DEMONS OF EDEN SERIES - UPON THIS ROCK - Chapter 8

I fidgeted in the black, flowing dress Urvashi had loaned me to replace my gore-covered sweat pants and t-shirt. I covered my legs with the light fabric, but Urvashi’s designer clothing didn’t accommodate my brand of modesty. Every time I squirmed, the dress hiked up and my legs chilled with goose bumps from the smooth, cool leather seats on her private jet.

I tried my best to ignore the length of pale, scrawny legs I was showing off to a werewolf who probably wanted to gnaw on my skinny bones. No matter how I distracted myself, the events of the early morning cycled through my mind, a never-ending loop of death and bloodshed. Assassins, swat teams, alien ninjas, werewolves, murder and mayhem. It was all too real. My life had been taken over by a Quentin Tarantino film, and I wished I could look away or leave the theater … or get a refund. I was living through part three of Kill Bill, or the latest cheesy Dusk Till Dawn sequel.

Alien-obsessed Nick hadn’t bothered to change his blood-splattered t-shirt. Probably considered it a trophy of his first bona fide alien experience.

Though I’d never flown in an airplane before, the flight seemed a meaningless milestone by comparison to the events we escaped hours earlier. Flying to Rome on a fifty million dollar Gulfstream jet wasn’t such a big deal after watching SEAL Team Six die in front of me.

I couldn’t get the questions out of my mind.

Why the assault? Who? What did I matter to anyone? I’d been living a quiet life hiding my weirdness away from the world, never making enemies … never making friends, never hurting anyone. Why me?

The Vatican. Of all the places in the world I wanted to visit, that was pretty low on the list. Why would Mithra send us to the Vatican? And what would happen when we got there? Was there really a gateway that connected between my world and Mithra’s? Seemed like something out of an old Stargate rerun on the Syfy network.

My mind swirled with questions leading to more and more questions.

I felt him then. He seated deep into my mind. My body was his body, male and female merged as one, living in a single person. “Oh god, Mithra … what are you doing to me?”

He was taking over, and I had no way to resist him. The umbilical cord of the bond between us felt inseparable. This was the commitment I’d given him. Bound to him, always. He rifled through my recent memories of the hotel massacre, searching to learn what he’d missed. He sensed my anxieties and fears, the deep shock I struggled to overcome. I felt his alarmed horror at the attempt on my life … how they’d almost succeeded in kidnapping me.

{{I am here now, Tesorina. The Apsara did well in my absence. She is worthy. Trust her when necessary. I will stay and protect you as long as I can.}}

“I need space … I can’t breathe. You’re inside me, all over me. I can’t think with your invasion.”

{{My enemies targeted you. They want your power, to control the gateway between our worlds. They will control you by any means possible.}}

“You did this to me. Now I’m being hunted!”

His warm power flowed over me, dampening my panic, infusing me with a deep sense of calm and a pleasant loving sensation. {{You are precious to me, and I will do anything to protect you.}}

Hot hands rubbed my body up and down, caressing every part of me, drawing little involuntary gasps and sighs as he passed over my most sensitive parts. My nipples turned rock hard and I bit my tongue to keep from crying out as Mithra stroked me all over, playing my body like a musical instrument.

My writhing noises woke the Frenchman from his nap and he speared me with an irritated look. He let loose a quiet wolfish snarl and closed his eyes to go back to sleep. Nick was out cold across the aisle from me. He’d leaned back in his seat, snoozing like nothing bad had ever happened in his life, oblivious to the sexual assault occurring a few feet away from him.

{{We need privacy.}}

Suffering hot flashes, wet and quivering, I stood on shaky legs and made my way down the hall to the backside of the jet. I sensed Urvashi’s aura checking me out as I passed the door to her room and locked myself into a private cabin. The richly paneled room had a queen-sized bed with fresh linens. Mithra instantly had me crawling onto the mattress, his hands urging me forward with delicious trails of sensation all over my ass and thighs. He rolled me over onto my back, and gently spread my knees apart.

“What do you want from me? Just say it. No more secret games. No more enigmatic words. You’re inside me, doing things to my body … and I don’t understand.”

Feather light lips touched my stomach, dropping delicate kisses. Fingers rolled the tips of my nipples and warmth pushed between my legs, past the flimsy dress I wore. A hot, heavy pressure glided over my wet panties. My dress hiked up past my bare thighs and my black cotton underwear stripped away. He was really doing it … for the first time ever. I needed this so badly.

The sweetest brush of warm wet pressure lapped between my legs. I reached down and felt the face of a god with the tongue of a devil slipping inside me ever so slowly. His teasing, agonizing invasion had me moaning his name. Soon I ground my hips up to meet him.

I had no idea how he could manifest for me here and now, as never before, but I did not complain when he entered me with his beautiful tongue. Damn. Mithra knew every part of me, probably better than I knew myself. Sopping wet and crying tears of pleasure, I buried my hands in his silky smooth hair as he made love to me with exquisite laps of his glorious tongue.

{{You taste of purity and passion. I would savor your body endlessly.}}

His promise fulfilled, I purred and ground my throbbing pussy against his lips and tongue as he took my virginity in the sweetest way imaginable. My only wish would be to actually see him, his glorious face and body hovering over me as I gushed for him.

Suddenly his warmth was gone. My fluttering hands found the rippling muscles of his stomach, his body poised above me. A hot, heavy cock pressed against my hot, swollen entry. His incredible weight squished down the bed where his hands rested above my shoulders, entrapping me beneath him. It was everything I’d ever hoped for … almost.

His warm breath trickled down my forehead and nose and then he kissed me as a massive pressure forced me open wide. “Oh dear God!” My hands shot down to find a rock-hard cock as big as my fist … patiently waiting for my body to adjust to his inhuman girth. I stroked the baby soft skin of his hard erection, my hands flowing up until I found his beautiful balls and soft downy pubic curls.

{{Tesorina give me strength to find control. I pray I do not hurt you. Empress save me, I cannot stop. I need to feel you, to know you’re alive and well, to claim you, body and soul.}}

“I want you. You know I dream of this. I need you!”

I tried so hard to whisper, to keep from shouting and attracting unwanted attention. I bit my arm to quiet a scream as I spread my legs wide and welcomed an enormous god inside me.

“Oh shit!” I pushed off the headboard, trying desperately to keep my balance as he gradually filled me with a delicious, sliding pressure.

It hurt so much I wanted him to stop, but I didn’t dare say the words, because I needed him to keep going. I’d been praying for Mithra to manifest for real since I was sixteen, dreaming of a god-like male who lavished hours of attention on me every night, talking to me, teaching me things, making sweet promises.

{{You are mine, Tesorina. I take what you promised. You are mine, and nothing can come between us.}}

His hard, monstrous erection pushed inside me, opening me impossibly wide. When the pressure was too much and I wanted to scream, he backed off. He pulled out little by little and I felt every ridge of his thick cock gliding away from me. With one hard thrust, he pressed in double deep. I couldn’t move. I quivered on the precipice of agony and joy as the sharp pain of my virginity passed and Mithra filled me even further.

How his massive cock ever squeezed inside me was a thing of wonder. I held onto his hard, muscular thighs and back with all my strength. I left bite marks in my own arm trying not to scream as he gradually moved inside me, working every part of my abused pussy to the heights of sensation. Deeper and deeper he pushed, until my lungs could hardly find space to breathe. He quivered above me, inside me, and roared his pleasure in my mind. I came for him again and again as he pumped me full of the hot, beautiful seed of gods and I took it all.

My existence narrowed to this sublime pleasure and pain. Nothing else mattered in the universe. Through space and time, Mithra made love to me and stole the last bit of my soul held in reserve for him.

I didn’t care about the pain of his hard, deep thrusts, or the warm blood on my inner thighs, I simply wanted him to keep going, to never stop. In a blinding flash of light, I screamed his name into the pillow and my mind burst into a million little pieces of marvelous orgasmic pleasure. Shudders wracked my body as I floated on a cloud of bliss, fully impaled on the enormous cock of a god who had chosen me as his vessel. The hot wet blessing of his come filled me, wetting my thighs, and I knew joy that transcended any other experience of my life.

I loved Mithra with every fiber of my soul, every ounce of my body. I loved him so much I cried tears of ecstasy as he ravaged me. Finally, after all these years of waiting, he’d proven worthy of every minute of my devotion.

A god chose me to do his bidding. He chose my body as his extension. And I would do anything he asked. Anything to prove I was worthy to serve and love him. I lay beneath my Mithra in painful ecstasy and slept soundly in his loving embrace.

* * * *

Shaken by the powerful experience of seducing Ashley, Mithra basked in her glorious worship and beautiful submission. He held her delicate body tightly, stroking her inside and out, riding out her muffled cries of ecstasy. Though he wasn’t truly there, with her, her power allowed him to fully experience her body and give her the love and affection she needed.

He’d groomed her from birth for this task. She had become everything he hoped and perhaps something more. He once cared for her as a protégé, but as she came of age their bond surpassed that boundary into sensual abandon. She waited years for his touch, for his embrace. No other man ever held her attention. Her heart belonged to him since the first moment he’d spoken to her, as she blossomed through puberty.

In all his centuries and Incarnations, he’d never grown jaded to adoration. Ashley’s devotion affected him deeply. He’d intended to wait for a more physical relationship, to meet face to face to seal the pact of her bond. When he saw her shocking trauma and near-death experience, his reaction was more than he could control. He had to feel her, to pierce her body and soul with the deepest, most intimate connection. In making love to her, using her phenomenal power to physically manifest inside her body with his thrusting cock, he proved how much she meant to him.

This delightful creature deserved fulfillment and happiness. She earned his affection and commitment in return for the life-bond he’d extracted from her. Her sacrifices warranted equal commitment from him. Soon he would take her in his arms for real and teach her the intimate pleasures he had learned over the centuries.

Mithra bathed quickly to cleanse away the after effects of his passionate release with Ashley, then redressed in his battle vestments. He’d synced with his dimensio platform permanently to maintain a constant tie across the aether to Ashley. In his mind’s eye he watched their jet plane land in the airport named for the famous host Leonardo Da Vinci, one of many failed attempts of Devas trying to bring forth a new Cardo.

Many figures throughout human history held the potential for greatness, but none had ever become such a perfect vessel like his Tesorina. After generations of work and careful planning, Ashley had been born with a potent concentration of unique genetic markers necessary for a full binding across the aether. She represented a renewal of the once-great race of the Nephilim. Luckily her mind and body survived the bonding intact. She now held the capacity to harness the massive power reserves he’d gifted her. She was the first born in two millennia with the power to open the gate, and all Mithra had to protect her was a sly Apsara bitch and her mongrel cambion servant.

Thus far, Urvashi had proven effective, a lethal adversary. But soon Mithra’s enemies would converge on Ashley in another attempt. Sitri’s warning was timely and much appreciated. Mithra prepared for the battle to come. He resigned himself to limited movements, to remain in signal radius of his platform, perpetually connected to the aether, until the Pérasma was opened, until Ashley was in plain sight. This war would be fought through aether and in flesh and bone, warrior to warrior.

He detached his platform from its foundations and tethered the entire rig to his skimmer. In minutes he was off, racing over the harsh terrain of a dead world, on a collision course with destiny.

Vassago’s legions were likely converging on the sealed doors of the Pérasma now. Any fool who stood between him and Ashley would feel the fury of Sharur.

* * * *

Vassago ground his teeth in irritation as Galos’s likeness materialized several feet away. His projected image wavered in place. In a room filled with warlords heeding Vassago’s call, the Deva was the only one present who had not aspired to the grand status of Principe. Once more Vassago feared he’d yoked his fate to an incompetent. Galos’s recent failure was one of many, but stung more severely now. They needed control of the Cardo.

Vassago looked about the room, making solid eye contact with the ten Principe in attendance. “I called you for one reason. Mithra. As you probably know, he has empowered a new Cardo, a woman bound to his will. The girl travels to Rome as we speak, making preparations to activate the Seal. Now is the time to stand with me, to merge our combined strength and take the Pérasma. Our survival depends upon it.”

Principe Aamon stepped forward to draw attention. “We have survived eons without access to Eden. What import is it now? We should have joined our kin ages ago and left for the stars. Would you make us marauders and murderers once more? So we can frolic on the shores of Eden and rape their women like savages? I’ll not join this madness in pursuit your ambitions at any cost. Humans shut the door to us many years ago and have never seen fit to open it. Why now, Vassago?”

“I say why not now?” He strode to the belligerent fool Aamon the wolf and faced him down. “We have every right to Eden. We are the superior race. History is filled with tales of our control and influence over humanity. They named us gods, worshipped our countenance, carved statues in tribute, weaved grand, fantastical tales of our deeds, and wrote books about us. We are the faces they prayed to and begged for mercy. They made sacrifices in our names and burnt offerings to gain our favor.”

Aamon flung his hands wide to the assembly. “And we are the arrogant swine who let them struggle in squalor, let them scrape and claw their way from the mud to build civilizations to rival our own. Yet despite us, they crafted rocket ships, harnessed the atom and the stars for energy, and now their particle experiments send waves across the aether to remind us they are thriving. How exalted are we for allowing their ignorance to propagate for thousands of years? It was only ever a garden because we failed to build the civilizations of Eden. The Empress’s precious garden.”

“You suggest we sit idle and waste away while Mithra opens the door to paradise and leaves us here to rot? No. We take the Pérasma, seize the Cardo, and save our bloodlines, lead our subjects to paradise. This is our destiny. This is the path before us. Any other course is slow suicide.”

Aamon shook his head in disappointment as the other Principe nodded in agreement, murmuring assent and support to Vassago.

Aamon looked around him with great sadness in his eyes and regret swirling through his aura. “I cannot join you in this task. Too many centuries have passed since our visits to Eden. Their world is not ours to pillage. Humans will not welcome or worship us. Do not deceive yourselves, Principe … you are making war on humanity. They will rise against us. We’ve not experienced such wanton destruction since the Operti Wars. Humans war endlessly. They expend untold resources developing weapons technologies that match anything in our arsenals. They’ll not be throwing spears and arrows.”

“We are aware of their capabilities, Aamon. We have all witnessed human war machines and soldiers as they batter one another endlessly. Human empires rise and fall in the blink of an eye. They have no unity, no purpose. The Empress let her pets run rampant across Eden, and they must be culled. One of my Kalari warriors is worth ten human soldiers. No human war machine or soldier can withstand the combined strength of the Principe and Incarnate at my command.” Vassago struggled to control the fury writhing inside him. His inner beast roared for Aamon’s blood.

Vassago marked the day Aamon would pay the ultimate price for his open challenge in front of the Principe warlords.

Aamon’s sharp squint focused on Vassago, scrutinizing his enemy. “If you do not respect their well-equipped soldiers, then what of their flying war-craft, projectile weapons, atomic and chemical explosives? Human weapon stockpiles are seemingly endless. They treat munitions like currency.”

Vassago growled and clamped his fists closed, battling to control his form from shifting as his patience unraveled. “We did not meet to discuss human war machines. We joined here for decisive action. Your position is clear. Leave us, Aamon. Those who move for Eden follow me.”

Aamon glanced around him at the resolute Principe surrounding Vassago. The fool excused himself from the room and returned to his fortress in the ice-bound mountainside. The Castle would soon be a frozen tomb, a shrine to the imbecile who refused to act to save his subjects. Vassago vowed to hunt the Wolf down and eradicate his line, destroy his resurrection node and absorb his archives. Aamon the Wolf would become a footnote in the grand archive of Vassago’s rise to rule over the entire Superum.

Each of the remaining Principe, minus Sitri and Aamon, pledged support to Vassago’s cause and promised to rally at his call. No single world could withstand the force of their combined armies. The only obstacle blocking their advance, Mithra.

The arrogant Deva would soon be crushed beneath the waves of Vassago’s legions. The loyal Principe in Alliance would enjoy uninterrupted passage to the riches of Eden, ripe for exploitation and settlement.

When the last Principe winked out of his war chamber, leaving none but the incompetent Galos, Vassago inflicted the cold fire of his fury on the witless Deva. They watched one another silently for a time, until Galos broke first.

“Sire, I make no excuses for my failure. My agents’ soldiers were unprepared for the new guardians shepherding the Cardo. She is accompanied by two protectors, one a wolfen cambion. We do not know the nature of the female shapeshifter, but she is a formidable combatant. They reached the Cardo first, and have aligned with her cause. They delivered her to Rome just now.”

Vassago’s hands itched to strangle the Deva. The inept conjurer would pay for his failings in due time. “You have several agents?”

Galos fidgeted under the strain of Vassago’s stare. He nodded once.

“Send them all. Every agent, every soldier, every resource at your disposal. Activate all measures now! I want the Cardo under control before she opens the Pérasma! We must splinter Mithra’s focus between the loss of his precious Cardo and his defense of the gates. My spies tell me he journeys for the Pérasma, and we have nothing to leverage his control over the gatekeeper!”

“Yes, sire. I will activate all measures. My word is my bond!”

“Explain how you will gain control of her before she opens the way.”

“For years Mithra poured efforts into developing the gatekeeper. Our network of Devas have focused on controlling the gate. I have forces on the ground in Rome ready to intercept the Cardo.”

“This is your last opportunity to prove worthy. Do not squander my mercy.”

The Deva flinched and bowed in supplication. He exited politely and disappeared from the room to leave Vassago in glowering contemplation.