In some ways, it was the indignity of being caught that grated the most.
Julian Larnd grunted and tested the cuffs that held his arms behind his back once more, but the enchanted steel gave nothing, securing him to the thick support pillar. Damn damn damn! He should have realized the inn was in league with the cult. It was the perfect hiding place for members! But he'd had no indication their influence had spread so far.
He sighed, leaning back and banging his head with a dull thunk against the pillar. Not much of a cell, but secure enough. He glared ruefully at the dim bulks of barrels not far. He could still feel a faint muzziness from the drugged ale they'd given him, but it was dispersing now. There had to be a way out. There had to be! A Ranger of the Silver Bow didn't just give up. There was a way out of this. He just had to think of it.
A creak of the door had him jerk upright, every sense keyed up. The door swung open at the top of the steps, and the barmaid from the evening before came in.
Seeing her once more, Julian realized ruefully how easily he'd been caught. Any man would have been distracted by the sight of the gorgeous woman. Especially her large breasts, held in her tight peasant bodice, though with a somewhat scandalously low cut. It took him an effort of will to look away from those plump orbs and to her face, which was hardly a loss. She was strikingly lovely in a hometown kind of way, her short red hair framing a pretty face with a small nose and sprinkling of freckles. A short skirt drew the eye to long legs and wide hips, which swung tantalisingly with her lazy stride.
Lizzie. That was the name she'd given him while serving his ale. He felt again a flush of annoyance at how shamelessly he'd flirted with her the night before, never suspecting the drink she served would be drugged.
But her allure hadn't entirely vanished for him, testament to which was it took Julian a moment to notice the tray of bread and mug of water she carried.
"Hey there, sugar," she said, shooting him a dazzling smile. "How goes it?"
"Oh, just great," Julian said acidly. "I'm in raptures."
She giggled, and Julian tried to ignore how his heart skipped at the sound. "You're funny," she said, placing the dish down in front of him. Yet she didn't go at once, instead crouching before him, looking at him impishly.
Julian eyed her closely. She didn't strike him as the sort that would be in deep with the cult. Too flighty. Those who summoned demons inevitably began to feel the corruption, becoming maddened as the power and influence of their demonic patrons infested them with their foul magics. She might be new to the cult. Which meant she might be his way out...
"Do you know what your fellow cultists are doing?" he said.
"Why don't you tell me what they're doing?" she said coyly.
He leaned forward. "Your 'friends' are seeking to feed mortal souls to demons!"
"Gosh! Is that right?" she giggled.
He shook his head. "I don't think you understand the gravity of this," he said. "Those whose souls are devoured by a demon soon lose any semblance of humanity. They become little more than mindless thralls, enraptured by the demon who devoured them."
"Goodness!"
"And those are the lucky ones," Julian growled, the thought making his blood fire with rage. "The unlucky ones are unable to offer even a token resistance. They give themselves eagerly to the demons, and as a result, are fed upon, transformed into creatures like their patrons. Monsters of cruelty and mindless obedience to the demon who devoured their essence."
"Quite the expert, hm?" she said.
Julian snorted. "I should be. I kill them."
"Didn't do a good job this time, though, huh?"
Julian scowled, the reminder stinging, especially coming from such a pretty woman. "I... underestimated the cult," he said. "But not again. If I could get free, I could banish the fiend and free its worshippers."
"You'd do that?" she said.
"Of course!"
"Oh, but," the redhead said, putting a coy finger to her pouting lips with thought. "What if the cultists didn't wanna be free? What if they super duper love her?"
"They are deluded," Julian said sharply. "Drawn to the demon by promises and the allure of the forbidden, and too late do many realize the depths of depravity they will be forced to plunge. Do you really want your friends to face such a fate? Your neighbours? To be little more than soulless, mindless puppets of a demon?"
"And if I let ya go, you could stop her?" the barmaid said, still with that teasing smile.
"Of course!"
"Even if she's super duper pretty? What if she's got cute horns and big, bouncy tits like these?"
Julian felt the muscles in his neck twitch as she hefted her breasts through her top. Heat rose in his face and he cleared his throat. "O-of course! Such things would not stay my blade."
"But what if she's got pretty golden eyes and is like, just tons of fun."
"Yes, dammit!"
"But what if she looks like... this?"
Her eyes flashed a molten gold. Her teeth suddenly sharpened with a pair of small fangs. Her body grew, her clothes creaking under the sudden swell of her figure. Her chest tore the lacing of her blouse, her skirt ripping to rags against plump thighs. Her skin darkened, turning a lurid red, and twin horns curved back like those of a goat along her hair.
Julian jerked back, gasping as a scent of smoke and mint suddenly engulfed him. He swooned, but shook it off, squinting and glaring at the creature.
"You..."
"Aw, don't be like that, honey!" Lizzie said with another blinding smile. "You look much cuter when ya smile. Just a cute, handsome slayer too dumb to see the demoness fawnin' all over him. Not that you were complaining much."
"B-bitch!" Julian snapped furiously, tugging at his bindings. "If I were free, I'd-"
"Oh sure. Sure," she said with an airy wave. "You'd kill me. Slay me and send me back t' the pit I'd spawned from. Which is super mean a ya, by the by. Because I love it up here! So much fun and pretty boys and girls just lookin' for a good time. And why shouldn't I give to them? They loooove it."
"You are a monster!" Julian snapped. "A creature of darkness and sin."
"Totes! But that's what makes it so fun, right?" she said with a twinkle of a smile.
"But hey," Lizzie continued, scooting closer, grinning wickedly at him. "I'm a fair girl. So tell you what I'll do. I'll undo your cuffs in five minutes."
"You're lying," he growled.
