26. Hecate
Alexa Play: Lady Venom by Swollen Members
“ I don’t want to leave you,” Fenrir whined, rubbing his chestnut locks into my shoulder as Skoll helped me dress for court.
Fifteenth-century English fashion was excessive and tedious. The endless petticoats and skirts required multiple sets of hands to shimmy into, and I gasped as Skoll tightened the strings on my corset.
I’d been glamoured and undercover as a lady in waiting for several years now, hiding in plain sight.
The god of creation’s ruthless takeover had solidified, and England was completely under the thumb of his reign.
The current king of England, Henry the Eighth, had declared himself ‘God’s Chosen Ruler’ and preached that loyalty to him was equal to loyalty to God.
It was a trend that had become increasingly prevalent in men throughout the ages. They used Yahweh’s religion as a means to acquire power and control over others. The blend of church and state had become a toxic, fear-based chokehold wrought with hypocrisy.
Henry the Eighth was a prime example of a man who used the parameters of Yahweh’s religion selectively.
For example, his people were expected to follow strict marriage laws and were not permitted to divorce.
Henry himself was the exception to this rule.
He’d created the Anglican Church for the sole purpose of divorcing his wife, Catherine of Aragon, so he could marry Anne Boleyn…
whom he then beheaded for alleged adultery and incest charges.
He was a disgusting man, both physically and in his narcissistic ideologies; however, he was the perfect pawn for my plan.
His abuse of power and disrespect towards women made him exactly the type of human I condemned. He was also the first man I’d found who was physically revolting enough to play a starring role in my revenge plan against Hazai.
There had been a period of time when he’d blinked out of existence, and I’d grown worried, only to learn that he, along with Lilith and Ramel, had been trapped in Yahweh’s bowl of nothing as punishment for refusing to bow to him.
Happily, my little stalker was released from purgatory relatively quickly. Lilith was a smart goddess and had made it so that only a demon could wield her scythe. Without her or Ramel there to manage the natural way of death, Yahweh needed to release Shem so he could return to Hell to take over.
I had expected him to immediately resume his chase. However, he’d stayed away. I was beginning to wonder if it was because of Skoll and Fenrir. Perhaps he’d been too busy cataloging the souls in Hell to find a way to overcome them?
I smelled a small twinge of concern toward Shem’s lack of interest in our game since his return from purgatory. I wanted to lure him out of hiding. If Shemhazai thought I was unguarded, maybe I could finally put my plan into action.
“Trust me. I will be fine,” I reassured Fenrir, smiling up at him as he pouted. I manifested the blue jar of elixir I had kept just for this occasion. “Hazai won’t know what hit him.”
Skoll chuckled. “You’re so sinister for a creature of balance.”
I shrugged. “He’s been moping in Hell long enough. Someone needs to snap him out of it.”
Skoll gave me a peck on the cheek and herded his brother out of the ostentatious room I had been given within Henry’s palace.
“She’ll be fine, brother,” Skoll said, ruffling Fenrir’s mahogany locks affectionately. “Summon us if you need us,” he called back to me, clearly amused by my insane plan.
I smiled at him and nodded. “Always.”
The king was drunk.
I had been summoned to the recreation room to watch as the king drank and gambled with other courtiers. He always won, of course, and his loud laughter was tinged with foul-smelling spittle every time he ‘bested’ another courtier.
He really was vile. Likely close to three hundred pounds with several jiggling chins. He was in a good mood, which was a blessing. King Henry was prone to child-like tantrums if he felt he wasn’t getting his way, so everyone was doing their best to keep him in his good humor.
Drunk as he was, it was easy to influence him in this state.
A small suggestion spell and a few whispered words in his ears had him telling the other courtiers that he wished to retire.
By my suggestion, he asked me to stay and read him poetry as the night wound down.
As I settled into my seat, preparing to read to the drunken buffoon, the back of my neck prickled with the tell-tale sign of Shemhazai’s arrival.
He strolled in, dressed as a courtier, his green eyes flashing in amusement as he took in his surroundings.
His lip curled at the gaudy room, sneering down his nose at the thick, pale curtains and tapestries that draped the walls and the over-the-top golden chandeliers that hung from the gilded ceiling of the recreational room.
“I was going to ask where your dogs are,” he crooned, his gaze rolling over the obese king. “But it seems you’re still entertaining one. ”
Henry was now frowning at Shem with a glazed, befuddled expression on his face.
“Who’re you?” the king slurred.
Both of us ignored him.
I stood, placed my book down, and walked behind the king. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I massaged them gently as Shemhazai prowled closer.
He scoffed. “Are you really hiding behind that vat of lard? You think he’ll save you?” Shem asked. I noticed he looked tired, and there was an underlying air of sadness that hadn’t been there the last time I saw him.
He needed this, I realized. He needed something to do besides wallow in Hell alone. I knew he must be missing Lilith and Ramel. Everyone knew what Yahweh had done to them, and it was a fate worse than death.
Shemhazai was lonely and in pain. I could feel it. So, I was going to piss him off enough to get his ass back in the game.
Stroking my hand through the vile king’s short, unwashed hair, I smirked at the cat demon.
“He has been known to behead those who cross him.” I smiled, giving the confused Henry a pinch to his flabby cheek.
He didn’t like that.
His beady eyes darted from Shemhazai, then back over his shoulder to my smiling face, and the idiot finally seemed to register that something was not right.
“Guards!” he called, trying and failing to stand up from his chair. He was wasted and much too overweight to move with any sort of grace.
The guards wouldn’t hear him. The room had been charmed to repress sound since the moment I entered.
I patted his cheek in a condescending manner.
“Poor bastard. No one is coming,” I whispered in his ear, and his face went purple with fury.
“Harlot! Traitor to the crown!” he squawked, taking an uncoordinated swing at me. “I will execute you for speaking to me with such disrespect!”
I was about to step out of the way when Shemhazai suddenly appeared in front of him.
He had the king’s wrist in a vice grip, his handsome face alight with rage.
“Disgusting mortal,” he spat. “You dare raise your hand against a goddess ?” His rage morphed into a sick sort of amusement. “Perhaps I should cut it off?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Please, Hazai. I hardly need you to defend me against this… what did you call him? Vat of lard?” I giggled as I reached into my many layers of skirts, producing Eros’ elixir.
Shem was scowling down at the king, still holding his flabby wrist so hard that the man’s skin was turning black with bruises.
“Ugh. He’s vile. It would honestly be a favor to mankind if I took him back to Hell with me,” he mused, barely paying attention to me at all.
“I’m sure you’ll be together in Hell soon enough,” I quipped, using a small spurt of magic to float the bottle over the two of them.
Hazai finally tore his angry gaze away from the king, looking up at the blue jar with a frown.
“What are you?—”
“I know how badly you need a good fuck, Hazai. Let me help you out with that.” I smirked and tipped the bottle over them, spilling a thin line of syrupy elixir over their heads.
“What the?—”
Shem stumbled back from the king, reaching up to touch the oil that was now dripping from his hair and onto his forehead.
Henry groaned as the elixir seeped into his scalp, and Shem’s pupils blew.
I watched with satisfaction as his cock hardened beneath his pants, and realization dawned on him.
“You… fucking… psycho!” he snarled, panic taking over his features as Henry began to thrust his wide hips upwards in his chair.
“Bye, Hazai,” I giggled. “Enjoy! Hope your reward for finally catching up with me is everything you dreamed it would be.”
“Hecate!” he yowled as Henry reached forward to palm Shem’s hard cock over his pants.
Hazai groaned despite himself as the potion worked its magic. Instead of pushing the king’s hand away, he snatched up his bruised wrist and pressed it more firmly against him .
“I will fucking punish you for this!” Shem hissed, even as he began to roll his hips against the king’s chubby hand. I laughed.
“Mhmm. I’m sure you’ll try. But first, you must perform your duty to the king.”
I cackled as I left the recreation room. Closing the door softly behind me. My grin widened at the muffled groans and wet sounds of slapping flesh that echoed through the room as I took my leave.