Chapter Four

 

Liam stood stock still. His arms, inured to hard labor, still ached from the pressure of holding them above his head and stock still for so long. He thought about asking Meg to hurry, but knew that that would provoke another gleeful cackle and some new layer of indignity. And so, Liam channeled Meg’s least favorite city state and got his stoicism on, keeping his face deadpan as Meg dipped the brush into a jar of oil.

“Do you think this is quite necessary?” Tethis asked.

“She said to be properly attired,” Meg said, reaching out to gently smack Liam’s rump. This set his hips rocking forward. The only reason his member didn’t go flying free to smack the gobliness in her face was the fact that Meg had expertly tied off the silken thong. Just enough pressure to keep Liam’s girth and length contained, but not so tight that he’d lose circulation. That left every other inch of his body, hardened by use and and training, exposed for the world. And then Meg leaned forward and daubed another line of oil into his skin.

Liam had to admit, it felt good.

His skin glistened faintly in the dim mage-light of the Liberty’s below decks, which made him wonder what the effect would be out on the deck. The glistening slickness of his skin added an extra layer of definition to every muscle had he had ached and bled for.  As Meg worked on daubing on the last bit of oil, she whistle to Tethis.

“Tethis, do your job!”

“My job?” Tethis blinked.

“That spell to repair hair!” Meg grinned. “I want my pet boy to be as beautiful as possible.”

“I am so glad that we don’t have access to dresses,” Liam said. “I dread to think what you’d do.”

“Oh...ohhh...” Meg’s eyes glowed and her wings mantled with delight.

“What have I done?” Liam whispered as Tethis got a stool and set it down bend him. Standing on the stool, Tethis still had to stand on her tip-toes, then reach upwards to get her hands against his scalp. Her fingers flexed and he felt the tingling, prickling sensation of magic sweep through his hair. It was a bit like the sensation that came from rubbing one’s head against a balloon, amplified ten times over. The sensation built and built and built, until finally it broke and what felt like an entire bucket full of dandruff and dust exploded away from Liam. It smacked Meg in the face, coated his shoulders, and forced Tethis staggering backwards with a hacking, coughing fit.

“Augh!” Liam exclaimed.

Meg, though, had brushed the dandruff from her face and was looking at him with wide, wide eyes.

“Is it bad?” Liam asked, craning his head around, trying to spot his shoulders. They looked uniquely grotesque – oil mixed with dandruff in the most hideous way.

“You’re gorgeous,” Meg whispered. “Your hair is, at least. Tethis! The scrape!”

Liam groaned. He had lowered his hands in the surprise of the dandruff explosion. Meg snapped her fingers imperiously. Liam slowly lifted his hands back up and over his head – his shoulders beginning to ache faintly with complaint. Compared to many other pains he had faced, it was small fries. But in the same way a hang-nail or a splinter’s real pain came from the indignity of how much it hurt, half of the agony was the insult.

Once the oil was applied and his hair was brushed out and tied off into a pony tail, Liam was finally shown the mirror.

An Adonis looked back at him.

Liam blinked at the blue eyed, blond haired god that was peering out of the mirror. His skin gleamed and his muscles seemed to have gained an extra few layers of definition. But the biggest change was his hair. It glowed with a luster that he hadn’t seen in...ever. It was blonder and more intense, like he had gone and gotten it dyed. Except it was more natural than a dye job. The closest thing he could think of for comparison was his old baby photos, when he had been far, far blonder. His hands went to the pony tail, which dangled down to his shoulders.

“Damn,” he said.

Meg’s palm cupped his bulge through his loincloth, her arm snaking carefully around his hip and belly to reach him without smearing herself with his oil. Her voice was a hungry purr: “A bit turned on by your own bad self, Liam?”

Liam chuckled. “I spent the last few minutes getting oil slathered on me by my wife. I think the only way for me to not be turned on would be if I was completely asexual.”

“And thank the gods you’re not!” Meg said, cheerfully.

“There’s nothing wrong with being asexual,” Liam said, shaking his head.

Meg, with utter disregard for the feelings of asexuals everywhere, tossed her hand. “Maybe not. But there is a crime with you being asexual.” Her finger prodded the thick bulge that strained against Liam’s thong. Liam felt his cheeks flush as her finger slowly traced the curve of his member. Even trapped and constrained by silken fabric, it took a while before her finger ran out of flesh to trace. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned at him.

“Ready to engage in post-modern diplomacy?” she purred.

“Do you even know what that means?” Liam asked back.

“Not even slightly. Come on, I want to see you dick a bitchy Hellenic demigoddess!” Meg grabbed his hand and dragged Liam towards the exit.

 

***

 

If Neriad’s goal was to make a splash, Simone thought she might have been undercut by Liam’s emergance onto the deck. Flanked by Tethis and Meg, he walked out with the utterly brazen confidence of someone born to Purgatory – in fact, Simone had to remind herself that just a few years ago, this...fucking...gorgeous man had been on Earth, just like every other boy his age. Her heart thudded as she watched him pass by and only the muscles of her jaw knotting like rope kept her from gaping as he walked to the edge of the ship.

Once again, the humid, muffling heat of this place seemed to press against Simone’s body. She felt as if she was wrapped in a cocoon of velvet and her heart went faster and faster as her now entirely feminine body reacted to Liam as if he was a nuclear powered electro-magnet. Her cunt ached and grew more and more moist as she watched him swagger by, while her nipples hardened to a puffy attentiveness.

For one head-spinning moment, Simone could imagine Liam’s lips closing around one of her nipples. She knew that he’d use just enough pressure, just enough gentleness, to ride that line between bliss and pain. Her knees quivered and she reached behind herself with both hands. Digging her fingernails into her wrist helped clear her brain.

Somewhat.

If the water elementals were impressed, they hid it better than they had hid their excitement about seeing the crates of muskets. Simone wondered, for a moment, if that implied something about their...orientation.

But then the water elementals did their best to take the initiative away from Liam and company. Their fingers spread and their arms lifted above their heads. They slammed their arms downward, as if they were pushing the water aside from the deck of the ship. And the water obeyed. White foam frothed and blue liquid slurped aside with a sudden glug glug glug. The water flowed apart as the elementals pulled a Moses and parted the waters, revealing that the real fortification wasn’t in the jungle.

It was beneath the waves.

At the center of the grotto, underneath nearly twenty feet of water, was a castle made of pure, glittering ice. With the sun shining directly upon it, it shone like crystal. Simone couldn’t resist whistling slowly.

“How did they reach us?” Tethis whispered.

“Huh?” Simone asked, looking at her as the three elemental pressed together. Water-skin broke and merged and the human form was lost in a sudden tongue of water, which froze solid even as it reached downwards. At the last moment, the ice shuddered and reshaped itself into a perfectly made set of stairs, leading down to the castle roof. Liam started down the stairs, moving carefully to not slip. He winced with every other step as his bare, fleshy foot touched ice.

“According to the books Liam brought from Earth,” Tethis said, nodding as she followed Simone. “Radio transmitters can’t go through water.”

“It can’t go through sea water,” Simone said, nodding. “Transmission works through fresh water.”

“Oh.” Tethis blinked.

Meg skipped the stairs – diving past the two of them to land beside her husband. Her wings flared as she landed, and the two of them stood before the ice castle. Looking down at them, Simone felt her heart clench slightly. Intellectually, she knew that Liam would lay her as soon as she made it clear to him that she wanted it. But emotionally? It was hard to imagine him ever stepping away from Meg.

She whispered in his ear and, together, the Lord and Lady of Babylon faced their next challenge.

 

***

 

“I bet she’s super hot,” Meg whispered.

Liam smirked.

“Like, maybe she’s one of those Water Elementals, but hotter?”

Liam squeezed Meg’s hand. “I’m betting fish chick.”

“What do you bet?”

“Anal?” Liam grinned.

“Pff, like you need to bet that,” Meg said, scoffing. “I love anal.”

The front doors of the castle swung open. While there was pomp and there was circumstance, Liam could see the cold hard practicality. Even if Ares found the castle under the waves and the trees, he’d need to enchant warriors to live under the water. And they’d be facing this. The castle was designed like an actual fortification, with a unique looking roof that would provide cover for troops on the walls, while crenelations provided cover on the top. The walls were low enough that melee weapons could be used from the height, thrusting down at enemies walking towards the front gate. And the soldiers who stepped out of the front door were adapted for water.

Lizardmen. They were tough, scarred looking bastards, and they carried short stabbing daggers, tridents and nets. Weapons to entangle and stab with, rather than swing or crush. Their armor was light but well made, and they were flanked by humans who had been surrounded by blue-white glows of energy. If those weren’t enchantments to allow them to breathe under water,  Liam would have eaten his thong.

The warriors moved to flank the door.

Then…

Out came Neriad.

Liam felt his throat dry up. His eyes widened.

Even Meg whispered: “Good goddamn.”

Neriad’s first and most striking feature was her ears. They were elongated, like an elf’s, but came to a series of points, with fish-webbing stretching between them. This might have sounded monstrous, but on Neriad, it looked anything but. Her hair was a pale sky blue, it hung down to her thighs, cascading along her back like...well, like water. Strands coiled around her ear and clung to her still damp shoulder, which was the same hue as the sea. Her breasts were full and pendulous, barely contained in a crisscrossing black leather top. Her thighs, which were just as deliciously curved as her top, bore a thong that was nearly as sheer as Liam’s. Between the top and bottom half of her clothes stretched a fish-net webbing that added an extra, exotic edge to her already exotic form.

Her eyes, though...those were what arrested Liam’s vision. They were a pure gold and shone like search-lamps as they looked at him. The fact that she held a trident that came to three deadly points and shimmered with her own magic was almost an afterthought against those eyes.

But Liam saw something in those eyes.

For just a moment, a solitary second, Liam could see that Neriad looked shocked. And then impressed. Then stony faced and stoic. But she leaned too hard into it. Her voice was false as she said: “So. This is the great Liam Vanderbilt.” She sniffed. “I thought he’d be taller.”

If she bet on her eyes lacking irises to conceal the fact they dipped down to check out Liam’s bulge, she bet wrong. Liam had been talking to girls without irises for years. He knew how eyes moved when they checked him out.

He grinned, slowly.

Maybe diplomacy wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“I assure you, it’s not about height,” Liam said, walking forward, bowing to take Neriad’s hand and kissing her knuckles. She tasted like salt and hard work. Liam could picture tracing her arm with his lips, kissing up to her shoulder, then her neck. From the flush gathering on her cheeks, Liam could see she was thinking something similar. Or maybe, from the way her thighs pressed together ever so faintly, she was thinking his lips and tongue might go...lower. He grinned, leaning forward and whispering in her fin-ear.

“It’s about reach.”

That startled a laugh out of Neriad. She shook her head, her hair rippling beautifully as she turned. She started to walk towards the door as she spoke, her trident clinking every few steps, the butt slapping against the icy ground.

“Come, then, Godkiller.” She looked back over her shoulder, pausing to cock her hips invitingly. “Let us discuss how to teach the Dodekatheon why they picked the wrong goddess to fuck with.”

Liam arched an eyebrow.

Goddess, huh?

This was going to be interesting.

He followed after Neriad – and behind him, he heard the rest of his party heading in. Tethis’ voice could be heard, as could the sounds of the Captain of the Liberty. He could already hear the sound of crew grunting as they worked to unload the ship’s hold. Neriad took a leisurely pace as she walked into her castle, rolling her hips. This set a glorious pattern of jiggling in her rump, one that was nearly hypnotic. Liam, through long practice, kept his attention on her words.

Mostly.

“Ares led the charge. His forces pushed us out with those new guns,” she said. “My father claimed that they were the new thing. I...” She sighed. “I ignored his words. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“I notice you’ve gotten your hands on a few muskets yourself,” he said. “How’d you manage that?”

“Oh, a few from enemies. A few from supply ships we’ve captured. I’m careful to not over-use my powers,” she said, nodding as they came to a large chamber. It looked like it had once been a banquet hall – Liam could see frescoes done in painted and dyed ice along the walls. But where once there had been artwork of brave Hellenic sailors and bold explorers, now there were rough maps drawn on canvas and leather. There were new doors that had been crudely hacked into the walls, to provide new routes in and out of the room. And there were a great deal of cots. They were laid out on the ground and beside the walls, where healers and priests worked their practice on the wounded that had been brought here.

The fact that there were cots meant that whatever Neriad’s powers were, they didn’t include a great deal of healing.

Liam shook his head slightly as Neriad continued.

“The Dodekatheon has a reward for my head, ever since I refused to bow to my father and kiss the feet of that pig, Zeus,” she said, shaking her head. “He tried to rape me. Twice.” She snarled as she turned to face Liam. “And my father did nothing. Oh, he claimed that he would raise the seas and swallow the ships of Zeus’s people, that he would blight their land with salt-rain, and send the kraken. But all it took was five lightning bolts to convince him to back down. Five!” She trembled. “If I wasn’t a goddess in my own right, Zeus would have had his way with me.”

Liam felt a sudden pang of sympathy. And revulsion.

Here he was, hoping to return Zeus to his throne.

Ares might be worse...but that didn’t make Zeus better.

Neriad led him to a large table set up near the back of the room. While he was sure it had been made for banquets, it managed to pull duty as a map-room as well. The maps were Purgatorian in style, with poor grasp on elevation and topography, vague measurements, and a rather inexact grasp of accurate positions. Despite that, Neriad had  marked out positions and traced the route of Ares’ supplies. She thrust her finger down at the Endless Mine.

“This is what they came for,” she said. “My miners discovered it, almost a year before. We thought it was cursed, killing any who entered into it. It was only when rumors of how it killed people got out that the Dodekatheon decided they wanted a piece of the pie.” She shook her head slightly. “I thought I was ready for any attack, but their cannons, their muskets...those hoplites that Ares has created.”

“The paladins?” Liam asked.

“That’s what they call themselves. Silly name.” Neriad sniffed. But behind her godlike disdain and confidence, Liam could see her hands tightening into fists, her knuckles resting against the table. “I pulled everyone I could back here, to the summer palace. And since then, it’s been a hit and fade war.”

Liam nodded. Several things warred with him as the first thing to talk about. He considered: Bring up that this was a monotheist force that followed Ares to the exclusion of all other gods? The fact that the Endless Mine wasn’t just a source of steel but also contained a Predator drone that could completely swing the balance of power throughout Purgatory? Or maybe bring up the most delicate question of the whole ‘holding two United States soldiers hostage in your boy harem.’

Neriad grinned, slightly. “At least I’ve had some comforts.”

Boy harem it was.

“I wanted to ask you about those...” Liam said, rubbing his hand along his neck as Neriad smirked and put her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. Her trident floated behind her, hovering near her back as if it was slung in an invisible harness. “Comforts.”

“I could have sworn you knew, considering your attire,” Neriad murmured, her eyes sweeping along Liam’s body. They lingered on his thong for a few moments and Liam chuckled quietly.

“Hey, your elementals said to dress to impress...” He paused. “We’ve received word that you have two strangers. Humans, likely as tall as me, who don’t speak any Purgatorian language.”

Neriad narrowed her eyes, slightly. “And how did you receive such word, Godkiller?”

“I have my ways,” Liam said, smiling. “If you want the muskets, you’ll need to give over Corporal Barker and North.” He paused. “The blond one and the black one.”

Neriad pursed her lips, slightly. Then she looked back at the maps. “They appeared out of thin air, with strange artifacts. When we found them, they were surrounded by a crystalback herd they’d managed to infuriate. They had killed half the heard with their weapons, but the other half were firing lightning into their hiding hole.” She shook her head. “They were beautiful, and so, I offered them a choice. They could serve in my army, or they could serve beneath my legs.” She smiled slightly. “They chose the silk sheets.”

“Did they now?”

Liam and Neriad turned to see Simone. She and Meg were standing at a respectful distance away. Simone realized that her voice had been a bit louder than she had expected and coughed.

“This is Lieutenant Simone Fong,” Liam said. “She’s the commander of the two men you have.”

“Well, they’ve pledged themselves to my service,” Neriad said, thrusting out her chin slightly. “I won’t return them unless they wish it.”

Simone rubbed her temple slightly and muttered under her breath. Liam didn’t quite catch what she said, but if it wasn’t about soldiers thinking with their dicks instead of their heads, he would have been shocked. Neriad’s ears twitched and she smirked slightly.

“Why don’t we go visit them?” Neriad suggested.

Simone’s cheeks darkened. “I, uh, I need to get the defenses ready.”

“We’re under a lake, Simone,” Meg said, her voice wicked.

Simone flushed even harder. Tethis came to her rescue: “I actually, uh, think it is a good idea to see to the defenses. If Ares can speak through the radio, he might be able to track them. We haven’t transmitted since the communications yesterday, and it is very difficult to track a single radio burst without triangulation, but...” She spread her hands. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Oh, fine,” Neriad said. “Liam.” She offered her arm. “Let me show you the harem.”

Liam took her arm, grinning ever so slightly as Neriad turned and started towards one of the adjoining rooms. He could feel Simone’s eyes on his back – and he wondered. He glanced backwards, but she had already turned and started for the exit out to the main walls, flanked by Tethis and Liv. Liv elbowed her gently and Simone laughed at something she said.

And, walking with an expression so casually innocent that it had to be a cover for utter perversion, came Meg. Her wings were closed tight behind her back, and her hands were clasped behind her as she walked along. Neriad met Liam’s eyes and arched one of her silvery-white eyebrows. Liam smiled at her, and spread his hands in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. Neriad sniffed and then opened the door to her harem.

Liam had thus far been fairly impressed with how Neriad had swallowed her pride and put her summer palace to work. He knew a few gods – Aphrodite springing immediately to mind – who would have sulked at having a single cushion in their private sanctum moved aside. But no matter how practical Neriad was, there seemed to be a limit to how far she was willing to sacrifice her own personal aggrandizement, and that limit was this room.

The walls were ice, but ice that had been painted and colored via expensive dyes into a bright profusion of shimmering colors. Artwork both detailed and abstract sprawled along each wall, showing images of beautiful nymphs and well hung satyrs chasing them intermixed with geometric patterns that implied forests. The floor was covered with cushions and carpets that kept the feet warm and the bare skin of the various harem members from touching cold ice – something that Liam immediately was grateful for. He let himself finally put equal weight on both feet as he looked over the harem.

There were several men and women here. They ranged from the svelt to the bulky, with every race represented. There was a painted lizardman whose body was swathed in luxurious white silk, reclining on a cushion as he played some derivative of Go with a goblin who reminded him a bit of Laurentinus, though with a rather magnificent mustache that almost reached his ears. But the two Earthers were easily picked out. For one thing, they were both almost as tall as he was. For another thing, they were the ones in the center of the room. Every other member of the (mostly male) harem was keeping their distance from the newcomers.

Corporal Jeremiah Barker had his hands clasped behind his neck and was sprawled on a cushion – as comfortable and as relaxed as anyone that Liam had ever seen. He was a tough looking guy about Liam’s age. His hair was strawberry blond and his face was peppered with dark freckles, giving him a total farmboy look that was completely and utterly ruined by the tattoos that sprawled along his upper arms. Some were clearly service tattoos, but others were simply winding tribal patterns, roses, thorns, and at least one heart with a girl’s name on it. He was dressed in a thong similarly to Liam’s.

Liam felt a momentary flash of pride that he was bigger.

Corporal Tanye North was black – and Liam realized that he hadn’t seen a black woman or black man in the flesh for almost a year. That felt wrong. But most of the people exiled to Purgatory had been from Northern Europe or the Mediterranean – while there had been sub-Saharan and northern Africans in the mix, they had been interbred with the various humans of various groups so much that Purgatorian humans tended towards two ethnic uniformity: Mediterranean brown and Nordic blond. So seeing someone looking honest to god African was...well, it was a bit like seeing an Asian girl for the first time in ages.

Fucking.

Amazing.

Tanye was curvy and muscular, like Meg. Unlike Meg, she had a rich, ebony black skin that shone in the warm light of the harem room. Her crisscrossing golden bikini kept her full breast supported, while a long golden silk loincloth dappled between her muscular legs. But while she was dressed like Princess Leia, she was still clearly a soldier underneath the curves: Her arms also bore tattoos, and she had a tired I am so fucking sick of this bullshit expression on her face, her eyes narrowed underneath the coiling poof of her short cropped hair.

The two Earthers looked over at Neriad and Liam. And Liam heard a clunk behind him as the door shut between him, Meg and Simone.

Neriad grinned, her finger rubbing along her chin. “You know...” she said, her voice loud in the suddenly quiet room. “I have a temptation.”

Liam gulped.

Neriad’s finger touched his chest as the two Earthers sat up.

“Holy shit!” Tanye said, pointing at him. “That’s the fucking white boy we were here to grab!”

“Yup. That’s him.” Jeremiah crossed one leg slowly over his thong, looking studiously unimpressed, even as Tanye looked like she couldn’t take her eyes off Liam’s thong.

Liam forced any nerves he had aside. His hand went to Neriad’s wrist and he grinned at her. “I’m flattered. And, honestly, if I had my choice, I’d love to be a part of your harem for a few months. It sounds like a vacation.” He smiled. “I notice that neither  of your new pets have tried particularly hard to escape.” He glanced at them.

“I hid a radio,” Jere said. “Also, how the fuck can she understand you? You’re speakin’ English.”

“Jere, we’re in gold bikinis in an underwater fuckin’ ice castle and you’ve spent the past week getting your dick wet in a fish-lady.” Tanye crossed her arms over her chest, looking like she had remembered what she was dressed in with the sudden arrival of someone else from Earth. “And that’s what shocks you?”

“I was getting my dick wet, Tanye,” Jere said, sliding his hands back behind his neck and reclining as he looked real smug. “I wasn’t about to ask too many questions. Remember that Russian chick in Istanbul?”

“Oh god, not that Russian chick in Istanbul again,” Tanye muttered.

Neriad tossed her hair back and over one shoulder. “Fine. I’ll let you go...” she said. Liam smiled at her. Then he blinked. Wait, she had said you?

“Tomorrow,” Neriad purred, her hand shoving against Liam’s chest. He sprawled onto the cushion beside Jere, his arms splaying wide as Neriad grinned down at the three of them. Her palms rubbed together as she licked her lips slowly.

“Uh...” Liam blinked.

The door shuddered and the ceiling shook slightly. Bits of ice-dust pattered down and the other harem members squeaked in alarm. Neriad turned to face the door, scowling slightly. “What?”

“Hey! What are you doing in there?” Meg shouted through the door.

“Negotiating!” Neriad said with a smirk, her foot pressing against the underside of Liam’s thong. Her toes worked under his balls and pushed upwards, forcing his bulge to prominence. Jere and Tayne weren’t able to stop themselves from gawping. Tayne did manage to cross herself, though.

“...can I watch?” Meg sounded plaintive.

“Meg!” Liam sat up. Then, looking at Neriad. “Listen, isn’t time of the essence?”

“We don’t do operations during the day and my magics require a liquid connection,” Neriad said, grinning slowly. “And I’m fucking horny and your goddess, so...” Her foot slipped from his balls to his cock, putting just enough pressure that he could feel it, trapping his cock between his belly and her muscular leg. Liam tensed, grabbing up great handfuls of the carpet as he clenched his jaw. “Are you going to keep fucking complaining, you beautiful man?”

Behind her, the door creaked open ever so slightly – the ice that had kept it shut melting for just a moment – and Meg slipped in as quietly as she could, then settled herself down on a cushion. Within a few moments, she had almost become a part of the background.

Liam tried for a cocky grin, forcing the groan of frustrated desire that wanted to escape him back down his throat.

“When you put it that way? No.”