Temple Dog Ch. 01: Inanna's Hope

Jeff walked over to Akilah, leaned down, and kissed her passionately. She resisted for all of a second before succumbing and attacked his tongue with her own, whimpering with how turned on she was, even with being exhausted from battle.

His hand slid down to the front of her pants, and then dove inside, stroking her wet cunt and strumming her clit through her completely soaked panties. As he did, she could feel some of the energy he possessed flow to the Lifestream, and to her, revitalizing her, and it, and returning strength to her limbs before she came in a shuddering climax on his fingers, the pheromones enhancing the pleasure to make it an incredibly strong orgasm.

As she shuddered in pleasure, unable to form coherent words, he focused internally on shutting down the pheromones. He didn't need to be turning on every woman within a city block just from walking by. Not at the moment, at least.

Once he felt the production stop, he used a small amount of power to generate a small breeze toward the exit and cleared the pheromones from the immediate area.

As turned on as she had been from his pheromones, she had taken less than a minute to orgasm from his finger work, moaning into his mouth. Their goddess was powered by sex, and as her followers, they tended to be refreshed by a quick bout, instead of winded.

Once her tremors subsided, his hand withdrew, and he ended the kiss.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Hadi, I've been dying to do that for weeks, and now, it seemed the thing to do, since I can hear the Rabisu returning. I'd say we have about a minute before we're back to fighting," he explained.

"I think I can forgive you just this once, corporal," she smiled at him, while dying on the inside for having to continue her lie, "and thank you for strengthening the local Lifestream. Now I won't be totally useless for this fight," she returned.

"What about me, Little Hound? Do I get a smooch and a handjob before we fight again?" Gud-Alim asked with a chuckle.

"I think you'd be too much for me to handle, big guy," Jeff joked back, "take a rain cheque?"

"What is a rain cheque?" The Kusarikku looked confused.

Akilah sighed mirthfully. She liked that these two could be so flippant in the face of possible death. That was what servants of a sexy war goddess SHOULD be like. She hoped they found more followers soon.

"I'll take you up on that, Gud-Alim, when we're not about to be attacked by hordes of soul sucking demons. I definitely owe you a sexy reward for all the times you saved my tight little ass today!" She promised him with a wink and a blown kiss.

The bull man actually blushed, and the front of his leather strap kilt started to rise. And rise. She gulped. She hadn't thought about how big the cock of an 8 foot tall bull man would be, and she hoped she would be able to handle it after her promise.

As the keening wails got close enough for her to hear, she wondered how Jeff had heard them so much sooner.

"Jeff, did...did you and the Mistress..." she tried to ask without seeming jealous. Not that he had possibly fucked someone else. They followed a goddess of sex and war, after all. Free love was kind of their thing.

No, SHE wanted to fuck the goddess, but she had never so much as seen a shadow of her. Only meetings in her dreams. But then, Temple Dogs were chosen specifically BECAUSE their minds and souls could handle the otherwise mind breaking presence of the divine.

"She, or should I say THEY, fucked ME. I think that's part of the ritual for becoming a Temple Dog. And now, I feel a bit like a superhero." Jeff answered her unfinished question with a grin.

"Yes," Gud-Alim confirmed, "and now you will be overcharged with energy for a time. This always happens with new Dogs. Usually, though, we have a rather harsh training regimen to channel that energy until it balances to normal levels. I think, for this instance, at least, that I am glad you have it for the coming fight!"

Their conversation was interrupted by the howls and smells of at least thirty more demons incoming.

When the wave of demons came into the room, Jeff pointed at them and grinned like a madman. He was hard and looked forward to the coming battle. Vengeance for his squad mates was at hand.

Jeff quickly untied the pouch of salt from his belt and handed it to Akilah.

"Can you lob this right over the heads of the thickest clump?" He asked her.

"Yes, easily," she responded, testing the heft of the bag.

Holding the bag by the straps, she spun like an Olympic hammer thrower, and released the bag on a perfect arc above the heads of the incoming mic of demons.

Jeff had unslung his rifle, and tracking like a skeet shooter, let loose a 3 round burst at the bag as it passed over the demons. All three hit at high velocity, rupturing the bag and spraying a fine dust cloud of sea salt over the charging throng, bringing many to a screaming halt as they flailed to get the burning symbol of purity off as their flesh sizzled painfully.

The thickest part of the dust cloud literally dissolved the heads of seven of the fiends, and another seven of those around them started to roll in pain on the ground, high pitched mewls of pain escaping their malformed heads, as their thrashing covered them in still more salt, slowly and agonizingly dissolving them completely.

As that single attack took out nearly half their numbers, the whole throng ground to a stop, the remaining Rabisu looking hesitant to approach any further. Fear rolled off the mob as a palpable wave. They hesitated, not sure of their superior numbers anymore.

Gud-Alim charged the demons while they hesitated, shoulder leading the way as his axe was readied to start hewing demons like cordwood. Akilah channeled power into an invisible fist the size of the Kusarikku and brought in smashing down on two demons standing close together, smashing them flat.

Jeff himself was also charging the pack. He sent his knife flying into the skull of one, embedding right to the hilt in it's disgusting pig snout. Bullets useless against the demons, his rifle made for a club as he swung it against the skull of another demon, smashing it in, and breaking the stock of the rifle. Jeff dropped the useless hunk of metal and plastic as he sought his next target.

The bull man hit the throng of demons at the same time, knocking one demon into the air to be crushed between a pair of invisible giant hands formed by Akilah's powers, before sweeping the head off another with his axe. The corporal grabbed a demon by the head, and absorbing a punch to his abdomen that would have floored him just an hour ago, wrenched the head all the way around and then tore it off in a spray of asphalt and ichor.

Jeff turned and batted away the incoming flailing grab of another demon, spinning it around and grabbing it from behind, he lifted it, then flipped it over his head and pile drived it's head into the floor, the hollow thump of it's head exploding giving pause to the nearest demons.

Jeff grabbed his knife from the decoalesced remnants of his first target, and turned around to see he had 4 of the demons closing in on him. He held his knife, wishing it was something a bit longer with more bite, maybe a poleaxe or even a spear.

To his astonishment, the demonic bodies nearby dissolved even faster, energy flowing into the knife, and the wooden knife handle stretched to a length of 6 feet, and the blade lengthened to a broad leaf shaped spear head. He only took a moment to gape at it, ducking the swing of one of the Rabisu, before he came back to his senses and gutted the demon, running it completely through, bringing the spear back out, and running it again into the heart of the creature.

He twirled the spear like a quarterstaff, driving the other demons back, before he leapt into an acrobatic spin straight out of a martial arts handbook, his form perfect, and started twirling the spear point about him, slashing and stabbing as he spun. The blade sank through the neck of one demon, speared the skull of another, was brought back, and then on his next spin, brought down to cleave the head of the last demon. All in the span of 5 seconds.

Gud-Alim was amazed. He had killed another demon by decapitation and one with a backstroke to the skull, as Akilah had grabbed another with an invisible giant fist and squeezed it until it popped like an overripe grape.

He gaped at the spear in Jeff's hand, and the group of dead demons at his feet. The knife hadn't been capable of that when Jeff had taken possession of it.

Akilah grabbed the Last two beasts with her power, and slammed them into each other with such velocity they exploded in a spray of asphalt, soaking Jeff and Gud-Alim in their ichor.

The group sat panting, the entire encounter taking less than a minute. Jeff and Gud-Alim had large bruises that were healing even as Akilah watched. They had done it. They had done it! They were still alive!

She was elated! She had helped him survive! She would be allowed to be with him, now, as her Mistress had promised. Akilah was rushing forward to embrace Jeff when their celebration was halted before it could start.

Slow, thunderous clapping. A figure shrouded in shadow descended the stairs, stepping over what was quite probably a dead staff sergeant Bugman, to halt 10 paces away from Jeff.

The shadows parted to reveal a wizened old man, just at 5 feet in height, and maybe 100 lbs if he had rocks in his pockets. His head was bald, skin covered in liver spots and hanging loose on his skeleton. A wispy white beard came down to his belt line. He was shirtless, his skin covered in tattooed glyphs and sigils. He was thin as a rail, yet exuded terror and power. His eyes were a familiar blackness of deep space, but his pupils were glowing red orbs of spite.

He stopped clapping as he came to a halt. He stood silently looking Jeff up and down, like someone sizing up what cut of beef they wanted from a steakhouse

"Yesss! You will do nicely! Strong, quite strong for a puppy! Powerful soul, good looks, the total package!" He cackled out in a high pitched wheezing voice, "well, then, come along! I haven't got all day, I'll be taking your body and soul, now!"

"I am sorry, Little Hound," Gud-Alim said in a miserable voice, "I cannot help you with this one. I am forbidden by divine law from striking any of the Gods, either of the Anunnaki or the Chthonic. Even those who started life as blasphemous and disrespecting mortals."

"Yes, yes," the old man rambled, "See, even the pitiful bull man cannot help you. Give yourself to me now and spare us both a moment of stress."

"We have a saying, among my people," Jeff responded, casually, "it's quite inelegant, yet infinitely useful. Fuck. You."

With that, Jeff heaved the spear with all his might at the little stick figure of an old man. It sailed true, right for his heart.

Then, the old man simply raised his hand, and the spear halted in mid flight. A flick of his wrist sent it clattering to the floor at the Kusarikku's hooves.

"Care to try again?" The old man asked, seemingly bored.

Akilah kept back out of view as she silently crept for a better position to try to save Jeff. She watched as Jeff focused his power, and the spear sailed from Gud-Alim's feet back to his hand.

She waited, knowing her abilities would have no effect on this monster. Her Mistress had told her, so she was waiting to do the one thing she had that she could do for Jeff.

Jeff willed the spear to change again. He needed a blade. The spear warped again, the shaft shrinking as the blade grew in size until he held an obsidian bladed falcata, the perfect weapon for hewing this old duck's arms and head from his body.

He focused and drew from the dwindling Lifestream, and increased his speed and strength, before charging the ancient decrepit old man.

With another casual wrist flick, the old man picked him up with an unseen force, and brought Jeff slamming into a stone column, once, twice, three times. It must have been agonizing, even for his new body. The column had been struck so hard, it had cracked.

Jeff grimaced with pain, grunting with each of the impacts. He would kill this motherfucker, or die trying.

As Jeff stood and caught his breath, and his ribs started knitting back together, he looked again at the old man. Something...happened.

Jeff could see, in the flash of a heartbeat, all of the crimes this being had committed. Rapes. Murder on a massive scale. Human sacrifice. Torture. Tyranny. Over the span of thousands of years.

This wasn't just some old man. This was a supernatural force of pure hatred older than Jeff could really comprehend.

And his new Mistress demanded it be brought to justice for its crimes.

Jeff was consumed by anger. He again gathered his strength, and charged the wizened old figure. He brought his blade around, and slashed his with the razor sharp obsidian. Once. Twice. Three times. The old man's flesh was sliced open and black asphalt mixed with bronze colored blood sprayed out. The old man grimaced momentarily, before his features calmed again.

"Payback's a bitch, motherfucker!" Jeff spat out.

The old man smiled and cackled wickedly with an evil gleam in his eyes, as his skin bulged beneath the 3 slices, and three tentacles made of liquid asphalt and shadow burst forth and rocketed straight for Jeff's mouth and nostrils.

With a startled "FUCK!", Jeff dodged backwards and brought the blade up, severing the ends of the probing tentacles, before launching himself again at the elder being before him. Now he was REALLY pissed.

The tentacles reformed, the severed ends dissolving and flowing back to the old man, and lashed again at the young soldier, who dodged and spun between then and brought the sword around and down, severing them again, as well as the old man's left hand just at the wrist.

He followed through with several thrusts, puncturing the old man's torso four more times, and followed up with a kick straight up between the old man's legs with enough force to pulp his testicles.

The old man staggered back, eyes squinted shut at the pain. Oddly, the one wound that seemed to cause him pain was the kick to his nuts.

Jeff noticed, and was about to start slashing at the old man's groin when he was flung back by an invisible force at the old man's outflung hand.

"ENOUGH! I WILL NOT BE DISRESPECTED FURTHER BY A MORTAL PUPPY! NOW, GIVE ME THE BODY THAT BELONGS TO ME!" He screeched.

This time, there were more tentacles than Jeff could easily count, as they thrashed and whipped at the air with the speed of striking vipers.

Without warning, they shot toward Jeff with blinding speed in three groups. Jeff slashed part of the lowest group, but enough remained that they were able to grab and wind about his legs, as the second group did the same to his torso, forcing and holding his arms down to his sides, as both sets of tentacles lifted him bodily into the air.

The last group coalesced into 3 thick tentacles, and slowly, agonizingly moved to penetrate his nostrils, and forcibly parts his lips and violated his mouth. Down his throat, inexorably, and an energy poured forth and bathed his body in cold despair from inside, as his breath was cut off.

"It will be over momentarily, puppy. I'll take that body, and your soul, and you won't have to worry about ever making a choice again. I'll get a new skin suit, and you'll learn to enjoy the torment of an eternity of having your soul violated in ways your young innocent mind hasn't even begun to fear," the god wheezed, "maybe I'll let you see as I use you to violate every hole of that whore goddess you serve before I dissolve her and take her power as my own!"

Panic set into Jeff's mind. He struggled against the black tentacles, writhing in mid air as the world started to darken and he could feel the presence of the evil being start to invade his mind and catalogue his very being. He was terrified and angry beyond belief, and if he could just DO some...

Everything was interrupted by the report of a pistol. Followed quickly by thirteen more shots, as Bug Man emptied the magazine of his 9mm pistol into the old man's back from his overlooked place on the floor.

"Let go of my corporal, you old fuck!" He screamed as he dumped rounds into the old man, doing a combat reload and starting to blow another mag into him when he was struck by an invisible fist and knocked flying, once again unconscious.

The wounds were closing even before the bullets completed their journey cleanly through the withered body, but his attention was drawn to the staff sergeant, even as the tentacles kept up their assault on Jeff's body and soul.

Akilah knew what she had to do. Her heart was filled with anguish, and her eyes with tears. She couldn't save the man she loved. She had done everything she could, fought against forces inconceivable by most modern humans, and in the end, it came to this. She couldn't save his life, but she could save his soul.

She focused on the Lifestream in her mind, and with a whisper of "I'm so sorry! I love you so much," she redirected that power, and crushed Jeff's heart in his chest. Death was instantaneous. As was the escape of Jeff's soul from his now expired vessel, made evident as his head lolled lifelessly on his shoulders.

The old man's eyes widened in surprise. His face twisted into a mask of anger as he realized what had been done. What had been denied to him.

"WHAT? NO! HE WAS TO BE MINE. THE MASTER PROMISED! HARLOT! WHORE! CUNT! I'LL VIOLATE YOU THE SAME AS WE'LL DO TO YOUR BITCH GODDESS!" He screamed in almost mindless rage.

The tentacle that was launched her way was intercepted by Gud-Alim stepping into its path. He wrapped Akilah in his arms and kept his back to the old man as the tentacles struck repeatedly, leaving bloody gashes down the bull man's back.

He carried her past the blindly attacking old man to the unconscious staff sergeant, hooves moving slower with each step. As he was struck repeatedly, he was whispering a final message to her.

"I'm sorry, Little Dove. My heart overflows with sadness for you, and I also agonize over the death of Little Hound. I will soon be sent back to my house of bricks. Take this. I wish I could have done more," he finished, setting her on the ground beside Bug Man's unconscious form, and placed the knife, which had returned to its normal form upon Jeff's death, in her hand. A bronze chain with a golden pendant was wrapped around the hilt.

"You will know what to do with these when the time comes, Little Dove. I hope to see you again" he finished.

He stood to form a barrier between them and the fury of the old god's wrath, pain written clearly on his features as the tentacles stabbed and tore at him in a frenzied, murderous rampage.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL! I'LL RAPE YOUR SOULS! YOU FUCKING WORTHLESS CUNT, I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED AND WEAR THEIR BODIES LIKE SKIN SUITS WHILE I RAPE YOU WITH THEM!" The frenzied ancient husk of a man screamed, spittle flying with every syllable.

Then he stopped, and a malicious grin appeared on his face. He withdrew his tentacles from Gud-Alim, who fell to the ground, then fell onto his face, revealing horrendous injuries to his back, his spine and ribs exposed to their air, as he slowly dissolved into thousands of motes of golden energy and flowed back into the room, and into his inscription.

The old man leered at her. Then his tentacles shot back into Jeff's body, pulsing, as the old man himself seemed to slowly deflate.

"You may have killed him, and kept his soul from me, but I can still wear his flesh, little whore. You might want to start running, because I am going to rape you almost to death with his body, before I take yours. Then I'll use YOU to kill everyone you've ever cared about. Oh, this will be fun!" He cackled, as he continued to deflate.