Demonthorn Ch 10

Lora stood at the top of the long staircase that lead deep into the Citadel. Kelli was with her and both women had paused when they reached the top of the stairs.

"I'm scared." Said Lora, feeling more like a little girl than she had in years.

"I am too." Kelli said. "But lets get going."

The two women started down the stairs, taking each step in stride. The staircase was constructed with a precision that was inhuman. Every perfect step was exactly the same size and shape and glowstones were set into the walls to provide light in perfect amounts..

After they had traveled so far that Lora thought that there would never be a bottom, she heard voices from the bottom of the stairs and she could see the bottom through the ending of the staircase and the flickering of fire light.

The cavern was large, but not as imposing as the Great Hall in the center of the Citadel. There was a table in the center of the room with 30 chairs arrayed around it. Each one had been carved with the name of the Fury it belonged to and the element she represented.

Only one chair was occupied, but the room was far from empty. The room seemed to be filled women of all shapes, ages and sizes. Some wore robes or working clothes and others were done up in fantastic armor. All were murmuring and talking quietly.

Samantha, Fury of Ice stared at Lora coldly from her seat around the table. Her blue eyes narrowed and her wings extended fully, blue and icy like crystals.

"Let's get this over with." Samantha said, her voice as harsh as an avalanche. "I have better things to do today."

At this the whispering stopped and Samantha stood, her armor and wings reflecting the light of the torches set into the wall. Also set into the wall were 30 doors. Each one had an element carved into it. Only one still had the mithrillium lock on it.

One older woman stepped forward.

"I am Erin, leader of the Council of Decisions. I have personally seen this woman's power and request that she be allowed to enter the Room of Embers so that she may be what she was meant to be."

Erin stepped back into the mass of women.

"I am Kelli, jangler of the Northeast. I have personally seen this woman's power and request that she be allowed to enter the Room of Embers so that she may reveal who she is to all." Kelli said beside her.

"I am Samantha, Fury of Ice. I have not seen this woman's power and request that she be denied access to the Room of Embers because she is clearly not going to come back out." Samantha said, a cruel grin on her face.

Lora looked at Kelli alarmed. The older woman smiled and whispered in her ear.

"It is tradition for a previous Fury to deny the new one. She didn't have to be such a bitch about it though."

Another woman stepped forward and Lora did not recognize her in her armor.

"I am Delilah, Elite Spy for the Sisterhood. I have personally seen this woman's power and request that she be granted access to the Room of Embers so that she may burn away our enemies." The vendor from the market said.

"Enter." the group said as one.

Kelli turned to Lora and looked her in the eye.

"You be brave Lora. You can do this. It is for you, for your sister and for me that you go in. Let everything else melt away." Kelli said.

The older woman pressed a silver key into Lora's hand and smiled wanly at her. Lora swallowed and approached the door with a roaring flamed etched into it's surface. The rest of the women melted away from the door as if they were made of water.

Lora's hand was shaking as she slipped the tip of the key into the lock. Even though she was terrified, there was a part of her that was calm and even accepting of whatever outcome.

If I melt away it is over for me. No more responsibilities and it is all done. If I live, then I have the responsibilities of a Fury. Damned either way.

She thought.

The lock turned easily and it fell to the ground with a weight that seemed heavier than it should be, the key still inside. Lora took a deep breath and reached for the door handle, expecting it to be hot, but instead it was cold. She turned it and the door swung open to reveal a room that looked almost like a jail cell.

IN the wall was a small glowstone that allowed her to see that the room was bare stone, without even a breath of dust. Lora turned to see behind her but could not make out Kelli from among the women of the Sisterhood behind her. Tears welling up inside of her, she slipped inside the door and closed it.

She heard the rasp of the lock being placed back on the door and the snap of the lock being put back into place. It would only open if she was a Fury or for Her Sister Valkyries to sweep out her ashes.

The glowstone in the wall was dim, but it illuminated the room except for the corners. She stood there for several moments, waiting for the flames or at least a sign.

After several minutes she let out her breath. Apparently it was a Deity's prerogative to let a woman wait. Lora took to walking around the room, tracing figure 8's with her feet.

She started humming a sewing tune that her mother had taught to her and her twin. When even that got old, Lora tried to stand on one foot, practicing Heron poses. On a particularly difficult pose, she lost her balance and her hand hit the glowstone to steady herself.

The fire was all around her before she could think. The flames traced the walls and the floor, singing her feet. Lora gasped in terror, her lungs filling with mostly smoke as the fire ate all of the life giving air in the room.

Lora fell to her knees, gasping institutionally for breath. More smoke filled her lungs and started her coughing more than she had ever coughed before. She felt her mind go bleary as there was simply no more air in the room.

A sense of complacency filled her at that point, the sense that she need not struggle and that everything would be alright. She would be with her sister and all of her ancestors. She would have no duty thrust upon her and no need to struggle anymore.

Lora almost fell into the black abyss of warm comfort that threatened to envelop her. She could feel the fire feasting on her skin, the pain only a flimsy anchor to the physical world. She wanted to push away from the pain, to be done with it all, but as she relinquished her hold on life, something unexpected happened.

A spark of resistance flared in her chest. She thought of her promise to Ilsa and that spark drew flame. She thought of her promise to Kelli and the flame grew into a campfire. She thought of her rage at her parents for selling both of them into slavery. The fire grew into a bonfire that fueled the rage.

"NO!" Lora screamed with the last of her breath.

The fire intensified, filling her vision and every space in the room. She felt the core of herself grow hot with rage. She found that point and opened it to the world, just as she had done in the alley.

"Fill yourself with fire." A voice echoed through the room. "Make it a part of you. Let it feed your rage. Let your compassion temper it."

The voice had told her exactly what she needed to do. She could no longer scream, but imagined the fire coming into her, filling her with it's power. The flames wavered and fought against her control.

She felt her sister in her core, driving her onward to be the savior that so many people needed her to be. For the world, for the Valkyries. For her sister and for Kelli. But most of all for herself.

She felt the fire come to her blackened skin and muscles, but instead of a vengeful force, she felt the caressing touch of a good friend. The fire spread into her soul, accepting her as it's master.

She felt her old body wither away from her and fall as ash to the ground. What was left behind was a new vision of how she had always felt she could be. Gone were the weird angles of puberty., the pimples and raggedy hair. She had transformed into a woman in an instant.

Her hips were full and her body radiated glowing health with a few pounds of extra fat to fill her out. She pulled at her hair, now silky smooth and very orange. She breathed in air as the blackened walls confirmed that the fire had been real.

Her hands wandered all over her now soft skin, feeling places that had once been skinny or thin and were now muscled and feminine. She felt her breasts, now large and full and how her body reacted smoothly and completely under her control, unlike her more gawky former self.

"Lora."

Lora spun around and dropped her right leg back into the ready position with her fists raised.

Inside the sealed room was an anjel. Like most of the people of Arden she had heard of but never seen an Anjel, the divine messengers of the God and Goddess. The creature was dressed in a simple white sheet and it's dark brown hair fell in soft ringlets around it's face. The wings were black with yellow stripes.

"What are you?" Said Lora.

"I am Ellemark the Anjel." It said simply.

"I mean what are you doing here?" Lora stammered.

"I am here to answer questions." Ellemark said.

"All of my questions?" Lora asked.

"No." Ellemark answered. "I will only answer 3 questions."

Lora kept herself from flying off the handle and sputtering off something that would be simple for the Anjel to answer. She also wanted to ask questions where the Anjel would be forced to elaborate. The stories about the creatures always had them being extremely literal, but honest to a fault.

"I need more questions. You will give me more." Lora said.

"I will not. You will get three. Every Fury gets three." The anjel responded.

Lora thought for some time until she thought she had the right questions. Oddly enough she felt comfortable in it's presence, even though she was naked. She had never felt comfortable naked ever in her life. That thought led to her first question.

"What has been done to me to make me how I am right now?" Lora asked.

"You have been transformed into final Fury. The God demands sensuality from creations and The Goddess demands strength. You have been remade to be both. You are more confident and decisive. You are now approximately 12 times stronger than you were before and your body has been made to be as sexually appealing to people of this time and place as possible while still adhering to general form that is associated with Fury. Please ask next question."

"What is my task and destiny?" Lora asked, having had the next question ready in her mind.

"You are tasked with destroying creations of The Master and defending people of Arden. Your destiny is to destroy Usurper once and for all. You will gather greatest heroes of Arden to assist you. None will make it to the final battle. Please ask next question."

Lora took all this in. She wanted to ask about her dreams, about whether she would succeed with defending the land and whom she would gather to her cause. But in the end she supposed she always needed to ask what she did.

"What are my powers and how do I use them?" Lora asked.

"You control element of fire. When gifted with wings, you will be able to control fire with your emotions. Summon rage. Summon hatred. Summon hope. All will feed the fires that burn your enemies. You will be gifted wings when you next unlock your power."

Lora could not help but think of the time when she had unlocked her power accidentally from eating the dragon meat. She was fairly uncertain that she would be able to control her power if she were to try and summon it again.

"You control emotion of passion. You release passion in others. You feed passion to them." Ellemark went on. "You are desirable to all who crave physique of woman. You may sex with women. You may not sex with men. Break this and you break your power. All questions have been asked."

"I understand." Lora said softly.

"The God and The Goddess have spoken. Their word is law." Ellemark said.

"Thank you." Lora said

"I have fulfilled my destiny. You have been told a destination. You must choose your own way there."

After he said that, the Anjel burst into flame, it became charred ash in mere moments, but just before it did, a look of extreme relief crept over it's face, and that was strangely encouraging to Lora.

When the embers of the anjel's passing had gone out, the glowsone began to sputter. Lora had no desire to be trapped in the dark and found the seam of the door. She pushed with all of her might and the heavy door flew open, the lock scattering into a thousand pieces across the room.

Lora stood in the doorway, completely naked and staring at the astonished faces of her Valkyrie sisters.

"Look away, you ravenous lot, haven't you seen a gorgeous woman naked before? Avert your eyes before I make mincemeat out of you before you can get to the House!" said a voice from the crowd.

Before she knew it, Kelli was there with a luscious blanket and had wrapped it around her new body. Lora could feel her mentor and friend trying not to look at her. She could see Kelli was failing. For once, all eyes were on her and Lora reveled in it.

She gratefully grasped her blanket around her and it seemed as if a spell had been broken. The rest of the women began muttering and moving to leave the room, as if they all had forgotten tasks to do at the same time.

"You sure grew up fast there girlie." Kellie said with a grin. "You got some sort of body on you there."

"Yes." Lora said. "I am a little unsure of what to do now."

"Now we head to the House of Women for me to rub one out after seeing you like that. Seriously, it was like magic." Kelli said, shaking her head.

"It is magic. My magic." Lora said, a slow smile creeping up her lips. "I ignite passion in others. I suppose I should learn to control it before the line of women outside our door grows longer than a mile."

Kelli grinned back and she escorted Lora to a golden door that the young woman had not noticed before.

"What's this?" Lora asked.

"This is the Fury Door. It leads up to your new room in the aviary. You share it with Samantha."

"What if I want to stay with you? I don't even like Samantha, how can I be expected to live with her?"

"I want you to stay with me too, but that just wouldn't be good for the troops. All those hickey's on your neck would get annoying after a while too." Kelli grinned mischievously.

"You can visit though, right?" Lora asked with her brows furrowed.

"Of course! Nothing would make me happier, Lora."

Lora could see that Kelli meant it.

"Now up you go Ms. All High and Mighty Fury. You have to walk up there on your own. Supposedly you get some girl time with Samantha before The Marshall parades you throughout the city." Kelli whispered. "Just remember to save some of yourself for me tonight."

Lora could hear the hunger in Kelli's voice, as if only Lora could feed it. Lora breathed deep, remembering the dream where she burned everything, including Kelli. She almost lost her nerve as another Valkyrie opened the door for her.

"Go on up, I will see you at the feast tonight." Kelli smiled encouragingly.

Lora took a deep breath and began up the staircase behind the door. It was lit by glowstones and paneled in mother of pearl on the sides, so that the light was reflected into a silvery haze. She turned back in time to see the door close behind her.

"Well Lora. Time to see what you can do." Lora said aloud to herself.

She dropped the blanket to the steps behind her and began to take the stairs. She went slowly at first, thinking that her new feet and legs would fail to keep up. Instead she found she ascended faster and faster, taking the steps two at a time and then three at a time until she was sprinting up the stairs.

After a while she began to think that she should have been getting tired, but instead she just felt more invigorated as her heart pumped in her chest. She let out a yell of triumph and glee as she raced up the steps and almost slammed face first into a wooden door that suddenly appeared before her. It was inlaid with flying figures in gold and seemed to be made of a dark wood instead of rock.

She pushed it open and came into the most lavish place that she had ever seen in her life. Stuffed chairs and couches scattered the room. Wispy fabric draped from the ceiling that seemed to stretch above for another fifty feet. There were spacious windows that looked out upon the sky, with doors to facilitate the comings and goings of winged creatures. She felt the cold in the room, but also could sense her own vitality filling it, heating it to match the glow that she herself felt.

Then Lora felt a shiver come down her spine. Even though she was warm, it was as if a cold presence had entered the room. With a flurry of wings, the Fury of Ice, Samantha flew into the room through one of the open doorways, a scowl on her face.

"So at last I have the pleasure of conversing with a fury candidate who is not ash." The Fury of Ice said, her scowl never leaving her face.

Samantha looked Lora up and down, her blue eyes piercing. Her whole demeanor was unimpressed and as if Lora had already failed every test given to her. Lora had never been so conscious of being naked in her life, not even in the brothel. She sat in a chair and crossed her arms to try and hide her nakedness.

"You could try and be a little nicer to me, you know." Lora said, her embarrassment flooding her face. "We are both Furies after all."

"No, you little red-haired bitch! I am a Fury. Jolie WAS a Fury. You are a cunt who blushes at nudity." Roared Samantha, her voice seemed to shake the entire room like an avalanche.

The older woman began to remove her armor, which was tinted an icy blue and inset with dark blue sapphires. Lora averted her eyes as her undergarments came off, leaving her feeling even more uncomfortable.

"Look at ME!" Samantha roared.

Lora looked. Samantha was as shapely as Lora herself was, her breasts were small though and her skin was far more pale. Her hair was short and had traces of blue in it, even in her pubic area. Her wings looked powdery and delicate, like the first snow fall after a long autumn.

"THIS is what a Fury looks like." Samantha said, disappointment etched into every fiber of her being.

Almost unconsciously, Lora rose to her feet, rage coursing through her body as it seemed to heat. She felt power radiating through every part of her being and she relished it.

"All you have, you icy bitch, is wings and smaller tits!" Lora roared back at Samantha. "I may not have your experience, but ice melts when it is heated. I want to see how long you will last after I learn to control my powers!"

Samantha took a step backward and for the briefest instant Lora thought she saw fear in her eyes. But then the ice queen was back, the mask falling perfectly into place. The older woman narrowed her eyes.

"You will not get your wings until you have truly earned them!" Samantha said with anger in her voice. "You cannot even control that temper of yours. How do you expect to control the power of a Fury?"

At this, Lora's anger dissipated, it was as if a candle had gone out in her and she felt the power that had once filled her body fade.

"I am sorry." Lora whispered, the wind from outside rustling her hair. "I don't know what came over me."

Samantha's face softened ever so slightly.

"You were ambushed with this power, it is no small wonder that you can barely contain it." She said. "You will learn though."

"What do I need to learn?" Asked Lora. "The Anjel didn't tell me all that much."

"Yeah, they never do." Said Samantha as she sat herself in a chair opposite Lora. "They are more wooden than trees and only half as smart."

There was a silence in the room as Samantha seemed to ponder their predicament.

"I, fortunately, have more information for you. There are three trials to becoming a full-fledged Fury. To earn your wings, you must fight and kill a demon. Which isn't actually all that hard. It is just hard to find them sometimes." The older woman said.