Demonthorn Chapter 17
Gortelesque groaned in his sleep. He had not slept well since the intrusion Below. Jolie felt sorry for him. He had the weight of an entire world to set free on his shoulders and he had nobody to help him that was worth a damn except her.
She was sitting up in bed, looking over the plans the Warmaster had drawn up for the final confrontation between the forces of good and evil. They were shit. They provided no contingencies and were basically a mass attack until either the demons were all dead or the Valkyries were.
The worst part was that they planned on attacking at Ravencrag, their biggest stronghold. Even if they managed to defeat the Valkyries there, they would not have the strength to withstand the Paladins. Even though the latest raids had been calculated to reduce their power, they still had an army of religious fanatical knights.
Jolie rubbed the bridge of her nose and the scars on her body glowed more brightly.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Jolie started and was reaching for her sword even before she realized it was Gortelesque speaking. She punched him in the shoulder.
"Ow." He said with a frown.
"Don't scare me like that. I almost put a sword in your chest." She said.
"You would try." The demon said.
Jolie frowned. The demon was confident and he was surely right to be. However, if he just relied on himself to rise to power, he could not get there. He needed her and it irked her that he could not show it, even in private.
"The plans are total crap aren't they?" Gortelesque asked.
"Yeah, predictable and wasteful. I cannot believe that the Warmaster got to be where he is based on his skills." Jolie said, noting that he had changed the subject.
"He got there by murdering all of his rivals, not for strategic talent." Gortelesque grunted. "What would you do?"
"Start a fire, raze the forest outside Ravencrag." Jolie said.
"That it?" Asked the demon, disappointed.
"No." Jolie said indignantly. "Before that we send raiding parties out to raze all of the settlements around Ravencrag simultaneously. We burn all the buildings and cut loose all the livestock. If we time it right, they will have a flood of refugees to care for."
"Insidious." Gortelesque said with a smile. "They will be too busy caring and sorting for the refugees to know what will hit them. More bodies and more chaos!"
The demon laughed. Jolie narrowed her eyes.
"You laughing at me?" She challenged.
"Hardly my purple opossum." He said. "Just tickles me that you have such a clearly better plan than the Warmaster. Now I guess I do have everything I need."
"For what?" Grumbled Jolie.
"To challenge him of course."
"What?" Asked Jolie. "You want his job?"
"Not at all, but I want us to succeed. We can only be together in a world where the Master reigns. The Warmaster cannot be allowed to be so incompetent. As I am the only one with a brilliant strategist, it makes sense for me to lead." The demon said smugly.
"And who says I am a brilliant strategist?" Jolie teased.
"Well, you just made up a better plan than the Warmaster and his entire council. Demons are not so big on strategy, so to us, you are a genius." The demon said.
"Well, what do we do next?" Jolie asked.
"We write up the entire plan and bring it up at the council meeting in the morning. Once it is clear we are the better choice, we will have the support for the council and I can challenge the Warmaster to single combat." Gortelesque said.
"And if you die?" Jolie asked, alarmed.
"Then they will still use your plan and I won't care anymore." The demon said simply.
"I would you ass-goat." Jolie said as she punched the demon again in the arm.
"Ow!" He exclaimed. "Of course you would, but I won't lose."
"He didn't get where he was by being nice, Gortelesque. You said yourself he killed all of his rivals." Jolie said through gritted teeth.
"Of course he did, but not in single combat. He killed them with stealth, poison and traps. He is weak. I will prove that." He said smugly.
Jolie leaned over and rested her head on his chest, he hands gripped at him fiercely.
"I just found myself. I just found you! I cannot lose you so soon." She said bitterly.
"You won't." He said softly and moved his head to nuzzle her ear. "You have a little me inside."
She giggled.
"How could you know?" She asked.
"I hear the heartbeat." He said simply.
"You aren't joking?" She asked, shocked. "How can you possibly hear that?"
"Your heart is slow and steady, I hear the fluttering of a new heart, like a small bird form inside of you." He said. "So if I go you will have our child."
Jolie was quiet for a while, processing this new information. Her child was an abstract to her, while her demon was right there, flesh and blood. She would not risk him. She could not risk him.
"We must be sure to have you win." Jolie said with finality.
"I intend to." Gortelesque grunted. "I just wanted to prepare you for the fact that it is very real that I could lose."
"Then let's get to work writing up that plan." Jolie said with determination.
They spent the next few hours completely revamping Jolie's broad outline of a plan. When they were done they had thirty or so pages that detailed troop movements and contingency plans. When they were done they had a flexible plan that used the demons numerical advantage to attack and fade, straining the Valkyries to the breaking point and then pulling them out into an open battlefield that they couldn't win.
Gortelesque leaned back in his seat and cracked almost every joint in his body when they were done. Jolie marveled at the way his body was put together. She had never really seen a man in that way before. She mused that she wasn't seeing a man even now, but it was just semantics.
"You ready?" Asked Jolie.
"As ready as I will ever be." The demon murmured.
He checked his clockwork chronometer he kept. It was very hard to tell time in perpetual darkness without one.
"We have a few hours until I have to go to the meeting." He said.
"Will I get to come?" Jolie asked.
"Of course. You are my second and need to explain the things that I do not understand. They will poke holes and I need your head there to fix them." Gortelesque said.
Jolie got up and moved over to her demon. She straddled him, facing his piercing eyes. He reached down and found him hard underneath her. He grinned.
"No better way to prepare for a battle." He said.
She guided him inside of her and she moaned as he filled her completely. He always did that, made her feel whole and full. She rode him, forcing him in and out of her in a rhythm that she decided. Her hands explored his chest as his explored her breasts. She bit her lower lip in the way that she knew he loved.
"Take it all gorgeous." He murmured. "Give me it all."
She grinned and increased her pace, moving it in and out of her. She could feel his desire readying to explode at the same time she realized that she was about to cum as well. The simultaneous orgasm was eruptive as Jolie moaned so loud that her scars glowed so dark purple that it was almost black. Jolie pulled his head to her breast and kissed the top of his head.
"I hope the baby doesn't know what you just shot up in there." She giggled.
"Eh, it's sexual education will begin early anyway, why not in the womb." He replied.
They both laughed together, until he finally grew soft enough for her to climb off of him. They both climbed into bed and slept the sleep of those who had just consummated their love. When Hirk came in to wake them, they were alert and rested, despite the long night.
"Are you ready my lord?" The demon runner asked.
"How did you know we would be going to the council meeting?" Jolie asked suspiciously.
"It was known." The little demon replied. "My lord made the preparations yesterday."
Jolie rounded on Gortelesque and bared her teeth.
"You bastard! How could you plan to go in there without my new plans?" She shrieked.
"I had faith in you." The demon said simply as he walked past her to the table and grabbed their plans.
Jolie was speechless. She could not believe that the demon who valued independance above all else had used her so callously. Then she realized that he had to have complete faith in her for his plan to work. She was still upset, but the realization helped.
"You coming?" The demon asked.
Jolie pushed past him into the hallway and lead to the council chamber, the two demons followed behind her. She stomped her feet a little as she walked. It was all too much. But she pressed her hand to her belly as she walked, hoping to feel a sign of the new life inside of her, but she could not. All she felt was the weight of her lover's life in her hands as she would go forth to challenge the most powerful demon Below.
Before she knew it, they were at the door to the council chamber. The two demons came up to either side of her.
"Are you ready?" Asked Gortelesque.
"Are you?" Jolie asked angrily.
"I am skilled in battle. I will prevail." He said evenly.
Hirk shrugged and opened the door for them, straining against the weight of it. It revealed an open room with a single triangular table in the center. There were several chairs about and many small demons running around with pages of paper and taking notes.
Four demons dominated the space with their size and personality. The Warmaster, Gatemaster, Sexmaster and Quartermaster all oversaw the daily operations Below. They only gathered together once a week to make plans for the next week.
Hirk cleared his throat loudly. All eyes moved toward him. Each of the Master Demons looked at Gortelesque with a sneer on their faces. He had cheated or outmaneuvered each one of them at some point in his career. He could see past their bravado though. They were scared and knew exactly why e was there.
"My Lord Gortelesque, Hordemaster and leader of the Order of Perversion of Women comes to speak." Hirk said loudly, his voice echoing slightly in the room.
"We do not have time for this. We have a war to plan." Said the Warmaster gruffly.
He was about the same size and build as Gortelesque but not as heavily built. He also wore no armor, nor weapons. He expected to win this challenge without violence. Jolie smiled to herself. He was going to be surprised.
"That is why we are here esteemed Lords." Gortelesque said, his voice booming with power. "We have a superior plan that may allow us a quicker and more effective victory over the forces Above."
"No plan is greater than the plan of the Warmaster." Said the Sexmaster with narrowed eyes.
The Sexmaster had been shamed badly when Gortelesque had proved the effectiveness of his Harpies when he split off from the main cult and started his own Order. He would firmly be in the Warmaster's camp.
"Try me." Said Jolie with acid in her voice.
"This is Jolie, the Dark Fury of Metal. She cam up with a plan offhand that is sverely better than yours. I took it upon myself to work with her to refine it and we came up with a plan that allows a certain victory in the Master's honor." Gortelesque said.
"You allow this woman to speak for you? Get your pets in line Gortelesque." Laughed the Warmaster.
Jolie saw red.
Before she even knew what she was doing she had sprung at the Warmaster and was slashing at him with her claws, snarling as she buffeted him with her wings. The Warmaster slammed his open palm into her chest, between her breasts and pushed her back.
The breath was driven form her lungs as she dropped to one knee, gasping for her breath. The Warmaster roared and in the enclosed space, it was terrifying.
"Assassin!" He screamed as he jumped toward Jolie.
"No!" Yelled Gortelesque.
He ran in front of Jolie and took the blow meant for her on his fore arm.
"Treason and betrayal all around me!" Shouted the Warmaster.
"Challenge!" Bellowed Gortelesque, out-yelling the Warmaster.
The room went silent except for Jolie's breathing.
"Fine, you request trial by combat." The Warmaster huffed. "We will use no weapons. There will be no winner until one of us is dead."
"I accept your terms." Gortelesque said quietly.
"Make arrangements with your seconds." The Quartermaster said, taking charge of the situation.
Gortelesque turned to Jolie.
"Can you stand?" He said coldly.
"yes." She gasped and grasped his offered hand to pull herself up. "I messed up, didn't I?"
"Not so badly. I wanted to present our plan so we could get the other two Master Demons on our side first, but I would have to fight him anyway. Better sooner than later." The demon shrugged.
Gortelesque stretched his muscles. He had seen the way the Warmaster had handled Jolie. She had exposed that he was more skilled in combat than he had thought. He would not be able to think him an amateur after all.
The Warmaster limbered up as well. He was confident, but still frightened. He had much to lose, including his life. That was the problem with those who had power, the only thing they feared was someone taking that power and it crippled them to make any sort of real decisions or actions. Gortelesque knew he was different. He was greedy, yes, but he was also able to set aside his own wants for the greater good of those around him. At least to a degree.
Jolie grabbed Gortelesque's face and kissed him deeply.
"Come back to me." She whispered. There were no tears in her eyes.
"I will if you promise not to be mad at me anymore." Her demon grinned.
"If you come back I won't be mad, but if you lose I reserve the right to hate you forever." She said.
"Seems like a good deal to me." He said.
"Warmaster is ready?" Asked the Quartermaster.
The Warmaster grunted his assent.
"Hordemaster is ready?"
Gortelesque nodded.
"Begin."
The Warmaster launched himself at Gortelesque and the punch that ;landed on the younger demon's jaw made a loud crack. Gortelesque stumbled back, but responded with a vicious kick to his opponent's belly. The Warmaster let out a grunt and stumbled back.
Each fighter evaluated the other. Gortelesque was massaging his jaw, but was light on his feet. The Warmaster was a bit slower moving, Gortelesque's kick had done some damage. They circled slowly and the rest of the spectators stayed glued to the walls, but ready to move if the combatants came near.
The Warmaster launched the next attack as well, swinging his fists in quick punches aimed at different parts of Gortelesque's body. The younger demon managed to block some of them, but painful blows landed on his head and shoulders. The Warmaster flapped his wings and flew back to avoid Gortelesque's counter attack.
Gortelesque was stunned. He had not thought that the Warmaster had the intelligence to pull of the lightning like attacks that were actually the hallmark of Jolie's plan. What if he was wrong? What if the demon forces were better under the Warmaster than him?
He looked to Jolie and saw her pleading with him silently. He found a reservoir of strength inside him and shook his head, clearing it. He saw that the last attack had drained his opponent. He was breathing heavily. Even though Gortelesque was hurt, he was not winded at all.
He flapped his own wings and launched himself at the Warmaster with a roar. The Warmaster stumbled back to avoid the attack. Gortelesque flapped his wings again, but no tin a leap, he launched himself at is opponent's midsection. The tow demons tackled each other to the ground. They landed blows with their fists and their seemed to be no clear winner in the flurry of claws, wings and horns.
Gortelesque found himself on top of the Warmaster, his hand at the older demon's throat. The Warmaster gripped Gortelesque's wing and was tugging at it. The Warmaster was struggling to breath and Gortelesque could feel him start to get weaker. He reveled in his power over his opponent. He felt his rival's terror
"I am better than you." Whispered Gortelesque. "Back to the pit you spineless roach."
He dug his claws into the Warmaster's throat and pierced the skin. He ripped his hand back, pulling out his opponent's throat. A few gurgling moments later, the defeated demon was dead.
Jolie screamed in victory and Gortelesque joined her with a victorious yell. The rest of the room was silent.
Hirk spoke with a huge grin on his face.
"All hail Warmaster Gortelesque, Founder of the Order of Perversion of Women, Defeater of Warmaster Helavortz, Turner of the Fury Jolie and favorite of the Master himself. All bow."
They all did.
Gortelesque stood, battered and bloodied over the body of the former Warmaster.
"Everyone back to work, we have a new plan." The demon said.
Jolie smiled. She had her demon, her baby and now her plan was the one they were going to use. Those bitches at Ravencrag would pay. They would pay with all of their lives.
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