I assumed that the ritual was ready when the cobra was
removed from her uncomfortable-looking resting place. I had asked her to
explain what was going on when they started to paint her; she’d been painted
with summoning runes and blessed by the priestess. We’d both been forced to
drink more of the wine she had offered me before, which she calmly explained
was an aphrodisiac for her people, and would simply make my scent more potent.
I sputtered and hissed – wasn’t this the same stuff we’d drunk before? What did
that say of her intent? She simply shrugged.
I was painted as well. The marks matted my fur and soaked
into my skin, and felt hot in a way that made me want to bathe. The snakes
among the black-painted throng were starting to get restless, and I saw the
cobra’s cock emerge from its scaled sheath. I could feel my hackles rising and
my skin starting to crawl as I got the gist of what her part in this was.
The priestess began a chant that matched the rhythm of my
heartbeat. Her followers took it up as well, until it filled my ears and my
mind and put me into a half-dream state. I watched as the cobra was untied from
her altar, watched her sway to me, saw the hunger in her eyes. She seemed
indistinct, confusing. I felt her break into my comfort zone, felt smooth
scales against my painted fur, felt the matching drumbeat in her chest against
mine. Her arms braced against the pole behind my head, her hips pressed against
my thighs and rose, pushing herself between my legs, against me, into me.
There was an instant of clarity when I felt her enter. A
moment of pain while my body adjusted to the size of the invader. I saw the
swaying snakes in the group, the focused look on the priestess’ face. The flash
of blue and red as my beloved demons thrashed just outside the circle. I felt
Dashel scream, more than heard him. I felt Abadon’s annoyance. Then the moment
of pain and clarity passed, and the cobra thrust further into me while I
gasped.
Pull, thrust, pull, thrust. Some part of my mind wondered
how long I’d been here, pinned by this snake, with this drumbeat in my ear.
Pull, thrust. I felt fluid running down my thigh, and wondered who it had come
from, and closed my eyes.
I saw the cobra before me, glowing in some bright magenta.
She writhed and stroked her member. Behind her, Abadon swam in the Elsewhere,
becoming infuriated as it was pulled toward the mortal snake. It seemed that
the cobra was a gateway. Or perhaps a funnel. I saw and felt the demon pulled
into her, felt her shudder against me, tensing, and then felt her throb inside
me. The demon flooded my mind.
It refused to touch my personality. I could feel its disgust
at this tiny vessel, heard its otherworldly hiss in my mind: “Give yourself to
me,” and I did as it asked.
I watched, as though from another place, as the ropes
binding me fell off of my wrists in green flames, watched the usual light glow
of my eyes take on a flame as well, and saw the pole I had been attached to
shatter. The throng screamed and scattered, the priestess fell into a prostrate bow. My body shoved the cobra aside,
and she fell as though dead. The barrier that had protected this place from
Abadon’s kind cracked, and I felt Haver crushing it from the Elsewhere, beating
himself against it in order to get through. A ring of green fire closed around
the clearing, holding the mortals inside and igniting those who would get too
close.
“You insult me,” the demon said through my mouth, directed
at the priestess. The snake looked up, horrified. “You are mad, and I become
annoyed at your constant pestering. Leave me be. Leave those blessed by me
alone.” The voice was too big for me, foreign and terrifying in my ears. The
ring around the clearing faded, and the cult fled, leaving only the two snakes,
myself and my swarming demons.
“My children,” Abadon greeted my four. It sounded pleased. I
held out my hand to Dashel, stroked lovingly along the side of his head. “How I
have missed you!” I felt that the demon’s words were true.
“Abadon, Master,” she priestess whimpered, and pulled at my
legs. The demon’s disgust shocked me in its intensity. I kicked the snake away
with more force than I could muster on my own, and she went sprawling.
“I am no master of yours, insulting, stupid little mortal.
Your life offends me. Begone before I remove it,” the demon sneered, and sent
the mad priestess to a long-forgotten island with a swirl of green flames. Clearly
she would not trouble me again.
“I will leave you now, Birthright,” it told me. “Do not
abuse my children.” I felt affection there and agreed. The demon left my mind
and body and I sagged. Tiel moved behind me and caught me in a loop of his
coils before I hit the ground. I thanked the winged Demon Lord as the world
went dark.
~
I woke because Tiel was screaming in his ear-shattering
demonic voice. I blinked and held my pounding forehead. I was curled in Tiel’s
blue coils. I peered over the top of one portion of tail and saw him, fangs
bared, fending off the cobra. Caena hissed from behind me and Tiel turned his
head to me.
“The cobra wishes to abuse you further,” Dashel explained
from my left, and I turned to him. “She claims to want to help you.” Ah, my
dear Dashel, reader of intent, past and present. “When I pointed out her lies,
she said that it was owed to her. Tiel took offense on your behalf.”
I ran my hand over Tiel’s blue scales. “I think I owe her
nothing. I want to go home.”
“As you wish,” Dashel replied, and a swirling cloud of jade
green swept me away. I felt the cobra’s frustration as I vanished, and smirked.
The trip was not a complete loss, however. I was greatly
inspired by the whole thing, and painted most of it, memories captured for
display, even if no one would believe me. I have a gallery showing in a month
or two to display this collection. It should be an interesting experience.



