Eighth Circle

"Shall we begin with a kiss?" Nevan asked her, tilting her head as she spoke. It gave the impression that she was actually asking Lady a question, rather than making an announcement, but she wasn’t fooled. A kiss was going to happen, whether she wanted one or not.

“I-” was all Lady had time to say before Nevan firmly but gently pulled her into an embrace and less firmly and less gently forced her lips upon her. It was not, at first, an entirely unpleasant sensation. Her lips were fuller and coarser than Trish’s had been, but even still, if she closed her eyes she could see a slender, blonde figure in front of her; her alabaster skin seemed to glow under the pale light of the moon, and…was she glistening? Yes, as the sound of running water filled her ears and dulled her senses to the world, she remembered. They had been swimming; they were naked, naturally, and dripping wet in every sense of the word.

It was then that Nevan’s tongue darted in between her lips, and the dream in all its sweetness ebbed away from her, leaving only raw reality.

Her lips tasted like wine and ashes; disgusting, but there was the slightest hint of sweetness in it that told her, maybe, if she persisted, the sweetness would envelop the ash and everything would be wonderful. She persisted, but she found no sweetness, and her mouth was brimmed with filth. Lady couldn’t help but gag. She pulled away, coughing and spluttering.

“I’m sorry,” she said, beginning to retch. “I couldn’t-” There was an intense, blinding pain, first in her stomach, then her face, and before she knew what had happened, she was face-down on the floor, Nevan’s foot planted firmly on her head.

“I asked that you please me,” she said, gazing forward. It seemed then that she did not think Lady even worth looking at. “Not insult me. I’ll suffer this slight once, and only once.” Nevan seemed a dainty thing, but demons rarely were, in truth. Lady could feel the pressure being exerted on her skull slowly crushing her.

“I’m sorry” Lady groaned, through pain and gritted teeth. “I’ve never…anything, with a demon…not used to it.”

“Oh. I’m sure you aren’t,” Nevan replied, incredulous. “Still, new pets are prone to misbehavior. I suppose it would be unreasonable of me to punish you for simply obeying your nature.” She lifted her foot off of Lady’s head. “I really do feel I should instill some kind of subservience, though. Wouldn’t you agree?” She looked down at Lady, smiled, and turned her head back up again. Lady wondered, for a brief moment, why her captor seemed so reluctant to look her in the eye. Was it guilt? Dante had taught her that demons could feel emotions as intensely and as frequently as humans, and her interactions with Trish had let her experience that first hand. She wondered, maybe, if Nevan had kidnapped her out of necessity, some desperate longing for companionship. If she obeyed her commands; treated her as a lover, not a psychotic lesbian demon kidnapper, then maybe, just maybe, she could negotiate a peaceful res-

Her train of thought was interrupted by Nevan jamming her toes into her mouth.