Legends of Amacia Heart of Darkness
Chapter 49: Night Terrors from the Pit, part 1

Despite Myra’s wish for Selina to have sweet dreams, it didn’t happen. Her dreams were not sweet, but more along the line of nightmares on the scale of night terrors. No sooner than Selina had fallen asleep, the dreams began...strange and violent in nature. In one particularly nightmare, she was alone, stripped naked and chained to a wall in a dungeon, literally hanging by the chains incapable of moving. The chains had her arms and legs in a spread-eagle position eighteen inches off the floor. She was also chained with a collar around the neck and a band around the waist with just enough chain length to allow her head to move forward just a little. The band and chain around her waist pinned her to the wall, supporting some of her weight. The weight of her body pressed on her fetters, causing her much pain. The dimly lit cell smelled strongly of rotting flesh, urine, and feces.

In the dream, Selina looked around the cell has she hung helplessly on the wall unable to move. She was the only thing in the cell apart from the disjointed human bones lying everywhere that appeared to have been gnawed upon and crunched by some predator. Thirty feet away on the opposite side of the room lay a heavy wooden door reinforced with metal; the only exit from the dismal cell. A small window in the ceiling over the middle of the room provided the dim lighting. The faint echoing screams of tortured souls wailed throughout the room. She also heard low, guttural chanting amidst the echoing screams. Selina felt utterly alone. Even her link with Hanna/Hannibal seemed missing. A feeling of deep despair sank into her heart as her mind filled with the terrors of what might be. She began to cry uncontrollably, which caused even more pain. “What am I doing here?” she sobbed. “Oh, Lord, what am I doing here? Where is he? I need him, Lord. I need you.”

Without warning, sinister mocking laughter came from every direction. It echoed from every dark corner and shadow. Selina hung there dejectedly, moaning and crying in pain and terror, but mainly from the terror. “He’ll not come for you,” the voice mocked sadistically. “You’re mine: body and soul. That mutated bitch is dead and isn’t ever coming for you.”

Selina tried to ignore the taunts and laughter, but after several minutes, she called out in defiance, “How can you know that? Hanna will come for me. She promised. Even if she has to come in her mutated form or rise from the dead, she’ll come for me.”

“Ah, so you still believe the mutant bitch is alive and coming. Good,” the disembodied voice retorted. “That means you know where that fucking mutated bitch is.”

Selina then realized that she had spoken too much and cursed herself. “You’ll not get anything more out of me, whoever you are!” she shouted angrily.

“Ah, anger; very good,” the voice replied coldly. “You know much more than you let on. Let’s see how long you can keep your secrets from me, little pussy cat.”

“Who are you?” Selina screamed in fearful rage. “Show yourself. Surely, you aren’t afraid of little old me chained up like this, are you? Show yourself, coward!”

The voice laughed her to scorn. “Oh, you would like me to do that, wouldn’t you?” the voice replied, truly amused by her anger and pain. “I’ll bet you would like for me to let you go too.” The voice paused, and then continued, saying icily, “I think not, you little bitch kitten. Your pain and suffering has just begun. You can be sure of this: your mutated bitch husband will not come for you and neither will your God. You are mine, forever. I think it’s time you learned who the master is here. Go to work, my Cadre!”

At that point, Selina knew, beyond any doubt, who was speaking to her: the Black Prince. “Come on, you goddamned devil, show yourself,” she growled angrily as she forgot about her fetters, pain, and terror. “Come on, I know who you are. You’re the Black Prince. Show yourself or are you a coward to show yourself to an exposed, immobilized prisoner. Come on, beast, show yourself!”

“You’re quite bold for one in such a precarious position,” the Black Prince’s voice growled. “He has something to do with that,” the voice growled with some irritation. “But I think we can fix that too.”

Selina began to struggle against the chains and shouted furiously, “Come on, you bastard. Surely, you’re not afraid of me. You tried to kill me before. Come on, show yourself!”

A deafening roar filled the cell and suddenly, the Black Prince appeared in front of her from the chest up, seemingly rising up out of the floor itself. He filled the room with his presence. Selina was taken aback as he suddenly appeared, crying out in fright at his sudden appearance. “I fear no being in the entire universe, least of all, a little pussy cat like you,” the Black Prince hissed as he moved in close, coming within eighteen inches of her face. His head was so big that he could have easily swallowed her whole. Putting his hands either side of her, he blew a foul cloud of acrid smoke in her face as a torment.

Selina turned her head and tried to hold her breath futilely. A few seconds later, she inhaled and started to cry and cough, gagging on the foul smoke as it burned her lungs. “You’re mine, cat,” the Black Prince hissed. “Beowulf is gone and not coming back. You’ll learn some respect for me like all the others. No one is coming for you.”

As Selina finally stopped coughing from the smoke, she looked the demon in the face and lashed out the only way she could: spitting into the beast’s face, which enraged him. “Still defiant, eh...well try this on for size, bitch!” the Black Prince snarled. He pulled his hand back from the wall and wrapped it around her chest, giving her a slight squeeze. When he squeezed, Selina screamed in agony as his hand became searing hot. His eyes glowed like a couple of hot coals. “You’re as much trouble as Ariel was,” he growled with a hideous smile, taking much delight in the torment he was dealing out. As she was about to pass out, he released her and her head dangled forward, with only the collar and chain holding it up.

The Black Prince moved back and looked at her with a vile affection, being attracted to her, saying, “You can stop this torment anytime. All you have to do is cooperate. All you have to do is submit.” He moved in close and snorted as she raised her head. He smiled wickedly and stuck his long forked tongue out, licking her face and chest like a beast sampling a fresh kill.

Selina recoiled in disgust, moaning and sobbing from the pain and terror. When he ceased to lick her, she sobbed defiantly, “Go on and kill me, monster. I’ll never be yours. Hanna may be mutated or even dead, but our souls are mated and you can’t touch either of us.”

Her answer was not the one the Black Prince wanted. He backed off and glared furiously at her for a moment, and then grinned viciously. “Oh, you’re not getting off that easy, my sweet pussy,” the Black Prince hissed coldly, “Before we’re done with you, you will call me master and Lord. So prepare yourself, cat. Your pain and suffering has just begun. All right, my Cadre. Teach her who the master is in this domain. When I return, I want her submissive and loyal to me to the death. I’ll have this thorny flower for my queen and together we’ll rule the universe and beyond.”

“I shall never be your queen, beast!” Selina cried defiantly, tears running down her cheeks. “I’d rather die first!”

The Black Prince moved in to just five inches from her face at eye level, glaring icily at her. “That too can be arranged,” he hissed venomously. “But I’ll have you, Lynxian. You’re mine, forever.” At that, he vanished from her face, leaving her alone in her cell.

Selina sobbed hysterically, feeling not only the pain from what the Black Prince did to her, but also feeling that she had been abandoned by Hanna and more importantly, by God Himself. She cried in prayer and repentance of her sins, but seemingly found no comfort. She felt completely abandoned and cast away. “Where are you, Lord? Where are you, my God!” she cried.

Just then, Selina heard chanting from outside of the cell. Looking toward the door, she saw it swing open and thirteen cloaked and hooded figures enter the cell, closing the door behind them. They created a fifteen-foot circular perimeter around her and continued chanting in a low guttural tone in a strange alien language to her. Fear began to rise dramatically in her breast as they chanted. Then she could feel a strange invisible power trying to invade both her mind and body. It was terribly cold and vile in nature, feeling right down reptilian to Selina. She cried in terror and violation as it tried to gain entry into her. Not once did she ever see the beast, but could feel it in her mind and on her body as the vile thing tried to gain access from every way it could, from her head to her groin to her feet. She could feel its invisible icy claws and slimy appendages physically fondling her from her breasts to her groin, even pressing itself against her. Many times, it tried to violate her mentally and physically with its invisible appendages, but her angelic guardian Guildo repulsed it without her knowing it. Everywhere the invisible thing touched her, it made her flesh crawl and feel like it was freezing.

For an undetermined time during the dream, the invisible demon viciously assaulted her. As the attack went on, the Cadre chanted louder and faster, trying to give the demon more power to invade and ultimately possess her. Selina moaned and cried, praying the whole time hoping it would counter the demon’s attack. Finally, in fit of infernal rage, the invisible demon ceased to try to invade her, opting instead for a punishing physical attack, including rape. Each time it tried to rape her physically, she could feel its icy appendage rubbing against her groin, causing her to shriek in pain, especially when it began to penetrate into her. The moment she felt the appendage begin to enter her, it would suddenly withdraw before getting completely into her as if repulsed by some force. It would then rake her with its icy talons in an unholy rage. Selina wept in pain and terror, but endured the punishment like a queen, with only the rape being outright thwarted by her guardian Guildo.

Suddenly, the chanting stopped and so did the demoniac attack. The leading member of the Cadre motioned to his colleagues and they began to leave in single file. After they left, he looked up at Selina from under his hood, saying, “You’re strong and brave, Princess Selina Milineus of Kaitia. We haven’t had a challenge of your caliber since Princess Amelia.”

Selina moaned and sobbed softly as her head wagged forward to its chain limit in exhaustion, grateful that the torment was over for the moment. As she managed to lift her head to look at him, the Cadre leader uncovered his head. His appearance shocked her as he moved forward, eyeing her like a predator. His face and head were clean-shaven and looked like he was part reptile. He had a human head that was elongated and snakelike. His ears and nose were small and relatively unnoticeable. His eyes were like that of a snake, and when he smiled at her, she saw vampire-like fangs. Standing at just less than six feet tall, he was a rather unimpressive creature in stature. However, a sense of terrible dark power emanated from him Selina could not ignore. His hands looked human with what appeared to be retractable claws on the ends of his fingers.

Selina finally managed to gasp, “What are you?”

The Cadre leader smiled wickedly. “I am Ahriaman, Lord of this domain and leader of the Emperor’s Cadre,” he declared. “It’s my job to insure the Emperor’s wishes are followed instantly without question.” Ahriaman stepped forward and looked Selina in the eye. “You’re the spitting image of Ariel. We haven’t had anyone like her in our charge for a very long time. And like her, you’re very beautiful.” Ahriaman’s presence revolted Selina for his mind was so evil she couldn’t help but feel it along with the deep deadly darkness shrouding his mind and soul. “Ah, telepathic are we?” he said with intrigue as felt her telepathic prowess. “It looks like we have our work cut out for us. Let me give you a friendly piece of advice: submit. It will make things a lot easier on you.” At that, he began to fondle her for his lusts burned for her.

“Get your hands off me!” Selina hissed as violently as she could, feeling even more violated by this than what the demon did to her.

Ahriaman laughed, as he stroked her thighs, hips, belly, groin, and breasts as if he were examining her. “What’re you going to do to stop me, bitch?” he retorted, “I have the Emperor’s permission to do whatever it takes. Your fur is very soft and supple and your muscle tone is firm and solid. Indeed, you’re fit to be the queen of the known universe.”

“Never!” Selina shouted defiantly.

Ahriaman struck her with the back of his hand, drawing blood. “You will learn your place, cat!” he hissed. Then he laughed wickedly, adding, “You’ll never escape us. We can even get you in your dreams. You’ll never be free of us, so you might as well submit. Here, let me show you the pleasure of submitting; something I know you remember from the sex floor.” Ahriaman abruptly and gleefully violated Selina with his fingers. Selina gasped and groaned, wheezing as he sexually assaulted her.

“Get your...filthy...lizard fingers...off me, snake!” Selina shrieked, writhing and trembling violently as her body acted reflexively with intense feelings of violation surging through her. “You’re so dead, snake! I’ll kill you!”

“I think not,” Ahriaman retorted with great satisfaction as he stopped his violating fondle of her. “You can’t help but to enjoy the sexual release that you’ve denied yourself all your life. It’s with that denial that I’ll snare you and make you a fitting queen for our Emperor. You cannot deny the power of FATE or our Emperor. You will be his Queen whether you like it or not.”

“To hell with you and the Emperor!” Selina retorted; her face flushed with sexual energy and righteous rage. “Because that’s where you are going. You might as well kill me now. Go on, I dare you, or are you a coward?”

Ahriaman hissed and reached down to his side, pulling a long katana-type blade in a flash. “Is this what you seek?” he asked venomously, holding the blade to her throat just below the chin and above the collar to the point that it drew just a little blood.

Selina looked him square in the eye with great hate, snarling, “Go on...finish me off, snake. I dare you.”

Ahriaman removed the blade from the hollow of her throat, turning his back to her. “Don’t forget this when you wake up,” he hissed in a hideously evil tone, “You haven’t seen the last of me, bitch.” At that, he instantly spun around with the sword taking aim on her neck. She cried out as the blade whistled around. Just as it was about to make contact with her neck, the dream ended and Selina woke with a soul-crushing cry of pain and terror, jumping up so fast that she found herself standing despite her broken leg and the leather restraining cocoon that kept her legs together and immobilized. Sobs of anguish and terror bubbled out as she collapsed, falling on her side because her legs couldn’t hold her up. In seconds, she felt her groin dripping wet and her chest felt like it was on fire. When she woke, everyone was asleep for it was the middle of the night. Her cry and subsequent movement that rattled the chains only awoke those around her, being Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer. They were bedded down around her just outside of her chain limit. Selina lay there with her hands covering her face, sobbing hysterically, trying to figure out whether she was still dreaming or not. When Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer were roused by the commotion, Myra saw Selina weeping uncontrollably.

“What’s going on?” Tasha asked sleepily as they looked at Selina in the dim light of the Harem.

Myra rushed to Selina and gathered her into her arms as a mother would a frightened child, laying Selina in her lap. Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer gathered around and put sympathetic hands on Selina as Myra cooed in her ear, “Shhh. It’s all right. It’s over. You’re awake now. It’s over.” Selina clenched Myra’s arm and bawled softly, burying her face in Myra’s chest. Myra instantly noticed Selina’s wet groin and frowned. “It’s okay, sister. Calm down. You’re safe,” Myra murmured, stroking Selina’s back gently.

“It’s all right, sister,” Tasha cooed with Myra. “It was just a dream; Nightmare. It’s over.”

When Selina had calmed down enough to speak, she looked up into Myra’s face. Her expression said it all. “Shhh; don’t say a word,” Myra said softly as Selina was about to speak. “I know that look all too well. You’ve been initiated, sister. The Emperor came to you and took you in your sleep, didn’t he?”

Selina rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “No, he didn’t take me,” she whimpered. “But he did do things; horrible things. But it was the Cadre that tried to take me.” She broke down again and sobbed.

“You mean the Emperor didn’t try to take you?” Tasha asked intensely.

Selina managed to stop crying long enough to say, “No, he didn’t. But he did burn me and try to get me to give up where Hanna went.” Selina looked down at her abdomen and rubbed her belly gently as it burned beneath the leather-restraining cocoon. “My chest and belly are on fire,” she whimpered, “Can we please peel this thing off me? It’s burning me alive.”

“We can’t,” Sakura replied with dismay. “These restraints are locked with locks that we don’t have a key for.”

The burning of Selina’s chest and belly rose to the point she growled viciously. “I’ve got to get this thing off me!” she declared, baring her claws fully. In seconds, she punctured the leather with her claws and ripped the front of the leather casing from her neck to her crotch. Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer looked on in amazement as Selina’s claws made short work of the thick leather restraints. Selina grabbed the two sides of the rip and pulled, struggling to open the restraint.

“Let us help, sister,” Myra said, grabbing on to the left side of the restraint. Sakura took hold of the right side and they helped Selina open the restraint, baring Selina’s torso to the hips.

A relieved sigh escaped Selina’s lips as she felt the cool air reaching her skin again. She looked down at herself and saw the fur on her belly and chest looking like it had been burned. Selina’s red eyes grew wide with surprise at the burn she saw.

Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer saw the burn and gasped. It looked like a giant hand had grabbed Selina around the chest and burned her. “By the Elder Gods!” Jennifer exclaimed softly. “How did that happen? Does it hurt?”

Selina sobbed softly again, leaning back onto Myra. “Yes,” Selina whimpered, “It stings like a son of a bitch. But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

Myra’s face became very concerned as she stroked Selina’s hair. “The Emperor did that, didn’t he?” she asked.

Selina nodded as Tasha got up and ran to get a cool damp towel to put on the burn. “This isn’t the first time he’s attacked me like that,” Selina whimpered softly. “When we first reached the caverns, he attacked Hannibal and me in our dreams and literally tried to kill both of us. When we woke, both of us were seriously injured. But this time, he wasn’t trying to kill me. He took great delight in the pain he was inflicting. He was trying to break my will.” She paused as she was overcome with the experience again, sobbing, covering her face with her hand.

“Shhh, it’s all right,” Myra cooed in her ear.

Selina calmed down again enough to speak, saying softly choked with emotion, “But I didn’t give in. That’s when the Cadre tried to take me.” Her eyes grew round as the terror and humiliation revived. She had a look of abject terror and violation on her face as her eyes gushed forth with tears. Just then, Tasha returned with a cool, wet towel.

“You say it was the Cadre that came to you?” Myra asked Selina as she helped her sit up.

Tasha knelt down next to her with the towel, saying, “This may help put some of the fire out on that burn. Let me help you.”

Selina submitted, raising her arms so that Tasha and Myra could wrap the towel around her burned chest and midsection, tucking it into the open restraint while Sakura sat next to Selina, steadying her. A look of intense relief flooded Selina’s face as the wet towel cooled the burn. “Thank you for being so kind, sisters. That has to be the worst nightmare I’ve ever had,” Selina said, still choked with emotion. “I was chained nude in a dungeon to a wall in such a manner that I couldn’t move. I was literally hanging off the floor by the chains. The chains held my arms and legs open. I was collared around the neck and fastened to the wall by the waist in a gloomy dungeon cell, hung a cubit off the floor. The pain was terrible being held in that kind of position. I literally couldn’t move. I....” She began to cry again.

“You don’t have to say any more. We get the picture,” Sakura said as she put her arm around Selina in emotional support.

“No, you don’t understand,” Selina said between the sobs. “There was more to this than the Emperor merely taking me or trying to break my will. He wants to make me his queen.” This revelation hit everyone like a lightning strike.

“What?” Tasha asked, absolutely astounded by the revelation. “He wants you as his queen?”

Selina nodded and said softly, “Apparently; he told me himself, but I rejected him outright because I belong to Hannibal and Hanna. He tried to get me to believe that they were dead. However, I didn’t believe him and spit in his face. That’s when he burned me.”

Myra sat listening to Selina and asked, “You sure you want to tell us this? It’s pretty obvious that you were violated in some manner. Your hysterical awakening and wet groin tells it all.”

Selina nodded as she managed to calm down a bit more. “I have to. I have to tell it, otherwise it’ll drive me mad and consume me,” she said softly.

Myra nodded knowingly and said, “Continue then, sister. And don’t be afraid to hold back anything. We all have been violated in our sleep before. But I suspect that what you experienced is more than just a simple violation.”

“That is putting it mildly,” Selina replied softly, still broken by what she had just experienced. “It just wasn’t the Emperor that I had an encounter with, but the spirit that rules and possesses the Emperor. He’s really taken a fancy to me. He wants me at his side at all cost. It’s like he believes that in order to truly defeat my husband, he has to defile and destroy everything associated with him. After he beat me up and burned me, he sicced his hooded goons on me. Oh, God have mercy. I feel so desecrated.”

Selina paused as tears filled her eyes again, and Myra gave her a gentle loving squeeze, saying, “Go on; it’s all right.”

“All of it was a dream,” Selina said, weeping softly, “...and in dreams, time has no meaning. However, while it was going on, I didn’t know I was dreaming. That’s how real it was. For God only knows how long, they stood around me chanting, while an invisible demon tried to invade my mind and body to possess me. It repeatedly tried to rape me physically and mentally. It tortured and tormented me in ways you can’t even fathom. It....” She paused as she was overcome with the terror and pain of the memory.

“I managed to resist it somehow,” Selina stated, tears flowing freely. “I don’t know how I kept it from taking me. When it found that it couldn’t take me, it resorted to a savage sadistic physical assault, with its favorite means being rape. I could feel its cold vile body pressing against mine, but it never truly entered me. Several times, it came close. I could feel something icy trying to...to push into me, but it never got into me. Something prevented it. It froze me and raked me with its talons in an unholy rage. Then when the goons figure out they were not getting anywhere, they relented, and one named Ahriaman sent the rest out, at which time he fondled me has I hung there, eventually putting his fingers into.... Oh, god; I feel so dirty and violated!” Selina paused for a moment, once again overcome by Ahriaman’s violation of her. She trembled as tears poured down her cheeks.

“Oh, my poor sister,” Sakura cried, embracing Selina in a caring way trying to help.

“That lousy bastard fucked me with his fingers!” Selina blurted out, knowing she had to tell it as is or it would consume her. “I felt more defiled by that snake than I did by the invisible demon that attacked me. I managed to goad him into killing me because I still wouldn’t submit to him or the Emperor. As he was about to take my head he said that I hadn’t seen the last of him. I woke up as his sword was about to connect with my neck. I’ve never felt so violated, abandoned, and isolated in all my life. I....” She broke down again and leaned on Myra’s shoulder, and cried as Myra rocked her like a baby.

“Shhh. It’s all right. It’s all right,” Myra cooed in her ear. “It’s not your fault. You did nothing wrong. Just release the pain as you did when you returned from the sex floor.”

Myra rocked Selina as she cried. Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer moved in and put their arms around her too, making a group hug of it. Within minutes, Selina had cried herself back to sleep because the dream was so violent and intense that it fatigued her as if she had actually experienced it. Once Myra saw that Selina was asleep again, she, Sakura, and Tasha laid her down and covered her with the blanket.

Tasha noticed the grim look on Myra’s face and asked, “What’s wrong, Myra? Does her nightmare upset you?”

“Yes, Tasha,” Myra replied. “Not in all my years here has the Emperor decided on one of us as a queen. Moreover, the fact that the Cadre was involved in this dream isn’t good. If they were truly involved as Selina says they were, then she is in grave danger. Izanami must be told.”

“What does it mean?” Jennifer asked, very concerned about what may happen to Selina.

Myra sighed and said, “It means that she may very well be taken from us and sent to the Cadre in order to subdue her so she can be his queen. If the Cadre gets her, she may very well be lost to us. Nemesis must know. Somehow, I have to get word to him. I fear for her safety. Somehow, he must try to get her out of here before they come for her.”

Tasha stroked Selina’s hair and sighed as she looked down at the exquisitely beautiful cat. Selina’s face was slowly relaxing. Tears were still dripping out of her eyes. “Queen; he wants her as a queen,” Tasha replied softly. “Incredible; he’s never said anything like that to anyone in my time in this place. What can we do, Myra? We can’t let the Emperor take her as a queen. He’ll utterly destroy her.”

“I don’t know, Tasha. I just don’t know,” Myra sighed. “Hanna is the only one who can stop this. We must pray for her quick return and I must contact Nemesis. That’s all I can think of.” Myra sighed deeply as she looked at Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer, saying after a lengthy pause, “Go on back to sleep, sisters. I’ll watch over her.”

Tasha yawned as she, Sakura, and Jennifer went back to their respective beds. “Be careful, Myra. She can be very violent when waking up out of nightmare,” Tasha warned as she laid down to sleep.

“I know; I remember her last awakening out of a nightmare. I’ll be careful,” Myra replied.

A few moments later, Izanami walked up, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. “What’s wrong, sister?”

“Selina has been violated in her dreams by the Emperor and the Cadre, sister,” Myra stated.

“Tell me everything,” Izanami demanded softly, sitting down next to Myra. Myra then explained everything that Selina had told her about the nightmare. “Oh, dear, this is not good,” Izanami murmured. “I should see for myself.” She leaned over Selina and touched her on the temple. Izanami’s eyes grew wide and tears flowed as she saw the horrors of the night terror within Selina’s mind. Breaking telepathic contact, Izanami cried, “What a terror she dealt with! The Emperor, the Cadre, and one of their pet monsters physically and sexually abused her in her dreams! Worse yet, the Emperor really does want her as his Queen. This is very bad. You must get word to Nemesis right away about this development, Myra. He’ll know what to do.”

“Yes, sister,” Myra stated as she concentrated on Nemesis. A few moments later, she said, “I begged him to come here as soon as he could. However, I don’t know how quickly he can get here. He feels exceptionally distant right now.”

“That’ll have to do for now,” Izanami said, suddenly noticing the open restraint and the towel around Selina’s midsection. “How did she get the restraint open, Myra?”

“Selina cut it open with her claws,” Myra stated. “She was in such pain that she literally ripped it open just to get at the burn on her chest. Remind me never to get in the way of those claws. They are super sharp and I’m sure can rip the guts out of anyone she can get them into.”

“I can see that,” Izanami replied. “Not just anything can cut through that leather. But what’s important now is that we try to keep her here with us and not let the Emperor spirit her away again.”

“I wholly agree with you on that,” Myra said as she glanced over at Tasha and Sakura, seeing them dozing off on their cushions just outside of Selina’s chain limit. “But I don’t know how we’re going to do that. All the Emperor has to do is gas us to get her.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Izanami stated. “But as Selina has told us before; we must have faith that things will turn out all right.” She suddenly laid down beside Selina on the left and moved in close, pulling Selina over on her side so that she rested partially on Izanami’s chest. Izanami laid Selina’s head on her chest and wrapped her arms around the cat in a motherly fashion.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Myra asked. “You know how violent Selina can be when she wakes sometimes.”

“She’ll not hurt us, Myra,” Izanami stated. “She needs our physical presence now to help her deal with this mental ravishing. Come, lie down with us, and help our sister cope with this nightmare.”

Myra nodded and laid down on Selina’s right side, cuddling close and putting her arm around Selina as well. “I hope my presence helps as much as you say, sister.”

“It will, trust me,” Izanami stated, “Even in her sleeping state, she can sense us and appreciates the comfort and security our presence gives her.” After adjusting to a more comfortable position, both Izanami and Myra drifted off to sleep...physically lying with Selina to protect her.

However, Selina’s nightmares continued regardless of Izanami and Myra’s good will gesture to use their physical presence to help Selina sleep. Only this time, the nightmares were brought on by her sharing of Hanna’s pain and fever, and were not nearly as intense as the initial night terror.

Guildo sat beside Selina’s head as Izanami and Myra slept either side of her. He stroked her hair softly and taking the taunts of the imps that buzzed around him like gnats. Even the demoniac guards laughed and scorned him. Occasionally, one of the imps would swipe at him. However, he received support from Izanami, Myra, Sakura, and Tasha’s guardians, who did what they could to help shield Guildo. He was exhausted, and seriously wounded by the demons that assaulted Selina in the nightmare. Angelic blood dripped from his cut-up arms, chest, and head. “You did well, Selina,” he cooed in her ear as she slept fitfully. He looked at Izanami’s guardian with a grim, weary look and said, “We need those reinforcements and quick. I was barely able to protect her this time. Had that demon captain managed to fully rape her, I would have lost her.” He sighed as Izanami’s guardian shooed away an imp that made a swipe at them.

“Don’t give up hope, Guildo. The Lord will send help. Just hold on,” Izanami’s guardian replied.

Guildo smiled wearily, saying, “I know, Graham. It was just such a terrible fight. Rege is far more powerful here than anywhere else on the face of the Earth. He seems to be strengthened and emboldened by the Black Prince’s presence. I’m just glad that the Lord gave me the strength to prevent Selina from being taken by the beast.”

Graham batted another imp away, saying, “Be of good courage. The Lord knows what he’s doing.”

Guildo nodded with a sigh as he batted away an imp with his fist. “I hope it comes soon,” he murmured in exhaustion. “These guys are getting more brazen by the moment.”