The Succubae Seduction

The mysterious benefactor, Shemhazau Encantado, is not what Lyden expects, nor is the domain of Light where he resides. Will the man be willing to give up Masamune to end Lyden's curse, or does he have his own plans in place?

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Chapter 23

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Shemhazau

Realization of my actions washes over me with the force of Sheila's orgasm, and I shudder from more than the throes of my own culmination.

"I'm so sorry," I murmur, my voice filled with anguish as I pull out of my slave. My cock makes a squelching noise, and some of my sperm drips out of her wet pussy, the globules of the pinkish stuff splattering on the cave floor. The site of my active spunk running from her crotch is driving my guilt deeper.

"Never apologize to your slave, Master. I take it you're back to normal?" Sheila asks, turning her head to face me.

"As normal as I'll ever be," I reply as my legs give way beneath me under the weight of my memories. I had almost

killed

Lisa! I was going to kill Sheila! My rump smacks the ground, and I burry my head in my hands.

"It's alright," Sheila whispers to me as she cradles my head against her soft bare breasts.

"No it's not!" I scream at her, shoving her away from me. I can't stand to feel her caring touch right now. I don't deserve it. "I can't be trusted! I-I almost killed Lisa, and

you

. . . . Oh, God, what have I done?"

"I'm fine, Master," her voice is soothing, but my nerves are too raw. "I can handle what you choose to give me."

"No, you don't understand," I tell her, not modifying my tone. "How can you? I probably just got you pregnant, but I had no choice in the matter!" Her eyes widen as I speak, her hand going to her smooth stomach. "I can choose when to procreate, and I planned on killing you anyway, so didn't care. In my twisted state, I thought it was some great joke. When you had your orgasm, however, it brought me back. Now it's too late."

"Maybe not," her voice comes out as barely above a whisper, but it still penetrates my gloom. "I've been on the pill since my late husband passed away years ago. I will be alright."

Hope blossoms in my chest at her statement, and I look at her in wonder. I'd never known she was a widow, but thinking back, I should have realized something. The nameplate that sat on her desk said

Mrs.

Sheila Lance.

"Probably not, though," a new voice breaks the moment. Looking up, I see Arethusa hovering nearby. "If you really can choose when to reproduce, then that should outweigh any human countermeasures, short of taking physical actions to stop it." Her matter-of-fact, almost chipper tone feels like a punch to my guts. "What?" she asks as I glare at her. "I followed you back to this putrid cave, and felt you go back to normal. While I have to admit that you're quite interesting when the sword controls you, it's also kind of scary. I wouldn't recommend you use that thing again."

"Thanks for the advice," I say laconically, getting back to my feet. Walking over to my clothes, I begin to get dressed. Everyone else shows up just as I pull my pants up, and I can't bear to look at them.

"Lyden?" Angela says, and I can hear her footsteps come closer to me. I turn away from her, keeping my gaze down as I pick up my shirt.

"Is he okay?" Lisa's voice asks next, and my heart wrenches at the pain and worry in the small question.

"He's beating himself up over what he almost did to you, and . . . oh no, Sheila!" Angela says.

"Would you get out of my

head

!" I demand of the succubus, still not looking up at her.

"As soon as you quit acting like a spoiled child," her tone makes me whip my head up to look at her, rage burning through me like lava through a tinderbox. Despite her words, I see a smile spread across her face, and I pause long enough to realize what she's doing.

Nodding, I stand erect, glad to have such friends at my side. "Thank you," I tell her, and then repeat myself to everyone else. "Thank you." I turn to Lisa then, guilt once again nearly overcoming me, but she speaks before I get the opportunity.

"It was the sword. I know you would never choose to hurt me on your own. That's one of the reasons I. . . . Anyway, let's just concentrate on breaking your curse." The way she talks so confidently, I know she's forgiven me, but I can't help but wonder what she'd been about to say, and at the same time, feel my chest warm at her confidence in me.

Captain Jewkes steps forward, his odd shades perched on his forehead and his piercing eyes sharp above his hooked nose as he looks at me. "They explained the situation as we followed after the little fairy. I'm not very knowledgeable about this magic stuff, but is it something you can hand off? You know, like they did in the "Lord of the Rings" movie?"

"No," I reply sadly, shaking my head. "I'm afraid it might curse one of you as well. As hard as this is, I can't condone letting someone else carry this thing." As I speak, I bend over and pick up the evil blade, buckling it back around my hip. Its voice immediately fills my mind, demanding I kill everyone around me. Closing my eyes, I slowly but methodically force the sound away, until it's nothing more than an annoying buzz. "We're getting close to possible relief. As long as I don't draw it out again, I should be fine."

He looks doubtfully at me, one eyebrow raised, but I don't care. I

will

not

burden someone else with Muramasa.

I realize that Sheila is still naked and oddly unconcerned with her state in front of so many people. I have to fight back another wave of jealousy at Thomas openly admiring her, and I move over to help her get dressed. Her shirt is in hopeless tatters, so I offer her mine. It leaves me topless, but it's warm enough outside that I really don't need it. I don't feel like I deserve the smile she bestows upon me, nor the chaste peck she gives my cheek.

I see Areth making gagging faces as she examines the remains of the Orcs, and only then become aware of the awful smell of decay. Without warning I begin to feel claustrophobic and nauseous, forcing me to rush from the cave, to catch a whiff of the clean air outside.

"Any chance we can avoid the border this time?" I ask the large Amazonian woman as she comes up to me.

Her cheeks turn red as she nods, and we head north once again, this time far enough from the border between Earth and Fire to make us all feel more comfortable.

Areth lands on my right shoulder, and for a wonder only whispers in my ear. "I can make sure she doesn't get pregnant," she states, and for a moment I'm so shocked at the notion, that I freeze where I'm at.

"You can?" I blurt out, and everyone stops to look at me.

"Dummy," the pixie chides me, "if I'd wanted to make that public knowledge, I wouldn't have whispered."

I look over at my onetime boss, and catch her with her hand on her stomach. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what she's thinking about. Everyone else is looking at me, but I ignore them.

"It's up to her," I mutter and Areth takes off, flying over to my slave. I'm not sure how exactly I feel about the situation. If my power is stronger than her pills, then I got her pregnant, and will take responsibility for it. On the other hand, of all the women I'm currently with, Sheila is the last one I'd have expected to have a child with first.

She'll use the child against you,

Muramasa whispers to me, and I forcefully shove him out of my head. It's

his

fault I'm in this situation!

"Master, may I talk with you?" It takes me a moment to work enough moisture into my suddenly dry mouth to reply to Sheila.

"I'm not going to decide for you," I tell her, trying to preempt her asking me.

"Yes, Master," she states, brushing a lock of black hair over her ear and looking into the distance. We are well within Earth's borders this time, but I know that doesn't mean we're completely out of danger. "I will decide, but . . . but I want to know how you feel about it."

I have to unclench my jaw and fists, realizing that she can't read my thoughts like Angela can. We walk in silence for a bit, before I finally give my answer.

"I want you to be happy." I look over at her, and for a brief moment our eyes meet, before she bows her head again. "You may be my willing slave, Sheila, but you mean more to me than just that. You've saved me from myself twice now. I can never truly repay you for that, nor tell you how much that means to me. As long as you're happy, I'll go along with your decision."

Picking up my pace, I walk away from her. I hear her ask, "Twice?" before I'm out of earshot. Areth stays with her.

AnnaBelle is the next one to approach me, and once again I have to reign in my emotions. I know she means well, but I'm not in any mood to deal with a lecture right now.

"That has to be one of the bravest things I've ever seen." The words spoken so evenly, catch me off guard.

"Huh?" I ask. Yes, eloquence is my forte today.

"I may be old, but my hearing is still plenty sharp," she states, and I feel my cheeks turn red. "I admit I never thought much of you, and seeing all these other women fawning over you hasn't helped." I open my mouth to deliver a scathing retort, but she only pauses long enough to draw in a breath. "But I've seen you in action, and I've seen how you treat them. Actions speak louder than words, they say. Other than with the influence of that evil thing, that is. I've seen how you try hard to protect them, yet you don't try to control them. You see them as people, not objects, and for someone with your powers, that's really saying something." My teeth click as I shut my mouth in stunned silence. "I just wanted you to know I respect you." Without another word, she walks away.

Now what am I supposed to make of

that

?

The border between Earth and Light is just as noticeable as the one between Earth and Fire. The main difference being that Light's landscape seems washed out with faded colors. Earth's rich verdant green landscape becomes light green, the flowers looking faded and washed out. The whole place seems too bright.

"We will part ways here," Angela says to the group at large. Becky steps forward to argue, but Angela cuts her off before she can. "We've already been through this. If we all go together, Shemhazau will flee. I'm already worried that he'll take off with just the three of us approaching. If we want to have any chance of saving Lyden, then it has to be only those that must go."

Thomas and Jewkes nod, seeing the logic in her statement, but Brooke, Lisa, and Becky frown, still not liking it. In the end they have no choice, but end up trying to claim that we could at least just go a bit further, until I lose my patience.

"Enough! The longer you sit here and debate about things, the longer it'll be before I can be rid of this fucking curse. Angela, Areth, come on. If anyone follows. . . . Well, no one had better follow." I storm off, letting my dark words hang in the air. Truth is, I'm afraid of what I might do if they don't listen.

Areth's weight settles on my shoulder again, and I feel Angela's comforting presence behind me. I don't dare look back and make sure my orders are followed.

Despite this being the Pillar of Light's demesne, the atmosphere here is anything but light. With everything so bright, it actually feels somewhat oppressive. At least the ground is solid. I'd been half afraid that this area would be light particles, and

nothing

else.

We continue in silence for a while, and I notice that even Areth is remaining silent while she rides upon my shoulder. Unfortunately this leaves me with my thoughts as company, and I can feel my shame increasing from my actions today.

Something seems off, however, as if something is missing. It's almost too quiet, with the sounds of our footfalls the only audio to fill the air. No birds or bees flutter around, and at first I put the uneasy feeling to having the group suddenly shrink so quickly. But after a couple hours go by, and the feeling doesn't lessen any, I start thinking it over some more. Arethusa and Angela are still with me, and Muramasa swings easily at my hip. The women look as uneasy as I feel.

Muramasa! His voice has been completely silent since we entered this realm. I've grown so accustomed to his constant nattering, that when it vanished, I became uneasy. For the first time in quite a while, a real smile splits my lips, despite my inner turmoil. I even begin to whistle, until Areth tugs on my ear and Angela gives me a worried look and shakes her head.

Just that quickly my almost decent mood vanishes, and I find myself looking at every rock, wondering if its shadow is disproportionate, or if that flower is moving because of the slight breeze or by something else.

It's with mixed trepidation and relief that I spot a small, old-looking cabin and Angela steers us towards it.

"You know how this place makes you feel?" She asks us in a barely audible whisper, and I nod my head. "Shemhazau Encantado has been living here for centuries. Keep that in mind."

A couple things seem to click into place in my mind. We'd been told that Masamune makes its owner so relaxed and un-confrontational that they usually just lie down and die. How better to combat that, than living in a place that makes you paranoid?

Why had Muramasa gone silent though? Is it some new ploy to get me to succumb to its evil desires?

Angela gives a series of knocks on the door that I realize must be some sort of code. There is a shuffling noise on the other side of the door and instinctively my hand goes to the hilt of Muramasa.

"No!" Angela hisses at me, at the same time pulling my hand away from the cursed blade.

The door opens a moment later, but I can't see anyone through the crack. He's turned off the lights inside.

"Angela?" The voice is a choked whisper. "Lyden," my name follows a second later, and I can't tell whether he's happy or scared out of his wits to see me. "And the fairy, Arethusa. . . . Ah, good, you have the sword."

His words hit me like a rolling boulder, bowling over me and filling me with shock. Why is he

happy

about me having the cursed blade? How does he

know

?

"You already know, then?" Angela asks, her voice barely louder than Shemhazau's.

"Come in, come in," he says, opening the door wider. "This isn't a conversation to be had out here."

I step through first, and despite Angela's words, I have my hand firmly wrapped around Muramasa. If this is a trap, I'll be the first to trip it. Oddly, I feel bothered with the weapon's missing voice. I hadn't realized how much I'd gotten used to it, until it was gone.

No traps spring as I step through and my eyes adjust to the dim interior and step into a cluttered living area. Books adorn every wall, stacked upon each other. Maps litter a wooden table in one corner, and a soft yellow light hangs down from the ceiling. Compared to outside, it's dark in here. Despite the clutter, I notice that the place is immaculately clean. Books are stacked precisely, the maps laid out evenly, and I can't see anything resembling dirt or debris in here. What I had assumed as there being no light, is in truth a light that is much dimmer than outside.

"Cozy place," Areth says in her usually blunt way. "A little small and cramped, but at least you're not a slob like

some

men and actually know how to clean." She gives me a pointed look, but I have no idea what she's talking about.

"Thank you, gracious water fairy," the man says, bowing to the golden woman on my shoulder. "Please be seated," he says next, and there are chairs in the room I somehow missed seeing before. The man's eyes are shadowed, his long stringy gray hair hanging down onto his shoulders, and his shoulders are stooped. Despite his obvious age, he moves with ease and alacrity. "We have another guest coming, but for now, there are a few things I think we need to discuss."

"Then you know why we're here," I state, not really asking.

"Of course," he says, a bit of mirth in his firm voice. "You're here to kill me and take my sword." Shock strikes me to the core at his words, and I open my mouth to protest, but his chuckle cuts me short. "Forgive an old man his ill humor, Lyden. You can't see things as I do, and there is a long path between here and there. You're here to break the curse, but I'm afraid it can't be done."

Depression replaces shock at his words. I'd been told that the curse couldn't be lifted, but I'd still hoped, and hearing it from the person we thought could help. . . .

"Listen, son," Shemhazau's voice softens and I can hear genuine concern in it, "I said it couldn't be broken, not that it couldn't be defeated. How do you suppose I survived so long with Masamune?"

"If I have to choose between living in this place, or slowly going mad out there, I'll choose to die first," I tell him seriously, not liking the old man calling me 'son'.

"Then it's a good thing you won't have to choose either one," he tells me cheerily. "All you need to do is right an old wrong, steal a powerful talisman, and kill your old man."

I'm beginning to wonder how crazy this guy is. "I don't want to kill

anyone

!" I protest. "My father is long dead, anyway, and I don't know how good a thief I make."

"Ahh, the foibles of youth." I'm really getting sick of his happy grin. "What if I told you that you could take out the man that got your parents, and get the talisman at the same time?"

Suspicion at his words worms its way in. Everything sounds too convenient. "What do you mean?" I ask, wondering what his angle is.

"I don't understand," Angela says at the same time. "What does any of that have to do with beating the curse?"

"I believe our other guest has arrived," the man says, still grinning that infuriating smile. The old man gets to his feet, and moves to the door, opening it only a crack, before looking out. I can't help but wonder at the juxtaposition of his knowledge of external events, and his paranoia. When he's done verifying the person at the door, he opens it wider, and waves the person in.

Curly red hair is the first thing I notice, but I recognize the person immediately.

"Brooke?" I ask, confusion making my world reel. Then, with dawning horror, I begin to understand. "No, I will

NOT

kill her!" Shemhazau had said that I would have a chance to take out my parent's killer, but I've already forgiven the mermaid assassin her part in it.

"Lyden?" her soft voice fills the air, as she peers around the dim room. "I don't understand what's happening. A flying dolphin came up to us shortly after you left, and told me that I needed to come with it."

"Relax, son," the man says as he glides back to his chair. "She is not the one I meant, though she carries her own guilt for her actions. She will need to accompany you. I'm afraid your other two companions here will have to remain behind."

"That's not possible," Angela nearly shouts as she jumps to her feet. Shemhazau looks at her, cringing away slightly, and I see one of his gray eyebrows arch. "I mean, they are tied together. Arethusa will die if they're separated."

"I hate that name," the fairy mutters in my ear.

"Oh?" the enigmatic man says, looking to the little fairy still on my shoulder. "Is that so little one, or is there something you're hiding."

"I-I don't know what you mean," the pixie stammers. I feel her little hands grip my hair while she pulls herself closer to me, protectively. It takes me a second to realize he's responding to Angela's statement, and not the fact that she dislikes her full name.

"Leave her alone," I state, my voice firm and full of command. No one treats one of my friends like that.