Temple Dog Ch. 01: Inanna's Hope

Eyes wide with terror, Akilah channeled the Lifestream to increase her strength, and picked up the staff sergeant into a fireman's carry and started to head back up the stairs.

"Oh, yes! Run!" The voice came from both the deflating old man, and from Jeff's body, "I always love it when a victim runs! But run all you want to, young Ms Hadi. I shall find you, and all your family in...Chicago? Oh, so much information in this skinsuit's brain!"

Moaning in despair, she continued the climb, until, at the top of the stairs, Bug Man stirred on her back and weakly smacked her shoulder for attention.

"Wait," he whispered, "need to buy time. Set me down for a moment."

"Don't think you're going to pull the heroic sacrifice crap with me, staff sergeant!" She hissed back hotly. "Enough people have died here today!"

She would not allow another person to die to keep her alive.

"Nah, hero shit ain't for me! I'm a staff sergeant, not a private or a corporal!" He chuckled darkly, " I have 2 frags on my harness, and may have snuck another 4 in my ruck. Even if they can't kill whatever that motherfucker back there is, he'll know he's been kissed. If that doesn't kill him, it might just collapse enough of the stairway to cost him some time."

"You have 6 grenades? For security duty?" She asked, shocked he was carrying that much destructive power.

"Boy Scouts motto," he grunted, "always be prepared. Also got a.357 in there with silver bullets, because how do you know werewolves ain't real?"

The look on his face quelled her question as to his seriousness before she could ask. She worshipped a goddess of sex and war and had abilities that most would consider magic. Was the thought of werewolves any more strange?

"How do I use these grenades? I take it, it's not like in the movies?" She asked.

"Not quite. You can't pull the pins with your teeth. Straighten the cotter pin, then pull it out. Spoon pops off, and then Mr Grenade is no longer your friend. Play hot potato as quick as you can. Try to get them at his feet if possible."

Akilah set the staff sergeant down as gently as she could, almost bolting upright when she saw him start to remove the tourniquet. Then her jaw dropped when she saw his stump was healed shut.

"What? How?" She asked, pointing at it.

"Just a gift from an old friend, Ms Hadi," he said, brandishing a small silver flask with what appeared to be a Nordic rune inscribed on the side, "a one time shot of "keep ya from dyin" as he said. Gave it to me right before we deployed here. Wonder if he knew.

"Now, we're running out of time, Ms Hadi. Time to play catch with an evil prick." He finished.

Akilah pulled the grenades from his harness and his rucksack. The staff sergeant had pulled himself over beside her, and was straightening cotter pins on 2 grenades. He pulled the pin on one, and handed it to her gingerly, making sure she kept the spoon on.

"When you're ready, miss, just let the spoon pop off, and see if you can land this little baseball at his feet," he told her.

Akilah felt the weight of the little bundle of death. She had played softball in high school, and had practiced in a number of thrown weapons in her service to Inanna. Landing the grenade at the feet of the old man was child's play.

Before tossing the first, she tapped the nearly expended Lifestream to create a barrier to prevent any shrapnel from flying their way, just in case. Then she tossed the first grenade.

It landed right beneath the bastard's feet. He looked down curiously, just having enough time to rifle through Jeff's brain to realize what was happening. His lips worked to form a curse..

BOOM!

Akilah didn't wait to see the results. She motioned for the next grenade. The staff sergeant handed it to her, then worked through the remaining 4 grenades the same way.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

After the 6th and final grenade went off, they waited to see the dust settle. They could hear the muffled sounds of Jeff's voice cursing them to an eternity of torture.

The explosive charge on the grenades wasn't huge, like in the movies. It was enough to split the case and send metal fragments flying everywhere plus a little extra.

But these ruins were several thousands of years old. They had been ancient when Moses left Egypt. The combined blast of six grenades tossed in back to back lad loosened enough mud bricks that rubble and sand came crashing down, closing off the entrance to the subterranean room, and possibly collapsing much of the interior onto him.

It had to be enough to slow him down. As they observed the effects, the last thing they heard from the creature inhabiting Jeff's body was shouted, to be sure she heard it.

"Run, little priestess, and try to hide! And know that when I find you, the death of your bloodline will be at the hands of Gilgamesh!"

Her blood ran cold. Known to most who knew the name as a "hero", he was known as much, much worse by the followers of Inanna. Blasphemer. Murderer. Tyrant. Monster.

An example of the earliest spin doctoring to save a man's reputation by his soulless sycophants. The first recorded instance of a man blaming his victim to make himself out to be a hero.

She picked the staff sergeant back up and carried him outside, where the sandstorm had passed, leaving a surprisingly clear night sky. He had her carry him to the area where their camp had been, almost all evidence of it gone, blown away by the freakish sandstorm apparently summoned by Gilgamesh.

At the staff sergeant's instruction, she found one of the more intact ancient buildings, and set him down in it. She inscribed another protective sigil to keep any demons or gods from paying attention to this building.

"Girl, you gotta leave me here. Get the hell out of here," he said, retrieving his notepad from his breast pocket, and a pen. He wrote a phone number on it and gave her the paper.

"You gotta get back to your family! If that fucker can read Zacharius's memories, he'll know how to find them. You gotta get there first. Get to your family and call this number. Tell them Phil Bugman gave you the number, and you need refugee status. They'll help hide your family" he said quickly.

"I can't leave you here, Staff Sergeant!" She started to protest.

"Girl, you don't have time to argue. We don't know how long it'll take him to escape. We don't know how long it'll take him to find your family after that. I'll be ok here. If I run with you, I'll be listed as either MIA if I'm lucky, or a deserter if I'm not. My damn leg got cut off, so all I'll do is slow you down if I come with you.

"I stay here and get found in the morning, there will be questions, but I'll get medicaled out. Once I get back stateside, I'll find you, as long as you call that number and ask for help. Tell them exactly what happened. Be honest with them, they are good people." He finished.

"What? Who are they?" She asked.

She had thought she was the one with all the secrets here. Her mind was filled with questions that kept her from her grief for the moment. How would she get home? What would happen to her and her family? What would happen with her Mistress?

"They're the people who run my hometown, girl." He answered.

"Staff sergeant, who are you, really?" She had to know.

But he had passed out. Stress and blood loss and grief at the loss of his squad had taken their toll.

She took the time to check his pulse and make sure he was as comfortable and stable as he could be. She kissed his cheek before setting off on foot for the nearest town.

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Gilgamesh was still swearing violently, but all inside his own twisted mind now. It took too much energy to make either body talk with all the holes pierced through them by those damnable...grenades....

He let the old corpse he had been riding in for the last two centuries fall lifeless and crumble into dust as he focused his remaining energy on healing the wounds to the newer, younger body. He had to work quickly to keep rot from setting in.

It wasn't ideal. The body would last only a fraction of the time it would have if it had been taken alive with an intact soul. Fucking bitch!

He would escape this rubble pile after he took care of the body. He would find her, and have his vengeance. A mere woman should never dare to raise arms against a god such as he!

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Akilah rested on a bed in the rundown apartment. She had made it to town around 2am. As people slept, she had broken into and stolen a truck, and drove towards Baghdad all through the next day. As evening approached, she had been too tired to keep driving. She ditched the truck outside of town, and had found an apartment building that would allow her to stay. She paid for 6 months of rent up front, which would hopefully give her at least one full night before anyone harassed her about being a single woman.

As she slept, she found herself standing on the roof of the building, and knew immediately that she was dreaming, and that she was about to commune with her Mistress.

The Lioness at the edge of the roof turned to look at her as she approached, a look of sympathy clear in her regal black eyes. It looked as if the giant cat had been crying.

"My Dove, I am so sorry. I know you tried with all of your body, heart, and soul to save him. We knew it was unlikely, yet you tried anyway. I am proud of you." The thoughts came into her head.

Akilah bowed to her knees, and in a moment of grief, dove in to bury her face in the lioness's fur, and wept. Her grief had been kept at bay by the need to be away from the scene at the temple, but now it hit her full force.

"I love him! I love him, and I failed, and he didn't even know I loved him! He didn't even know we had been together," she sobbed into her goddess's fur.

"He didn't even know I was carrying his child!" She wailed.

"Child, you failed to save his life, but you succeeded in saving his soul from that beast. That isn't saving his life, but you've no idea the fate you spared his soul from. His soul now lies in Irkalla with my sister Ereshkigal. She has confirmed he arrived, and I returned the memories of your nights together to him.

"He knows now it was vital that we do everything in our power to keep Gilgamesh from realizing Jeff had fathered an heir. Now Gilgamesh doesn't even know he has a new target. This will give your son a chance to grow up.

The lioness nuzzled her, and curled up around her, providing warmth and comfort. A gentle lick to her hair brought a feeling of compassion and shared grief to her soul.

"He was elated when he was allowed to remember. He asked to have it passed on to you that he loves you, as well, and asks you not to blame yourself. He knows what you did, and why, and he understands. He says that it took an act of extreme love and bravery to take his life to save his soul. And he waits for you, there. When your own time comes, you shall reside forever together in Irkalla. My sister has promised she will make it as pleasurable as possible. Apparently she thinks both yourself and Jeff are tasty snacks just waiting to be sampled." The goddess told her with a cat's attempt at a grin.

Then the lioness smiled at her. It was another odd expression on the feline face, but it was soothing.

"He also asks you to name your son Leonidas," she said, "because, and I quote: That dude was a total badass!"

"My son?" Akilah asked. The realization hit her like a train, her eyes opening wide. She'd mentioned a son twice now. She knew she was pregnant, but it was so soon, she couldn't know the gender.

"Yes, you carry his son. You have for 3 weeks, now. My former husband was the actual god of fertility, but as the Americans say, I can dance to the tune. And I could see at the time of inception just which sperm fertilized you. And when your lover passed, his titles and privileges were passed down to his heir. When your son is born, those gifts that can be passed on will manifest as he ages until he hits majority. When he finds me, if he finds me, I will complete his own transformation into my Hound." The goddess confirmed.

Akilah nodded. She knew this both from texts and traditions that had been passed down through untold generations, as well as from previous dream talk with the Mistress.

But it meant little if she could not get home. She would need her family to help raise her child in the manner he needed if he was to survive. Training that might have saved Jeff's life if he had been found while a child himself could and hopefully WOULD make all the difference for Baby Leonidas.

"I need to get home! I must have the child in the U.S., and I have to save my family! Mistress, how do I do this? I can't fly on a normal flight, nor a military one. So far as anyone will be concerned, I am missing along with the rest of the expedition and the security element." Akilah worried, the confirmation of her pregnancy and the gender both exciting her and terrifying her.

"I have taken care of that. You will have transport. I asked a favor of an old friend, and he will help you get home, in exchange for a future favor to be announced when your son is a man. His own agent approaches your door. You must awake, now, child. We will speak again when the time is right," the lioness spoke, before Akilah blinked and found herself awakening refreshed.

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There was a knock on the door. A young man, just barely able to start growing a full beard, waited on the other side.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hello. Are you Little Dove? My Lord has sent me to bring you home." He replied in a low voice.

"And who is your lord?" She asked, her voice also dropping low.

"Ea, he of the Sweet Waters. Also called Enki," The young man replied with dignity and pride.

"Alright," she replied, making sure she had all of her meager possessions with her and ready to go. "How will you get me home?"

"Follow me, please. It will be easier to show you," he said.

"And give you less time to panic," the last part was added under his breath.

She followed him out of the back door of the apartment building, but instead of walking to any vehicle, he led her to a well. It looked old and...well used, she thought with a smile. When she looked down, it appeared the water was quite far down.

She looked at him, her gaze hooded. Her patience was at its end. Her lover was dead. Her friends were dead. Her family was under extreme threat. She snapped.

"What is the meaning of this? How will I get home? Is there a tunnel to Chicago down there?" She didn't want to refuse help, but this was outlandish. Like something from a bad movie.

He smiled gently, making a motion for her to remain calm.

"Your Lady asked my Lord to get you home. She asked Him because she knows he has his hidden paths. You will need to sleep for this journey, as otherwise, it might just be more than your mind can take." He said soothingly.

"With the last couple of days I've had, my trust is exhausted," Akilah stated. "I don't mean to offend, but I need some assurance this isn't a way to quietly make me into a corpse."

"Ea and Inanna have sworn before Shamash the Sun. Should you not arrive in Chicago safely, Inanna will absorb Ea and his power will be hers. Should the return favor not be granted, Ea will absorb Inanna and her power will be his. Neither god wishes to have the powers and responsibilities of the other added to their own." He assured her calmly, "as they are both quite busy with what they already have on their plates."

With a sigh, Akilah nodded her assent. That was about the closest she could come to a guarantee of safety, given the current circumstances.

"Excellent!" He clapped with joy,"I've been wanting to try this ritual on an actual human for some months now! I can't wait to see it work!"

"Wait, what?" Akilah asked with panic, but it was too late. The symbols had already been inscribed on the bricks of the well, and he was chanting quickly under his breath.

Before she could take more than 2 steps away from the well, an arm of water appeared from within, and engulfed her. She found she was in a pocket of air inside the water, so she could still breathe.

The arm picked her up, and whipped back into and down the well. By the time she reached the bottom, she was in an induced slumber.

The ritual to Ea asked him to transport her via underground rivers, and even rivers of freshwater that lay under oceans, to her destination of Chicago.

Ea had laid the pathways for many such freshwater routes centuries before the rise of the first cities, when man still roamed the plains and slept under the stars and followed herds of prey animals to stay alive.

The journey took 2 days, but it was safe. She was kept asleep to keep her from feeling the effects of claustrophobia during much of the trip, as many points along the route were only wide enough to allow her passage with centimeters or less to spare. And they were dark as the depths of space, and sometimes the surrounding water was so deep, it approached boiling point from the heat of the inside of the Earth.

As she slept, she dreamed of Jeff. Of the times they had shared together. It was wonderful. In the dreams, they also did things they had not been able to do. They went on walks, enjoying various countryside terrains. They dined on fine foods and drank rare vintages of all kinds of wines.

They talked. Expressed their love for each other. It was at the end of the first day that Akilah realized she was not just dreaming.

The approach of a beautiful pale woman, skin obviously never kissed by the sun, black hair shining in the moonlight and eyes as black as deep space with galaxies for pupils clued her in.

She was in the twilight, at Ereshkigal's invitation. It was a realm between the living world and the underworld. A land of metaphor, so she could never remember full conversations, only high points, bits and pieces.

Since she was not dead, she would not be permitted actual accurate memories of what transpired, but it still brought peace and warmth to her heart, so she made the most of her time here.

She had vague memories of night after night of passion with Jeff. Some of those nights, Ereshkigal herself would join them, sharing them and allowing herself to be shared.

By the time she was deposited on the bank of a man made pond within Chicago city limits (thank the Lady it was summer here, as Akilah had not brought winter clothes to the middle east), she was satisfied, yet still incredibly horny, and the local Lifestream was awash in the color of divine sexual satisfaction.

Definitely no dream, unless another divinity was in the immediate area. Not impossible, considering the size of the city, but she had heard no rumors of anything before she'd left.

She had no money for cab fare, but she was a priestess of a sex goddess. As such, she could tell at a glance if a person was sexually available.

Inanna may be a goddess of sex who basically fucks whomever she wants, but she will not break into a monogamous relationship or allow her followers to do so. Therefore, she gifted her followers with a limited divination that tells them whether a person can be safely serviced.

Individuals who are in an acknowledged open relationship will show as available, but any attempt to cheat on a spouse with a devotee of any of Inanna's incarnations will be immediately known, and possibly punished.

She found a parked cabbie who did not pop the radar as a cheater, and who was clean, and worked out a deal. As he drove her to her parent's house, she took him down to her throat. She made it last for the entire drive, and released her cinnamon scented pheromones to increase his pleasure, as she bobbed, swallowed, licked and sucked on his cock for damn near half an hour.