Lady Mariel Champlain is one day stewing a meager dinner on the fire when a knock on the door signals terror at its worst. Standing at the threshold is a Trull, a demon soldier of the dark Lord Valdamer and he isn't paying a social call. Mariel's shiftless father has sold her for gold.

It is well known to be sold to Lord Valdamer is a death sentence. He owes his warlock powers to a group of demons and to keep them sated he gives them sexual slaves. To please them requires endless days and nights of rituals at each demon's temple. These rituals are beyond anything imaginable and Mariel is certain she will not survive. Her hope lies in the Trull that escorts her bound as a prisoner to each temple. Trulls were mortal men whose spirits and bodies belong to the dark lord. But Mariel thinks she sees a spark of who the Trull used to be and she bides her time hoping to make an impression on the man inside the demon soldier.

An impression she does make but her trials of sexual bondage and submission at the temples are beyond her bodies capabilities to sustain and yet each temple requires more and more of her prowess and endurance to survive. And if she does survive it is into the fortress of the dark Lord Valdamer she'll go. And that could well be a fate worse than death.

The only drawback to this story is some repetitious descriptions and trying to figure out the bondage choreography. There are many straps and manacles, body positioning and such that become a blur. Likewise, some of the scenes are more painful than erotic. However the plot and unfolding of the story are superb and make up for the shortcomings. Plus the Trull is a romantic figure despite his sometimes-brusque treatment of Mariel. I highly recommend this book for fans of erotic romance that like a more razor sharp edge to their plots.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Torie West
November 27, 2004