Shadow of the Abyss

It wasn't until midnight that Altair's brush paused following the echos of a knock at his door. When he rose in a vale of discontent, he was reminded of his invitation and sighed, opening the door to Aurora's smiling face.

"Master," She bowed, noting his slight frown. "It would seem I've interrupted you."

"My fault," Altair remarked, unwilling to blame his servant for his lapse in judgment. This, too, was a teachable moment, he thought. " I should have given you the combination to my door. Come on in."

Aurora eyed the incomplete abstract piece with a sense of wonder, for she felt the madness washing through the flowing waters like a curling of extinction and the masked figure that stood above it all, free by only the winds dancing across her mask.

"That is… bewitching." she was able to say before Altair sent the canvas into his Draupnir, somewhat embarrassed. "Master, did you draw that? You're an artist?"

"Of sorts, yes." He admitted, coughing into his palm. "Shall we get to the matter at hand?"

Aurora perked her lips up. "We could, but that matter could involve your paintings." She mused, glancing at Ren in the lotus position, refining pills before her very eyes, wielding her blood-red flames like an extension of her arms, allowing no heat to press leak from out of the cauldron. It was perfectly contained.

"Amazing. You two are really quite something. Master of your craft at twelve is something."

"Only by Earth standards. To people within the Four Prime Worlds, we are infants." Altair conceded, compiling a list of all passwords and access to his accounts."Oh, and we've been sponsored by Orbar. 200 Sols and two Drew of the World Tree every week."

Aurora reached into her jacket and pulled out a Datapad before she began keying in Altair's information. "What about the resources from Scorpio?"

"A Draupnir Ring and a few mana stones, recovery pills, and balms. But all in all, nothing we want to sell." He said, going back and forth with Aurora as she began to ask many more questions about his resources.

For a solid hour, they spoke before Aurora got a good understanding of Altair's particular banks and finances.

"To review: You have a Tier three Bank, with Realm InternGaltatic Bank. There are so many benefits we don't need to worry about interest rates for the next hundred years if we were to take out a loan. That's good."

"Are we taking a loan?"

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"Yes. It is a good way to build credit and leverage company money. We'll start our company on Earth since we lack the resources to survive on any of the Genesis Colonies. We'll even add a discount to our sponsors. Twelve Percent. That should be good enough to satiate their interest in you.

And you said Ren can generate pills with a sixty-six percent purity? Thats good. Earth's standard is around fifty. Orbar is sixty percent. A six percent increase works wonders with the rich on Orbar."

Later, once Auroa had finished reviewing all of Altair's assets. She nodded. "Good. It seems I have everything I need. All that is left is acquiring the necessary pills to be shipped to locals and off-world." She glanced at Ren, unsure when she'd be done with her refinement, when a sudden boom resounded through her cauldron loud enough to shake the room.

A soothingly sweet aroma circulated the room, bringing a calm that seemed to wipe away the weariness of the day.

"Iron Dawns," Aurora whispered, recognizing the familiar fume, recalling nearly seven years ago when she tried her first. For an entire month, Aurora sweated like a recovering attic, so focused on her task she nearly bled out from overwork.

It was said, long ago, that Iron Dawns were created by the Iron Maiden of Garis, within a world ravaged by war, for soldiers to keep them alert at all times. To help her people survive the coming war and deadly seasons. She forged a pill to harden the minds of her soldiers.

"Here…" Ren said, yawning, taking out ten Iron Dawns from her cauldron and Twenty Iron Bloods from her ring. " Call it the Iron series or something. They were all pill formulas created by the Iron Maiden, Drasell. Though, I tweaked the formula a bit. Fewer resources and more refined heat."

"Right me the formula of all pills you wish to try. I will garner all the resources at cheaper prices. I've got a few contacts around the world who'll supply me with herbs and monster parts. We needn't buy from the commissary that upcharges everyone. I'll have hundreds of herbs sent your way by day's end."

With two glistering eyes that shone beautifully like the first sprinkle of snow, Ren grinned, writing down a list of all her from, from common to rare. It took nearly an entire hour to fill up nearly fifty sheets of paper. And with that, Aurora left with a bright smile, flush with excitement.

'Whore…' a figure in the distance said, watching the flush across her face as she skipped around the corner.

"He's probably fucked her like a dog," Cedric said, sliding his gaze to Vadi with a smile. "Look how her legs tremble, how sweat trails down her neck. Oh, he had her, alright. More than once based on the skip in her step."

Vadi stared aghast. He had never seen Aurora so happy, never seen her skip so much as sweat after he had her. Aurora had always been still, then frozen like ice, smiling at him with warmth as she cupped his face.

'You did good,' she'd say, kissing him so that tears would not fall.

"Whore!" Vadi repeated, masking his face beneath the shadows of his hair to hide his gaunt expression.

"I told you," Cedric said with a laugh. "How many times do you think he had her? A tall, strong man like Altair? Seven, maybe eight times? It's nearly four in the morning."

"Stop it," Vaid said.

"Fucked her good, it seems."

'Stop it!"

"You heard that boom? Wonder what he broke when he had her on her knee. Plowing her from behind. The bed? The walls? Shower maybe or—"

"STOP IT!!!" Vadi roared, jerking his arms away from Cedric. Glaring with bloodshot eyes, wet by his salty tears. "YOU DON'T KNOW!"

"I do, boy. I do. But I can help you." Cedric confessed without much expression. He pressed his arms over the boy's shoulders, looking him sternly in the eyes. "Let me help you, and Aurora will be yours. Altair is a traitor...

A fiend. A nobody. How else would he be able to have someone like Aurora? A noblewoman? Think! He is manipulating her!

Think!"

"... I'll do it," Vadi said after a long while. "Give it to me… I'll do it."

***

'Altair?" Ren suddenly called, noticing her Prince staring into space. "You ok?"

"Yeah… Just out of it."

"Want an Iron Dawn?"

'No," Altair said so quickly, practically Ren sprang into laughter at his panicked face. She poked at his cheek, snickering at his embarrassed expression. "Aurora had a bad experience. I'll pass," he explained.

She then tipped her neck to the side. " Then you want a bite of Ren?"

The Prince felt his throat dry, watching the smooth, unblemished skin that smelt of lavender soothe with two dots where he'd first bitten her. Ren had never allowed the wound to fully heal, applying a balm so that it would scar. He was sure she'd done the same to her thigh.

"I'll pass," he said, so unconvincingly Ren giggled at the reluctance in his eyes. He appeared like a scolded boy whose hand was found in the cookie jar.

'You sure," Ren said, exposing bits of her shoulder beneath her blouse.

Again, the throbbing pangs of hunger sweltered through his throat. He gulped, recalling the euphoric sensation of his fangs biting through flesh, reaching into that unforgiving blast of ecstasy ravaging his mind until–

"Ye… No." He turned, biting at his fist to retrain himself. "Ren—"

With a mischievous smile, Ren curled her arms around her Prince, pressing her breast against his back, brushing her lips against his neck as she slowly curled her legs around him, whispering in an alluring tone. She nibbled at his neck. "If you don't feed, how will you protect Ren?"

"I never knew you were powerless or wicked," He seethed, feeling her swallowing him with her embrace.

"And evil," Ren whispered, her blood-red eyes flickering with a peculiar gleam. She kissed his neck, mirroring where he'd once bit her. She narrowed her gaze at the sounds of tearing cloth and knew where it came from.

"Succubus," He boiled at the frustration scorching his flesh.

With the smile of an enchantress, Ren pulled the fist from his mouth stained red as he tried to resist the compulsion of his hunger, and steadily, she settled her wrist against his lips. "Eat," she whispered.

"Ren…" Altair stifled a breath. "I'm training control. I can't always—"

"Then train it… Ren will be that devil on your shoulder," She murmured in a captivating tone, sliding her wrist beneath the fangs as he whispered her name. "Mark me.'

Ren winced for a mere second, feeling Altair fangs penetrate her wrist with vigor, far in contrast to the gentleness he always took with her. His bite was rough this night, ravaging her without the slightest restraint. And yet Ren felt something warm and wet slide down her thigh.

'Good,' she thought, treading her fingers through the strands of dark silky hair. She stared at her Prince, promising her blood would be the only thing he'd ever want or craver.

After a good minute, Altair picked his head up. His mouth glazed wet with the blood of the Nephilim dripping from his chin. He shuddered, regaining some sort of self-control. He grew frightful that he might have taken too much when he felt two soft plums press against his lips.

"Good," Ren said, breaking the kiss. "How was it?"

"Bewitching"