I stand in the center of a man-made rainforest, basked in the soft glow of moonlight tinted green by a glass ceiling. The arboretum is as spectacular as it is strange and I never would have guessed that such a thing could exist here, on the outskirts of the world’s largest city. I am surrounded by tall trees and dense foliage. Lush shrubs and knee-high grass cover the moist ground. Large vines hang down from the branches and seem almost to crawl across the earth. It is an amazing garden, a place of nature created by the Serpent Master to replicate his home in Central America. He stands before me, naked, his yellow eyes scanning my athletic body lustfully. We each want the same thing- to take the other captive. I wish to take him to prison so that he may pay for his crimes. He wants to use me as part of some mysterious ceremony and eventually deliver me into the hands of Don Refrain. Only one of us will get what we want. Only one of us will emerge from this fight victorious. “Give it up, Python!” I demand. “You are no match for me!”
He seems amused by the boldness of my statement. “I have already fucked you once, little mongoose. I will be pleased to fuck you again if that is what it takes to complete the ceremony!”
The dull ache in my loins reminds me all too well that he speaks truly. I have, indeed, been thoroughly screwed. Ironically, the only thing that protected me, that kept me from losing my powers, was the Serpent Master’s own hypnotic power. The very thing that he used to defeat me ultimately saved me. It gave me this second chance.
“Without your power of hypnosis, you will not be able to beat me again, Pythagoras!”
He holds the Book of Kyrototek up to the pale moonlight and scoffs at my words. “Your defeat is foretold by this ancient tomb, little mongoose. But come! Come and discover your fate for yourself! Follow me into the forest, if you dare. Follow me into the forest of your doom!”
He turns and runs away, disappearing into the bushes. I rush after him but soon come to a stop. There is no easy way through this thick wall of vines and shrubs. I think to use my flying power but even the trees seem determined to block my path. I take a calming breath, knowing that there is no rush. Pythagoras Thon, the leader of the Serpent Squad, is not going anywhere. He wants me as badly as I want him.
The heat is intense and I am thankful for the cover of night. The air is thick with humidity and drapes heavily over my skin. Already, after only a few minutes inside the arboretum, my golden hair is matted to my scalp and shoulders. A sheen of glistening moisture covers my red and black costume. The viscous air seems to embrace my tanned flesh, wrapping it in an oppressive layer of warm soup.
“The home field advantage is yours, Serpent Master,” I say under my breath. “But I will find a way to beat you!”
I look again and suddenly there is a path through the dense foliage. “Was that there before?” I ask in surprise. But I am anxious for a fight and rush through. I peer into the dark bushes on either side, expecting an ambush. These shadows will not give up their secrets easily, though, and I am left to stumble about mostly blind. Finally, lost and disoriented, I make my way into a small clearing. Reeds and grasses tickle my knees as I walk past. The foliage is thinner here, slowing my pace but not seriously hindering me. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I catch a brief movement. I spin around, expecting trouble, and for a moment I think that I see several large snakes slithering closer. But a more careful inspection reveals that it is nothing- just a pile of odd-looking vines crisscrossing the ground.
“Ok,” I admit to myself. “So I might be a little bit jumpy.”
I feel foolish and turn to continue my search. I have taken only a couple of steps, though, when something large and unexpected wraps itself around my right ankle. I look down and am shocked to see that the vines have suddenly come alive! They squirm across the grassy ground unnaturally, like monsters out of a horror movie, intent on snaring me in their web!
“What the hell?” I shout as one of the vines lifts up and loops several times around my waist. My hands clutch at the thick shaft and twist it until it snaps. Rather than fall way, though, the animated plant simply attacks me again. “Get off of me!” I yell while trying to slap the vile thing away.
The vine around my ankle works its way higher on my leg and now holds me tightly. Other vines join in and suddenly I am fighting for my life, tearing and ripping at the monstrous things with all of my strength. Yet, for every vine that I shred several more seem to leap up at me. They slither through the grass like serpents, coming at
me from all directions, attaching themselves to my legs and crawling higher on my body until I am nearly covered with them. I feel them wrapping around my body, tugging at my ankles and knees, trying to pull me to the ground. Now my wrists are held, my hands pulled behind my back… another looped around my throat, choking me… uuunnnggghhh… have to keep fighting… have to save myself…
“Having difficulty, little mongoose?” a familiar and hated voice says from nearby.
I follow the sound of the voice and am not surprised to see the Serpent Master standing near the edge of the clearing. He is waiting for an opportune time to attack, patiently allowing the vines do their work, letting them weaken me. Ultimately, he believes, it is a strategy that will make his victory that much easier. “Bastard!” I snarl back at him. “Fight me yourself, if you have the balls!”
He finds my peril amusing and lets out a loud guffaw. “All in good time, little mongoose. All in good time.”
Angered by his overconfidence, I rip and tear at the vines with renewed energy. I will not be defeated by plants, damnit! I yank my hands free. I pull the vine from around my throat. I liberate my arms and chop at the vines hanging onto my legs. At last, I am liberated from their hold! At last, I can do battle with the real nemesis! “Now it is your turn, Serpent Master! Prepare to meet your end--”
Suddenly, two especially large vines that I had not previously noticed drop down from a tree and wrap around my ankles, one on the left and one on the right. In a split second, far faster than I can react, my feet are pulled out from beneath me and I am lifted into the air. The world is suddenly upside down, my athletic body dangling, blood rushing into my head and the sound of my opponent’s footsteps rushing in close from behind me.
“I will not be captured!” I shout defiantly. But his hands are on me quickly, gripping me from behind, wrapping around my waist and holding me in a tight embrace. I thrash in the air, my powerful legs pulling at the vines, but there is little leverage and my efforts prove futile. My legs are held apart, secured at the ankles, and I can feel the Serpent Master’s head sliding between my thighs. My butt presses against the top of his bare chest. I can feel his enormous cock stabbing me in the back, rubbing between my shoulder blades. I reach for the ground, thinking that I can escape if only I can latch onto something, but all I come up with are some blades of grass. And then I feel it, the forked tongue of my opponent lapping across my bikini bottom, flicking at the sheer cloth, trying to work its way underneath. My struggles grow more frantic as I feel it expose me, as it brushes over my labia and into my slit. I cry out as the twin appendages wrap around my clitoris, licking at the rapidly swelling bulb, forcefully extracting it from the soft folds of pink flesh and making it stand on end. The vines pull my legs wider and lift my body higher, thrusting my snatch into the mouth of their master. I try to resist, try to lift myself up, but the strong arms wrapped around my waist hold me tightly and I soon tire. The strength is draining from my body. With each new lick across my vulnerable labia, I am weakened a bit more. With each gentle rub over my swollen clit, I come closer to surrendering. I was aroused to begin with. Now, with my most sensitive spot being ravished, I feel like I must soon capitulate to the overwhelming sensations flowing through my lithe body. A soft and desperate moan escapes my lips. I think that this might be the end. I cannot escape. I am defenseless.
“No...” I plead weakly. “Please…”
But there is no mercy and the rough tongue of my attacker continues to ravish my nether mouth for the next two minutes. My struggles gradually subside. My body slowly goes limp. My arms dangle down toward the ground, fingers intertwined with golden hair. There is no need for his hands to restrain me any longer. They slide up and down my abdomen, touching me in all the right spots and eventually lingering atop my breasts. The knowing fingers quickly locate the protruding bumps pressing outward on the thin fabric of my costume and begin teasing them without compassion. My diamond-hard nipples scream with each new rub across their jagged surfaces. I moan again, this time more loudly. My breath is coming in pants. I cannot think. I cannot survive.
Once again, the vines tighten around my ankles and pull me higher, spreading my legs still more and causing me to gasp as a dull pain surges through my burning thighs. The tongue is toying with my hole, now, dipping inside of me and searching for my g-spot. The forked appendages flick across the sensitive skin as if of two minds, two tongues lapping at me at once, doubling my pleasure and quickening my defeat. But the Serpent Master is not satisfied with this. He finds it difficult to reach my most sensitive spots and decides to move around in front of me. As if my peril were not great enough already, I suddenly have his monster cock pressing against my face, rubbing over my cheek and filling my nose with a musky odor. The thick shaft brushes my lips and I know that he wants me to take it into my mouth. It caresses my flushed skin, so warm and close… I can feel it throbbing… growing… stiffening…
“Uuuunnnngggghhhh… please… no more…”
His arms are wrapped around my hips, his hands clutching my ass. The fingers spread my nether lips wide and open my hole to the invading tongue. For a brief moment it dips deep inside of me, deeper than any normal man’s tongue possibly could, and I think that I might come on the spot. But then it exits me, apparently preferring to lap at the sensitive folds of pink that surround my bulging clit. It matters little to me- the torture is nearly unbearable either way and it takes every last bit of my willpower to hold off the impending orgasm.
One of his fingers presses into my crack and teases my anus. It forces its way inside, defeating my resistance easily and causing my body to shutter with spasms of torturous pleasure. It slides in deep, penetrating to the second knuckle. It worms around inside of me, somehow knowing just how to maximize the sensations that are rocking my slender figure.
“Aaaagggghhhh!” I cry out. “Can’t endure it! Stop!”
The finger and tongue work like a tag-team, one tormenting my clit and the other my anus. My eyes roll up into my head. My athletic body, upside down and stretched out, quivers with unwanted but undeniable sexual arousal. The Sartak, my weakness the sensual stimulation, is clouding my mind with sexual fantasies. I resist it with the last of my remaining willpower, trying to hold it off. But how long can I possibly last? The sound of my beating heart pounds through my skull. The amount of blood that has rushed into my brain makes it difficult to think yet still I am having all kinds of erotic thoughts. I imagine myself as I was back in the Serpent Master’s chamber, lying atop the stone desk… a massive cock inside of me… filling me… fucking me… torturing me. I am his helpless prisoner, hypnotized and at his mercy. He fucks me over and over again, destroying me with pleasure, forcing me to have multiple orgasms, until I, the once-great Ms. Marvelous, defender of Megapolis, am reduced to being nothing more than slutty whore…
“No!” a female voice shouts inside of my head. ‘Do not surrender to the fantasies! Do not give in to the Sartak!” And I hear another voice, that of Thomas Eiffel, reassuring me that I am strong enough to overcome my weakness. “You are more than just the pheromones, Jody,” the doctor’s voice says. “You are as strong as ten men!”
The Serpent Master’s balls are directly in front of my eyes, threatening to tap my nose as he rubs his cock against my chin and neck. And though my body is on fire and an orgasm is waiting impatiently to explode from my wet pussy, this insult is more than I can stand. Anger wells in a heaving chest. I cannot be defeated in this way! I refuse to be humiliated like this! I am Ms. Marvelous and I will not stand for it!
My hands flail against the Serpent Master’s body. I pound him on the legs and stomach. I force the cock away from my face. I catch him in the nuts and he yelps like a little girl. He backs away, limping and holding his injured package, and I use the opportunity to pull myself up and reach for the vine holding my left ankle. My leg has never seemed so long but I am flexible and just able to get my fingers around the knotted plant. I scratch at the sinister thing, tearing away large chunks of vegetation until, finally, it can no longer support my weight. My foot slips free and now there is just one vine holding me. It pinches the skin of my right ankle painfully as my body swings side to side through the air, but the pain simply serves to rejuvenate me. I slash at the vine with my fingers and in seconds I am free. My body falls into the grass with a thud but I am back on my feet almost instantly and ready to exact some revenge.
“Now for you, you vile, pig of a man!”
Wisely, my hated foe has chosen to retreat back into the forest rather than face my wrath. I can see him, not far ahead, and rush after him with all the speed that my weakened body can muster. The forest is dense, though, and the light of the full moon is soon blocked by the branches overhead. Pythagoras slips behind some bushes and disappears from my sight. I slow my pursuit, not wanting to get caught off guard a second time. The anger that fueled my escape from the vines remains, but burns less brightly, now. My breathing is heavy. The blood that had rushed into my brain when I was suspended upside down is now draining into the rest of my body, leaving me light-headed. And, oh god… my pussy aches so much. My clitoris is swollen to its maximum. I am so turned on that I can barely walk. The strength that I used to get free has faded. My arms feel like lead. I am staggering… struggling just to stay on my feet…
“Get it together, girl!” I command myself. “No time to rest, now. Have to keep going…” I walk through the forest for several minutes and use the time to gather my composure. Eventually, I reach a second, larger clearing. In the center, rising up out of the shadows, is a remarkable sight. My eyes open wide in wonder as I view what is surely a masterfully constructed replica of an ancient Mayan pyramid. Not as large as the real thing, perhaps, but still big- I estimate its height at forty feet. A stone stairway rises upward on the near side, leading from the base to a terrace near to the pinnacle. Atop the terrace, a large golden brazier
reflects the moonlight. Behind the brazier, sandwiched between two statues that are similar to those I saw in the Serpent Master’s chamber, is a table or altar of some kind. It is a beautiful sight, like something out of a wonder book, and I take it in for several seconds. Always, though, the knowledge that this pyramid was created by Python remains at the forefront of my mind. My eyes peer upward into the darkness, expecting to see the man himself, Pythagoras Thon, standing atop the pyramid like some kind of ancient priest. Instead, the soft and unexpected sound of crunching grass indicates that the leader of the Serpent Squad is much, much closer at hand. “Time to finish this!” he hisses from behind me.
Arms wrap around my body and grip me tightly. I struggle like a wild cat, nearly slipping free of his grasp, but his legs intertwine with mine and we tumble to the ground. We roll in the grass, Pythagoras clinging to my back, and I land some good elbows. But now his forearm is across my windpipe, choking off my air supply, and I know that I am in trouble. He rolls onto his back, lifting me up on top of his body. His legs wrap around mine. I pull at his forearm with all of my strength, creating some space atop my throat and allowing me catch a breath of much needed air. I am in a bad position but I remain calm, knowing that I can still turn the tables on this vile man. “You cannot hold me forever, Serpent Master!” I shout defiantly.
“The Python is a patient killer,” he replies. “I will hold on for however long is required.” Despite his words, I think that he might be tiring, that his arms might be getting weaker. He has never battled a foe like me before, never battled someone with so much strength. But then something unexpected happens- several vines slither in from the side and join the fight on their master’s side. One of the vile things wraps around my ankles and lashes my feet together. A second wraps around my waist and constricts my stomach. A third loops around my left wrist and pulls it to the ground near to my hip. I cry out in desperation as a fourth vine slithers its way over my knees and between my thighs. To my dismay, its fat tip presses into my gap and tries to work itself under the cloth of my bikini bottom.
“No! This is not right! Fight me fairly, you brute!”
The man underneath me chuckles evilly. His hands move downward, away from my throat and onto my engorged breasts. His fingers are like old and familiar friends, by now, and their gentle movements over my enflamed nipples quickly subdue my struggles. I cannot believe how quickly I am defeated but my body is incredibly aroused and ready to surrender to the erotic sensations pouring through it. A heaving sigh escapes my pouting lips as I go slack. My head falls back and rests comfortably in the crook formed by Python’s neck and shoulder. Blue eyes close. My vaginal muscles loosen and suddenly the vine is inside of me, driving deep, penetrating me to my limit. It is fat and hard and cold and feels weird inside of me, but I accept it almost willingly, my fighting spirit all but destroyed.
The entire weight of my flaccid body rests atop the Serpent Master. His arms and legs are wrapped around me like the coils of a python. I have become so weak… there is no chance that I can escape. His huge cock feels as if it is fully swollen, now. The thick shaft of the horrific thing lies flat against his abdomen, buried deep in my butt crack. Having it there, having it throbbing so close to my pussy and anus, destroys whatever willpower I may have had left. Meanwhile, the plant is pulsating inside of me, filling my aching pussy with a titillating and satisfactory cock-substitute. Higher on my defenseless body, the Python’s hands are dancing a marvelous ballet atop my burning mounds. I moan loudly and we both know that it is over. There will be no escape this time. Ms. Marvelous has been defeated.
Pythagoras enjoys his victory. What a treat I must be for him. He is an old man, perhaps fifty in appearance but much older in reality. I am a young, beautiful, supple thing- the kind of girl that fills his ancient heart with dark yearnings and his mind with forbidden fantasies. He takes his time, enjoying the moment. His fingers work by touch, lifting the sheer fabric of my costume and folding it over the tops of my swollen breasts. They stroke and caress the flushed skin, teasing me beyond all hope of recovery. I am out of my mind with desire. Passionate impulses rock my slender figure. Erotic sensations explode across me. And then it happens, all at once and without warning, tiny geysers of milky liquid erupting from my tortured nipples like threads of white silk, spraying my chest and forming small droplets that pool and collect atop my superheated titties. My body trembles and the droplets drain off of my swollen mounds in little streams of white, running down and across the skin, sometimes collecting in larger pools in the dimples of my body and sometimes falling away to splatter atop the tattooed flesh of the man lying beneath me.
“Yes!” he hisses. “Give me everything that your youthful body can give!”
“Oh, god…” I moan loudly. “I cannot endure much more!”
The fingers, having destroyed my tits, slide lower on my hourglass figure, dragging across my bare tummy and across my shaved pubes. They impatiently pull the stretchy fabric of my costume to one side and immediately find my gap. The vine is still deep inside of me but the fingers search out a different target, a target that now stands exposed at the top of my slit. My clitoris screams as they touch it, screams as they gently rub it, screams as they eagerly torment it. My own screams soon follow, screams of passion and despair, desperation and lust. The orgasm swallows me whole, ripping away the last of my strength and trampling the remainder of my will. My identity is lost amid the spasms that shake my body. A second orgasm follows moments later, an equal to the first in both intensity and length. When it finally ends, and when my body is finally consumed by the fire, I can do little more than lie trembling atop the body of my master and hope that he will show his devoted servant mercy. But as the minutes go by, I learn that there shall be no mercy. The shaft of the huge cock remains buried in my butt crack. My master’s hands continue to stroke my nether regions. He still lies beneath me, his rugged body feeling warm and aroused. His lips nibble on my nape. A long tongue leaves a trail of saliva on my skin. I fear that he intends to unleash the fury of his savage cock and fuck me as he did in the office. Part of me dreads this. Part of me wants it badly.
But Pythagoras has more restraint than I would have expected. At his order, the invading vine slowly withdraws from my pussy and slips out from between my thighs. It is soaked thru with my juices and leaves a trail in the grass as it slithers away. The other vines unwrap themselves from my limbs and waist. The Serpent Master’s strong hands lift me off of his body and lay my limp figure in the grass. He gets to his knees and slides his hands underneath me. He stands, lifting me in his strong arms. I lay there like a sleeping child as he carries me toward the pyramid. My blue eyes are half-closed, my vision blurry. Arms and legs are flaccid, like the petals of a wilted flower. I am completely dependent on my master. My life is literally in his hands.
He carries me up the steps. Higher and higher we go until we finally reach the top. It is a testament to Python’s endurance that he is not breathing hard even after carrying my lifeless weight up the steeply inclined stairs. He lays me atop the stone altar and straightens my legs. My hands rest next to my hips. This is the highest point in the forest and my body is basked in bright beams of green moonlight. I moan softly, like a helpless little girl. He looks at me and smiles. Lustful eyes roam across my figure hungrily. But he only delays for a moment. There is something important to do. He approaches the golden brazier and mutters some arcane words. There is a brief spark of light and the brazier erupts in flames. The fire emits a flickering orange light that seems to bath me in warmth.
“Now, we must prepare you,” the Serpent Master says as he walks around the altar and stands over me. He reaches underneath and pulls out some items from a secret place. He lays a quill pen and an inkwell next to my hip. He lifts up the Book of Kyrototek and opens it to a marked page. He studies the arcane writings, refreshing his memory, and then sets the book down. He picks up the quill and dips the tip into the inkwell. Working quickly, he inscribes the first of many esoteric symbols onto my flesh.
“What… are you doing…?” I mumble.
“There is great power in these symbols,” he replies while continuing to draw. “Indeed, the Book of Kyrototek and the knowledge held within is the source of much of my power. But do not fret, little mongoose. Your part in the ceremony has yet to come. Just lie there and rest. I shall take good care of you.”
I doze off, eventually waking to the loud voice of Pythagoras. He is standing next to me, holding the Book and chanting over my body. My skin is now covered with the odd symbols. I force my eyes to open wider, wanting to see what is going on. Then, to my amazement, the symbols begin to glow with a flickering orange light, like that being emitted by the golden brazier. The light feels hot, now, and I squirm atop the smooth stone of the altar like
an animal being branded. I grit my teeth, not wanting my conqueror to hear me scream. Whatever my fate, I decide, I shall meet it like a heroine.
“Rokotokotokotok…” he chants. “Kyrototekotokotek…”
Suddenly, the tattoos that cover the Serpent Master’s body begin to glow with the same orange light that burns on my own skin. It is then that I notice that many of the symbols drawn on my body are matches for the tattoos on his. The pain grows more excruciating and Pythagoras has to set down the book and use his hands to hold my writhing body on the altar. I want to scream. I want to run away. But then… it is over.
My body collapses back onto the surface of the altar and I breathe in ragged gasps. The pain is gone but… something is not right. I no longer feel as weak as before but neither do I feel strong. Instead, I feel like… like I have not felt since before joining the Agent-X Program.
“What have you done to me?” I ask while sitting up.
Pythagoras is not listening to me. Instead, he is staring at his hands, watching as the last of the orange glow fades from his tattoos. He looks different somehow, and not simply because he is ecstatic. Rather, he looks younger- much younger- like a teenager, almost.
“Yes!” he cries out in joy. “Yes! It has worked!”
“What have you done?” I demand to know.
His formerly bald head is now covered with a thick layer of dark brown hair. His skin is radiant and tan. He looks at me, his eyes aglow with a burning yellow light. He flexes new muscles and comes near to me. He holds my right arm in a vice-like grip. “I have renewed myself,” he answers jubilantly. “I have taken your powers and claimed them for myself!”
The look in my eyes reveals both astonishment and fear. “Renewed yourself? But I thought that you were hundreds of years old! I thought that you were immortal!”
“Not immortal,” he replies. “Even I age, though more slowly than others. Now, though, I am young again! I am stronger than I have ever been! Your powers, combined with my own, shall make me unstoppable!” He giggles for a time but his expression suddenly changes. Once again, he is eyeing me hungrily. His bizarre eyes scan across my svelte body, staring long at my breasts and then at my legs. His magnificent cock, so much like a serpent, begins to stiffen. Oh, god! He wants to rape me again! I back away, trying to escape the altar but he grabs my thigh and refuses to let me go. The hand holding my arm squeezes me tightly. I squeal in pain as he pushes down on me, flattening me against the stone surface.
“Normally I would cut out your heart and use you as a sacrifice to the gods,” he says in a husky voice. “But because Don Refrain wishes you to be delivered alive, I must find a different way to conclude the ceremony. I think that a thorough fucking might be in order, don’t you?”
I groan as Pythagoras mounts the altar. The hormones of a young man are spilling through his veins as he forces his way between my long legs. He grips my ankles in his hands and lifts them high into the air. He is on his knees, squatting, lifting my hips upward. He is a savage as he enters me, showing none of the patience or gentleness that he displayed before. His massive cock is a stiff spike, splitting me open. I close my eyes and take it as best I can, knowing that without my super-powers I am no match for him. But like a young man, Pythagoras is eager to be satisfied and his rapid and powerful thrusts quickly come to an end. He pulls out and explodes over me, spraying his hot seed in thick streams that cover my bare belly with white goo. He climbs to his feet, standing over me and shouting victorious war-cries at the world, oblivious to me and everything around him. I am no threat to him, he is sure, for how can a normal woman hurt him when a super-heroine could not?
His still-huge cock swings in the air, flinging off drops of semen, splattering my face and shoulders. I wearily roll onto my left hip and slide from between his legs. I roll off of the altar. I pull my costume down so that my breasts are covered. I adjust the crotch of my bikini bottom, covering my stretched and abused hole. I am acting on instinct, as if in a daze, but my eyes quickly focus on the Book of Kyrototek. It lies there on the edge of the altar, just where Pythagoras left it, unguarded and fragile. I take it in my hands and look at it with disdain. I do not know if its power is of any use to me but can feel that the markings covering my body are once getting warm. I look down at the arcane symbols and watch in amazement as they once again begin to glow with a yellow light. I feel the heat of the brazier… feel the fire beckoning to me… feel its hunger for the Book. “You want this?” I ask the golden brazier.
The laughter stops. Pythagoras is staring at me, a wild look masking his face, as if he suddenly realizes his terrible mistake. But the brazier is just there, so close to me, and he knows that even with his newfound powers he cannot reach me in time. I shrug, a mocking apology, and toss the ancient tomb into the orange flames. I am surprised and pleased to see that the Book of Kyrototek does not burn as much as it explodes. It bursts into flames, casting a shower of crackling sparks high into the air. The markings on my skin glow brighter and I enjoy the burning sensations rippling over my flesh. Pythagoras is screaming, his tattoos on fire, his body being consumed.
“No!” he shouts in agony. “You bitch! You do not know what you have done!”
“I hope it is something bad,” I say with girlish innocence.
The Serpent Master stands atop the altar and howls in pain. His wondrous cock, a tiny forked tongue flicking rapidly from the urethra, suddenly catches on fire. The tattoos are burning, flames consuming the flesh, tepid smoke billowing into the air. It is over in seconds, the man turned to ash and his screams left to echo within the lonely walls of the arboretum. I feel… sickened… by the sight of it. I had not wanted this to happen. I had never wanted to kill Pythagoras Thon. But I feel something else, too, the power of Ms. Marvelous returning to my
exhausted body, and I realize that the Serpent Master got what was coming to him. Men are not meant to live for hundreds of years. Our lives are short for a reason.
‘Power corrupts,” I say to myself, “and so to, perhaps, does immortality.”
I collapse against the base of the altar and try to get the horrible image of a burning man out of my head. I know that it will be some time before I am strong enough to fly and escape this place. Until then, I will endure the oppressive heat and humidity of this miniature rain forest and try to recover from all that has happened. And I will sleep, curled up on the altar of Kyrototek, comforted by the knowledge that the Serpent Squad is no more.