The Battered Lamp Ch. 09

"I'm confused," muttered Fatima.

"So am I," Kyle nodded.

"She is a creature that feeds off men's vital energy," Britney answered. "I am sure you have seen how she desires your semen."

"Yeah. She even orgasms when I cum in her mouth."

"And it doesn't kill him," Fumi pointed out. "If we go slow, work ourselves up to 'vaginal intercourse', Kyle will be fine."

"But last Saturday..."

Fumi blushed. "I lost control. My pheromones overwhelmed you. If Christy had not called..."

Kyle shivered.

"But once we've had enough anal and oral sex, you will be able to survive. You will have grown accustomed to my body's hungers."

"No, he will not," Britney objected. "Kyle is not one hundred percent Japanese. He could not possibly be your match!"

Tears welled up in Fumi's face. "He has to be. I love him. I can feel it inside me."

"He is not, Fumi." Britney's voice softened. "I am sorry."

The succubus shuddered for a moment, then calmed herself, forcing down her emotions. "I do love him. I would never hurt him."

"Then stay away from him," Britney answered. "Your love is doomed."

Her emotions overcame Fumi again for a moment before she regained her composure. "That's not important," she said, wiping the tears from her olive cheeks. "We can deal with this later. We must save your other love, Kyle."

"So there's no way Fumi and I can be together?" Kyle asked Britney, not ready to drop this yet.

"No."

"Fuck. Aaliyah may be dead, Christy's stabbed me in the back, and now you're telling me I can't be with Fumi either?"

"Life is seldom fair."

"Fuck!"

"What about Niqualmie?" Fatima piped in.

Britney frowned, adjusting her glasses.

"Isn't that some Native America folktale?" Kyle asked

"Yes." Britney answered. "She is a powerful spirit that dwells upon Mount Rainier. Perhaps she could help you discover a way to be together."

Hope blossomed in Fumi's face. "Who is this Niqualmie?"

"She's like an oracle, or a spirit," Fatima explained. "The Puyallup Indians have a story about her. Once, a boy and girl were from feuding villages, but they loved each other. So the girl went up Mount Rainier and begged Niqualmie for help. The spirit found the girl's love to be pure, so she gave her a series of tasks to perform that would make the two villages become friends. She spent several seasons accomplishing many difficult feats. Finally, she did it, and through her actions, the two villages became friends again and she married her love."

"Niqualmie is an elemental of love," Britney answered. "A powerful spirit. If your love is pure, and your determination great, she could help you. Seek her at Paradise upon the slopes of Mount Rainier. You must risk much to summon her, exposing yourself to the fierce winter of the mountain and lie naked in the snow. Only on the cusp of death will Niqualmie approach you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Celestite's cell phone rang.

She cursed, breaking her gaze from the circle and the Djinn bitch weakly fighting against the spell's silvery appendages. She strode across the cabin to her purse, and fished out her cell phone. She froze when she saw the caller ID.

"Master," she breathed, her stomach churning.

"Have you drained the Djinn yet?" His voice was cold, grating.

She froze. How did he know? "Not yet," she carefully answered. "I was waiting to have the task completed before informing you," she lied. Sweat broke out across her forehead. "I know how you hate to be disturbed over trivial matters."

"You have always been so thoughtful, Celestite."

He must be watching me. Celestite decided that it didn't matter if he was. Once she drained the Djinn, she could destroy her Master and take his position. He stood high in Hecate's circle and she itched to have his power.

"Kyle Unmei and three others are seeking to rescue the girl. They have elemental talismans. Be ready. Do not lose my Djinn. I will not overlook that indiscretion."

Her knees buckled. He knows I plan to betray him. And he doesn't care. Is he really that powerful? "I won't, Master. I have plenty of familiars to guard us."

The phone went dead.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Turn left on gravel road, one-half mile ahead," the robotic GPS voice chimed.

There was a break in the thick trees ahead, a gravel road disappearing into the evergreens. Kyle slowed the car. They were close, only a mile away, and fear squeezed his heart harder and harder. Please be alive, Aaliyah.

He took the turn, gravel kicking up in a spray. The road was narrow, twisting, and his car bounced up and down as he raced down it. The dark trees swayed, lit by his headlights. The sun had set almost an hour ago, and the thick brush seemed to swallow light. The road took a hard right, the car sliding on the gravel as Kyle slammed his breaks and fishtailed around the corner.

Fatima let out an exhilarated whoop, bouncing in the back. "Let's go! I'm ready to kick some skanky, witch ass."

Kyle slid around another turn, driving far more reckless than he ever had in his life. There was a straightaway and a distant cabin, glowing softly silver. He floored it. The engine roared and the car bounced down the road, hurtling towards a wooden bridge crossing a ravine.

"The bridge! Stop!" Britney shouted.

Kyle saw it. "Shit!"

He slammed on the brakes.

The middle of the bridge was gone, leaving splintered edges. The brake pedal pulsed as the car slid down the gravel. They were going too fast. The rumble of tires on gravel turned to the screech of wood on rubber. The car skidded to the left, aiming at one of the bridge's support beams.

Metal crashed. Airbags exploded. White smoke filled the car. Pain flared across Kyle's chest, the seat belt digging into his ribs. Panic filled him, the car was on fire. He struggled to move, to unbuckle his seat belt, when he realized the smoke poured out of the airbags.

"Damn," Fatima muttered.

"Is anyone injured?" Britney asked, far too calm.

"I'm fine," Kyle groaned. "Fumi?"

She said something in Japanese. "I'm all right. I bit my lip."

Kyle finally unbuckled his seat belt and almost fell out of the car. The front end was crumpled, and he could smell radiator fluid cooking on the engine block. More of the sickly-sweet, green liquid dripped down onto the wooden bridge.

"I thought you were a better driver," groaned Fatima, crawling out the backseat.

"The bridge is out," Kyle answered.

Fatima blinked when she saw the hole. "Shit."

Britney stood at the edge of the hole, peering down into the ravine. The sides were steep, covered in thick, green ferns, and a brook babbled at the bottom. It didn't look easy to climb down, especially in the dark.

"We'll have to go around it or something." Kyle looked up and down the ravine. It was steep and choked with ferns, a brook babbling in its dark depths. "Fuck, that's not going to be easy."

Britney shook her head and made a disgusted growl. Then she stepped off the broken edge of the bridge.

Kyle's cry ended in a strangled grunt. Britney floated in thin air. He frowned. It was more like she was standing on thin air.

"A glamour," Britney answered. "The bridge is not really out. If you look, you can see pine needles and other debris resting on its unseen surface."

"Then we have our way across," Fumi nodded, opening up his trunk and retrieving her bow. It was a yumi, a Japanese longbow made of a dark wood inlaid with a bright, green metal that seemed to flex with the limbs. Unlike most bows, a yumi had an asymmetrical grip, the bottom of the bow's limbs shorter than the top.

"Let's go and make these witches pay!" Fatima grinned, gripping her yari, a spear tipped with a long, straight blade. The blade was three feet long and set with a pattern of red metal. The haft was tall as his sister, made of the same dark wood as Fumi's bow. His sister pulled out his katana from the trunk, and threw it to him. Earthbones seemed to vibrate in his hands and it reminded Kyle of nothing more than a dog's energetic tail wagging. It's happy to be wielded by me.

"Let's save Aaliyah," he declared, drawing the beautiful blade from its sheath.

Kyle stepped up to the illusion of the gap, took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Even seeing Britney do the same thing, didn't make it any less terrifying. His foot touched solid, if invisible, wood. Swallowing, he took another step, and another. It was easier to look ahead.

Fatima raced by, completely unconcerned, her feet pounding on unseen wood. She reached the gravel road, turning around, grinning. It was all a game to his little sister.

The bear rose up out of the brush behind her. Big, brutish, topping ten feet tall. Its eyes glowed bright red. Claws swiped at his sister. She just smiled, unaware that a massive paw tipped with gleaming claws raked down at her.

Green streaked by Kyle, trailing a wind that rustled his clothing. The arrow embedded in the bear and erupted in a gale that blew Fatima onto her hands and knees. The bear's swipe missed his sister. It roared in pain, flinching from the green shaft embedded in its chest. A second arrow whizzed past, scraping across the bear's skull. It bellowed, landing on its front legs and charged the bridge.

Britney leaped out of the way, black strips forming on her face as she hissed. Fatima scrambled to her feet, the tip of her yari trailing a tongue of red flame. Kyle took a deep breath, focusing and falling into a stance, katana held high two-handed grip. He would get one swing, and he'd need every ounce of strength to fell the beast.

Sharp claps clattered on wood, the bridge groaning beneath the awkward gait of the bear. Red eyes fixed behind Kyle--on Fumi. Wind rushed past. Green flashed by. Another arrow embedded in the shaggy beast's shoulder. It didn't even flinch.

"Kyle," Fatima shouted, charging the beast from behind.

He could smell its fetid breath, and feel the heat of its growl. Kyle roared, focusing all his energy, his kai, into his stroke. Earthbones flared golden, bathing the bridge in truth. Wood appeared beneath his feet, the glamour broken by the reality of stone.

Kyle swung.

His sword bit into the bear's shoulder, driving deep into its chest. Far deeper than it should have, cleaving through thick hide, tough sinew, and heavy bones. Blood splashed warm and salty on his face, then the hulk slammed into him. Breath whooshed, the world tumbled around him. Wood rushed up and a painful thud shot through him.

He rolled, gasping for air, staring up at the dark sky. Fumi knelt at his head, her beautiful face twisted with concern. She grabbed his hand. He squeezed.

"I'm fine," he wheezed.

"You killed it," she whispered.

Fatima stood over him, grinning. "Goddamn, that was awesome!"

"We do not have time," Britney stated. "If the car crash did not alert them, then surely the bear's roar did."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was getting so hard to find the energy to keep the light at bay. No matter how many Aaliyah pushed back, more silvery leaches kept coming. She forced her will to lash out. I have to hold on. I have to give Kyle a chance.

"He killed the bear, Celestite," Onyx whispered. "He killed the fucking bear with a single swing of his sword!"

"And that glow," Opal hissed. "He dispelled my glamour."

Is that panic in their voices? Hope blossomed in Aaliyah's breast. She drove back the leaches with renewed effort. Kyle's here! He's come to save me.

Five of the witches crowded at crystal ball that shown with silver light. The ball was between the thighs of coffee-skinned Garnet, drawing off the sexual energy leaking from her pussy. Jade was the only witch not with them, she stood at the circle, maintaining the spell trying to siphon away her powers.

Hope blossomed within Aaliyah. Kyle's coming.

"Tourmaline, do you still have that spirit bound?" Ms. Franklin, their leader, asked the honey-blonde girl.

"The Maniae?" Fear tinged the tanned witch's voice. "I do."

"Unleash it. Opal, Onyx, send the other bear familiars out. I want Kyle and his bitches crushed and those talismans recovered!"

"Yes, Celestite!"

The coed witches quailed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A new bear charged out of the brush at Britney. The Rakshasa nimbly side-stepped the charging hulk like the sea parting before the prow of a ship. Black stripes darkened her face, and she hissed and punched with her katar. The triangular blade sank into the bear's flank. Blood spurted and the hulk stumbled. Fatima roared and rammed the straight blade of her yari deep into creature's skull.

More bestial roars filled the night air and more hulks moved through the shadowed underbrush. Kyle's back ached, bruised from impacting the bridge, but he pushed the pain down and readied himself to face these new attackers. Green arrows flashed, zipping at the shapes. Brush rustled, burst of wind throwing debris into the air. Fur rose before him, his sword flashed. Hot blood and pained growls filled the air.

Kyle was not about to let these creatures, twisted by the witches spells, kill him. Or kill his friend and lovers. The bear drew back, its right foreleg useless. It raised up on its hind legs, compelled by magic to keep fighting, and lifted its left forepaw. Thick, sharp claws glinted. There was no time to be afraid and worry about those claws ripping into his flesh.

Bellowing his kai, focusing his strike. He sheared through the thick, raised foreleg. The beast bellowed in agony, collapsing on the ground as arterial blood pumped quickly out. It struggled to rise; Kyle reversed his blade and thrust down, putting the poor beast out its misery.

Fatima screamed her kai, thrusting with her yari at another bear. Her stabs seemed wild, undisciplined, but Kyle could see her flowing through her forms, the blade stabbing into the bears chest and shoulders, driving the beast back. Britney danced around her bear, flowing gracefully, and lashing out with her katar.

He scanned the clearing before the cabin. A hulk charged past him, two green arrows sprouting out of its shoulder. Fumi stood her ground calmly, drawing her bow back, an arrow forming green out of thin air, and releasing. The bear didn't flinch. Anger and fear surged in Kyle. He roared: "Fumi!"

Power surged in his sword.

He didn't understand what he did, but somehow he reached through his sword into the ground. He felt a boulder, one of the Earth's bones, and commanded it to rise. The ground rumbled and bowed. Dirt fountained and the boulder thrust up in the bear's path. The charging bear locked its forelegs, but it was too late. The heavy beast slammed into the boulder, bones cracking.

Kyle ran towards the staggered bear. He hacked into the bear's flank, bringing the beast down. It struggled on the ground. With a word swipe, Kyle dispatched it.

"How did you do that?" Fumi asked. She smelled so wonderful. Kyle fought down his ardor.

"The sword," he answered.

"Right," she nodded.

"Kyle," Fatima shouted. He glanced at his sister. She pointed at the cabin.

Someone had stepped out of the cabin. A naked, young woman, her skin spray-tan orange and her dirty-blonde hair glowed as it was backlit by the cabin. Kyle knew her from college. Sable Purcell. He had shared English with her last semester. She threw something.

The object was red, glinting in the air. It was a gem, its faceted sides catching the dim light as it spun through the air. It landed with a thud on the ground. Red, angry brilliance exploded from the gem and a wave of hatred washed over Kyle. A cloud of scarlet hovered in the air, and then it contracted. Long, thin limbs grew about a scaly body. A head, triangular shaped, ended with thick mandibles like some monstrous ant. It hissed, swelling larger and larger, until the monster stood over the height of the cabin.

"What is your command, Mistress?" it spat out in a hissing voice. A chorus of screams accompanied the hiss, chanting, "HATE! HATE! HATE!" Over and over, battering Kyle's ears.

"Kill them," Sable commanded, "and bring me their talismans."

Its scaly fists clenched, then it swung at Kyle and Fumi. It was so fast. Kyle tried to make his body move, but he couldn't react fast enough. They were dead. A wind burst around him, the currents lifting his body and pulling him and Fumi out of the way. A boom resounded as the fist crashed into the ground where they had stood, rents furrowing the hard-packed dirt.

The wind flew him across the ground, his stomach lurching and his body twisting. It set him down gently twenty feet away, Fumi alighting next to him. Her almond-shaped eyes were wide with shock and she stared at her bow in amazement.

"Nice," Kyle grinned at her.

"I just did it," she said in awe.

"HATE! HATE! HATE!" The chorus screeched louder as monster turned on Kyle. "I will crush your bones into powder, Mortal. I will feel your flesh squish to jelly beneath my fist."

"Run," Kyle shouted, giving her a shove, than taking off in the opposite direction.

"A Maniae," Britney yelled. "An Elemental of Anger. Kill the witch. She controls it."

"No," a new voice yelled.

Kyle turned, and flinched.

Christy strode across the bridge. "I will deal with it."

Kyle stared dumbfounded at his treacherous wife. The pain of their argument, of Christy's betrayal, twisted in his gut. What is she doing here? Britney ignored Christy, dashing for Sable. Hissing, his friend charged across the field, her katar level at the witch struggling to control the hulking elemental.

"Stop, Britney," Christy screamed. "If you kill her, the elemental will rampage out of control. I need to put it back to sleep."

Britney ignored Christy, a feral growl rumbling from Britney's throat.

"Hecate, protect your servant and deliver pain to her foe," Sable shouted, pointing at Britney.

His friend shrieked, her katar falling from her grip. She hit the ground, writhing and spasming like she was being tased.

"I will deal with the Maniae," Christy shouted. "Save Aaliyah."

Kyle nodded at her.

"Ishtar, calm this Spirit of Rage," she chanted, rainbow light flashing about her. "Bring sleep to the Maniae."

"HATE! HATE! HATE!" the elemental screamed.

Its body spasmed, its limbs struggling to move. It fought some hidden power. Sable fixed her eyes on Christy. Sable's face reddened with strain and a tourmaline pendant flashing between her naked breasts. Then Sable began her own chants, fighting for control.

The Maniae clawed the earth, ripped at its flesh, screamed its rage at the heavens. "HATE! I will rip every sinew from your body, witch. HATE! I will drink your blood. HATE! I will make a necklace of your bones. HATE!"

Kyle gave the writhing elemental a wide berth as he skirted around it. Fatima joined him, grinning. The tip of her yari burned with a yellow flame. Christy's chants grew louder, more confident. The hellish, hateful chorus dimmed, the thrashing of the spirit lessened.

"She's doing it," Kyle said. Pride mixed with the betrayal.

Fatima spat, "She's just trying to weasel back into your affections. Don't let her."

Kyle's heart was split. He did love her as much as he hated what she had done. Kidnapping Aaliyah, wiping their memory. All those were monstrous. And yet she had come back to help them.

"It's her fault we're in this mess, Kyle."

He glanced at his beautiful sister, her dark eyes burning. "If Aaliyah lives..."

"And if she's dead?"

"I don't know."

They had skirted around the elemental, almost to the door. Something crashed inside, shadows moving in the windows. The log cabin wall exploded outward. Kyle grabbed his sister, turning his body to shield her. A chunk of wood slammed into his back. They fell, landing in a tangle of limbs. A bear snarled, and Kyle struggled to gain his feet and face the beast.