A Demon's Child

Anita

As we glided through the night, rising gently up and down with every pump of Saban's wings, I chewed my lip, worried. Ian. My nephew. He was a brave, rambunctious little scamp, and liked to go out at night, despite the best efforts of his parents, my brother and sister in law, to keep him inside. He was the most likely of the village children to have been abducted.

Was he scared, in the clutches of the demon? Was he fighting back, possibly irritating the demon to the point that it would kill him? I bit my lip again. The second was far more likely. Ian was a tough little guy, and that might spell his doom.

Saban groped my breast. I slapped him, growling "Not now." Was the captive Ian, I wondered again. And would the captive, whoever it was, be ok?

*

Saban

Anita's worry was like an irritating buzz inside my mind. I wanted to distract her. I knew I could force the issue, but would that be a good idea? I was worried that, if I took her now, she'd never forgive me.

My desire to pleasure Anita wasn't just about distracting her. I was worried, too. So much was riding on my ability to swiftly take control of this demon. If I failed... What would Anita think? Especially if the hostage did turn out to be her nephew.

And failure was a definite possibility. I had confidence in my ability to take control of any regular greater demon, given time, but time was something I didn't have. If I was even a tiny bit slow in gripping the demon's mind, he could rip the child's head off out of spite. We demons were very good at doing things out of spite. I knew that, in this demon's place, I'd want to do as much damage as possible before being sent back to hell.

Back to hell. I shivered at the thought. This world, my life with Anita, this was paradise. I was well fed, out of the stressful conflicts of the demon realm, and feeling pleasures I'd never felt before. Pleasures like the joy of cradling my beloved in my arms while I flew. I decided to enjoy holding her while it lasted. If I failed to save the child, she might not let me hold her anymore.

*

Anita

The lights of the village were in sight now. I saw the scattered lights of houses. One house, near the edge of the village, was ringed by lights, all about 300 feet back. I matched up my bird's eye view with my memories of the village's layout, and my heart sank. The house ringed by lights, the one that was presumably the subject of the standoff, was my brother's house. Ian...

Saban swooped down toward the north side of the ring. There were gasps, and a few screams, but, as Saban set me down and then changed to his human form, the two wizards on the scene calmed everyone down.

My brother's wife, Melody, came racing out of the crowd. "Anita!" She gave me a swift hug. "Please, please tell me you can save my boy."

I hugged her back. "Don't worry, Melody, Saban is very good at what he does. He can take control of that demon, no problem."

Saban, beside me, opened his mouth, but, at my glare, shut it again. Melody did not need to hear his doubts. We would succeed. I would make sure of that.

My brother Tom came up behind his wife, scowling. "This is all those two's fault." He pointed at the two wizards, who looked down sheepishly. "If they hadn't let that demon break loose, it wouldn't have grabbed my son." The grass around his feet was visibly lengthening.

Melody noticed the grass. She turned to her husband. "Dear..." She looked pointedly at his feet.

Tom followed her gaze, and saw the growing grass. He scowled at it. "Stop that. It's sweet that you want to help, but there's nothing you can do." The grass stopped growing, and began to droop. A single blade stroked his ankle.

After another quick reassurance to my brother and his wife, I gestured to the two wizards. I recognized them as journeymen, but, for the life of me, I couldn't remember their names. "You, and you. We need to talk."

The four of us walked a little ways away from the crowd. The blond wizard opened his mouth. "Look, Anita, I'm-"

I cut him off with a glare. "Apologize later. Right now, we need to plan."

Swiftly, I laid out my idea. "Saban isn't sure he can take control of the demon fast enough to save the child. However, if we can distract the demon at the right moment, it could buy Saban a few seconds to work before the demon realizes what he's doing. I'm going to cast an illusion spell, and the two of you need to help me."

"An illusion of what?" asked one wizard.

I frowned. What would be the best way to distract a demon? "It has to be bright, and noisy. It can't look like a deliberate distraction. It can't look like an attack, either, or the demon will hurt Ian to make us stop."

The four of us thought. "Perhaps an attack from something besides us," one wizard suggested. "One that looks like it won't stop if the demon hurts Ian. That way, the demon has no reason to hurt him, and will be distracted trying to defend itself."

"What would be attacking, though?" I asked.

"How about a dragon?" Saban suggested.

The other wizard snorted. "Everyone knows dragons aren't real."

"Everyone human," Saban acknowledged. "But this demon might be a bit confused about the subject of imaginary creatures. Demons don't really tell many made up stories, so he may not understand the concept of a creature that only exists in the mind. I know didn't when I first came here."

He had a point. Saban, now an avid consumer of fiction, had needed the concept explained to him the first time he saw a fantasy novel. I considered storytelling one of the things that separated humans from animals. Apparently it also separated us from demons. The closest they typically came, according to Saban, was paranoid speculation about the worst case scenario.

I wondered if this was why demons so seldom worked together without a lord forcing them to cooperate. They couldn't look forward to what they could accomplish together. They just worried about betrayal.

Saban frowned. "Anita?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, lost in thought. Yeah, the dragon idea is good. We'd better warn everyone, though."

I asked some of the villagers to spread word about what we were going to attempt. Then the three of us discussed who was to lead the spell. I was no illusion expert, but apparently I was better than the other two wizards. I sighed. "Ok, looks like I'm leading. Saban, go. You have ten minutes to get into position."

Saban nodded, and swiftly shifted to a small, dark shape that looked a large ferret. As usual, the shift was gruesome, but Saban apparently realized that speed outweighed his vanity and didn't insist on hiding. In a flash of dark fur, Saban vanished into the grass.

I squinted at the demon who had Ian, casting a quick far seeing spell. It was on the roof, in a shape that looked like a huge, blue, and hairless ape. Ian was tucked under its arm, kicking and punching, his lips forming words that a kid of his age should not know. I snorted. Looked like there wouldn't be any lasting trauma from this. If we got him away from the demon safely, he'd be fine. I began to plan the dragon attack.

*

Saban

Moonlight. Darkness beneath the grass. Hide. Scurry. Demon close. Hide. Scurry. Tomato plant. Shadow. Demon, within my mind's reach. Hide. Wait.

I was barely conscious, my mind reduced to reactions and impressions of my surroundings. I peered at the moon between the leaves of the tomato plant.

Moon. Bright, full. Shadow drifting across. Shadow growing. Closer, closer. The smell of brimstone. The feel of power. Moon covered now. Darkness. Shadow. Dragon. Dragon!

It hovered by the house and roared. I snapped back to full consciousness. This was the signal. My mind began to reach for the demon...

A scream. It had tossed the boy aside in preparation for a fight. I leapt into the air, shifting to my human form as I rose, and caught Ian. Together, we dropped. I bent my knees on impact, reducing the force of the hit. Ian gasped, and then began to squirm. "Put me down, you mother fucking demon!"

He seemed fine, I noted. I would have let him go, but I was worried that the blue demon would grab him again. "I'm Anita's demon," I told him, patting him absently on the head. "You're safe." My mind reached out to the blue demon's mind. Unfortunately, it was running away, and, as I began to take control, it exited my range.

I growled. It was not going to get away. I darted around the house, still holding Ian. I shifted him to my back. "Hang on, kid."

With a whoop, he wrapped my legs around my waist and grabbed my hair. "Go get it!" he urged. "Run!"

I began to run, and, as I ran, I shifted. A tentacle wrapped around Ian's waist, holding him in place as I shifted to horse form. Four legs were faster than two. I galloped after the demon, into the night beyond the circle of watchers.

Ian kicked me. "Giddiup!"

I snorted. Obviously there was no lasting trauma.

I was faster than any horse. With Ian bent over my back, held by a tentacle seat belt and his hands tangled in my mane, I raced into the trees. Vaulted a ravine, still hot in pursuit. The blue demon would not try to fight, or to recapture Ian. It knew I was a demon lord. It would run, hoping to outpace me.

It was too slow. I wrapped my mind around it, taking control. It staggered to a stop. I trotted past it, and stopped a few paces ahead of it. To my surprise, Ian wriggled free of my tentacles and slid off my back, landing on the ground with a soft "Oof!" He grabbed a stick and charged the blue demon.

Amused, I watched him whack the demon on the knees. "You fucker! Cocksucker! That's what you get for messing with me!"

The blue demon looked pleadingly at me. "Lord, please let me kill the human larva," he begged.

I shook my head. "Nope. Ian, I think he's had enough."

Ian ignored me, continuing to hit the demon and cuss it out.

I was nonplussed. I was a demon lord. No demon could disobey me for long, and few dared even try. And yet, this tiny human imp was ignoring me! I had no idea how to make him obey. I doubted Anita would approve if I hurt him.

I decided to make the blue demon walk back toward the village. With any luck Ian would follow, whacking it all the way.

*

Anita

I sighed, ducking a tree branch. Of all the dumb things... Why the hell had Saban taken Ian with him! Ian's mother was likely still weeping, and his father was furious.

The blue demon trotted out from behind a tree, looking glum. Ian followed behind it, hitting it with a stick. Saban trailed them, looking amused.

Ian stopped when he saw me. "Aunt Anita! Look what I got!" He smacked the demon again. "Think mom will let me keep it?"

*

Saban

I watched, again nonplussed, as Ian stood in front of his parents, enduring a scolding and looking genuinely remorseful. So he ignores me, I mused, but listens to these two humans. Humans I could crush with the slightest effort. Why? It made no sense. I was the greater power. He should be more fearful of my wrath.

Behind me, Anita banished the blue ape demon, who seemed almost relieved to be going back to hell. It had probably been worried that I would make it Ian's pet. I could have, if I'd wanted to. It was time consuming, but not difficult, to permanently warp a demon's mind. If I made the ape demon incapable of doing harm, even in self defense, it would have made a perfectly safe, if somewhat gloomy, pet. I sniggered.

As the blue ape demon vanished, Anita turned toward me. "What's so funny?"

I explained my line of thought, and Anita laughed. "Don't tell Ian that. He'll try to make you do it. And not even that demon deserves that."

*

Anita

Saban and I went to my room at my parent's house to sleep. I'd left home at 6 to be trained, but I'd come back regularly, right up until age 12, when the training intensified and visits home grew rarer. The bedroom still looked like a twelve year old lived in it. There were posters of my favorite bardic troupes on the walls, most of them consisting of attractive young men. Old textbooks, including one stone tablet, littered the floor by the bookshelf, which was filled with cheap romance and fantasy novels. Stuffed animals filled one shelf. Trophies, given mainly for magical prowess, filled another.

Saban examined the trophies. "First place junior warmage, third in illusions..." His hands brushed the next one. "Participation? You got a trophy for participating?"

I snorted. "Yeah. It was supposed to bolster my self esteem."

Saban traced the words beneath participation. "Potion making? I didn't know you could make potions."

I chuckled. "I can't. Hence the participation trophy. If I remember right, I actually melted my cauldron. According to one of the judges, I was the first apprentice in history to manage to fail that badly. Still, I did participate." I snorted.

I lay down on the bed, but Saban was still looking at my trophies. "Three-ball? What's that?"

I yawned. "It's a sport involving three balls. I was never much good at it. Any chance of you coming to bed?"

Saban turned away from the trophy shelf, and slipped into bed beside me. His hands reached beneath the covers to stroke my-

I slapped his hand away. "My parents are right below us!" I hissed. "They'll hear!"

Saban grinned, and slid his arms underneath me. "So let's go somewhere else."

"We're on the second floor," I reminded him. "They'll hear us if we go down the stairs."

Saban smiled. "So we go out the window." He scooped me up, and shifted me to his back. "Hold on," he warned me. Then he went to the window, climbed up onto the sill, and lept.

I stifled a shriek as we flew through the air, Saban's jump carrying us farther than any human could manage. We landed in an old apple tree I'd liked to climb as a child.

Saban placed me on a sturdy branch, and kissed me deeply, his hand cupping the back of my head and his tongue probing my mouth. I whimpered as his hand reached beneath my night dress to fondle my nipples. I pulled back, ever so slightly. "Now!" I insisted in an excited whisper. "Take me now!"

Saban, grinning, hiked up my white night dress. I wore nothing beneath, and he was already naked, so that was all the preparation we needed. Saban brushed his cock against my entrance, rubbing me to get his member coated in my juices. His cock felt so good against my clit, but I needed more. I needed him to take me, fill me.

Before I could give the order, Saban's mouth was pressed against mine once more. I whimpered around his tongue, trying to pull away so I could order Saban to stop teasing me with his slowly stroking cock, but Saban's hand behind my head was strong and unyielding. I squirmed, but Saban deftly kept me from moving to take him in.

His free hand toyed with my ass. I whimpered as a finger, soaked in pussy juices, entered my back entrance. With a finger in my butt and Saban's tongue in my mouth, I was penetrated in every way except the one I wanted. And then...

I was glad for Saban's tongue now, because I screamed as he entered me. With his tongue muffling my cry, no one could hear me. Hopefully. My eyes closed as Saban worked both his cock and his finger in and out, in and out. I squealed and one finger became two.

Before Saban could work two up to three, I started my final climb. My legs trembled. My muscles tensed. I whimpered, and then screamed as the orgasm came crashing down on me. I spasmed, feeling the rough bark of the tree against my back and Saban's hard muscles pressing against my front. Oh gods, this felt so good...

That was the last coherent thought I had for some time.

*

Saban

"Aunt Anita! Aunt Anita!" I woke to a trio of excited, and rather shrill, voices. One was Ian. I assumed the other two were Anita's twin nieces, Clara and Bell. Anita had mentioned them before. They were older than Ian, but not by much.

I opened my eyes, annoyed. "Get out," I growled, eyes flaring red. The twins took a step back, but Ian bounced onto the bed and hugged me. "Mama says I gotta thank you for saving my life," he said. "And Grandma Willow says you and Aunt Anita gotta come down to breakfast."

Anita kissed me. Ian made a face. "Ewww!"

Anita laughed. "Be nice," she told me. "This is my family."

Ian and the twins had already eaten, and I didn't need to eat, so Anita asked me to keep an eye on them while she and her parents finished breakfast. Her youngest brother, Perry, who was still living at home, followed us out of the cottage, but her other two brothers and their partners were nowhere in sight. "Tom and Melody are out in the fields, planting this year's crops," Anita had explained. "Dad will join them shortly, since he's got green magic, like Tom. Jeremy, my middle brother, is watching the sheep, and his husband Bill is busy carding wool."

I sighed. How domestic. I was glad Anita spent most of her time at Rowan Castle.

Ian poked me. "Can you turn into anything?" he asked.

"Any living thing," I replied.

"Can you turn into a giant bullfrog?" asked Ian.

"I could," I sighed. I was already tired of this tiny human.

Ian giggled. "Do it!"

"No."

A chorus of pleas rose up from all three children. I sighed. "All right. No screaming."

As I shifted, one of the girls wrinkled her nose. "Eww, gross! Does it always look like that when you shift?"

I nodded and let out a huge, deep croak.

"I think it's awesome!" Ian said. "Can I ride you again?"

I shifted back. "No."

"I'll tell Aunt Anita you're not being nice," the other twin threatened. "Then you'll get in trouble."

I sighed. "Do you want to ride the giant frog, or something else?"

About half an hour later, I was a half frog, half bat nightmare of a creature, and the kids were all clinging to my back as I hopped around the yard, flapping my enormous wings. Perry was leaning against a tree, laughing uncontrollably. I growled. Anita owed me, big time, for this indignity.

Anita stepped out the front door. "Perry, Mom wants-" She stopped, eyes wide. Then she grinned. "Saban, I had no idea you were so good with children."

I glared at her, and stopped hopping around. A chorus of objections from the children, and Ian's feet kicking me, started me going again.

Perry went inside. "She wants me in the herb garden, right?" he asked, turning back at the doorway. Anita nodded, and he vanished into the house.

"I think Saban needs a break," Anita told her nieces and nephew. "And grandma said you can go down to the pond if you promise not to scare the ducks."

The three jumped off my back, cheering. I shifted back to my human form, sighing. "Thank you."

Anita laughed. "Don't thank me yet. They'll want more rides when we get to the pond."

*

An hour later, I decided I didn't mind playing with the kids that much. They were so trusting. It made me feel... Protective. The girls looked a bit like Anita, which I thought was adorable, and, best of all, watching me play seemed to make Anita very, very happy. I loved the warm, fuzzy feeling of her pleasure, and the gentle smile she wore.

I wondered if she'd had plans to have kids before I came along. She'd seemed very pleased about our son, Estries, and she obviously loved her nieces and nephew. I wondered if, someday, she might decide to have human children of her own. I couldn't help her accomplish that, and, when I thought about her having sex with a human, I had to stifle a growl. Maybe there was some alternative way for her to get what she wanted? I hoped so.

*

Anita

I'd taken Zek, my lover before Saban, home to meet my family once. Watching him play with the kids had given me the same warm feelings I had now. I wondered how Saban would feel about raising a family. Estries was a good start, but he wasn't really a child. How would Saban react to a helpless human baby? He didn't have the same nurturing instincts as a human.