Victoria Misses Her Demon

"Shoot it!"

"Shit!" Jasper swore, struggling to shoot the horde of zombies racing towards him. They were being surrounded. Jasper went down, a zombie gnawing on his neck.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" Victoria squealed, jumping up and down on the sofa as her fingers worked the game controller. A zombie swung a well-aimed cleaver. Her head rolled before the TV screen went red.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Jasper groaned, dropping the controller. "Un-fucking-believable. We have to start all the way at the beginning."

Victoria giggled, sitting back on the couch and taking a swig of her beer. "You shoot like a girl, Jaz."

"Bullshit." The demon grinned. "You should see me against real zombies."

Her jaw dropped. "Those exist too?"

He laughed. "Yea, they're summoned by necromancers. That's an old practice though. The things are like locusts. Even the necro's have a hard time keeping them under control." He shuddered, as if remembering a past event. "The bastards mostly summon ghouls and phantoms now."

She stared at him.

He laughed again at her expression. "Haven't you been reading your books?"

Victoria blushed. "Yes! There's a lot to take in." She'd been struggling through the The History of the Demonarchies and it was hell. But she had learned a lot about the different clans and the history around the berserkers, Sebastian in particular.

Her heart had ached when she read about his servitude to the demon lord Ivan. For centuries he'd been tortured and forced to turn demonic. Of course Sebastian had overcome all odds, freeing not only himself but his brethren.

And her suspicions regarding his curse were all but confirmed. Although the book didn't go into detail - she suspected that whoever wrote it probably couldn't as a condition of the curse - she did know that a mystic named Levina the Ever Watchful had cursed him into what he hated most. If she knew anything about Sebastian then it was his demonic form.

What she didn't know was how to break it.

Even more frustrating was the fact that every time she'd tried to talk to Jasper about it she couldn't, it actually hurt just to try, the words stuck in her throat. Freaking curses...

"Excuses, excuses, halfling," Jasper teased, pulling her from her own thoughts.

"Do you know when Sebastian will be back?" Since the ghoul attack Victoria had hardly seen the demon. She knew he was hunting down the necromancer that had summoned the ghouls but she missed him, badly.

Now that they shared a room she had expected to see more of him, to at least sleep with him. However, whenever he returned it was only to shower, give her a peck on the cheek, and leave again.

"Soon. He had a good lead this morning from Charles." Was the spectral demon blushing?

She eyed him suspiciously. "Have to admit that vampire is a hotty," she said coyly.

Jasper grunted, "I wouldn't know..."

"Uh huh." She couldn't stop herself from giggling.

He looked over at her with a raised brow.

"Can I ask you something?"

"That depends... Does it involve a certain vampire?"

She shook her head. "No. I was just curious, why have you served Sebastian all this time?"

"He's my king, even though he may deny it."

She could tell by his closed off expression there was a lot more to it. "Is that the only reason?"

Sighing he took a swig from his beer. "Along with Lord Sebastian I was a slave to Ivan the Defiler. When Sebastian rebelled he freed me as well."

Her eyes widened. What the hell was up with demons and slavery? "I don't understand. How could you be kept as a slave? Couldn't you just go ghosty and disappear?"

"Ivan had a special collar made for me." Jasper ran a hand over his neck and winced. "It was enchanted to stop me from turning incorporeal or demonic. Physically spectral demons are weak, without my abilities I had no chance of escape."

Anger flared in her gut. "This Ivan guy sounds like a dick."

Jasper laughed softly. "You have no idea." He picked at the label of his beer, his amber eyes growing distant. "I couldn't escape, couldn't fight. Enslaved to Ivan for his pleasure." He shivered, his eyes refocusing. "Until my king set me free. I will serve Lord Sebastian until the end of time." He looked over at her and smiled. "He's family."

Her eyes watering she leaned over and hugged him tightly. "Jasper, I'm so sorry."

He grunted. "Don't get all sappy on me, halfling."

She laughed despite her sadness for him. "Whatever."

Jasper gave her a gentle shove before stiffening and exhaling loudly. "I'm being summoned."

She perked up. "Sebastian?"

"Nicholas." He shook his head with bemusement. "If he's got some naked wench in his bed again I'll throttle him. Don't play without me."

"Wouldn't think of it."

She just stopped herself from jumping as Jasper vanished into thin air. She was used to him going incorporeal and floating through floors and walls but she still hadn't gotten used to that hat trick. Phasing was what he called it. It allowed him to travel to whomever summoned him instantly no matter where they were.

Apparently, some vampires could do it too, the really powerful pure blood ones, but the distance was limited. That explained how Damian was able to move around her bedroom that night the ghouls attacked her.

Alone she laid her head back on the couch. She was in the great room off the main hall. There was a large hearth with a fire burning warmly and worn leather furniture. Old tapestries and oil paintings adorned the walls, giving it a lived in homey feeling.

She loved this room and it had become a central point in the castle. Another flat screen had been setup along with her gaming consoles. She and Jasper spent most of the night on the big leather couch watching movies or playing video games. Sometimes Nicholas would return and join them.

Over the past couple days she'd developed an even closer friendship with both of them. Nicholas was charming and a total ladies' man, if not rather mysterious. Jasper kept her company while Sebastian was away, teaching her more about the supernatural.

Snuggling down into the couch she stared out the window, watching thick fluffy snowflakes fall outside. Absently her hand reached up, rubbing at the tip of her ear. She now had elven ears! One day she woke up and there they were. She couldn't get over it, embarrassingly spending way too much time inspecting them in the mirror.

Now that she was slowly growing used to her heightened senses she had to admit it was pretty cool. She could run faster than hell and she was light on her feet. She was also stronger, the many broken doorknobs could attest to that. She could see in the dark, just like that time in her room, her eyes almost gleaming.

She didn't know if it was due to her new pointy ears but her hearing was crazy good. Over the past few weeks she'd learned to focus on certain sounds while drowning out others. Even with the TV on she could clearly detect the voices of the servants cleaning a room upstairs. They were gossiping about her and Sebastian. She blushed at what they were speculating.

Finishing off her beer she groaned. Unfortunately, her sexual needs were nearly unbearable. She wanted her demon like mad, all the time. While Sebastian was gone she'd even tried to ease herself and failed miserably.

She always thought of him, of his touch and rough voice and it was never enough. Even if he were around to pleasure her Victoria didn't know if she could stand it. Her own touch was almost too intense to bear.

Bored she listened in on different conversations throughout the castle. It was good training but also entertaining. The servants in the kitchen were debating what to cook for supper. It was split between roasted duck or beef stew.

Her mouth watered. Although Sebastian informed her that she no longer needed to eat she still enjoyed food. It was odd never feeling hungry though.

Moving on she listened in on another group of servants discussing the demon clans and an upcoming battle.

She yawned, tuning them out. The only voice she wanted to hear was Sebastian's.

AN: Don't forget to vote, vote, vote! *cough* I sound like a politician!