Sav'era Flies

Later that night, as Susan slept, Sav'era set about her task.

It was not the first time she had been involved in the internal politics of a human kingdom. She had done it many times before. Sometimes subtly, and sometimes not. She had been involved with the first war against Sylant and she had told Susan as such. But innocent Susan had not realised the way a succubus would choose to fight a war.

Desire was her power. Whether it was desire for sex, for power or for money. She had taken it and twisted it, turning it into a spear pointed right back at the one who held it. In times gone by, her words had laid low heroes and her intricate manipulations had ruined armies before they ever saw battle. She was an old succubus, and a powerful one.

But this would not be a task for power.

This would be a task for subtle manipulation.

Sav'era smiled, thinking of her brother. He was a _Vrash-Shi, _a type of demonic knight. Demons did not always breed true. Her mother had been a succubus like herself, and her father had been a devil. Su-Ran then had been a bit of a surprise to them all. He was younger than her by two years, but he had been born to fight and slay. He was tall and powerful, with white hair and pale skin. His eyes shone red as blood, and he was legendary with the sword, the spear and the bow. During the war against Sylant, he had been on the front lines much more literally than she had.

And yet, if he had been given this task, she knew what his answer would be. He would simply declare himself to this Drenthor and slay him. It would be a battle between two knights, and Su-Ran would simply see it as that. if told to remove Drenthor from the picture without slaying him, Su-Ran would probably try threats.

Hah! Threats! Her little brother truly was a fearsome demon in his own right. But when it came to the manipulation of mortals, he had much to learn.

Sav'era sat in the corner of Susan's room. The princess was now soundly asleep, and the demon shrouded herself with a low grade illusion. If the servants checked on the princess, they would not see her. It would not fool a paladin, of course. But a paladin would not be calling here at this hour of the night unless Susan had somehow managed to ensnare a lover and yet still remain so innocent of the ways of pleasure.

Once she was sure that she was safe, Sav'era left her body behind. Her soul rose up, and she looked down upon herself for a few moments. She liked her body, but she tended to change it every few decades. Crimson skin was fun, but she was boring of it rather quickly, perhaps a nice shade of blue for her next change? And she could probably do with a smaller chest. Having big breasts was good for seduction but it was a rather literal pain on the spine. she tended to swap back and forth every so often. Oh, and she could do with a tail again. It as good for carrying things when your hands were full.

But now was not the time for such thoughts, she reminded herself. Now was the time for action. Susan had shown her a picture of this Drenthor. It was a wood-cut and the image was not exactly perfect, but it was enough to give her an anchor. She closed her eyes and drew the image to her mind. She held it there, focusing on it until it became her whole world.

Several minutes passed. Ten or twenty of them, in fact. Gradually, she became more and more aware of the feeling that she was in two places at once. As if she was standing with one foot here and another foot miles and miles away. With a **** of effort, she moved from one place to the next.

From here to there.