A Demon's Child Ch. 05

Anita

The pain came in waves, one after another. At first they were far apart, but then they started getting closer together. By the time Saban set down, they were almost on top of each other. Saban shifted back to human as he carried me into the castle. When I looked up, he was crying. Another jolt of pain filled my stomach. I gasped.

Marian met us at the door. "I had one of the apprentices watching for you," she explained. "I've got a room set up. Hurry." Maybe there was some hope for me after all. I rode another wave of pain. Then again, maybe not.

Saban laid me carefully down on the bed, and then headed for the door. "I can't watch this," he said.

I reached out for him. "Stay. Please."

He hesitated, then came to stand at my side. "I'll stay as long as you need me," he said.

I grabbed his hand, and squeezed as the pain came again. "Thank you," I gasped as the pain momentarily subsided.

Marian slid up my shirt and laid her hand on my stomach. I felt her magic probe my body, looking for damage. Marian blinked. Then she frowned, and I felt another wave of diagnostic magic. "This makes no sense," she muttered, and then met my gaze. "What has the pain been like, Anita?" she asked. "Is it a steady, biting pain, or does it come and go?"

"It comes and-" I gasped as another wave hit me.

"How close together?" she asked.

"Seconds," I gasped, right before another wave struck.

Marian turned to Saban. "Help me get her pants off," she told him. "I need to see something."

Saban lifted me, and Marian slid off my pants, and then my underclothes. She peered intently into my vagina. Then she looked up, smiling. "Anita, your cervix is dilated. And this pain you've been having, it's not the demon clawing its way out. It's contractions. You're giving birth."

I blinked. "Come again?"

"You're giving birth," Marian said. "I'm not sure how, or why, but that's what's happening. You're going to be just fine."

Saban squeezed my hand. "She's... She's not going to die?"

Marian smiled. "No. There may be complications, but I can take care of that. I'm the best healer in the kingdom, after all." Marian met my gaze. "Anita, next time you have a contraction, I need you to push. Can you do that for me?"

I nodded. Saban squeezed my hand again, and I squeezed back. Then my grip tightened as another contraction hit me. I closed my eyes and pushed.

I felt the baby demon slide out of my womb. Tiny tentacles reached out and gripped Marian's hand. As I pushed again, the tentacles tightened around Marian's hand and pulled. The baby demon slid free.

Marian caught it. "Congratulations, it's a-" She blinked down at what she was holding. "Tentacly squid thing." She thrust it at Saban. "Here, you take this."

Saban took the infant demon. Tentacly squid thing was not a bad description. It was green, with big red eyes and tiny fanged mouths. It squirmed in Saban's grip and squeaked.

I looked over at it. "It's kind of cute. In an eldritch horror sort of way."

Saban smiled. "If you say so."

"It's kind of our child," I said thoughtfully. "Ours together. If you think about it." The little demon reached for me. I smiled. "Looks like it want's its mommy."

As I reached out to take the little thing, Saban lifted it out of my reach. "It's not like a human baby, Anita. It's a bit small, but, otherwise, it's a fully functional adult. Demons don't care for their young." He frowned at it. "I'm going to put you down," he told it, "And you're going to take a form more suited to conversation. I want answers."

*

Saban

Anita frowned. "Can't that wait? The little guy just got born." The new demon squeaked again, and she smiled at it. "Awww... Aren't you just the cutest little thing?"

I glared at my offspring. "You're doing that on purpose. Well, I'm not going to fall for that cute little darling act, so knock it off." Its stalk eyes drooped and in squeaked mournfully. "I said cut it out!"

"You're being a little harsh," Anita said, glaring at me. "It's your child, Saban. Don't you feel anything for it? Some small scrap of affection?"

"No. Why would I? As I said, demons don't care for their young." I placed the tiny demon on the floor. "Shift. Now. And if you turn into anything cute, you will suffer for it."

Anita opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again as the young demon began to shift. I heard Marian mumble her apologies and some excuse before she almost ran out the door. I couldn't blame her. Demon shifting was never pretty. When everything stilled again, a young man crouched warily on the floor. He looked up at me. "Is this acceptable, Father?"

I considered. He wasn't cute and fluffy, at least. His chosen male form was almost feminine, with large, innocent looking green eyes and soft looking waves of blond hair. I had no doubt his appearance was carefully chosen for the effect it would have on Anita, but I could not find anything specific to object to. I nodded. "This is acceptable, yes."

The young man slowly rose, watching me carefully. He was about a head shorter than I was. He was probably couldn't get any larger. He was, after all, very young. "You implied you had questions for me."

"Yes. How did you keep from killing Anita? And why?" I asked. My mind brushed his. I would know if he lied.

The other demon was carefully avoiding my gaze, his eyes downcast. Good. He knew his place. "I was able to control the amount of power I was drawing, so I didn't take any life force. I am also able to give off certain chemicals, ones that affect the human body. When I first became aware, I made my mother's body think it was in the final stages of pregnancy, and, when I was ready, I induced labor."

Anita frowned. "You can emit hormones? How?"

"It's a power some demons have," I explained. "It's not one I've got, so he must have inherited it from Vice." I considered my offspring thoughtfully. "Doing that sort of thing is not easy. It must have taken a lot out of you. A lot that you didn't really have to spare, given that you were restrained in your feeding."

The young man nodded, eyes still downcast. "Yes."

"Why?" As a test of my power over him, I forced him to meet my gaze. As soon as I released him, he looked away. I could feel his fear.

The other demon wet his lips nervously. "Mother, you may not know this, but newly conceived demons acquire some of the memories of whoever was the receiver in the mating process. In this case, that was Father."

Anita blinked. "You acquired some of Saban's memories?"

My offspring nodded. "Yes."

I suppressed a growl. I did not like other people being inside my head. "Continue."

The other demon shifted from foot to foot. "I... acquired some of the memories of your time together. I could... I could feel how much Father loved you, Mother. And I could feel your life up against mine. Killing you... It wouldn't be right."

The look in his eyes, and the feel of his thoughts, took me back to a time, long, long ago, when I was newborn. Before that, even. It wouldn't be right. I remembered thinking the exact same thing. Something in me softened.

He was so very frightened. He had seen my mind. He knew how possessive I was when it came to Anita. He thought admitting he remembered my time with her would anger me. He hoped Anita might ask me to be merciful, but he was waiting for me to kill him.

I lifted his chin so that he met my gaze. "Do you have a name?" I asked softly.

He looked away. "Estries. I chose the name Estries." His eyes flicked to his mother. "It means born of love."

I smiled. "Estries. I like it." I cupped his face in my hands. "I bet you're hungry."

*

Anita

Apparently demons could transfer power to each other. I hadn't known that. One more item for my thesis.

And apparently it wasn't a pleasant process. Estries whimpered. Saban released him, and he fell back, gasping. "Better?" Saban asked.

Estries nodded. "Thank you." He frowned. "You didn't really have any to spare."

"That's my business," Saban said stiffly.

Estries looked away. "I'm sorry."

Saban growled. "Stop doing that."

Estries looked terrified. "I'm sorry! Doing what?"

Saban sighed. "Stop being so damn nervous. You're my son. Show some backbone."

Estries stared at Saban for a second. His back straightened, and he raised his head to look Saban in the eye.

Saban smiled. "That's better."

Master Evona entered the room. Belatedly, I realized I still wasn't wearing any pants and tried to cover myself. The master wizard didn't seem to notice. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Marian said the birth was over, and I wanted to see the new arrival." She looked thoughtfully at Estries. "Are you the new demon?"

Estries nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Master Evona smiled, not bothering to conceal the avarice in her expression. "I'd like to examine you, if you don't mind. No one has ever studied a newborn demon before."

Estries smiled. "I don't mind."

"Good." She looked from Estries to Saban. "I'm sure both of you need to feed. Young man, I have a volunteer waiting for you in my study. You can feed from him while I watch."

Estries looked nervous. "Ok."

Master Evona continued. "Saban, a apprentice wizard named Betania is curious about your methods. If you give her a demonstration, I'm sure she'd be more than willing to spare some magic."

Saban frowned. "Is that alright with you, Anita?"

I frowned. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Saban sighed. "No reason."

"Good." Master Evona said. "I'm glad that's settled. Anita, I have had the servants prepare a bath for you in your rooms. Hot water is magical in and of itself. Saban, if you would be so kind as to carry Anita up there? Healer Marian says she shouldn't be walking quite yet. Betania will meet you outside of Anita's quarters."

"Alright," Saban said. He moved to pick me up.

I shied away. "Do you think maybe I could get my pants back first?"

*

Properly clothed once more, I reclined in Saban's arms while he carried me up the stairs. Estries had gone off with Master Evona to feed and be studied. I was a bit annoyed I wasn't the one doing this examination, but there would be plenty of time for me to do my own later.

One of the servants, a woman named Jenna, was waiting for us in my bathroom. "Master Evona says I'm to help you bathe."

I smiled. "Thank you. Saban, just put me down near the tub. Then you can go get something to eat."

Saban frowned. "Are you sure you don't want me to help you undress?"

I shook my head. "I'll be fine."

"I'm not sure I want to leave you," Saban said.

"If I need you, I'm sure Jenna will be willing to go get you," I replied. "I'll be fine. Go." Saban went.

Getting undressed was a bit tricky, as was getting into the tub. Once I was in, though, the hot water felt amazing. I sighed in contentment. "I can do the rest myself, Jenna. You can go."

She shook her head. "Master Evona said I'm suppose to stay with you, in case you need anything. But I can wait outside, if you'd like some privacy."

I nodded. "Thank you."

She left, and I settled back against the tub with a sigh. Gods, this felt amazing. Thank you, Master Evona. Time to relax after all that fuss was just what I needed.

So. I had a child now, of sorts. A son. Well, sort of a son. In their natural form, demons didn't have genders, so he was technically neither male nor female. However, he seemed to prefer a male form, like Saban, so son seemed the best word to use.

I wondered a bit about why Saban had suddenly softened toward Estries. Maybe he was responding to my own feelings about our child. Saban loved me, after all.

He loved me. I still wasn't sure how I felt about that. And now we had a child together. I wondered again if Saban would be satisfied with just my friendship and a place in my bed. If he wanted more, I couldn't give it to him. I didn't love him, and I never would.

I idly wondered what Saban was doing right now. Feeding, probably. For some reason, that bothered me. I wondered why.

*

Saban

I skipped the small talk with Betania. As soon as we reached her rooms, we got straight to business. Fortunately, she didn't need much foreplay.

I ran a hand along Betania's sweat slicked stomach, searching for her clit. When I found it, she screamed and pressed back against me. I could feel the bumps of her spine.

Betania seemed to be having the time of her life, and her magic flowed out of her in great waves, but I just couldn't get into it. If I were human, I doubted I'd even have an erection. This was business, nothing more.

I thought of Anita. She hadn't cared if I was with another woman. I sighed, and, almost mechanically, wormed my tentacles between Betania's breasts and the wall to tweak her nipples.

I would never take Anita from behind like this. Not unless she requested it. I liked to see her face as she came, the way her eyes lit up like fireworks. With Betania, I couldn't care less.

It had been over a year since I had fed from anyone besides Anita. Betania's power just didn't taste right to me. I took another big gulp of it anyways. Who knew when Anita would be recovered enough to feed me herself? I sighed again.

"Lift me up," Betania gasped.

"Excuse me?" I said, jerked abruptly out of my musings.

"Lift me up. Into the air. I want to feel how strong you are," Betania said.

I slid a tentacle under her ass and another one around her waist. Betania shuddered in passion as I lifted her, flipping her around so she faced me.

This wasn't a bad idea. I could get a better angle on Betania's pussy this way, and I now has sole control over our pacing. I could make her cum more quickly. The sooner this was over, the happier I'd be.

Distracted as I was, I almost missed Betania's orgasm. I would have if she hadn't been screaming so loudly. I lowered her to the floor, and, as soon as she could stand on her own, I stepped away.

Betania tugged on my hand. "Let's just lie down on my bed for awhile."

I pulled my hand free. "Once was enough for me."

"I'm not talking about more sex. Don't you cuddle at all?" Betania asked.

With Anita, there were few things I loved more than holding her close as her breathing slowly returned to normal. I liked it when she drifted off to sleep in my arms, and I could hold her all night. She didn't let me do it often, so I treasured every time I'd woken up with her in my arms.

I materialized my clothes, and took as step toward the door. "I should go check on Anita."

A gleam appeared in Betania's eyes. "So it's true."

I frowned. "So what's true?"

"That you love her. Everyone's been speculating about it for months. There's even a pool going among the apprentices." Betania grinned. "I just won 18 silver."

I growled. "You've been betting about my feelings for Anita?"

"Of course. The odds were 3 to 1 against, by the way. There's also been some academic papers examining the evidence for and against. It's all been just conjecture up until now, though." Betania smiled. "And I get to be the one who gives proof. Does Anita know?"

I sighed. "As of five days ago."

"I'm guessing from your sigh she doesn't feel the same way," Betania speculated.

I nodded. "You guess correctly." Why was I telling this girl so much? My feelings were none of her business. Especially since she would probably publish a paper on them.

"Don't worry. She'll come around," Betania said. "You'll see."

*

Anita

Marian came to check on me while I was still soaking in the tub. She looked me over, cast a healing spell, and pronounced me mostly recovered. "Just avoid vaginal penetration for a few days."

I stayed in the tub until the water was cold, but, in the end, I had to get out. Once dried, I opened the door to my rooms.

Saban was waiting for me on my bed. Naked.

I looked him over. He looked yummy lounging on my bedspread, one hand idly stroking his erect cock. That was likely the effect he was going for. Unfortunately... "No."

He gave me a soulful look. "Please?"

"You just fed," I told him. "And I don't have any power anyways."

Saban shook his head. "That's not what I'm after. Anita, I haven't touched you properly in almost a week. For awhile, I thought I'd never get to touch you again. I want to be with you, to hold you, to enjoy the fact that you're alive."

"I can't have sex. Healer's orders," I informed Saban.

Saban grinned. "About that. I met Marian just as she was leaving your rooms, so I asked for a detailed list of what you can and can't do. Penetration is out, but everything else is fair game."

And I'd run out of excuses. I ran my gaze up and down Saban's body again. Gods, he was gorgeous. "Fine. But we do it my way."

Saban rose, and bowed. "It will be as you command, mistress."

We'd had sex on every flat surface in my rooms at one time or another, but, tonight, I wanted to use the bed, and Saban agreed with me. He held me close, kissing me deeply, and then gently lowered my head to the pillow. "Relax, and close your eyes."

I closed my eyes. So, we were playing this game tonight. I'd had blindfolded sex with Saban a few times before. Once had been a time when he'd had the upper hand, and he'd forcibly covered my eyes. Remembering the feeling of being held down, not knowing what Saban would do to me next, I shivered.

I shivered again as Saban slowly caressed my neck with his tongue. Saban was right, it had been almost a week. Gods, that felt good. Long, slow strokes of Saban's tongue gradually moved down my body, stopping at both nipples to nibble and suck before moving even lower down. I quivered as Saban passed my navel, infuriatingly slow, and moved further down, ever so gradually, before finally coming to rest on my...

I gasped and arched up against Saban as his tongue brushed my clit. Another slow, deliberate stroke moved across my entrance before moving back up to play with the little nub. Slow whorls around it teased me with their closeness before he flicked his tongue across it once more.

"Faster," I gasped. "Pick up the pace, Saban."

He chuckled, my clit still in his mouth, before raising his head. "Patience, love. I want to take my time."

Another slow caress made warmth spread through my nether regions. As I had many, many times before I wondered about how Saban knew so much about oral sex. It took most men years to get this good.

"More," I moaned.

Saban laughed, and shifted his attention back to my nipples. He sucked on each of them, taking his time in getting them nice and hard before nibbling on them gently and swirling his tongue around the tip.

"Back to my clit," I ordered. "Now."

Saban ignored me. Tentacles reached out to grip my wrists, ankles, and waist. One slid across my eyes, keeping them shut.

"You promised we'd do this my way," I accused.

Saban paused in his work. "Next time, dear one. I promise. Just let me have this. Please."

I sighed. "Alright." It wasn't as if I could stop him. I still had no magic, and, while the familiar bond remained as strong as ever, it wouldn't give me control over Saban until he fed from me again.

"Thank you." Saban went back to teasing my nipples.

He really was taking his time, building my arousal slowly but steadily as he worked over my body with his mouth. "I never thought I'd taste you like this again," he murmured, lips brushing my clit. "You taste so good."

"Then lick me faster," I insisted, knowing he wouldn't.

It felt strange to do this without any penetration. Any other time, by now Saban's cock, or a tentacle, or at the very least his tongue would be buried deep within my flower, but Saban seemed content to follow the doctor's orders.

Slowly, Saban picked up speed, going from long, deliberate strokes to short, swirling licks. He tended to both my nipples again, and, this time, when he left them, two tentacles stayed behind, working them masterfully. I gasped and moaned as the warm, tight feeling inside me increased, building until-