Chapter 89 - Eighty-Nine: A Stop on the Road

I decided to lay back on the bed for a moment before I headed back downstairs. Just as I was about to get up to move once again, a voice spoke from next to me.

"Master."

I nearly jumped out of my skin I was so surprised, but I managed to keep myself from shouting out from the fright.

"Celine!"

"Yes master?"

"What are you doing? You made me jump."

"Sorry… I was waiting for you to call for me, but you didn't…"

"Please give me some kind of warning before you do that in future."

"Yes master."

"Anyway, what did you want?"

"Well… I need to feed." She said looking at me alluringly.

"You're going to have to wait and besides, I haven't decided what I'm going to do with you yet."

"You said wait earlier, but I'm starving. I don't know how much longer I will last."

"I'm sorry. I have to go downstairs for dinner. If I don't the others will come looking for me. Can you hold out that long?"

"I suppose…"

"Good. When I come back, we'll discuss where we go from there."

"Then I'll wait."

"Thanks."

"The others do you mean with those women that you came here with?"

"Yes."

"What do they want with you?"

"Want with me? They are my party members."

"I don't like it."

"I suppose that's understandable given the situation."

"Two of them are from the families that betrayed the lord."

"I know, your pervious master said as much."

"And they seem too close to you!"

"You are going to have to put up with them."

"Fine if you say so."

"I do."

"Now stay here and stay out of sight until I come for you. Understand?"

"Yes."

Celine disappeared just as I asked. At least she still seemed to under the effects of the skill. After our talk it was defiantly time for me to head back downstairs, the others were probably already there and waiting for me by now. I left the room, locked it behind me and headed downstairs.

Just like I had expected, the others were already in the inn's bar when I got downstairs. They were all sat around a table drinking away while waiting on the food.

"Theo, what took you so long?" Altria asked as I joined the group.

"Nothing, I just decided to lay on the bed for a bit."

"Resting already when you overslept this morning?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, it's fine for him to rest. Just so long as he isn't oversleeping when we're supposed to be going somewhere." Lillia said before taking a sip of her beer.

"Thanks… I just felt like lying about for a bit of after being sat in the carriage for most of the day."

Not long after I had sat down, the innkeeper started bringing our food to the table. There wasn't a menu, it seemed that the choice of foods here was whatever meal she had decided to cook that evening. Tonight, we were having roast beef and vegetables. It didn't look like much, but it turned out to be pretty good.

"Would you like anything to drink?" The innkeeper asked me before leaving the table.

"Um, a beer would be great, thank you."

"I'll be back in a moment."

The innkeeper left us to eat our food and pour me a beer. I was glad to be eating a proper meal. I'd spent the entire day having only eaten a few sandwich rolls, that Serin had picked up from the market before we left. After dinner, the four of us stayed in the bar with our drinks. I knew I would have to stay for a while, I didn't want the others to think something was up. I just couldn't help worrying what Celine might do if I left her alone for too long. I didn't think it likely that she would attack someone else, mainly due to the effects of purification, but I couldn't be entirely certain about that.

"Are you sure everything is okay Theo? You look like something is bothering you." Asked Serin.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking."

"Are you still thinking about what that demon woman said?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure it meant anything? She was probably just trying to cause discontent between us."

"I don't know for sure, but I think it was an important clue."

"About what?"

"The demon lord."

"You think there is more to it than what we know?"

"Yes. It's not that I think anyone is keeping anything from me. I just have the suspicion that there is more to the situation than the guild, or the alliance lets on."

"Hmm… Well, just try not to overthink it."

"I won't."

I stayed in the bar drinking with the girls, until it became late enough for me to go back to my room without drawing their attention.

"I think I'm going to head upstairs." I said as I finished my last pint.

"Going to be already?" Asked Altria.

"Yes, well I don't want to have a repeat of this morning tomorrow."

I pushed in my chair and went to leave.

"I think I'll get an early night as well." Serin said as I left the table.

"Aw both of you." Complained Lillia already a little tipsy.

"We have a long carriage journey tomorrow you know." Warned Serin.

"We know!"

I'd stopped and waited for Serin, then the pair of us went upstairs. We left Lillia and Altria in the bar, the pair seemed to be enjoying the beers there and wanted to stay up and drink. We stopped outside my room to say good night.

"I'll see you tomorrow then Serin."

"Yeah… Are you sure there isn't anything you want to talk to me about? I'm a little worried, you've seemed out of it all day."

"Maybe, just not now. I need to think things through a little before I talk to anyone else about it."

"Okay, but please come and talk to me once you've organised your thoughts."

"I will. Thank you Serin."

"Don't worry about it. Good night Theo."

I felt bad not telling Serin about Celine and not inviting her in to talk, when I could tell she was worried about me. I at least wanted to decide what I was going to do with her and find out what she knew before letting the others know. After Serin left for her room I unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was still empty, with no sign of Celine anywhere. After locking the door back up behind me, I called out for her.

"Celine?"

"Yes master." Replied her voice from my bed.

She had rematerialised and was now lying in a slightly provocative position.

"Good, you didn't go anywhere."

"Of course, not. I wouldn't leave you master."

"Right… Could you call me something other than master? Like my name."

"Yes master… Um?"

"It's Theo."

"Theo."

"That's it."

"Um, Theo can we…."

"In a moment, I want you to tell me more about the demon lord, the lord of the under realm first."

"I've never met them before, so I can't tell you much. But I can tell you that we revere them as a god."

"A god?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes."

Could it be? That would make sense, that would mean they were connected to the other gods and it could be what Celine meant when she said that their kin were betrayed. Perhaps my guess about the gods from Serin's book was correct and the items they left behind. But how could they have been killed by the summoning families? I would have to look into this further.

"Was that useful master, err Theo." Asked Celine, noticing the smile on my face.

"Yes, it was."

"Then can we?"

"We can… But this isn't going to hurt me is it? You can do this without causing me any harm?"

I still wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea, but I was able to stop her when she was at full power. If something went wrong now, I should be able to do the same again.

"I'll only take a small amount of energy from you and it won't hurt a bit, I promise. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Okay, then I'll let you feed from me." I said sitting down on the bed next to Celine.

"Thank you, Theo."

Celine sat up from her position on the bed and leant towards me. She moved closer until our lips touched and we kissed. The moment we did, I felt a sensation of strong l.u.s.t. It was similar to the other times she had used it on me, but this time it just felt good. Just the act of kissing her, was incredibly pleasurable. Celine stopped kissing me and whispered in my ear.

"See, I told you it wouldn't hurt."

"Do we have to go all the way in order for you to feed?"

"We don't have too, it only needs to be a s.e.x.u.a.l act, but it will be more fun if we do."

I fully believed that it would be after how good the little kiss felt moments before.