The Payment Of Hermaeus Mora

By Bekka Mouri

Clavicus couldn’t stand the pain from the gaping wound that crossed his back any longer. He was sure the guard had not followed him, probably more interested in the sword wielding Mehrunes. His body finally gave out and he fell to his knees. It the pale moonlight, he could see the deep red of roses all around him.

“ At least I will die somewhere pretty, “ He thought, consciousness slowly slipping away.

**

Tamy walked by one of the windows that looked out into the rose garden. She stopped as something caught her eye. There was a body laying facedown in the moonlight, it’s back covered in blood. It wore the uniform of one of Zarkon’s guards.

~Oh my God!~ She thought, running for one of the doors that led outside, ~Someone has tried to kill one of fish face’s guards!~

**

Sarah looked at Bekka as she slept. The young woman had been moved from the filthy room into a clean one. That was when she related the whole sorted tale of how the room ended up like that. With trembling hands, she explained who the bloody lump had once been and what had happened to him.

As it turned out, one of the bounty hunters had found Bekka and decided to have a little fun with her before presenting her to his master. Bekka couldn’t fight him off because some otherworldly force was holding her still. As the bastard violated her, he decided to rip her necklace off of her and take it for himself. It became red hot and he tossed it away.

When it hit the floor, the amulet cracked, releasing the demon power that had been trapped inside of it. Bekka had watched in horror as the demon pulled the bounty hunter from her but she shut her eyes before he began ripping him limb from limb. She signed that she tried to cover her ears to block the nightmarish sounds of the slaughter but couldn’t. Sarah assumed that was about the time she heard the scream.

The demon did not stop until the bounty hunter was reduced a lump of gory flesh that resembled nothing. That was when he turned and began to advance towards Bekka. He stopped when he heard the door being slammed into repeatedly. As it swung open, he made himself vanish in a flash of bright light.

Sarah shook her head, ~Poor girl.~

Before she could think anything else, one of the assistants opened the door into Bekka’s room. “ I hate to bother you, Doctor, but you are needed in the harem right away. Miss Tamy found one of Zarkon’s guards in the rose garden and he is badly injured. “

Sarah stood up and stretched, “ I guess I’ll fix him up and then I HAVE to get some sleep. This day has been way too exciting. “

**

Hermaeus materialized into a dark corner of Bekka’s room a few moments after the dragon woman left. He grinned wickedly at the sleeping girl he had protected for thirteen years. He had waited for this day for a long time but he had hoped she would be the one to release him. It didn’t matter really; he could still get what he wanted from her.

Lacking clean clothes for her to wear, the doctor dressed her in a hospital gown. Just a few quick flicks of the wrist and he body would be bared to him. He had wanted her when she was covered in the blood of the bounty hunter but this would do. He would take her any way he could get her.

He advanced towards the bed slowly. When she asked him what would happen if he were released, he purposely failed to inform her that she would have to give herself to him if someone else released him until he was satisfied or she would have to die as well. The idea of having her for that long made his whole demonic being shiver with anticipation. He had slept with many mortal women before being trapped in the talisman but he had never wanted any of them as much as he wanted the one before him.

He slowly pulled the sheet from her, his blood red eyes gliding over her form. He was not afraid of her screaming. He had cast a spell on her that rendered he unable to speak until he got his reward for protecting her. Sometimes he was so clever, he even amazed himself.

He chuckled, finding the gown had been tied in the front. ~How convenient. This will make it much easier.~ He untied the loose bows and spread the smock open, revealing her body to him. He had often seen it but this was the first, and last, time he would touch it.

He made the dark green shirt and dark green pants he wore disappear and climbed into the bed slowly, making sure to hold her arms down as he did. As his weight made Bekka sink into the bed, her eyes fluttered open. They went wide and she squeaked frantically. She flexed her hands, finding them pinned to the bed.

Hermaeus chuckled, “ So you are awake, my dear. I forgot to mention this, didn’t I? “

Bekka’s eyes locked with his and she managed to telepath a message to him. ~Mention what?~

~So you would rather talk this way. Oh! That’s right! I made it so you COULDN’T talk! Silly me!~

~You took my voice away?~ Bekka tried to wriggle beneath him but it only excited him more. She could tell this by the increasing pressure she could feel on her belly.

~Yes, but you will get it back once I extract payment.~

~Payment? For what?~ Bekka tried to sink into the bed to get away from him.

Hermaeus pressed himself onto her harder, ~For protecting you all these years. Did you think I was doing it for free?~

~You NEVER said anything about this!~ Bekka struggled again but it was useless.

Hermaeus leaned down, his lips hovering over hers. ~I know. But you only have to do it until I am satisfied.~

~And if I don’t?~

~I will take you anyway then kill you. If you let me do this, I will leave you and you will never see me again.~

Bekka went cold all over. She didn’t want to die but she was still hurting from the rough way she had been violated by the fool who broke the necklace. She could tell that Hermaeus was HUGE just from what she could feel pressing into her stomach. Then again, she would have been an idiot to think a demon lord would be small.

~Make your choice now. I will enjoy you either way, my dear. Let me love you and live or make me rape you and die.~

A tear slipped down Bekka’s cheek. ~Just do it and get it over with, okay?~

Hermaeus smiled before taking her lips in his, sliding his tongue into her mouth. He pulled away long enough to telepath to her, ~I knew you were a smart girl.~

**

“ Is he going to be alright, Sarah? “ Tamy looked over her shoulder.

Sarah finished stitching the wound. She did it loosely so it could drain but tight enough to hold the skin so it would heal. “ He’ll have a nasty scar but he’ll be alright. He’s lost a lot of blood so he’ll be weak for a while. “

Tamy looked down at the man, “ It’s strange. He was wearing a guard uniform but he doesn’t look like anyone I have seen around her before. “

Sarah looked up, “ I think that he may have been one of the bounty hunters Bekka was talking about this morning. Remember how she attacked that one young man? “

Tamy nodded, “ Yes. “

“ Well, another one slipped into her room and violated her. “

“ He WHAT? “ Tamy screeched, “ Let me at him! I’ll rip his… “

Sarah put a hand up, “ Someone, or I should say, SOMETHING else has beaten you to it, as well as his arms, legs and probably every other appendage the bastard had. “

“ What do you mean? “ Tamy blinked.

“ It’s a long story. Do you remember that necklace Bekka always had on? “

Tamy nodded, “ The red and green one? “

Sarah sighed, “ It seems that it was possessed by an evil spirit that protected her from harm. “

“ Whoa! What do you mean, WAS? “

“ The hunter who raped her broke it and released the demon and it killed him. When my assistants and I found him, he was just a bloody lump, “ Sarah shook her head. “ Bekka was so scared, she couldn’t even speak. She had to use sign language to tell me what happened. “

Tamy blinked, “ Oh wow. Poor girl. “

“ She’s resilient, I’m sure she will be fine once she can put this all behind her. We just have to find out who hired these guys and give him to Gina. “

“ Or my auntie! “ Tamy beamed.

“ Hagger has already got a new toy or haven’t you heard? “

Tamy shook her head, “ No. Have you seen him? “

“ Not yet but that is the only reason I can think of for her not running her usual amok, “ Sarah smiled. “ I have heard rumors that she is occupied… elsewhere. “

**

Molag stared at the ceiling. He didn’t know how many days that Hagger woman had held him captive but he knew he would be in some major trouble if she held him any longer. Clavicus had warned him Mehrunes had become short tempered and would probably murder them all if they stepped out of line. He was quite sure that this was WAY out of line.

Hagger walked back into the room and looked at him, smiling her wicked grin that only meant one thing. Molag squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that he would live to see a world besides the witch’s bedroom.

**

Bekka shivered as Hermaeus finally got off of her. He had taken her until he was satisfied, which had been many times. He grinned down at her as he made his clothes rematerialize on his body. “ That was most pleasing. Consider your debt to me paid. “

Bekka pointed to her throat, ~What about my voice, Hermaeus?~

Hermaeus chuckled as he stroked her cheek, “ Maybe I should leave you mute since you seem to have loose lips and have no problems telling others about me. “

Bekka signed frantically that she would tell no one else about him if she got her voice back. ~Please?~ She begged.

Hermaeus kissed her, taking his time to taste her mouth one more time. As he did, she felt a tingling in her throat. When he pulled away, she looked up at him and took a deep breath, “ Do I have it back? “ She whispered.

He nodded, “ But if you tell another soul about me, I will take you away and force you to be my wife. I will even bless you with immortality so I can enjoy your lovely body for all eternity and you can bear me countless children. Do you understand? “

“ Yes, Hermaeus. I understand, “ Bekka choked out, the thought of having his children forever making her even colder than she already was.

Hermaeus backed up slowly, smiling at the trembling woman on the bed. He chuckled, “ I know I’ll be seeing you again, my dear. Until then… “

Bekka watched as he faded away into nothingness, trying not to think about what Hermaeus would do until she slipped up and told someone about him again. He was a demon and that meant he was going to be doing horrible things to innocent people. She cursed the bounty hunter that released him and hoped he was burning in the deepest pits of Hell for what he had done. She wished he could be here to see the torment he had brought about just because he was greedy for the power the amulet possessed.

**

Mehrunes sat in a tree that overlooked a very pretty garden. He was looking for the bounty hunters. Mehrunes had been in the tree for over an hour and did not see a trace of any of them. He knew Clavicus had to be dead but the whereabouts of the others was a mystery to him.

He figured that they had fled, afraid that they would be killed like Malacath had been. ~Cowards! The whole lot of them!~ He sneered, thinking of how they had all deserted him. ~I’ll show them. I can get that girl by myself.~

The sounds of a twig breaking made him look down into the garden. Looking up from the base of the tree was the liger. His emerald eyes were fixed on Mehrunes as he growled deep in his throat. Mehrunes stood up on the limb as the liger began to climb the tree.

~I had best move. That beast is making very good time!~ Mehrunes jumped, doing a somersault in mid-air. He landed on the ground just on the other side of the wall, squatting as the shock of the landing spread through his body. The liger had made it to the branch he had been on and was glaring at him.

Mehrunes stood and made his sword appear, “ Try it, beast! “

“ Sudan! Where are you! Come here! “ A woman’s voice came from the palace. The liger looked over his shoulder, then back at Mehrunes. He roared at him as a warning and got out of the tree.

“ You’d better run, “ Mehrunes muttered, making the sword go back to wherever it stayed when It wasn’t being used. He walked over to a rock about a mile from the palace and sat down. The sky was starting to change colors, signaling the end of yet another night. Mehrunes sighed, making the sword appear again.

He scratched at the dried blood on it. He thought back to all the blood the blade had tasted over the years since his father gave it to him. He thought back to all the women that the blood had belonged to. He tried so many times to replace the slave girl that tormented his dreams but he couldn’t.

He pulled out a small leather bag from his pocket. He took out an oiled polishing cloth and began to rub the blood away. It had never had the blood of a man on it until now. He frowned, seeing that he waited too long to get Malacath’s blood off of it for the ebony did not shine like it had before.

When the blade was clean, Mehrunes made it vanish. He tucked the cloth away in its bag, making a mental note to clean it later. He hopped off of the rock and walked into the woods, looking for a place to sleep until he could scale the palace wall and look for the only one who could soothe his raging soul. If he did not get her soon, he knew he would surely go insane.