By Bernie

The sun had risen over the grassy hillside, which brought some relief to Karyn and her three companions; Slithe, Jatz and Lynthia.  The beautiful warrior laid limply on the back of Jatz's run lizard, heavy bandages wrapped tightly around her stomach to patch up the wound in the side of her torso.  Jatz rode atop Karyn's mustel, his head bowed low from both exhaustion and a sombre mood.  Lynthia paced her beast so it was always just directly ahead of Karyn, for she did not want to widen the gap between them.  Despite the knowledge that Xarthul could not pursue them for another few hours, Karyn urged her procession to continue advancing as quickly as they could, knowing that he could still be nearby.  Brewing within each of them however, laid a deep desire to complete their long quest, and possibly soothe the restless gods.

Karyn's vision was still cloudy; in the moments she was able to keep her eyelids open.  Their weight constantly overpowered her and it was always a battle to re-open them.  The pain in her side still lingered, but remained at a steady level that she was able to become accustomed to.  She could see in her peripheral vision that Lynthia held her amulet outward, waving it around in the hopes of finding a signal.

"Soon, so soon..." Karyn murmured quietly to herself.

"Save your strength." Slithe suggested.  The lizaroid walked a bedside vigil for the warrior.  "How do you feel Karyn?"

"Hurt, but relatively speaking, decent." Karyn replied, her body to weak to even tilt her head towards Slithe as he spoke to her.

"There is more than you are revealing is there not?" Slithe asked suspiciously.

"What makes you suspect that?" Karyn asked, surprised that Slithe posed such a question.

"Just the way you speak." Slithe told her.  "The way you pause in contemplation between words."

Karyn did not reply immediately, but then she realized that only reinforced Slithe's point.  "Then, I will admit to you Slithe, I feel a connection.  A true connection, between myself and the gods.  It is something Teneila and I briefly discussed.  She said magicians share a minor bond with the gods, one that grows over time with their devotion and training.  I however, feel a bond of a...different kind."

"Can you explain in more detail?" Slithe asked, his interest piqued.

"No.  I...do not understand the bond myself.  I have been contemplating it for much time but I still cannot comprehend the magnitude.  But...something about it suggests a degree of...intimacy that magicians can never attain.  Still, I have many questions I have no idea how to explain."

"Perhaps that is the purpose of finishing this quest." Slithe theorized.  "To have all our questions answered."

"Perhaps." Karyn said before drifting into sleep.

***

The archer had just emerged from the mouth of the cave when the sun rose and glared into his eyes.  Flinton gasped as he squinted and turned his head away, his hand acting as a makeshift visor.  His mind was hazy with exhaustion, having walked the whole night with Xarthul, Rath and Teneila.  They were vampyres, so night was their peak, the total opposite of Flinton.  His legs and feet ached, and pain flared in his muscles with every step.  And now, with the sunlight illuminating everything, Flinton was stuck guarding the three monsters as they slept in the darkness of the cave.

"This is ridiculous." Flinton grumbled as he collapsed down on a nearby rock.  Leaning his head on his hand, he did the only thing he could to prevent from dozing off; he pondered.

"Karyn."  He repeated the name many times in his head.  With the name, he associated a face of goddess-like beauty and a body of equal radiance.  A smile formed across his face as he remembered the many sensual nights, and the times she uttered, "I love you."

Memories soon gave way to reality, or at least Flinton's perception of reality.  The smiling, naked body of Karyn slowly changed into a fuming she-devil.  It snarled at him before engulfing him in flames that erupted from her mouth.  Flinton did not scream as he felt his flesh melt away; he knew why he deserved such a fate.

Flinton gasped to alertness as he raised his head from against his bent knees.  He had fallen asleep without realizing it.  A cold sweat beaded on his face, a result of the intense dreams he just had.  He shook his head to clearness and looked behind him into the dark corridor where the three vampires slept, when an idea flashed in his mind.

"There is no point." he thought in response.  "It will not earn anything with her."

Karyn's immaculate form soon returned to his mind.  She was naked, with her breasts bared and her shimmering auburn hair billowing in a gentle breeze.  "Flinton..." she called with a sensual whisper. "I am grateful to you for slaying Xarthul.  I can only think of one suitable reward for such a deed."  The next scenes that flashed in Flinton's mind were brief snapshots, of him and Karyn making love in various positions.  Her hungry moans of bliss accompanied each one, as did the sensations of her warm belly clenching around his swollen prick.

"I truly was hoping to have her at least one more time." Flinton told himself.  "Here I am, aiding vampyres to kill her.  I do not even know why they wish to do so."  The archer's eyes suddenly widened like saucers as a realization came to him.  "And what will happen to me afterwards?!"  The most obvious answer exploded in his mind, he could almost feel the pain of fangs piercing his flesh, drinking his blood and turning him into monster.  "And that is if they decide to let me live..."

Flinton reached into his boot and pulled out his carving knife.  He looked down at the short blade for a moment in reflection and walked into the dark cave behind him.  Enough light poured from the wide entrance to allow him to see inside.  Three slumbering forms were visible, lying completely still.  Their slumber was so motionless, it reminded the archer of death.  Xarthul had his armor off, only a thin gray tunic covered his torso.  Teneila laid curled beside Xarthul, still naked from the waist up.  Although her bare breasts were visible, Flinton found no arousal from looking at her.  The fact that her breasts did not heave in her sleep, reminded him how much like a corpse she truly was.  Flinton shuddered slightly from the thought and drew closer to Xarthul's head, his blade held firm and his eyes focused on his heart.

"Die monster." he thought.

He raised the blade and brought it down, only to see Teneila's arm quickly snake across Xarthul's chest and take the blade into her own flesh.  Teneila screamed in pain, and Flinton backed away immediately with panic, pulling his blade out of Teneila's pale flesh and causing her screams to peak even louder.  He could see both Xarthul and Rath beginning to awaken.  Ignoring Teneila's painfully loud shrieks, Flinton dashed towards the light of the entrance and disappeared into the forest.

Teneila's wails eventually subsided to harsh pants, in tandem to the fading agony on her arm.  She clutched it and writhed on the ground, grimacing and moaning.  Precious blood flowed from her cut, but she was too in pain to attempt to drink it back into her system.  "Why?!!  Why did I save you?!!!" Teneila's voice was filled with rage and her eyes filled with tears, both from the physical and emotional pain.  "No other creature deserves to die more than you!!!  I despise..."

"Silence." Xarthul suddenly commanded.  Teneila abruptly ceased, though her mind continued to curse her master.  "As my slave, you are bound to me." he explained.  "Remember I said you cannot harm me.  It also extends that you will not allow me to die by any lack of action on your part.  To be honest, I was not aware it would work when you were unconscious.

You may speak again slave."

"I was half-asleep." Teneila venomously corrected.  "I was happy to see the archer about to end your wretched life."  She then focused her attention on her arm and licked the blood off her flesh.  She found it had no taste, but she knew that she could not afford to lose blood needlessly.

"What of the archer?" Rath asked.  "Shall I go after him?"

Xarthul turned to the barbarian and scowled.  "Giant oaf." he muttered under his breath.  "You know that we cannot survive the sunlight.  Even with the trees protecting us, the light that seeps through the cracks is enough to burn us."

"Then you will let the archer escape?" Rath asked.

"No." Xarthul calmly replied.  The vampyre closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.  Rath looked at him with a befuddled look while Teneila continued fuming at her master, and still clutched her throbbing arm.

"Who are you calling?" Teneila asked.

"You can read my thoughts?" Xarthul queried, opening his eyes and turning towards Teneila.

"No, but I can hear murmurs in your mind.  Who are you calling?"

"Them." Xarthul answered, pointing outside to a bunch of small flapping shapes that approached the cave.  Xarthul closed his eyes again and his brow visibly creased.  The small shapes fluttered away in the direction Flinton had run, coming just close enough for Teneila to hear their unmistakable sound.

"Bats." Teneila said.

"Yes.  I can control them." Xarthul told her.  "They are small enough to avoid the sunlight from beneath the trees, and they carry my curse.  Flinton will pay.  He will be turned, and the sun will burn him to cinders."

"What now then master?" Rath asked as Xarthul walked past him to the back of the cave.

"We cannot move outside." Xarthul replied as he laid down on the rocky floor.  "We shall remain here until nightfall.  It is truly unfortunate, but I can be patient a little longer."

"The sun will not set for many more hours." Rath complained.  The barbarian then glanced at Teneila's barely clothed form and smiled.  "May I pass some time with Teneila for amusement?"

Xarthul closed his eyes and said, "Fine.  Teneila, pleasure Rath, in any position he desires."

Teneila could only curse Xarthul in her mind as Rath smothered her lips with his, and her arms draped around the barbarian's thick neck while Rath's hands disappeared between her legs, roughly fondling her pussy and molesting her swollen clit.  Teneila's screams of painful pleasure came almost in unison with the sounds of Flinton's wails echoing through the woods.

"Do be quiet." Xarthul insisted as he fell back asleep.

***

Karyn found fluttering her eyes open to be difficult.  It felt like a rasp scraping against her eye every time she blinked.  Karyn groaned and shifted slightly, unsure if the darkness that greeted her eyes was a dream or if she was back in the real world.  The crackling of a fire.  She knew the sound was coming from her right.  The smell of roasted meat.  It came from the same direction.  A growing agony from her torso.  Her consciousness reminded her of her wound.  That was enough to convince Karyn she truly was awake.

The beautiful warrior slowly turned her head sideways in the direction of the fire.  Although her party appeared as unfocused characters, she could see the three of them; Jatz, Slithe, and her beloved Lynthia; sitting around the nearby blaze.  Jatz poked and prodded at something he put on a makeshift spit, until he noticed Karyn had moved.

"Karyn!" he exclaimed.  Slithe and Lynthia immediately turned.  The blonde girl nearly shrieked with happiness and she crawled to her lover's side.

"Oh Karyn!" she sobbed.  Lynthia brushed Karyn's soft left cheek with the back of her hand and smiled warmly at the auburn warrior.  "You had slept for so long I was not sure if you would ever awaken."

Karyn could only manage a half smile.  Her attempts to speak met with heavy resistance from her body.  Her throat felt like it was made of stone and the constant pain from her wound blared noise into her brain.

"You have not missed much." Jatz explained to Karyn as he shifted closer to her.  "We have been walking all day until our mustels could not walk anymore.  You were asleep the entire time.  I think I was too.  But I digress.  We set up camp here just a few hours ago.  Interestingly, Lynthia has proven herself to be quite a hunter, fetching us this game for dinner."  Jatz pointed to the skinned animal that roasted over the fire.

"I owe my skill to Slithe." Lynthia told the thief.

"I...am proud...Lynthia." Karyn exerted through her lips.  Lynthia could barely hear her and leaned her ear against Karyn's mouth.  "You...have...grown...strong."

Lynthia kissed Karyn gently on the lips, and her arms held Karyn in a light embrace.  "Please recover Karyn." Lynthia whispered.

"Perhaps some food and drink will help out." Jatz added, handing Lynthia a canteen of water and a piece of meat on a crude skewer.

Karyn ate and drank her rations, and after a few hours of rest she did regain enough strength to stand up.  Although her walk was more of a stagger, she was mobile enough that she insisted on moving along.  The last altar of the gods called out to her, almost to the point where she no longer needed the amulet to know of its existence.

Her companions however, were not so confident.  Jatz asked Karyn, "Are you sure you are well enough to travel?"

"Yes, would I insist so much if I was not positive?" Karyn replied pointedly.

"Karyn." Lynthia said calmly.  "Jatz is merely concerned, as am I.  That dark man may still be after us."

"His name is Xarthul." Karyn told Jatz as she hopped on her mustel.  She hissed and gritted her teeth as her wound flared with agony.  "And it is nightfall, which means he will definitely be after us.  Which gives us more motivation to continue moving."  Karyn then coaxed her mustel to start running, forcing her companions to catch up.

***

The shadows of night had finally snuffed out all remaining sunbeams that seeped through the cracks in the foliage.  Xarthul and his entourage slipped out of the cave, Rath with a hearty smile of satisfaction on his face while Teneila staggered out, her legs clamped together in an effort to numb the pain that radiated from her engorged pussy.

"We have lost much valuable distance between them.  And no doubt they move as quickly as possible to evade me." Xarthul explained.  "Do either of you know where they are headed or how I may find them?"  The vampyre gazed carefully at Teneila, his enslaved magician, as he asked the question.

Teneila visibly began to shiver, her mind continued to fight her new compulsion to obey Xarthul's every whim.  She kept her teeth clenched together as her lips began to move, but words did manage to escape her mouth.  "I...track...magic..."

"If you are capable of tracking them with your magic, then do so." Xarthul commanded sternly, his patience wearing thin from her constant resistance.  Teneila sighed with defeat and rubbed her temples, her eyes closed and quiet chants emerging from her lips.

"I have found them." Teneila finally admitted.  "They are far away from the forest, we cannot intercept them without risking exposure to the sun."

Xarthul paused before asking, "As a magician, are you capable of teleporting us to that location instantaneously?"

"Yes." Teneila quickly answered.  Her reply escaped her mouth without her noticing, much to her sorrow.

"Then teleport me, you, and Rath to Karyn." Xarthul ordered, his eyes boring into Teneila's.

Teneila's hands began to shake with fear as she began concentrating on the proper incantation.  Teleportation was a spell she was not skilled at, and she had never attempted three subjects at once.  Her incantation to the gods was long for this particular spell, she prayed for their strength and their guiding hand to take them to her desired destination.  Fears and uncertainties somewhat clouded her focus, but Xarthul's absolute power over her will helped to dissipate any sense of self-preservation that caused such hesitance.  A tear flowed down her cheek, she was not sure if she should hope or not hope that this spell would be her last.

***

The night sky was accompanied by a cool breeze, sending a chill through the already dreary atmosphere.  Tall grass blew sinuously in the wind, as high as a mustel's leg.  The forest and hills had slowly abated into this flat plain, with nothing looming in the horizon.  Lynthia continued to extend her arm while palming the amulet, she felt its vibrations guiding her and followed them despite the barren landscape ahead.  With a loud whine, Lynthia's mustel stopped and bucked backwards, standing for a moment on its hind legs.  Lynthia held tightly onto her reins to prevent from falling off, it was not until her beast had calmed down that she felt it, the vibrations of the amulet had intensified a thousand-fold.

Karyn, Slithe and Jatz stopped at Lynthia's side as the blonde girl stared at the amulet in her hand.  Lynthia's arm rattled violently from the movements of the relic, her attempts to muffle it by squeezing it with her fingers and steadying her arm proved fruitless.  The vibrations actually continued to intensify, soon sending shockwaves through her entire body.  Out of panic, Lynthia dropped the medallion but before she could regret such an action it stopped in mid-air.  Gasps were uttered by the party members as the amulet slowly levitated to eye-level, the chain dangling beneath its round charm.  Each of the small gems that had been embedded in the back of the amulet with each altar began to glow with a faint light.  Thanks to the darkness of night, it was easily apparent that the radiance was growing.  In sync with the brightening of the gem light, the small circular charm began to spin, quickening as the light became more intense.  The group gathered closely around the spinning charm, backing off only slightly as the velocity of the charm had risen enough that its chain began to whip around in a circular pattern.

Suddenly, out of each small stone, burst a beam of concentrated light.  Everyone looked up as the group of beams met and ascended quickly towards the heavens, shining brilliantly as a perfect shimmering column before the intersection of the beams slowly began to descend.  The lights lowered and lowered until they intersected directly in the centre of the medallion.   They then dissipated with a flash and the amulet began to fall to the ground.  Jatz's quick hands grasped it by the chain before it could vanish into the tall grass.  The thief then looked back at everyone with confusion as he held the normal-looking amulet in his hand.

"What was that?" he asked.  No one was able to utter an answer before an intense flash of light blinded everyone.

The shock of darkness suddenly becoming pure, bright light in a heartbeat proved to be difficult to recover from.  Everyone moaned and covered their eyes with their hands, as if doing so would hasten the healing process.  Eventually the cloudiness in everyone's vision did fade away, enough for them to see turn around and gasp at what they saw.  A short distance in front of them, there loomed a large, grey stone building.  Made out of huge blocks, it was shaped like a half pyramid.  From certain angles, it almost resembled a giant staircase, a staircase towards the heavens.

As the group gawked at the new structure, they failed to immediately notice when the amulet began to flutter once again.  Jatz held it out towards the temple and to his expectation, the vibrations increased in strength.

"I wonder what the gods will look like?"  Jatz asked as he continued to look at the architecture.  "To think, today we shall make history by answering that question."

"That is not be the only question on my mind." Lynthia said before persuading her mustel to flank Karyn's right.

"Karyn."  Lynthia started talking to her lover.  "I know this question may seem foolish at such a momentous time, but it burns within me to know.  Who is this Xarthul?  And what does he want?  And what does nightfall have to do with his strength?"

"Xarthul is the son of my master." Karyn explained.  "He is essentially jealous his own father chose to train me, and abandoned him.  So he is after me to prove his own strength."

"Great gods." Lynthia muttered.

"I am afraid the situation is worse than that.  He is also a vampyre."

Silence overcame the party as Karyn muttered those words.  "A vampyre?!" Lynthia eventually gasped.  "But..."

"They do exist Lynthia.  I could see it in his eyes, and in his skin.  Something about him just radiated the kind of darkness only an undead could.  He has enslaved Rath.  And..." Karyn paused for a moment, looking into Lynthia's wide brown eyes before another flash of light appeared directly behind them.

Because their eyes were already sore from the previous, much more intense flash, they were able to recover fairly quickly from the new one.  Karyn and her entourage turned around and saw what appeared to be an explosion of pure light, like a miniature version of the sun except burning for just a brief moment.  Three figures quickly became visible in the fading light, but it was not until night completely smothered the bright burst with shadows that the figures became more than silouhettes.

Jatz, Slithe, and Lynthia stood with jaws gaping as they saw the massive form of Rath standing before them.  Equally shocking to them was Teneila, her naked breasts still visible and her arms spread apart in the final pose of her magic gesture.  She caught a brief glimpse of her former comrades before she became overwhelmed with weakness and collapsed into the grass.

"Teneila." Lynthia whispered horrifically.  The blonde girl glanced at Karyn and saw she was still in no condition to fight.  Xarthul and Rath stood with clenched fists and rage visible in their eyes.  Lynthia bit her lip lightly as she quickly contemplated what course of action to take.

"To the altar!" she proclaimed, urging her mustel to run towards the ruins.  Karyn, Slithe and Jatz quickly followed.

"Cowards!" Xarthul yelled.  He looked down and grasped Teneila by her fiery red locks, causing her to whine in pain as he held her up.  "Use your magic to move us to the ruins first." he ordered.

Teneila whispered, her voice was powerful enough to only speak in such quiet tones.  "I cannot.  Too weak." she replied.  Consciousness alone was a struggle for the magician.

Xarthul snarled and angrily threw her down.  "Carry her and follow me." he told Rath.  Rath obeyed, draping Teneila over his massive shoulders and running after their master.

The temple seemed to be miles away, even as it grew larger in their vision.  A small entrance stood in the centre of the temple, on the side of the staircase-like architecture.  Karyn dove off her mustel out of a strong desperation in her spirit, but her body proved too weak to fully compensate and she smacked the sandy ground.  Lynthia and Jatz slowed their animals down while Slithe ran up to Karyn and scooped her up in his arms.  The lizaroid then ran with her to the temple's entrance without pause, while Jatz and Lynthia urged their beasts of burden to run into the forest to hide.

Jatz turned and saw Rath approaching.  The barbarian had passed Xarthul and bounded toward them like a charging juggernaut.  Clouds of dust kicked up with his every step, while Teneila's unconscious form bounced frantically with the force of his momentum.  Jatz gripped Lynthia by the arm and led her into the temple.  Although rational thought told the thief that they would simple become trapped inside, a different feeling told him that their best hope for survival would be to remain near Karyn.

The corridor was darker than the night sky that hung overhead.  Extremely faint sources of illumination were provided by a series of skylights above, but the moon was not bright enough to take advantage of them.  Lynthia bumped into something in the darkness, and as she fell she panicked, knowing it was something alive.  But the familiar grunt that came from the other being eased her fear, for it was reptilian in nature.

Slithe dusted himself off and looked around, he had dropped Karyn's body when Lynthia ran into him from behind.  He saw Karyn crawling deeper into the dark hallway, towards a large chamber.  At the end of the room, the circular formation of an altar beckoned to her.  Karyn's head felt like it weight a ton and her knees eventually gave way, forcing her to drag her heavy body by the strength of her arms alone.  Lynthia dashed up beside Karyn and helped her up, supporting her as they walked into the large chamber together.

A loud scream alerted the two of them, and they turned to see Jatz on the ground, crawling away and trying to get up as Rath's enormous frame marched steadily towards him.  The barbarian's massive fists were clenched and a slight smile crossed his face.

"Jatz!" Lynthia screamed.  As she laid Karyn gently down on the ground, they both heard something like a click; almost like a heavy switch shifting into position.  Lynthia looked around, wondering what they had activated when a loud rumbling and a cloud of dust and gravel over to the side answered her question.  The doorway to the chamber began to slowly close.

The noises did not phase Rath as he reached out for Jatz with one of his meaty hands when a loud snarl distracted him.  He looked up to see Slithe dive directly into his chest.  Slithe's claws dug into his shoulders, and the lizaroid's velocity was enough to knock the large barbarian down.  Jatz seized the opportunity and got up.  He paused for just the smallest of moments, thinking of helping Slithe.

"GO!!" Slithe vehemently insisted.  Jatz ran, his mind mocking him, calling him a coward as he dove towards the quickly narrowing doorway.  Closing his eyes and screaming apologies to the lizaroid behind him, he dove towards the open sliver.

Jatz then felt a sensation of rock slamming against his body, but it was not until he opened his eyes that he knew for sure what happened.  He had made it inside.

"Slithe!  Slithe!!!!!" Lynthia screamed, pounding pointlessly on the heavy door.  "Slithe does not stand a chance against Rath and his vampyre strength!" Lynthia exclaimed to her friends.

"I know." Jatz said gravely.  "But I think he knows that as well.  And I think he has a different plan in mind."

***

Slithe turned away from the newly closed doorway only to see Rath's fist crash into his face.  He fell to the ground immediately, pain rushing from his snout to the rest of his body, which Slithe suspected was a result of a broken nose.

"I never did like your freakish kind." Rath grinned as he grabbed Slithe by the scruff of his neck.  He opened his mouth and bit down on Slithe's right shoulder, the lizardman barely uttering a whimper as he felt Rath pierce his skin and begin sucking his blood.

"Foolish vampyre..." Slithe teased weakly.  He watched as Rath suddenly gasped and fell to the ground, coughing and choking on a mouthful of poisonous lizard blood.  Rath's legs buckled and flailed, he held his throat tightly in a futile effort to ease the painful fire within.  "Die.  Die." Slithe chanted as Rath thrashed at his feet, clutching his throat so hard he almost broke his own neck.  The barbarian finally stopped moving and coughed one last time before becoming silent.

Content with Rath's fate, Slithe placed his dagger over his heart and closed his eyes solemnly.  "Goodbye my friends." he whispered.  "To die a lizard, and not a monster."  He uttered that one last vow before plunging the blade through himself.

***

Lizaroid gasps echoed through the halls as Xarthul sprinted through them.  He hastily stopped when he saw Teneila's body lying in front of him, abandoned and still semi-conscious.  The vampyre scoffed and kicked her to the side to clear his way.

"Very sloppy of Rath to leave you like this." he commented before stepping past her.

Xarthul walked a few more steps and nearly stumbled over Slithe's dead body.  Xarthul looked down and saw the self-inflicted wound in the lizaroid's heart, which initially confused the dark man.  All became clear as he turned around and saw the pile of ashes nearby that used to be Rath, his vampyric body no longer able to maintain its consistency upon his death.  Xarthul quickly brushed off any emotions over Rath's passing however, for he noticed a greater source of grief in front of him.  The heavy stone door that he knew Karyn was hiding behind.  He charged into it with his shoulder, but it was unyielding.  He tried again, and again, but his efforts were equivalent to a man trying to break a boulder with a twig.  He growled with anger at the door, cursing it as he rubbed the pain away from his shoulder.

Always persistent, Xarthul disappeared into the shadows for a moment, and reappeared dragging Teneila behind him.  Teneila lurched along behind her master, her mind was still throbbing from the teleportation spell she had performed earlier.  The only thing that compelled her body to try keep up was her undeniable urges to obey Xarthul's every command.

"Break down the door." Xarthul instructed as he pushed Teneila into it.  Teneila staggered into the door face first, causing her to fall to the cold floor.  She shook her head in an attempt to recover and pressed her palms against it.  Murmuring to herself, she performed a basic spell of force enhancement, one she had performed previously with Karyn when attempting to knock over a statue.  Her weak pushes against the door were magnified an infinite number of times, but it took a great deal of effort from the young magician, who found the stone to be unyielding as the largest mountain.

As were her expectations, Teneila saw the wall around the heavy slab of the door begin to crack and buckle.  To her surprise however, the movements of the bricks began loosening their neighbors, and those disturbed their neighbors, and so on.  What started as a light rain of dust and pebbles turned into a shower of large, broken mortar.  Xarthul covered his head with his forearms and dodged the debris as best he could, but even he was unable to keep up completely.  He grimaced and flinched slightly as a medium sized rock bounced off him.  Teneila's body, following its instincts to protect Xarthul, dove in front of him and pushed the vampyre out of the way of falling rubble.  Words of self-loathing filled Teneila's mind before a large piece of rubble smacked her on the head and turned everything dark for the young magician.

***

"What is going on?" Lynthia asked wearily as watched the passageway collapse.

Jatz shrugged his shoulders.  "I don't know." he replied as he gazed at the newly opened doorway, massive clouds of dust blocking his view of outside the chamber.

Karyn moaned, catching both Jatz's and Lynthia's attention.  "Voices." she groaned to her companions as she held her throbbing temples.  "I...I heard voices..."

"Karyn, please do not utter such things." Lynthia said with concern.

"Karyn!" an angry voice suddenly bellowed.  Xarthul emerged from the dust cloud, his eyes glowing red with anger and his mouth turned back in a fearsome snarl.  As the vampyre stepped towards Karyn, Lynthia spread her arms in a defiant gesture, and stepped between Xarthul and her beloved.

"You would oppose me?"  Xarthul's voice was mixed with confusion and amusement.

"As long as I am standing you will not kill Karyn." Lynthia fumed.

"Understood.  At least you will die with nobility." Xarthul said.  The vampyre was distracted with amusement that Lynthia's first attack caught him off guard.  Lynthia leapt forward and cried out as she struck with the dagger she kept on her belt, the dagger Slithe had given her, and had trained her with.  Xarthul sidestepped out of the way, but then felt a strange feeling on his hands.  He looked at them and saw her attack had taken away his left index finger.

"You bitch!" he growled.

Lynthia felt a small sensation of fear crawl up her back when she heard the ferocity of Xarthul's voice.  She dove once again at Xarthul but made the mistake of attempting to remove another finger from his hand, a move he had already seen, and knew how to counteract.  He moved his arm with the wounded hand upwards in an evasive tactic, and as Lynthia's eyes followed it, he grasped her neck with his other hand.  As he lifted her off the ground, the vampyre used the remaining fingers on his wounded hand to grip Lynthia's wrist and squeezed on it with a fraction of his massive strength.  It was enough to cause enough pain to the girl that she lost the grip on her knife and allowed it to be grasped away from her.  Xarthul smiled gleefully as he held the knife up, and drank in the fear and panic in Lynthia's eyes.  He increased his grip on the blonde girl's neck as his arm swung back in a stabbing motion with Lynthia's weapon, his mouth turned back in a smile as he tasted the irony of killing her with her own glaive.  Lynthia grunted as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, but to much to her astonishment, it quickly subsided.

Xarthul glanced down at Lynthia's belly and saw no blood; his fist had impacted against her skin but without the blade he had stolen.

"Where the..." he muttered, before his words were cut off by his own screaming.

Xarthul's grip on Lynthia's throat loosened enough for her to break free.  She landed on the ground, quickly rolled to the side and sprang to her feet.  Xarthul swung his fists around in a blind rage, an intense pain numbed his senses and judgment.  Lynthia looked at the dark man wondering what was causing his sudden outburst, when she saw the handle of her dagger embedded in his back; and Jatz diving away from Xarthul's thrashing arms.

"Jatz?" Lynthia said.

"Always a thief, and that was a nice blade." Jatz replied as he landed on the stone floor.  He quickly jumped to his feet and turned around, but Xarthul managed to connect with the back of Jatz's head.  Jatz grunted as he fell back down, but this time the wind was knocked out of him and he could barely support his weight on his arms.

"This ends now!" Xarthul roared as he drew his sword out, the blade's sound echoing through the air as it emerged from its sheath.  Lynthia attempted to sneak up behind Xarthul to grab her knife, but he quickly turned around and connected her stomach with his knee, sending her flying and landing on a pile of broken rubble.

"Those voices...those voices..."  Karyn continued to ponder, the intensity of the voices she had previously heard continued to haunt her.  With her friends down and in mortal danger, her thoughts were fueled by desperation and panic.  "I could hear Teneila's plea to the gods to realize her spell," she realized, "to break down the door."

Karyn turned towards the far wall and weakly extended her hand. "Oh gods," she thought, "I know you and I share an intimate bond, one stronger than any magician.  Then hear my plea and let it be so, break down the wall before me."

The instant Karyn completed her mental plea, the temple was wrought with a violent rumble.  The tremors were so strong, it caused Xarthul to pause and wonder what was going on.  Suddenly, the far wall ahead began to crack, and with the blink of an eye, came tumbling down with a mighty crash.

"NO!!!" Xarthul shrieked, as he saw through the newly opened hole and the clouds of dust, the first of the day's sunbeams shooting into the temple.

Xarthul howled with agony as the sunlight made contact with his skin.  His head became engulfed with flame as his body boiled and burned within his armor.  He flailed about madly, trying pointlessly to pat out the fire.  Soon, his screams turned to tired moans and his body collapsed to the floor, leaving nothing but his charred armor filled with ashes.  Jatz peered over his shoulder as he heard the armor clank to the ground, and slowly forced himself back up.

The thief walked over to Lynthia, who still laid over a pile of rocks.  He prodded her to consciousness and helped her stand.  After leaning on the thief for a moment, she regained her balance and went to Karyn's side.

"I...could hear Teneila ask the gods to break down the door." Karyn croaked.  "That...is how I knew what to...do."

"It...it is over?" Lynthia asked as she supported Karyn with her arms.

"No...it is not..." Karyn coughed, blood beginning to trickle from her mouth.  "The altar."

"Allow me." Lynthia offered as she palmed the amulet.

"No.  Please my love." Karyn insisted.  "Please allow me."

"Very well." Lynthia reluctantly agreed as she guided Karyn to the circular dais.  As Lynthia let go of her hold on Karyn to remove the amulet, she noticed Karyn looking at her in a way that seemed disquieting.  "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I...I just wanted to look at you Lynthia." Karyn replied.  "Just, to drink in your beauty."

"You speak strangely Karyn, let us finish this." Lynthia said, Karyn's words filling her with more unease.  She extended the amulet to Karyn.

Karyn took the amulet, placed it in in the small hole that sat in the center of the atlar, and turned it until it snapped in place.  As usual, the series of rings around the altar burst with light, and a massive column of illumination shined down in the center over Karyn.  This time however, the light felt different to the warrior.  A burst of pleasure went through her body, more intense than anything she had ever felt.  She shuddered as the bliss traveled through her frame.  Her nipples and clit exploded with pleasure and her cunt became wet, all in one brief moment.  But accompanying this light, one that made it different from any of the others, was a gentle pulling sensation.

Lynthia and Jatz were unable to see very much beyond the blinding lights.  Jatz even turned away when his efforts to shield his eyes proved futile.  Lynthia however, persevered and soon could make out Karyn's faint outline.  She saw the warrior lift her arms in a gesture of what appeared to be victory and pleasure, which was when the light flashed with an astonishing crashing sound and vanished.

"KARYN??!!!!" Lynthia screamed when she saw the warrior had disappeared.

***

Karyn's eyes snapped open and was instantly greeted by the cold embrace of water.  She turned frantically around and saw nothing but darkness around her, but she felt the water caressing all of her curves, which confirmed she was naked.  A casual upward glance by the warrior revealed a light from the surface above.  She swam upwards to greet the mysterious light.

Karyn rose from the water like a mythical goddess, taking a long, aching gasp as she broke the surface.  Water dripped from her voluptuous form and slicked back her auburn mane.  Her tits heaved like bellows as she panted, when suddenly she noticed an enormous beach ahead of her.  Karyn swam towards it, wading through the water as it became shallow and then collapsed on the beach's white sands.  She laid there for a few serene moments, smiling and enjoying the warmth that radiated from the beach and the cool touch of the waves as they crashed gently against her feet.  For a moment, everything was completely serene, until she noticed a pair of feet standing several feet ahead of her.  Karyn stood up, stretched her sore muscles slightly and looked at the other person.  It was a man, with short dark hair and a bronze complexion.  He torso, arms, and legs were perfectly chiseled, and he stood completely naked before her.

"I am Karyn." Karyn greeted to the man, trying to stop her wandering gazes to his crotch.  "Are you one of the gods?"

"I am the gods." the man replied, his voice possessing a strange echo that reverberated through Karyn's mind.

"What?  But there are not many of you?  Men and women who represent various aspects of creation?"

A visible smirk appeared on the man's face.  Clearly he was amused by Karyn, like a man who heard a small child asking a naive question.  "You primitive life forms cannot comprehend us.  Some of you claim there are many gods, others claim one.  You treat us as if we are like you, vessels of flesh with concepts such as individuality, and population.  We are beyond anything you can imagine.  Your civilizations could never comprehend us, so you compensate with your inaccurate myths and religions.

"But since you have proven worthy of meeting, we have merged into a physical form that you would find pleasing."  Suddenly Modin's voice was a touch apologetic.

"Well, you certainly have accomplished that end." Karyn complimented, her eyes brazenly sliding over the man's body.  "Do you have a title to which I may refer you?"

"If you wish to assign me a title, then it shall be Modin, the name of the lead figure of your religion."

"Then, on behalf of all your worshippers, Modin, I ask you to stop sieging the planet with storms and disasters."

"Such a request cannot be granted."

His words stung like a painful snake bite in her bosom.  After all the effort and suffering, the warrior was almost ready to unleash her rage at the man, but her discipline and the knowledge of his divine origins allowed her to remain calm.  "Why not?" she asked, trying her best to hide any signs of bitterness in her voice.  "Why do you even bombard us with such disasters?"

"I am restless.  The universe has become stagnant.  There is nothing left for me to accomplish, or to even occupy eternity."

"I find that hard to believe.  Are you saying there is nothing left to be created?  No lifeforms to shape?"

"Please, do not make suggestions to us." Modin scoffed.  "You mortals think we are responsible for everything.  That is incorrect.  We are starters, initializers.  Yet we are cursed with being immortal.  When everything has been started, there is nothing left for us to do but watch.  And frankly, no lifeforms have been amusing enough to ease our restlessness."

"Is that all we are to you?  Amusement?!" Karyn snapped. A brief glare from Modin was enough to calm Karyn down.  "I apologize my lord."  Karyn said, bowing her head slightly with reverence.

For an instant, the two stood still, exchanging silence between them.  "There is another reason you have been worthy of an audience, Karyn." Modin suddenly said as he stepped closer to Karyn.

Karyn stiffened, her heart racing and her body unable to move.  Modin continued to step closer until their naked forms were almost touching, and they could feel each other's breath against their flesh.  "What would that be my lord?" Karyn stammered, her breasts beginning to heave from her increased anxiety.

"When you activated those altars, they were signals that someone was trying to contact us." Modin explained.  He tipped his head down as he spoke, so Karyn's forehead brushed against his.  "Out of respect, we take the form of whatever species is attempting contact.  For we know how difficult such a task is, and a familiar appearance to a successful party would be less startling.

"Our transformation into a human male is total, and complete.  When we first saw you, something inside us, reacted to your image.  We were not sure what happened, so that prompted us to become more human.  We have never experienced existence as a lower being, so all this...pleasure was new to us."

Karyn attempted to speak, but her lips shivered uncontrollably.  Modin's breath was warm against her face as he spoke, and he was now so close she could feel his body heat radiate and bombard her skin.  His warm cock brushed gently against her snatch for brief instances, causing Karyn to shudder.

"We could only see you clearly for brief moments Karyn, when you were activating an altar.  We had never seen someone like you Karyn, so strong, and yet so beautiful.  You must understand Karyn that, never had we felt such in such a way towards any of our creations.  Our urges grew stronger, we had to explore these new feelings.  One day we reached out and touched you to hopefully satisfy our curiosity, but that only fueled it."

"The sensations..." Karyn finally gasped, closing her eyes in bliss as she recollected them.

"Our growing desires.  It appears to be a human weakness, one that we found overpowering."

"And so that is why the planet continued to be bombarded with more disasters.  Your lusts just made you more restless..."  Karyn spoke with a heavy gasp, her fingers beginning to twitch as a heat blossomed between her thighs.  She attempted to calm the raging flames in her loins by closing her thighs and focusing her attentions away, but the temptations, the urges proved too great.  She panted weakly, her breasts bouncing with her breath as the flames of desire within her burned and grew into an inferno of lust.  She relaxed her thighs, and quivered as she felt the caresses of the first rivulets of honey flow out of her pussy.

"You came to soothe me." Modin whispered, his lips almost touching Karyn's slack mouth as he spoke.  Karyn's entire body grew limp, a result of the lascivious throbbings in her vagina coupled with an ever-growing desire for relief.  Modin slowly closed his arms around Karyn's torso, gently entrapping her within a soft embrace.

"Then I shall my lord." Karyn whispered in reply, easing all her inhibitions as she melted with Modin's sensual touch.  Modin grasped the back of Karyn's head as he pressed her lips against his.  Moaning with pleasure, Karyn slid her tongue gently into Modin's mouth, allowing her lover to fondle and caress it.  With her free hand she cupped Modin's genitals, stroking his hardening cock and fondling his balls.  Modin broke off the kiss and raked his tongue over Karyn's skin, shoving his face into her swaying tits and relishing in the remnants of the sea water that hung in beads on her silky flesh.

"Mmm...yes..." Karyn moaned as he started to work his mouth over her left breast, adorning it with saliva.  "Lick me all over."

The beautiful warrior uttered a sharp, sensual gasp as Modin took the swollen nub of her nipple and bit on it gently.  She shuddered as she felt his tongue stroke the tender nipple as he held it between his teeth like a vice.  Karyn cupped her naked right breast and fondled her free nipple needfully, gasping with sexual relief as she pinched and pulled at it with her fingers.

Modin fell to his knees in front of Karyn and pressed his face into her auburn bush.  His hands roved over Karyn's silky flesh, over her back, thighs, and breasts; before coming to rest on the curve of her firm buttocks.  He breathed in her heady aroma before his tongue snaked out and stroked across her vagina.  Karyn quivered, and rolled her crotch against Modin's face in a steady motion.  She grasped his head and pressed him against her womanhood, moaning as she felt his tongue push between her labia and caress the slick, inner walls of her uterus.  Her climax came quickly, a release of the lust she had been restraining since she had first laid eyes on Modin.  Modin drank in her orgasm's discharge, savouring in the new taste of a woman's sex juices.

Karyn forced Modin to stand, after which she squatted in front of him so she could grasp his erect cock.  She spread her thighs apart, opening her vaginal petals so she could feel the cool air blow over her wet sex.  Her hot, sensual lips enveloped his long shaft, and then moved up and down its length.  His thick, powerful musk filled Karyn's nostrils while she sucked on his manhood.  She could feel Modin grasp a handful of her auburn hair and used it to guide her against his prick.  Karyn let the long meatpole slide out of her mouth, its surface slick with her saliva and its tip beginning to trickle with cum.  Karyn licked the bottom of the veined pole with her tongue and began to suckle on Modin's balls, taking them one by one into her mouth.  Modin groaned, the sound echoing through Karyn's mind.  It filled her with an additional feeling of pleasure beside the sexual stimulations.  She knew that she was soothing his restless spirit.

Guided by Modin's hand pulling on her hair, she opened her mouth and accepted his long shaft once again.  Her head bobbed and her cheeks became taught as she sucked on his hot meat, the tip sliding back and forth against the back of her throat with Modin's thrusting motions.  Modin's breathing became heavy, he began panting, and his thrusts into Karyn's mouth became more violent.  The divine being pressed his fingers into Karyn's skull and moaned as he experienced climax, his cock spewing with hot semen inside Karyn's mouth.  Karyn swallowed the warm fluid as it gushed down her throat, until Modin abruptly pulled out to splatter over her face and tits.  Karyn licked her lips clean and brushed a strand of soaked auburn hair out of her beautiful face.

"That was...beyond all expectations..." Modin groaned, his voice filled with need after his cock was finally spent.

"Let me mount you my lord, I shall show you an even greater pleasure." Karyn moaned as she stared up longingly at her lover.  Modin laid down on the sand, his cock already standing erect like a spear.  Karyn licked her lips with anticipation as she spread her legs apart to accept Modin's thick meat pole inside her.  After straddling Modin, Karyn grasped his manhood with her left hand while she spread the moist folds of her cunt with the other, placing the tip just between her vulva.  With a loud, aching moan, Karyn leaned her weight down and enveloped his cock with her warm pussy.  Karyn leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees and squatting on Modin's hard shaft.  He grasped her firm buttocks with his hands, opening her vagina wider and pressing her down harder against him.  Karyn groaned as his manhood was further consumed by her cavernous cunt.  Karyn bounced up and down, her luscious breasts flopping in unison and her hands pressed against Modin's hard, muscular chest.

Karyn arched her back with her gyrations, continuing to thrust her ass down on her lover's rock hard shaft.  She moaned as she felt her cunt lips become caressed by his thick pole with her every bounce.  She felt the thick meat expand deep within her womb, ready to explode and fill her with hot seed.  Karyn tossed her head back repeatedly, her perspiration-slick mane tossing droplets into the air, as did her hard nipples that danced alluringly with her every humping motion.  The violence of her gyrations increased as she felt the climax within her pussy growing, forcing more of Modin's cock into her cunt.  Tears flowed down her cheeks as she wailed with each push, she could feel his balls against her puffy vagina.  Modin grunted and groaned a long, pleasurable whine; his hands still holding tightly to Karyn's bouncing hips.  The lovers moaned loudly together as they orgasmed in unison.  Karyn felt warmth flow inside her clenching belly, as well as down her lush thighs.  She smiled as she moaned her lust, indescribable bliss lancing through her body.  The sensation of Modin's cock inside her vagina was beyond ecstasy.  It strained her swollen vaginal petals a touch before it became painful, a perfect size; as if his cock was always destined to become nestled within her.

"More...oh more...more!!" she begged weakly, grinding her crotch against Modin's in an effort to feel his warmth gush into her again.

Modin gently forced Karyn off his pulsing cock, the warrior whined longingly as she felt the lips of her womanhood close without the hard shaft between them.  The god sat up and spread his legs, while Karyn eagerly sat between them, her back against his muscular chest.

She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh of relief and pleasure as she felt Modin's hard shaft punch its way back up her uterus.  Gripping her by the legs, he bounced her on his cock, sliding her up and down its length.  Karyn let out cry after cry of bliss, crying out her outbursts of pleasure and begging Modin never to stop.  Her erotic screams culminated with a loud, lustful shreik as Modin climaxed within her once again.  She shuddered, her vaginal walls contracting tightly as she felt her own orgasm approaching.  She placed her hands on her throbbing belly as heat rushed into her from the tip of Modin's cock, buried deep within her.  Her body continued to pump itself against Modin, wanting to desperately milk his cock of its precious fluid.  Karyn turned her head weakly to face her lover, and opened her mouth to accept his warm tongue.  She moaned harshly beneath the kiss, her tone ascending with every pant.  Modin reached around her torso and cupped her sweaty tits, caressing and fondling the soft mammary glands excitedly.  Within his arms she finally came, her body writhing against his.

Karyn attempted words, but they came out only as brief pauses in her harsh panting.  She turned weakly to Modin as he continued to fondle her tits, her chest heaving into his palms from her exhaustion.  Her mind was filled with a continuing hunger, and only one thing filled her mind.  She wanted more.

Time ceased to have any meaning for Karyn as she continued to wantonly fornicate with Modin.  Endless climaxes in a variety of positions served as the sole reminder of such a concept.  Karyn failed to notice the serene beach and crashing waves around her had vanished to nothing.  She and Modin floated in a spaceless, white void with no signs of direction, gravity of light.  Everything simply stood in perfect balance, in every direction, with a perfect clarity to all the senses.  Karyn thought her mind would explode from the pleasure, as if the feelings she experienced back home were muted versions of the direct sensations the gods provided her.

"Oh Karyn." Modin groaned as he orgasmed, his cock nestled snugly within her vagina and pumping her womb with seed.  He held her wrists at the sides of her body as she moaned and bucked beneath his heavy form.  "Now at last I have found a way to spend eternity.  I have accepted my destiny, as have you."

"What?" Karyn murmured from underneath Modin, her mind still soaked with the delicious fog of ecstasy.

"I know you wondered about an alterior purpose for the altars.  Each altar brought you closer to me.  Did you not wonder why you became wiser and stronger?  It was because you came closer to us than anyone.  That is why you received intervention, whenever you requested it.  Now that we are together, you are now a goddess.  Legends will be told for generations about you, and how our eternal coupling brought peace back to the land."

The word 'eternal' struck a cord within Karyn's mind.  She opened her mouth to resist the god's will, but her thought was interrupted as she felt the rapture of another orgasm rush through her frame.  She arched her back as her pussy burst with juices, her breath coming in short, painful gasps.

"You resist.  Stop it.  You are mine.  Say it.  Say it!" Modin said in rhythm to his increasingly powerful thrusts.  He held Karyn's arms down and stabbed his crotch repeatedly between her spread legs.

Karyn shuddered with the divine being's every push.  She felt his meat burrow deeper and deeper into her belly, driving her mad with pleasure.  Her clit throbbed in a manner she had never experienced before, sending waves of pure ecstasy across her naked frame.

"Say it!  Say it!  Mine!  Mine!" Modin continued to chant.

"Hhhh...I..." Karyn moaned before another powerful orgasm took her breath away.  As the pleasure finally subsided, she tried to refocus her efforts on resistance, but she could no longer contemplate any reason to leave.  She wrapped her legs around Modin's torso so her bare feet crossed above his buttocks.  Their crotches fused together with erotic heat as they rolled in tandem.  Karyn moaned as she felt another orgasm coming inside her, she held Modin tightly against her with her arms and legs, never wanting to feel his cock leave the embrace of her womanhood.

***

The large clearing in the middle of the forest allowed sunlight to penetrate the area unlike any other.  Flinton wrapped his arm in a bandage, a matching one already around his forehead, and watched as the vampyre bats turned to dust from exposure to the light of the morning sun.  He yanked the arrows he had shot into each of their heads and put them back in his quiver.  The feeling of comforting warmth on his skin made the archer sigh with relief, he knew he was not a victim of a vampyre's fatal kiss.

"Cursed vampyres." Flinton grumbled as he exited the woods and walked down the dusty path he immediately met.  The archer stopped and turned around, towards the direction he knew Karyn and his former comrades had been headed.  His mind debated with his heart for a second, before he simply scoffed and turned away, towards the next town and the next job.  Still, one thought towards his former comrades floated through his mind.

"I am sorry, for being myself."

***

Night fell over the temple once again, plunging its two inhabitants into darkness.  The newly destroyed wall however, proved to be useful in providing more illumination, but a little more moonlight could not brighten one of the inhabitant's spirits.

"Slithe.  Oh Slithe." Lynthia sobbed as she placed the last rock over the lizardman's grave.  "I used to hate you, but now I see...you had more humanity than some of us after all."

"It has been over two days Lynthia.  We have no more water or food and the nearest town is at least a day's ride away.  We must go now." Jatz pleaded.  "I am sorry for the loss of Karyn, and for all our other losses.  But we cannot stay here forever."

"I never got to say goodbye!!" Lynthia sobbed.  "After all that happened, she and I made love again.  And it was the most glorious experience I will ever feel.  Is that my fate?!  To love someone like Karyn only to have her taken away again and again!!  I thought our love was stronger than anything, is the universe so against me that they would send a god to prove me wrong?!!"

Jatz stood silently, placing a comforting hand on Lynthia's shoulder as she sat against a rock and cried loudly.  "You know, before this quest, I never believed in higher beings."  the thief admitted.

"Is there not enough proof before you?!" Lynthia snapped suddenly at the thief, her eyes still flooded with tears.

"No." Jatz casually replied, unphased by Lynthia's outburst.  "All I see are flashing lights.  Lynthia, Karyn is gone.  I know that.  But tell me, did you regret knowing her?"

"Absolutely not!  I loved her!!  I still love her!!" Lynthia screamed.

"Then, the universe cannot possibly be against you if they gave you that experience.  If the universe was truly against you, I would bet you would still be a queen in a loveless marriage, birthing heirs for an unloving king.  Now, you are a strong woman, and your heart knows real love now.  Can you say it was not worth it?"

Lynthia paused, and reflected deeply on Jatz's words.  "Jatz, I had no idea you were such a wise man." Lynthia sniffed, wiping away leftover tears from her eyes.

"Well, I have just learned to look at life based on the things that it has given you, rather than what has been taken from you.  I suppose it comes with being a thief."  Jatz placed a comforting hand on Lynthia's shoulder and helped her to stand up.  They casually began to walk to the exit when a noise caught their attention.  A pile of loose mortar to the side began to shift slightly.  Jatz motioned Lynthia to stay behind him as he peered carefully at the rubble in motion.  Suddenly the pile gave way as a human figure emerged from beneath the debris with one hard push.  Dust and gravel flew through the air, obscuring the person's identity and causing Jatz a delayed reaction to the person before him.

"Teneila!" Jatz exclaimed as her face finally came into view.  The thief quickly unsheathed his dagger and pointed the blade towards the vampyre.

"Stay calm." insisted Teneila, holding her right hand out defensively.  She wrapped her left arm around her pale breasts, the remains of her tattered wrap barely covered her crotch.  "I do not wish to harm you."

"Xarthul is dead.  I thought the legends said vampires bitten by other vampires would change back." Lynthia said with confusion in her voice.

"The legends are inaccurate." Teneila explained.  "I am still a creature of the night.  An accursed, beastly predator.  I feel so hungry, even now."

"Do you know what happened to Karyn?" Lynthia asked.

Teneila closed her eyes and concentrated her magic senses.   "I..I am not sure." she finally replied after an agonizing few moments.  "But, I suspect she will not return.  And, I have this feeling she knew that she would disappear."

"Oh, I see." sighed Lynthia, tears forming in her eyes.  "You wanted to look at me one more time.  You suspected you would not have another chance."  The words in her mind just caused greater discomfort, as well as more tears.  Lynthia abruptedly changed the subject.  "We are leaving now.  Do you wish to come with us?"

"I can not." answered Teneila.  "Look at me, I'm a hideous demon!"

"You are still beautiful." Lynthia countered.  "And perhaps if we can satisfy your appetite regularly with animal blood..."

"I do not wish to maintain this hunger!" blurted Teneila.  "I am going to free myself of this wretched curse.  Damn Xarthul, I hope he burns in the inferno."

"Then, perhaps you can at least take this." suggested Jatz, as he removed his cloak and offered it to the scantily clad woman.  "To keep you warm."

Teneila took it graciously from his hands.  "Thank you Jatz." she said with a smile.  She wrapped it around her slender form and with a few magic tosses, it fitted itself around her body in the form of a tunic.

"I appreciate this." said Teneila.  "But," she said with a sorrow tone, "I need something more."

"What?" asked Jatz.

"I have been buried under that rock for three days, regenerating my body.  I need blood."

Jatz looked at his arm and then focused on Teneila.  The genuine need was evident in her eyes, shimmering as brilliantly as they ever did.  The thief took his knife and cut a small gash into his forearm.

"Take what you need." he instructed as he pointed his wound at Teneila, a grimace of pain on his face.  "No biting, remember."

"Oh thank you!" Teneila said ecstatically as she dove hungrily upon the open wound.  Jatz winced and fought back a scream, the enthusiasm with which Teneila drank from his open wound was overpowering.  The flow of blood out of his arm was so strong he could almost feel his strength flow out of his body and into Teneila's slurping mouth.

"Teneila, that's enough!  If you want more blood take some of mine!" blurted Lynthia as she noticed how Jatz seemed to have trouble keeping himself upright.

"No!" argued Jatz.  "One of us has to be strong enough to carry me out of here!"

Lynthia fought desires to argue, but soon Teneila's loud sucking noises ceased, and the vampire pulled her lips off Jatz's arm.  "I cannot thank you enough Jatz." sighed Teneila as she wiped her lips clean.  She breathed a long, heavy sigh of relief as she felt the warm, life-giving ichor flow through her cold veins.

"Please, find me someday." Lynthia appealed, holding out her hand.  "Whether or not you are cured, you will always be welcome."

"I will.  Thank you again, to both of you." Teneila said, taking Lynthia's hand and stroking it gently.  "Lynthia, may I speak to you alone for a moment?"

"Yes." Lynthia agreed.  She turned to Jatz and said with an insisting tone, "Jatz?  Would you please?"

Jatz clutched his wounded arm and rolled his eyes with resignation.  "Yes, always ask more of me.  That seems to be a rule today." he complained before slowly walking out of the temple.

"I know that you and I had a bit of a falling out." Teneila admitted.

"You had every right." Lynthia admitted.  "What I did was no better than attempted rape."

"Then I must confess to you Lynthia.  I...fornicated with Karna."

Lynthia only gasped with shock upon hearing Teneila's confession.

"It was horrible, there was no love involved.  It was only trying to break me.  After being subjected to Xarthul and Karna's horrible tortures, your beauty and kindness has made you so..." Teneila paused in contemplation before saying, "desirable to me."

"Really?" Lynthia asked, her voice filled with surprise and delight.

Teneila put a hand on Lynthia's cheek and stroked it gently.  "Yes.  Oh gods you are beautiful.  Alas, I am a vampyre now.  I cannot indulge myself in you.  But I will rest better knowing that, I at least told you."

Lynthia smiled warmly at the magician and kissed her gently on the lips.  Teneila kissed back, her lips stroking against Lynthia's.  For a moment, their tongues met and entwined for a brief, but passionate embrace.

After the short kiss that seemed to last an eternity, Teneila broke off and sighed, "I never knew a kiss from another woman could be so sweet."

"There was a time when I thought those exact words." Lynthia smiled.

"Well, until we meet again." Teneila said solemnly before turning away and disappearing into the shadows.

Lynthia exhaled deeply and walked out of the temple.  Her loyal mustel walked up to her side the instant she emerged from the doorway.  She smiled and stroked the beast on the back of its neck, guiding it by the reigns as she walked.  Lynthia saw Jatz sitting on his run lizard, wrapping a bandage around the wound on his arm.  The sounds of her footsteps caught his attention, so he turned and smirked in acknowledgment at the blonde girl.

"That was a wonderful thing you did for Teneila." Lynthia complimented.

"Yes well, what else was I to do?" Jatz replied.  "So...what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"I do not know." Lynthia sighed.  "I had planned to go with Karyn back to her master and perhaps live with her, train with her."

"Well, perhaps you and I should go back to her master at least and inform him as to what happened."

"I would hate to be the bearer of bad news.  Then again, I suppose Karyn would have wanted him to be personally informed."

"I think it must be done, even if he already knows.  Afterwards, I plan to leave." said Jatz.

"Leave for where?" asked Lynthia.

"Just wander.  Until I find a place I enjoy and I can afford to live in."

"Oh.  Then...perhaps I will join you."

"Oh, really?" Jatz asked, the shock evident in his voice.

"Just because you and I have been through so much, it would be comforting to remain near you.  Do not think this will entitle you to my bed."

"Oh, do not worry, that was not in my thoughts." Jatz grinned.

"Good." Lynthia responded with a smirk.

"On the other hand, I was probably the only one of us to not make love in the course of this adventure." Jatz admitted, a sly smile forming across his face.

"That still does not entitle you to my bed." Lynthia insisted as she turned to her mustel and mounted it.

"As I said before, do not worry." Jatz told her as he grabbed the reins on his run lizard.  "If and when I ever get to your bed, it will be because I earned it and am welcome.  I would not have it any other way."

"You know Jatz, we have another mustel.  You can ride it if you wish." Lynthia told Jatz.

"Yes well, I have grown somewhat fond of the old boy." Jatz replied as he pet the reptile on the head.

"Is the saying not, 'Old girl?'" Lynthia asked.

"Oh believe me, he is definitely a boy." Jatz insisted.

"Look!" Lynthia suddenly yelped, she pointed her hand to the night sky.  Jatz looked up and saw what Lynthia had gotten excited over.  A bright, shimmering star in the middle of the dark sky.  It stood out like a diamond in a coal field before slowly fading to the brightness of a normal star, and becoming indistinguishable from the rest of the white dots that glittered against the dark backdrop.

"Could it be a sign?" Jatz asked as Lynthia and he continued staring.

"I do not know." Lynthia answered after a pause.  "But, looking at it, somehow brought me some sort of feeling.  A good feeling."

***

Karyn moaned continuously, an indescribable bliss permeating her body and mind, flooding her thoughts with mind-numbing ecstacy.  All her inhibitions, her thoughts, were lost in the frenzy of lust that ravaged her, consumed her.

A brief memory flashed through the warrior's rapture soaked brain.  One of golden hair and a lovely face.  It appeared only briefly before fading away, succumbing to the latest flood of pleasure as more divine seed erupted into her womb.  But still...she felt something, an emotion, linger.

THE END

Author's note:

Thanks to all of you for reading and for those of you who wrote to me.  This project, being my first fantasy story, introduced me to a lot of new fans.  This is dedicated to you.
Big thanks to Pyros and the Sportsman for posting the story, to the Thundercloud for his constant feedback and suggestions, and to Jason for the inspiration, afterword, and awesome pictures.
I hope to hear a lot of your comments by e-mail or in the forum.  There's a survey in the Grey Archive forum, similar to what I did with Demon Mother 2 a long time ago.  So fill it out if you have a few moments.

Later folks
Bernie
 

Afterward

I guess it was around early 2000 that I first sent Bernie an early sketch for what would become the Demon Mother II poster. I was very impressed with his fanfiction up to that point and when I saw that he was looking for an artist to produce some work for his next DM fanfic I jumped at the chance. It was our first collaboration and I'm glad to say we have continued our partnership to this day. When we were first working on the project that would become the Restless Gods story I was amazed at how well Bernie was able to jump between genres. He crafted an excellent fantasy adventure story having never written one before or even really being exposed to the genre. I had actually discussed the project with some other writers prior to working with Bernie on it and it just never got off the ground until Bernie and his amazing work ethic jumped in. His body of work is so impressive I think in large part to the fact he is always writing, he works hard at his craft, he is always producing. He manages to write stories that are epic in length and yet maintain cohesion and focus which is not something you see in the world of fanfiction very often. It's what separates most fanfic authors from those few that really should be defined as writers period (you few know who you are). Bernie is of course a member of this fanfic elite and we are all grateful for his contributions to the genre and for one know he will continue to impress us all with his future stories...I know I can't wait to read them. Thanks Bernie!

Jason

June 13, 2001