[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 157: Ishtar’s memories (Part 1). (Patreon)

It came like a strike of lightning. It wasn’t complete, but some of it returned to her. Ishtar remembered the day it happened with enough detail to be painful again.

Back then, though she was unsure how long ago that was, the barren wasteland they stood in was full of greenery and life. Towns and villages spread across the territory, and at the very center stood a huge city.

Ishtar had been out of the castle that day, checking out the new tavern that had opened up downtown. She walked in and saw the people, felt the atmosphere, and loved it.

About half the customers were either incubi or succubi, as was the population of their nation. It was the fact that the other half were people of different races that made her so joyous.

Ishtar saw a couple of succubi seducing an awkward, blushing orc at one table, An incubus having a lively conversation with a cute halfling woman who could not take her eyes off him at another, and a succubus sharing drinks with an elven couple who both seemed very into her.

“This can’t be!” the bartender behind the counter claimed with a gasp. “Lady Ishtar! You honor me and my establishment with your presence!”

The man was a short goliath, meaning about two meters tall, yet still built like a rock. Long back hair reached below his shoulders, his jaw was strong and defined, and his skin a very light shade of blue. His apron and well-made clothes helped lessen the usually dangerous appearance goliaths had.

“Shut it, Gaspar,” Ishtar said, grinning and leaning on the counter. “I was worried your place would be going under on its first few days, but you seem to be doing fine. Not that I have that out of my mind, give me a couple of strong drinks and point me in the direction of some fun.”

“Well,” the big man took out a bottle and poured the ale on a couple of flaggons. “If you’re in the mood to brighten someone’s bad day, my lady, that girl over by the corner seems to be drinking sorrows away.” He nodded towards the table at the very corner.

Ishtar turned to look, and her interest was piqued immediately.

There was an amazon woman there, sexy in all the best ways amazons were. Tall, toned, long wavy blonde hair, a large bust, and wearing minimal clothes, just a mail bikini. That latter one was just a cultural thing, Ishtar knew and appreciated. Supposedly, amazons were so proficient at strengthening magic that armor was a hindrance and a waste for their warriors.

Smiling, Ishtar took both drinks and made her way to that table. The woman had her head down, staring into the bottom of her own flagon. Her cheeks were red, so she must’ve been a few cups in already. A bit of harmless mind-reading gave her enough of what she needed to know.

The woman felt angry, heartbroken, betrayed. Ishtar decided that the woman needed to have some fun, and knew that deep inside she wanted it. Maybe not even that deeply.

“Did you know that souring the mood of this place with that scowl is a crime?” Ishtar said, taking the seat right next to the amazon and placing the flagon in front of her.

Startled, and with eyes slightly lost just now refocusing, the woman looked at Ishtar and around the tavern. She let out a short, soft chuckle.

“You’re right. I should go somewhere else,” she said.

“That’s not gonna fix anything. What you need to do is drink with me, and if you’re up to it, roll around on a bed, as well,” Ishtar said bluntly.

Anywhere else, comments like that would be frowned upon, but when you were in the kingdom of the Queen of Lust, you had to at least get ready for the culture shock. That said, this woman seemed well traveled, and laughed at Ishtar’s advances.

“You succubi will fuck anything with a pulse, huh?” Her words had a slight, drunk slur to them.

“There are some who’ll fuck even those without one, but we don’t talk about that. Ugh.” Ishtar shivered. “Freaks.”

That sent the woman into even heartier laughter. Ishtar could tell that at least some of it was forced, but what was important was the part that was natural.

“Your name?” Ishtar asked.

“Johana,” the amazon answered, taking the offered flagon.

“Ishtar. A pleasure.”

The two made a little toast, drank, and Ishtar pretended like she didn’t notice Johana totally checking her out. Yep, she was into her alright.

Ishtar was shorter than the warrior lady, standing at about 1.80 meters at most. Tall for a succubus, not much by other races’ standards. Silky, straight, deep black hair reached her lower back and hung on her shoulders. She had a lithe yet curvy figure, with a bust on the average for succubi population, meaning big but smaller than melons. Her lightly pale skin contrasted well with her red lips and red eyes. To top it all off, Ishtar wore an armor bikini of her own, this one plate instead of mail.

“So? What’s got you drinking tonight? Any idiots that need to be taught a lesson?” Ishtar asked, drinking.

“That lesson was already taught, I made sure of that. Made me feel a little better.” Johana smiled wryly. “A little.”

“I wouldn’t like to piss off an amazon warrior. Who was the poor sod?”

“My fiance. Ex fiance.” Johana sighed. “Arranged by family, but we got along. I even started liking the guy at one point. Just this afternoon I saw him with someone else, though.”

“Are you sure it’s what you thought?”

“He was getting his ass railed by an incubus, so pretty much.”

“Ouch.” Ishtar felt the shame, pain and betrayal in Johana as distant emotions. She understood them, but had a hard time empathizing. After all, most incubi and succubi kept open relationships. The ones who didn’t were the weirdos. But she knew those were her people, not other races.

“You know, I’m not THAT mad about it. I just feel so stupid. We didn’t like each other at first, so when we started to get along, I thought things would work out. I was the only one who thought that, apparently. At least I’m free now. That’s a good thing.”

“A toast to that!” Ishtar cheered. “And just to emphasize, I wasn’t joking when I offered some fun under the sheets. The halflings may brew better ale than us, but they don’t have us beat on stress relief.”

Johana laughed, throwing her head back. “This country is crazy.”

“A toast to that, as well.”

Johana downed the rest of her flagon in one last go. “You know what? I’m down for a bit of fun. I’ve always been more into women than men, anyway. And like I said, I’m free to do what I want now.”

“That’s what I like to hear!”