Chapter 27 - I'm The Man Who Loves You

At first, the nine-foot-tall forest entity didn't respond. She'd placed Jude on the sand. His deteriorating body sat facing Mount St. Helen, the soon-to-be-active volcano. The Deer Woman began her work. She waved her massive tree branch arms to conduct a private symphony of destruction. With every subtle twitch of her fingers manipulating unseen instruments, lighting shifted across the sky, thunder CRACKED, and the ground quaked.

"There's no bargaining now," Jude mocked, "All the pieces on the board have already played their part. The Deer Woman's victory will punish the ungrateful populace that's plagued her earth. This is the end. Goodbye, Wood Siblings."

Lane tightened his grip on the silver cross as the tar-covered lion shifted its gaze towards The Twins. Neither Lane nor Luna slowed their approach. Instead, Luna called out again while unbuttoning her blue-jean shorts; "Deer Woman, we've come to bargain: to provide you with an offering in exchange for sparring the mortals of this earth."

The emaciated lion emitted a low growl that Lane could feel jostle his broken and battered rib-cage. Still, The Twins proceeded forward. The volatile lightning refracted off the turbulent lake to cast a strobing effect upon the Deer Woman. Lane watched waves of light dance across the familiar curves of Alice's body that had been remade under the entity's control. They were about ten yards away from Jude, the Lion, and the goddess now. The Twins held their ground as the entity finally half turned from her work to address Luna.

Luna looked at the entity right in her golden blue eyes. She gave her brother's hand one last squeeze and quickly released herself from Lane's grasp. With both hands now free, she hooked her thumbs under the hem of her lime green spaghetti strap shirt. She lifted the fabric up slowly, showing off every inch of her lovely, toned brown stomach.

It was hard to distinguish Jude's objection from the growl of the lion that sat beside him; "What do you think you're doing? What perversion is this?!"

Lane leveled the silver cross at the Lion, "Not a perversion: a gambit. Black queen takes white queen. Who has more influence? A frail camp director with his own self-serving interests and insecurities, or the unfathomable compassion and unbridled love of my sister? Go ahead, Jude, place your bet."

Jude's face contorted into that of a scowling gargoyle that would have sat atop an old, dilapidated cathedral. Spittle flew from the mouth of the increasingly agitated Camp Director, "This is not a game you'll win, Roswell." With a snort, he leaned into the lion and spoke, "White knight takes black knight."

The tar lion lunged forward. Lane was ready. He parried the lion's colossal paws and jaws with a downward slash of the cross. Even with the subtle movement, Lane could feel his ribs continue to crack and crunch inside his chest. Stiff upper lip covered in blood, he pushed through the pain. His wrist flicked the silver sword up and out, ready for the next attack. Even if his opponent was an emaciated lion, it still held a ninety-kilogram advantage over him, and paws that could rip a car in half. Lane shifted his posture defensively and shuffled back across the sand. Thus began his calculated retreat towards the water's edge.

While Jude kept his eyes on Lane's impending devouring, Luna continued her seduction of a goddess. Free of her shirt, she strode forward, walking out her jean shorts as they slid down her slender legs and onto the sand. The Deer Woman remained transfixed on the mortal girl as she stripped free of her black cotton boy shorts. Raising her arms up to the sky, Luna licked her lips, "Where men offer nothing but destruction and pain, I offer you creation."

Luna dropped her hands back down slowly, running her fingers through her short jet-black hair. Eventually, her fingers found the straps of her bright pink bra. She peeled off one strap, then the other. Luna was an arm's length away from the forest entity as she suggested, "We could create something beautiful together, you and I." She pulled the center clasp of her bra down letting the last cloak of her modesty fall to the wet sand.

The entity, the one that so much resembled Alice now leaned ever so slightly forward over Luna. Those pearl white, honeydew breasts of Alice's were just out of reach from Luna's lips, but she restrained herself. The forest spirit's countenance remained stoic, unmoved by the naked beauty that stood before her. Luna however was already busy studying the micro-expressions on the Deer Woman's face and body. Reaching out, palm turned up, Luna offered to meet the deity halfway. Luna let out an inviting, wanting sigh as she prepared her body as a gift fit to please a goddess.

Not so much hesitating, the Deer Woman waited a moment before extending a single finger to touch Luna's palm. As the mortal young woman and ancient entity connected, Luna offered the Deer Woman a smile that could have melted the sun. With another weighted sigh, she leaned forward pressing her supple lips upon the rough flesh of the forest goddess' hand. One kiss led to another, and another. A series of longing kisses followed that made their way down to the tip of the finger still planted upon Luna's palm. Those kisses soon became one, long, slow lick from Luna's wet tongue back up the length of the index finger of the entity.

Luna didn't cease. She reached out her other hand to massage the wrist of the Deer Woman, gently holding the goddess in place. Her tongue continued to paint its way up and down the entity's stiff finger unabated. Luna spread her legs, each barefoot planted firmly in the sand. As she drew her tongue back up the length of the Deer Woman's finger, Luna asked, "We could create something so beautiful. Would you like that?"

Studying the sharp blue and gold eyes of the goddess, Luna saw the pupils widen and lips part as if to convey sorrow, perhaps regret.

"Is this the first time anyone's ever asked what you desire?" Luna's voice was a soft whisper, but her question was an arrow that sank into the heart of the Deer Woman. Suddenly, the finger planted in Luna's palm flinched. Luna reached out and gently slid her hand upon the Deer Woman's hip. "Has no one ever fulfilled your desires before?"

Luna read the Deer Woman's swollen eyes and saw a single, subtle tear begin to form. Stepping closer still, Luna wrapped herself around the waist of the giant woman as far as her arms span could accommodate. Given the height difference, Luna's head rested just above the taller woman's waist. She looked down upon the trail of hair that led to the untamed silver bush and glistening sex that lay hidden underneath.

"Please, if you ask me, I will fulfill your desire that has long been neglected by those in the past. Those who only sought to use you for their own desires? Allow me to fulfill your needs..." Luna pleaded as she ran her tongue along the curvature of the Deer Woman's hip bone, down her trail, down, and down, and down...

Lane stood knee-deep in water so frigid it burned him. Probably gonna get a touch of frostbite if this takes too long, he figured into his calculation. Had to keep his mind busy. Focused. He couldn't afford to think about his own pain. Not now. There was too much at stake. If things went south on Luna's end, he would be her last defense. It would be on Lane to shoulder the burden of stopping the Deer Woman and Jude's dark desires.

The Lion roared again, telegraphing its attack: Ever the alpha predator. Or so, it was led to believe. Lane barely dodged its latest pounce. The lake's depth made it harder to move, sidestep, evade the massive ink-covered beast. Fortunately, that problem was a two-way street. Lane watched as the tar or whatever black, viscous liquid started to harden. The lion's fur was matted down, soaked thick with the same icy water that stung Lane.

"You know, for a minute there, I actually thought you'd be a threat," Jude called from the shore. He'd managed to limp his way to the water's edge. He watched as the lion prepared for another strike; "I'll admit to a bit of hubris. Your qualifications, your inquisitive nature? Could've ruined everything. I didn't even have to hire someone... " He searched for the word, "... So meddlesome. The ritual only required thirteen people. Men. Women. Children. Any thirteen would have done. I'd have taken whoever said, 'Yes,' first."

Lane again executed another parry too close to call. The lion's left paw had grazed his shoulder. If the strike had been true, Lane would have lost the arm. But, it did bleed all the same. A trail of blood leaked out across the surface of the turbulent waters as Lane went back deeper still. His back foot finally slipped free of the sandbar, now forced to tread water. He floated out just far enough to invite another pounce. Easy prey.

"It's unfortunate that you couldn't learn to let go," Lane shouted across the water.

Jude snorted at the obvious attempt at being baited.

"Was it that your wife couldn't stand the manipulation at home? The mind games? Your constant need to be in control?" Lane kept one eye on the lion, the other on the Camp Director. "Perhaps when your overbearing nature finally fell upon your daughter, your wife finally drew the line? That's when she left you."

Jude cupped a hand to his mouth to shout his reply, "The last words from a dead man. You're wasting your breath, Roswell."

"You couldn't accept anyone would ever go against your will, could you? That's why they had to die. That's why you took your wife's life. That's why you murdered your daughter!" Lane dared to shift both eyes onto Jude.

He watched.

He waited.

The sad excuse of a man didn't disappoint; "They couldn't see how easy it would have been if-- IF THEY'D ONLY LISTENED!" Even obscured under the dark clouds and strobing sheet lightning above, Lane caught glimpses of Jude's face brighten to a blood-red hue as he screamed, "Everything ends tonight! Everything. By my hand, I end it all."

Luna's hand, meanwhile, was exceptionally busy. Her fingers deftly slid across the outer labia of the Deer Woman's open legs, slick and dripping. The entity shuddered but remained standing. Probing deeper, the mortal girl's fingers unfolded the inner labia, holding it open for her tongue to further flick and part the soaked petals of the entity's pussy. Ever the master of her own tongue, Luna massaged the clitoris of the goddess that towered over her with the elegance and grace of a poet.

With her eyes closed, Luna reached inward to remember all the countless times she'd been taken advantage of, traded, sold, and abused. She remembered the heartache and unspeakable pain. As the mortal girl's lips touched the lower lips of a goddess, Luna plunged the depth of her empathy. To have such power only to be summoned, and demanded to act out someone else's wicked wills? To have been neglected, gone without praise, buried under a tomb for decades? Luna's mind raced to compose a suitable apology. Not only an apology, but comfort, kindness, and love.

As tears welled up in Luna's eyes, she continued to write her love letters, an unrelenting ballad of praise and adoration with her tongue. She may not have fully understood the Deer Woman. But, this entity was a woman nonetheless. This was a woman who would no longer go unfulfilled. With that promise in her heart and the goddess' wetness rolling down her tongue and throat, Luna reached her fingers deeper within the Deer Woman and let them dance inside.

In that same moment, Luna felt the fingers of the entity grasp the crown of her head, and draw her closer to the glistening pussy she continued to devour.

"Will you let me satisfy you tonight?" Luna asked between lashing her tongue upon the Deer Woman's clit; penetrating, and massaging her sex.

A moan laced with the heartache of isolation finally escaped from the Deer Woman's trembling mouth. It was a sound so deep and sorrowful that it shook the trees. Luna continued to thoroughly pink out the goddess' heart. 

The entire woods audibly shared the single ecstatic word as it erupted from the giant woman, "Yes."

With a wide, wet smile, Luna obliged.

"Kill him," Jude ranted and raved, "Kill that bastard, now!"

The lion paced back and forth in the shallows. Its nose sniffed and snorted the scent of Lane's blood. Its low growl shook the waters with nearly as much force as the growing thunderstorm ahead. Lane kept treading water, egg beater legs churning in the frigid lake. He kept his head high enough above the water to entice the lion with a smile.

"I said, 'KILL HIM'," Jude commanded one last time.

Finally, the lion obeyed.

Pushing off with its hind paws, Lane watched it soar through the air. As he had calculated, the lion then landed with a mighty splash roughly an arm's length away. Just close enough. All that lake water had thoroughly soaked into its fur. Whatever the fuck that black liquid was had hardened almost to glass, or a dark amber resin now. The beast probably didn't even feel the small, but precise cuts Lane had made into its joints when he parried those massive paws. Now, icy water stung its muscles and the weight of its own sponge-like fur coat must feel like steel plates attached to its body. This terrifying creature now frantically, desperately attempted to stay afloat.

Lane didn't hesitate. He'd been trained, marshaled, crafted into a machine that knew how to save a life from drowning. There was a key element to that training that Lane had to access at this moment to overcome a beast that could easily kill him. He knew how to rescue a drowning victim. He knew the steps necessary to succeed. At this moment, however, Lane had to push himself to intentionally perform the opposite of those years of training. He went against everything he knew to insure the target he'd lured out into the Lake wouldn't take another breath.

Lane quickly swam alongside the lion raged against the violent waters, gasping for breaths. In a single thrust, Lane positioned the silver cross into the beast's gaping maw. The predator splashed and swiped frantically. Lane was unfettered. He mounted the lion and, like a silver bit in a horse, Lane pulled with all his might to keep the lion's mouth from closing. His legs wrapped tightly around his opponent's ribs. The spurs of Lane's heels dug into the creature's side like a vice grip. Each kick of Lane's heels made the lion's desperate, gasping breaths that much harder and inefficient. Lane pulled back upon the silver lever harder still. More water came flooding into the lion's open mouth as they continued sink beneath the waves.

Less water was spat out.

The beast worked its paws feverishly against the water, clamoring for one last breath. Its torso thrashed. It tried to roar, but barely a pathetic gurgle escaped as more and more, and more water still rushed down the lion's throat into its lungs.

Lane broke his promise.

He was in the midst of failing his oath to save lives.

That pain was far worse than the frostbite. Worse than the fear of everything he'd ever known ending and consumed by fire. Lane's current failure was almost worse than the potential death of his sister. Those buried memories began to resurface: that disappointment of past failure. Those scars of his own making that would forever mark his heart had just been reopened. It bled worse than before. Lane drew a deep breath, still squeezing his legs around the lion's body and prying open its mouth as it finally failed to resurface. He could feel the beating heart of this creature race faster. He could hear its muffled roar, its plea for release, for life.

Then, Lane felt nothing.

He released his grip around the lion's waist and kicked off its body, shooting himself up to the surface. Once above the waves, Lane exhaled and took another deep breath. His burning lungs drew in the atmosphere thick with electricity and the storm still raging above. Lane glanced beneath the water, but could just barely make out the inky shape of the great beast. Then, it disappeared.

"That's not..." Jude couldn't finish. His jaw simply hung open in disbelief.

Lane's teeth chattered while he swam toward the shore. As he stood upon the sand bar Lane rubbed his chest and locked eyes onto the former camp director; "There's one obvious factor you overlooked; aviation survival techs are drown-proof." He still shivered: less from the cold, more from righteous indignation held against Jude. Lane lifted the silver cross once more and leveled it at his opponent. "Black knight, to white-king: check."

Jude stumbled backward in the sand. He struggled to get back to his feet, to turn and face the last piece he had to move. To his horror and disgust, his queen was otherwise occupied...

Luna rocked her hips back and forth, savoring every delicious inch of the connection between her pussy and the goddess she rode upon. The Deer Woman had let herself fall back upon the sand, surrendered to the genuine pleasure and warmth offered unto her by a mere mortal woman. With her head tilted back, eyes fluttering, and long strands of silver hair swept back, she panted for breath. Harder, faster, Luna howled in ecstasy and continued to increase her pace.

Again, the Deer Woman spoke; the familiar English of Alice's voice overlapped by the countless voices of previous host bodies over the centuries. A single, pleading, whimper; "More."

Luna detached herself from between the Deer Woman's quavering legs. Sprawling herself out upon the forest entity's chest, she leaned down, drawing circles around her partner's nipples with the tip of her tongue. One quick kiss led to another before Luna finally rose up to make her demands clear, "I will give you so much more, but..." She flicked her tongue once more, the breasts of the entity grasped firmly in Luna's hands. "Release Alice. Allow me to host you and together we can repair this destruction," Luna dipped down again, tasting the breasts of the goddess and fondling the pearl white flesh delicately, roughly, alternating between firm and gentle handfuls.

"Would you let the girl go so we can be together?" Luna asked in between kisses and subtle bites. She worked her way up to the Deer Woman's collarbone. Luna's tongue wrote the promise out across the goddess' flesh, up her neck, and nibbled on her earlobe. "I will give you more," Luna promised, "We will share much more, together."

"What have you done? You perverted, witch! I was the one who summoned her. I completed the ritual. She. Is. MINE." Jude cried out, exacerbated and defeated.

Luna placed her hand upon the woman's cheek, "Since when does a goddess obey the rules and constraints of a man?" Embracing the Deer Woman, Luna planted her lips against the goddess' and kissed her deeply, "Us. Together. Till the end?"

Jude's protest was in vain.

Lane looked past the broken man and saw his naked sister lying upon the forest spirit that eerily resembled Alice. The sound of groaning, moaning trees rocked the air, louder than the storm above them. The Deer Woman stood up to her full height. Now, in place of Jude, it cradled Luna's nude body tightly against her own.

"NO," Jude shouted again, "You're mine. I brought you here. You shall obey me!"

The resentful scowl the Deer Woman aimed at Jude packed enough punch that he doubled over, lying backward upon the sand.

Lane kept his eyes on Luna; his dear twin sister.

She offered him that same confident smile he'd grown up with. Her smile had always dispelled any fear or doubt that plagued him. Then, holding Lane's eye she mouthed, 'I love you,' while the Deer Woman stretched out her right arm to the sky. Before Lane could reply or protest, a bolt of lightning shot down from the storm and consumed both the goddess and his sister.