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Authors: Marc Cabot

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BOOK: Hell To Pay
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Eventually he couldn’t bear it and he started to spasm. Lily slowly pulled her tongue out and lifted her head with gleaming eyes. He could barely keep his eyes open but still managed a sense of wonder as she deliberately let it swing, like an
anime
tentacle, while fixing her own eyes on his with that devil’s grin.

“You like?” she said. It didn’t even occur to him that she shouldn’t be able to speak clearly, much less that she could do it anyway because she was a demoness.

He just whispered, “Oh,
yes
...”

Then it was normal again, pink and perfect like everything about her. “It’s so nice to be appreciated. Hold still, there’s a good boy.” Then she slowly began to lap at him, with every lick bringing her tongue slowly into her mouth, letting a flash of delight roll across her face, and swallowing daintily. It took several minutes to clean up the mess she’d made and Simon thought afterward they might have been the most pleasurable moments of his life.

For once, though, her ministrations could not bring him back to hardness. It had been that good. She lifted up and pouted, one hand toying with his limp cock. “Don’t you love me anymore, master?”

Simon had got some of his breath back. “More than ever. But one of us is still only human. Sorry.”

Lily gave him a look that would have been terrifyingly evil had it not been on such a flawless face. “I can fix that. Just this once?
Please?
” She begged with her eyes and even a man who knew what she was could have refused her nothing.


Just
enough to do it
one time
, and not again without my say-so.” She beamed and her eyes lit up.
Literally
. A red glow washed over Simon and he felt like he’d had a cup of coffee and a shower. His dick immediately began to harden again.

He opened his mouth to speak and she put one finger to it. “Shhhh. I’ll go slower this time.”

She did.

 

#

 

When Simon could take no more, they got up, dressed, and walked down to the street to a little caf
é for a late breakfast. Simon ordered Lily a pastry covered in whipped cream. He enjoyed watching her eat, as he enjoyed watching her do everything, need it or not. After a cup of coffee, they returned to the apartment, and Simon sat down in a chair in the living room.

“Just stand there and let me look at you, Lily. I never get tired of it.”

She smiled and posed coyly in the nearly transparent sundress she had summoned to go to breakfast. “I’ll miss that. I love to be admired. But are you just going to sit there all day? There’s not much time left, you know.”
He took a long, deep breath and let it out through pursed lips, his eyes drinking her in. Then he spoke, his voice suddenly calm, almost flat.

“No point putting it off, then,” He got up and walked over to where she stood. He took her in his arms and kissed her, but to her surprise he did nothing else but hold her close. After a long moment he let her go and looked at her with utter seriousness. “I would like to balance my bargain. Right here, right now.”

For once, Lily looked not confused but downright
surprised
. “You want to go to Hell
now?
But there’s
hours
left! We could... well, you know all the things we could do. You’re
really
good at them, for a mortal. I’ll give you something to take with you, Simon. One last memory. That’s all you get to bring.” She gave him her best lustful smile and he felt a wave of heat flow over him.

Then he shook his head. “I already have all the memories a man could ask for, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then are we going out to find a substitute?” She frowned. “I have to say, I really didn’t see that coming.”

“No. On your knees, Lily.”

She reflexively dropped and reached for his fly. “Oh, good. One more...”


No.
” His voice was abruptly filled with the timbre of magic.

Her hands fell to her sides and she looked up at him. To her more than human senses he was
glowing
with power. She had never seen the like. Her mouth opened in shock. “Then
what
...”

 

“I owe you my soul, or one that is mine to command, to be yours forever. That was the bargain, that was the price.”

 

He looked down at her and his eyes were blazing stars. Her perfect face was confused and almost...
almost
... sad. “I’ll never trade it, Simon, I’ll
never
...”

 

“Silence!”

 

Her mouth snapped shut and she looked at him. He had traded his soul for her, and still he kissed her, even as he prepared to give it. All the year together flashed through her spirit, the blink of an eye to one of her kind, and she realized that not once, not
one time
, had he ever complained or blamed or so much as spoken harshly to her. Even his command to be silent had only been firm, not vicious. Long after his first lust had long since been sated, he had kept her close, He had been
kind
to her despite knowing what she was and what she would do to him. He could have had any woman he wanted - and she would have helped - but what he mostly wanted was
her
.

 

“PRESCIUM ANIMUS! Let the price now be paid!”

 

Lily had been made to corrupt men. She was very, very good at it. But she was more than just evil given form: to be truly effective, to be truly
seductive,
she
had
to be more. And that spirit, that piece of her that made her Lily and not just an extension of the Adversary’s will,
did
know regret at last. Unlike every other vicious, evil, calculating, perverted and arrogant bastard who’d ever summoned her, Simon had shown her something different. He had
wanted
something different. Something
more
.

And now despite all his power, the bargain would be kept. He would be hers... and she would lose him forever. For the first time in all the awful years a single tear fell unbidden from one emerald eye. Like everything about her it was an illusion. Unlike every other one she’d ever shed, it was
not
a deception. In despair, she waited for the end.
Oh, Simon... I can’t even tell you... Please, NO!

 

As her silent plea winged she knew not where his voice crashed like thunder.

 

“I do not choose to give my soul, Lily. I choose another. I choose... yours!”

 

Something inside her...
wrenched.
She rocked back on her heels, mouth wide open, eyes staring into his and far, far beyond. For one fleeting second she heard a scream of
rage
. The sound was filled with madness, with horror even a demon could hardly bear... and then it was gone. At the same time, something warm touched her forehead. She couldn’t see it, couldn’t tell what it was... but there was a feeling. A feeling she had a name for, but had never understood. And just a single word.

 

Welcome.

 

Then it was gone as well.

Simon sucked in a deep breath as the power faded. He hadn’t known...
couldn’t
have known... if trying to seal the bargain that way would work, but he had put every bit of his supernatural will into trying to force the cosmos to
accept
it. Every day for a year he had spent at least a few minutes meditating on it, forming and storing the energies that would push reality in the direction he so badly needed it to go when they were released at last. And he had waited until the very last moment to shock and overwhelm her, to keep her from suspecting and possibly resisting due to her very nature. Now it was his turn to wait as her mouth moved silently and her eyes slowly came back to the here and now.

“Simon, I... I feel so strange... what have you
done?

“I cheated. I do that.” He reached down and put his hand on her cheek and she started so hard she almost fell over.

“What have you
done?
I never... it never... I can feel you. I could always feel you but now I can
feel
you!” Her eyes were huge and her chest was heaving. He knelt down before her so their eyes were level and laughed.

“I gave you
your
soul. Demons may not have a physical body, but they do have a soul, or at least a spirit.
Animus.
They
are
animus. And until the year was done, you were mine to command. So it was mine to give, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, but... what have you
done?
I feel so strange...
weak
. But everything feels so
real.
So...
solid
.” The confusion in her face was absolutely complete.

He put his other hand on the other side of her face and held her eyes with his. “There are three kinds of beings who own their own souls. God, the Adversary... and humans.”

She took in a deep breath. For the first time ever, she
needed
to. “You mean I’m... one of
you?

“Well, I was reasonably confident you wouldn’t turn into God, and the Adversary job is taken.” Despite herself she laughed. Then she choked a little bit as she learned that laughing and breathing had to be synchronized.

As she sputtered, he said, “I waited until the year was almost up just in case, but I was pretty sure it would work. You had to keep your bargain, and this was the only way. It would have caused a paradox, otherwise. And when you said you almost felt sorry for what was going to happen, then I was positive. Me and my shining example had already tempted you away from the Adversary’s team. You just needed a little help to finish the separation.”

Her eyes widened. “I
am
free. I can feel it. I can
feel
it! I can do what I want! I can let you
go!
” Then the tear was back, and this time it brought friends. “Oh, Simon. I don’t want to take you to Hell... but I don’t want to let you go.” Her hands came up and gripped his. “I don’t ever want to let you go. Please forgive me.” Though only flesh and blood now, her hands were amazingly strong.

Now it was his turn to laugh. “Silly Lily. What have you done to forgive?”

“I don’t want to let you go! I still want you to belong to me!” Her voice was rising. “I want to keep you forever and ever, just like before!”

He squeezed her hands. “The good news is, now that Hell is out of the picture, I think that’s a
great
idea.” Then he kissed her. For a second she froze in shock, then her body, still as close to perfect as human imagination could manage, melted against his. The warmth of her skin was different now that it was real. The
taste
of her was different. Her heart was beating so hard he could feel it. His arms slipped around her and pulled her close. After a moment, she started to sway and he lifted his head and held her steady.

“Oh,
Simon
. Is
this
what it’s like for you?” Her voice was shaky and her eyes were closed. “I mean, I enjoyed it before, it’s how we’re made, but this... oh, God...” With a gasp her eyes flew open again.


I said it!
I said His
name
! He’ll...” She looked around in terror. Despite himself Simon laughed again.

“He’ll what? Strike you down? Humans are allowed, dear, and He seems to approve of this little experiment. The one thing I wasn’t sure of was if
God
would be willing to allow you to become... free. But if He was okay with it, I didn’t think the other side would get a vote. And I figured that there’s nothing He’d like better than to give a little piece of the Adversary’s work the chance to find its way home.”

She gasped again. “You mean...
I
could go...”

“Why not? I’m not sure if your previous record even counts against you, since you didn’t have any say in the matter. But starting now you get to make your own mistakes. And with a little luck, start earning some credits.”

He kissed her and she groaned helplessly. Before she could start to sway he went on. “Now, taking His name in
vain
is against the rules, but frankly, I don’t think using it in that situation counts. I think of it more as a prayer. Or at least an offer of thanks.”

“And now I understand what thankful means. And gratitude. And...
love
.” Tears were pouring from her eyes and she sniffled some very Earthly snot, which made her cough. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

“Well, you’re human now, but you happen to know a very powerful magician. So long as we don’t go trading in souls, we can cheat a bit on the duration front as well.” He smiled at her with affection. “Who knows? Maybe magic will work for you, too. You’ve certainly got lots of experience.”

Tears and laughter mixed are hard enough to deal with when you’ve lived a lifetime in a mortal body. Lily almost choked on them, but Simon pounded her on the back and just kept saying, “Breathe!” until she had it under control again.

When she had gotten her breathing sorted out, he continued. “Obviously using your powers for our little games is no longer an option. But it will probably take a while for you to get bored, what with being a real little girl and all...” His hand slipped down and cupped one perfect buttock, then squeezed. She gasped and melted into him again. “Thought so. And if we do, so long as we don’t do anything actively bad, I still refuse to believe that happiness and pleasure are all that offensive to God. It’s a risk I’m willing to take, anyway.”

She looked into his face with joy, the first joy she had ever known. She thought her brand-new heart might explode in her chest. “I’ll risk it. I’ll risk anything, with you.” An odd expression came over her face.

“What is it, Lily? Are you all right?”

She looked at him with puzzlement. “I thought I wanted to try out my new body with you, but something feels... odd.” She pulled back from him just a bit and put her hand on her stomach. “It’s here. It feels... hollow. Like I could knock and it would echo.”

He laughed again. “Bad news, Lily.”

Another new sensation flared in her... worry. “What? What is it?”

“Your body is just as flawless as it was when it was an illusion...” She smiled but still looked confused as he paused. “...but now it’s heir to all our troubles.
By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread
.”

BOOK: Hell To Pay
5.63Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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