The Wurdulak (Complete)

[DalekSec]

Part 1.


The Wurdulak.

?So you witnessed her break the law then?? The inquisitor?s eyes were locked on those of First Citizen Durgan. ?Yes Your Worship. So did my eldest son Goss.? Though he had done nothing wrong, in fact having done his duty to report the crime, Durgan fidgeted in his seat. Nodding as he turned to face the accused, Inquisitor Bale drew a deep breath. ?Rea, daughter of Fomar, I put you to the question before all here in body AND spirit. Have you committed the crime of which you are accused?? If she denied the overwhelming evidence, Inquisitor Bale would make a point of taking her to the place of reflection to consider her plea as pain was applied to purify her soul.

Lifting her young face to glare at the older man who embodied all she had come to hate about her life and her people, Rea cleared her throat. ?Aye. All true. Every word of it and more.? Her calm tone covering the butterflies that grew wings of razors to tear at her guts. At least the punishments would be hers alone. Her mother and father having passed two seasons earlier without any other children. Seeing the grin spread across the thin lips of the Inquisitor, she forced her face to hold a look of disregard for his lofty appointments. ?So you deny none of the charges. Not a single one.? he asked with a calm and deadly tone. ?None Inquisitor Bale. I deny nothing brought before the court this day.? she replied in a firm yet soft tone.

Turning to the Bench, Inquisitor Bale spread his arms before the one who would decide her fate. ?Legit Narmon. From her own lips you hear her admissions. She has committed crimes against the very first articles of faith! She has taken the fruit of the most forbidden of trees and not only savored it but now speaks boastfully of having flouted some of our most precious tenets. I beg the court to show no mercy in this instance. Would we suffer the wrath of the very heavens for this ill born girl? It is clear now why her parents met such untimely fates. Their seed is cold with the sins of the very worst of womankind. Hear me oh Lord High Legit. Save us from the most blackened soul of this vile creature!? Lowering his head with his arms out in the traditional pose of courtroom decorum, Legit Bale?s face took on a deeply somber expression. Execution of one form or another was the only possible outcome. The more public and shameful the better. Knowing Legit Narmon was of the old guard when it came to such pressing matters of social morality, Inquisitor Bale forced the smile that sought to cross his lips to remain hidden until after he was alone.

The face of Legit Narmon turned slowly as if made of stone to regard the prisoner. ?Rea. Daughter of Fomar. For the crimes you hereby confess, I sentence you to exile in the Wastelands. Your transgressions endanger all of the people daring the wrath of the one true God! You will be removed from the presence of those you put in such divine jeopardy to carry the burden of your sins alone. May GOD himself have mercy on your soul!? His unexpressive face belying the harsh nature of her sentence, Rea knew she was to go forth into the land of demons just as cattle were driven to sate their appetites in hopes that the Wurdulak would spare the good citizens of Borum.

Rising to meet the jailors who would return her to her holding cell until sun fall, she stared at the young man who had claimed undying love for her. After his advances proved little more than lustful games set on taking her flower without commitment, he had told his father her most precious secret that she had entrusted to him. Though only eighteen summers old, she knew the young man?s motivations all too well. If she would not be his bed mate without benefit of law, he would see that her eighteen years ended in terror and misery.

Seeing him move slowly towards her, she tried to match his treacherous gaze. ?I warned you Rea. Not only have you overstepped your lot in life as a woman, you have damned yourself and your family name for all time.? His tone that of a child used to getting his way and while he was two years older than she, Rea could recognize how base he was now more than ever. ?Enjoy your life in the eyes of God.? she responded using the high form of a farewell as a verbal reminder of the stains on his own soul. Though his crimes against her were far less in the eyes of those like the Legit and the Inquisitor, she was certain he had a debt to pay when his own soul was weighed. Being such a dull witted man child, his blank face spoke volumes of his ignorance before her velvet covered insult.

Feeling the weight of the manacles around her wrists as they were put in place by the jailors, she saw the other women of the village peeking in from the now open doorway. Their faces a mixture of disgust and puzzlement, Rea was tempted to smile, to shout out that they were all damned to unending ignorance. Pushing her aside to address the women of the village, Inquisitor Bale beamed with pride and then took on a look of solemn concern. ?She will be removed from your midst for all time. Her name is to be forgotten and let her punishment serve all of you to see that we of Borum look to your safety and blessed innocence in all matters. She has confessed to the crime of reading and will know the terrors of her desire for forbidden fruits. Tend to your hearths, homes and men. Tell your children how important your purity of thought is! Put from your minds the names Rea and Fomar but never forget the price she paid for her sins!? Wrapping his thick cloak around his frail body, the Inquisitor strode past the women of Borum in the reverence of having done his job flawlessly. Only the lack of being afforded the chance to make the sinner suffer at the hands of his professional associates giving him any cause for regret. Still, once Rea found herself in the realm of the Wastelands after nightfall, she would suffer more horribly than anything mere pokers and fire could elicit. All in all, a good day?s work and his efforts would gain him favor not only in the halls of God, but in a most tangible way with the Guild of Legits. One day, the crimson robes would be his and his worth to the Realm would be fully recognized. For now, home and a bath were in proper order and if his wife did not have it ready as well as his meal, he could make use of the crop upon her back. A slothful woman in his eyes, she required guidance on a regular basis. Not as satisfying as the smell of burning sin or the sound of its screams, but a pleasant matter for Bale all the same.

As the sun sank into the mountains, Rea heard the key turning in the lock. Refusing to play out the terrified prisoner condemned to the most horrible of fates, she kept her expression neutral. Pondering the images of the women?s faces in her mind over and over again, she could have wished that someone would have had the courage to speak out on her behalf. She knew full well which of the other women could read simple words and had she been of a mind, she could have had others share her fate. Even possibly lessening her sentence for having turned on others who read in secret.

?No.? she whispered softly in her own thoughts as the jailors yanked the chains that dangled from her manacles. They too had the right to suffer their own destinies and it was not as if she had not begged her late father to teach her the forbidden skill. Even the texts he gave her to memorize in secret had warned of how knowledge always leads to peril. Adventurers certain of glory over the next mountain so often found their doom instead.
Now, she would be led with the cattle as just another offering for the Wurdulak. Stories whispered in the dark to scare children and remind adults of how much worse their lot in life could be told of the Wurdulaks taste for flesh and most of all, blood. The ancients wrote of the bodies of cattle found drained and butchered and the occasional traveler who wandered too far into the Wastelands. Never returning or coming back addle minded with tales of giant monsters. Demons that were hated by God himself and forced to remain in the ruined lands so the people might thrive. The only price, a few animals for them to feed upon and now, Rea as an offering to demonstrate the people?s adherence to the law.

All faces turned from her as she was led out of the village in the cart. The smell of the other animals as thick as the buzzing pests that kept them all company. Only three members of the priest class and the Inquisitor himself rode with her. Their purpose to make sure that not only the gifts made it to their intended but that the heretic would not forget that the people?s divine justice was not to blame. ?Your own sins my child and now you reap the reward of your sins.? an elder priest admonished her lest she rage against the village in a last act of evil. Far from it, Rea was content to try to think of the happy stories her father had taught her to read. The comforting smell of his breath after he would indulge in his pipe. How his hands, so rough from the forges of his Smithy held the ability to be so gentle on her shoulders. His sad face as he saw her become more disenchanted with the world she had been born to.

Glancing at the Inquisitor, she saw his thin face go pale as the markers announced they had entered the outer realm of the Wurdulak. His mount bucking gently under his saddle, the crop came down on the sides of the frightened creature without any hint of mercy. ?Be still Eo. Keep this up and I will send you along with the other offerings and find another beast when I walk back alone!? he shouted. His voice cracking as he shared the fears of his mount. ?At least he will turn back soon and I will be spared that VOICE.? Rea mused silently as a faint smile crept across her face. Being dragged to certain doom in the back of a cart for all to see was one thing, being annoyed by Bale?s self indulgent chatter was quite another.

Having never seen this part of the world, Rea was naturally curious. The huge metal gate that greeted them stood taller than even the spires of the faithful. Had it been a cloudy day, she was certain the clouds themselves could not vault over the doors. As the three priests stood before it with their arms outstretched, their voices rose in chanting. ?We the sons of the one true God have no fear of you. We bring this offering in accordance with the law. Accept your banishment oh dreadful Wurdulak as we rejoice in the comfort of God?s grace.?

As their voices grew still, the huge metal gates groaned and slowly crept open. More nervous than ever, Inquisitor Bale beat upon the side of his mount. Rea, having raised many such animals and being an accomplished rider could see the subtle movements of his foot and thigh directing the beast to point its body and nose back to the safety of the village. Making a show of his willingness to chastise the seemingly wayward animal, Bale shouted an apology as the creature began dashing towards home. ?What point to life with men as he leading us.? Rea whispered out of earshot of the priests.

Watching them unshackle her wrists to bind them once more with more easily replaced leather, she found herself being dragged from the cart. Her bare feet hitting the cool grass as they hurried her along to join the cattle already past the gate. Turning to see the priests hurry back to the cart and the path back to the village, Rea offered a wide smile. Though scared at a level she had never known before, she wanted them to know she was not as fearful as they.

Seeing the mighty gates grind slowly shut, she finally let a tear escape her eyes. Soon enough she would join her father and mother as she could never accept the vengeful nature of God. While the priests screamed warnings and the Legits unleashed the fury of the Inquisitors upon the people, was such a hateful God worth paying homage to? In hushed voices late at night, her mother had assured her that mere mortals can not bind God and define him. Padding along in the ranks of the cattle, she heard the scrape of claws on dirt. In the waning light, glowing eyes, red and fierce surrounded her on all sides as trees afforded the owners of those eyes cover. Shaking and saying her prayers, Rea waited to meet her fate.

Watching out of the corners of her own, she saw the glowing red eyes emerge from the woods. Short stocky bodies on four feet moved in unison from both sides of the parade of offerings to herd them along. Howling and snapping at stragglers, their sharp fangs caught what little light was left to gleam menacingly. Like the dogs of the village, their form was similar but Rea knew their name. ?Wolves.? A hate so old to any who kept cattle or other livestock, wolves took on the mantel of pure evil in so many tales. Feeling one walk directly into her from the side, Rea cried out. Its fur so coarse and yet slick at the same moment, glancing along her body. Soon another came to stare at her and then growl as if to remind her that she was not like the other gifts the village had sent. Forming ridges at their backs and offering their fangs, the wolves made it clear she was to be separated from the cattle.

Whimpering a little now that no other people were around to see her fright, Rea stepped out of the line of cattle and found herself encircled by five of the wolves. Being nipped at with fangs that caught on her simple homespun dress, she let herself be guided in another direction. Blinding lights burned from above to strike her in ways as to cast the most troubling shadows. Rea bit her lip and obeyed the bodily commands of the wolves.

Stumbling over an unseen lip in the dirt, Rea fell to her knees and shook as the company of wolves snarled at her. Feeling the largest of them grip her right forearm in its jaws to yank her forward, she was stunned that the creature?s fangs did not break the skin. Drawing her knees under herself, she rose with the aid of her bound hands and limped along in the direction the wolves drove her. More lights came to life from high above until she found herself before another cyclopean metal gateway. Here the lights grew even more intense and took on a blue hue. Stunned to consider the nature of creatures able to work metal on such a scale, Rea fought to study the nature of the structures. Shutting her eyes tightly against the blazing illumination at last, she felt her skin grow warm. After what seemed an eternity, the stinging of her eyes ceased and though she saw a multitude of spots, she could open her eyes without pain again.

The wolves seemed unfazed by the process and made a point of pushing her on after the second metal door way had slowly opened. The smell of thunderstorms and the tingling of her thick auburn hair made her think of more pleasant evenings around the hearth with her parents. Tall stories and jokes only family would understand as some storm passed by always eased her natural fear of such weather. Looking down, she could see the floor had changed as well. While thick with dust and giving evidence of her progress with the line of footprints that she left, she could see that it was made of a shiny metal now long neglected. Unlike the products of her father, the village Smithy, it seemed almost flawless under the thick blanket of dust.

Having been stopped by the wolves and it being very clear that she was to stand where their muzzles pointed, Rea took a moment to push more of the dust aside with her foot. No seams or rivets met her eyes and she could only wonder how such objects were fashioned. Her eyes darting around the great hall she found her heart beating at a pace more rapid than she could ever recall. Looking up she saw the pillars that stood before her were actually chair legs of such proportion as to be all but unimaginable. The high back of the chair only barely visible after craning her neck. ?Giants!? she hissed as her fingers and toes grew numb with fright. Were the rambling words of the few who had ventured into the Wastelands and returned true? Was the area populated by demons of such amazing stature?

Pondering the more unpleasant aspects of her fate as the captive of such mammoth beings, her ears picked up the loud scrape of leather on grit. Feeling the vibrations under her bare feet, Rea?s first thought was to hide. Moving back from the enormous chair she met the growls and stares of the wolves. Here they meant for her to stay and her choice was apparently a simple one. Face the monster whose footsteps were now making her body quiver beyond the trembling brought on by fear alone or, take on the jaws of her guards.

While what a giant might make of her and what sport it might see in tormenting her was not an appealing thought, the shining fangs of the wolves were an all too familiar threat. To be torn asunder by those snarling jaws was a powerful enough image to keep her from breaking into a desperate race she knew she could not hope to win. Forcing her eyes to move to the source of the sounds, she saw the being enter the great hall. His eyes glowing with a red flame matching those of the wolves. His hairless head almost beyond the reach of her visual abilities as he strode it to take his place in the chair. The pale and deathly pallor of his skin making him look more like a corpse than one of the living only seemed to reinforce the doom he promised her. Sunken cheeks, now more prominent as he sat, made the bones of his skull stand out with greater menace. Leaning forward from his perch, he silently stared at her.

Howling erupted as though the wolves were reporting the find to their master and while she could not understand the conversation of growls and twitching fur, she could garner its basic meaning. She was being presented as an anomaly among the usual delivery of cattle to their master and he would decide her ultimate fate. His expression unchanged until the curling of the edges of his lips, Rea screamed. As his mouth opened in a grin of long sharp fangs, she embraced the horrible truth. The old tales were correct. Drinkers of blood like the bats that fed on unsuspecting cattle, his teeth left little doubt as to their intended function. Seeing his nostrils flair. Rea wondered if death by lupine jaws was such a poor choice after all.

Turning to run and make some vain effort at escape, Rea felt the jaws of the wolves gripping her wrists and then her ankles. Making quick work of the single leather lash that tied her wrists, the wolves demonstrated the power of their jaws. Her wrists sore, in a blur two wolves had each of them in a grip of iron. Tugging her to the ground, forcing her to fall flat on her back, she could see the face of the demon looming above her. His fangs bared as the fifth wolf began snarling in its own rage. The largest of the creatures seeming to take pleasure in her helpless struggles, it gripped the front of her dress at the neck line and tugged with its jaws. Hearing the fabric rip and feeling the cooler air embrace her exposed bosom, Rea cried out in abject terror. Trying to pull free of the grip each wolf had on her limbs, she could only scream as her dress was torn apart. Laying on the rags that had been her garment her sense of danger found a new apex. The largest of the wolves, standing above her took on a look of hunger that went far beyond food. Feeling its fur covered body press down on her from above, she came to dread its intentions most of all. As impossible as it seemed, she became convinced it intended to ravage her in the way of a male.

Fears as old as the first warnings from the first mother to her first daughter came flooding into Rea?s mind. Was death not enough? Would shame and complete humiliation be part of the punishment for her sins? Feeling the warm fury hips of the wolf rub along her bare thigh, she was tempted to beg for a quick end. Looking up into the grinning face of the demon, she saw his expression change ever so slowly to one of puzzlement and then almost that of sorrow. His thin lips trembling, a voice that sounded like the grave itself on a scale beyond consideration offered one word. ?Patrol.? The glowing red eyes of her giant captor closing as if to try to erase what they had seen, Rea felt the jaws slip from her wrists and ankles as the male on top of her bounded away to join the others in their duties.

Drawing herself into a tight ball, she sobbed. All of the bravery that had held her steady in the face of her more mundane oppressors now spent, her mind retreated into the realm of a child?s inconsolable tears. Shutting the world out, she never noticed the hand moving towards her or the silken cloth it placed upon her. Rumbling gravelly words from high above were mere sounds to her thoughts as they drew deeper into her private shells. Her body twitching as sharp breaths were drawn in only to escape as wracking tear soaked cries, Rea could still sense the huge eyes above her.

After a period she could not grasp in a measurement of time, she found the strength to pull the silken cover around her body. Sitting up, she forced her eyes aloft to meet the unyielding stare of her captor. His face once more a mask of emotionless inquiry, she drew her legs under the cloth. ?What is your name and why have you come?? With a sound like gathering storm clouds in the distance, the giant posed the simple questions. ?Rea. Daughter of Fomar. As for why I am here, you should know better than any.? Feeling her wits return to steel her resolve, Rea felt she had displayed enough terror for one night. Still shaking under the cloth, she decided her tormentor?s pleasure would not include any further offerings of panic on her part. Waiting for some measurable effect that her words would have on her captor, Rea glared into the glowing red eyes above her. ?I have no idea why you are here. Are you lost?? Moving his fang laden jaw in a way that made it look as if he was trying to recall how it functioned, Rea scowled. If this was some game on his part it was not funny and he would not elicit any more fear on her part.

?Get it over with!? she screamed at last choosing to force his hand no matter how large it was. Far worse that her dreadful fate was being made to wait for its implementation. A simple lifting of his boot to bring it down upon her would end both her life and the more terrifying images her own mind could use to torment her. Rising to her feet, Rea clutched the cloth around her shoulders with one hand as she beat upon the toe of his left boot. ?Hear me demon? Make it quick!? She howled no longer willing to play the helpless prisoner of her cruel fate. Seeing the toe of the boot turn to grind the grit under its sole, Rea caught her breath. Whispering prayers she felt the pounding in her chest as she anticipated what she hoped would be a swift end. As the boot grew still once more, she looked up ready to press her case of a merciful death only to find the face of her captor above her with an expression that made her jaw drop. Comical in its confusion, his face now wore a furrowed brow and his menacing eyes seemed to scan her as one might an unexpected duck in one?s chicken coop.

Giving into the temptation to express her own feelings, Rea laughed expecting her open disrespect to stoke the ire of the giant demon. ?Don?t want to muss your fine boots LORD?? she shouted before turning to retrieve the torn remnants of her dress. Striding back to his boot, she began using the ruined dress to wipe away the dist and grime that clung to the leather. ?I promise not to make too much of a mess on your fine boots LORD and I am sure a simple scrape of the sole across the floor will see the last of me. Come now! Show me how terrible you can be DEMON LORD! Wurdulak! See I know your name! Now you have to end my life! WHAT ARE YOU WATING FOR?? Cackling mockingly on the edge of a complete loss of self control, she dug into the seam welt between the boot and its sole. Pushing the accumulated filth from the space, she cut her hand on a particularly sharp thread. Screaming out, more in frustration than pain, Rea looked up once more as the scent of the acrid leather overpowered her nose.

Now the giant?s face took on a look of hunger that made her shudder in spite of herself. Tempted to back away, she chose to smear her bleeding wound along the side of the smooth leather. ?There. See now I am of flesh and blood. Yes BLOOD! I and all my people know you thirst for blood! Take your fill from my body and set me free of your foul presence!? Holding her injured hand up before him as he leaned closer to inspect the wound, Rea was certain she had crossed the threshold of his patience. At any moment one of his huge hands would swoop down and she would know the fearsome bite of his terrible jaws. A gruesome fate but immediate and that was a blessing of a sort.

Closing her eyes, she felt the pressure of his fingers as they gripped her tiny body as a child might carelessly scoop up a worn and familiar doll. The sensation of vertigo as she was lifted high in the air, making her stomach drop. Her legs dangling and the silken cloth pressed to her body, she kept her eyes closed. Fearing her bravery would crack at the sight of his sharp fangs, surely the last image she would know in this life, she wanted to leave him with nothing to savor except her blood. The echoing sounds of his boots stomping on the metal floor to echo throughout the hall left her confused. Chancing a quick look, she saw she was now being carried to another part of the cave. Angry that he had upped the stakes to make her await her certain death, Rea beat upon the sides of his fist as he held her. ?Damn you DEMON! Finish me!? she shrieked only to find he was ignoring her. Enraged beyond all reason, Rea sank her teeth into the flesh of his index finger only to find the taste foul. Having no effect on the Wurdulak, Rea tried to pull free of his grip. Though high in the air, she had no real fear of falling as that, at least would mean the end for her.

Entering the room, her eyes burned once more with lights that were brighter than the sun at noon and put to shame the best of torches. Smells she could not hope to identify assaulted her nose and made her eyes water. Shivering after she found herself placed in a tray of metal with sides high enough to make her think of the enclosures for animals, she pulled the cloth tighter across her body. Was this some altar to his own dark ways and a required ritual before feasting upon his victim? Rea?s mind grasping at straws as she tried to recall every tale of the Wurdulak she had been told or read in secret.

Seeing the giant demon take a seat across from the table her container sat upon, she backed away to press against the farthest edge. ?Your hand.? his voice whispered in a tone that held the power of a command. As he held a stick with what looked like spun wool around the tip, Rea could smell the strong scent it held. Hesitantly offering her cut hand, she closed her eyes as he moved the stick closer to her. Feeling it touch her wound, Rea screamed out. Like the brews concocted by the healers in the village such as her mother, it burned upon her flesh. Yanking her hand back to cradle it in the other against her chest, she spat a string of curses she only half remembered her father using when working his forge. ?Vile soul wrenching FILTH! Must you make me suffer before making a meal of me?? she screamed while drawing the cloth over her ample bosom once more. While fuller of body than most of the maidens considered among the comeliest, Rea had found the boys of her village noticing her early development at a young age. Her rounded middle having been the brunt of a few very harsh jests as to her being with child at an impossible age. Still, though she valued her mind and wits above her looks, she had managed to catch the eye of Goss, son of the First Citizen. Though only a desire for the conquest of her flower, a quest he never completed, he had wanted her enough to utterly destroy her life when she held fast to her honor.

Watching the demon hold up an tube constructed of a clear substance Rea had never seen before, she shook her head. ?No more! KILL ME or leave me alone! No more of your torments Wurdulak!? she howled in stalwart defiance. Glancing at the burning red eyes of her captor, she felt her blood run cold. Unlike Goss who was little more than a spoiled child, the giant face before her held the look of one used to being obeyed by matter of earned rule rather than fortunes of birth. ?Your hand.? he insisted in a tone that allowed for no argument. ?Very well. Have your fun but if you expect pleas for mercy, prepare to be disappointed.? Rea spat out before offering her shaking hand once more for his torture. Feeling a cold liquid spread along the angles of her trembling hand, she found it growing warmer with a heat that felt almost pleasant. Before her very eyes, the gash upon her hand closed in on itself to leave a mark so faint as to make her wonder if it would even scar.

Flexing her fingers as she examined the fading red line that had been her open wound, Rea paused to look up at the demon. Was this yet more trickery to raise her hopes only to suckle upon her sorrow as they were dashed? Feeling she should offer some form of gratitude, she mumbled a quiet word of thanks. ?You?re welcome.? came the voice that still sounded as though it had forgotten how to speak properly. Jumping in place as the sound of a horn blared from all around the huge room, Rea huddled tightly to herself under the cloth. Seeing his hand reach for her to cage her within its fingers before she could react, Rea whimpered. Once more she felt herself being lifted and carried like a small animal to yet another chamber of the strange cave.

Almost rolling from the giant hand as it opened its fingers, Rea found herself on the surface of another giant table. Unlike the last, this one held smells and sights that while unusual in their execution, were familiar. Plates and utensils surrounded her and while her stomach protested that fact that she had not eaten since the night before the hearing, seeing knives and forks of such outrageous proportions did nothing to calm her nerves. Perhaps not a savage demon given to simply biting down upon her like a wild animal, somehow the image of herself being eaten in a more civilized manner was all the more disturbing.

Backing away from the enormous face as it moved towards her, she impacted onto a tall pitcher causing it to topple over. Crying out as the water rushed to cover her bare feet, he arms moving to cover her face as if to fend off the vision that confronted her, Rea heard him speak. ?Eat.? Looking above her crossed arms, she felt her anger brewing. ?Then do it and stop teasing me Wurdulak. I am TIRED of your games!? Stomping her foot to splash in the pooled water where she stood, she saw his deathly face take on a puzzled expression once more.

Standing her ground on the wet surface of the table, she heard claws scrape close beside her. Turning, she saw the largest of the wolves with brightly glowing eyes dragging a cloth held in its jaws across the spilled water. Like the trained animal acts of the entertainers who visited the village after harvest, it seemed to know its tasks and was content to simply stare at her. Mopping up the liquid, pulling the thick cloth through the water until the majority had been sopped up, it turned to pad off in the direction it had come from.

Relieved that the wolf did not seem to have lust or violence on its mind, Rea turned back to confront her captor with a defiant look. While the demon may have possessed powers beyond her comprehension, she began to see him as more of a cruel child presented with the opportunity to torment a helpless creature. His tending to her wound nothing more than a prelude to his adventures in malice. Realizing she was nude, a condition never acceptable outside of the most private confines of one?s domicile, Rea grabbed up the cloth she had been wearing and resumed her natural modesty. He may well subject her to a most cruel death but if he intended to ogle her without a fight, he would learn she was not obliging just as Goss had come to know. While his eyes burned in their sockets, she could sense the familiar tingling of the attentions of a member of the opposite sex but his face also held a wisp sadness as though he was recalling an unhappy memory.

Moving a plate closer to her, the demon?s jaw shuddered as he repeated the word ?Eat?. Seeing the slabs of meat piled high and dripping with gravy combined with the heady scent of a well cooked meal, Rea found herself salivating. ?Trying to fatten me up?? she asked a little hesitantly before she could bite down upon the words, fearing she was falling into his intended game. ?What?? again his voice seemed to crawl through a throat long unaccustomed to speaking aloud.

He must have sensed that he was making her all the more uneasy as he sat back in his seat giving her a little more space in which to make up her mind about the meal. Dipping her fingers into the gravy and sniffing the thick sauce, she slowly brought her fingertips to her lips. Licking at the gravy only gave rise to pangs of hunger that howled with the same ferocity as the wolves. Seeing the utensils were of no use to her, their enormity making them impossible to wield, she resorted to gripping a hunk of the meat and tearing it off with her hands. Soaked in the thick gravy that made generous use of salt, a most precious commodity, she had no recollection of dining in such a fine manner. ?Being a demon pays well I think.? she muttered only to hear her captor stifle a soft chuckle. ?Your ears work well enough I see.? she stated flatly having given up on worrying about her loose commentary of the one who now held her prisoner. If he took offense the worst he could do was offer her torment and death and he could do so at anytime her liked. Being a rational sort, Rea held no delusions that her protests or meager struggles could fend off his intentions should he choose to end the fa?ade of polite behavior. In light of such overwhelming logic, being honest about her feelings and thoughts seemed only appropriate.

Catching sight of a cloth like the one used by the wolf to soak up the spilled water at the other side of the plate, Rea walked towards it. Making use of it between handfuls of dripping meat, she tried to keep her glances towards the giant to a minimum. ?Not eating?? she asked though the possible answers made her shiver. Too easily her situation could change in the grip of those giant hands and deciding if the sight of him eating or his hesitation to do so was more troubling proved a very tough call. His nodding head made her wonder all the more. Seeing him reach into a container that stood too tall for her to peer into, her eyes went wide as he lifted out a fully matured bovine. Its hooves kicking as his fingers clutched it making Rea feel faint. Bringing the helpless and terrified animal to his mouth, the vision of his jaw opening to reveal the long sharp fangs it held was almost too much for Rea?s constitution.

Witnessing his fangs sink into the flesh of the creature as it cried out its last, the blood filling the demon?s mouth to drip from the corners of his thin gray lips, Rea felt her own meal struggle to escape her stomach. Too horrified to scream, she fell to her knees and tried to force her eyes from the gruesome sight. As the animal grew still, its legs hanging limply as the demon?s teeth held fast at its spine, Rea felt as though the room had begun to spin around her. The sounds of the animal?s spine ripping and the sensation of blood spattering upon her face and chest was the final straw. Unaware of how she came to be laying on her side on the damp surface of the table, her eyes closed, shutting out the sight of the beast?s terrible end.