren't developed by that point. Honestly, I've never heard any myth or story from my people that have made mention of a child being a Fell Born. They are always young adults like you." Tristan elaborated. "In all likelihood, your affect on mortals probably grows stronger with age, and it likely kicked off around puberty. Following that reasoning, Cameron might have been one of the first people your powers ever affected, having been exposed in the first days of your high school life." Tristan explained, his voice not harsh or cruel, simply informative. 



"But do you have any proof outside of your mythology? I get that your kind take those myths very seriously, but it is possible that ages of the Fell Born could have been misinterpreted and that the original story's perspectives could have been skewed as they were told down the generations." Celestine shot back, voice firm and hopeful.



"I do have more proof, though I don't think you are going to like it..." Tristan explained. 



"Tell me." Celestine insisted. "I'm not a child and I'm not afraid. If this is what I really am, then I'm not going to run away from it Tristan, nor am I going to let it ruin my life." Celestine declared adamantly. However she was suddenly floored by the look that Tristan gave her, full of praise and lustful longing. It took her a moment, but she realized that her defiance against despair had probably set him off. She could feel how much he wanted her right now, through the demonic mark. It wasn't at uncontrollable levels, but she could tell he was at least thinking about walking over to her and simply taking her...



Despite herself, Celestine felt herself go hot at the thought of him doing exactly that... It would be a nice intermission in their discussion and just the thought of fucking reminded her how empty her pussy was right now... But she couldn't let herself get distracted... She needed to know everything. "Tristan, focus please." Celestine chided as evenly as possible, even though she knew her face was blushing, and that she couldn't stop herself from enjoying how impressed he was with her. What's more, Tristan could probably sense that his lust was setting her off too...



Tristan shook his head and, almost with some disappointment, she felt him push down his own lust. "Heh, my apologies. What can I say? Seeing you stand up against the shitty hand fate has seemed fit to deal you is... alluring to say the least." Celestine blushed a little harder but was able to hide it as he took a moment to clear his thoughts before continuing. "But back on topic. My evidence that your powers are growing and that they are not static is the fact that I've been able to physically feel them grow over time. When I first found you, you were surprisingly resilient to demonic influence. Many demons, in fact I would say the majority demons, wouldn't be able to influence you completely like they could any other mortal. It required an unusually high level of effort on my part to influence you at all, and even more to actually get you horny. If I had used that level of power on any other mortal, they would have been reduced to a frothing sex crazed mess, who's heart would probably explode after a few minuets of such strain." Tristan clarified.



"Hold on..." Celestine said recalling her first few days under Tristan's care. "That sloth demon... the one that was your cook... She used her powers on me too, but they influenced me well enough. I could hardly move... hell I could hardly breathe when she was used her powers on me." Celestine retorted firmly. 



"But you were able to breathe. Celestine, if you were any other mortal, her powers would have made your heart stop completely and you would have died of slothfulness..." Tristan stressed. 



Celestine blinked once or twice before frowning. "I didn't know I came with such defenses... Is that why you kept me around? Because you knew I was a Fell Born the moment you met me?" Celestine asked curiously, thankful that she was able to hide the hopefulness that her heart seemed to be tight with, secretly hoping that wasn't why he wanted her...



"Not really no. I didn't know you were Fell Born at first... I only began to seriously think you were Fell Born a little while after I abducted you. Your defenses intrigued me, but more than that, it was your defiance of your own desires that really got me interested. One thing led to another, and here we are now." Tristan said with a smile. "It's been a fun ride hasn't it?" 



Celestine smiled a bit cockily, her heart singing at his response. "Is that what you call this? Fun? Humm..." She ran a hand through her hair slowly, taking a moment to tease him lightly before looking to him again. "I suppose that is one way to look at it... Some parts have been better than others though." She said with a slightly devilish grin, and she could feel Tristan's lust surge and threaten to overwhelm him again, just like she expected it would. But before that she spoke again. "But let's not deviate from the topic at hand. So I have an unnaturally high resistance to demonic powers, and an ability to make humans around me more likely to give into their worst aspects. Is there anything more to being a Fell Born beyond that? You mentioned earlier that I'm sort of a like a boogie man to your kind... why is that?" Celestine asked inquisitively. "I'm a little resistant to your influence, but so what? That doesn't necessarily make me a threat.



Tristan chuckled lightly. "Yea... I somehow knew we'd get to this part. Hum... should I really tell you? It might go to your head..." Tristan said to himself, apparently pondering it deeply. 



"My ass is still sore you jackass! You better fucking tell me!" Celestine replied sharply. "I didn't go through all that just so you could wimp out at the end." 



Tristan looked upon Celestine stunned for a moment before breaking out into deep laughter. Eventually he was able to speak up, and looked to her with a great deal of amusement. "Sorry about the sore bottom, but if I recall, you were pushing back just as hard as I was pushing forwards, so I don't think that is all on me." Tristan explained a lewd grin on his features. 



Celestine blushed hard before she looked away quite embarrassed. "Shut it." She replied sharply. "So what if I... If I enjoyed yesterday morning? Are you really going to get on my case now that I'm actually enjoying having se-... sleeping with you?" Celestine hastily corrected herself. 



"Odd.... I don't recall you sleeping at any point while we were fucking each others brains out." Tristan announced brashly, drawing Celestine's sharp gaze back at him as the redness that covered her cheeks spread elsewhere. "In fact you were quite awake when you were describing how much you love cumming when I... how did you put it? Fuck you with my magnificent cock?" Tristan teased lewdly. 



Celestine let out a frustrated sigh but couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his words. She remembered saying the words, but it was almost like she was watching and hearing someone else say them... Regardless, she shrugged and looked back to Tristan, slightly calmer than before. "Okay, okay. Sex is pretty fucking awesome, but we both knew that before we ever ran into each other. Yes, sex with you is particularly good, but then I suspect that's because you have an overabundance of practice. Anyway, can we get back on topic?" Celestine asked, finding it impossible not to smile slightly as she answered him.



Tristan however only seemed to lose his mirth after a moment, and fall into a quiet sort of contemplation. Celestine allowed him to ponder for a time, but eventually, anticipation and curiosity began to get the better of her and she began to fidget lightly. Thankfully Tristan seemed to come to a conclusion before she lost her mind. "I suppose telling you is better than you figuring it out on your own, isn't it? Alright... Well, the long and short of it is that somehow, you can turn a demon's power against it's owner. In essence driving them crazy before it eventually consumes their souls and kills them... How exactly? I'm not entirely sure. But it has something to do with us trying to use our powers on you. Every time we do, something tends to go wrong in one way or another. What's worse, it seems, at least to me, that your soul has a sort of Siren effect. It wards away most weaker demons, yet it calls to the most powerful, such as myself and the other Demonic Lords. Thing is, your soul feels like it's calling us to devour it... which is strange given that completely contradicts survival instincts." Tristan explained as calmly as he could manage. 



Celestine however frowned deeply. "I can drive demons insane? I know you said you didn't know how, but could we go back to that bit again... Cause honestly? I feel like I don't have any powers at all save those that come from your Demonic Marks. From what you are saying it sounds like I'm supposed to be some demon hunting badass... which is, quite frankly, ridiculous..." Celestine finished, half suspecting he was feeding her bullshit. 



Tristan shrugged. "You want proof? Alright... That sloth demoness you mentioned, I understand you and Rena went to deal with her. I'm also told that when you found her, she was completely and utterly lost to her own laziness. Is that true?" Tristan asked curiously. 



Celestine cocked her head. "Yea... but so what? She was a sloth demon. You'd think laziness comes with the job."



Tristan slowly shook his head. "Sort of. But remember, demons are masters of their associated sins, not mastered by said sins. When cornered like that, she should have been a flurry of activity, not lethargic to the point of simply sitting there and letting her head be caved in."



"So what caused that weird behavior? Me? But that can't be, because I didn't do anything to her." Celestine pointed out; acutely aware of exactly how helpless she was at the time against the first demon she really pissed off. 



"Actually you did do something. You survived her trying to kill you with her powers. When she did so, your soul must have lashed out somehow, turning her powers against her in a most spectacular manner. Leaving her completely helpless for when Rena came to finish her. I don't think it's a conscious thing Celestine, or at least it isn't yet. Hell, it might not even be subconscious. But from what I can tell, that demoness went down without a fight because she tried to use her powers on you and your soul retaliated." Tristan explained. 



Celestine shook her head. "You're beginning to contradict yourself. You said that I somehow am able to drive weaker demons away from me... Yet she came after me with a horrible vengeance in mind. How do you allow for both things to be happening at once?" Celestine pointed out quickly, though Tristan could see she was beginning to lose her foothold on her skepticism. 



"Individuals can do incredibly moronic things when they think their pride has been hurt or when they are very angry. Other times, the survival instinct is simply ignored when our values on something are so great that we'd rather die than be without it or let some slight against it go. You did piss her off and as a result, she was forced to clean up a sizable mess. By making her work more than what was absolutely needed, you triggered that desire for vengeance. Something sloth demons are particularly known for. I'd consider whatever wards weaker demons away to be more of a deterrent, rather than an outright barrier given a situation like that." Tristan advised. 



Celestine seemed to ponder for a moment before looking to him again. "I'm still not totally convinced... You said bad things happen when demons use their powers on me, but nothing happened to you when we first met, did it?" Celestine asked curiously.



Tristan smiled darkly, eyes full of dark promises as he looked upon her. "That's a matter of perspective... Some would say nothing happened, and that I'm wrong. Others however might notice that unlike most other humans, I treat you with a fair level of respect and care. More often than not, I find myself thinking about you, almost to the level of obsession, though not quite that bad. At least not yet anyway... I've tried to stop thinking about you, but it doesn't work all that well, and at best I can only stave off my curiosities and desires for you for a short while, I suspect a day at most. If you were anyone else, I'd be able to brush you off with perfect and complete ease." Tristan explained, voice sounding slightly resigned to that fate. "Though, some might also point out that I'm teetering on obsession is because of your quality as a woman, and doesn't prove a thing about you being a Fell Born." Tristan finished, smiling to her teasingly. 



Celestine for her part, found herself blushing hard, as he explained, and she could hear her heart thumping in her ears. Hearing him talk about her like that... about how he thought about her so often that it was a constant battle just to keep her out of his thoughts; even for a short time, made her heart feel tight in her chest. Despite not wanting to, Celestine felt a longing for Tristan beginning to form in her heart... Longing not for just carnal desires, but for something beyond that, something that might have been romantic in nature... 

<hr pg="6" />Immediately Celestine felt herself withdrawing slightly from such thoughts, and found herself looking at them, not with disgust, but with hesitation. Was such a thing even possible between mortals and demons? Probably not... But the more important question was if she even wanted something like that or not. She was, after all, planning on slaying him as soon as she got the Third Demonic Mark... Never mind the idea that such a fantastical relationship would be fraught with dangers of its own... Plus, by his own admission, Tristan's goal was to consume her soul... Still, would being... being with him be so bad? Or would it be full of carnal delights, and endless pleasure in each others arms?



Celestine shook her head slightly before she set aside such thoughts for later contemplation, and refocused on the matter at hand. "Alright, so we can both admit that the impact of our first meeting may or may not be evidence of what you're describing. But thinking about someone a lot isn't grounds for calling me a 'boogie man' for demons." Celestine pointed out. 



"Oh no?" Tristan said smiling lightly. "We'll leave that thought to the side for now, and I'll move onto other evidence. Do you recall when you first met Odeon, that Rena attacked him so fiercely, that she nearly burned herself out completely? She even almost went so far as to use her own soul as fuel for her powers..." Tristan asked lightly.



Celestine frowned a she recalled the unpleasant memory, and found herself very glad that Odeon was dead. "I do recall, yes." 



"I suspect Rena's rage exploded like that because of you." Tristan announced with ease. "She drank in your rage right before she engaged with Odeon, and probably instinctually tried to influence you to become angrier, even as she wanted to get you out of harms way. By doing so, she ended up using her powers upon you, even though it wasn't a conscious effort, and she was, somewhat successful. However, unlike with the sloth demoness, you wanted Rena to win... you wanted her to be strong enough to kill Odeon. And for a very short while, that's what she became. Your anger literally acted as an explosive catalyst for her. But the thing about catalysts is that they tend to burn up their fuel very quickly. Too quickly for Rena in that instance... If she had lasted a few more moments, I suspect she would have been able to finish Odeon. Even his healing abilities wouldn't have mattered if there were no pieces bigger than his head to regenerate from..." Tristan explained calmly.



Celestine however, sat half horrified at what she was hearing. "Are... Are you saying everything that happened to Rena was my fault?!" Celestine asked exasperated, not wanting to believe it.



Tristan however blinked to her once, completely calm. "No... everything that happened to Rena was because of Odeon, just because you were a participant in the event, does not mean you are at fault. If anything, you probably saved Rena from being violated for even longer. Without that boost, it is possible that she would have been beaten down much sooner. If anything you saved her that hardship." 



Celestine blinked once or twice at his words before taking a slow deep breath. Tristan was right, she couldn't start blaming herself for the actions of others. However that brought up an unsettling realization... More and more evidence was stacking up against Celestine and her hopes that she was just a normal human, and that everyone had it wrong... "Alright, I'll accept that what happened to Rena as evidence that lends weight to your argument that I'm a Fell Born and that I can affect demons... But what about you? You've used your powers on me before. Hell, you even turned me into a sex crazed nymph for a night if I recall correctly." Celestine said with a slight smile forming on her lips again as she remembered that night pleasantly. 



"I prefer to think of it as freeing that side of you, rather than turning you into anything. But yes, I did use my powers on you that evening, as you are obviously aware. But what you aren't aware of is the fact that shortly after leaving you and Rena, a vicious hunger inflicted me. It wanted to rip your soul free as I took pleasure in your body again, and I wanted it very badly... It was a small miracle that I had asked Claude to bring me someone to eat shortly after leaving your side... Someone turned into seven someone's... And even after that I wasn't completely sated. I still lusted after your soul and your body, and even after all that it was still very difficult not to simply go and take it..." Tristan explained, a note of seriousness to his voice.



Celestine blinked once before shaking her head to make sure she was sure of what she was hearing. "Wait, you went and fucked seven different women that night after you had me and Rena?"



"I told you that you wouldn't like what I had to tell you Celestine." Tristan responded calmly. "But to answer your question, yes I did, though it was more going through the motions than actually enjoying the experience. After all, what I really wanted was you. By the end all of them were mindless sex puppets ripe to be used and then thrown away. And I did exactly that, all in order to taint their souls appropriately before I consumed them." Tristan explained casually. "I wouldn't have bothered if I wasn't hungry after all." 



Celestine was surprised to feel that she wasn't horrified with Tristan because he had killed so many women, but rather because she felt like his unsatisfied desire was a comment on her. She knew that wasn't the case, that if she was indeed a Fell Born it was because of him using his powers and nothing else. Knowing that, she took a moment to steady herself and force such selfish thoughts out, before looking to Tristan again. "So... that's two examples... any more?" Celestine asked, her voice wavering lightly.



Tristan however frowned. "You really want to hear more? Come now Celestine, there is no need to punish yourself like this. In fact, there is no point at all in telling you. This was initially meant to tell you what a Fell Born is, and what it is capable of, going into the depth of what you've had a hand in is pointless as it was completely unintentional." Tristan responded, and Celestine could tell he was serious, and that seeing her beat herself up over this wasn't something he ever apparently wanted. "None of this is your fault. You can't help how you were born." Tristan added firmly.



"No. Keep going Tristan... I need to know. Especially... Especially if I can end up hurting those nearest to me. Rena especially... I don't ever want to hurt her..." Celestine said firmly, her voice betraying the caring she felt for the demoness of wrath. 



Tristan sighed as he looked upon Celestine's features, firm and unyielding. She would have him tell her, and he doubted that he would hear the end of it until he told her everything. "Fine... Odeon... you drove Odeon mad... I don't know when exactly, but I'm fairly certain it was when you two first met. He probably tried using his powers on you only for it to be turned against him without him realizing it. By the time of the Clash, he was barely coherent any more, and his own powers were beginning to run beyond his control. Never mind the fact that he became a terrible conversationalist." Tristan added with a slight chuckle.



Celestine frowned at that. "Hold on... did his going crazy help you win?" Celestine asked, leaning forwards in her chair. 



Tristan nodded. "I think so. Don't get me wrong, I could have killed Odeon at any time, even without your help. But the fact that he was so unstable made it easier to draw out the Clash, making it easier to stretch out his suffering." 



"Good." Celestine replied with a bluntness that surprised Tristan at first. "That stupid asshole deserved that and much worse, it's just too bad he was so weak compared to you, otherwise it might have lasted even longer." Celestine elaborated, impressing Tristan with the surprise bundle of resentment. Tristan knew Celestine despised Odeon, but to vocalize it so... It showed wonderful progress and promise...



Still, he felt the need to correct her. "The gap between us wasn't as big as you make it out to be. Yes, it was sizable, to the point where I was certain there was never a real chance he would beat me, but Odeon wasn't a weakling... If he was, what would it make Rena?" Tristan posed to Celestine, not chiding her, but honestly asking. 



Celestine realized his point and sighed. "I... I suppose you're right. It's just... thinking about him makes me so angry! After seeing what he did to Rena..." Celestine trailed off slowly. "... I... I wanted to hurt him..." 



Tristan smiled, proud of Celestine for the traits he admired in her, and for the new aspects of her personality that were emerging. Anger and hate were not so wrong for her any more... Sensing his emotions through the Demonic Mark, Celestine glanced up to Tristan, and found him looking to her proudly. "Truly you are a unique woman Celestine, and you continue to impress me. Frankly speaking, you did hurt him. By the end Odeon was nothing more then a sniveling creature, possessed only by the desire to want what others had. Not because he wanted it, but because others had it, and he hated them for it. Because of his broken mind, he couldn't fight properly by the end... not really. What's more, even if I hadn't finished him off, and he somehow managed to beat me, I still think he would have eventually been done in by you... The myths of my people say that madness is only the first step when afflicted by the powers of a Fell Born... Eventually, once the entirety of the mind is gone or broken, black flames begin to burn in the demons' flesh, eating up their body and soul, leaving nothing but scorched empty earth behind." Tristan finished, enjoying the theatrics of sharing his kind's lore with her. 



Celestine blinked once and frowned, as if thinking about something deeply for a long moment. Eventually though she turned back to him and asked, "Rena isn't going to burn up is she?" Celestine asked with a slight edge of worry to her voice. "And you haven't seen anything like that happen already right? Even with something other than a demon?"



Tristan blinked, a bit surprised by her curiosity and worry over others. "No." he replied quickly. "Rena will be fine. At the time I doubt your powers had progressed enough to harm her permanently. The same goes with me as well, so no need to worry." Tristan rose after he finished trying to set her fears at ease. "But, other than a few minor instances, that is the sum of my proof of what you are, and the explanation there of. I've warned Claude and Rena to be especially careful, and most other demons will keep their distance from you, so it shouldn't pose a problem." Tristan finished, and was about to turn away when Celestine got up to her feet, a slightly suspicious gleam to her eye. 



"You didn't answer both my questions." She declared bluntly. "You only answered the first one... what about the second?" 



Tristan stopped and looked back to her, frowning lightly. "Caught that did you? Shit..." Tristan swore flatly, sitting in the comforter again as he pondered if he should tell her the rest or not, his hand gently covering his upper facial features as he pondered. 



Yet Tristan found his focus broken as he felt the comforter shift, only to look over and find Celestine sitting down along side him before she pulled her feet up and under her. A moment later she gently took his arm in hers and leaned slightly up against him, enough that he could feel the swell of her breast against his upper arm. "Tristan, tell me... Please..." He felt her free hand's fingers lace around the arm she held, squeezing lightly to complete the intimate contact.



Tristan looked to her and was surprised to find that Celestine was actually trying to use her sexual appeal to coax him into divulging more information. The thing was, she was actually pretty damn good at it... The way she looked up to him, and the way she held him, gave a distinct 'you are my only hope' sort of look. A look that promised anything in return for what she wanted to know... 



If he were a normal human man, he would likely be hard pressed to resist her. Thankfully, he wasn't a human at all, and could recognize this for what it was. Still, he didn't deny that he enjoyed seeing this side of her. Not only because of how innocent it made her appear on the surface, but because it showed she was learning how to use her natural gifts to manipulate others... 



"You need not implore like that Celestine, though I must say you are doing quite a good job of it. Most men would think they might get to feel more than your bust up against their arms if they shared the information you wanted to know." Tristan complimented lightly, even as he reined in his own lust. Knowing what she was doing didn't make him want to screw her any less after all.



Celestine looked away, blushing lightly as she frowned, though she still didn't let him go. If anything she squeezed a bit tighter. "Damn it all... Well it was worth a try." Celestine grumbled lightly. "So you are not going to tell me huh?" She asked, already expecting him to say 'no' in response.



"Oh no, I will tell you, though my own information is less than complete so take it for what it's worth." Tristan began. "As it turns out, you my dear, seem able to curse mortals somehow... And I don't mean in the way I've previously described." Tristan began, drawing Celestine's complete attention. "From what I've gathered, you've done it twice already, and in both instances, it was because you subconsciously wanted something to happen to said mortals. The first instance was in Siegfried's case, and he-" 



But Celestine cut him off. "Sig? I cursed Sig?" Celestine asked, not really believing it. "Jeeze... talk about a wasted curse... That guy was trash to begin with... Nothing I could have inflicted on him could have been worse then just letting him sit and fester." Celestine continued, not completely believing this last bit. 



Tristan hid his cruel smile, pleased to hear such words coming from Celestine. Still, he replied. "Indeed it was. I was planning on disposing of Sig anyway... He was becoming problematic and his excesses were beginning to draw too much attention. Yet try as she might, the demoness who was responsible for taking his soul found something rather odd had happened to Sig... Nothing she could do, could lead Sig to sexual satisfaction... He could still cum, but it wasn't a proper climax, and it was torturous for Sig, especially given that it was quickly becoming the only thing he wanted... Everything else in his world became unimportant, compared to reaching that elusive satisfaction... Sound familiar?" Tristan asked coolly.



Celestine's eyes went a bit wide in surprise and confusion. She tried to form the words but she found her lips trembling at first, suddenly afraid of what she might have done... "I... I told him that I never wanted him to feel fulfilled again... that I wanted him to never find satisfaction..." Celestine answered, realizing that Tristan might not be messing around at this point. "Wait... that level of obsession... was... was it like what happened with Odeon? How he kind of fell apart until all that was left was unsatisfied envy?" Celestine asked, realization dawning on her features.



"Yes." Tristan said with a grin, enjoying how Celestine was coming to conclusions of her own. "Eventually the demoness gave up, and simply ripped out his soul and began to consume it, leaving Sig quite dead. However, as she took her time eating it piece by piece, she found something lurking inside Sig's soul... It looked black and infected and seeped slime that quickly evaporated into the air. Surprisingly, this infection tried to attack her, and as a result, she couldn't keep her hands on it, and dropped the tainted soul back into Sig's body... Only to watch in horror as he became some sort of skeletal abomination, all covered in black fire and slimy tendrils that held the discolored bones together... The heat from the black flames burned Sig's flesh away from the inside out, and twisted his bones, leaving him nothing but a monster..." Tristan paused, feeling Celestine shudder lightly against him. But he didn't give her long to recover, and instead pressed on. "She was only just barely able to kill it, and only because it was already heavily bound... Even after it died, it blew up like a damn hand grenade..."



Celestine tried to think, but Tristan wasn't giving her time... Only one thought kept coming back to her mind, and despite wanting to push it away, she found she couldn't... "The black flames... they mean I did that to him..." Celestine asked, her voice almost hallow sounding. "But... does it really mean it was me? What if... what if something else caused it? Or if there was another Fell Born out there?" Celestine almost desperately asked, her hold on Tristan tightening as desperation began to claw at her... She knew what it would mean if she was the cause of this... and she didn't want to accept that. 



"I thought that was a possibility as well, and I had no way of confirming it after all. That is until you cursed someone else... proving that it is in fact you causing this..." Tristan calmly explained, enjoying the confusion on Celestine's face change into stunned understanding. 



"H-... Helena... That's how she died... You tore out her soul to inspect it, and found she had this 'curse' infecting her soul as well..." Celestine proposed weakly, feeling very inhuman at the moment... "When I told her that her pride would turn to fear in the darkness... That was the curse wasn't it?" Celestine asked, desperately fighting the urge to start shaking in fear. She would face this, even if it was horrific and terrible...



"Correct." Tristan confirmed simply. "But we didn't put her soul back in. Instead I just destroyed it because I didn't want to risk whatever influence it had spreading around and causing who knows how much mayhem... The unfortunate thing is, it didn't seem to stop there, despite my best efforts... You recall that ghost like demon we saw this morning? How he looked drunk and jerky? Well as it turns out, he possessed Helena's body to help with staging her murder... When he left, a piece of what was left of her soul went with him and drove him completely mad in a few short hours. By the time Claude and I found him again, he was already being eaten alive by the black flames, his mind long since fractured." Tristan finished, gauging her reactions. 



Celestine however, seemed to be taking it rather poorly. The notion that Tristan and Vestiem were wrong about her had kept her going up to this point... She had hoped to find some flaw in their logic, but the pile of evidence in front of her was impossible to deny or ignore. That said, Tristan could tell she was fighting to keep it together, to try and come to terms with what she was. Still, he suspected that every moment that went by, she couldn't help but look at her own past and see how the people around her changed. Most probably hadn't changed that much, but there were examples like Cameron and Helena to consider... 



Unfortunately, Tristan missed the most important aspect of what this meant for Celestine. It meant that she would have to keep herself away from humanity... That she would have to seclude herself as much as possible... Tristan saw her jaw clench as Celestine frowned hard, and suspected she was cursing her fate. But after a moment, Celestine relaxed a bit and spoke to him. "Is... Is there anyway to suppress my powers? I don't want a slip of my tongue to ruin the life of whatever poor soul that happens to accidentally piss me off..." Celestine asked firmly, unwilling to accept complete defeat yet. 



"I have no idea Celestine." Tristan answered, quiet honestly. "Frankly, I suspect that limited contact with anyone will have almost no effect, baring someone being a complete and utter asshole. In which case, who cares if their lives get screwed up? Wouldn't they deserve something like that?" Tristan elaborated, giving Celestine a route to feel like what happened to people because of her powers, wasn't necessarily wrong, or that it was actually her fault. 

<hr pg="7" />Celestine however didn't seem to be completely sold on it... Instead she simply nodded and continued to think about her situation. However her hard features slowly softened, showing her doubt and uncertainty. She still held him tightly, but she turned her head away as she spoke up, voice uncertain. "You... You once said that I was most definitely human... But how can I be both? How am I not a monster?" Celestine asked, knowing full well she was pushing him into a corner. A corner that she fully expected would force him into admitting that she was a beast...



However his answer came not with a firm voice, or a hasty denial... Instead it came with a single touch. A touch that gently cupped the soft point of Celestine's chin and drew her gaze back up to his, before he kissed her firmly, his warm lips sending shocks of unwelcome pleasure into her. After the initial surprise of it, Celestine resisted, and tried to push him away from her, only to find him unmoving and unyielding. Despite herself, and despite the confusion and the self doubt, something inside Celestine stirred, and she felt her heart long for him, and welcome the comfort he was giving her... Before she realized it, Celestine found herself kissing back hesitantly, uncertainty written across her features.



Yet Tristan soon pulled away, having kissed her enough to confound her fears and doubts long enough for him to speak. But he did not pull away very far, and was still close enough that when he spoke his lips still brushed against hers. "Celestine, you are no monster... Monsters do not grieve for those that have fallen to their powers... They do not doubt their actions, or second guess hurting others as you inevitably do. Only humans do that Celestine... Fell Born or not, you are still a beautiful human woman..." Tristan finished, his eyes never once breaking away from her gaze.



It was all Celestine could do but sit there and be enthralled by his words... A Demonic Lord was telling her that she was human, despite the fact that she was apparently some sort of natural threat to him and his kind... He was right of course... Celestine often doubted her actions, and was unhappy when those close to her were hurt. She may have come to know hate and anger... even the desire for vengeance... But those things didn't make her inhuman... Despite her unique situation, Celestine couldn't help but chuckle once at his words and smile to him. "Here I thought I had you backed into a corner... You clever devil you..." 



"You are too kind with your compliments..." Tristan replied, before pulling her in again, and pressing his lips against hers. It took only a moment, but he quickly forced her lips open and felt her shiver pleasantly as his tongue began to explore her mouth... Her free hand again tried to push him away, and he felt her smile against his lips, her defiance shining through again, and exciting Tristan mightily. In response, Tristan took the hand that pushed against him, and moved it to curl slightly around his shoulder. Without skipping a beat, Celestine began to pull him harder against her, increasing the pressure behind their kiss as she quaked in delight...



Even as Tristan kissed Celestine, he knew that he wasn't lying. Celestine wasn't a monster... Not yet anyway, but he was working on it... 



~~~~

