The Battered Lamp Ch. 09

Hurry, Kyle!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Britney took the first seat on the public bus instead of sitting in the back with Kyle and his concubines. He frowned as the bus pulled away from the college's bus stop. She sat stiffly, almost on the edge of her seat. She wasn't even reading. He couldn't remember her ever seeming so agitated. Even when she was stressed over a big test, she never seemed to lose her calm.

At a stop sign, he moved up the bus's aisle, ignoring the drivers yells, and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"I am just eager to see Christy," she answered, her breath coming in quick, rapid intakes.

"You seem really stressed."

"I am," she answered as the bus slowed to the stop a block from his house, the doors squeaking open.

Britney was up in a flash, striding to the doors and down the stairs before he could even react, moving at a brisk walk, practically a jog, down the sidewalk towards his house. Kyle followed after her, almost falling down the stairs, and had to run to catch up with his friend.

"What has gotten into you?" he shouted when he caught up in front of his house.

"Nothing," she roared, her face angry like a storm-tossed sea, and she suddenly raced towards his house with a burst of speed, leaping up the steps and landing lightly on the porch.

"Kyle," a woman called.

He glanced away from his friend's strange athletic display and saw a young, Japanese woman waving at him. She was beautiful, with blue-black hair, and a very lithe body. She seemed to know him, though Kyle couldn't place who she was. Fumi, a faint voice whispered in his head, then was wafted away by a sickly-sweet scent.

"Christy," Britney growled.

There was a splintering crash. Kyle gaped. His best friend had just kicked in the front door of Faiza's house. He caught a momentary glance of Christy on the other side, a bunch of leaves clutched in one hand, and then Britney was on her and the two girls fell to the floor in a tangle of wild hair and limbs.

"Shit!" Kyle raced to his house, taking the porch steps two at a time, and hurtled through the shattered door frame.

Britney was atop Christy. His girlfriend was curled up in a ball to fend off Britney's wild attacks. He grabbed his friend, anger burning in him, and yanked her off his wife, heaving her to the right. She tumbled across the floor and came up in a low crouch. Her glasses had flown off, and her green eyes seemed to glow, growing into slits like a cat's eyes. Dark markings blossomed, striping across her face, and her bushy hair no longer seemed like a tangle of hair, but the mane of a magnificent beast.

"Get away from her, Kyle," she growled, fierce and feral.

"What the fuck are you?" he demanded.

Christy whimpered on the ground behind him, her face scratched. "Wh-what's going on, Kyle?"

"Get away from her, Kyle," his once friend-turned-monster slowly said. "She is dangerous."

"Really?" he demanded. "You could fool me! You need to get the fuck out of here, Britney. I'm not--"

Britney leaped at him. He set himself, falling into a judo stance, and lashed out at her. She ducked his thrust and grabbed his arm. He tried to fend her off as she twisted, reaching out to seize her hand and pry her fingers off his arm. She pivoted and he was thrown across her hip, landing hard on his back.

"Kyle," Christy shrieked. "Help me."

Britney grabbed his wife by the throat. "Release your spell, witch!"

Kyle struggled to his feet, coughing hoarsely as he struggled to regain his wind. Fatima flew in the door, and launched herself at Britney, screeching at the top of her lungs. Britney's hand lashed out, striking Fatima in the solar plexus, stopping his little sister's charge dead. Fatima reeled back and crashed onto the floor, gasping for air.

"You fucking bitch," Kyle roared.

"Stop, or I will break Christy's neck," Britney growled, her eyes shining and her stripped face as fierce as a tiger's. "I can do it. You saw what I did to your door."

Kyle froze. Christy struggled on the floor, her face turning red.

"Why are you doing this?" A plaintive tone crept into his voice. He didn't understand. He had known Britney since they were kids. "Why, Britney?"

"Release your spell, witch," Britney hissed at Christy. "Or I will kill you!"

A strangled gasp escaped Christy's lips. "Can't...breath..."

"I will relax my grip for you to release the spell. But if you try to cast anything else..."

Christy nodded. Britney relaxed her grip. Gasping, Christy said, "Goddess Hecate, lift the fog on the mind of all those in this house."

A clean breeze seemed to blow through his mind, driving away the sickly-sweet odor. He stumbled. Aaliyah was reborn in his mind, the memory of her dusky face smiling up at him as she materialized on his bedroom floor, joyous at finally being freed from her lamp. And not just Aaliyah was restored to him, but his love for Fatima and Fumi surged through him, a burning wind of desire. He stumbled, catching himself on the door.

He looked at Christy. She made me forget...why? Then the panic he had felt last night crashed into him. Aaliyah was missing. And Christy could cast spells. His eyes widened. "What did you do, Christy?" His heart beat faster. His stomach tied in knots. "What did you do to her?"

"I..." Tears brimmed in her eyes. "She stole you from me, Kyle."

"Stole?" His heart shattered in his chest. "Who? Aaliyah?"

"Yes! You were all mine and then she came."

"She didn't steal me. She loved me. And I stilled loved you. We were still together."

"I loved you, Kyle. You were mine. I was yours. We didn't need the others. We were happy."

"So you...what?" Kyle struggled to understand what she did to him. "You did something to me. What?"

"I cast a spell." Tears leaked out of her hazel eyes. "I made you forget."

"She is a witch," Britney answered. She let go of Christy, and Kyle noticed the stripes fading from her face. "She serves the dark Goddess Hecate."

Christy flinched at the disgust in Britney's words. "I didn't know what I was getting into. I...I swore an oath. I need the power to save my mom. And then my coven mistress ordered us to find the Djinn."

Panic pushed down the betrayal. "What did you do with Aaliyah? Did you kill her?"

Christy shook her head. "No. I just...I captured her and handed her over to my coven."

"To drain her?" Britney asked.

"Yes."

"Drain her of what? Her blood?"

"Her power," Christy answered. "I'm sorry, Kyle. I swore oaths. And when I found out..." Her face tightened, anger blossoming. "Did you really just expect me to share you? We were dating first! I shouldn't have to share you. That's not the way love works."

"And casting some spell on me is?" he roared back. "And handing over someone I care about to be drained." His eyes widened. "Fuck! Is draining her going to hurt her?"

"Just make her human," Christy answered. "She'll be fine."

"No, she will not," Britney answered. "The Djinn's power is her life. Once it is drained, she will return to dust."

Christy gasped, stumbling back in horror. "No. That's not what..."

"Why didn't you just say something, Christy?" Kyle demanded. "Why did you make me think you were okay with all of this. We could have talked this over. We could have found a way. You didn't have to wipe my memory and capture Aaliyah!"

She looked up at him, her face quivering, tears running down her cheek. "You made it clear that I had to share you or lose you. You didn't care about my feelings. You just wanted to fuck any woman that got your dick hard, and I just had to live with that!"

"But Chyna?" Kyle frowned. "You didn't care about me and Chyna. I thought--"

"A spell was cast on you, Kyle! You couldn't help wanting her. My damn coven leader's been trying to break us up and she enchanted you and Chyna." Christy shuddered. "The bitch wants me as her...lover. The things she makes me do..."

"Shit," Kyle cursed, trying to think. Aaliyah was in danger. Christy's reason for her betrayal didn't matter right now. "Where is Aaliyah? Where is she?"

"A cabin," Christy answered. "Near Eatonville. 24509 Timber Road." She reached out towards him. "I'm sorry, Kyle. I just...I love you so much. I didn't know she'd die. I just wanted you to myself."

He withdrew. "I...fuck, Christy. I can barely stand to look at you right now. How can I trust you? And if Aaliyah dies..." His fist clenched and he leveled her a flinty look. "Goddamn it! What am I supposed to do about this?"

"I'm sorry, Kyle," she sobbed. "Please."

Anger burned inside him. His body was tensed, wanting to lash out. It was like trying to contain an avalanche. Fear, anger, hatred, love, betrayal crashed inside him. He couldn't think. He didn't know what to do with Christy. How could he forgive her? How could he still love her?

"Forgive me, Kyle. Please. I can't lose you!"

"How?" he roared. "How can I possibly forgive you? You sent Aaliyah to her death!" That fact hit him in the gut. He stumbled back. "Oh, god, you sent her to her death. Fuck, Christy. How could you do that?" He didn't try to hide his disgust.

Christy gave a single, ragged sob, then fled out of the living room. He didn't stop her.

The room was silent for a moment, and then Fatima dropped the weapons Aaliyah had given Kyle on the coffee table with a loud clatter. He hadn't even noticed his sister leave. "We can deal with the bitch later." Fatima shot the retreating Christy a glare full of fire. "We need to save Aaliyah now."

Kyle grabbed the katana. Earthbones. It felt right in his grip. Steady as the Earth, as violent as an avalanche. Fatima picked up the yari, flames dancing on its long, straight blade. Two other weapons lay on the table, a curved dagger inlaid with blue metal and a shortbow, it's wooden arms embedded with a green metal.

Britney frowned, and leaned in, picking up the dagger. The dagger glowed with a watery, blue light, enveloping the entire weapon. It flowed, rippling, and transformed into a long, triangular blade held in her clenched fist, rising up from her knuckles. Kyle recognized it as a katar, a punching dagger.

Britney grinned like a cat. "Waterclaw. What a masterful weapon. I would be honored to wield it, Kyle."

"You're coming?" Kyle blinked.

"Of course. I swore to protect you. I can hardly do that if I remain behind." She paused. "Besides, I like Aaliyah. She is quite proper."

Swore to protect me? He was about to ask, when another figure entered the room, moving with an airy grace. Fumi's lily-scented perfume wafted into his nose, stirring desires within him. It took Kyle a moment to remember why she was here. We were supposed to go on a date tonight. He didn't even know how to explain this to her. "Fumi, um, I don't think this is a good time."

She smiled at him as she reached down and picked up the bow. The weapon glowed a deep green and lights swirled about the bow, growing and elongating in her astonished grip. When the glow faded, she held a yumi, the Japanese asymmetrical longbow.

"What a graceful weapon," she cooed. "Windfeather." She drew the string back, an arrow made of green wood materialized. "You are a very interesting man, Kyle. Let's go save this Aaliyah. I so dearly want to meet the other women in your life."

******************

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A raven watched Kyle's house, perched on a power line. It had been observing the house for the last two days, ever since its Master had bid it to watch and wait. A car departed, carrying away four humans clutching powerful talismans, each stinking of a different element. The raven took flight. Its Master needed to be informed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"What are you, Britney?" Kyle asked as he started his mother-in-law's Ford Taurus. He had been forbidden to drive his mom's car, but this was an emergency, and he really could care less if it would get him in more trouble with his mom. Aaliyah was in danger.

"A Rakshasa."

"A what?" He put the car into reverse, backing out of the driveway.

"It's a monster from India," piped in Fatima.

Britney tangled mass of brown hair bristled. "I am not a monster."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Apology accepted, Fatima. My kind have lived in India, and other places. We are feline shapeshifters. Warriors. We blend in with the native populations of humans."

"That's why you're White and not Indian?" Kyle asked as the GPS blared out instructions to get to the cabin Aaliyah was being held at.

"Yes," Britney nodded.

So my best friend is a Rakshasa. And why not? I married a Genie. This isn't any bigger of a stretch "Britney, you said you swore to protect me."

"My kind has a...compulsion. We seek out strong individuals to serve and protect. We are the finest bodyguards in the world."

"And you think I'm one of these...strong individuals?"

"Of course. I sensed it the day we met. I have devoted myself to protecting you, waiting for the day that your greatness would be revealed." She flashed him a smile. "I am so glad to see we are on the cusp of that day."

"And your mothers...they're both Rakshasa?"

"Only Abigail," Britney answered. "Though they both are my parents."

"But they're both women?" Fatima gasped. "You have a dad out there, somewhere, right? You know, whatever sad sack jacked off at the sperm bank your parents used."

"No. My specie is hermaphroditic."

That sounded familiar. Something he learned in biology?

"You're a futanari?" Fumi asked. She was so quiet. Kyle had almost forgotten his Japanese girlfriend was in the car.

"That is a word for it," Britney answered, her tangled hair bristling.

Kyle felt his cheeks reddened. He knew that word from 4chan.

"What is that?" Fatima frowned. "It's Japanese, right?"

"She has a penis," Fumi answered, her words smoky and her lily perfume filled Kyle's nose, setting his heart pounding.

"Oh," Fatima whispered. Kyle could see her eyes widened in the rear-view mirror, and a mischievous grin exploded across her face. "Does it work, Britney?"

"Both of my sexual organs are fully functional."

Fully functional, huh? No wonder she wears baggy sweats all the time.

"Wow," Fatima whispered. "Full functional, huh. So you jill your pussy and jack your cock?"

"Of course. I am a young woman. I have the same bursting hormones as any pubescent human. Though I have more self-control than some young men I know."

Kyle let that slide. "So you seem to know about witches and covens? What can we expect?"

"Familiars, spirits, glamours, and enchantments," Britney answered.

"What is this, a D&D campaign?" Kyle muttered.

"No. Familiar are animals controlled by the witch. They are often rats or ravens, but they can be any animal. And they also can be enhanced. Greater speed, greater strength, greater lethality. Spirits are elemental beings. The primal essences of the universe. The physical essences of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air; the emotional essences of Love, Anger, Joy, and Sadness; the Abstract essences of Life, Death, Light, and Darkness. Witches use prayers to one of a number of gods and goddesses, greater spirits than the lowly twelve, and these beings direct the appropriate, lesser spirits to perform the witches desire, creating glamours, geas, enchantments, or other types of spells. The coven that Christy is a part of serves Hecate, a goddess of dark magic and enchantments."

"So Christy used a spirit on me?" Kyle asked.

"In effect. She prayed to Hecate, and the goddess directed the spirit to perform Christy's desire. I would surmise an Elemental of Darkness was used to hide your memory."

"How are we supposed to fight that?"

Britney held up her katar, a triangular-bladed punching knife, the metal inlaid with a shiny, blue material. The katar--like Kyle's katana, Fatima's spear, and Fumi's bow--had come from Aaliyah and had shaped themselves to fit their wielder's fighting style. Kyle's katana had originally been a scimitar and the katar had been a curved, Arabic dagger. "Waterclaw appears to be a talisman attuned to the spirits of Water. I would hazard a guess that I could control these spirits, with the proper practice."

"Yeah, Aaliyah mentioned that."

Britney turned around, fixing her eyes on Fumi. "I think it is time you revealed what you are hiding. I can smell the pheromones you are exuding."

Fumi's face paled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christy fled the living room; fled Kyle.

What have I done? Tears flowed hot down her cheeks. I cast a spell on him. I sent Aaliyah to her death.

I'm a worm. A filthy thing.

She burst out of the back door and into Kyle's backyard. A single, large chestnut tree grew nearby. She collapsed before it, the dark soil cold against her knees. Her tears fell like rain. I sent Aaliyah to her death. I don't deserve Kyle.

Christy sobbed beneath the tree as the sun sank, and darkness fell upon the backyard. The wind picked up, chilling her body. She didn't care. She deserved to suffer. To freeze.

"Why did I ever join the coven?" she whispered to herself.

She had been seduced by their promise of healing her mother. And it had worked. Her mother's ovarian cancer had gone into remission. Only after she had sworn her oaths to Hecate and Ms. Franklin did she learn the true cost of power, and she had been trapped, reduced to being a plaything for Ms. Franklin's perverse desires.

And now she had betrayed the coven as well as Kyle, revealing one of their strongholds and the location of Aaliyah. She had thrown everything away. Christy could not wait for her punishment. She deserved it for what she did blinded by jealous love.

If I ever betray the coven, may Hecate's daughter drive me to madness and death.

The wind picked up, a faint, chittering sound carried to her. She jumped, looking around the yard. The air warped, something slithered down the fence. Almost invisible, distorting the air like the sun beating down an asphalt road. Only it was January and the sun was setting behind gray clouds.

Erinyes had arrived to punish her.

She stared at the distortion. "I'm sorry, Aaliyah!" she screamed into the wind, somehow hoping the Djinn could hear her. Her eyes closed, and she waited for Erinyes to end her life.

Are you sorry? a new, warm breath whispered in her ear.

"I am!"

The wind swirled between Christy and the distortion.

If you are sincerely penitent, then ask for my protection.

The distortion chittered at the whirling wind in annoyance, "She is mine. She has betrayed my mother. Step aside!"

The wind howled faster, whipping up fallen leaves.

"Who are you?" Christy asked.

Ishtar.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Are all the women in my life abnormal?" Kyle muttered to himself.

"I'm normal, big bro!"

"You're not secretly some sort of succubus?"

"Nope."

"I need to know what you are, Fumi," Britney continued. "I must know if you poise a threat to Kyle."

"I do not pose a threat to him," Fumi whispered, her voice wavering with uncertainty. "I love him. I am a Yuki-onna. A...um...succubus, as you would say in English."

Britney bristled. "Pose no threat? If Kyle ever has vaginal intercourse with you, he will die."

"What?" Kyle blinked.

"No, he won't," Fumi retorted, swelling up like an angry thunderhead. "He's the one man for me. I just know it! He will be able to survive my full embrace."

"I am?" Kyle had no idea what was going on.

"He is not!" Britney's words exploded out of her lips like the surf crashing into the cliff. "You would kill him if he ever spilled his seed inside your vaginal canal. He cannot be the one man for you."

"Yes, he is," Fumi hissed back. "I know it."

"Jesus, I almost finished in your pussy Saturday night! Are you saying...?"

"Yes!" Britney hissed while Fumi gasped, "No!"