Chapter 3: Serpentine Passion

Fiona – Dev-Lek, The Kingdom of Haz

Euryale hissed at my rejection of her love. Her serpent-like hair writhed about her, their tongues flicking as she loomed over me. Her golden eyes caught mine. They were slitted like a snake and almost seemed to glow as she worked her magic on me.

I love Euryale.

The voice drifted out of my mind. I could almost hear the sibilant hiss of the gorgon as she worked her magic on me. "I don't love you. I love Seamus and Aoifa."

"Even after they betrayed you." The gorgon seized my shoulders with her fingers, my small breasts jiggling as she shook me.

"Yes," I answered her. My spouses had to know I was missing by now. They would come and find me. They were skilled fighters, even without my magic. "I can't change how my heart feels."

"But Euryale loves you." The gorgon's serpents nuzzled into my cheek, soft as a kiss. "Why don't you love Euryale back?"

"Because I am a twinborn witch," I declared. "And you're magic isn't strong enough to overcome my innate sense of self. I have powers, too. If you took down your runes, you would be at my mercy."

The snakes undulated and hissed. "You will love Euryale."

Her eyes swallowed up my universe. I wanted to pull away, but I couldn't. They were hypnotic. All I could do was focus on my memories of Seamus and Aoifa. I held onto the day Seamus declared his love and won me. I remembered how excited and scared I was, my heart beating with love, as the three of us knelt before the marriage bonfire. Flutes and fiddles played around us. Ancient songs were song as we were married before fire and heather.

United as a Triad and charged to fight monsters like Euryale.

"I ... do ... not ... love ... you..."

The golden eyes retreated. Euryale's green skin molted with red. Her lips curled, revealing sharp fangs. There wasn't love in her eyes now, but frustrated anger. She didn't love me. She just wanted to own me, like she owned the statues of the petrified men surrounding her bed or the whores whose minds she enslaved.

The silk curtain that led out of this cave parted and one of those naked whores dashed in and whispered urgently in Euryale's ear. A smile crossed the gorgon's lips. Her serpents agitated undulations calmed.

"Good, good. Euryale will win your heart," hissed the gorgon. "You cannot love a statue."

"You will find my husband harder to defeat than you think."

The gorgon's smile grew. "Euryale knows exactly how to defeat Seamus."

Aoifa

I held the lantern up and peered into the dark mouth of the mine shaft. It was narrower than I thought, barely taller than Seamus and only as wide as two men. The sides were uneven, pitted by tool marks. Wooden beams spanned every ten feet, bracing the ceiling.

My stomach clenched. I did not like how tight it appeared. Fiona was lucky I loved her.

"Gewin, bless my sword with your strength," Seamus prayed to the God of War. "Let it cleave through the flesh of my enemies and bring glorious victory on this day."

His sword glowed with an angry, reddish hue, enchanted to cleave through protective spells and tough hide. Even stout armor would have difficulty staving off his blade. His eyes were fixed, his shoulders tense.

Seamus was rarely scared. He went into battle laughing, enjoying the sport.

"We'll save her," I whispered.

"And carve up the Las-damned thing that has her," he growled. "We'll send this gorgon's soul to Dauthaz."

I shuddered at the name of the Shrouded God. I hope he hadn't collected Fiona's soul and taken her to the afterlife. Seamus and I were supposed to protect her. That was our role in the Triad. Were we spending too much time in revelry and not taking our duty seriously?

"Let's go," I said, drawing my dagger. My eyes scanned the ground for any signs. I was a thief and tracker. My eyes were keen. "Let's find our wife."

I strode into the mines and Seamus followed, his armor clinking. We would bring death to Euryale and rescue Fiona.

Fiona

Euryale and the whore left. I was alone. My eyes scanned about. My robes lay on the floor, discarded by the gorgon, along with the clothing of the other women she brainwashed. I stood up and slipped by the statue of the petrified man, his face twisted in passion. His cock still gleamed with Euryale's pussy juices. The gorgon had fucked the statue only minutes ago.

I bent down and picked up my robe, pulling the white fabric across my body. I felt better as the cloth settled on me. It wasn't cold in the cave but, even though I was alone, I didn't like being naked. The place for nudity was in bed with my spouses.

I tied the belt and brushed dirt off one sleeve. I glanced at the curtain. Had she really left me alone? I ghosted up to the curtain. The silk undulated, stirred by whatever vagary of air drifted through the mines. I reached for it.

Agony consumed me.

I fell to the cave floor, twitching as my bones burned. I screamed. Tears burned hot down my face. My flesh was consumed with agony. I twitched and spasmed. My entire body was molten fire. I wanted to die.

The pain faded. My body wasn't on fire. My bones hadn't burned me to cinder. I crawled backwards on my hands and feet, scuttling to the bed and glared at the arcane symbols on the wall. They did more than keep out my spirits. They were triggered to give me pain. I doubt I could touch them and break their magic.

The same pain would inflict me if I tried.

I climbed onto the bed. I sucked in deep breaths. My entire body still ached. I trembled as I stared at my freedom. I would just have to wait. Seamus and Aoifa were coming for me. They would have to defeat the gorgon on their own.

"Holy Mother," I prayed, "Goddess of Mothers and Wives, watch over my husband and wife. Holy Slata, intercede with your husband. Beg for Holy Pater himself to shelter my spouses in the darkness of the mines."

I huddled on the bed. I was so helpless. All my spirits had been taken from me. I couldn't help my spouses. They were on there own.

Seamus

My skin crawled as Aoifa led us deeper into the mines.

There was so much mountain above us. The weight seemed to press down on me. I wiggled my shoulders beneath my armor, trying to stave off the fear. I had to save Fiona. It didn't matter how tight the tunnels were or how deep we had to go.

The lamp formed a small bubble of flickering light around us, pushing back the darkness. Aoifa scanned the floors, noting small signs that guided us through the passages. Sometimes the shafts had short spurs that ended abruptly after a few paces, spots where the miners excavated out veins of ores.

The pockets were rare.

The lamp flickered in Aoifa's hand. A breeze eddied through the cave. I froze. Should there be breezes below ground? My hand tightened on my sword. Aoifa paused, cocking her head. I held still as she listened.

Aoifa relaxed.

"What caused the breeze?" I asked.

"I think the mine broke into a natural cavern ahead. The air is growing damper."

"That's where the gorgon is?"

She pointed at something glinting on the rock. I bent down. It was a snake's scale.

"Good enough. Let's keep going."

The ground grew uneven, the walls even more irregular. No more tool marks marred them. They were smooth and undulating, like the bed of a dried river. Water had carved these passages. We had entered the cave system.

Water dripped, echoing down the tunnel. The walls grew farther apart as we headed down. The footing was treacherous. The ground rippled and was pocketed with depressions. The tunnel rose in height. Milky deposits grew from the ceiling, glistening wet.

The cave widened into a large room.

"There are multiple shafts coming off of here," Aoifa whispered as she knelt in the center. "Feel the air."

"It's moving."

"From more than one direction. And listen to the echoes."

I shook my head. I didn't gather any information out of them.

"Which one?"

Aoifa straightened and opened her mouth. Then she frowned and mouthed, "Movement." Slowly, Aoifa set the lantern down and drew her daggers. I swallowed and turned my back to her. I scanned the darkness. Echoing slaps, like bare feet padding on stone, came from around us. A woman cursed.

"The missing prostitutes," Aoifa muttered.

I sheathed my sword. The room grew darker. "Let's try not to hurt them."

Aoifa snorted, "Yeah, then they wouldn't fuck you."

"Nope."

The women appeared out of the darkness, swarming us from three directions. They were naked, their dusky breasts bouncing as they leaped at us. Their screams echoed through the tight caves, slamming back into us, the sound growing louder and louder.

I caught the first woman that leaped at me, holding her wrist up. Her breasts bounced and she heaved against my armor. I fought my desire as her nipples scraped up my armor and her lush lips leaned in for a kiss.

"You know you want us, warrior," she purred.

"We just want to love you," another woman purred, leaping on my side. She wrapped her arms around my neck. Her mouth was hot as she tried to kiss my lips.

"Get off me, skank," Aoifa shouted as she wrestled a pair of women to the ground.

My cock grew harder as I twisted the woman's arm wrapped around my neck. She let out an orgasmic moan as I shoved her away. She fell on the ground, her legs parting wantonly. The flickering lamplight reflected on the dew drenching her pussy.

"Come and take me," she moaned.

"No, he's mine," purred another woman. She leaped on my back. Her arms were tight about me, her lips nibbling at my ear.

I spun about and threw her off, my eyes scanning for Aoifa. The cave blurred with movement. The women seemed to come from every direction. "Aoifa?"

"Dammit," her voice echoed from far away. "I have one tied up with my rope. Where are you, Seamus?"

"By the lamp," I cried out.

"This lamp," purred a whore. She lifted up the lamp. It shattered on the ground. The flames guttered out, plunging the room into darkness.

"Dammit," I groaned, thrashing about in the darkness.

The women grabbed me. It was like they could see through the solid night. The darkness had weight. It pressed down on me. My lungs burned as I struggled to breath. I didn't like it down here. I wanted to get away.

I needed light.

"Dammit, let go of me, bitch," Aoifa shouted, her voice echoing through the cave.

"Where are you?" I asked, stumbling in one direction.

"No idea."

"Don't run away." A woman clutched me, her hand slipping beneath my chainmail armor and rubbed at the front of my pants. I grabbed at her and found her breast. She let out a pleased chortle. "Mmm, now you're getting it."

"Yes, he is." A second woman cooed. A pair of breasts pressed against my face and a hard nipple brushed my lips.

The hand rubbed harder at my cock. I throbbed beneath the touch. I couldn't give into these women. I had to keep fighting. I pushed the boobs from my face and took a step back. My boot turned on the uneven ground, and I fell with a loud crash.

"Damn," I groaned.

"Ooh, now we got you, big boy," the woman purred and pressed her breasts to my face again. They were so soft and pillowy.

Hands pushed my my mail skirt. Women giggled around me in the dark. My lacings of my leather pants came undone. A hot hand reached in and seized my dick. I groaned. I should be fighting, but that hand felt so wonderful on my cock.

"Aoifa," I shouted, my words partly muffled by the tits on my face. "Where are you?"

She didn't answer.

"No Aoifa here," laughed a woman. "Ooh, my. He's big."

A tongue ran up my cock to the tip and circled the crown. I groaned and bucked. I had to fight this. I was stronger than these women. My hands reached out. One found a pair of thighs, slipping up to rub hot, wet pussy.

"Oooh, naughty boy," the woman chortled. "Mmm, keep fingering me."

"Feel this cock," moaned the woman licking my dick. "He's thick and hard."

Her wet mouth engulfed me. I groaned into the pair of tits. The woman shifted, her hard nipple popping into my lips. The blood rushed through me. I was too horny. Something was wrong. I had the willpower to fight this.

Right?

The mouth sucked harder. I moaned about the nipple and then sucked hard. My tongue played with it. My fingers pushed into the other whore's wet pussy. Moans echoed around me. My other hand was seized. Wet lips surrounded my fingers, sucking as hard as the lips on my cock.

"Pater's cock," I groaned, releasing the whore's nipple.

"Indeed," laughed a woman. "This is a cock that needs to be ridden."

The mouth popped off my dick. I groaned in disappointment. I needed to cum. My balls churned with my seed. My dick throbbed in the air.

"Do you want to be ridden?" asked a woman.

"Yes," I groaned.

"Good."

Hot pussy engulfed my cock. I shuddered in relief. The other women seemed to back off, letting the slut on my dick enjoy me. She leaned over me, her breasts rubbing against my chest. She moaned and hissed.

More hisses joined her.

"What?" I groaned.

"Such strength," the woman riding me hissed, her voice different than a human's.

It was the gorgon's.

Golden eyes glowed above me. Her pussy worked up and down my shaft. Snakes writhed about her head as she leaned down. I had to look away. I had to get her off of me. Her pussy clenched about my dick.

Pleasure burst through me. My balls erupted.

"Pater's cock!" I cursed as my cum flooded her pussy and her eyes burned even brighter and—

Aoifa

I had a moment's warning, the air stirring in front of me, before the woman crashed into me. I turned and raised my hands to block her. I couldn't see her. There was no light in the caves. The women had been enchanted to see in the dark.

The gorgon had powers beyond what she should.

The woman hit me. She hissed, almost like a serpent. Her fingernails tried to scratched at my face. My hand caught her beneath the chin, prying her back as I stumbled back. My foot caught in the crevasse. I groaned and fell back, the woman on top of me.

"Slata's cunt," I grunted as I landed on my back.

The woman hissed on top of me. I leveraged my leg, planting my foot beneath her stomach. I kicked and heaved her over my head. She somehow snagged my foot as she flipped over me. I gasped as I tumbled with her.

We rolled down a slope, gasping and cursing. My head cracked against a rock. Light flared across my vision in the darkness, the brightness stabbing into my mind. I landed on my back. I stared up into darkness. The world seemed to spin about me. My stomach twisted. My hands went limp, letting the woman go.

Barefoot steps slapped away.

I think the woman fled. It was hard to be sure. Thinking ... hurt. Everything felt fuzzy. I rolled over onto my hands and knees. Sounds echoed around me. I had no idea where I was. Where I should go? Something wet dripped down my forehead.

Blood.

"Las's cum," I groaned as I crawled forward down the slope. I had to keep moving. I needed to find Seamus or Fiona.

I tried to stand, but that proved more difficult. I collapsed back on my hands and knees. The darkness spun around me. I clenched my teeth, my head bursting with pain. I gripped the stony floor, anchoring myself as I waited for the world to stop spinning.

"Las's putrid cum," I cursed when the world finally stopped spinng. "Jerk off on someone else."

I doubt the God of Lust cared where his jizz fell. I kept crawling on. The orgasmic moans of women and Seamus's grunts dwindled. Was I going in the wrong direction? I squeezed my eyebrows, struggling to think.

Maybe.

Should I go back?

Before I could make up my mind, I noticed the faintest glow. It had a pink hue about it. Was I hallucinating? Did I hit my head harder, or was there really light ahead of me. I bit my lip as my head ached.

Thinking hurt. I crawled forward.

"Find the other one," hissed an almost woman's voice. It echoed down the caves. "Find her. She'll make a great slave for Euryale."

"Yes, Mistress," a chorus of women answered.

I didn't care what it meant. I crawled faster towards the pink glow.

The light seemed to come around a corner. The soft illumination lit up the sides of the cave. The scent of jasmine tickled my nose. I crawled faster, emboldened by the light. It was safety and help. I needed to reach it.

The light shone through a pink curtain made of silk. I didn't care why it was in the middle of the cave. I passed through the soft silk into a bedroom. Stone statues stood around a bed. A woman in a white robe, loose, dark-red hair falling about her shoulders, sat on the bed.

"Aoifa?" the woman asked.

I should know her. She was familiar. "Fiona?"

It was my sister-wife. She slid off the bed and seized my head. "You're hurt. What happened to you?"

"Not sure," I answered. Thinking hurt too much. "Where am I?"

"Euryale's lair."

I should know that name. I winced.

"I can't leave here," Fiona continued. "And I can't heal you. The room is warded."

"Uh-huh," I groaned, pillowing my head on her lap. Her robe turned red. How did that happen?

"I need you to break one of the runes on the wall."

"Runes?"

Fiona pointed at the wall. There were pretty pictures carved into it.

"They need to be broken."

"Okay." I closed my eyes.

"Aoifa?"

"Yes?" I groaned.

"You need to break them. Please. I can't heal you until you do."

"Break what?"

"The runes." Fiona lifted my head.

"Las's cum," I groaned as the room spun about me. "That hurts."

"I'm sorry, sister." Fiona put my arm around her shoulders. I gasped as she stood up, bringing me along with her. My stomach twisted as the world spun faster.

"You're killing me," I moaned.

"You need to focus, Aoifa," Fiona begged as she moved. "You need to break the rune."

"How?"

"Draw your dagger."

I had a dagger? My hand moved down and instinctively drew something. The blade gleamed before me. I did have a dagger.

"Now just scrape the rune," Fiona urged. "Reach out and disrupt it."

The spin slowed to a drunken slant. I felt like I was falling but I never hit the ground. The rune was before me. I just had to reach out. I raised the blade. It was hard to find the rune. The world refused to stay steal. My dagger scraped across the wall. I adjusted my aim, pulling it to the rune.

It broke it.

"Thank you, Holy Mother," whispered Fiona. "Spirits, come and heal my sister-wife."

My vision burned green. Sensations rushed through my body. The painful fuzz sticking to my mind fell away. I staggered, supported by my twin. I clung to her. I let out a moan.

The green vanished.

"Fiona," I gasped. "You're safe."

"So are you," she beamed, tears beading her blue eyes. She cupped my face. "And you freed me."

I stared at my sister. I licked my lips. Guilt filled me. It was partly my fault she was out here. I was so eager to fuck that barguest last night. I angered Fiona.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out as Fiona gasped, "I need to apologize."

We both froze, smiles cracking out lips. At the same time, we asked, "Why are you sorry?"

"Are we twinning?" I asked her. "We haven't done that since we were kids."

"Maybe," Fiona shrugged. "So, who should go first?"

"Me." I took a deep breath. "Seamus and I haven't been taking this ... heroing as seriously as you. Last night, we were just looking to have fun instead of getting ready for today. You and our purpose are more important than fun."