Chapter 16: Only One Bed
A few hours later Willow told Francis it was time for bed. The Marine was pleasantly buzzed, but more than a little tired after duking it out with Hades.
He gave the High Priestess a thumbs up and followed her to the room. It had a decent sized bed with nightstands on either side of it. In the corner was a writing desk facing the window. The blue wooden shutters had been pulled shut and latched.
A crystal on a chain hanging from the ceiling illuminated the room with a soft orange glow. It reminded Francis of firelight.
He tossed his Bag Of Hoarding on the nightstand. Then Francis propped up Relativity in the corner and hung his hat from it. He felt weird about the staff watching him sleep.
He turned around to see Willow arranging her things on the nightstand next to the bed. “Oh! Shit. I didn't realize this was your room.”
“They just had one available, so I figured we would share. Besides, I feel safer sharing a room than being alone.” Willow proceeded to remove her jewelry. “I hope you don't mind.”
“That's fine.” Francis said as he looked around for an empty spot on the floor to lay down. She could take the bed. He would figure something else out.
Willow set a pair of black daggers on the nightstand and pulled her black robes over her head before Francis could look away. Her skin was creamy white along her front, with what might have been shimmering black and green scales along her back. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he caught a glimpse of a whip thin black tail with a barb on the end. Before he could get a better look, it vanished.
She turned around, revealing a series of tattoos along the sides of her stomach and the insides of her arms. They were made up of screaming skulls and swirling black fire. Peeking out from her black lace underwear was a stylized tattoo of curling rams horns made of interlocking runes.
The Death Cleric toyed with her piercings, distracting Francis from the knife attached to her left thigh. She did a little twirl. “Do you like what you see?”
“Yes Ma’am!” Francis replied enthusiastically and without hesitation. (Apparently he was from that part of Texas, after all.)
An hour or so later a very happy Francis realized something. He looked at the shuttered bedroom window and frowned. It was still light out.
He looked down at the Death Cleric wrapped around him. “There are plenty of other rooms, aren't there?”
“Yeah.” Willow replied. “But I meant what I said about not liking being alone. I feel safer staying with you. I know nobody is going to try to come visit me in the middle of the night with you here.”
She tapped the blade attached to her hip. “I can take care of myself. But I'd rather be able to relax.”
“I suppose that's alright then.” Francis stroked her back and enjoyed the moment of peace. The scales would take some getting used to. At least the whole front half of her was normal enough.
Willow looked up at him and smiled, her green eyes sparkling in the dim light. “Want to go again?”
***
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The next morning when Francis woke up he had a message from System.