Merchants of Death

Chapter 16



In the days since Willow Rosenberg had attacked and apparently killed the ancient witch Selene the Vampire Slayer Alliance had staged numerous raids against her cult. Attacking Cult of Selene bases, facilities, and meeting places all over the world.



The demonically empowered and well armed Slayers were more than a match for most of the cultists, and captured or killed the vast majority of Selene’s followers that they came across. Because in the end most of the cultists were just ordinary people who had embraced a religion more malignant than most.



The women of squad B1 (which was better known by their nickname The Vixens) assumed that was the kind of opposition they would be facing as they prepared for their next mission, a raid on an isolated Texas farm that was supposed to be a minor Cult of Selene base.



The ten Slayers in the squad snuck into the homely looking farmhouse at night, being careful not to alert any animals or people about their arrival. All armed with AK-47s, grenades, and itchy trigger fingers.



The Slayers had been told that Selene was responsible for all the losses their group had suffered recently, and if they had to kill a lot more of the ancient witch’s followers The Vixens wouldn’t mind at all.



The Slayers entered the farmhouse without incident, going in through an open window and an unlocked back door. The inside of the building looked just as ordinary as the outside, containing small rooms filled with knickknacks, worn-looking furniture, and weathered carpeting.



But when they explored further the Slayers noticed a small shrine furnished with little statues of a nude pale skinned woman dancing, making love, and striking down her enemies. At the center of the shrine was a giant portrait of Selene, five people were kneeling before it, their heads bowed in apparent prayer.



With the cultists preoccupied it was easy for the Slayers to get the drop on them, and soon all ten women surrounded the praying people, their guns aimed squarely at the cultists.



“Stand up slowly everyone and keeps your hands where I can see them…no one has to get hurt” the squad leader said firmly.



But the cultists thought differently, three of them reached for weapons, while the other two simply tried to run away. Unfortunately for the followers of Selene, all the Slayers had to do was pull the triggers on their guns to make the cultists go down in a hail of bullets.



The squad moved forward to make sure that everyone was dead, discovering that all the cultists had died except for one man. Like all his companions he was dressed in a long brown robe, his tanned skin and muscular arms indicating that he was used to hard physical labor. The wounded man tried to get up, but he was too weak, so he attempted to hurt the Slayers with the only weapon he had left, his voice.



“Evil bitches…the Mistress will punish you for this wickedness.”



“Didn’t you get the memo asshole…Selene’s dead” a short dumpy looking Slayer said nastily as she looked at the dying man.



“Wrong child…I am beyond death.”



The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, and then without warning she appeared among them.



The woman’s skin was wrinkled and dirty looking, her long black hair was filthy and ragged, and her clothes were little more than rags. But her crimson eyes gleamed with a hellish light and she had an almost tangible aura of malevolence and power.



“Selene” the squad leader gasped in shock, just before the ancient witch moved with lightning speed to grab her face. Lifting the Slayer off the ground with inhuman strength as the surprised woman shrieked.



The Slayers watched in horror as their leader was reduced to dust, her voice cut off mid scream, Selene visibly becoming younger as she drank in the sergeant’s life force.



“Shoot the bitch” the most experienced Slayer left screamed.



The Slayers all fired in unison, their shots aimed at the psychic vampire’s torso. But by the time that the bullets reached their destination Selene wasn’t there, vanishing before the Slayers disbelieving eyes.



“Fools…did you really think that mere bullets could stop me” Selene sneered as she appeared behind the Slayer who had spoken, her touch turning the frightened woman to dust.



But the witch stayed in place for too long this time, and Selene was hit by over a dozen bullets as the remaining Slayers shot her, the force of the bullets knocking her against a wall.



“Where the hell did she go?” the tallest Slayer exclaimed angrily as Selene seemed to vanish again.



~I still haven’t recovered fully…in my present condition these creatures might actually be a threat to me~ Selene thought as she looked down at the Vampire Slayers, using her magic to cling to the ceiling like a spider.



As the Slayers frantically looked around, it occurred to none of them to look straight up. This was fine with Selene, in her weakened state she was having trouble just healing the damage that the bullets had caused as they ripped through her body, and had no desire to engage in anymore face to face combat at the moment.



The witch reached out with her power, channeling it into her own statues and other objects beneath her. Smiling evilly as the things came to life.



“What the fuck” a Slayer exclaimed in disbelief as the little statue of Selene directly in front of her got off the faceless male statue it had been straddling and grinned at her. Displaying tiny perfect teeth framed by ruby red lips. Then it leapt upon her, landing on her chest and climbing up her body to sink those perfect teeth into her vulnerable throat.



The Slayer cried out for help as the pseudo Selene tore out an artery, dropping her gun and falling to her knees as she became weak with blood loss.



The rest of her squad was more alert, shooting the other statues as they started to move.



Though they were made of marble the statues were little bigger than Barbie dolls, and a few fast moving bullets were more than enough to shatter them. It took the squad less than a minute to reduce virtually all the little Selenes to broken shards.



But the seven remaining Slayers had no time to savor their victory, because the couch in the middle of the room suddenly charged the three women closest to it. Its little legs working furiously as it trampled two of them.



The five Slayers left shot a continuous stream of bullets at the couch, tearing through the wood, upholstery, and stuffing violently, sending fragments everywhere. However, the couch had no vital organs, no delicate systems, and a great deal of mass, so the damage achieved little, and the Slayers were forced to run away as it chased them around the room.



“Screw this let’s just blow the damn thing up” the Slayer who had narrowly avoided being trampled said as she took a grenade out of her pocket, pulling out the pin and then throwing it at the couch.



The resulting explosion tore the couch apart, but it also set the carpet on fire.



~So you like to play with fire girls~ Selene thought maliciously as she looked down and muttered the words of a spell.



“OH SHIT…FIRE DEMONS…NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FIGHTING FIRE DEMONS” the youngest Slayer there yelled in panic. Watching fearfully as the flames rapidly grew in size and took on a vaguely human shape.



The half of the squad still alive all fired at the fiery monster, but the bullets passed harmlessly through it. Then it ran at the nearest girl, engulfing her in a fiery embrace and burning her alive.



The monster was so quick and its heat was so great that she was reduced to a charred skeleton in seconds, dying so rapidly that she didn’t even get a chance to scream.



The four Vampire Slayers all stared at the monster in horror, and though the fiery thing had no eyes, they were all certain it was staring back at them.



As one of the Slayers followed the flames up with her gaze she noticed something important. Scowling as she stared into the eyes of Selene. Then shrieking in pain and bleeding from the ears as the witch used that eye contact to send a bolt of malicious power straight to her brain.



Unfortunately for Selene that got the attention of the other three Slayers, who immediately aimed at her and opened fire. In her weakened state the mutant witch could do little to defend herself, falling to the floor with a scream as the pain of getting shot broke her concentration and disrupted her spell.



The fire monster used the Slayers distraction to attack another one of the girls. Running into her with enough force to smash them both into a wall, ignoring her dying scream as she and the wall ignited.



However, the two remaining Slayers were able to charge the fallen Selene. Before they could get to her the witch leapt to her feet, and then moved almost faster than the eye could follow, punching the one closest to her with enough force to shatter her skull.



As she watched her friend’s head seemingly explode in a shower of flesh and bone the last Vampire Slayer screamed. Then she went berserk and used her gun like a club to hit Selene across the face and torso as hard as she could, knocking the wounded witch off her feet as she screamed obscenities.



“That was a good blow child” said a familiar voice from behind the Slayer. The last Vixen turned around to see that Selene had somehow gotten behind her, raising her weapon hit the witch again, but before she could, a shriveled yet monstrously strong hand wrapped around her neck, lifting her into the air.



“But not good enough” continued the witch as she drank down her enemy’s essence, smiling in amusement as she felt the hate and fear that had been the girl’s final emotions, watching callously as the once healthy body was turned to nothing but dust.



Then the ancient witch dismissed her fiery monster with a sigh, not wanting to expend any more energy on controlling the fire elemental now that the battle was over.



Even though she had just fed on the life force of several people the psychic vampire was still weak. She had suffered enormous damage at the hands of Willow Rosenberg and would need a lot more energy to fully heal.







Although Selene had trouble admitting it even to herself the witch Rosenberg had brought her closer to death than she had been in centuries. Only Selene’s indomitable will to survive and reserves of power had allowed her to linger on in spirit long enough to rebuild her body after Willow had destroyed her corporeal form. Otherwise Selene would have died, a prospect that she found horrible.



As far as Selene was concerned death was for inferiors, not her. She was immortal, eternally youthful, and powerful, anything else was intolerable.



“My Lady…I knew you would come…I knew you would avenge us” a dying voice gasped out.



“You are still alive Adam?” Selene said as she approached the dying cultist, who was somehow still clinging to life despite his numerous bullet wounds.



“Yes Divine One…we guarded your holy relics as you commanded…and now you have saved me” the man said, the light of faith burning in his eyes, clearly expecting his goddess to heal his grievous wounds.



Selene considered it.



Adam was one of her most devoted followers, and had served her well. But Selene didn’t feel like she could spare the energy it would take to heal him right now, and without such radical measures he would die soon.



“Indeed my good servant…and I have one final gift for you” Selene murmured solemnly as she kneeled beside the dying man.



“Thank you goddess…thank you” Adam gasped gratefully as Selene gently caressed his face. Then the witch lightly cupped his chin, her red eyes looking deeply into his blue ones.



“Ahhhhh” the man screamed as Selene fed on his life force, consuming his very soul. Learning too late just how much his loyalty meant to Selene.



The witch looked down at her hands, and was pleased to see that although they had not regained their youthful smoothness; her hands were significantly less wrinkled than they had been only moments before.



Strangely enough Selene had not planned to kill anyone when she arrived here.



The cultists who had been living at the farmhouse had been commanded to guard some of their mistress’s magical artifacts and other treasures, and had been chosen more for the strength of their loyalty than anything else. Selene had arrived just shortly before the Vampire Slayers, and had hoped that her well armed followers could deal with the Slayers on their own, not wanting to fight in her weakened condition.



In retrospect it was obvious to the witch that she should have considered intelligence and fighting ability too, when selecting people to guard her treasures.



As Selene pulled the magic items she had come for out of a safe hidden behind a portrait hanging from one of the walls, a tiny figure walked up to her, looking at the self proclaimed goddess with little crimson eyes.



“Hello Little One” Selene said as she stared down at the tiny representation of her nude youthful form.



Somehow the statue that had torn out the Slayer’s throat retained a small portion of Selene’s power, which was why it was still animated. Moreover, Selene could sense a kind of rudimentary intelligence forming inside it as she studied the thing.



Selene was intrigued, she commonly animated objects to restrain or battle her enemies, and sometimes just to impress her followers. But when she did they functioned as little more than extensions of herself, and returned to normal once she stopped actively using her power on them. This was unique.



“What are you Little One?” the witch asked as she reached down to stroke the mini-Selene’s black hair. Surprised when it leaned into the contact and emitted what sounded like purring.





As she petted the strange creature the old witch felt an unexpected burst of affection for the thing so like herself, filled with a growing certainty that she could use it to advance her schemes.



*****



Female elves, dryads, and other members of the prettier and longer living races had been a powerful force in the film and television industries on Christopher Lera’s world almost from the beginning (of those forms of entertainment). Elfin actors had a natural advantage over their human colleagues because they could stay good looking and physically fit for centuries, while a human entertainer usually went from their physical prime to becoming a wrinkled, physically weak, and possibly even senile creature in a few short decades.







Things were especially unfair for actresses, because even in modern times women were judged on their looks far more than men, and while a human woman would usually have to start worrying about wrinkles in her 30s or 40s a female elf would not start to wrinkle and show her age in other ways until she was over half a millennia old.



The fact that creatures such as elves, succubi, dryads, and nymphs were often very attractive by human standards (especially in the eyes of men) gave them even more of an advantage. Which helped explain why even though there were far more humans on Earth than any other type of people, over half of the wealthiest and most famous entertainers in the world were non-humans.



Many of the most successful elf actors and singers had spent generations building their fan base and perfecting their act, something no ‘mere’ human could do regardless of their looks, talent, or dedication to their craft.



And of all the non-human entertainers on Earth, no one had more enthusiastically profited off this state of affairs than Kimie Li.



As Christopher Lera’s limousine drove up to Kimie Li’s Beverly Hills mansion, the Minister of Foreign Relations took in the sight of his family friend’s home. Gazing at the sprawling lawn, filled with countless statues, fountains, and carefully maintained shrubbery, looking at the dozens of brand new cars in Li’s vast driveway, and then staring at the mansion itself, which was huge, futuristic in design, and painted neon-pink.



~If Kimie has a favorite vice its definitely excess~ Christopher thought as his limo got to the front door of the mansion. Telling his bodyguards to stay in the car once the vehicle stopped.





“If I’m in any sort of danger around Miss Li it’s not physical” the diplomat assured his protectors as he left them behind.



Christopher quickly walked up the path to the door, wondering what sort of unseen security systems he was passing as he did so, certain that Kimie would lavish as much money on personal security as she did on her luxuries.



Then the male dark elf hit the doorbell without hesitation, wondering if Kimie had changed at all since he had last seen her.



The person who answered the door had skin the color of crimson, yellowish eyes that seemed to dimly glow, a voluptuous figure whose generous curves were barely concealed by a tight black dress, and massive ebony horns jutting out of her head. Her hair was an obviously artificial blonde, and her thick lips were open in a smile that revealed sharp fangs.



The female demon was also very tall, something Christopher had forgotten and was forcibly reminded of as she looked down at him from her 6 ½ ft. tall height. The features of her pretty yet strong face forming an expression she no doubt meant to be reassuring.



“Christopher dear it’s been too long…come in…come in” she welcomed, her voice a deep yet sexy purr.



The Minister of Foreign Relations was happy to see that physically at least, Kimie Li hadn’t changed at all.



*****



Kimie Li liked humans, and she liked the human dominated (though not controlled) society that she lived in.



In the Abyss she had always been near the bottom of the social hierarchy, lacking the aggression or power to become dominant in the brutal chaos of the demon realm. But things were different on Earth.



Ever since Kimie Li had come to this world she had generally been able to get her way by using seduction, the superstitious dread so many people had of demons, and a great deal of bluffing. Her favorite ploy throughout most of her time on Earth was to pose as a goddess to some primitive tribe of humans and take it over, ruling her little kingdom as a god-king.



This was a great scam for Kimie because she had little appetite for cruelty, power, or the taste of souls. As long as her hungers for food, sex, and luxury items were satisfied on a daily basis the hedonistic demon was happy.



But things had changed radically when Kimie Li had been forced to flee to the United States.



Kimie had become an eager participant in the U.S. porn industry once she had learned that she could earn vast sums of money simply by having sex and letting other people watch and record it. Since she liked sex and money this was an ideal situation for Kimie, and thanks to her exotic looks and willingness to do virtually anything on camera she soon became one of the most highly paid porn stars in the business.



But the greedy demon wasn’t satisfied with that.



She saw how the wealth and fame the top movie stars had dwarfed what she already had, and she wanted a piece of the action.



At first the demon could only get bit parts in movies, but thanks to her looks and some real acting talent, not to mention sleeping with or threatening the right people in the film industry, Kimie began to get bigger and bigger roles. As time went on Li started to develop a fan base outside of the porn industry, and movie studio executives noticed that she had the power to draw crowds (although people often showed up just to see what outrageous things the shameless Kimie would do or say next).



Kimie Li was not considered an A List star by a lot of people but she was firmly on the B List now, and had little trouble landing roles in big movie productions (although she still tended to be typecast as things like an alien queen, demonic temptress, genetically engineered monster, etc.). She had millions of loyal fans and her own (extremely profitable) line of Kimie Li products.



The porn star/actress had even started her own movie studio two years ago, Sinful Li Produced, and while none of the Sinful Li films made over that period had gone to theaters, they had earned a great deal of cash through DVD sales.



When Kimie Li was not occupied by business she tended to fill her time with feasting, orgies, and consuming alcohol and various mind altering drugs in quantities that would quickly kill a human.



Although not a cruel or cold person Kimie was supremely selfish and hedonistic, something that Christopher Lera couldn’t help thinking about as Li guided him to one of her bedrooms. Wondering how he could convince the demon to help him.



“Come on Katy...get up Jim...Li needs the room” Kimie told the naked humans who were sleeping on her bed.



The male and female were clearly past puberty, but the cute boy and pretty girl looked very young to Lera. Prompting him to ask as they left “who are they?…they look very...youthful.”



Kimie smiled and explained “they’re fans…and their old enough to want it and its not like I can get them pregnant or they can give me STDs…so” ending with a little shrug of her large shoulders.



Christopher decided to let the matter drop. This wasn’t what he came here to discuss, and besides, considering his own family history the necromancer’s son was not sure that he had any right to judge Kimie.



“I am glad to see you Christopher but what brings you here?…I thought your mother didn’t want you hanging out with me” Kimie asked.



“It’s about my mother actually” Christopher replied solemnly.



Then in as much detail as he could Christopher told Kimie Li of his recent observations regarding life in the Iberian capital, as well as his speculations concerning what he had seen, including his theory that his mother had been replaced by an imposter.



Kimie Li wore an unusually thoughtful expression as she considered Christopher’s words, glancing around her lavishly appointed bedroom as she thought of a reply.



“Why come to me though?...I’m just an actress and businesswoman…I have a lot of money and name recognition but not much real power or influence…you’re an ambassador…why not go to some of the rulers, generals, or other powerful people you know for help?” Kimie asked curiously.



“Most of the powerful friends and relatives I have live in the capital and if my mother can’t be considered safe none of them are…and while I do know a lot of world leaders from working as Iberia’s main ambassador most of them would have reactions ranging from indifference to satisfaction if they found out something bad had happened to my mother” Christopher explained.



~In other words you have nowhere else to go~ Kimie added in her mind.



“I have some friends in that part of the world…you can stay here for a few days while I contact them…let’s see if things in Iberia are as bad as you think before doing anything drastic” Li answered quietly.



“Thank you” Christopher murmured in relief, glad that he had found at least one ally in this time of crisis.



Then in an obvious attempt to change the subject and with her usual lack of tact Kimie asked “so are you still a virgin Chris?”



“No.”



“Am I correct in assuming that Marian Casta relieved you of that little problem?” Li asked with a wicked smile.



Christopher stared at her in wide eyed amazement.

“How did you know?” he gasped.



The demon laughed merrily and said “I didn’t think a sexual predator like Mary would be able to resist a cute sexually frustrated elf boy for long…even if he was her best friend’s son.”



“I thought you liked Mary!” Christopher replied as he tried not to think of his difficult puberty, when the self conscious young elf had found himself in the company of the kind of beautiful lesbians his mother liked to surround herself with, most of whom were indifferent to or actively contemptuous of a horny young male.



“I do Chris…but she’s a user just like me…she gets all the pleasure and other benefits out of every relationship that she can…oh don’t look at me like that…there’s nothing wrong with it as long as everyone enjoys the process” Kimie answered in a playful tone of voice.



“Do you really think that Mary is a sexual predator?” Christopher wondered aloud, who had never been clear how much, if anything, their one night together had meant to the older woman.



“She commonly seduces people so she can have sex with them and drink their blood…what else would you call it?” Kimie replied casually.



Christopher found it difficult to argue with that statement, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to anyway. Marian had ignored him for the most part until he was old enough to become ‘interesting’ (as the vampire put it).



Seeing that she had upset Christopher, Kimie tried to change tactics, grasping him gently by the wrist and pulling him towards her large bed, as she murmured in a sexy tone “now that you’re here we might as well find some way to keep you…busy.”



Christopher found Kimie Li very attractive, but he still felt compelled to say “I’m involved with someone else.”



Kimie pulled the younger and smaller male close, her glowing yellow eyes staring deeply into his, baring her gleaming white fangs in a wicked smile as she replied “so am I…but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun.”



The dark elf male couldn’t deny his growing arousal as the demon pressed her large soft breasts against his muscular chest, leaning down to kiss him in a way that seemed both welcoming and assertive. Letting go of his wrist to grab him by the waist and bodily carry him to her huge bed.



Her size, strength, and dominant behavior only made the female demon more desirable to Christopher, and if he were not distracted by the actions of Kimie and his own lust he probably would have wondered why.



Perhaps Christopher Lera wasn’t as different from his mother as he liked to believe.



*****



Imperious Dakar was not the sort of person to throw away anything that might be useful to him. So when Angelus had rejected the female body that Dakar had made for the cyborg elf, the businessman did not even consider getting rid of it.





The technomancer was left with a strong and healthy body that was fully functional, except for the fact that it was literally brainless.



On the surface such a thing might appear useless, but Imperious had options no one else knew of.



Using technology he had taken from Selene’s Earth, the technomancer had digitally recorded Angelus’s memories after the cyborg’s body was wrecked by Chrissy Lera, preserving them in a form that could easily be transferred to another living brain.



He had done this in case Angelus had not survived the operation to install his brain in its new body. That way even if the original Angelus had died, Dakar might be able to ‘bring him back’ in another form.



Fortunately Angelus had survived, and there was no need to consider replacing him with a newer version of the brutal male elf.

But that left Dakar with an impressive female body that was essentially just an empty shell at this point, and a copy of Angelus’s memories that currently served no purpose.



And Dakar believed that everything should be useful in some way.



The technomancer was in the Imperious Industries med lab considering the issue as he stared at the female version of Angelus when the one of the technicians who worked there came bursting into the room, shouting to get the businessman’s attention.



All the scientists and technicians in the immediate area tried very hard to look busy, hoping their boss would not take it out on them if it was bad news. The only one in the room who was not worried about such a thing (aside from Dakar of course) was Udragoth; the Mind Flayer was literally incapable of that type of thinking.



“What is it boy?” Imperious Dakar said as he turned to regard the young man who had demanded his attention, his icy crimson eyes casually looking over the nervous employee.



“Sir…it’s that…that woman Selene…she’s here and demanding to see you” the technician explained.



The news upset Dakar, not least because Selene should not have known the location of this particular Imperious Industries facility, or that the technomancer was here at the moment. The fact that she did indicated that she was getting insider information about the company and even his own movements.



And Imperious Dakar knew enough to guess who her source was.



Susan Zweller.





But aside from all that Imperious Dakar was unhappy about Selene’s presence for another reason. He knew that the ever ambitious Selene would only come to him if she wanted something, and he was getting tired of the constant demands of the arrogant old witch.



However, Imperious Dakar was too professional to vent such feelings to his subordinates, and doing so would involve a loss of self control that the demonically enhanced cyborg simply did not allow himself.



“Tell her to meet me in ma office” Dakar told the messenger, wondering what new scheme Selene had dreamed up, and how much it was going to cost him.



*****



Like most of Imperious Dakar’s offices the one in the med lab was functional and Spartan, filled with simple furniture, computers, phones, various view screens, and little else. The ancient witch in her leather finery appeared out of place in the bare room, although that would not bother Selene, the psychic vampire thought that she should always be an object of attention (and ideally the center of attention).



But Dakar also noticed things that Selene would not want him to see, such as how wrinkled her skin was, the way that her breasts sagged, and the grey color of her once midnight black hair. The supposedly eternal Selene looked old. And with her corset, cape, and other clothes shredded and torn she appeared poor and weak as well.



Imperious was far too smart and well informed to assume that meant Selene was any less dangerous. However Dakar did know that Selene was too proud and paranoid show him any sign of weakness if it could be avoided.



Selene could easily restore her youth and beauty simply by draining enough people of their life force, the fact that she had not done so before meeting with him meant one of two things. Either Selene had not felt secure enough to ‘feed’ herself properly before meeting with Dakar, or she had somehow lost the ability to strengthen herself by consuming others.



The ancient witch and the technomancer were alone in Dakar’s office (except for Udragoth, who did not count as a person) and if someone else had been there the cyborg might not have been so blunt.



“What happened to you girl?...and what does it have to do with whatever you want from me now?”



“The Slayer Army attacked me and mine without provocation…you must eliminate them now before they stab you in the back too” Selene replied venomously.



Dakar studied the witch closely, she was an excellent liar, but he had trouble believing someone as predatory as her was innocent in all this regardless of how sincere she sounded. Besides, what she was saying didn’t seem to match the facts.



“Without provocation?” Dakar said casually as he stared into Selene’s intense crimson eyes, studying her for the slightest trace of weakness or hesitation, his computer enhanced mind analyzing all of her actions and reactions at lightning speed.



“Of course…those mongrel girls have been useful to me until now” Selene said without the slightest hesitation or sign of insincerity.



But Dakar knew better.



“So this has nothing to do with the fact that Esme was spotted near the recent meeting between Susan and the Slayer Army representative…a meeting that almost became violent thanks to telepathic meddling?” Dakar said angrily as he watched for Selene’s reaction.



The mutant witch had no problem with lying, but she refused to remain on the defensive. If Dakar knew the truth, or could simply guess it, then there was no point in continuing to lie about the incident, Selene was certainly not ashamed or embarrassed by what she had done (she only regretted that her plans had not been carried out in full).



“So what if it does?...what does it matter?” Selene replied imperiously.



“It MATTERS old girl because you are once again letting your personal concerns interfere with MY business…it matters because you are sacrificing my long term business for your short term profit…and it matters because it is the kind of behavior I can no longer tolerate” Dakar said coldly, unable to keep a hint of genuine anger out of his voice despite his neural enhancements.



“As though you could stop me…I will continue to act in my own best interest regardless of what lesser beings think” Selene replied arrogantly.



Her words provided a tipping point for the technomancer, making him recalculate Selene’s relative worth to him and his business in comparison to the mounting risks the witch posed to them. Unfortunately for Selene, action immediately followed thought.



The still weakened witch was caught completely off guard as Dakar grabbed a small round grey device off his belt and threw it to the floor. Turning on his and Udragoth’s personal force field generators before it hit the ground.



The device released a wave of golden light, it didn’t hit Udragoth or Dakar thanks to their protective energy fields but Selene was struck by its full force. The golden energy did no harm to anything it touched in the office, except for Selene.



“Ahhhhh…WHAT IS THIS!” Selene screamed in pain as the light burned her flesh, feeling as though it was searing her to the core. Wondering how someone like Imperious Dakar could gain access to such pure concentrated holy energy.



Immediately after the wave struck her the witch struggled to her feet, healing the cosmetic damage to her body almost instantly as she used up some more of her stolen life force. But the old female was enormously damaged from getting struck by holy energy, and felt as though she were moving through thick liquid. She hoped that Dakar would pause to gloat and give her more time to recover, but it was not like Dakar to waste time on such things.



In one powerful brutal movement Dakar stepped forward (turning off his force field as he did so) and punched Selene in the chest, using his superhuman strength to tear through skin, muscle, and bone, and then wrapping his strong fingers around her still beating heart. Staring into Selene’s horrified eyes as the witch realized that he literally held her heart in his hand.



In that same instant Udragoth began his own attack, his telepathic assault hitting the weakened witch like knives in her unprepared (for combat) mind.



The psychic vampire was too weak and disoriented to properly protect her consciousness, but she reacted instinctively against the invasion of her flesh. Grasping the large arm reaching into her chest and trying to pull Dakar’s life force into herself, attempting to consume him as she had so many others.



Nothing happened.



Selene could sense his life force, but she could not touch it for some reason. There was some kind of barrier or resistance in the way.



“That will not work…we are too alike Selene” Dakar said as he sensed what she had tried to do. Not a trace of emotion in his voice.



“You cannot kill me!” Selene said desperately.



“Are you so sure?...even as we speak my nano-machines are traveling from your heart to the rest of your body…your healing abilities are impressive…but could they save you if I simply commanded my little machines to dissemble you down to the smallest fragment?” Dakar asked coldly as he squeezed Selene’s still beating heart, watching without expression as the hardened predator visibly shuddered.



Selene’s powers were very weak at the moment, and her mental energies were almost totally devoted to keeping Udragoth out right now, but she still had enough power and self awareness to feel the nano-machines multiplying and spreading throughout her body like a disease, knowing the awful damage they could do if their creator and master decided to unleash their full destructive power.



“You can’t kill me…you need me” Selene declared.



Dakar simply stared at her for a moment, his scarred face without expression, and his crimson eyes judging her with icy calculation. Selene usually did not contemplate her own death (or even the possibility that she could die) but when she did she usually assumed that if someone eventually killed her they would do it in a fit of violent passion.



The fact that Dakar could so grievously hurt her while apparently feeling nothing was…disturbing.



“Tell me how to create the dimensional portals on my own” Dakar coldly demanded.



“NO!” Selene screamed in denial, knowing that the technomancer would have no reason to keep her alive once he knew the secret.



Dakar did not respond verbally, instead he simply used the brain of his familiar Udragoth to channel his own great psychic power against Selene, reaching for the knowledge within her with brutal telepathic force.



If Selene had been at her full strength its doubtful that Dakar could have won a straight up psychic battle against her, but Selene was incredibly hurt and disoriented from the blast of holy energy and she still had not recovered completely from what Willow had done to her. Add the damage the technomancer had inflicted when he literally punched a hole in her chest on top of all that and Selene was in no condition to keep someone like Dakar out of her mind.



“NOOOO” Selene moaned as the demon tainted mental energy of Imperious burst into her consciousness, ransacking through her memories with brutal efficiency as he looked for the desired information.



It was more complicated than Dakar had thought it would be. For one thing Selene simply had so many memories, millennia of the stuff. The only one who had any idea of how it should be organized was Selene herself, and she would certainly not help him look.



But after a few milliseconds of real time (though it felt like much longer to Selene and Dakar) the demonically enhanced cyborg realized the truth. The old witch was trying to hide the knowledge of portals within the recesses of her own mind.



Dakar had not realized such a thing was possible, and found to his surprise that he was very impressed by Selene’s skill. However, at the moment he had far more raw mental power.



Selene could do little to prevent the technomancer from simply forcing her most recent memories to the surface and then examining them at his leisure. Including the memories of the slight of hand she had tried to perform within her own mind.



Dakar instantly seized that knowledge and ripped it from her, not caring about the damage he did to Selene’s mind and spirit in the process. His focus on the rituals and spells necessary to magically open portals to other dimensions.



But once Dakar had taken that information from Selene he began to examine other aspects of her recent memories. Such as Esme’s plan to start a war between Imperious Industries and the Vampire Slayer Alliance, the psychic vampire’s evolving relationship with Susan Zweller, and what Selene had done when she had helped Chrissy Lera escape Imperious Dakar’s wrath.



When Selene had teleported the exhausted and virtually helpless necromancer away the psychic vampire had also consumed a tiny piece of Chrissy’s soul. Giving Selene the ability to remotely track, manipulate, and perhaps even control the powerful elf woman thanks to the little piece of Chrissy that was now a part of the ancient witch.



Selene had done this intending to use Chrissy against Dakar, as a distraction at the very least, but possibly even as a weapon if it appeared to be in Selene’s best interest.



As Dakar processed all this information what had been a recent decision rapidly hardened into conviction for the businessman.



Selene was simply too untrustworthy and dangerous, regardless of how her immense skills and knowledge could benefit Dakar and his organizations the risks were too great. She had to die.



Though she lacked the tremendous talent Susan Zweller had at fighting someone or something that had invaded her consciousness from within her own mind, Selene was still far better at it than most telepaths (who generally considered a psychic battle over once an opponent had forcefully invaded their enemy’s mind) and was able to pick up some of Dakar’s surface thoughts as he continued to rampage through her mind. Including his growing desire to kill her here and now.



In desperation Selene stopped actively resisting Dakar’s telepathic assault, the spread of his nano-machines, and ceased all attempts to heal her ravaged flesh. Instead she channeled all her remaining power into an attempt to teleport far away (Selene didn’t even bother picking a location; she just wanted to get away from Dakar).



From his position inside her mind Dakar was able to view Selene’s thoughts of escape as soon as she had them. He responded by commanding his nano-machines inside the witch’s body to dissemble everything, squeezed Selene’s rapidly beating heart more tightly than ever, and then pulled it out in one violent movement.



Selene’s body shimmered and blood gushed out of the huge whole in her chest as she fell to the floor. Too weak and wounded to finish the spell, stuck here with the coldly murderous Dakar.



Imperious watched abstractedly as Selene’s once beautiful body seemed to melt, the efforts of his little machines rapidly converting her physical form to water. Holding her heart in his hand as it began to liquefy along with the rest of the ancient witch.



At this point fighting or fleeing were beyond what Selene was capable of, she was using all her remaining supernatural power just to hold her brain together. The one (minor) blessing for the witch was that she was in no pain, since for some reason one of the first things to be destroyed were her nerve endings.



From a visual standpoint Selene looked more like a mostly melted wax sculpture of herself than anything else, and she did not lay on the floor so much as puddle. But her mind still remained and Selene found herself doing something that her ego would almost never permit her to do.



Begging.



~Please…there is still so much I can share with you.~



Selene was too wounded to speak, so the plea was sent directly to Imperious Dakar’s mind, and the technomancer’s response was immediate. He grabbed the most powerful gun on his person, took aim at Selene’s head, and fired.



The first shot took off the top of her head, and Dakar continued to shoot at her until nothing remained of Selene’s body but small bloody chunks that were liquefying more rapidly than ever. Less than a minute after that all that was left of Selene’s physical form were dark puddles of liquid scattered around where Selene had fallen.



Imperious Dakar was surprised, he could feel Selene’s dark spirit lingering, and her body (if it could still be called that) was still attempting to reform (though this effort was more than held in check by the nano-machines). He theorized that if he removed the machines her body would eventually reform on its own.



“What does it take to kill you Selene?” Dakar mused aloud as he began to gather together the eerie looking water. Making sure that he got every drop into watertight containers, already considering alternate ways to bring true death to the psychic vampire.



The businessman was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice a tiny figure scurrying out of the room. Udragoth saw the creature that looked like a miniature Selene leave the office, but since he did not consider it a threat, the Mind Flayer’s programming made him dismiss the observation as irrelevant.



*****



Christopher Lera and Kimie Li had been making love for hours, but the male elf still felt energized and aroused. Christopher had never had such an uninhibited, enthusiastic, or aggressive lover before and was reveling in the experience.



As the sweaty male lay on Kimie’s large bed the rutting demon pushed his manhood deeper into her body. Li’s greater weight leaving her lover all but immobilized as the porn star straddled his lap, using her inner muscles to squeeze down on his cock with practiced skill, smiling in satisfaction as he groaned in pleasure.



“Ohhh…you’re my little elf slave” Kimie moaned playfully as she fondled her large red breasts. Pinching her black nipples hard when she saw Christopher staring, and then laughing wickedly when he reached up to tug on the thin golden ring going through her left nipple.



Kimie felt Christopher’s body shifting under her, and the powerful demon let herself be ‘forced’ onto her back, squealing in mock fright as the male took back control. In the process Christopher accidentally pulled out of Kimie and missed when he tried to push his erect penis in again, running his cock along her thigh instead of into her moist cunt (an action that would have been edited out if it had occurred during the filming of one of Sinful Li’s videos).



Feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing Christopher thrust forward a second time and achieved penetration, reveling in the softness and incredible warmth of his lover’s interior.



Then saying in a voice that would have sounded ridiculous to himself at any other time “you’re not in charge anymore mistress…now you belong to me.”



“NOOO” Kimie wailed in a good imitation of despair as she wrapped her legs around the Iberian and pulled him into her more deeply, the sound of her voice and the feel of her strong legs squeezing his waist enough to push Christopher over the edge, making him cum with a deep groan as he ejaculated inside the lusty demon.



Then Christopher collapsed on top of Li, as the exhaustion began to set in now that the arousal and adrenaline was wearing off. Resting his head between her breasts as he idly toyed with her nipple ring, unable to remember a time when he had been more exhausted.



“Now you can be the corporate executive and I can be the secretary asking for a raise” Kimie said, clearly intent on more role-playing, a little upset that she had not achieved orgasm before Christopher finished.



“Good God woman don’t you ever get tired?” the male said tiredly as he withdrew from Kimie to lie beside her on the bed. Impressed with himself for just having sex seven times in a row even if Li wasn’t.



“Not really” the demon said casually as she got up, moving to stand before her large bedroom mirror as she adjusted her artificially blonde hair.



Kimie spent a few moments in front of the mirror grooming herself while Christopher lay on the bed and stared at a wall, wearing a troubled expression on his handsome features. It was all too easy for Li to guess what the dark elf was brooding about.



“Still thinking about your crazy mom Chris?” Kimie asked as she turned around to stare at him.



“My mother is not…crazy” Christopher said defensively.



“Chris I like your mom…I really do…Christina’s very sweet in her own weird way…but we both know that only an insane person would do some of the things she does” Kimie gently replied.



“I know” Christopher whispered as he got into a sitting position on the bed, saying aloud something that he usually tried not to even think about.



His mother was crazy, but Christopher knew that she meant well, and in Iberia at least the Lera regime had greatly benefited the common people. And despite all her faults Chrissy loved her son and he felt the same way about her.



That was why Christopher did all he could to help his mother and steer her away from her more insane and ruthless ideas whenever possible. But that did not mean that the Foreign Minister was blind to the dark side of what he was involved in.



But Christopher didn’t want to think about his mother’s failings anymore, so in order to change the subject he asked Kimie “what happened between you and my mother?...why did you two break up?”



“I wasn’t on board with her idea to save the world starting with Iberia…I had enough experience with that kind of politics in the Abyss thank you very much” Kimie replied, her voice filled with a bitterness she seldom showed.



“Really” exclaimed Christopher in surprise, having never imagined the greedy and lusty Kimie as any sort of political animal.



“Yes…although I think the way that I kept trying to convince her to give men another chance was part of it too…I told her that what she needed was a good hard fucking from a good hard man to make her less neurotic about the whole thing” Kimie replied with an evil grin.



“You didn’t” Christopher said in disbelief, unable to imagine how his mother would react to such a statement beyond the fact that it would be really bad.



“Oh yes I did…I even got her to fuck a cute Spanish boy once along with his pretty wife…your mom can be pretty wild when she’s drunk” Kimie said with a laugh.



Seeing that she had Christopher’s full attention and had gotten his mind off whatever was happening in Iberia Kimie related some more of the misadventures that she, Marian Casta, and Chrissy Lera had gotten into when they were younger, grinning wickedly at the expression of the (relatively) innocent elf as she told the stories in intimate detail.



*****



The little pseudo Selene was developing rapidly, mainly in the mental sphere, but she still lacked the capacity to think in words.



The creature did not really understand what had happened to her creator and mistress, however she did understand one thing.



Her mistress had been grievously hurt and captured, and she had to run and hide now, for if those who had hurt Selene caught her in the med lab, she would surely die.



But mini-Selene was beginning to grasp the future, and as the animated statuette scurried along the floor of the Imperious Industries laboratory a yearning for something began to grow within her.



A desire for revenge.



*****



Imperious Dakar finally had a chance to meet with Alita Impala. However as he discussed things with the dark elf mercenary in his private office at the Imperious Industries med lab, he had to explain to her how the situation had changed since he had given her his last orders.



“Why don’t you want me to guard that Selene woman anymore boss?” the female elf asked.



“Because Selene tried to betray the company and is now essentially dead” Dakar calmly answered, not bothering with his usual thuggish way of speaking at all (for he had no need to conceal his true nature from Alita).



Most people would have just accepted a statement like that at face value. But Alita had enough experience with Imperious to pay more attention to his exact wording.



“Essentially dead?” she questioned with a frown.



“Like many old vampires keeping Selene from rising again is almost as hard as taking her down in the first place” Dakar said in a neutral tone.



“So should I just go back to my unit boss?” Alita asked, annoyed that this whole thing had apparently been a waste of her time.



“No Alita…Omega Squad can survive without you for a few days…I have another woman I want you to guard and watch over.”



Then the head of Imperious Industries gestured to his familiar and Udragoth sent out a telepathic summons, a moment later the door to the office opened and a tall humanoid stepped inside.



It was fair skinned and clearly female, with a toned and athletic form that was barely covered by a simple blue tank top and shorts. Her one organic eye was an icy blue while the cyborg’s mechanical eye glowed with a bluish light. There were no other obvious signs of the female’s cybernetic nature, and other than her height and mechanical eye her most prominent features were probably her pointed elfin ears and her long blonde hair.



Imperious Dakar gazed at the cyborg with obvious appreciation, and someone who witnessed the scene might have assumed that Dakar was simply enjoying his view of the elf woman’s impressive cleavage. But Impala had too much experience with Dakar to make such an assumption.



“Alita Impala…may I introduce Angela.”



The female dark elf was certain that she had never met Angela before, for she was sure that she would have remembered someone like the female cyborg. Nevertheless she could not shake off a feeling of Déjà Vu; there was something eerily familiar about Angela.



*****



Creating a genetically female copy of Angelus’s brain was relatively simple for Imperious Dakar, and imprinting the brutal elf’s recorded memories onto it was even easier.



Moreover, after going through the process already with Angelus, installing this new brain into the female body was far more routine.



The cyborg had also been programmed to know that she was a copy of Angelus (not the original) and to see being female as her natural state (despite her memories of being a male). Other than that Dakar had left Angela’s developing mind alone.



The technomancer was curious as to how this cyborg elf would react compared to the one who had been his mentor for so long. Watching carefully as Angela spoke her first words.



“ANGELA!...that’s the best name you can come up with…Angela!”