The Triple Goddess

by Stephanie Hudson

  “I…I…think I should go back…to my room,…I could ask Pip, she would stay with me…I…” I was fighting with my words that only had him responding in full blown cockiness in one smile. A smile I wanted to knock off him with a back hander to the handsome face!

  “Let’s ask her should we?” He said and before I could comment he let the torch slide down into a thick iron ring that was fastened to the wall. The metal cylinder that still held a flame at its top, scraped down the wall and I noticed the grooves it made in the block work like it had been done before, many times over. Then I jumped back when Lucius used both hands to push on either side of the door using every muscle in his back, causing them to bunch up and tense from the weight. Those doors looked huge at ten feet tall and were made from solid wood so I would like to have said the sight of Lucius’ naked torso working his upper body strength didn’t cause little flutters in my belly, but I would have been lying.

  The doors swung open with a great echoing bang that was like a Japanese gong going off to indicate the master was home. The open space beyond erupted into fire light and only when I felt a little push by the hand at my lower back did I move forward. It felt more like I was entering a lion’s den than just another room I hadn’t seen before.

  Past the doors was like stepping into a very rustic entrance to a castle and the three high arches that were directly in front of me looked as imposing as they felt. This space wasn’t just fit for any old King from history, no… this was the stuff of fairy tales of time and ancient stories of forgotten lands. A foyer wasn’t a word to describe it but considering I didn’t know what else to call this area I went with what I could only imagine. Stepping down a few steps into a large square space it didn’t even grant a view of the rooms beyond the three open arches in front of me, which told me we were higher up than the main room.

  I could feel Lucius at my back and his eyes taking in my reactions to where I guessed not many ventured. The flooring was made from cut marble squares set into a diamond pattern and the same marble was used in the two great sculptures that stood at either side of the archways. If their purpose was to add to the intimidation then mission accomplished as I shuddered just looking at them.

  The rest of the room was a mere background trickle compared to the great flood these two presented. The backdrop of the smooth rock walls and carved stone arches were a theatrical setting for the Demon warriors standing guard over Lucius’ secret world.

  Both stood larger than life deemed real and the swords they both held up high touched the top of the room. Their legs were covered in carved skirts that looked so real, if you would have touched them, you would have been surprised not to feel material at your fingertips. The wrapped coverings hung lower than their stomachs, showing the muscular V before their groins and the belts around them hung even lower, hanging down to where their feet would be.

  It would have been an unusual touch also to have the flames covering up to their knees but considering the person behind me that must have commissioned them it was more than fitting. Flames continued up and were licking out at their thighs, which was also mirrored in the pattern on the floor around them, with broken pieces of marble placed in such a way, the floor looked ready to swallow us both up.

  Their chests were bare and had great chunks taken from their flesh showing spiked tissue underneath, making me realise this was where the real amour was, right under the facade of what humans took at face value. These statues symbolised the real strength beneath human flesh and each shoulder blade showed the proof. No marbled smooth skin lay there but instead one large horn came from the bone that twisted up either side of their heads and the points came over their foreheads. Seeing this made me think of Ragnar and what felt like an age ago, when I had first seen him in his Demon form.

  However the masks these two wore weren’t made from bone but were the only part on them to be made from a different material. The two faces had been covered with brushed gold plating and with only a pair of thin black lips and holes for eyes that weren’t seen. I watch Lucius walk right up to the one on the left and was so shocked to see even at their great height, he didn’t seem small.

  He gripped onto the stone sword and spun the weapon one handed until the blade now point to the floor and the hands of the guard had twisted at an awkward angle. Then I watched as he grabbed the golden mask, pulling down slightly and then when something clicked, he opened it like a door to the face beneath. Now that it was hung down and only attached by the jawline on one side I could see the demon within.

  I made a shocked noise in the back of my throat and Lucius grunted at my behaviour. But come on, could he really blame me considering the horrific face that now looked down at us both. Its face was long and slightly slanted with a large forehead that went down into a pointed chin. The face part of the statue wasn’t made of marble like the rest but more like baked sand from the world’s hottest and most deadly of deserts. Sun cracked and flaky features showed high cheekbone that were almost feminine in shape but the mouth gave me chills to the bone. Its lips had been ripped away to leave little pieces of grainy skin hanging, so delicate these pieces looked like they would crumble when touched.

  But even this wasn’t the most disgusting part. No it was the open mouthful of real teeth that had been set in the carving, ones belonging to numerous creatures. Triangular ones that looked as though they could have belonged to a shark ran along in the back row, where some sharper thinner ones were crossing over each other in the next line that could have come from large rodents. There were others I couldn’t even begin to imagine the animal they belonged to but the most disturbing of all were the last set. These at the front looked like human teeth, only ones that had been filed into sharp little points. There looked to be hundreds of these and the thought made me close my eyes, shake my head and clench my fists.

  I was just about to speak out my views on seeing human parts used in such a way when Lucius reached up and pushed something inside its mouth. The motionless eyes, which were just two empty slanted ovals, flickered from black to white light before the sound of massive rocks moving against each other had me diverting my eyes. Off to one side a doorway had appeared from behind the smooth rock wall and it was only when Lucius grabbed my arm again that I realised I had rooted to the spot.

  “All that for a door?” It was the first thought in my head and Lucius only granted me a wink as an answer. I mean, didn’t these guys just use keys for Christ’s sake?

  I let myself be pulled past the archways and when I saw what was past them I knew why we needed the door. I was right in my earlier thoughts of being up high. My eyes were faced with a massive rock cavity which gave a whole new meaning the word lair.

  “Your bedroom is a bat cave?” I said making Lucius laugh, one that echoed up and beyond. He pulled me up a few steps until we stood between the arches in the middle. I made the mistake of letting him put me there and when I looked down I screamed at the great drop, one that went straight down onto a field of lethal stalagmites that reached up like natural made temple pillars. Of course pillars don’t usually have killer tips like giant spears!

  “Shit!” I tried to move backwards but Lucius was blocking my way out and snaked an arm around my waist to hold me steady.

  “Easy!” He warned and I could almost feel my chest about to burst as my fear hitched higher up the notches to full blown panic.

  “Let.Me.Go!” I said turning my fear into anger at being held here.

  “Keira do you really think I would drop you?” He asked in a low hum that seeped inside my skin and lay there like the sweat that was forming.

  “For all I know you brought me here to get rid of me.” I said not really believing the words but saying them anyway, if anything just to hear more reassurance the security his voice promised.

  “Ah, but if I wanted to get rid of you little dove, then you would be nesting in your frozen grave on the floor of Königssee.” I had heard them speaking the name of the lake before but coming from
Lucius’ whispered lips at my ear, gave new meaning to the place name. It became something dangerous and alluring at the same time, like a secret place and looking down in to the largest cave I had ever seen, being Lucius’ home, it was more truth than fiction.

  “So you’re just trying to scare me then?”

  “No. I am trying to instil trust. Do you trust that I will not let you fall…ever?” His words took on a serious edge and his arms around me tightened. I couldn’t answer him with words but as the reality of it set in I nodded yes. He let out a deep sigh and whispered a praised,

  “Good girl, little pet.” And then he pulled me backwards with him. I didn’t really give it much thought as to what all that was about but then again, I wasn’t given much time until the answer started shrieking out at me. If I was terrified of the heights seconds ago then this had plunged me straight back to the balcony with Layla.

  We had walked through the cave wall entrance the statue’s lock had opened and now I stood in front of something that reminded me of an Indiana Jones adventure… or nightmare in my case. The cave opened into different levels, but the only way forward was a metre thick rock bridge that was a sheer drop on either side. I think I would have been braver with the sight of handrails or something, but there was nothing but empty space and the killer stalagmites stood like soldiers waiting for fresh meat to slay.

  “I can’t do this!” I said in nothing short of increasing panic.

  “I know.” Lucius said as though he had expected this reaction all along and his next action answered my earlier confusion. The reason Lucius had thought it so necessary to ‘instil’ my trust in him was the reason I was screaming my protests now. He had me scooped up in his arms and cradled to his bare chest as his long strides ate up the petrifying space.

  “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” I said into his neck where I had buried my head and closed my eyes from the sight of possible death on either side.

  “You’re alright, easy now.” He said and it was only then that I realised we weren’t moving anymore.

  “Oh God! Keep going! Don’t bloody stop now….shit.” I said still with my eyes fused shut and the image of us just stood in the middle of the natural bridge, swaying? Oh god why was he swaying! Was he trying to put me down!

  I was about to say something stronger than shit when I felt him nuzzle at my hair and cheek.

  “Keira.” The way he said my name wasn’t in warning more like willing me into understanding. When I just shook my head backwards and forwards, in little quick movements I felt a rumbling in his chest…was he silently laughing at me? Just before I could snap at him he gently shook me and then put his lips to my ear.

  “It’s safe my pet and time to put that trust to the test. Now open your eyes for me and see my world.” His words felt so intimate that I trembled before doing as he asked and placed my trust in him. On opening my eyes I found myself staring at a large platform the other side from which we came and without another word Lucius placed my feet on the ground and pulled me in the direction he wanted me to follow. Like this, feeling the massive size difference between us, I felt like a rag doll being pulled along by its owner. Well I certainly looked the part, being only half dressed and having hair that looked like it had been backcombed by Sweeny Todd.

  At the side of the raised platform there was an open passageway that was too dark to see in but with Lucius’ unrelenting grip holding my hand, I felt submissively comfortable letting him lead me around like this. After all, I think since I had been here I had learnt time after time that I was not safe anywhere in this place on my own!

  The darkness didn’t last as it was only a passage to the other side. Once through, I got my first sight of Lucius’ space and unbelievably, the cave looked far less threatening on this side. It was all one open space but on different levels and the walls were untamed rock of burnt oranges thanks to the glow of firelight, from the many lit torches that hung around the room. The room was warm and strangely inviting, thanks to the soft colour and lush furnishings that gave the space a luxurious manor home feeling. Even though, just looking at the jagged rock of the mountain, you couldn’t easily get past that this was just a cave buried deep underground. The staircase that led down to the first level even had a beautiful intricate pattern etched into each step in swirls of interlaced symbols and had a banister made of black iron to match. Lucius walked ahead of me and the first level down was a comfortable looking living space and its plush seating wasn’t empty.

  “TOOTS!” Pip screamed and came racing past Lucius to get to me quicker. I nearly choked when I saw what she was wearing. She had changed from what she had on earlier into one of the most far out things I had ever seen her in and never would I have thought I would be ending this hellish night seeing Pip dressed in a light blue adult baby grow covered in stars, moons and…naked women? The outfit was zipped up at the front all the way to a big baggy roll neck that also had a baggy hood that swayed as she moved my way.

  She threw her arms around me after barging Lucius out of the way and started fussing over me like a little mother hen.

  “Holy shit and mother tattooed bitch, you look like you’ve been on the night train to Hell!” She said holding handfuls of my hair and lifting it up like she was holding dead rats.

  “I very nearly did, that is… if Lucius hadn’t saved me.” I said quietly looking at him to see if he heard my declaration. He looked at me then and I blushed to my roots from the look he cast my way. Then as if someone had snapped their fingers he was back to being the King and ruler already dominating the room.

  “I want action and revenge before the next moon ends!” He commanded his council and meanwhile Pip still fussed over me and when she pulled the large T-shirt out to the sides to see its full size she giggled, then she turned to see Lucius’ back as he addressed everyone that had stood in his presence. She held out her hands to his size and then mirroring her actions did the same to my top again. I tapped her hands away at her joke and she laughed.

  “Is there something funny about what I just said Imp?” Lucius’ voice cut through the cave and bounced around until it came from all sides.

  “Nope sir, nopedy nope nope.” She said as she winked at me and skipped to Adam, who was frowning at her. When she had fully turned round I had to stop my gasp at seeing the back of this strange suit that looked to be part of the wardrobe for a porno called ‘Fanny Galore does a sleepover’. All her back was bare down to base of her spine and there was a little flap over her bum that was held in place by two bunny heads.

  “Ready for duty sir!” She said saluting and waiting eagerly for instructions. I saw Lucius’ bare back muscle flex as I walked around to listen to what he was planning. When he saw me he nodded once but the anger on his face was clearly trying to be kept under control.

  “Hakan, you will track her down with Ruto.” Hakan nodded deeply and slowly whereas Ruto, who was leaning back on a thickly studded chest, just straightened up and said,

  “Fuck yeah….I hate that Vamp!” Then he flicked a blade from his side and was spinning it in his hand like some mortal combat competition he was taking part in. It was still a startling thing to watch someone who looked like a fifteen year old misfit skater dude, playing with knifes instead of working on his half pipe turns.

  Ruto pushed away from the waist high chest and bowed to Lucius before leaving with Hakan the same way we had come.

  “Caspian, take your wife into the tunnels and see if we have a snake in our midst. If she had help then I would like to extinguish it before it can aid her insight any longer. She knew when Keira was alone within minutes of my departure. I would very much like to know how. Find them!” With their orders received, they too nodded and made to leave. Lucius grabbed Caspian’s arm and stared him down as he voiced another order.

  “Bring them back alive Caspian, I want to play with them myself!” Lucius smiled at Caspian’s clear disappointment and I really didn’t ever want to think too much about what Lucius’ idea of
‘playtime’ with the traitor would be.

  They too left the same way and when there was now only the four of us left in the room, Lucius seemed to relax somewhat.

  “Hey what about us, don’t we get an assignment, do I get to kill her or at least take a chunk out the bitch?” Pip said and when Lucius held his hand up to stop her from saying more, she pouted making her lip ring stick out to one side. She still looked adorable.

  “I want you to take Keira and make her more comfortable while I talk to my second in command.” Pip smiled and was about to say something naughty, as it was written all over her face, but she must have thought better about it when Lucius raised one eyebrow in an intimidating glare.

  “Aye, aye, Captain. Come along me matey, time to get you snug as a bug in a carpet store.” She clucked out at me then snapped her teeth when I didn’t react quickly enough.

  “Ok, ok, I’m moving…jeez, anyone would think I nearly died tonight.” I mumbled sarcastically, making her laugh, while showing me the direction I should be moving in.

  Walking further round the sitting area that consisted mainly of masculine wooden furniture and a U shaped black couch, one big enough to seat at least ten people, there was a pair of steps that first went down and then up into another hidden space. This place reminded me of a stone labyrinth that had been formed naturally and its different levels were being utilised as different sections of a living space.

  Right now we had walked around a huge boulder the size of a four wheel drive that acted as a divider to hide a bathroom from view.

  “Wow!” I breathed out at the sight before me.