The Morning After

Note: Things are going to get a little darker from here on.

Callisto woke up to a grotesque thunderous headache, like a pick had been lodged in the side of her head. She groaned and drove herself to her feet, her wings aching from the awkward position she'd apparently slept in, and regretted it immediately, as the liquids in her stomach sloshed about unsoundly. Despite the blinding pain in her head she had to get up and rush into the bathroom. On any other day, she'd have found herself admiring the gold and white décor. Today, however, she simply crashed to her knees and raised the toilet seat. An emanation followed her in and gently pulled her hair back as she vomited. She cried and groaned as she expelled the awful poison from her system.

'Thank you,' she said, absently, as the emanation helped to clean her up and undress her for her shower. Her tears, both from pain and from self-loathing, were rendered invisible once the hot water came pouring down and she lingered for a while before washing herself. She wondered, if only briefly, whether she could simply live out her immortal life entirely in her domain and abandon the world, its sorry struggle and its heartless heroes. Madness was all that ultimately awaited her there, however. So, in the end, she got washed, dried and dressed and returned to the harsh reality of the world, the stony streets of Marmorstadt.

Elmeria was nowhere to be seen, of course, but she had hoped to at least see Sarah. After half an hour of vain searching, however, she asked one of the archduke's servants. 'The priestess departed the city a few days ago, bound for Steinplatz. The archduke told her it was too dangerous but we had no right to hold her here.'

Callisto tried to place the name and remembered, thankfully, that it had been untouched by the orc rampages so far. Still, she was unwilling to tempt fate, so she flew there as quickly as she could, blinking several times to expedite her journey. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed a number of guards patrolling the perimeter and set herself down on the dirt path, walking the rest of the way there. The closer she got, however, the more suspicious she became. The guard at the southwestern gate carried himself in a lumbering and awkward fashion and his skin colour, which she'd assumed was dark brown, looked more like green. Her God's Eye told it true, he was an orc, as were the rest of the supposed guards, wearing stolen armour. It startled her to consider just how long a warband organised in this way could've avoided detection amidst the chaos of the war.

Unwilling to wait for him to spot her, Callisto blinked towards the first guard and plunged her sword through his neck before he could react. She read some of his memories with her God's Eye just before he died and learned that Sarah had been claimed by the warband's leader as a member of his harem. Rain began to pour down as anger and fear consumed her and she blinked straight into the main hall. There, seated on a makeshift throne, she saw a half-orc, with his cock in Sarah's mouth. Whether from a broken mind or genuine enthusiasm, her lover was actually moaning and fingering herself as she sucked him off. The other members of his harem, gathered around, looked far less happy to be there.

'Demon!' she shouted, getting the orc's attention. He turned his head to her but made no attempt to get up or pry the girl off his cock. Sarah tried to look back but he kept her in place with his hands and she soon gave up.

'Angel,' he snarled, 'or is it monster, as the rumours now suggest?'

Her blood ran cold, as she contemplated just how much Elmeria had spread to the public. A disgusting gulp from Sarah drew her attention back to the matter at hand, however. 'I am the sunlight angel, orc filth! That girl is mine. Release her, or I will cut you down!'

'My dear sister is my willing concubine,' he said, seemingly unfazed by her threats.

Her God's Eye backed up his claim and he immediately noticed the flash of disgust that crossed her face.

'Tell her, dear,' he ordered Sarah, releasing his grip. The girl groaned and turned to look as he stroked her hair.

Smiling, she said, 'my brother loves me and I love him. You and your wicked friends have killed so many of his people. Please, if you bear any love for me, then go in peace and leave this village.'

Increasingly enraged, Callisto blinked right up to them and grabbed her nude lover by her waist, looking into her eyes. Her God's Eye told her that Sarah had been mind-broken by her brother's relentless assaults over the past two days. She turned to him and spat, 'you'll die for this,' and went to swing her sword right through him but Sarah caught her arm and pulled her away. She shoved the girl away, just as her brother launched himself at her, axe in hand. She'd likely have taken a nasty blow, since her hard light armour wasn't up, but one of the other harem members caught his ankle and caused him to trip.

With seconds to react, Callisto seized the opportunity and came down hard, driving her sword right through his heart. Sarah screamed in horror and grief, and ran to her brother's body, as Callisto removed the chain collars from the other girls and offered to cleanse their wombs. By the time they had thanked her, Sarah was still sobbing, as she cradled the corpse. As much as it pained her, Callisto now knew how dangerous it would be to have Sarah's mind healed. So, she dragged the girl to her feet and pulled her away. 'Get away from me,' she screamed, uselessly hitting at her, 'you bitch, you evil bitch, get away!'

The angel growled in anger, 'you are mine, remember?' She pinned the girl up against a nearby wall. 'You belong to me.' It made her feel sick but she knew - or thought she knew - how important it was to assert her ownership over the mind-broken girl. She violently wiped away the tears and snot and saliva from her face and kissed her hard. For her trouble, she received a nasty bite on her lip, causing her to recoil. Sarah then ran away, back to her brother's body, back to ugly-crying. 'Fuck!' Callisto spat, much angrier at herself than at Sarah.

Not knowing whether to stay or go, sounds of fighting coming from outside the village hall made the decision for her and she left. Her blood ran cold, once again, when she heard the familiar melodic tones of Elmeria's singing voice. Where once they'd enchanted her, now they terrified her. Nevertheless, she got to work and did her part in going house to house and clearing the orcs who'd taken up residence. When she and Elmeria met up with one another, after the fighting was done, they simply circled each other, neither one saying a word.

Elmeria eventually broke the silence. 'What happened to your lip?'

'Nothing. What happened to you? Why did you leave?'

The archbishop snorted, 'I got all I came for, confirmation that you're a monster, bred by the dark sisters and bound to their will.'

'I am not bound to their will,' Callisto saw no further point in lying, 'look, it's complicated,' she pleaded, 'I was a monster but Ariel intervened. He changed my form in return for my promise to switch sides. I've kept that promise. I have saved countless lives.'

Elmeria smiled wickedly at that, 'that's pretty good. I imagine you'd convince a few of the others with lines like that. It's transparent to me, though. I actually pay attention when people spill their darkest secrets to me. The sisters still visit you in your domain.'

'I've banished them but they just ignore it.'

'That's not how it works. It's divine magic, no one can come in once they've been banished, especially not dark entities.'

Callisto's brow furrowed in confusion, and she pleaded, more shakily this time, 'that's not true. Please believe me!'

'I believe only this, beast,' she spat, 'you are marked for ****. Ariel might prevent us from attacking you directly but the empire is now well aware of your nature. Expect pitchforks and torches wherever you go. You are very powerful, I'll give you that, but all it takes is one lucky arrow through your eye or one good counter-spell to remove your armour, and you're dead.'

Callisto tried to look tough but she couldn't keep her tears from falling. She considered attacking Elmeria outright and just getting it over with but she chickened out in the end and simply retreated to her domain. By the time she reached her bedroom, she was inconsolable and almost didn't notice Melanoche sitting on the side of her bed. 'What do you want?' she asked, between sobs.

'I want you to give in,' Melanoche said. Her voice sounded off. 'Ariel betrayed you. The heroes know what you are, and, soon enough, every human settlement you visit is going to want your head. So, give in. Become the monster they already know you are. Let the Dark Lion loose.' The beast roared in excitement, his voice carrying all across her domain.

She rubbed away her tears and croaked, 'I don't want to.'

'Alright,' the dark goddess said suddenly, causing Callisto to look at her with anticipation, 'then, I've got a proposal for you. Give him to us. Let us take the Dark Lion and all of his powers.'

Callisto didn't know what to say.

'You'll never have to worry about growing his strength alongside your own. You'll never have to hear his voice reverberating in your mind. You'll never have to fear the prospect of giving in and letting him possess you. You can be Little Miss Sunshine for the rest of your immortal life.'

Her brow furrowed in confusion and suspicion, 'what's the catch?'

Melanoche's mouth contorted into a half-smile that didn't suit her face, 'there's no catch. You just have to give up the powers we gave you. You'll get to keep Ariel's, of course, assuming he doesn't screw you over again. Then, my sister and I can get on with our fun and not have to babysit you.'

'What will you give me, in return?'

At that, the dark goddess absently brushed one of her hands over her bust. Her breasts looked a lot bigger than she remembered them being. 'Oh, I think we can come to an arrangement.'

Whether out of spite for the world; pain and confusion, or simple lust, Callisto gave in. 'Fuck me and you can take it,' she said, full of yearning.

Melanoche giggled harshly and began to undress. Her nude form was not at all what she'd imagined. Soft and curvy, it drove her wild and it took her a shameful amount of time to realise that she'd been duped. Carnachias giggled between kisses, as Callisto left a trail of them down to her groin. Alarm bells rang in her mind but she suppressed them in favour of sticking her face between the blonde goddess's thighs. 'That tickles,' Carnachias laughed, as Callisto mouthed her clit. Sighing out of exasperation as much as pleasure, the dark sister yanked Callisto away from her. 'Fuck this,' she barked, before wrestling Callisto onto her stomach. 'Get ready, bitch,' she announced, seconds before ramming a hastily conjured demonic strap-on into Callisto's wet hole.

At first, the angel groaned but when Carnachias slapped her arse hard and yanked back on her hair, all the while plunging in and out of her with relentless ferocity, Callisto's pained groan was transformed into a long, shaky, yowling screech. 'Ooh, fuck,' she finally choked out, with fresh hot tears running down her cheeks.

'Like that?'

Callisto could only mumble a wordless affirmation as her wings extended. Ecstasy cascaded through her body as the goddess drove into her, harder and faster. 'Fuck,' she cried, her voice shakier than ever, 'fuck, fuck, fuck.'

At that, Carnachias fell on top of her. She relished the feeling of her breasts against her back, even through the pain of having her wings pinned down. The dark goddess whispered in her ear, 'it's only out of gratitude that I'm going so easy on you.' The dark words sent a shiver down the angel's spine.

Her legs wriggled and writhed as she came, her strength failing her as Carnachias kept her pinned down flat against the mattress, pounding her harder and harder. Almost as soon as one orgasm arrived, another was torn from her and she lost herself in the sheer delirium. Her cries became slurred exclamations and gibberish. Eventually, Carnachias pulled herself loose and walked away, leaving her in a pool of her own juices. She tried to follow her but her legs failed her entirely. Her wings didn't get her much further either and she needed an emanation to carry her, to see where the demonic woman had gone.

As it happened, Carnachias had made her way to the prison cell, with the guards obligingly opening the Dark Lion's cage. Panic over took her, then, as the reality of what she'd agreed to truly dawned on her. The dark goddess cast one last look at her, winking devilishly, and left, alongside the beast. At that exact moment, Callisto intuitively felt her demonic gifts being withdrawn from her: her final form, her resurrection and that gift she'd spurned, that brutal instrument.

'What have I wrought?'