It gets delayed, again.

*Author's Note: Difficult Chapter to write and read. Spoiler Note: Skip past note if not worried about the trigger warning.

Trigger Warning: ****.*

After checking that Na had eaten and was feeling better, Seamus was about to turn to Vavnagal to start the process of bringing his former and apparently current harem forward in time when Na asked: "My liege, may I request a moment of your time?"

Seamus looked at her and nodded.

Na said: "We are married, in your eyes and in my culture. However, in my culture, once a tom has mastered his mate, he leaves his mark on her for others to know she is his. Usually this is a bite in a prominent place, but I'm afraid your teeth are still human."

Vavnagal spoke up with a faintly malicious smile, "My King, if you wish, I could give you night hag teeth. I'm certain Na would have an interesting mark she could show off then."

Na shuddered: "needle teeth don't interest me that much, thank you. I was thinking I could wear a ring."

Seamus nodded. "I think that could easily be arranged." He turned to Vavnagal when a thought struck him and he asked: "Vavnagal, would you please create a thick gold ring with multiple diamonds all around, interspersed with rubies and emeralds, and set it in a tower configuration with a titanium bar, holding the outer edge of Na's left upper nipple an inch out from her breast for me please?"

Na's eyes widened as Vavnagal replied with a grin: "Certainly my King!"

Na then tried to intercede: "My liege! I meant wear a ring on my finger!"

"Oh? Well, my bad." Seamus said, a smile on his face growing larger. At her startled yelp as the nipple was pierced and her groan as the nipple stretched, Seamus shrugged and said: "Too late now I guess." He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "Welcome to the family dear."

Hissing, Na winced and smiled in response. "You realize that this is just making me love you even more, right?"

Stilling, Seamus looked her in the eyes and asked: "love? You don't know me well enough for that yet. I don't know you well enough for that."

"I'm a demon, need I remind you?" Her tail swirled lazily and Na arched her back in a languid stretch, then pushed against the ground with her tail, used one hand behind his neck and lifted her legs around his waist. "You are decisive, aggressive, and you take what you want, with just an edge of cruelty. I love that and know that I'm going to love you, might as well get it over with now." She slid her other hand between their bodies and unzipped his pants as she kissed him. Sliding his boxers aside, Na slid his penis out and into her in a swift move.

Groaning, Seamus growled: "I have things to do right now."

"Yes, you have me to do." Na replied. And she promptly started flexing her hips and arching her back in a sinuous wave, individually flexing the muscles of her vagina in a mind-numbingly pleasant way.

Seamus turned and pinned her against a wall, keeping Na from moving her upper body, but Na kept up the flex and weave of her hips.

Seamus used his wings to push her shoulders against the wall and stepped back.

Na pouted as he slid out of her, but put her feet back on the floor. "But my liege, don't you find it...uncomfortable...being so thick, and hard, and throbbing with need?"

"I do, which is why I'm going to go find Alice and pound her into next week." Seamus said huskily.

Na smirked. "I'm happy to fluff for her anytime you want my liege. Just say the word."

Seamus looked at Na, and saw that she wasn't looking annoyed or any less horny now than she was a moment ago, even having been put off in the middle of her advancement. He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Na smiled wider: "I live to serve, my liege."

Seamus laughed darkly and then stalked off to find Alice, but ran into Ailis as she came out of the bathroom.

"Ooh! Is that for me?" Ailis asked, smoothing her skirt down a little, not that it covered anything more now than it did a moment ago.

"What? Oh!" Seamus awkwardly tried to push his penis back in his pants, but it was just too engorged and refused to go easily.

"Need some help there?" Ailis teased and slid a finger down his arm, inching closer, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and used her other hand to slide her hair behind her ear.

"Not now, Ailis, I'm looking for Alice." Seamus said, giving up the process and swiftly moved past her toward the bedroom.

"Give it to her hard and fast then!" Ailis called out after, pouting.

Seamus groaned and thought to himself: why is everyone in the house suddenly so sex obsessed and saying such things?

Seamus looked through his watch app and found the answer in the expansion regarding his aura. He rolled his eyes.

Sighing, he entered the bedroom and saw his wife on the bed, already naked, already on her stomach, her wedge pillow beneath her hips. Smiling, he climbed onto the bed, used a thumb to move her labia aside, and then plunged deep in one swift thrust.

"Oof!" Alice said. "Feeling a little pent up I see."

"Shut it woman. I need this." Seamus growled. And drew back and hammered forward again, feeling every inch of the movement as the butt plug in Alice's rear pressed through her tissues against his penis.

"So do I, husband." Alice replied, breathing raggedly already. "Just being around you makes me hot."

Seamus reached around and closed his hand over her mouth. He pushed his other hand between her and the bed and gripped her breast hard. And thrust again.

Alice moaned into his hand and dug her nose into the space between his thumb and forefinger.

Obliging her unspoken request, Seamus pinched her nose shut and started pistoning back and forth swiftly. Alice swiftly crested but couldn't orgasm without permission and couldn't ask for it while he was covering her mouth. He felt her start squirming underneath him so he relaxed his hand, let her get a few deep breaths and just as Alice opened her mouth again and drew in a breath to talk, he covered her mouth again.

Seamus angled himself just right and drove forward quickly, his body pushing against the base of her butt plug as he did so and Seamus heard a muffled squeak. He smiled, then acting upon a realization, slid his tail between their bodies and gripped the butt plug and pulled it out.

"Mhmff!" Alice wiggled and squirmed and pulled back from his hand, so he opened his hand, letting her breath. "Please let me..."

Seamus covered her mouth again and slid the shaft of his tail in the cleft of her butt cheeks. He used his wings to push himself up off the bed just a little and then using the tip of his tail drew a circle around her anus. He could feel her squirm even more and so he pulled his hand away from her mouth and put it on the bed before slowly pushing the tip of his tail into her butt.

"Seamus! Not there... Not there...ooh, please, I need to finish..." Alice babbled.

Seamus immediately withdrew his tail and then returned to his deep thrusts before finally shouting permission as he felt hot liquid rushing through him and into her. He slumped over her, breathing hard. And groaned as he felt himself immediately get hard again.

Laughing from under him, Alice said: "The downside of zero refractory period, right?" Then sobered and said: "Seamus, could you check your app please?"

"What? Why? At a time like this, why would you ask that?" Seamus said asked.

Quietly, Alice said, "I need to know what I just earned myself."

"Earned yourself? For what? Oh! Crap." Seamus pulled himself out of her, earning groans from them both, and he saw her grab the butt plug from the bed and gingerly, trying to relax, she pushed it back into herself. "After saying no, I'm a little surprised you're putting that back in so quickly."

Alice winced as she got to the widest part and her body tensed, keeping it from sliding in. Breathing in deeper, she pushed harder and forcibly relaxed herself and groaned as it seated fully inside. "If I don't get it back in very quickly, or delay as I push it in, it grows in size." Huffing a little, Alice rolled over and tugged at her chains, distracting herself.

Seamus shook himself a bit and looked at his watch. Then said: "Well, honey, you were right."

Sighing, Alice asked: "What'd I get?"

"Since you refused anal during breath play, at random parts of the day, the butt plug will start thrusting and you must choose one of the following options at the start of each morning: an increase of 25% in length and girth of your current or future normal average butt plug along with a corset collar, or an increase of 75% in length and girth of your current or future normal average butt plug along with a strict under bust corset." Seamus looked at it and said further: "not too horrible actually, I really like it when you wear corsets."

"I do too dear, but I get the feeling this is going to be a bit harder on my breathing than normal..." Alice said.

"Maybe Vavnagal can remove this particular punishment thing now." Seamus mused.

Alice slid over to him, and put his hand on her breast. "When was the last time we had this much sex honey? Never." She pushed herself up and kissed him. "I'm fine. I can take it. Now go, get your bevy of beauties."

"Haha, funny." Seamus looked up from the bed to suddenly realize one of the succubi guard was standing there. "Have you been here this whole time?"

"Yes, my liege. That is my duty until I am relieved." The succubus bowed low, her wings a very pretty light pale green with iridescent flakes and scintillating prisms of color sprinkled here and there.

Her bow had allowed her top to sway away from her nipples and Seamus was surprised to see a deep dark red nipple slide into view. The fact she had just given him a down blouse view wasn't entirely surprising, nor the color, but rather the lack of adornment given that so many succubi he had seen so far had piercings there. "Begging your pardon, but how frequent are nipple piercings for succubi?"

"My liege, no pardon required, please ask anything of me, anything at all within my power and I will do it for you. Nipple piercings are extremely common, however I am only two hundred fifty two, my liege. There is much I haven't done yet." She responded. "Do my nipples displease you my liege? Is there a form you would prefer?"

"No! Your nipples are fine, although wouldn't you be able to read my thoughts?" Seamus asked.

"Not since you became our King, my liege." She still looked troubled. "My liege, may I beg a moment to swap with another guard?"

Sighing, Seamus nodded and watched as another guard entered as the succubi he had been talking to disappeared in fog. He turned to the new succubus, "What are your names?"

The new guard bowed: "Your Majesty, I am Lal, the other is Elaln."

Hearing the similarity in the names, Seamus asked: "Sisters?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." She stood at the doorway, alert and wary.

"Is there a problem?" Seamus swiftly finished getting dressed.

"No, Your Majesty, I prefer to be ready if there is a problem." Lal said. Then she bowed as fog filled the air again: "By your leave, Your Majesty."

Nodding to Lal, Seamus turned and saw Elaln now there, her breasts out of her top presented to him. Her freshly pierced nipples with two connected chains hanging from the dangling miniature handcuffs.

"Her Majesty indicated these would likely be to your preference, Your Majesty?" Elaln asked.

Wordless, Seamus nodded.

Elaln did up her top and resumed her guard duties.

Seamus turned, leaned down and kissed the still naked Alice. "Is it me, or has the world gone mad?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Alice smiled enigmatically and playfully asked: "May I put on some clothes, Your Majesty?"

Laughing, Seamus replied: "Yes dear." And left the room, Elaln staying with Alice and Lal sliding into place behind Seamus, a very precise four steps back and two steps to the right.

Seamus looked into his app again, looking for something that might help him make sense of everything and found something he desperately wanted to get for multiple reasons: Personal Farsight. It allowed him to look through the eyes of any of his Custom Girls at any time, past or present. This would allow him to gain insights and intelligence, so it was invaluable. So he selected it, and then realized he didn't know what Ailis had gone through earlier. This could be a way for him to understand her perspective. Now he just had to find Ailis and talk to her...

The disorientation was sharp and immediate as he was suddenly seeing through her eyes from earlier that day. Seamus tried to back out, to talk to Ailis and get her permission but he didn't know how to use this ability well enough yet.

"Are you lost miss? You've been walking around this area for a few minutes."

Seamus turned around, no, 'Ailis' turned around. Oh, this was confusing. Especially now that he could hear her thoughts in his head.

I can't believe I'm about to do this. "I'm looking for a guy that's willing to kiss me. Are you willing to kiss me?" Ailis asked. Why won't my skirt just behave? Every random wind blows and it flies up and every guy around can see my butt!

"Um, is this some candid camera stuff or something?" The six foot tall, white haired older guy asked.

This guy looks more weirded out by the request than any of the other three I've asked so far. Who knew guys would say no this many times to a gal asking for a kiss? "Nope, just looking for five strangers to kiss today." Ailis said.

Laughing awkwardly, the gentleman said: "Okay. I still feel like I'm about to get cameras jumping out at me but who am I to say no to a pretty gal like you?" And he leaned in for the kiss.

So old! Not as handsome as Dad either. Why couldn't it be Dad? Ailis gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Thank you."

Seamus didn't catch the next little bit because of what he had just overheard in her thoughts. She really thinks of me that way.

Next comes the tongue. Great. Swapping saliva with someone I've got no idea if they smoke, brush their teeth, yuck. "Hey! In the mood to give a girl a French Kiss?"

The guy turned around. Young, college age, and eyes leaped wide and enthusiastic. "Hell yeah!" And he grabbed her breast while he leaned in and thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, making her gag at the taste of vaping products.

Yuck! Reluctantly, Ailis skid her tongue into his mouth and used her hand to push his hand down off of her breast, which he took to mean she wanted it between her legs. Hey! Not what I meant pervert! Come on! ...Twenty...nineteen...eighteen. Ailis pulled his hand up from between her legs and put it on her hip which he immediately slid around to grope her butt. Fifteen...fourteen...dude, not between the legs again...twelve...ouch! Seriously! My nipple is attached! Thank you...no! Not my butt again. Five...four...

Feeling frustrated, Ailis grabbed his hand from her butt and put it back on her hip, then grew panicked when with three seconds remaining he started to pull his mouth away from hers, starting to mumble a question. Ailis forestalled the question by pushing her tongue into his mouth again and counted his molars for the final three seconds before finally backing away.

"So aggressive! I love it! What's your digits?" He asked.

Shaking her head, Ailis started walking away and the guy groaned but finally moved off, grumbling under his breath. Eesh, I kissed you! Be happy for it, will you? Leave me alone now.

Seamus was gnashing his teeth and memorizing the guys face... And probably would never do anything with his anger but still, thoughts of **** would be nice.

I can't believe I'm about to do this. Why did it say in public? And that makes all this so much more difficult. "Hey! Interested in French kissing a topless woman?" Ailis asked a guy sitting at the convention center booth.

"Huh?" The guy looked up from his laptop, looking frazzled. "Sorry, I'm really busy with an urgent issue at the moment, what did you ask?"

No! Don't make me ask again! "Interested in French Kissing a topless woman?" Ailis asked again.

Seamus was embarrassed and thought to himself that he really didn't want to see this.

"What? Where?" The guy looked around confused. "I don't see a topless woman."

Sighing, Ailis slid her fingers under the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off over her head, her breasts bouncing free as the tight top slipped past. "Me. Do you want to kiss me?"

"Ummm....sure? I guess?" Looking around, the guy looked at the sudden rapt attention they had just gotten from the fifteen people within view. "One moment please." The guy tapped at his laptop and then closed the lid. "Okay." Then he closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

Wow, smooth moves there Sherlock. Ailis leaned down and kissed him, pushing her tongue into his mouth to get her thirty-second countdown started.

At no time during the kiss did the guy ever open his eyes, he just sat there and received the kiss the entire time. But that didn't stop the low wolf whistles from the crowd around them.

Ailis finished her thirty-second countdown and stepped back.

The guy opened his eyes. "Uh, thanks!" Then he tried to subtly check for his wallet and keys.

Rolling her eyes, Ailis looked around and another guy stepped forward eagerly from the crowd. Oh, fine. "How about you tiger? Want to French Kiss a bottomless girl? Who also happens to be topless?"

"Oh yeah! My lucky day!" The guy stepped forward and grabbed her breast, and kissed her aggressively, immediately thrusting his tongue into her mouth.

"Mhmmph!" Ailis said, shimmying out of her skirt, moving quickly so she could start the countdown in her head, wincing as he pinched her nipple, hard. These last three suck. I so glad I didn't tell Dad that I would need to let any guys that kiss me while I'm not wearing tops and/or bottoms free use access. This sucks. Ouch! It's attached to my breast!

Seamus shook his head and thought to himself, oh Ailis, why didn't you tell me? I might have been able to have at least commiserated with you beforehand.

Ailis finally finished counting down, pulled her head back, the saliva stringing between their mouths and she said: "Hey tiger, I still need to kiss one more guy for the day."

The guy continued pushing his thumb into and out of her pussy, and his other hand continued pinching her nipple. "Okay. Hey Sam! Get over here."

A voice from the crowd replied: "on my way Nick." A seven foot tall, broad shouldered giant of a man pushed through the growing crowd. "Wow! She's a beaut."

"Yeah, and she says she needs to kiss one more guy, interested?" Nick said, his middle finger starting to circle her sphincter.

Oi, hey! Not there! But she couldn't physically stop him, and her attempts to vocalize that negative reaction failed. He'd kissed her while she was topless and bottomless. Sighing in frustration, I thought free use was only during the kiss but apparently it means that the person gains perpetual free use rights! Crap. Ailis kicked off her shoes and removed her stockings to ensure that she was naked for the last one. Just in time to have a flood of memories fill her brain and scramble her thoughts.

When she came to from the thought scramble, Sam's mouth was firmly pressed to hers, his tongue deep in her mouth, and Nick had two fingers in her butt and was using them and the thumb in her pussy to get her revved way up. Or at least the thumb in her pussy was revving her up. The butt was just uncomfortable. Both nipples were throbbing, and it took her a moment to realize why. Sam had both hands, massive hands, wrapped all the way around her breasts applying a huge amount of pressure, but Nick had taken both nipples and using the knuckles of four fingers, had trapped them in a pincer grip and was shaking her breasts vigorously.

Oh, how many seconds has it been? Crap. I don't want to go through this again. Thirty, twenty-nine... Ailis grunted as Nick rather unskillfully scraped knuckles in awkward places down below and applied pressure up top in a way that could have been pleasurable, if he even had a clue how to do it right. Like Seamus has done in the past. Ooh, Seamus, your hands can be just as rough and harsh, but oh! How skillful! You know how to play me like a fiddle until I sing! Unlike these rank amateurs. Oh, that feels weird. I can think of him as Dad and Seamus. Oh, that is hot! And, it explains so much! Oh thank God, I don't have to feel sick about having urges for my Dad...because he isn't! Well...focus Ailis! Crap. What number was I on?

Seamus groaned, thinking to himself, I really didn't want to hear this from her now. And these two are just jerks!

Nick said as Ailis had started moaning in the middle of her thought process: "Yeah you dirty girl, you like getting finger banged in the middle of a group of people in a public area don't you? You're a naughty slut just begging for it!" He tried pushing in a third finger in her rear but she was too tight and he gave up.

Snickering in her head at his idiocy, Ailis had resumed her countdown and was at fifteen when Sam moved his hands from her breasts to her butt and lifted her up so her legs were straddling him. Oh no. No, no, no. Sam had unzipped his pants when someone from the crowd called out: "Hey! You can't have sex in public! That's illegal, you know!"

Nick looked at them in surprise. "Uh, but she's naked and I've got my fingers in her, what's the diff?"

The voice called back: "She's allowed, he's not!"

Sam grunted into Ailis's mouth and zipped himself back up again.

Oh, thank you God! Ailis mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally the countdown ended and Ailis pulled her head back from the kiss and vainly tried to push their hands away. "Okay you two, time for me to get home." she said aloud.

"Anytime you want more, feel free to find us!" Nick said, finally removing his fingers from inside her before slapping her butt, but he kept ahold of her nipple, pinching hard.

Jerking at the **** of the spank, Ailis hissed as she jerked too far away from the spank and pulled at her nipple too much. After a final grin and twist from Nick, he finally let go and Ailis gathered her clothing, slipping away through the crowd, one guy grabbing her butt in the process. Ailis pushed the hand away, oh thank you, only when they kiss me, shook her head and texted Seamus, asking for permission to get dressed. Receiving no reply, she was a little concerned, but thought maybe Seamus would respond before she started driving home. She texted again when she got to the vehicle, and put her clothes in the passenger seat, hoping the response would come before she got to the highway.

Finally finding that the way to get back to his own eyes was to screw his eyes shut hard and berate himself for being so stupid, but acknowledging that berating himself probably wasn't required to stop seeing through a Custom Girl's eyes, Seamus looked around his living room again. Just in time for Lal's eyes to widen and for her to dive on top of him, shoving him down into the floor, inserting herself between him and the window.

*Crack!* Seamus heard the window shatter and felt Lal jerk and convulse on top of him. "Lal? You okay? What happened?" He asked, his head ringing a little from the **** of the fall.

Lal didn't respond and Seamus could feel something different about her. A change in her presence, less than it was a moment ago. He lifted her head off of his chest gently with a hand and saw that her eyes were slack, dull, lifeless.

Elaln cried out in anguish and fury and Seamus felt himself dissolve from the world in a mist with a touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see Elaln's tear stained face above him, the ceiling of the building they had been in where Na had been interrogated just barely visible behind her. Elaln was scanning the exits and windows, her wings spread wide, covering him from head to toe.

More mist and fog filled the room and Seamus tried to sit up but Elaln begged him: "Your Majesty, please stay down and wait until we can get more guards here."

Seamus stopped trying to sit up, but he reached a hand up and cupped her cheek in his hand and said: "I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say."

Elaln said: "Not now, Your Majesty...please." Tears streaming down her face, Elaln said in a whisper: "But I will gladly accept any comfort you will provide when you are safe."

Seamus nodded and dropped his hand, watching as his guard grew in numbers to at least a dozen, if not more. He couldn't tell, entirely, because the first one that appeared went to his right side opposite Elaln, the second to over his head, the third to his feet, and the next four were back to back with the first four. Then, and only then, did they let him up. And when he was up, the inner four checked him thoroughly for injuries before surrounding him in a double-walled bent-diamond formation, their wings at the ready, and their tails wrapped around the waist of the guard next in formation.

Vavnagal was let through the formation and her guards joined his in a larger, more elaborate double bent-diamond. These new guards that had appeared were far more heavily armed with human style weapons, something Seamus badly wanted to ask about but kept his questions to himself for now.

Seamus gave Vavnagal a kiss of greeting, then noticed her wing was drooping. "Vav?"

Wincing, Vavnagal flexed her wing a little and laughed a little sourly. "The chastity belt saved my life but the shot ricocheted and struck my wing, my King, and I'm having difficulty healing it."

At that, Seamus panicked a little: "If they went after you, did they go after..."

One of the new guards interrupted: "Do not be afraid for your Queen Consort and King's Pet Girl, Your Majesty, they are here and unharmed, as is your Spy Cat."

Coughing a little in surprise at the nickname for Ailis, Seamus sighed in relief. "How many...ahem. How many people did we lose?"

Another guard responded: "Three, Your Majesty. Two of your exterior guards and one of your personal guard."

Seamus slumped, his face crumpled in frustration. "Why and how did this happen?" His voice was dangerously calm.

Yet another guard answered: "The how is easy Your Majesty, they used human assassins to get close and cloaked them in demonic essence. Then after they were close and failed to kill you, the demons warped in and engaged in a frontal ****."

Na answered from beside his elbow, having somehow made her way through the tightly packed group without disturbing any of them. "As for the why: because you humiliated Lucifer. He's been soundly beaten in the past, but only by the Divine. This is his first time being beaten by a human. And he's pissed. He just responded faster than I expected him too."

Seamus closed his eyes, seeing Lal's face again in his mind, her eyes still, that spark of vivacious life that he hadn't even had a chance to get to know gone. "Can we bring her, them, back?"

Alice hissed quietly, then pulled his chin on top of her head while Vavnagal responded: "Not to my knowledge my King, but, you will see her again, possibly, in Paradise."

Seamus frowned: "Possibly, why the question?"

"Your Majesty, we do not know if Divine forgiveness is for us or only for humans." Said the first guard that had responded.

Seamus frowned harder: "Why wouldn't God forgive any of his creation? That seems odd to me."

Vavnagal touched his cheek: "God doesn't speak to us like he does to you, my King. You'll have to keep the faith for all of us, husband."

Seamus opened his mouth to argue his point but then stopped. Now wasn't the time. "Other than that, can she be brought back to life with your abilities?"

The chorus of shaking heads killed his hope. "We don't have the ability to bring our own back to life, only human life, Your Majesty."

That made him think: "Someone else's abilities then?"

There was a sudden pause from the group, one that made him shiver for some reason. A quiet voice replied: "Your Majesty, other than God bringing someone back to life, the only other way we know of would involve a Perizoda."

A few hisses and sharp thwacks from tails, along with Na's shudder told him what they all thought of that idea. But still, if someone could bring her back...Seamus forged on: "Who or what's a Perizoda?"

That same voice from the crowd responded: "Your Majesty, they are a race of beings that Lucifer employs when he wishes to acquire zombies or vampires from the remains of humans that have passed on. You might know them better as Lich."

Seamus remembered a few games that he had played where Lich were involved, always hideous, always the most feared or hated of an army, and frequently possessed of abilities to command the dead. But they didn't return someone to life. "That wouldn't bring her soul back though."

"Not for a human, Your Majesty, but we think it does for us." She was even quieter in her response with that than she had been up until that point.

"Then why not use one now to bring her back?!" Seamus asked.

A long quiet answered him before she responded: "I will volunteer as the sacrifice, if you require, Your Majesty."

It was Seamus's turn to be quiet for a long, stunned moment, one in which the group around him finished conferring with another group of guards that had been scouting the area, and the nearby guards relaxed incrementally. "I'm not going to ask someone to sacrifice their life so that another may live."

To which the guard group took turns in quarters kneeling and bowing towards Seamus before Vavnagal replied for the group. "Husband, you are a King now, that is what you will have to do, many times over, and accept that others will do to protect you." She kissed him deeply. "It's not unnoticed by her sister that you cared this deeply for the loss, but recognize that anyone here in your guard, and even me, husband, would lay down our lives for your defense, or even if you only asked us to."

Tears pricking his eyes, Seamus looked at her and asked quietly: "why? Why do I matter so much?"

Alice, Ailis, Vavnagal, and Na all hugged him, the latter curling around his legs, as Vavnagal replied: "Because, husband, you can be the hope for life for my entire people, not just a few, but for all of my people. They can have hope now whereas before they despaired at defeating Lucifer, something impossible before you, my King, my husband, our protector; before they despaired at finding enough sustenance; before they turned to their tormentor for relief from his torments. For that, husband, I would take the harshest of bindings, for that any of your guard would have and will gladly suffer any torments you saw or see fit to lay upon them, up to and including taking their lives."

"And me and mine, my liege." Na said almost imperceptibly from his feet, her eyes glowing in the shadows of wings, her head resting on his shoe.

Seamus couldn't find the words to answer either of them, which was fine because the quiet guard then said: "The area is clear. Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

Seamus asked: "My house is no longer safe anymore, correct?"

"Correct, Your Majesty. The human assassins are still on contract and still have demonic assistance. We need time to teach you how to fold space if you intend on going back to your house. Oddly enough, your workplace is far easier to defend because the humans there have made it easily defensible against other humans. Your house has too much public access close by." The guard replied.

Realizing an issue for his other Custom Girls, Seamus asked: "Are my other Custom Girls safe? Are they going to have issues if they are unable to fulfill what they are supposed to do each day?"

Vavnagal replied: "My King, they are likely safe but that is an unknown, and if they are unable to finish their compulsions that may cause complications but we can transport them here to do what they need."

Seamus sighed. "I take it this is a safe enough space?"

Vavnagal smiled: "Yes, husband, it was my wedding gift to you, it is our castle. This is just the dungeon."

Seamus blinked and looked at the bright, airy space that was very cheerful with a sweet scent of jasmine on the light breeze. "Dungeon?"

Vavnagal grinned wickedly, "not all dungeons are dank and dreary, husband, some are meant to enhance the pleasure of the senses."

"Ah." Seamus looked around. "So this would be a good place to summon a Lich and figure out a way to bring someone back that doesn't involve sacrifice, right?" Seamus corrected himself: "a female Lich since I'm not certain I can get a male demon to give me their true name."

That dreaded quiet happened again. "Yes, Your Majesty." A number of them looked pleadingly at Na, who had leapt into the air and was lightly flapping her bat wings to stay aloft. Na just glared back balefully. Sighs whispered through the room. Then Elaln started speaking words that made Seamus feel sick and pained, followed shortly by queasy and nauseous as a black oily miasma suffused a space just in front of his guard pack. The smoke was thick, and about ten feet tall. When the oily smoke finally vanished in a cloying seep through the floor, Seamus swiftly asked Vavnagal for the dread beings true name.

Vavnagal replied: "Nazps-Odo, my King."

The being stood there, black rags hanging from ragged, torn eagle-like wings sharp with talons and bloody feathers, her face a gaunt, skeletal mockery of a female form with deep inset black as jet eyes, purplish black fire blazing from the irises. She, which the single rotted breast hanging from a ribcage visible through the tear in her tunic clearly attested to the fact it likely was a woman under the ratty robe, raspily said: "no person living has ever heard that name before, and none living that have shall remain so thusly."

Nazps-Odo raised a bleached-white bone-skeleton hand, bits of things Seamus would prefer not to contemplate hanging from it, and started tracing symbols in fire in the air in front of her.

Seamus finally jerked himself free of the shocked stupor and zipped through his app, getting her added and added the distance option he had previously added to Na, along with one that required her to ask permission from him before she performed magic of any kind. That took him down to twenty gems remaining. Hopefully he didn't need any other high cost items soon.

Seamus looked up to see the fiery symbols dissipate in whips of smoke in the air. But looking at her, her face was nearly making him throw up so he decided to look for something in the app that could making having a conversation possible. And found one: Clear Skies Smiling at Me: Custom Girl shall have her skin made smooth, pristine, and healthy. Unfortunately, the change cost 200 gems. But he could make an illusion that her skin and features looked like they were healthy. And that one was twenty gems. With five being dual applied as a down payment toward the Clear Skies one.

Seamus sighed and purchased Clear Illusion. Looking back up, Nazps-Odo was no longer nausea-inducingly hideous, but now he had no gems. Hopefully he didn't need any more gems until tonight.