A New Pastime

Mamnen tossed a few more purses into the back room of Mammy’s Place and shut and locked the door, so anyone entering the shop couldn’t find his stash of riches. He expected Ire any minute of any day now to teach him the new skill, although he had to admit to himself that he’d been trying it on his own and failing. His uncle would likely not be pleased with that–not the attempting without direction part, but the failing. That’s all Mamnen needed: to disappoint his powerful devil uncle.
 
“Hello, Mamnen,” someone said, walking in. It was a curly, red-haired human woman in a handsome chemise and kirtle. Mamnen eyed her soft features and slipped his eyes up and down her petite figure. She instantly blushed, catching him doing this. “Mamnen!” she giggled. “What’s that look for? Did I get something on my clothes?”
 
“No, you look ravishing…” Mamnen stared blankly for a moment at her, having forgotten her name. She smiled sweetly, reading him like a book there.
 
“Eblee, remember?”
 
“I remember you, but I didn’t remember your name, Eblee. I am very sorry,” Mamnen said. “I think I may have been a little taken with you that night,” he added in a whisper. She blushed again, and timidly tucked some of her curls under the coif she wore over the top of her head.
 
“I don’t usually do that sort of thing. I can’t even remember what you said to convince me to go home with you…” she murmured. Mamnen slowly made his sauntery way over to the smaller framed woman and leaned down to her ear to whisper,
 
“I told you exactly what I wanted.”
 
He felt her shudder with anticipation, so without hesitating he released a soft, lingering, warm breath into her exposed ear. He felt her hands suddenly grip each side of his tunic at his waist. Smiling and forgetting his expectation of Ire’s arrival any minute of any day, he lifted his hand and coaxed the door to lock them in. Mamnen pressed the side of his head against hers, and nuzzled forcibly breathing into her ear and onto her neck.
 
“What is it that you want, Eblee?”
 
“Oh, please don’t make me ask,” she pleaded, leaving small kisses on his chest. Mamnen used both hands to remove her coif by tenderly stroking over her shoulder length hair.
 
“I want to hear you say it,” he cooed into her ear. She whined and exhaled as if she were in pain. Mamnen realized she was lusting after him right now, of course, and it exhilarated him that he was in complete control without having to actively influence her. Eblee was legitimately interested in him.
 
“I want you to take me in whatever way you can.”
 
“Deal,” he said and gripped her head with both hands, thumbs in front of her ears. Mamnen forced his tongue into her mouth hungrily, and she moaned with delight into his mouth, only making him want her more. He wrapped his tail around to her back and began to lift the kirtle, bringing one hand down to meet her now exposed posterior. He squeezed for another moan from her, and not surprising to him, she leaned into the touch.
 
He opened his eyes, sucking on her lower lip, and caught a glimpse of another figure in the room. Mamnen did not stop what he was doing, but increased his movements as if countdown had started. Using his other hand, Mamnen rather toughly grabbed her left breast and twisted, causing a very audible gasp from Eblee. The satisfied looking devil Ire watched briefly through Mamnen’s impending glares, and then mouthed, “Watch this.”
 
Ire blew softly on his own palm and placed it on Eblee’s shoulder. She instantly tensed, but she wasn’t reacting to the touch of Ire. No, she was reacting to the touch of Mamnen. She was angry now. “You let me go, you fucking asshole. You did it again. You tricked me into a compromising position!” Eblee shouted and began striking him with both fists on his chest. Mamnen flinched and backed up, releasing her. “You do that to all women, don’t you? You disgusting freak!” Suddenly, she grabbed a short sword off his wall and lunged at him.
 
“Eblee! Stop! I didn’t trick you–”
 
“Oh, please,” she scoffed, swinging widely. “As if I would ever go with you willingly. HELP! HELP! WATCH! GUARD–”
 
Mamnen froze her instantly, catching her and the shortsword midswing. He looked at Ire. “What in the Nine Hells is that behavior?”
 
“I severed your romantic and sexual connection. Just like I said I could do. I can also sever connections of familial relationships, professional relationships, and friendships–but those are the most advanced. That behavior there is the only viable aftermath.”
 
Mamnen looked at the frozen woman before him and brushed the hair out of his eyes, only for it to fall right back. Eblee was the only woman he’d lied with in any kind of carnal sense… and she had come back to him. And now? She wanted him dead.
 
“I get it,” he admitted. “Now, fix it so she can leave.”
 
Ire belly-laughed and shook his head. “There’s no giving it back once severed! Have you ever tried to befriend an enemy? Or sleep with, well…” Ire motioned to her. Mamnen’s heart sank a bit.
 
“So, she’s going to hate me forever?”
 
“Oh yes.”
 
“That was lowly of you,” Mamnen said and ripped the shortsword out of Eblee’s frozen, floating hand.
 
“Oh, what? You’re going to fuck with me now? There will be other women for you,” Ire laughed at him and gasped Mamnen cracked his neck and slit Eblee’s. “I would love to know why you did that.”
 
“She was going to go to the Watch or the Guard to call me an assaulter of some kind. I can’t afford to be out of the shadows yet. I can’t portal away, uncle. The least you can do is help me to clean your mess up.”
 
Ire grinned approvingly at the young man before him, snapped his fingers, and drained a small light out of the dying body on the floor between them into his hand.
 
“What is that?”
 
“Her soul,” Ire answered. “You don’t have a use for it. I do.” Mamnen nodded and levitated the body to cast it into the fire, he figured. “Oh, stop it.” He snapped his fingers again and it disappeared from the room, minus the blood that seeped into the floor. “We have work to do if I’m going to teach you how to do that. How do you suppose you’ll use it?”
 
“As a threat to start. But I need to ensure I can do it, in case it sparks an actual reaction.”
 
“Ah, Atka.” Ire determined. Mamnen’s lips curled up at the corners and he nodded. “Alright, that sounds good to me. I support anything that helps you detach from that pisspoor excuse for a Mennith.”
 
Mamnen looked at him out of the corner of his eye, not judging but not not judging. They spent the rest of the afternoon going over the activation of Mamnen’s palm’s rune and then Mamnen went on a walkabout to test his skill by touching the shoulders of people in groups. He didn’t stop until he’d gotten it down.