Dale's Porno Blog

“Once again, thank you for the comments and feedback. You guys have really motivated me to jot my thoughts down. A special thank you goes out to Rockcrawler & Company, and to Ally (my own personal Jessica) for the help and wonderful words of encouragement. Without you Ally, Chapter 13 would not have happened. There is some plot here so, if you haven’t read the first twelve stories you might want to start there. Feel free to send me your thoughts. I will respond. I’d love to hear where you think this should go next. Don’t forget to vote. Enjoy.”

*

I was spending a lazy evening on my ratty, grad pad couch. A cold, fizzy beverage was on the end table next to me and the TV remote control was in my hand. I had been watching a lame suspense / thriller movie for the last hour and a half through half-closed eyes. Within the first fifteen minutes I had figured out the “twist” ending, and now I was going through the motions of caring. I had gotten comfortable. I was lying back, slumped in a couch potato position, practically molded into the couch cushions. And then….

Slurp!

Jessica took a long lick down the length of my cock. Her pink tongue slid along my glistening wet skin. My shaft from top to bottom was coated in her saliva. Long, viscous stringers of spit dangled between her lips and my crotch. Jessica held my balls in her hand, gently kneading them between her fingers. Up and down they went as Jessica lightly tickled and rubbed my nut sack. Everything was wet and warm, a perfect moist softness.

Jessica had been sucking, nibbling, licking, stroking, rubbing, and blowing my cock since the movie had started. That meant that she had been giving me a lazy blowjob for well over an hour and a half. I had been in a fully erect and aroused state of mind for at least that long. It felt like a fog of sex had descended over my head. Everything was hazy and lust filled. While I had never reached the brink — the point where I was almost ready to shoot my cum — I could probably be at that place in only a matter of moments. It would only take a decision for Jessica to go for the big finale.

But Jessica was enjoying the tease. She was all hot air and fiery breath. Her tongue was a dancing, caressing wonder, never resting or staying in the same place for very long. Her red, pillowy lips held me gingerly, never completing the suction that would send my dick spiraling out of control.

Jessica didn’t want me to cum — at least not yet. Instead, it seemed to be a matter of pride that she could suck my dick for so long. She was enjoying the game of it, the task of keeping me aroused without pushing me over the edge. I guess she just loved giving me head….

When I got the phone call from Jessica, it had been a couple of days since the library incident. She was bored and wanted to come over. Could I please entertain her? (Her plea was said with a particularly seductive, girlish pout.) With very little thought I agreed. This was really the first time that she had asked me to just “hang out.” Was this the first step toward a relationship? I didn’t know, but I was certainly ready to find out. So I picked her up and brought her over. After getting a couple of sodas, we settled in on my couch. At first, we chatted about her sorority rush activities. She mentioned something about a big end of the semester party in a week or two that seemed to be a pretty huge deal. Supposedly everyone gets dressed up in costumes and goes through some sort of ceremony signifying the end of the semester. She was pretty sketchy on the details (especially considering that she was a mere pledge and was getting everything second-hand), but asked me to come. I told her that I wasn’t sure. I was a grad student that was a school instructor. How would it look if I went to a party with a bunch of undergrads? Maybe, I thought, it wouldn’t be a problem if I was wearing a costume.

Jessica then said something that almost stopped me dead, “It is ok if you go, Professor. No worries. A bunch of the sisters have already seen you naked anyway.”

“What?” I sputtered.

“Well,” Jessica said looking a little coy, “You’ve seen Shannon naked like a couple of times. In fact, I believe she totally sat on your dick and fucked your brains out.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I remember — pretty well, in fact. It didn’t sound, though, like you were just talking about Shannon. It sounds like you are alluding to some other people?”

Jessica grinned, “Guilty as charged. You are too smart for your own good sometimes, Professor,” she said as she laughed. “You remember that incredible night when I blindfolded you and I made you fuck someone anonymously by the fountain? You couldn’t see her, but you still fucked? And I wouldn’t tell you who she was. If I remember right, you came inside her pussy?”

“Yeah.” How could I forget? That night had tortured me ever since. It had played in my dreams on a never-ending reel. I wanted to know — desperately — who the mystery woman was. Who had the unknown female been that had gone for a ride on my cock? Which pussy wrapped around me so tight and sweet? I didn’t know, and now every woman I passed was a possibility. Did I fuck the blonde smoking in the entrance way? Was it the Asian hottie working at the bookstore? Could it be the cute and sassy brunette I passed on the way to class? Perhaps she was another one of my students from my public speaking class?

Jessica took a long pause for emphasis before continuing. “Well, she will be at the party and she would like another go around with you.”

My jaw dropped. Was Jessica joking?

“Trust me, Professor. She wants you again and I would like to see that happen. The last time was pretty fucking hot. But there is more. Wanna hear it?”

I grunted and motioned for Jessica to continue.

“Several of my sorority sisters were watching. It was a task for pledge. So in order to prove that it was done, I had to let them watch. I hope that is ok?” Jessica was looking at me with concern. It was obvious that she did not know how I was going to take that news.

For a moment my mind reeled with the weight of Jessica’s news. Great! It seemed like half the female student body knew how I was in the sack. That was pretty dangerous. The more people that know who I am, and about my extra-curricular activities the scarier things become. I was learning, though, to love that danger. I was getting a strange and twisted thrill from the possibility of getting caught.

As I thought about it, instead of getting angry I got turned on. A group of college coeds had stared at my uncovered cock. They then saw me slowly slide it into a wet and ready cunt. Finally they watched me publicly fuck one of their slutty sorority sisters to a crashing pair of dual orgasms. I couldn’t think of anything hotter. In reality, what did I have to complain about?

I wanted to get Jessica to clarify. “So you are saying that Shannon and some other random woman I have fucked will both be at this party? In addition, several other women who have watched me fuck will also be there? And because we will be wearing costumes nobody will know who the other people are?”

Jessica nodded.

“So what is keeping this party from becoming some-kind of major orgy?” I asked. Jessica’s eyes twinkled, as she replied, “Nothing. Wanna go?”

“Absolutely,” I replied.

“Good. I’ll make sure to get you the stuff you need for the party. I know it will be a lot of fun,” Jessica said. She then reached over and grabbed the remote control. She pointed it at the TV and said, ‘Why don’t you find something to watch? I am going to keep myself entertained for a little while.”

I looked at Jessica quizzically and she smiled wickedly. I felt her hand run up my thighs to my belt. With practiced ease, she undid the belt buckle and then the fly of my jeans. Another couple of seconds went by, and my pants were around my ankles and my cock was stuffed into Jessica’s mouth. She was happily bobbing up and down, working the soft, sensitive skin of my rod.

…..And that is how I found myself to be a participant in a blowjob that seemed like it would never end.

Time passed. The duration of the blowjob exceeded all reasonable expectations. My head was thrown back, my eyes slanted in ecstasy. I was dripping wet with saliva and pre-cum. I had been hard for so long, just waiting at the precipice for the nudge that could push me over. My balls were high and tight. They wanted to release the fluids contained inside.

I tried to remain calm. I focused on my breathing. In — out. Oh, sweet Jessica; it felt so fucking good. The tease was what made this experience special. This long, languishing blowjob was one in a million. While I felt the need for release beginning to boil in my balls, I had no desire to push. Nature needed to take its course. I didn’t want to force it by bucking my hips or pounding Jessica’s angelic face. This was about her setting the tempo and control. She was the one in charge of this blowjob. Let her decide when I was going to cum.

Jessica’s face, hair, and make-up were a sloppy, tousled mess. I looked down at her and she smiled — boy, did she smile — as she lovingly rubbed my rod all over her schoolgirl face. She was coated in smeared make-up and saliva. Jessica had kept me going for over an hour and a half forcing me to watch this idiotic suspense / thriller as she sucked my cock. It wasn’t a bad trade off, but my limits were quickly approaching.

“Oh Jessica, I want to cum….” I moaned, my voice trailing off.

“Not yet, Professor,” she said popping my cock out of her mouth. She slapped it against her tongue a couple of times before continuing, “You can cum after the movie is over. Only after the credits start rolling can you shoot your sticky white seed down my fucking throat.”

I groaned, and nodded in compliance. Consent was the least I could do for such spectacular head. My task be difficult, but not impossible. I sat back and relaxed, shifting into a more comfortable position on the couch. The movie seemed to be wrapping up. The killer was running from the police in a predictable and trite chase scene. Only a couple of more minutes and I would be golden.

I hadn’t counted on Jessica, though. She is the devil! Just as I was finding my zone, Jessica kicked into full gear. Her lips locked around my shaft, forming an oh, so tight seal.

The pressure around my dick was excruciating. Those twin, luscious lips held me tight and deep. I could feel the warm, wet massage of Jessica’s mouth encircle me with pure sensation. Just a few moments before Jessica had been a playful tease. She was no longer just a woman having fun giving me head. Instead, she changed the situation; Jessica wanted to test me against the restrictions she had arbitrarily placed. Could she make me cum before the movie ended?

It was a test of wills. I was torn. I wanted to give into the blowjob, to succumb to Jessica’s skill and artistry. But for some reason, I also didn’t want her to win. Would holding off prove something? Was this game about control? Was I trying to show myself to be her sexual equal? Whatever the case, I gritted my teeth, dug my fingers into the arm of the couch, and did my best to hold back the pressing torrent.

Jessica clamped down and kept on sucking. She held my shaft in one hand and my balls in the other. As she sucked, she also stroked. Jessica squeezed and caressed my nuts, coaxing out the cum that was about ready to boil over. God, she was a first class pole smoker!

My face contorted and my muscles tensed. My whole body shook as the orgasm overtook my body. I made eloquent “unh, unh, unh!” groans as my hips thrust involuntarily into Jessica’s face. Jet after jet of jizz spurted from the end of my dick, hitting the back of her throat. Jessica took it all, greedily slurping down every last drop of my creamy spunk.

….And still she held on. Jessica brushed away the blonde hair that had fallen down over her face. Then she coquettishly batted her eyelashes at me. She was pure seduction. Her mouth was still wrapped tightly around the end of my dick. Jessica made contented cooing sounds as she gobbled down the last traces of my seed. Her right hand gently tickled the soft-fleshy underside my balls. Her nails scratched my sensitive skin. The other hand was sliding up my stomach so that she could softly tweak my hardened nipple.

I leaned back on the couch. All traces of tension were leaving my body. I could feel the issues of the day melting away as I was overtaken by a fresh sense of satisfaction. I looked down at Jessica’s glowing face. She was smiling up at me, radiant and carefree. I crooked my finger and asked her to sit up on the couch with me. I needed to taste her lips. I wanted to convey the emotion that was pouring through me.

Jessica sat up, and I put my arm around her. I pulled her in close and buried my head in her hair. I breathed deeply, taking in her shimmering vanilla scent. Her hand was roaming under my shirt, gently stroking my chest. I kissed her ear, nuzzling her. I said softly, “So good…. Thank you, Jessica. Do you want me to return the favor?”

“You will,” she sighed, smacking my cum off of her lips. “But not right now. Later.”

So instead I drifted off to sleep.

*****

CRASH!!!

I woke up with a start. My veins ran cold. I bolted upright from the couch, jumping to my feet. What was going on?

“Oops. My bad!” I heard Jessica giggle. Her head poked around the corner wall that separated my kitchen from the living room. “Sorry. I dropped a pot.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I was never the best person to wake up. I was prone to wake up suddenly and with a fury. It was lucky no one was within reach when I came to. Who knows what might have happened then?

“Professor,” I heard Jessica call out from the kitchen. “There is nothing in your fridge or pantry. What kind of show are you running here?”

“Well I wasn’t planning on being seduced by a gorgeous, eighteen-year old coed tonight,” I said. “It’s been a little while since I have had a chance to go shopping.”

“That’s a great idea. Totally, let’s go!” Jessica shouted.

“Ummm, what?” I said, more than a little confused.

“Let’s go to the grocery store. We can get a frozen pizza and some snacks and everything would be awesome. Sound good?”

I smiled. “Sure. I’m ready to go anytime you are.”

“Oh, one thing Professor,” Jessica said with a wink, “you might want to pull up your pants.”

*****

Jessica was humming to herself, happily pushing our cart down an aisle of the frozen food section. I was a few feet behind watching the gentle sway of her ass as she walked. Her firm and supple butt was a thing of immaculate beauty. I think I could bury my nose between those cheeks for weeks and be happy. I am sure Jessica could feel my eyes on her, undressing her, groping her. At one point she turned around to look at me, sticking out her tongue. She then reached around and spanked her ass. God! I could feel my heart beat right through my chest. Jessica knew I was looking and she enjoyed it — wanted it! That fact made everything so much sexier.

We stopped our grocery store stroll for awhile to discuss the merits of Stouffer’s French Bread Pizzas versus the more standard Tombstone pies. I don’t think either of us was willing to back down, so we compromised and put one of each in the cart. We also tossed in a couple of pint sized containers of Ben and Jerry’s. Nothing like a healthy dinner! I was ready to head for the check-out line when Jessica said….

“How about we head over to the produce section?”

I looked at her quizzically. “Veggies?” I said. “Sure we can get some celery or something. That could be good.”

Jessica smirked at me. She was up to something, but I wasn’t yet sure what. “Well, I was thinking about a zucchini for me and a grapefruit for you.”

Huh? I didn’t even like grapefruit. In fact, if I had a least favorite food, grapefruit would be it. And point blank I told Jessica so.

“Grapefruit sucks!”

Jessica bent over and laughed. Clearly, what I said had been funny. But the oddity was that I didn’t really see the humor in the situation. Something had passed me by. What was I missing?

“Oh silly, Professor,” Jessica said as she leaned up to kiss me on the cheek, “they aren’t for eating. They’re for fucking.”

It took a moment for the full weight of her words to sink in. Fucking?

Then it hit me. My cheeks grew red and I suddenly became very warm. For a second I couldn’t get air. My jaw dropped in disbelief.

“You mean….” I said, my voice trailing off.

Jessica just nodded and grinned. I grinned, right back at her.

She took the cart from my hands and pushed it in the direction of the vegetable aisle. The area was deserted except for one lone stock clerk, who was busy reorganizing the green peppers. He looked young, probably about Jessica’s age. He had a slightly stressed out, geeky look to him. He was disheveled, awkward, and clearly bored with his work.

I saw him look up and ogle Jessica as we entered the area. A lascivious leer crept onto his face as a dirty fantasy played out in his mind. His eyes traveled up and down her body, making sure to take in every sensuous curve. For a moment, they stopped on her boobs, but then they quickly veered away. The look would have been creepy if he hadn’t been so obviously bumbling and embarrassed.

As Jessica walked over to a large mound of grapefruit she seemed to put a little extra sway to her step. Her hips wobbled back and forth seductively, swinging like a sexy pendulum. She stood up extra tall and proud, her breasts jutting out on display. I could see her nipples, hard as glass, poking through her shirt. Jessica was putting on a show, and she loved every moment of it.

Jessica grabbed two large and round grapefruits and said, “So what do you think of these two?” Her voice was slightly louder than usual. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the stock boy eavesdropping on the conversation. “Aren’t they perfect?” She continued. “They both are pretty round and firm. What do you say?” Jessica held both of the fruits against herself at breast level.

“I don’t know. How do they feel?” I responded.

Jessica stuck out her chest and the fruits even further, “They are pretty firm, but supple. I bet they would totally feel good in your hands. What do you think? Why don’t you squeeze my grapefruits?”

I chuckled silently to my self as I heard the stock boy drop a green pepper. It rolled across the floor unnoticed. I reached out my hands and gave the two grapefruit a generous squeeze. I paused for a moment, as if in deep contemplation. Jessica just played along, pursed her lips, and pouted. She was so fucking sexy.

“They are perfect,” I replied. I looked into her eyes with true sincerity. “They are soft, but only give so much. I am not sure if I have ever seen better fruit. They feel so good in my hands.”

Jessica squealed with delight. She looked genuinely pleased with my reaction to her grapefruit. She leaned over kissed me on my cheek and whispered in my ear, “That was fun. If it is all right with you, I am going to go play some more.” Juggling the grapefruits, one of her hands slid down my back and cupped the cheek of my ass. I felt everything get warm as the fever of my arousal hit again.

Jessica placed a grapefruit in our cart and said, “Wait here. I think I need some special help.” She turned with a flourish. Jessica’s skirt flared up and her perfect teen ass (encased in some delightful white, cotton panties) came into view for a brief instant. It was enough to fuel my hard on. God, I wanted to take her right there on top of a mountain of citrus.

With confidence and an extra swish in her stride, Jessica sauntered up to the bedraggled stock boy. He was trying to avert his eyes, or perhaps to dissipate into thin air. But Jessica wasn’t having any of that. She stood maybe a foot away from where he was stacking green peppers so attentively, and tapped her foot. Slowly, he raised his head. His eyes took in everything along the way: her rounded hips, her slim teen waist, her flat stomach, her lush tits, and her sweet face. I could see him memorizing every detail, holding onto it all for the dreams that would come later that night.

Sam pressed her naked breasts against him as they fucked, wanting to let their scents and fluids mingle, to keep this precious, amazing being so close to her, forever.

But then he whispered in her mind, *I love you, Samantha. The others meant nothing.*

And for Sam, the spell was broken. The reminder of where they were brought back her previous questions, her uncertainties. She stopped moving, waiting until he sensed her change of mood and stopped as well. *What’s wrong, Beloved?*

She pushed him out of her, aching at his withdrawal, and sat up on one elbow. “You never answered my question. Have you told any other woman you loved them?”

Confusion, then impatience, crept into his thoughts now. *Why does it matter? There have been none so close to me before you, Samantha. And there will be none so close, after you.*

He said it so plainly, as if it meant nothing.

Sam, meanwhile, felt as if she’d been struck across the mouth. Now she sat up on the bed, ignoring the aches and pains in her muscles and pussy to glare at him. “‘After me’? So you are thinking of abandoning me, too?”

*No!* He leapt from the bed and paced around, clawed fingers curled into fists of frustration. *You do not understand.*

“Don’t I?” She rose to her feet, facing him, her blood boiling with anger and anguish. “You never answered my question. You told Alanya Malikovsky you loved her, didn’t you? And that lasted until you got what you wanted from her!”

*Alanya? She is here?*

“Yes! Thinking of looking her up again and apologising for using her?”

*What? Why do women prattle on so about these things?*

“Or would that take more courage than you can muster?”

Fenris leaned in closer, looming over her, his hot breath hitting her face as he growled, *Do not think to judge me, woman!*

“What are you planning to still get from me, or have you got what you wanted already, and it’s just about the fucking now? Fucking and bullshit about loving me-”

Suddenly he shoved her backwards, pouncing on her as she hit the bed, pinning her down with his huge frame and inadvertently scratching her more harshly than he usually did with his claws. His teeth were bared. *Do NOT dismiss what I have declared to you, and to you alone! And do NOT judge me on human terms! I am older, greater than you can know! Do you understand?*

Her heart pounding in her chest, her anger matched his. But it was now coupled with a fear she had not felt since the early days. She hit at him with her fists. “Get the fuck out of here! Now! And don’t come back!”

*With pleasure!*

And then he was gone.

*

“A lover’s tiff. It’s comforting to know such things can occur even between a woman and her god.”

Sam felt like her head was filled with concrete, the second course of drugs taking

effect in her system. She ignored his taunts. “We’d argued before, but I’d never seen him so angry. I tried to call him back and apologise right away. The enormity of what I’d said, the possibility that he might listen to me and never return, was suffocating me. But he didn’t respond.

Panicking, I changed and went to see Alanya in her quarters, told her everything, showed her my wounds. I was so glad to have her there, someone who understood and supported me…”

*

Sam sat on the side of Alanya’s bed, next to the woman, resting her head against her shoulder as they embraced. “‘I’m never going to see him again, am I?”

“Nonsense.” The older woman pulled back to wipe the tears from Sam’s cheeks. She wore an elegant camisole that contrasted sharply with Sam’s favoured baggy jogging trousers and vest. “Of course you will. Now, I have some salve for those cuts, a special mixture. May I?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Sam pulled her T-shirt up over her head, holding it in front of her as the older woman returned with a jar she opened. Alanya soothed the cream, with its rich, roseate fragrance, into Sam’s back and shoulders, and began to massage the flesh, at first gently, then with increasing pressure, as Sam felt the cream’s heat penetrating her aching muscles.

She moaned, and Alanya smiled. “Better?”

“Mmm, yes.”

“Good. Samantha, I’m sorry that I mentioned my connection with him.”

“No, don’t be. I would have done the same.”

“But I made you doubt him, sparked the fight…” She paused, swallowed, and Sam could almost feel the embarrassment. “When I was with… well, I remember getting scratches, ah, below the belt, as it were.”

Sam nodded, feeling tired and agreeable. “Let me lie down.”

She lay face forward on the bed, burying her face into the pillow as she felt Alanya take the waistband of her jogging trousers and lower them past her rear to the tops of her knees. As someone who performed skyclad before others, it shouldn’t matter, though nagging feelings lingered, perhaps because of their shared history with Fenris. Then the penetrating heat soothed and relaxed Sam’s lower half.

Alanya’s touch was expert. “Did he- did he ask about me? Say anything?” When Sam turned her head to look up, Alanya added, “Never mind. My time with him has passed. Indeed, since Fenris I have never been able to conjure any entity with his power, just simple shadow creatures and apports. It is your turn with him. And you “will” get him back.”

“But if he refuses my summons-”

“I’ve done with your back. How’s your front?”

Sam conceded a few scratches there as well, and pulled up her trousers again before turning around, setting aside her discarded shirt and relaxing. There were a few scratches on her chest, and Alanya was careful as she smoothed the salve into each breast, her voice lowering. “He might refuse from one witch, but two? Especially if they’re his past and present consorts?”

“A combined Summoning? Do you think that would work? I hope so, I really do.” Sam’s voice sounded distant, even to herself, and she felt both detached and linked to her body, her breasts, now aching, her nipples, now growing hard. She ignored it as an instinctive reaction – though remembering times when Fenris would lick and nuzzle them didn’t help. “God, I sound pathetic.”

“No.” Alanya’s voice, her expression was emphatic, as she moved onto Sam’s stomach, working in the salve. “Intelligent, strong, loving. Beautiful. He’s a fool for treating you like this.”

Sam felt dizzy, and the bedroom almost stiflingly hot, and her senses focused on Alanya’s hand, as it now slipped under the waistband of her trousers, through her bush, gently massaging her mound.

“Beautiful,” Alanya repeated in a hush. “I can feel your need, welled up, begging for release. I know that feeling too well. Let me…”

Sam parted her thighs instinctively, offering easier access, feeling helpless. This was allowed, she assured herself. She’d been badly hurt, and needed the comforting touch of another, no matter their gender.

Seconds later, such assurances were cast aside as unnecessary, as Alanya entered her throbbing sex, her fingers descending, creating a painful but pleasurable sensation as they slowly moved in and out, discovering the softness of the smooth velvet walls. Sam yielded to the touch, her body limp as if bound.

She opened her eyes once when Alanya bent down and pressed her mouth against Sam’s, invading it with her tongue. Then she closed her eyes again, relishing the sensations of Alanya’s tongue caressing Sam’s lips in a snake-like movement. Sam had never felt this way about another woman before, had come no closer to it than fending off the advances of some of the members of her first coven in England. Her attitudes had changed since then; being taken on a regular basis by a wolf spirit does wonders to expand one’s viewpoint on acceptable sexual experiences.

The woman’s touch between her legs was no longer gentle, but Sam didn’t mind. Already she could feel her arousal rolling, like an avalanche, ready to overwhelm her. The expert fingers teased and stroked the moist, supple outline of her sex, the thumb finding her stiffened bud of her swollen clitoris, massaging it, too and increasing the bliss exponentially.

Sam sighed into the other girl’s mouth and gave herself up to the rhythm, her climax growing, until it burst and overflowed from her. She moaned softly, unable to collapse despite the sheer bliss running through her now. She gripped the older woman, wondering if she should reciprocate, and how.

However, it was Alanya who pulled back, rising to her feet and padding away, unable to face her. “Forgive me – that was totally inappropriate.”

Confused and aroused, and suddenly embarrassed, Sam slipped back into her T-shirt and followed, ignoring the warm afterglow from her sex. “Alanya, it’s okay-”

“No, it’s not. Christ, I’m old enough to be your mother!” As Sam faced her again, the older woman seemed to withdraw further into herself. “After Fenris abandoned me, and I failed to summon him, or any others, I tried to find a suitable lover. A lover of flesh that would remain past dawn. But none could compare to him. And that’s the trick! Once you’ve been taken by a god, how can you be satisfied by any man, or woman?” She looked back now, red with mortification. “You “are” beautiful. And you’ve been with him. I thought it would almost be like…” Then she checked herself. “I have embarrassed myself enough tonight, I think. Take my bed, I’ll go to the one in the library.”

Sam felt like trash now. “Alanya, it’s your room, you can stay. I’ll go.”

The Russian moved to the bedroom door. “Sleep. Tomorrow night, I promise you, you will be reunited with your lover.” She offered a final smile. “And maybe, I might have the chance to see him, talk to him again?”

*

“So, did you have sex with Professor Malinovsky later?”

Sam looked up, saw his expression. “Oh? Have I finally said something to pique your interest?”

“Please continue.”

She shook her head, found the numbness only increased. “The next day, she showed me her laboratory, which apparently doubled as a clinic for any injured reserve animals. I was fascinated and impressed by her results. She had designed her own electronic scanners, ones that could successfully examine and record the animate and inanimate objects she summoned. I wondered why she hadn’t released her findings before now, but she said she was simply being cautious. I believed her.

Then I wondered about the boat that had arrived after dark, a boat crewed by uniformed men. Alanya told me it was a regular supply shipment of food and equipment, a shipment managed by the local Army regiment, and that they would stay out of our way. I believed that, too.

There was so much I shouldn’t have believed in.”

*

The lab was long and narrow, one sort wall taken up by two animal cages made of floor-to-ceiling bars and carpeted in old woollen blankets. Sturdy-looking electronic equipment lined half of one long wall, looking like bulky old-fashioned computer consoles. Examining tables and equipment trolleys that had sat in the centre of the room were folded and stored in a far corner. The far end of the room was bare of furniture, the walls, floors and ceiling there lined with thick dark blue padding like exercise mats, behind which was mounted the scanning equipment.

Sam drew a wide circle in this area, using chalk supplied, along with other traditional paraphernalia, by Alanya. The Russian woman wore a smart skirt and blouse, and a white lab coat, and her ashen hair was pinned up. She was double checking the electronic equipment near the cages. “You have everything you need?”

“Yes.” She had asked Sam that twice already. She sounded nervous, and it only occurred to Sam then that she was acting quite literally like a woman meeting an old lover after a long absence. Indeed, if she checked again, she’d see Alanya was wearing makeup. She set the black candles at the cardinal points on the circle, sprinkled the salt and water, then lit the candles in succession. This was a more elaborate setup than she had needed in a long time, but Fenris was petulantly refusing to answer her mental calls. “The lights-”

Above her, the fluorescents flickered off, leaving the room in the meagre candlelight. “Thank you. Is it midnight?”

“Only just.” Alanya began undressing, both women having agreed the need to perform skyclad. Sam straightened up, pulled her sweater over her head and kicked off her shoes. Neither of them mentioned the events of the night before, and though Sam didn’t regret it, she didn’t need the distraction now. She cast off her jeans, bra and panties to one side, and knelt beside Alanya, noting the fitness of the older woman’s nude body.

The air was cool on her bare skin, but Sam felt hot, and she quickly forced her mind to the task at hand, thoughts clearing as they spoke aloud and in unison. “O Powerful Fenris, son of Loki and Angrboda, bound to the rock of Gioll, we, your consorts past and present, conjure thee on this night and at this hour here, to order firmed affairs with thee…”

The air crackled already, the lights grew within the padded enclosure. Sam’s hair danced on end, and she felt dizzy. She abandoned the prayer, the formalities, and called out to him. Beloved… Beloved, come to me…

*Do you really want me?*

She smiled, blinking back tears. His voice in her mind seemed so plaintive, yet hopeful. And her fears and doubts from the night before melted away. “Oh my sweet lover, yes!”

Before her, he materialised within the circle, in biped form, standing proudly. *Then why did you cast wards to hold me back, even from your thoughts?*

What? I didn’t!

He stepped forward – then stopped as he saw Alanya. *You?*

And then Hell seemed to break loose from the walls.

A high-pitched, teeth-jarring hum ran through the Sam, making her collapse, nauseous, but doing far worse to Fenris, who fell, twisting and writhing as if in an epileptic fit, his screams of agony reaching her mind and increasing her own pain. Sam looked up to see thick pipes glowing through the padded walls, glowing as if white hot, and the air crackling. She didn’t even know if she was speaking when she shouted, “Alanya! Stop it! Your scanners are killing him!”

But even as the words escaped her lips, and she saw Alanya rise and race away, not for the controls but for her clothes, Sam realised that Alanya’s machines were doing precisely what they were designed to do.

Her ears rang and her skin prickled as she crawled forward, reaching out in a futile attempt to drag Fenris out of the field. It was like wading through masses of ants, but she pushed herself forward, not caring what happened to her.

Suddenly the hum died away, the lights overhead flickered back to life, and the lights behind the padded walls vanished. It took a heartbeat for Sam to register this, before she heard the sounds of bootsteps charging toward her. Then she was grabbed and lifted up by young uniformed men, her limbs restrained, as if she might somehow find her strength again and resist. But then someone fitted something around her throat, and a second’s terror at the prospect of being throttled or hung made her struggle, earning herself a twisted arm.

And Fenris, who had struggled to his hind legs, ignoring the soldiers pointing automatic weapons at him, lifted his head in her direction and snarled, claws and teeth bared, blood red eyes fixed upon Sam’s attackers. Weapons were cocked, but he still ignored him; his body, despite the detail to how it looked, felt, tasted, was not true flesh and blood but an ethereal substance.

On the other hand, moments before, he was in such unprecedented pain… if Alanya could do that to him… “Fenris, vanish!”

Then a second, familiar voice spoke up. “If you do, she dies. If you attack, she dies.”

Alanya stepped into view now, wearing her lab coat s a makeshift dressing gown, and accompanied by a young, gaunt officer with saturnine features, his wary grey eyes fixed upon Fenris. They spoke together in Russian now.

Samantha, Fenris whispered in her mind, *Are you well?*

She showed no reaction that they were communicating. Yes. And you?

*No. That light and sound was like Ragnarok itself. What is this, Beloved?*

It’s a trap, ‘Beloved’…

A thought that had come from neither Sam nor Fenris.

Alanya looked over Sam, deliberately regarding her nude body as if to humiliate her more. “You’ll recover; the effects of the electromagnetic field are unpleasant, but transitory. I’d avoid repeated exposure, however, unless you are fond of brain tumours.” More louder now, for the benefit of the other captive, she continued. “Miss Brennan has a radio-controlled collar fitted around her neck. The collar contains enough electric charge to harm her, or kill her, should I choose.” She turned fully to Fenris, her voice thick with contempt. “Keep this in mind, monster, should you wish to give vent to your feral nature.”

“Why?” Sam tried fighting down her terror, glancing down at the collar, could barely see it, and was glad that the soldiers held her arms and kept her from reaching up and touching it. “You said you loved him, once.”

The older woman turned back to her now. “I did. Once. Now he has you.”

“Then this is all just about revenge?”

Alanya laughed. “Hardly. This is about power. The Zvezdochyot has been most generous and faithful these last five years, funding my research into the materialisation of animate and inanimate objects into our world. But now we will make quantum leaps.” She drew closer, but pointed to Fenris, who was as tightly wound as a coil, looking ready to pounce on her. “Imagine having something like that at one’s beck and call, summoning him from out of the blue anywhere we want, an unstoppable war machine. Imagine a whole pack of his kind at our command. Imagine an “army”.”

“No.” Sam denied her. “It can’t work, Alanya. You know better than I do that the forces that shape entities like Fenris cannot be measured or studied or predicted like light or electricity. They operate by rules no one fully understands.”

“”He” understands. And, to a very limited degree, so do you. You will both assist my work.”

*No,* Fenris growled. *I will not serve you.*

“Yes, monster, you will.” Alanya drew closer to Sam, smiling when the younger woman flinched as Alanya reached out and cupped her chin, still talking to him though looking at Sam. “When the gods learned a prophecy which stated that you would one day be responsible for the destruction of the world, they had the dwarves fashion a magic chain that was incredibly strong, despite seeming so slender, and bound you to the rock of Gioll.” Her hand drifted down to stroke Sam’s breasts, making one of her nipples rise. “The chain that binds you now is equally strong, despite being equally slender. Allow me to demonstrate.” She looked back at him. “Get down on all fours, like a good dog.”

He didn’t move. Alanya lifted a small box in her hand- and pain like a wire garrotte shot through Sam, making her wail and lose control of her limbs.

Fenris dropped to all fours, his head low.

Alanya spoke to the soldiers in Russian; they dragged Sam away, towards a cage.

*

Sam glanced up again. “I tell you I have a spirit lover, and you label me mad. I tell you your own military is trying to create a spirit army, and you don’t bat an eyelash.”

“The Zvezdochyot, the Special Weapons Directorate, is not strictly the military. And I know them better than I do you.” He paused to remove his jacket and speak to the aide. “I believe less in magic than in fools wasting hard currency on insane projects.”

She watched him roll up one of his sleeves, revealing a thick, hairy forearm. “Tell that to those killed on Tsyerkovolk.” Then she watched as the aide injected something into Roshenko. “You should Say No to Drugs, Major.”

He grunted. “Not if they help keep me up for a few hours more.” He rolled down his sleeve again, buttoned the cuff. “Continue. What happened next?”

“I watched as they put a collar on him, a simple one, not like mine. They examined him, as best they could, photographing, measuring his strength, his stamina. They took samples of his hair, his blood, sputum, scrapings of skin - but all of the samples quickly vanished, yielding them nothing. I hated seeing the way they treated him. I was ignored by Alanya and her cronies, and trying not to think about wearing nothing on me but a ring of plastic explosive. When they were done, they ushered him into the cage next to mine, had cameras and microphones set up but chained him out of my reach. Most of the soldiers left, leaving Alanya, some technicians, a guard, and that creepy thin officer who’d come in with her…”

*

Alanya smiled as she approached Sam’s cage. “That look suits you, my dear. Perhaps we can keep you like that permanently as you work with us.”

Rage and fear vied for dominance within Sam, and her voice was as taut as her expression. “This was planned all along. You’d learned of my association with Fenris, confused and distracted me with your seduction, blocked him from my mind, conspired to get me here and summon him to your lab-”

“Yes, yes, please catch up.” The scorn was almost palpable. “The Community was quite accurate about your monumental obtuseness. It is the greatest of your many flaws.”

“And what have I done to deserve such disdain from you?”

The older woman leaned in closer, her voice dropping. “By reminding me of myself, years ago: love struck, naïve, self-centred, whining, wasting your considerable talents on petty liberal causes, and worst of all, falling for “his” lies. Him, the offspring of Loki, God of Lies! Seeing, talking to you brought it all back, and it was all I could do not to throttle you.” Her lip curled. “You disgust me.”

Sam couldn’t recall ever being on the receiving end of such bile. But she was determined not to show how affected by it she was, and drew closer until her face was against the bars of the cage. “You forgot to mention I make you envious, too. When you realised that Fenris was staying, that he did love me enough not to flee. Something he never demonstrated to you, did he-”

Sam’s words descended into cries as Alanya shot another jolt of electricity into her, making her collapse into sobs.

*Alanya!* Fenris growled, his own huge hands making the bars seem thin and fragile as he clutched them, his thoughts low and steady like distant thunder. *Count the last hours of your life on the fingers of one hand.*

She remained visibly unimpressed. “Once you were my lover, my god, and I was utterly devoted to you. Your betrayal opened my eyes to what you were.”

*And the succeeding years have only blurred your vision. Years distort the truth in men and women’s hearts. Family and lovers long since past become gods, or monsters. But I am immortal, and it was as if it were yesterday. You were devoted, yes, but you were more devoted to your own ambition, your own pride, neither of which could accept that I would not stay with you forever, or help you with your own advancement. And I never pledged my love to you, to anyone, until “this” women.*

Alanya shook in place, her face a mask of barely-controlled fury, quickly forced down again as she returned to Sam. “I would advise you not to touch your collar, it’s programmed to detonate with enough force to remove your head from your body if it’s tampered with.” She indicated the gaunt officer. “Lieutenant Giger would like a demonstration of the mating habits of our specimen. Your cooperation in the name of scientific research would be most helpful. Well?”

Sam forced herself to recover, refusing to lie prostrate before this woman. She wiped the tears from her face and rose onto quivering limbs. She hadn’t felt such rage in years. “Would you… would you be hurt if I told you to go fuck yourself?”

Alanya turned back to Fenris. “If she doesn’t cooperate, then you will rape her. And if “you” don’t cooperate, I will kill her. Which is preferable, monster, hurting the woman you love, or letting her die?”

The cage bars in Fenris’ grip groaned as he twisted them. *If she dies, you will be the first to follow. But not the last. Because if she dies, there will be nothing to stop me from turning this land red with the blood of your wretched race. I will leave nothing alive.*

“At my age, one prepares to die. As for my people, it will not be the first time our Moist Mother Earth was stained in such a way.” She looked back to Sam. “Well?”

Sam swallowed, looked to Fenris and nodded.

They moved the cameras to the space where the EM field was generated. Alanya and Giger and some of the technicians stayed in the background, observing, muttering between themselves. It was simply an experiment for them. They couldn’t grasp the intimacy, the majesty and passion involved.

Sam and Fenris sat within the enclosure, whispering to each other, remembering their first encounters, their subsequent development, their travels and adventures, how they’d grown to fulfil each other in ways they could never have realised beforehand. They sat closer, held hands, Fenris stroking her hair, Sam gasping at his touch.

She pulled Fenris into a kneeling embrace, kissing his neck, the skin beneath his ears, nipping him. His fingers moved into her hair, his furred face brushing against hers, and their kisses and nips intensified, and multiplied.

Sam drew back, trying to hide her looking about, looking about at the observers forcing them to reveal the details of their most private moments and feelings.

Fenris squeezed her gently. *Look at me, Samantha. Not them. They’re not there. We’re alone.*

Sam nodded, tracing her fingers over the broad outline of Fenris’ long, pointed jaw, then back into the deeper fur at the base of his throat, so thick and soft in her hands. Breathing harder, moaning softly, she ground her pelvis against his, feeling the hardness of his swelling cock pressing into her as the touch of his hands aroused her further.

She shivered. His fingertips traced their way up their thighs with long, deliciously slow strokes as her nipped her again, and she kissed him back. His fingers moved to her pussy, carefully parting her and letting one finger slip inside.

Sam moaned into his skin, and reached down to take his shaft in her hand, feeling it pulse, feeling it long to be inside her, and giving him long, languid strokes in response. Sam imagined she could almost hear the collective, excited beatings of the hearts of those assembled, instinctively drawn to the forbidden, thankfully keeping back and keeping silent, but still watching.

She pulled back from him as he murmured *Lie back.*

She happily obliged, dropping onto her back and parting her legs as he dropped to all fours, making Sam squirm in delight as his long, rough tongue touched and teased her swollen pussy and full, throbbing clit. He lapped at her, slowly and lovingly, as her mouth opened and her eyes closed, and she felt a climax building, building - a short, sharp one came unexpectedly, making her start.

Then Fenris rose, padded over her, slipping his arms under her thighs and lifting them up as he speared her from above, his breath escaping from him in a low grunt as he filled her up once more. Sam called out, her limbs flooded with the rapture of the reunion of their bodies that she had craved for so long. Fenris too lay still, as if he’d squandered all his energy in that first thrust. She lifted her head, tasting his muzzle, his jaw, the salty tang of his sweat, as her pussy muscles rippled along the length of him.

“Beloved,” she murmured, a prayer on her lips.

And, as if a command, he began to move again now, gently lifting upwards, almost fully withdrawing from her body before slipping back into her inch by delicious inch, their fit ideal, their movements as natural as the rise and fall of the moon. His tail twitched behind him as he bent forward again, licking at her aching, sweat-beaded breasts with his tongue. Her hands steadied her on his shoulders, her fingernails piercing him, wanting him marked, as he marked her, for all to see.

His thrusting became more insistent, unable to bear things at such an agonisingly slow pace. Parting from his throat, she puffed, “Wait- wait- take me- behind-”

He nodded, withdrawing long enough for her to twist about until she was on all fours and Fenris was on his knees behind her. He gripped her hips, and in that position, he went wild, losing control, the rude slapping of their bodies inducing a climax within her. She lowered her head to the floor and pushed her body back against his, until his cock was stroking against her G-spot, sending thrumming through her like a plucked guitar string. Now her limbs quaked and she could barely control her movements except to push and gyrate. Around her, the world vanished.

Suddenly Fenris’ body went rigid, and he threw his head back and howled. Sam responded to his surrender with her own, locked together, pumping into one another. She felt giddy with the sensation as she squeezed him, harder, harder, milking him thoroughly, savouring every bullet of come he shot deep into her.

They remained in place, feeling the ebbs drift away, until Sam sensed that they should separate, and did so, Fenris taking her into his arms and cradling her. She rode on blissful waves, idly taking tufts of his fur between her teeth and tugging them.

Never expecting the fur to fall out, as it did.

She pulled back, spitting it out and looking up at him, her confusion giving way to alarm at the pained look in his eyes. Beloved?”

Even his pseudo-breathing was laboured. *It’s nearing dawn…*

The awful realisation struck her to the core.

*

She paused, prompting Roshenko to ask, “And the significance of this?”

She breathed out, blinking back tears. “Spirit forms, even ones as powerful and independent as Fenris, have limitations in this world, and are bound by many of our laws. In his case, he is a creature of the night, not the day, and even then, only for brief periods. Alanya was keeping him there for longer than he’d ever done. He had to struggle against the instinctive urge to vanish; for him, it was like trying to keep your hand immersed in boiling water. He was… disintegrating, right before my eyes.”

“So? You could just recreate him the following night-”

She shook her head. “No. He is - “was” - a unique individual. And for all their power and immortality, in our world, on our plane, such entities can die, or be killed. I’ve seen it happen.”

“But with him gone, his knowledge would be gone too.”

“So I pointed out to Alanya, pleading with her to let him go. She simply said she was taking care of matters.” Her head rang. “Major, if there are any pain killers on that tray, I’d appreciate some.”

“Perhaps after. Continue.”

She swallowed, ignoring the chill running down her back. “They returned us to our separate cages. Alanya gave me back my clothes, but otherwise ignored me, concerned as she was with unpacking some equipment. I was more focused on reaching out to Fenris through our rapport…”

*

*Beloved…*

Fenris half-lay in his cage, looking pale like some washed-out photograph, and he was gradually losing his biped form, reverting to a more wolf-like appearance, albeit that had just been delivered in long still a huge one. *Samantha… I must tell you something… about what I said, during our argument…*

She knelt inside her cage, tears streaming unchallenged down her face; they had given her back her clothes, but she still felt naked before the raw emotions spilling from her. You don’t have to tell me anything, Beloved.

*But I do, while there’s time. Your questions awakened truths within me I could not easily face. I have had many consorts over the centuries, chosen for their abilities, for how they could serve my purposes. I have not treated them all like Alanya. Some I have stayed devoted to until death. “Their” deaths. You have such brief spans here, but I am the cursed one, for seeing all of you grow old, then die, and leave for places I could never follow. The thought of losing you too… *He looked away, and every movement seemed a painful effort. *Having you, the only one I have ever truly loved… as my last consort… makes my departure more bearable…*

“No!” she called aloud, turning to Alanya, whose attention she’d caught with her outburst. “Alanya, please! He’s dying! I’ll do anything you want, work any spell, summon any creature! Just free him from his obligation!”

The Russian woman paused to give instructions to some of the technicians, who were assembling long metal poles with chains and attachments, before returning to Sam. “Stop your crying, my dear. He won’t die, not if what I have in mind succeeds.” She directed the technicians to approach with the poles as she opened his cage; Sam recognised them then as tools for handling dangerous animals from a distance. They latched one end to his collar, tugging as he struggled to move. He paused, seemed to lose more energy as he weakly morphed into a fully lupine state, before letting himself be directed out of the lab.

Sam tried to reach him with her mind, called out to him when she couldn’t. “Fenris! Beloved!” She turned back to Alanya. “You fucking bitch! What are you doing to him?”

The Russian stepped closer, but not close enough for Sam to reach her if she had a mind to do so. “Insuring that we keep your monstrous paramour among us indefinitely. Based upon my own research - and some additional information you have unwittingly provided – I am going to attempt to infuse his spirit, graft it if you will, into the body of one of the island’s adult male wolves. He should retain his knowledge, his identity, his ability to communicate telepathically. But he will be trapped within a fleshy frame. Of course, I’m not certain if he’ll be able to transform that flesh, so any lovemaking between yourselves may become completely socially unacceptable.”

Sam’s mind reeled, ignoring the last taunt. Was it possible? She knew some spirits could inhabit living bodies, had seen it herself with Mikhail in Belarus. And if it worked, he would be with her twenty-four/seven. Maybe not the same as before, but…

But nothing. It would make him a shadow of his former self. It was a foolish, needless risk. “Alanya, you don’t have to do this to him. Send him away, he’ll come back for me tomorrow night.”

“I doubt it. I’ve proven that I could injure, possibly kill him. And whatever he feels for you, he can’t risk his agenda.”

“His… agenda?”

Alanya smirked. “What, did you think he made consorts of women through the centuries just because he enjoyed sex with us?” More serious now, she asked, “Have you ever given thought to the notion that the Norse stories were based in fact? That Fenris was really out to initiate Ragnarok, the end of the world? And that you have been his unwitting accomplices towards this?” She smirked. “Perhaps I’m not as villainous as you imagine.”

The question stunned Samantha. “No. No, it can’t be…”

And Alanya sighed, almost sounding bored now. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an operation to perform at the crack of dawn.”

She turned to depart, and Sam relented, desperation welling up. “Alanya, please! Don’t!”

The woman ignored her, switched off the lights in the lab and left Sam alone. She wanted to slump down and weep again, but she was out of tears – and Fenris was nearly out of time. Instead she knelt down and opened her mind, seeking him out there. He could not be far. Fenris. Beloved…

*Samantha… so good to hear your thoughts… one last time…*

No! Don’t give up! Leave! You have to survive!

*Not at your expanse. Not while you live.*

And with that, Sam made a decision, with no regrets or hesitation. She may not know his true purpose in this world, but she trusted it to be a good one, and one not to be jeopardised by her life being held hostage.

Her hand shot up to her collar, grabbed hold of it and twisted, using her other hand for leverage. Her eyes were shut tight, awaiting the inevitable as she broke her collar.

The inevitable, however, proved elusive. She held the collar, ran her fingers along it, feeling thumb-sized metal compartments, then flung it out of her cage in case her suspicions were incorrect. But nothing happened. A growing fury built within her like a storm. The lying fucking bitch… Fenris! It was a bluff! I’m safe! Fenris!

He didn’t answer.

Was it too late?

No… She rose to her feet, grasped the bars of her cage, pulled and squeezed and twisted. She had to get out, get out and get to Fenris, give him a chance to escape. Her mind called out again, but still she heard nothing. If it was too late…

Filled with nothing more than a blinding determination to be free, Sam struggled with the door to her cage.

Her back muscles strained, her biceps bulged, the cords in her neck felt taut like piano strings, ready to snap.

She was going to be free – she wasn’t just a woman.

She was the consort of a “god”.

And she… was going to be…

Then with a screeching groan, the lock in the cage door snapped. Snarling at her own unexpected, unprecedented strength, Sam slammed the door open and bolted from the lab, moving through deserted corridors with a speed and stealth she had never felt before, escaping from a side door of the building.

The sky was beginning to turn a salmon-pink, revealing concentric layers of high, thin clouds. But a greater light came from the west, from the direction of the stone circle, the site where ancient practitioners of magic shaped and sculpted their vision of a wolf strong enough to consume the world. She moved through the forest, being careful without ever stopping.

The clearing was surrounded by dozens of soldiers and technicians, carrying weapons, recording equipment, scanners, but all keeping clear of the centre of the circle. There, a column of bone-white arcane energy rose like flames: a Balefire, an edification of the power on hand here. It cast the faces who stared into it with an eldritch glow, making them appear like walking skeletons. Alanya stood just outside of balefire, in all her naked glory, arms outstretched, mouthing incantations. At the other side of the balefire, further away from Sam, she saw two figures on the ground, both of similar shape but one larger than the other, huddled together as fingers of light danced out from the columns to caress them, weave them together. It had to be Fenris, and the male wolf whose body he would very soon inhabit. Indeed, the figures appeared to be merging, like waxwork effigies melting together beside a fire.

There was no time. Sam burst through the shrubbery, shoving aside two soldiers in her way, uncaring if they shot at her. “FENRIS!”

The larger four-legged figure turned in her direction.* Samantha! Don’t! It’s too late!*

Closer still, Alanya turned, fear and fury in her eyes. “Stay back! I’ve unleashed-”

Sam didn’t care. Her instincts told her to attack.

And she did, slamming into Alanya, sending them both into the heart of the balefire.

They grappled, even as both women found themselves battered from all sides. There was a swirling, circular motion to the energy, as it formed itself into a maelstrom, a vortex. Sam felt the power blazing through her, burning through her veins, searing through her spirit. Her whole being was alive, and yet burned to the core. She felt light, lifted from her feet though the eye of the vortex, the pain and the pleasure mingling, and her brain was full of light and sound. She could hear herself screaming, the wind and the rain of energy still lashing her body. She felt god-like, and yet undergoing the punishment of a god.