Intimancer

“Boss!”

“Yeah!  The boss is here!”

“Y’all are fucked now!”

Many of the secured bandits started to cheer when the dark flames erupted around their fellows.  One even started throwing taunts in their general direction now that their supposed leader was making an entrance.

Tyr backed off and stood next to Rick and the others.  The only one armed with any weapon besides magic was Lilie, and she was standing tall, her weapon drawn but hanging loose at her side.  Rick checked to make sure ‘frozen mist’ was locked and ready to go.  They encountered an ice mage already, due to the burning curtain before them, it was safe to assume this bandit leader knew a few fire spells.

The flame wall died down to smoldering embers.  The three bandits who were behind it were staring off to the side of the road.  Rick followed their reverent gazes and saw a woman standing on the rocks above.  Her long, straight hair was the color of blood.  The parts of her skin showing between the gaps of her dark leather armor were a striking pale shade, like she never knew the feel of sunlight.  She leaped from her perch and landed just behind her followers.  She was tall, almost as tall as Tyr was when she first met Rick and Sade, and towered a full head above her underlings.

The bandit trio bowed low and backed away to clear a path for their leader to stride forward.  Rick couldn’t shake the feeling that something about all this just seemed staged.  Are they bandits or a theater troupe?  The crimson shaytoni scowled at them, her hands resting on the sword hilts on either hip.

“It seems my loyal minions have fallen for your schemes.”  She hissed dramatically.  “I guess it just means I’ll have to take care of you myself.”

She tilted her nose up into the air, as if dealing with them was completely beneath her station.  “Do you know who I am?  I’m th-”

“The demon lord of all that is snarky and sarcastic.”

The bandit leader was thrown off by the comment and glared at the party. “Who said that?!”

Lilie stepped forward.  “I thought that was your title Rayna?  Was I mistaken?”  She lowered her hood so that her face could be revealed in full.

The redhead looked confused for several seconds.  Suddenly recognition bloomed in her eyes.  “Lills?  Is that you?  You… you look…”

Lilie gave a musical chuckle.  “My curse has finally been lifted, after all these years.”  She raised her sword, pointing the tip at Rayna.  “And now I have been issued a quest to subdue an errant demon lord.  So will you come quietly, or will we have to settle our old grudges?”

The supposed demon lord got over shock quickly and adopted a confident smirk with no delay.  “A bold claim little hero.  Let us see if you have grown more than just a pair of tits since last we met.”

With those words she leapt back to gain some distance and drew her twin swords, ready for a fight.  Rick was honestly surprised she could see any womanly features under Lilie’s armor.  He did suppose that the changes were obvious for those who knew her before that fateful blowjob as this woman seemed to imply.  Lilie wasn’t as big as she was a few days ago, but she was still considerably more bulky than when they first talked in the library.

Rayna scanned the battlefield.  “Minions!  Back off and do not interfere.”  She looked at Lilie.  “I trust your companions will do the same?”

Lilie nodded and turned to the group.  “They will stand aside.”  She gave Tyr a pointed look.  “Right?”

The elf just shrugged, stomped over to the cart, and plopped her giant rear down on the surprisingly intact front seat.  Rick and Sade turned to each other, also shrugged, and went to join their friend on the bench.  If Lilie wanted to join this odd stage play with this overly dramatic bandit, they weren’t going to stop her.

Both women got into a ready stance.  Lilie with her shield out front, and her sword pointed forward.  Rayna with one sword pointed forward, the other at the ready on her side.  They stood there, frozen, waiting for some invisible signal for their duel to commence.

A groan emanated from behind Rick and the others.  As if that was the starting pistol she was waiting for, Rayna shot forward with surprising speed, a wild grin splitting her pale face.  She slammed her blades down with a crushing blow, only for Lilie’s shield to intercept them with a resounding clang of metal on hard wood.  Lilie wasted no time and stabbed her own blade  towards the other woman’s neck with a fierce thrust.  Rayna cackled and deflected the blow with a casual wave of her sword while leaping back once more.  Lilie followed, not willing to let her opponent dictate the pace of the fight.

“Ugh… what happened?”

Rick turned to find the ice bandit had finally woken up from her short flight and started crawling over the ruined cart towards the front.

“Are you referring to when you got tossed like a sack of potatoes, or that your leader arrived and challenged our healer to a duel?”

The bandit looked at Sade with a thoroughly confused expression.  “Why would the boss do that?”

Rick shrugged.  “No idea.  But we were all ordered to sit back and watch.”

“Speaking of, I can’t see jack shit!”

“Yeah!  We want to see our boss pound that woman into the dirt, not look at the stuff the whole time!”

Many of the bandits anchored to the ground started to grumble their assent with the complainers.  They were pinned where they fell, which was not exactly among the best places to view the fight.  Sade gave a theatrical sigh and started to wave her hand.  The ground rumbled and then started to flow like water as all the bandits on the ground were dragged forward by the earthen waves and brought to sitting positions where they could view the duel properly while still properly restrained.

The ice mage’s eyes bulged at the casual display of power and control Sade just performed.  Sade simply looked the woman in the eyes, as if daring her to start something.  The bandit thankfully was smart and just plopped her rear down on the seat next to her, content to watch the show as seemingly ordered rather than risk pissing the dusky woman off.

The fight was still in its testing phase.  Despite Lilie constantly trying to keep the pressure up, Rayna just kept dancing around and occasionally throwing an attack or two from odd angles.  This forced Lilie to turtle back up and hide behind her shield or deflect with her sword.  What few attacks she couldn’t block or dodge, her thick armor was there to absorb the damage from the glancing blows.

“You’ve improved!”  Rayna said gleefully.  “But this much is far too little to best me.”

“Just making sure you haven't started to rust away out here in the wilds.”  Lilie shot back with a smirk.  “Can’t have our long awaited reunion cut short because you got sloppy.”

“Oh you cheeky little-”

Her retort was cut short by Lilie suddenly exploding forward with a knee to the gut.  Her breath rocketed out of her mouth as she stumbled backward.  Before she could even let in a gasping heave, Lilie’s shield swung around and smashed against her face with the steelshod edge.

“Cheeky enough for you?”  The healer taunted.

Rayna sucked in a breath, then spat out a glob of blood.  The glare she returned was fierce enough to kill, but soon her smirk returned to its rightful place.  The bandit lord stood up to her full height and readied her twin swords once more.

“Fine then.  No more holding back.”

Once more, Rayna rushed towards her opponent.  Unlike the last exchange, there was no testing or teasing, this was them going all out.  Whatever Rick could say about the bandit chief, she was fast.  Her feet blurred as she danced all around Lilie, her arms writhing like angry snakes as she struck repeatedly to wear down the healer’s iron defense.

Lilie was no slouch.  Her counterblows came down hard, forcing the taller woman to brace herself with the impact or jump out of the way entirely.  Both women showcased an extraordinary amount of skill and strength that Rick could only hope to match one day.

“Whoo!  Get her love!”  The bandit beside them on the bench cheered.  All three of the hunters gave her odd looks.  “What?”  She asked.  “We warm each other’s beds.  Nothing wrong with that.”

Rick and his lovers remained silent and went back to watching the fight.

“Amazing!”  Rayna panted.  “At long last, I have finally engaged with a worthy opponent.  Maybe you can survive my demon arts.”

“The only demon arts I know of are ones of seduction.”

“Is that how you gre- GAH!”

Rayna’s question was cut off by Lilie’s underhand swipe that would have split her from crotch to collar.  In an impressive display of athleticism, Rayna continued her backwards dive and performed a handspring to flip back several times like an anime character.

“Fine then hero, keep your secrets.”  She hissed after finally stopping.  “But let me share with you some of the one’s I have uncovered.”  She gestured around to herself and those around.  “We are shaytoni, but do you know what that truly means?”

Lilie nodded.  “Born of demons.”

Rayna almost tripped at hearing Lilie’s answer.  Her fierce expression shifted immediately and she instead wore a look of utter shock. "Wait.  Hold the fuck up. How did you-”  She paused as if realizing she suddenly had dropped her demon lord act. “I mean, uhhhhh yes! That is correct! It appears you aren't just a pretty face.” Rayna carried on as if she hadn't just broken character, and resumed her villainous monologuing.

“We are indeed born of demons.  This means their legacy, their power, flows through our veins.”  Her hands ignited in that strange black fire she used to stop Tyr in her tracks.  “I have delved into the mysteries of our bloodline.  I have cast aside the petty guise of mortality and embraced our tribe's true nature!”

“Behold!”  She bellowed.  “Our true form!”

The dark fire erupted all around her, encasing her in a roiling cocoon.  Twin shapes pierced through the top of the flames, long and sinewy, with a thick membrane draped along their undersides like a fleshy blanket.  The shapes tore down on either side, dispersing the magic with a great gust of air.

Rayna stood there, a feral grin plastered on her face, great bat wings extending out of her back, near the shoulder blades in a glorious display of her demonic heritage.  Fire still burned at the tips of her horns and tail, creating a wholly intimidating presence.

“This is who we are, who we are meant to be.”  She said softly.  Her voice carried through the silence like a fell wind across the plains.

“If I have learned anything about our people, it is not what we are, but who.”  Lilie said in defiance.

“Oh?  And what makes you so confident about that, little hero?”

“Because I have friends who love me.”  Lilie said with just a hint of emotion.  “They don’t see me as a monster, simply a person who is different.  The shaytoni are only demons because other’s label us as such.  We can simply be… us.  Nothing more.”

Rayna was frozen from Lilie’s impassioned speech.  After a moment, she shook her head and scowled fiercely.  “Pretty words!  But you know as well as I that strength is what matters in this world.  Are you capable of backing up your statements?”

Lilie closed her eyes and a soft glow of magic suffused her being.  Every little cut and bruise she had acquired over the duel started to slowly mend and fade, leaving her pale skin clear and pristine.  She raised her eyelids, exposing her bright ruby orbs full of confidence.

“There is only one way to find out.”

Rayna howled in fury.  Her wings beat against the air and she flew towards her opponent like a ballista bolt.  Flames gathered along one of her blades and she banked to the side right when she swung her immolated weapon, creating a wave of dark fire that threatened to crash against the healer and consume her with its baleful heat.

Lilie dove out of the way, barely avoiding being singed.  She quickly angled her shield to block a high speed slash as Rayna sped past.  The winged woman landed on her feet and skidded on the ground a short distance.  With a single flap of her wings, she leapt into the air and somersaulted forward twice before crashing down upon Lilie’s upraised shield with both swords.

Fire bloomed where the blades struck, engulfing the wood and most of Lilie’s arm in black flames.

“How do you like this taste of my power?”  Rayna taunted.

Lilie gritted her teeth and shoved the demon woman away.  She stood tall, defiant to the end.  She hefted up her burning arm and swung it wide.  The flames sloughed off like she was flicking away foul sludge rather than magical fire.  Her arm radiating that soothing magic of her healing.

“Somewhat spicy, but could use some more kick.”  She said with a smirk.

The two resumed their clash.  Rayna furiously trying to overwhelm Lilie with her lightning quick attacks and fire, Lilie with careful rolls and liberal use of her healing to tank the oppressive flames.

Rayna gave out a frustrated screech.  She once more took to the sky, circling around for another high speed pass.  Her whole body erupted with her dark magic, streaking towards Lilie like an ebony comet.  At the last moment, she angled her turn so that she flew around the healer in a tight circle, the tip of her sword digging a deep groove the whole way.

“Burn you miserable creature!”

Before Lilie could react, Rayna slammed her palms to the ground and the circle she created erupted in an inferno.  The demonic woman stared at the roiling pillar of darkness.  After a few moments she started to chuckle, then her laughter started to grow.  Before long she was howling with mad glee, tears streaming down her face as a full on fit of hysterics had her fully within its grip.

RIck saw a soft light emanate amongst the darkness.  It grew until a small burst of magic blew a hole out of the inferno and Lilie dashed out, seemingly unharmed.  Rayna looked up just in time to see the healer’s sword coming down towards her skull, and she brought up both of her blades into a cross to catch it.  But that was just a feint.

Lilie’s boot stomped on the ground.  Her other foot swung up in a glorious arc, landing squarely between the bandit lord’s legs.  The force of the kick was so strong, that the woman’s feet momentarily left the ground.  Rayna’s pained voice peaked so high, she could probably shatter glass.  Both Rick and Tyr felt phantom twinges of sympathy pulse between their legs.

“That was… a fucking low blow.”  Rayna panted from her position on the dirt where she fell, clutching her groin.

Lilie chucked darkly and bent down so the two could look eye to eye.  “I can’t disregard all of my demon heritage, now can I?”

The redhead let out a pained chuckle.  “Ha ha- Ow!  Fuck!  That’s fair.  But did you have to kick me in the dick sis?”

“Yes, yes I did… sister.”

“Wait, sister?!”

Both the other bandits and hunters cried out at the sudden revelation.  Lilie just looked at her friends sheepishly.  “Oh, uh, didn’t I tell you that I had a sister?”

“Ya did.  But ya failed ta mention she was the bandit chief we’ve been hunting fer.”  Tyr said indignantly.  “And what’s this about her having a dick?!”

“Well… Rayna was born with all her womanly parts… and a dick.”  She explained, a small bead of sweat dripping down her pale cheek.  “Did I not tell you?”

“NO!”  All three companions shouted at once.

The ice mage had jumped off the cart as soon as the fight appeared to be over, and ran towards the fallen demon lord.  She turned to the group after seeing that her lover and leader wasn’t too badly injured anywhere but her pride.  “So what happens now?”

“Oh, that is simple.”  Sade said, being the first to recover from her shock at the unexpected family reunion.  She looked over the whole group of prisoners they had subdued, including their leader still clutching her crotch in pain.  “Now you come with us and accept the conditional pardon the crown is offering you.”

“What?!”

Now it was all the bandits’ turn to cry out in surprise.