Harnessing Fire Ch 04

The air shifted in the dungeon, but with the temperatures dropping down to single digits overnight, Tania hardly noticed. Her body was merely a husk containing heat that pooled out into her aura in natural defense against the cold. She was sleeping a deep and undisturbed rest after the events of the previous morning had overturned her every hope of being free. Her dreams were of endless fields of blooming flowers and grain. An eagle soared in the cerulean sky above her while she sprinted through the field, feeling the texture of the wild grass rub against her naked hips. It wasn't until she realized she was naked in her dream that she woke with a sudden gasp. She panted heavily, white breath hazing from her mouth while she became aware of her nudity and her surroundings once more. She was certain it was night time.

A moment later when her eyes adjusted, the firelight from the hallway revealed a figure standing in her cell, and she drew back to the corner of her bed, startled. Was it Master? No. She would have felt those invisible hands sinking into her skin. It could have been anyone and her mind was blank from the sound of her heart pounding quickly inside her ears. When the shuffle of feet advanced the figure toward her bed, she felt her stomach drop and her hands bound tight around her thighs to huddle herself in defense.

The figure was tall and he grabbed her ankle with one hand and pulled her from the corner. Keeping a tight hold on her thighs, her back was now flat against the bed and her legs were in the air. She wanted to scream but she didn't. If this was Master he would just hurt her for doing so and she didn't want to be punished again. Tania panted quickly when the hand clutching her ankle was gone and both of his hands set to her wrists and brought them closer together around her thighs. Her knees touched and her rear end was lifted slightly off the bed. He knelt in front of her, which brought his slow and calm breathing to gently pass over her nether region. The sensation made her tingle, but she could barely move with his hands keeping her body balled up in place. Another strong breath brushed over her sex, feeling more deliberate. Her breathing calmed and her heartbeat softened the more she concentrated on the stirring warmth pooling low in her belly from this simple act. She was both terrified and curious.

"Master?" She whispered softly.

"Shhh..." Tania felt the man remove one hand from her wrist to softly touch her lips with his finger and then returned his hand to her wrist a moment later. Were she quick-witted, she might have broken free when the opportunity was presented. He had her like a hunter had a doe in his sight.

He leaned his face in between her thighs starting just beneath her knees and slowly dragged his smooth face down until his lips touched her bare sex. He kissed it gently and she gasped softly. Her breathing changed and her cheeks burned with a pleasing heat that tightened her skin with goosebumps. Another kiss to that hot spot had her mind pleading with this stranger for more and couldn't understand why. It was a struggle in her thoughts that was slowly losing to her need. His last kiss pressed down firm, and then his tongue snaked out and parted her labia with one full stroke from bottom to top. She hummed loudly, and quickly his hand came free to cover her mouth.

"Shh, quiet." He whispered too soft for her to identify who it was. She nodded in the dark while his hand was over her mouth, which he freed the moment he knew she understood.

The man freed her wrists and let her legs drop down. He pushed her legs out to the side as far as they would spread, and Tania could feel her slit bloom open from the wetness that was already there. She burned with shame and arousal. How could her body be so eager for more and fear still remain in the back of her mind? She didn't understand what her body was doing right now but she knew what it wanted. Her late night stranger reached under her thighs and grasped her elbows to hold her in place. His face was directly over her hips and Tania knew he was going to lick her down there again. She could hardly wait for it. Her breath was shifting unevenly as each second slowly passed by. He looked down and blew another warm breath over that sensitive bead. The desire for more pushed all the breath from her lungs at once and then sucked in through her teeth.

Oh, Tania, stop being so eager!

She yelled in her mind.

The thought passed when his lips touched down on her warm center and his tongue brushed in soft clockwise circles.

Ohhhh yes, keep doing that.

Tania's mind could not say or think of anything else. This stranger silenced her inhibitions with every strong lick that pushed over her sex. Her breathing followed a rhythm he was easily controlling with his touch. She was open to him, and both of them knew this. Every circle his tongue traced was a symphony of her breath carefully exhaled to not make noise. Tania knew then that this man was not allowed to be doing this to her, but she didn't care. She didn't cry out for help and as much as she knew that her place was under her Master, she couldn't stop her body from wanting this. Yes, every roll of that soft, hot tongue was building toward something inside of her. She could feel it through nerves that had never felt so alive before. Her eyelids fluttered as the fire burning deep inside of them had returned. The glow that surged through her aura was so faint and was building with her desire.

He knew she was near to coming and he slid his tongue down from her clit. She whimpered faintly in hope that he wasn't stopping.

Please, you perfect stranger, don't stop now, please!

Her body begged with her hips, pushing up to try and meet his skilled lips again. He squeezed the nerves passing through her elbows and the pain was sudden and sharp. She hissed through her teeth and halted her body from begging any further. Only a second passed before he kissed her again and buried in tongue up inside of her wet entrance. The feeling was just as intense, but all over. Her nerves sang with pleasure that waved through her body. She wanted it deeper, and thought for sure she could feel his tongue moving further and further in, tickling her from the inside. She lost sight of her late night intruder when her head tipped back, her chest filling with breath, then sharply huffed out with every lap of his tongue. How could she give herself to a complete stranger? The idea was unthinkable, and yet her body was bending to this unknown person as though he had known her for ages. Beneath his grasp, her muscles tightened in her hands when they gripped her bed. That surge was building within her again, and he slipped his tongue out of her and rolled it right back over her clit. Quickly, he wiggled side to side, his lips closing around that central bead and sucking it into his mouth before letting his tongue lap swiftly over it.

Tania lost her mind and all control. The release that was clenched out of her insides was gently licked from her until she fell limp against the bed. Her mind was fuzzy to a point that it didn't register right away that the perfect stranger had lifted her from the bed and carried her out of the dungeon.

She felt warmer air wrapping around her skin while her stranger ascended the stairs and the dungeon door opened with a piercing firelight that resonated from four different hearths in the main room of the fortress. There, waiting beside the dungeon entrance was the Shadow Queen who governed the fortress. Tania had focused on her until her eyes had adjusted, and then she swiftly turned her face to look at who was carrying her. It was William. He smiled gently and kissed her temple before he set her down in a chair where four shadow guard were nodded over by his command and covered her wrists and ankles with iron clasps. She didn't see Master anywhere when she glanced around the room. There were a pair of guards posted at every door, and the windows were twenty feet up from the ground and narrow. Escape was out of the question.

A warm laugh from William was shared with the Shadow Queen and pulled Tania's attention to the two of them. They looked over her briefly and the Queen cleared her throat.

"So, I can expect payment as soon as tomorrow?"

"Yes. It is my money after all, and I know it's being put to a fine investment." Williams eyes shifted and glanced over Tania with a hunger that made her blush from head to toe.

"and what of Galea?" The Queen's voice leveled with concern, her deep shaded eyes searching Williams for assurance.

"He is awake and coming down the stairs right now," William glanced to the stairs and waited for the pair of doors at the top to open and reveal the proud demon.

The Queen and Tania shifted their worried eyes to the top of the steps as breath hitched in their lungs and the anticipation was deafening. The heavy clank of the doors was brief as they were thrown open by the furious male demon. His aura danced and flickered with fire, as did his eyes. Three individuals were looked upon; Tania, the Queen, and then William.

"What is this?" Galea snapped upon William and the Queen.

"I plan to take my new slave home with me. What do you think is happening, Galea?" William asked him curiously, his tone calm and amused.

"And what power do you possess that you think you can take a slave from me, William?" Galea growled at him, moving down the stairs and stalked slowly toward his servant.

Williams' eyes flickered with a deep fire that filled his irises and the heat from his skin was greater than Galeas' as he approached. Within those few moments, Williams' hair grew out rapidly to the middle of his back and turned silver. His facial features sharpened and were more regal. His body stretched taller and his muscles slimmed with more tone and definition. A pair of dragon wings grew out from the center of his back and filled in with rich scarlet scales that glimmered in the firelight. His tail stretched out almost eight feet long and formed a sharp tip with a uniform line of spikes moving up the whole of his tail. Galea watched the transformation carefully, until he saw the familiar face staring back at him.

"Vagrent," he growled lowly, "I shouldn't be surprised, but I am."

"Now that you know how I've always kept an eye on you, I can't allow you back in my fortress."

"YOUR fortress?!" Galea roared, "You wouldn't have that fortress if it weren't for me keeping other demons away from it all these years!"

"Please," Vagrent said softly, "You are weaker than previous demons I have killed. There was a mark of fate over your head the day you invaded my territory and fought me to a draw. Did you ever wonder why it lasted a full week and that neither of us seemed better than the other? I was holding back, you were not."

"I don't believe you," he snapped.

"No? You were the one filled with anger at having to draw the battle to a close on equal ground. I didn't deliver a killing blow when you were weakened, and all these years, you never once attempted to kill me. Why do you think that is? I let you into my fortress, I gave you free reign of my slaves, I let you draw power from the volcano, and the use of the Iron Forge. You've had an endless fountain of power, wealth, weapons, and all the women you could ever want. You foolishly believed that you won all these things, when in fact I let you have use of them while I waited for fate to reveal what your purpose was. You have found the last living descendant of the Phoenix." Vagrent then gestured to Tania.

Tania was very aware now of what Vagrent had said, and couldn't believe it herself. Her eyes glanced over to Vagrent, then landed on Galea. She was more confused now than she had been before.

"I still don't believe you." Galea snarled.

"Galea, think very hard. What dragon would, in their right mind, share his wealth and status with a mere fire demon? You were an investment. I threw money at your shallow desires. Countless slaves that couldn't stand up to your cruelty and all of them given a proper funeral by me. My wealth was shared with you because I knew one day it would pay off. If there's one thing I have is patience. My investment just matured, and it's time to make use of it. When the young woman was brought here, you were first to test her fire and I was first to taste it."

Tania's body curled up in that chair and her skin flushed remembering the first night she was here, and what just occurred not long ago. She ached for more even now. She could feel her wet lips throb at the thought of his tongue coursing over her heated sex and the shattering orgasm that followed. Galea was livid. His next move was a mistake. Vagrent had expected a reaction from the fire demon and when Galea put all of his energy into a swift advance on him, a small amount of Vagrent's stored energy was channeled to his fingertips and he delivered a strike to Galea's core. Rather than flying across the room, Vagrent penetrated Galea's skin and in one swift draw, Galea's glowing heart was pulled him his chest cavity. The blackened muscle pounded rapidly until it turned to lava in Vagrent's hand. As the heart melted through Vagrent's fingertips, Galea's body melted into a pool of hot lava on the floor that turned black and became a brittle pile of ash.

"Hmph. Good riddance." Vagrent wiped his hands clean of the ash and turned once more to Tania. He was an impressive dragon, but she had never seen a dragon before. Her fear clutched at her chest and her cowering form ebbed away from his wandering eyes. He smiled and was amused by her fear; it made his job easier.

"I am your Master now, little one, and you will call me such."

That fear turned quickly to sadness, and her eyes became solemn as she resigned to her fate and nodded. So it had been him all along. The one who gave her pleasure while she took the cruelty of three other men, who bathed her after she had endured it, who sneaked into her room and gave her pleasure once more, and who now takes her home as his property. She was numb and watched Vagrent gesture to the nearest guard. A piece of cloth was placed over her eyes and drawn tight. Her hands moved instinctively to remove it, but two sets of hands each pulled her arms down from her face and secured them down on the chair. She huffed lightly and remained in place until she could feel chains being applied to her ankle cuffs and then connected to her hands. The length was enough that when she was made to stand she could be upright. However, her legs would not allow her to do anymore than a short walk, and her hands remained at waist level by the height of the chain.

Her body jolted when Vagrent approached from behind and his hands set to her shoulders to turn her to a specific direction.

"Walk." he instructed her quietly.

Tania's legs snagged a few times when the chains were pulled taut and Vagrent did not let her fall to the floor when this happened. Eventually, she adjusted her footsteps to where she could walk in them without error. There was comfort in Vagrent looking after her as she crossed the long marble hall in the direction that he chose. The heavy clank of the doors she was approaching opened and the smell of a spring breeze rushed over her nude skin. She drew in a deep breath and let out a long sigh of relief to be going outside. It was a feeling that she wasn't sure that she would have had again, not with this sort of elation. For a moment, she was happy that she was rescued from the cruelty of Galea, but she was saddened to still be trapped. She was not sure of Vagrent, knowing nothing about him but his handsome appearance and gentle ways. Still, despite those two points, he wanted her as a slave. She was torn, conflicted about her acceptance. Why was she able to do so? Did Galea put so much fear into her that she willingly accepted a more gentle Master? Or perhaps the thought of running away was too much of a struggle for her.

His hands gently guided her in the direction he wanted her to go, and when she had walked far enough, he stopped her.

"I am going to pick you up now. Be still and I won't have to punish you, little one. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" His fingers closed around her left nipple and clamped down until she gasped. The pain spread through her swiftly and her body arched.

"Yes, Master!" She answered quickly.

"Good girl." He released her nipple and rubbed his hand over it in slow circles. When her breathing calmed, he swept her into his arms, and he guided her into a carriage that was awaiting the two of them. Because of the blindfold, she depended entirely on him. It was frustrating not being able to see, but when she felt the crushed velvet floor beneath her feet, she was put at ease.

He closed the door behind him and settled in. Looking down at Tania, he reached for her chains and freed them from her feet, then pushed her down into a kneeling position. The ends of the chains were then moved through a key in the ceiling of the carriage and he pulled the chains through until her hands were up over her head. Bringing the ends down to her wrist clasps, he secured them. Then, he removed her blindfold.

Tania looked up at the ceiling to see the chains fed through the key ring in the ceiling and what little give her arms now had to move. Her sapphires then shot to Vagrent, who was sitting comfortably and staring at her. His eyes were at ease, his body was at ease. She finally had a chance to take a good look at him. He had retracted his wings and tail back into his body before he had climbed into the carriage. Despite his long, silvery hair, his skin was firm and tone. He was quite handsome, regal, and very appealing. The longer Tania seemed to stare into his fiery eyes, the more she felt drawn to him. His skin tone made him appear ghostly, but he was very much alive and strong. Ash still remained on his fingertips from killing Galea, and she swallowed hard remembering how easy it was for him.

"Comfortable?" He asked her, curiously.

Tania paused to think about it before she answered.

"No, Master."

"No? What discomfort do you feel?"

"My knees hurt sitting like this, Master."

His lips spread into a feral smile. He closed his fist and pounded twice on the wall behind him. The carriage jolted and shook side to side. Tania was held well in place, but even she found some difficulty in remaining in that position as the pressure was growing on her knees. They were now moving on the half-day journey that would take them to Vagrents fortress.

"Oh, you'll have to get used to it, little one. This is your place now, and you should feel so fortunate that you are kneeling on velvet. When we return to my fortress called Vulcos, I could make you kneel on concrete. Would you like that?" His tone lightened with his question.

"No, Master." Tania answered in a solemn tone.

"Then be grateful for the comfort that you do have for I can take it away as easily as I can reward it. You will find that I am not a cruel Master as Galea would have been to you. I will punish you when you fail to do what I ask or if you act out against me. I will reward you when you deserve it. You will learn to be my slave. How long it takes you to learn your place and how long you endure that lesson is not determined by myself, but you. Do you understand, pet?"

She shook her head, not knowing what these lessons would entail.

"You will always answer me verbally, slave, and you will always end your responses with Master. Do so now, or I will have to punish you." He warned her.

"No, I do not understand, Master." She answered gently.

"Good girl, and what don't you understand?"

"I.. I don't know what I am supposed to learn, Master."

"You will learn to be my slave. You will learn skills and the proper etiquette I expect from a slave. Much of your training will come from me, and the rest will come from the other slaves."