REINA THE WARLOCK - PART 8: HONORED GUEST OF THE HOUSE OF FLESH
Fierce winds were howling through the streets, ripping and tearing at the scattered remains of what had been a bustling market only a few hours ago. Only the most durable or worthless things remained outside, slowly being buried under cascades of blazing hot sand. The city was so thick with sand that you couldn't even make out the grim eye in the sky above. There was nothing but a dry, hellish mist. A few poor souls still stalked the streets, appearing and disappearing like lost phantoms in the rusty orange haze. Not all of them would make it all the way home.
Reina, however, was sunk deep in a hot bath at home, soaked in fragrant oils and exotic bubblies. It was one of the few luxuries she allowed herself, and this was the perfect day to enjoy such things. She had lit a few candles and placed them on the side of the tub, but the rest of the chamber was bathed in the eerie orange glow of the fury outside. Grim, yet oddly beautiful.
As much as she had tried to shut the sand storm out, it was precisely that which Reina contemplated as she laid in her tub. She had lived in this city for a handful of years now, and had witnessed these storms becoming more and more frequent. Angrier. More violent. Almost as if the desert itself was changing. As the stories went, the Eternal Desert had swallowed entire nations and cities, devouring them until they were little more than dried husks buried under scorching dunes. The Order of Wizards claimed that their wards, placed in a handful of cities along the border of the desert were the only thing preventing the world beyond from being devoured.
How much of this was true was difficult to say, especially as Wizards certainly had a certain love for propaganda and playing up their own importance. But she couldn't help feeling like there was something larger at play here. What she had seen among the notes during her little heist a few months ago had certainly awoken more than a fair few questions. Perhaps it would be wise to delve a little further into whatever it was that the Order of Wizards were working on? All this and more she pondered, while the flowery oils slowly soothed her into a pleasant numbness.
Finally, the warmth of the bath had worked its way deep enough for her to be unable to give more energy to Wizards and plotting. Instead, she surrendered to the pleasant heat, gently stroking herself under the water. Teasing her skin into little trembles and shivers. Sighing with contentment as she played gently with herself in the dark. Little by little the heat inside her was growing, longing for more than teasing. She was rather surprised that Beleeza hadn't made an entrance yet. Her Daemon was usually on the spot as soon as she had even the tiniest dirty thought. But now, Beleeza was oddly absent, as she had been for more than a day. Which was all the more worrying as their bond made Reina all the more susceptible to flashes of extreme desire. Raging hungers that was almost impossible to quench on her own. And now that it seemed like Beleeza would stay missing, Reina became all the more aware of the fire growing inside her. Scorching and wet, getting more and more sensitive with every passing second. As she let her fingers slide gently down between her legs, a deep moan escaped her. A part of her feared what she'd become as her bond to Beleeza grew stronger. Would there come a day when she was little more than a Daemon of lust herself? She pressed down gently with her fingers on her most sensitive place, sending a shiver-
Suddenly, a loud boom shook the chamber, and the wall erupted as a purple, smoky rift cracked open. Reina let out a loud yelp, torn out of her pleasant dreamstate as Beleeza came tearing through the dimensional wound like a whirlwind. The Daemon was looking far less human than usual, now a warped and dark figure with only the slightest resemblance to her humanlike guise. She almost seemed out of breath, though whether it was out of fear or excitement was impossible to tell. Her eyes were wild, almost as if in panic. Reina had never seen her bondmate like this, and she didn't like it at all.
"What the fuck, Beleeza!? Where-"
"No time to explain!" The Daemon rushed to the tub and pulled Reina up as if she had weighed nothing. "Do you still want to help your friend restore her bondmate?"
Reina, stark naked and dripping with scented bathwater, had to take a few second to recalibrate. Then it hit her.
"You mean Omala? You mean you've found a way!?" She had almost given up hope about the whole thing, but now it seemed like there was hope.
"Yes," Beleeza said with a firm nod. Then she grabbed Reina's face, and looked at her with utmost seriousness. "But it has to be now, and you
have
to trust me."
Reina swallowed. She did trust Beleeza, but she would have liked to know at least a little bit what was going on.
"I trust you," she finally said, not without a bit of nervousness. "Just let me get get my clothes-"
"No need. Where we're going, you won't need clothes."
Reina was just about to protest when Beleeza hoisted her up on her shoulder, carrying her bottom-up away from the lovely bath and through the rippling portal.
"Hey! What do you-"
Then, the world was ripped to shreds around them, and a roaring hurricane tossed them around like autumn leaves in a maelstrom of lights. Reina had done this enough to have an inkling of where they were going, but still she wished that she would have had some clothes on - even if the warp torrents whispered kinda nicely against her nether regions. Before long, the spiral around them tightened, picking up speed until it felt like they were going to be ripped to shreds. And then - an explosion of stars and colors, followed by utter darkness.
When Reina finally could make sense of the world again, she found herself on a soft bed. At first, she thought she had woken from a dream. Then, she saw the room around her. A dark, warped chamber, almost cathedral in character, bathed in an amber light. Massive pillars sculpted into ecstatic bodies reached into an abyss of shadows above, and all around were brilliant stained glass windows, like burning suns plucked from the cosmic sky. The floor was made from intricately placed black marble, which made up shapes that seemed to shift as her eyes moved. She was sure that this must be somewhere in the House of Flesh - but where? And where was Beleeza? There was neither cover nor sheet on the bed, and laying there completely naked was starting to make her very uneasy.
Suddenly, with another burst of dark purple smoke, Beleeza appeared again. The Daemon was not alone however. With her was three smaller creatures, a little shorter then Reina herself. They looked something like half-human, half-Daemon, with spotted pale purple skin and thin horns. They had no eyes, nor even empty sockets, but looked as if some doll-maker had simply forgot to sew them on. There were beyond male or female, slender, yet soft. Between them they carried boxes, flasks and strange objects that Reina had no idea what to make of. Suffice to say, these creatures did little to ease her nervousness.
"Beleeza - will you
please
tell me what is going on?" she pleaded, feeling like she might have agreed to something no sensible person should have.
"Very well," Beleeza nodded, before barking what seemed like a command in some dark tongue. "I'll explain while the servants get you prepared."
"
Prepared
?" Reina asked suspiciously as the three smaller creatures began to approach her. "For
what
, exactly? This is feeling a bit too...sacrificial for my taste."
"Well, that's not too far from the truth," Beleeza said with an apologetic smile.
"
WHAT
!?"
"Calm down, not that type of sacrifice. I promise, you are in absolutely no danger here."
"It certainly doesn't feel-hey!" Reina swatted at one of the small creatures who was attempting to pour the contents of a strange flask on her.
"Shhh, pet," The Daemon came up and kneeled before Reina, once again taking the Warlock's face tenderly in her hands. "Do you trust me, love?"
Reina hesitated. This felt very, very messed up. But if it actually had a chance to help Omala and her bondmate, surely it would be worth it?
"Fine," she said with exasperation. "I trust you."
"Good." Beleeza gave her a kiss, and with a quick sweep, fastened a blindfold around her head.
"Hey, what-"
"Do not worry, pet. Just let the servants do as they will, and I shall explain as best I can."
Reina felt like protesting, but suddenly felt as she was pushed down on her back, and promptly resigned herself to her fate. At least for a moment. What felt like warm oil was poured over her body, and soft but skillful hands started caressing her.
"You see," Beleeza started as gently as she could, "It is a special occasion for the House today, with even the High Lord of the House attending. And at such occasions, it is a perfect time to rise in the ranks."
