Nights of Babylon

@Queendel: I'm afraid no threesome in this chapter. ;-)

@lucious: oh well, i guess Alexis has a idea what love feels like. he just doesn't get the point of monogamy and jealousy.

Disclaimer: Not mine

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Chapter 16 - Winged nightmares

Alexander was in a bad mood. He pondered over Hephaistion's words, the encounter with the bewitchingly beautiful incubus and

the assault of the demons. Cassander hadn't managed to get rid of the angry mob so there was quite a noise outside. Despite

the uproar and the disturbing thoughts on his mind he fell asleep as soon as he laid down.

When he awoke again it was because of a strange creaking sound. It was already dark outside and he couldn't make out more

than the shaded silhouettes of the room's furniture and the curtains flowing in the wind. The red and gold painted wing above

his bed swayed slightly, producing a low squeaking tone which may have been the noise he awakened to. Alexander sighed in

relief. For a moment he had thought there was somebody else in the chamber. "I am getting paranoid", he told himself, cursing

his servant who should have waken him before dusk.

He was about to get out of bed, when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun round - and there she was, a

breathtakingly beautiful figure, silky platin hair cascading down her back to her hips, her cold grey eyes shining in the

darkness like icy gems. The king had the feeling he had seen eyes like these before, full of hatred and disgust, but he

couldn't recall as his mind went numb when his body betrayed him and blood rushed from his brain to support his erection. The

succubus' stare sent icy shivers down Alexander's spine and exquisite fear crept to his heart, strangely increasing his

excitation. Her skin was so pale it glowed silvery in the darkness. Her wings were spread half way, shiny with moonlight.

She smiled at him, a greedy smirk that didn't illuminate her face but increased the cruelty of her features. "Greetings, king of men",

the succubus said, kneeling on the bed. "My name is Ellastias, Queen of Babylon and mistress of all men."

Somwhere back in the depths of his mind Alexander knew he had to fight. But he was paralysed by the winged demon's presence,

his eyes drinking in the sight of her fine body. She wasn't as richly curved as Serena, still in this moment to Alexander she

was the embodiment of womanhood. He remembered her name. She was the mother of this hideous beast called Tessos and her eyes

were as deadly cold as his. There was nothing but loathing in her gaze. Still all Alexander managed to say rather sulkily

was: "I am king of Babylon."

Despite his fear and the warning voice in his head, screaming at him, he reached out to touch the succubus' silky hair and

her beautiful cruel face. Her skin felt smooth and strangely cool under his touch. He longed to taste her lips, her skin and

her juices of passion. It was as if his brain had stopped working and his dick now did the brain's job - and his hardening

length certainly was no good at it. "I want you", he blurted out before he could stop himself. He bit his tongue till he

tasted blood but it was already too late. He had invited the succubus. This was the third time he couldn't resist one of the

winged predators, the third time he was defeated - and the last time if he couldn't achieve control over his body and the

situation again.

"You are no king. Not after tonight", Ellestias snorted, stroking his cheek, her clawed thumb tracing a bleeding cut along

his jaw-bone. "First you will worship me as your mistress. Then you will welcome me as your death."

Alexander managed to shake his head slightly, his gaze glued to the demon's icy eyes. He wished he could have moved his body

as he felt the tiny rest of his resistance fade away. He had never been good at denying himself what he whished. He had never

felt the need to tame his desires. So when the deadly creature tore his clothes away his hands travelled over her slender

body as if they had developed an individual exsistence - as had his cock.

A crazy thought crossed his mind and blossomed there to a mad idea. He would have this female. He would have her and dominate

her. Alexander cursed himself. He should know better after what Alexis did with him, after his encounter with Serena. Still

this incredibly stupid and loony idea didn't vanish but formed to a burning desire which demanded to be fulfilled.

Alexander tried to catch the succubus' narrow wrists to push her to the mattress, but instead she pinned him to the bed,

mounting him in a motion so quick that the blond human didn't even see her come. She pressed her bony knees to his loins,

leading his erect dick to her moist entrance. Ellestias was not willing to toy with her prey. She knew what she wanted, and

she wanted it as fast as possible. As she started to move in a demandingly quick rhythm her claws flayed his skin from his

flesh, causing him to scream in agony.

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"What is wrong?", Hephaistion asked sleepily. He had hardly slept, listening to the demons' steady breathing, pondering over

his feelings towards the raven-haired incubus and the king. He was snuggled to Alexis chest, the incubus resting to his left,

Serena to his right side. Both demons had suddenly stirred, sniffing the air, listening carefully, golden eyes narrowed to

slits.

Shadows danced on the wall, cast there by the fires that illuminated the inner court and the palace wall. He could hear the

guards' control calls and the distant noise of the still assembled mob, although it had faded to a tired mumble.

"There's a heavy smell of blood", Alexis whispered, giving Hephaistion to understand that he should get dressed and armed.

The brunette obeyed, reaching for his sword.

Serena sat up, clinging to her brother. She was much better than hours before. Most of her wounds had vanished, but her wings

still hurt terribly whenever she moved them. "They're here", she said referring to the pack of winged predators, her golden

eyes wide with fear. "They are in the palace!"

"But the guards didn't detect them. How did they enter the palace?", Hephaistion said, putting on his short tunic. He was

nervous.

"Possibly by the same way as we did", Alexis answered, cursing himself that he hadn't informed Alexander about all the secret

passages he knew. "I will have a look around."

"And leave us here?", Serena shrieked terrified. She was out of the bed at once, not letting go of her brother's arm. "Bad

idea. I am no good at fighting especially not in my condition. And Hephaistion is only human. He's no match for any of those

treacherous bastards. You must protect us!"

"I agree with Serena, although I'm not that bad at fighting", Hephaistion said, clasping the hilt of his sword, weighing it

in his hand. "Let's stick together and try to find Alexander."

The passages and halls were empty, dark and silent, nobody had lighted up the torches, nobody walked through the corridors.

The only sound was the soft tap-tap of Alexis' and Serena's bare feet and the clapping of Hephaistion's sandals, from time to

time the wounded succubus added a whimper which echoed from the walls, making the whole situation even more lurid.

"Where have they all gone?", Hephaistion whispered. There should have been guards all over the place. Cleitus had arranged

their on duty walks and made sure that the soldiers did take their duties serious. Hephaistion's question was answered when

they entered the great hall. The scent of blood was so heavy that even the human could smell it. Behind every statue, which

decorated the hall, lay the corpses of men, some had their throats slashed, some their necks broken. All of them had been

killed quickly and from behind. None of them had had the breeze of a chance.

"Good gods", Hephaistion exclaimed. "There are more than fifty corpses." He felt sick. At the same time the warrior in him

awakened. There was no time to lose, no time to mourn, no time to be weak. They had to alarm Alexander and the other guards

before things got worse.

"This is dreadful!" Serena trembled like an aspen leaf, her eyes wide with horror and shiny with tears. She clutched at both

Hephaistion's and Alexis' hands. The memory of Tessos trying to rape and kill her was still too fresh.

"The whole pack has to be here", Alexis said, although he hoped to be proved wrong. He freed his hand from Serena's grasp

taking the lead to Alexander's chambers.

"How many?", Hephaistion asked when they hurried on. Serena clung to him like a frightened child.

"It's seventeen left", Alexis growled. "And they have just started. They are somewhere in the palace killing everybody who

happens to cross their way."

They reached Alexander's chambers. Right in front of the door a dark pool of blood spread across the stone floor.

Hephaistion's heart stopped at the dreadful sight as panic took control. He squeezed Serena's hand, not able to utter a

single sound, ocean blue eyes wide with horror, and the dainty succubus squeezed back. Then Alexander's scream tore the

silence.

Hephaistion was through the door before he could think twice. The terrible fear that he was going to lose Alexander drove him

forward, supporting him with strength he hadn't known he possessed. Reality seemed to fade, all thoughts vanished from his

mind and he was driven by mere despair, determined to save his love.

Hephaistion rushed into Alexander's room, sword drawn and with a battle-cry attacked the winged demon crouching over the

king's limp form. She clawed at the kings chest, ripping at his flesh while she lifted herself from him and then slammed down

on him again in a brutal and not at all desireable manner. Her face was twisted to a cruel and hideous mask, all beauty

vanished.

The sight froze the blood in Hephaistion's veins and at the same time provided him with the power to move on. The young

warrior's sword swirrled through the air and hit the pale succubus shoulder, metal scraping against bone, crimson blood

squirting from the wound.

The succubus shrieked in a high pitched tone that hurt Hephaistion's ears. She spun round, moving faster than any human

could, blocked the human's next blow and with a backhand sent him sailing through the air. He crashed into the wall, sliding

to the ground where he lay dazed. Hephaistion struggled to get up again, moaning. He was dizzy, the whole room spun.

The succubus abandoned her prey, rushing towards the frail human who dared to attack her. She was determined to rip him to

tiny pieces. Hephaistion looked up and met her deadly cold gaze full of hatred. She wore the face of his death.

But Ellestias did never reach him. Her way was blocked by Alexis, stepping between her and Hephaistion, flexing his claws as

he growled at the pale succubus. Meanwhile Serena helped Hephaistion to his feet, dragging him out of the danger area as

quickly as possible.

"You again", Ellestias hissed, snarling at the raven-haired incubus, her voice shrieking with frenzy. "Your death has been

reported to me twice. It is high time there is some truth behind this news. You will die now as will your filthy human

flock."

"Have a try!", Alexis growled, all muscles tense and ready to strike. He and Ellestias circled each other and a lurid dance

of violence began.

The opponents moved so fast it was hard for Hephaistion to follow their moves with the eyes. He would have interferred but

Serena dragged him away from the battle. "Are you fucking nuts", the crimson-haired succubus yelled. "Stay away from them.

She's a really tough one. She would tear you to pieces and I don't want Alexis to blame me because I didn't look after you

properly."

She pulled him towards the bed where Alexander was writhing with pain. The king looked dreadful, only slowly coming back to

consciousness. Serena lifted him up as if he didn't weigh anything at all, cradling him like a baby. Then she shooed

Hephaistion out of the room as if she was an overdimensional brood-hen.

"We have to help Alexis", the brunette protested, torn between his worry and love for Alexander and Alexis. The king looked

dreadful and his whimpers of pain didn't help to soothe Hephaistion's panic away. But Alexis was in terrible danger and

Hephaistion feared he could be hurt or even die. The sick sensation returned which he had felt when the incubus had come to

him after his fight with Tessos. Whatever Hephaistion decided to do he would leave one of his lovers alone.

"He can look after himself. You would only get in his way or get hurt yourself and he would have to rescue you like he always

rescues me." Serena tried to sound assuring but her smoky voice trembled. She held an injured human in her arms, a second

was following her and she didn't know where to turn or what to do. So she just chose a direction and ran, bumping into

Cleitus, Cassander, Ptolemy and a very pale and frightened Bagoas around the next corner on entering a long corridor, like

a gallery opening to the garden. Soldiers filled the garden, mostly archers. The whole palace was on alarm by now.

"The king!", Cleitus shouted at the battered form in Serena's arms. "She has killed the king!" He drew his sword, ready to

strike.

"He's not dead, just hurt", Hephaistion yelled, pushing Cleitus arm away. The bearded man started to unnerve him with is

quick judgements. "There are demons all over the place. they have killed a lot of the guards and one tried to murder

Alexander. We could get there just in time to save him."

"We know. One came into Cleitus room while we were discussing the matter of war. It was quite a hard fight. The bloody beast

kept the three of us and four more soldiers busy. The guards are dead, but so is the incubus. Cleitus cut his head of",

Cassander said. He looked quite battered himself. "And Tessos has been seen near the harem. He chased poor Bagoas through

half of the castle, but must have lost his trail somewhere. And then we heard Alexander's cry."

Meanwhile Serena willingly handed Alexander to the gloomy looking - and at Serena's opinion quite sexy - warrior with the

dark beard who examined the king at once. Alexander pushed Cleitus hand away, trying to get up. "This bloody whore!", he

coughed hoarsely, referring to Ellestias. His blazing anger dulled the pain until it was only a nagging ache. "This cursed

bitch!" He stood up, tottering.

"What an insulting way to adress my dear mother", a cold voice behind him hissed. Serena shrieked, shrinking away from the

figure in the shadows, trying to hide behind Hephaistion. Bagoas yelled and ran for his life, storming down the corridor as

fast as he could. "And I see Alexis' annoying slut is here too", Tessos continued, ignoring the fleeing catamite.

"A sword!", Alexander yelled, foam forming around his mouth. He was so furious he felt as if he could strangle the hideous

monster with his bare hands. "Give me a sword!"

"No, your hurt", Hephaistion held him back, pulling him in an embrace. "Please, stay away from him. Please, leave it to the

others. There are archers everywhere. He can't get away. Please, I love you. I don't want to lose you."

"Hephaistion is right", Cleitus agreed. "Let me kill him for you, my king."

"Oh, how sweet. Hear, hear, he loves you", Tessos sneered, keeping his distance to the human warriors. "Does the mighty king

have a babysitter? You should better listen to mommy, lad, or you might get hurt."

"You bloody motherfucking son of a bitch!", Alexander shouted, pushing Hephaistion away from him, wrenching the brunette's

sword out of his hand. He rushed forward, accompanied by Cleitus, Ptolemy and Cassander. Unarmed Hephaistion could do

nothing but watch. It would have been insane to fight against Tessos with bare fists. Serena ducked away. She was terrified,

nearly paralysed face to face with her tormentor.

Tessos waited until the warriors were dangerously close. Then he jumped over the rear, swung round and with a flap of his

wings landed behind his perplexed opponents, who hadn't even turned when the ugly monster grabbed Hephaistion, placing his

claws at the brunette's throat.

Alexander stopped dead. "No! Let go of him!" His voice was hoarse with fear, Hephaistion's sword shaking in his hand.

Tessos laughed madly at him. "Oh, do you worry about loverboy? Well, I'm sorry, but I can't let him go." He laughed again and

licked Hephaistion's cheek with his long tongue. The brunette shiverd with disgust but didn't dare to utter a single sound.

The demon's claws digged into his flesh, drawing blood. Tessos sniffed him, reveling in the young man's fear. "Nobody moves

or he dies", Tessos hissed as he had noticed Serena moving closer behind him. The crimson-haired succubus froze, throwing

questioning glances at Alexander. But the king looked as helpless as she felt.

"As loverboy said: I can't get away with all the archers down there", the burnt incubus continued. "But you won't shoot me

when he is with me, will you?" And with this words he took off, pressing Hephaistion to him, one clawed hand still at the

human's throat, the other arm wrapped around his waist.

The archers started to shoot immediately. "No!", Alexander shouted in a terrified high pitched tone. "Stop shooting! Stop

it!" The soldiers obeyed at once.

Tessos' laughter rang in Alexander's ears, as he watched how the incubus soared higher, leaving the palace behind. With him

Hephaistion started to vanish from his sight, getting smaller the higher the winged monster flew.

"Hephaistion!", Alexander shouted at the top of his voice, a heartbreaking call of despair.

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