Merrie stepped out of the Shadows a block away from where Lady Anasome was being held. Neither her nor Tamin's paws made any noise on the wooden slats of the building's roof as they padded over the ridge and into the brilliance of the morning light. The sun peaked over the edges of the valley, casting everything in a quickly brightening pink glow. Moist air steamed around her feet, curling up into wisps of fog with every step.
At the corner of the building, she crouched over the edge like a gargoyle and peered down the street. It was easy to know where Lady Anasome's kidnappers were holed up, the streets around the warehouse were packed with guards, paladins, and mercenaries. Everyone was armed and ready for battle. Flares of magic popped in the air and a haze of energy rolled down the streets. She could feel the crackle of power in the air and along her skin, it set the hairs on her body on end and she shivered at the sensations.
Merrie focused on the paladins of Lemetri. They were the most distinctive, with their pure white armor and glowing swords. They were scattered among the crowds, preparing for battle and inspiring others. All of them were the model warrior of justice and truth, fighting for right and against might.
A cold shiver ran down Merrie's spine. She remembered Kirin's story and felt sick to her stomach. They were also people who turned on themselves and slaughtered because their goddess commanded them to just to change her appearance. For all their posturing and proclamations, they weren't as glossy as they appeared to be.
She felt the pluck of Presence tickling the edges of her mind. With a start, she wrapped her shields around herself. There were multiple attempts to both draw and pull her attention away. She frowned as she stared at the milling crowds, trying to see through the illusions and tricks of the mind.
A headache pierced over her head. It was a sharp agony as she fought against the power of nearly fifty paladins.
(Give me that,) said Tamin as he shielded her from the pain.
Relieved, Merrie pushed harder and forced herself to see the world as it was, not as it was presented. With a sickening twist of thought, the world suddenly became a much different place.
The paladins were there, but only a few of them were standing tall and giving inspirational speeches. The others were darting into the crowds, leaving behind a whisper and a word there. They were joining into conversations and saying just the right things to flare anger and rage. As they discretely left the little cliques of fighters, she could feel them leaving behind outrage and anger. Emotions ran brightly on the street, a cauldron of rage that was barely kept in check by the paladins. Soon, they would be unleashing the fury at the kidnapper in the building.
She returned her attention to the crowds. It was looking less like a gathering force to wipe out the kidnappers and more of a riot about to set fire to the entire district. She scanned the crowds, looking for a familiar face.
Gillette stood near the main entrance as one of the higher ranking paladins yelled at him. Compared to the warriors in brilliant white, he was grungy and dirty. He looked completely out of place; a farmer who became a warrior, not someone who upheld some goddess' divine appearance. He also was frowning, as if something bothered him.
Merrie felt a surge of sadness fill her. He turned her down. When she bared her soul to him and begged him to become her master, he just walked away. It was to save her and fight her enemies, but that brief moment of seeing him walking away left a nightmare behind and she shivered.
(You found a better mistress, Alpha.)
(I know, but who's side is he on?)
(His own, as far as we know.)
Merrie sighed. She focused her attention on Gillette and reached out with her mind. (Gillette?)
Gillette made no hint that she reached him, but surprise blossomed in his thoughts. (Shades, I didn't think you'd be talking to me anymore. I feel like I have betrayed you in the final hour.) There was regret in his thoughts. (I'm sorry for what I did, I had no choice.)
She sighed and settled down, watching the powerful man as he was dismissed.
He shoved his way through the crowd, holding his scythe behind his back. She could feel the fury in his mind, but also the hesitation to speak about it.
She thought about the fantasies she had, they were still raw and sensual, but faded now with her new mistress. (I have a new mistress now.)
He hesitated in mid-step and his thoughts grew guarded. (Mistress? What about the guard who bled on the collar?)
(He wasn't strong enough.) She shook her head. She still hadn't discussed Sama with Fang, but neither of them were ready to face that fight.
(You… you didn't kill him, did you?)
Merrie gave him a mock glare, sending a pulse of annoyance. (No, and no one else killed him either. I just found someone else.) To her surprise, she hesitated to tell him about the collaring.
(Who?)
A blush burned on her cheeks. It felt like she was talking to an ex-lover about someone else who made her happier. (… me.)
Gillette stopped in his tracks, his face growing slack with surprise. (You? You could do that?)
Merrie sent a wave of agreement. (Yes.)
(Well, Shades, you surprised me.) A smile quirked his lip. (So, how is your new mistress.)
(She's a bitch.) Merrie giggled and her tail wagged. Something had passed between them and she felt more relaxed. She nestled down on the corner, the wooden slats catching her naked breasts. Behind her, her cloak fluttered in a breeze.
Gillette laughed out-loud, which drew annoyed looks from paladins and mercenaries alike. He ducked his head and headed for the edge of the crowds. (Where are you?)
Merrie shifted to watch him pass underneath her. (Close. I heard there was trouble.)
(Someone kidnapped Lady Anasome and her apprentice.)
(Rose.)
Surprise blossomed in his thoughts. (You know them?)
(They are friends….) Her thought trailed off. She knew they were friends, but every time she visited the perfume shop, she lost her memories. Something happened in there and kept drawing her back, but she couldn't remember no matter how hard she tried.
(Does that mean you going after their kidnappers?)
(Probably, is it a thriban in white armor?)
Gillette stopped and leaned into his massive scythe. (Yes, some fallen paladin named Bass. He pretends to be a paladin of Lemetri before kidnapping women off the street. I heard that he cuts off their limbs and—)
(And rapes them before selling them as sex slaves.)
Anger boiled in Gillette's thoughts. (Is that who did that to you? The fucking bastard.)
Merrie growled in her chest as she glanced at the warehouse. They were about to invade the building. (Yes.)
(I'm glad you got freedom. But, this is a man who needs to answer to the gods directly for what he's done. And to answer for all the other women he's tortured over the years.)
Merrie stood up. (I intend to,) she projected before stepping into the Shadows.
There was a moment. (Do you need me?) There was hesitation in his thoughts.
(Why?)
(Because I realize that when it comes to things outside of shadows, the paladins and I are not in agreement. I'm more interesting in following the laws and they,) his thoughts grew darker, (appear to be more dedicated in throwing innocent men to soften him up before killing him.)
Merrie's mind grew tense with anger. (How about I just kill him now and save everyone?) She withdrew her thoughts and let a grim smile cross her face.
It was a short distance to cross into the warehouse. A moment later, she came back into reality in a central room that stretched up all three stories. The room was packed with furniture on immense shelves that reached clear to the roof. The smell of upholstery and padding and dust was thick in the air.
On the far side, Tamin stepped through but kept to the shadows.
“Oh, Bass, why did you come back?”
Merrie froze at Lady Anasome's voice. It was sad and worried, not the sound of a woman kidnapped. She crouched low and crawled through the darkness toward the sound.
“Because,” the sound of Bass's rumbling voice brought back a surge of memories and Merrie had to bite down on her tongue to avoid growling, “I have obligations that I had to fulfill.”
“Oh, my poor Bass. You can't keep wrapping yourselves in promises.”
“It is who I am.”
“You have very powerful enemies who know your weaknesses. Which is why we are here.” Lady Anasome's voice was a stark contrast to Bass's rumble. She had a rich accent from Franome City and the cultured voice of a true lady.
Merrie came up underneath a table and peered out into the center of the room. Lady Anasome was sitting on a couch with a blanket over her shoulder. Her trademark yellow outfit was splattered with blood and her hair was pulled down into golden waves along her shoulder. One gloved hand held the blanket over her shoulder, but the other was resting in the palm of Merrie's rapist. She looked young in that moment, though Merrie knew she was in her forties.
On his knees and his back to her, Bass tended to a cut with a tenderness that Merrie didn't think the rapist was capable of even pretending to have. If it wasn't for the horrors that Merrie knew he was capable of, it would have been almost a romantic scene. Instead, all Merrie could remember was the pain he inflicted on her.
Her lips pulled back in a silent growl.
Across the cleared out area and hidden between two bookcases, Tamin's snarl growl matched her own. (Tell me when to strike, Alpha.)
(Where is Rose?)
(Cowering behind this shelf,) he sent an image of Rose crouched down behind the shelf, less than two meters away from Tamin's hidden form. The slender woman was clutching her knees to her chest, sobbing as she rocked back and forth.
Merrie reached out with her mind and sank into Rose's thoughts. The young woman's psyche was fractured. She kept replaying a scene over and over again, her heart pounding every time she thought about it.
The world slowed down as the man in white armor slashed at Bass and spun around. His eyes glinted in his visor as he focused on Lady Anasome. With a chuckle, he continued to spin around and brought his sword around. The blade sparkled with Bass' blood as it swung even with Lady Anasome's neck. There was no question, he was trying to kill Bass and Lady.
Rose screamed out but she couldn't move. Fear poured into her and her body refused to move. She felt something rising inside her, a heated desperation to save the lady from the blade.
Sable jumped up at the last moment and the sword caught her in the belly. With a cry, she folded over the blade and her soft body smacked Lady Anasome in the chest. The impact threw both of them out of Lady Anasome's chair and into the cafe table behind them.
The memory played over and over in Rose's thoughts, but the young woman regretted it wasn't her that saved Lady Anasome, instead of Sable.
Merrie reached out for Rose, to give her comfort, but then Sable bounded across the floor to Bass, drawing her attention away from the sobbing assistant. It had been five years since the two Alphas had seen each other, but Merrie couldn't forget Sable any more than she could forget Bass. Even with the danger just outside, the curvy woman bounded like a dog and barked happily before jumping on the couch. Wiggling her ass and her tail, she burrowed into Lady Anasome's blankets and rested her head on the lady's lap. With her tongue hanging out of her mouth, she rolled over and exposed her large breasts and belly to be petted.
Bass dropped his hand to Sable's sex to stroke it with one thick finger. “Sable says they are going to attack soon.”
Lady Anasome looked uncomfortable for a moment, then rested her gloved hand on Sable's breast. The other Alpha sighed and slumped down, her eyes rolling in her head.
Looking up, the lady looked at Bass. “Are they going to attack me again?”
Merrie felt an icy shiver course down her spine.
“Probably. Somehow, the paladins found out about us. That we weren't the enemies we pretend to be.” Bass's voice rumbled as he gathered up Lady Anasome's fingers and kissed them gently.
“Oh, Bass, we were never enemies. We just dance in different circles and no one would understand what you've become.”
“I know,” he said as he stood up. He was wearing a simple outfit, a white button-down shirt and black trousers. His thick hands clung to her fingers until she pulled them back. “I wish I could have stayed away forever, Krissi, but I had to see her.”
Krissi Anasome smiled and stroked Sable with her spare hand. “She's really beautiful, Bass. You've taught her well.”
“Not enough. I should have fought for her more, I should have done… something so she could have come home when she lost him.”
“You had to do what you did. And she did what she did.”
They were talking about her. Merrie's mind struggled to understand how they could be so sweet to each other. Bass was a rapist and a slaver. Lady Anasome was her friend. They couldn't be friends with each other, not after what he had done to her.
Merrie padded out of the darkness, the energy gathering around her. She could feel the shadows underneath the furniture and in the shelves responding to her will. It gathered around her and the edges grew sharp. Tendrils of darkness boiled in the shadows, ready to strike.
Sable responded first. She sat up with her ears perked up. A smile crossed her lips. (Merrie!) A wave of affection and happiness radiated from the older alpha as she burst out of the blanket and raced toward Merrie. Her short limbs caused her to bound as she crossed over the distance.
Anger and fear gripped Merrie's heart. Sable was going to take her away. She braced herself and pulled back her lips in a snarl. Her growl echoed off the shelves.
Sable skidded to a halt. (Merrie?) The smile on her lips froze as she if wasn't sure of how to respond.
(You will never take me back!) Her thoughts exploded out of her and the shadows responding. Dark claws burst out and slammed into the ground, tearing through the wooden floor in deep gouges.
Bass was up in a flash, standing in front of Lady Anasome. “Fuck! Havi hasn't gotten to her!”
Merrie lifted her gaze to her rapist. He was the man responsible for cropping her and raping her. He ripped her apart and broke her. And now he wanted to take her back. (No!)
She charged, her body shifting into the black hound as she crossed the distance. Gathering her up her strength and casting calligraphic spells in rapid succession, she jumped over Sable with her jaw open.
There was a sad look on Bass's face, but then it disappeared into a haze of power. Energy tore at the air as white armor slammed into place. The last two pieces were the brilliant white chest piece, with the scorched symbol in the center, and his helm. The impact slammed into her and threw her back.
Merrie dissolved into shadows and then solidified again past the shock wave of his armor spell. She opened her mouth to tear out his throat and snapped forward.
The tower shield burst into existence and he slammed it down into the ground. Merrie crashed into the white shield with a sickening crunch and a flash of pain. Her claws tore at the shield for purchase as she crawled to the top.
Symbols glowed underneath her body, covering the entire surface. And then it exploded out, ripping Merrie off the shield and throwing her across the room. She slammed into a couch and hit the ground.
With a snarl, Merrie flowed back to her feet. Tentacles of black burst out from the shadows and shot out for the shield. They wrapped around the glowing metal, smoldering from the light that radiated from it, and tore it from Bass' hands. The tentacles burned away as the shield flew across the room. The heavy metal punched through the side of the warehouse and the morning light flooded in through the sudden hole.
Tamin launched himself from behind, clearing over Lady Anasome and landing on Bass's back. His teeth flashed as he bit down, tearing into the metal at the thriban's spine.
Merrie braced herself to charge again. She stopped when she saw Sable in front of her. The Alpha was snarling, her human body glowing with an intense light as power coursed between her and Bass. She was heartbeats away from transforming herself.
(Do you really want to hurt my master, bitch?) The words were a blend of Bass' and Sable's voice, but lowered into a growl that shook the air. Sable's Presence beat against Merrie.
Dixie's eyes widened and he began to shake. His attitude changed instantly as he dropped to the ground in humanoid form. He cowered against the ground as a puddle of pee formed underneath his hips.
The desire of submit tore into Merrie, battering her mind and plucking at the core of her being. She was being dominated, but she could never let Bass or Sable take her back. She would never go back to the Mill.
Digging her paws into the rotting wood underneath her, Merrie snarled and sent out a pulse of anger and rage. It exploded from her in a visible wave, slamming into Sable. (I will never go back!)
The Alpha staggered back, her eyes widened with fear and the light flickering. But then the connection between Sable and Bass flared into brilliance. The air grew hazy around Sable.
Merrie charged forward, her jaws opening wide. She had to get to Sable before the armor appeared.
Sable reared back and the energy burst inside her. As she landed, an almost identical tower shield slammed into place between her and Merrie.
Unable to stop, Merrie crunched into the shield. As she staggered back, she heard the impact of Sable's armor snapping into place. Waves of force coursed past her, picking up dust in a cloud and blasting it past Merrie.
Sable's shield disappeared and Sable's armored muzzle burst out of the haze of power to bit down on Merrie.
Merrie melted into shadows before the glowing teeth could connect and sailed across the ground toward Bass.
The thriban was struggling with Tamin, trying to throw him away as the black hound tore at his armor. He was using his gauntleted hands to pull at the hound, but Tamin kept shifting in and out of the shadows, slipping past Bass's grip as he tore open the metal to expose the gray flesh underneath. A few trickles of blood were already dripping down the white metal.
As Merrie regained her physical form, she launched her cloak at Bass. The black fluttering fabric sailed across the air and wrapped around Bass' helm. With a sucking, it began to pour into his visor, searching for his mouth and nose so it could tear him open from the inside.
An explosion rocked the warehouse as Sable slammed into Tamin, her body glowing from the charge attack. Tiny runes of power glowed in the air behind her. The dust curled around Tamin as his black form crashed into a wardrobe. The wood collapsed as the entire shelf shuddered from the impact.
Sable planted her feet on Bass' chest and bit down on the cloak. Power coursed through her as she yanked back. The cloak tore from Bass and fluttered angrily as it lashed out in all directions.
The cloak ripped free of Sable's mouth, the long tear sealing up almost instantly. It sailed back to Bass, intent on killing Merrie's rapist.
Bass slammed his hands together and a column of light exploded from him. It punched through the roof of the warehouse and the entire room grew painfully bright.
The cloak wilted under the intensity and Merrie called it back. It wrapped around her and tightened against her skin, melding back with the hard-edged shadows that formed from Bass' light.
There was a sharp series of bangs and the entire building shuddered. A roar of mercenaries and guards filled the warehouse as they came streaming into the room, but the shelves blocked them from charging directly for Bass.
Rose screamed shrilly as she staggered to her feet.
Tamin sent an hazy image as he pulled himself out of the wreckage of his impact.
Rose clutched to the wall as she stared at the mercenaries as they surrounded her. Their eyes were glazed over, controlled by the suggestions and frenzy that the paladin of Lemetri had inflicted on them. There were no paladins among the crowd as they stepped toward Rose.
For a moment, Rose gasped. “I'm saved,” she whimpered.
The hope was dashed as they held up their swords and began to stalk toward her. They were going to kill everyone in the warehouse, innocent or not.
Merrie gasped and charged for Rose. Her movement brought her close to Sable. The Alpha snapped at her, metal teeth chomping down millimeters from Merrie's flanks. Fueled with speed, Merrie melted into shadows and flowed through the furniture. Coming out on the other side, she saw one of the mercenaries with a blank gaze raising up his sword with both hands as he stood over a cowering Rose.
Without a second thought, she attacked. Charging forward, she expanded into physical form and jumped at him. Her teeth punched through the man's leather armor and into bone. His ribs snapped, but she used her momentum to flip the attacker over and slam him into the wall. His skull fractured from the impact before he crumpled to the ground.
Merrie landed on her paws. Without hesitating, she snapped forward and took out the nearest man's leg, biting through it until the bone broke in her jaws.
Tamin burst out of the darkness and tore into the mercenaries on the side. His black form was quickly splattered with blood as he ripped out tendons and tore through arteries.
(Rose!) Sable's thoughts echoed deeply in Merrie's mind. The massive shelves exploded as she burst through them. Shards of wood and nails bounced off her metallic form as she sheared through three men and stopped with a fourth's spine in her mouth. She snapped her head once and a muted cracking noise shot through the air.
Guards and mercenaries charged toward her and Merrie, their gazes blank and drool running from the corners of their mouths.
Sable snarled and white runes appeared in front of her, moving in a clockwise circle.
Seeing the magic spell and remembering its effect, Merrie and Tamin charged out in opposite directions and then attacked from the side, herding the attackers into a line for Sable's spell. She hated working with someone who helped rape her, but saving Lady Anasome and Rose were more important than her hatred of Bass. For now.
Sable's spell exploded into light and the explosion tore through the mercenaries, stripping off their armor and flesh before their bodies ignited into flames.
Tamin shuddered at the remembered pain of having the same thing done to him, but he tossed one of the few remaining mercenaries into the explosion before diving back through the furniture to attack Bass.
“No!” screamed Rose. Merrie spun around to see to see a guard wildly swinging his sword at Rose's head. He had his foot on her knee, pinning her down.
Rose sobbed as she ducked underneath. The sleeves on her forearms was sliced open and blood dripped on the ground from dozens of cuts that Merrie had somehow missed.
Merrie launched herself at Rose's attacker. (Duck!) she projected with all her might.
The world froze as something blossomed out from Rose. It was an intense desire to obey and a flash of power. It radiated out from the young apprentice as she dove to the ground, cowering into a tiny ball.
With a rush, the world resumed and Merrie grabbed the guard by the sword arm and spun him around. His arm dislocated and then tore off as he was thrown through the wall and back out into the street. Blood splattered against Merrie as she landed heavily next to Rose.
Turning around, she reached out for Rose. (Are you—)
Rose looked up and the sight of Rose's gaze stilled Merrie's heart. It wasn't empty or terror, but filled with a desperate longing and something she had never seen before. It was a hunger and it sent a shiver of need coursing through Merrie's body.
Bass' hands stroked her as he caressed her back with soapy water. His cock was buried inside her sex, hot and pulsating. But, there was no anger inside him or her. There was only love and tenderness.
"I knew that you were an alpha the day I kidnapped you."
Merrie froze, his quiet words throwing her into a shock. The world spun around her as her breathing grew faster. Her eyes blurred for a moment as she gasped for air that refused to fill her lungs.
"It was a look, a hunger for something you never knew you needed. I could see it in your eyes, like a bitch in a cage desperate to escape. You were a shell of a woman, an empty vase I had to fill."
Merrie had seen that look before but she couldn't remember when. She had lost the memories when she bonded with Kine, but they came back to her. She saw them in a mirror as she dressed to go partying out at night. They were in the pictures that hung on the walls and rested in photo albums. Every image of her had the same looked, a desire to be dominated and filled.
Rose was a beta.
Stunned, Merrie staggered back.
(Alpha!) Tamin's thoughts burst through her thoughts.
Merrie spun around and saw paladins charging into the warehouse. They were decked in brilliant white and glowing with brilliance. They ignored the blood and bodies as they raced toward Bass.
The thriban stood in the center of the battle, decked in blood-stained armor. He fought over Lady Anasome, defending her as much as himself. The last of the mercenaries attacked anything they could, fighting with the last of their strength even as Bass' two-handed sword sliced off limbs and weapons. Blood poured around their feet and they slipped through it as they sacrificed their bodies in their attack.
The paladins of Lemetri ignored the charmed mercenaries. Divine magic swirled around them, elegant and graceful as they ran in screaming out cries for their goddess.
Bass gripped his bloody sword and braced himself. Magic rolled around him, the same brilliant white as the paladins. Compared to the flares of power around the paladins, he was an inferno. With a roar, he swung his sword and parried the first blows. His second strike cut through flesh and bone and armor.
With gurgling screams, the first ranks of paladins fell but there were almost a hundred glowing fighters remaining.
(Master!) screamed Sable as she charged back into the fight. Her armored body flashed as she exploded into the back ranks of the paladins, igniting them on fire as her spell brought her through to the other side.
Merrie stared as Bass and Sable fought. But, as impressive as they were, it was obvious they would be overwhelmed. For a moment, she felt a swell of fierce joy that her rapist would meet his end on the paladin's attacks. She didn't have to do anything but sit back and guard Rose.
Anger bubbled inside her. Lemetri was also responsible for Kine's death. These were the men and women who destroyed her shadows and plunged her into a world of hell and despair. And they would kill Lady Anasome in their quest to destroy Bass.
She snarled, tasting blood on her mouth. (Tamin, guard Rose with your life.)
(Yes, Alpha!)
Merrie charged forward as tentacles burst out of the darkness around her. The pitch black strands of shadow wrapped around heads and arms before yanking bodies apart. Blood exploded around her as she reached the nearest armored figured. Biting down, she shattered the woman's pelvis and tossed her aside.
Her cloak exploded out from her, spreading out into a cloud of unnatural shadows. It caught on the joints of armor and sucked into them. Moments later, people screamed as they clutched their throats and stomachs. They dropped to the ground as their blood and guts poured out on the floor.
(Merrie,) came Sable's thoughts as the armored alpha ripped into an armored man wielding a two-handed hammer, (why are you helping us?) Her voice was a mixture of Bass' and hers, both masculine and feminine. With the intimacy of their telepathy, Merrie couldn't find the anger and hatred she expected to see. Only concern, regret, and sadness.
Merrie snarled and ripped a man's head off. (They killed my master.) Memories of that fateful morning flashed briefly through her head before she forced it down.
(I'm sorry.) Regret and compassion resonated along their telepathic connection.
For a moment, Merrie was stunned. There was something honest about Sable's emotions. It was a complete contrast to everything Merrie remembered about Sable. At the Mill, she was the woman who forced the others into submission, grinding her cunt against their face until they screamed for air. She bit and nipped, wrestling them down and forcing them to submit until their wills broke.
But, in that brief moment, she saw Sable as a different woman, one who loved everyone and everything. She fought as she loved, passionately and with her entire heart. The memories felt like they were welling up, ready to burst open, but then something reached up deep from inside Merrie and clutched the joy with crystalline claws.
Sable finished ripping out a man's guts and hit the ground with a heavy thud and a squelch of organs. (We never stopped loving you.)
Their eyes met and Merrie almost lost herself in Sable's brown gaze. But, as they were sharing some memory, Merrie felt the crystalline touch of Haviston reach into her mind and tear away the happiness and joy. She turned away from Sable to attack another paladin.
Sadness filled Sable's thoughts. (Damn you, Haviston.)
The alpha turned away and looked up at Bass. He was once again Merrie's rapist and she felt nothing but vile anger for the man who was responsible for her cropping.
Merrie panted as she looked for another enemy, but there was only two left. Every guard, mercenary, and paladin was on the ground. Most were dead but a few were sobbing as they tried to shove their guts back in or clutching gaping wounds or missing limbs.
She turned to Bass and felt the crystalline anger rising up. He was going to take her away. Around her, the shadows began to boil with tentacles and power. She felt the energy seeping into her bones. She knew the perfect spell to make sure Bass would never survive.
Black runes started to draw across her mind, a spell to summon the Lord of Shadows, but something stopped her.
It was Bass pulling Lady Anasome to his chest and kissing her. Not a peck on her cheek but a passionate and loving kiss. His massive, blood-covered body dwarfed her own, but there was nothing but love in his actions as he cradled her body with his arms and held her tight.
Lady Anasome moaned and wrapped her yellow-clad arms around his neck, holding herself against his body as she kissed him back. Blood from his armor stained her yellow shirt, adding to the gore from the other attacks on her.
It was a moment of raw tenderness, with the light streaming in from the sky above them and dust in the air. Bodies were strewn around them and the smell of offal filled the air. But, in that singular moment, Merrie's anger dissolved as she saw something that her mind couldn't comprehend. The crystalline claws of anger stilled as did the killing spell in her mind.
Bass broke the kiss and smiled. “I will never stop loving you, Krissi.” He turned to Sable, who sat on the ground with her tail wagging. “Come on, Sable, we're leaving before they send any more in.”
(Yes, master.)
Bass chuckled, a low rumbling noise in his chest. He looked around at the slaughter around him. There was sadness in his eyes. “Be safe. Merrie will protect you.”
The lady sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye with one delicate finger. She pointed toward the corner of the warehouse. “The stench of bodies is less that way. There are two guards, both male but wearing my women's line of perfumes. Please be gentle to them. They are frequent customers.”
“Of course, my lady.”
Covered in blood, Bass and Sable strode toward the corner. At the last moment, they both looked at Merrie and there was sadness in their eyes. With a flash of light and a push of Presence, they were gone.