Balance

She could see where he was going, and cut him off, "They love you. This whole hobo philosopher thing you developed somehow, by cosmic coincidence, they love it. Your just a normal human, to them. They love you."

Marcus smiled. He tried to hold it back, but this made him feel overjoyed.

"Slow down there, we've still got a couple of problems. You cease to be at the end of every year, and have to be rekindled, like a fire. But, obviously this doesn't apply to a human. On the other hand, you probably can't keep us young any longer either, and it's possible that, despite having lost all of your elemental power, you might still die at the end of the year. So, I'd like to do an experiment. I'll explain more of what I've told you in the past: when we first summoned you, the universe spoke to us without words, and made us understand that the only way for us to stay young was for us to coax you into making us come while the fire element was aroused to full strength within you by sexual activity. This meeting of our sacred water, and your universal inner fire creates spiritual steam that merges with our souls and bodies, and it keeps us young and healthy. While all women want to be with you sexually, in your elemental form, only we can make the sacred steam with your fire, because we summoned you. No other women can use you to stay young. Only us, the original ten, the ancients. We are eternally bound to you, and you to us. Hence, the only way to tell if we will survive the centuries, and the only way to tell if you will survive the year is for you to make me come. "

Marcus screwed up his face, and looked at her in disbelief.

She could see his doubt, and went on, "I'll be able to prove it, easily enough, if it works, that is. Normally, when you bring me to orgasm, it takes about twenty years off of my life, and I stay young for many months before needing you again. So, if you make me come, and there is even a trace of your elemental fire, I will look like I'm in my twenties by tomorrow. If not, then we've got problems, and you might die on New Year's, unless we can figure out some way to save you. Being human, alone, will not save you from this fate. So, will you make me come?" she asked.

"You want to see if it still works?" he inquired. He was starting to wonder, but then he realized she may simply be insane. Sure, she had known about his dreams, but couldn't that have been some trick he wasn't understanding? Maybe he talked in his sleep, and she'd been outside his window?

"I don't just want to, I need to. And you need me. You need us." she returned.

He pondered for a moment, and considered whether or not this would be unfair to his ladies. He reasoned, though, that if everything this woman said was true, he had no choice. He still wanted to rule out risk though. Further, he had no real proof. "I can't. I have no way of knowing if you're clean."

She laughed then, and dipped her finger in her drink. Next, she drew some archaic symbols on the table with the liquid, and chanted some unfamiliar words as she did so. The room started to look dim. Not only in brightness, but in color. Like many things were becoming just shades of gray and black, except for a small area around them. The next thing he knew, she was completely naked. He started, and looked around the room, ready to cover her up, before the workers called the cops on them. Yet, as he looked around, he noticed that everyone, the workers and other patrons, they were all moving very slowly, almost frozen, in their grey world. He looked back at Enha, and was shocked, as now he could see an odd glow to her eyes. He looked at her body again, and realized she hadn't taken off her clothes, she was just inexplicably nude. When he looked back up at her face, she was caste in a vague blue light, and her eyes were glowing with blue flame.

She smiled at him, and said, "Well, have a look." Her voice sounded resonant, and distant, yet close at the same time. He looked down at her body again, and realized he could see through her skin. Yet, he wasn't seeing blood, bones, or muscle. He was seeing energy, her energy. It was bright, and beautiful, and it flowed throughout her body. She was pure, he understood. He had nothing to fear from her, not ever.

In an instant, she snapped back to her normal, fully dressed self. Marcus looked around the room, and found that the other people were still frozen. The woman at the counter was pouring a cup of coffee, and the stream of black liquid shimmered, floating in the air. It would pour forever. The cook looked at an egg as it flew up in front of him, suspended eternally. The man sweeping up was frozen at the exact moment he had stumbled, and was at an impossible angle. The few other customers, a lonesome man sitting at a table alone, and a middle aged couple, across the restaurant in a booth, sat, unmoving, in strange poses, as well. They were stuck in time, chewing, talking, or drinking.

He looked back at her, and saw that she was pulling her skirt up, and spreading her legs. She pulled aside her black lace thong, and beckoned him to her delicious looking bush lined pussy. He got on his knees under the table, put a hand under each of her thighs, and started licking her clit. She tasted amazing, and smelled incredible. He started fucking her with his tongue, and rapidly rubbing her clit. She moaned loudly, and started coming. She tasted slightly sweet, with a hint of sour.

She sat there, shaking, for a few moments, and then said, "Normally, you'd fuck me silly after licking me, but you're celibate now, huh?" She gave him a disappointed look.

He smiled. She didn't get it, and he was about to release a year's worth of pent up sexual energy on her. He stood up so fast the table nearly fell over, and their drinks spilled, and slammed his dick into her mouth, and started fucking her face. She made an "Mmmmhmmmmm" sound, and started masturbating. He pulled out of her mouth then, in order to avoid coming, and turned her over, and slammed his dick into her pussy from behind, with her bent over the top of the booth. He fucked her hard, and deep. He felt his dick hitting the limits of her pussy, and she moaned, and finally came again. He pulled out, just before he came, and playfully slapped her on the ass.

"Celibate, and refraining from ejaculating are not the same thing," he said, smiling at her, as she turned over.

She laughed, and said, "Apparently not! Thanks, I've been needing that for a long time!"

Chapter 10

Marcus had gone back to his women that night, and quietly slipped inside without waking them. He felt horribly guilty, but he reasoned that he had no choice, as it was life or death, and the woman had literally bared her soul to him, and there was nothing dangerous there.

He sat on the couch for a long time. It hit him that this is what ended his marriage! He had been caught, time and again, with women throwing themselves at him, and his wife didn't believe him when he told her he had not been at fault. Other times, strange things would happen, like their stewardess walking to their seats, where he and his wife sat, just after he'd come out of the bathroom, leaning over to talk to him, and coming as she spoke to them, when the arm rest of his seat vibrated against her pussy during turbulence. His wife had become convinced he'd fucked the stewardess in the bathroom, and she was coming at his seat to show him he'd satisfied her. This had all been because of what he was, and he'd stopped it by becoming celibate. After a long, hot shower, and his mind calmed by these self-reassurances, he went to bed, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Marcus sat eating breakfast in the empty loft. His phone that Mila had given him buzzed, and he looked at it. It was a picture of Enha, and the text below it said, "Do I look 25?"

She did not. He was chilled by this. But, on the other hand, did this mean he would not die on New Year's Eve? His phone buzzed again.

"Can we meet?"

Around lunchtime he sat with Enha again, in a cafe.

"Please come home with me. We need to examine you, and figure out what's going on." she implored him.

"I can't. I need to be with my women." he lied. He was afraid of her. Part of him wanted to trust her, but something still tugged at him.

"Well, we will wait a while then. But, just know, we truly need you, so, you can't be surprised if we come to collect you eventually." she smiled warmly, which made the statement seem cute, rather than threatening.

That afternoon, after he returned to the loft, the women told Marcus they wanted to take him to a new restaurant they'd heard about.

They sat talking, and waiting for Mila to get ready. Marcus glanced at the clock. It said 7:05 PM. Then, out of nowhere, Julieta looked at Marcus and said, "Lay on the floor."

Marcus laughed and did so. He wondered if dinner was off, since they didn't have time for their normal style of event. Julieta pulled her skirt up, and thong down, but left the rest of her clothes on. She started rubbing her clit. The other women pulled their skirts up, and pulled down their thongs, too, and started masturbating.

Julieta walked over, and sat on Marcus's face, thrusting her pussy onto his lips.

"Stick out your tongue, and keep it out." She commanded.

He did so, and felt the warm inside of her, as she lowered herself onto him, forcing his tongue deep inside of her, and relished in her hot, tangy flavor. While she grinded on his mouth, Mila rode his dick. When they had both come, Marta and Lupe did the same, and finally Amrita came over and rode his dick until she came. Marcus was lucky that they seemed to have worked themselves up to near orgasm before riding him, and so they came almost immediately, and quickly dismounted from him, giving him a break before the next one climbed onto him, or else he would have come.

All the women finished with him, and stood up. Marcus sat up, smiling and looking around. The other four were already back to normal; thongs back on, skirts adjusted back properly, covering their legs, and ready to go to dinner. Amrita was right behind them, having pulled her thong back on, and adjusted her skirt, too.

Besides being slightly flushed, they looked like nothing had happened at all. He looked at the clock, it was 7:10 PM. He was amazed.

"Well, that was a lightning orgasm fest if I've ever seen one!" said Marcus jokingly. The women laughed.

"We're going to be late, honey, come on," said Lupe.

Chapter 11

That night, after a fantastic dinner of expertly cooked Spanish food, they returned home, and sat with a bottle of excellent wine.

"What is your favorite thing about me?" asked Marcus, to the group broadly. The wine was going to his head, and he was wondering about why they were so attracted to him. Was he really human? Or not?

"For me, it's your eyes. The mixture of green, brown, and flecks of orange is enchanting." said Amrita.

"I can't pick," replied Lupe, throwing up her hands.

Marta leaned forward on her knees, inspecting him, and then said, "It's your personality. I mean, yeah, you're hot, but my favorite thing is well beyond looks."

Marcus looked at Mila. He felt a little embarrassed at this narcissistic conversation, but he couldn't tell them the real reason he was asking. They probably wouldn't believe that a sorceress had created him as a sex deity, and he was trying to tell if they really liked Marcus, the human, or just the universal spirit of water and fire mixed together.

Mila began, "I think, for me, my love, it's the way you talk to me. The way you look at me, and touch me. The way you do things for me. You rub my back when I'm sore, you make me soup when I'm not feeling well. It's just you."

Julieta chewed her cheek for a moment, and then began, "I think-"

She was cut off by the sound of shattering glass from the next room. The alcohol slid off of Marcus, and was replaced by sheer adrenaline. He darted into the kitchen, grabbed a large knife, and ran into the room the sound had come from. The light was on, and he could see the cold air and snow blowing in through the window, but there was darkness around something in the middle of the floor. A figure stood up, and the darkness faded. It was a woman in a robe. He started to walk toward her, but she recoiled, walking backwards. As she did, she knocked a snow globe off of a side table. It hit the ground, shattering. The ground gave way, and fell through, and then again into the next floor. Marcus was having de ja vu.

He ran toward the woman, hoping to grab her, and get her to explain what she was doing, but she leapt into the hole in the floor. Marcus followed, after sticking the knife into his belt, he slid down on his stomach, and then lowered himself onto the floor below. A bag was thrust over his head from behind, the second he set his feet on the floor, despite the robed woman being in front of him. She had a partner! He slammed himself backward, into the person behind him, and they both fell over. He pulled the bag off, and jumped back, putting some space between him, and his attackers.

He pulled out the knife, and held it ready. He could see the face of the woman in front of him, now, it was one of the sorceresses from his dreams! "That knife won't work! We're going to cut you up and boil you down into a paste. We will have your power!" came one of their voices, but it was deep, and distorted.

They were here to capture him, and kill him horribly! He leapt forward, and thrust the knife into the abdomen of the robed figure on the right. The blade went through the robe, but glanced off of something thick underneath. Marcus heard a strange gurgling, growling laugh, and then some kind of ancient words, and he was slammed back by an invisible force.

He lay there, on his back, the wind knocked out of him. He felt like he was destroyed, and he couldn't breathe. The figures advanced on him. As they did, their hands came up, and he could see that they were deformed, black, and dark green, like roots in a swamp, yet clawed, as well. He couldn't breathe! They were going to take him! They leaned over him, and reached down to lift him up. Marcus felt a huge pain in his chest, like he was on fire. Suddenly, an explosion shot out of him, knocking the creatures back. Both of them caught fire, and he could see their skin underneath, suddenly looking flimsy, and weak, and ready for his knife, but he couldn't do anything at the moment. There was a deafening, horrifying shriek, as they moved toward the windows, and then jumped through.

Marcus finally drew a large breath, and sat up. He could hear the crash of the beings hitting a car below, and the alarm it set off. They were gone, but they were injured, and moving slowly. He assumed they'd go to ground as quickly as possible to lick their wounds.

Chapter 12

Back in the loft, Marcus assessed the women. "Is everyone okay? No one got hurt?"

"We're okay, what happened, Marcus? You disappeared!" said Mila.

"I didn't disappear, I was almost grabbed and dragged off! Someone was in that room, and I followed them through the hole they caused in the floor. I managed to scare them and their partner who was waiting below, and they ran off. I went downstairs, and came back up from the front door."

"Oh my god!" said Marta.

"Who was it?" asked Lupe.

"It was members of a group of women who have been stalking me." He remembered the fire that burst from inside of him, and then said, "I think I can handle this, now. Wait here, my darlings. I will return."

Marcus walked out into the cold night. He got out his phone, and texted Enha. "I want to let you examine me. Where?"

She texted him an address, and he drove there in Mila's car. He went up to the front door, wondering what he was doing. Was he letting his rage drive him? Or did this make sense? He decided it made sense. They had tried to bag him and drag him off to murder him to save themselves. He hoped the injured ones hadn't made it back yet to warn them, and he could count on his fire to destroy them, or at least make them vulnerable enough so that he could kill them.

He took a deep breath, and pushed open the door. Ten stunningly beautiful women sat inside on several couches. Their eyes lit up when they saw him, and they smiled warmly. He took a step forward, and pulled the knife out. All of their faces dropped in horror. He ran at them, and one of them stood up, and drew symbols in the air. She started making visible lines of unknown letters in the air, and then the letters shot out, and got bigger, forming a shock wave, which froze Marcus in place.

Enha stood up now, and tossed a handful of some kind of powder almost casually in Marcus's direction, and this caused him to slide over to them, and freeze again. They all sat down, and relaxed again.

"What are you doing, love?" asked one of them.

Marcus found he could still speak, so he said, "Two of you tried to take me, told me you were going to chop me up, and take my power by boiling me into a paste."

"Oh, my darling!" said Enha, "You don't understand who we are. We can't get power by drinking paste made of you. We love you. We summoned you so that we could love you. You keep us young forever. I love you, Enzo. We all love you. We need you. We will always be here for you. Sweet darling, never be afraid. You will never be alone."

These words struck a chord in him. He suddenly remembered countless dreams he'd had about them. They did love him, and they had always been there for him. He'd heard exactly these words before, he remembered, in a dream about being on a train with them. And he had been about to try to kill them! His heart broke, then, and he was horribly ashamed. He wept bitterly.

"Oh, he didn't know," said one of them and she walked over and kissed his tears, and touched his cheek.

"Stay back!" said Enha. "We don't know what he'll do now! Someone has tricked him!"

There was a crash as the front door was reduced to splinters. The skylight caved in, and several windows exploded. Through each new opening, robed beings leapt through, and ran at the sorceresses. The sorceress who had frozen Marcus did her signs again, and all of the attackers became motionless.

"These are beings from another realm!" said one of them.

Enha used her power to slide one of them over in front of the still frozen Marcus. She pulled the hood back, and tore the robe off. What he saw shattered his mind. It was Enha's face, but the body was a grotesque, twisted mix of darkness, green, and black, wet looking horror, and things his mind and eyes couldn't even process. Enha took a sip of wine, and spit it into the creature's face, and now its visage became like its body. It was unthinkable, and no longer had Enha's face.

"We don't have long, Marcus. Do you see, now? Are you satisfied?" demanded Enha.

Marcus said, "Yes, I'm so sorry! They fooled me! I should have trusted you!"

She snapped, and Marcus was freed. The sorceresses all started doing different movements, chanting, tracing letters in the air, and using different physical components, like feathers, or crushed animal bone powder to work on the still frozen beings.

One of the beings went up in flames, and was reduced to ash. Then two, three, and four, but the fifth shook loose, and ran at Enha. She started working some kind of defense with her hands and some small stones, but Marcus could see there wasn't enough time. She was going to be killed. He was going to make up for being gullible enough to be tricked into betraying them. He ran at the creature, and tackled it. They both went flying through a window. The women screamed in horror.

Outside, on the ground, the creature stood up, and faced Marcus, who had already gotten to his feet. Marcus punched it in its horrible head. It broke his hand. The creature laughed its distorted, gurgling laugh, and advanced on him. He stumbled backward, and tripped over a rock. The creature leaned over him, and Marcus could see a swirling darkness start to form in the middle of its head. It was the void incarnate. Marcus was beyond terrified. He was seeing something that would destroy a lesser human mind. He realized it was too late, though. His fire wasn't building up. He was going to be killed. The creature leaned down, and the black tendrils of shadow began to reach out for him. Pieces of Marcus's face began to fade into nothingness.