Udin dragged Merrie down the hall with a makeshift leash made from his belt wrapped around her collar. The metal buckle dug into her throat, scratching her as he yanked impatiently.With every pull, his heavy boots scraped against the ground and his grunts echoed against the walls.
Merrie dragged herself behind, digging her wrists and knees into the smooth stones. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn't only her growing dread of being sealed by the geas but also her need to obey his unspoken desire; he wanted her to resist, he wanted to pull and tug her until she cried out in pain.
Her pussy fluttered with heat. She was on the brink of an orgasm for the last two hallways. Her naked body flashed as she tugged further on her leash and sunk into the forced submission. The power that came flooded through her veins with the sweetest of pleasures.
The only thing that tamped down her pleasure was the realization that he was using the very thing the geas would prevent. The magic would bind to her and cut her off from her magic, preventing her from doing anything that would give her power. In her case, that meant obeying command and submitting. She didn't know if she could turn that off, it wasn't possible not to obey the ordered commands that he was muttering under his breath as he hauled her down the halls.
Udin stopped sharply in front of a wide wooden door. It had a room number and two more lines on a brass plaque on the door: Mage Riff Glassnier, Master of Geasa. He yanked on the leash, pulling it up so Merrie had to sit.
She obeyed, her pussy squelched from her excitement. Unwittingly, her tail wagged back and forth as she stared in confusion. She felt dazed, her body responding as it always did as she tried to keep herself from plummeting into a despair; she had already learned that her depression could kill.
He hesitated for a moment as a brief surge of lust rose up. Then he turned and pounded on the door, his metal gauntlet booming in the narrow confines of the hallway.
Startled, she slumped against the wall. Her thighs were soaked from her excitement, it warred against her growing dread. Panting, she took a deep breath.
Merrie rubbed the sore ends of her wrists against the ground.
Udin looked down and scoffed. “You are so disgusting. Not even the worst of our criminals gave us so much trouble. Why don't—” He held up his hand. “No, don't use your magic to answer. If you can't say it with your mouth… actually, I don't care what you say at all. Just be quiet.”
The echo rippled along her senses and she let out a soft moan.
“You really get off on even—?”
The door opened and an old man wearing a tunic with the court symbol on it peered out. “May I… Oh, Bailiff, how may I help you?” asked Riff. He had a strained voice as if he had been working out for hours.
“I need a Justice Geas put on a criminal as soon as possible.”
Riff shook his head. “Paladay and her crew are on duty right now. I'm off for another twelve hours. You should ask—”
“I need someone competent.”
The old man glared at being interrupted. “Pala…” The old man glanced down at Merrie. His eyes widened. He dropped his gaze to her wrists and then slowly drew his eyes up with the intense look that felt like he was looking at her insides or at her energies. “Is that… the Alpha?”
She nodded, her ears bobbing with her movement.
“Yes, the traitor.”
It took a long moment for Riff to stop scanning her from wrist to ears and back again. “I would have thought you'd would have had the geas placed on her already.”
“There was… complications.”
The mage didn't look away from her. “That collar is very powerful. We don't normally geas anyone still using magic, it can trigger an immediate negative feedback.”
Merrie's ears went down, she didn't like the sound of that.
Udin growled. “I know but apparently no one is willing to remove it. Can you geas her with it?”
“Yes.”
The bailiff let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the Seven—”
The mage looked surprised before a flash of fear. He stared at Merrie as if seeing her for the first time.
“I won't though,” came a distracted reply. Then he pulled back. “No, I can't.”
Merrie stared up at him in confusion.
Udin's jaw opened. “What? Why the fuck not!?”
The old man shook his head. “I… I…” He jerked and pressed his hand against his nose. Coughing, he shook his head. “No, no one can… should.” He looked up at Riff and there was fear in his eyes. “I can't explain it though.”
“Well, why not?”
“I cannot,” Riff said firmly. “Please, do not press.”
Udin's face purpled. “I'm fucking tired of you damn mages telling me you can't do anything with her.” He yanked up on her leash. “She's nothing more than treasonous whore. It's like all of you are fucking her with the pussy footing and avoiding it.”
“That is not it, Sir Bailiff.”
“Bullshit! All of you have the hots for this cunt! That's the only reason. I'm going to find Paladay! At least she is willing to do her duty.”
The mage pulled back and then yelled, “Sir! Do not do that!”
He reached out for Udin but the bailiff smacked his hands away.
With a growl, Udin leaned toward him. “I will see justice done today, and it doesn't matter what corruption she's has on you. It will, I swear to the Seven Gods of Evermeet.”
“You cannot!” The mage shoved forward. “I must call on the judges then. Wait here or bring her to the courtroom.”
“Why?”
“I cannot explain.” Merrie had heard that tone before. He had a geas controlling him also, maybe even the same one as her.
“You will fucking explain this, by the order of the Royal Courts. I'm really fucking tired of everyone telling me to treat her like royalty. She's a fucking criminal, not the queen!”
“I cannot.” The mage looked frustrated, his eyes sliding toward Merrie and back. “I swear, Bailiff Udin. I swear on my gods and the court, I have nothing but the safety of this country, the land, and the Royal Family on my thoughts. I must speak to others about this.”
The mage stepped around Udin. “Please, promise me. Just wait.”
Udin grunted.
“No, Bailiff, I'm deathly serious. Lives will be lost if you charge forward with placing a geas on that creature… woman without being careful. I don't know how many lives, but it will be many deaths if you rush. Promise me. Promise me you'll wait until I can figure this out. Please?”
Udin's teeth ground for a moment. “I will wait.”
Abandoning his room, the mage hurried down the hallway. His door creaked open, he hadn't bothered closing it.
Merrie felt a quaver of fear. Every mage she's encountered since she was convicted was terrified of her and her collar.
Udin sighed and watched him turn a corner. "What the fuck have you done? Everyone is so scared of a naked woman with no hands and feet. You're nothing more than a whore, you should be on your way to Abbinkey by now, not having me running around trying to find someone who has the balls to do their job."'
Merrie cringed. She whispered, “Maybe we should—”
He silenced her with a yank that dug the collar into her throat. “Let's find Paladay. She lost family when you cursed the city, she won't hesitate.”
Merrie resisted by digging her wrists into the ground. There was too many things going wrong, too much and she was worried that Udin was going to kill people like the mage insisted.
He yanked hard. “Come on, bitch! I said I'd wait and I waited long enough. I want this fucking geas on you before I grow old. Now, heel!”
The bellowed command slammed into her, a sweet pleasure filling her as it set off a rippling orgasm. She let out a moan as her focus grew inward to her rippling cunt and the icy juices oozing out from her bare pussy. She shuddered as it filled her with intense pleasures.
When she regained her senses, Udin was dragging her down the hall. She tried to say something but he yanked her her, cutting off her breath with the collar. Another ripple of pleasure. When she recovered, her limbs skittered on the ground as she struggled to keep up, she remained silent as his mental desire demanded.
Unable to fight him, her thoughts wandered as she rushed to keep up. She didn't think the collar could be removed from her. It was her bond, tied into her soul with spells and oath magic. Her True Submissive nature had wrapped around it, digging deep into her mind. Without it, she would have no mistress anymore, an alpha without a master. She had done it once, it was a terrible time in her life and thousands died in her despair.
She wondered if death would be a good alternative but doubted the collar would allow her to remain truly dead. She could be destroyed, but that only meant that she would have months of torture as she regained her body.
Merrie concentrated on her collar, sending a thought along the place that she identified as her mistress. (What do I do? Please? Do I fight? Do I run away? Do I submit?)
She hoped she would get a response. She didn't understand how the collar could give orders that she did not initiate herself. This time, she hoped it would command her to do something.
The agony of waiting for an answer was painfully.
Udin continued to yank and pull her down the halls. He muttered under his breath as he navigated the narrow hallways of the courthouse. She could feel the age around her, along with countless protection spells that had been layered over the years.
She stumbled along as she thought about the Justice Geas. It operated by cutting a mage off from their source of magic. For Borias, who gained power from death, it prevented him from even being near someone who died. She remembered how haunted he was when he talked about having an integral part of his life ripped away for years, not to mention the constant fear of stumbling on a death and having his insides rip apart.
It would be the same for her. Whatever gave her power would kill her after the geas. That meant pleasure and pain. She couldn't be ordered or reach out with her mind, she wasn't sure she could even survive because every time she crawled on her amputated wrists and legs, she was reminded of her helplessness. She could never fuck again. Never be raped or enjoy consensual sex. She could never be told what to do. No one around her could even desire her to do something, not if her abilities picked it up.
Tears ran down her cheeks. She didn't know if she could survive without magic anymore. Could she become just “another girl” like she was before Bass kidnapped her?
“Bailiff!” A woman's voice rose up behind them.
Udin turned and then let out a gasp of relief. “Paladay, I've been looking for you.”
“I have been running around for you.” Paladay was a red-haired woman with large breasts and narrow waist. She looked beautiful with bright yellow eyes. She was also half the age of Riff but with the same crackling energy of a mage.
Udin yanked Merrie around. “I need a geas put on this traitor as fast as possible.”
“With pleasure, sir. Please, we can do it in the ritual room.”
Merrie whimpered and shook her head. She dug her wrists into the ground as the gravity of her situation continued to grind down on her. She was about to lose everything.
He grunted and pulled harder.
She shook her head, her ears flat against her head. She couldn't take it, not with the fear.
“Do you need help, Udin?”
“No,” Udin said with a growl. He yanked the makeshift leash and dragged Merrie along. “But, I want this damn thing on as soon as possible. Riff is insisting on waking up the judges or something to prevent me from doing my job. I have priests threatening the same. I just want her done.”
There was an intense surge of anger and hatred from the female mage. “I can do it. Right here and now, actually.”
“Really?”
“We just need a private room. Something we can lock. If you don't trust them, then let's do it now before they can send an order and I'll be forced to obey.”
“I should have gone to you first.”
“Yes. Um,” Paladay looked around. “Come, there is an empty dining hall in the next hall over. It will do well enough.”
Udin dragged Merrie. “Don't you need two other mages?”
The anger rose from her. “Normally, yes, but if you are worried about being interrupted, I'm sure that asking for forgiveness is more important. We can dot the ‘i’ later.”
“Oh, thank the Seven, I really should have come here first.”
“Only serving my country,” the mage lied. Merrie could feel the deception but couldn't push her thoughts into Paladay's shields without alerting Udin of her curiosity.
The panic growing, Merrie continued to fight but Udin was more powerful and she was coming too hard from being forced. It only took a few minutes before he dragged her into an empty dining room.
Paladay locked the door behind her. Turning around, she started to pull chairs away from the two tables near the center of the room. “It's been hours, I would have expected to see you far sooner.”
“There was complications.” Udin looked down at Merrie and then up at the woman moving tables. “Sit. Sit!”
Merrie planted her ass down. She sobbed and tried to get up.
He looked uncomfortable as he took a deep breath. “Stay!”
Merrie jerked at the command, then lost herself as pleasure flooded through her. Even on the brink of losing everything, she couldn't help but respond to the order.
With a disgusted noise, Udin backed away and let the leash slip from his hand. He watched her warily but Merrie couldn't move no matter what she wanted.
She looked at him and whined as more tears ran down her cheeks.
He shook his head. “Stay!” he bellowed and then hurried to the center of the room to help clear it out.
As they worked quickly, he said, “I tried to find someone to remove the collar from her. It is an artifact of some sort but everyone refused.”
“Refused? How could they refuse?”
“Said it was too dangerous. That gods were needed.”
The mage scoffed. “It wasn't a god that killed my brother. It was her and that Shadowed District.”
Udin straightened to pick up a chair. “You lost family?” He was lying himself, but Paladay didn't seem to notice.
“My brother and his family. They never made it out. We never know who did it, but when I heard that it was her, I knew I had to be the one to put the geas on her.”
Merrie's ears drooped. She still regretted that her suicidal depression had killed thousands.
Autiur sat down next to her. “Everyone dies though. I would have thought you could have accepted that after Rakin. From the rumors, you've paid penance five times over.”
Merrie jumped at the sudden appearance of the guard. Her tail slapped against her pussy as she leaned away from him.
(What—?)
“Quiet,” he said. It was a whispered command but something was behind it, an intense presence that slammed into her, crushing her will and setting her lust on flames. She shook from the sudden orgasm that wracked her.
Autiur looked at her sadly and then shook his head. “Udin can feel you projecting and using magic. The orgasms are one thing but conscious control will change your future for a few more seconds.”
She frowned.
“Your path is almost set, Merrie Golddotter. A few more minutes and everyone will have made the decisions that bring us to the point of no return. Then, I can finally do my job.” There were tears in his eyes.
Merrie looked back. The door was closed and presumably still locked. Turning back, she looked at him, trying to figure out how the gray man managed to slip inside. Unable to resist, she leaned forward. “H-How?” she whispered.
“Your future,” he said in a bright voice. “Those two are rushing to the event, the cliff of decision. You could try stopping them but far more will die.”
She looked at them. Neither Udin or Paladay responded to Autiur's clear voice.
“They can't hear me yet.”
She looked at the two. She could feel the hatred rolling off Paladay, images of her brother in her thoughts as she finished clearing out the center of the room. She pulled a satchel from her side and started to draw lines on the floor. “Normally we use the platinum ritual ring or the pedestal, but it's just a framework.”
“She still has the collar on,” Udin said warily.
“The artifact?”
“Yes, will that be a problem?”
Paladay looked at Merrie, her eyes didn't seem to even register Autiur sitting next to her. For a brief moment, there was doubt and fear. Then the anger returned. “No, it just means she may be setting off the geas in a few minutes and dying painfully.”
Udin chuckled. “I can live with that.”
Autiur leaned over to Merrie. “No, he won't. Neither of them will.”
Merrie started to whisper. Then she had the overpowering urge to sit back. She gulped and obeyed, her nature driving her back as pleasure coursed along her. She tried to channel it into her collar but the adamantite collar could no longer take anything else.
“Sit!” snapped Autiur.
Merrie gasped, her pussy clamping with the order.
“Fucking whore,” growled Udin. “I can't wait until she can't get off like that.”
“Her power really comes from submission?”
“Yes.”
“Then I'm required by law to remind you not to order her once the geas is put on her. It would force a negative response would probably kill her. You would technically,” she drew out the word, “be considered murder.”
He smiled cruelly. “I'll keep that in mind. What if she tries to run?”
She smiled back. “You are a bailiff of the law. That is a reasonable thing to order a criminal to stop misbehaving.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
Autiur sighed. “I remember that. I used to be a cocky little asshole who ‘followed orders’ no matter who got hurt. I would accidentally leave the cell door open just so I could beat those damn slaves.” Shaking his head, he continued, “I wasn't really a good person then, I guess. However, it got me this job… for the rest of existence.”
Merrie watched him. Autiur seemed sad as he watched, as if he was reliving something. Glancing over to the other two, she saw that Udin and Paladay were working on the far side. Risking a chance, she leaned over and whispered, “What are you?”
Autiur smiled sadly. “Not quite yet. Let's say, I was a man who followed orders enthusiastically. Now, my job are gathering people like those two.”
“Ones who just follow orders?” Her sore voice scraped against her senses.
Udin responded before Autiur. “Get over here, whore.”
Looking at Autiur, she got to her knees.
He said, “Just a few more seconds.”
Rakin tensed as runes crawled up his legs, burning their way into his skin and leaving charred trails. They continued to burn their way until they covered every centimeter of his flesh.
Somewhere, the judges were declaring the conditions of the geas, but it didn't matter. Rakin would never survive to receive a pardon. He would spend the last of his days in Abbinkey, locked away to never see freedom again.
The magic exploded into light and Rakin finally screamed as the runes were burned into his flesh, sinking down through aching muscles to etch themselves against his bones. His voice cracked as the shrill sound echoed against the walls.
And then the light faded and Rakin collapsed to the ground, a husk of a man who would never haunt Merrie’s dreams again.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She crawled into the drawn circle and sat down. She was about to lose everything. She wanted to run away, to step into the shadows, but couldn't. It was her conviction, it was an order. She had to obey, even though it meant losing the very nature of her being.
“Let's get rid of this whore,” Paladay said with a smile. She reached out and took a deep breath. Her voice rose up in the beginnings of a spell.
She faltered, then stopped.
“What's wrong?” asked Udin.
“She already has a geas on her.”
“How? She's a whore.”
“No, it's a—” She stopped and coughed. With a gasp, she pressed her hand to her mouth. Turning her back to Udin, she held out her hand. There was blood on her fingers. The world grew silent as she stared down at at it, then she leaned over to whisper at Merrie. “How did you get that? You shouldn't have that!”
Merrie wanted to say but couldn't. The Royal Geas stopped her words. Even as the acid burning rose up, she desperately wanted to break it to tell her that she wasn't a traitor, she wasn't a threat.
“Paladay?” Udin sounded concerned.
The female mage stared at Merrie. Her thoughts were spinning, furiously working. It took a moment for the rage and anger to twist around before Merrie caught a gist of what was going on behind it, Paladay was steeling herself for something terrible.
Merrie's mouth opened. Paladay's geas, probably the same one as her own, was threatening to kill her. Putting the geas on Merrie would threaten the country and the mage knew it.
Her own geas gripped her thoughts, driving her to save the country. She had to obey, she had to serve as she always did. Energy crackled around her as she drew on her pleasure, pulling power from the collar as the darkness around her solidified into sharp edges.
“Fuck!” roared Udin. He drew back and punched at her, his gauntlet crackling with energy. It was a disruption energies, he was a spell breaker.
Merrie's cloak, fully formed in an instant, snapped between them.
The gauntlet punched through it, slamming into the side of Merrie's head and driving her into the ground.
She tried to melt into darkness but another punch slammed her back into her physical form. Strange colored energies wrapped around her body, disrupting the flow of energy. Udin straddled her and drove down, driving his knee into her chest as he punched her in the face with brutal speed. “Bind her, now!”
Merrie screamed out. She lashed out, pulling on more power. The world wavered around her as she tried to save her country. The geas made her, that single thought was enough to set it off.
Paladay started to scream out the spell. It was rapid and fast but the energies coalesced quickly; she had obviously done it day in and day out for years. It was innate as Merrie's own magic.
Merrie's cloak snapped out, the tip forming a needle-like tip. It stretched thin as it shot toward Paladay's heart.
Udin slashed through it, cutting through the supernatural fabric and disrupting it. The edges burned away before it faded into shreds of darkness.
He responded with another brutal punch, cracking the bones in Merrie's face as he hammered into her. The sharp edges of his gauntlet caught her face, slicing into skin and scraping against her skull.
Stars exploded across her vision.
Foul energies wrapped around her body. The Justice Geas started to drape over her. It felt like a choking, burning blanket that seemed to seep past her mental shields and wrap around her spirit. She could feel the runes burning on her skin as they burrowed deeper, ripping into delicate flesh.
Udin continued to hammer into her, one fist after the other as he pounded her into the ground. Black blood splattered everywhere as he refused to give her even a second to breath. Her blood was pouring into her throat as he pulverized her nose, jaw, and skull.
“… by the power of the royal family…” Paladay screamed out in agony. She was bleeding out of her nose, ears, and mouth. It coated her face as she fought against her own geas. More blood sheeting out between her legs, soaking her robe and puddling on the ground in a sizzle.
Merrie tried to tell her to stop, beg her.
Udin interrupted her with a powerful cross. His neck blow slammed into Merrie's left tit, crushing it before snapping her ribs. “Continue! For the greater good, continue!”
Paladay dropped to her knees, vomiting blood and gore. She screamed out more words to the spell, binding the geas tighter around Merrie until she felt it digging deep inside her shields and burning into her blackened bones.
The connection to her collar darkened. It felt like heavy fabric draping over it. The pressure wrapped around her other thoughts, blotting out the joy and pleasure from her life. Even the fading pleasures were snuffed out, leaving nothing but dread and the overwhelming drive to obey the Royal Geas behind.
She felt the geas grow stronger, melding with the Royal Geas and expanding. It was growing beyond the limits of the spell as she was forced to submit to it. Pleasure exploded inside her and was snuffed out, only to be ignited again as she was forced to submit to the all-consuming power of the Justice Geas.
Straining with all her might, she forced herself into her agony. She could barely see straight. She focused on Kirin’s runes, using them as an anchor as she delved inside her. The agony was coming from herself, the power of an Alpha and her own psionics working through the collar. She remembered how it was suppose to enhance her master, but she was now the master of herself. The power was ricocheting back and forth, building up until it tore at the world around her.
She tried to stop the circuit but it was too tight, to intimate. It continued to build up. She concentrated on the power, trying to find some way of interrupting the power. She accidentally called up some Shadow magic and felt it pour through the collar and back into herself. It built up until the world around them grew black.
She didn't even have time to scream as pleasure rising up inside her at the simple, casual command. She tried to pull back, to stop it. It was impossible.
“… and I seal your magic until… the… end of… time!” Paladay screamed out one last time before collapsing in a puddle of her own blood. “Die… murderer,” she said in a broken whisper before the light in her eyes faded.
Udin punched Merrie one last time. Panting, he loomed over her. “I got you. I fucking got you.”
Merrie sobbed, her entire body was boiling inside her skin. She could feel the pleasure flaring out and being snuffed. Then it would flare again, more powerful than ever as the Justice Geas tried to use her own body to quiet the energy. Her organs shredded instantly but they were made of shadow already and they just reformed only to be torn apart again as she was caught in agonized loop of pleasure and darkness.
She looked up through her tear-blurred eyes. Autiur was standing next to Udin, watching down with tears in his eyes. She tried to reach for him, begging with all her might to stop the agony as the submission rose up again and again, only to be torn apart. She was leaking. She could feel it corroding the rocks around her. The shadows were flickering, rapidly switching between dancing to her will and growing quiet.
But she couldn't regain control as her mind was torn apart but the energies were still there, the darkness was getting blacker and deeper.
“S-Silent now, aren't you?” He panted in triumph. His shoulders heaved.
The barrier between the worlds was being ripped using her as a gate. There was a storm on the other side, a black and violent horror as the Lord of Shadows gathered around her. She screamed out as the Royal Geas kicked in, she couldn't let them through. She couldn't.
Autiur shook his head. He was dreadfully calm despite the horror of her writhing body. “This isn't your fault. Remember, no matter what—”
She could feel an order coming. Her insides shook as it imprinted on her mind, a command from Udin that would destroy her. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, trying to open her mouth to beg him not to do it.
“Go on,” Udin croaked, “try to speak.”
Autiur sighed. “There it is.”
She let out a bitter cry, fighting against her desperate need to submit.
“Speak,” he said with a self-important grin.
Shadows burst out of Merrie's open mouth, the force of the expulsion driving her jaw painfully open. It smacked against his face, but no sound came other than a hissing horror as his flesh began to wrinkle and rot. The scent of sake burned her nose as more shadows shot out of it. She could feel more jets ripping out of her ears, ass, and pussy. Every part of her body screamed out in agony as the living shadows inside her seemed to be ripping out of every hole in her body.
Udin jerked back as he tried to cast a spell, but the magic fizzled out as the side of his face crumbled away, aged and withered in a heartbeat. The darkness stretched down his chest, consuming the rest of his skull and neck with terrifying speed.
The darkness pouring out of her combined with the shadows bursting out from every crack. The barrier between reality and the Shadows ripped open. Stone and wood rotted instantly, corroding from the oppressive darkness in less than a second. Waves of darkness ate away as the walls, ceilings, and floor exposing startled faces in the rooms on the other side. The looks only lasted a second before they were also consumed by the withering darkness.
Her mind flashed out, the agony and pain and horror radiating out from her. The Justice Geas tried to rein it back but it was too much. The ripples of mental noise spread out rapidly, slamming into the minds of everyone around her. She saw the thoughts of everyone who had ever enjoyed a command, enjoyed the pleasure of submitting, and even had the smallest shred of submission was laid bare to her horrors. Their minds cracked into explosions of insanity which rippled back at her.
Merrie tried to pull herself back but using even her mental senses caused the geas to tear into her. She was helpless as the destroyed minds and cries of anguish slammed into her. Like pleasure, it set off another wave of blistering sensations to radiating away from her, each one more powerful than the other.
Desperate to stop others from suffering, she tried to direct all of her horrors and agonies back into herself. It almost worked but then the Justice Geas rose up and she lost control. With a sob, she prayed that death would come and end her before too many others died.
“I'm sorry,” said Autiur with a profound silence. His voice was calm despite the horror.
Then the world stopped.