The Battered Lamp Ch. 31

He dreamed of his mother beneath him, crying out how much she loved him and missed him. His cock throbbed in her wonderful embrace. He held her tight, not wanting to ever let her go. "I love you, Mom."

"I'll always love you, Kyle," she moaned, stroking his back. "Hold me!"

His pleasure swelled and he came as he clutched her hard. Then she billowed away.

Kyle gasped awake, his cock erupting into Christy's pussy.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered, pulling away from Christy and his women, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'd do anything to get you back."

He sat there brooding for a few minutes when Britney stepped into the room. "It is time to get ready."

Kyle looked up at her, pushing down his grief. He couldn't afford to be weak. "All right."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecate commanded and her vessel had to obey.

Faiza's piteous cries and moans couldn't reach the goddess. The woman was powerless. She had accepted to be Hecate's vessel. It didn't matter that her memory had yet to return after the trauma of her rebirth.

She was Hecate's puppet now.

The vessel left Rashid slumbering, spent from his repeated use of Faiza's body. Cum dripped out of the woman's holes. More degradation heaped on Faiza's soul. Hecate's plans were proceeding, but Rashid was proving far more stubborn than she had hoped.

"You shouldn't walk through the halls naked," Makerah said, striding out of the darkness.

The handsome, unbound Marid leered at Hecate. "I am the Sultana now," she made Faiza say. "I can walk how I please."

Makerah's deep-blue eyes flickered down, his smile growing as he witnessed his father's cum running down Faiza's thigh. "Well, you pleased him. I guess you've earned your position."

Hecate heard the whore even though he didn't say it. "I did please him." Faiza's voice had a purring timbre that every man seemed to respond to. She was the perfect vessel for this goal.

Makerah's hand was bold as he reached out and seized Faiza's breast, giving the heavy melon a squeeze; Hecate delighted in the shiver of pleasure that ran through her vessel's body.

"You shouldn't touch your father's wife."

He laughed like the booming surf. "I seize what I want."

"Isn't that how you became unbound?" Hecate purred through Faiza. "You tried to seize what belonged to your father. And once again, you make that mistake."

"I only take what is freely offered," he grinned, thumbing Faiza's dusky nipple. "And you want to offer me every delight that my father took."

"Every delight." Another shudder passed through Faiza's body as he rolled her nipple. "You can take whatever you want from me."

Rashid was cold and calculating, the very soul of a Marid. But Makerah was Unbound, a shattered Marid. Caution, forethought, calculation were all missing from him, drained out when his violation of Djinn law shattered him.

He could be useful if the father proves intractable.

The process had already begun. Her tendrils of influence were worming through Makerah's body faster than through Rashid. The Sultan resisted her subtlety on some deep level. But Makerah wanted to revel in her body and experience all that she had to offer without thought of the consequences.

But my opportunities to imprint him will be small. If Rashid found out his new wife had cuckolded him, Hecate doubted he would react well. Their alliance may not be shattered, but Rashid would deal with Makerah and Hecate would find her vessel on a far shorter leash.

"It's a shame you're not strong enough to challenge your father," Hecate made Faiza purr, forcing the woman to stroke his muscular chest. "I would rather be your Sultana than your boring, aged father's."

"Did he pass out in the middle of fucking you?"

"And left me so frustrated." She made Faiza squirm and let out a throaty moan. "I need a real man, not a limp, senile husk."

Makerah seized Faiza's hand, thrusting it down his pantaloons to seize his hard cock. "Is this what you need?"

"That's not strong enough for me. I need a man that is stronger than my husband." She made Faiza lean in and whisper into Makerah's ear, "But you could be. With my help."

He shuddered as her vessel squeezed his cock. "What help?"

"I am a witch. I serve Hecate. I could enhance you. Make you far more than just a Marid."

"How?" Such greed was in his voice. Such lust for power. He wasn't thinking. He didn't consider what hidden snares surrounded the dark goddess's tasty treat.

"You would need to surrender your essence into my hands. I would have to mold you." Hecate made Faiza pull his cock out, bringing it to her dripping pussy. "I would have to touch every part of you and make you so much more."

He thrust his cock into her vessel; Hecate savored the rush of pleasure. "And I could defeat my father?"

"Oh, yes!" she moaned through Faiza, reveling in the pleasure that cock churned through her vessel. Faiza's body reacted, writhing instinctively into his thrust. "Open yourself up to me. Let me touch your core. You'll enjoy it as much as my cunt."

"You whore!" he gasped. "Give it to me! I want everything you possess. I'll take it all. You can do what you want to me!"

Hecate gasped for pleasure, a climax racing through her vessel's body. She had his consent. As Faiza's pussy massaged and convulsed about Makerah's thrusting cock, her tendrils drove deeper into him, changing him, molding him.

Conditioning him to her control.

He crushed her against the wall, the power of his thrusts growing as she rummaged through the Unbound Marid's essence. He sucked at Faiza's neck, grunting like a wild animal. Faiza ached with the strength of his thrust, a pleasant pain that mixed with the pleasure of his cock.

"Cum in me!" Hecate moaned through Faiza, a second, delicious orgasm wracking her body. "Give everything to me!"

Makerah slammed into Faiza. His cock throbbed. Hot cum pumped into Faiza. His essence. Makerah would be all hers. She let the bliss wash through her. If Rashid should fail her needs, his replacement waited.

"Yes!" she cried out. Such power was within her grasp. The Hidden Realms would be hers.

Killing Kyle would merely be a bonus.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Zaritha wove the image of Jabal al-Dhukan out of crackling fire. It rose out of the barren, red waste of the Ghul lands. A single, rearing mountain. Its slopes were the same, rust red as the rest of the wastelands, but its summit was scorched black. It was like some great fire had consumed the top of the mountain.

Britney leaned closer, examining the slopes, looking at the terrain. It was open. There were very little folds or wrinkles to the mountain. No canyons or draws. It was almost a symmetrical cone rising out of the land.

"It is not natural," she said.

"It was built," Zaritha agreed. "A prison for the most powerful and dangerous beings. Only the union of all four elemental powers can open it. Anyone can be thrown in, but the five Djinn tribes have to agree to release the prisoner."

"I thought we only needed the four elements," Fumi said. "I know we have Christy's staff giving us access to the Ghul's darkness, but that's not an element."

"It's an abstract," Britney answered, eyes distant.

"The Ghul guard it," Zaritha said. "They determine who can approach it. But with Christy's staff, we can bypass their roaming packs that haunt the wastelands and appear upon the summit. Hopefully, they will have no idea we are coming."

"I don't think our luck is that good," Kyle grunted.

Zaritha raised her eyebrows. "Have you offended Tyche?"

Kyle frowned. "Who?"

"Luck goddess," Christy answered. "She serves Ishtar. So you should be fine."

"That is why we should always plan for the worse," Britney said. "We shall assume the Ghul's will come to defend the mountain. Where do we have to be to free Kalila?"

"Here," Zaritha said, pointing to the south slope. Her image enlarged, showing of a more detailed area of the rocky slope. Set into the mountain's slope was an iron disk. "That is the prison door. All four elements must be directed into it at the same time. The locks will turn, and Kalila will be freed."

"All right," Kyle nodded. "Concubines will form the perimeter. Aaliyah, Zaritha, and Hawaa will conjure homunculi."

"The mountain isn't our home," Aaliyah whispered. "I cannot form my homunculi away from our hearth."

"Well, I want to rescue a hot Ifrit, and I want the place well guarded so that I may take my pleasure upon her body right there on the rocky waste."

"Sex is really the great go around to your limitations, Aaliyah," laughed Fatima.

"Kalila will burn your cock off, Master," snorted Zaritha. "She is...feisty."

"How did you imprison her?"

"Treachery," Zaritha answered. "I placed an emerald necklace about her throat."

Aaliyah shuddered. "That is similar to what Christy used on me."

"Sorry," Christy muttered.

"You are forgiven," Aaliyah said. "Emerald gemstones rob us of thought. We cannot control our physical bodies and fall into a coma."

"How fascinating," murmured Britney. "Diamond keeps you from teleporting and transforming into your essence while sapphire blocks your telepathy."

"What does a ruby do?" asked Fatima.

"Block telepathy," Aaliyah answered.

"That's weird. It does the same thing as sapphire."

"A ruby is a corundum as is sapphire," Britney corrected. "The difference in color comes from various impurity in the crystal."

"Oh." Fatima's disappointment crashed across her face.

"I can teleport us here," Christy announced, rising up. "I have a good fix in my mind."

"Let's get in and out as fast as possible," Kyle said as he touched Christy.

Britney reached out and placed her arm on Christy's other shoulder. Phillipa's trembling hand touched Britney's free hand. Britney gave her mate a squeeze, flashing Phillipa a reassuring smile over her shoulder.

The concubines pressed in, all reaching out to touch someone. Britney felt a pair of hands on her back. She may not be one of Kyle or his wives' sexual partners, but the Rakshasa was still glad to be a part of this caring family.

"Do it, Christy," Kyle ordered.

Space warped around them. Britney marveled at the non-Euclidean geometry her brain tried to interpret as Christy transported them. Her entire body felt compressed, folded. Her atoms felt forced together, overcoming the elemental forces of nature and transforming her into one, giant, impossible atom.

And then her atoms sprang back apart, and she unfolded upon the slopes of the red mountain. Britney stumbled, the ground uneven beneath her feet, and Phillipa gasped, falling backward. Britney seized her mate, keeping her upright as the Rakshasa struggled to maintain her balance.

"Shit!" Phillipa gasped as they both fell over, Britney landing atop her.

"Fuck!" Fatima cursed behind them. "Thanks, Christy, you landed me in a hole. I think I wrenched my knees. Fuck, that hurts!"

"Conjure the homunculi!" Kyle shouted.

Britney heard the alarm in his voice. She took a deep breath as she struggled to rise. Death permeated her nose. Black Ghul rose up around the rocks around them, howling with rage, and charged at the concubines.

The Ghul were waiting for them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyle summoned Earthbones.

The Ghul howled with bloodlust as they swarmed towards Kyle's family. The foul things were naked, covered by waxy black or gray skin. They moved with a hunched over, clawing gait, their eyes shining red. Some blurred into writhing clouds of greasy, black smoke, rolling across the rocky ground.

"Get ready, girls!" Shannon cried out, the older concubine, gesturing. "Toni, Alexina, Carla head north. Mindy and Lois, cut off that group slithering up the left flank. Ann, Kayleah, and Chyna protect the Witches. And Hawaa, generate those homunculi, or I'll spank your ass so hard!"

"Yes!" squeaked Hawaa, the Si'lat reaching behind to touch her sore ass.

Kyle strode out to the front, flanked by Ms. Capello and Zaritha. Fire blossomed from the Ifrit, surging out to form a pair of living, fiery guardians. The first Ghul howled towards him. Kyle commanded the earth to rise, thrusting up before the first one.

The sound of crunching bones was quite satisfying.

The concubines' fierce cries echoed across the mountain as they surged into the Ghul. Fire crackled and wind howled. The air grew dry as Britney gathered water to lash at the Ghul. A Ghul rushed at Kyle teeth gnashing.

Kyle's katana slashed down, flaring gold. The Ghul's flesh parted, a horrible stench rising up. Ms. Capello's hand lashed out, blurring with her enhanced speed. She seized a cloud of black, rotten vapor--a Ghul traveling as its essence. Thanks to Christy's magic, the concubine was able to grip the cloud and forced the Ghul to assume its physical form.

"What?" the astonished Ghul hissed before Ms. Capello tore out its throat with her fingers.

"Watch behind us!" Shannon shouted. "Fumi needs help! Alexina, get down there!"

How's the battle going? Kyle asked as his sword cut down another Ghul. He couldn't take the time to scan. He was in the thick of it. Fire crackled on his right. Zaritha's flames burning hot, guiding the Ghul towards him, protecting the witches and Aaliyah as they stood at the metal door. Zaritha couldn't kill, but she could interfere.

Christy is healing Fatima. She broke her leg when we appeared on the mountain slope. Fumi is pressed, but Britney is handling things well on your right. We're holding.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Faiza was missing from his bed when he arose. Dawn was approaching. Rashid slept later than he had planned, drained by his new wife's insatiable lusts. If Rashid's guess was right, Kyle would assault Jabal al-Dhukan at dawn. The Ghul were nocturnal. If Tariq listened to his messenger, Kyle would be swarmed under by the hungry Ghul. They would feast on his flesh and suck the marrow from his bones.

Then he could do something about Faiza. He couldn't let her stay and worm Hecate's influence into his court. But until Kyle was dealt with, he needed to keep Faiza around. She was Kyle's mother. When he--

A thought entered Rashid's mind. Was there another way to use Faiza against Kyle?

Rashid created silk clothing to wrap around his body as he slipped from his room and headed to his study. He wanted to watch Jabal al-Dhukan and witness Kyle's destruction. He barely noticed his servants prostrating themselves as he passed. He reached his study, pushing through the curtains of blue silk.

Faiza was in there, draped in the thinnest, most transparent blue silk. She may as well be naked for all the modesty her clothing provided. She sat before his table, his scrying mirror set upon it. She had activated it, showing off the slope of the mountain.

"He just arrived," Faiza purred, giving him a smoky look. "My son, daughter, and their whores. The Ghul are swarming him."

Excitement trembled through Rashid as he sat beside her on the tasseled cushions, gazing into the mirror. Kyle's Jann sword flashed gold as he manipulated the earth of on the mountain side. Jann, Ifrit, and Si'lat homunculi appeared as his women surged out.

"What are those women?" Rashid frowned. The one next to Kyle seized a Ghul in its vapor form, forcing the Ghul into its physical form. "I thought the majority of his women were human?"

"They are," Faiza frowned. "Aaliyah is a Jann and I really did not know Fumi well, but the rest were definitely human."

"Then explain that."

Those supposedly human females were ripping the Ghul to pieces. Rashid looked on in disbelief. The Ifrit were the most martial of the Djinn, but the Ghul were the most ferocious. And they were falling like chaff before Kyle's concubines.

"No wonder the Unbound failed," Rashid groaned.

"They are familiars," Faiza whispered. "Christy and the other witches have enhanced them. They are beyond human."

Scattered between the concubines were Kyle and his wives wielding the four elemental artifacts. Earth erupted, fire burned, wind howled, and water surged. The Ghul were faltering beneath the onslaught. Rashid spotted Tariq howling center of a pack of the largest of the beasts.

Kyle charged towards that pack, his sword smoothing the ground before him as he raced towards the Sheikh. Two of his concubines raced at his side. One was Zaritha, her fire lashing out and driving back Ghul's trying to flank them. She couldn't kill a Ghul without breaking the Laws of the Djinn, but that didn't make her fire any more threatening to the near-mindless brutes.

"Tariq better rip him apart." Rashid tried to maintain his calm. The walls of his study pressed in around him.

"He will fail," Faiza predicted. "The Djinn are not at all capable of dealing with them."

"I will have to increase the number of homunculi guarding the palace."

"And dismiss your Ifrit," she smiled. "Kalila will be freed in the hour. You are about to lose control of everything."

It crystallized in his mind. There was only one way out of this mess. Kyle had to be eliminated. Force had failed. Everyone that had clashed with him was defeated. Even now the youth was carving through Tariq's most powerful followers. The Sheikh was about to fall, and Kyle would then secure the Ifrit's help.

"If you are really Kyle's mother, then you must know things about Kyle," Rashid said. "Things that I or any other Djinn would have no way of knowing about."

Faiza's eyes were dark and penetrating. "Why?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyle wasn't sure who this Ghul was. But he seemed important. He seemed older, more bent and craggy than the other Ghul. And Kyle had to cut through a pack of the biggest, meanest brutes on the mountainside to reach him.

A towering Ghul sprang in front of Kyle, sweeping its clawed hands down at Kyle. He moved his katana, slicing through the monster's hand. A second slash cut across the Ghul's body, felling the black-skinned brute.

"That's the Sheikh," Zaritha shouted. "We can end this if we take him."

"Ms. Capello!" Kyle shouted, pointing his finger.

The Ghul Sheikh dissolved into black vapor. Ghul were made of the fumes of death, their essence foul and rotten. Ms. Capello surged forward past him, seizing the black vapor as the Sheikh attempted to rise up into the sky. She wrestled the vapor to the ground, forcing the Sheikh to rematerialize.

Kyle stepped up, placing the sharp edge of his sword against the elder Ghul's neck. "Surrender."

The Ghul hissed and spit, struggling in Ms. Capello's grip. His claws racked down her side, blood welling down her side, but she didn't cry out in pain, keeping a tight grip.

Kyle pressed his sword harder into the Ghul's neck and declared in his most commanding voice, "Surrender, Tariq, or I will take your head off."

"You will rue this, boy!" spat the Ghul.

"Sultan," Kyle corrected. He pressed a little harder; the edge of his sword drew blood.

The Ghul stopped struggling.

"Call off your people, swear oaths to your new Sultan, and I shall let you live." Kyle shoved a little harder, more blood trickled around the edge of Kyle's katana. "Keep defying me and not only will I end your miserable existence, I will kill far more of your tribe today. You have seen my women's skill. Your Ghul will fall like bowling pins before them."

"Fine!" hissed Tariq. "The Ghul shall follow your rule, Sultan of the Djinn."

"Announce it to your people! Call them off! Now!"

"Yes...Sultan."

Kyle pulled his sword away, ignoring the hatred burning in the Ghul's eyes. Kyle didn't care. He was here to secure the Ifrit, not the Ghul.

Sheikh Tariq rose up, holding a hand to his bleeding throat. "Surrender!" he hissed, his voice booming down the mountain. "Stop the feast."

Are there any casualties? Kyle thought to Aaliyah as he seized the Ghul Sheikh's arm. Ms. Capello held a firm grip on the other.