“End Game!”
LXIII.
I crashed through the wall and as I did I phased to the Primal Plane. My attacker did so as well in sync with me and we crashed to the ground heavily.
He was tall and strong. I knew he was a Djinn, but the moment I saw him clearly I knew he was not just any Djinn.
"Aldo!" I shouted his name.
"J'sella," he said smoothly with a wiry smile.
"I remember Milan very well," he said. "Pleasant times."
"For you," I said grinding my teeth.
"What was it?" he asked teasingly. "Two weeks in the pillory? I still recall your sweet toes on my lips and how I covered them with gentle kisses."
"Four weeks of perverse torture, you maniac," I replied recalling in vivid detail the ordeal. There was nothing gentle being trapped in the stocks with a Djinn such as Aldo.
"Can you call it torture if the victim laughs and makes such pleasurable sounds?" he asked cynically.
"Your master's villa did not fair well," I reminded him. "Nor did your master, if I recall."
"No, being burned to a crisp did dreadful things to his aspirations for Grand Master," he said reflectively. He shook his head clearing away the reverie. "But we are here for other business," he said focusing on me.
He attacked. He was fast. As fast as I remember.
We exchanged powerful blows, mine complimented by heat and fire, his by wind and frigid air. We countered each other perfectly in power and style. Time had not diminished our skills and hate fueled my blows while his bravado fueled his.
It was just a brief fraction of a second. A blow delivered a tad bit too slow. That was all he needed. Aldo knows how to capitalize on that better than anyone I know.
He seized my right wrist first and grabbed the left with his other hand. He grasped them together in one hand and jerked them above my head in a swift definite and ominous movement.
He pressed me against a wall and his smile was sinister.
His free hand was on my sides in a flash kneading forcefully and skillfully. I struggled but his grip was iron and I lost my strength as laughter erupted from my lips. He was skillful. There was no doubt about that. There was nothing I could do.
He attacked my neck and nibbled my ears causing me to laugh even more. I would not last long. He'd weaken me, imprison me and eventually torture me methodically. This time perhaps for months. Maybe even years.
When all seemed lost, I felt him hesitate. I felt a tell tale growing bulge in his pants and saw his pupils dilate as a shocked look washed over his face.
Something was affecting him and it clearly was not my plight.
Slender and delicate hands ran over his sculpted shoulders and he stopped tickling me.
Two Djinns had activated Lust over him. Sex is deeply rooted in our beings and Aldo is no exception.
"This one will be taken care of," the darker of the two said sensually. They tore his clothes off.
"Keep him busy. I have issues to resolve with him later," I stated.
I shot back after Hadrian Constantinius flying through the air with heat burning deep inside.
LXIV.
I freed Jeanie.
She was weak but she seemed relieved.
"You're not that Ghul's slave anymore, are you?" I asked.
"Very perceptive," she answered as she changed and appeared clothed in blue jeans and a white tank top. "Something has happened to Hanna. Enough to free me of her influence which was never very strong to begin with."
"So you are really free now?" I asked as she touched me and I became clothed in an instant in some black slacks and a purple top that appealed to me.
"I'm only as free as you have allowed me to become, Claudia," she said touching me gently on the shoulder. "We're in this together. As friends, not as servant and mistress."
"Thank you, Jeanie," I said giving her a warm hug.
I knew her name. I could command her to obey, but I would not do that. Her voluntary loyalty was beyond any binding.
She picked the vial of the Tears of Damascus off the ground and she handed it to me.
"These are useful," she said. "For breaking an enemy or healing when there is no other option. Keep them. Use them sparingly and they will serve you well."
I took the vial in my hand and rubbed the cool glass gently.
"That woman mentioned Ray," I said.
"I know," Jeanie said gravely. "Her name is J'sella. An Ifreet. I will follow her. My objective has always been to protect Raymond. She has killed Raymond in many past lives. I will see what can be done. You, however, must escape."
"If she is going where Ray is, then I'm going too," I said resolute. "You're going to have to knock me out cold or freeze me in place or some other fancy thing if you think you can stop me."
Jeanie sighed and shook her head.
"Come along then," she said. "Just try not to get killed."
LXV.
My life blood spilled away.
The Houri Grand Mistress freed Hanna. Sworn enemies smiled at each other and greeted each other with a firm even affectionate handshake.
"Enemy," The Ghul mistress said.
"Enemy," the Houri mistress said.
"I had the Houri down for the count," Hanna said.
"You did. But I've evened the balance in this city,” the Houri said. “The Ghul will be recruiting for a while."
The Ghul acknowledged grudgingly.
I groaned. The Houri never wanted me alive. It was all a sham.
"Oh, you're still here," the Houri said looking down on me.
"Ahem," said a voice entering the room.
The Ghul and Houri turned to face this new arrival.
"I am Jeanie and I've come for Raymond Butler," said the Djinn. "I've been tickle tortured, coerced, humiliated and betrayed by my own kind. I'm as mad as an Ifreet and I will maul any and all who stand in my way."
"A bluff," the Ghul Hanna said.
"Call it!" Jeanie challenged.
"Raymond!" Claudia shouted and I grew weaker yet. She was here. I wanted to protect her and she was in the worst place in the world to be at this very moment. She ran towards me and I winced realizing what would happen.
"I'll call and raise you one foolish Ghul," Hanna said intercepting Claudia.
Another woman burst into the office surrounded by Ghuls. She bore a hammer and had light blond hair that spread in the air.
"There can be no witnesses," the Houri Grand Mistress said growing. "All your lives are at stake on this very hand."
She converted into a huge spider, horrible, terrible and awesomely defying.
“Let us play!” she shouted her arachnid fangs dripping with venom.
This was the end. The end of us all.
LXVI.
The Ghul Hanna was strong as an ox. She was thinner than I was and despite that she held me still as can be.
She held me in check despite my struggling and pounding. She was busy looking at the hairy spider version of the Houri woman. She was impressive the first time I had seen her. Now she was doubly so.
The Spider was fast and unrelenting. Jeanie and the Spider exchanged blows while the Ghuls who had arrived attacked as well. The Spider eliminated the weakest first killing most of the Ghuls outright with powerful blows or terrible poisonous bites.
The blond huntress she could not bite. She was fast and strong and her hammer rained blows that seemed to faze the Spider. The Spider was content to trap the young woman in a cocoon of webbing that immobilized her and removed her from the contest.
I had my own agenda as the battle continued. I spilled the vial of Tears of Damascus on the Ghul Hanna's side and it instantly moistened the fabric of her clothes and I hoped her skin.
There was only one way to know for sure.
I pressed my fingers against her side and she yelped. She screamed and laughed and fell to the ground. I pounced on her and tickled her in a frenzy concentrating on the side that the tears had fallen on.
I had to reach Ray, but I could not leave this powerful Ghul capable of stopping me. She was so powerful there was no taking that risk.
The Spider and Jeanie exchanged blows. Wind and webs were all over the place. Jeanie was more powerful than I had ever seen her.
Tears streamed down Hanna's cheeks. She was breakable. She was exposed and more ticklish than she had ever been thanks to the Tears. My fingers explored her side varying intensity and frequency in an effort to keep it all unexpected and extra intense. However, I think not much was required to get the job done.
"Swear total obedience to me, Hanna," I whispered to her ear. "Swear it and the tickling ends."
"I swear", she shouted. "Universe be my witness!"
And it happened. I had the most powerful Ghul of all under my control.
I turned and saw Jeanie pinned to the floor and the venomous jaws of the spider getting closer and closer.
"Destroy the Spider," I commanded and Hanna did not hesitate.
I turned and rushed to Raymond.
He was ashen and his eyes were dull and lifeless. I touched his neck and found a weak pulse growing weaker with every beat.
I took the vial of the Tears of Damascus and pulled the stopper. I was not actually sure of the consequences, but I had no choice. I poured the Tears from the vial but none would come out. Had I used them all?
I shook the vial violently and pressed the glass hard between my fingers. Nothing came out. I was desperate and shook harder and pressed harder. There had to be something left inside. Even a drop might save Ray's life.
I shook harder yet and then it happened.
The vial burst and liquid was spread all over both our bodies.
Where they still Tears of Damascus or in breaking the vial had I released something more sinister?
There was only one way to know.
LXVII.
Foiled! Dominated! Humiliated!
My lack of vision was the cause of all this. I needed to be rescued by a Houri and now not only dominated but controlled by a Ghul who wasn't even a Ghul one moon ago.
"Destroy the Spider!" she had commanded.
The compulsion left me little alternative and despite my anger with Claudia and Constantinius and this fiasco, I relished the opportunity. Enemies we were. Cooperating enemies but enemies nonetheless.
I had trapped one of the Ghuls, the more competent one who pummeled me with her hammer, in a cocoon of webbing. The webbing drained away power directly from the victim. She'd be out of the battle and could be tormented or converted or simply killed at leisure.
The Djinn was a challenge. We exchanged blow after blow. My venom would not kill her, but it could slow her down. We were like chess players. Attacking and defending in a dance of death. Finally, I had an opportunity and I could get some webbing on her that would stick. From there she had few options and I slowly but surely gained until she was conveniently restrained and subdued.
I hung her upside down from the ceiling and tore away at the webbing at her feet removing her shoes and leaving her feet bare.
It seemed it would be a simple thing to collect them all and torture them when a powerful hit came from behind.
It was the Ghul Hanna. She was attacking me. Compelled by that little, insignificant Ghul! How could this be?
Her blows were powerful and I was caught off guard.
She pounded and pounded away dodging my arachnid legs that lashed out at her.
I could not maintain the morph and I converted back to humanoid form.
Hanna stopped her attack.
"She said to kill the Spider," Hanna said evenly.
I understood instantly.
Claudia was understanding too and she began to start to issue a command to continue the attack.
But even in my weakened state I was faster than her lips.
"Light's out!" I said as I rushed her and with blinding speed I took her head and pounded it against the wall. She went out cold before she could command Hanna.
"She's a dangerous one," Hanna said. "We should kill her."
"Put her with the rest," I said. "The time of judgment is upon us."
Hanna nodded in agreement and picked Claudia off the ground. She strode with ease carrying the unconscious Claudia.
"You have been deemed unworthy, Hanna," I said from behind her morphing in a moment and biting her on the shoulder making sure venom was delivered to her bloodstream.
"Damn you, treacherous Houri," she cursed dropping Claudia.
I gave her a lethal dose of venom. She staggered, fell and faded quietly. She seemed asleep for a moment until her breathing stopped.
An unfitting end for a centuries old Ghul. But she had been bested by an amateur. And that could not be. Claudia would be my new Ghul enemy. I would prepare her, of course. Break her and tame her.
I wrapped her in webbing and hung her upside down as well with her soles facing upward.
She came to and she could see me.
I morphed back to human form and looked at her.
"I think we'll need to get a bit acquainted," I said beginning to raise my glasses.
"Step away from her," said the Ifreet from the hole in the wall she had exited the room.
"Or else?" I asked. "She is Constantinius's lover. But then again, so are you."
Claudia looked confused and hurt. How precious.
"And what of it?" J'sella said. "She is his lover and I will not have you rape her mind."
"Like I raped yours?" I asked taunting. "All that hate. What happened to it? This could have been avoided had you simply done your job. You had just to kill him."
"I'll reduce you to ash," the Ifreet declared attacking with full force.
But I was not a mere Houri host. I was the Houri Grandmaster in person and in full majesty.
She would not burn me.
I counterattacked. Fast. I entered and kicked her with expert precision. She fought back and she tried to stop me, but I wore her down. I morphed back into the Spider. In all my majesty, she was no match. She stumbled and as she did I attacked and bound her in webbing and negated her powers.
Four prisoners. Four victims. Four new servants.
"You'll die for this!" J'sella cursed as she burned with anger as I removed the victims shoes and boots leaving their feet.
I reached out a hairy spider leg and with the hairs I tickled her soles. Her furious anger just melted away as she laughed.
The others looked at me wondering how it would be when it was their turn.
I was not one to deprive them of the privilege of my attention.
I sat back on four legs and with the front four legs I tickled the soles of the four until there was a pleasant roar of screams and laughter. Claudia was especially sensitive as she screamed and shook in madness. She would be easy to break, much to my disappointment. Perhaps the young blond Ghul was more promising.
That would be a decision for a later date. In the meantime I simply enjoyed applying such detailed attention to the soles. I was so much absorbed, that I did not hear what was happening behind me until HE spoke.
"Ahem," the prodigal Houri said. "I think we still have some issues to resolve."
LXVIII.
My vision faded as I saw Claudia perched over me. Oblivion called and I followed. I settled in oblivion for a while. I was dark and cold and lonely.
Time went by. I'm not certain how much.
When I thought I would just fall away, I suddenly felt a a golden feeling washing over me. It was warm and inviting and the wound in my mid section started to heal. I could feel the tissue of the flesh quickly knitting together and the damaged organs made whole again. It was amazingly fast, but it happened slowly as if there was no rush.
Events happened around me, but they didn't seem to matter. Only the golden feeling. The feeling of healing and restoration. It faded away leaving me feeling rested, whole and energized.
I touched where the wound was and I could only feel a light scar.
A giant spider was the Houri. Her aura was crystal clear.
J'sella, Jeanie and Claudia, along with a Ghul were her prisoners and she tormented them.
I would not allow it.
Outmatched, outclassed and with almost nil chance of success, I did what the old Raymond Butler never would have done.
I smiled to myself. If I was to die, this was a good way to die. No more cowering.
I took my gladius that lay discarded on the ground and read the words. 'Fortune favors the brave’, the words said in Latin.
Yes, it does, I decided.
"This ends now," I said to myself.
LXIX.
"Stop!" Hadrian Constantinius said.
"I can destroy you in a heartbeat, Constantinius!" I shouted back still in my majestic Spider form. "You should already be dead. I will make sure you stay dead this time."
He stood there. Unfazed. Calm.
I hesitated. His confidence was unnerving.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked expecting a trick.
"J'sella, Jeanie, swear your loyalty and power to me," he said evenly.
"You have it," J'sella said without a thought.
"I am yours to command," Jeanie said.
"This feud ends now," he said lowering the sword. The Djinn's and the Ifreet's power flowed through the gladius. Their power was joined together, and a whirlwind of fire and wind flow through Raymond and into the Gladius.
The energy hit me head on and it was like no power I had ever felt before. How had he been able to magnify the power of the Immortals? How could this be, that this mere low level Houri could somehow defy me? Me! Grandmistress of the Houri.
He had me. There was no escape. The Whirlwind pinned me in place the flames burned.
"Mercy!" I begged reverting to human form. The flames would destroy me. "I will be your servant, your tickle slave, yours to use as you please. Spare me!"
I needed a chance. I'd be his slave. I'd done it before. I'd wait patiently for an opportunity to strike back. I'd be his slave. For a chance.
But he would not give it.
He fired away relentless in all ways.
And I burned. Burned to ashes.
LXX.
"What a scene!" I said once the dust and ash had settled. A Djinn, an Ifreet and two Ghuls. Immobilized and helpless.
I stepped on a damaged desk and reached above ready to cut them free.
I couldn't resist tickling each of them playfully.
Jeanie's soles were white and pretty. Her laughter was pleasant and relieved.
J'sella's soles I knew but I still enjoyed tickling her small ticklish feet.
I have the blonde Ghul a quick tickle, just to hear her laugh.
And then I tickled Claudia. She shrieked and laughed madly. She was ticklish of course, but not THAT ticklish.
The four women dusted themselves off while I watched wearily but with a smug look.
I failed to see J'sella circle around me and it came as a total surprise as she dug her nails into my sides tickling furiously. I was surprised but also shocked at my ticklishness. I was MUCH more sensitive.
"That is what you get for taking advantage of a helpless girl," she said.
The others probably nodded to each other and they all collectively started tickling me.
It felt good. It was a brief moment of levity that I felt was needed.
"We must leave this place," Jeanie said once seriousness settled in.
J'sella lifted the bottle where I had been captive and dusted it off. "I know what to do with this."
She returned with a smug look on her face and handed me the bottle. "The Djinns are all inside. I'll explain later."
J'sella, coaxed by Jeanie, torched the building. Jeanie insisted on it helping fuel the fire with air and then smothering the flames afterwards to control the blaze. There was to be no evidence of what had happened.
We returned to Emma's tattoo parlor and met below in her basement.
Jeanie was noticeably saddened by the fate of her friend. The five of us sat down and we talked. We compared notes on what had happened and what each of us knew about the matter.
"Both Grandmasters are gone," Jeanie stated after the briefing. "That leaves a huge vacuum of leadership. Who will assume the leadership for the Ghul and Houri?"
"Don't look at me," I said. "I want no part of it."
"Nor I," said Claudia in agreement.
"It is naive to think that this will stop just because you have eliminated two quite ancient Grand Masters," Jeanie said.
"You should seize power, Raymond," J'sella said nodding in agreement with Jeanie.
"I'll have none of it," I said. "I retire. I don't want anything to do with this. Jeanie, J'sella, you are both free. Amela and T'ish are free as well provided they leave the Djinn restrained."
"I will care for Aldo, the Djinn," J'sella said with satisfaction caressing the bottle.
“That is decided then,” Jeanie said wearily. “Then what will you do? You are both targets for Houri and Ghul. Do you mean to lead normal lives? And lead them together? A Ghul and a Houri?”
Now it was my turn to speak. My turn to put the cards out on the table.
"Claudia.. I... I..." I tried to speak but words failed me.
"He is a coward. He feels guilty," J'sella spoke to Claudia making me feel worse. "I tried to kill him, then I tried again. I seduced him and made him think I cared. I tried to break him and humiliate him, but now I see that he did all he did to preserve his life and yours. I was wrong to not consider you my friend. You are brave and daring and I respect that."
She stood up crossed the room. She kissed Claudia on the forehead then returned to me and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Our feud is over, Hadrian Constantinius," she said sincerely. "Fare well and may we meet again in the next life."
She was leaving and Claudia chased after her.
We were silent, Jeanie and I, until Claudia returned.
Claudia would not look at me when she returned.
"I'm out too," she said. "The only way to win is to become like those Grandmasters. I don't want to play."
"I'll play," Charlotte said gripping her hammer. "It is my destiny to represent the Ghul. I was born for it. But I will not become like them. I will hammer out my own fate."
She looked calm but resolute. She was young, but she did seem like the kind of person that could lead the Ghul effectively.
"I'll leave it to you here assembled to decide what to do with the Houri. You have my respect and my affection. If we become enemies, I trust we can be honorable enemies."
She stood up, nodded respectfully and she left the room.
"And the Houri?" Jeanie asked once she had left.
"I am not Hadrian Constantinius," I said. "I will not be Grand Master. I will not wage war on the Ghuls. I am Raymond Butler. A normal guy who wants a normal life."
"You are not normal," Jeanie said softly. "You are Houri and you can try to hide from the power mongers of the Houri and the Ghul but you cannot hide from yourself. Take some time, think of it. You still owe me ninety-seven tickles. I'll call upon them when the time is right and you can choose to do them or not."
"Fair enough," I said.
"Then this is good-bye," she said standing and approaching Claudia. "Claudia, I have waged war on Ghuls for centuries. I have never thought it possible to consider a Ghul anything other than an enemy. You have proved me know. I consider you my sister and will for all time."
The affection was mutual and they embraced in a powerful and affectionate hug.
"I have not given up on you, Ray," she said turning to me and giving me an equally powerful hug. "The Houri is patient. Take your time, I'll be waiting."
And she left leaving Claudia and myself alone.
LXXI.
I chased after J'sella.
"You were lying," I said to her back.
She paused.
"You love him. You love him just as much as I do," I stated.
She turned back to me.
"My hate for him burned deep throughout the centuries," she said slowly. "I killed him. Not once, not twice. Many times."
She displayed a coin in between her fingers.
"For someone like me, love and hate are sides of the same coin," she continued spinning the coin between her fingers. "Opposite edges of the same blade. We would get along I'm certain for a time. But then I have no doubt we'd be at each other's throats again in no time. He loves you and you have a chance this lifetime. Love him. Care for him. Forgive him. There is no man more noble."
"Will I see you again?" I asked the proud woman as returned the coin to her pocket and she turned again to leave.
"Probably not," she said. "But I hope we do in another life."
I hugged her from behind. She was shorter than I was but I could feel her energy and vitality. Tears fell from her cheeks onto my arms. She did not look back.
"Thank you for helping, Ray. And for rescuing me. I am in your debt for now and forever," I said.
"Love him," she said not looking back. "He'll need you and you him. Make it work."
And with that she left.
LXXII.
"Claudia," I started.
"You don't have to say anything," she said.
"Only what matters," I said countered. "I love you."
We embraced and kissed. Not romantic end of movie kiss.
Just a relieved kind of kiss.
More like the kind of kiss that says 'I'm so happy to be alive and with you.'
That, and only that, was all I needed to know.
LXXIII.
Ray and I led very normal lives afterwards.
We finished school and started off our careers and I can't say I totally regret the whole Houri/Ghul affair.
I learned so much and so did Ray. He was so much more confident and aggressive about the things that were important. He was a changed man, but deep down he was the same. The same man I had fallen in love with years ago.
We hid. We did not use our powers. We did not communicate with Djinns or Ifreets or anything of the kind. It almost seemed that it had not happened.
But it had.
Ray still had the scar on his belly of the wound of the gladius and he even kept the sword hidden in a box under the bed.
"Just in case," he said.
There were other changes as well. The Tears of Damascus had saved Ray's life, but they had sprayed our bodies completely and affected even the parts of our bodies not covered by the Tears.
We were considered the most ticklish persons on Earth any time we were accidentally or purposefully tickled.
And I dare say we were.
Not one part of our bodies were spared from the effect of the Tears of Damascus. Pedicures? Impossible. I'd kick the pedicurist in the face. Walking on grass? Torture. A poke in the side, even casual, would result in guffaws and squeals totally off the charts.
It was not all bad. Tickling among ourselves became a passionate game of wills and wits. And the sex was just out of this world. Every inch of skin and every part of the body was sensitive and easily stimulated. It just seemed perfectly right for us.
And that was how it was.
Perfect. Right.
Sometimes I think about Jeanie and J'sella and I smile affectionately. I hope they are doing well. I hope Charlotte does well.
The life of the Ghuls and Houri is long behind us.
I look to the future and the future is bright.
Epilogue
We were downtown on Christmas Day in the late evening after a show and dinner and it was snowing gently. I hailed a cab and it stopped for us. I ushered Claudia in and then entered myself closing the door. I told the cab driver where we were headed and he nodded through he bulletproof glass of the cab.
We were enjoying the ride home when the driver pressed a button on the dashboard and a soft hissing sound could be heard.
"What is that sound?" I asked.
"Going away present," he replied.
My head started to go dizzy and I saw Claudia the same. I instinctively tried to phase and I realized that the cab was also in the Prime Plane. I pounded on the glass and kicked at the doors but they would not budge. I looked at the driver and recognized him. He was one of the Ghuls who had kidnapped Claudia.
I shook Claudia, but she was out cold. I followed moments later.
We awoke. I was striped down to my boxers and restrained tight on a Rack. Claudia was next to me also stripped to her underwear.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“As okay as can be under the circumstances,” she replied.
“Who?” I asked. “Charlotte?”
“That dumb Nordic blonde?” a voice answered. “She’s ruined everything. She’s hammered all the Ghuls to her will. She’s hunted me down to the edges of the Earth.”
The voice I did not recognize but I knew who it was and Claudia confirmed it.
“Vanessa!” she shouted angrily.
“Yes,” she replied. “Vanessa it is. I’ve been hounded by Charlotte for years now. She’s countered my every effort. She blocked my every attempt at advancement. But now I hold the ace. I will retake the Ghul leadership.”
She pulled out two feathers and smiled evilly.
“And you two are going to help me,” she said placing a feather on each of our soles preparing to move them up and down and around our soles.
“Like it or not...” she said ominously twirling them.
Here we go again, I thought to myself as Claudia and I both began laughing helplessly.
And so it began... again.
The End.
LXIII.
I crashed through the wall and as I did I phased to the Primal Plane. My attacker did so as well in sync with me and we crashed to the ground heavily.
He was tall and strong. I knew he was a Djinn, but the moment I saw him clearly I knew he was not just any Djinn.
"Aldo!" I shouted his name.
"J'sella," he said smoothly with a wiry smile.
"I remember Milan very well," he said. "Pleasant times."
"For you," I said grinding my teeth.
"What was it?" he asked teasingly. "Two weeks in the pillory? I still recall your sweet toes on my lips and how I covered them with gentle kisses."
"Four weeks of perverse torture, you maniac," I replied recalling in vivid detail the ordeal. There was nothing gentle being trapped in the stocks with a Djinn such as Aldo.
"Can you call it torture if the victim laughs and makes such pleasurable sounds?" he asked cynically.
"Your master's villa did not fair well," I reminded him. "Nor did your master, if I recall."
"No, being burned to a crisp did dreadful things to his aspirations for Grand Master," he said reflectively. He shook his head clearing away the reverie. "But we are here for other business," he said focusing on me.
He attacked. He was fast. As fast as I remember.
We exchanged powerful blows, mine complimented by heat and fire, his by wind and frigid air. We countered each other perfectly in power and style. Time had not diminished our skills and hate fueled my blows while his bravado fueled his.
It was just a brief fraction of a second. A blow delivered a tad bit too slow. That was all he needed. Aldo knows how to capitalize on that better than anyone I know.
He seized my right wrist first and grabbed the left with his other hand. He grasped them together in one hand and jerked them above my head in a swift definite and ominous movement.
He pressed me against a wall and his smile was sinister.
His free hand was on my sides in a flash kneading forcefully and skillfully. I struggled but his grip was iron and I lost my strength as laughter erupted from my lips. He was skillful. There was no doubt about that. There was nothing I could do.
He attacked my neck and nibbled my ears causing me to laugh even more. I would not last long. He'd weaken me, imprison me and eventually torture me methodically. This time perhaps for months. Maybe even years.
When all seemed lost, I felt him hesitate. I felt a tell tale growing bulge in his pants and saw his pupils dilate as a shocked look washed over his face.
Something was affecting him and it clearly was not my plight.
Slender and delicate hands ran over his sculpted shoulders and he stopped tickling me.
Two Djinns had activated Lust over him. Sex is deeply rooted in our beings and Aldo is no exception.
"This one will be taken care of," the darker of the two said sensually. They tore his clothes off.
"Keep him busy. I have issues to resolve with him later," I stated.
I shot back after Hadrian Constantinius flying through the air with heat burning deep inside.
LXIV.
I freed Jeanie.
She was weak but she seemed relieved.
"You're not that Ghul's slave anymore, are you?" I asked.
"Very perceptive," she answered as she changed and appeared clothed in blue jeans and a white tank top. "Something has happened to Hanna. Enough to free me of her influence which was never very strong to begin with."
"So you are really free now?" I asked as she touched me and I became clothed in an instant in some black slacks and a purple top that appealed to me.
"I'm only as free as you have allowed me to become, Claudia," she said touching me gently on the shoulder. "We're in this together. As friends, not as servant and mistress."
"Thank you, Jeanie," I said giving her a warm hug.
I knew her name. I could command her to obey, but I would not do that. Her voluntary loyalty was beyond any binding.
She picked the vial of the Tears of Damascus off the ground and she handed it to me.
"These are useful," she said. "For breaking an enemy or healing when there is no other option. Keep them. Use them sparingly and they will serve you well."
I took the vial in my hand and rubbed the cool glass gently.
"That woman mentioned Ray," I said.
"I know," Jeanie said gravely. "Her name is J'sella. An Ifreet. I will follow her. My objective has always been to protect Raymond. She has killed Raymond in many past lives. I will see what can be done. You, however, must escape."
"If she is going where Ray is, then I'm going too," I said resolute. "You're going to have to knock me out cold or freeze me in place or some other fancy thing if you think you can stop me."
Jeanie sighed and shook her head.
"Come along then," she said. "Just try not to get killed."
LXV.
My life blood spilled away.
The Houri Grand Mistress freed Hanna. Sworn enemies smiled at each other and greeted each other with a firm even affectionate handshake.
"Enemy," The Ghul mistress said.
"Enemy," the Houri mistress said.
"I had the Houri down for the count," Hanna said.
"You did. But I've evened the balance in this city,” the Houri said. “The Ghul will be recruiting for a while."
The Ghul acknowledged grudgingly.
I groaned. The Houri never wanted me alive. It was all a sham.
"Oh, you're still here," the Houri said looking down on me.
"Ahem," said a voice entering the room.
The Ghul and Houri turned to face this new arrival.
"I am Jeanie and I've come for Raymond Butler," said the Djinn. "I've been tickle tortured, coerced, humiliated and betrayed by my own kind. I'm as mad as an Ifreet and I will maul any and all who stand in my way."
"A bluff," the Ghul Hanna said.
"Call it!" Jeanie challenged.
"Raymond!" Claudia shouted and I grew weaker yet. She was here. I wanted to protect her and she was in the worst place in the world to be at this very moment. She ran towards me and I winced realizing what would happen.
"I'll call and raise you one foolish Ghul," Hanna said intercepting Claudia.
Another woman burst into the office surrounded by Ghuls. She bore a hammer and had light blond hair that spread in the air.
"There can be no witnesses," the Houri Grand Mistress said growing. "All your lives are at stake on this very hand."
She converted into a huge spider, horrible, terrible and awesomely defying.
“Let us play!” she shouted her arachnid fangs dripping with venom.
This was the end. The end of us all.
LXVI.
The Ghul Hanna was strong as an ox. She was thinner than I was and despite that she held me still as can be.
She held me in check despite my struggling and pounding. She was busy looking at the hairy spider version of the Houri woman. She was impressive the first time I had seen her. Now she was doubly so.
The Spider was fast and unrelenting. Jeanie and the Spider exchanged blows while the Ghuls who had arrived attacked as well. The Spider eliminated the weakest first killing most of the Ghuls outright with powerful blows or terrible poisonous bites.
The blond huntress she could not bite. She was fast and strong and her hammer rained blows that seemed to faze the Spider. The Spider was content to trap the young woman in a cocoon of webbing that immobilized her and removed her from the contest.
I had my own agenda as the battle continued. I spilled the vial of Tears of Damascus on the Ghul Hanna's side and it instantly moistened the fabric of her clothes and I hoped her skin.
There was only one way to know for sure.
I pressed my fingers against her side and she yelped. She screamed and laughed and fell to the ground. I pounced on her and tickled her in a frenzy concentrating on the side that the tears had fallen on.
I had to reach Ray, but I could not leave this powerful Ghul capable of stopping me. She was so powerful there was no taking that risk.
The Spider and Jeanie exchanged blows. Wind and webs were all over the place. Jeanie was more powerful than I had ever seen her.
Tears streamed down Hanna's cheeks. She was breakable. She was exposed and more ticklish than she had ever been thanks to the Tears. My fingers explored her side varying intensity and frequency in an effort to keep it all unexpected and extra intense. However, I think not much was required to get the job done.
"Swear total obedience to me, Hanna," I whispered to her ear. "Swear it and the tickling ends."
"I swear", she shouted. "Universe be my witness!"
And it happened. I had the most powerful Ghul of all under my control.
I turned and saw Jeanie pinned to the floor and the venomous jaws of the spider getting closer and closer.
"Destroy the Spider," I commanded and Hanna did not hesitate.
I turned and rushed to Raymond.
He was ashen and his eyes were dull and lifeless. I touched his neck and found a weak pulse growing weaker with every beat.
I took the vial of the Tears of Damascus and pulled the stopper. I was not actually sure of the consequences, but I had no choice. I poured the Tears from the vial but none would come out. Had I used them all?
I shook the vial violently and pressed the glass hard between my fingers. Nothing came out. I was desperate and shook harder and pressed harder. There had to be something left inside. Even a drop might save Ray's life.
I shook harder yet and then it happened.
The vial burst and liquid was spread all over both our bodies.
Where they still Tears of Damascus or in breaking the vial had I released something more sinister?
There was only one way to know.
LXVII.
Foiled! Dominated! Humiliated!
My lack of vision was the cause of all this. I needed to be rescued by a Houri and now not only dominated but controlled by a Ghul who wasn't even a Ghul one moon ago.
"Destroy the Spider!" she had commanded.
The compulsion left me little alternative and despite my anger with Claudia and Constantinius and this fiasco, I relished the opportunity. Enemies we were. Cooperating enemies but enemies nonetheless.
I had trapped one of the Ghuls, the more competent one who pummeled me with her hammer, in a cocoon of webbing. The webbing drained away power directly from the victim. She'd be out of the battle and could be tormented or converted or simply killed at leisure.
The Djinn was a challenge. We exchanged blow after blow. My venom would not kill her, but it could slow her down. We were like chess players. Attacking and defending in a dance of death. Finally, I had an opportunity and I could get some webbing on her that would stick. From there she had few options and I slowly but surely gained until she was conveniently restrained and subdued.
I hung her upside down from the ceiling and tore away at the webbing at her feet removing her shoes and leaving her feet bare.
It seemed it would be a simple thing to collect them all and torture them when a powerful hit came from behind.
It was the Ghul Hanna. She was attacking me. Compelled by that little, insignificant Ghul! How could this be?
Her blows were powerful and I was caught off guard.
She pounded and pounded away dodging my arachnid legs that lashed out at her.
I could not maintain the morph and I converted back to humanoid form.
Hanna stopped her attack.
"She said to kill the Spider," Hanna said evenly.
I understood instantly.
Claudia was understanding too and she began to start to issue a command to continue the attack.
But even in my weakened state I was faster than her lips.
"Light's out!" I said as I rushed her and with blinding speed I took her head and pounded it against the wall. She went out cold before she could command Hanna.
"She's a dangerous one," Hanna said. "We should kill her."
"Put her with the rest," I said. "The time of judgment is upon us."
Hanna nodded in agreement and picked Claudia off the ground. She strode with ease carrying the unconscious Claudia.
"You have been deemed unworthy, Hanna," I said from behind her morphing in a moment and biting her on the shoulder making sure venom was delivered to her bloodstream.
"Damn you, treacherous Houri," she cursed dropping Claudia.
I gave her a lethal dose of venom. She staggered, fell and faded quietly. She seemed asleep for a moment until her breathing stopped.
An unfitting end for a centuries old Ghul. But she had been bested by an amateur. And that could not be. Claudia would be my new Ghul enemy. I would prepare her, of course. Break her and tame her.
I wrapped her in webbing and hung her upside down as well with her soles facing upward.
She came to and she could see me.
I morphed back to human form and looked at her.
"I think we'll need to get a bit acquainted," I said beginning to raise my glasses.
"Step away from her," said the Ifreet from the hole in the wall she had exited the room.
"Or else?" I asked. "She is Constantinius's lover. But then again, so are you."
Claudia looked confused and hurt. How precious.
"And what of it?" J'sella said. "She is his lover and I will not have you rape her mind."
"Like I raped yours?" I asked taunting. "All that hate. What happened to it? This could have been avoided had you simply done your job. You had just to kill him."
"I'll reduce you to ash," the Ifreet declared attacking with full force.
But I was not a mere Houri host. I was the Houri Grandmaster in person and in full majesty.
She would not burn me.
I counterattacked. Fast. I entered and kicked her with expert precision. She fought back and she tried to stop me, but I wore her down. I morphed back into the Spider. In all my majesty, she was no match. She stumbled and as she did I attacked and bound her in webbing and negated her powers.
Four prisoners. Four victims. Four new servants.
"You'll die for this!" J'sella cursed as she burned with anger as I removed the victims shoes and boots leaving their feet.
I reached out a hairy spider leg and with the hairs I tickled her soles. Her furious anger just melted away as she laughed.
The others looked at me wondering how it would be when it was their turn.
I was not one to deprive them of the privilege of my attention.
I sat back on four legs and with the front four legs I tickled the soles of the four until there was a pleasant roar of screams and laughter. Claudia was especially sensitive as she screamed and shook in madness. She would be easy to break, much to my disappointment. Perhaps the young blond Ghul was more promising.
That would be a decision for a later date. In the meantime I simply enjoyed applying such detailed attention to the soles. I was so much absorbed, that I did not hear what was happening behind me until HE spoke.
"Ahem," the prodigal Houri said. "I think we still have some issues to resolve."
LXVIII.
My vision faded as I saw Claudia perched over me. Oblivion called and I followed. I settled in oblivion for a while. I was dark and cold and lonely.
Time went by. I'm not certain how much.
When I thought I would just fall away, I suddenly felt a a golden feeling washing over me. It was warm and inviting and the wound in my mid section started to heal. I could feel the tissue of the flesh quickly knitting together and the damaged organs made whole again. It was amazingly fast, but it happened slowly as if there was no rush.
Events happened around me, but they didn't seem to matter. Only the golden feeling. The feeling of healing and restoration. It faded away leaving me feeling rested, whole and energized.
I touched where the wound was and I could only feel a light scar.
A giant spider was the Houri. Her aura was crystal clear.
J'sella, Jeanie and Claudia, along with a Ghul were her prisoners and she tormented them.
I would not allow it.
Outmatched, outclassed and with almost nil chance of success, I did what the old Raymond Butler never would have done.
I smiled to myself. If I was to die, this was a good way to die. No more cowering.
I took my gladius that lay discarded on the ground and read the words. 'Fortune favors the brave’, the words said in Latin.
Yes, it does, I decided.
"This ends now," I said to myself.
LXIX.
"Stop!" Hadrian Constantinius said.
"I can destroy you in a heartbeat, Constantinius!" I shouted back still in my majestic Spider form. "You should already be dead. I will make sure you stay dead this time."
He stood there. Unfazed. Calm.
I hesitated. His confidence was unnerving.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked expecting a trick.
"J'sella, Jeanie, swear your loyalty and power to me," he said evenly.
"You have it," J'sella said without a thought.
"I am yours to command," Jeanie said.
"This feud ends now," he said lowering the sword. The Djinn's and the Ifreet's power flowed through the gladius. Their power was joined together, and a whirlwind of fire and wind flow through Raymond and into the Gladius.
The energy hit me head on and it was like no power I had ever felt before. How had he been able to magnify the power of the Immortals? How could this be, that this mere low level Houri could somehow defy me? Me! Grandmistress of the Houri.
He had me. There was no escape. The Whirlwind pinned me in place the flames burned.
"Mercy!" I begged reverting to human form. The flames would destroy me. "I will be your servant, your tickle slave, yours to use as you please. Spare me!"
I needed a chance. I'd be his slave. I'd done it before. I'd wait patiently for an opportunity to strike back. I'd be his slave. For a chance.
But he would not give it.
He fired away relentless in all ways.
And I burned. Burned to ashes.
LXX.
"What a scene!" I said once the dust and ash had settled. A Djinn, an Ifreet and two Ghuls. Immobilized and helpless.
I stepped on a damaged desk and reached above ready to cut them free.
I couldn't resist tickling each of them playfully.
Jeanie's soles were white and pretty. Her laughter was pleasant and relieved.
J'sella's soles I knew but I still enjoyed tickling her small ticklish feet.
I have the blonde Ghul a quick tickle, just to hear her laugh.
And then I tickled Claudia. She shrieked and laughed madly. She was ticklish of course, but not THAT ticklish.
The four women dusted themselves off while I watched wearily but with a smug look.
I failed to see J'sella circle around me and it came as a total surprise as she dug her nails into my sides tickling furiously. I was surprised but also shocked at my ticklishness. I was MUCH more sensitive.
"That is what you get for taking advantage of a helpless girl," she said.
The others probably nodded to each other and they all collectively started tickling me.
It felt good. It was a brief moment of levity that I felt was needed.
"We must leave this place," Jeanie said once seriousness settled in.
J'sella lifted the bottle where I had been captive and dusted it off. "I know what to do with this."
She returned with a smug look on her face and handed me the bottle. "The Djinns are all inside. I'll explain later."
J'sella, coaxed by Jeanie, torched the building. Jeanie insisted on it helping fuel the fire with air and then smothering the flames afterwards to control the blaze. There was to be no evidence of what had happened.
We returned to Emma's tattoo parlor and met below in her basement.
Jeanie was noticeably saddened by the fate of her friend. The five of us sat down and we talked. We compared notes on what had happened and what each of us knew about the matter.
"Both Grandmasters are gone," Jeanie stated after the briefing. "That leaves a huge vacuum of leadership. Who will assume the leadership for the Ghul and Houri?"
"Don't look at me," I said. "I want no part of it."
"Nor I," said Claudia in agreement.
"It is naive to think that this will stop just because you have eliminated two quite ancient Grand Masters," Jeanie said.
"You should seize power, Raymond," J'sella said nodding in agreement with Jeanie.
"I'll have none of it," I said. "I retire. I don't want anything to do with this. Jeanie, J'sella, you are both free. Amela and T'ish are free as well provided they leave the Djinn restrained."
"I will care for Aldo, the Djinn," J'sella said with satisfaction caressing the bottle.
“That is decided then,” Jeanie said wearily. “Then what will you do? You are both targets for Houri and Ghul. Do you mean to lead normal lives? And lead them together? A Ghul and a Houri?”
Now it was my turn to speak. My turn to put the cards out on the table.
"Claudia.. I... I..." I tried to speak but words failed me.
"He is a coward. He feels guilty," J'sella spoke to Claudia making me feel worse. "I tried to kill him, then I tried again. I seduced him and made him think I cared. I tried to break him and humiliate him, but now I see that he did all he did to preserve his life and yours. I was wrong to not consider you my friend. You are brave and daring and I respect that."
She stood up crossed the room. She kissed Claudia on the forehead then returned to me and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Our feud is over, Hadrian Constantinius," she said sincerely. "Fare well and may we meet again in the next life."
She was leaving and Claudia chased after her.
We were silent, Jeanie and I, until Claudia returned.
Claudia would not look at me when she returned.
"I'm out too," she said. "The only way to win is to become like those Grandmasters. I don't want to play."
"I'll play," Charlotte said gripping her hammer. "It is my destiny to represent the Ghul. I was born for it. But I will not become like them. I will hammer out my own fate."
She looked calm but resolute. She was young, but she did seem like the kind of person that could lead the Ghul effectively.
"I'll leave it to you here assembled to decide what to do with the Houri. You have my respect and my affection. If we become enemies, I trust we can be honorable enemies."
She stood up, nodded respectfully and she left the room.
"And the Houri?" Jeanie asked once she had left.
"I am not Hadrian Constantinius," I said. "I will not be Grand Master. I will not wage war on the Ghuls. I am Raymond Butler. A normal guy who wants a normal life."
"You are not normal," Jeanie said softly. "You are Houri and you can try to hide from the power mongers of the Houri and the Ghul but you cannot hide from yourself. Take some time, think of it. You still owe me ninety-seven tickles. I'll call upon them when the time is right and you can choose to do them or not."
"Fair enough," I said.
"Then this is good-bye," she said standing and approaching Claudia. "Claudia, I have waged war on Ghuls for centuries. I have never thought it possible to consider a Ghul anything other than an enemy. You have proved me know. I consider you my sister and will for all time."
The affection was mutual and they embraced in a powerful and affectionate hug.
"I have not given up on you, Ray," she said turning to me and giving me an equally powerful hug. "The Houri is patient. Take your time, I'll be waiting."
And she left leaving Claudia and myself alone.
LXXI.
I chased after J'sella.
"You were lying," I said to her back.
She paused.
"You love him. You love him just as much as I do," I stated.
She turned back to me.
"My hate for him burned deep throughout the centuries," she said slowly. "I killed him. Not once, not twice. Many times."
She displayed a coin in between her fingers.
"For someone like me, love and hate are sides of the same coin," she continued spinning the coin between her fingers. "Opposite edges of the same blade. We would get along I'm certain for a time. But then I have no doubt we'd be at each other's throats again in no time. He loves you and you have a chance this lifetime. Love him. Care for him. Forgive him. There is no man more noble."
"Will I see you again?" I asked the proud woman as returned the coin to her pocket and she turned again to leave.
"Probably not," she said. "But I hope we do in another life."
I hugged her from behind. She was shorter than I was but I could feel her energy and vitality. Tears fell from her cheeks onto my arms. She did not look back.
"Thank you for helping, Ray. And for rescuing me. I am in your debt for now and forever," I said.
"Love him," she said not looking back. "He'll need you and you him. Make it work."
And with that she left.
LXXII.
"Claudia," I started.
"You don't have to say anything," she said.
"Only what matters," I said countered. "I love you."
We embraced and kissed. Not romantic end of movie kiss.
Just a relieved kind of kiss.
More like the kind of kiss that says 'I'm so happy to be alive and with you.'
That, and only that, was all I needed to know.
LXXIII.
Ray and I led very normal lives afterwards.
We finished school and started off our careers and I can't say I totally regret the whole Houri/Ghul affair.
I learned so much and so did Ray. He was so much more confident and aggressive about the things that were important. He was a changed man, but deep down he was the same. The same man I had fallen in love with years ago.
We hid. We did not use our powers. We did not communicate with Djinns or Ifreets or anything of the kind. It almost seemed that it had not happened.
But it had.
Ray still had the scar on his belly of the wound of the gladius and he even kept the sword hidden in a box under the bed.
"Just in case," he said.
There were other changes as well. The Tears of Damascus had saved Ray's life, but they had sprayed our bodies completely and affected even the parts of our bodies not covered by the Tears.
We were considered the most ticklish persons on Earth any time we were accidentally or purposefully tickled.
And I dare say we were.
Not one part of our bodies were spared from the effect of the Tears of Damascus. Pedicures? Impossible. I'd kick the pedicurist in the face. Walking on grass? Torture. A poke in the side, even casual, would result in guffaws and squeals totally off the charts.
It was not all bad. Tickling among ourselves became a passionate game of wills and wits. And the sex was just out of this world. Every inch of skin and every part of the body was sensitive and easily stimulated. It just seemed perfectly right for us.
And that was how it was.
Perfect. Right.
Sometimes I think about Jeanie and J'sella and I smile affectionately. I hope they are doing well. I hope Charlotte does well.
The life of the Ghuls and Houri is long behind us.
I look to the future and the future is bright.
Epilogue
We were downtown on Christmas Day in the late evening after a show and dinner and it was snowing gently. I hailed a cab and it stopped for us. I ushered Claudia in and then entered myself closing the door. I told the cab driver where we were headed and he nodded through he bulletproof glass of the cab.
We were enjoying the ride home when the driver pressed a button on the dashboard and a soft hissing sound could be heard.
"What is that sound?" I asked.
"Going away present," he replied.
My head started to go dizzy and I saw Claudia the same. I instinctively tried to phase and I realized that the cab was also in the Prime Plane. I pounded on the glass and kicked at the doors but they would not budge. I looked at the driver and recognized him. He was one of the Ghuls who had kidnapped Claudia.
I shook Claudia, but she was out cold. I followed moments later.
We awoke. I was striped down to my boxers and restrained tight on a Rack. Claudia was next to me also stripped to her underwear.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“As okay as can be under the circumstances,” she replied.
“Who?” I asked. “Charlotte?”
“That dumb Nordic blonde?” a voice answered. “She’s ruined everything. She’s hammered all the Ghuls to her will. She’s hunted me down to the edges of the Earth.”
The voice I did not recognize but I knew who it was and Claudia confirmed it.
“Vanessa!” she shouted angrily.
“Yes,” she replied. “Vanessa it is. I’ve been hounded by Charlotte for years now. She’s countered my every effort. She blocked my every attempt at advancement. But now I hold the ace. I will retake the Ghul leadership.”
She pulled out two feathers and smiled evilly.
“And you two are going to help me,” she said placing a feather on each of our soles preparing to move them up and down and around our soles.
“Like it or not...” she said ominously twirling them.
Here we go again, I thought to myself as Claudia and I both began laughing helplessly.
And so it began... again.
The End.
