10

The vague directions the queen had groaned out to Selene between the orgasmic bliss and need for sleep wound up being nearly accurate to the footstep and we were able to find the Kings quarters in no time at all. Honestly, they might not have been needed at all as his chambers were more like an entire wing of the castle than the single bedroom given to Selene and I. There were a few guards stationed outside the entrance and I automatically started walking their way when Selene grabbed my arm and said "I thought the barrier was just around one room, but I can't go any farther."

Without looking I responded with a nod, saying, "Take care of any reinforcements that show up. When I kill the king the barrier should drop. Come find us when it does" then approached the guards as quickly as I dared while trying to remain quiet.

The three saw me and seemed to read my body language as they instantly become alert. I made no obvious moves as I finally reached them and paused right in front of the one who looked to be in charge. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, but, in a blinding movement, I slid my dagger through his neck. Before the other two could react I pulled the dagger out of their boss and, with a flick of my wrist, had thrown it through the eye of the guard to my right and used my off hand to punch the remaining guard tin the throat. I felt his hyoid bone turn to shrapnel and shred his trachea. They all tried to gasp at the same time before their bodies seized in shock then went limp. All this happened in less than 3 seconds without a sound, and I turned to bow to Selene; I was bent all the way over by the time all three of them had hit the ground. She satirically clapped her hands silently at my skillful murders; and, with a smile, I turned back around and pushed open the stupidly unlocked entrance to continue my search for the King.

The guards I found inside weren't much different than the ones at the door, save for the fact they were actually on heir guard thanks to the 3 thuds their compatriots made when they had hit the ground. Not that it would have mattered, but I got through about 20 of them without any of them landing a hit on me and I wasn't even really trying. My best guess was that I was finally getting used to this 'slow-motion fighting' thing I could do. Like eating a meal while focusing on an important conversation, I was down to the last guard before I truly realized the fight had begun; the last guard standing terrified between myself and the king's door. He was a brute of a man, just over a head taller and a few hands wider at the shoulders than any of the others and he yelled over his shoulder as I sized him up. "Stay in your room where it is safe, my King. I will protect you." I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this and let him think he had found an opening. The guard raised his sword over his head and swung it down for one massive blow. Disappointed at the overall lack of skill shown by the Kings private guards, I reached out with one hand and caught his sword blade between my pointer and middle fingers and squeezed the blade with my whole hand, causing it to shatter. The guard's eyes went wide with disbelief as I, with a smile, snatched a 6 inch shard out of the air and drove it into the space in his leg just above his kneecap; causing him to crumple to the floor with a scream. I decided to spare him, figuring that if Selene was fighting outside she would have worked up an appetite by the time she caught up.

I made a show of leaning back to kick open the giant door that lead into the King's inner sanctum and the doors flew open and I casually strolled in. The first thing that I noticed was the king trying to hide himself behind his bed, armed with a short sword in his hand looking like he had probably pissed himself in fear. The next thing I noticed was a woman who looked almost exactly like Selene chained to the wall. She was limp and leaning forward in something that resembled a kneeling position, hanging by the shackles on her wrists that were mounted about 3 feet above the floor. Those noticeable differences between herself and Selene were the result of obvious and extensive mistreatment, and to say she was in 'bad shape' would be an understatement. Most noticeably she looked like she was about to die from starvation, as all of her ribs were visible beneath those pallid colored patches of skin not covered in cuts, bruises and whip marks.

I was at her side in an instant and squatted down to put a 2 fingers to her neck and felt a faint pulse. Not quite relived, I stumbled forward; pushed fairly gently by what I assumed was the King stabbing me in the back. Anger began to grow in me, replacing the indifference I had felt previously, inflamed by his mistreatment of Selene's sister. With the blade of his sword pointing out of my chest, I turned to face the fat pig of a monarch. He quickly backed away from me and I slowly begin to walk towards him. Before he could get out of my arms reach, I grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and pulled him into a bear hug, impaling him on that piece of his own sword that was protruding from my chest. He squirmed and cried and let out a loud yell, but I didn't care. I simply squeezed harder and harder, feeling his bones start to pop and crack, punctuating his nonsensical begging and pleading for his life until he went quiet. I released my grip and he slid off the length of the blade I had shared with him and fell to the floor in a heap.

Unable to reach the handle of the short sword, I looked around to see if anyone was looking and lunged at the wall to **** it out the way it came, gravity did the rest. Then, seeing nothing else available, I picked it up and used it to break the shackles around the demon's wrists and gently laid her on the bed.

Moments later, I could hear Selene coming and she all but flew into the room and stood in front of me, frozen in shock at what she was seeing. Gently, I placed her nearly dead sister in her arms, and she began to cry again as the reality of the things done to her sister set in with the feel of her skin. I had to shake Selene to get her attention away from the horror in her arms. "Selene! Tell me what you need me to do."

Between sobs Selene managed to say, "She needs to feed from here, immediately. She dosen't have very long."

I stepped out of the room to find the guard I had spare earlier. He was still on the floor, trying hard not to move and worsen his injury. He screamed and cursed at me through the pain but I didn't listen as I drag him into back into bedroom. He vomited from the pain as I tossed him onto the bed and told Selene, "I kept him alive for you, but he should be a decent meal for her too, correct?"

Eyes red and with tears streaming down her face, she gave me a defeated smile and said, "You're always looking out for me. I can't tell explain to you how much it means to me because no one has ever even seen me as anything more than a sex toy... Yes. Yes, it will work." I nodded to her and dragged the kings body back out to the hall to deal with all the approaching soldiers.

Laying the Kings body onto the floor for all to see, I picked up two of the better looking swords from the guards I had killed. When the reinforcements showed up and saw me covered in blood, standing over the Kings body, and ready to kill, they instantly froze in fear. "The King is Dead, Long Live the... Queen I suppose." I announced to them, putting as much venom into my words as I could. "I'm going to give you two choices. Either try to fight me and join the king and all your friends you can see behind me. OR you could inform the Queen she is graciously invited to receive us, alone, in her private chamber." One soldier saw his commander hesitate, and stepped out of rank to face me. Maybe he thought it was his moment of glory, maybe he was just that loyal to his King, or maybe he was just an idiot. Either way, the second he came further forward toward me than the rest I had cleaved his head from his shoulders, and hi body landed next to the King's. I turned again to the group, stating, "I am in a VERY bad mood. Either TELL the queen we're on our way to meet her in her room or you will ALL die very soon. Only HE," I said, gesturing to the severed head at my feet,"... will be considered the LUCKY one."