by Bob Nailor
“It must weigh fifty pounds,” Wayne whispered to Aaron.
“You will wear this until you have achieved your blood lust. So our god has commanded.”
Ana stood apart from the others, looking down at the greatest fortune she had ever seen. Zreia’s words rang in her head, that, for some reason, she was special.
“Is it true we will live forever?” Aaron blurted out.
Zreia smiled and looked at Aaron with mistrust. “If you manage to pass through our ceremonies, you will be one with our people.” She cupped her high, hard breasts with her hands. “I can tell only you this: I look exactly the same as I did the night I became a woman,” she said and grabbed a ceramic bowl from the dinner spread. She crashed it to the floor and picked out a jagged shard which she gouged through the clear skin of her stomach.
“No,” Aaron shouted. “What have you done, Zreia?”
A tiny flow of blood oozed out as the ugly slash healed in front of their eyes. Within a few more seconds, no evidence remained of what she had done. “You will not fall ill. You will heal of whatever injury you might suffer. You will enjoy the pleasures of the flesh as you never imagined. Whether we will live forever is not for me to say.”
“What is this blood lust?” Barbara asked. “Why are you always talking about it?”
“It’s what we all live for, my child,” Zreia said with a smile. “I was born three hundred years ago and looked forward to that instant for the first seventeen. Now, every night when I go to sleep, it’s the only thing I think of. To be with our god, may he rule forever and open our bodies for his and our own pleasure.”
Barbara didn’t look convinced. “Perhaps this is all too fast for me,” she said, staring at the floor. “I’m not sure I’m ready to open my body to anyone.”
Zreia’s eyes turned hard and red. “Tonight is your night, child,” she barked. “We offer you just this one chance, as we discussed after the sentries found you fornicating in the forest. It will not come your way, again. Now, prepare yourselves to leave.”
Barbara’s face fell and her eyes welled up with tears. “I’m not ready,” she said. “I don’t want to do this, not in front of everyone.”
Marshall slipped his arm around her strong shoulders. “I don’t want to lose you, Barb,” he said softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle. Just look into my eyes and everything else will disappear. We’ll find our way together.”
“We must go now,” Zreia barked. “Our god is not a patient god.”
Barbara snuffed her dripping nose clean and stood resolutely. She put her shoulders back and extended her hand to Marshall. “Fine,” she snapped. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“You can’t let her go through with it,” Wayne yelled. “She will die like the girl the other night.”
Barbara scowled at Wayne. “Shut up, you useless twerp.”
“She’s not a virgin,” he yelled out. “She’ll never make it.”
The room fell into silence as the two stood glaring at each other.
“Don’t worry, pencil-dick,” she snapped. “You couldn’t break a cherry with that worthless little pimple if your life depended on it.” Barbara grabbed Marshall’s arm and strode toward the door. When she passed Wayne, she sneered at him and said, “And tonight it does.”
Nancy stepped out ahead of him then turned back to him. “Follow me, stud,” she said and walked out the door. Wayne staggered behind, walking the straight, practiced line of the inveterate drunk.
“Keep your tongue, kid,” Aaron called after him.
Wayne turned around, made a sloppy zipper motion along his lips, and then slurred, “Don’t worry, doc. Mum’s the word.”
Zreia motioned for the rest of the group to follow. “You four will come with me to watch their ceremony from the balcony where Queen Itotia views all of the rituals. Follow me and remember every detail of what I have told you.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
EDSON GOES AFTER ANA
The forest had nearly reclaimed the broad landing ripped open by the loggers a year before. Only a crude dock remained where the barges had loaded day after day for six months. Edson had regularly boarded them to inspect the cargo and documentation. Every time, they matched to the last dot and signature. An amateur geologist in New Zealand had spotted the geoglyphs peering out of the forest on Google Earth. The world focused on the discovery and the scandal broke. The bribes had started at the headquarters of the Federal Environmental Police and ended in the Manaus city hall.
Edson had wangled a small detail of Marines on the pretext of hunting down the man-killer jaguar. He’d assured the captain he’d seen the beast on the riverbank where Paulo had tied up and headed inland with Ana and her crew. Now his craft barely bobbed on the still river water with only a corporal to guard. Edson and four Marines trudged into the new growth where Paulo had hacked open a path mere days before.
It was nearly noon by the time they reached the small clearing. A stream ran toward the river but Edson and the Marines only drank the water from their canteens. They sat chatting about how even the clearing would be gone in another six months. Edson headed into the forest for his morning constitutional, already hours late.
He grabbed for his sidearm as soon as he returned to the open space. All four Marines lay on the ground. Massive arrows pierced their skulls and throats. He held an arrow in his hand. He’d never seen gold arrowheads or feather work like these. The forest was deathly still, as if God had shouted, “Shush.”
A branch rattled overhead. Edson first thought it was a brown monkey staring down at him. That impression vanished when the creature spread black wings and swooped toward him. He fired one round and saw the giant bat recoil from the impact of the bullet. But, it kept coming.
From a distance in the low light, the beast seemed to be an overgrown bat. From its head sprouted the rounded ears and repulsive snout of the forest’s bloodsuckers. As it flew closer and swooped low to land, he began to make out features that raised the hair on the back of his neck. The face was decidedly feminine with oval, glowing red eyes. Its chest blossomed with high, round breasts like those of a maiden. Edson caught his breath when he realized he was watching the animal transform into a human, an extraordinarily beautiful woman. Within seconds the wings had disappeared, and she walked on two long, white, magnificent legs. Her mouth snarled open with razor-sharp canine teeth protruding over her lower lip.
He fired another round square at her chest. It struck its mark, passed through the white body, and struck a tree ten yards distant. The mulher morcego stumbled, but kept walking. In another instant, the bullet wound had completely disappeared.
Edson put another 9mm round square in the center of her forehead. She grimaced, blinked twice, and sneered at him. A slight seizure seized her face then faded away as the hole in her skull zipped shut. He emptied a clip into her body. She laughed and kept coming.
He felt a prick at his neck. Dropping to his knees, he pulled the dart from his skin. He thought he was hallucinating from the poison when he floated upward toward the forest canopy. His eyes closed.
“So far, so good,” Aaron whispered to Ana. She glared at him and shook her head to silence him. Ana spared a look to Neville and Moema who stood near them.
Barbara and Nancy stood together on the island, their heads held high. Ana looked at them with pride for they measured up to any of the natives she had seen. Their bodies were strong and lean, their breasts high and rigid as they anticipated what was about to happen. Marshall and Wayne stood next to two of the stone tables, prepared for the most important moment of their lives. Marshall stood calmly, his eyes fixed on Barbara. Wayne paced, testosterone and adrenaline flooding through his blood.
Itotia stood between the two couples, with Ana at her side. A contingent of native women, smaller than on the previous night, milled below them, curious about how the strangers would react to their special ritual. Drums picked up their beat, incessant in the distance, and the gallery began to
chant quietly.
Itotia’s voice sounded from the balcony, strong and regal. “Our lord and master, may he rule forever, has willed these first outsiders to visit our village become one with us.” A murmur took the place of the sensual chant. “They have not been raised with us and are ignorant of our ways and customs. Nevertheless, there is the chance some may pass through the Eye of Knowledge and enter our fellowship. We shall see.” The murmur turned to a collective snicker as most of the women surrounding them shook their heads in disbelief.
“My sisters, if you succeed where many fail, you will become warrior sisters of Vamazonia. You will be feared in all corners of this world and the next. If you fail, you have seen your last sunrise in the forest. Only our lord and master can judge, may he be obeyed and worshipped. You are at his mercy.”
Ejup strode onto the island without warning or ceremony, his presence spreading a silence through the crowd. He stopped at his customary place, agitated and impatient, and raised his arms toward the women.
“Who dares to become one with my people?” he roared, his voice deep and profoundly frightening.
Barbara threw her doubts to the wind and went first. She strode directly to Ejup and bowed her head to receive her first kiss. She yelped at his assault on her neck, but stood firm. The chant rose from all corners of the scene as the other Vamazons challenged her strength with their stares.
She knelt in front of him and paused, unsure how to begin. At first, she fumbled through the motions of arousing him with a timid uncertainty. He grabbed her head and thrust himself into her mouth, grunting with impatience. She whimpered and dropped her hands to her sides. Ejup forced her to continue, but she broke down in sobs. He growled in displeasure and brutally shoved her toward the slab where Marshall waited. There was no second kiss.
She lay down with her head turned to one side, her face contorted with emotion, her fists clenched at her sides. Ejup began and then quickly abandoned his task when Barbara failed to respond or even cooperate. His reaction was one of anger and disgust. He jumped back down to the ground, grabbed Marshall, and pushed him roughly toward his waiting mate.
Nancy was waiting for Ejup when he returned to his station, already on her knees. In less than a minute after the swirling waters had cleansed him, she had him howling in lust and achieved her two kisses. Wayne waited at their slab, pacing as if he were at the beginning of a race. When Ejup finished with her, this time he roared in approval. Wayne leaped into his place and set out to please her.
On the other slab, Marshall quietly cared for Barbara. He stroked her hair and kissed her face, all the time making slow, gentle love. Ana could see him whispering in her ear and, for some reason, the lack of pure lust disgusted her. She watched the tension in her body slowly rise while Marshall patiently and lovingly became one with her. Ana paced, frustrated. She opened her mouth to scream, “Fuck her like a man, you idiot,” but Itotia glared in disapproval. Ana remained silent.
After another few painstaking minutes, Barbara arrived at her climax, quietly closing her eyes until it silently passed. When she opened them, she bent her head to Marshall’s throat and nuzzled him gently. With a sudden lunge, she bit down on his throat and bit through his jugular, then with a powerful flick of her head, spit the chunk away. His lifeblood pumped out in thick, crimson spurts onto the table and Barbara’s body.
He grabbed the wound and tried to apply pressure in panic. Barbara roared in a voice that wasn’t hers and pushed him off her onto the ground. She jumped down next to him, instantly dropping to her hands and knees, and retched into the grass. Within moments, she was silent, lying still next to her bleeding chosen.
Ejup roared and stormed to where they lay. He lifted Barbara’s powerful body with one hand and shook it like a child’s rag doll. He grabbed her jaw, forced her mouth open, and peered into the cavern of teeth. His head tipped back and he howled upward toward the skies above. Ejup pulled her chest toward him disgustedly and bit through her throat, leaving her head hanging to one side. He spit the gore into the water, leaving a horrendous macabre ripple to wash to the opposite shore. Ejup dropped her body next to Marshall. Soon Marshall was still and lifeless as the furious flow of blood trickled to a stop.
Behind them on the next slab, Nancy and Wayne writhed in the throes of boundless passion. Their screams and grunts rose even above the chants and Ejup’s occasional roar. Wayne seemed to perform true to every one of his macho boasts. But, it was Nancy’s lust that captivated everyone. She matched his every thrust and they became a sexual machine, grinding out the rhythm of life in a crescendo that seemed impossible to maintain.
Their climaxes reached a crescendo together as they threw their bodies into violent contortions. The crowd of native women roared in approval. Even Ana found herself joining in the tumult. Nancy growled into the clear night sky and gnashed at Wayne’s throat. She drew his blood into her mouth for what seemed like forever then jumped down from the table. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth in her zeal. She bent her head upward and howled to the stars with the roar of a wild animal, carried away on the wings of her blood lust.
A few minutes later, as the throng of women kicked and stomped Barbara’s corpse, Wayne slowly sat up on the slab. He staggered away, weak from blood loss and barely able to walk. But, he was pumped with the masculine arrogance that had saved his life.
Chapter Thirty-Three
ANA'S CEREMONY
Ejup stomped down the corridor toward where they stood, his long black cape flying out to both sides. His eyes flamed, and his demeanor announced trouble. He walked directly to Itotia and slapped her with enough force to kill any mortal. The sound of snapping bones echoed across the island, causing many of the multitude to look up to where they stood. She fell to one knee and froze, her hands at her sides and her eyes fixed on his feet.
“How dare you bring me worthless flesh like that to waste my time and my blood lust?” he growled. “In five hundred years you have never failed so miserably as tonight. It will not happen again.” He turned and strode back to from where he had come. “Send me the other two,” he called into the night. “And, make sure they are ready this time.”
Ana could feel her heart pump in a savage beat as she had never known before. She and Aaron stood next to each other at the handrail of the balcony while Moema remained close to Neville a few feet away. Itotia slowly returned to her feet, her breathing jerky and labored. It took several seconds for her to straighten back up to her tall, proud form.
She grabbed Ana’s arm and pulled her into the darkness. “Leave us,” she barked to the others as a grimace flashed across her face. The other three walked away down the corridor as Ana trembled.
Itotia approached her and stood face to face, nearly a head taller than Ana. Her broader, rounder breasts brushed up against Ana’s, her nipples rigid and dark in the low light. Her hand went to Ana’s hair to brush a fallen lock behind her ear. Ana could see she still suffered from Ejup’s cruel attack, her jaw broken and pushed out of place. She simply pushed it back with a crack and waited while it quickly healed.
Ana cupped Itotia’s face with one hand. She could feel the bone reforming under her touch. In another minute, Itotia reached toward Ana in the darkness. Two fingers traced a path on Ana’s arms from her neck to the tips of her fingers. Ana nearly exploded with desire, wanting to bury her face into Itotia’s soft orbs of life. But, she was frozen.
“I feel what you feel, my sister,” Itotia said in a tone near a whisper, her voice still distorted from the damage. It seemed that the entire forest spoke through her. “I know what you want, what you have always wanted. To be one with us. One with all that lives. One with Ejup.” Her hand moved behind, to the small of Ana’s back. One fingernail slowly descended as her heated breath whispered in Ana’s ear, “One with me.”
Itotia took a step back, leaving Ana’s knees quivering. “Few are offered what can be yours tonight. Eternal life and wisdom beyond your dreams. You will become part of a tribe
whose existence stretches back to the days when the earth was young. Back before mankind spread its pitiful stain on her face.” She paused to let the sound fade into the night air. “Or, you can die and disappear into the mist of time.”
Itotia paused and let the creatures of the night speak all around them. “What will it be, Ana Pavlović Carvalho? It is your hour.”
She gently lifted the weighty necklace from Ana’s breast and placed it on the floor behind her. Beneath the fine gold gauze, Ana felt a craving surge through her body she had never imagined possible. She placed her hand on Itotia’s hip and leaned in toward her throat. She could feel a lust rise in her body. The very scent of the Vamazon flooded her with desire.
“Take me, my queen,” she said quietly. “I am yours.”
“Then let your blood lust rise in you, my sister,” Itotia whispered. “Return to me as one of us.”
The moment to follow seemed an eternity though it took only a few seconds for Ana to catch up with her three companions who had already headed toward the island. Her body sparked with sensations, her muscles coursing with an energy unlike anything she’d ever felt.
“Remember,” Ana barked to the men. “Not a word from either of you.”
She walked side-by-side with Moema. The older woman took her hand with a squeeze. “We’ll do this together, Dr. Ana,” she said, her head held high and proud, and walked down the steps. The men took their places near two unused slabs.
Ejup waited in the center of the island in his customary spot, gleaming in the moonlight. Anger flowed through his eyes which glowed with a sinister radiance. They fixed on Ana’s body and scanned her from head to foot, his breathing rapid and obscene. A thought went through Ana’s mind as she approached Ejup, If this life is so wonderful, why is their god so evil?