Chapter 10
Before I opened my eyes, I could feel a small smile spread across my face. The bed was warm, and the feel of silky skin against my ribs made me feel at peace and completely content. My women were like an intoxicating drug I could not pull away from, and everything from the smell of their hair, to their long lashes, and the feel of their warm and comforting touch made my senses go into overdrive. I loved being their master, but most importantly, I loved how spirited and intelligent each woman was in her own unique way.
Being Satan had its perks, and for my coven, I was eternally grateful.
“Master?” Vanessa croaked from where she laid with her head on my shoulder. “Are you awake?”
“I am,” I said.
“Is it morning already?” Beatrix whimpered as she stretched her arms over her head. “It feels like we just went to sleep.”
“Probably because we did,” Revna chuckled, and when she popped up beside me in the bed, her wild curls formed a golden halo around her pale face. “Master kept us up all night.”
“Are you complaining?” I teased with a smirk.
“Never,” Samara purred as she crawled across the bed and into my lap. “In fact, would you please bless me with your unholy seed again, my lord?”
“As much as I would like to,” I laughed, “I think it’s time we reconvene with the others. Something tells me they probably decided to sleep in one of the other rooms.”
“Good idea,” Penelope added in a sleepy voice.
“They couldn’t even enjoy our master’s cock slipping inside them all night long,” Akira mewled in a dream-like voice. “What a night… I pity them.”
“I bet they could hear us screaming from wherever they were,” Faye giggled.
“Morgana most of all,” Akira snickered.
“Shut up,” the brunette muttered, but her cheeks flushed a rosy pink.
“As magnificent as it was,” Vanessa said before she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. “We need to get a move on. Who knows how long it will take to reach the Holy Assembly.”
“Agreed.” I nodded. “Let’s get dressed and meet the others. There’s no time to waste.”
The women swiftly got out of bed, and they began the process of retracing their steps from the night prior to locate all their clothing again. I chuckled as they jogged half-naked through the empty halls, but soon they were fully garbed, and we continued to make our way through the castle.
“Marina, Vesta, Circe?” I called out. “Nyx?”
“Here, master,” Circe’s voice rang through one of the corridors, and when she emerged from a nearby room, the others were behind her fastening their buttons.
“Good morning, Dark One,” Marina said as she braided her hair, and the former siren cast me a sultry smile. “Did you sleep well?”
“Very well.” I grinned, even though I hadn’t actually done much sleeping.
“Alex brought us back and told us you were celebrating your victory in the bedroom,” Vesta purred. “We decided to let you have your fun, but master, may we ask for one thing?”
“Of course,” I said. “Name it.”
“May we also be blessed with your unholy cock after we return to Scholomance?” the elvish witch begged. “We long to have you deep inside us as well.”
“Yeah, nothing feels better than you fucking us, master,” Nyx said with a hazy smirk. “Believe me, I’ve tried to find alternatives, but no drug compares to you.”
“Of course.” I smirked. “It would be my pleasure.”
The witches smiled in response and followed me as I marched through the palace toward the exit. The closer we got to the throne room, the stronger the smell of blood and gore became, and it wasn’t a pleasant scent to wake up to first thing in the morning, no matter how accustomed we were to it. I pinched my nose and tried not to breathe in as we walked by, and once we reached the outside of the palace, I saw dawn had set in.
“What a beautiful sight,” Faye sighed with her hands on her hips. “Look at this blood-soaked realm. It’s another victory, made by your established power, my lord.”
The courtyard was drenched in blood, bodies floated down the streets, and everything was in absolute ruins.
It was beautiful.
Cole! Alex’s familiar voice rang through my head. How was your night, man?
“Amazing,” I whispered, but he was nowhere in sight. “Hey, where are you?”
Up here, he responded.
When I craned my neck and stared above me, I saw the winged familiars all huddled in a tree, and they appeared to be feasting on a corpse entangled in the branches.
“We’re heading back to the outskirts of the kingdom,” I called out. “Follow us.”
Why don’t we just fly you there? Alex asked after he plucked a plump eyeball from his meal’s socket. Wouldn’t it be easier?
“Sure.” I grinned. “If you can withstand the weight.”
I sure as hell can, Alex replied in a cocksure tone. Watch.
Before I could respond, my winged familiar flew down and snatched me from under my arms with his long white claws. It was strange seeing him in such a different form, but he was the size of a wolf like this, and he was still just as strong and determined.
The other familiars grabbed their mistresses, but since Circe didn’t have one, I had Alex land again so she could ride upon his back. It only took a moment, and then we were up in the air once more and staring down at the glorious mess we’d created. As we soared over the ruined kingdom, I took a long moment to appreciate my fatal and magnificent work. Dead bodies flowed down the rivers of red blood, and flying critters were feasting on the rotting flesh and picking at yellow-tinted bones.
“It’s ssssso beautiful,” Circe hissed from where she sat perched atop Alex. “Now I can see why it’s called an unholy miracle.”
“It was certainly a day I will never forget,” Morgana added as her bird familiar glided at our side. “We’d slaughtered kingdoms before, but never to this extent. It’s truly a sight to behold.”
I breathed in the smell of death and closed my eyes as cool air brushed against my skin and through my hair, but by the time we crossed over the kingdom and returned to the green outskirts of the destroyed city, my compass was beating violently against my chest.
“Let’s land here,” I ordered. “I can feel the compass moving.”
Our familiars gently set us down on the ground, and after we dusted ourselves off, my coven surrounded me in a circle.
“We heard the screams of the city when it fell apart,” Vesta purred as I studied the spinning needle, and when I looked up to stare into her silver eyes, they were brimming with dangerous satisfaction. “I wish I could have been there to witness it.”
“Next time,” I reassured her. “I promise. We have many more elders to kill.”
The witches smiled, but then the familiars started to make squawking noises, so Faye flicked her wand, and our feathered companions quickly returned to their hellish forms.
Fucking finally, Alex sighed with relief as he looked at his own bladed wings. I was tired of looking like a holy bitch.
“Where should we begin walking?” Penelope asked as she glanced around us. “Has the compass pointed anywhere yet, master?”
“It should,” I said as I stared at the whirling compass. “Come on… show us how to get to the Holy Assembly.”
For a long moment, the arrow wouldn’t stop spinning, and I was about to lose my patience until suddenly, the needle began to slowly swirl in long, gradual circles. Finally, it came to a complete stop, and this time, it was pointing northeast.
“Northeast, huh?” Vanessa said as she looked over my shoulder. “I think that means we’ll have to cross the snow sanded desert.”
“Snow-sanded desert?” Revna asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of such a realm.”
“It doesn’t sound like there’s going to be a lot of water,” Marina pouted.
“I’ve read about it in books,” Morgana said in an eager voice. “It’s incredibly unique. The wind is warm, but the grains are cold and as white as snow. We’ll need thicker shoes before we cross it.”
“Not an issue.” Vanessa smiled before she flicked her wand, and when I looked down, my leather boots were a different color and much thicker. The other women also had different shoes with flat heels and wide buckles. “There, perfect.”
“Then let’s go,” I said, and the witches and familiars started to follow me.
We heeded the compass’ direction and passed the field, the marshes, and through a deep green forest. The air was growing warmer and thicker, and sweat dripped down my neck and back as we continued to follow the compass’ instructions.
“Unholy hell,” Akira panted, and when I looked at the coven, their cheeks burned bright red. “It’s fucking hot.”
“I might have forgotten to mention it gets pretty warm the closer we are to the desert,” Morgana explained as she desperately fanned her flushed face. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, Morgana,” I said in a reassuring tone. “Let’s just leave our cloaks here, but Vanessa, you’d best place them under an invisibility spell, just in case.”
“Yes, master,” the professor responded.
The women unclasped their heavy woolen cloaks and let them fall to the ground, and after I dropped mine, Vanessa pulled out her wand and vanished the garments. Once we unburdened ourselves and felt lighter, we continued on our path until we reached the outskirts of the woodland. Ahead, I could see plains of grainy white earth, and the sky had turned a deep shade of lavender with stretches of dark magenta clouds passing across the canvas. The air smelled crisp, but the wind was still warm and not very refreshing.
“Are there any creatures we should be on the lookout for?” Penelope asked as we stared off into the distance. “I’d like to know before we go any further.”
“I don’t remember reading anything about it in my books,” Morgana responded as she pressed a finger against her lips. “But then again… there wasn’t much more information recorded about these realms in the library.”
“She’s right, as per usual,” Faye replied. “I’ve been reading about every single creature I could find tales of, and so far, I haven’t seen anything about animals who dwell in the ivory sand pits.”
“Either way,” Vanessa said before she slowly pulled her wand out. “Let’s keep our eyes peeled.”
“Definitely,” I agreed. “If I’ve learned anything, it’s that there’s always something lurking, even when it seems tranquil. Keep your guards up.”
“Yes, master,” the women responded in unison.
“We will protect you with our lives, master,” Marina added with a determined nod. “We owe you our souls and blood, and it is an honor to sacrifice both for you in return.”
“Thank you, Marina.” I smirked at the former siren. “But don’t needlessly suffer on my account. I’d much rather you be happy and whole, especially if I will be rewarding you with a night in my bed soon.”
The purple-haired witch blushed as I winked at her, but then I turned back to the endless desert before us, schooled my expression, and pulled out my wand.
“Let’s go,” I said, and I took a step forward. The sand shifted beneath me, and I could feel an icy cold radiate up through my soles, but I ignored it and pressed forward.
The rest of the coven whipped out their wands before they followed me across the soft grains of cold white sand. My boots sank up to the ankle with each heavy step, and a cool breeze cut across the desert. The wind was low and howled like a vicious wolf, and the further we trekked, the colder the icy sand grew.
“W-What’s going on?” Akira asked through chattering teeth, and she wrapped her arms around her and stuffed her hands into her armpits. “I-I t-thought it was supposed to be warm.”
“Normally, it is!” Morgana shouted over the blaring wind. “Something’s wrong!”
“But what?” Nyx asked as her blue lips quivered. “I don’t see a thing.”
“Neither can I,” I said as I hovered my hand over my eyes. “I-I think some kind of storm is picking up.”
The sand was lifting from the grainy dunes and swirling in every direction. The wind and debris whipped across my face, and the beads of white sand were so sharp, they cut into my skin little by little, like tiny knives. Blood trickled down my cheek, and my vision blurred as clouds of sand picked up and stung my eyes. I tried to take a breath, but I could feel grainy beads slipping through my nose and mouth and choking the air out of me.
“Cole!” Vanessa cried out over the chaos.
I turned to look at the professor, but her silhouette was hazy and rapidly disappearing, and there were no other women in sight. The thick clouds of sand whipped in small tornados and towered up to the sky, and an icy wind penetrated my bones and made my teeth chatter and fingertips tingle until they were numb. My mouth went dry like I’d been parched for days, and my knees were wobbly. An intense shiver ran down my spine, and it made my feet feel like they were about to break apart from my ankles. I stumbled in the direction I’d last seen my coven, but even after over ten steps, I still hadn’t found them.
“Hello?” I cried out through the blinding storm. “Can anyone hear me?”
There was no clear response, but I thought I could hear a faint voice calling from a distance. Then another, and another.
Before I could call out, I thought I heard a deep growl, and I swirled around in every direction to try and find the source. My compass started to beat hard against my chest, and it vibrated uncontrollably until I picked it up and lifted the lid. The arrow was spinning in a rapid circle until finally, it went still and pointed north. It was still impossible to see, but I knew I had to find a way to destroy such a violent storm before it swallowed all of us whole.
I closed my eyes and focused intently on the turmoil. Then I willed it to come to a slow and steady stop, and with my eyes still tightly squeezed shut, I tilted my head back to the sky.
“By my unholy command, I demand the skies be steady, the air to still, and the ground to stop shaking,” I cried out. “I demand the elements to obey my will… Motus!”
Suddenly, the roaring sky grew quiet, the sand stopped spinning in whirlwind tornadoes, and the air became warm and welcoming. The sky was now clear blue, and the white grains of beady sand settled into non-moving dunes, but for some reason, I still couldn’t see any of my women. My heart hammered with concern, and I wildly looked around in every direction to see if I could spot them, but all was quiet.
“Vanessa?” I cried out. “Akira, Morgana, Revna, Circe… anyone!”
A loud cough erupted from behind me, and when I turned around, several women were gasping and choking for air as they crawled out of the sand.
“Fucking hell,” Penelope panted before she brushed the sand out of her bloodshot brown eyes. “For a moment there, I thought we were going to be buried alive.”
“Right there with you,” Nyx coughed. “I can hold my breath for a long time, but I’d rather have smoke in my lungs, not sand.”
“I have a feeling those were sand spirits,” Vanessa said breathlessly, and her usually pristine hair was a messy halo around her head. “They tried to bury us, but thanks to Cole, we’re still alive.”
“Wait,” I said as I looked around and counted all the women. “Where is Beatrix?”
The women wildly looked around in every direction, but the light-haired brunette was nowhere to be seen. My blood boiled with anxiety, and my heart pounded against my ribcage as I started to search for her. The other witches followed my lead, and we explored the sands until I landed on a patch of sand and felt a sensation flowing up my legs and into my head. Then I thought I heard Beatrix’s voice, and I strained to pick out the words.
“Master!” she wailed faintly, and it sounded like she was right below my feet. “Help! Please!”
“She’s here!” I yelled before I looked down at the sand and willed it to spread apart. “Motus!”
The spot instantly exploded into a cloud of smoke, and when the air cleared, there was a deep black hole beneath us. At first, there was no sound, but then I heard a low echoing moan, and Beatrix’s head popped up from the deep opening.
“Grab her hands!” I ordered as I reached down to help her out.
The others grabbed whatever they could to help her, but she wasn’t budging.
“Something is caught onto my ankle!” Beatrix screamed. “It won’t let me go!”
I gritted my teeth and tried to peer down the hole while still holding onto the light-haired brunette’s hand, but it was nearly impossible.
“Akira, hold her,” I ordered. “I’m going to try and see what’s down there.”
“Alright,” the dark-haired Wicca grunted, and she gritted her teeth as she strengthened her grip on the trapped witch. “Be careful, master!”
“Always,” I muttered as I leaned down and aimed my wand into the darkness.
I couldn’t see a damn thing, but then I saw something move in the corner of my eye. It was bright yellow, and it shot by as fast as a spell. Then I blinked, and it was gone.
“Do you see anything?” Akira groaned as she pulled harder at Beatrix’s arms, but it was futile.
“I think so,” I growled before I swiftly waved my wand. “Illumina!”
The tip of my wand glowed with a small flame, and that was when I saw something covered in deep green scales. Its skin was sleek, and it moved with ease like it was swimming underwater. It groaned like a reptilian beast as I flicked my wand in its direction, and then its grunt deepened before it tugged on Beatrix harder and nearly pulled her all the way down into a sandy abyss.
“Cole, she’s slipping!” Akira grunted, and the rest of the coven formed a line behind the black-haired witch, wrapped their arms around each other’s waists, and tried to keep Beatrix from going under.
“Master!” the light-haired brunette sobbed.
“Dissulto!” I yelled over her scream.
Bright red light slipped from the end of my wand, blasted through the mysterious beast, and seared a hole right through its rough, scaly skin. I thought it would release her, but Beatrix only cried out in pain and terror as the beast tugged harder and pulled her deeper into its domain.
“What does it have her by?” Vanessa asked through her teeth. She had her arms hooked beneath Akira’s ribs, but the whole line of witches was slowly sliding toward the gaping hole. “Whatever it is, it needs to be cut off!”
“I-I think it’s a tentacle or something,” I said as I narrowed my eyes and flicked my wand.
I was right. There was a long, slimy limb with suction cups wrapped around Beatrix’s ankle, and its grip was so tight, I saw blood trickling down her skin. The light-haired brunette gasped and fought against the monster with all her will, but it refused to budge.
“When I utter the next spell,” I began. “You need to pull Beatrix up with all your strength. Got it?”
“Yes,” the women responded in unison.
I took a deep breath, steadied my trembling hand, and narrowed my eyes at the dark and desperate creature. Then, when I knew I had a perfect shot, I took it.
“Secare!” I shouted.
Light shot from the tip of my wand and sliced the wriggling limb perfectly, and as the creature let out a terrible scream, my coven yanked Beatrix from the hole and dragged her to safety.
Before I could enact another spell, the beast slipped deeper into the hole and disappeared. Then the air was quiet, and for a long moment, no one dared to say a word.
“I-Is it gone?” Beatrix stammered as she looked around with wide eyes and parted lips. She was caked in sand from head to toe, and some of the grains had sliced small wounds into her pale cheeks.
“Beatrix, your ankle,” Morgana gasped.
I looked down at the light-haired brunette’s leg, and there was a deep gash with shreds of skin split open, wide enough to see blood and tissue. Beatrix’s lips were pale and trembling, and when the others tried to touch her wound, she flinched and squeezed her brown eyes shut.
“It will heal,” I reassured her. “But can you walk on it? We need to get the hell out of here first.”
“I-I can try,” Beatrix replied as beads of sweat trickled down her red cheeks.
The other witches hoisted her up from under her arms and tried to steady her, but the wound was too deep and stubborn for her to walk on it.
“I’ll carry you,” I said before I scooped her up in my arms, and when she was safely in my grasp, she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Thank you, master,” Beatrix cooed as she tucked her face into my neck. “I’m sure it will heal soon.”
“Do… do you feel something?” Vanessa asked, and there was a long pause. “It felt like the ground was shaking again.”
“Is the creature coming back?” Revna asked as she strung an arrow into her bow and aimed at the sand below us.
It took a moment, but soon I felt another series of tremors beneath my feet, and before I knew it, the sand began to split open. Giant holes were emerging everywhere, and they were only growing wider as we stood on the white grains.
“Move!” I ordered.
We ran as hard as we could away from the sand and northeast where the compass was directing us. With Beatrix in my arms, I sprinted toward something that looked like a plain of rocky ground, but it felt like we were in the middle of the ocean and desperately trying to reach the shore before we drowned.
“Don’t look back!” I shouted as we sprinted toward our safe haven.
The women responded by huffing and breathing heavily behind me, and the familiars either flew or ran after us.
Cole, look out! Alex warned, and before I could say anything, I looked over my shoulder and saw my familiar swoop down and claw into a giant slippery beast. By now, there were dozens of creatures popping up from beneath the sand and wriggling their fully-scaled bodies up to the surface to chase us.
“Thanks, man,” I huffed as we reached the stony ground, and I gently set Beatrix down and looked out toward the ocean of sand. “There’s too many of them… and something tells me they’re not going to stop.”
“What are you going to do, master?” Beatrix asked as I stared at the beasts who continued to slowly crawl out of the holes they created.
I took a deep breath and focused intently on the hideous sons of bitches, and when one giant, bulky monster with scaly skin, a round body, hundreds of tentacles, and thousands of eyes popped up from its depths, I knew I had to kill them all at once.
So, with all my will, I summoned another storm to appear, but this was going to be one of my own creation. I needed the sky to split apart and for lightning to strike the earth and electrocute these greasy monsters.
Then I raised my hands high up into the air and breathed in steadily.
“Motus!” I yelled with all my strength.
Dark clouds bloomed into existence above us, and the creatures squeaked and wailed as lightning popped through the black canopy like violent spells. Then the reptiles’ countless pairs of eyes looked up in terror as the sky began to enact its merciless fury. They stopped dead in their tracks, but before they could crawl back into their deep, cool havens, bolts of electricity rained down and electrocuted each beast. Their giant bodies violently trembled, and their bones glowed from the inside out as burning light from the sky cooked their insides and outsides. It was a glorious sight to behold, and I couldn’t look away. The poor scaly bastards writhed, screamed, and disintegrated into thousands of chunks of slimy, gory meat. Bits and pieces rained down upon the snow-white desert, and pools of dark-green blood smeared across the ivory grains and tainted their once pure form forever.
“Well, fuck,” Akira chuckled nervously when everything died down. “That was a close one, huh, Beatrix?”
“Yeah, she almost got eaten,” Penelope said in a soft voice. “You would have been alive, but digging you out bit by bit wouldn’t have been ideal.”
“N-No shit,” Beatrix added as she looked down at her leg, which was now almost entirely healed. “T-Thank you all for saving me, by the way.”
“You don’t have to thank us, dear,” Vesta purred as she reached down and stroked the brunette’s hair. “Like Revna has said, you are our sister, one of the Dark Lord’s chosen brides.”
“Yeah,” Nyx snickered. “We like, love you and shit.”
“Very articulate,” Circe giggled, and her serpentine eyes glinted with mirth.
“Well, I just want to put this place behind us,” Beatrix sighed as Faye helped her to her feet. “How much farther do we have to go, master?”
“The compass is still pointing northeast, so I say we keep going,” I said.
“Hopefully, we’ll come upon the walls of the Holy Assembly before nightfall.” Vanessa nodded. “We’re still close to the kingdom of Gorea… let’s just hope the elders haven’t received word yet that their kingdom has been destroyed.
“Agreed,” I said. “Now, let’s get a fucking move on. Time is of the essence, and I’m eager to spill more unholy blood.”