Hazelvale is a mess of townsfolk. Welcoming, not too apprehensive of me, and offering well wishes whenever I walk by the crowded streets or the overflowing market stalls.

They've been friendly and caring. Some too friendly and caring. But that works in my favor, since I have so much to learn as a newly created demon meant to wreak havoc in the form of heartbreaks.

To cause heartbreaks, I have to understand how to woo, be enticing. How to be so irresistible that the notion of being away from me is terrifying.

For days I meandered the city, having drinks in shabby taverns, studying the population. I ate popular fare and learned dialects to blend in. I bought clothing—that barely fit me, as my frame was so inhumanly large—and grew accustomed to the city life.

And I spoke with the inhabitants. Within a day, I ended up in darkened rooms with my clothes off. And it was better than anything I'd ever imagined.

I approached sex with caution, at first, letting my partners guide me. But I quickly learned its elaborate ways.

Now, a few days later, I parade down the dark main avenue. I smile, because I'm fully educated in those elaborate ways.

I've been a busy demon since arriving from Hell, and I have no complaints yet.

I danced with damsels who dripped desire. I frolicked with men who knew all the subtleties of bringing pleasure to places I didn't know existed. And I ventured into obscure alleys with genderless individuals who showed me tricks to use in my favor when it was my time to seduce.

That time is coming fast. Tonight, I'm on the prowl. I need someone to test my new knowledge on, someone to tease and trap and break.

And for that, I have to take all I've learned and use it on a few willing victims, to gauge my power, my newfound expertise. To break hearts, I'll need to get my hands dirty.

I lick my lips, looking forward to it all.

As I continue my walk, I recall how, earlier, I detected magic coming from the southern entrance. A blurry blow of tingles in my gut, my senses picking up on something unnatural, inhuman.

Something like me.

I decide to track it now, curious.

Fifteen minutes of sniffing around, and I figure out it's coming from a quaint tavern near the gates. Hazel's Vale.

I enter it, my massive frame hardly passing through its narrow doorway. It's empty inside but for the barkeep, a cloaked lady at the bar, and a handful of other patrons seated at booths.

"Close the damn thing, will ya?" says one patron, miffed at the cold seeping in as I linger in the doorway.

"Sorry. Sit anywhere?" I ask, peering towards the barkeep, who shrugs, mumbling something incoherent.

The patrons are staring, and not discreetly, as I remove my cloak, throw it onto the coat-rack, and pad into the place.

I take a seat at the closest table. The candle in the center flickers from my movement, and the chair creaks from my weight.

I'm not a giant by demonic standards, but for humans, I'm impressive. Those who don't sway up to me fawning and batting their eyelashes tend to back away and hide. This doesn't offend me; there are plenty who are intrigued by me and not afraid to approach.

I wait, in silence, and all the gazes move away from me.

Foreign and imposing, sure, but I'm uninteresting to this local crowd.

Good. I need time to assess the situation, to determine where the magic is coming from.

There's no one of interest in here, but an air of love and lust swarms over me. Magical love and lust; it's powerful, raw. Not feeble like the lust I experienced outside, when I came across loose-lipped ladies who begged to give their bodies to me.

No, this magic is...different, yet so familiar all. It's light yet suffocating; soft yet strong enough to pierce through my hardened chest and poke at my heart.

I try not to gag. I've enjoyed the abundance of lust in this town, but the love leaves something to be desired. I wasn't created to want it; but to destroy it.

Lust, on the other hand, I can't seem to absorb enough of.

My mouth is thick with the acidity of love. It's unpleasant, and my throat scratches, thirsty for a good ale or a smooth vintage.

I turn to the bar, intent on ordering something, anything, and—

A treacherous lust slaps me in the face as I see her.

The woman who'd been sitting at the counter, her back to me. She's stripped of her cloak, draped in a vivid scarlet dress that devours her, clinging to her skin in places I'm incredibly eager to touch.

She's the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen—and I've seen a few, since I got here.

But this woman...she's not real. She's not human. No, she can't be.

Drop-dead-delicious. Scrumptious. Mouthwatering. A masterpiece.

Long, voluminous dark hair coils over her shoulders, falling over her cinched corset of shiny red. Her eyes are like glowing orbs, hypnotizing me into submission. Her skin is radiant, soft-looking.

As she sways onward, almost in slow-motion, I notice her incredible curves, her hips wide enough for me to grip, to bring her close, or to bend her over—

Something pulsates between my legs. I've grown used to erections, but the one I have for her is painful, and growing more and more obvious.

If she sees it, she says nothing, continuing to approach me. Every step makes her rounded, plump breasts jiggle. I start wondering how big they are, how much of them I can fit into my mouth at once.

She's beyond my wildest dreams. All these times I've fucked women since I got here, none of them have given me this unreal sensation in my chest, my core, my cock; and without a single word or touch.

If she comes closer, I may explode. But I want to scoop her up in my arms, lay her gently on a bed and eat her up, drain every inch of her until she can no longer move.

Then suck up her beautiful soul and shatter her heart.

It's her—my first real target, the one I'm meant to destroy to begin propagating the disease of heartbreak. There can't be a more flaring sign, screaming at me to take advantage.

Bazroth will love this—he will be proud.

I'm not sure if Bazroth wants me to check in with him first, to deliver news of my investigation. But I'm too tempted to take this woman, give her all the pleasure she can withstand, then yank it all away and watch her fall.

Oh, what a beautiful destruction she would be.

As I'm preparing what to say to her when she reaches my table, I'm hit with the vision of the beating member inside her chest.

Her heart—I perceive it as if it were my own. And it's so blindingly red that if there are any flaws, I can't detect them.

Thank you, Bazroth, for instilling in me the power to read hearts.

Now I only want her more. She's pure, a heart so untainted it'll taste like ecstasy once I get my claws into it. I'll make it bleed—and I'll rub my hands as I watch her spread the disease without even knowing it.

She's not innocent; the way she moves suggests she's well-versed in the art of seduction. There are no lines near her eyes or mouth, and I put her in her early twenties, no more, no less.

Whatever her age and level of experience, she's a goddess, and I must have her.

I'm drawn to her in ways I can't understand. It's dangerous to be so lulled into her aura, so drenched by the lust she exudes. But my selfish heart can't, won't wait for permission from Bazroth.

I'd never take an unwilling heart, but pure as hers is... she won't refuse me. Why else would she be striding up to me, clutching her dress, lifting it enough for me to see her beautiful legs?

Legs I can't wait to spread apart. Thighs I presume are thunderous enough to wrap around my head and choke me as I attempt to lick her center of pleasure.

Because I will lick it. I will squeeze between her legs. My heart is thumping in rhythm with my cock. It's only a matter of time.

"Hello," she says, pausing at my table, peering down at me with those intriguing eyes, puckering her darkly colored lips. "Welcome to Hazel's Vale, stranger."

Her voice is sultrier than I'd anticipated. It turns on all the zones I had no clue could be aroused.

My heart is not supposed to thud like this, to crave like this. And yet it speaks to my erection, pumping it, urging me to act on how attracted I am to this woman.

I'm here to break hearts, but first, I'd like to break her bed.

Wordcount: 1,480
TOTAL: 9,074