Corrupted Fortunes

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#6 of Commissions

The third and final novel in my 'Corrupted' trilogy brings the story to a grand conclusion. This one follows a group of demon hunters that seek to stop the nefarious scheming of Ven. There are twists and turns aplenty along with many transformations that help cap the series off. Will Ven be victorious as usual or will the hunters actually catch their prey? Either way it all ends with this tale and I hope everyone has enjoyed the series as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


Corrupted Fortunes

Part 1: A Welcome Meal

Rolling down the main street at past midnight, the black escalade stuck out. It was nicer, newer, and more polished than any car parked they drove by. It sped through every stop sign and signal without so much as a dab of breaks, thumping loud music and humming as it passed. It only slowed when it pulled into a small parking lot beside an Italian butcher's shop.

It was early Fall with the trees changing colors, a brisk wind, no moon, and stray dogs barking in some distant alleyway. Stepping out of their vehicle the two men, dressed sharply in tailored suits, carried out a muffled conversation from the car as they made for a rear door to the butcher's that was left unlocked for them.

First of the two men was Sal Captuo, a man in an organization of ill-reputation and repute. While only in his late twenties, with sides of his hair buzzed down with the rest styled to the side, he was fit, tattooed, and an active participant in any number of missing persons cases. With him was Vito Mancini who was also a member of that same organization but a little longer in the tooth and wide in the waist. His hair was slicked back, skinned overly tanned, and a good collection of gold rings and bracelets on. Either was armed but that standard attire in their line of work.

"I'm tellin' ya, two more seasons would have done it," Vito said as he pushed through the plastic strip curtain.

"I think they could have done it if they had not just fumbled it so bad, ya know?" Sal replied with a spirited wave of the hand. "If they had competent writers. Or at least ones that remembered what they wrote a page ago."

"It's like they didn't want to make money or something. Fucking idiot producers," huffed Vito as he stepped into large open space in the back of the shop where larger animals were broken down. Here, along with Sal, there were two other figures already waiting.

One, a Latin woman in a stylish purple pants suit, leaned against a large mincing machine. She was somewhere in her 30s, with straight black hair down her back, a narrow face, and eyes that shone even in the light. Her arms were crossed in front of her with an agitated look on her face. Standing nearer the chopping boards was a pale, scrawny man wearing a hoodie and jeans. He had on sunglasses that, with his hood up, only let you see his rough, blonde stubble and cracked teeth when his thin lips ever parted. He was in his mid-twenties but looked ten or fifteen years older. He was on edge, tapping his foot, but it wasn't out of character for him.

"You're late," the woman, one Ava Flores, said sharply at the entering men.

"We got caught in traffic. So sue us," Sal chuckled while unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"What traffic? This town goes to sleep at sundown," hissed the man, Bruce Reed.

"We had a long drive, so, maybe take that into consideration before getting so accusatory," Sal said sternly, his finger wagging at Bruce.

"Always so defensive. If you are as prompt as your excuses always are, we wouldn't always be teasing you about it," Ava remarked.

"Teasing can be hurtful. Damages my confidence you know," Sal jokes, nudging Vito into joining in the laugh. Sal reaches into his jacket and takes out a cigar which prompts Vito to produce a gold lighter. After leaning into the flame to puff his cigar smoking, Sal puffed out and cloud and grinned. "Now that we've dispensed with the pleasantries, what exactly are we discussing here tonight? I've got other places I can be right now."

"You think I'm standing here because it's where I want to be right now? I've got better things to do than smell like sausage and stare at you and your partner's gormless face. I was told you all had some business to deal with regarding exactly what area is mine. Now, I came expecting you to be handing some over because I know you wouldn't be asking me to cut back. Money's been too good since we moved in to cut back now," Ava rattled off with an ample attitude.

"You keep it up with that attitude and see where it gets ya," threatened Vito, both verbally and with his hands.

"Calm down now, V. Seems our friend here is just on the wrong end of bad information," Sal began in his usual upbeat, pompous manner. "See, we're here because of similar offers of territory. Only, since ain't Christmas yet, I ain't exactly in a giving mood. I came here so I could see which of you was turning tail to run and which I'd have to squash. But since you ain't sellin', I ain't sellin', means our shaky friend here must be the one parting ways." Sal's eyes swung from Ava to Bruce; turning from admiration to scorn. "Did all the junkies you employ OD or are you facing labor shortages too? Have you thought about adding dental to your benefits? I got a cousin that works for a union that could give you some pointers."

"My business is doing just fine, just fine," Bruce stammered back. "You'd be surprised how well I do when I don't have the overhead costs of maintaining a-a-a-a false image of power. So no, I ain't here to give either of you anything. Anything," he repeated before going to chew his nails.

"Then why are you here, Bruce? This ain't your meth lab and it ain't that swank suburban neighborhood you live in. So why are you here?" Sal asked promptly, his head in a cloud of cigar smoke.

"Cause I heard the same as you two: someone was stepping down. An email would have worked j-j-j-just as good for me but I know you all love your theatrics," Bruce said accusingly.

"Woah, woah, woah. What's that supposed to mean?" Vito questioned as he stepped towards Bruce.

Bruce, to his credit, didn't flinch. Just kept his usual shaking. "Means you all are so up your ass with 'honor' and 'respecting the o-o-o-old ways' that you take a day to do what takes an hour. Go through all the trouble of executions when a .22 slug to the heart and lye do the same job easier."

"You're a sick fuck, Bruce," Ava said with a wicked smile.

"Says the woman wh-wh-who has people decapitated so she can send the head to their relatives," Bruce was happy to croak at the woman.

"You gotta a lot of nerve talking shit," Vito said with his finger almost in Bruce's face until he bats it away.

"Lay a hand on me and s-s-s-see what happens," retorted an unafraid Bruce.

"Sal, could you leash your mastiff there. I came here for business, not a show. I agree with Bruce on that at least," Ava warned as she herself took a metal cigarette case from her breast and took one out. "Here, big guy. Come give me a light," she encouraged Vito.

It was Sal's hand on Vito's shoulder that finally calmed the big man down. He fished out his lighter again and did Ava the pleasure- but never took his eyes off Bruce.

"Well, I'm glad we're returning to some reason here but then that raises a question of why we're here then. Because if this is someone's idea of a joke, you will find me upset that my time was wasted like this," Sal said calmly.

"You think I have the time, or inclination, to jerk you around for kicks?" Ava asked gingerly.

"If it's you offering the jerking, I might be interested," Sal teased.

"You and me both," chuckled Vito.

Ava rolled her eyes. "As if either of you would last for a real woman. Now, if you've got nothing productive to say, I'm going to call my driver around. Some of us have schedules to keep."

"Well d-d-d-don't look at me. I could be watching cartoons right now," said Bruce.

"Yeah, well it ain't us either. So which of you is lying then, huh? If I gotta bust a skull-" Vito began to state before Sal put up a hand to stop his partner.

"Sorry, my friend gets a little animated sometimes. What he means to say is, we got called here through our usual guy and it appears that we, and presumably both of you, were misled. It's something I want to get the bottom of right now. Cause if this some sort of setup, or a sting involving one of you two," Sal began to implicate when Ava huffed loudly.

"Save your petty threats for the school children you knock over for pennies, Sal. Besides, I believe your organization has had more problems with leaks and rats that mine. So you'd better keep your eyes on Bruce or your boyfriend and off me or we'll have a problem." Ava stepped to Sal, mingling their spoke while eyeing him like a shark.

"My man here is the only one I actually trust in this room. You keep acting aggressively and insulting me and my associate here and we'll have a problem," Sal threatened in a cocky tone.

"M-M-Maybe we should all calm down, yeah? Let's talk this out before we start shooting each other?" said a consolatory Bruce. "Now I was directed to this meeting through a good source so I'm wondering what exactly is going on. And if none of you know then that means that answers aren't here, right?" he asked the group tentatively.

This began everyone looking warily at the other and then to the room itself for anything out of place.

"There a hidden camera or something in there?" Vito asked at the same time he began reaching for the gun he had strapped to the back of his belt.

"I looked the place over when I got here. No cameras or anythingelse here unlessthey got a ghost on retainer," Bruce affirmed.

"Yeah, that's assuming I- oh shit, what the fuck was that?" Vito gasped when the lights in the room flickered. They nearly went dark before ticking back to life.

A stillness followed then that sent a chill up all the murderer's backs. A damp sweat formed on their brows.

Vito leaned over to Sal and said, in effortless Italian, "Chi male comincia, peggio finisce."

The comment caused Sal's brow to furrow but not as much as when a seductively decadent female voice spoke out from behind them, "La fine di uno รจ il dono di un altro." Both mobsters turned and backed away as a woman, barefoot, strode through the plastic curtain.

She was gorgeous, with curling, flowing black hair over one shoulder and a buxom, full frame that made the dress on her really sing. With two thin straps over either arm that led down to slips that barely covered her, showing bare from her neckline to navel, before draping down and tightly hugging her body. One side allowed her bare leg to clearly show her hip. Her stride was like that of a confident predator, with eyes that shimmered an unearthly gold. She had diamond earrings with a necklace of shimmering rubies dazzling on her chest in a star pattern.

"And who is this?" Ava was the first to ask as she shook off the woman's entrancing stare.

"Looks like a present but it ain't exactly my birthday," Vito reflected as his nerves were momentarily overridden by his loins.

Sal was taken too at first but shook it off. "Normally I would agree with my partner here but I'm with Flores. Who are you and, more to the point, why are you here?"

Before answering the woman paused, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Ah, the smell of fresh meat has always been invigorating. Really gets the blood going," she savored. Finally her eyes opened again. "I am here as something of a favor. See, I have a 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' agreement with local rulers that sees my own interests left alone and undeterred while I occasionally help those with their problems. In this case, four of them," she said with a wry smirk. "I apologize for the setting but it wasn't my choice. Last minute arrangements you tend to just throw together but I have to say, I like the space. Large, well lit, few exits, and you know, easy cleanup too. That I'm sure your types know a little something about."

"Our types? Is that some sort of insinuation?" Vito pressed.

"Some sort, yes," she replied. "But that about does it for the reason I'm here. Taking care of their ingrown hairs, you could say."

Bemused by her carefree confidence, Sal started to crack up. Vito, trying to get on that, started laughing too until Sal plucked the cigar from his mouth then whipped the pistol he had been carrying to aim at the woman's head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to threaten us, doll. Can't say I react well to that sort of thing. Makes me a bit, I dunno, antsy."

"Well I would hate to see you lose your composure," the woman said as she dared the man by walling her chest up to the barrel of his gun. "At least not yet anyway."

"What? You think I won't shoot?" Sal asked, cocking the gun.

"More like I don't care but it would make everything a lot messier." Her eyes had Sal there, in the moment. Too mesmerized to speak until Vito nudged him.

"You said it yourself the space is ideal for cleanup," he told her as he came back to reality. Then he uncocked the gun and lowered it but kept it as his side. "Course my suit will be a lot harder to clean."

"And we would not be able to question a corpse," Ava advised snidely. "You're a bold woman if you're coming here alone and unarmed. I will say that dress is divine."

"Someone with some taste, I like that," the woman smirked. "Lo Sordo and I would not say I'm alone. Or without threat. I just think weapons are a more human preference. I'm dangerous enough, I promise you."

"You the reason w-w-w-we're here then?" Bruce stammered from his side.

"I told them it would be easier to take care of things in one setting rather than going after you individually. I have my own distractions and things to see to without having to care about theirs. So they arranged this meeting on some inside advice and here you all are." As she answered, the woman never looked at Bruce, instead choosing to pluck the cigar from Sal's fingers to puff herself. After a moment's savoring she handed it back to the man with her lips leaving a singed outline. "Savory but not really my speed."

"It's something you take time to enjoy," Sal replied. "And you still haven't answered my first question. Who are you? Who you with? Cause if you're a hitter, you ain't from any of the leagues I know. And trust me, I'm the kinda guy that knows."

"Yeah, same," Vito readily agreed. "You look like a gal that's out of league, if you catch my meaning."

"You should pay a woman wearing a thousand dollar dress a bit more respect, Big V," Ava said to the portly mobster. Then she turned to the woman. "You seem like the person I would love to do business with, dear, but I don't much care for setups. Or vague, passive threats. You'll start being a lot clearer or I'm going to see myself out. And see some of my boys where they can squeeze more from you. I'll tell them to spare your face and the dress as a courtesy. Girl to girl," Ava offered after the threat.

"You can have her once we're done if it comes to that but I think we'd all prefer, and you'd prefer, if that didn't happen," wagered Sal in rising poise. "So start squealing or my friend here will be forced to help you out."

Bemused by the man's chosen tact, the woman moved gracefully to Vito before he could come at her. She was tall enough to drape her arm over the stout man before leaning her full lips to within inches of his face. "Is that so? You could make me squeal?" she asked the man tenderly.

Vito himself looked torn between the sudden affections of this woman and obvious duties. So much so that he had to look to Sal for help. Only getting a shrug, Vito tried composing himself. "You know, I'm a married man," was all Vito could say.

She responded by carefully breathing in the man. "Mmm, married three times over at least. You cheated every time and even are now so, why stop?" the woman appeared to deduce. Ava and cal were confused while Sal knew some of what she just said was true. For Vito, he was quickly turning into a wreck.

"How'd the hell you'd know that? Who the fuck are you?" he asked her with a trembling voice.

Her eyes were so close now he saw the pureness of her gilded eyes that was inhuman. "You have an aroma of bitterness, instability, wavering sexual potency, and self-absorption. Your infidelity wafts off you, so I know your measure already. Do you really think, then, that you could break me?" She managed to speak with affection while a malice permeated the air around her. So much that Vito could feel it.

"Bocca di miele, cuore di fiele," muttered Vito when the woman's eyes shimmered.

The woman brought her lips close to Vito's but pulled away before contact. She was off him entirely save for firmly gripping his wrist. He tried to tug it away but found her hold unbroken. Harder, sharper tugs after and he could still not free himself. Then a worrying heat throbbed outward from where she had him.

"Let go of him!" Sal warned, reaching for his gun again.

"I can't budge! She's- oh my sweet Lord," Vito gasped when he saw the woman's skin begin to break out in splotches of crimson.

Bleeding out from her chest, the red flesh spread over her with a glistening finish. As it rose into her head her already dark hair grew even more pitch dark. Her ears grew more pointed but it was the two spiraling, ribbed horns which curled out of her hair and back that caught all the eyes in the room. They grew in dark and patched red that contrasted with her skin, which was closer to blood. The woman's figure was enhanced somewhat to fill her breasts out even more along with her hips. Here near the end they finally see the slender tail slip from under the back of her dress, tipped with a spade. It curled up behind her and around her head.

"My name is Ven, and I want to hear you squeeeeal for me," she hissed, squeezing Vito's arm with a grin.

Vito grimaced and gasped in pain but resisted crying out. That changed when he saw that his hand, which had looked slightly swollen, now appeared deformed with fingers fattening and even merging together as heft packed on. Horrified he yanked even harder to free himself but still Ven wouldn't release him while the changes had his thumb and pinky shrinking up his thickened forearm while two overgrown central nails were starting to dominate.

"Jesus," Sal gasped while Ava and Bruce both got closer to see what was happening.

"Let go! Fucking bitch! Let go of m-m-m-meeeeEEEEEEEE!" screeched Vito in a guttural, inhuman voice. It came along with a crunching, cracking in his nose that quickly grew upturned, round, and protruding. The resemblance to a pig came immediately to mind for every shocked eye watching.

"There you go. No need to fight it now," Ven said to the man as she finally let go of him.

Suddenly being free while still struggling caused the panicked man to fall backwards, his whole body shaking and convulsing.

"V!" Sal shouted as he went to his partner's aid, dropping his cigar in the process. When he reached Sal he saw the man's skin was flush red all over while his once fitting suit now appeared whole incapable of confining a growing body.

"Ay dios mio," Ava shuttered.

"My Lord, what is hap-hap-hap-happening to that m-m-m-man?" stammered a frightened Bruce.

"He's fucking dyin'! That's what!" Sal howled as he had no idea what to do. Buttons on Vito's shirt began to pop off, revealing a fattened gut. Swollen nipples now descended down from chubby looking tits totaling near fourteen. Add to this that his torso appeared to be getting longer while his legs were shrinking. So much so that his diminished, and now more trotter-like feet popped off either show before pulling into ripping pant legs.

Off to the other side Ava had her phone out and was trying to dial for her backup while trying to watch and process what was happening to the man. She also kept an eye on the apparent demon that was among them.

Ven was the only one in the room that saw Vito and could only grin at his plight. Her attention soon turned to Sal who was still hunched next to the rapidly changing man. So he never saw Ven come up behind him and sized him with a glance. Instead of saying something, Ava and Bruce watched Ven sneak her foot up Sal's pants before nudging him sharply so that he toppled over himself.

Already on edge the gesture sparked a rage in Sal. He got up and had his gun pointed right at Ven's forehead. Ignoring the tingling his in backside, he shouted, "What the fuck did you do to him? Fix it!"

Undaunted, Ven moved in and defiantly licked the gun's muzzle. Soon after Sal's entire hand began to shake. At first it appeared to be nerves but when it grew too bad that he dropped the gun to cradle his deforming hand it was mostly definitely more than that.

"I'd love to hear you squeal too. Your friend sure is getting the hang of it," Ven taunted.

Vito's fearful cries had gone completely the way of piggish squeals at this point. He managed to roll onto his side, facing away from everyone best he could to hide his partially transformed body. That his face was stretched out in a snout, his ears flopping, and now a tail showing from his fattened backside was hard to keep private. By now his arms and legs were shorter but were all tipped with trotters and quite stout. To top it off his clothes were now shredding and being kicked off with his flailing, fruitless attempts to save himself.

Much like Vito before him Sal watched as his hand fattened into a trotter before more changes started springing up everywhere. Teeth began protruding from under his lips while his nose pushed out like a pig's.

"No! No! No, let me out of here!" Sal screamed while changing more. Desperately he got himself to his knees then tried crawling his way towards the door leading to the front of the store. Only for Bruce to step in the way. "The hell are you doing? Let- ah!" Sal was stopped chewing the man out by a sharp and distinct pain that shot from his spine, from which a curly tail now grew, down his taint and into his testicles. But rather than cringe his cock hardened and within seconds was spurting out seed into his strained pants. However it was what came after that aching arousal which caused Sal the most distress.

Throbbing in his testicles diminished but only due to them shrinking and pulling up into the man's fleshy taint. From here his cock was shrunk, dwindled down to nothing but a nerve which disappeared into pink, forming folds of a sow's cunt. The man felt this was happening, along with his pelvis readjusting, forcing his shrinking legs more under him and apart while his ass split open to show his spreading ass. Something that was soon revealed to anyone watching as his pants split apart and revealed his new gender.

"What is this witchcraft," muttered a stunned Ava as she finally got a hold of her backup. "You get here now and you come heavy. Even the driver. You get me out of here, you hear me?" she tells them hastily while watching Ven's attention switch to her. Ava hangs up and plays up innocence immediately. "No one was even on the other end. I swear."

"My ears are too sharp for that," Ven cooed, twitching her ears in turn. "But don't think that I'm here to change you next. It's just that, after the meat, you're the next best smelling thing here."

"It's Valentino," Ava responded with her wavering composure.

"No, not your perfume," Ven said hotly mere inches from Ava's face now. The demon's hand slipped into the woman's clothing to pull out her cigarette holder. From here she takes a more careful sniff. "These. These are lovely. And I see you rolled them yourself. Mind if I partake?" Ven asked as she plucked one cigarette out.

"Help yourself," replied Ava.

"Don't mind if I do," Ven smiles. She does Ava the courtesy of placing the case back where she found it. "Have a light?" Her calmness contrasted with the horrifically morphed sight of both mobsters now well on their way to be two, rather large, pigs. And more notably, as Vito's exposed backside proved, both were also now sows too.

It was hard for Ava to concentrate when answering. When she did start padding herself down for a lighter she drew a blank where she kept it. This only sent her adrenaline skyrocketing as the demon stared her down. "I-I-I-I-" was all she could repeat in a rising panic.

For a few moments a fury did storm in Ven's eyes but it calmed quickly. "No worries. I can handle it myself." The demon proceeded to stick out her tongue and lit the cigarette just from the heat coming off it. Once lit, Ven blew out the blame then took a careful draw. "Oh now that is decadent. Turkish?" Ava vaguely nodded. "I thought so. It's been so long since I've tasted the sort."

"Happy to oblige," Ava said, gulping hard.

"Are you? You look more scared than anything," she said to the woman. The demon's tail curled up to point then at Bruce, who was still shaking in front of the door. His attention was still stuck on the oinking pigs that were almost now fully formed and moving among scraps of expensive silk suits. "And you look to be the one they told me about before coming here."

"M-M-M-Me?" Bruce struggled to get out.

"Well, they told me the scrawny one was the one that helped set this up so I was to show you some leniency," Ven said as she turned her attention towards the man. "On account of your cooperation, I would figure."

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, yeah that was part of the deal. I lead them to the spot and their... person comes to finish it. I was to be left alive," Bruce sputtered quickly.

"Ah yes, they did specify that detail too," Ven nodded. At her feet the pigs- as Vito and Sal now truly were at this point- sniffed and snorted around. "They're to be left here where the owners have already been told to expect some fresh pork on the premises when they arrive. That's just me giving back even more to, what's the word they use all the time? Community? That sounds right. Yes, I'm a charitable soul after all."

"You have a soul?" Ava said without thinking, prompting anxiety when it drew Ven's attention.

"As much as you have, anyway," was Ven's response with an added wink.

"You gonna do her next? Do I have to w-w-watch?" Bruce nervously asked.

Rather than answer, Ven continued enjoying her cigarette as she traipsed around the butcher's area. And as blissful as the demon looked she never quite was far enough for either person to feel safe running for it. Ava, in fact, was playing for time and hoping her associates, all five of them, would be pulling up soon to put this creature in place. As for Bruce he would lean into the swinging door to escape only for Ven's eye to snap back to him every time.

Finally Ven came over to Bruce to lean against a nearby table. From a row of hanging knives she took one of the larger, heavier cleavers. "Have to watch? Well, I could also cut out your eyes so that's the case. You'd live so I wouldn't be breaking my word to leave you alive," she mused while tossing and catching the sharp tool with ease. Her tail also moved to threaten Bruce with its tip- something that when only a few inches from his eyes he realized was finely serrated too.

"P-Please. I won't say anything, honest. I just wanted to help, like I agreed! And y-y-y-you have her! She's like, ten times worse than me," Bruce sputtered as he started to feel threatened.

To this Ven could only shrug. "Worse doesn't really have anything to do with it, honestly."

"B-B-But she's clearly sinned more. The beheading, all the drugs, that big shootout a few weeks back that's probably the reason we're here in the f-f-f-first place. It's all her," said Bruce.

"A junkie sellout is all you are. Don't care what kind of fancy degree and friends you have. I'll see you burned to the ground for this, Bruce. You'll wish we just came for your head," Ava threatened. "As if your sins are any less forgivable."

"As if you'll leave this room free of j-j-j-judgment!" Bruce readily shouted back.

Their arguing went on until Ven grabbed the cleaver out of the air mid-toss then buried it point first into tiled floor. She waited for it to stop wobbling before plucking out. "You can keep your sins to yourself. I'm not here as any divine creature. Just a superior one. It's not retribution so much as business. And the one who decides in this room is me and, after some deliberation-"

"What d-d-deliberation?" Bruce questioned.

"The internal sort that you're not privy, nor qualified, to attend. And I came to my decision." Ven then paused to see which of the two would crack first.

"Wh-Wh-What? What decision? What's the question even?" Bruce blurted out.

Ven's focus turned on the man. "A decision on what to do next. Or rather, who."

It took a moment but when her glinting eyes stayed on him his tension grew. "Why you-you-you looking at me like that for? I get spared, remember?," he reminds her.

"They did say that but, if you're paying attention, it isn't as if I killed them either," Ven pointed out.

"But they're as good as dead. Y-Y-You put them in that position," Bruce said.

"And you put them in the position with her," Ava brought up.

"As did every action all of you have taken that wound you up in my presence this night. Your argument is either with your own decisions or fortunes, not me," Ven carefully stated as she finally set the cleaver down on the table.

"Jesus," Bruce said with a feeling of dread. "You're a monster."

"Really? Name-calling when we only just met?" she huffed as she sauntered to right in front of Bruce, who she had several inches on. Her tail now hovered at his throat, keeping him shivering in place.

"Do they even remember who they are? Or are they..." Ava asked from behind as the sows sniffed nearer to her.

"One of the worst sorts of punishment." Ven began, licking her lips with eyes locked to Bruce's. "They're aware enough to know this is torture but to be given over to instinct. If some hogs were around they'd happily give themselves over to them. Put them in a sty and they'll fit right in. Screaming on the inside, of course, but they won't have to suffer for so long. So that's a mercy you won't be finding." Her fearfully fanged grin was nothing short of causing Bruce to begin pissing himself with dread.

"N-N-N-N-No! Y-Y-Y-ou can't!" he sputtered out desperately, trying to keep still. Sweat poured off him.

"You deal with the dirty rat and maybe we can cut a deal, huh?" Ava offered while also checking her phone for the time.

"You stay right where you are, dear, and I'll see about the deal," Ven said with shades of benevolence as she caressed a hand down Bruce's shaking cheek. "She's right, you know. There is a perfectly good word for the sort of person you are. A term nearly as old as I am."

"P-P-P-P-" Bruce starts but was interrupted by a thrusting kiss from an enraptured succubus, with her hand keeping his head in place. When at last she pulled back, her elongated tongue teasing his mouth before she retracted it too. Only then did she let him go did he seem to regain any sense with a wisp of smoke escaping his mouth. "Wh-What..." he said breathlessly.

"Hm, Trent was still a better kisser," Ven found herself lamenting quietly before smirking at her stunned victim. "The term you're looking for, Brucy, is a filthy, recreant, and faithless rat."

While she said the word with no particular harshness it nonetheless had the effect of rifling through the poor man's heart. Staggered, he was panting with desperate eyes that were soon bulging out. Then came what looked like a scream as he opened his mouth but it just revealed his growing teeth, followed by his face starting to push forward around his nose.

This was worry enough for the man but there was also the development in the seat of his jeans. Growing rapidly from the base of his spine were bulges of bone pushing out into slimy flesh. It filled his briefs, making Bruce briefly wonder what it is before reasoning quickly it was a tail to match his other bestial changes. As it grew it should have made for a tight fit to his clothes but instead his pants, like everything else on him, was getting looser. Also troubling was that it was also getting quite heavy.

By now whiskers were budding from the sides of his cheeks as they stretched forward over a still growing snout. More visible as his hoodie emptied and flopped back from his body's continued shrinking were his ears. That had started by looking like they were getting wider before pulling up into more appropriate rodent shapes. With the hair on his head falling out there also sprouted new hairs that were few in furry gray patches.

"Hel-eek!" Bruce screeched in a wretched, inhuman voice.

"Jesus," Ava gasped as she watched the humanity of the man get stripped away.

Ven by now had backed away to observe her work while the sows milled around her legs. "That crushing feeling of the world getting bigger while you get smaller, and smaller, and smaller. You can tell from the look in his eyes that he's wishing so desperately this was a dream. Or more aptly, a nightmare," Ven observed with a clear affection. "Would you call this a fitting end for his breed?" she asked Ava while turning.

"I would have just killed him. This seems, excessive. The cruelty to do such a thing," Ava replied coldly, shaking her head. "I can see why you would be a useful partner to have. I respect a woman in power."

"Flattery is appreciated. Won't do much for your case but I won't stop you showing admiration where it's due," she said with her tail now pointed more towards the fearful woman.

"Though I wonder if animals are all you do. And if so, it seems a bit excessively cruel. Even by my standards," Ava coldly assessed to try and make herself not look too shaken. "But I can definitely see why you would cultivate such friends with abilities like yours. A real problem solver you are."

"To be a succubus like me is to derive pleasure from the exotic and impure. We traffic in what really drives humanity, below the surface of culture, honor, and respect. And that's desire, dear. Once you know that about humanity they're easy to manipulate to your own ends. As for the changes themselves, well, a dead person, while perhaps providing some amusement while alive, gains you little in the long run. And as immortal beings, you always have to think of the long game." As Ven began to explain knelt down to pet one of the pigs, Sal perhaps, while still watching Bruce shrivel away into a pile of squeaks.

Once Bruce was small enough his pants and briefs tumbled down around his feet. His sweatshirt looked like it was a being fit on a toddler with the man's struggling grasps amounting to just some bulging lumps against thick fabric. Inside he was as hot as even and felt surrounded by the dark, cavernous confines of his clothing. Everywhere he was hairy now, with hands that were looking more like feet, feet with long nails and fur. His tail was visibly hanging under him for a brief while before his hoodie flopped down to the ground too as there wasn't enough man inside to keep upright any longer.

Ven continued, "The longer they live, trapped with my magic in whatever form I give them, that toil and angst they forever feel helps fuel my own capabilities. Being able to do what I want without even a touch needed. Being able to honey my words, to use a pig's parlance, when I please to turn any creature's mind to my will. It takes time to cultivate such a power base, years, but your current age certainly does hasten things along a bit. I have to think more on my feet now but as a result I've built up almost all I've needed in just over three years which took me well over a hundred in the past. Though I'd be lying if I didn't say I enjoy the build up just as much as I plan on enjoying my rewards. But that's what you get when you love what you do," she said with a devious grin.

Ava was trying to keep stoic, as was her reputation, and was finding it easier as Bruce disappeared into the clothing. However Ven still had her worried but not as much as wondering where her backup was. They should have been parked just three blocks away. Meaning only a couple minutes tops before they should be knocking down the doors. That they weren't first got her angry. Now she was panicking.

"The fuck are they?" she grumbled to her while tapping her heel.

While the pitch of Bruce's squeaks rose the volume died off to little more than what a small rat could manage. His body just kept shrinking from his point of view, making him fear that he would literally get so small he disappeared. Only as he got down to the size of fitting easily inside one of his old shoes did it seem only that his legs and head were being adjusted down further to fit a new species. The new tail whipped around continually as his wrought mind struggled against the crush of his changed skull and instinct.

Once one of the more feared, due to his smarts and unpredictability, Bruce was now reduced to a pile of clothes. It was only when there appeared to be no movement that Ven strutted herself over, bent down at the hips in order to pluck out, by the tail, a squirming rat that was the final reward for all his attempted machinations. Ven dangled him in front of her eyes whispering something to the rat Ava could not make out. But when the demon turned, she had switched to an affable demeanor.

"This way. I need to dispose of this and we also need to talk about this deal of ours. Come on, don't be shy now. Doesn't suit you," Ven told the woman with a mark of sincerity while pushing through the swinging door to the front of the stop. She even held the door open with her tail for Ava as she followed cautiously.

The front of the store was dim but street lights outside put anything in stark shadows. The mostly empty cases with their bent glass added to the effect. No fresh meats were out- all were stored back in the coolers and freezers- but many types of sausages, salamis, prosciutto, and other cured meats were hanging from the ceiling or displayed in the large front windows. There were even bottles of port and wine on the walls too along with garlic, various dried herbs, and even dried loaves of bread.

Ven made first for the front door, which she unlocked before tossing the rat unceremoniously out into the night. There was a din of dogs barking outside and close, which spelled ill for the man's survival. Satisfied, the demon came back into the store and took an interest in the hanging meats. And as Ava's sharp eyes caught, Ven didn't lock the door either.

"I've been so on the run today I haven't really gotten a chance to eat yet. I think some welcome work deserves a welcome meal, eh? Perhaps I can... make you something," Ven offered mockingly. Or at least Ava hoped.

"No. I think you've quite robbed me of my appetite," Ava replied. She was moving carefully, slowly, towards the front door now but knew she had to wait for at least some distance between them. Which would be hard in such a tight space. But Ava had picked up on the fact Ven was just as likely to deal with her fairly to change her like the others.

"Suit yourself," Ven shrugged. "So you talked about a deal. What's the offer? I'm listening but I'm also starved so you'll have to work to keep my attention."

"I guess it's more about what I can do for you. With my competition out of the way, my income streams are about to skyrocket. I could get you whatever you want, be it more victims, money, or whatever it is you traffic in. I'm well-connected, sourced, and have a reputation of being able to deliver. I think a woman, being like you, can appreciate what I could bring to the table," Ava explained in her best controlled voice. "Hell, if you want some of my own guys to help sweeten the deal you can have them. Plenty more where they came from. And I have other hookups that make me useful. No animal can give you that sort of return on investment, I can assure you."

While the woman talked Ven moved around the sides of the store bringing each hanging meat to her nose for a careful whiff. Those she liked she plucked down, totaling a small salame Toscano, a bulky soppressata, a fine nduja, and lastly one of the larger loaves of dried Italian bread. Lastly she fussed over which prosciutto to take from several on display but decided on the largest. All of this she set down on the large counter set up for cutting at the end of the display. Once she did though, she let out an angry huff.

Having just finished speaking, Ava gulped and worried she had done something to offend the succubus. "If it's a price you want, name it. Anything," she offered.

"Cheese," Ven said with a slither of her tone. Her nostrils flared as she sniffed the air.

"Cheese?" repeated a confused Ava.

"I could use some now is what I meant. There has to be some... Ah ha! Behind you on the shelf. One of the hunks of Parmigiano behind you," Ven instructed the woman impatiently.

Moving quickly Ava grabbed one of the free pieces of plastic wrapped and priced cheese and hurled it across the room. Even with her attention more on holding the soppressata in place Ven effortlessly grabbed the cheese. With the sharp tip of his thumbnail she cut the plastic off of the cheese and brought it to her nose for a sniff.

"Lovely," Ven noted before slamming the cheese down to the cutting board, crumbling it into even smaller clumps which she then worked down with the palm of her hands until only tiny chunks remained. Next came her tail moving up between her arm and body to start using it as a knife to cut thick slices out for herself. "What do you think a creature like me wants from a creature like you, dear? What value can I gleam from you aside from I've told you I can gleam from you, hmm?"

"Drugs," Ava began.

"A human distraction. My vices are my virtues so you will have to work harder," Ven cautioned as she moved to the prosciutto.

"People then. You said you need ones to suffer, right? I can get container ships delivered to your house full of people born to suffer. Can have them weekly if you want. That should kick start things for you, right? Or if you're more picky my people can find most anyone and gift wrap them for you if you like. How does that strike you then?" she asked. While speaking she moved closer to the door whenever Ven's attention was minding her slices instead of her. And while checking out the front door she managed to spot her backup's van parked a little further up the street, providing a possible escape route. Carefully, Ava slipped out of her heels.

"What makes you think I don't have such matters already well in hand? Are you presuming I'm not already at the cusp of what I'm trying to accomplish? Do you think whatever washed up refuse you could deliver would be of the sort I prefer? You're cooking for a diner without knowing their palette. I can tell you're a woman who's good at reading people. A good quality for survival," Ven granted carefully before adding, "unless your quarry isn't human. Then you're put off balance, leaving you to flail around with these... offers of yours. Can you really not do any better?" she asked, now staring, eyes shimmering, right at Ava.

By now she had cut her meat and did the same with the bread until she had thick slices. Then she spread some of the nduja onto one side of either piece, all this with her tail, and even lifted the tip to lick the excess off. Satisfied she began assembling all the meat into a sandwich with the crumbled cheese one top. Once Ven had it all assembled, making sure that Ava was watching, she licked either side of the bread with her tongue that served to heat the bread enough to toast it within seconds. Done either side of the sandwich, Ven was left with a melted cheese sandwich which she was hungering to taste.

"Looks good," Ava said, now almost with a clear path to the door.

Ven sinks her teeth into and looks immediately won over. "Oh, I needed this," she purrs. The ravenous demon set on the rest of the sandwich completely, turning facing away from Ava slightly in the process. Now was her chance.

Ava tried to move as fast as she could, keeping her on Ven primarily expecting her to move. But she just continued enjoying her meal. It almost seemed too good to be true as she ran to the door and pushed it open, only to have a low but large shadow to charge the other side of the door which pushed the door right back in the woman's face. Her nose cracked the glass which staggered her backwards in shock. Trying to see what happened she focused on the door and could see what appeared to be a massive Rottweiler standing looking at her.

"Son of a bitch," Ava groaned.

The dog barked, louder than Ava was expecting, which brought a flood of four more dogs rushing to the door hungrily. Their startling appearance, along with their cacophonous barking, caused her to lose her footing and fall hard to the old linoleum floor with a thud.

"I was wondering when you would try to make a run for it. Happy that you spared your shoes. My pet is about your size I think," Ven speculated wryly. She still wasn't looking at Ava, preferring to enjoy the last piece of melted cheese instead.

"Your pet?" Ava thought it was some cruel joke about the dogs. Then she watched as the almost rabid attention from the dogs abated quickly before all sat down like they were trained. Their tail wagging, they got pets on the head from a beautiful blonde in a strapless black dress. Moving with an air of confidence reflective of Ven, the woman entered with a predator's stride until she stood over Ava.

"Celia, my dear pet, meet Ava. Ava, Celia," Ven introduced.

"Charmed," growled Ava, holding her bleeding nose.

Celia said nothing. Simple stares with a worrying look of growing fascination.

"Introduction aside, Celia, were there any attempted intrusions on my fun?" Ven asked carefully.

"Where do you think I got the dogs, mistress," Celia replied with a lick of the lips.

"Oh? I thought you were just courting strays." Ven took the salami and nibbled it as she gracefully sat up on the counter.

"No, Mistress. A whole car load of them. They worked for a Flores or Flowers or something. Their begging turned to barks so quickly I'm not entirely sure of the name," Celia conceded in a voice that was unnerving in its sweetness.

"This is why we don't change them too fast, pet," Ven reminded like an instructor. "I take it these men, these... dogs, are with you?"

Ava chose not to respond. Instead just leering back at Celia with contempt.

"I thought so. Now why would you want to ruin a good repartee by trying to turn it into a ruckus? I almost think you were trying to deal in good faith," Ven scoffed mockingly. "Whatever happened to honor and loyalty and all those manners of humanity frivolities?"

"Hard to find these days," said Celia who was now beginning to reveal herself to be what Ava expected. Like Ven before her the blonde woman's skin turning that same infernal red while her hair blackened, hairs grew, and she was left standing and looking just a smaller, perhaps more lean version of Ven herself.

"More like extinct," corrected a fickle sounding Ven. "Men of honor. Now they were fun to corrupt. Ah well, pride is still currency and is as good a fulcrum as any to bend her over. Celia, your honors."

"Thank you, mistress," Celia delightedly smiles with her green-gold eyes flashing.

It was all Ava needed to hear to start backing herself away from the demon at her feet. "You keep away from me. You hear me!"

Ava was so busy watching Celia's hands that she didn't see the demon's tail sneaking around underneath. But when it wrapped around her ankle sharply she was all too aware.

"Your boys tried to run too but now look at them. They were so eager to come to your aid. Still are even. Just waiting out there, watching, waiting," Celia taunted. And when Ava tried to claw herself away the succubus tightened her tail and started reeling in her prey. "Perhaps we should give them something to enjoy for all their commitment."

"Lovely. I was thinking the same thing," Ven agreed as she snacked. Her legs were now this side of the counter with one leg up and the other hanging lazily off the side while she watched with a whimsical smile.

"Please, please, we-we-we had a deal! We can work something out!" Ava desperately tried to negotiate. Even as Celia had reeled her in so she could place a foot on the woman's heaving breast.

"All you've offered are humans. And while I have no interest in your trades of drugs, murder, or gambling, a market I do seek to control is that of how humans reach me. In that way, you're little more than a middle person, soaking up funds and over-complicating things," Ven told Ava while a sneering Celia started running her toes over the woman's face. "So instead of making a case for yourself being spared, you just gave me all the more reason to let my pet indulge herself. Though calling for cavalry would have likely sunk you on its own anyway. Regardless, Lady Flores, since I have no use for you I hand you over to the capable hands of my apprentice. Enjoy it, I know I will."

Even before Ven gave her final judgment, from the tempo of her voice Ana knew she wasn't getting mercy. With nothing else to live for, she tried to stand up and throw her captor off. Ava managed to bunch up before Celia grabbed her by the chin so firmly and with such might that she couldn't even budge. From her the demon raised her up high enough so that Ava's feet weren't touching the ground. The show of strength was followed by Celia tenderly bringing her to inches from each other's lips.

"D-Don't," Ava tried to say while choking.

The expectant kiss didn't come. Instead Celia, after taking in Ava's scent, chose instead to lick the woman from chin to cheek then around her ear before at last letting the woman drop.

Ava was barely able to get her feet under her to help cushion her fall to her ass then back. As she came to, she saw Celia backing off and nearer to Ven. This presented a moment where, even as a fevered heat started setting into her head, blurring her vision, she saw a clear path to the door and to escape. So she dragged her body up and onto her knees and from there tried walking forward which only resulted in her stumbling forward until she was crawling.

It's in this state that the heat Ava felt started causing her to sweat. Just like she had remembered seeing the others do before things went south for them. A more troubling feeling was the cramping of muscles and then joints before a hard spasm of her gut caused Ava to collapse just out of arm's reach from the door's handle. And while she tried to stretch, with the dogs all still sitting the other side of the glass watching, to get the handle only for the sight of her darkening fingernails to give her pause. Then watched in horror as that led to literal paws with a hair-raising quickness.

"No! No! Let me out here! Let me ou- ah! Ow! No! N-N-N-N-No!" Ava cried out when her nose began shifting. Probably already broken, it nonetheless stiffened before swelling up. As it did the flesh turned dark followed by a force blooming forward out of her mouth. She tried gasping for air to satisfy the growing ache but that wasn't it. It was just her skull pushing outward to start forming a snout. This was met with more desperate pleas for help which were mixed with more and more like a dog's whimpering.

Accompanying her face's transformation were a shedding of her hair, a remolding of her ears into larger pointed things, and accordingly growing teeth and tongue. These were the changes she watched and felt the most but they weren't the only ones. Further down her body her clothing was bulging in spots with the biggest pushing into her dressy pants. Her feet were changing, much like her hands, into paws. Pads swelled while her foot stretched and diminished. More dark nails grew out of her old ones and tore through the stockings she was wearing. But it did force her butt into the air as she danced on her tippy-toes.

Her compromised position made it so the tail that had been growing and filling up the seat of her pants could rip out once the seam down the back burst. This tail came already coated in a white and ash colored fur a half-inch long and growing. Similar fur could be seen sprouting in clumps from her ankles, to back, to stomach, to arm, and onto the space between her triangular ears. And once her pants had torn open the rest of her wardrobe was tearing off too.

Some of the feelings most distressing to her were now occurring between her legs. The distressing sensation of her cunt being tugged back under her asshole which was itself now tucked up close to her tail. Combined with her pelvis's changes, which spread her ass apart and adjusted her stance so that from behind she already had the look of a dog. The added fur, its long length and color, along with the other modifications to her frame made her look a proper Alaskan malamute. Something that got a modest applause from Ven.

"She's looking quite well-bred, pet. In different circumstances, she'd be a keeper. Unlike Rachel ever was," Ven remembered with passing indifference. She did finally finish her snack allowing her to finally step down to the floor- only a few inches from Ava's back legs. "What state will you leave her in, pet? Her friends are eagerly awaiting her already," Ven noted based on all the dog's wagging tails.

"You said she was bad so, I thought, I would leave her with control. Enough to work those legs at least, but not enough to stop yourself having inappropriate thoughts about what exactly those dogs could do to a bitch like her," Celia explained. As she did she would use her foot to nudge or singe her clothing to free it from her pluming fur. The more she exposed, the more Ava's body shook and contorted and brought itself more in line with her breed. "If she can run fast enough, maybe she can reach someone who can hide her. But if she can't- and I don't think she'll last more than a couple blocks- every knot she takes gives her over to the animal a little more," she said devilishly. Especially as she watched Ava tear up.

"My word, she won't last til morning, will she?" asked Ven in a leading way.

While shaking her head, smirking, Celia answered coldly, "That's the idea. I'm igniting such a heat in her that I bet she'll be giving it over willingly by the third one. If not second."

Overhearing all of this was Ava. Unable to move from her spot and now fully unclothed there was little left for her to hang on to. Her body felt not her own. It felt more like her humanity had been transfigured into this form, leaving her still aching and barely able to stand on her four new legs. Under her, eight wobbling teats hung exposed until the fur coated there as well.

But the troubles for her were more than the physical, which was close to complete. Because in those moments when the transformation was abating, a heat persisted from her backside. At first just another point of searing discomfort but it evolved into something more sensual. Ava experienced a passing feeling of something like enjoyment before realizing it was just her new sex coming online. And right into overdrive.

This radiating point of sexual lust grew, spreading its tendrils into Ava's mind and drawing her attention more to the dogs. They had been interested before but now but upon picking on the heady, sultry smell wafting off her canine sex, they were all up at the door. Their whines, their eagerness, their extending members; all of it gave the former woman horrific flashes of what would happen if those dogs, her former underlings no less, could get to her.

Even worse, part of her brain was telling her to give in.

"I've made those mutts out there as lost as any so it will be a proper welcome. To say nothing of any wandering strays that catch her scent," Celia giggled as she moved to open the door. Her presence, along with a shooing with her hand, backed them away from the door some but didn't abate their excitement.

Ven moved to nearer the door as well, giving Celia a long, impassioned kiss. This coincided with the last of Ava's changes. Now just a bitch in heat with a human mind jostling for control with instinct, it took everything just to not collapse right there.

Finally parting from Celia, Ven gave her a subtle nod. Sensing Ava's attention, Ven appeared to exult in the moment. "Remember, it's nothing personal. Sometimes it's not about sending a message. It's just punishment. And pleasure," Ven cooed as she locked her golden eyes on Ava's.

A second later the door opened and Celia swiftly booted the malamute out into the street. The stunned bitch only needed to see the thirst in the dogs' eyes to take off running as fast as she could. And the dogs followed, barking and baying as they chased their passions.

The two demons exited the shop, their bodies reverting to those of their human forms. Celia took some keys from her purse and unlocked the black SUV that Ava's men had come in.

"It's a real leather interior on this one. And you can really crank the heater up," Celia went to the driver's seat.

"Much better than that rot-wood you drove me here in," Ven remarked while getting in the passenger's side.

"I'm sorry, mistress. I thought you'd like the Alfa," Celia apologized.

"Forget about it, dear. I already have. I am still hungry however," Ven said with a hungry lick of her licks.

"To the twenty-four hour steakhouse then," Celia responded, knowing her mistress would love it.

"Good pet," Ven nodded fondly.

The demons drove off into the still night, the town still slumbering. Only the barking of dogs echoing in the alleyways.