The Succubae Seduction Bk. 02: The Twins Ch. 19

Instead, it chuckled at Megan's shocked face. This time it was his turn to tackle her, before it blew a cylinder of molten flame at her. The heat was almost unbearable, and he was grateful to catch the outside of it, instead of the full brunt of the attack.

"Daddy always said not to trust anything that didn't go down after the first shot," he heard Megan mutter as she pushed Eldon off of her.

"Only water and a big can of Raid can kill that thing," he told the woman.

"Well, these aren't water pistols," she complained back while brandishing her Magnum .45s, before turning her head towards the Myrmidon and spitting. The saliva landed on the monster's foot, and it jerked back with a howl of pain.

"You don't happen to have a way to expel any water at it, do you Sonia?" Shlee asked, but didn't sound too hopeful.

"Not in any way that would do any good," Sonia replied. "I estimate our chances of defeating this creature at less than ten percent."

Eldon feared she was being optimistic.

"You smell wrong," the thing said to the android.

"You're ugly," Sonia replied in an even tone. "Tell me what you did with Shelly."

"Anyone know any water spells?" Eldon asked before the creature could respond. The thing would never tell them where his sister was. It was too loyal to King Aeacus.

Megan snorted, then sucked in some air, and spit at it again. It dodged, and drew in breath to blow fire at her again.

"Damn, this is going to hurt," Eldon complained as he charged the Myrmidon. It felt mostly solid as his weight slammed into it from the side, and the gout of flame that was headed for Megan went wide. The thing squished as he landed on it, spreading out on the ground like a puddle of ants, before coming back together, its hands around Eldon's neck and sitting on top of him. He knew the creatures could form up fast, but had underestimated their speed.

"Burn," the ant monster hissed in sadistic glee. Eldon saw the glow in its maw a split second before his world was washed in burning agony. He could feel his hair sizzle away, and the flesh of his face and skull melting as the thing cooked him alive.

Unfortunately, instead of dying, he had to endure the torture; his body working to restore itself, even as it was destroyed.

He didn't know how long he lay there, unable to breathe, even if the thing hadn't held his throat closed, endlessly burning and regenerating, and burning again. He couldn't even scream. He knew he was thrashing around on the ground, but couldn't think past the mind numbing torment.

On instinct, his body started changing. He wasn't in any kind of conscious control of it, shifting from form to form as he continued to roast. Anything to get away from the agony of feeling his flesh melt from his skull.

When he grew into the ogre form, his neck became too large for the Myrmidon to crush. Now when he thrashed, the Myrmidon was too small to hold him. Some of it was smashed as Eldon rolled to the side, torment searing his nerves. Even as his flesh knit back together, sans hair, he could still feel the fire.

Rage burned through his tiny mind, nearly as hot as the Myrmidon's blaze. His eyes reformed and focused on the creature. With a snarl of utter hatred, Eldon lifted two meaty fists, and brought them down with his considerable strength.

The sound of thunder bounced through the cloudless atmosphere as ants were pulverized, and even the dry ground cracked under the impact of his fists.

Not all of the ants were killed, and they reformed into a smaller version of the Myrmidon, belching even more flame at Eldon. His clothes smoldered and dropped away as he swung and pounded, trying to destroy this little nuisance that caused him unending pain.

The thing moved with speed though, and somehow managed to remain outside his grasp. Try as he might, he couldn't catch the beast and put a violent end to it.

Something screamed overhead, drawing Eldon's gaze upwards. A large bird, even bigger than Eldon, circled overhead. It gave another raucous cry, but it was too high for him to reach. It looked tasty though, if it came down lower.

Eldon returned his gaze to where the Myrmidon was, but it was no longer there. With an annoyed grunt, he searched, and saw it running away.

With a third cry, the bird overhead dove, and in an amazing display of acrobatics, managed to snap up half the Myrmidon in its beak. The other half crumbled into ants and spread in all directions.

"No fair," Eldon pouted as the massive avian flapped hard and rose back into the sky, once again out of reach. Not only did he not get to destroy the annoying bug, but he couldn't catch and eat the yummy bird either. He sat hard on his rump and planted his fist into the ground.

"E-Eldon?" something called to him.

He looked over and saw a creature with multiple arms looking at him. At first he thought it was a giant spider, but somehow knew there weren't enough legs. He thought he should know this creature, but couldn't remember if it was tasty or not. At its side was a large light red colored wolf, baring its fangs, but not quite growling.

"Thing hurt me," he told the creatures as he held his head. "Pain, owie. Ant thing bad. I wanted to smash it. Nummy birdy took it. I'm hungry."

Two other two legged creatures, these with the proper amount of arms and legs, joined the first two. He could all but smell the fear coming off the one with dark red hair, though she didn't act afraid. The other one smelled like... something he couldn't identify. She looked tasty, but didn't smell it. It didn't even smell alive.

"I know, love, but it's gone now," the many armed one spoke. "Will you change back now?"

"No," he told them. "Thing hurt me when small. Thing can't hurt big me."

"It's gone now," that one said again. "It can't hurt you anymore."

He thought about it for a long while before asking, "Promise?"

"With all my love."

Love... That meant something to him.

"Okay," he said after another moment's hesitation. He could feel his IQ rising as his body shrunk. "I'm making progress on that form," he said when his normal form was complete.

"Holy shit!" Megan exclaimed. "Cover that thing up! How do you walk around with that bat between your legs?"

Eldon looked down and realized that all of his clothes were gone. He knew it was pointless to try and cover up, and just turned his back slightly to her.

The bird gave one final cry, and winged its way north. "Thank you," Eldon stated, no longer upset that the roc took away his kill. At least it was one more thing he knew that could kill the Myrmidons.

"Sorry I'm late," Lysa's voice sounded a moment after the air around them shifted. It wasn't exactly windy, but neither was the air stagnant. "I saw you were under attack, so I hope you don't mind that I called the Roc in."

"Thank you, Aunt Lysa," Eldon told her, meaning it.

"But our princess is in another castle," Shlee muttered right afterwards.

Eldon looked at her for a moment, and realized she must have changed back when he did. His heart plummeted as he realized what she meant. The Myrmidons had Shelly. Which meant that she was already dead, and it had been her corpse that was dragged back to their nest, regardless of the lack of blood.

"We have to hurry and rescue Shelly," Sonia stated. She hadn't realized the obvious part yet. "If we talk to Angela, I'm sure we can get an army to get her back."

"Shelly is... gone," Eldon said. Even his voice sounded dead as he spoke.

"No she's not," Lysa said. "I'm watching her right now."

Eldon jumped to his feet before he even knew he was moving. "What? Where?"

"Where dad killed the Outsider," Lysa said in solemn tones. "In the home of the creature that hates him most... At least, the one that is still living."

She could only mean one person. "But no one knows where King Aeacus is hiding..." He trailed of as he realized that apparently Lysa knew. "But that spot was dad's greatest triumph. Why would Aeacus hide out there?"

"Who would think to look for him there," Lysa replied. "I'm sure Gaia knew, but she refused to ever tell us, preferring to remain neutral."

"I'm assuming that there is a lot of information I'm missing," Eldon heard Megan mutter to Shlee.

"You've heard the stories about Lyden Snow and how he defeated the Outsider, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Megan said. "That's taught in middle school history. But, I mean... Some of it can't be true, right? Some of it has to be exaggerated? Lyden Snow isn't dead, so he couldn't have sacrificed himself. And how does a person make a cave made of the elements rise up out of the ground to trap a being of light that can control minds? I just figured they were stories, like in the Bible. Great lessons to learn from, but they couldn't actually be true."

"I can't speak for the Bible, but the stories about Lyden are true," Mandy piped in. "I heard it from my mother, who was pregnant with me when it all happened. Eldon's mom was pregnant at the time also, and was there. Lyden was dead for six months before he was resurrected. I was never told how he was brought back. My mom always had this haunted look on her face when she spoke of it, but she couldn't lie to me about it. Lyden took the Outsider into himself, then ordered Captain Jewkes to kill him, while my father used magic to hold him in place. The six months was used to ensure the Outsider wouldn't survive when they brought him back."

"Wow," Megan muttered. "I... Your parents were there also? I didn't realize the company that Eldon kept."

"Would you all be quiet?" Eldon snapped. "I'm trying to come up with a way to get in to save my sister. Give history lessons later."

"You're being rude again," Shlee chided him.

"I'll apologize later," Eldon said. Didn't they understand what it meant that Aeacus had his sister? To say the king of the Myrmidons hated his father would be like saying the Pillars of this world had a little power. A gross misunderstanding. If Aeacus had Shelly, she wouldn't live long, and what life he allowed her would be tortuous. "Come up with whatever punishment you like later, but right now, saving me sister is more important."

"I'll hold you to that," Shlee grinned and licked her lips.

"How can we get in?" Eldon turned back to Lysa.

"We don't," the Pillar or Air stated in a tone that brooked no argument. "You and Shlee need to head to talk to Shlee's fiancée. I recommend taking Megan with you. Mandy, Sonia, and I will free Shelly, and get her to you in time to talk to the Pillar of Darkness."

"But—" Eldon tried to argue, but a piercing cry from overhead interrupted him. Looking up, he saw the roc circling overhead once again.

"Don't argue with me about Megan," Lysa stated, misinterpreting Eldon's argument. "You didn't get to see the way she tried to fight that Myrmidon as it melted your face. She might be only human, but she could teach you a thing or twenty about how to fight."

"She's my sister, damn it!" Eldon cried as he was buffeted by the wind of the roc's landing. "I need to save her."

"She's my sister also," Lysa told him. "I promise I won't let anything happen to her. Now go, before I decide that the respect I have for your courage is all a show, and you're too afraid to meet Shlee's fiancée."

"That's low," Eldon muttered, but he let Shlee guide him over to the giant bird.

"Wow, that bird would make a damn fine barbecue," Megan whispered as she followed after.

"Don't let her hear you say that," Shlee spoke from Eldon's side. "She's just as likely to eat you."

"She can try," Megan puffed out her chest and grinned. "Never met a horse I didn't like, or could tame. I suppose this will be close enough."

"Except that if you fall off, the landing will hurt a hell of a lot more," Shlee teased her. Their attitude grated on Eldon's nerves, but he kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted right then was another discussion on his behavior.

Mandy caught up to them and pulled Eldon and Shlee into a tight embrace with all of her arms. "Don't worry, my loves," she said, emotion thick in her voice. "I'll bring her back to you. I promise."

He knew she meant it, but still he worried. The Myrmidons were tough enemies, and she was about to walk into their den. Even with Lysa, the Pillar of Air, for backup, he didn't know if they stood a chance.

"You'd better," he found the words to say. "And make sure you come back, also. I love you, Mandy, and don't want to lose you."

They held each other for a few more seconds, before Mandy released them, and turned in the direction that Shelly was being held.

"She said, loves," Shlee muttered under her breath, but Eldon still heard it.

"Wow," Megan's voice held a note of surprised incredulity in it. "Y'all are really close after all. I thought there'd be a little back stabbing, or jealousy, but it's obvious y'all are really close. I wish—"

Whatever she wished was drowned out in another cry from the roc as she screamed her impatience.

Eldon turned to look one last time at Mandy before he climbed onto the massive bird, but she was nowhere in sight. The ground was mostly flat with nowhere to hide, but the other three women were nowhere in sight.

==========================

Wow... It's, um... Been awhile. I wish I could say that things would be coming faster, but looking at the future, that's not likely. I promise this story isn't dead, but please be patient with me as I try to balance real life, and this fantasy world you all enjoy.

*REAL* comments below are ALWAYS welcome. I truly appreciate constructive criticism, or hearing your thoughts.

Thank you!

- DBs_Bro