Temple Dog Ch. 01: Inanna's Hope

He saw none, but could hear the sounds of fighting coming from the stairway the human must have used to get here. The bull man knew his duty. He turned back to the human who had shot him. He had killed one of the Rabisu! On his own with no training, and no power, no less. No wonder the lady wanted him saved if possible. With training, this young soldier could become quite formidable.

The bull man approached the human, and when Jeff attempted to give the knife back, indicated he should keep it. He pulled the leather sheath from his belt, and gave it to Jeff. Once Jeff had it sheathed and tied to his own belt, the bull man looked it over to ensure it was in a proper position to be drawn quickly.

Grabbing the corporal by the shoulders, the bull man bodily turned him around to face what appeared to be another doorway, but it was only a doorway carved into stone, about a foot deep, not an actual doorway. He pointed at the doorway and gave the corporal a light push.

Jeff stopped. What was going on? Was he supposed to take cover? It wasn't exactly a position he could do that in, being only a foot deep, so he resisted, not knowing what exactly was going on.

"Dude. What gives? I can't take cover in there! It's too shallow!" Jeff hissed to the bull man.

At that moment, another demon came from the flickering shadows provided by the braziers and charged the distracted bull man. He turned at the last second and caught the thing by an arm, lifted it high, and using the arm as a handle, swung the thing into the ground, head first, with all of the strength he could muster.

The bull man just had time to see it's head burst open in a spray of vile black goo before he saw another creature step out of the shadows near the corporal, and dash in to pick the soldier up by the neck.

"FUCK!" Jeff exclaimed, surprised by the suddenness of the assault. The thing was squeezing his neck, cutting off his air. He could hear his pulse beating in his eardrums like a bass drum being struck inside his head. His vision started tunneling as he reached for the obsidian knife, but the thing batted it out of his hands and it clattered to the stones underneath.

He pummeled at the wrists, to no effect. The world was starting to go dark, and he felt himself lifted off the ground, saw the things maw start to open as it prepared to jam his head in. Fuck that. He'd seen the results. No. He had to do something.

The bull man had been attacked by two more creature's, so he couldn't get help from him.

A thought occurred. That's it. It might work, or it might kill him, but he was dead anyway if he didn't try it. He dropped his hands down his combat harness. Too close for the baseball, he grabbed the thin canister, pulled the pin and counted to 2, then tossed it into the distended maw, and brought his knee up right into its jaw and slammed it shut right as the flashbang went off.

Normally, the things made the loudest, most sudden bang and bright burst of light designed to stun and disorient. Normally.

In this case, with the thing's mouth being closed, the normally nonlethal blast had no escape from the confines of the mouth it was in. The concussion caused shockwaves that pummeled the creature's head from the inside for milliseconds until the pressure built up so much that the head in question simply ceased to be in a spray of goo and bone splinters.

Jeff was peppered with splintered bone, some gashing his face, chest and arms. The sound was still deafening, causing the bull man and the remaining creature he was fighting to actually stop and look their way, to see the already decoalescing body of the demon to drop away, as Jeff was hurtled back into the wall, his mind a fog of confusion. He was dazed, and having trouble tracking properly.

He didn't see the next creature step out and Infront of him. It seemed to stare at him despite having no eyes. Jeff could almost hear something, like a yell, but he couldn't FOCUS. His head felt like it was filled with custard that got between his thoughts and kept anything from connecting. He needed a nap. He realized he must have a concussion, a small voice in his head yelled (bubbled?) through the custard, but that didn't seem to MEAN anything.

This beast, too, grabbed Jeff by the throat, and lifted him bodily. The bull man was too busy himself with demons to be able to help. Jeff looked in confusion as his head was brought up to the demon's mouth, and it started to engulf his head. Then everything went dark.

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Akilah dodged and weaved, avoiding the demon's attempts to grab her as she moved like the wind, her hands flashing out to swipe the karambits against the wrists, arms, and torso of the beast in front of her, goo splashing and sizzling upon contact with the obsidian blades, foul acrid smoke rising from the wounds she inflicted as the fiend opened it's maw to release a terrible howl.

She was siphoning energy from the local Lifestream at a prodigious rate to increase her agility and reaction time. The Rabisu before her seemed to move in slow motion as she twirled and spun and sliced it numerous times. Her last move left her crouched in front of the beast, as it raised its hands to strike her down. She waited until the last moment and ducked back, the dashed forward to use it's arms as a springboard to launch herself upwards, one karambit biting into the beasts stomach and being dragged with her until it sliced cleanly through ribs, leaving the torso ripped open from bottom to top. At the top of her jump, she flipped and brought the other karambit across the beast's neck, sinking in two inches deep and slashing from right ear to left ear, through the spine. The beast stood motionless for a moment, before toppling over and decoalescing before it hit the ground.

The smell of the asphalt the creatures used for blood hung heavy in the air. Several of the creatures must have been slain so far. Had Jeff managed to kill any of the creatures with no training or power? She hoped so, as it would confirm he was definitely the one she had been sent to find.

She ran towards the far end of the room, seeing the bull man fighting three of the creatures, the remains of three others dissolving at his hooves.

Wait, hooves? Bull man? It was...a Kusarikku? A real live Kusarikku, not just an engraving of one! They were the guardians of ancient temples and important homes. And with that axe, this must be Gud-Alim, guardian of Inanna's temple doorways. Maybe they did have a chance for Jeff to survive this.

Then, beyond the Kusarikku, she saw him. The Ribasu had Jeff in it's arms, the man covered in scratches and bruises and looking almost unconscious, with a bit of blood coming from an ear. It was lifting him up, getting ready to drain his soul and leave him an empty, dried out husk! NO! Akilah couldn't let that happen!

Reaching inside, she focused on her mastery of the Lifestream, channeled some into an invisible fist the size of her head, and sent the force flying towards the beast, striking it in the side of the head as it was about to take Jeff into its mouth.

Startled, the beast dropped the soldier, and turned to face her as she reached the Kusarikku and it's trio of opponents. Using her enhanced agility and reactions, she ran UP the forward leg of the bull man while he was midstroke with his axe. She jumped, landed on his knee, pushed off and just over his swinging axeblade, barely touching his shoulder to spring up to his horns and launch herself bodily over him just as his axe bisected straight through one demon and three quarters of the way through the next.

The reaction speed enhancement was draining through the local energy reserves fast, but it was still needed at the moment. She flew through the air and landed between the Rabisu and Jeff and started spinning like a desert whirlwind. Her karambits flashed out. She sliced the insides of both calves, inside the knees, inside the thighs. Further up, inside both wrists, the elbows, under the armpits. Up to the neck, two quick rips from opposing directions, before burying both blades in the chest and ripping from side to side the shred whatever she could.

The beast burst apart in a spray of asphalt and foul shadow, as she was forced to bring her reaction speeds back to normal or risk tapping the local energy well completely. As she stopped and started gasping for air, the bull man dispatched it's final foe, almost casually knocking it's head off with a backhand swipe of the enormous axe.

Looking around and seeing no demons in the immediate area, he paused and approached the two humans. He bowed to Akilah, sinking to one knee and lowering his head so his horns nearly touched the ground.

"Little sister," he said, in ancient Sumerian, "that was possibly the most exceptional footwork I have ever seen, and I humbly pray that I may be blessed to again see it's like in the future! Would the Dove of Inanna stand guard with this humble servant while the recruit has his audience with the Mistress? I fear there will shortly be more of The Lurkers, as they sense food with power."

"Their master will likely be coming soon, as well," she responded with a nod. "I will happily stand alongside a hero of old as we deal death to the enemies of our Mistress. Now, where is the entrance to the audience chamber? We must get Jeff in there quickly!"

Rather than point, the bull man, Gud-Alim, picked up Jeff's discarded blade and resheathed it before picking up the insensate soldier and walking to the stone doorway he had earlier indicated. He heaved the soldier back, then launched him bodily at the solid stone of the doorway.

Jeff struck the doorway, then stopped, as the stone deformed outward slowly like a viscous liquid, and pulled the soldier in. Within seconds, there was no sign of the corporal.

The beautiful priestess and the imposing Kusarikku stood side by side, as the hissing and moaning of more demons approached them, intent on devouring the two, and her lover after that. She didn't intend to let that happen. The local Lifestream was weak, however, drained by her own use, so she knew this fight would be a slog.

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Jeff awoke on a piled of the softest pillows he had ever felt on what appeared to be a rooftop. There was a brazier lit providing some light amongst the backdrop of the night sky. Another pile of pillows sat a short distance away, just beyond the reach of the brazier's light. The roof he stood on was made of very tightly packed and woven reeds. The air was pleasantly cool after the oppressive heat of the...

The fight! He sat up quickly, feeling lightheaded. Where were Akilah and the bull man? The last thing he could clearly recall was flying backwards after his flash bang had exploded that demon's skull like an M80 firecracker in a mailbox. He remembered being sprayed with bone splinters, but his face had no scratches or bruises that he could feel.

Movement on the other pile of pillows drew his attention. A feminine figure stood and walked to stand at the foot of his bed of pillows, a hand cocked upon her hip as she looked down at the newly conscious soldier.

The sight of her took his breath away. He would say she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but something otherworldly told him this was no normal woman. She was something...more.

She must have stood as tall as he was at 6 feet. Her skin was the color of a desert sunset. She had high cheekbones set in a teardrop shaped face. Her hair seemed like individual strands of a black hole, drinking in the light, intricately braided into two long tails falling behind her to her waist. Her eyes. Her eyes were the pitch black of interstellar space, her pupils appeared to be galaxies, a different one for each eye. Between her eyes and her hairline, two horns, eight inches in length curled up and back over her head.

A golden choker with an 8 pointed star pendant hung in the hollow of her throat. She had two angelic white wings visible behind her, folded so the tips showed below her arms. She wore not a stitch of clothing. Her breasts were either a large B or small C cup, her muscles were toned and defined, while still looking elegantly feminine. Her hips flared beautifully to a firm, muscular ass, like a gymnast's. And below her knees, her feet were those of an eagle. The smell of cinnamon flowed from her in erotic waves of lust inducing scent.

Jeff was stunned at the unearthly, alien beauty. He was immediately hard, which they both noticed around the same that time he noticed he wore as much clothing as she did. He flushed with a combination of arousal and embarrassment.

A delighted chuckle escaped her perfect full lips, the color of a perfectly ripe cherry, her face twisted in a dazzling smile.

"I was going to say that you had awakened, but now I see that you have truly awakened," she said, her voice sounding like several women speaking in perfect unison.

"There is nothing to fear, young Jeffrey Zacharias. I mean you nothing but a long life and happiness. Others, however, have different plans for you. I hope to thwart those plans.

"As you have not expired upon hearing my voice, you have passed the second test of the evening. The first was surviving long enough to get here. The second was to see if your...soul, as it were, could withstand direct communication with a divine being." She finished, her eyes boring into him as if weighing his soul's worth.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but where, exactly, is HERE?" He asked, as much respect as he could put into his voice.

"An interesting question. And one I cannot answer at this moment. Your military has a saying. Need to know? Yes, that's it.

"We haven't much time at all. While time flows slower here than where you were, it still flows, and we must proceed quickly. I have scanned your mind and your memories while you slept, and have found you worthy of your third test. In order to receive my blessing, you must lie with me.

"There is someone coming after you. They wish to take your life and soul for their own ends. Your only hope of survival is to receive my blessing. Even then, your demise is almost a certainty.

"So, you have a choice, young corporal Zacharias. You can go back without my blessing, and die with complete certainty, and your soul will be consumed by that which hunts you, denying you any sort of an afterlife that one might hope for. Or..." she trailed off.

"Or? Ma'am, I'll be honest here. My squad is dead. If Bug Man hasn't made it, I'm all that's left. The things that did it are still there. Respectfully, ma'am, tell me what my "OR" is, so I can get back to evening out the score for that," he said

The heavenly woman smiled at him, equal parts lust, compassion, and sadness.

"Or, my young lover, you swear loyalty to me, second only to your oath to your nation. And you lie with me to receive my blessing. It carries power with it that offers a small sliver of hope for your survival.

"The third test is for you to plant your seed in me, and to make me climax and to take part of myself into your soul. You will become one of my seven holy hounds. My Temple Dog. An agent of my will on Earth."

Jeff thought about this. No chance to live vs. a slim chance to live. Hmm.

"And who would I be representing?"

"I am Inanna. Divinity of sex, war, and divine justice." She said proudly with her head held high.

"Well, ma'am...Inanna. Sorry, I have no idea how to address you, but I accept. On the condition that if I feel anything is amoral or wrong, I won't do it." He stated firmly.

"Accepted. While my Temple Dogs are renowned for loyalty, any dog can be pushed too far and bite it's mistress's hand." She said with a smile.

"Now, lie back, young Jeffrey. While we don't have the time I would wish for, we don't have to make this a quickie, and I have not been seriously ravished in almost two thousand years!" She said with a sultry gleam in her divine eyes.

Even with the urgency to get back to the fight he had left behind, the overwhelming cinnamon scented pheromones she exuded drove him to a state of lust and arousal he had never experienced in his young life.

He gasped when she took his erect cock in her perfectly formed hand. As she stroked, he could swear he gained at least two inches in length, and a decent amount in girth. She smiled wickedly.

"It wasn't a bad size, I just thought it could be a bit...more? Something I can enjoy to its...fullest. I hope you don't mind?" She asked, just before her tongue came out and managed to wrap entirely around his shaft just below the head.

Jeff fell back against the pillows, and almost against his will, his eyes closed. When they did, it felt as if there were several tongues wrapped around his shaft and licking his head and his balls. The chorus of voices that emanated from her all moaned or hummed as the feeling quickly pushed him to the edge. Before he could come, another tongue wrapped around his base, tight enough to prevent his eruption, yet smooth and amazingly sensual.

One by one, the tongues unwrapped, except for the one at his base, a small voice in the back of his mind wanted to know how she was doing this, but the arousal and need pushed that voice to the side and ignored it. Suddenly, he felt a mouth come over his turgid rod, and then another, and another, like he was being taken into multiple mouths, one inside the other, until her face pushed into his trimmed pubic patch, and the tongues again began to circle and milk and squeeze him. He felt multiple throats take him in, as hands came up his torso and played with his nipples.

He opened his eyes, and saw what appeared to be trailing images of her, each strikingly similar but also noticeably different. The faces were the same, but the skin tones and hair colors were different, and most didn't have horns.

He knew he should be disturbed, but this felt so good, and concerns were shunted to stand alongside the questions that had also been ignored. He existed only to receive this divine blowjob for the moment.

As his lust increased, he grabbed the goddess by her horns, and used those as handles to push her down his iron hard cock. She released a series of delighted, yet cock muffled groans, then her own moans increased, the chorus of hums and throaty moans vibrating through him, arousing his very soul.

This started to become clearer, more defined. The sounds not louder, but more easily defined and separable. The smells of cinnamon, his own musk, and her arousal became easily detectable, as did a smell that was similar, but separate, that he realized was the goddess's own scent.

He stopped pushing and pulling her head, and used the horns to hold her still, while he started to piston his manhood into her face and throat, her eyes looking up at him, becoming half hooded with her own arousal at tis treatment, and Jeff, overcome by lust, facefucked a goddess for all he was worth, sliding his newer, bigger cock into her multiple mouths and throats as he started to growl like a beast. Her moans around him became more frenzied and wanton, her arousal causing her divine juices to flow out of her, easily detected by his increased sensitivity to scents.

He knew the tongue around his base had prevented several climaxes already, but he still found himself driving towards a climax that he didn't think would be stopped, so he pulled her head up and withdrew himself from the most glorious mouth he had ever been in. The willpower it took to do this was gargantuan, but there was something else Jeff wanted to try with this perfectly formed divine sex idol.

Still having her horns in his hands, he used them as leverage to pull her to the side and onto her back as he rolled on top of her.

Her hair splayed out like an inky black halo, with her white wings extended so she wasn't lying on them. He hungrily kissed her, feeling her multiple tongues clashing with his in a war of sensuality and passion, meeting his growls with her own sensual moans, as his hands roamed down to caress her heavenly breasts.