All characters are 18 years or older. What follows may answer some questions. It may also raise a few more as you will see. A few more installments of this story line and then I will return to the Iron Bitch series. It is time to resolve things once and for all I think. After that... I don't know, I guess only time will tell. I hope you enjoy and as always vote, comment and tell me what you think of this story.
Bian Rong - literal translation Hidden Dragon
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Emergency Exit:
Quickening led me to the nearest exit of the Maze. She wished me the best of luck and I thanked her for everything. Precious had taken on a rather mundane appearance and I agreed a low profile was probably for the best. The two of us walked down one of the thousand alleyways that bordered the Maze towards our exit. I had woken up naked, alone and confused. So why did this alley seem familiar? As it ended I saw the emerald green wall and a singular scarlet door. Guarding that door was a face that was all too familiar to me.
"Crusher," I said as I approached the ogre.
"No Sir, I get that a lot," the ogre said smiling. "He's my cousin on my mum's side. My name is Splitter. Was your visit to the Maze a pleasant one?"
"It was... interesting," I replied and he smiled.
"I am sure it was. Welcome to the Hotel Diabolique. Shall I call ahead or do you have reservations?"
"Just passing through actually," I said trying not to show any shock at hearing the name of the hotel.
Splitter stepped aside and the crimson door opened and we entered the lobby of the Hotel Diabolique. It was as I remembered from my last visit with Loki. The staff of the hotel greeted me as they had the goddess, with great difference and displays of excellent service. I asked them for a limo for pressing business I had. I glanced at the scarlet door and my jaw almost dropped open. There was a white wooden border around the door but it was the curious knot work etched into the wood that caught my attention. It was obvious to see the pattern of a maze carved into the border.
Less than a minute later I was being escorted to the exit and there was a sleek brand new town car waiting for us. The driver asked for the address and I told him where home was. He opened the door and we slipped into the back. As we drove back to the estate I pondered a cover story for my near two day disappearance. The limo took another path away from the hotel. I noticed as we exited a narrow alley the demonic forked tail spray painted on the brick wall. I began to see a pattern.
'Warren,' Jeannie chimed in.
'Yes Jeannie,' I asked.
'I know this is going to sound odd. But I just tied into the local satellite network and I triple checked the data.' She said and then fell silent.
'What is it?' I demanded.
'The time, the current time is less than fifteen minutes since we entered the Maze. Some sort of temporal dilation has occurred.' She said her voice shaky and unsure.
'Why am I not surprised. Just accept it and we can ponder it later. All I want is to get home and climb into my bed and try and forget this day ever happened.'
The limo dropped me off at the gate of the estate. I paid him via electronic transaction and keyed in the security code to open the main gate. The driver whistled when he saw the mansion lording on the top of the hill. As he drove off I felt a sensation that I will call a psychic twinge. I actually flinched and turned in the direction of the source. The girl was short, maybe five feet but I highly doubted it, and dressed in a myriad collection of solids, stripes and flannel. She staggered up the street and she was mumbling as she approached.
"The Thanatons are dreaming..." she intoned in a kind of dull hopeless voice. "The Thanatons are hungry..."
I stood at the open gate and stared at her. My keen night vision allowed me to pick out details others might have missed. The first and most disturbing thing was the sickly green radiance spilling from her eyes, nose and mouth. The condition of her skin and hair told me she hadn't seen a bath or shower in quite some time. The stench coming off her confirmed the latter. But it was the power that couldn't be seen by the human eye that was most disturbing. She was possessed by something, something old and terrible. My reflexes kicked in and I lashed out trying to sever the connection. It must have worked. She crumpled to the ground and fell still. The verdant light no longer shone from any orifice. I picked her up and carried her to the estate. Precious watched all of this in utter confusion.
"Why did you help her," she asked as she walked next to me.
"Why did I help you," I replied.
"Because you wanted to fuck me of course," she said without hesitation or any hint of remorse.
"No, I helped you because you needed it. The sex was just a bonus... a really great bonus by the way."