Chapter 15

The battle raged on and on for months, new soldiers joined the army as more men dropped dead, and with every passing Camelornian victory Octavius hungered for more. It was a feeling he could not explain, he wanted to shed more blood, wanted to see more of the enemy bleed to death. He sliced through the belly of a heavily armored Amires soldier with his sword, he reveled at the sight of him bleeding to death. He used his shield to push another soldier off his horse and watched as he dropped to the floor, the soldier's helmet came off revealing a heavily bleeding head. Octavius watched the blood drip and licked at his lips. Something was wrong with him and he couldn't put a finger on it, all he knew was he was suddenly a battle machine tearing through the enemy army, killing and hungering for more death.

Garius, Angus, Festus, and the rest of the captains fought just as hard behind him. With unrelenting strength they fought as hard as the Amires, dealing a heavy blow to their army until their numbers dwindled. Even as more troops joined the Amire army the Camelornians fought hard driving the enemy away from their border, chasing them as far as the Amire border, and continued to fight hard.

Octavius enjoyed the strength that poured through him, it was something he had never felt before until Ashterah had poured some of her powers into him. Every night when the army rested in hopes of continuing the battle the next day he woke up feeling too hyped up to sleep, he kept watch of the camp while his men slept drunkenly or slaked their basic needs on the maids of the camp. He always felt the need to keep watch while his men slept, his senses were always on high alert like never before, his mind was always working very fast and the thing about his heartbeat was beginning to trouble him. He couldn't understand how his heartbeat could remain normal even on the battlefield when adrenaline raced through his veins. He would forge forward in battle with inhuman strength but he always remained level-headed until he smelt or saw blood. While his heartbeat remained the same his hunger consumed him to a point when he became feverish.

Even now as he walked the edges of the camp he was at high alert, his ears sensitivity heightened to a point where he could hear the snores of his men, the moans of the maids, and even the occasional insects chirping in the grass. He was a bit haunted by the number of deaths he had seen, he had seen his men fall on their faces never to rise again but his hunger for victory overrode that haunted part of him. He walked a bit further from the camp to a little brook that ran just beside it, there were large rocks under the running water on which the water ran before pulling into a fairly large pond. Octavius stood beside it and watched as the water ran down into the pond, he looked into the black water and watched the moon dance on the surface.

As he looked he noticed a sudden disturbance just below the reflective surface of the water and as he moved closer to investigate he saw the red hair break through the surface. The hair produced smooth creamy skin attached to it which in turn produced the beautiful form of the war goddess Ashterah who emerged gloriously naked with grace. She had a smooth smile on her face, her hair was plastered flat on her skin falling wet over her breasts to her thigh. She parted her red lips and dipped herself back into the water until she was waist-deep in it, she laid her hand flat on the surface and locked gazes with Octavius.

He considered turning around to go but some force held him still as his gaze remained on the beautiful goddess who had decided to help him out with the battle regardless of his disrespect to her. His feet refused to move even though his heart willed for him to remember Emilia, he broke into a cold sweat that made breathing impossible for him and even though he could hardly feel the beat of his heart he felt his heart squeeze hard.

"Come, Octavius, come into the water with me," Ashterah commanded. Her right hand had come up and she was beckoning him in, her index finger crooking slowly in invitation.

Octavius felt his feet move towards the water, felt the mud seep through the spaces of his toes as he drew closer to her. His feet moved one foot after another until he was ankle-deep in the water.

Ashterah made no move to go towards him, instead, she crooked her fingers even more and as much as his heart denied the invitation, Octavius couldn't resist the pull that came from the inside of him until he was standing face to face with the goddess with the water pooling around his waist.

"Take off your clothes, soldier, you will have no need of them in here. The battle of today is over and you should have some rest."

Even from the fog that had suddenly gathered his head, he managed to have one clear thought. "You just want to see me naked to satisfy your selfish desires."

Ashterah laughed. "Do as I say, soldier. Learn to have some fun, your men have fought and some have rewarded themselves by satisfying their basic needs, you have needs too and I wish to help you satisfy them"

The same strange force that had compelled him to walk into the water made him reach for the dripping wet hem of his tunic and pulled it over his head, he held gazes with Ashterah as he reached down to take off his soaking wet hose. Shame and guilt made his skin hot but Ashterah seemed not to notice as she ran her gaze over him.

"Come closer," she commanded.

He shook his head. His head was still foggy but his senses were at high alert, he had gone too far already but he wasn't going to give her the pleasure of using him. He wondered in his heart how she kept him alive when he defiled her every time she commanded his submission, her obsession with him was alarming, and yet he knew he could only defile her for a while before she lost all attraction to him and decide to punish his disobedience.

Ashterah laughed as she noted the conflict on his face. He was so stubborn and if she was wise she would advise him against his stubbornness for it did nothing but excite her further. She was nothing if not determined and no matter how hard he resisted she was confident that one day she would have him wrapped around her finger.

Octavius shrank at Ashterah's laughter, it bore no good and it instilled fear in his heart. "I-I have a fiancée, Ashterah," he stuttered. 

She nodded her head and kept her hold on him still. "I know that young prince of Camelorn, it changes nothing," she sighed "But I will let you one more time. We have the battle to finish in no time your army will be running back home singing songs of victory, the people will gather before my temple bearing sacrifices and I look forward to that. I won't weaken you with punishments just yet but I will teach you why you should never defile my orders again." Even as she spoke angrily her eyes burned with heat but she made no attempts to reach for him.

The pull Octavius had felt suddenly gave way and he felt a numb emptiness. He raised questioning eyes to Ashterah who was not backing off, submerging herself in the water once again.

"What have you done to me, Ashterah?"

"The same thing you have done to me Prince of Camelorn," she replied without hesitation before disappearing under the surface once again leaving Octavius feeling cold. He had never imagined his life would turn out this way when he had sort the help of the goddess.