Of Love and Punishment

Chapter 1 The landscape was a vast expanse of scorched soil dotted with trees blackened almost to charcoal by flame. Their twisted branches reached beseechingly to the inky cloud that smothered the sky above and kept the world below in a permanent shadowy twilight. A smoky mist swirled above the black dirt, and in it dark shapes with eyes that glowed and tongues that hung dripping from teeth-filled jaws scavenged. A chance discovery by one of their number, the charred remains of something too slow to flee the inferno that had days earlier swept through, soon brought others to its side until the carcass was a seething mass of gnashing teeth and low growls. Charam, close to collapse and desperate for rest, ran headlong through the mist towards them, unaware that what he was running towards was far more horrifying than what he was running from. He tripped on a clod of dirt and stumbled forward. His arms shot out to break his fall. His palms hit the ground. A grunt of pain leapt from his lips, attracting the attention of the feasting beasts. Clambering to his feet, Charam glanced over his shoulder and allowed himself a few seconds to catch his breath. In the silence between breaths his ears detected something moving rapidly through the mist towards him. Knowing he could not go back the way he had come, his eyes scoured the smoky landscape and soon found an outcrop of large rocks, ovoid in shape and appearing in the haze like a nest of haphazardly laid eggs. The best of his energy was already spent, but the instinct for survival propelled him forward. He could hear the panting of whatever it was behind him and soon he had forgotten his original pursuer. His foot came down on something hard. The word ‘stick’ registered and he bent down and snatched it up. Now he had a weapon. He ran for the rocks, and with the last of his strength, he leapt onto the lowest boulder, yet as he landed the first of the beasts leapt after him. He whimpered as the beast’s snout hit the heel of his foot. He kicked at it, managing to dislodge it so that it fell back into the pack. Wasting no time Charam climbed. His fingertips dug into the rock until they bled, but better to bleed than to perish, he thought. With arms and legs and feet and hands all working together he manoeuvred himself to the next level of rock while below him the ravenous beasts barked and jumped at him with snapping jaws. Safe for the moment, Charam watched as the dog-like creatures sniffed the rocks and explored alternative points of access to the higher levels. Their whippet thin hind regions seemed disproportionate to their bulky, hair covered head and shoulders, though Charam knew the power those back legs contained. Their teeth, thin and twisted, crowded a narrow snout infested with disease, though he also knew the power in those jaws. One of them defecated on the rock, drawing the attention of the others who gathered around to sniff the waste. Charam used the opportunity to lever himself upwards between two of the taller boulders thereby putting more distance between himself and those hunting him. By now his fingertips were in tatters. Stabs of stinging pain echoed through his brain each time his mangled digits connected with the surface of the rock. He winced as he clawed his way up, hanging on until his feet found purchase enough to elevate him further towards the top. The beasts were distracted only momentarily. The smell of fresh flesh was too overpowering, too deliciously enticing. Two of their number ran at the boulder Charam had just vacated. The more powerful of the creatures almost made it to the top and would have failed had its partner not knocked into the back of it and given it the extra lift needed to scramble to exact spot where Charam had been standing. Charam swallowed hard. Pain ricocheted through every nerve until his eyes had become blurry with tears and his fangs so tightly clamped together that he could only breathe through his nose; his breaths coming in short, sharp snorts. Blood was now running in snaking trails of crimson from his fingers, down his hands, and along both arms. He could see spots of it on the rock beneath each time he looked down at the beast now jumping up at him. His arms found the summit of the smaller of the two boulders. He pushed with his feet and pulled with arms until his whole body was trembling from the effort of hefting himself up the rock face. When he was safely on top, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the dull sky. He wept openly, the tears running off his cheeks and splashing onto the bare rock. His hand closed around the stick which, although had made his journey more cumbersome than it might have otherwise been, was a comforting presence. When the flow of tears had dried, Charam became aware of the sound of claws scratching on rock. At first he lay still and listened, secure in the knowledge that he was well and truly out of reach of the beasts. Then as they grew louder he felt compelled to raise himself to a sitting position to investigate. He leaned forward and at first couldn’t see where the sound was coming from. As he leaned a little further over the edge of the rock, he saw one of the beasts, its four legs spread wide apart as it battled its way up between the two boulders just as he had done. Immediately he took the stick and jabbed at the determined creature, dislodging it so that it fell backwards onto the rock below where there were now three of its kin waiting. The beast lay where it had landed, stunned and disorientated. Initially the other three creatures sniffed around it, glancing up at Charam accusingly before returning their attention to their wounded companion. Then one by one they turned to stare up at him, giving him their full attention, teeth bared and ears back against their heads. Despite the distance between them, Charam took a step back. As the beasts began leaping into the crevice, their claws scratching at the rock to find purchase, Charam wielded the stick. He may have been close to collapse, but he hadn’t come this far to fail. Every now and again one of the snarling curs made it to the halfway point, looking uncomfortably precarious as its thin legs struggled to carry the rest of its body ever higher. Unfortunately for the beasts, Charam was always ready with his stick, hammering them until they fell back to their starting point. So caught up in the battle of wills was Charam that he neglected to notice the arrival of a newcomer at the base of the rocks. It was only as the beasts simultaneously turned to face this new arrival that Charam realised he was now defeated. There was nowhere to run, and even if there had been, he was too exhausted to attempt an escape. He sat down on the rock as one by one the beasts were dispatched by the powerful demon, Raum. After the last snarling creature had had its head torn from its body and been tossed aside, Raum turned his attention to Charam. His immense height and muscle bound body was intimidating even from the relative sanctuary of the boulder top, but even more terrifying was the unblinking stare. Charam could only guess at the nightmares being imagined behind those large, black eyes. “Come!” said Raum, his voice so deep that it rattled the very skeleton at the core of Charam’s being. For a foolish moment Charam considered not moving, but then, in almost the same space, another thought formed. It would be nothing for Raum to bring him down. Better to go willingly. He skidded down the rock, his hands and feet and the twin mounds of his buttocks slowing the descent until he was near enough to leap onto the lower platform of rock. His eyes stayed fixed on Raum’s face, searching for a sign of what was to follow. “You found me,” he said, following the statement with a weak smile. Raum did not reply. Charam jumped off the boulder and landed in the black dirt by Raum’s feet. Only now that there were mere centimetres between them could Charam not look the demon in the eyes. Instead his eyes examined his soot covered feet and the thin black lines it had made in the grooves on his claws. “What have you to say for yourself?” asked Raum. “I have nothing…” The sentence was interrupted by the back of Raum’s hand smashing against his cheek. He felt a fang fly loose and caught a glimpse of the tail end of a ribbon of black blood as it hung in the air before splattering across the dirt. Immediately a hand went up to assess the damage to his face as his eyes returned to Raum, his whole expression one of hurt surprise. Raum shook his head and walked off the way he had come. Charam didn’t need to be told to follow. For a time considered by Charam to be substantial, Raum did not speak. Despite apologies, pleas and even the occasional taunt, Raum strode through the wastelands of Dis like a lord, disregarding all but the way ahead. When finally they came to the ruins of an ancient bone factory, Raum glanced up at the sky, and seeing that the clouds had lost their reddish tinge declared that they would settle amongst the crumbling walls for the night. “When are you going to talk to me?” asked Charam, half collapsing onto a large flat rock that had once been part of the floor. “And what would you have me say?” said Raum, his voice measured and low. Charam hadn’t thought about what he’d expected Raum to say. He’d been concentrating more on his replies, on how to dress the truth up to make it sound more convincing, more sympathetic. “I don’t know,” he confessed. “But you came all this way to get me. Chased me halfway across Dis.” Raum regarded him at first without a trace of expression on his face, but then Charam noticed a subtle change in his features, a softening. “If I’m not mistaken, I think you have realised your mistake, realised how much your deceit and your betrayal have hurt me. I also think you know why I came after you.” Charam took a minute to reflect on Raum’s words. “I really am very sorry.” “Why did you run? Am I that much of an ogre?” Charam couldn’t stop the smirk that slid onto his lips. It seemed a slightly preposterous thing to say coming from a demon as powerful and menacing as Raum. “Something amusing?” asked Raum. Charam shook his head and lost the smirk in the process. “You were pretty angry.” Raum bristled at the reminder. “And why do you think that was?” Charam knew the answer very well but was reluctant to give it voice. Twice he went to reply but only on the third attempt was he successful. “Because you love me?” Raum gave the slightest of nods. Charam smiled. He got up from his position opposite and sat down next to Raum. “I love you, too.” Raum turned to face him, their eyes meeting. “Then why do you betray me? And with humans? That’s what hurts the most. Are you more attracted to them than you are to me?” Charam shook his head and wrapped his arm around Raum’s broad shoulders. “Of course not. I love you.” He kissed Raum on the shoulder for that was as close to the giant’s lips as he could get from his present position. “They’re just easier. And I have needs.” “Don’t I satisfy those needs? Is my c**k not available any time you need it?” Charam kissed the mound of Raum’s shoulder again. “It is. But sometimes I just can’t help myself. Human males are so…” He searched for the perfect word. “…available. They’re like fast food. They’re a snack to satisfy me until I can feast on the main meal.” He reached under the bulk of his lover’s thigh and took the thick, flaccid c**k that hung there in his hand. Raum kissed Charam, his full lips smothering Charam’s mouth, his large tongue filling Charam’s mouth. “Let’s get some sleep, Little One,” Raum whispered. They lay together, side by side, with Raum’s muscular body spooning Charam’s slighter, toned body from behind. He felt Raum kiss him on the back of the neck and nuzzle the sensitive skin beneath his ear. “I forgive you,” he whispered. “But I must tell you, Little One, that if you ever betray me again, I will take my revenge. The thought of you with someone else just….” He left the sentence hanging. Suddenly nestling into Raum’s body didn’t feel quite so comforting and it was a long while before sleep found Charam. He knew very well that despite his love for Raum he was useless at monogamy. It was a certainty that just as the pitch black of a Dis night would give way to the inky twilight of a Dis day he would stray again. He didn’t intend to. He didn’t even want to. Yet sooner or later there would come a human male of such beauty that he would have to sample that beauty. But for the sake of his beloved Raum he would delay that moment for as long as his urges would allow.