Date: Sat, 9 May 2020 07:24:02 -0500
From: Madeline Peterson <charmscale@gmail.com>
Subject: Cherry Blossoms and Hellfire chapter 4

Charok


I stood on the wall beside Blossom, gazing down at the raiders. There
were more of them now, including three sorcerers and their demons. None
of the three demons were of my caste. I was... Well, the closest
translation in the human tongue was "Sharp One," a reference to my
claws, horns, and tail. The names of the three castes represented below
translated to "Chain Beast," "Woman of Knives," and "Insectoid
Engineer."


Chain Beasts, as a general rule, were dumb, and this one seemed to be no
exception. Its sorcerer kept it close, and glanced at it frequently. Like
all Chain Beasts, it looked like a man covered in chains. Thick chains
shrouded its limbs and body, and thinner chains veiled its face. Its only
visible feature, aside from the chains, was its glowing green eyes. Chain
Beasts typically fought using these chains, which reached out to whip and
strangle foes.


The Woman of Knives was also typical of her caste. Her figure was much
like that of a human woman, but no mortal female had these proportions.
Her waist was too slender, her feet too dainty, and her breasts too
large. I thought the overall effect was more unsettling than beautiful,
but many humans thought otherwise. Her face seemed as female as her body,
right up until she smiled. Then you could see her shark teeth. This caste
could materialize knives, and she was playing with one right now,
flipping it from hand to hand. Her sorcerer seemed alternately aroused
and unsettled by her.


The third demon, the Insectoid Engineer, was scuttling about shifting
earth with its magic, making fortifications. In hell they made, guarded,
and constantly renovated elaborate palaces full traps. It had four
insectoid limbs, all tipped with segmented hands. Its body had two parts,
similar to a spider. Its white chitin stood out against the darkness, as
did its eight eyes, which glowed a bloody red. Its sorcerer was paying
little attention to it as it did its work.


While sorcerers could summon and control more than one demon, they rarely
did so. As a general rule, keeping one demon out a mischief taxed any
sorcerer's patience. This was because every caste had their strange
quirks. Insectoid Engineers were compulsive builders, and, unless
explicitly ordered not to, would change human structures in odd, chaotic
ways. Chain Beasts had a strange fascination with babies, and tended to
carry them off if left to their own devices. Women of Knives liked to
entrance men with their magic and eat them. My own caste... I smiled. My
own caste liked to deliberately misinterpret orders.


"What do you think?" Stone asked Blossom.


He shrugged. "I'm no strategic mastermind, but it looks to me like
they're gearing up for a siege."


"That's what it looks like to me, too, sir," the captain of the guard
said, looking respectfully from Gossom to Stone. She knew about the
agreement the two leaders had reached. Messengers had been sent out to
notify others. Soon, the whole town would know.


Gossom frowned. "I wonder what happened to the farmers."


"Probably nothing. Rounding up and killing everyone outside the walls
would slow them down too much," Stone said, but he sounded like he was
trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.


Gossom sighed. "I hope you're right."


"With all due respect, sir, it's too late to do anything about that,"
said Captain Terria. "We need to worry about the problem we are facing
now."


"You're right," said Stone. "I am wondering, however, how they got so
close without us noticing."


Blossom shrugged. "They've got three sorcerers, and they used to have
four. I'm guessing magic."


"That is likely an accurate assessment," said the captain. Stone and
Gossom nodded.


Then Stone asked the question we were all thinking. "So, what do we do
now?"


*

Blossom


I pondered Lord Stone's question. Lasting out the siege was likely out
of the question. I recalled from my conversation with the barmaid the
groundwater here was both scarce and so mineral rich that drinking it for
a prolonged period caused health problems. Most of the water the people
here drank was brought from the river, which I could just barely see off
in the distance, beyond the raiders. If it weren't for the gold,
building here would have been horribly impractical.


Trying to drive off the raiders was a bad idea. There were roughly as
many raiders as there were town defenders. Under normal circumstances
they would be evenly matched, but the demons changed the equation. Even
the weakest demon was worth at least five humans in a fight, and I
didn't think the ones out there were pushovers. Unbeknownst to the
others, we had our own demon, but the odds were three to one.


I stood on my tiptoes to murmur in Charok's ear. "How tough are the
three demons out there?"


"The one with the appearance of a woman is the strongest," murmured
Charok. "She and I are evenly matched. The chained one is close to my
equal, but I could defeat it were it alone. The insect is the weakest. It
was likely summoned for its ability to swiftly create fortifications."
He surveyed me. "Unless you have skills you have yet to exhibit, it is
still stronger than you."


I sighed. "I kind of figured that." I was probably worth about 3 normal
people in a fight. "Charok, we are in serious trouble."


"I have an idea, sir," Captain Terria said to Gossom and Lord Stone.


"Let's hear it, then," Lord Stone told her.


"I doubt we can defeat their entire group, not with the demons to deal
with," the captain said, "But we may be able to get a small group
through the lines. They could get help."


Gossom frowned. "What sort of help? We aren't allied with anyone who
has an army."


"Mercenaries," said Lord Stone. "The Grimstone Company has funds set
aside for just that purpose. This is not the first time a mine of ours
has come under attack." He frowned. "Though it is the first time I have
gotten caught up in the action."


Gossom smiled faintly. "I haven't been involved in a siege before
either."


"I have," said Captain Terria. "When I worked for the Therosian
Empire. It was a small town, but well supplied. We used this exact tactic
to notify the local branch of the Therosian army of our predicament, and
they came to help." She frowned. "Eventually."


Gossom looked over at her, curious. "Eventually?"


She bowed her head. "We were neither strategically positioned nor a
major source of resources. It was several months before they bothered to
rescue us."


Gossom frowned. "We don't have several months."


Lord Stone huffed. "We aren't relying on the Therosian army. Any
mercenary crew we hire will be motivated to get here swiftly to break the
siege."


"I hope so," muttered Gossom.


"We will need strong fighters to break through the lines," said Lord
Stone. "Captain Terria, assemble a small group of your strongest guards.
I will select a few of my people to join them." He turned to me. "Will
you and your guard join them?"


I glanced at Charok. "What do you think?"


Charok glanced at me. "Yes. But we must rest first."


Lord Stone nodded. "Of course. Will you be ready to go by noon
tomorrow?"


Charok nodded, and I said, "Yes."


"Good," said Lord Stone. "You will, of course, be well compensated for
your efforts. We can discuss that after you have rested."


I nodded. "Great. Come on, Charok. Let's head to our room."


We walked in silence back to the inn. I glanced at Charok, wondering if
he'd want to discuss the whole Chosen of the Sun thing now or wait until
after he'd rested. He glanced back at me, his eyes boiling with
suppressed fury. Odds were he wouldn't want to wait, then.


As soon as the door to our room closed behind us, I turned to my
companion. "Charok-"


Swift as a snake, he grabbed my wrists with one hand and pinned them to
the wall above my head. Behind him, his tail lashed. "We need to talk,"
he growled.


I squirmed. "Yes, I know. About the whole Chosen of the Sun thing."


Charok's eyes narrowed. "Not just that."


I blinked. "What do you mean?"


He bared his teeth. "You know exactly what I mean. Blossom, you used
your power on me."


My eyes widened. "No, I-"


Charok clapped a hand over my mouth. "No more lies, Blossom. You
manipulated me. You used me."


I stared at Charok, terrified. He knew. He'd realized exactly what I'd
done. And, with my mouth covered, there were some real limits to how I
could use my power. I wouldn't be talking my way out of this one.


"I didn't realize it until everything was over," Charok continued.
"Until we were on the way here. But now that I see it, it seems so
obvious. Your power, as one of the Chosen of the Sun, is to control other
people. You used it on Gossom and Stone, to get them to agree. And
you've been using it on me since we first met."


His tail whipped around to press the blade against my throat. "I should
kill you for that," Charok hissed.


I swallowed. A small line of blood trickled down my throat as the tail
tip nicked my skin. I could feel the points of Charok's claws against my
cheek and wrists. But I wasn't dead yet.


Charok followed the line of blood down my throat. His blade moved back a
bit. "And yet..." He shook his head.


*


Charok


I gazed down at the obviously terrified Blossom. Normally, scaring a
mortal would amuse me, possibly even arouse me. But with Blossom... I
snarled. He flinched.


How had he done this to me? How had he gotten me so twisted up in my own
mind that, even now, after everything he'd done, I still couldn't bear
to frighten him like this? How could he have manipulated me to the point
that the line of blood on his throat made me feel like a monster?


I wanted to let him go. To soothe him. To promise him everything would be
ok. And then, once I had him calmed down, I wanted to fuck him.


I growled. I should kill him for what he'd done to me. But I could not.


So what now? I couldn't kill him, and the idea of leaving him alone,
unprotected, felt like a knife to the heart.


I sighed, and lowered my tail. "Fine. You win." I released Blossom and
stepped back.


He took a moment to catch his breath. "I- I win?"


I sneered. "I can't hurt you, Blossom. I can't even leave you alone.
You are just that good."


He felt his throat. "I... I swear I never intended to force you to
protect me."


I glared at him. "You do realize you don't have to lie. No matter how
much your manipulation infuriates me, I can't do a thing about it."


He sighed. "I'm serious, Charok. I didn't mean to do that. I would
have been perfectly fine with parting ways after I convinced you not to
kill me. In fact, if I'd thought I could stop you from following me, I
might have left you behind. I am entirely capable of looking after
myself."


I looked at him, trying to judge if he was lying. He had no reason to
lie. But... "If you honestly wanted to leave me behind, why did you-" I
shook my head. "I mean, the morning after the sorcerer, and that
afternoon in the corn field..."


Blossom sighed. "Because I like you. Okay?"


I blinked. "You like me?"


He shrugged. "I've always been attracted to power. And you are very,
very powerful."


I frowned, looking down at Blossom. He looked up at me, obviously
aroused. He liked me. His lust was not feigned, not a manipulation. And
that...


I looked away. "I'm sorry." I wanted to fuck him so badly right now.
But I couldn't. Not after what I'd done.


Blossom sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I swear, in the future I will try to
avoid using my power on you for anything besides your pleasure."


I blinked. "Try?"


Blossom blushed. "I don't always realize when I'm using it. Especially
not when I really want something. Or someone."


He moved until he met my gaze once more. "Please," he said softly.
"Forgive me."


Then he kissed me. I started to pull away. "Blossom-" It felt wrong,
touching him like this after I'd frightened him so much.


Blossom sighed and stepped back. "I understand."


I blinked. "You do?" If he really understood, why did he look so
ashamed?


Blossom looked away. "You don't want to give me the opportunity to
manipulate you further."


It was true that he seemed to have the most power over someone when he
was having sex with them. If we fucked, I would essentially be handing
him the keys to my mind. But... I sighed. "I don't care about that." I
gripped his chin, and turned him so that he was facing me. Then I kissed
him.


For a moment, he fought to pull away. When I refused to release my grip,
he relaxed and kissed me back. I grabbed him and pressed his body against
mine. His hands went to my erection, and he moaned.


I pulled back. "We should rest," I panted.


"We should," agreed Blossom. Then he grinned. "Later."


We shed our clothes swiftly. I might have ripped Blossom's a bit. Then I
slid one arm behind him and one under his butt and lifted him. As I
lowered him onto my cock, he wrapped his arms and legs around me.


"You always insist on being the one in control," he murmured.


"Is that a problem?" I asked, pausing.


Blossom grinned. "It's fine."


He whimpered as I began to move him up and down. His cock, sandwiched
between our bodies, twitched.


It wasn't that long before I felt myself approaching climax. Moaning, I
pressed my lips against Blossom's. He opened his mouth, allowing me to
slip my tongue inside. I could tell he was close, too.


We came together. It was intense. I felt Blossom's cum against my
stomach as I filled him with mine.


My cock, now limp, slid out of Blossom, and I lowered him to the floor.
He glanced down at the puddle of cum on the floor and grinned. "We
should clean that up before we rest," he said. "Cum is hard to clean
once it's dried. Believe me, I know."


Soon we were curled up in bed together. Blossom fell asleep first, a
contented smile on his face. I drifted off soon after as I held him
close.


*


Blossom


I awoke to the noon sun streaming through the window and a knock on the
door. "Sir?" said a respectful voice. "Captain Terria sent me to wake
you. The team is nearly ready."


Beside me, Charok grumbled something unintelligible and rolled over. I
nudged him. "Time to get ready to go," I said before getting out of
bed.


I began to fold and pack yesterday's clothing. My shirt had a rip in it.
I frowned and concentrated. There was a brief flash of light, and the rip
was gone.


Charok watched me from the bed. "Convenient," he said. Then he got up
and fished around beneath the bed for his loincloth.


I frowned. "We have got to get you more clothing," I informed Charok.


"Why?" he asked.


I snorted. "For starters, that loincloth will eventually get dirty."


Charok shrugged. "Then I'll wash it."


"And what will you wear while you're washing it?" I wanted to know.


He shrugged again. "Nothing. My illusion will hide the lack of
clothing."


"Not from me," I countered.


Charok smirked. "I could make the illusion affect you, if you want."


"If you can just illusion up clothing, why bother with the loincloth at
all?" I wanted to know.


"Other demons," he told me. "Some can see through my illusions."


I frowned. "Will any of the ones with the raiders be able to see through
them?"


"Just the Woman of Knives," he said. "Why?"


I shrugged. "I was hoping the raiders wouldn't be able to tell you're
a demon. For the element of surprise."


Charok snorted. "She won't tell anyone. No demon tells their sorcerer
anything without being asked."


That made sense. When summoned, a demon's choices were to submit or die.
Most of them resented that.


I fished fresh clothing out of my pack. "We will eventually have to get
you more to wear," I told Charok. "When we continue north. After we're
done with this mess."


Charok frowned. "I never asked. Where are we headed?"


I shrugged. "I'm trying to find other Chosen. According to rumor, one
of the officers in the Therosian army became Chosen a few years before I
did. After he Ascended, his entire platoon followed him north into exile.
The Empire tried to hush it up, but it's hard to cover up something that
large." I sighed. "I just wish I'd tried to learn more about him
before I had to leave Theros. I have no idea what he looks like, or what
his name is. I also have no idea where exactly he was headed when he went
north. If he was actually headed anywhere."


"Why did you have to leave Theros?" Charok wanted to know.


I snorted. "That's where I was when I Ascended. Ascension isn't
exactly something you can hide while it's happening. There was a huge
explosion, and I started glowing. I'm lucky I made it out of the city
before the Hunt got their shit together and-"


Charok held out a hand to silence me. "Hush. Someone is coming."


A minute later, there was a knock at the door. "Sir? Lord Luminous Stone
wants to know when you'll be ready."


"Give us a few minutes!" I called as I pulled on my pants. Today I wore
traveling clothes, not the diaphanous, revealing garments I wore when
working.


"Yes, sir," the guard said. "I will tell him."


I laced my boots rapidly. "You ready?" I asked Charok.


He snorted. "I was waiting for you."


Boots laced and tied, I stood. "Let's go, then."