The Warlock Affair

The Warlock Affair

By Marla al-Vutha, as told by Magnes Magnessun (c) 2026

Obligatory Fine Print:

This story takes place in the World of Aldaria. It is a work of adult erotic fiction containing explicit sexual content and mature themes. All characters participating in sexual activity are consenting adults, 18 years of age or older, regardless of species, magical nature, or supernatural longevity.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, undead, demonic, imaginary, fictional, or suspiciously bard-shaped, is strictly a figment of your imagination.

Probably.

We like a little plot with our porn. It may take a little while to get to the good stuff, but we hope you enjoy the adventure along the way as much as you enjoy what comes after. Happy reading!

"Gold, danger, terrible judgement, and spectacularly bad ideas. Now that's the makings of an epic adventure."

Magnes Magnessun

Rain hammered the narrow windows of Pentaghast's Tower as the wind howled around its old stone walls.

The room smelled of candle wax, dust, wet wool, and whatever foul concoction simmered in the little iron brazier beside the hearth.

Across the table stood old Pentaghast, the Warlock of Rifton. He was short, broad through the middle, and possessed a tremendous white beard that seemed determined to make up for his lack of height. Wild eyebrows hung over sharp little eyes, and several missing teeth gave his smile a distinctly unfinished quality.

For several moments, neither of us spoke.

Then lightning split the night. The chamber flashed white, and thunder rolled across the sky.

At that moment, Pentaghast slapped a sheet of parchment onto the table between us.

"There it is," he intoned. "The contract."

I looked at the parchment, then at him.

Pentaghast leaned forward, planted both hands on the table, and grinned.

"Two hundred Gold Sovereigns for the Star of Lugandi."

That got my attention.

I picked up the parchment and gave it a much more interested look.

"Two hundred?"

"Yes," he cackled. "Yes!"

He leaned back slightly.

"The price matters less to me than having the Star."

Then he studied me, rubbing his chin through his scruffy beard as though weighing whether to continue.

"And an additional three hundred Gold Sovereigns should Maligard be..." He paused.

"Removed from the equation."

My interest cooled considerably.

I lowered the contract.

"Excuse me. Removed?"

He looked confused.

"Yes," he said finally, leaning in as a conspiratorial smile crept across his face.

"Permanently."

I shook my head. "No."

One eyebrow rose. "But why not?" he asked with the wounded expression of a kicked puppy.

"Because I'm not an assassin, Pentaghast."

"Maligard has been a thorn in my side for decades. Let us simply say I would be most appreciative if, during the course of our agreement, circumstances arose that permanently removed him from my affairs."

"Fine. Let me put this in terms you understand. Recovering the Star is the contract. Removing Maligard is an addendum, with its own clause and its own price."

I smiled faintly.

"You don't get to slip murder into the fine print and call it part of the recovery fee."

I tapped the contract.

"If you want Maligard out of the equation, it costs extra."

Pentaghast studied me. "How much?"

"Another three hundred Gold Sovereigns."

His eyebrow climbed higher.

I drew the contract toward me.

"The original agreement stays untouched. Two hundred for recovery and delivery of the Star."

I moved my finger down the page.

"The addendum pays another three hundred if, before the commission is concluded, Maligard is permanently removed from your affairs."

Pentaghast's eyes narrowed.

"Dead, imprisoned, banished, disappeared, dragged into the Abyss by one of his own mistakes. Doesn't matter."

I tapped the line.

"Maligard stops being your problem, the condition is satisfied."

"And you would deal with him?"

"I would deal with the commission," I said. "If circumstances require me to deal with Maligard along the way, then circumstances require it."

That seemed to sit better with him.

I leaned back.

"Think about it. If I return with the Star and Maligard is still causing you grief, you pay the original two hundred and not a Sovereign more. But if I return with the Star and your Maligard problem has permanently resolved itself, you pay five hundred."

Pentaghast considered this, slowly stroking his beard.

"So the additional payment depends entirely on the outcome."

"Precisely."

His mouth curled into a satisfied smile.

"Yes," he conceded at last. "I believe I can agree to that."

"Good," I grinned. "Do you need the contract signed in blood, or will ink suffice?"

Pentaghast looked at me as though he wasn't entirely sure whether I was joking.

"Um..." he managed finally. "Ink will do."

I signed my name with a large, sweeping flourish that took up far more space than necessary, dropped the quill back into the inkwell, and looked at him.

"All right, Pentaghast. Tell me about the Star of Lugandi. What does it do, and why is it so important to you warlock types?"

Pentaghast steepled his fingers.

"The Star was created more than four hundred years ago by Shazaal Lugandi, one of the most accomplished warlocks of his age. He devoted much of his life to creating magical artifacts. Many failed. The Star did not."

He leaned back.

"You must first understand how summoning normally works. When a warlock calls a fiend into this plane, the summoning sustains its presence here. Eventually the spell expires, its terms are fulfilled, or the caster dismisses it. When that happens, the fiend returns to its native plane."

A thin smile touched his mouth.

"The Star changes that."

He paused.

"Bind a summoned fiend to the Star, and the Star becomes its anchor to this world. The original summoning may expire. The caster may even dismiss it. The fiend remains."

He gave me a meaningful look.

"Even ordinary banishment will not send it home."

"The Star anchors a summoned fiend to this plane. Even after the original summoning should have ended, the binding keeps the creature physically present."

"Indefinitely?"

"If necessary."

There was just enough satisfaction in his voice to make my mouth tighten.

"Understand, the Star does not control the creature. It cannot compel obedience or prevent it from acting according to its nature. It does one thing exceptionally well."

He leaned forward.

"It prevents the creature from leaving."

"For men in my profession, time is often the most expensive part of dealing with the infernal. A demon that might ordinarily remain twenty minutes can instead remain twenty years."

His smile thinned.

"One may question it at leisure. Bargain without watching the sand run out. Employ it as a guardian. Study it. Keep it available until whatever business brought it here is concluded."

He lifted one finger.

"It binds presence, not will. The creature may still lie, threaten, scheme, refuse, or attack."

He lowered his hand.

"It simply cannot leave."

Pentaghast settled back.

"To a wizard, the Star is an extraordinary curiosity."

His expression turned almost reverent.

"To a warlock, it is leverage."

I frowned despite myself.

Something about the whole arrangement sat badly with me.

"So you're certain Maligard has the Star?"

"Of course. I've been trying to get it from him for decades."

Thunder rumbled beyond the tower.

"And you're sure he's using it?"

Pentaghast looked at me as though I had asked whether fire was hot.

"Of course he is. What sort of fool would possess the Star of Lugandi and not use it?"

Lightning flashed beyond the windows, bleaching the room white for an instant.

"I just wanted to be sure."

Pentaghast's expression hardened.

"My only advice is this, sorcerer. Before you remove the Star from its cradle and speak the release phrase, make certain you know exactly what it is binding."

The wind rattled the windows in their frames.

I held his gaze.

"Because the moment I deactivate it, whatever Maligard has bound with the Star is free."

"Precisely."

He leaned forward.

"And if Maligard still lives, you may find yourself facing both master and servant. Release one before dealing with the other, and you could very easily have two enemies instead of one."

I gave him a quick thumbs-up.

"Survive everything first, touch the ancient warlock artifact second. Yep. Got it."

Then I tilted my head.

"Of course, now I have to ask. What's the forbidden phrase? Something dark and unpronounceable, I presume. Chthonic, polysyllabic, probably in some ancient form of Abyssal?"

I made a vague gesture.

"Is there screaming involved? Blood sacrifice? Possibly both?"

Pentaghast stared at me.

"It's quite simple."

That somehow made it worse.

He glanced toward the door, then the rain-streaked windows. No one was there, but that did not stop him from leaning closer and lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Lugandi, release."

I sat back with an incredulous little laugh.

Pentaghast nodded slowly, almost reverently, as though he had just entrusted me with some great secret.

Warlocks.

***

It took three days to reach Maligard's Keep. The journey was mostly uneventful, which in my line of work usually meant all the trouble was saving itself for the destination.

By early afternoon on the third day, the keep finally came into view, rising above the surrounding hills like a giant black stone middle finger against the gray sky.

It wasn't especially large as keeps went, but it had clearly been built for defense rather than comfort. A narrow tower rose from its center, its upper windows catching what little light remained.

I reined in Talisman and studied it from a distance.

"So that's Maligard's place."

Talisman flicked an ear. "I know."

A little farther along the road, I spotted a wooden sign:

Maligard's Keep. Go Away!

"I've seen friendlier."

I dismounted and led Talisman into a thin stand of trees well off the road, where I hitched him to a low branch.

You can't be too careful around spell-slinging types.

I circled toward the eastern wall, keeping to cover as I approached.

There were no guards along the parapet, but that did little to reassure me. Maligard was a warlock, and men like him rarely trusted ordinary guards with anything important.

Wizards, warlocks, sorcerers... we tended to prefer defenses that didn't need sleep, wages, or loyalty.

I focused my arcane sight on the keep, searching the walls and grounds for anything unnatural.

Nothing.

No magical auras. No summoned creatures. No obvious wards.

This should have made me feel better.

It didn't.

I looked over my shoulder at my cape.

"Cape, wake up."

The enchanted cloth stirred behind me, rippling as though caught in a breeze that wasn't there.

"I need to get over that wall," I said. "Can you get me into the courtyard?"

The cape immediately caught me and lifted me from the ground.

I rose along the outer wall, drifted over the parapet, and descended into the courtyard beyond.

The moment my boots touched stone, I half expected alarm bells or shouts.

Nothing.

The courtyard was empty.

Creepy.

I started toward the keep.

A stable stood against one wall. Near the center of the courtyard, I passed a cracked fountain carved into the shape of some ugly horned creature, water spilling from its mouth into the basin below.

"Charming."

The main doors were tall, heavy, and banded with iron, exactly the sort of doors a person would normally try first.

So naturally, I ignored them.

Instead, I headed for a smaller entrance beneath an overhang along the side of the keep.

The lock looked ordinary.

The frame did not.

Through my arcane sight, I immediately saw a faint reddish-black line of script running beneath the lintel.

A hellfire ward.

Lovely.

One wrong move and the damned thing would probably explode in my face and melt it off. Even if I survived, triggering it would announce my arrival to Maligard.

Better to keep that surprise to myself. I leaned closer, hand rising toward the ward, fingers already warm with the shape of the words.

"Perdo Vim."

The runes shuddered, their glow guttering as the ward began to unravel.

For a moment the ward resisted, then Maligard's sigils flared ember-red, trembled, and slowly faded away.

I waited. No bells, no alarms, nothing.

I smiled and tried the handle.

Locked, of course.

I brought another spell to mind, murmuring, "Regio Claustrum."

The lock gave a heavy, metallic click and surrendered.

"That's much better."

Then I raised a hand.

"Creo Manum."

Ghostly fingers coalesced from nothing, pressed against the door, and shoved it inward while I kept a comfortable distance.

Nothing exploded, nothing lunged at me, and no poisoned needles shot from the frame. I waited another moment anyway, then went inside.

The passage beyond was narrow, lit by cold blue ever-burning torches set in iron sconces along the walls.

I moved quietly but quickly, not because I was a thief. I wasn't. But making unnecessary noise inside a mage's keep seemed particularly stupid when I had no idea what else might be waiting for me.

The corridor opened into a circular chamber with a staircase spiraling upward along the inner wall. I started toward it, then stopped.

About halfway up, five of the steps looked... wrong.

The dust was different there. No scuffs, no worn edges, like no foot had touched them in years. I frowned and summoned the hand again, guiding it toward a loose pebble on the floor. It lifted the pebble, carried it to the first of the five suspect steps, and set it down.

It passed straight through. A second later, I heard it clatter somewhere below.

"Right," I muttered. "Illusion."

I approached carefully and peered through the false steps at the pit concealed beneath them. Twenty, maybe thirty feet straight down onto hard stone. Well. That would've been embarrassing.

I looked back at the false steps, then down at the cape.

"Cape, take me up to the first real step you find," I commanded. "I'll take it from there."

The cape lifted me easily, carrying me over the false steps as I glanced down into the pit below.

"Very embarrassing," I muttered to myself.

My cape did one better, carrying me all the way to the second-floor landing, where it set me down gently.

So far, so good. I climbed the next few flights without much trouble, pausing now and then to catch my breath.

Thirty feet of stone stairs, apparently, was more of a workout than a life of comfortable hedonism had prepared me for.

By the time I reached the fifth floor, the stairway opened onto a broad circular gallery that ringed the tower's central shaft. A waist-high wooden railing bordered the opening, the only thing standing between a careless step and a straight drop through the heart of the keep.

I leaned over and looked down. Big mistake. Fifty or sixty feet of empty air, and the floor didn't so much rush up to meet me as remind me it existed. A wave of vertigo rolled through me, and I stepped back from the railing until it passed.

I looked around. The gallery seemed empty, mostly.

There was only one door on the entire floor, and standing directly in front of it was a suit of black armor, nearly seven feet tall.

It was enormous through the shoulders, encased in plates of blackened steel.

Curved horns swept from the helm on either side. Both gauntleted hands rested atop the pommel of a massive greatsword, its point grounded in the stone between its feet, as still as a statue.

Thin lines of arcane script ran beneath the surface of the breastplate, glowing faintly, like embers banked under cooling steel.

Something burned faintly in the darkness of the helm. A crystal, a soul shard, its reddish-orange light pulsing behind the visor like a coal that refused to die.

The armor didn't move.

I stared at it.

Nothing.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at it again, this time with my arcane sight.

The armor blazed. Heavy transmutation ran through every plate and joint, dense enough that I was surprised it didn't show to the naked eye.

But underneath that magic ran something darker.

Necromancy.

Demonology.

Not enough to call the thing undead, but enough to tell me something was inside that armor that had no business being there.

Something nasty. An animated guardian, powered by a demonic soul shard.

This could get real tricky, real fast.

My magical defenses were still up, my cape poised to shield me the instant anything moved. Whatever this thing was, I decided to test it.

I squared myself to the motionless armor and gave it every opportunity to prove it was more than decoration.

Nothing. I glanced at my cape and smiled.

"See? Sometimes paranoia is just wasted effort."

For one brief, glorious second, I was right.

Then orange-red hellfire flared behind the visor. The armor remained perfectly still for a heartbeat.

Then steel scraped against the floor. The sound echoed through the empty gallery as the armor stepped away from the door, ancient metal creaking with each movement.

There was no one inside it.

Only empty darkness, lit by that infernal glow.

The arcane lines across its breastplate flared brighter, and the soul shard burned like a furnace behind the visor.

I'd woken a demon-fueled suit of animated armor. A hellforged sentinel.

The greatsword came up, apparently with the intent of splitting me lengthwise.

I backed away and raised one hand toward the sentinel.

"Perdo Vim!"

Blue-white magic snapped from my palm and struck the center of its chest. Threads of arcane energy raced across the black armor, probing the breastplate, shoulders, and helm. The reddish-black runes flickered, and the hellfire behind the visor dimmed momentarily.

For one glorious second, I thought I had it. Then the spell sputtered, the blue-white threads snapping apart in a scatter of tiny flashes. The runes flared back to life, and the hellfire returned.

Wonderful.

I brought my hand up again and intoned, in my most firm, commanding voice, "Creo Vim!"

Five bolts of violet-white energy streaked from my palm. The first struck the breastplate. The second hit beside it. The third smashed into the shoulder. The fourth snapped its helmet backward. The last caught it squarely in the chest.

The impacts rang through the hollow armor like a bell.

The sentinel staggered, then straightened and began moving toward me again.

I dropped my hand, exasperated. "Oh, come on. Are you kidding me?"

The greatsword swept toward my waist. The cape moved before I did, cinching tight around my shoulders and hauling me backward. The blade passed so close I felt the wind of it against my shirt, my magical armor flared brilliant blue where the tip grazed past.

The sentinel advanced with slow, inexorable purpose, each step deliberate, unhurried, certain. It raised the sword overhead again, and I threw myself sideways just as the blade crashed down, splitting the stone where I'd been standing and peppering my boots with fragments.

One of the fragments struck my shin.

"Ow!"

That one actually hurt.

The sentinel wrenched the greatsword free without effort.

I thrust both hands forward.

"Fulmino Ignem!"

Three blazing rays struck the breastplate and blossomed across the black steel. Fire rolled over its chest and shoulders in twisting sheets, the metal beginning to glow beneath the heat.

My cape snapped tight around me backward again. The greatsword came down out of the smoke, passing through the air where I was standing a heartbeat earlier, inches from my face.

Another fraction of a second and it would have split my skull.

I landed hard on my backside and scrambled away on all fours, putting as much distance between myself and that sword as dignity allowed.

"Gods!" I gasped. "Thanks, Cape. That was close."

The cape tugged sharply at my shoulder. I looked back. The sentinel had turned and was coming after me again, one heavy step at a time, steel scraping against the stone with every stride.

I planted a hand on the floor and tried to push myself up, but the greatsword was already rising. I abandoned the attempt and threw myself forward instead. The blade crashed down behind me, cracking the stone and sending fragments skittering past my hands.

"How are you still moving?" I demanded, as the sentinel wrenched the blade free and came after me again. "Would you just fall over already?"

Another strike beside my arm. Another near my leg. Another close enough to my ribs that I felt it through the stone.

It was trying to pin me down like some damned insect in a collector's case.

Dignity had stopped being part of the equation. Survival had taken over completely, and survival, I was quickly learning, involved a surprising amount of crawling.

Finally, I put enough distance between us to risk it. I twisted around, thrust out one hand, and shouted, "Pello Vim!"

Invisible force slammed into the sentinel's chest and threw it backward, boots screeching against stone until it crashed into the wall beside the door.

That bought me a few precious seconds.

I scrambled to my feet as the sentinel recovered and came at me again, its greatsword sweeping toward my middle with enough force to cut me in half. Each arc of the blade drove me farther back, until I hit the wooden railing around the central shaft.

There was nowhere left to go.

The sentinel advanced and raised the greatsword overhead, meaning to split me from skull to groin. I waited as long as I dared, then threw myself sideways just as the blade came down.

It missed me by inches and tore through the railing instead, timber exploding under the impact and spinning splinters into the shaft below.

The sentinel had committed everything to that strike, and its own momentum carried it forward. One steel foot scraped across the stone, searching for purchase that wasn't there anymore. For a heartbeat it teetered on the broken edge of the railing, arms pinwheeling for balance it didn't have, half its weight already hanging out over sixty feet of empty air.

"Cape!" I called out. The enchanted cloth lifted me instantly, sweeping me up and around behind the struggling behemoth.

I raised one boot. "This had better work."

I gave the animated armor the gentlest tap between the shoulders.

The sentinel tipped forward. For one absurd heartbeat, the enormous suit of blackened steel seemed to hang there, perfectly balanced over the shaft. Then gravity took over.

It dropped through the open center of the tower, turning as it fell, the greatsword still clutched in both hands.

A moment later, there was a tremendous crash that echoed up from below.

I looked down and saw the armor lying at the bottom of the tower, folded into a twisted heap of metal.

"Look out for that first step," I called after it. "It's a real lulu!"

The cape lowered me back onto the gallery. I turned toward the door the sentinel had been guarding, slowly drew in a breath through my nose, and let it out through my mouth.

I needed a second to calm down.

Then I walked over to the door and studied it with my arcane sight, checking the frame, hinges, and handle for any trace of a ward or magical trap.

There was nothing.

No glyphs, no hidden script, no lingering enchantment.

I supposed that made sense.

Why bother trapping a door when you had a seven-foot hellforged sentinel standing in front of it?

Still, recent experience had made me less trusting.

I reached for the handle and turned it slowly, half expecting something unpleasant to happen. When nothing did, I pushed it open with a long, quiet creak.

Beyond it, another flight of stone steps rose to the next level.

I stopped at the bottom and looked up.

Of course. More stairs.

I sighed and started climbing.

***

The stairs opened onto a broad circular landing that wrapped around the tower's central shaft. Behind me, the stairwell curved away below, lit here and there by the warm glow of torches mounted along the walls. There were no more steps leading up.

At last, I'd reached the top.

Two narrow blue rugs embroidered with golden stars followed the curve of the outer wall. Beside each stood a small pedestal topped with a softly glowing violet crystal.

Apparently Maligard had decided ordinary lamps lacked sufficient menace.

Four doors opened off the landing. Two led into smaller side chambers, while the pair farther ahead appeared to open into larger rooms beyond.

After what had happened one floor below, I gave the open shaft considerably more respect.

I crossed to one of the doors ahead and eased it open.

Beyond lay what was unmistakably Maligard's private bedchamber.

I stepped inside and looked around.

The room occupied nearly half the tower level and was far more comfortable than I expected. Dark wooden floors, bookshelves, tapestries, and a broad blue carpet worked with moons and stars softened the cold stone walls.

A large four-poster bed stood to my left, draped in dark blue and violet fabric. A chest rested at its foot, with shelves of books tucked against the curved wall nearby.

To my right stood a writing desk cluttered with papers, books, and ink bottles, as though its owner intended to return and finish whatever he had been working on.

Beyond it, a broad stone fireplace filled part of the wall.

A fire still burned in the hearth, casting a warm orange glow across the chamber.

An upholstered chair had been positioned before the fire.

Someone was sitting in it.

I stopped.

For a few seconds, I simply stared.

The body had been there for some time. His skin had dried tight against the bones of his face, his clothes hanging loosely from what remained of him, and his head rested at an awkward angle against the back of the chair.

There was nothing especially violent about the scene.

He looked as though he had simply sat down one evening and never gotten back up.

I glanced around the room, then back at the corpse. Expensive clothes. Private quarters. Sitting comfortably before the fire as though the entire tower belonged to him.

Maligard.

I gave a small nod.

"Well," I murmured, "I suppose that answers one question."

Something violet caught my eye above him.

Resting on the fireplace mantel was a deep purple gemstone, its angular facets catching the firelight in faint violet flashes.

The Star of Lugandi.

I had found it.

Across the room, another pair of doors opened onto a private balcony. Daylight spilled through them, illuminating a stone balustrade, several potted plants, and a brass telescope pointed toward the horizon.

Beyond lay the keep and the countryside stretching away beneath the tower.

For a warlock who had gone to such extraordinary lengths to discourage visitors, Maligard had chosen himself one hell of a view.

I started toward the fireplace and reached for the Star.

A door moved somewhere behind me.

I stopped.

For a second, I couldn't tell whether it had opened or closed.

The sound had come from the central landing.

Someone else was in the tower.

Either they had just stepped out of one of the surrounding rooms...

Or slipped into one.

I froze and listened.

The tower suddenly felt much less empty.

I heard her before I saw her.

A woman's voice drifted in from the landing, humming some slow, unfamiliar melody.

A moment later, she stepped through the doorway with a towel in her hands, running it through the ends of her long black hair.

I forgot about the Star for a moment.

She was tall, strikingly so, with pale violet skin and a figure that would have been difficult to ignore under ordinary circumstances.

These were not ordinary circumstances.

She had apparently just stepped from a bath and had not yet bothered with clothing.

Water still beaded across her shoulders, her damp black hair hanging down her back. The towel in her hands was being used entirely for drying rather than modesty, and she seemed completely unconcerned by the distinction.

Two heavy, ridged horns swept upward from her head, framing a sharp, beautiful face and glowing violet eyes. Great leathery wings rose behind her, dark along the bones and deep wine-red through the membranes. A long tail moved lazily behind her as she dried her hair, humming as though there were nothing remotely unusual about wandering naked through a dead warlock's bedchamber.

Then she looked up.

The humming stopped.

For one long, uncomfortable heartbeat, neither of us moved.

Her eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

I straightened instinctively and made a determined effort to keep my attention somewhere above her shoulders.

"Magnes Magnessun," I said. "And might I ask who you are?"

"Meridiana."

Her surprise faded, then her expression changed again.

She drew in a slow breath through her nose.

"What?"

She stepped closer and inhaled again, almost appreciatively.

"You smell... interesting."

"That is not usually how introductions go."

"There's something demonic on you," she said. "Faint, but unmistakable."

I knew exactly what she meant.

Aldarian.

Whatever he had left behind in me was subtle enough for most people to miss.

Meridiana smiled.

"To my kind, it's rather pleasant."

"Wonderful. I'm demon perfume."

Her gaze dropped to the ring on my finger.

"A binding ring," she said. "Shared with someone?"

"Her name is Marla."

"A... mortal woman?"

"Yes."

She looked back at me.

"And she would have no objection to what you and I might do?"

"We have a very understanding relationship."

Understanding dawned in her eyes. She gave a knowing nod.

"Good."

She studied me for a moment.

"My, my," she murmured. "You are becoming more interesting by the moment."

She finished drying her hair, crossed to the foot of the bed, and tossed the towel over the lower rail. Then she stretched her wings wide with a soft leathery rustle, gave them a slow shake, and folded them against her back.

I remained very interested in her face.

Meridiana tilted her head and asked, "Why are you here?"

I glanced toward the fireplace and nodded at the violet gem resting on the mantel.

"That," I said. "I was hired to retrieve the Star of Lugandi and deliver it to a warlock named Pentaghast."

Her eyes followed mine to the Star.

I looked back at her. "Do you have a problem with that?"

For a moment, she simply stared at me. Then a smile spread across her face, and she let out a bright peal of laughter.

"No." She shook her head and waved me toward the fireplace. "Absolutely not. Take it. Please."

She even made a little shooing motion with one hand.

That was not the reaction I expected.

"You're serious?"

"Yes. I've been bound by it for quite some time now, and I would be ever so grateful if you released me and took the miserable thing with you."

I started toward the mantel, then stopped.

There was still one detail that seemed considerably more important now that I knew I was standing beside a bound succubus.

"Before I do," I said, glancing toward the corpse, "what happened to him?"

Meridiana followed my gaze and gave the body an almost casual look.

"Oh, Maligard?"

"So that is Maligard."

"It was."

"Did you kill him?"

"No," she said, then slowly looked back at me. "Well... yes, I suppose. Indirectly."

I waited for her to elaborate.

Meridiana glanced back at the corpse and gave a small, almost apologetic shrug.

"His heart stopped," she said sadly.

I waited.

She looked back at me.

"He came," she said, "and then he went."

It took me a moment.

"Oh."

"Yes," she said, returning to toweling herself off. "It was quite sudden, actually."

She caught the look on my face, lowering the towel to dab at her breasts and chest.

"Oh, come now, wizard. Surely you know what I am."

I bristled slightly at being called a wizard, but kept my composure.

My attention, unfortunately, was elsewhere.

My gaze betrayed me and dropped to her breasts, to the tight red nipples standing out against her pale violet skin like cherries atop two very inviting cakes.

I dragged my eyes back to her face.

"You're a demon," I said. "A sex demon."

Amusement flickered in her eyes.

"That's right."

Her gaze traveled slowly down my body and settled somewhere considerably lower than my face.

"And I'm very hungry," she added, staring at my crotch as she slowly licked her lips. "I haven't fed in three months."

I suddenly knew exactly what it felt like to be ogled.

"Hey." I pointed two fingers toward my face. "My eyes are up here, sister."

She let the towel drop, apparently finished with it, and started toward me.

Slowly.

Her eyes never left mine. There was something predatory in the way she moved now, smooth and unhurried, like a hungry cat that had finally decided I was dinner.

I took a step back.

She took one forward.

I backed up again and raised both hands.

"Now, before we do something spectacularly stupid, let's think this through."

She kept coming.

"I understand you're hungry. Three months, terrible accommodations, inconsiderate host. All perfectly reasonable complaints."

Another step.

"But if you attack me, I'm going to defend myself."

That slowed her.

"Probably quite enthusiastically."

Her eyes narrowed.

"And if I win, you're dead." I pointed toward the Star. "If you win, I'm dead, and the only man currently capable of releasing you is lying on the floor."

"So from a purely practical standpoint, killing me would be an astonishingly poor nutritional decision and a truly catastrophic one for your freedom."

She stopped.

I lowered my hands a fraction.

"Now, I have absolutely no objection to discussing your... dietary needs."

Interest flickered across her face.

"Discussing," I repeated quickly. "That is the important word in that sentence."

The corner of her mouth twitched.

"I came here for the Star of Lugandi," I continued. "You want to be free of the Star. Those are not competing objectives. I'd say we have the beginnings of a remarkably convenient arrangement."

"I see that you get fed. My way," I emphasized. "Then I deactivate the Star, you get sent back to whatever hell you came from, everybody gets what they want, and nobody kills anybody."

The hunger had not left her expression, but at least she was listening now.

"You're smart," she said. "For a mortal."

"Yeah." I gave her a crooked smile. "It's kept me alive this long."

"Now, I know what you feed on. What I need to know is how much you need before you stop looking at me like supper."

Her eyes traveled over me again.

"All of it."

I gave her a slow grin.

"Meridiana..."

"Oh, please." She made a small dismissive gesture. "Call me Meri."

I paused.

"Meri," I corrected, "I'm beginning to think you might not be able to handle what I've got."

Doubt flickered across her face.

"We'll see about that."

"Meri," I quipped, "you're not dealing with some hedge wizard or average mortal here. Sorcerous come is powerful stuff. I'm just saying you might want to temper your expectations about which one of us is going to have trouble handling the other."

"Come now, Sorcerer Magnessun," she said, moving closer and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Men have been assuring me for thousands of years that they are bigger, better, stronger, more experienced, and altogether far more impressive than any man before them."

She pressed her firm breasts against me and brushed her lips softly along my neck and earlobe.

"You do realize," she murmured, "that you're not the first man to brag about what he's carrying, don't you?"

"I know what I said."

I slipped my hands around her slender waist and held her there.

"Before we get started, though, one thing. I've had a very long few days, nearly died more than once, and I have some stress to relieve, so I might play a little rough. You all right with that?"

Meri let out a low chuckle.

"Magnes, I am a demon from the Abyss, not some delicate mortal woman. You are not going to hurt me."

"So that's a yes?"

"That's a very enthusiastic yes." She glanced toward the desiccated remains of old Maligard. "If anything, I should be asking whether you can handle me."

"Good," I said. "Then if either of us stops enjoying it, we say so. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"No promises." I leaned closer and whispered cockily, "Besides, I still don't think you're temptation demon enough to handle me."

Meri seized me and shoved me back against the wall hard enough that my shoulders struck stone and I winced.

"Do not toy with me, sorcerer!" Her voice came low and guttural, stripped of every trace of teasing. "I'm hungry!"

She dropped quickly to her knees, her composure finally giving way as desperate fingers fumbled with the fastenings of my trousers.

Her eyes widened with unmistakable delight as she finally freed my hard cock from its fabric prison.

For a moment, she simply stared, her expression almost comically reverent, like a starving woman presented with a feast far better than she had expected.

Which, I suppose, in all honesty, wasn't very far from the truth.

Her demeanor shifted the instant she drew close and breathed the smell of my cock and balls.

"You like what you see, demon?"

She looked up at me, hunger replacing every trace of skepticism.

"Oh, yes, Master," she said hoarsely. "Thank you, Master."

"Your seed smells powerful. Rich."

She swallowed with hesitant anticipation.

"I want it now."

"Well then," I said, a smug little smile beginning to curl at the corner of my mouth, "Show me!"

I caught hold of her horns and pulled her head and forcefully pushed my cock into her mouth and down her throat so quickly and deep that she started gagging.

"Suck it, demon!" I said firmly. "Work for it!"

She made a wet, hungry sound and kept going, greedy and relentless. I groaned as her pace turned faster, rougher, almost frantic, every movement eager and desperate.

I could feel that familiar tension building low in my groin as her rhythm grew more urgent, drawing me steadily closer to the edge.

She wasn't playing around. She wanted my come badly, and from the look of things, she was going to get it soon.

I gripped her horns firmer and began to fuck her face more forcefully, rising to the balls of my feet as she continued with relentless enthusiasm to bob mercilessly on my swollen organ.

Her lips glistened with saliva as she worked, and I felt it come. I tightened my grip on her horns as I let out a deep guttural groan as my orgasm tore through me with enough force to force itself down her throat and come out of her nose.

She made a muffled, choking sound from her lips that were still around my swollen cock and pulled back just enough to catch herself. Her hands tightened on my thighs, as I gripped her horns and deliberately pushed her face harder onto my swollen groin, my balls now laying deep on her chin.

"Take it, you demon bitch!" I shouted hoarsely, barely able to speak, my eyes closed in the overwhelming pleasure of the moment. "Take it all!"

I continued to squirt load after load of hot come down her throat for what seemed like minutes. To her credit, she swallowed everything I gave her with surprising gusto.

Once I had finished, my knees began to wobble and falter beneath me as I slowly released her horns and tried to regain my balance, reaching back to feel for the wall I knew was behind me.

She still had her arms wrapped around my upper legs as she continued to move her lips and mouth around my rapidly shrinking cock as if she still wanted more.

She slowly let my softening member slip from her mouth and sat back with a look of total satisfaction on her face. She looked exactly the way I felt after a completely filling, satisfying meal, when all I wanted to do was loosen my belt, lean back, and enjoy the feeling.

She quickly wiped her hands across her mouth and face, then licked her fingers clean as though savoring the last traces of some rare delicacy.

Through slightly unfocused eyes, I noticed that whatever she had missed was slowly being absorbed into her skin, swallowed up by her very flesh.

Well. Waste not, want not.

When she looked up at me again, her eyes were heavy-lidded, her expression sleepy, sated, and still thick with desire.

"More?" she asked drowsily, the word carrying a hopeful little lilt.

"Not... right now... darling," I managed, dragging in another breath. "Just... give me a... second."

I swallowed, still trying to get my legs under me.

"That... really took... it out... of me."

Another breath.

"Was it..." I paused, fighting for air, then managed a crooked grin. "Was it... good for... you?"

She lifted one hand and gave a weak, tired little wave, a sated smile tugging at her lips.

"Abyss take me," she breathed, a disbelieving little laugh slipping out. "That was... incredible!"

I leaned back against the wall, waiting for my legs to remember how to work.

"I told you..." I managed with a tired grin. "That wasn't bragging. A sorcerer's come is... potent stuff."

Meri slowly leaned back onto her hands, arms stretched behind her to support her as she looked up at me through heavy-lidded, thoroughly satisfied eyes.

"You weren't kidding," she murmured, almost laughing in disbelief. "Thank you, Master. I feel as though I've just eaten a five-course human meal."

Something in her expression changed. The deep satisfaction remained, but her voice took on a more deliberate, almost ceremonial tone.

"You have fed me freely, as agreed, and far beyond what was required. Your part of our bargain has been honored in full."

Her eyes lifted to mine.

"Now, Master, I ask only that you honor the remainder. Release me from the Star's binding, and our agreement is fulfilled. I will trouble you no further and be on my way."

I stood there another moment, breathing deeply until some strength returned to my legs.

Then I shook my head, smiled, and held out my hand.

"One more thing before our business is concluded."

Meri looked at my hand, then at me. Curious, she took it, and I pulled her carefully to her feet.

"I am a man," I said, "who does not leave a woman unsatisfied."

Her eyebrows rose.

"But, Master..." She stared at me. "You... you are spent."

"I'm aware."

"I took everything you had."

"I know," I said playfully. "I felt it go."

She blinked.

"Meri, I don't need to fuck you to make sure you leave satisfied."

For once, the succubus seemed completely at a loss.

"I... don't understand. No man has ever concerned himself with my needs before. I am summoned to satisfy his desires. I am used for what he wants, and when he is finished..."

I raised a hand, cutting her off.

"I'm aware, Meri."

She fell silent.

"And I'm perfectly willing to let most men live by that arrangement." I exhaled. "But I'm not most men."

She continued staring at me.

"I have standards."

"Standards?"

"Personal pride, mostly." I straightened as a little more feeling returned to my legs. "And I'm old enough to know something very important."

Her head tilted.

"Women talk."

She blinked.

"And yes, I'm including demons. You talk. You compare. You remember."

She almost smiled.

"I've never had a woman walk away from me disappointed, Meri, and I'm not about to ruin a perfect record now."

"You..." she said slowly. "You're concerned about your reputation?"

"Very."

That earned a soft, disbelieving laugh.

"Call it vanity. Call it pride." I shrugged. "I call it having standards."

I propped some pillows up at the head of the bed.

"Get on the bed," I said.

She sat on the edge and gave me a skeptical look.

"Up there," I said, pointing toward the pile of pillows.

She scooted back into a reclining position and settled against them with a soft sigh.

I drank in the sight of her.

I loved the look of surprise on her face, the way her magenta-violet eyes widened when I moved over her and straddled her hips.

Then I leaned down and kissed her full, pouting lips.

She moaned softly into my mouth as our tongues met.

She arched her hips against my crotch, pressing and wiggling her pussy against me.

I nuzzled her ears, kissing the lobes gently before teasing the long point of one ear between my lips. Then I slowly trailed lower, leaving kisses down her neck, over her collarbone, and toward the generous swell of her breasts.

She whimpered softly and arched her back as I cradled the generous curves of her breasts, almost reverently at first, letting my thumbs brush slowly over her hardening nipples as a soft shiver passed through her.

"Please, Master," she begged, pressing her breasts into my hands.

"Please what?" I teased.

She whimpered again, wiggling against me. The mounds of her lavender breasts jiggled beneath my fingertips.

I shifted my weight and pushed my knee between her legs.

She gasped as my knee pressed firmly against her wet pussy.

Then I lowered my head and started kissing her nipples and chest, taking my time, teasing and lingering.

I drew lazy circles around her hard nipple until her breath became ragged and she ground her wet nether lips against my knee.

"More, please," she begged.

I sucked her nipple, and she made a happy purring noise, weaving her hands into my hair and dragging her nails over my scalp. It oddly sent a tingle through my body that went straight to my cock, causing it to stir as it pressed against her thigh.

I moved to her other breast and began sucking.

I grabbed both of her breasts and smooshed them together, the nipples nearly touching. As I licked and sucked on each, she worked her wet pussy harder against my knee.

I let my teeth graze them, and when I gently bit and sucked on them, she began to pant.

The grinding got more erratic as her nails dug into my head.

"Yes," she hissed as she pulled my head tighter to her breasts, bucking her hips and soaking my knee in her juices.

"Oh," she whispered as her death grip on my head loosened and her hands fell away. "That felt nice."

She wiggled her hips a little.

"You liked that?" I asked, looking up at her face.

Her eyes were half-closed, and she looked relaxed.

"Oh yes, Master," she purred. "I liked that very much."

"Good," I said as I shoved her legs apart with my other knee.

"Oh yes!" she gasped. "Please. I need you."

I chuckled.

"Well," I began. "Since you just drained me so thoroughly, I have something else in mind."

I leaned forward and kissed my way down her abdomen stopping at her luscious black triangle, the thick curly hairs glistened with her juices.

I dropped a kiss on her mound and immediately moved to her thighs. I kissed and licked my way down to her knees, running my hands over her smooth soft skin

I shoved her leg apart as far as I could and looked at her wet pussy and inhaled the scent

I glanced up at her. Those luminous magenta-violet eyes were fixed on me now, edged with unmistakable anticipation. I grinned at her and lowered my head, grasping her ass as I pulled her down closer and shoved her hips up, rounding her back, and licked her from asshole to her clit. A long stroke with the flat of my tongue, letting gravity lower her back down.

I looked up at her again, her head thrown back now, her fingers teasing her nipples.

I gave her another lift, and as my tongue hit her clit I gave it a small suck. She responded immediately, thrusting her hips to meet my mouth.

I watched her face, fringed by dark curls, as I sucked harder, flicking my tongue over her clit. She was pinching her nipples tighter and tried to grind her pussy to my face.

It was then that I gripped her upper thighs and hips tightly and locked my mouth over her glistening bud like a sucker fish.

She panted and hissed as she grabbed my head with her hands and pulled my mouth against her hard as she came again.

I stopped sucking for a moment and went back to licking her swollen clit and lips so she could recover a little. Then I shifted my hold back to her ass and started licking her dripping hole, dipping my tongue in teasingly.

I moved my tongue back up to her clit and resumed teasing as I slowly inserted my index finger. I swirled it slowly, probing deeper little by little until it was in up to the knuckle.

She bucked her hips against my finger, inviting me to go deeper.

"More... Master... please!" she begged.

I happily obliged and added a second finger.

She responded by pulling her heels closer to her ass and lifting her pussy to meet my thrusting.

It was then that I used my pinky to gather up some of her dripping juices and began to lube and lightly probe her puckered ass.

She seemed to like that, and she liked it even more when I slid a third finger into her quivering cunt, driving my pinky deeper into her ass.

"Oh... fuck yeah," she moaned, matching the rhythm of my fingers with the thrust of her hips.

I used the flat of my tongue on her swollen clit as I finger-fucked her hard.

She let out a growl, her upper body lifted off the bed. She grabbed my head and ground her pussy against my face, gripping me tightly between her thighs.

Then she started face-fucking me, her cunt squeezing around my fingers as another orgasm ripped through her.

"Fuck you, Magnes!" she shouted as I continued thrusting hard and deep, when suddenly a burst of warm fluid sprayed me in the face.

"Look what you did, you dirty fucker," she growled as the orgasm continued.

"Fuck yoooouu," she gasped as her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed onto the bed.

I slid my fingers out of her overstimulated nether regions and wiped the dripping juices off my face.

She lay back, panting.

"That... was... fucking... incredible..." she whispered between deep breaths.

"I know, right?" I said, grinning at her sweat-drenched body.

"By the gods." She sat up and looked at me. "I've never had a mortal do that before!"

"The gods, huh?" I laughed. "Switching teams?"

She looked confused for a moment, then laughed.

"Sure. I have no fucking idea what I'm talking about right now."

Her words were slurred as though she were intoxicated.

I laughed and gave her a moment to recover while I cleaned myself up with the discarded towel.

When her breathing finally eased, I handed it to her.

"Here," I said.

She took it with a tired smile and replied, "Such a gentleman."

"I have my moments," I replied as I crossed to the fireplace.

The Star of Lugandi still rested on the mantel.

I picked it up and looked back over at Meridiana.

"So, are we good?" I asked, watching her carefully. "Debts and obligations cleared and concluded?"

Meri nodded slowly. She was still a little flushed, her breathing not quite back to normal, and there was a lingering softness in her eyes that made her look almost dazed.

"All except for one," she said quietly.

"And that is a matter I intend to fix right now." I held the Star in my hand.

"And you swear you're not going to try and kill me if I release

you, right?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her with exaggerated suspicion. "Demon swear?"

She gave me a flat, incredulous look and replied, "Master, after what you just did to me, I wouldn't kill you if Maligard himself commanded it. As a temptation demon, I swear to you that I would never, ever, ever kill you." Then she added softly, "Demon swear."

Her expression softened into a deeply satisfied smile.

"And the next time I see my sisters, I'm going to tell them exactly what you did to me... and what you did for me. You gave me what I needed, then made certain I was more than satisfied."

Her smile turned wicked.

"Talent like yours deserves a reputation."

She settled back, looking thoroughly pleased.

"And when you finally do die, Magnes, you had better look me up. I would very much like to do this again."

I studied her for a moment, then smiled.

"Thank you. That's good enough for me," I replied. "And for the record," I added with a smile, "I'd be happy to do it again. Any time... if I have the opportunity."

She settled deeper into the pillows, plainly pleased.

Then, because some things deserve a little ceremony, I raised the violet gem and swept my free hand dramatically outward.

"Lugandi... release," I said with dramatic flair.

Something shifted in the air.

There was no flash, no sound, nothing I could point to directly. Just a sudden lightening of the atmosphere, as though some invisible pressure had lifted from the room.

Meri waited in silence, patient at first. Then her eyes began moving around the room as uneasiness crept into her expression.

"Did... did it work?" she asked, looking back at me.

I looked down at the Star, then at her, just as confused as she was.

"I guess," I said uncertainly. "Let's test it."

I pointed to the exit.

"Try leaving."

Meri walked to the door and stepped out onto the central landing.

"So far, so good," she called back.

I leaned casually against the doorframe, idly tossing the Star into the air and catching it as I watched from the doorway.

She cautiously placed one foot on the first stair and peered down.

"Go on," I prodded. "Take a couple of steps and check it out."

She did.

Three steps later, she spun around and came rushing back up the stairs, throwing her arms around me.

"It works!" she shouted, giving me a kiss. "I'm free!"

Then she started smothering me with kisses.

"Oh, thank you, Master!"

"Um, Magnes," I corrected. "I don't own you. I'm not your master. You're a freelance temptation demon, as far as I'm concerned."

Her smile faded.

"Wait," she said. "What do you mean, freelance temptation demon?"

"Well..." I shrugged. "You're still here."

"And I should be gone," she said slowly.

The words seemed to settle over her as she spoke them.

"The binding was broken. I should have been returned to the Abyss by now."

I glanced at her, then at the darkened Star in my hand.

"Well..." I said slowly, thinking it through. "I'm no expert, but Maligard summoned you here. Normally, he would've dismissed you when he was finished."

She tensed.

I glanced at the corpse.

"Except he's dead."

The worry in her face deepened.

"And the Star kept you from leaving when you normally would've been dismissed."

Meri studied me, and I gave her a small, uncertain shrug.

"I guess you're stuck here. The good news is, with the Star's binding broken, you should be free to go anywhere you like."

I hesitated.

"Just apparently not back to the Abyss."

Her eyes widened.

"For how long?"

"Dunno." I shrugged. "Until somebody banishes you, you find another magical way home, or..." I hesitated. "I assume if you're killed here, whatever part of you survives returns to the Abyss."

She stared at me.

"So, I'm..." Her voice had gone small. "Stranded?"

"Stranded," I agreed. "But free."

I gave her a broad, almost boyish smile, the kind meant to make a bad situation sound like good news.

Meri didn't answer. She glanced toward the stairwell, then around the unfamiliar tower, her shoulders drawing in.

For the first time since I'd met her, she looked genuinely lost and frightened.

Then it hit me. She knew no one here. She didn't know the roads, the kingdoms, the customs, or even the simple things everyone else took for granted. Three thousand years meant surprisingly little when most of it had been spent being summoned wherever someone else wanted her and told what was expected once she arrived.

Meri looked down, then slowly raised her eyes to mine.

"Can I..." Her voice had gone surprisingly small. "Can I travel with you for a little while?"

That caught me off guard.

"Maybe until I get on my feet," Meri added quietly, "and learn my way around."

I looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah. Sure." I glanced at the towel she was still wearing. "First, let's get some clothes on you. Then we'll see if Maligard left behind anything he won't be needing."

That brought back a hint of her smile.

I crossed the chest at the foot of the bed while Meri went to the wardrobe. The chest was locked, which seemed unnecessarily optimistic considering its owner had been dead for three months.

A little magic solved that.

Inside were several purses of coin, mostly silver Marks and gold Sovereigns, along with gemstones, jewelry, and a few other valuables worth carrying. I divided the coin, kept a fair share for myself, and set aside a respectable purse for Meri.

By the time I looked up, she had transformed herself.

Dark trousers, boots, a loose shirt, and one of Maligard's fitted coats gave Meri the look of a well-traveled practitioner of questionable magic. She added his broad-brimmed traveling hat and fastened his dagger at her hip.

I gave her an approving once-over. The hat and road-worn look reminded me, just a little, of a dear friend from my old adventuring group.

Mer touched the brim and asked, "Well, how do I look?"

I smiled. "Not bad, Meri. You clean up very nicely."

Her expression brightened.

I nodded toward the hat. "Especially the hat. That definitely gives you character."

A quiet, wistful smile touched my lips at the memory, and Meri noticed.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said, still smiling. "It just reminds me of someone who's very special to me."

I tossed Meri her share of the treasure. She caught the purse, opened it, and her eyes widened.

"Is this for me?"

"You're free now," I said. "Free people need money."

For a moment she simply stared at me.

Then she closed the purse and tucked it away.

"Thank you."

There was something in her eyes that made me suddenly very interested in fastening my haversack.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

We gathered what provisions were worth taking and left Maligard's Keep behind.

Talisman was waiting outside.

Meri looked at the horse, then at me, then back at the open road. She seemed almost overwhelmed by the simple fact that no one was stopping her.

I mounted and offered her my hand.

She took it immediately.

I pulled her up behind me, and she settled close, arms slipping around my waist.

When I glanced back, she was looking up at me with that same soft expression she had worn since asking to come along.

"Something on your mind?"

She shook her head.

"No."

I smiled.

"Then one piece of advice before we reach Rifton."

She listened immediately.

"Pentaghast doesn't know who you are, and I'd like to keep it that way. So don't say too much. Let me do the talking."

Meri nodded.

"You listen, you watch, and you learn how things work out here."

Her arms tightened around me.

"And if someone asks who I am?"

I considered it.

"You're Meri, my traveling companion."

She smiled against my shoulder.

"I like that."

"Good. Try not to make it sound suspicious."

Meri looked up at me from beneath the brim of Maligard's hat, one eyebrow lifting.

"Magnes," she said with patient amusement, "I'm a demon."

I considered that.

"Exactly why I'm bringing it up."

Her serious expression broke, and she laughed softly. Then her arms slipped a little tighter around my waist.

I nudged Talisman onto the road.

For a while we rode in comfortable silence. Maligard's Keep slowly fell away behind us until the black tower was little more than a dark shape against the hills.

Meri looked back once.

Only once.

Then she rested her cheek against my shoulder.

"Magnes?"

"Hmm?"

"What happens when we reach Rifton?"

"Pentaghast gets his Star. I get my five hundred Sovereigns."

I felt her smile.

"And after that?"

I glanced back at her.

"No idea."

She studied me for a moment.

Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.

"Good."

"Good?"

Meri looked past me toward the open road.

"I think I've had enough of knowing exactly where I'm supposed to be."

That caught something in me.

I covered one of her hands with mine.

"Then we'll figure it out when we get there."

Her fingers curled around mine.

"I like that."

Talisman carried us around another bend, and Maligard's Keep finally disappeared from sight.

Meri didn't look back again.

Ahead waited Rifton, Pentaghast, five hundred Gold Sovereigns, and whatever came after.

Maybe Meri and I would travel together for a few days.

Maybe longer.

Maybe our roads would part as easily as they had crossed.

I didn't know.

Neither did she.

Her cheek settled against my shoulder again, her arms warm around my waist as Talisman carried us toward the horizon.

And for the moment, that was enough.

The End