Degradation

Cordelia's fingers drummed idly on the armrest of her throne as she watched Buffy's body twitch under another brutal blow—this time from a knotted rope that cut through the air with a sharp crack. The Slayer's thighs trembled, her skin marbled with overlapping marks, her breathing coming in ragged, muted gasps. One of the attendants, a man with broad shoulders and a cruelly twisted mouth, stepped forward, rolling a spiked paddle between his palms.

"Turn her over," Cordelia whispered, and rough hands grabbed Buffy's hips, pulling her onto her stomach.

• I'm not finished with you, but some friends of yours want ****, and I must admit I understand. They'll take care of you."

She gestured, and a dozen vampires Buffy knew appeared.

• Go ahead, have fun with her, but be careful not to kill her or turn her into a vampire. I want to have fun with her for a long time, but her suffering suits me perfectly.

The vampires nodded, undressed, and approached with a wicked expression. Buffy looked at Cordeia, pleading with her, trying to flee, but in vain; her bonds were too strong.

The first vampire, his fangs gleaming in the torchlight, slid a clawed finger down Buffy's scarred back, forcing a whimper from her irritated throat. Another yanked her head back by her hair, his breath hot and rancid against her ear.

• Remember me, Slayer? he hissed, and began to lick the blood that had flowed from the whip wounds.

He pulled away approvingly.

• Hmm, divine, that's a good one.

He licked Buffy's right breast, her nipple, with his tongue, and sank his fangs into it, not really to bleed her, but to terrify her and cause intense pain, because a vampire could either desensitize or multiply the pain by biting, and that was precisely the point he had chosen.

Buffy screamed like a woman, she felt as if molten lava were coursing through her breast.

Buffy screamed like a woman, she felt as if molten lava were coursing through her breast. The pain radiated in burning waves, each beat of her heart seeming to spread the fire beneath her skin. The vampire slowly withdrew his fangs, a trickle of blood beading on her swollen nipple, while his fingers dug into the bruised flesh of her hips to immobilize her.