The Battered Lamp Ch. 33

"And ruin all my plans?"

Her eyes flared. "You will not submit to my whim?"

"You are my wife," he growled, thrusting harder. "You submit to me, whore!"

The bed creaked and groaned with the vigor of his thrusts, the pleasure swelling through him.

"You will never obey me," Faiza sighed.

"You must think I am as weak as my son!" Rashid growled, pounding her pussy without mercy, extracting every last ounce of pleasure from her cunt.

"I had hoped. You may kill him, Makerah."

Rashid screamed in pain as Makerah formed out of mist, thrusting his hand through Rashid's back and grasping the Sultan's heart. Rashid gasped, staring down at the triumph in Faiza's eyes.

"Your son will make a much more biddable Sultan," Faiza purred.

Makerah ripped out Rashid's heart. The Sultan of the Hidden People fell dead upon his new bride.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christy leaned against the diamond door. "No spell works. Without my amulet, I don't have the focus I need to channel Ishtar's power properly."

Kyle didn't answer her. He still sat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"Do you have any ideas, Kyle?"

No answer.

Her husband had been broken. He had surrendered to save her. Despair filled his heart, and Christy couldn't reach through the thick morasses which covered him. She walked to him, knelt, and cupped his face in her hands.

Kyle didn't resist as she forced him to look at her. "Speak to me, my love. Don't withdraw." Tears misted her eyes. "I need you to be my strong warrior."

"I fucked up," he whispered, his voice cold, dead.

"You just wanted to save your mom."

"And I failed again."

"Don't give up. There's still hope we can save her. Aaliyah, Fatima, and Fumi are still free. They'll find a way to save us."

Kyle pulled away, stretching out on the floor. "We're going to spend the rest of our lives in this room, Christy."

She stretched out beside him, resting her head on his chest. "At least we'll be together."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecate forced Faiza to heave Rashid's corpse to the floor. Makerah stood over it, his hand coated in blood, a wild look in his eyes. He brought his hand to his lips, licking his father's blood. The Unbound were all broken in their own ways.

"I finally get to be the Sultan," he grinned. "My father cannot stop me now."

"No, my pet," Hecate purred through Faiza, commanding her vessel to stroke Makerah's face. Hecate had made Makerah her familiar, enhancing his strength. Without it, he would have been killed by Kyle's blade in the throne room. "And I will be your Sultana."

The power of the Hidden Realm was at hand. She would finally have the strength to destroy that slut Ishtar. Rashid had proved too strong of will to be controlled, but Makerah was perfect. He was already bound by Rashid's chain, used to the domination of another.

"Kyle needs to die," Makerah hissed. "He hurt me. I need to rip his body limb from limb."

"Yes," Faiza purred. "And you don't need to hide your full strength from your father any longer."

"Kyle must die now."

Hecate didn't care at all about Kyle. But there was no harm in letting Makerah have his revenge against the youth. "Let us go and attend to him," she smiled. "You have earned your reward, my pet."

Makerah strode eagerly forward and Hecate forced Faiza to follow, not letting her vessel dress. Hecate did not care about Faiza's morality.

Please don't kill my son, Faiza moaned in the depth of her soul, pulling at the chains of Hecate's power. Please! I love him. He's an innocent!

Hecate laughed. There were no such things as innocence. Every baby came into the world stained in blood and afterbirth.

The courtiers and servants of Rashid gasped in horror as Makerah strode out. "I am the Sultan now!" he cackled, still clutching Rashid's heart. None of them had the backbone to deny him.

"Sultan," they bowed.

Faiza followed Makerah as he brandished Rashid's heart to all who passed, reveling in his father's downfall. The Unbound was more unhinged than usual. They entered the sapphire wing, the homunculi obeying Makerah and parting to let them pass.

In a small, diamond antechamber, the jailer arose, gaping, "What is going on?"

"I am going to see the prisoner," Makerah cackled. "Open the door."

"The Sultan left clear instructions that no visitors were allowed inside."

Rashid brandished his feather's dripping heart. "Father says it's okay. See. He sent his proof along."

The jailer's face paled.

"I would obey your new Sultan." Hecate forced Faiza to smile. While Makerah dealt with Kyle, she would enjoy chastising Christy for her betrayal of her oaths. Ishtar's power could not reach this far to protect the cunt.

"At once, Sultan," the jailer bowed and opened the doors to Kyle's cell.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyle had failed his mother, Christy, and all his wives.

He stared up at the diamond ceiling of his jail cell. The diamonds prevented any teleportation in and out of this room. Beyond the diamond walls were sapphire ones, blocking any telepathy. He couldn't summon his sword if he wanted to, or even speak to Aaliyah.

Kyle and Christy were going to spend the rest of their lives in this cell. It may be richly appointed room, decked out with all the luxuries of home, but that didn't change the fact it was still a prison.

Christy's head rested on his chest. He didn't understand why she wasn't furious with him. He had led her into this trap. He hadn't listened to Britney or her arguments against this plan. He had been so certain that he was better than Rashid. That he could pop in, grab his mother, and escape.

But she hadn't really been his mother. Some spell still dominated Faiza, forcing her to aid Rashid.

Muffled voices came through the diamond door of his cell. They grew louder, shouting. Kyle tensed, sitting up.

"What?" Christy asked, blinking her hazel eyes in surprise. "Have you thought of something?"

Another muffled shout.

Kyle did not like the sound of that. He quickly rose, standing before Christy and falling into an aikido stance. He wasn't completely defenseless without his sword. He had been trained in hand-to-hand combat by his uncle.

But any foe here is going to have powers that no human possesses.

Christy pressed stood behind him, her breath warm on his neck. "What's going--"

The door flew open.

Makerah strode in, the Unbound Marid's eyes wild. His right hand was dripping with blood, a mass of red flesh in his hand. A heart. Whose? Kyle's mother strode in behind him, naked, her breasts splattered with blood.

"You cut me, mortal!" hissed Makerah. Kyle saw insane death in his eyes.

"Rashid promised us safety!" Kyle shouted, ice pumping through his veins.

Makerah brandished his bloody fist. "He had a change of heart," he cackled.

The Unbound Marid surged at Kyle like the violent sea. Kyle lashed out his arm, grasping Makerah's wrist. He pivoted, using the Marid's momentum to flip him over his hip. Makerah landed hard on the ground.

"Ishtar, defend your servant in her desperate hour of need!" Christy chanted.

"That pathetic whore cannot help you!" Kyle's mother shouted, striding at Christy. "You never should have betrayed me! I never forget those who break my oaths!"

"Hecate?" Christy gasped. "You're possessing Faiza?"

Kyle barely had time to process that. Makerah lashed out with water, striking the young man in the chest. He was thrown off his feet, landing on the pillowed floor. He struggled to get up, but the water clung to him, pinning him to the floor.

Makerah rose, flexing his left hand. Kyle's heart beat faster as he struggled against the heavy water.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Khoshilat Maqandeli, The Hidden Realm

Fumi adjusted Windfeather, pushing the green glasses up her face. She kept having to stir currents of air through the room to see. The sapphire war room was airtight. No natural drafts squeezed in to stir the air for her.

Her wives and the concubines were painted in green, their faces animated as they discussed plan after plan to save Kyle. Every attack would first have to breach the defenses of Sahabah, and that would leave the Marid time to go through with their threat to execute Kyle and Christy.

What was the point then?

Fatima was the most passionate, standing up, slamming her fist on the sapphire table and demanding that they go now. To fight their way in. "The Djinn are all slow to act! They are planners! They would never expect our attack to come so swiftly. We could burst through their defenses and reach Kyle before they react!"

"Yeah!" Chyna agreed.

"It is too risky!" Aaliyah countered. "Rashid is a planner. He has to anticipate this as a possibility. We need some way to bypass the defenses and land inside the prison itself."

"I know where they are keeping him," Zaritha said. "But it is deep within the palace. Sure, we could assume the form of our essence and fly fast through the corridors, but the moment we are in the palace, the homunculi defenders will activate. They will slow us down."

There has to be a way for us to move through the palace. These Djinn are masters at moving through the spaces between realities. Aaliyah had riddled Kyle's college with that pocket dimension that could be accessed from... Fumi's eyes widened. "...anywhere."

"What was that, Mistress?" Tarah, her Si'lat concubine asked. Tarah's twin, Naila, reached out and touched Fumi's arm.

"Aaliyah," Fumi said, hope beating in her heart. "At Kyle's school, you made it so any door led to a pocket dimension that could be accessed with a special key."

Aaliyah nodded.

"Then let's do it at Sahabah. I wish that there was a pocket room for Kyle to go and enjoy his harem, accessed through every door in Sahabah!"

Aaliyah shook her head. "I was able to do that at Kyle's school because it was part of his life. He went there every day. Sahabah is Rashid's palace."

"But Sahabah is Kyle's prison," Fumi countered. "That is a part of his life."

"Yes! He's the rightful Sultan!" Fatima declared. "Sahabah is his seat of power! Rashid has usurped it from him. How is that not Kyle's?"

A smile crossed Aaliyah's lips. "Make the wish again."

"And add that Khoshilat Maqandeli connects to it," Britney said, her face placid.

"And the keys to open the doors," Toni added. "That's how me and Chyna figured out the college one."

Fumi made the wish and Aaliyah proclaimed, "Done!"

"Zaritha," Fatima snapped, "conjure a map of Sahabah and show us exactly where you believe Kyle is held."

The Ifrit waved her hand, fire flowed from her, forming a three-dimensional map of Rashid's massive palace. The image zoomed into the basement of the palace to a large room built of sapphire surrounding three smaller rooms. Two were antechambers, the first also made of sapphire, the second of diamond which led into a larger diamond room.

"This is where important political prisoners would be held," Zaritha said. "The emissary claimed Kyle would be kept in comfort. This room is quite comfortable, for a prison. It is furnished like any guest room in the palace. Of course, it is guarded."

"And designed to hold Djinn," Britney nodded. "If only one door is opened at a time, there will never be a breach in the sapphire or diamond enclosures."

"Those two diamond doors will not be accessible from the pocket dimension," Aaliyah added. "Diamond prevents such work. We could enter through the second sapphire door and then force our way through the two diamond doors."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Fatima declared, holding Kyle's sword in one hand, her fiery yari in the other.

Chyna was already racing towards the door, her key in hand. She opened it up onto the new room. "Let's save Master!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sahabah, The Hidden Realm

Fatima stepped out of the pocket universe into a short, diamond hallway. Chyna, Toni, and Alexina charged ahead of her, reaching the first diamond door. The concubines threw the door open, screaming with desire.

Two watery homunculi guarded the room. They activated, sweeping tides of water at the concubines. But they all had been enhanced by Christy, moving with grace and speed that no mortal woman could achieve. Chyna ducked the water spray while Toni and Alexina leaped over them.

"We'll handle the homunculi! You save Master!" Toni shouted.

The door to Kyle's cell was open. And her brother was in trouble. Makerah stood over him, prepared to finish off her brother.

"Banzai!" Fatima shouted, dropping Earthbones and setting her spear. She charged forward.

She raced through the diamond antechamber, passing the concubines dueling the homunculi. Fire burned at the tip of her spear, bright and hot. She burst into Kyle's cell. Makerah looked up in surprise. Her spear plunged into his chest.

Makerah became water.

Fatima didn't hit any resistance like she expected, her spear sliding through the Marid's liquid body. She tripped on Kyle and fell through Makerah's watery form, crashing to the floor on the other side drenched. She didn't like that. The water pulled off of her as Makerah reformed his figure.

She used her fire to warm her body. Steam flashed around her as she rolled to her feet. She fell into her stance, thrusting her spear with precision at Makerah. He flashed to water each time her weapon's point found his flesh.

Britney leapt into the room, Waterclaw flashed, pulling the water off of Kyle. Her husband rose, freed from the Marid's watery grip.

"Summon Earthbones, big bro!" Fatima shouted as she worked through her katas, her spear forms, driving Makerah back towards the wall.

Fumi shot a green arrow at Christy and Fatima's mother. The burst of wind pushed Christy away from the murderous rage in the older woman's eyes. "She's possessed by Hecate!" Christy screamed. "Watch out!"

Fumi screamed as an unspoken spell struck her, wracking her body. She fell to the floor in convulsions. "This is getting meddlesome!" snarled Fatima's mother, the words twisted by something foul. Evil.

A great anger boiled inside Fatima. Her mother was possessed by that hate-filled Goddess. She stabbed harder at Makerah.

"Kyle!" Aaliyah shouted, rushing into the room.

"You need to get out of here!" Kyle called out. "It's dangerous."

"No!" Fatima declared. "We're finishing this today! You'll be the Sultan, big bro!"

Fatima had Makerah backed into the corner, Ann and Kayleah--her two concubines--joining the attack. Petite Ann danced, her strawberry-blonde hair flying as she kicked and punched, enhanced by Christy.

"He is not the Sultan!" raged Makerah. "No insect can lead the Djinn! I am the Sultan!"

Water exploded.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kyle grit his teeth as a wave of water hit Fatima and her two concubines, throwing them away from the Marid. Mad rage swam in Makerah's eyes. Water spouted from all around him. It was chaos in the room. Concubines were hit by the lashing water, sent sprawling as Makerah strode across the room. Other concubines swarmed towards Faiza. But Kyle's mother was possessed by Hecate. The dark goddess cast her spells with ease, and Kyle's concubines fell unconscious or were wracked by pain.

"Ishtar, come to our aide against your dark foe!" chanted Phillipa as she and Sable strode into the room.

Kyle reached out with his powers and commanded Earthbones to his hand as Makerah advanced on him. The sword flashed to life in his hand, shining with gold light. He fell into his stance, cutting the lashing water that the Marid threw at him.

"You will submit to my will!" Makerah cackled, driving back Toni and Alexina as they tried to leap on him from behind.

"I should have killed you in the throne room," Kyle growled. "This time I'll make sure I finish the job."

He advanced on Makerah, swinging his sword. He reached out to the diamond walls, commanding them. Unlike sapphire, diamond couldn't resist his telepathic command. Shields appeared, ripped from the walls and floors, deflecting Makerah's watery attacks.

Makerah hissed in frustration. Kyle closed with his foe, hacking with his sword. He knew the truth. His sword could hurt Makerah even in his watery form. He believed it, and his sword shone with the strength of his conviction.

The Unbound Marid howled in pain as Kyle's sword found flesh. Blood streamed down the Marid's body. But the wounds did not slow him. He cackled, his watery attacks coming faster, battering into the diamond shields that whirled about Kyle.

"I am so much more than any Marid!" Makerah cried out. "I have been transformed by Hecate! Perfected!"

Kyle groaned. "She made you her familiar?"

"Yes!"

"So you're her slave? I thought you said you were the Sultan?"

"I am not her slave!" Another gout of water exploded from the Marid. Kyle's diamond shields barely held back the tide. Shannon screamed in pain, caught up in the tidal explosion, and crashed into a wall.

Kyle hoped her enhancements would protect her.

"All familiars are slaves!" Kyle laughed. "I know. I have a bunch of familiars!"

"That's right!" gasped Shannon, forcing herself to rise. "I'm Master's familiar! I'm his slave! Just like you are Hecate's, Marid!"

"I AM NO SLAVE!"

Water slapped into one of Kyle's diamond shields, knocking the chunk of translucent wall out of the air. The angry Marid channeled his ferocity into his attacks on Kyle, slapping shield after shield out of the sky. Water billowed around Kyle, lashing at him from every direction.

He didn't have the reflexes to stop all these attacks while Makerah left himself completely open, pouring all his energy into killing him. Chyna, Toni, and Shannon took the opportunity to attack the Unbound, landing powerful kicks and punches on the Marid. But Makerah ignored them. All the Unbound cared about was Kyle's death.

Pain cracked across Kyle's leg. A tendril of water slammed into him with the force of a semi-truck. His thighbone snapped, a jagged piece of bone splintering out the side of his thigh. Kyle fell hard, screaming in pain.

Water lashed down onto his chest. Ribs cracked. Pain erupted. Another tendril fell. And another. His body broke. His chest crushed. He coughed blood. It hurt to breath. His lungs felt heavy, filling up with his blood.

Kyle's sword fell from his hand.

"Master!" Shannon cried out in fear.

"Brother!" Fatima snarled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecate's spells battered Christy. She reeled back before the Goddess's power. Phillipa and Sable's spells helped, but none of them were a match for the Goddess's awesome strength. Christy wasn't even sure how her wards were still withstanding Hecate's attacks. She had been stripped of her amulet, the focus for her power.

But Ishtar's power still rushed into her, building in her stomach. Growing. The memory of suckling at the goddess's breast, Ishtar's mother milk pouring down into her hungry stomach, consumed Christy. It had been so intimate to suckle from the Goddess. She had been adopted by the Goddess, made a part of Ishtar's flesh.

I've been prepared for this moment. Christy's hazel eyes widened. Ishtar and Hecate had long been rivals, each disagreeing on how magic should be used. Christy always assumed Ishtar rescued her from Hecate's wrath as part of the Goddesses ongoing feud. What if it was for this exact moment? To see Hecate defeated.

I need to kill a Goddess to power the unity spell. And I need a Noble Djinn for the focus. All the pieces are here.

"Aaliyah, Zaritha!" Christy shouted, beckoning with her hand. "I need you."

Aaliyah, crouched in the corner watching Kyle's duel with Makerah, whirled into dust and flowed across the battlefield past all the wounded concubines. She flashed back into the flesh, taking Christy's hand. Zaritha rose in a cloud of steam, her arm dangling, broken by Makerah's mad flailing. Her fire zipped across the room, landing next to them.