“How is that possible?” She was stunned.
“It was just like the night I left the house mad after arguing with my parents, and I found the portal. It was like an alternative ending. I think the fact that I came back here set it all in motion,” he surmised, obviously stressed.
“So, Bernie is still walking around somewhere?” she asked.
“That’s the weird part. After he killed them, he walked towards me like he was going to kill me too, but I…absorbed him.” Vlad brought his hands to his face. “I’m not really sure what happened.”
“And these things, why do they want to kill you?” she asked.
He sighed heavily. “They come from a shadow world, and I can’t explain it all now. They steal bodies from people in this world and do evil things, but it’s temporary. The bodies here are too fragile; it limits what they can accomplish. The body dies, and they must move on to another. The bodies on the other side of the portal are stronger; we are immortals. We have them blocked for the moment, so they are feeding off of your world. The point is, they know that I know who they are. It’s me they want.”
“Show me the portal,” she demanded flatly. It had to be a lie, and he had to be a nut job. Damn, just when I found a great friends-with-benefits guy!
“It’s too dangerous,” he maintained.
“Show me or I’ll scream next time those things come around,” she promised.
“They’ll kill us both,” he warned.
“Show me,” she demanded.
Chapter Three
With a sigh, he gave a quick look out the window of the car and opened the door. Following behind him when he started walking, they soon entered the woods. As they neared the cave, her fears of it made her slow down then stop.
“Vlad! Wait,” she whispered loudly.
He turned to look at her, his brow furrowed.
“I’m scared to go in there,” she hissed.
“Well that’s where the portal is, if you want to see it,” he drawled with irritation.
Just then, they heard a noise, making them both look in that direction. In the forest right behind them, it sounded as if someone snapped a twig with their foot. The next thing she knew, Vlad was yanking her into the cave. He put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Dragging her several feet into the cave, he asked if she could be quiet. She shook her head yes in response.
Callie had been looking toward the cave entrance waiting for the bad guys to enter as he dragged her in. When they stopped, her eyes shifted the other way. She saw what looked like a glowing wall of water by the way it rippled.
“The portal?” she asked.
“Yup.”
Thinking it was somewhat pretty, she reached out her hand to touch it, and Vlad slapped it away. It surprised her, and she looked at him as if he was crazy.
“Wanna lose some fingers?” he warned.
Looking towards the mouth of the cave again, she saw a shadow. “Vlad,” she murmured, pointing towards the shadow.
“Gotta go.” He pushed her through the portal and followed her in.
Before she could complain about it, she was struck with awe when she saw what was on the other side. It was a wooded area just like where they had been…except everything was lit with phosphorescence. It was still dark, but the leaves and plants on the forest floor glowed with a soft light, and little shiny bugs flew all around them. Vlad yanked her along as she gaped at the sights along their way.
“Where are we going?” Callie asked.
“I kinda answer to someone on this side…” he informed her.
“Really, who?” she asked.
“This side is run by a Goddess. She took me in when I crossed over a few years ago,” he confessed.
“A Goddess?” she asked in disbelief.
Saying nothing more, they approached a wall where he pulled a chain that opened a door, and they walked in.
The room they entered was vast and long, their footsteps echoing as they walked forward towards the other side. The entire room impressed her with its opulence. In addition to many paintings depicting sex in some way, marble statues of people in various poses of carnal activities lined the walls. At the other end of the room was a woman seated on a throne with several people, men and women, at her feet. Beside her, with spears in their hands, stood the biggest, buffest men Callie had ever seen. Obviously her guards; they were massive and wore masks.
“This is the Goddess?” she asked Vlad.
He hushed her, making her frown at him; he of course smiled at that.
“Darling Vlad, where have you been? Come up here right now,” the Goddess called to him, sounding a little irritated.
“On my way, Your Highness,” he replied. His head bowed, Vlad walked quickly, pulling Callie along behind him.
The Goddess smiled radiantly, watching Vlad approach the throne as if he were a beloved pet.
“Who’s your little friend?” the Goddess inquired as she looked around him, displeasure evident in her voice.
“This is Callie. I had to bring her.” Vlad knelt before the Goddess, trying to pull Callie up beside him; she stubbornly resisted.
She couldn’t have felt more like a fifth wheel. They were talking about her as if she weren’t listening. The Goddess was a beautiful woman with platinum hair falling just below her shoulders that flowed softly around her. Her ethereal tresses framed the completely unflawed skin of her face and her violet eyes. She was clad in a filmy, see-through shimmering white cloth woven with slim golden threads caught by a pair of matching brooches, one on each creamy, beige shoulder. The body that lay beneath the clothing was voluptuous; her breasts were large and perky. Callie felt a little inferior.
The other people who sat at the Goddess’ feet looked her up and down as well. They were just as beautiful, but the robes they wore were not as elegant or revealing and looked more like cotton fabric. Callie kept her eye on the men with the masks.
“I did exactly as you told me not to…I went through the portal,” he confessed. His voice low and full of self-loathing, he kept his head bowed.
“You think I didn’t know that the minute you walked in here with that?” She looked around him at Callie then reached down to play with his beautiful long hair.
“Just a damn minute…” Callie started around Vlad. Not only did she feel insulted, but also felt a twinge of jealousy stab through her as she watched the intimacy between the Goddess and Vlad.
Vlad put a hand back to block her path as the guards stepped forward.
“Callie…don’t,” he mumbled quietly.
“She’s got spunk, I’ll give her that!” The Goddess looked around at her minions. Then she asked, “So, Callie, that’s your name right? Vlad is good enough for you now?”
“What are you talking about?” She was confused.
“When he came to me, he was a depressed, skinny kid with acne, but I could see potential in him. Plus, one look at his huge hands, and I knew he would be worth it. Yes, it really does mean he has a huge cock. Anyway we nurtured him, didn’t we, baby? And now he is this beautiful man, with huge attributes!” The Goddess and her minions laughed.
“I just met him!” Callie rolled her eyes. “He was in my school, but I didn’t know him.”
“That’s because he wasn’t good enough for you then.” The Goddess reached down and gently grabbed his cock and balls through the material of his jeans. “You had no idea what he was packin’ down there.”
Callie was standing there chewing her lip, she wanted to slap the shit out of this bitch, Goddess or not. Vlad was grinning like an ape, seeming to enjoy the massage and her apparent comeuppance. Callie threw a hand in the air. “I’m so outa here.”
With lighting speed, Vlad grabbed her arm. “Sorry, baby, it’s too dangerous. I have stirred up a pile of shit by going through the portal to check on my parents.” He turned to the Goddess. “You don’t even know the worst part yet.”
“Cutie, they didn’t make me a Goddess for nothing. I know
what happened.” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “We have to remove the evil you and send it back. Don’t worry it won’t hurt.”
“So if I’m here, did I leave something nasty behind?” Callie asked.
“No, I’m pretty sure it all came with you!” The Goddess laughed, and all the minions joined in again.
Oh man this bitch is asking for it! This time Callie just turned around and started walking. Vlad ran after her and cut her off. Standing in front of her, he took her in his arms.
“You let her be rude to me without saying anything!” she hissed at him.
“Come on…she was just messing with you.” He smiled down at her. “Besides, I owe her a lot, and I just did something I knew she wouldn’t like.”
“So you let her take it out on me!” she growled.
“Vlad bring her back over here. I will have some of my men take care of her while we get this nasty bit out of you,” she called to them.
Vlad took her hand and started to walk towards the Goddess, Callie yanked her hand back. “Take care of me?”
“Trust me, you’ll like it,” he smiled at her.
She didn’t like it when they separated them. Callie didn’t even know him, but he was her safety net here; he knew how to get her home. Vlad went with the Goddess and her minions. The buffed-up guards each took one of Callie’s arms and led her through a door. They released her and left, leaving her alone.
Chapter Four
Looking around the room, she could see it was filled with pillows, making it look very lush and comfortable. Beautiful material was draped from the ceiling; it reminded her of something like Arabian Nights, a very sensuous Rudolph-Valentino-Sheik-of-the-Desert vibe emanating from the room. It looked so comfortable that she went to the center of the room, knelt then stretched out on her back.
A door behind her opened, startling her just a little. She turned to see five extremely hot men wearing nothing but a small cloth covering the lower half of their bodies walking her way. “Hi guys,” she beamed, trying to be amiable.
*****
The Goddess and her minions took Vlad to the portal. Strapping his arms and legs to strips of leather that were secured into the stone walls around them, his legs were spread, and his arms were extended above his head. The Goddess began to chant in a soft melodic voice that got increasingly louder. Vlad slipped into a trance then started to scream. A white wispy fog oozed from his chest, heading for the portal. It became denser, Vlad screamed louder. As quickly as it started, it was over, and Vlad went limp in his bonds. The Goddess patted his cheeks and rubbed his chest.
“Come on, Cutie, we haven’t got all day,” she declared.
His head bobbed and rolled. When he finally came around, they released him.
“It worked?” Vlad asked as he shook his head, bending down to touch his toes. Standing, he breathed deep then jogged in place.
“Of course it did, Sweetums. Better go see how your little friend is faring,” she teased him while patting his ass.
Vlad gave her a smile and sprinted off to find Callie.
*****
The men were all smiling when they moved to lie on the pillows with her. Sensuously, they raised her legs, kissing the back of her knees, the inside of her elbows, and the slender column of her throat. They stripped away what little they were wearing then piece by piece, they removed Callie’s clothing as well.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… What are you guys doing?” she asked, holding their hands in her grasp.
They looked baffled, staring at each other then back to her. “The Goddess sent us here to pleasure you.”
“Well, I…” Actually, this was my plan when I left the house tonight…meaningless sex, do I really want to turn down five guys? “Okay then, we better do what she says,” Callie giggled and lay back.
It started with them kissing her with firm male lips that knew how to please. She closed her eyes and focused on the sensations. It was hard to tell which one was doing what, but it didn’t matter. Callie became absorbed with the feel of so many hands on her. Her breasts were massaged softly, causing an acute surge of desire. Brazen hands pulled at her pebbled nipples. Agile fingers fondled up and down every inch of her body. Callie felt feathery tongues licking and a tender assault of lips sucking her breasts, her inner thighs… so very near, yet so far away, from her pussy. She bucked and moaned as they performed their magic on her quivering body.
Feeling a tongue dart inside her then licking her lower lips until she was gasping, the room was filled with the alluring aroma of sex. Clever fingers slid in and out of her warm wet recesses, slow then fast then slow again; she was delirious with arousal. They all knew how to please a woman, and they knew what to whisper in her ear. In a sexy, deep, husky voices, they told her how they would set her desire on fire then make her dance on the embers.
“Are you ready, baby?” One of them asked breathlessly in her ear.
“Ooh, yes, yes, yes!” she answered.
Two of them held her ankles, bending her knees and spreading her legs; another two held her arms and kept her breasts warm, kneading them in their hands. Number 5 was hovering above her. Kneeling between her legs, he leaned forward, giving her a long, liquid kiss that rushed lust through her. He slowly teased her with his cock, pushing through her slippery folds then pulling out. Pushing inside her again, she raised her hips, forcing him in further. He made a satisfied moan before starting a long, slow ride of delight. Relentlessly moving her hips against his, ripples of pleasure coated her with wicked delight. Callie felt her clit, a hard little kernel of torment, swell and ache, her head twisting frantically as he joined their heated flesh in a tumultuous orgasm. She arched her head backwards, moaning very loudly while Number 5 emptied himself into her so hard she could feel the pressure. The other four kept the rest of her body stimulated to make it a double rapture before Number 5 had finished. Callie turned her head to the side and opened her eyes to find Vlad leaning against the door watching.
“Wasn’t I right?” He smiled.
Still coming down from an orgasmic high, her new friends were still doing a little after care, kissing and stroking her. Number 5’s massive cock resting against her thigh, she managed to say lazily, “Holy shit, ya…”
Laughing, he walked closer. The men drew away from her as Vlad came near. When she thanked them, they moved out of her sight, saying it was their pleasure to have served her. How nice…
“So, are you okay? Did you get rid of your evil self?” she asked Vlad.
“Yes, or I wouldn’t be here. I may not be able to cross over ever again. I may have to leave that life behind now, but it’s pretty cool here,” Vlad answered, not quite looking her in the eye.
“I’m pretty sure I came here in one piece, and I will most likely leave in one piece. Maybe I can travel back and forth. I can’t stay…yet I don’t want to leave you either,” she confessed.
“You still have the shadows to worry about. They know you were with me. They can’t touch us here. The Goddess has a barrier that they can’t penetrate. Once you are back in your world, there will be no one to protect you,” he stated, shaking his head.
“Are you saying I’m in danger if I go home?” she asked.
“Yes, they will use you to get to us,” Vlad answered.
“What do they want with you?” she questioned.
“They’re shadows, they have limitations. They want our bodies. They don’t like to use the ones you have because they deteriorate too fast. On this side of the portal, we don’t age, and we don’t die. They could use our bodies forever. Once they are in solid form, I believe they will try to overthrow us. The Goddess told me their world has no substance,” he explained.
She had to give this a minute to sink in. “What will they do to me?”
“They will threaten to kill you, hoping you will lead them to us. Because we can’t negotiate with them, they most likely will kill you,” he advised her flatly.
“You took a chance to go back and se
e your parents, only to find your persona split when you entered the portal the first time. Now, you can’t risk the likelihood that will happen again, so you are going to stay here. I could go back, but I risk being killed eventually by the shadows,” Callie asserted, summing things up.
“In a nut shell, yes,” he agreed.
“Do they have a portal of their own?” she asked, trying to make sense of what he’d told her.
“We aren’t sure how they get around,” Vlad interjected, shaking his head. “In order to defeat them, we need more information. The Goddess is sure they have their own portal.”
Callie got up and paced the room, tripping over a few pillows. Coming back to where Vlad was sitting, she plopped down. “I need to say goodbye to my parents, then I’ll be back,” she decided.
“You might not make it back,” he speculated.
“I have to take that chance,” Callie seriously insisted.
“Can you at least wait until tomorrow?”
“By then they will have police looking for me,” she answered.
“Dammit, there’s nothing I can do to help you!” Vlad pounded his fist into a pillow.
“Take me to the portal,” she stated.
He sighed heavily and stood up. Turning, he walked to the doorway to the main room, and she followed him.
“Hey sweeties! Did you enjoy yourself, little girl?” the Goddess spoke to them.
“Yes! I had a great time. The guys are very good at what they do,” she told the Goddess.
The Goddess smiled knowingly.
“I’m taking Callie to the portal,” Vlad informed the Goddess.
“Leaving us so soon, Darling?” the Goddess asked. “Do you know what the risks are? You will be a target! I care a great deal about Vlad. I can see he cares for you. I was hoping you’d stay with us.”
“I will try to get back, if that’s okay with you, but I have to say goodbye to some people,” Callie explained.
“You are welcome here, Callie. I think you will be good for Vlad,” she concluded.
“Thank you ma’am,” she replied, noting that the Goddess finally used her name.
Shadow Hunters (Portal Jumpers) Page 2
