Cinder used healing units and her mecromail to treat her injuries. She had some bad bruising but nothing was broken. Cinder traveled to an isolated Altar and flew around the night sky in her infernal form. Aimless. Endless. She wandered the cool air currents.

Something soft, fleshy and grabby slammed into her back.

Karimere was cackling at the top of her lungs. Her susneran form and was wrapped around Cinder’s back tightly.

Cinder’s wings were still free but she strained to keep airborne with squirming thing on her. “Get off me you crazy cunt!”

Karimere found two nice, round handholds. “Oooh. Yeah. I want to get off. How about you just give up now and let this crazy cunt have her fun?!”

“Never! Now go away!” Cinder squirmed.

“Noooo!” Karimere wailed, dripping with fake drama. She now had her legs tight around Cinders waist and was using her horns to ‘steer’. She flailed wildly, “Rejected again! I’m sad now. Whatever shall I do?”

“Go be sad somewhere else.” Cinder tried to pry away the predatory nightmare.

Karimere leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Nope. Orders come first. You are to report to your quarters immediately, as an infernal.” With that, and a quick, FULL body pat-down, Karimere morphed and flew off into the night as a little glowing, giggling ball of purple energy.

Cinder shook her head. “I thought Jade had changed but I’ve never seen Karimere so cheerful, and hyper, and so, so, enthusiastically inappropriate.” Then she had a horrible thought. “Is releasing four millennia of frustration going to turn me into, that?”

***

Cinder commanded her room door to open with her mecromail. A hand came out and struck the side of her face, sending her ass over elbows down the corridor. The hit was good. She could have blocked it, but she knew this was coming. She deserved it. No reason to fight it. Cinder slowly, non-threateningly, picked herself up. “I’m sorry.”

Lilithana unleashed her fury, “SORRY?! You threaten the hunt for the Cradle! You threatened the mission that we have dedicated our lives to, and all you have is SORRY?! I DIED for this mission! I have to live as a shell of a person, and all you have is SORRY!”

This was infinitely worse than she had thought. Lilithana was using her awake form, and she was letting out all of her rage. Cinder stood with her eyes down. Lilithana was decent in combat. But Lilithana’s real power was lethal, to cities. Lilithana was a walking, talking resonance cascade. Oblivion at the touch of a finger. Lilithana needed to control her emotions or they were all doomed. And Cinder did not miss the clear message in this action.

“You were the one I looked up to. You were like a mother and a sister to me. You were the closest thing I had to a friend. Then you run off to attack the eleventh and Gwenyr. How could you? How can I trust you after this?”

‘were’? Past tense. That hurt. Cinder stood and took her punishment. There was nothing to say. She was guilty of violating her trust. This mission was filled with constant abuse and mistreatment of people. They were all capable of unspeakable atrocities. They could not trust in others ‘better nature’ winning out. But there was an understanding, a respect, which came from following the First Rule, the mission came first. Cinder’s actions had been a fundamental violation.

“Did you know Jade cares about Gwenyr? She often asks me to give her updates on how Gwenyr is doing. The Second would probably be lost to us if you had harmed her or Zagreus. Do you comprehend the monumental level of fail you were about to unleash? You risked the Second and the Eleventh. For what? You might as well collapse the whole lab while you are at it.”

Having everything laid out for her in such stark terms made her want to puke.

“The Eleventh had his first outside mission. He completed it quickly, with no complications. He handed out a damned god favor, and it only cost a simple fertilization. I’ve already completed the procedure. I don’t think he could have done better. You were going to punish him for that?!” Lilithana spit on her face.

Cinder remained still in the moment of silence Lilithana gave her to let that sink in.

“He has fourteen other offspring running around this planet. Do you want to see the list? Do you have a burning desire to kill all of their mothers too? What will that satisfy your bloodlust? Maybe you can collect their skulls and hang them on your wall! How happy will he be to have all his offspring orphaned?”

There are more? She had never thought of it because she had chosen to ignore it. Of course there are more. That is what we do.

Lilithana’s skin went dead pale. She cleared her throat and muttered hoarsely to herself. “Was all that shouting really necessary?” Then she spawned a bottle of water and drank.

Ok. She is back in dead mode. Maybe the worst is over.

The bottle disappeared. “I need you to evaluate the operation.”

“Zagreus did well, like you said.”

“Jade’s operation.” Lilithana stared at her intently.

“Oh.” Cinder collected her thoughts. “The threat was identified. The needed parties were notified. A plan was formulated and set in motion without any prior notice. Strategic bulkhead doors were closed to delay the threats progress and funnel it into a trap. This also allowed Jade time to get into position and spring the illusion trap. The threat was caught completely off guard and efficiently disabled. This allowed verbal interactions. Jade proficiently manipulated the emotions and desires of the threat. Jade used her knowledge of the subject to put the threat in a vulnerable position and create a desirable outcome.”

“You were left conscious, and not bleeding, so I might want to argue with that ‘desirable outcome’ comment. What is your assessment of how Jade did overall?”

“I was completely surprised by the trap. To do what she did with no prep or warning was amazing.”

“Yes, I concur. Especially given the subject matter. She showed much maturity.”

Cinder did not miss that insult.

Lilithana guided Cinder into her room. “But Jade made one mistake.”

“What?”

“Jade is still new to her little collar game. And she was the lowest ranked Mecromancer here.”

“Was?” Past tense.

“Oh, you caught that.” Lilithana smiled. “Yes. Since you have to re-earn your trust around here, you will start at the bottom. You have no seniority. You are on day zero.” Lilithana ran her cold fingers along the collar. “But back to Jade’s mistake. Jade was far to kind and far too lenient. I am amending your agreement.”

“But it was an order.”

“Jade was ordered to stop you from being suicidally stupid. I thought she was just going to lock you between bulkheads and turn your power off. But she played you like a tune. An absolutely brilliant effort, but she had no order from Karimere or me to make the deal. So be a good little pet and say, ‘Yes Lady Death’.”

Lilithana’s argument was sound. Aside from that, Cinder had violated the First Rule. She deserved whatever she got. She said, “Yes Lady Death.”

“I will allow you have a relationship with the Eleventh. But I am not releasing my claim. I will get the first three days of the week and you can have the other three.”

“But…”

“This is not a debate!” Dead mode raised her voice. “If you argue I will give you one day. Or less.”

“Yes Lady Death.”

“You will not interfere with my time with him or concern yourself with what happens during that time.”

“Yes Lady Death.”

“I have decided your punishment for the extra time request. You don’t have to do anything. Your punishment is that you must not do anything.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.”

Cinder lowered her head, “Yes Lady Death.”

“The first and second options and the six-day time period will remain the same. You will take Jade’s orders as she planned. You will not discuss my changes with her.”

So she still got to choose. Cinder felt a smile. “Thank you Lady Death.”

“For the third option I think you need more of an, incentive. You are too stubborn. Too set in your ways. I want you to know there are consequences of your actions.”

Cinder swallowed. “Yes Lady Death.”

“You have violated my trust and I really want to violate you. I thought about scarring up your face or cutting off your horns. But I think that would lead to an even further breakdown in our relationship. That would threaten the mission. I don’t want that. So this choice is your chance to prove you can be trusted, your chance to prove that you can do what needs to be done.”

“I am completely sorry Lilithana.”

“You will be.” Lilithana went to alive mode. She snatched Cinder forward by her horn and stated as fact. “Cinderella. If you fail to meet your obligations, I am going to cut this horn off. Then I am going to find the largest, ugliest, smelliest remnant out there and dose him to the eyeballs on chocolate. I am going to lock him in a room with you until I am satisfied that you have learned your lesson about violating trust. Then you will crawl, through your own blood, to Zagreus and beg him to pick up the shattered pieces of what is left of you. And you had better hope he does because no one else will. Do you understand?”

Lilithana was the calm one. Lilithana was the rational one. Lilithana was the one who kept everything together. ‘was’ past tense. “Yes Lady Death.” Cinder choked out the words her whole body shook and trembled.

Lilithana nodded, “I’m sorry it had to come to this. I did not want this, but I cannot let you keep going the way you are. We ignored this for far too long.”

“Yes Lady Death.” Cinder took deep breathes trying to calm herself. She knew how to deal with fear. She could manage this too.

Lilithana went pale again and gripped Cinder’s shirt. “Now that the serious part is over let’s have a little fun with this.”

“Fun? Lady Death? Please not that. Jade promised.”

“Not that.” Lilithana smiled. With a little tug, the shirt was torn off. “From now on you are nude. Clothes are to be requested and approved, per mission requirements only.”

“What?”

“And you are to remain in your infernal form while in the lab. It has much more to look at. You are to shave as well. He likes it that way. But, I don’t want to slow your work, so you can travel using your aerial form, if no one is around.”

“I… But… I…”

“What are you scared of? It’s only us girls, Zagreus and the test subjects. And you want him to look anyway. Admit it.”

She hesitated then nodded, “I do… Lady Death.”

“You do, what?”

“I want him to look at me, Lady Death.”

Lilithana smiled and rubbed her cheek. “You should feel relieved. In less than a six-day that pesky virginity will be no more.”

“You are all enjoying this aren’t you?”

“I like teasing you, but I do not enjoying watching you suffer. You have sealed yourself away for far, far, too long. It’s hurting you. It’s hurting me. It’s hurting the mission.” Lilithana sighed, “Maybe I spent too much time in dead mode to notice. Maybe I could have done something sooner. I am sorry that it has come to this.”

Cinder took a step towards her. She just wanted to hug her friend. She wanted to tell her she was sorry but she couldn’t speak.

Lilithana back away and her clothes disappeared. She spread her arms wide. “This scared pile of sewn together flesh is all I have left. I died for this mission. I am nothing without this mission. I am going to complete it at any cost. I want you to be there when we reach our goal. But I will go through you Cinderella, if I have to. Next time you threaten the mission, I will come for you myself. You know what I can do.”

Cinder fell to her knees as tears poured down her face.

Lilithana knelt and held her as she wept.