Power of the Lost

by Cebelius

  Terry chuckled, unable to help himself, and figured out in fairly short order that while Sphinx loved having her ears played with, her throat did very little for her and her breasts, while soft and exceedingly pleasant to hold, also seemed to lack much sensitivity. Knowing he was fairly short on time, he kept exploring, and found the jackpot when she leaned forward and set her paws on top of the low bookshelf in front of her, exposing her back.

  In doing that she lifted her tail, and Terry knew a soft target when he saw one. When he wrapped his hand around the base, Sphinx froze and he actually heard her talons digging into the wood of the bookshelf.

  "Terry I- Ah!"

  She was already leaning forward, but when he squeezed and rubbed the space just above her tail, her upper half simply collapsed over the bookshelf. Having been rigidly at attention for the past few minutes anyway, he pressed himself slowly into her as he played with the base of her tail and felt her interior clutching at him. Then he felt something he did not expect.

  "Are you—?"

  "Yes! Yes, dammit! Stop asking stupid questions and do something about it!" she hissed.

  He did, pressing forward with a firm stroke, breaking her hymen and sinking deep into her body. He went still then, other than keeping up attention on the base of her tail, and felt her interior walls shivering as her legs quaked with the apparent effort of standing.

  He let her adjust, and after half a minute of tail play she pressed back against him. Instead of moving, he decided to make her work for it, and braced his legs. He leaned forward, slipping a hand around her hip and down to play with her clit. She started bouncing her ass off his hips and he shifted his feet, keeping his balance as he played with both the sensitive little nub at the apex of her sex and the spot at the base of her tail.

  She came with gratifying swiftness, and yowled in a way that couldn't help but remind him of the cats he'd so desperately wanted to shoot at times out in the neighborhood at night. He kept that thought to himself though, and kept right on playing with her. Her insides clutched at him with a sort of avid hunger, and he knew he wouldn't last much longer under that kind of stimulation.

  He didn't try to hold back, and when he knew he was past the point of no return he clamped both hands to her hips and pulled her back against him with bruising force, shaft pulsing as he gasped, the pleasure bursting through his brain.

  When his climax ebbed, he eased off on his grip, and Sphinx let her legs give out, sinking down onto one of the pillows between the rows of books.

  Her legs splayed out to either side, both hands settled just in front of her, she panted. He could see her tongue slipping in and out past her lips, and found it odd to see such an animalistic expression on her principally human face.

  He took a step back, forcing his own quaking legs to work, and started to put his clothes back on.

  As he pulled his shirt down and looked around, he noticed that some of the books and scrolls on the shelves were beginning to glow subtly. Thinking he was seeing some sort of after-image, he blinked and rubbed at his eyes, but the glow remained, and on the same objects.

  "Huh," he said. "Usually the gifts aren't that obvious."

  "Mm?" Sphinx glanced back at him, her head lowered as though she lacked the strength to hold it upright. He pointed at a book next to him that was glowing with a dull, red aura.

  "What's going on with this book?" he asked.

  "That's cursed. Anyone who reads it loses the ability to communicate. Permanently."

  "And that one over there?"

  He pointed to a book a little further away, glowing with a faint aura that seemed to shift with every color of the rainbow and a few others besides.

  Sphinx's eyes, previously dilated, narrowed to feline slits as she glanced at the book he was pointing at. "That one is a book of magic. The spells within are pre-charged, and anyone who reads the writing can cast the spells immediately without drawing upon their mana pool. I take it this perception of yours is new?"

  "Your gift to me, apparently," he said.

  "Ah. Interesting. Your gift to me — aside from the obvious — is a bit more esoteric, but take my word when I tell you I am grateful. We should get back to your companions. While I'm sure they enjoyed the show, they'll probably be wanting to move on. Utlatlahu will be here in the next fifteen minutes or so."

  He blinked. "Ah ... enjoyed the show?"

  "Look up, and tell me what you see," Sphinx said, the corners of her lips turning up in a smirk.

  He did, and for a bare second he saw bare stone. But even as he looked, the rock shimmered as though it were a mirage, and beyond the mirage he found himself looking up as though he were at the bottom of the reflecting pool in front of the Labyrinth.

  His jaw dropped, and he pointed rather stupidly up at Yuri, who was sitting on the edge of the pool looking right at him, howling with laughter Terry was thankful he couldn't hear. The others were staring too, but at least none of the others were openly laughing at him.

  Asturial looked supremely irritated and it wasn't hard to guess why, seeing as how Sphinx had just gotten what she was trying so hard to get. Laina was beet red, and Mila's ears were turned back under her hood, but her tail was almost straight up in the air behind her in a feline gesture Terry now recognized for what it was. Shy was biting one of her fingernails and was currently wearing Prada in the form of a ruby silk sarong. It was the first time Terry had seen the blood devil riding anyone else, but it didn't take a genius to figure out why she was doing it now. If she could share sight with a host, it meant she was watching now through Shy's eyes. He felt his face heating up. He'd resolved himself to putting on a show, then thought he'd gotten out of it when Sphinx had brought him here.

  So much for assumptions.

  "Help me up?" Sphinx asked, drawing his attention back to her. She held out a paw, which he reached over to catch her wrist, mindful of what she'd told him about her claws. He pulled her to her feet and she stepped quickly to him, wrapping him up and kissing him firmly.

  Her lips were pert and felt warm and soft against his own, but he grunted and winced when she bit him, and he jerked his head back, tasting blood.

  "I thought you said—"

  "I did," she said, cutting him off. "But we are bonded now. I can abuse you all I like, and my many poisons and pathogens should no longer have any effect. Don't worry though, if it comes time to kill you, rest assured I can still do the job. Back we go now."

  Again there was no transition. One moment they were amid waist-high bookshelves, and the next they were knee-deep in a reflecting pool.

  The bright sunlight left Terry blinking after the shadows, and by the time he'd recovered Sphinx had already stepped away from him to put herself between the group as a whole and the door to the Labyrinth as she said, "Now that's out of the way, do you want to try my riddles, or take your chances with the dragon?"

  "Wait, what?" Terry said, turning to look at her. "We just fucked so we wouldn't have to answer the riddles to get in!"

  Sphinx gave him a cheshire grin, showing off those impressively sharp teeth.

  "You silly man. I said that fucking me was an alternative use of your time. I never said doing so would get you into the Labyrinth. If you want to try your luck in there you have to overcome me, not cum in me. Fourteen minutes, give or take, before Utlatlahu arrives. I'm still willing to offer you a two for one deal on your entrance, and should you fail I'll make your deaths quick. It's the least I could do for the tail play you gave me."

  Terry gaped at her, his mind frozen in disbelief.

  "Tick tock, Mister Mack."

  She gave him a sultry wink.

  "Tick. Tock."

  18

  Riddle Me This

  Terry stepped slowly backward until he found the edge of the pool with his heel, then stepped out onto dry ground. His eyes never left Sphinx, who looked at him now with the sort of inscrutable expression he would expect from someone he'd never met, someone who meant him harm. There was no
trace of friendliness left in her, no evidence of the time they'd just spent together. Her clothing had reappeared on her in the same way the two of them had reappeared in the reflecting pool. She was immaculate, and radiated a sort of deadly anticipation that Terry had only ever seen a few times up close. Yuri had looked something like that when the two of them had faced off in the pit. He'd seen similar expressions on orcs and goblins, and on Euryale when they'd first met.

  All of them had been people intent on his death. Despite what had just happened, he now had no doubts that if they failed to answer the sphinx's riddles, they would die. He knew he would fight. He knew they all would, but something instinctive, something buried deep down in his psyche, told him that fighting would be futile. If they accepted the sphinx's challenge, they would be stepping into her power and would either be sent into the Labyrinth, or killed.

  It wasn't a decision he could make on his own, and time was not on their side.

  "Yes or no when I call your name," he said simply.

  "Laina."

  The minotress spoke firmly and without hesitation. "Yes."

  "Shy."

  Her voice was soft, but her answer was immediate. "Yes."

  "Prada."

  Eager anticipation and an almost sensual delight flavored her tone as she said, "Yes."

  "Yuri."

  "Yes." The man's answer was resolute. He had the air of someone accepting known risks.

  "Marcus."

  "Yes."

  There was something about Marcus' answer that made Terry hesitate. He turned to look at the big man and Marcus met his gaze steadily. Marcus, despite his imposing stature, his great shield and heavy mace, looked like a kid on the first day of space camp. His expression was filled with wonder and determination. Something clicked, and Terry said, "This is what you're out here for, isn't it, big man? Dungeon delving, the whole thing. You hoped this place would show up someday."

  "I hoped," he rumbled, nodding. "I am here for my loved ones ... but I always hoped."

  Terry nodded back. He had dreamed of stepping into the ring to fight for the title. Some part of him still did, despite all that happened. His dream from childhood might never be completely forgotten, no matter how impossible it was now. He had never worn the expression he saw on Marcus' face, but he understood it, and was touched. Whatever it was Marcus would be looking for in there, Terry hoped he found it.

  "Mila."

  "... Yes." Mila sounded unsure, but Terry had known she would never abandon her brother.

  "Asturial."

  The dragon didn't answer. He turned to look at her and raised his eyebrows as he said, "You're in this, you get a say. If you don't want to go, now's the time. Speak up. You of all of us can probably still get away from this mess. We can't."

  She looked at him with consternation writ large in her features. Finally she said, "You will choose who lives or dies if we get a riddle wrong. I know something of how a sphinx thinks. They play games, and putting a man to a decision is where they live. Who will you select first, Terrence Mack? Who will you choose to die?"

  A wave of anger flooded through Terry, and his fists clenched. "I don't have time for your sociopathic bullshit, Asturial. Answer my fucking question. Yes. Or No."

  "Yes."

  She stared at him coldly, and it was clear in that expression she expected him to condemn her if a question was answered incorrectly, never mind that no one had said anything about him having that kind of choice to make. She simply assumed it, and presumed she knew his answer as well.

  Terry's upper lip rippled in instinctive contempt, but he noticed something distracting as he stared hard at Asturial, and it made him squint. She was glowing subtly. He'd missed it initially in the bright light, but now he could see her sheathed in a light blue aura. It was an ephemeral light, if it could be called light at all.

  Magic. I'm seeing magic ... the spell she cast to amp herself up for the fight is still up, and I can SEE it.

  He blinked.

  That is too fuckin' cool.

  Terry shook his head, put his game face back on and turned toward Sphinx as he said, "We accept your challenge. We'll answer your riddles."

  Sphinx's smile did not touch her eyes as she licked her lips. The expression she wore was predatory, hungry, and she said quietly, "Let us begin then. Your first riddle."

  She cocked her head from one side to the other as she considered the group, then when she spoke she did so with the rhythmic cadence of poetry.

  "Cast without magic,

  To the vain tis a crutch,

  Everyone has it,

  Though dispelled with a touch."

  Terry realized something about himself as the sphinx spoke her riddle and her eyes remained locked on his. He understood, abruptly and with complete conviction, that he hated riddles. There was a terrible pressure building up in his head, and he knew that if he guessed wrong th—

  "A reflection," Shy said, her voice bright and certain.

  He blinked and his head whipped around to look at the dryad as she stepped to the edge of the reflecting pool, crouched, and touched the water with her finger. Her reflection, crystal clear in the bright morning sun, vanished in a swirl of ripples.

  She glanced up at Terry's befuddled expression and said, "What? Tee, come on. I spent the better part of my life looking at my own reflection. That was simple."

  "And correct," Sphinx said quietly. She lifted her hands and clapped twice. Despite the fact that her hands were more paw than palm, when they connected it sounded like thunder and Terry saw twin bolts of light flare out from the contact, lashing out to his left and right.

  Shy vanished, and so did Laina.

  "What the fuck!?" Terry said, looking one way, then the other before staring at the sphinx. "You said we'd have everyone's help for these!"

  The Sphinx sucked her teeth, a neat trick considering how sharp and jagged they were, and said, "You really need to pay better attention. I said that I would pose four riddles, and for each you answered, two would be transported. I didn't say anything about waiting until all the riddles were solved to send you, or that I would let you choose who was sent. Assumptions will get you killed, and you should take the fact I am teaching you that very important lesson now as a favor. This next one should be simple, even for you, Mr. Mack."

  Her smile was wicked, and without waiting for him her voice once again took on a rhythmic cadence.

  "Always a threat and sometimes a friend,

  Without it the world as we know it would end."

  For a long moment, no one spoke, and no one moved. Terry's mind whirled through possibilities, but he couldn't think of anything that met the conditions. There was always something out of whack. The only thing that came close that he could think of was the sun, but the sun wasn't always a threat. So ...

  He looked at his companions. Asturial shook her head slightly, and Mila was staring at him with wide frightened eyes. Marcus' brow was furrowed in thought, and he didn't look at Terry when the man glanced at him. Prada had resumed her place on his waist and he could feel vague uneasiness from her. Nothing ... Nothing? Was 'nothing' the answer?

  Yuri smiled broadly and stepped forward. He set a hand on Terry's shoulder and whispered into his ear, "The answer is 'fire.' Tel—"

  "Correct, Yuri Kolenko."

  Sphinx clapped her hands twice more, and with twin thunderous crashes Yuri and Prada vanished. One moment she was there, and the next she had been ripped both from his waist and thoughts.

  "Goddamn it!" Terry growled. "I know what you're doing!"

  "Mr. Mack, not knowing what I am doing isn't your problem," the sphinx said, her smirk still not reaching her eyes. "Your problem is that you don't know what you are doing. I suggest you remedy that before time runs out. You have something less than ten minutes remaining. Utlatlahu is closing in rather rapidly. Next riddle."

  "In every land found,

  Yet never unbound,

  They speak without sound,

&
nbsp; Their masters, renowned."

  This one only took Terry a few seconds and his face crumpled with relief.

  Finally, an easy one.

  He opened his mouth, but before he could speak someone else beat him to it.

  "Books," Asturial said, speaking with force to ensure that she was heard.

  Terry turned, face contorting with frustration. Asturial met his gaze and said, "The one to answer is taken. I will not die for the sake of my lessers, and I will not risk being stymied by the last riddle. Good luck."

  Two claps, and in a flash only Mila and Terry remained.

  Mila was shivering, and it was obvious she was using her staff to remain upright. She was terrified, and her fear was infectious. If the two of them couldn't guess the sphinx's last riddle, they would die.

  Oh God, I can't be responsible for Mila's death just because I suck at fucking riddles!

  He didn't dare say it aloud. As the terrified woman looked to him, something tightened inside him, then relaxed. He held out a hand to her, and Mila came to him and took his hand, grasping it tightly as he turned to face the sphinx, who was watching them with cold eyes.

  She was no longer smiling, and spoke without preamble.

  "Threatening all who would seek common cause,

  It may be beaten but never withdraws,

  When true to itself it may never atone,

  Tis always in company but never alone."

  Terry turned to Mila and looked into her eyes as he said, "Calm down. The only time limit here is when the dragon might arrive. We've got ten minutes. Think with me. She said we could confer, so don't worry, the first thing out of our mouths won't be taken for an answer."

  "Mister Mack is correct, for once," Sphinx said nonchalantly. "It's a shame he wasted the first instance of his being right on something other than the answer to my riddle."

  "Shut up, Sphinx," Terry growled without looking.