The moon was shining brightly, illuminating the barren field that the riders were crossing. Eva hated pushing the horses so hard at night when a single misstep could break a leg, but the demons were too close to slow for even a second.

She spared a glance over her shoulder and saw their scouts flying over the countryside, from this distance they seemed to be tiny specks in the moonlight, up close they would be seven foot tall killers.

“Let me down!” Victoria screamed as she struggled in front of Eva. The young woman was draped over the saddle and was nearly falling off as she tried to get up.

“Shut up, you little cow!” Eva hissed, smacking the woman on the rump for emphasis. It had been bad enough putting up with the spoiled brat when they were just escorting her. Now she could get them all killed with her behavior.

“Where in the name of god are we going?” Kelmann yelled over his shoulder.

“South!” Eva yelled back. They needed to get to someone with an army that could defeat those demons. North into Germany was out of the question, that would lead them straight back into the clutches of that armored devil. No, south would have to do. Who would be able to help them? Eva thought furiously as she wracked her mind for a suitable candidate. Venice, she thought, the city of water.
 

Ivy sat in the back of the sweltering tavern and sipped the thick and sweet tea that the barkeep had served her. She smacked her lips and wished for something good and English as she paged through the book.

The book, she thought to herself. It had taken her months to finally track down the location of the book, a text written by an insane merchant named Vecci. She had hoped it would be the key that would allow her to find the Soul Edge. Instead it was a complete waste of time. She leaned back and stared moodily at the book, brushing back a stray lock of platinum hair as she sighed. It had been two months ago when she had just arrived in Istanbul...
 
 

The island of Corsica could be distantly seen on the eastern horizon. A brisk wind swept over Ivy’s face as she stood in the bow of the schooner and scanned the horizon for her destination.

“There,” she said and pointed towards a distant speck.

“Are you sure you want ta go there?” the captain of the battered ship asked her. “Tis a cursed place, it is.”

Ivy silently held up a small bag filled with gold coins, part of the small inheritance her family had left her. She smirked, imagining the face of the old captain. His eyes would be filled with greed and lust for the gold and her. But there would also be fear there. His men had tried to rob her as soon as they had been out of the harbor, most likely intending to make her their toy for the remainder of the trip. She had deducted ten percent of her fee for the stains their blood had left on her boots.

“Another bag when we return to Istanbul,” Ivy said as she climbed over the side into the small ship’s boat. She knew the captain’s greed would win out over his fear of her.
 
 

She had found the book easily enough. There had been traps, most of them reduced to impotence by the salt sea air and time. The ones that remained took only a few minutes work to disarm. She had found the book among of room full of shelves, each heavy with manuscripts.

They had interested her for a moment but then she had seen that they were nearly all old religious texts, nothing remotely scientific or magical. The book had been hidden among the other manuscripts, tucked away as if it were another unimportant translation of some old Roman philosopher’s work. Then she had heard the sound.

It was a low sound. A quiet sound. She had turned, her hand on her sword and ready to fight. Even her hardened sensibilities had recoiled in horror from the thing that had entered the room.

It...he was tall and skinny, bordering on emaciated. He made no sound as he slid towards Ivy, his weapon bearing hands weaving in sinuous patterns by his side. Ivy slid the book into her satchel and drew her weapon, no sense in leaving herself open to attack.

“Who are you? If you are the master of this place I am willing to pay handsomely for this book. I would have come directly to you if I had known that this place was still occupied,” she said, keeping her sword low. “Well, what do you say-”

The man charged her without a sound, hunching low and striking at her with incredible speed and grace. His technique was like nothing Ivy had ever seen before, random and vicious.
She whipped out with her snake sword, the segments separating into a long bladed whip, and watched as the man gracefully slid out of the way of each strike. “What are you?” she hissed as he bent back nearly double to avoid another strike.

Their fight raged on for the next ten minutes, Ivy striking out with every technique while the man simply dodged, spun, or slid out of the way of her blade. Too late she realized that he had been leading her back into the trap filled hallway, each of his steps instinctively avoiding the traps’ triggers. “Damn you!” she yelled as he suddenly leapt at her, his feet dancing over the stone floor as he struck and slashed at her with his tri-bladed daggers.

Ivy smiled in grim triumph when she whipped her snake sword around the guards of his daggers, pinning his wrists together while she tightened her grip and prepared to slice his hands from his body. As she began to tighten the whip the man leaned forward farther than anyone should be capable of and slammed his head into her face. She stumbled backward and felt her foot catch on a trip wire. In seconds nooses had sprung from the walls and wrapped themselves around her ankles and wrists, leaving her hanging spread eagled horizontally above the floor.

Ivy struggled against ropes, feeling the tough hemp rubbing against her gloves with no effect. She pulled with all her strength and felt the ropes stretch ever so slightly. But her sword lay tantalizingly close, lying just below her on the floor. If only she could get to the dagger hidden in her left gauntlet...

Her attention snapped back to the man when she heard the clank of metal on stone. Was he going to kill her now? she thought as she bent her head down and looked back under her body to see the man approaching.

“What are you doing?” she asked when she saw one of his daggers lying on the floor. There was another clank as he dropped his other weapon and stepped closer to her.

“You have done well,” Voldo heard Vecci whisper in his ear. “You may take you reward from this woman.”

Ivy heard the man sigh behind his leather gag and watched as he reached out and ran his cold hands up the backs of her thighs. She struggled against the ropes furiously as he squeezed her buttocks firmly and moved his hands to the ties of her leathers.

“You’re going to pay for this,” she hissed as he undid the ties and pulled the back of her outfit open. She jerked in the ropes, her body twisting and writhing helplessly, as he slid his hands up and underneath her to cup her firm breasts. Ivy shook her head, her short platinum hair shining in the dim light of the tunnel, as he kneaded her breasts and sighed in unmistakable pleasure.

She ground her teeth together as the man finished his eager groping of her breasts and ran his hands back down to her buttocks. He jerked her outfit down and pulled it to the side, revealing her quim to the chill and damp air. Ivy gasped involuntarily when the man clutched at her quim and moaned in pleasure. His cold fingers rubbed her there and slipped into her her, sliding in and out of her until she felt her body reacting to his touch against her will. She heard him moan again when he drew his wet and shining fingers from her quim and sniffed them.

Ivy tensed in anticipation when the man stepped closer, his outer thighs touching her inner thighs, cold leather chill on her flesh. She growled deep in her throat at the feel of his swollen cock pressing against her quim and his hands groping her ass and thighs. With a low moan the man forced his cock deep into her tight quim, eliciting a low grunt from her as he began to slowly pump in and out of her.

Ivy winced at the first few rough thrusts, her quim unused to taking anything. She shook her head in denial as she felt her quim moistening with each rough thrust, her body reacting despite her disgust. Her body began to slowly jerk back and forth as she hung suspended from the ropes, each thrust of the man’s cock bouncing her forward until his hands jerked her back onto his cock. His thrusts became more rapid as he bounced her onto his cock, his moaning growing louder as his cock swelled within her.

Ivy twitched and turned as best she could, trying to somehow force the man from her to no avail. With each motion of his cock she could feel her body betraying her and the voice of Isabella crying in disgust inside her head. She groaned when she felt more of her juices wetting her quim and letting the man pump his cock into her with no resistance. The motion of his cock increased even more, his shaft slipping in and out of her quim as he slammed his hips against her. She hissed when she felt his fingers digging deep into her hips and his cock
slammed one last time into her, spewing his seed deep within her.

She felt a last jet of his seed splattering onto her ass as the man withdrew from her. As he did, the motion of Ivy’s body worked the dagger hidden inside her gauntlet free. She flexed her arm and managed to bounce the slim dagger off her inner elbow towards head. Ivy twisted her neck and caught the dagger’s handle in her teeth. With a toss of her head she sent the dagger through the rope binding her right wrist. In a split second she had reached down and caught up her snake sword.

A blurred arc sent the segmented blade slashing through the ropes binding her and the man’s throat. Ivy rolled and hopped to her feet, her eyes blazing, and turned to face the man. Even as his lifeblood poured from his throat, he remained silent. Ivy’s eyes widened when she saw the man reaching for his weapons even as his blood stained the stone floor. She watched as he gave one final gasp and collapsed forward with a dull splash, his fingers just wrapping around the hilts of his daggers.

“Filthy beast,” she spat as she used a fragment of a tapestry to clean the man’s seed from her body. With a last withering glance she turned and walked from the chill tomb, leaving the man behind in a pool of his own blood.

“Voldo,” Vecci whispered. “Voldo, now is not the time to sleep. Rise and pursue that woman. She has the scent of the Soul Edge on her. She will lead you to the Soul Edge! She will lead you to what I seek!” In the still damp air of the tomb, Voldo raised his head and pushed himself to his feet. Blood caked the leather straps of his clothing and a angry red scar crossed his throat as he turned and began to slowly follow the woman...
 
 

All that for a book, Ivy thought to herself as she finished her tea and set the cup on the table. Nothing in the book would help her find the Soul Edge but there were some alchemical formulae which might help her destroy it. She tossed a few coins onto the table as she stood and wrapped her cloak around her, leaving the tavern for the warm nighttime streets of Istanbul.
 

Taki turned her face towards Seung Mina when she felt the girl’s fingers tighten on her arm. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she snaked one hand towards Mekki-Maru.

“I, I think I know that woman,” Seung said slowly. She raised her hand and pointed at the silver haired woman leaving a tavern up the street.

“How?” Taki asked, her hand easing away from her weapon.

“I met her a few months back, when we were all looking for the Soul Blade,” Seung said as she blushed prettily. “It was in this same city, I was on my way home after you-” she looked down and Taki smiled. “I ran into her and she defeated me,” Seung finished, her words trailing off into embarrassed silence.

“Let me guess, she did the same things to you that I did,” Taki said as they continued walking down the street. Both of them were dressed in long robes in deference to local custom.

“Y-yes,” Seung said with another blush rising in her cheeks like a sunrise over Kyoto.

“Mmm,” Taki said as she watched the girl blush. She loved how innocent Seung seemed to be, although she should be as hardened as any streetwalker after what had been done to her by the women who seemed to defeat her so easily. “Let’s go back to the inn,” Taki whispered into Seung’s ear. “I’m going to do those things to you again.”

Seung gasped and looked over at Taki’s wicked smile. But she followed the ninja back to the inn all too willingly.
 

“Hey! You guys!” Maxi called out when Seung and Taki entered the inn they were staying at. It was small and a bit dusty, but the prices were reasonable and the food was excellent. “I’ve got to talk to you,” he said as he swung his boots off the table, making the lamp’s flame flicker.

“What is it?” Taki asked. “I’ve got plans for the evening.” Seung looked down at the floor when Taki very obviously reached around her and pulled her close, the ninja’s hand sliding up Seung’s body and cupping her breast through the robe.

Maxi smiled and ran a hand through his hair. “Hey, you want some company?” he said with a flashing grin.

“I think she’ll be busy enough with me,” Taki said as she rubbed her cheek against Seung’s. “But I’ll call you when I get tired.” Seung gasped in horror but Maxi just laughed at Taki’s joke.

“You do that,” he said with another laugh. “But get some sleep tonight, Kilik says he can sense the sword to the northwest. We’re leaving in the morning. I bought a wagon and horses along with supplies.”

Taki nodded. Though she had told no one, she could feel the Soul Edge calling her through Mekki-Maru, the blade forged from a shard of the broken Soul Blade. “Xianghua also says she can sense something too,” Maxi continued.

“They can feel the Soul Edge?” Seung said wonderingly.

“Yeah, don’t ask me how they do it. Something to do with their weapons, I guess,” Maxi said. “I’m just along for the ride.” And for a chance to get that giant, he thought to himself. The giant had tried to take the Dvapara-Yuga, Kilik’s sacred linked mirrors. Maybe the giant would be after the Soul Edge as well. “You two have fun,” he said with a wink as he walked back to his table and called over a pretty barmaid.

Maxi’s eyes were drawn to the doorway when a strange woman walked in, her heavy cloak blowing back to reveal a voluptuous body clad in dark purple leather. Her platinum hair shone in the dim lamplight as she walked to the bar and spoke with the innkeeper in a whisper. Maxi watched the curve of her body through her cloak as she leaned over and pressed a handful of coins into the innkeeper’s hands before climbing the stairs to the second floor.

“Who’s she?” he asked the barmaid as she brought his drink.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her around,” the barmaid said. She had a pleasant voice and a very pleasing figure. Soon Maxi had forgotten the strange woman, his attention turned back to the barmaid’s round bottom and full breasts.