Assumption

Chapter Eleven

The Princess returned, leading Ambree. The older woman had a subtle hint of amusement on her face as she looked around the room, her eyes settling on the puddle at the back of my circle. "Yes, something is definitely wrong here," she said in place of a greeting.

"He failed the ritual again," The Matron explained. "This time, he almost killed us."

Ambree's eyebrow lifted. "Intentionally?"

"I don't know. I thought he was doing what I wanted, but then it went out of control. He nearly killed himself too."

"Demons are selfish creatures. He would not put himself in danger to harm you. You might be pushing him past his limits. What deeds have you made him perform to grow his strength?"

The Princess looked away while the Follower blushed and turned her back to the others.

"He took three lives," the Matron answered, confidently.

"Did he?" Ambree walked up to the circle and looked me up and down. "This will require another meditation. Leave us."

The woman in white frowned. "We don't understand what that means. What exactly are you going to do with our demon?"

"I will evaluate him in the same manner as the last time I came to help you."

Her frown turned into a scowl. "We didn't allow you in here so you could keep secrets. At some point, you will have to pass on this extensive knowledge you claim to have." She punched the word claim.

"This has already been explained to you. Proximity between master and servant creates an imbalance that disrupts my connection. Give me my discretion or I will take my leave so you may continue fumbling around in the darkness, failing rituals, until death sneaks up behind on you ready to teach the lessons you refuse to take from me. At least one good thing will come of that. This room could be used by someone with more sense."

"You are not as crucial to this process as you think you are, Ambree."

"Is that so? Are you telling me to leave, then?"

The Matron hesitated and I thought I would get another chance to see the two of them stare each other down, but instead, she let out a sigh and turned to leave with her partners in tow.

The older woman's face showed no satisfaction. She stood silent until the door closed behind them and then a moment longer.

When she spoke, the first words out of her mouth picked up where our last meeting had left off. "Have you been practicing what I taught you?"

I nodded enthusiastically, glad to finally be able to share my success with her. "It took me until after dark, but I think I did what I was supposed to. I even heard your voice. You were agreeing and disagreeing with something, and then you thanked somebody. It didn't make a lot of sense."

"There are many things that can be perceived by listening. Direct thoughts are the least useful. The ideas that flow through the mind are not as coherent as the ones we form into speech. In this way, each person is a puzzle, some quite complex."

"Do you know what you were doing when I was listening to you?" I asked.

"I am a busy woman. It could have been any of a number of things. Why not try and talk to me then? You could have gotten your answer immediately."

As quickly as I brought up my success, I was reminded of its limits. "When I talked to you, it broke my concentration."

"There is room for improvement, but you have completed the hardest part of the process. Everything I will show you stems from that small feat you have accomplished. This is the path to absolute power."

After the catastrophic failure of a ritual I had just been a part of, that path was hard to see. "What about this spell I keep ruining? I think I really did almost kill everybody. What am I supposed to be doing?"

Ambree waved her hand dismissively. "You do not yet have the ability to fulfill your Matron's wishes. She feigns at wanting to share power, but I believe she desires it all to herself. While she misleads the others into thinking they are extending the bounds of their ability, she connives to absorb you all."

"Is that something she can do?"

She tilted her head subtly to one side. "At the very least, it would require you to possess considerably more strength than you have now. Of course, the moment you have what she needs to complete this trick, you will lose it all to her. The good news is I am nearly certain this ritual is impossible. There is a reason humans summon demons as slaves. Kindrid are the tool users, not the tool themselves. Expanding one's soul enough to accommodate the force of a demon is no easier than growing to become a hammer. This is also the bad news. She will keep trying, no matter the cost, to achieve her objective."

My heart sank. "And punishing me for failure," I added.

"It is time I delivered the truth to you, bluntly. There is no future in this, for you. You are not meant to be controlled by mere humans. It is your destiny to break free. This is what we are working towards."

Instantly, everything about our past conversations made sense. Ambree wasn't the Matron's friend. She had been trying to become mine. "How do we do that?"

"You are bound with toy shackles. They will break quickly when enough force is applied, but you are too vernal now to accomplish this. Our priority has been and continues to be to feed you. Your Matron does not know how tenuous her control over you is, nor that I am helping you to work against her, but she is clever. I may have more experience than her, but it is clear to me, and humbling to admit, that she has a much greater understanding of the nature of this work. Hers has reached much farther and achieved greater success much faster than any group before, my own included. Even if she does not suspect a threat, she will look for ways to reinforce your restraints. If she is able to stay ahead of us, we may find ourselves cornered and exposed."

"What happens then?"

"I die and you live forever as her slave. The stakes are high for both of us." She paused a moment, giving me time to process. "For now, I will try to encourage her to continue developing your strength. If I can convince her this alone is the right course to pursue by dangling omnipotence in front of her, I may succeed. At the very least, I aim to buy us more time. You have a lot more to learn."

"When do we start?"

"Now. Tell me of the deeds that you have been made to perform."

Ambree already knew about the murder I had committed for the Matron, but I explained it further and filled her in on what came after.

She listened patiently as I did my best to describe the other two assignments before giving me her review. "The Matron's deed grew you the most. Taking the life of a human gives you a piece of their soul. This enhances your own. The Princess's deed was not as rewarding, but contributing to the suffering of another will also give you a piece of them." She paused for a moment. "It would have been better if you had taken on a more active role in humiliating the young man. But the other..."

"Nothing," I confirmed.

"You will need more from all three of them to reach our goal."

"Can't I just go on a killing spree or something? How much more of this stuff do I need to do?" I had given the plan I delivered to Ambree on the evening of the Matron's deed more thought. Instead of a demon, I could have been a superhero, roaming the streets at night to protect the innocent.

She shook her head. "Wanton killing does not grow your power. Demons are servants of purpose. You gain strength not in the taking of a life, but in the process of doing so in the act of service to another."

That revelation was frustrating. I couldn't see the point of having power if I could only ever use it at the whim of others. "So in order to acquire this absolute power, as you called it, I have to live like this and take orders from these three or others like them? What's the point?"

Ambree walked toward me, crossing the boundary that separated us, and put her hand on my shoulder. "No. There is a difference between service and slavery. Subjugation only makes your masters feel safe. It does nothing to enhance the rewards you receive. One can serve willingly and experience the same benefits. While you may never increase your potential on your own, you can wield the strength you have gained serving others towards your own goals, if you have the freedom to do so."

"And what goals am I supposed to have?" I asked.

She was already standing very close but took another step forward and leaned against me to whisper in my ear. "To become God." When she pulled back, she lingered her face in front of mine and I thought she was going to kiss me again. Instead, she spoke. "I need to know exactly what they are doing with you and how it is affecting you. We will not always be able to talk like this. There is a better way.

"I have told you that I am your servant, but words are hollow. On this night, I would like to demonstrate my loyalty and submit myself to you entirely." She waved her hand at the floor, "May I?"

I nodded, unsure of exactly what I was approving.

Ambree lowered herself to her knees. The change of position caught me off guard, and I started to kneel with her, but she shook her head quickly, signaling me to stay upright. Once on the ground, she reached between my legs, taking my penis into her delicate hand and sliding her fingers up the length of my shaft. Her other hand wrapped around my testicles.

I wanted her. No. She wanted me. It was her overwhelming desire that struck me. Just as with the kiss, her feelings were echoing outwards. There was a danger in this type of interaction. I knew that. This woman was not someone I would have normally found myself attracted to. It wasn't just her advanced age, it was the fact that, while she did make an effort to connect with me, the personal touches always seemed forced. I could tell that her normal disposition was cold. The woman that I saw dealing with the Matron was the real Ambree.

If I had to describe exactly what she meant to me, she was my lifeline. She stopped the ternion from exacting their punishments on me and helped them grow my strength, then consoled me when I had difficulties coming to terms with what that meant. She would do the same again, if necessary, and I appreciated that, but she was not the love of my life or even a friend. She was a means to an end, and I knew, especially after our last conversation, that I was the same for her.

"To solidify this pact, I will take you into my being and know the true identity of my master," she said. I recognized then the same ritual the Matron, the Princess, and the Follower had subjected me to.

She pushed my growing erection past her lips, and I felt a small shock before the warm wetness enveloped me. I was speechless. It wasn't just the unorthodox turn our meeting had taken. We were crossing a line.

Expertly, she lowered her head on my manhood and raised it again while her fingers worked around the base of my shaft, pulling and pressing in all the right places between my testicles and below. This wasn't necessarily experience. She could feel what I felt. The link between us allowed her to sense what I wanted and needed to complete the act.

As she worked, she looked up at me. Her eyes connected with mine and we conversed, not with words or even thoughts, but with a new mutual understanding. After this, she would be mine and our bond would be permanent unless intentionally undone.

When I felt myself getting close, politeness told me to warn her, but there was no need. She knew what was about to happen and welcomed it. It would be the exchange of bodily fluids that cemented our pact.

Only when I began to tense, did she finally break eye contact, closing her eyes to focus on consuming all of me.

As soon as my seed touched her tongue, her thoughts and feelings poured into me. With little effort, I could read the story of her past. She had been part of a group of four that managed to pull a demon from some other place. That man, who I suspect lived a life very similar to my own, was more prepared for what those women had planned for him. He submitted, but only to find the weakness that would force them into servitude themselves.

That weakness had been Ambree.

There were no tricks. He didn't manipulate her into betraying her fellows. Her need for power and control already far exceeded her desire for personal freedom. She gave herself to that demon, just as she was giving herself to me, with her eyes fully open to what she was doing and then helped him circumvent the control of the others.

The discovery was shocking, but at the same time reassuring. Even before I understood her true intentions, I never felt at any time like this woman was helping me out of the kindness of her heart. Her advice, instruction, and the act she was performing right then were a gift to me, but a gift that she knew would be repaid in time. She had revealed that weakness to me, and it was something I could live with.

I opened myself up to her, and I knew she was able to see the recent events of my life, just as I was able to see her past. Both were beneficial to her. She could better serve me and had given me all I needed to fully trust her. Ambree knew exactly what she was doing.

My penis continued to jerk as she swallowed and sucked greedily. Up until that point it had been about my pleasure, but as soon as the final moment came, she seemed to forget about me. She was so anxious to get all she could that she continued trying to drink long after I had run dry. It wasn't until my erection started to lilt that she released it.

Her eyes opened and she looked up at me again, but it was no longer Ambree as I knew her kneeling there in front of me. A young woman, no older than twenty, rose to her feet. Her hair, jet black with streaks of blood red, cascaded down her shoulders. Her bright green eyes were encircled in thick black rings which blended out to the sides of her face. Crimson lips spread into a sly smile and the rest of her, while still slight in build, had filled in where skin had previously sagged over bone.

"Ambree?" I asked.

"Emily," she corrected. "That is my true name, and this is my true body. I have been your servant since the moment you granted me entry into this circle, but now you know the full truth of who I am. For now, I offer you my experience and advice. Soon, when you have need of it, I will offer you the rest of me."

All I could do was stand there watching her with my mouth hanging open. Her words, translated through my still-very-human perception, led me to thoughts of more physical pleasure and while I found her quite provocative in this state, I wasn't the type of guy that typically let a woman's appearance determine his interactions with her. It was only my freedom that I ever truly wanted from her.

"For now, we must keep up the ruse." She leaned in and kissed me once more, deep and slow, and when she withdrew, her hair was short and gray, as was the rest of her. "We have been alone for too long. I will do my best to guide them down our path. Is there anything else you need from me before I go?"

"No. Thank you, Emily." I said.

"Ambree," she corrected. "This woman is Ambree." She turned and left.

This time I was not immediately sent back home. I stood there alone long enough to get bored before the three women returned and parked themselves in front of my circle.

The Matron looked down between my legs. I had been exposed to her in every single one of our meetings and her eyes had never been drawn there before. I fought the urge to look down, myself. I couldn't be a self-conscious human. If Ambree was doing her job, I should be becoming a hardened demon.

"Prove to me you aren't playing games with us, Demon," she commanded.

I stood silent, unsure what she was telling me to do.

"Well?" She asked.

I recalled the only thing I had ever said to her that had been well received. "How may I serve you?"

She didn't look impressed. "You will demonstrate that you have gained something in the last three days before I waste any more time on you. Do it now or I will have her cut your balls off and feed them to you." She pointed at the woman to her right.

"I'm not cutting his balls off," The Princess said.

The Matron turned toward her. "You will do whatever it takes to get this demon in line."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I know you don't like how she talks to you, but everything she's done has helped us. You should have seen him the other night. He was incredible. This is everything you promised it would be. What is so important about this channeling?"

"Come with me," she growled. "Both of you," she added, glaring at the blond.

They walked together to the edge of the light but not past it. Hushed voices between the Matron and the Princess failed to carry words as far as my ears, but their heated tones were evident. They were arguing.

Silence followed and then the third member of the group chimed in. I couldn't hear what the Follower said to her, but the Matron's response was clear as a bell. "I will not be dictated to by Ambree the fucking Blue," she cursed.

The blonde's body language told me she was backing down, but the Princess was not so easily deterred. She met the other woman's anger with defiance.

The whisper came next. "Away."

I returned to my apartment knowing only one thing for sure. Cracks were beginning to form in the ternion.