Power of the Lost

by Cebelius

  Her hair was a mixture of brown and white, and bound in a high tail that sprayed back across her shoulders. Her figure was principally humanoid, bare-skinned and curvaceous, but her forelimbs and feet were all but completely feral by contrast, over-sized for her frame and heavily furred. The large, heavy paws capped by thick black claws where her hands should have been would look more natural on a grizzly bear. She had a tail tufted like a lion's switching behind her as she swayed toward them, and Terry couldn't help but notice that though she walked through the shallow pool, the water didn't ripple as she passed.

  She stopped a few feet from the leading edge of the reflecting pool, cocking her hip and setting a hand on it as she eyed the group.

  She wore clothing that was as exotic as the rest of her, or so Terry might have thought when he'd first arrived. Her top was doeskin, heavily beaded, and seemed designed to accentuate a chest that — absent Laina for comparison — would be considered exceedingly generous. The tiny matching bit of leather that covered her naughty bits did nothing whatsoever to conceal a pair of very strong-looking legs. She had definition across the breadth of her shoulders and arms, but it was obvious that she had a lot more physical power in her lower half. Instead of a belt, her loincloth was held in place by some improbably thin beaded string that followed what would otherwise have been a panty line.

  She was exotically gorgeous, and Terry couldn't help but stare as she looked them over. He was still wearing Shy's mask, but the Sphinx seemed to see him without any difficulty, and her eyebrow quirked a bit when she saw him. It was the only visible expression she made.

  Her inspection done, she offered a smile and said, "Well, I usually get more of a show from the initial challenge, but it's nice to shake things up every so often. Welcome to the Labyrinth. You may call me Sphinx, for that is both my breed and name. May I have yours?"

  Terry's mouth was open before he realized he wasn't running the show, and he shut it again, waiting. Yuri said, "I am Yuri, and this is my sister, Mila. That's Marcus, Asturial, Laina, and Shy."

  "Mm, and who is he?" Sphinx asked, pointing at Terry. "It would take more than a mask to hide a template from my eyes."

  What Terry knew of Yuri would have led him to presume the man would sound sheepish, but Yuri instead seemed to have full control of the situation as he said, "He has many names. What do you want her to call you?"

  This last was directed at Terry, who said, "Terry is fine."

  "Terrence Mack? I thought it might be you."

  Sphinx took another step forward, only to balk slightly as Laina shifted her grip on the Ax of the Great Plains. The woman's expression hardened, but Laina didn't budge an inch as she asked, "How do you know who he is? We just got here."

  "Knowledge is my business," Sphinx said quietly, then added, "That labrys of yours will not be enough should I decide to take offense at your childish threat display, Laina. I suggest you lower your weapon."

  "I want the answer to her question too," Terry said as he took a half step forward and set a hand on Laina's bicep. He felt it shiver under his hand and offered Laina a reassuring smile, then returned his attention to Sphinx as she answered.

  "All knowledge has a price, though I do occasionally give bits here and there cheaply. For instance, I have no problem telling you, Mister Mack, that you are well and truly fucked."

  Terry blinked, then started to laugh. While he had a feeling he knew what she meant, his first impression of her words amused him and he went with that instead. He reached out, wrapping an arm around Laina's waist as he said, "Why yes, yes I am. So good of you to notice."

  Laina blushed — which Terry found adorable — and Yuri started to chortle despite himself. The next moment, Shy slipped up against his other side and kissed his cheek as she turned to look at Sphinx.

  For her part, the smirk she wore only broadened, and she actually winked as she said, "Oh, I like you. Word play is passion of mine. I'm happy to see that you enjoy the same games I do. In fact, I told you that so I could offer you something you couldn't get anywhere else."

  "I'll bite," Terry said, deciding to play along as he tossed her the verbal softball.

  "Mmm, so will I, but we'll come to that in a moment. Utlatlahu is searching actively for you. She is the dragon you heard. The ritual you cast earlier was impressive but as has already been pointed out will not last long against a dragon. I estimate you have an hour or so before she finds you. She would have found you already if she didn't have such a problem with flying."

  Sphinx turned her sly gaze to Asturial as she said, "Once she finds you here, she will be in no mood to bargain. I am certain at least one of you knows the inevitable outcome of such a conflict. My presence, now that I am not shielded by the Labyrinth, will be like a beacon to her. I have quite an impressive aura, and she knows I don't come outside unless it's to ... aheh, play. I could hide myself if I chose, but doing that would spoil my fun."

  Terry's smile and momentary good humor faded as he considered the ramifications, then said, "So you're deliberately leading this other dragon here?"

  "My dear Mister Mack, everything I do, and say, is deliberate. You will either profit from my doings, or be destroyed by them. Which, is — like so much else in life — an open question."

  The Sphinx's smile showed teeth now, and Terry noted they were both sharp and numerous as she added, "Open questions are my favorite kind, but since I've got rules to follow, I must ask one that is not. Do you enjoy riddles, Mister Mack?"

  "I can't say I've ever had any particular interest in them, no," Terry said. "I'm also going to go ahead and guess that doesn't matter much given what comes next."

  Sphinx waved one massive paw behind her as she said, "I would invite you to wade my pool and open that door. Should you do so you'll find it to be a fake. Even my abode, high in the cliff above us, is no true entrance to the Labyrinth. Answering my riddles is the only escape from your pursuers that may be had. As a ... special alternative though, you can enjoy carnal delights and a new bond with me instead of playing my typical riddle game. I have never had the benefit of a template, and given the look of you I can think of worse ways to spend a bit of time."

  'She is obviously powerful, Husband. A bond with her would certainly benefit us all,' Prada said inside his mind. At almost the same time, Shy's thoughts reached him through her physical contact.

  'This is a unique opportunity, Tee. Consider carefully before refusing her. I know your inclinations, but we must have allies, and she is obviously powerful.'

  "Wow, I wish I was a template," Yuri said dryly.

  Sphinx and Terry spoke simultaneously in almost exactly the same absentminded tone.

  "No you don't."

  Mila started laughing, but Terry didn't look. Instead, he turned to Laina.

  She shrugged and said, "I don't think she's offering to come with us, but if it'll make you stronger I'm for it. It's not like the people chasing us are getting any weaker, and something tells me failing to answer her riddles won't just make her go away."

  "Indeed not," Sphinx said, that maddening smile still firmly in place. "Failure to answer a riddle means death. Once you accept that challenge, there is no turning back. There are eight of you, for I see that you have a familiar on and in your person. I will thus pose four riddles. For each you answer, two will enter the Labyrinth. For every failed answer, two will die. This might ordinarily concern you, but if you fail to take up my challenge you'll all be dead by sundown anyway, save perhaps you, Mister Mack. I'm sure Utlatlahu would keep you alive for at least a little while as a plaything."

  She tilted her head, scrutinizing the group, then said, "I'll allow you to confer, of course. You'll be navigating the Labyrinth together, so it makes no sense to keep you from utilizing every resource. Then again, there is my ... alternative use of your time. You are on something of a schedule, Mister Mack. Choose wisely."

  Terry took a deep breath, then nodded. It looked like a choice, but it wasn't. Not really. "I'll take the
second option. I do hope you don't mind if this is quick? As you mentioned, we're in a bit of a time crunch."

  "Leave your familiar behind, Mister Mack, and come embrace me, here," Sphinx said, spreading her arms and their oversized paws wide.

  Terry glanced down, and Prada slid out of him, pouring herself into a droplet at his feet as she said, "Don't neglect her, Husband. Something tells me this woman has high standards."

  "You think?" he asked, then disentangled himself from Laina and Shy, trying not to think about the fact that he was about to fuck in front of pretty much everyone he knew or cared about on the planet.

  He stepped into the water, found it tepid and only knee deep, and strode willingly into the embrace of Sphinx.

  She wrapped her arms around him, and without any hint of transition they were somewhere else.

  17

  Fine Print

  Magic was something Terry had done his best to accept as fact, and for the most part he succeeded. For the most part. Being whisked away to another place with a literal touch though, that set him back.

  Sphinx didn't stop him from disengaging. In fact she crouched, settling her over-sized forepaws on the well-worn clay tile between her split knees. Her tail switched slowly from side to side as she looked up at him with the half-nervous anticipation of a girl inviting a guy over to see her place for the first time.

  It was funny, despite all the physical differences, that impression still managed to come through so clearly.

  The two of them were in a foyer that had no actual door. The walls were bamboo slats — at least that's what they looked like at first glance — backed by stone block. The floors had raggedly shaped red clay tiles that were nevertheless closely fit. To their left and right were the long windows with their horizontal slats.

  Out beyond the foyer it was rather dim, though airy in stark contrast to the little stone box of the foyer. It looked like nothing so much as a bungalow. The slatted shutters let in light, and he could hear the sounds of the jungle outside. It was at least fifteen degrees cooler here than it was out there though, and not nearly as humid.

  It was nice.

  The total interior space was about thirty by roughly a hundred feet, a rectangle with the sole exception of the stone foyer the two of them stood in. A hammock was strung up in one corner, and much of the rest of the space was taken up by low bookshelves, none of which were taller than four feet, and none of which were empty. As a matter of fact, every single visible shelf was crammed with books, scrolls, and stacks of paper.

  Curiously, there was also a grandfather clock just beyond the hammock. It was the first clock Terry had ever seen since coming to Celestine, and its pendulum swung to and fro behind glass with a slow, steady ticking.

  Terry hadn't really had any expectations, since he hadn't expected to be taken anywhere, but as he looked around he knew for certain that this was not the sort of place he'd have put money on if asked where Sphinx lived.

  He half-turned to look down at her and said the first thing that came to his mind which, as usual, wasn't that bright.

  "I guess you read a lot."

  She straightened, and now that they were on level ground it was apparent that she was a few inches shorter than he was, but he wasn't at all relaxed about it. She had awesome hips, but there was nothing soft about her lower legs, or the sizable claws on her bear paw hands. The look she gave him was inscrutable, but her tone was faintly amused.

  "Not the smoothest of your kind, I hope," she said. "Just because you know that we will copulate doesn't mean I don't like to be complimented on my domicile."

  He was irritated at her tone, but even more irritated that he'd deserved it. The room was practically a small maze of bookshelves, and the only thing that had occurred to him to say was, 'I guess you read a lot.'

  No man likes to be made aware of just how dumb he sounds.

  "You're a mortal threat to everyone I love, you don't get to fish for compliments," Terry said flatly.

  Not the least bit chastised, Sphinx shrugged and smiled as she said, "Touché. I suppose being irritated helps whet your wit."

  She stepped past him and began navigating the maze, Terry following a few steps behind. Pillows were scattered here and there between the shelves, but though they were only four feet high, Sphinx never stepped over or vaulted them.

  "I was not the one who chose to bring the Labyrinth here, Mr. Mack. I am bound to the entrance, and I go where it goes. This place is just a small pocket inside the Labyrinth given over to me for leisure. Books are my life, seeing as how there is little else for me to do but challenge adventurers and eat them when they fail otherwise to satisfy. It's been a hundred twenty years since I even got to do that. Appearing in Utlatlahu's territory was unfortunate. She had her servants cordon the area and lets no one challenge me for entrance. Her slave race slaughters any who try and simply presents me their bodies to eat. She's turned the whole area into a little piece of her trove, treating the Labyrinth as part of her property. It's frankly insulting."

  "So ... you eat people?"

  By now Terry had dealt with so many life-threatening situations that this one barely qualified, but it did make him a bit nervous when he thought that this woman might do more than just kill him if he failed.

  Sphinx half-turned, showing him an alluring profile and a sultry smile. Her lips were parted just enough to reveal that she had a carnivore's beautiful set of pearly whites.

  "I'm a Sphinx. Eating people is what I do."

  "Meant to ask about that," Terry said. "The Labyrinth legend comes from somewhere on the Mediterranean Sea, forget exactly where. Crete, Minoa, some place like that. But the legend of the Sphinx is from Egypt. You being here isn't exactly syncing up with what I know of ancient cultures."

  Sphinx smiled, showing off some very sharp teeth. She said, "Well, this is a first: discussing history from Earth with a real live template. You're such a treat for me, Mister Mack. Sphinxes were never confined to Egypt. One of my kind guarded the entrance to the ancient human city of Thebes, for instance. We are not a common eldritch race. Would it surprise you to know that there are far more dragons than there are sphinxes? We are limited in that it is our nature to guard sacred places, and each of us is unique in form. The sphinx I referred to earlier, for instance, had a head exactly like that of a human woman. Her body was that of a lioness. She had eagle's wings, and a living snake for a tail. Be thankful my body is more ... accommodating."

  She reached behind her neck and did something that made her doe-skin top drop away to the floor. By the time his eyes quit following that her loincloth had joined the pile. Her leonine tail switched back and forth, it did so over a plump posterior that did indeed look to Terry to be quite accommodating. She glanced over her shoulder at him, her smile showing him just a hint of those dagger-like teeth he'd seen earlier.

  His purpose for being here already clear in his mind, Terry didn't hesitate. Banishing any thoughts of sharp teeth or riddles, he stepped up behind her and slid his hands over her smooth, darkly tanned hips. She pressed back against him, stretching luxuriously. As he wrapped an arm around her waist, he decided to see if sphinx ears had the same sort of sensitivity that Mila's had.

  They didn't.

  Mila had relaxed under Terry's ministrations. Sphinx grew tense immediately and the breath hissed through her teeth at the first touch of his fingers. She didn't speak though, and so he decided to see just what kind of tension she was under. He traced the large outer shell of her ear and then the area behind. She started to shiver and asked quietly, "How did you know?"

  Since Terry had no idea what it was he was supposed to know, he simply kissed the base of her neck and murmured, "My wife told me to treat you right. If there's anything in particular you like, feel free to tell me."

  He grinned. "Or better yet, show me."

  As he spoke, he began gently rubbing the base of her ear. She shivered, tilting her head toward his fingers, and said, "Mister Mack, you should know
that while the core of me is quite similar to what you're used to, I am, in fact, very dangerous. I cannot risk cutting you with claws or talons, as either will engender a lethal allergic reaction. We should not kiss for the same reason; my teeth are very sharp. My sex is safe enough, but there is very little I can do to actively return this ... kindness."

  Her tail brushed across his thighs, and he glanced down at himself, then stepped away to shuck his shirt and pants. Sphinx shivered violently when he stepped away, then tilted her head just enough to look back at him out of one eye.

  "I get the impression that you will be gentle with me," she said, eying him up and down.

  Terry simply nodded, then shrugged as he said, "Unless you want it some other way. I'm sure some of the girls in my past left disappointed, but none recently ... that I know of."

  He grinned. "Most men are pretty easy to please, myself included. It's not like I'm desperate for pussy, Sphinx. I gotta admit, my pride would take a hit if I left you feeling unfulfilled."

  Her lips quirked and the one eye he could see glinted strangely, her black pupil widening visibly inside its green-gold iris. "I do so love wordplay. Double entendre, wit ... even sarcasm if it's clever. Did you do it on purpose or do you just have a knack for it?"

  "Which?" he asked, stepping back behind her again, taking her at her word that her paws were dangerous and so keeping her faced away. He reached up to tease her left ear as he whispered into the right, "The 'desperate for pussy' or the 'unfulfilled' part?"

  Her body pressed itself back against him as she murmured, "I wasn't aware there was a hidden meaning in the first. Explain."

  He dropped his hand between her thighs and pressed it over her mons, fingers splitting over her slit as he said, "Pussy is both a name for this ... and a kid's name for a feline. Your eyes remind me of a cat's."

  "Hm. That's weak. 'Unfulfilled' was clever though."