"...And may The Lord bless you and keep you and welcome you into His arms to live forever. Amen."
The aging priest did his best to put on a warm smile, but it was immediately obvious to Lloyd that the man was troubled. The slight crinkle in his hooked nose made the source of his discomfort obvious β he smelled "it", too.
"I suppose I should be off now, before it arrives. May the Lord have mercy on your soul. I know this is not your choice to make, nor is this mine."
None of the man's advancing age showed as he nearly leapt up from the rough-hewn wooden chair at the side of the bed. His robes almost seemed to float away behind him in his haste. The only thing that interrupted the priest's egress was a brief stop to turn the wall-mounted crucifix away from Lloyd and towards the wall. With one final, complicated stare, the man was out the door and Lloyd was alone with his thoughts for the first time since regaining consciousness.
His hand gravitated towards the thick gauze wrapping the entire length of his torso, drawing a wince and a gasp as the light touch aggravated the wound. He had not yet seen the wound himself, as it was bandaged well before he awoke, and saw no reason to look. He would not have to suffer it much longer. Infection surely would have claimed him in a few weeks' time anyway.
As he ruminated, the offensive scent grew stronger, and with it the sound of hooves scraping across the well-trodden wood floor of the hall. Despite himself, Lloyd's heart began to race with fear and something more. He clutched subconsciously at the linen bedding, competing instincts warring for control, yet equally incapable of motivating his broken body to move. With no other option, he laid still as the footsteps came to a halt right outside the door.
A light knock on the thin wooden entrance nearly killed him on the spot.
"C-Come in."
The door opened, ushering in an almost choking aroma: sulfur. She stood in the doorway, as though waiting for his invitation. His mind, however, was far too busy for pleasantries.
She was exactly as he had expected. Nearly six feet of pale, ashen skin stood before him, mottled flesh giving way to silky black fur below the knee and eventually to a pair of split hooves. Her body was the very image of female sensuality, with hips that almost defied logic with their breadth and sway. Her modesty was preserved, though barely, by a scandalously tight bodice terminating in what could only generously be called undergarments, a wide line of skin clearly visible just above her pubis.
The cut of her top was equally obscene, exposing the full weight of her generous bust and pushing their ashen tops right in the way of his stare. Her sharp, overwhelmingly feminine face was as colorless as the rest of her body, yet the black pools of her eyes, set with vibrant blue, slitted irises were striking enough to offset the corpse-like hue of her skin. A pair of obsidian horns grew and twisted back a half inch below her brow. Long black hair flowed behind her, reaching as low as her waist, running in a loose braid between two furled, bat-like wings.
"Did no one ever teach you that it's not polite to stare?"
Her voice was as rich and seductive as the rest of her, words taking back seat to a luscious timbre that promised so much more.
"Sorry, what?"
A harsh snort of laughter was the first non-sexy thing she did, the sudden normalcy bringing Lloyd back to the present.
"Oh, sorry. Come in, have a seat, or..."
"Relax, Lloyd. I'm just playing with you. I like to give my customers a show they'll never forget, as long as they live."
"-"
"Too soon?"
It was only her supernatural charisma, unholy beauty, and the 18" long gash running across his stomach keeping Lloyd from chucking something at the wisecracking demon woman. Even with the shit-eating grin plastered across her face, it was impossible to deny her raw appeal. The idea that men once fought creatures such as her was unbelievable. All of them were probably gay.
The door shut behind her, seemingly of its own accord. She turned to the side, gently tossing a small leather bag onto a nearby desk. That said, the contents of the bag could not possibly be as interesting as the delicate curves of her profile, her pushed-up breasts and barely contained ass looking almost like shelves on her otherwise gently contoured body. A long, thin tail with a barbed tip swayed mindlessly behind her as she slowly lifted a pale butt cheek, only to let it fall back down in a jiggle.
"Your eyes say way too much. I think I'm beginning to understand how it was you got that wound."
"I must have been a pretty bad fighter for a man-sized piece of falling glass to read me that well."
"Seriously? Falling glass?"
"Stained glass, actually. Happened after the battle, even. The whole damned window fell from the steeple."
"Big man upstairs must have had it in for you. I think you'll find our ways a lot more...pleasant."