Lords of Eros Ch. 09

The sphinx looked her over slowly, cleared his throat, and said in somewhat bellowing and official tone, "I am Oberon, guardian of this gate, only those who pass my test shall pass!" Then, in a more conversational voice, he asked, "Are you lost or what?"

"Um, no," Evelyn frowned. "At least, I don't think I'm lost."

"Would you know if you were?"

"Maybe not, but that's why I said I don't think I am."

The sphinx managed to shrug, and said, "Fine, then, what are you doing here?"

"I am trying to reach the center of the Labyrinth."

Rolling its eyes a bit, he said, "Why?"

"It's my quest," she said, remembering how satisfying Trielle had found that answer.

"That's not much of an explanation, is it?"

"Isn't it?"

"No," he shook his head. "Look, I'm asking for your motivation, and you've just given me a redescription. 'I'm on a quest to reach the center,' doesn't explain why you're trying to reach the center at all. I'm just going to have to ask you why you're on a quest. Right?"

"Yeah, I can see that. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he frowned. "Just try to be a bit more cooperative, and we'll both be happier, okay?"

"Sure," she nodded.

He looked at her expectantly.

"Oh!" she started, "I want to get one of those rings that lets you go from Eros to my home world and back, but the Watchers Council, or whatever you want to call them, is giving me tasks to complete first, and this is one of them - to reach the center of the Labyrinth."

"That's better," he nodded. "I could ask why you want one of those rings, et cetera, blah, blah, blah, but I'd rather not waste my time. It's not like I actually care."

Evelyn thought about that for a second and said, "I can understand that."

"Still," he said, "I do have a job to do, and it's my one and only job, so I might as well take it seriously."

"Sounds like a plan," Evelyn nodded, still wondering what was about to happen.

"So, here's the deal," the sphinx said. "I'm going to ask you three riddles, and if you get them right, I'll open this gate and give you a prize."

"Okay, and if I don't get them right?"

"I will swoop down on you, tear your skinny body to pieces, and eat you."

Evelyn took a step back, raising her staff.

"No, I'm fucking with you," he laughed. "You just have to wait until tomorrow when I come back and ask you three more."

"That's not so bad," Evelyn agreed.

"I should think not! Are you ready?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "Oh wait, does everything have to answer your riddles to get through here."

"Of course," he said with a touch of pride.

"Good," she nodded, though she immediately realized that this might not be the only way to get to where she was going and that the beast, or whatever, might know another way.

"Your first riddle is this:

I get sensitive when teased and often come in pairs,

Everyone is born with me, but not everyone uses me,

I've been in everyone's mouth and cry when full.

What am I?"

"Um, let me think a minute," Evelyn said.

"There is a time limit," the sphinx said.

"Is there really?"

"Well, I'm not going to give an unlimited number of guesses or hang out here all day."

"I suppose that's fair," she shrugged, "and you're a nipple."

"Correct," he nodded. "Second riddle:

What is always in the south, but can be found in the north,

Has no friends but is fun at a party,

Likes attention though is often hidden from view, and is best when near you?"

"That's trickier," she frowned for a long moment. "A clit?"

"Very good," Oberon nodded.

"Well, it's one of my favorite things," she smiled up at him.

The sphinx actually smiled and said, "I'm sure it is. You're pretty good at this. Ready for the third?"

"I am," she nodded.

"What can arrive fast or slow

Has a rise and a fall

Is good the first time as the second

Involves one or many

and is always an appreciated guest?"

"Oh, I like the phrasing of that one," Evelyn smiled, "and again, it's one of my favorite things: an orgasm."

"You may pass," Oberon nodded. The gate beneath him slowly swung open. The sphinx pushed a bundle off his ledge to fall on the ground in front of Evelyn. "That's your prize."

Evelyn picked up a pouch that held a flask of water and had enough room for several apples as well as a strap that made slinging it over her shoulder easy and comfortable.

"Thank you!" she grinned up at him.

"You're welcome," he nodded. "Good luck in there."

"I'll try," she bowed a little and passed through the gate. When she looked back on the other side, Oberon had flown off already.

The pouch made her life quite a bit easier. She gathered four apples to take along when she found the next tree and was able to take a drink whenever she felt thirsty. She almost found herself enjoying her long wandering through the labyrinth for the rest of that day. Passing the night in a rather uncomfortable tree cured her of her good mood, though.

The next day began with yet another howl in the distance, and this time Evelyn was quite sure it was coming from someplace much closer. As a result, she quickened her pace, and decided to skip any masturbation breaks, no matter how horny she got. This proved a bit problematic when she got to her next distraction.

Early in the afternoon, just after navigating a complex of particularly tight corners and switchbacks, she came to a fairly straight run that was unremarkable except for the open doorway halfway down the right side. Orangish light spilled out of the door and illuminated that part of the pathway. As Evelyn drew closer, she felt warmth washing over her for the first time in days and heard the unmistakable sounds of several individuals having a wonderful time together.

When she could actually look through the doorway, what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. Evelyn found herself peering into a sumptuous bedroom, not unlike those in the Manor, but with a redder, darker aesthetic. There was a fireplace warming the room, many candles suffusing the space with gentle welcoming light, a soft, thick black carpet, plush overstuffed chairs, and a large bed covered with what looked like a deep crimson duvet. Then there were the people...

On the bed were at least four bodies entwined in a very appealing arrangement of shapely limbs and muscular torsos. Evelyn was particularly distracted by one very masculine backside, from the splendidly tight ass to the strong lower back, as its owner slowly and intently moved between a pair of beautiful long legs. As pleasing as the tableaux on the bed was, though, Evelyn's eyes were drawn to a scene much closer at hand.

There, in a large armchair that bore not a small resemblance to a throne, reclined a staggeringly gorgeous woman with long, thick, dark hair tumbling down around her face and over her shoulders. She had a pair of breasts that were simply breathtaking, full and firm, rising and falling there in the candlelight. Her legs were long and strong, and parted so that a much smaller woman could kneel between them and go down on her. Evelyn noticed in passing that the tiny woman on the floor had a long, slender tail springing from the base of her spine and whipping slowly back and forth.

The woman who was being pleasured there was watching Evelyn with a smile on her dark red lips. Evelyn noticed that the woman seemed to have little horns high on her forehead, but, like the other woman's tail, this didn't seem to bother Evelyn at all. Instead, she found herself wanting nothing more than to go into this room and worship those magnificent, beautiful tits. Somehow, though, she resisted, her fingers clutching the doorframe next to her.

"Oh, do come in, sweet thing," the woman in the chair said. "You look like you could use a bath and a good night's sleep, as well as some tender loving care."

"Thank you, but I really should keep going," Evelyn said quietly. Her eyes followed the woman's hand as it moved over one of her own glorious breasts, giving it a squeeze and running a long red nail over her hard nipple.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" the woman smiled. "There is so much pleasure to be enjoyed here. Why make things so hard on yourself?"

"It's my quest," Evelyn tried.

"Silly child," the woman chuckled. "What could you want out there? We have anything you might desire here."

To illustrate her point, there were now two naked people standing there on either side of the woman's chair, one man and one woman. Both were achingly beautiful, had those tiny little horns, and seemed to have tails swishing behind them. The woman was slender with lovely small breasts with nipples that seemed to want Evelyn to kiss them. The man was built like an athlete or a model and was sporting a generous erection that seemed to beckon to Evelyn.

"I need to get one of those rings so I can come back to Eros..." Evelyn reminded herself.

"Oh, but why would you ever want to leave?" the woman in the chair said. "Come in and stay with us. We'll make you so comfortable and give you so very much pleasure."

Evelyn closed her eyes and forced herself to concentrate. The gorgeous woman had overplayed her hand a bit.

"So, if I come in, I have to stay, eh?" Evelyn asked, once again using her normal voice.

"What would tempt you to leave?" the woman said with that seductive smile.

"Well, variety is nice," Evelyn pointed out.

"We can accommodate that very easily." The woman beside the chair was now Asian, and the man was black, and the room now appeared to be in a mountain lodge. Then the woman was black, with full breasts and a large cock, the man now looked just like Don, and the room was a library - a library featuring a large bed.

Evelyn smiled and said, "It's a tempting offer, but no thanks. Have fun."

She turned and started back on her way.

"Well done," said a voice from overhead. "Hardly anyone can resist Beatrix."

"Hey, Horace," Evelyn said as she craned her neck to get a look at the falcon as he circled overhead. "How much farther do I have before I get to the center of this damn thing?"

"Oh, not far at all," he replied. "It's just over there."

"She doesn't mean in a straight line, fool," said the female falcon, who was now perched on a nearby wall.

"Oh, right, let me have a look," Horace said and flew off.

"Thank you..."

"Heathor," the lady falcon said, "and don't mention it. It seems like my job to keep him focused. You're doing very well, by the way."

"I am?" Evelyn smiled. "Thank you."

"Yes," Heathor bobbed her head. "By now the Beast would have caught up with most people."

Evelyn shifted her staff and looked around before asking, "Can you tell me more about this Beast?"

"Big hairy brute," Heathor said. "Never gives up when he's got your scent, and he has yours."

"How far back is he?"

"Hard to say. There are lots of ways to go down here. I'd guess you might have till dusk, give or take, if you hurry."

Evelyn's eyes grew wide and tried to think of another question to ask, but Horace returned and lighted next to his mate and said, "It's hard for me to say with your handicap..."

"He means because you can't fly," Heathor clarified.

"Yes," Horace bobbed. "Wasn't that obvious? Anyway, you could be there in a couple of hours, but only if you go through the ghost cave. It'll take twice as long if you go around that."

"Ghost cave?" Evelyn asked as she started to move again, hoping the falcons would follow along.

"Yeah," Horace said. "You can't miss it, but it'll be on your left."

"Okay, but what do you mean 'ghost'?"

"You know, disembodied spirits."

That was the most she could get out of the falcons, and Evelyn focused her efforts on hurrying along without tripping or missing the entrance to any caves, 'ghost' or otherwise.

Horace had been right, the entrance to the cave would have been very hard to miss indeed. What was, effectively, a four-way intersection formed a small courtyard. The path Evelyn had been following continued on straight through and there was another pathway off to the right, but on the left a long series of broken steps led into the ground much further than any of the previous underpasses. There was a silvery blue glow at the bottom of those stairs and the air was decidedly cooler at the entrance to the passage.

Evelyn was not a superstitious woman, but this was Eros, where things were odd, to say the least, and she had spent days wandering the "Dark Labyrinth," had encountered talking birds, mer-people, and what she was thinking of as succubi, and was being chased by some kind of beast. The situation demanded that she take talk of ghosts quite seriously. Still, any concerns Evelyn was having were banished by the sound of yet another howl, much closer now and clearly from back the way she'd come.

She hurried down the steps and into the cave.

As she neared the bottom of the steps Evelyn saw that the cave was filled with a thin glowing mist, which was responsible for the eerie silver-blue illumination. The glow would make navigating the underground passage much easier than Evelyn had feared. Adhering to her policy, she followed the left wall.

Evelyn was happy to see that the cave was long enough, and straight enough, that it made sense to think of it as a rough, wide underground passage. She was less happy to notice that there were eddies and clouds in the mist that seemed to linger and move in ways that were... less than natural. As she hurried along, she was sure she felt light touches on her legs and arms, though she could see nothing that might have touched her. She felt a warm breath on her neck at one point but brushed it away and kept moving.

It was only when she heard someone whispering something indistinct in her ear that she stopped and whirled around, her staff slicing an arc through the mist. Of course, there was no one there, but the mist swirled around her, seeming to gather around her body. She felt hands... well, she felt something just like hands moving over her legs, then up her body and arms. At first it felt like maybe there were two people caressing her, but then the sensations multiplied quickly, and Evelyn felt like there were a dozen or more pairs of hands moving over her skin, feeling and exploring her body.

It was as if her breasts were being cupped, her ass squeezed, her face caressed, and her labia stroked, while her legs and arms, belly and back, were stroked and gently massaged, though she was standing there alone in the cave. In spite of herself, and against her plan to hurry through the cave as quickly as possible, Evelyn found herself getting very turned on by the ghostly attention. When it felt like several mouths, with their very tactile lips, teeth, and tongues, joined the spectral hands, kissing and licking at her skin, sucking and pulling at her nipples, Evelyn shuddered and moaned.

She felt herself gently lifted into the air as invisible hands parted her legs. Then Evelyn groaned loudly as the sensation of several mouths pleasuring her pussy and clit flooded through her nervous system. She came there, floating in the mist, as hours and hours of frustration broke through the dam and washed over her in a tumbling storm of muscle clenching ecstasy. She was still shuddering and gasping when she felt something pushing up into her pussy. No, it was definitely somethings, plural. She was being filled quite nicely, but not more than she would by one good-sized cock, but they were moving separately, and the feeling was amazing!

Every bit of her pussy was being stroked and stimulated at once. Plus, there was still the feeling of several mouths on her, licking her clit and sucking her nipples, while all those ghostly hands caressed her body. Evelyn felt herself surrendering, letting the ghosts, or whatever they were, have their way with her. She thought it would be wonderful to just float along like this, being made love to for... for...

"No!" she shouted, much louder than she had expected. Immediately she dropped to the ground, landing painfully, and an angry, "Fuck!"

As she picked herself up and looked around for her staff, Evelyn eyed the glowing mist all around her warily. When she had retrieved her staff and adjusted her pouch, she said, "Look, I'm sorry. You've all been really wonderful, and that was just really, really amazing, but I have to keep going."

Knowing the whole point of the ghost cave was probably to keep her from finishing the labyrinth, she was a bit surprised when the mist drew back and let her continue without any further temptations or interference. Even so, Evelyn spent the rest of her underground journey thinking about how intense her experience had been. She found herself thinking she would like to come back here. She wondered how it would feel to have the ghosts come inside her. Did they even have orgasms? These musings kept her rather distracted and very horny until she started up a rough-hewn set of steps at the end of the cave.

Blinking in the relatively bright light of the overcast day, Evelyn looked around and tried to get her bearings. She was at another four-way intersection, and started to head to the left, as her system dictated.

"No, go straight," said Horace from overhead. "Hurry! He found a shortcut."

Stumbling a bit, Evelyn broke into a run. Her pouch was slapping at her wildly, so she wrestled it off and tossed it aside. This was one of those times she was glad she didn't have bigger tits.

"Right and right again," Horace shouted.

Evelyn wanted to ask why the hell he hadn't been this helpful earlier but decided not to waste her breath at that moment. Instead she pitched herself around the two corners and ran flat out.

"She's not going to make it," Heathor said from somewhere off to Evelyn's left.

"Take this next left and then a quick right and the central clearing is straight ahead," Horace continued.

Evelyn made the jog to the left, scraping her shoulder on the corner, and sprinted. Ahead, she could see where the walls on either side of her came to an end and there was some kind of opening. Then she was through and running into a large courtyard that looked like it had once been nicely maintained but had since been left to ruin. Scraggly weeds and grasses pushed up between uneven stones and unruly bushes here and there suggested a long-forgotten attempt at landscaping. Some distance in front of her, there was a rise of stones with what looked like a fountain jetting water.

She was going to make it! And the first thing she was going to do was clean herself in that damn water.

Then Heathor screeched, "Look out!"

"On your right!" Horace added.

When Evelyn saw the dark shape barreling at her out of the corner of her eye, all she could think to do was to dive into a roll. She was low to the ground when the beast hit her, hairy arms and long talon-like fingers grappling for her. Unable to get a good hold, it rolled past her and quickly sprang back up.

Evelyn had rolled into a crouch, her staff raised and ready, and glowered at the beast, getting her first look at the creature.

She didn't know what to call it. It looked a bit like a werewolf, but also a bit like an ape. Its arms were long, like an ape's, but its snout was more lupine; its ears were on the side of its head, but pointed, more like a dog's. Its back, as well as the back of its arms and its haunches, were covered with dark brown fur, and its flesh was a much lighter brown. It had hands with long fingers, like a chimp's, but feet more like a human's, though it did have long, hooked toenails, which probably helped it climb over the rocks and walls of the labyrinth. It had fangs and a long tongue that Evelyn could see clearly as it struggled to catch its breath. It looked at her with deep brown eyes. Of course, she also noticed that it had a nice-sized, and very erect, penis of the primate variety.