Spell, Crook and Handle Pt. 03

"You have given me your virginity," I said and she nodded eagerly.

"I have and with not an iota of regret," she purred.

"Now it is time to lose the other one," I said and caressed her ass cheeks.

"Wait, you don't mean..." she said as I pulled those lovely round globes apart.

"Yep," I said and l lowered my face and let my tongue flicker her other hole.

I was sure she would freak the fuck out and that would be that. I would shoot my load inside of her and I would be done. Fate and the dark magic had other plans though.

"Will it hurt?" She asked looking over her shoulder at me.

"Yes," I said as the tip of my tongue entered her.

"UNNNN... your tongue is opening my nasty little hole," she groaned. "That feels so weird."

My tongue worked its way inexorably towards her other core. I watched as her eyes rolled up in her head when the rippling began. Her mouth fell open and she was moaning now. I could feel her entire body begin to shake and her orgasm stunned both of us.

"I came from your tongue... in my ass... I can't believe it! What would your dick feel like then?"

"Well, what will it be," I said after retracting my tongue.

"What, are you nuts, of course I want you to violate my ass with your cock! I will come like nothing I ever dreamed of!"

I summoned the dark miracle and her eyes locked on the second erection with wonder. I pressed the tip against her entrance and asked one final time but she nodded and grits her teeth. I watched her expressions closely as I pushed. The tight sphincter opened reluctantly to the girth of my cock but it yielded, eventually. She was panting and her face covered in sweat but she smiled despite the pain. I pushed slowly and her eyes widened as I filled her up.

"God damn, my ass is so full of cock," she whimpered. "It hurts so good."

"You are a freak," I said as I knelt there letting her acclimate.

"I am your freak, just you remember that," she replied catching her breath. "Alright now fuck me properly."

I moved slowly and her expression shot passed worship in seconds flat. She was enchanted and her life trickled into me now. As I fucked her one orgasm followed the next as her life faded by the second. I was as much a victim of the dark magic as she was. The pleasure wasn't just a physical one, there was a deeper connection that only a being such as I and a mortal woman can share. My orgasm was building swiftly and I was thankful. I hammered both her holes remorselessly until I lost my battle and shot into her. The girl collapsed in front of me but she was still conscious.

"I love you," she whispered as I pulled out of her.

"No, you are in lust," I told her. "Rest up; we might just meet beyond your dream."

"I am dreaming? Wait... what is your name?"

I shook my head as I stood up and left her dream. My eyes snapped open and thanked whatever gods were out there that she was alright. The fatigue had been purged from my system and I turned on the television. I was waiting for the inevitable. I got to my feet and began to practice my spell craft. I was going to focus on stealth so when the time was right I could slip away unnoticed and leave the hunters behind. My red headed goddess had been right. The longer I was around the stronger everything became. When I first tried a spell it was like learning how to drive a stick shift. I had to break down each action until I got it right. Now I get into a car and I can drive it without thinking about it. The same is true for spellcasting.

"I hope she is okay," I said to myself as I manipulated the shadows around me.

They grew thicker, darker and more menacing. I found that certain types of magic were harder than others. I discovered those I had a knack for and focused on them. My experiments with mental magic were limited to seduction and attraction. While I could alter light, sound and matter with great ease. Of course there were abilities that I could utilize that were less ephemeral and I considered skills rather than magic. My shapeshifting was one such ability and I had raised it to an instinctual thing now. I could shift not just my body but my clothing with a thought.

That had saved me from the hunters on more than one occasion and speaking of hunters my wards just went crazy. Wards are a strange blend of magics that requires a lot of patience and imagination. They are part alarm, part lock and a just a dash of offensive. They can not only alert you to the presence of enemies but can, if said enemy gets too close, zap the shit out of them. I use it as a heads up and a chance to slip away before things get too hairy.

There were six hunters in my vicinity, not good, not good at all. I sat down on the floor, closed my eyes and extended my perceptions to the astral plane. The vibrant energy of Paris night life blazed in my vision. But that is not what I was looking for, oh no. I was seeking dark patches in the landscape. That is where the hunters would be. They would be armed with seals, sigils and anti-magic devices. The very things that protected them would alert me to their positions. The totems that dispelled magic would work on all magic. That meant that they would appear dark against the bright backdrop of natural energy.

"There you are you fucker," I said as I spotted one of them.

It took a bit but I found all six. The down side they were all around the hotel. The bright side is that they were moving on. They were methodically searching and were already passing by. I let out a sigh of relief. I kept watching until I knew they were gone. I opened my eyes and there it was on the television. The breaking news report was repeating itself.

"Christina Milano, Olympic hopeful was found in a vegetative state early this morning by her teammate. She was taken to..."

They showed an image of her and it was someone else. She looked nothing like the girl whose dream I had entered. It wasn't the girl that I had been with, thank god. The news continued and it got even worse.

"Christina is the tenth young girl to fall into an unresponsive coma-like state in the last six months."

What the holy hell was going on? I looked at the image of the ten girls and I recognized none of them. That's why the witch hunters were in France, specifically Paris. They were hunting someone or something that was feeding off of young women. The youngest victim was eighteen and the oldest twenty two. This was something else and it was preying on the young and vulnerable. This was bad and I was as shocked as the hunters. I needed to find this thing and dispatch it before I crossed paths with the Ordo Malleus.

I shook my head and did a mental checklist of how I could try and track down this beastie. If it was sentient I would find it and warn it out of the area. If it wasn't sentient I would hunt it down and kill it. I couldn't track it until I knew that the hunters were long gone. I got dressed and headed out. I kept a low profile and made my way to the hotel downtown where the athletes are staying.

There is a small crowd around the hotel along with several police cars as well as news vehicles. The smart thing to do would be to wait until the crowd thinned and the police left. But if I waited the psychic trace would be that much harder. I found a nice quiet spot that was secluded and shifted my form. I figured a nice athletic brunette would draw far less attention and get me in the front door. It was still weird taking on a female form but it was necessary. I walked up to the police line and I noticed how many of the men stared at me as I passed. A smile and sob story was enough to get me inside. I took the stairs and began my trace there. Imagine you are a bloodhound but instead of sniffing out the predator with your nose you follow a faint visual trail.

I shifted my vision to the astral plane but only partially. The effect was to mute my physical vision and allow me access to the spiritual realm. Four flights later I got my first hint of activity. The fifth floor door looked real promising. Whoever or whatever it was had passed by that door. I ditched the high heels for tennis shoes and chose casual clothes and a duster over a LBD, little black dress. I opened the door and looked around. The hallway was empty but the trail was strong. It took me a full minute to determine directionality.

I followed the predator and rounded a corner and stopped short. There were two figures, a man and a woman, and they wore the badges of the Ordo Malleus. They had their backs to me and I paused waiting to see what they were going to do. The man was obviously the subordinate as the woman directed him to continue on with the search. He left and headed away from me. I let out a sigh of relief until the woman turned to face me and I saw the insignia on her lapel. Holy fucking shit she was a full-fledged inquisitor! I kept my face calm and met her penetrating stare. I was comforted by the gauss pistol pressing reassuringly against my lower back, but still.

"Who are you," the woman asked staring me down.

There are quite a few ways to handle people. There is the submissive meek individual that will bow down under pressure and respond without hesitation. There is also the average run of the mill type that is suspicious and ignores the question to move on. I went with C, the loud mouthed Yank who gets in your face.

"Who the fuck, are you," I said in my best New York accent.

"I am the one asking questions," the woman responded her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"I am none of your fucking business, that's who the hell I am," I replied as I began walking past her.

I was shoulder to shoulder with her when she sniffed me. I looked over at her and she was smiling. I continued walking when she placed her hand on my shoulder.

"That was your last mistake bitch," I said turning to face her.

"My last mistake," she said and I could hear a hint of Italian in her speech pattern. "Be a dear and tell me my other mistakes."

"One, you opened your mouth. Two, you were all high and mighty and three..."

"Yes?" She asked as I slapped her across the face.

"You put your hands on me," I said as murder entered her eyes.

The Inquisitor began reaching for something. I followed suit and actually had my hand on the grip of my pistol when another voice intervened.

"Do you have a room on this floor?" The police officer asked.

"I don't but a friend of mine does," I responded as the Inquisitor stood completely erect and let her hands fall to her sides.

"No, but..."

"You," he said pointing at me. "Get to your friends room and you, you must leave the hotel at once."

"Thank you officer," I said in my sweetest voice as I walked past him.

I didn't hear all of what transpired but it definitely escalated. I held back my giggle as I continued tracking whatever was responsible for the athlete's attack. The trail became clearer as I neared a laundry chute. Did they still use these things? I glanced around before opening the chute. I peered down and the path was bright and strong. I sniffed the air and wrinkled my nose at the powerful scent of sulfur. Damn it that was my first strong clue that something demonic was at work. I made my way to the service elevator and changed my form to accommodate the situation. I stepped out on the ground floor in a hotel uniform and got a glimpse of the beastie.

"Aw crap it's a barghest," I said as I entered the kitchen.

These hell hounds are built for combat and are the underworld's dogs of war. They are heavily armored, pretty damn quick and carry a deadly neurotoxin in their bite as well as their claws. They have four eyes that allow them to peer into the astral as well as mundane spectrum. They are bred to kill and possessed neither compassion nor morality. They are perfect killing machines. They are typically summoned familiars of dark wizards. However, on rare occasions they can make their way to earth via conjunctions or weird magical instabilities.

They are normally deadly and almost always slay their victims. I suspected someone was controlling this beastie. They wanted to take this poor girl out of the competition for whatever reasons. The hell hound was making its way towards the underground garage attached to the hotel. I was running now as I chased it down. I hit the door to the garage and it flew open. I had lost visual on the thing but it was nearby, its stink was strong and close. I drew out my gauss pistol and loaded it with silver ammunition. Silver worked on not just lycanthropes but most demonic forces as well. I slipped into a crouch and began my hunt in earnest.

'Come out come out you fucker,' I thought as I sniffed the air.

I had shifted my vision back to the astral to better find this deadly predator. I had made it to the second curve when I heard someone else enter the garage. I recognized the voice. Damn it all to hell, it was that fucking Inquisitor and her lackey. I ditched the bright colored uniform for a dark colored hoodie, jeans and tennis shoes. I pulled up the hood and wrapped myself in shadows. The silver would work just fine if I was forced into a conflict with the witch hunters.

"A barghest, shouldn't we have back up?"

"Shut up, you are giving away our position," she snapped at him.

I watched as they approached my hiding place and I held my breath. The Inquisitor was armed with a wicked looking dagger and her companion was sporting a sawed off shotgun. They had nearly passed me when the barghest struck from the shadows. Its angle of attack placed the witch hunters between me and it. The young man went down with his throat ripped out. The hell hound gobbled up his soul as he died. The Inquisitor struck and her blade grazed the demon's armored hide. I crouched and took aim. I inhaled and waited for my shot. The beast spun and its mace-like tail knocked the Inquisitor to the ground. God help me I hesitated. A part of me wanted to kill two birds with one stone.

Faster than its bulk would hint at, the barghest spun on the Inquisitor. I was sure she was dead, but I was wrong. She had managed to get her legs between her core and snapping jaws of the beast. Her feet were lodged against its chest and she kicked hard. The beast was too heavy to do more than lift its head but that was enough. I fired a heartbeat later. The silver disc struck the upper left eye of the thing. The force was enough to toss it into the air and smash it against a red SUV. The alarm went off and the hell hound got to its feet. The Inquisitor had snatched up the shotgun and leveled it at the demon.

It growled low in its barrel chest and began stalking her. They circled each other and I took up another firing position. The barghest lowered its body and leapt at the hunter and she rolled out of the way. I fired off a three round burst, two struck along its side while the third missed. The beast rolled and struck the wall hard enough to crack the cinder block bricks. It roared and recovered in seconds. The Inquisitor took aim and as the beast leapt a second time she caught it in the face with a blast from both barrels. As she backed away she opened the gun, yanked out the spent cartridges and reloaded. The left side of the hell hound's head was a bloody ruin. While its depth perception impaired it the silver shot served only to piss it off beyond reason. Another deafening roar from it announced its next attack.

The hunter raised her weapon but the beast was nowhere to be seen. I had watched as its skin shimmered and the thing faded from view. Much the same way a chameleon or octopus changes its color to blend into its environment the hell hound shifted out of phase. I slowed my breathing and used my eyes to look for the beast. It could run away now, but it wouldn't. It was too badly injured and whoever had conjured it had lost their hold on it. I watched the hunter as well to see what she would do. She pushed her long coat away from her hip and reached into one of the pouches on her hip. She brought her hand, palm up, and blew. The silvery powder went everywhere as she slowly turned covered a hundred and twenty degree arc.

There, a shimmer of contact, she brought her weapon to bear and fired from the hip. A hit, the barghest appeared as it charged her. The Inquisitor rolled away but not quick enough. The claw raked her side and cut through her body armor like it was nonexistent. She cried out and landed hard and panting. She clutched at her side as the fell wound festered. The barghest's path took it into a nearby pillar. It huddled there as the silver coursed through its system. I could see the two of them and had the power to put them both out of their misery.

"I know you're there," the Inquisitor moaned. "I saw the wound you inflicted. Kill it! Slay the beast!"

I took careful aim and placed another round into the beast's head. It destroyed its brain and severed its connection with the physical plane. I stepped out of the shadows and confronted her. I kept my form of the young Latin lad just in case. I kept my gun trained on her but I didn't fire. Yes I was being paranoid but it had served me well in the past.

"Inquisitor," I said and delighted in her shock.

"You... you are well informed," she said looking me over.

"And you are dying," I said.

"You have a gift for the obvious," she replied as the hell hound's venom attacked her nervous system.

"Shall I call your people," I asked.

"No," she shook her head and winced in pain. "I would be dead by the time they arrived."

"A pity," I said as a crouched down and looked at her lovely features. "You are quite beautiful for a Vatican Pawn. Is it true?"

"Yes," she said her breathing becoming labored now. "I am a virgin, you perv."

"What if I could heal you," I asked and her eyes fluttered open. "It is possible but you must decide quickly."

"At... what price?"

"I don't want your soul, if that is what you are concerned about. I want your virginity. I collect them you might say."

She actually blushed as she contemplated my offer. I rose to my feet to leave when she called out. The hunter nodded and stretched out her hand to me. I smiled as I scooped her up into my arms as gently as I could. I invoked one of my hanging spells and teleported to a safe house I had outside the city limits. I laid her on the bed and placed my hand upon her wound. The energy I had gotten earlier now flowed into the witch hunter and not only stopped the demonic poison but closed her wound completely.

"Sleep, you need rest to fully recuperate," I said and her eyes closed.

I built up a fire in the hearth and watched her sleep. I was tired but I had done the right thing. She may be a bit misguided but she was a good person deep down. She couldn't help what she was any more than I could. She had been raised since birth to serve the church. Once they determined she could utilize magic her fate was sealed. I had been told there were entire bloodlines dedicated to breeding Inquisitors. It could all be bullshit but it made a sick kind of sense. Unfortunately for the church a majority of their mages were women.

The few male mages were usually promoted to bishops or even cardinals. While the best a woman could hope for was to reach the esteemed title of Inquisitor. The current Grand Inquisitor was one Rinaldo Giovani, the Archbishop of Berlin. He was envied, loved and feared by his flock. He has executed fellow Inquisitors for speaking out that a woman could and should be Grand Inquisitor. I suspect that given time a woman will knock him off his pedestal. While I feared them I also respected the witch hunters for their dedication to their god.

It was getting dark when Feng appeared and informed me she had gotten the information I required. I was amazed at her efficiency. When I asked her where she got the information she was reluctant to respond. Instead a download icon appeared in my field of vision.