The Spark Ignites

Editor’s note: this story contains scenes of incest or incest content.

There are a couple things I would like to say this before I really get started. First off, thanks to Darth Aussie and the crew on his discord server. The folks there gave me the motivation and the support and encouragement I needed to pull this entire thing from being ramblings in my head into a cohesive story.

Secondly, this is entirely a work of fiction, as you’ll find before too long. Any resemblance to real people or occurrences is entirely coincidental. There will be incest, but it is not the main focus of the story. I’m writing a harem story, and that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

All characters in this story involved in sexual acts are over the age of 18.

Prologue

The truck I was in roared down the road, on the way to a fire call at one in the morning. I and a few others had been woken up from sleep barely twenty minutes ago, and told to get suited up. I was leaned against the window, eyes closed while I tried to go back to my very pleasant dream about a tomboy with blood red hair, but before I could sink back in, one of the other occupants of the vehicle called out.

“Uh, sir, I’ve got a question.”

I groaned and peeled my eyes open once again in a tired glare at the probie across from me on the far left. He was a shy kid, fresh out of high school, and this was his first call, which also gave him his nickname.

“What is it One?”

I groaned out as I sat up. I knew that recapturing my fantasy with that girl wasn’t going to happen until I got back to bed, so I might as well stay awake.

“What’s your real name? I know the others call you V, but it’s gotta stand for something.”

Ah, yes, that question, one I’d been asked so many times before. I was named by my uncle, my godfather, as was the tradition in my family. It was done for five generations, and I just got the bad luck of Uncle Terry being a massive nerd.

“Voldrick…”

I finally said, after a few seconds of silence. That was followed by another few seconds of it, before a couple of snickers filled the air. It was the other two probies with us, their second and third calls, respectively, and they were laughing. Fucking meatheads, strong guys, but maybe half a braincell between them, they’d either wise up after a disaster, or end up being a casualty if they didn’t change.

“Two, Three. Shut the fuck up. Were you two imbeciles listening to the briefing?”

Their silence was enough of an answer. They hadn’t paid a lick of attention to the captain, so I guess I had to get it through their skulls.

“The neighborhood we’re going to is a bunch of cookie cutter houses. Three beds, two bath and a basement. We’ll be sweeping the house checking to make sure it’s empty. Dispatch says that the family is supposed to be out of town, but they could have come back an hour or two ago. The neighbor who called it in didn’t know. You understand that or do I need to slow it down for you two?”

They nodded, which left me with a few moments of quiet before we pulled up to the house, and it was already engulfed…

*****

The fires raged around me as we made our way into the burning home. The four of us moved in to do the preliminary sweep, checking the main room. After clearing it, the radio in my ear crackled. The voice of my cousin Stephanie filled my ear, her tone slightly light, like she was joking about the weather and not talking about a massive blaze.

“Hey V, I’m coming in, the captain wants one person per room, so we can get this cleared quicker and put it out.”

“Roger that Steph, Two, Three and I will check the bedrooms, One can clear the back room while you get the basement.”

With that, the three of us moved down the hall, I went to the master bedroom as the two new guys checked the two children’s rooms. The fire was picking up, roaring louder and louder as more of the walls burned. We had to get this done, and soon, or else we’d be burned alive As I stepped through the door, I called out to the burning room.

“Hello! Anyone in here!”

After a few moments, I called out again, moving through the room, in case I couldn’t hear them from the door. There wasn’t anyone there, thankfully, I didn’t expect any, the family was apparently out of town, but we still had to check. The fire was starting to warm my body up, even through my turnout gear, this was bad. I have no idea what this place was built out of, but it was burning hot and fast.

“Cap, the master bedroom is clear, get the guys ready to water it down, I’m moving out before I get scorched too. Guys, when you’re done, meet up in the front room so we can get the fuck out of here, place is going up like a damn gas fire.”

A chorus of similar responses followed mine as the rest of the crew finished their rooms in short order. As quickly as I could in my full gear, I made my way back to the main room, making it in about 10 seconds as something crashed behind me. From experience, I knew it was the sound of a roof caving in, fuck, this was bad, we needed to get out of here, soon, or else we’d have to be rescued ourselves. As I got out of the hallway, the three first timers moved into the area, all we were waiting for was Steph to come from the basement. It was then that I felt my arms start to burn, as if I had plunged them into fire. Before I could even scream in pain, an explosion rocked the house, with me at its center, then everything went black.

When my vision returned there was nothing around me. I had been in front of a couch before, but now only ash and purple fire remained. I blinked to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, and took a deep breath, only for the heat and smoke to suddenly fill my lungs. Where was my gear? My oxygen? My eyes looked down, and my upper half was naked, my gear had disappeared. I was standing in a raging inferno with no protection, but even as the fire licked across my exposed skin, I felt nothing but a light warmth. Almost as if I had wrapped myself in a blanket, and not in a position where I should be burning alive. I called out, my voice hoarse from inhaling smoke.

“Probies, Steph, sound off!! Are you ok!”

No one answered, and I soon found why, the only thing left of the probies were their boots, and Steph… Fuck! I ran over to where she was laying, ignoring the flames licking up my legs. She was tossed on top of some rubble like a ragdoll, her mask was missing, tossed aside from the explosion. My arms slid under her as I picked her up with surprising ease, I tossed that thought to the back of my head. Right now, she was more important than my strange increase in strength.

“Fuck! Steph, fucking fuck! Gotta get out of here.”

I moved back to the front door, carrying her outside, out of the fire, and into the lights of the firetrucks…

*****

Chapter 1

I snapped awake, my breath coming in ragged gasps. It had been almost two weeks since I’d last had that nightmare, it was almost five years since the day where everything was turned upside down. I thought the world was strange before, but after that day, I stopped trying to understand. With shaky legs, I stumbled to the bathroom, looking for the one thing I knew would always calm me back down. My fingers weakly closed around a lighter, and a special pack of cigarettes, one supplied by a close friend, and, slowly, I pulled one out. With a practiced flick, I lit up the little stick, and took a long drag, feeling my hands stop trembling as the smoke and ash filled my lungs.

“You know, even though those things aren’t going to kill you, that doesn’t mean they’re a good habit to have.”

“Don’t care. You know the burning helps soothe the frayed nerves in my brain.”

In the mirror, I could see a woman leaned against the doorframe, her full body exposed, showing off her mocha skin. Her long silver hair shone like metal in the glow of a salt lamp, placed on the counter for ambient light. Her breasts were average sized, something I could nearly fit in my hands, and seemed to just stay perky, defying gravity. My eyes were drawn up to her lips, and the slight frown she had on her soft lips.

“I do know that, but it’s still a filthy habit, no matter if Veria mixed in a few things to make the smell more pleasant.”

The woman replied with a huff, one hand casually tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing its pointed tip. This woman was Nereah, and she technically both my boss, and my main job. I was hired to be her bodyguard, and to be the VIP lounge bouncer at the club she owned. Her pointed ears let the world know what she was. An elf, a dark elf more specifically, something that fifteen years ago, the whole world thought was just some fantasy thing that nerds raved about, but things change. It was a group of government eggheads, doing what they do best, who kicked the entire thing off. They decided to poke things they didn’t understand, and found out very quickly why it was there. They had found a strange barrier, made up of energy nearly twenty years ago, and, like a cliché movie plot, were told to find out what was on the other side. The Veil, as it was come to be called, concealed an entire world, something Tolkien would have creamed himself over knowing about. Elves, orcs, goblins, you name it, it existed beyond The Veil, and by breaking it, the two worlds meshed, allowing creatures from either side easy passage between. That was how she got here, moved to LA, and opening a high-end nightclub for any species.

“Hey matchstick, you alive in there? Been staring at my reflection for a couple minutes now.”

A hand gently brushing my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts, followed by her words, smooth as silk, in my ear. She was leaned against me, her breasts pressed into my back as one hand trailed across my shoulders. Our relationship was strange, she was my boss, but at the same time, she had been dead set on getting me into bed, for some reason. I had held out for as long as I could, professional courtesy, but Nereah was a woman of dedication, and I eventually caved. What followed was probably the best night of my li-

“You know, if you plan on staring at me, at least turn around so I can get a free show too.”

She laughed lightly, bringing her other hand up to thread through my hair as she pulled me back, far away enough to see my upper half. I was slim, like a swimmer’s build, with an eight pack, gained after I had been “touched by the Burning Abyss”, or whatever the hell Nereah said. Moving to my hands, and another addition coming from this power, were tattoo like markings of swirling flame, starting at my wrists, and moving up my arms to end in wolf heads on my shoulders, their maws placed on my pectorals. From there, my face, what once held just a bit of fat, was now lean, without an ounce remaining, and lightly scarred from breaking up brawls in her club. Then, my eyes, once a startling blue, were now a malignant, lightly glowing purple Finally, my hair, which used to be black, now, white like ashes, another change, another thing to distance myself from my family. My family was a sore subject, particularly my father. He is a fire chief back in Oregon, and one of the first to step aside when I was accused of starting fires, only to put them out for the glory. Fucker. What happened to family coming first? It didn’t matter that it wasn’t my fault the probies died, that Steph ended up in the hospital, that his own son could wield fires from hell!

Another tug brought my attention back to the elf, as she pulled my head close to hers, and kissed me gently. When we separated, she frowned, her left hand cupping my cheek.

“Eyes on me, it’s ok, you aren’t there anymore, you’re far away from them, and I am right here. You don’t need to light yourself up, ok?”

It was then that I notice the steady heat climbing up my left arm. I had accidentally set myself alight, again. The purple flames from so long ago licked across my skin, before I snuffed them out with some effort. It was easier to stop them when they were small like this, when I truly wielded my powers, the more unhinged I got, and the more powerful they became. It was an infinite loop, and it still took a supreme amount of willpower to stop it before it went out of control.

“Thank you, Nereah.”

I said, after a few moments of quiet between us. With a nod, she took my hand wordlessly, and pulled me back to bed, we did have things to do tomorrow morning, and I knew she wouldn’t be able to do them if she was pissy from a lack of sleep.

*****

Chapter 2

The next morning went by in a blur, waking up at eight, a quick breakfast, then it was out the door and on to an appointment I had no way of getting out of. Sadly, we didn’t have time for our morning romp, since I had to make it about twenty minutes early to fill out paperwork.

Nereah had demanded that I go see a shrink, since the nightmares were coming back for the first time in almost a year and a half, and they were worse than before. So, here I was, in the waiting room, sitting in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, surrounded by other people dressed far better than I was. Hell, there was even an orc wearing a suit chatting up the secretary, probably not a patient, maybe a guard of one though. I was out of place, not that I particularly cared. I didn’t really want to be here in the first place. Last thing I really wanted was some head doc trying to psychoanalyze me, when I knew that all I really needed was a bit of time, a few smokes, and I’d be alright.

A few minutes passed as I watched the orc strike out with the secretary, which was fairly entertaining. Based on the snippets I overheard, he thought having muscles made him irresistible. Poor guy, he had absolutely no chance at seducing her, she just shut him down every time he even tried to suggest getting something to drink.

“Voldrick Lennister?”

The voice caught my attention, it was a unique southern breathiness, something that couldn’t come from practice. My eyes were brought from Casanova to the door leading into the actual offices. Stood there, holding a clipboard, was a tall blonde woman. Her hair was odd, it had some kind of sparkling energy flowing through it. That was something I felt like I’d seen before, but couldn’t place.

After that, I noticed she was dressed casually, in pair of dark jeans that hugged her legs, but flared at the cuffs, like the pair of riding jeans Nereah owned, but rarely wore. Those pants left absolutely nothing to the imagination, she was toned, like a fitness model, and it was definitely doing something for me. Her shoes were a pair of sandals, nothing too much out of the ordinary there.

Next was her top, a dark grey short sleeved button up shirt that had the top couple buttons undone to show off a little bit of cleavage, along with a hint of a dark blue lacy bra, and if I had to take a guess, she had a matching set of panties too. She stood with an air of someone who knew they were the hottest person in the room, and had no need to show it off by flaunting her assets.

When her eyes met mine, she had an intrigued expression, with one corner of her lip curled up in a half smirk, like she was studying me. What for, I didn’t know, but the primitive, horny part of my brain was telling me she was checking me out.

With a shake of my head to snap out of those thoughts, I stood up, and pushed my hands in my pockets. My face set in a neutral expression, an old habit. I didn’t like my full name, reminded me of times I’d like to move past. I was V, it’s what I always went by growing up, and it was what I would die as. Bonus points since my father hated that nickname.

“Please, it’s V.”

The woman nodded, her smile not dampening at all, almost like she knew that was what I’d say. With a quick movement of ger pen, she jotted a note down and gestured for me to follow her. I did, trying to keep my eyes off the amazing things those jeans did for her legs and ass.

Her movements showed off just how toned her legs were, and drew my eyes to her ass as it gently bounced. It made me wonder, if it was as tight as Nereah’s or maybe it was a bit more pliant. My eyes were drawn upwards as her shirt slightly rode up, and I could see the dark blue of lacy panties at the waistline. That sent my mind off into a bit of a fantasy. I was right, she wore a matching set, like she was ready to have a night out with someone special, or maybe even give a different kind of stress relief to a patient…

Dammit, I wish we had time this morning, I’d be a lot more mellow, and definitely less likely to stare at pretty girls. I knew she checked out other people too, but she wouldn’t touch them, and no matter how often she said she was fine with it, my hands were for her only. Soon, the woman stopped next to an open door, and turned to face me, a slight smirk on her face. Fuck, she knew what I was doing, great first impression there V, staring at a woman’s ass as you followed her, idiot. She must have seen something on my face that tipped her off to my thoughts, because she laughed softly. It was a low, smooth sound, just as breathy as her voice, and it sent pleasant goosebumps up my arms.

“I’m not mad at all. You aren’t the first person to look at it, I am very proud of my form, and I do put a bit of effort into keeping it well honed. Now, in you go.”

She walked into her office, dropping into a comfy looking chair, one leg casually crossing over the other, and it showed off the outline of her panties as her jeans stretched. A hint of the triangular fabric once again had me staring, and yet another laugh out of her. She knew what she was doing to me, and it had thrown me for a loop. I didn’t feel nearly as stubborn as I had when I sat down in that waiting room this morning, something in the air had my mind feeling more relaxed.

As I stepped in, I took in the room, it was a decent size, but kept open with only a few pieces of furniture. There were a couple chairs beside a coffee table, one of which she was sat in, a wood desk with a few papers neatly stacked on it, and a comfortable looking couch. Glancing at the back wall, it was entirely glass, and showed off the view of the city skyline. This entire place was on the top floor, and catered to the influential and wealthy, so of course everything would be top notch. I moved over to the chair across from her, and she smiled. I felt some odd aura wash over me, something comforting, it made me feel safe, like I was accepted here.

“Now, I obviously know your name, but mine is Alariel, and I am a fallen angel. You, Mr. V, well, I never expected to have the one causing some ripples among my brethren up above to walk into my office.”

Well, that was news to me, I had no idea that it had made it that far up the chain. My powers were demonic, and anyone with some kind of sense could easily see that. The flames burned hotter and brighter than anything on the mortal plane, and had unnatural color that just denoted that they were unique. These things tended to put me at odds with several major religions, particularly the more radical sects of Christianity. Damn paladins can’t keep their nose in their own business. The fact that this Alariel was part of that system, combined with her having some sort of connection to normal angels, set me on edge. I had encountered one once, and they tried to ram a holy spear through my guts, not exactly the best way to make friends. Alariel just waved her hand dismissively at the wary expression I now wore.

“Oh, relax, would you? They have no control over me, and I care not what they think you are. The higher ups did keep an eye on you, only because they know what that power does to the mind, now that you’re in the hands of someone who can pull you back, they’ve decided to leave it at that. Observation, and nothing more. Now, let’s get started, shall we? I don’t like to waste too much time.”

I simply blinked, my brain running a mile a minute, the reveal, followed by her casual dismissal of the fact that I was being watched by angels, in case I lost control, was a bit shocking. I tried to keep away from places where religious radicals gathered, to keep off the radar of so-called demon hunters, less bodies, less running, but they knew where I was the entire time- Alariel snapping her fingers in front of my eyes pulled me out of my thoughts.

“I said, let’s get started, you can think about that when I’m not doing Nereah a favor, and you can unpack that one later as well.”

“Fine, any idea on where to start then?”

I groused, slightly annoyed at her, but deciding to shelve the information for later, as she said, and focused entirely on her. She nodded, satisfied we were getting started, and, after pulling out a pen, she settled into a position where she could write comfortably. The comforting aura had returned, and, if anything, had become more intense than before, a warm blanket covering the entire room.

“Yes, and I am dropping you into the deep end. Let’s start with your family. Nereah mentioned a few things, but I want to hear them from you. Parents, siblings, hell, even a best friend you considered as family. Just start somewhere.”

Of course, always start with the family, as cliché as it was, it tended to be a kickoff point for a lot of issues, so I was at least somewhat prepared. With a deep breath, I steeled my emotions for what was about to come. They were a touchy subject, and my emotions going a bit out of control tended to summon my flames. To push it back, I chose the ones that were less trouble. Even then, it took me a couple minutes to get everything under control enough to start talking.

“I have two siblings, a brother and a sister, both younger than me. I was the oldest, four years older than my brother, Mark, and seven older than my sister Brianna. I was never particularly close to Mark, but we were family, and cared about each other. I was much closer to Brianna, I helped keep an eye on her growing up, and we just ended up being incredibly close. Mark should be twenty-two this year, and Bri would’ve just turned nineteen about a week ago…”

I trailed off, and I was staring out the window behind Alariel, but I wasn’t looking at anything, just staring off into space, trying to dissociate, and not doing a very good job at it. I had no idea what was convincing me to share these things, these memories, I hadn’t thought of them in years. They hurt, back when I hadn’t been cast out, when bottling it up hadn’t been necessary…

“When I turned thirteen, my cousin Stephanie came to live with us as well after her parents died in a freak car accident, faulty brakes that weren’t recalled when they should have been. She was my age, and joined Bri and I’s group, and the three of us were inseparable. Steph and I were the sportier, more competitive, while Bri just liked to be around us.”

Alariel looked at me with a bit of concern, but let me continue to ramble, and man, I was rambling now. I don’t know how long I’d been talking now; I was absolutely lost in my memories at this point. I could feel myself choking up, but I couldn’t stop, because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to finish.

“Steph and I loved to play sports together, mainly basketball, PIG, HORSE, just shooting threes to see who could make more, didn’t matter, and Bri would be our cheerleader. It stayed that way all through high school. Then Steph and I graduated, joined the force full time, worked for a couple years… then, the accident…”

Suddenly, I was pulled back to the present when a hand gently, but firmly gripped mine. I could feel the reassurance coming from the gesture, and I was drawn to Alariel’s face, and her stunning blue eyes. She was rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb, and, for someone I didn’t know until ten ‘o’clock today, a lot of concern.

“It’s alright, I know the rest, you don’t have to talk about it. We can save that for our next appointment in a couple weeks. You did well today, and if I could make a recommendation?”

Her words were gentle, soothing, they helped calm my raw nerves. I could only respond to her with a nod, not exactly trusting my voice at the moment. I still felt my throat constricting, not wanting to drag up anything else.

“Call your sister, I think it would do you some good, even if it’s just a couple minute long chat. I feel like you would be surprised, bonds like that are exceptionally difficult to break, even after everything that’s happened.”

I couldn’t say anything, and I would not make any promises that I would do that. I had left in a rush, never said goodbye. I just disappeared, and I hadn’t seen anything about my family in five years. I doubted she even wanted to hear my voice, not after Steph got hurt. Alariel released my hand, signaling that it was time for me to go. We both stood up, and she gripped my shoulder, squeezing it gently. Her other hand fished out a small business card, and she slipped it into my pocket.

“Here, my card, if you ever need to talk, just call me. It has my off hours number, not like I have to sleep often, so I’m usually awake. I’ll schedule our next official appointment for two weeks from today, same time, alright?”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

I replied simply, before she walked me back to the reception area, close to my side.

*****

Chapter 3

“What the fuck was that.”

Nereah simply smiled mischievously at me as we walked down the sidewalk near the bay. It was several hours after I had my appointment with Alariel, the sun was setting, turning the horizon a brilliant array of colors. The purples, golds, and oranges of the sky all mixing with the blue ocean. Nereah was wearing a tight white pair of skinny jeans, along with a crop top in the same white, something that showed off her curves and popped against her dusky skin. She was flaunting what she had, and trying to tease me with the sight of her flat stomach.

She knew something, she had to. After the appointment, I had to take some time to get myself back under control. Once that was done, I asked myself a two very important questions. Firstly, how in all the hells that existed did that Fallen manage to extract those words from my mouth, when I barely knew her, much less trusted her. I had trouble telling Nereah about my family, and I trusted her intimately, but this blonde angel pulled up some memories I preferred to leave buried. Secondly, how did she know exactly that I was reaching a critical point, where I was about to lose control of my powers, because looking back, I was damn close to letting it slip its chain.

“Whatever do you mean, my dear matchstick?”

That damned smirk was planted firmly on her lips. Oh, she knew, she one hundred percent knew what happened in there, but she was doing her teasing thing again, where she made me actually ask her the question, even though she had the answer already. It was a game she relished in, and annoyed me to no end.

“How, did the Fallen, drag all of that out of me.”

I ground out; I was in no mood to play word games with her right now. I was damn tired, and emotionally exhausted. There were things said earlier that I hadn’t thought about in five years, things I hadn’t told Nereah, simply because they made my control slip, and bad things happened when I let it go. She grinned at me, like a cat that just caught a mouse in a trap, before taking a more neutral expression, though her golden eyes still twinkled with mischief.

“Alariel, is an empath, with a few abilities related to it. One is a calming effect, that helps people get things off their chest that they would not normally. Things that would stress them to a possible breaking point. There’s a reason she’s got the best turn around in the city, and why I had to call in a favor with my very close friend.”

She stressed the name, that was never a good sign, it meant I was most likely going to be seeing Alariel around, a lot, outside of a doctor/patient setting. Great, if this is what I thought it was, Nereah was doing what she had been trying to for almost a year now.

“Nereah, are you trying to set me up with your friends, again.”

At that, her smirk was back in full force. It’s not that I didn’t want it, she had some great looking friends, but so many were mortal, I would outlive them, and I couldn’t take that thought. The ones who weren’t, like her and I, well I’m not exactly the greatest catch, now am I? Family issues that can set me off like a quite literal bomb, powers that can drive me into murderous insanity if I let my control slip, oh, and I’m what’s called a timeless, don’t age, but can still be killed. Wrap that all up with a nice little bow and you’ve got me.

I still don’t know how we ended up together, or even what she saw in me, but she made it clear she didn’t care what I thought about myself. She saw something, and she had staked her claim, not that I was in much of a position to turn her down at the time. I was homeless, wandering around LA, trying to avoid gang territory or being shanked by someone looking for easy money.

“Now now, none of that, I think you two would look rather cute together, and now that she’s felt your soul, she knows you, just about as well as I do at this point. She’s special like that. Able to feel you for what you are, and not the lies you tell yourself.”

Felt my soul? Before I could ask what she meant by that, two S.W.A.T. vans shot past us, full lights and sirens. They were moving towards a group of police cars, already positioned like cover. Before I could say something, one of the parked vehicles was launched in a burst of flames. My eyes trailed to where it came from, and I was surprised by what I saw. A few blocks ahead of us, a burning circle was sending out pulses of energy, these pushed back the few officers standing behind barricades, and aiming weapons at it. The final pulse, the largest one yet, was followed by a bright flash of light, blinding me, from what was coming through the obvious portal.

When it faded, there stood a tall, muscular woman, clad only in black metal gauntlets with veins of fire running through them, a bikini and a loincloth. This showed off her physique, and she was well toned, her arms had just enough muscle, nothing overboard, and you could grind meat on her six-pack abs. My eyes moved up to her face, her eyes and hair seemed to be made of pure flames, as they danced in the sea breeze. She roared, and swung a massive black hammer, one that matched her gauntlets, her arms letting it fly as easily as I could swing a sword, sending a second car back in a burst of fire. Overhead, a helicopter came in as fast as it could, circling the area and making sure she couldn’t disappear into another part of the city.

“Puny mortals! You shall not halt me, I will conquer this city, and make it my new domain!”

Her voice sounded almost Nordic, but with certain inflections that set it apart as something different. She stomped forward, launching two officers away in another sweep of her hammer. Suddenly, she stopped, and our eyes locked. Oh, oh fuck me, I knew at least what this was now, as the flames in my soul screamed to be let out, to teach this interloper whose domain it was she’d stepped in to. This woman was a demon, of some kind, maybe a Christian one, or possibly one of a thousand other minor religions, I never could tell.

That didn’t matter, not right now, because while I was processing, she’d turned back to another officer, a woman with raven hair, and was about to turn her into paste. For once, I agreed with my powers, we needed to stop this woman, at any cost.

I barely noticed Nereah stepping away from me as my hands sparked, it took a few seconds, but soon I had purple balls of fire in clawed hands. The grip loosened around the flames, and an explosion coming from both palms propelled me forward. My mouth opened, letting out a roar from deep in my throat. At a high speed, I slammed my feet into the demon, launching her away from myself and the officer. She skipped across the ground once, twice, before rolling back to her feet, facing me with a glare.

“You have one chance, leave, now. This city is not yours to conquer.”

I could hear the double tone in my voice, it got that way when I truly started using my powers. You had my voice, layered on top of what could only be described as a roar of fire. The heat thrummed through my body as my power sang in my blood, but I leashed it to my will. I would not be losing myself in this fight. I almost didn’t want her to just leave, I could feel my desire to fight this woman, and, judging by her dark grin, she was ready for a brawl. She hefted her hammer, and called out to me.

“Come now mortal, come face Tiria’golath, second ranked forge master of Vogret’s great fighting pits. I have slain plenty of your kind, and you will be no exception.”

She thought I was a human, somehow. I would have fun with that mistake, it would be easy to rile her up if she thought a human was beating her, throw her off her game. That was my usual method for dealing with fights, if they were too mad to think, they made mistakes, ones I capitalized on. Often delivering a knockout blow after they overreached, or made a misstep.

I stood, and took a comfortable stance, prepared for her to blitz me. She wasted no time in doing exactly that, and with a savage war cry, she brought her hammer down. I shifted to the side, and pressed my hand against the head of the hammer, sending it away from me to bury itself in the asphalt. My other hand came around, and cracked her in the head, snapping it to the side with a savage punch. I thought that had stunned her, but I was not prepared for her to strike in the next moment, bringing her own armored hand into a vicious backhand, sending me away from her. I rolled across the ground, planting one hand on the ground to turn the roll into a crouch. I glared at her, and spat out a little blood. That wasn’t the most painful, but fuck it always sucked getting hit in the face.

“I’ll admit mortal,”

She turned her head to meet my eyes, and spat out her own glob of blood that looked more like molten metal. It hissed against the road, showing that it was hot, incredibly so. While it wouldn’t hurt me overly much, I still didn’t want to be covered by it. I began gathering more energy in my hand, preparing for another attack

“You strike hard, like a demon. That caught me off guard, you shall not do that agai- ”

Before she could finish, I let the control over the fire slip. The explosion once again propelled me through the air, and allowed me to deliver my shin into her stomach, so hard I could feel my own leg protesting the action. The soft whoosh of air leaving her lungs signaled I had hit her hard enough to stun her. She was bent over for a moment, and I decided to rub it in, just a bit. Had to start turning the screws, and upping her anger.

“What was that about not surprising you, bitch?”

She really didn’t like that, and let me know with another blow that would have shattered my ribs back when I was human, but now, it only threw me back. I smashed into a cop car and it crumpled around me. Pain flashed through my mind, but was quickly swallowed up by my power, working to dull the ache and get me back in the fight before she could take advantage of my position. She stood up, glaring at me as I pushed myself out of the wreckage, slipping back into a stance that would allow me to cross the distance between us in an instant.

“Bastard! I will break you and turn your body into fuel for my forge!”

Her voice was a booming shout, and the molten lines across her armor and hammer glowed white with her fury. It looked like she was finally getting serious. I should too, because I could hear more officers coming, and, after a quick check I noticed the helicopter from earlier was some news one.

Fuck, I knew I was already gonna end up in the headlines, but now I’m sure they were broadcasting this live. Had to end this, and fast. I took a deep breath, and let my powers truly out of their chains. I felt the inferno spreading across my arms, my tattoos were writhing. Even if I couldn’t see them, I could feel them coming to life as my sleeves burned away, showing off the marks of the Burning Abyss. I stood there, purple flames trailing off my body like a billowing cloak, and the woman, Tiria’golath, her hair waved like a flame in the breeze. All was quiet for several moments, before we both roared at each other, and charged. I knew if I took hers head on, I would be sent back, so I improvised. One hand gathered power, preparing one of my more powerful attacks. When we finally clashed, I spun around her hammer strike, using my other hand to deflect it again. It made her have to correct her swing, or else she’d bury it in the ground like before. The hand I had charging my attack came around as I twisted, pointing it directly at her face.

“Checkmate, bitch.”

The power in my hand erupted with the fury of a volcano, even more powerful than the ones I’d used to move in to attack her, and it launched her backwards. As her body sailed through the air, purple flames burned away her top, leaving her half naked and covered in my fire. She landed almost thirty feet away in a loud thud, and lay there, unmoving. Her chest still rose and fell, but she wasn’t getting back up from that. I stood there, flames still trailing off me as I centered my mind, resisting the demands of my powers to go over and finish the job. Reeling my powers in took a lot more effort that I’d have liked, they were still ready to go, but I shackled them again. I stood back up to my full height, took one step, and another, then fell to a knee. Suddenly, Nereah was there, by my side, propping me up as we started walking over to a bench on the side of the street.

“I can’t believe you did that; do you even know who you just fought?”

I shook my head, too tired to talk. Pulling my powers back like that left me weak, they didn’t like going back in their box, and threw a fit because of it. They reduced my ability to survive attacks, making me easier to hurt, or even kill me. That was why Nereah was there so fast, she knew this by now, and preferred for me to have someone there who could put up some sort of fight while I couldn’t.

“She is one of the twelve forge masters in an group of underworld fighting pits, one run by a particularly brutal warlord. They’re part of a minor religion in the far north of Scandinavia, but have made a name for themselves as excellent weapon makers, and you just bested the second ranked one. I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back for a round two, her honor would demand she do something.”

“Fucking great, no good deed ever left unpunished.”

I grumbled as I caught my breath, she was going to be a problem, some way or another, I was sure of it. Nereah just sighed and rubbed my shoulder as I muttered nearly every curse I knew under my breath. A few minutes passed by, letting me burn through my annoyance as the officers moved over to try and restrain the woman. The sound of footsteps brought my attention onto someone approaching us. It was the officer that I had just rescued. Up close, I could see that she was Asian, Korean if I had to guess.

“Sir, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

It was almost mechanical, but I could still hear the slight tremble in her voice. She was shaken, not that I could blame her after what just happened. I took a couple seconds, before nodding

“Sure, what do you want to know?”

She introduced herself as Sergeant Hana Yang, then started asking questions, the basic things, name, age, et cetera. She relaxed as she got into it, the tremble going away as she did her job, but one caught me off guard.

“And why did you step in?”

That, I hadn’t really thought about. Why had I stepped in? I had kept out of these things for years, trying to go anonymous, but why today…

“I guess, someone got me thinking about things I haven’t in a long time, and it didn’t feel right to stay in the shadows.”

With an odd look, she wrote down a few more notes, then clicked her pen closed.

“You’re free to go, but I would expect a call from my superiors. I’ll put in my word, and try and keep you from being charged with anything. Thank you for your time……. and for saving my life.”

Sergeant Yang turned to leave, clicking her pen closed as she did, but a voice stopped her.

“Just a moment ma’am.”

Nereah called out before she could leave, reaching into a pocket she had paid extra for her pants to have, she pulled out a familiar business card. I couldn’t put my finger on it though.

“If you need to talk to someone about today, I have a close friend who specializes in trauma, she can help you.”

That was where I knew that card, it was Alariel’s. I almost asked myself why she had one on her, but decided against it. Nereah would just smile knowingly and give a cryptic answer, so no point in asking at all. Hana took the card, and slipped it into a pouch with a nod, and turned to go back to her car. Before she got too far though, she turned around.

“Thank you again, for saving my life.”

I waved it off, a half-smile on my lips. She smiled back, and I was struck by how pretty she looked when she did. She turned back around, and got into her car. I pushed myself up of the bench, and made my way slowly over to Nereah. I wanted to go home and sleep. It had been a long day and needed to recover from my powers throwing a hissy fit.

*****

Chapter 4

I stirred in bed as something warm and wet planted itself firmly on my lap before rubbing itself across my morning wood. That could only be one person, and one something, but I was still tired after yesterday. My mind didn’t want to wake up, but something else about me was wide awake.

“V~ Wake uuuup V~”

Nereah’s soft voice murmured in my ear as she placed the head of my cock at her entrance. It was warm, and already soaked, but the bed was also warm, and sleep was holding on to me with all it had.

“I want you wide awake for this, we missed yesterday, and I intend to claim it today, so, wake, up.”

I groaned, and peeled my eyes open, lust filled gold met dull purple, and I groaned. She was in her spoiled noble mode, something she normally kept under lock and key, but it sometimes came out when she was incredibly horny. When she got like this, there was no denying her, she got what she wanted, one way or another. I glanced at the clock, and noticed it wasn’t too early, a bit after I normally got up.

“Fine, but only because you asked so nicely.”

She grinned, before quickly impaling herself on my shaft. Her mouth slightly fell open as she let out a low moan, one I had to resist making myself. She was impatient today. Normally, we’d tease each other for an hour, or more, before finally getting to the main course, bringing ourselves to the edge before crashing down together.

Today, there was no foreplay, straight to the main event. After a few seconds of relishing how I split her open, Nereah began to slide up and down my shaft, starting slow as she normally did. I propped myself up, so that my back was against the headboard. From here, my arms came up to cup her breasts, fingers wrapping around the sides as my thumbs brushed against her hardened nipples. Her nipples were a weakness, she drew great pleasure from having her breasts played with. My actions were rewarded with a louder moan than before, before her mouth locked on to my neck, stifling the noises as her teeth lightly bit into my neck.

That was one of her ways of telling me she wanted it rougher, something I was more than happy to do. I twisted one of my legs around hers, and with a practiced movement, I rolled us both over so that I was on top of her. She let out a low growl as I pushed myself deep inside her. I needed this, after skipping yesterday, along with Alariel teasing me, I needed this, probably just as much as she did. After a moment, I began thrusting, slow, hard movements that rocked the bed we were in. Thankfully, after we’d finally gotten together, we got our hands on a sturdier frame, designed around more powerful species. We had broken the first bed she’d had, and that was fun to explain to the neighbors below us.

Nereah sank her nails into my back as I kept fucking her hard, and I knew from experience they’d leave marks, and definitely be bleeding by the end of our session. These were ones that, for some reason, my body didn’t try and heal quickly, maybe it had something to do with being proud of them? Either way, the pain of her fingers in my back brought me to the present, and the pace I had set. It was one I used to bring her to the edge before I’d speed up, and bring us both to a climax. Speaking of, I felt her wrap her legs around my waist, the muscles in them locking me from going too far and building up the power to thrust. It was now where I brought speed in, making short thrusts like a jackhammer. Her moans became a long, low whine as I made my own little groans. She was gripping me tightly, and her tunnel did not want to let me go. I felt her start to spasm lightly, and that was my signal that I needed to finish up soon as well. There was something about climaxing together that just brought us close, and we tried to do it as often as we could. It didn’t always happen, but when it did, well we couldn’t resist its call after the first time.

As I felt my orgasm creeping up, I clamped down on it, she wasn’t there yet, and I wasn’t going to leave her high and dry. Nereah moved her head, and properly sank her teeth into my shoulder this time. The pain from that snapped my mind away from the pleasure, and almost made me let my climax go, but I held back. She was quivering even more now, and I knew she was close. This was where I went for my own knockout move, I started to kiss the pointed tip of her ear. I knew I had her right where I wanted her, as her fingers scraped lines down my back, and she wailed in pleasure. She clamped down around my shaft, and I was rewarded with my own climax, and she was flooded with cum.

After a few moments of us staying in that position, I rolled off her, and into a sweaty mess beside her. Both of us were panting, but completely satisfied with what we’d done. I glanced over at the clock, and noticed it had been almost two hours since we’d started. In our passion, we hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. Thankfully, the only thing we had planned was to go to her second business, a nice bar a few blocks from her nightclub, and just spend the night around the staff and some regulars. Nereah, after catching her breath, leaned over and kissed my lips gently.

“Amazing as always, love, but we need to shower before you go back to sleep. I don’t want the bed to be disgusting, and need washed.”

I groaned, but got up and complied. We showered together, but neither of us wanted to get too handsy in there, just helping the other get cleaned off. Afterwards, I collapsed back into bed, and it didn’t take long before I was back in Morpheus’ realm once again.

*****

It was now early evening, and I was once again heading back to “Angel’s Envy”, one of Nereah’s many side businesses. I swear, that woman had her fingers dipped in so many wells it was kind of insane. I was dressed as I normally was when I came here, a decent pair of khakis that I’d had for a couple years now, and a blue short sleeved collared shirt. Nereah was also dressed fairly simply, in a pair of black leggings that made my eyes wander across her legs and rear, along with a red sleeveless top that was fairly modest, for her at least, as it showed off a decent amount of cleavage. She had her arm looped with mine as we walked towards the bar.

“So, I think Kariasa is working the bar tonight, along with a couple of your coworkers as bouncers. You’ll have a couple people to talk to, and not some snobs that I have to deal with.”

“That’s good, hopefully there won’t be anything too troublesome tonight, I don’t want to step in and break up a fight. Plus, she mixes my drinks strong enough to feel it, thankfully.”

That was another thing I didn’t like about this curse, it treated alcohol like any other poison, and burned it out of my system as quickly as it could, meaning I needed alcohol on the level dragons drank to really feel it, which was both inconvenient, and expensive.

As we approached the bar, I smiled widely at the bouncer there. He was a muscular, 6’2″ Hawaiian man smoking a cigarette. He wore a shirt that said “Security” with the sleeves cut off, revealing his tattooed arms, they were tropical plants and ran all way up his arms. He smiled just as widely as I was and ashed his cigarette before grabbing my arm in a handshake. This was Koa, a friend, we’d kept an eye on each other’s backs in bar fights before when people got too drunk and started a brawl.

“Brother! its good see ya again. You’ve been busy, saw ya on the news yesterday. You got kicked around a bit, feelin like having some fun instead of just finishing it?”

His smirked as I groaned, that was exactly what I wanted to avoid, and he damn well knew it. I had kept my head down, relatively at least. I was in a relationship with Nereah, a child of a minor noble house, and therefore, in certain circles, my name wasn’t unknown. Among a majority of humans though? My name was nothing, just another face in the crowd. Yeah, the hair stood out, but when I wasn’t using my powers, I just looked like some guy. I guess I’d need to keep extra low for a while now, let the whole thing blow over. This was LA, Hollywood, some scandal would make people forget about me in a couple weeks.

“Dammit Koa, that is the last thing I needed to hear tonight.”

He laughed, and clapped me on the back. He was just poking fun, no harm, no foul, still didn’t wanna hear about that. Nereah pulled my arm, and we entered the building, Koa’s laugh cutting off as the door closed behind us. I looked around the familiar place, the long bar up against the right wall, with an impressive number of alcohols behind it. To the left, was the seating area. Several tables sat out in the open, while on the left and far walls had booths, designed to reduce the amount of noise you could hear from the rest of the bar. The tables were mostly empty, still too early for it to be properly busy.

Behind the bar, facing the back wall while mixing a drink, stood Kariasa, a woman with crimson hair and horns on top of her head. She wore tight fitting shorts with a hole in the back for a red scaled tail. Her top was a black short sleeved shirt, and from experience, I knew it was a button up that she kept half open, showing off her bra and plenty of cleavage. When she turned around, I saw her other defining features, patches of scales the same color as her tail on either cheek, and on her chest, just between her breasts. Her eyes were orange, like fire, and were slightly angular with a predatory gleam. Her face lit up as she saw us both, and she used one arm to jump over the bar. This showed off her legs, which were also covered in the same scales as her face, all the way down to her feet, except on her thighs, which were the light, creamy, smooth skin of most of her body. She was a dragon, a fire dragon specifically, a rare one that learned some humility, after I beat her flames with my own almost four years ago.

She dashed over and started looking me over, her arms turning me this was and that, checking me for any injuries, ones I didn’t have. As one of her ‘treasures’, as she called me, I was important to her, almost as much as Nereah, her closest friend. After I proved immune to her fire, and could even beat hers, she had declared me to be part of her ‘hoard’ and that I was her ‘greatest treasure’. She was an odd one, for sure, but if there was any of Nereah’s friends I could be persuaded to sleep with, it was probably Kari. She was a dragon, and her motives were relatively simple, I had power, she was attracted to it, the fact I wasn’t a complete asshole was icing on the cake as far as she was concerned. At least that’s what she kept telling me.

“V, are you ok? I saw the fight on the news, I can’t believe you took hits like that.”

She kept fretting over me, my face damn near buried in her chest, and I could hear Nereah’s tittering laugh as she watched us. With a bit of effort, I pushed Kari off me, and held her at arm’s length as she struggled to get back closer to me and keep searching me. I knew she meant well, but at the same time, I was careful about suffocation, and while getting smothered by tits was a hell of a way to go, well I liked living. Fire didn’t like being snuffed out, and I was very much a being of fire now.

“Kari, I’m fine, got my sleep, and everything is fine. My fire is burning bright, and whatever that demon was, is probably banished back to the pit they came from.”

I was happy she cared about me, but she got overly defensive is someone hurt me. Guess it came with the territory of being this close to a dragon. She finally stopped trying to get in close to me, and pouted. I let her go after I was sure she wasn’t going to drown me in her breasts, which I knew she was still considering by the look in her eyes. Nereah walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her from tackling me. Thankfully, she was stepping in before something happened.

“Kari, please don’t kill him, you can’t seduce him if he’s dead.”

And just like that, I was back to being annoyed at her. She knew I had a soft spot for Kari, obviously, and she was one of the ones Nereah really tried to get me into bed with. Kari blushed, and a tongue of flame leaked from her lips. Her eyes glassed over slightly, before suddenly razor focusing on me with a predatory gleam. Tonight, was gonna be another night of dealing with her flirty touches, I was sure of it. I left the two of them behind me, and took my usual seat at one corner of the bar as Nereah giggled, and started whispering in Kari’s ear. They both giggled lightly, before Nereah split off to talk with a couple people in a booth.

After a few moments, Kari had slid back over the bar, and was already making me a drink. I usually started out with a cocktail she called dragonfire, a high strength vodka mixed with orange juice and a special herb that turned the entire drink the color of a bonfire. It was high strength, and the herb helped keep the alcohol from being burned out of the system before it had effects. She knew how to mix drinks that I could feel, which wasn’t that hard, because they were the same drinks she made for herself. After handing me the glass, she leaned on the bar, which pressed her boobs together in a way that I had trouble tearing my eyes from,

“So, Mr. hero, what caused you to step out of the shadows and help out? Some damsel in distress that caught your eye?”

I groaned again, and laid my head down on the cool bar as I felt a headache coming on. Kari’s throaty laugh only made me want my drink even more. She liked to tease me about women, much like Nereah did, though hers was more joking than prodding me to sleep with other women. I could handle Kari’s jokes a bit better than I did Nereah’s sexual comments. Well, if she wanted to play the game, I guess I could humor her, and hopefully get her to stop before it really started.

“As a matter of fact, that demon was about to turn a female officer into a paint splatter on the concrete, so yes, you could say that.”

That ended her laugh with a choking sound, sounding like she maybe had sent her spit down the wrong pipe. That caused me to smirk, and I grabbed my drink from the bar top as I sat up. Kari was looking at me with her mouth hung open in a bit of shock. I rarely took her up in her word games, but I was feeling a bit energetic tonight, and decided to play a bit. This turned out to be a mistake, because Kari grinned widely and launched into a rebuttal.

“Well, well, Casanova is trying to woo some random woman over trying to steal my heart, I feel so ignored, whatever shall I do?”

Her hand came up to hold her chest, as if her heart was in pain, but she laughed again. After a moment though, she reached out and trailed a hand down my arm. Her voice growing quieter and more serious.

“I know you look, so why are you being so stubborn about this? You and I both know Nereah wouldn’t mind, hell, she encourages us to give it a shot. We made a deal so long ago, that we would never let someone come between us, and you know how she is about her deals.”

I did, Nereah had several amazing traits, but one she was known for with any clients she had, was her honoring deals. My eyes looked down, staring into my drink as I started swirling it. My mind was moving fast, and soon, I had come up with two questions. Firstly, what did I actually feel for Kari, someone I’d known for a few years now, and that had been a very stable friend. I cared about her, sure, but was it far enough to give it a try? Secondly, if Nereah made an actual deal with Kari… then, maybe…

Kari must have seen something in my expression, because she reached her other hand up to cup my cheek. That made my eyes move up, from the bar, and into her eyes. They held an emotion I couldn’t fully place, the main one was concern, and I think I picked up a hint of deep caring. I opened my mouth, to ask what she was doing, but she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. My eyes shot open as my mind shut down, the only thing on it was her lips on mine. Compared to the ones Nereah had stolen from me when I wasn’t paying attention, this was downright chaste. She leaned back and wiped the thin strand of spit connecting us with her forearm. Her eyes glowed with energy, and I could see the determination in them, something I did find attractive.

“Consider that my declaration, you dense, handsome, idiot. I want you, Nereah seems to get a thrill out of the thought of her friends being with her man, and you aren’t getting out of this. So, stay there, enjoy your drink, and think about what you really want before you give me an answer. Got it.”

To that, I could only nod. She had short circuited me, and my brain was taking its sweet time rebooting. It didn’t want to come back online for any serious thought, so I decided to just drink until things started making sense again. The night fell away, as I slowly drank until I couldn’t really remember what happened.

*****

Chapter 5

I woke up with a slight headache, and my mind sluggish. Last night was mostly a blur, the last solid memory I had was of Kari kissing me, and my decision to just drink. Once my brain decided it was ready to cooperate, I took stock of my surroundings before I opened my eyes. I was in my own bed, which was a plus. Next, was something odd. I didn’t feel Nereah in her usual spot, cuddled up on my left side. Instead, my bed felt warmer than it usually did, and someone was curled up into my right side, someone that pumped out body heat like a furnace. I could feel the thin sheets across my body, and I could tell I was naked.

I just laid there for a few minutes, not quite processing what was going on, but eventually, my curiosity won out, and I peeled my heavy eyelids open. Immediately, I almost slammed them back shut as the dull throbbing in my head intensified, but with a great amount of willpower, I kept them open. Once they had focused, I saw something I hadn’t in a while, a pair of panties hanging from my ceiling fan as it slowly spun. That hadn’t happened since Nereah and I had come back from a night of clubbing, and she was insanely turned on. So much so that she had tackled me into bed before I could even get my pants unbuttoned. The next thought to pop into my head was that those were not any pair Nereah owned. They appeared to be made of tiny dark blue scales, a fragment of a memory hit me. They were soft, incredibly so. The next thought was that they were a perfect match to a bra I knew a certain dragon loved teasing me with .