“I must go now,” Lilith said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stick around? Get to . . . know each other a little better?”
Maybe my Vampiric Expertise could grant me access to Lilith’s abilities. I would much rather fuck her than kill her. Hell, if I took the goddess right now, it could mean an incredible growth in power.
We’d already kissed, but I was more than willing to take things to the next level. A growth in power and sex with a beautiful goddess? I wasn’t about to turn that down. With the thought in mind, I moved closer to her. My gaze locked onto her eyes, and a surge of something only describable as magic burst free of my insides and seemed to penetrate her defenses. Her eyes widened, staring straight into mine, seeming to fall into my gaze . . .
I leaned in without breaking my hold. I could smell a sweet aroma as I drew nearer to the goddess. Lilith stopped me short with her finger pressing against my lips.
“The first kiss was my gift to you,” she said. “You will have to work for the second.”
Shit, didn’t I have her? What was going on?
My power over her flipped, and suddenly I was the one in the throes of a magical charm. I couldn’t move. My whole body felt petrified.
“You seem to be forgetting your place, Von Dominus. Remember, I can end you whensoever I wish. Do you understand?”
My neck couldn’t manage a nod, but the goddess released me anyway.
“I will forget that little attempt to use Charm on me.”
“I was just testing my new abilities.”
“Do not test them on me.”
“Understood. How about we move on?” I wanted to change the subject quickly, fearing what Lilith might do if she learned I wasn’t completely under her sway. I’d learned everything I needed to know from the slight fear in her eyes when I’d attempted to kiss her a second time.
As easy as it would be to grow strong enough to force myself upon her, I couldn’t do that. Even though this wasn’t Earth, I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to force women to my bed; I would use my vampiric charm to sweeten my advances, but would never completely enthrall a lady in order to sleep with her.
It would make my task a little harder, and my Vampiric Expertise would be more difficult to implement, but it was one way of maintaining my hold on my humanity.
“There is one thing I still need to provide you,” Lilith said. “A map. It will guide you through the caverns, to a place worthy of your dungeon. Somewhere high, perhaps?”
Acquired Item from Lilith (Infernal Goddess)!
Map (Shadow Crag)
The notification in my vision was replaced by a map with black ink brushed over an old parchment.
Before I could thank the goddess, her clawed hand, brimming with burning warmth, brushed the side of my face as she stared into my eyes.
“Goodbye, Von Dominus. Kill in my name.”
“I will,” I promised.
Lilith traced her finger through the air, and a doorway opened to her throne room. The smell of her filled my nostrils as she vanished through the portal.
The magical rift blinked out of existence and left behind the lingering smell of acrid sulphur. I was left in the darkness as I stared at my jeweled heart through elvish eyes.
Chapter Four
The cavern’s slick black walls glistened while water dripped from the stalactites and plopped into pools in the ground. The unpleasant scent of fungus filled my nostrils as the rift vanished. The smell of brimstone and Lilith’s sweetness vanished, leaving a gassy smell not unlike the aroma of a chemical plant.
Were it not for my avatar’s night vision, I would have had trouble seeing the rest of the chamber, but my eyes were able to make out every crevice and rivulet in the cavern’s walls. The entire cave illuminated every half second when my jewel pulsed like a heartbeat as it floated in mid-air, the size of a golf ball.
It would draw attention if I carried it through the rest of the mountain; a low-level avatar traveling with a bright red jewel would be perfect pickings for the ‘adventurers’ Lilith had mentioned, or her creatures. Given how tense things had just been, I wasn’t convinced she would keep them off me, or the gem.
My jewel rotated as it levitated, and I snatched it from the air. I could only estimate its weight, but it felt upward of two pounds.
The core pulsed in my hands, a deep red glow that flickered like a living, breathing being. I didn’t have pockets in my tunic or pants, so I attempted to slip the stone into my boots, but it wouldn’t fit while my feet were inside them. Walking around without any footwear was probably a recipe for disaster in these caverns, so I dropped the idea and turned my attention to my surroundings.
I glanced around the cavern for something to use as a satchel or sack but found nothing, just rocks and dirt. I wasn’t interested in making a fashion statement, so I tore my sleeves from my tunic, tied the two sleeves together in the manner of a sling, and then made a satchel in the center with the loose bits of fabric.
Satisfied that my jewel fitted snugly inside the sling, I removed my tunic and wrapped the sling around my torso. My dungeon heart didn’t feel like it would slip out, so I put on my tunic again. My jewel’s rhythmic pulse was completely hidden behind the black fabric. There was a bit of a bulge, but at least it wasn’t out in the open. I thought about how much longer Von Dominus could remain outside my jewel, and a notification appeared over my vision.
Avatar Time Remaining:
00:54:52
When the timer ran out, Von Dominus would return to my jewel and the elvish avatar would remain there for twenty-four hours. I needed to determine a path through the caverns and get outside.
Lilith had made an
