Viktora drifted through a darkened ndscape. There was no Anhelo to guide her to Aczotz's courts. There wasn't anything but the eternal bckness. It couldn't even reasonably be called shadows, as there was no light to cast a shadow. She rexed, enjoying the sensation of weightlessness and the aches of her mortal body being removed from her. She didn't know how long she floated there, but eventually there was a call, a tugging on her spirit form, and she found herself gliding towards it unconsciously.

  The further the call pulled her, the quicker she moved until she felt like she was hurtling through the dreamscape faster than she'd ever moved before. She was certain that the speeds would rip her soul to shreds, and was starting to panic when she came to a sudden stop. She blinked, and when her eyes opened again, they rested upon the features of her god.

  Aczotz was, as legends had depicted, an enormous bat. He was hanging upside down, his feet out of view for Viktora. His eyes were closed, and he had wrapped himself in his wings. The fur coating his body looked incredibly soft, but she couldn't see much else of him. He didn't seem to move at all, but she heard his voice echoing in her mind.

  So, this is the one, is it?

  Yes, Lord Aczotz. Lady Aphrodite's voice responded. Viktora looked around wildly for the goddess, but couldn't see her anywhere.

  She is already tainted with your influence. The bat god's deep rumble didn't sound accusatory, but Viktora wasn't a fan of being described as "tainted".

  She has been spending time with my avatar. It has had an effect on her. Aphrodite's voice sounded no more defensive than Aczotz's had been accusing, but Viktora got the impression that more was being said than the words they exchanged.

  Your proposal is unusual. He commented, as if observing a cloud.

  Though it is not unreasonable.

  No, it is not. With how much they wish to maintain their 'purity', my children will fade from that world long before they try to integrate with the other races.

  So you'll do it? Aphrodite sounded hopeful.

  If that is what my daughter wishes. Aczotz replied.

  Aphrodite suddenly appeared next to Viktora, and gave her an uncertain smile.

  "Hello, Viktora."

  "Hello, Lady Aphrodite. How did you escape that cage?"

  Aphrodite pursed her lips, but didn't answer the question. "Viktora, Lord Aczotz and I have been discussing certain issues, centered around you."

  "Yes, Lady Aphrodite. It seems there is a choice I need to make?"

  Aphrodite nodded. "You see, members of the Third gender... Well, they have certain urges that they must contend against in order to live in civilized society. For your entire life, those urges have been suppressed by Lord Aczotz. You are his chosen Nightstalker for this era, much in the same way that Loverboy is my avatar. For this reason, he wouldn't allow you to feel the urges of the Thirds. If you had, you would have been killed more than a decade ago, and he would have had to wait for another contender for the position of Nightstalker to unseat Ronak from the Obsidian Throne."

  "I'm not really hearing a choice in there." Viktora said dryly.

  Aphrodite scowled. "I'm trying to give you a bit of history so you understand what I'm proposing, and what you'd be agreeing to. When we are finished with this conversation, you are going to have the option to go back to Glitnir. Back to Shiloh. If you choose to, there is a blessing I would like you to take with you. Aczotz removed your ability to feel the urges of the Thirds but, in doing so, he also removed a goodly portion of your power. We can give you that power, but you will live with those urges for the rest of your life. They can be quite strong, even stronger than the urge to bite and drink an enemy's blood."

  "Shiloh's other concubines don't seem to have a problem with anything like that." Viktora commented. "What do the urges tell them to do?"

  Aphrodite sighed. "They are urges to mate, Viktora. The others don't have issues because, well, Shiloh is happy to be the outlet for them to use."

  "Do I need this power?" Viktora addressed the bat-god hanging from the ceiling, who had been conspicuously quiet.

  Nobody ever needs power, Viktora. However, I believe that there is much good you could accomplish with it that you otherwise wouldn't be able to.

  She thought about it for a long time, but the gods were patient with her. Did she want any more power than she already had? Aczotz said it would help her accomplish more good than she could do without it but, with Shiloh, she had to be at least as powerful as Ronak already. If she could unseat him... Did she want to unseat him, though? Did she want to go back to Glitnir? She didn't know. Here, she would be able to find her mother. They could be together, with nothing to cause them pain anymore. Was she willing to give that up to go back to suffering in her mortal coil, when she knew that the other Apostles were definitely going to do the job of killing Ronak and his followers for her?

  "If I go back, I would like the powers." Viktora finally decided.

  I sense indecision in you, my child. Aczotz replied balefully. A half commitment will only end in tragedy. If you are going back, you must be certain of your choice.

  "I understand, Lord Aczotz. I will consider it most carefully before deciding."

  Very well. I release you from that which binds. Go forth, my champion, into whichever destiny you would choose.

  "If you choose to stay, I will tell him of your love for him." Aphrodite promised. With that, Viktora was thrust from the gods' presence, to drift alone with her thoughts in the sea of darkness.

  It was the most difficult choice of her life, and she couldn't understand why. She'd only known those people for two days. There was no reason for her to want to stay with them instead of going to her mother now and being at rest. There were no commitments tying her to the mortal realm anymore, and she was oh, so tired...

  A gentle tug pulled at her, and she heard his voice on the winds of the ether. He called her name, and her choice was made.

  ***

  Viktora's eyes fluttered open, and she gasped deeply when her soul returned to her body. She was immediately buried by Shiloh's crying body. He was absolutely sobbing, his frame shaking with his sorrow and relief. He gripped her so tightly, she thought a lesser being would have been broken in his grasp. He was surprisingly strong, for being the physically weakest member of the party.

  Viktora's next breath was filled with his scent, and it made her head go fuzzy again. It also stirred something new, deep in her loins, that she had never felt before. A ravenous beast that had missed years and years of feeding. Awoken with the smell of a delicious feast that it must consume. She wrapped her arms around the man hugging her and rolled the two of them over. She sat upon him and drank in his sight. The tears were clearing, and confusion was filling his eyes along with a sliver of fear.

  She leaned forward to capture those lips in a fierce kiss, when a strong set of arms wrapped around her and heaved her off of him.

  "She's gone feral!" Ara shouted, dragging Viktora away from Shiloh. The Cleric scrambled backwards as Beck leapt forward to help restrain the vampire. "Gods damn, she's strong!"

  "Must be the vampire thing." Beck grunted as they wrestled Viktora to the ground. Shiloh pumped his Empowering Pool into Beck, and she put it in her strength, allowing them to secure their charge completely.

  "Viktora." Elnor knelt in front of the vampire, just out of her limited reach. "When was the st time you took care of yourself?"

  Viktora barely recognized the words as speech. The only reason she was even able to consider responding was the practice she'd had soothing and sedating the urge for blood over seven years of being denied. This desire was so far beyond anything she'd dealt with, but she was able to force a few words out.

  "Never. Never done it. Virgin." She snarled, fighting to get free.

  Elnor's eyes widened. "How have you dealt with this in the past, then?"

  "New. To me. New. Never. Felt. This."

  "Oh, fuck." Elnor swore. The expletive dropping from her lips was more of a shock than Viktora's behavior, but only slightly.

  "What are our options here?" Shiloh asked, coming to stand behind the elf. She stood and looked at him very seriously.

  "Shiloh, when we go feral we don't stop until we are totally sated. We literally fuck ourselves into a coma. If she's never dealt with this before, and I don't know how she would have lived this long without doing it, then she has literal years of pent up needs that are all coming out right now. This has to be dealt with immediately, but I don't know if you doing anything with her is a good idea."

  "Why not?"

  "She's a vampire and a member of the third gender. She's ludicrously strong, and she could probably accidentally snap you like a twig."

  "Can. Hold back. Already. Doing it." Viktora growled from underneath Beck and Ara.

  "I can freeze her and separate them again if need be." Twil stated.

  "D-do we h-have t-time for th-this?" Katerine asked. "W-will it s-start if w-we w-wait too l-long?"

  "It hasn't yet." Beck grunted.

  "We don't have a choice." Twil said. "If we try to start a combat, we're down to just Katerine, Elnor, Shiloh, and me. We might be able to survive that, but if Viktora gets loose, it will be a bloodbath. We need to deal with this right now and stop deying."

  Shiloh knelt down in front of Viktora. She went crazy trying to get at him, thrashing against her captors. He gently, carefully reached out and touched her cheek. For the briefest of moments, he saw Viktora within those eyes. Scared, worried, and in need of help.

  "You won't hurt me, will you?" Shiloh whispered. His voice seemed to calm her slightly.

  "No." She spat out as her limbs filed.

  "Let her go." Shiloh ordered. Beck and Ara looked at him, then at each other.

  "Go ahead. Let her go." They did so, looking like they were going against their better judgment.

  Viktora righted herself and wrapped Shiloh in a hug. Her member, rger than he remembered it being, was pressed firmly into him. She mashed her lips against his, no technique used, just a desperate need for him. When she separated, he pushed back on her slightly, and she thankfully allowed him to move her.

  "Take your clothes off." Shiloh ordered her. Viktora swore she felt her juices gush out of her pussy at his commanding tone. She shivered and undressed as fast as she could. Shiloh only took a few seconds longer, then he reached out for her again.

  Viktora pulled him in for another hug, and her cock rubbed up against his belly, smushing between the two of them. Just that was enough to set her off, and she delivered her first sticky load, coating both of their abdomens. Shiloh moaned, and she knew she would never tire of hearing that sound. She held him tight and practically fucked his mouth with her tongue while she ran her hands all over his naked flesh, groping his ass and reaching between them to stroke his cock.

  When she ran out of breath, she was forced to withdraw for a moment. He took the opportunity to speak to her.

  "Let me y down." She forced herself to release him, and only managed it with the knowledge that this was about to escate. Shiloh quickly id down on his back and drew his knees back, exposing his puckered hole for her to plunder. "Come and get me." He winked.

  The beast within roared in victory and took over. Viktora was only able to restrict enough of its strength to not hurt Shy, but she was no longer in control of her own actions or memories. She threw herself on top of him, rammed her cock in as fast as she could, and immediately began rutting as if her life depended on it.