by David Burke
Rather he heard the sounds of battle, men’s screams, the clashing of steel on steel, and the twang of bows. He smelled the sweat of struggling bodies, the smoke of burning buildings, and in some of them a faint perfume that he couldn’t quite place. The images were visceral and raw to him and flooded him with half-memories that he couldn’t quite hold onto.
As he looked up and down the hallway, he found that it went further than he could see in each direction. A closer inspection showed him that at random intervals along the wall to his right, the one opposite the massive doors he had entered through, there were smaller doors.
Each door was different. Some were wooden, others made of silvery metal, and yet others appeared to be a black stone. That was only the ones that he could see from his current vantage. The size of the doors varied, but most were somewhere between four feet high and ten feet high and all about as wide as he was. More than that, the very section of the wall was altered around each doorway.
Some sections were cracked and decaying, unlike the rest of the walls that seemed to be in pristine condition. Others were formed of perfectly round stones mortared together, and still others appeared to be composed of a bluish vapor holding the doors in place.
The place was bizarre beyond measure. A long hallway no more than ten feet wide but at least a hundred feet high, lit by glowing balls of luminescence in the air and filled with tapestries that spoke to him and doorways which called to him. He felt an urge to investigate them all. It rose up within him as a compulsion, and he didn’t know if he could stand it.
Caught up in that feeling, Kyle rushed to the nearest door. It was a six-foot-tall door made of a burnished brass-like metal and set into a smooth stone frame. When he touched the door handle, though, he knew in an instant that it wouldn’t open.
Within his mind, he heard a voice, most unlike Hilde. It was a voice he had heard before, but still barely placed. The dark, commanding tone of that fallen warrior from the parking deck said, “You lack the necessary key to enter this room.”
Rather than lamenting or even questioning the voice, Kyle simply moved onto the next door. He didn’t begin to despair until he had tried more than a hundred doors. Sometimes the voice told him that he lacked the necessary key. Other times the door was simply locked, and he couldn’t make it budge. A few times, especially with the smaller doors, he felt such a sense of shame as he tried to work the handle that he abandoned it to move on.
Finally, he screamed out, “Why?”
Then a thought occurred to him and he yelled, “Hilde? Are you here? Can you show me how to find you?”
No voice came to him, but he felt a rising heat far down the hall.
So, he ran.
He ran past doorways which intrigued him, ones that shamed him, ones that scared him, and ones that left him feeling like he had inhaled too deeply from the gas in the dentist’s office. But he ignored them all as he ran on towards the one heated door.
When he reached it, unlike all the others, it was a double door formed of solid gold and set into crimson rock. Twelve feet in height, it was carved neatly and had a duplicate image of the pickaxe he had used in the quarry worked into each side with intricate detail down to even the rune carvings that had been on the weapon.
This door felt warm and inviting. This entire place was his and he knew it needed to be explored, but this room made him feel at home. Even as he reached out to push the doors open, he felt the doors quivering and pushing inward ahead of his touch.
Once the doors were open, he still couldn’t see inside but it wasn’t because of darkness or any barrier; it was more like he had to step in to see. A step of faith was called for, and Kyle figured he had come this far, why stop now?
He stepped forward.
Chapter 26 - A Fiery Welcome
The sensation as he passed through the doorway was intense. Every nerve in his body erupted into fire. The pain only lasted a second, but it left a lasting memory and took his breath away. As the agony faded, he felt the sensation of limbs which had been asleep and were not waking up. Pain was no longer the correct term, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant either.
From there, it transitioned into something akin to having his arms and legs both tied to a traction table as he was stretched like Gumby. They used to have one of those in the clubhouse, and the trainers all tried to get any player with a stiff back on it. Some of the older guys swore by them, but Kyle could never get the idea out of his head that the table was just an updated version of an old method of torture.
The change that he was undergoing and the veil that had blocked his vision all faded at the same time. He looked down and saw how this body was the same, but his attire was completely changed. Gone were the shirt, trousers, and boots that he was allowed to wear into his cell. Now he was decked out in a full set of armor, and not the showy pieces from his arena costume.
No, now he was wearing an ornate set of gold and red armor that for all its glam was clearly highly practical. The plate metal was strong, pliable, and very obviously enchanted. He was covered from his wrists to the soles of his feet. The only part of his body that wasn’t covered was his head.
Surprisingly, the armor felt completely natural. He could feel the well-padded joints and the supporting structures within the armor, but as far as he could tell his movement wasn’t impaired at all. Kyle swung his arms around just to get a feel for it. It was then that he noticed the room he was in.
It was the same room from the vision he had of Hilde when he had somehow reached out to her. It was like a throne room from some epic fantasy movie, complete with arched stone windows set with plate glass, tapestries upon the walls, columns of carved stone, and rich rugs. Then his eyes followed the red rug set upon the black basalt floor up to where it ended at the stairs climbing to a raised dais. Upon that dais was a single throne that was larger than any a normal human would have needed, but which likely would have fit Kyle’s new body very well, complete with armor.
Upon the throne with her legs curled up under her and her wings draped over her was a shuddering feminine form. The fiery red hair and ornate tattoos worked into her ankles made him think this was Hilde. That was the way she had appeared in the vision he had of her. But why would Hilde be crying? This woman was most definitely crying. He ought to know. He had made more than one woman react like this over the years.
Kyle strode forward with purpose, meaning to walk to the throne and figure out what the matter was. But with a single step, he crossed the entire five-hundred-foot length of the regal room. Apparently, his intent to reach the throne was all that it had taken. In his mind, he couldn’t help but think, “Not the throne. It is my throne.”
Out loud, he said, “Hilde? Is that you? What’s wrong?”
One of the black and red wings, which somehow appeared to be actively burning, lifted up enough for a staggeringly beautiful, if tear-streaked, face to peek out. A myriad of emotion was displayed across that face. Shock, doubt, awe, fear, anger, and tearful joy all rushed by. Then she leapt from the throne in a lithe movement that defied human expression.
Kyle realized instantly even as she was moving that despite how fast she was, he still could react to block her. He could strike her down. But no, she was no threat to him. More than that, her actions were devoid of killing intent. She was aglow with emotion, but it was all positive.
Since he didn’t stop her, she flung herself against him. Her diaphanous skirt and sheer top fluttered as she moved. He could see the ripple of the muscles that directed her wings, her taut tummy, and trembling arms. In an instant, those arms were wrapped around his neck and she was smothering him with kisses. First across his forehead, then her lips worked down his cheeks, pausing on his nose before he finally felt her impossibly warm lips settle on his.
He was so taken back, by her reaction, by feeling her, seeing her, but also by this entire place down to the armor he was wearing, and the way his body had changed, that he didn’t do anyth
ing. Hilde looked deeply into his eyes and then an expression of fear crossed her face as she jumped back from him. She prostrated herself on the throne room floor in front of him with her wings spread out widely and pressed low.
Her forehead was pressed to the carpet at the foot of the dais, and she began to speak rapidly in a low but fearful voice. “I’m sorry, m’lord. I forgot myself. I have been here so long, alone. Please forgive me, I beg of you. I won’t let it happen again.”
Kyle felt something odd towards her in the back of his mind. Something between anger and dismissiveness, but he quickly pushed that aside. “I certainly hope you are going to allow it to happen again, Hilde. I rather liked it. I swear, somehow, even with this armor on, I was able to feel your body through it. And I thought we had agreed you would call me Kyle.”
Hesitantly, Hilde looked up at him. She slowly rose to one knee and stared at him. She looked at him from head to toe, but Kyle could tell that she was looking with more than her eyes. Whatever heightened spiritual senses a celestial had were scanning him.
“Oh, by Dod’s broken scythe, it is you. There is so much more of Krig in you, but now I get it,” Hilde exclaimed.
It was delightful to hear her voice, not inside his head but bouncing around melodiously in his ears. It was all that he had imagined and more. And she was simply breathtaking. If he had thought that the elves of Verden were attractive, he hadn’t understood the word until he saw a celestial. She was perfection to his eyes, a perfect balance of deadly power and sultry beauty.
“It is me,” Kyle said, and then he made a pointed display of checking her out. “And that’s you.” It wasn’t difficult at all for Kyle to look very appreciative of what he saw kneeling before him.
Hilde stood up and shuffled back one step. “This is so weird for me. With that armor and with the power I can feel in you here, it is impossible for me to forget that you are the war god, not just some guy I’ve been flirting with. I apologize for taking liberties with you.”
“Stop it. We aren’t gonna do this. I don’t know what your relationship with Krig was like, but to me we are friends. You are an advisor, a coach, so to speak. I would be lost without you. And well to be blunt, I like you.
“Maybe it is just hearing your voice in my head, but you’ve had me keyed up for weeks to meet you. You are smart, funny, and oh so damn sexy. Krig or any other guy would have to be crazy to try to keep you at arm’s length,” Kyle declared.
Then a thought crossed his mind. He wasn’t really used to being uncertain when it came to women, but that was mostly because he didn’t ever feel too invested in any of them. Actually caring made him feel vulnerable. It wasn’t a feeling that he liked, but he also knew that his previous life path had left him lonely. If he had to push through this, he would.
“That is, unless it was just flirting for you. I get it. Don’t worry, I will help free you from here. Especially after coming here myself, I can see how desperate you might be to escape. You don’t have to trade your body in exchange, that isn’t the kind of guy I am,” Kyle said.
Hilde’s face went blank for a minute as though she were stunned. Then she smiled and let out a short laugh that smoldered like hot coals. “Oh, you are priceless. Being picked to serve Krig by my people was not a punishment, but it was one of those kinds of honors that no one actually wanted. For ninety-four years, I followed around as a glorified messenger.
“Now, not only do I get the first chance in history to help a god go through reincarnation, but I also find out that this god is changed in all the best ways. You are strong and determined; all the things that made Krig attractive. But you are also kind and the way you look at me, I feel like you are a drowning man, and I’m the world’s last glass of water. Trust me, every woman wants to be looked at like that by a man she desires, mortal, celestial, and I’d bet even goddess. Some things are a universal constant.”
Kyle got that cocky grin on his face that so many girlfriends had found both adorable and infuriating. “So, you’re saying that you want me.”
“Gods yes,” Hilde said in a low throaty voice.
Kyle would like to say that he had great finesse, but fumbling to strip off his armor would go down in his memory as the most awkward set up to intimacy ever. The only saving grace was that Hilde didn’t seem to mind. If anything, his obvious impatience was making her hotter, literally.
He could feel the air around them heating up as she stared at him stripping off piece after piece of the armor, fumbling with buckles and finding that no matter how perfectly the armor was fitted to him, it still was difficult to get off. Her eyes ate him up and her fingers slid under the slips of material that covered her gorgeous breasts. He couldn’t quite get a glimpse of the nipples that lay beneath, but watching the expression on her face as she played with herself made him almost trip trying to get one of his greaves off.
All he could say was, “Dammit, why is there so much armor?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the armor was gone. All of it, including the undergarments he had on beneath, was gone as though it had read his mind. He was standing there in the buff then, but excitement blocked out any questions in his mind about how his armor disappeared.
The look on Hilde’s face was priceless and stoked his ego to the max. Her eyes almost looked crossed as she stared at him. Well, not at him but at his member. Kyle had always been gifted in that area but not so much as to scare girls away. The thing now was that he was no longer six-foot-four. At practically eight feet tall, he had grown proportionally as a blending of himself and Krig. He was massively muscled, and his shoulders weren’t the only part of him that was broad.
Her fingers continued to absentmindedly tease herself as she mumbled, “Krig! How? Oh wow.”
Kyle began to wonder if it was going to be a problem. She was likely six feet tall, but he still towered over her, not to mention that her athletic but perfectly curved frame was tiny compared to his. But the doubt left him as she dropped back down to her knees in front of him. She ran her fingers along his shaft almost like she was measuring it. She tried to wrap the fingers of one hand around him and couldn’t make her finger and thumb touch.
She looked up. “M’lord, err… Kyle, do I have your permission to pleasure you?”
The way she puckered her lips left no doubt about what she meant. Kyle didn’t even care to correct her; if she was as willing as this, he wasn’t gonna argue. It had been months, after all. He simply nodded and then moaned as she leaned her head in. Her tongue darted out and ran from just under the head up to the tip of his cock. It was impossibly warm, but then again, she was a fire angel, so what did he expect?
The best part was that the heat of her tongue only tantalized him more. She must have been able to control it, because it expanded his capillaries and brought more flood flowing into his already engorged member, but didn’t cause any discomfort at all. She took her time licking him, slowly, deliberately.
This was clearly not her first time, but it wasn’t his either. Kyle had always had a firm rule of not caring about their past; as long as his girlfriend was faithful to him while they were together, that was what mattered. But thought was driven from his mind as she opened her mouth and started to gently suck on the tip.
She wasn’t even taking it all into her mouth yet, but the bath of warmth and wetness sent shudders through his body. Kyle looked down at her and couldn’t imagine anything more enticing than that gorgeous face with her lips spread to suckle at his cock. That was, until she looked up. That eye contact with its eagerness and wanton desire pushed him forward. He just couldn’t help it. His hips moved of their own volition and suddenly Hilde had a mouthful as she took the entire head between her parted lips.
He didn’t know how long that went on for, but she must have sensed his thoughts as she pulled back, her eyes staring into his, and asked, “Do you want me to continue, or do you want me?”
Kyle didn’t want to be a selfish lover
but weeks of tension, stress, and fear for his life were not things that he was accustomed to. He needed her in the worst way possible, and it wasn’t a desire that would be sated by her mouth, no matter how talented. “I need you,” was all that he managed to say.
But blissfully she responded. Kyle had been wondering how it would work with her wings. They weren’t exactly in a large plush bed, and there was the matter of her wings, which were wider than he had expected. She likely had a twelve-to-fourteen-foot wingspan if she extended them fully. He needn’t have worried though.
Hilde spun around and settled onto all fours with her knees on the red carpet and her elbows on the first step of leading up to the dais. Her wings extended out to the side and she wiggled her ass at him. The sheer skirt fluttered with the motion and he could tell that she had a tiny thong of the same translucent material on beneath it.
The celestial looked back at him. Her eyes paused for a moment on his erect member and then she looked up to his eyes while gulping. “Conquer me, war god.”
No further invitation was needed as Kyle dropped to his knees behind her. He reached out and snapped the thong, flinging it to the side. Even in his urgency, he still took the time to run his hands across her perfectly shaped ass. She was toned but not bony in the slightest, just like he loved. His fingers then played across her pussy. The carpet matched the drapes for certain, but as his touch grazed her, he realized it wasn’t hair, but wispy flames. They burned, but in a good way, causing no pain but only a heated desire.
He wasn’t sure how something that was actually on fire could be so wet, but there was no doubt that she was excited. She shivered when his fingers touched her, parting her lips and slipping inside to draw out more of her wetness. A part of him wanted to take his time, but he figured that could happen in the future. Now she had asked him to conqueror her and he didn’t intend to disappoint.
