WARNING: This story is fictional and
is not intended to portray any real persons, living or dead, nor is it at all
intended to encourage the type of activity portrayed here. It is strictly a
fantasy/parody, intended for the personal enjoyment of those who appreciate
female costumed characters in fear for their life or the violation of their
body. The story describes and/or hints at graphic sexual situations, including
bondage, violence, non-consensual sex, and other elements unacceptable in
certain communities. It is NOT intended, nor is it at all suitable, for minors.
If you are under the age of 18, or if this type of thing offends you, you
shouldn’t be reading it. If you are a person who does find interesting the
material described above, then I invite you to enjoy this story.
The story contains characters of my
own creation. Use of these characters by other authors would be frowned upon
unless you first get my permission. This story is strictly done for non-profit
enjoyment by other fans interested in this adult genre. This story may not be
moved to, or included in any website that requires payment for content.
The Grotto
by Alias the Rat
Melody jogged along the pathway in the
park, happy to feel the burn of the energy in her muscles. The young,
auburn-haired woman didn’t push herself too hard, as she wanted a long, slow
run this morning to prolong the runner’s high she was feeling. Consuela would
complain when she got back, because her lover had been able to get a day off
and had hoped to cuddle in bed all day.
But Melody had to jog every day if she
was to stay in peak shape. Her time in the Metro City Marathon had been pretty
good the past couple of years, but she hoped to finish in the top five next
time. Connie always cooed over what great shape her lover’s body was in, but
didn’t enjoy Mel getting up and going out early each day. Connie just liked to
stay in bed. Which was also nice…
At the end of another circuit of the
park, Melody slowed and jogged in place while she pulled the water bottle from
the harness on her belt and took a deep drink. It was a warm day, but not too
hot. She had a fine film of perspiration coating her body and she still had two
more circuits to go for her run this morning.
A dark-haired, muscular looking man on
a park bench nearby suddenly spoke. “Excuse me. Are you familiar with the area?
I’m new in town, and I was wondering if there is a Starbucks anywhere near
here. A walk in the park always gets me going a little in the morning, but then
I need a little caffeine.” He stood up and took a step towards her.
Melody tensed a mite as she answered
“There’s a place over on Twenty-third Street.” She thought the guy looked OK,
but you never knew what kind of whacko you might run into nowadays. She was
ready to put her foot into his face if he tried anything weird. And with the
muscles in her legs, she could break his nose… or his neck.
But he was very nice, and if she
didn’t prefer women in bed this guy might have been tempting. He was good
looking, with a dark haired exotic quality. “Thanks. I see you’ve been running
for awhile. I noticed you as you went by here on each lap. Are you marathon
training?”
She nodded. “Do you run?”
He chuckled. “Oh, no. I don’t have the
resolve to keep it up. I do enjoy watching the runners as I relax in the park.
You people have a certain grace, and show off your bodies in such superb
condition. When is the Marathon?”
She relaxed a bit as she found his
interest refreshing. “It’s not until September. But I have to keep pushing
myself, a little at a time, as I build up my stamina for the race.”
Casually, he had moved a little closer
to her and finally he looked her in the eye and gave a deep sigh, exhaling
fully in her direction. In the daylight, she never noticed the slight
phosphorescent glow in the cloud of mist that came from him. She did notice the
heavy moisture that was suddenly in the air, and felt she was breathing in a
fog.
The
sensation did not seem to alarm her, in fact she felt herself growing more and
more calm and serene. When the man put
his hand on her shoulder, she thought for an instant that she should protest
and make him stop, but then she didn’t even feel it was necessary.
He
ran his hand over her arm, wiping the film of perspiration from her. He licked
his finger, tasting her sweat. Then he spoke. “Look over there, by the curb. Do
you see the tan sedan? I want you to go over there and get in the back seat,
and wait for me.”
In
her mind, she could not imagine doing any such thing for someone who she had
just met. She didn’t even know his name, for pity’s sake! But even as these
thoughts spun in her head, she found herself walking towards the car he had
pointed out to her.
Sitting
in the backseat was another young woman, also dressed in a jogging outfit. She
looked at Melody and had a puzzled expression. “Ah… hi, I’m Diane. Did you just
have a guy tell you to get in this car?” When Melody nodded, the woman
continued. “He did the same thing to me. I don’t understand. I don’t even know
him, but I felt compelled to follow his wishes.”
Melody
wondered if they were drugged or hypnotized. But she’d been given nothing, and
had barely spoken with him in plain sight of everyone. Whatever was happening
was very strange!
They
were sitting in the car for a short time when the man came along, followed by a
third young woman. She joined the pair in the back seat, and murmured that her
name was Gale. The man got behind the wheel and turned to face them. “Young
ladies, I want you to concentrate on something. I am Master Aquarius, and you
are to obey me totally. I want you to do anything I ask of you and I want you
to be happy, relaxed and perfectly satisfied at this. Alright?”
All
three answered together, quickly. “Yes, Master!” He smiled, and started the car
up. As he drove, Melody could not help but feel in the back of her mind that
something was terribly wrong. She should not be here, doing this man’s bidding.
But except for that little voice in her head, she was happy, relaxed, and
perfectly satisfied to be at the mercy of this man.
They
drove to a large mansion on the west edge of the city. The area around the home
consisted of lushly kept grounds. The Master asked the girls to accompany him
inside, where they stopped in an elegant living room.
“Take
off your clothing, girls.” They did so quickly, and stood before him displaying
their bodies without reservation. One by one, he ran his hands over their
bodies, evaluating every muscle, massaging every bit of flesh, even probing
deeply into their most private areas.
Each
of them found herself highly aroused at the examination, and when his fingers
entered their cunts he found them dripping with fluids that he collected with
his fingers and brought to his lips to taste. He seemed most interested in
this.
After
he was satisfied with his familiarization with his new slaves, Aquarius asked them
to follow, and he proceeded down a stairway into the basement of the home.
Another stairwell went down further into a stretch of large subterranean
chambers deep beneath the house. Handsomely finished, one chamber held a deep,
natural pool of water that immediately caught the eyes of the women.
They
saw a shimmering glow coming from the clear blue pool of spring water that took
up a large part of the room. Their host beckoned, and the ladies went down into
the water.
Melody
gasped as she experienced the tingling energy of the fluid. She felt almost as
if she was being lightly massaged on every inch of her body that the water
touched. Her crotch was aroused by the feeling that was unlike anything she had
experienced in the past.
Her
pussy was excited by an arousal that came from the stimulus applied to her
cunt. It was as satisfying as anything her past lovers had performed, while
being soothing as a splash of water. It was totally sexual without anything
solid entering and probing her body.
She
heard the seductive moans from the other two women and knew they were
experiencing the same sexual arousal. They stood in the pool, water up to their
necks, enjoying themselves totally. The master stood nearby, watching them.
Without
even putting her fingers to her clitoris, Melody felt her body twitch with a
climax, and finally she shuddered as a fierce orgasm made her tremble with
pleasure. Her body was responding to a level of sexual excitement she had never
felt before.
Each
of the women enjoyed this for a short time, and then Aquarius called Diane to
come out of the pool and join him. She lay down on a spread of towels, and
spread her legs wide, expecting the man to mount and enter her.
Instead,
he moved alongside her and again ran his hands over her body. She lay there in
the warm, moist room, and began to perspire, He bent down and licked the sweat
from her body, then kissed her deeply, sucking the saliva from her mouth. He
pinched and squeezed her breasts until she winced and squealed in pain, then
sucked on the nipples as she felt a bit of fluid ooze from her nipples. He went
to her cunt and licked and sucked at the fluids that were there. He never did
stick his cock inside her, but seemed very pleased at all he had done with her.
After
he finished with Diane, he called Gale out of the pool and shared similar
passion with her. Then he beckoned to Melody to follow.
As
he mangled her breasts, Melody was stunned to realize she was lactating
slightly in response to his massaging of her chest. She wondered if the water
in the strange pool had caused it to happen. But she got through the painful
handling of her body and even felt some small level of sexual pleasure at the
sensation of the man sucking the milk from her body.
After
their Master was finished, he told them to stay and rest by the pool, and he
left the room. All three girls suddenly felt the exhaustion come over them and
they collapsed on the towels next to the pool and fell asleep.
Back
at the townhouse she shared with Melody Bennett, Consuela Chavez had been
sitting in the den reading a novel when she noticed that her lover was long
overdue in returning from her morning run. The two had argued that morning, but
it was a minor spat that they were used to having. Their love and their fights
were very passionate. The Hispanic beauty began to worry, and called the local
police to see if anything might have happened to her friend.
When
she found no information, and another hour passed, she began to really worry, and
started calling emergency centers and hospitals to check if Melody had been
hurt in an accident. She found nothing, and began to fret very much about her
companion. As she concentrated, she had a sense that her lover was alright. But
she wondered what had happened to her.
Back
at the grotto, the three young women awoke and sat there a little stunned at
what they had been through. They wondered how long they had been asleep, for
each of them noticed she was totally rested and recuperated from the hard erotic
activity she had participated in.
Master
Aquarius came into the room and all three girls welcomed him openly. Melody
ignored the faint sense of uneasiness at her situation and wanted to do
anything her master would request of her. The girls went upstairs and got
dressed, then left with their master to perform certain tasks he required of
them.
He
went to the banks where Diane and Gale had savings and checking accounts. The
women withdrew every penny they had, and then made the largest cash advance
loans that were possible on their charge cards. They handed all of these funds
over to Aquarius, who casually threw them in a small leather satchel he
carried.
Melody
was also instructed to raise cash, but she had more resources to deal with.
Since the death of her parents, she was quite well off, and the Master had her
close out several accounts and liquidate her stock portfolio. He then had her
take out a large mortgage on the townhouse where Melody and Consuela lived, and
all this money was handed over to the man.
All
of these dealings took most of the day, and it was early evening when the group
returned to the mansion and the girls were sent back down to the grotto. Again
the ladies stripped and immersed themselves in the pool, expecting another
period of sexual bliss.
It
seemed this would be the case as Aquarius called Diane out and again began to
touch and caress her body on the floor near the pool. But now his touch was
rougher, and she groaned as he pressed down and prodded her.
He
licked her sweat, and he sucked the saliva from her mouth and the vaginal
fluids that were copious in her cunny. He ran a fingernail down her arm and cut
her, making blood flow lightly. But again his thirst for her fluids was the
reason, as he licked at the blood as it emerged from the wound. Again he
roughly squeezed her breasts until fluid emerged from the nipples. She winced
as he sucked and bit lightly on her tender breasts, savoring one more fluid
essence that he took from her.
She
began to gasp, and lick her lips while moaning – partly in pleasure, partly in
pain. She whimpered, and gasped for breath. The other girls were shocked to see
Diane seemed to be growing gaunt and her skin showed signs of wrinkles and
dryness.
Aquarius
continued to draw the moisture from her body. Her skin wrinkled and cracked,
and internally her blood thickened and this caused her heart to labor to pump
the viscous fluid through her veins. Diane suffered as the fluids around her
brain vanished and the oxygen supply to her brain disappeared.
Finally
her body gave up and died, but the Master still pulled the liquid components of
her system away. Aquarius savored the feast, enjoying sweat, blood, bile, urine
and other fluids like the different courses of a fine meal.
Eventually,
he stepped away from the desiccated husk of the woman he had consumed for his
pleasure. She was now a horrid sight; skin and bones resembling an ancient
mummified corpse.
And
their master also had altered in appearance. He grew slightly in stature and
became somewhat translucent. They saw he was a being constructed of fluid
masquerading as human. Gale and Melody felt terror and revulsion down deep at
the death of their fellow prisoner and the revelation of the true nature of the
figure who had taken them. But the vapors of the Grotto continued to affect
them, having such a calming influence that they could not manage to show any
emotional reaction to the situation.
He
turned to them and smiled. “You humans are mostly fluids, and I savor the taste
of your bodies as I consume you. There is a husk left to dispose of. Drag this
and put it in the chamber down that corridor.”
He
pointed to a door to one side, and the two women picked up the remains of he
dead girl and carried her away. Down a short tunnel they found a cave that had
stacked piles of these dried out bodies. The ones on the bottom were crumbling
to dust. A short distance away from the pool, Melody felt herself begin to feel
the terror inside her build up. She saw that Gale also was starting to become
aware of the danger they were in.
But
the creature that was pretending to be human came down the tunnel to approach
them. He spoke, exhaling the mesmerizing fumes of the grotto towards them.
“Come
back and immerse yourselves in the magic waters of the pool.” They obeyed his
request. They could not bring themselves to consider any other option. The
mystic waters of the pool brought out in people the essence of obedience, a
wish to be perfectly satisfied with whatever was happening.
The
two young ladies did not think about the cave of dried out corpses and
concentrated on the glowing, mesmerizing liquid. As they bathed themselves in
the fluid, they thought only that everything they were involved in was exactly
how it was meant to be.
Finally,
the two of them emerged from the pool and collapsed on the towels nearby and
fell asleep. Time meant nothing to them.
Gale
and Melody awakened eventually, with no idea how long they had slept. They
awoke with clear memories of what had happened to Diane. But the vapors of the
Grotto worked to sooth them, to calm, to leave them at ease. They looked into
each others' eyes and felt peaceful despite the horror they had just seen, and
that they knew was meant for them.
Sure
enough, the Master returned to the room and approached the two women who were
resting on towels alongside the pool. He smiled down at them, but it was a
evil, hungry grin. It would have terrified the young women if they had not been
under the calming influence of the vapors of the Grotto.
He
ordered them into the pool, and watched intently as the contact with the water
excited and brought the women to sexual climax. Melody and Gale twitched with
passion as the energy of the water excited every bit of their bodies,
especially their crotch. The pair had no thoughts of the death they had
witnessed the day before or the fact that they were in the hands of the savage
killer. Only the pleasure in their bodies were on their minds at this instant.
Then
he looked down and instructed Gale to come back up out of the pool and approach
him. She did so without hesitation. She thought only about how calm, pleasant
and relaxed she was. She walked smiling towards the creature who was going to
kill her.
Melody
did sense the horror of what was about to happen. Even with the effect of the
vapors that swirled about her, she found herself capable of recognizing the
dangers and nearly able to call out to her companion. But she was forced to
stand in the pool and watch Gale calmly approached Master Aquarius.
Gale
served the mystic creature as Diane had done so the day before. He feasted on
the fluids that made up so much of her body, and died satisfying his evil
thirst. He ordered Melody to drag the lifeless shell of the poor victim to the
room where Diane's remains had been placed. He did not notice that Melody
managed to feel true emotions at the horror and shed tears for the woman she
had known only briefly.
Melody
came back to the Grotto, entered the pool and felt its influence wash away her
fear and uneasiness. Totally calm, she spent a short time in the sexual bliss
of the mystic water, then came out of the pool and lay down to a deep sleep.
The
next day, Aquarius approached and she woke up and smiled up at the creature who
meant her to be his next meal. He gestured for her to move into the pool for a
period of sexual arousal, then called her to approach. She took several steps
up to exit the pool, but then she stopped.
"No...
I don't want to submit to you... I want to live!" It took all her concentration
to do this. She could not run, and it took all the power she broght to mind to
avoid his summons.
The
Master was surprised at her actions. "How can you resist this power,
human?" He came to her and put his human-looking hand on her shoulder. It
shimmered and flowed down her arm. "By the depths! You are a water mage...
No... not a mage, a mere acolyte, a student of water magic. You will be a rare
treat."
"I
consumed a powerful water mage once, not long after I came to this world of
yours. He was powerful, but also a fool. Pulled here from the world of water
denizens, he used his magic to bind me to his will. I was his slave."
"He
had summoned me to perform an act of vengeance. His mate had left him for
another, and they were on a ship out on the ocean. He wanted me to go to kill
his wife and the man who she had fallen in love with."
"I
found the ship in mid ocean and used water frozen to ice to slam against it.
The holes in the hull allowed me to pour water into the vessel and drag it
under the surface and kill nearly all the mortals that were on it. He wanted
two deaths, but I took many more. When I was pulled back to the mage who had
summoned me, I told him what I had done."
"He
was consumed by shock as I told him what had happened. He said the steamship
had been described as unsinkable, and that he never meant all those innocent people
to perish. He shed tears, and collapsed. This broke the control he had on me,
and I seized and consumed him."
"I
enjoyed the taste of you humans, and have spent all these years on this world
satisfying my hunger for your exquisite fluids. In traveling the world I
stumbled upon this Grotto of water power that allows me to have anyone I wish
in my control. And I found you females are much more delectable than the
males."
He
wrapped his arms around Melody and she felt him pulling her fluids away. As a person
with some knowledge of water magic, she was able to feel the essence of any
fluids about her and she cried out and screamed as they were pulled out of her
body. The creature felt her pain and misery and added that to what he was
enjoying. Like so many young women before, she dropped to the floor, a dried
out husk of the woman she once was.
Consuela
approached the large mansion and continued to sense her lover was somewhere in
the vicinity. She had felt her link to Melody was trying to help her find her
companion, and she had gone with the feelings she had that brought her to this
area.
She
went to the door and hesitated. If she was wrong, how could she explain to
whoever lived here that she just had a feeling her missing friend was here? It
seemed foolish, but Connie had to do whatever she could to find Melody. And she
felt that there was terrible danger involved in the disappearance.
She
took a deep breath and pushed the doorbell, hearing the chimes that rang inside
the house. She wondered who would respond, and exactly what she would say about
her reason for coming here.
Wearing
a long, plush robe, Aquarius had just come up from the grotto and had a feeling
that a human was nearby when the doorbell rang. He glanced through a window
panel in the door and smiled. Here was a victim that came right to him – he
didn’t even have to go out and pursue her.
He
opened the door and invited her to enter. “Good day. Can I help you?” He seemed
calm and friendly, but Connie sensed something about him that she immediately
disliked.
“Yes,
I am looking for a missing friend of mine and wonder if you might help me
discover what has become of her…”
He
smiled at her, looking a little puzzled. “That sounds serious. What makes you
think I might help you find… what was her name?”
“Melody…
Melody Bennett. I… I have a hunch that she came here…”
The
Water Elemental leaned towards Connie and exhaled a very faint cloud of the
vapors of the Grotto at the woman. But she stepped back and brought up her
hands. A coating of low orange flames flared up to cover her arms, and she
snarled at him. “Where is she?” The mist that had been sent her way was
vaporized by the fire she used.
Aquarius
arched an eyebrow of his human disguise and laughed. “You are also a mage… of
the fire persuasion. But you are not strong enough to stand up to me, human.”
He flicked his fingers and moved his arms, and waves of mist, cloud and vapor
rolled towards the woman.
Consuela
shot tendrils of fire from her hands, cutting through and destroying most of
the attacks that Aquarius sent at her. But some of his weapons got through and
hurt her. Just as fire could hurt a normal person, these mystic fluid attacks
burned at her. Her left shoulder and one leg were scarred by the damage, and
she fought to keep up her concentration in the conflict.
She
whispered a call for help, and a swarm of small, lizard-like creatures
materialized around her. These crimson salamanders, minor creatures of magic
fire, lent their energy to her so that she could withstand the injuries that
she had received.
They
also hissed and snarled at the water elemental, but they kept their distance
from it. They were no match for the power of a high water elemental.
Aquarius
knew he had the woman beaten. She was weakening, and soon he would break her
defenses. He would hold her prisoner for some time, slowly consuming her as she
suffered immensely. That would be pleasing. To conquer and consume a human mage
was satisfying, but to do it to a follower of fire, the opposite of water,
would be exceptional.
He
lashed out at her again, and a large part of her right arm reddened as she
clenched her teeth to keep from screaming in pain. She concentrated harder on
her defenses, hoping she could hold out until…
The
water elemental heard the invader crash through a window, and looked over to
see a creature of fire that resembled a dragon hovering in the air on the other
side of the room. A major elemental of fire, the phoenix looked at its sworn
watery enemy and growled a challenge.
The
two beings of power battled furiously, exchanging bursts of energy as each
attempted to destroy the other. Connie crawled to the side of the room and
collapsed in extreme pain. The salamanders came to her and licked out with
their tongues of flame. But these actions helped to sooth her pain and heal her
wounds. She was a mage of the realm of fire, and no heat or combustion would
ever do her harm.
Aquarius
had held his own against the attack of the phoenix, and thought he could use
the great power of water magic that was in the area to win this battle. He
could slowly retreat, drawing the fire elemental back down to the cavern with
the pool. Down there, water magic would be so enhanced that he would crush the
phoenix and come back for its master.
Then
Aquarius heard a crash and glanced around. There, on the other side of the
room, blocking its access to the subterranean levels, was a second fire
elemental!
The
evil water creature had no chance against the two powerful beings composed of
the opposite element. They cut into and burned it down, utterly destroying it.
The last thoughts that Aquarius had were to wonder how a mage as weak as this
woman could command and enslave two of the phoenix to do her bidding.
But
the evil one could not comprehend that the creatures who were with Consuela
helped her not because she ordered them to, but because they shared a love and
respect that made the salamanders and the phoenix eager to help the young fire
mage when she required it.
As
Connie lay on the floor trying to regain her strength, the salamanders curled
about her, caressing her tortured body. The phoenix also came to crouch by her
and exhaled healing fire that lessened the pain she suffered and replenished
her energy.
She
reached out and petted the salamanders, telling them they were so brave to come
to her aid against a powerful foe. They hummed pleasingly, showing her they
were glad to assist her. And then she caressed the cheek of each of the
phoenix, praising the creatures for rescuing her. They hissed their pride at
being able to battle and defeat such a foe.
She
faced the pair of phoenix who had come to her aid, and despite her pain, she
stood and bowed to them. She murmured her thanks for their help, realizing they
had saved her life.
Consuela
finally felt she had recovered enough to move about, and she stood, still a
little unsteady from her ordeal. She concentrated, and she had a feeling that
Melody was, or maybe had been, in this house. She felt drawn towards some lower
level, and went to see what she could find.
It
took a little while, but she found the passageway that went down to the Grotto.
As soon as she saw the pool, she winced at the magical energy she felt
radiating from it. Since the magic was tuned to the opposite of what she worked
with, she could feel it pressing against her, clawing at her body and burrowing
into her mind.
She
saw the withered body on the floor near the pool and gasped as she realized it
was what was left of Melody. She stumbled over, dropped to her knees, and
pulled the form into her lap, holding close the person she had loved so dearly.
Her
body was wracked by sobbing as she rocked back and forth and held Melody close.
Her tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the still form. Consuela
was overcome by the loss she had suffered, and could barely stand the feelings
that went through her.
As
she knelt there and cried, suddenly she felt a movement, a faint shudder that
seemed to come from what she believed to be the lifeless corpse of her lover.
Connie went very still and then heard a feeble, slight effort to draw a breath
by Melody.
Connie
bent over and put her ear to the tortured girl’s chest. She concentrated, and
heard a faint heartbeat. Melody had somehow conserved a little of her fluids, just
enough to barely have a hold on life. The liquid from her lover's tears had
given her the slightest bit of the energy she needed to reveal she was trying
to hang on. But she needed help, and quickly, to remain among the living.
The
fire mage could not think of a way to summon help fast enough to save her
lover. Then her gaze went to the pool of energized water nearby. It was poison
to her, but it might be just what Melody needed…
She
struggled to stand and carry the body of her friend. Melody’s form was
lightened by a sizeable amount, but Consuela was still weak from her battle
with the elemental. The fire mage stepped down into the water, and she moaned
at the pain when her foot was seared by the magic the water held.
But
she withstood the agony and immersed herself in the water, causing the nerves
in her skin to scream from the punishment. She barely managed to stay in
control as she held Melody in the water that soothed and healed the magic user
of the element’s calling. Finally, the water mage took a deep breath and
coughed up a little blood.
Connie
dipped her friend’s head down for an instant, and Melody swallowed a little of
the Grotto’s liquid. She opened her eyes and had another fit of coughing, but
this time it ended with her taking in long, deep breathes of air. Connie
ignored the pain that wracked her body due to contact with the magic fluid. She
held her lover tight thankful that Melody was still alive.
The
next day, the two young women appeared before the Grand Council of Magic. They
explained to the four great mages what had happened. They heard the quartet
decide that the pool would have to be buried deep under ground to keep it out
of the hands of anyone in the future.
It
was just one day later that Melody, Gerard Tobin (her teacher in Water Magic)
and Consuela stood on a hill near the mansion and watched its destruction. Air
and Fire combined forces to destroy the structure. Water and Air magic had
mixed to spread a thick fog around the area that hid from the public any trace
of what was happening. Then Water and Earth combined to loosen and shift the
ground, pushing the Grotto deep underground and sealing it away. It was hoped
that no person would ever be able to get to the pool and use its power to
spread havoc over the world again.
Gerard
looked down and shook his head. “What a waste… All that power buried where no
one can get to it.”
Connie’s
temper flared up as she heard this. “You damned pompous wet-head bastard! All
that power was too much for anyone to have in their hands. We’ll never know how
many women died here. And Melody came so close to being part of that list…” The
young fire mage raised her still-bandaged arms, and wisps of flame rippled
along, dancing to her finger-tips. The teacher of water mysticism took a step
back, and brought his arms up to form a swirling dance of mist and vapor about
his body.
But
Melody stepped between the pair and raised her arms, extending an outstretched
palm towards each of them. “Stop it, you two. I’ve had enough without being in
the middle of another fight over this.” The other two stood down and relaxed
their stance.
Her
instructor spoke. “I’m sorry… that was stupid of me. If Alanna Yarris, the
Great Mage of Water, feels this pool is too dangerous, who am I to wish for
such power? You were right, and I should have realized it. I am sorry that I
insulted you by ignoring your feelings about the danger.” The young fire mage
bent her head. "I accept your apology. I guess that kind of power is hard
to resist." Then Melody and Consuela embraced and continued to watch the
destruction of the area.
And
thus the danger of the Grotto was eliminated forever.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This
story was inspired by the Elemental Masters novels written by Mercedes Lackey.
I really enjoyed her books, and recommend them to anyone who enjoys interesting
fantasy that has exceptional characterization.