Terran Realm Vol 1-6

by Dee, Bonnie

  She looked around at the silent Circle, the moon casting macabre shadows on the ground. The night seemed to be holding its breath, waiting. “I think we’re in time. Just.”

  They edged their way toward the far side of the field. The stones watched them as they inched forward. Ahead, a curving stand of trees hid the manor house and thick, underbrush grew around the trees’ trunks. A plume of scented smoke wafted their way. Blended in with the odor was a pungent aroma of a mixture of different woods. Brigid gagged. “It smells like…”

  “Burnt flesh,” Gabe finished.

  “Poor Tom.” Ethan crossed himself automatically.

  Brigid’s lips tightened. “Nolen’s offered Ba’al bone and blood.”

  “But not enough yet. If just sacrificing one human were enough, Nolen would long be gone from Ireland. If he means to raise the Stone Men…” Ethan’s voice trailed off and Brigid continued his train of thinking.

  “It’s got to be more. Do you think he’s going to try to kill Cull and his buddies? Use them?”

  Gabe shook his head. “He’s been planning this for a long time. Whatever he’s going to do, I don’t think they’re a necessary part of the process.”

  Brigid’s nostrils flared while the stench of Nolen’s offering grew stronger as they neared the boundary where the two circles met. “I’m not sure I want to know what more he could offer to gain enough power to raise the Stone Men and leave Ireland.”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t think we have a choice in the matter, Bridge. I can see the tip of Ba’al’s cock just beyond the holly bushes. We’re here.”

  * * * *

  “Lord Nolen, we have intruders in the house. The silent alarm system went off in my rooms while I was patrolling the grounds and alerted me.” Gortham spoke into the palm-sized cell phone he used to communicate with Nolen. They didn’t share the near telepathic link that Mrs. Scathan maintained with the lord of the manor and frankly he was grateful. He didn’t like the thought that Nolen might be able to sniff around in his brain. “It’s those three meddlesome soldiers.”

  “Excellent. I’ve been expecting them, that’s why I told you to leave the front door unlocked, but the alarm engaged.”

  Gortham noted Nolen’s self-satisfied smirk in his voice. “You don’t seem to be concerned.”

  “Well, we shall be done with them tonight. I still am in the midst of preparations. You have my permission for you and your playmates to toy with them. Just don’t kill them. Bring them to me. I can always use additional sacrifices.”

  “Aye. Fresh meat.”

  Nolen laughed. “Indeed.”

  “Thank you, Lord Nolen. It’s been some time since my lads had any real fun.”

  “Just make sure the men are able to answer any questions I may have. I still want to know what happened with Brigid and if and where they took the hands.”

  “Don’t worry. Their throats will remain intact, though I won’t be held accountable for any loss of limbs.” Gortham grinned, baring his teeth like a dog.

  “Good. Enjoy.”

  Gortham severed the connection and turned toward the connecting door to the kennels. Aye, the lads would have a fine time. As would he.

  * * * *

  30th April—Evening

  “Does it not seem strange to you that we still have not come upon any guards?” Torc whispered to Cull.

  “Aye. I like it not, but we have no choice at this point, we must forge on.”

  “This garden reeks of magic and death.” Ma’an looked around at the distorted growths, some glowing with a sickly green light. He sniffed the air more deeply and nearly choked at the noxious odor emanating from the plants neatly laid out around them. He had brushed against some of the leaves and shuddered, remembering the way they clung to his flesh, reluctant to release him from their sticky embrace.

  They came now to an archway shaped by the intertwining of two massive oaks, ancient and gnarled.

  “This must be the portal to the Grove. We will have to enter it. There is no other way left to us,” Cull said.

  “Will we be allowed to enter?” Torc asked.

  “We can but try.” Ma’an wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and gripped his sword tighter.

  They slapped each other on the back. They had faced the unknown before. This was just one more time.

  A chill ran up their spines as they passed between the gigantic oaks to a huge glade. Circling the area were oak, ash, rowan, apple, thorn, birch, alder, holly and hawthorn intertwined with each other. They moved cautiously and when they reached the center, they stopped. Torc sniffed the air like a hound and nudged the others. “I smell smoke. The odor of burning flesh fills the air. ‘Tis a night for sacrifice.”

  “Ay, my foolish friend, it is.”

  They turned. A man stood behind them, and, although dressed in clothing similar to Gabe and Ethan, he spoke their language fluently. He held onto the leads of four gigantic, shaggy wolfhounds. They knew he must be a servant of Nimhnach.

  Torc spat in the ground and sneered. “So, coward that you are, you bring these mangy hounds to bring us down?”

  The man glowered, insulted more by Torc’s epithet about his beloved dogs, than the slur cast at him. “Do you not know what you face, you babbling fool? These are the dogs that guard the gate to Ba’al’s domain. See them now, as they truly appear.”

  He dropped the leads and each dog sat quietly on his haunches. He took a short dagger from his jacket pocket and slashed his palm without flinching. He showed no hesitation, but thrust his bloodied hand before each dog and smiled as they lapped the crimson pearls greedily.

  The men stared awestruck as the air around the hounds wavered and the canines expanded to the size of a small horse. Their teeth lengthened to fangs that dripped with drool. Their eyes blazed fire-red and their fur coarsened, each strand sharp as an iron barb. They crouched, waiting for the commands of their master.

  Cull, Ma’an and Torc formed a small circle; poised for the attack they knew was coming.

  The man smiled, his eyes glittering with sadistic anticipation. “Ready, lads? Let’s play.”

  The dogs charged and their unearthly howls rent the air. Torc threw his hammer at the one rushing toward him and it jumped into the air and caught it between its teeth. It capered on its hind legs and flung the hammer into the air again, catching it before it could fall to the ground.

  Torc broke rank and ran toward the fearsome creature, bent on retrieving his beloved weapon. He chased after the dancing canine. It zigzagged, taunting him as it pushed him back to his comrades.

  Cull and Ma’an faced the other demons back to back, turning round and round as the animals kept circling them. They snapped at the men, always staying just a hair’s breadth out of the reach of their weapons. Slowly, inexorably, the hounds herded them toward the opening leading to the Stone Circle.

  “Enough playtime, lads. Let’s bring this sorry lot to Nolen. Perhaps you can finish them off later.”

  Nimhnach’s minion commanded the dogs to sit facing the men. He caressed the furred muzzle of the one who still carried Torc’s hammer in its mouth and ordered it to release it. He held the tooth-marked weapon in his hand and looked at Torc. “You want this so much? Then fetch!”

  He tossed it between the oak archway that led to the Circle and Torc dived after it. Cull and Ma’an shrugged, turned as one and dove in after him.

  As they disappeared from sight, Gortham threw back his head and bayed joyfully into the night, his beloved hounds joining the chorus.

  * * * *

  Nolen stood just outside the entrance to the Circle with Mrs. Scathan. “Come, my dear. Let us proceed as planned.”

  She shivered with anticipation. Her unbound hair flowed down her back, caressing her buttocks. The sheer, white, silk gown clung to her body, outlining each lush curve, revealing rather than concealing the bushy curls between her thighs. She wore clamps, and a collar and cuffs given to her by Nolen, as though they we
re the most expensive jewelry. Her nipples budded with excitement, her eyes glittered with lust and her heart beat like a mare’s in heat. Tonight she would become consort to the most powerful man on Earth and the consort of Ba’al, the most powerful demon in existence.

  She had prepared with care, imbibing a powerful aphrodisiac to give her the stamina to participate in the upcoming ceremony. And now the time had arrived.

  “Are you ready?”

  She stepped closer and nodded. “I am.”

  “Then let us commence.”

  The bonfire flared high as Nolen threw a fine dust prepared from some of the roots and herbs from the garden. She inhaled the perfumed smoke and her eyes closed as she swayed from the drugging aroma.

  The thin material she wore felt heavy and she tore at the cloth, ripping it from her body. She opened her eyes and stood naked in the moonlight before Nolen. She watched as his penis swelled with hunger and pushed through his half-open robe. He loosened the belt around the ceremonial garment and let it drop to the ground. His lean, sinewy body was scarred with the slashes gathered over thousands of years of self-inflicted blood offerings. Not one inch of his flesh was unmarked, save for the soles of his feet, and his face, his proud, greedy, contemptuous face.

  His cock jutted out, thick and long and pointed toward the moon.

  She shut her eyes again, overwhelmed by his power.

  He spoke, his voice resonating in her body. “Open your eyes and behold your mortal mate!”

  Her eyes flashed wide and she sucked in her breath. She had never seen Nolen as potent as he appeared tonight with the power of Ba’al coursing through him. She moaned deep in her throat, envisioning the imminent joining.

  Nolen held up the empty chalice and chanted his paean to the fire demon. The words slithered in the night like snakes. “Oh, mighty Ba’al, ruler of all the demon world, most potent Master, accept my feeble offerings and grant that my gifts might arouse your children.”

  He gazed intently at Mrs. Scathan. “Embrace your divine husband and accept your first mating.”

  She glided to the formidable stone phallus rising from the earth. Her arms encircled the thickness, her fingertips unable to meet around it. She gripped the rough stone and it abraded her skin as she leaned her cheek against the cold surface and shuddered with desire. She rubbed her body against the demon’s cock and scoured her flesh. Ruby beads of blood blossomed all over her limbs and breasts and the gray stone. She spread her legs wide to embrace the rock’s length and braced herself for Nolen’s first powerful thrust.

  He approached her, as a bull does when he scents a heifer ready for mounting. His voice hoarsened as he continued his chanting. He placed his right palm on her shoulder, pressed her harder against the rock, reared back and plunged his engorged penis into her welcoming body.

  She screamed in ecstasy as he pumped into her. He moved faster and faster and her moans grew louder and louder as did his chanting. His balls slapped against her flesh and she writhed against the pillar, ripping her skin and increasing the bloody flow that ran down the standing stone. As she drew closer and closer to her climax, her fingernails tore off, leaving a bloody trail as she held unto the stone, bucking against it.

  *

  Nolen came with a great shout, pulling out from Mrs. Scathan as his seed spurted into the chalice he held close to their bodies. He wiped off some of her sweat and blood and added it to the cup’s contents. He picked up his robe, belting it securely and left Mrs. Scathan clinging weakly to the blood-smeared stone. His face stilled as he viewed the woman sink to her knees to the ground. “Do you wish an elixir to revive your energy?”

  “Yes, please. I beg forgiveness, Master. I didn’t realize how powerful your mating would be and I didn’t mix a strong enough potion earlier.” She bowed her head in shame. “Please, give me the strength to endure throughout the rest of the ceremony. I do not wish to fail. My body must be able to withstand Ba’al’s penetration.” She licked her lips and her breath quickened. “I yearn for him to fuck me.”

  “Good. The great Ba’al will be pleased that you desire to cleave and become one with him.”

  “I do. I would gladly give up my life to take his seed within me.”

  “Then drink from the chalice. It will increase your endurance a thousand fold.”

  He took a small glass vial from his robe and uncorked it. Within was a tarry, black substance. A noxious odor of rotting corpses rose from it.

  “Ba’al’s seed!” Her words were hushed in awe.

  Nolen nodded and carefully poured it into the cup, combining it with the ingredients already present. The color changed to an ashy gray. “Drink and offer yourself to Ba’al now!”

  She took the cup from his hands and swallowed the brew with gusto. Fortified, she moved to the standing stone and turned her back to it. She tightened the clamps gripping her nipples and the collar and cuffs around her neck and wrists. Blood trickled sluggishly and then more rapidly, drenching her body in carmine tracks. She pressed her head and shoulders against the pillar’s jagged surface, thrusting her breasts high and pulled back her hands to cling to the huge prick.

  Nolen withdrew a carefully guarded twelve-inch shard chipped from Ba’al’s phallus from a pocket in his robe and unwrapped it. As wide as a man’s fist, the point was needle sharp and free from any traces of blood. Nolen’s willing accomplice would be its first and final mate. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded.

  “Then accept Ba’al’s cock!”

  He struck at the curls between her thighs, plunging the weapon as deep as it would go and then withdrew it to thrust it again at her chest, piercing her heart.

  She screamed in agony as her blood poured from her body. The shock alone should have killed her, but the potent drink sustained her. As it took complete control, her cries changed to ones of immeasurable ecstasy. She writhed in an exquisite blend of pleasure and pain as the ground trembled and the stone pillar rocked. With one last shout, she climaxed and crumpled to the dirt, her unseeing eyes staring at the sky.

  Nolen lifted her up and strode over to the fire, still burning hot on the altar, and heaved her corpse into the flames. A giant fireball burst into the air and the sky darkened as black clouds covered the face of the moon. Thunder boomed like the sound of a thousand drums and one by one the Stone Men arose.

  * * * *

  “By the teats of the Morrigan, the Stone Men are awakening!”

  Torc’s hammer lay forgotten at his feet as he took in the terrible scene. Ma’an and Cull came tumbling through the portal from the Sacred Grove and lay in the dirt, staring up at the sky. The air reeked with the metallic tang of blood and the foul-smelling smoke.

  The men scrambled to their feet and gazed in awe at the sight that greeted them.

  “Look, ‘tis Ba’al’s rod.” Cull’s voice trembled with fear.

  “Aye and he found someone to fuck,” Ma’an said.

  A naked woman lay on a great stone altar, her burnt skin flaking from her desecrated body. Nimhnach stood before her fondling his penis. He stroked his engorged flesh, thrusting in time to the rhythm of the orgiastic cadence. As each beat of thunder pounded, he called out Ba’al’s name. Finally, he came. His cum spurted out thicker and more copious than any they’d ever seen. It covered his hands and drenched the hungry earth.

  He turned to the men and they cowered before him, their courage fleeing.

  He smiled. “Now it is your turn to offer your torment to Ba’al.”

  * * * *

  “My God.”

  Brigid viewed the horror at the entrance to the Sacred Circle and watched dumbstruck as Nolen stood before a naked, bloodied woman and thrust a knife in her unresisting body. She screamed in agonized pleasure before she collapsed. He carried her limp form to the altar and threw her into the flames. Thunder blasted their ears and the Stone Men started to rise around them as the fire devoured the sacrificial victim.

  With each roll of thunder one of the standing stones s
prouted arms, legs and a massive head. They stood rooted to the earth awaiting Nolen’s commands. He turned away and looked down toward the Grove. Brigid followed his line of sight and there, their faces filled with terror in the flickering flames, were the three ancient warriors, groveling in the dust.

  She gazed at Gabe and Ethan. “Time to rescue them. Here’s my plan. It’s simple. We kill Nolen. Then we grab the guys and we destroy as many of the Stone Men as possible while they are newly awakened. I think after Nolen’s death those creatures who aren’t reanimated won’t come to life, making them easy to destroy. We dare not allow Nolen to control them.”

  “Agreed.” Gabe turned to Ethan. “What do you think? Good plan?”

  “Excellent. Let’s just remember to take it easy and not go charging in.”

  Brigid smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not a TSTFL heroine.”

  “TSTFL?” Ethan whispered to Gabe.

  “Too stupid to live.”

  Brigid crept toward the exulting Destroyer, keeping low to the ground. Gabe and Ethan followed close behind. The element of surprise would be their strongest weapon. She moved toward the bloodied pillar, Nolen’s back to her, and crouched behind a prickly holly bush near one of Ba’al’s testicles. She would have just one chance to divert Nolen’s attention away from the men at his feet and let fly an arrow to his heart.

  His focus was still centered on the trio lying on the ground. He wouldn’t even know she was there until it was too late. She reached behind to get her bow, rose slowly, drew back her arm and inhaled.

  * * * *

  “So, we meet again, my friends.” Nolen sneered at the men. “And on the night when I begin my greatest plan. Too bad you won’t be there to see it succeed.” He bared his teeth in what passed for a smile. “Now, where are the hands of Dagda’s Twelve Warriors?”

  Torc captured his voice first. “Hands? We know nothing of any hands.”

  “You lie!” Nolen clenched his fingers and squeezed as though he held a wet sponge. Torc clutched his chest and gasped in pain.

  Cull spat. “The last time we saw the hands, you were crawling in the dirt stuffing them into sacks.”