Lykins. Horrible, furry, dog-like creatures, an army of whores, wenches and monsters that stampeded these lands, ruled by an iron-fisted king who spent his time wasting his underlings’ hard earned money on food, wine and sex. A nasty, cruel leader who deserved to die. At least, that was what Kinisis had told Arkay.
Of course, being Kinisis’s favourite servant, Arkay was doing as he was told. That was why he was standing in front of a massive, gem encrusted gate which led to an even larger, also gem encrusted castle.
The guards were all of the female gender, all big busted and attractive. Everything about them was loud and exaggerated, and they all had a heavily perfumed scent. Whether they were actually good at their jobs or just there for their looks, Arkay wasn’t sure. Then again, it occurred to Arkay that Lykins had poor eyesight, mostly relying on scents and sound. With a sigh, he pulled a rope that had clearly been marked as some sort of door bell.
“What is it… OH!” The largest guard peered down from her balcony. “You, little thing, are absolutely adorable!”
The Lykin guards all abandoned their posts and rushed to the gate to greet Arkay.
“YOU ARE SO CUTE!”
“I WANT TO HUG HIM!”
“ME FIRST!”
“NO, ME!”
The largest guard forced her way through, pushing all the others to one side. “I’M IN CHARGE. I GET TO DEAL WITH HIM!”
The other guards all relented and stepped back. The bigger Lykin guard raised one hand into the air.
“Hello, little cute one! You must be late for the ceremony. The other Younglings have already gone through!”
“Actually,” Arkay explained. “I’m here to kill your king.”
“HE’S SO CUTE!”
“HE SMELLS AMAZING!”
“SO CUTE!”
The Lykin guards didn’t seem to be taking Arkay seriously, despite the fact that he was a winged demon of a being, with dark, black wings, glowing rings on his arms and legs, a mixture of yellow and gold armour and claws covered in blood. He was also carrying his favourite dagger.
“HE’S STAYING IN CHARACTER!”
“SO BRAVE!”
Arkay tutted. Clearly these Lykin beings were delusional. “Can you just take me to your king please?”
“OF COURSE! My name is Amber! I’ll take you!”
The little grim reaper could see why this Lykin was called amber. Her fur was a bright orange, and her eyes looked like they literally were made out of amber. Unlike the other guards, she was actually wearing some armour, a shoulder plate and some knee and elbow pads. Attached to her loincloth was a sword, sheathed away in leather and gold.
The gate creaked closed behind the two beings as they walked. As they passed other guards, Arkay noticed that they all seemed to think he was incredibly cute. They weren’t as loud as the guards at the entrance, but their snickering was obvious.
Luckily, they didn’t need to walk far. The Royal Chamber was just ahead, and outside yet another gem encrusted door were yet more guards. Worryingly though, there were also a lot of young, Lykin children. They stood in line, all dressed up in hoods, with mechanical paper wings strapped to their backs and various bits of armour on their arms and shins. Many of them were wearing various costumes, but Arkay couldn’t quite tell what they were supposed to be, aside from cute and scary.
“Why are there so many kids here?” Arkay asked.
“You don’t know?” Amber grunted, sniffing the air. “They’re here for the ceremony! Sacrifices for our glorious king’s eternal youth!”
“I don’t approve of that,” Arkay replied, just as the large gates opened up.
“You’ll jump down… All younglings do…” Amber muttered, her voice laboured. She seemed almost drugged.
“No, I won’t. I’m just here to kill him.”
The Royal Chamber was huge. Lots of bright, shiny lumps covered the walls, while the floor was covered in huge, comfy cushions. Naked, female Lykins dozed around, only moving in a vague attempt to seduce the Lykin king sitting wearily on his throne.
In the centre of the room though was a massive pit, around which was the bare minimum in regards to health and safety protocols. A very small metal railing was all that stopped the dozy, drugged Lykins from falling to their deaths.
Upon seeing all the Lykin younglings, the king got up from his throne. As he did so, all the females started throwing themselves at his naked, furry body, begging for affection, only for him to turn them all down.
“Ah, my little springs of eternal youth! You praise King Lyr with your presence. As you fall into the Pit of Life, your souls will give me the power to continue ruling these beautiful lands! On this day of All Hallows Eve, the day of Demons and Dressing Up, you come to make me whole again.”
Arkay turned to Amber, a look of disgust on his face. “So he’s using soul stacking to keep his lazy arse alive. Using kids of all things.”
Amber shrugged, not really paying attention. She was too busy staring at King Lyr. Arkay realised he wasn’t going to get any more useful information out of Amber, and decided to step forward in front of all the Lykin younglings. As he walked past each kid, Arkay apologised to them all and told them to look away. None of them did as they were asked, each one of them as drugged up as the writhing, horny adults.
“You!” King Lyr pointed at Arkay. “You are a brave one! Offering to go first! The Poems of History will sing your name!”
“Actually,” Arkay admitted, for the second time that day. “I’m here to kill you.”
The king smiled, a smug, evil grin. “Really? You silly little thing!”
“No, seriously, I’m here to kill you.”
“Hahaha!” Lyr laughed. “You are adorable!”
In one swift moment, Arkay pulled out his dagger and slit Lyr’s throat. The Lykin king dropped to his knees, then fell backwards, disappearing down the Pit of Life.
The Lykins all suddenly snapped out of their daze, staring at the pit.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” Amber suddenly screamed. Her weapon through remained sheathed. None of the other guards moved either.
“Exactly what I said I’d do,” Arkay sighed as he walked off. “I killed him.”