Action Pack 4: Red Lips and Icy Fingers

   Disclaimer: The characters, settings, etc.  contained within this story
all belong to paetrasslave and may not be used in other media without
express permission.  Why anyone would want to, she's not sure.
Also, this story is incredibly sexual in nature with many preferences
and depictions on display that will probably offend many people, including:



   Same-gendered sex, incest, underage sex, sex between human and partially
human creatures, polygamous relationships, light domination

   Anyone under 18 or possessed of an easily offended mindset should leave
now.  For everyone else, that's probably all the reason you need to stay.

   ---------

   Quick Note: I know this is a story with a lot of characters.  I'm
planning on adding a guide to my files soon to help with that, and add to
it when new characters appear.

   Synopsis: Jein embarks on a mission to help the forest elves drive off
vampires plaguing them.  Along the way she's captured by the undead
invaders and becomes the plaything of a trio of lustful female vampires.
Ilindora swept her thin blade back and forth in front of herself so that
it seemed to become a streak of orange of light in the dim illumination of
the campfire.  The two interlopers didn't seem the least bit intimidated,

and moved closer, holding up their gaunt hands with long black talons.

   Then they lunged.  One went after Ilindora, but Jein was too focused on
the other one going for her sisters, huddling on the ground in terror.  She
hurled herself at him as hard as she could, knocking him into a tree hard
enough to leave a dent in the trunk.  Before he got to his feet, Jein
smashed the branch against his chin in a vicious upward stroke.

   The wood shattered from the impact without leaving a mark.

   In a blink he was up and closed his fingers around Jein's neck.  He
smiled and she could see pronounced canines gleaming in the firelight.  A
vampire, it had to be.  Jein's breath grew ragged, but her opponent already
thought he'd won.  He didn't notice Jein flip the branch over and jab the
other side, that ended in a point from where they'd sheared it from its
tree, and rammed it into his chest as hard as she could.

   The vampire gave vent to a cry of pain so shrill it seemed to claw at
the sides of Jein's soul.  His partner looked up at the sound to see the
same thing Jein did; before her eyes the impaled vampire's skin started to
shrivel into a dark gray dust that fell from his face until finally his
cries fell silent.  And then, only because it had decayed into nothing but
a bleached skeleton that an unnerved Jein kicked off her impromptu stake as
quickly as she could.  The bones clattered hollowly on the ground.

   The other vampire paused for just a second as he saw how quickly Jein
had dispatched his partner, and that was long enough for Ilindora to make
her move.  The elf jabbed her thin blade at her opponent's chest.  The
reddened tip emerged from the other side a half-second before the vampire
screamed and rotted away into a skeleton before their eyes.

   Jein gathered up her sisters while Ilindora sheathed her sword and
kicked dirt on the fire to smother it.

   "Come on, we'll have to make a run for it now," Ilindora hissed.

   Jein scooped Jasami up in one arm and took Cathallis's hand in the
other, then followed the elf as she sprinted out of the trees toward the
main body of the forest.  They had just made it to the trees when they
heard the first yell go up.  It was much like the shrill cry the vampires
they'd just killed made, but harsher.  Angrier.  They could hear rustling
all around them as they ran, narrowly dodging trees half as thick as houses
in the failing light that even made it through the cover of leaves.

   Ilindora led the way, moving as if she had no trouble at all seeing in
the near-dark.  But then, if she was anything like elves in the games Jein
had played back home, that was probably exactly the case.  The sounds of
pursuit grew louder, but as the sisters followed Ilindora a few points of
flickering orange light appeared in the treetops.  A few seconds later,
Jein could see that they were set into the sides of vast houses built into
branches of the trees themselves.

   Their elven guide yelled something upward in a lilting language Jein
didn't understand, and something large fell from the treetops and landed
with a crash nearby their group.  Jein turned and could see their first
pale-faced pursuer come loping into sight.  Ilindora grabbed Jein by the
arm and led her and her sisters into a tall cylindrical shape.  The thing
that had dropped from above.  As soon as they were inside it shot back up,
leaving a group of howling vampires on the ground, empty-handed.

   Jein set Jasami down heavily on the floor of the strange elevator and
leaned back against one side, panting as the exertion of their frantic
sprint caught up with her.  Cathallis leaned heavily against one of her
shoulders, slipping her arm around Jein for support.  Jein put an arm
around Cathallis out of reflex, and the dark-haired twin rewarded the act
with a pleased sigh.

   "You're really strong, you know that?" Jasami said as she came over and
hugged up against Jein's leg.

   "Not really.  You're not heavy," Jein replied.  Jasami's eyes lit up.

   "I'm not?"

   "No.  I felt like I was carrying a pillow while we were running for our
lives back there."

   Jasami glomped onto her older sister's leg, and Jein noticed that
Ilindora seemed to be staring into the distance as hard as she could.

   The elevator stopped beside a wooden bridge linking two of the
structures built into the trees.  A pair of tired-looking elf males secured
a crank on a platform beside the elevator, then each picked up a longbow
and quiver and ran down the bridge to join another group of elves who were
taking aim at the forest floor.  Each loosed an arrow with a gleaming head
downward.

   "Come on," Ilindora said brusquely, leading them along other bridges as
other elves ran back and forth, taking up firing positions and sniping the
vampires.  As they followed Jein spot several vampires trying to scale the
tree trunks by sinking their dark talons into the wood.  One that managed
to get too high fell back to the ground, his back pierced by an elven
arrow. Many shots went wide, embedding themselves in the trees or tumbling
to the ground.  Several archers blinked sleep from their eyes before
loosing an arrow.

   A pair of burly guards (for elves, anyway) holding halberds stopped
Ilindora as she walked up to the doors of a particularly large and
elaborate treehouse.  It was a good three stories tall with rooms branching
off the upper levels, and baskets of flowers that looked almost black when
mixed with the orange of the torchlight hanging beneath the windows.  Above
the main doors was a crest of a bow loaded with a fiery arrow.

   The guard grunted something at Ilindora in that lilting language, and
Ilindora argued back at him, gesturing at the sisters.  After a minute the
guard sighed and waved for his partner to open the doors.  Inside was
another checkpoint flanked by another pair of guards, but when the one
outside yelled something at them they saluted and stood back to let Jein
and the others pass.  There was another room and another pair of guards,
but seeing the sisters in the company of an elven warrior appeared to be
enough for them and they stood aside at once.

   Ilindora strode through into the next room, where several
elderly-looking elves were gathered around a long table.  They were
speaking in loud voices--although what they were saying, Jein had little
idea--and occasionally pointing down at a roll of parchment on the table
that had what Jein guessed was a map of the treetop village on it.  Most of
the elves were men, with bows slung from shoulders and swords dangling from
their belts.  However, standing at the center of the gathering, standing
there silent and calm, devoid of weaponry, was a regal-looking elven woman.

   Her hair, formed into a thick braid that traveled down her back and
another on either side of her face, was a dark silver color.  Unlike
Jasami's, Jein was sure age was the cause.  Her face was thin and calm, but
there was no mistaking the wrinkles creeping out from the edges of her
mouth and eyes.  What struck Jein most about her was something she didn't
even notice until the elf looked up at them.

   She had the deepest, bluest eyes Jein had ever seen.  Jein felt like she
was being sucked into them the longer the elf looked at her, and didn't
even realize the other elves were looking at her too until the woman spoke
up.

   "Who is this?" she said softly, patiently.  With a smooth voice that
still managed to convey bottomless experience even though she'd only
actually said three words.

   Ilindora bowed reverently before she replied.  "Oh revered Altia, I have
found a volunteer to help us defend the village.  She is Angele Devyre's
daughter, and a companion of mine saw her take on a number of orcs with her
bare hands."

   "The things we face now are a good deal more threatening than orcs,
young one," the older elf replied, still patient, still calm.  "Yet...are
you Angele Devyre's daughter, human?"

   "I guess," Jein shrugged.

   "You guess?"

   "Mmmhmm," Jein nodded.  "I don't know an awful lot about what's going
on, actually.  Until a couple days ago I was living on this really boring
planet called Earth.  And...I sure as hell didn't have white hair or yellow
eyes."

   "I'm told Angele Devyre did.  I'm also told she was one of the finest
Sword Daughters her species ever produced," the older elf woman, Altia,
Jein guessed, said.

   "Jein's a Sword Daughter," Cathallis spoke up.  "She, well, stronger
measures were taken to hide her than the rest of us."

   "And if she's a Sword Daughter that makes perfect sense.  She'd make a
very tempting target for her mother's enemies," Altia smiled a little.  Out
of the corner of her eye Jein saw one of the other elves suddenly whip out
his word and stab it at her middle, but just as suddenly she reached out
and caught the thin blade between her palms.  The elf who'd attacked her
gasped, and before he got over his surprise Jein spun toward him and drove
her elbow downward into his wrist.  With a yelp of pain he dropped his
sword, and in one fluid motion Jein picked it up and whipped it around so
the point was half an inch from his throat.

   "What the hell just happened?" Jein gasped in astonishment.

   "Among other things, I think Jasami came a little from watching you,"
Cathallis whispered.  The younger sister's eyes had a distant look to them
along with her eyelids hanging down sleepily, and her cheeks were an
adorable rosy pink.

   "I'll admit that was rather impressive, young lady," Altia smiled
lightly.  "And we could quite honestly use all the help we can get.  Those
things have gotten so bold they're starting to climb the trees to get at
us. They used to just throw stones.  Big stones."

   "You're not just going to try to wait them out, are you?" Jein asked.

   "Of course not.  There are more every few nights.  We're planning on
waiting until sunrise, and having warriors follow them back to their lair
to kill while they're helpless.  Between the people we lost the first few
nights when we were still struggling to set up defenses, and our attackers'
ever-increasing boldness, we'll have to make our move soon.  Sword Daughter
or no.

   "And since you're a bit too...rosy-cheeked to be one of them, I'd be
willing to accept your services.  If you're still sure," Altia said.

   "As long as I can ask that my sisters are kept safe while I'm doing
this," Jein replied.

   "We can't exactly offer the royal suite, but I suppose we can find room
for two more," Altia nodded.  "Ilindora, take them to Tojer's hut."

   "He can put them up for the night?"

   Altia looked away.  "He's past the point of needing it."

   In silence, Ilindora led them along a series of terraces and bridges
while archers peered into the depths of the forest beside them.  She led
them to a small but sturdy-looking hut, and opened the door for the Devyre
sisters.  Inside it was dark, but there was a large mattress in the middle
with a pile of thick blankets nearby.  Cathallis lit a candle.

   "I'll come get you in the morning, Jein," Ilindora said, and shut the
door once they were inside.

   "Okay!" Jasami exclaimed playfully, and in the blink of an eye her
clothes and underwear were piled on the ground around her feet.  She
bounded up to Jein and latched onto her older sister's torso, driving Jein
to sit on the bed with a thump.  Jasami blushed a little, but gazed up at
Jein with an expectant look on her face.

   Cathallis kicked off her boots, shed her cloak and eased out of her
bodice before joining them, leaving the rest of her clothing on.  "Not
tonight, Jasami," she said, a bit reprovingly.  "Jein's got to get her
sleep if she's going to kill all those vampires tomorrow."

   Jasami pouted, but Jein spoke up.  "Cath's right, but you guys can help
me remember what I'm fighting for..." Her lips curled into a coy grin.  As
Jasami caught on, so did hers.

   "What do you have in mind?" Cathallis said and placed her dainty hands
on Jein's shoulders.  Suddenly Jein whipped around, and before Cathallis
could utter a word Jein had thrust her twin's blouse wide open.  Beneath
was a practical orange bra.  Cathallis squealed but didn't, her sisters
noticed, do anything to cover herself back up.  Instead, cheeks aflame, she
looked up and met Jein's eyes.  "What do you have in mind?" she repeated,
several octaves lower this time.

   "Can I sleep with my sisters' skin up against mine?  That way I'll be
brave tomorrow for sure," Jein suggested.  Jasami squirmed at the
suggestion.

   "If you really think you'll be able to sleep like that...," Cathallis
blushed but shrugged off her top and held out her arms as Jein unclasped
her bra and pulled it away.  Slowly, shyly, Cathallis ran a hand over one
ear and back through her hair.  Jein stood transfixed by her twin's
appearance; the luxurious black hair spilling off her head like a long
ebony ribbon, her round, sculpted breasts, and long, flat belly interrupted
only by the dip of her cute navel...

   It was only when Jein felt the cool night air blowing across her breasts
that Jein realized she'd zoned out and her own shirt and bra were missing.
Cathallis leaned in and kissed Jein, and intentionally or not their breasts
rubbed together lightly as Cathallis's hands slid down her sides to the
waist of Jein's pants.  Another, smaller pair of hands grabbed the garment
from behind, and with one firm downward yank, Jein was sandwiched between
her sisters in nothing but her skin.  A situation she was finding herself
getting used to with alarming speed.

   Jein pulled at Cathallis's pants with the dark-haired twin swaying her
hips to aid the act of undressing her.  Once they hit the floor around her
feet Cathallis looked away from her sisters, her cheeks reddening.

   "You're beautiful, Cath," Jein exhaled more than said.

   "Don't stare, it's embarrassing.  Even if...you know," Cathallis huffed.

   With a smile, Jein took her twin's hands and kissed her on the mouth. 
"I know.  Let's get into that bed before we catch pneumonia." She laid down
in the center of the spacious bed, and Cathallis and Jasami climbed in on
either side, drawing up a thick fur blanket as they did.

   "Everything's going to be fine," Jein assured them.  "By tomorrow night,
we'll be at that city you mentioned."

   "Zenith," Cathllis supplied.

   "Right.  Someplace without monsters," Jein sighed and settled back.  She
slipped her arms around her sisters' shoulders and started to doze off, but
then felt something warm and wet rub against her thigh.  The one on
Jasami's side.  She peered down at her younger sister in the dark, who
looked back up with a sheepish grin.

   "I know I'm not supposed to, but just a little?  Please?" Jasami
whispered.

   "Just a little," Jein replied.  Jasami squeaked happily and wrapped an
arm around Jein's waist.  A second later Jein felt Cathallis's arm slip
across her chest, underneath her breasts.

   "Cathallis?" Jein asked.

   "Yes, love?" the dark-haired twin responded, sounding vastly more
relaxed than she had a minute before.  Her hand curled up to gently follow
the outline of Jein's breast.

   "What's a Sword Daughter?  I mean, so I know what I'm doing out there
tomorrow."

   Cathallis purred in her throat, as if thinking about the answer excited
her.  "Mom was a Sword Daughter.  She's supposed to have just understood
how to fight, like she'd known since before she was born.  I mean no
offense, but if the world where you grew up was as boring as you said, you
probably never touched a real sword before."

   "No, I didn't," Jein admitted.  She stroke down Cathallis's side, her
hand coming to rest on Cathallis's backside.  The dark-haired twin
whimpered softly before continuing.

   "My...my other parents told me about how she also seemed to have the
power to instill loyalty in people she desired to help.  It requires a
blessing from the gods when the child's still being carried, which has to
be asked for in this really complex ritual.  They said mom wanted to make
sure there'd be another Sword Daughter so she tried it when she was having
you and me.  Since you came out first, you were the one to get the power."

   "That's reassuring."

   "Yeah...," Cathallis said sleepily.  She nuzzled closer against Jein and
shut her eyes.

   As her sisters started to doze and Jein tried to do the same, the
thought that she was already in an erotic dream drifted out of the back of
her mind.  She certainly couldn't remember fantasizing about being a girl,
let alone been turned on by the thought of watching any sister of hers get
undressed.

   Yet, there she was, for the most recent of several times, cuddled up to
two girls claiming that very relation.  And in Cathallis's case, certainly
looked like she could've been Jein's twin.

   Ah, Cathallis.  So quiet, so unassuming.  Yet, there was a strength
behind it when circumstances allowed it show.  This drive of hers to get to
Zenith to do something about this world's problems, and perhaps more so
that sleek arm nestled right beneath Jein's breasts, were signs enough of
that for Jein.  It was an interesting juxtaposition of traits, and one Jein
had to admit she thought was rather attractive.

   Then there was the younger, yet feistier girl with a wet crotch pushed
to Jein's thigh.  Understandably, Jein thought, she felt she ought to be
even more disturbed by what went on between her and this girl.  Jasami
looked like an innocent, like there was no way she should know anything
about what "big girls" did with their lovers, and yet Jein couldn't escape
the feeling her younger sister probably knew more about the erotic arts
than Jein and Cathallis put together.

   Jein's body tingled a little as Jasami, her sleeping face adorned with
an enraptured smile, tightened her grip around Jein's waist and pressed her
naked flesh even closer.  That was the reason, wasn't it?  Jasami was just
so passionate, so eager to please, so damn adorable when she got
affectionate it shot right through all the reservations Jein's subconscious
feebly tried to remind her she was supposed to have.  Jein smiled to
herself, thinking of the things they could explore when they weren't out in
the untamed wilds.

   Yes, she'd be very sure of what she was fighting for in the morning.

   ---------

   She was half-awake already when a knock came at the door, right before
Ilindora pushed it open with a bulky bag in one hand.  The elf took one
look at the three of them, bare shoulders and arms on display above the rim
of the blanket, turned red and heaved the bag inside the hut.  "I'll be
back in a minute.  Put those on," she said, flustered, and shut the door
behind her as quickly as she could.

   Slowly, trying to untangle herself from her sisters without waking them
up, Jein slipped out of bed and opened the bag.  Inside was an assortment
of items of weapons and armor, like a chain mail vest, a long rapier
hanging from a sturdy leather belt, a plain but thick metal helmet and a
pair of solid-looking leather boots.  There was another bag inside the
other one too, with things like a few small jars of water, a couple stubby
torches and a long gleaming dagger.

   "You going already?" Jasami suddenly asked from behind.  She was sitting
on the edge of the bed, eyes almost shut as they adjusted to the dawn light
seeping in through the hut's windows.

   "Uh huh, as soon as I get dressed," Jein replied.  "But I'll be back
soon.  Promise."

   "Is that all you got?" Jasami pointed at the pile of armor and weapons
Jein had left on the floor.  Jein nodded.  "Since they only gave you
that...can I pick your outfit for your first quest?" Jasami looked up at
her sister, eyes hopeful.

   "My first quest?" Jein said incredulously, but Jasami's hopeful smile
totally disarmed her.  Besides, she was effectively in a videogame.  It
might help to think like it.  "...okay, but let's not wake up Cath."

   Jasami squealed and only made a token effort to hold it in.  She dug
around in her discarded clothes from the day before, found her locket and
flipped open the catch to reveal her portable wardrobe.  She hopped over,
flung the doors open wide and started rooting through it.  Articles of
clothing flew over her shoulders and landed in Jein's hands, as if she
could see to aim.  Light green bra and panties, white socks, a long-sleeved
white shirt, dark blue pants and a matching jerkin.  After helping Jein put
it all on, the chain underneath the jerkin, Jasami spent five minutes
brushing out her sister's ivory hair and tying it down into a low ponytail
with a yellow ribbon.

   "Do we really have to spend this long on my hair?" Jein asked gently.

   "Of course!  How are you supposed to look good on all the paintings and
tapestries about your adventures if you don't take the time to look your
best??"

   "I don't think that's how it works...," Jein said.  She noticed
Cathallis sitting up in bed.  Jein's eyes seemed drawn like a magnet to her
twin's naked chest, and Cathallis made no effort to hide her body as she
noticed Jein's attentions.

   "Well, don't you look heroic?" Cathallis smiled, still sounding
half-asleep.  Her smile faded as what she'd just said seemed to sink in. 
About Jein being about to leave to chase down monsters.

   Jein gave a reassuring smile as she hung the pouch on her belt and
fastened the belt the jerkin.  "It'll be okay, Cath.  I had to kill lots of
vampires in the game back home."

   "...the game?"

   "Yeah, you know.  The game I had to master before I could come back
here," Jein explained.  "That was how I knew that trick about using a
branch on a vampire to get a wooden stake.  That was in Tri-Quest too."

   "Oh, yes, that game.  It taught you to...hmmm, interesting."

   Jein nodded.  "I better get going now.  Before they leave without me."

   "They're not leaving without you," Jasami replied.  "They wouldn't make
it five minutes on their own."

   "All the same, it's probably past time I'm supposed to be out there,"
Jein said.  She picked up the helmet, then opened the door just wide enough
for her to slip out without anyone outside being able to peer in and see
her sisters in their birthday suits.

   "Good luck, Jein!" Cathallis called.

   "You won't need it!" Jasami followed up.

   "I'll be back soon, girls," Jein promised and shut the door, stepping
out into the dim light of sunrise.  As soon as she turned away she saw
Ilindora walking up.  The elf didn't meet her eyes.

   "Good.  You're ready," she said simply.  "It's time to go."

   Fourteen other elven warriors were waiting as they came up to the
elevator.  Jein was a little surprised to count eight other women among
them.  She didn't remember that kind of gender bias in Tri-Quest.  There,
most of the playable characters, even NPCs had been men.  They eyed her,
the newcomer among them, as they waited for the elevator to return after
the first group went down, and Jein wasn't sure she didn't see a few of
them crook their lips coyly to one side out of the corner of her eye.

   Stay focused, girl, Jein thought, then realized she'd just called
herself "girl".  She WAS getting into this fast.

   Ilindora nudged Jein in the side, then whispered, "When we get down
there, just follow the others.  Hold onto your sword so it doesn't bang on
your hip.  And keep up."

   "You think I can't?"

   "Sereda's word is good enough for me.  But...most of them haven't met a
human who relied on anything but bluster and muscle."

   "Yeah...me either," Jein admitted.

   Ilindora peered at her in confusion.  "Oh I don't know.  Your sisters
don't seem so bad."

   Jein shrugged.  "I'm...I'm kind of having to get to know them all over
again.  Been away a long time, you know?"

   Ilindora nodded as she joined Jein in the elevator.  "The world must be
a lot different than you remember."

   "Yeah...waaaaaay more interesting girls than I used to see," Jein said
distantly.

   As soon as they got to the ground the elves took off running into the
trees, barely making a sound as they dashed through the foliage.  Like
she'd been told, Jein held her sword and ran after them.  Without having to
carry Jasami, she was amazed by how well she kept up.  She made quite a bit
more noise than the elves, but a few looked over their shoulders at her as
she ran, expressions of surprise on their sleek faces.

   After about fifteen minutes of running, the elves slowed to a brisk
walk, and Jein, her sides aching, slowed as well.  Jein wanted to ask where
they were going, what they might expect to run into besides vampires once
they got there, but she had a feeling she didn't really want to hear the
answer.

   A few minutes passed, then again her companions broke into a run, and
Jein followed suit.  Several of these alternations passed before the trees
started to thin out.  Decimated stone columns and walls marked the edges of
a wide clearing, and as Jein got closer she could see fallen stone inside
that looked like they'd once been a castle.  In the center of the clearing
was a set of weathered stone steps leading underground.

   "So this is it, huh?" Jein asked.

   "Yes," Ilindora said solemnly.

   "Can I ask a stupid question?" Jein asked.

   "What is it?"

   "How did we know where to find the vampires' hideout, if we're the
last-ditch effort to get rid of them?"

   Ilindora looked away.  "Because we're not the first.  As for what's down
there...nobody who came back was in any shape to explain."

   Jein pulled out a torch and started down the steps.  "Well, they aren't
gonna stake themselves, are they?" A few of the elves exchanged glances,
but followed this strange human.

   The torch in Jein's hand automatically lit up with a gentle golden light
as she descended into darkness.  She cringed in surprise, but then held it
high as the party made its way down.

   The stairs seemed to stretch forever, with the elves beginning to murmur
easily to one another in that language they shared.  Jein was actually
somewhat grateful she didn't understand.  She no longer felt the confidence
she had during that fight against the pair of vampires the previous
evening, let alone when she'd told her sisters everything would be fine.

   Uncertainty filled Jein's mind.  How many of those things were there? 
Few enough that a couple elves and an overeager human could deal with them
all?  Were they even the kind of vampire that had to sleep during the day,
or would they be free to fight out of the sun?

   Instinctively, Jein shifted her torch to her off-hand and slipped her
fingers around the hilt of her rapier.  Something about it reassured her.

   "Are these swords made out of silver or something?" she whispered over
one shoulder.

   "The purest the forest has to offer," an elf replied.

   "Fat lot of good it'll do you," a snide voice hissed.  Then from out of
nowhere stepped a group of vampires, fangs gleaming in the torchlight.  A
dozen blades left their scabbards in the same instant, and in the same
instant a horde of pale-skinned assailants hurled themselves at the elves.

   Some instinct guided Jein's blade as she jabbed the tip into an oncoming
vampire's chest.  His black eyes went wide and a strangled gasp escaped his
throat before ge fell limp.  Jein kicked the corpse off her sword and ran
up the stairs to help an elf under attack by two more vampires.  Her first
thrust went through a vampire's throat, and as the other turned to see who
had just killed his comrade she yanked her weapon free and drove it through
his heart.

   "Thanks," the elf woman panted.

   "Don't mention it," Jein said and deftly reached into her pouch, grabbed
a jar of holy water and lobbed it into the face of a vampire lunging at
them from the elf's back.  He howled and crumbled to his knees as the water
ate into his pale skin like acid.  One of the burly male elves kicked him
in the back and sent him rolling down the stairs.

   "Where's Ilindora?" Jein called, throwing her gaze around the stairway
only to see Ilindora sheathe her sword and step over the bodies of two
dispatched vampires.

   "Thank you for your concern, Jein, but I can take care of myself,"
Ilindora said with a confidence defying the way she'd been acting when she
came to get Jein before.

   "Okay then.  Did anybody get hurt?" Jein asked.

   "I got scratched, but not bitten," one of the male elves replied.  A few
others gave answers along the same lines; some minor injuries but nothing
serious, and definitely no teeth marks.

   "What does a human care if one of us is turned?" grunted one of the male
elves.

   "Look," Jein snapped, "I'm doing this to get my sisters someplace safe.
I'm sure somebody here's lost somebody because of these things--"

   "They turned my sister into one of them," a female elf said softly. 
"She came to me the other night, tried to tell me about the power she had,
and how she wanted to give it to me...I'll be damned if I'm going to accept
that power, or let its corruption spread to anyone else.  Let's focus on
why we're here, and not whose ears end in a point, hmmm?"

   "Right," Jein said, inwardly heaving a sigh of relief she'd just been
saved from having to make up a stirring speech of her own.  Finding herself
up against real monsters, it was sort of hard to remember the right words
movie heroes always told their buddies before the final siege.  Maybe the
fact that she was carrying real weapons and going up against real monsters
was starting to win out against the part of her mind still trying to
convince her this was just a dream brought on by playing too much Action
Pack and having some bad pizza before bed.

   Ilindora made her way to Jein's side as they resumed their trek down. 
They both looked furtively from side to side, trying to spot any other
vampiric sentries, but after a minute Ilindora leaned in and whispered to
Jein.

   "Why were you so worried about me?  I can take care of myself."

   "When you're killing monsters, I guess.  You'll have to forgive me for
not seeing that when you're around other girls who don't want to hurt you
at all," Jein whispered back.  Ilindora blushed and looked away as hard as
she could.  "I mean, gee, Sereda talked about inviting you to...you know,
with her and that priestess.  And I remember the way you ran out of there
when I saw you at the stream.  I mean...I don't know, I think you're really
pretty.  Personally."

   Ilindora blushed to the tips of her adorable long ears.  "Stop talking
about that!" she hissed.

   Then quit being so easy to think about, Jein said in her head.  The
svelte elf with those long legs and red-brown curls wasn't exactly hard on
the eyes, at least not Jein's, and the way she was indeed a competent
warrior yet got all flustered when she saw Jein being affectionate with her
sisters...it made for an appealing synthesis.  A familiar one, in fact.

   "You know something?  You remind me of my sister," Jein said.

   The hardness drained out of Ilindora's face.  "Which one?"

   Jein smiled.  "The beautiful one."

   Ilindora frowned.  "Don't tease me."

   "I'm not teasing you.  You remind me of Cathallis.  The older one. 
She's so shy when we're together, but she's strong when she's got something
big on her mind.  Like getting to Zenith so we can help do something about
all the...bad stuff.  I dunno."

   "The world has become a much wilder place in the last ten years or so,"
Ilindora nodded.

   Jein shook her head.  "That wasn't really my point--" She stopped in
mid-sentence when she noticed the stairs had stopped spiraling into
darkness and let out into an arched stone tunnel.  Soon the tunnel led to a
three-way junction.

   "Which way do we go?" one of the elves asked.

   "I want to say we should stay together..." Jein suggested.  A few of
them looked at her, but then a deafening rumble of stone on stone halted
any further conversation.  An elf looked up and screamed.  The ceiling
above the junction was starting to drop down on them!

   Ilindora shoved Jein toward the nearest exist and the others scattered
into the others quickly.  As soon as Jein peeled herself off the floor the
stone slammed down sealing off the junction.

   "We'll have to move fast now," Ilindora panted.  "There's no way they'll
have missed that." They ran off down the tunnel, ducking around the first
turn they came to as the sound of footsteps too fast to be human started to
come the other way.  Ilindora took both of their torches and jammed them
against the wall, extinguishing the light just as a group of vampires ran
past.  Ilindora grabbed Jein's arm, then hustled the girl down the tunnel
before the creatures of the night realized their prey had slipped past
them.

   Ilindora leaned this way and that as they passed various doors in the
underground complex.  Finally she leaned especially closed to one, pulled
it open and shoved Jein inside.  The room was full of wardrobes and
cabinets, and had a smell of fine soap that seemed to drive itself right up
Jein's nostrils as she staggered inside.

   "Jein?" Ilindora asked after a minute of catching her breath.

   "Yeah?" Jein gasped.

   "Can I tell you something?  The reason...," Ilindora paused.  "The
reason I get like that around you and your sisters, when you're...intimate
with one another, is...once, I was in love with my sister, too.

   "The problem was she already had a lover by the time I worked up the
nerve to tell her.  A jealous one, he was.  Eldarl...I'll never forget his
name or his face.  I don't know what Mithil thought she saw in him, maybe
that he was good-looking and a strong fighter, or maybe it was because he
was a member of one of the oldest families in the forest.

   "But she always was an open-minded one.  That's probably why she decided
to give things a try with me.  Eldarl found us out, though.  Beat my sister
near to death and had his friends throw me into the river.  By the time I
got back to the village, they were both gone.  I haven't seen either of
them since.  That's part of why I was on that quest with Sereda, to get
some gold put away to look for Mithil."

   Jein sighed and slumped against the wall.  "I'm sorry to hear about
that, but I kind of hope you can see why I want to make it through this
little mission so bad.  To get my sisters somewhere safer than a forest
full of vampires.  That doesn't look too likely now, does it?  Damn!"

   Ilindora was about to say something when she perked a long ear.  Jein
didn't need any super hearing to know what was happening.  Someone was
coming.  Jein looked up, but Ilindora had already hidden somewhere.  She
was pulling open one of the wardrobes when the door into the room swung
open.

   Standing there, not to Jein's surprise, were a group of pale-skinned men
with dark talons instead of fingernails.  "Well, well, well," one of them
grinned.  "Looks like we can bring back fresh coverings for the beds, my
brothers, and something to help keep them warm too."

   In a flash Jein's sword was drawn and the first vampire to make a grab
at her earned its trip through his heart.  As he fell lifeless, however, he
jerked suddenly and pulled the weapon from Jein's hand.  The others grabbed
her and pinned her to the wall, fangs gleaming.  Suddenly one held up a
hand and lifted Jein's hair away from her ear.

   "I thought this one looked a little too...wide across the shoulders to
be an elf," he grinned.  "A human.  Any of you ever seen a human with
yellow eyes?"

   "We better turn her over to Handred," one suggested quietly.  "If he
finds out we kept one like this for ourselves..." The others murmured to
themselves, but held hard onto Jein's arms as they dragged her out of the
room.  At least they hadn't found Ilindora.

   Jein was dragged into an enormous hall, richly decorated with marble
fountains of attractive maidens and bull-headed monsters spilling water
from urns they held into large pools.  Tapestries hung from the tall
columns supporting the roof, and the room was lit by glowing yellow stones
set into the rock.  A few small doors left out of the room, and into one
she saw a pair of unclothed vampires disappears.  Everywhere she looked,
she could see similarly naked vampires indulging themselves in some
decadent pursuit or other.  Pairs laid here and there on the floor, locked
an erotic embrace and unmindful of anyone who might see.  Some lay in the
pools as they had their way with each other, while in a few places circles
had formed to watch one or two of their numbers gyrate around
provocatively. Most of the undead revelers clutched wine glasses filled
with a thick red liquid.  In all, it looked to Jein like there were about
forty vampires in that room alone.

   Jein's captors pulled her to a wooden throne in the center of the room
surrounded by velvet cushions.  On the throne sat a heavyset vampire with a
pointy black beard, dressed in voluminous blue robes.  On the cushions lay
three shapely female vampires, dressed in nothing but their skin.  They
caressed the male's chest and face, occasionally holding out one of the
wine glasses for him to take a long swig.  He chuckled after emptying a
glass and reached out to cup one of the vampire maiden's heavy breasts, but
looked up as Jein was dragged out before him.  His eyes went wide.

   "What have we here?" he asked in a booming voice that sounded all wrong
coming from a vampire.

   "A human we caught in the bedding supply.  Quite something, isn't she,
sire?  She even killed Thruto before we brought her down."

   He reached out and cupped Jein's chin with fingers like ice, and
grinned. She grunted and pulled away, but he just seized her chin again and
grinned wider.  Jein then hocked and spat into his face.  "Some fire in
this one, eh?" the vampire grinned.  "It'll be a nice change of pace to put
that out.  She's a bit too pink for my tastes, but we'll soon take care of
that.  Girls, take her away and get her cleaned up.  Get to know her. 
You'll be spending a lot of time together."

   The three vampire women stood up from their cushions and took Jein's
wrists from her captors, one on each side.  Their grip was gentler than the
others, but still firm, and Jein noticed their long black talons had been
filed down.  One of them holding her was a whisper-thin teen-looking girl
with platinum blonde hair who Jein thought was an elf until she noticed
human ears, and the other was a slightly zaftig specimen, with soft sensual
curves and a head of dark brown hair

   The vampire who wasn't holding Jein by one wrist, a girl in her late
teens by the look of her, with a slim figure and flowing honey-blonde hair,
cupped Jein's chin to inspect her face, then peering into Jein's eyes.

   "Oh yes, you and I are going to have a lot of fun tonight," she purred
and stroked her fingers against Jein's cheek.  Rather than feeling like
ice, her touch was pleasantly cool.  Refreshing, actually, after all the
running and fighting Jein had done that day.  Jein found herself
entertaining the idea of thanking this bloodsucking creature.

   Again Jein was dragged away, through a door in the back of the hall with
velvet purple drapes blocking whatever was on the other side from sight. 
Her guides pushed the drape aside and led her into an opulently-furnished
bedroom.  Tapestries of battles and woodland scenes hung on the walls, like
they had outside.  There was a four-poster bed big enough for five people
to the left, and a marble bath off to the other side that was nearly twenty
feet on a side.  In the center of the bath was another marble fountain,
spilling dazzling sheets of water off its four sides.  Beneath each
waterfall was a small vase full of black roses.

   "Homey, isn't it?" one of the vampires dragging Jein chuckled into her
ear.  Then licked it.  Jein shivered.

   "You can play with her once we've seen her skin," said the blonde, who
seemed to be in charge.  "Come on, help me get her undressed already."

   "What?!" Jein snapped.  Yes, the bearded vampire had said to get her
cleaned up, but somehow she hadn't thought that's what he meant.  She
pulled against the hands curled around her wrists, but it was like having a
tug of war with a tank.  Neither of them budged, and the blonde came over
and unbuckled Jein's belt, then slipped her fingers inside Jein's collar
and ripped her jerkin open.  She eyed the armor she'd just revealed
underneath inquisitively before opening the fastenings and slipping it off
one shoulder, then the other.

   "If I didn't know better, I'd say you came here looking for a fight,
human," the blonde vampire smiled.  A smile of approval.  Then she leaned
forward and pressed her ruby red lips against Jein's.  After a second Jein
noticed she was pressing back.

   The vampires on either side of Jein giggled.  "Don't look now, Lucia,"
one of them whispered, "but I think Handred's new bride likes you
already..."

   "Then let's let her see what we have to offer.  Girls, give her a nibble
while I finish plucking her," the blonde said and reached for Jein's collar
again.  Jein struggled, but the instant she felt the fabric of her
undershirt start to tear she felt searing pain on both sides of her neck.
Only for an instant, though, and suddenly a feeling of relaxation swept
over her entire body.  It felt kind of like one time when she'd laid on a
beach and let the water just lap at her...or his body, at the time.  She'd
never told anyone, but it had been the most serene moment of her life. 
Before lying in the afterglow after her first threesome, anyway.

   Slowly, Jein felt her arms fall limp.  The vampires weren't holding onto
her wrists anymore, instead she realized they were supporting her back and
head.  It was just as well, she almost felt like she wasn't even inside her
body anymore.  Like she was somehow disconnected from it and floating near
the top of the room.  Just letting all the things she'd been thinking about
lately drift from her mind.  About being a girl.  About protecting her
sisters.  About being from another planet.  About Shana being from another
planet...

   Shana!

   Shana, who'd grown up into that wonderfully built specimen of womanhood.
Who'd congratulated her upon passing the ultimate test in all the Action
Pack games.  Who she hadn't seen since that trip back to their home planet.
Oh gods, whichever ones there were, why hadn't she thought about finding
Shana?  What would Shana do if she found out how much effort had gone into
locating her?  What would Shana do if she found out Jein had been sleeping
with Cathallis and Jasami, a lot?

   "I've never seen someone react quite like that, have you?" Jein heard
Lucia's voice, and at once she felt normal.  Back in the room, back in her
body if indeed she'd left it, but feeling almost too weak to open her eyes.
She was lying on the bed, but the room felt cooler, and she looked down to
see she had nothing left on but her socks and underwear, with her hair let
down.  She was a little mystified to be left with anything at all.

   "Why...why...?" Jein stammered and cupped her chest lightly, then
crumpled down into the sheets.  Lucia came over and stroked her cheek.  The
calming effect of the vampire's cooling touch was gone now that Jein was no
longer feeling the strain of her exertions, or maybe it was because now her
clothes were nothing but a pile of colorful tatters over in the corner. 
This time Lucia's touch raised goose bumps all over her body, and there
wasn't much hiding it.

   Lucia smiled at the results of her touch.  "It's called `foreplay,'
honey.  Lovemaking's so much sweeter if you take the time to savor it, but
I suppose you're a bit too young to be expected to know that yet.  It's all
right, we'll teach you everything there is to know.  After all, Lucius
Handred may be a good vampire, but he doesn't know much about how to please
a woman, does he girls?" The other vampires snickered.

   "How to please a woman?" Jein gasped.  Lucia smiled and rolled Jein's
limp body onto her back, then lightly brushed those cool fingertips across
Jein's bare belly.

   Lucia licked her lips and said, "Think about it like this; who knows
what pleases a woman more than another woman?  Even if you're still
learning what this is all about, you must have noticed how men don't
understand you."

   "I'll take your word for that," Jein said, feeling a little less limp as
she did.  "But what was that?  When you were taking my clothes off, I mean.
Were your friends sucking my blood?"

   "Oh yes," Lucia smiled then pressed her cool palm against Jein's crotch.
Jein squirmed a little, and Lucia smiled wider.  "Actually kind of
enjoyable, isn't it?  Once you get past the initial shock.  I've never seen
someone jerk around like that from it, though.  Was something on your
mind?"

   "I was...thinking about someone important to me.  I'm not sure what
happened to her," Jein said.  She hoped to get them to lower their guard
around her by answering their questions, but had to admit she found her own
lowering as well.  These vampires, at least these three, didn't seem like
the kind of monsters who'd attack people who'd done them no wrong, hoping
to increase their numbers or sate their appetites.

   A cool hand slowly closed around Jein's left breast.  She gasped, and a
smiling Lucia put a hand over her mouth.  "She must mean a lot to you, to
be able to get through the haze like that.  But I'm afraid you'll have to
wonder about her a little longer, sweetie.  Because you're here with me and
my friends right now."

   The other two vampire girls moved behind Jein and propped her up, their
hands surprisingly warm against her naked back.  She looked over her
shoulder at them with an astonished look on her face.  One of them, the
brunette, leaned a little closer and whispered to her, "It's your blood,
lovely.  It makes us warm after we feed." A palm slipped down Jein's back
and under the waistline of her panties.  The thumb teased up against her
asshole, and Jein yelped in surprise.

   Then she pressed her ass back against that hand.

   "We're not really going to let Handred have this one, are we?" the
brunette asked Lucia.  "Have you ever truly reacted this way when he
touched you?  Either of you?"

   "I'm as surprised as you guys," Jein spoke up.  "As far as I know, I'm
not even into anal." That thumb pressed harder against Jein's pucker, and
out of some instinct she pressed her hips back against it.  The tip started
to slip inside.  Jein shut her eyes and felt her cheeks flame, but it was
an aroused moan that left her mouth.

   "You'll find yourself open to a lot of things once you give them a
chance," Lucia purred and cupped Jein's cheeks.  Slowly her hands slipped
down over Jein's breasts again, the coolness of her palms seeping through
Jein's bra and in seconds her nipples were stiffening.  "Gabriela, see
to...that spot.  Carlotta, why don't you get going on her belly?  She seems
like the kind who's sensitive there, don't you think?"

   Jein tried to protest but the brunette moved closer to support Jein's
back against her chest.  A large, warm breast pushed into Jein's back as
the vampire's hands slipped around her front and started to stroke and
kneed at her midriff.  Lucia was right, she WAS sensitive there, and jerked
her abdomen to the sides as soft tickling tingles flowed throughout her
body thanks to the vampire's--Carlotta's--teasing ministrations.  Jein was
as weak as a kitten from having her blood drained already, the sensations
from this made her entire body go limp.

   The third vampire, Gabriela, slipped an arm under one leg and pressed
two fingers against the crotch of Jein's panties.  Jein totally failed to
hold in an aroused squeal as those fingertips pressed harder and the fabric
rubbed just a little at the inside of her sex.  Gabriela pressed harder,
and a flood of arousal washed upward through Jein's body from her sex.  She
wailed helplessly at the feeling combined with the strength-sapping
tickling at her midriff, but Lucia squeezed her breasts and dove in to mash
her lips against Jein's, stifling any further sounds of protest.

   It was hopeless.  She was nearly naked in the depths of a lair of
vampires, and the only reason she wasn't completely naked was she had no
chance of escaping and they were toying with her.

   The worst part was she realized didn't even want to escape.  Without any
thought from her, Jein stretched out her legs before wrapping them around
Lucia's waist.

   Lucia squeezed Jein's heavy breasts even tighter, stifling the helpless
squeal by pressing her tongue into Jein's mouth.  It danced over Jein's
teeth in a slow circular motion, pressing down on Jein's own tongue as they
passed each other.  Lucia's stimulation was practiced, with just the right
amount of force between each squeeze of Jein's breasts and flick of her
nipples, each press of her tongue between Jein's lips.  Obviously, Lucia
had been offering pleasure to her own sex for quite a while.  Was every
single girl in this place like that?

   It seemed like it, as Gabriela slipped another fingertip up to tease at
Jein's folds, the rubbing of the fabric intensifying the feeling of those
fingers dancing against her most sex.  Already she could feel the folds
pulling apart, and a dark spot formed on the crotch of her panties.  Just
as Jein's cheeks started to flame from the stimulation of her sex, suddenly
she felt the thumb in her ass drive in farther.  Jein gasped into Lucia's
mouth and jerked upward, then fell even more limp and whimpered as she felt
that increasingly familiar sensation come over her.

   Then Jein cried out, and the dark spot on her panties was wider and even
darker with a small ribbon of spunk leaking out of one leg-hole and down
onto the sheets.

   "Oooh, good.  She's all warmed up," purred Gabriela.  "I'll go first."

   Jein looked over her shoulder at the amorous vampire.  "First?"

   "Oh cut out the innocent act, human," Lucia scolded.  "You're getting
into this as much as we are."

   "Don't call me `human,' " Jein said in the most defiant voice she could
manage.  Which wasn't much, but after the display she'd put on with their
leader she didn't want to seem like a total pushover.  "I have a name."
Gabriela's thumb jammed harder into her ass, and Jein let out a weak gasp
and collapsed back against the two vampires behind her.

   "Don't sass me, HUMAN," Lucia said and gave Jein's breasts a squeeze so
hard it made her throat tighten.  "YOU are here to amuse US.  Don't forget
it again."

   "Okay," Jein wheezed.

   Gabriela blew into Jein's ear, then slipped around to Jein's front,
shouldering Lucia out of the way.  Gabriela pressed a pair of full lips to
Jein's mouth and slipped her hands inside Jein's bra.  The almost searing
warmth was still there, prompting Jein to wonder how long her blood would
keep their touch from feeling like frost on her skin.  That is, wondering
until Gabriella yanked Jein's bra up, finally exposing her heavy breasts.
The vampire pressed down on them hard, almost flattening them into Jein's
chest.  Jein tossed back her head and screamed.  It was only a few seconds
later that the erotic rush had subsided enough for her to realize Gabriela
had slipped between her legs, and was pulling off Jein's panties with her
teeth.

   Her fangs, to be exact.

   In the same instant as she whipped off Jein's panties, Gabriela was
nestled between her thighs again and pressed her lips against Jein's pussy.
Her tongue swept out and ran up Jein's slit.  Quickly, too fast to generate
much stimulation.  Then again, at the same speed.  Then Gabriela smacked
her entire tongue down on Jein's nether lips, dragging it up the slit
mercilessly slowly.

   Jein's body started to act on its own.  It jerked from side to side and
her eyes rolled up into her head.  Gabriela gripped her hips, and then
lifted Jein up until she was in a vertical position with just her shoulders
and head touching the bed.  Jein's legs settled down to drape over her
shoulders.  Gabriela pressed her modest bust against the back of Jein's
hips before nestling her face against Jein's sex again.  Then she slowly
eased the tip of her thumb up between Jein's ass cheeks and rubbed the tip
against the pucker.

   Once more, the tongue slipped out and started that torturous slide
across Jein's folds.  They parted ever so slightly and Gabriela groaned as
a sickly sweet scent wafted into her nostrils.  To Jein's amazement,
Gabriela giggled and blushed.  Probably something they could only do right
after they'd fed...

   But as Gabriela plunged her tongue toward Jein's crotch once more, Lucia
and Carlotta moved to Jein's front and each took a stiff nipple in their
mouth and started to lap.  Jein let out a sound that started as a squeal
and faded into a moan.  The two vampires attending to her chest chuckled to
themselves, and Gabriela circled Jein's sex with her tongue.

   Jein groaned helplessly as it dragged out, her sore nipples seeming to
dance with the tongues of her captors.  Gradually she felt a strange
loosening sensation from the tips of her breasts, and then something
trickling out.  The vampires who'd been suckling her before gagged and
pulled back.  "What the hell...?!" Carlotta gasped.

   "Oh my dear lord," Lucia exclaimed as she spat a mouthful of something
into a vase.  "She's lactating!"

   "I am?" Jein asked weakly, but the first white droplets dribbling down
onto her face answered the question before the vampires could.

   "Do humans do that?" Carlotta asked, prodding Jein's leaking nipple.  "I
don't remember doing that."

   "You never got that aroused while you were still human, remember?" Lucia
nudged.

   Jein didn't get a chance to think what that meant.  Gabriela jammed two
fingers down her cunt and jabbed at her g-spot with an accuracy that came
only from long practice.  Jein whimpered and contorted as hard as she dared
without falling over and twisting her neck.  Gabriela jabbed again, and
again Jein squirmed and whimpered from the erotic sensations.

   Once more, Gabriela jabbed down into Jein's sex.  Once more, Jein
whimpered and squirmed.  This time, her whimper was louder, her squirming
more violent and then Gabriela's face was coated with hot cum.

   "Hmmm," the vampire grinned and licked the cream off her lips.  "Looks
like I get to keep her."

   "Whaaaat?!" Lucia and Carlotta screamed at the same time.

   "What?" Jein croaked, surprised she was even still awake after losing
her blood coupled with all this erotic abuse.

   "I'm the one who got her off," Gabriela said triumphantly, indicating
Jein's eruption all over her face.  "You two couldn't keep it up when she
started leaking milk into your mouths.  Not that I blame you, I bet it
tastes like shit.

   "But you two stopped.  I didn't.  I pleasured her the most, so I get to
keep her." Gently she moved out from between Jein's legs and lowered Jein
onto her back again, then scooted up to lie beside Jein and stroked the
exhausted girl's cheek affectionately.

   "There was no bet like that, you know," Carlota growled.

   "And Handred's going to be pissed if he doesn't come back and find her
here," Lucia added ominously.  Then a thoughtful glimmer formed in her
eyes, and her eyebrows pressed together as she scrutinized Jein's panting,
pale form.  "But maybe, she can help us with that problem..."
