The Devil’s Pact
by mypenname3000
edited by Master Ken
Copyright 2013, 2014

The Devil’s Pact Side-Story: The Alukah Part Two-The Motherhouse

Visit my blog at www.mypenname3000.com.

Notes: This takes place during Chapter 40, following Sam on her mission to Rennes-le-Château to study the Matmown in the Nun’s Motherhouse. Thanks to klimstit for inspiring me to write a vampire story.

Wednesday October 2nd, 2013 – Sam Soun

As our early morning flight on British Air took off from Heathrow Airport in London to Toulouse in Southern France, the entire plane was abuzz about the woman found badly assaulted in the restroom in the terminal. She was found around midnight local time, and since then I kept Candy and I where there were people around. Safety in the herd. I took no chances and made sure my bronze dagger – enchanted to harm spiritual beings – was easily accessible.

“They say she had bite marks on her thighs and breasts,” a passenger in the seat in front of us whispered to the woman sitting next to her. “Like something had drank her blood.”

“I heard the girl was naked and delirious when they found her,” the second passenger whispered back. “They say she was…” the passenger gave a quick look around to see if anyone was eavesdropping, “…masturbating. The poor thing was barely conscious from blood loss and still jilling herself.”

“It sounds like one of Lilith’s children, Sam,” Candy whispered to me. “One of the Akula.”

“Alukah,” I absently corrected, thumbing my earlobe. I had my carry-on bag sitting on my lap, dagger accessible. “We may be in some danger.”

The plane started taxiing to the runway and Candy’s eyes widened. “You think it’s after us.”

“Yes,” I answered, trying to sound calmer than I felt. “It must know about our mission.”

Anger flashed in Candy’s eyes. “Then why did they only send the two of us. Why not send a few of those sluts they call bodyguards to protect us. The way they dress, I’m sure the Alukah would be pestering the guard, and leave us alone.”

Why did Mark and Mary send us alone? To not attract attention, I guess. They certainly couldn’t come to France without causing a firestorm. I had grabbed a London Times while we were waiting for our connecting flight to France, and read that the UK was embroiled in a vote of no confidence against their Prime Minister for supporting Mark and lauding the President of France for condemning him.

“We will be safe,” I lied. “I know more about magic than anyone.”

“Not Lilith,” Candy pointed out. “It was foolish of them to send us without any guards. Fuck they’re idiots!”

I blinked, having never heard Candy say anything bad about Mark and Mary. It was the fear talking. I could see it in her eyes. I felt the same fear gripping my heart with a cold, slimy hand. Candy was right—they should have sent us some protection.

I worried the entire flight to Toulouse. Mary said to call their Chief of Police if we needed any help; she had put him under her control a few days ago when she flew out to France to steal the Mother Superior’s Gift. I would definitely feel better if there were some armed men around. The cops combined with an ointment that would protect against the Alukah’s mesmerizing gaze – if I figured it out right, and there wouldn’t be a way to test it until we were face-to-face with the monster – would go a long way in protecting us.

The ingredients shouldn’t be too hard to find for the ointment: St. John’s wort, a daisy, and some red berries combined with some sort of cream as the base. Then I just had to perform a simple charm and we should be protected from the most dangerous weapon the Alukah possessed. When we landed at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, I found all the ingredients in the duty free shop – thank God for the all-natural health craze and florists – and I mixed them together, using a cold cream for the base.

I spritzed some of my enchanted perfume on me as we made our way to customs. It was similar to these incense sticks I made for Willow, and would put people into a suggestive frame of mind. One whiff and the Customs Official waved us through even though neither of us had passports. After customs we called the Captain of the Toulouse Police and he sent us two cops for an escort. The sun was just rising when they pulled up in one of those ridiculously tiny, European cop cars.

“I am Michel, this is Francois,” the serious young man said climbing out of the cop car. His eyes were instantly glued to Candy’s cleavage. I couldn’t blame him; she was showing a lot of it and it was very stunning.

Francois was a dark, brooding man, handsome, with a huge grin on his face. He sauntered up to Candy, asking, “Want touch my rooster?” Michel shook his head and muttered something in French. Francois ignored him, continuing, “American ladies love big rooster!”

“What?” Candy giggled.

“My rooster! Is very big!” He held his hands over a foot apart. “My rooster feel great your cat!”

“Come again?” I asked, baffled by what Francois was saying.

“My rooster!” Francois exclaimed enthusiastically, pointing to his crotch. “Ladies love big rooster! Like Black man.”

“You mean your cock? Your penis?” I asked, finally catching his drift.

“Yeah, yeah. My big rooster! It rises every morning. Very straight and crows very much!”

“And cat is our pussies?” Candy asked.

He nodded and I saw Candy give him a considering look then a promising smile. I blinked; Candy wasn’t usually into guys. I gave Francois a second glance and decided that he was handsome enough. Maybe later Candy and I could have some fun. Just because I could make my own cock didn’t mean I stopped craving a nice, hard dick.

“You were told to do whatever we say, right?” I asked them.

“Oui, oui,” Michel nodded.

“Good, rub this ointment under your eyes,” I ordered, holding out the cold cream container.

“Why?” Francois asked, staring askance at the ointment.

“Makes your rooster big,” Candy giggled. “If it’s as big as you say, maybe my hungry cat will eat it.”

Francois’s grin was priceless. He was so eager to rub it on his eyes that I suspected he was a virgin, and his over-the-top flirting was only a mask to hide it. Michel frowned and Candy shook her cleavage at him and he sighed, sniffed the minty concoction, and rubbed it under his eyes muttering something in French. It didn’t sound complimentary. The ointment had a…distinct odor to it. That strong, medicinal smell from the cold cream combined with a sulfurous fume from the charm.

Francois flirted badly with us the entire drive. His understanding of English wasn’t that great and trying to figure out what he meant was a real chore sometimes. The countryside of France was quite beautiful, the roads were lined with ancient hedgerows – walls of green that were older than any city in America – that streaked by as green blurs as Francois drove us at breakneck speed down the country highway. Soon a hill rose up ahead, a pile of rocks looming over the French countryside; Rennes-le-Château perched atop it, like a crown on a rocky giant’s head.

The road up the hill to the town was curvy, winding back and forth like a drunken serpent. Rennes-le-Château was ancient, made of stone buildings that seemed to groan with the centuries. The streets were far too narrow for more than one car to drive down at a time, even one as small as the cop’s vehicle. Francois didn’t care, he barreled down them and forced any oncoming motorist to back out of his way. I was feeling definitely carsick after the bouncy ride across the cobblestone streets, and thrilled when we reached the Church of Mary Magdalene and the ride was over. The Motherhouse loomed behind it, and we got out, walking around the ancient church.

The Motherhouse was as old as the rest of the town. Made of stones fitted together and weathered by centuries of rain, while green creepers crawled up the sides, trying to pry the stones apart. The door was aged wood and bound in iron. It was closed, but not locked.

I cast a warding spell while the cops watched with bemused expressions. Candy was a dear and started flirting with them to keep them out of my way. The Natsar spell – which should keep the Alukah out, as well as any other children of Lilith, minor demons, homunculi, and spirits that might be after us – had to be precisely cast at all four corners of the building.

“Francois, you stay out and watch the door,” I told him. “Don’t invite anyone in.”

“Of course, mademoiselle,” he answered with a bow. “No fear. I protect you with big rooster!”

Candy laughed and patted his groin. “I bet you will.”

Our defenses set, I eagerly headed for the basement followed by Michel and Candy. The cop had his flashlight out, shining ahead, as I raced down the tight, narrow staircase. The basement – reeking of centuries of filth – was full of old cardboard boxes that were stained black with mildew. At the far end was a door made of iron and covered with what appeared to be Paleo-Hebrew characters.

Excitedly I read. They were commands forbidding elohim from entering. Elohim could mean many things, all connected to the spiritual realm. Literally translated it meant ‘gods’ and was often applied to the God of the Old Testament, but could also refer to angels, spirits of the dead, and the pagan gods worshiped by the Israelite enemies.

I touched the metal, feeling the hammer strokes that had beated the metal flat, then traced through the angular script. They must have stamped the characters. The metal was clearly iron and I bet that it was cold iron; probably even meteoric iron. The most powerful metal in dealing with the supernatural has always been iron not worked by heat, and the most readily available source of iron in the ancient world fell from the skies—meteors.

Candy and the French cop watched in curiosity. “Candy, grab the survey equipment from the car.” After the two cops picked us up, we purchased some supplies before we left Toulouse. “Then take scrapings of the walls. I will need a metallurgical analysis.”

“Sure, Sam,” Candy smiled.

I grabbed the digital camera and began to meticulously document the room. Inside there were more spells written on the walls and I felt a giddy feeling bubble up inside me. If I wasn’t their Vizier, I could make a name for myself in the archeological world for this discovery. A shame I could never share it with my peers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luka – Rennes-le-Château, France

I watched the French cop as he stood bored in front of the Motherhouse from my perch in the ancient oak tree. My target was inside there—Samnag Soun. I could smell her scent thick in the air. I had been watching all day, waiting, pondering.

My fangs itched to sink into Sam’s olive throat and drink my fill of her life, but first I had to deal with the Natsar ward and then her guards. I did not have my sister Cora’s brute strength. I could smell the ointment from here that protected all of them from my gaze, and I could be overpowered by the two cops if I wasn’t careful. As the day wore on the cop guarding the front door grew more and more bored. The sun would be setting soon, and his attention would only worsen with time.

Finally, the sun slipped beneath the horizon and the sky darkened to a deep purple-black. Thunder rumbled in the distance; a storm approached. I slipped out of the tree and boldly walked down the path to him. I shaped my hair into a form-fitting bodysuit. It hugged every lush curve of my body and I felt the French cop’s gaze fall on me and the lust burning in his eyes.

I didn’t need my gaze to deal with a horny man.

He said something in French. It was musical, poetry given sound, and utterly meaningless to me. I just smiled as sultry as possible and exaggerated the roll of my hips even more. He kept speaking in French as I stepped up in front of him just on the other side of the Natsar’s boundary and boldly looked him up and down.

“I love cops,” I purred. Thunder rumbled behind me, the wind picking up as dark storm clouds swept over the hill.

Candy Garnett

I was bored.

Sam was having fun taking her measurements and notes and all that academic shit. She was talking about the days and days it would take to her to record it all and analysis it. She was positively giddy.

I could only fidget and watch her work, trying to pay attention so I could help her out, but she seemed to be lost in her world of discovery. On top of the boredom, there was the dull fear aching my heart. An Alukah may be hunting us; sure we were safe inside the Natsar, but I couldn’t shake the unease writhing like an eel in my stomach. Anger burned in me that Mark and Mary would send us out here by ourselves. Sam was the most important person in maintaining their power and they didn’t give her half the respect she deserved. Sam should be running things, in my opinion, not kowtowing to those two idiots that were forever blundering into one disaster after another.

Sam should make her own pact with Lucifer.

I was scared to bring it up to her – it was such a seditious idea – but she could be so much more if she just had a little bit more ambition to go with her intelligence. With my help Sam would one day show the world just how smart and powerful she really is.

In the meantime, I was bored.

Michel was as bored as I was, leaning against a moldy cardboard box. He was cute, with dark eyes and hair. And incredibly shy. I’ve always preferred the ladies, but there have been times when a guy was cute enough to attract my interest. I loved the shy ones. They always let me be the aggressive one—the one in charge.

I glanced at Sam; she was lost in her work and I felt an itch growing between my thighs. Maybe Michel could help me out.

“It must be so hard to be a cop,” I cooed, sidling up to Michel. I thrust out my chest, making sure he had a nice view down my cleavage. I lightly touched his wrist and he flushed, looking uncomfortable. “All those long hours. I bet your girlfriend just hates it.”

He shifted. “No girl,” he muttered.

“Really? With those dark eyes? I thought you would have to hold the ladies at bay with a stick! I love a guy with dark, brooding eyes.” I leaned in, fluttering my eyes at him, sliding my hand up his arm and giving his bicep a squeeze. “And so strong! What woman wouldn’t love to have you?”

“I…um…” he muttered something in French. “I should be guard.”

“Francois is watching the entrance,” I told him, stroking his arm. “Besides, you can watch and talk at the same time.” This time I let my breast press against his arm.

“This isn’t…um…” he paused, searching for the right word, “…appropriate. I am working.”

“And what are we doing that is so inappropriate?” I grinned, pressing my body against his side, my hand rubbing his chest. I leaned in and whispered in his ear, “We’re just talking, Michel.”

He went rigid, and tried to jerk away. I grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“Don’t be so stiff. I’m not going to bite.” I paused, smiling coquettishly. “Much.”

Sweat beaded on his forehead and he glanced at Sam. “What about your boss? You are helping, no?”

“She won’t mind.” His chin was rough with stubble as I kissed his cheek. I moved closer and closer to his lips. He was an okay kisser, his lips dry. He froze at first, then I felt him relax, kissing me back, his hands gently resting on my hips. I broke the kiss. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he asked, panting; a foolish grin on his face.

“I thought I heard something upstairs. In one of the bedrooms. We should check it out.”

He swallowed, “Yeah.”

He followed along after me like a little puppy. I felt his cute, dark eyes on my ass as I swayed it in front of him. I glanced back at him, smiled invitingly, and twirled a strand of cotton-candy blue hair around my finger, then I dashed up the narrow stairs, giggling.

He chased me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luka

“American lady?” the French cop asked as I stood before him, his eyes filled with lust as he took in my lush body covered by a form-fitting bodysuit I made with my hair.

I nodded. “Your accent is so sexy.”

“You want see my rooster. Is very big!” He held out his hands a good two feet apart. “Most big rooster you see!”

I was utterly confused about what he was talking about until he rubbed at his crotch. I could see the hard bulge forming there. “Umm, I like big cocks,” I purred. “Why don’t we slip inside and you can show it to me. I’ll introduce it to my hungry pussy.”

He suddenly got flustered, his flirtatious bravado evaporating. He’s never had a woman respond like that, I realized. I could sense the inexperience that his outrageous confidence was trying to mask.

“Come on, big boy,” I continued to purr, running my hands down my body. “Invite me in and you can show me just how big it is.”

He threw a nervous look over his shoulder, swallowing. “I am on…eh…job.”

“So?” I asked, my hands rubbing my crotch and sending a delicious thrill through my damp pussy. “No-one will know if we fool around for a little while. You won’t be disappointed when your rooster meets my pussy.”

He swallowed, his resolve wavering.

“I love to pet and stroke roosters,” I purred. “With my hands…and with other parts of my body.”

Lust won out over duty. “Yes! Come in.”

The barrier was gone; I had my invitation, and I pounced. My lips found his, kissing him, as I pushed him back inside the door. I pressed him up against the wall, our lips hungrily tasting each other, while I rubbed his cock, feeling his cock swell beneath his pants. I kissed down to his throat, feeling his heart’s blood pumping through his veins, and bit hard.

He struggled as my fangs pierced his carotid artery and his life pumped hot into my lips. It was a vital flood, brimming with energy. I couldn’t swallow fast enough and the blood poured down my chin and neck, rolling down my body to puddle stickily on the floor. It was wonderful, rich and salty, flowing with primal energy. Never had I felt so alive, so full of power. His blood charged me, a battery filled to capacity—I never should have denied myself with the girl in the bathroom.

I let his dead weight fall to the floor and bent down and drew his handgun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Candy Garnett

Michel chased me giggling into a bedroom.

It was barely more than a closet. A cell, really, than a proper bedroom. A small bed with a hard-looking mattress and a battered dresser. The window was narrow and the cold, night air flowed in through a gap between the frame and the wall where the ancient mortar had eroded away. These poor nuns had to live like this? No wonder they had caused so many problems; I’d be cranky too.

I kissed Michel, thrusting my tongue into his lips, then pushed him down onto the bed. “Strip,” I ordered him.

He began to fumble with his buttons and froze as I pulled my top off, freeing my round breasts. I smiled and shook my tits at him. He muttered in French and started unbuttoning faster. His shirt and white undershirt came off exposing a muscular chest covered with thick, coarse black hair. I grimaced; I hated a hairy guy, but I was too horny to stop now. His pants and his striped boxers came off; he had an average-sized cock, uncircumcised, the red tip peaking out of its hood like a curious snake peaking out of its burrow.

I lifted up my skirt, exposing my shaved pussy to his gaze. “Eat me, stud!”

He knelt before me, his hands reaching around to grab my ass, and pulled me to his lips. His whiskers were rough on my thighs as he buried his mouth in my pussy. His tongue was stiff as it slid through my labia, but he knew just where to lick and I cooed in pleasure.

“You taste sweet,” Michel moaned.

“That’s why they call me Candy,” I giggled. I grabbed his hair and shoved his mouth back into my cunt. “Don’t stop licking until I explode on your face!”

I shuddered in pleasure as his lips sucked on my clit, sending lightning pleasure flashing through my body. Still holding his hair, I started grinding my pussy on his face. Outside, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, while inside my cunt rippled with passion.

The storm’s having an orgasm, I thought, just like me.

“Lick me!” I groaned as the small orgasm peeled through me. I wanted more, and his tongue was building me up to a crescendo of pleasure. “Umm, I’m gonna flood your face. You’re going to drown in my sweet syrup!”

That sweet feeling was jolting through my body as my large orgasm grew closer and closer. I was so near that wonderful peak. His tongue was probing my cunt, nose rubbing against my clit when my orgasm crashed into me like a hurricane slamming into the shore, whipping pleasure throughout my body. I moaned, my back arching, as that glorious climax surged like a storm-driven wave through me. I rode high on the rapture, staring out the tiny window, watching the lightning flashing orgasmically.

A woman’s face was in the window, fiery-red hair lit up by the lightning, something dark staining her lips.

“Holy shit!” I gasped, leaping away, my heart thundering in fear. “There!” I tried to say more, but my tongue was tied with fear and all I could do was point at the window.

“What?” Michel asked, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

“Face!” I gasped out, still rapidly pointing.

Michel stood up and opened the window, sticking his head out. There was another flash of lightning and then the rain, driven by a gusting wind, came down in a hammering sheet against the side of the building. Michel peered around. “We are on the second floor. There is no trees or ledge for person to stand.”

“There’s nothing out there?” I asked, finally gathering my thoughts as my fear receded. Had it just been my imagination? A mere manifestation of the dull fear of the Akula that had plagued me all day?

“No,” he answered, walking back to me with his hard cock pointing at me. “I think it is your turn to…” His voice trailed off and he shouted, “Merde!” then dived for his clothes.

I spun around and there was the woman I saw in the window. She was naked, the dark-red stains that covered her face and breasts were unmistakable—blood. The room filled with a coppery, nauseating scent as the woman aimed her gun at Michel. I jumped; the gun barked. Michel yelled in pain, blood blossoming on his chest as he struggled to pull his gun out of the tangle of his clothes. Like a marionette whose strings had been cut, he fell to the floor.

Before I could even react, the woman pointed the gun at me and fired. I jumped as everything went blue around me; the bronze protective amulet I wore about my neck worked, deflecting the bullet.

“That is a neat trick,” the woman purred, walking towards me.

I backed away, fear hammering in my chest. There was nowhere I could go. She blocked the only exit. The wind gusted into the room, driving wet rain into my back – stinging cold – and causing the woman’s fiery-red hair to swirl around her like flames.

The window was open.

I didn’t think—I just turned and jumped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam Soun

I was lost in my notes when I heard the loud pops.

I looked up. “What was that, Candy?” I asked. “It sounded like gunfire.”

I frowned; Candy and Michel were gone. The girl had been making calf-eyes at him all day instead of helping me. Fear nibbled at my stomach, so I reached into my bag and pulled out the bronze, enchanted knife, and walked cautiously out of the Matmown.

“Candy?” I called, straining to hear. The grip of my knife felt slippery in my sweaty hands.

No-one answered; my heart thudded in my chest.

“Francois? Michel?”

I reached the stairs, walking slowly up the stone runners pitted with age, trying to hear any noise over the howl of the storm and the crash of lightning—and the hammering of my heart. I reached the first floor and glanced at the entrance. My breath caught—there was Francois lying slumped to the floor, his throat torn out, dark blood pooling around his body.

The Alukah was here. A sudden anger flashed through me, momentarily driving out the fear. The idiot must have invited her in!

I felt something tickle the back of my neck like someone was watching me. I whirled around to see a form flying at me. I panicked, thrusting the knife blindly before me. I saw a woman’s face – eyes wild, mouth open and full of sharp teeth – a moment before she slammed into me. We fell to the floor in a tangled heap; I barely felt the stones bruise my hip. The air sizzled and the Alukah’s scream was inhuman. I pushed her off of me and my dagger was ripped out of my sweaty grip as I scrambled away. The monster rose up, naked, drenched in blood. Please, please don’t be Candy’s blood! Lodged in her shoulder, surrounded by blackening flesh, was the copper blade.

“Ohh, you will pay for that, Samnag Soun,” the Alukah hissed. “I will slowly drain every drop of blood while you beg for mercy!” She grasped the hilt and wrenched the knife free, dropping it to the ground and stalking towards me.

I was going to die. I thrust my wrist forward and unleashed the wind stored in my bracelet. It slammed into the Alukah, hurling her back like a rag-doll caught in the winds of the hurricane and slamming her heavily into a stone wall. I didn’t wait to see what happened to her, I just turned and ran down the hallway away from the monster.

Behind me I could hear vicious snarling. I reached a wooden door, slamming into it. I grasped at the old hinge and forced it open, darting through it into a kitchen. There were no other doors leading out. Shit! I looked around wildly, grabbing a thick knife from a wooden block, and ducked behind a heavy, wood table.

“I can smell you,” the Alukah purred as she burst into the kitchen. “Your coppery blood pumping in your veins, the salt of your sweat beading on your skin, the honey between your legs weeping from your cunt.” She was in the kitchen, I could see her feet as she walked by the table. “You could die screaming in pleasure. Would you like that?”

Please don’t find me! I tried to hold my breath; I needed to be quieter than a mouse as I watched the feet stalk around the kitchen. A desperate plan flashed through my mind. She was heading to the far side of the kitchen. I would have to make a run for it.

“Where are you hiding, my little mouse,” purred the Alukah. “You smell so wonderful!”

She walked past the table. I tensed, ready to spring out and make my desperate bid for escape.

The table was thrown aside and the Alukah stared down at me with hungry eyes. I lunged with the butcher knife, stabbing her right in the heart. She grabbed my arm with one hand and plucked the knife out of her breast with the other, tossing it contemptuously to the floor. It was stainless steel, not enchanted or made of cold iron, and was completely ineffective against spiritual flesh.

I was dead.

She licked my wrist and I struggled to break her grip. She sank her fangs into my flesh.

Pleasure poured into me like a drug, trembling wonderfully through my body. Why was I resisting her? She brought me this amazing feeling. I shuddered as she drank the dark blood that oozed out of my flesh. I stopped struggling. Why would I even want to fight the rapture her fangs brought me?

“Imagine how it will feel when I drink from your thigh. From the femoral artery that runs right past your sopping pussy, draining you dry of every last drop of blood.” She inhaled deeply. “Your arousal smells so intoxicating!”

She pushed me to the floor and I spread my thighs for her. I wanted her to taste me, to drink my blood. I wanted to feel that pleasure even if it killed me! My pussy ached with desire. Her tongue licked through my cunt and I arched my back. Her tongue was hot, her lips sucking at my clit. She sent her tongue probing every fold of my flower, and my orgasm exploded through me.

She shifted, straddling my hips and lowering her shaved pussy to my lips. I buried my face into her cunt, licking, sucking. She tasted wonderful, tart and tangy, her honey thick as it filled my hungry lips. Her mouth was kissing at my inner thigh—above my femoral artery.

“Beg,” she hissed. “Beg and I’ll send you to the afterlife on a river of pleasure.”

“Yes, please!” I cried out, lost to ecstasy. “I need to feel that pleasure! Drink my life!”

Her mouth opened, her teeth were sharp on my thigh. I squirmed, I couldn’t wait to feel this pleasure. I moaned as the sharp, agonizing rapture of her teeth began to penetrate my skin, slowly driving towards the artery. I groaned, squeezing my nipples. I was going to die experiencing the greatest pleasure of my life! My body burned to feel it, I didn’t care what happened to me. Nothing mattered, not even my beautiful Candy.

I saw her face floating above us; even twisted in pain and anger she was so beautiful, framed by her wet, half-blue and half-pink hair. I would miss her. A small regret filled me. I never told her how much I loved her. “Goodbye, Candy,” I whispered.

The Alukah’s scream was unearthly pain, back arching up and her teeth releasing my flesh mere centimeters from reaching my artery. She flopped off me, smoke rising from her back, as she sprawled and spasmed on the stone floor of the kitchen in pain, writhing like a spider missing a few legs. Standing above her was a limping Candy, completely drenched, her right leg twisted, broken.

“I got the bitch,” she groaned in pain, and collapsed on the floor.

The Alukah was shriveling black, like a corpse drying out in the desert, mummifying. Her body gave one last spasm, then her screams cut off into a sibilant whisper. A bronze dagger gleamed in her back – the one I stabbed the monster with and she dropped in the hallway, I realized – half the blade sunk into the foul corpse’s back.

Candy crawled to me and kissed me on the lips. Her tears were warm and salty as they fell on my face.

“You saved me, Candy,” I whispered back and kissed her again, holding her tight. I never wanted to let her go.

The end.

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