Tales of Thuria 2: The Return of Bêlit - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Awakening

The horror of her death played itself over and over in her dreams. How the monstrous bat-winged ape had torn her crew apart and had then come for her. She had fought with her usual ferocity, but she had been no match for a fiend right out of her worst nightmare. It had torn the sword from her grasp and then picked her up like a doll, sweeping her toward its slavering maw. And then she remembered nothing.

Two Moons Previous

They will pay, Toth-Aloth thought. They will pay.

He crouched lower in the prow of his small single-masted vessel as his servants poled it stealthily toward the Tigress. He had been following the ship commanded by the notorious pirate queen Bêlit for several days now, shadowing its every move as it followed the shore of Kush and then had moved up the River Zarkheba, the dreaded River of Death.

I will see that pirate queen dead, he thought. She will pay for the desecration of the great temple in Asgalun and the death of my half-brother. His thoughts flashed back to the vivid scene just months before in which the giant barbarian had killed king Ctesphon and Bêlit had loosed her murderous pirates on the city. As wild mobs joined in the carnage, attacking everything Stygian, he had fled with the others of his race, but he had vowed vengeance for the atrocity and now that the objects of his hatred were within reach he was having trouble holding himself back.

"Master," whispered a voice from behind him. This is an evil place. We should flee."

Toth-Aloth could not but agree with him. The Zarkheba's dark water stank of rotting vegetation and strange creatures roiled beneath its surface. On either of its marshy banks massive trees overhung the water, blocking out the sun and trailing long mossy branches into the water. Strange birds and animals called from the jungle, and vague shapes flitted from branch to branch, but just out of sight. "We will be gone soon," he replied. "The time of vengeance is at hand."

The ship bumped against the riverbank, still a hundred yards away from the pirate vessel and Toth-Aloth stepped ashore. The larger ship seemed to be deserted, but he knew that wherever the pirates had gone they would return sooner or later. I wonder what has drawn the pirate queen up the river, he thought. He was about to move toward the ship when a sound from deep in the fetid jungle made him stop. Quickly he moved into the shadows of a large tree and waited.

Within a few heartbeats the pirate queen stepped into the clearing, she was followed by a score of dark-skinned spear-wielding warriors. Toth-Aloth held his breath. In his desire for vengeance he had forgotten the beauty of the pirate she-devil. She was tall and slender; dressed in a revealing fur garment that was split to her navel, allowing the splendour of her globular breasts to be fully enjoyed. Hair the colour of midnight fell to the middle of her back and a striking necklace of blood red stones encircled her neck. Even from where he hid, Toth-Aloth could feel the magic emanating from it.

I must have that and I will have her, he thought, revising his plan. I will see the pirate queen on her knees before me.

As he finished the thought a powerful thrumming filled the air. It was followed by a paralyzing shriek of rage and cries from Bêlit's men. "Defend yourselves," the she-pirate yelled, drawing her sword. Even as she spoke a monstrous shape fell out of the sky. It was a creature part ape, part bat, and four times the size of a man. It tore into the terrified warriors, some of whom tried to fight while others simply ran. It didn't matter; within a matter of moments all of them were dead; all of them except the pirate queen.

She backed toward her ship, sword in hand, prepared to fight to the death, but for some reason the monster did not kill her instead it pounced upon her, knocking her sword from her hand and lifting her from the ground. For a few seconds it surveyed the struggling pirate with blood red eyes and then with a sound that was something between the hissing of a snake and the growl of a cat it seized the necklace. "Bldstns," it slurred. Then it twisted the ruby red links of the necklace about her throat and hoisted her quivering body to the ship's yardarm where she swung and twisted, her hands gripping the necklace in an attempt to support her weight and prevent it from strangling her. With a final growl of rage the monster spread its wings and launched itself into the jungle air and then it was gone.

"The gods have spoken," Toth-Aloth whispered. He moved from his hiding place and walked in a leisurely manner toward the ship. He strode up the gangway and moved to stand before the struggling pirate.

"Help me," she whispered, but he simply watched her as her lips purpled, her eyes bulged, and her tongue protruded. Then he spoke a few quick words in the ancient lost language of Lemuria and nodded in satisfaction as she went limp and her body stiffened in a perfect simulation of death.

---

The Present

"Mmmm." Her mouth tasted as if it had been stuffed with sand and then filled with cotton. Her tongue was so swollen that it could barely move. Not only that, but her eyes seemed stuck shut and it was only with some effort that she was able to open them a slit.

Something cool caressed her lips and a male voice spoke close to her ear. "Ah, the princess awakes. Do not try to move. The spell will gradually wear off."

Bêlit forced her eyes open. She was lying on a bed in a large room constructed of perfectly fitted stone blocks. To her right heavy floor to ceiling drapes concealed what was probably a window opening. To her left massive wooden doors closed off access to what was probably another part of the palace; for so she judged the place where she had awakened. Bending over her was a tall, dark-skinned man wearing the tall headdress and robes of a Stygian noble.

"You!" she gasped, recognizing the man who had watched her die. She struggled to sit up. It was then that she discovered that she was shackled at the wrists and ankles, and that a heavy collar encircled her neck. "Release me," she rasped, struggling to escape her chains, only to fall back weakly onto the bed.

"I am Toth-Aloth, High Priest of Set," he answered, "and I told you not to move. You have been asleep for a very long time and although I have restored most of your vigor your body needs time to adjust."

"Why am I chained?" she demanded, suddenly aware of the fact that she was clothed in little more than a filmy garment more worthy of an houri than a pirate captain. "And why am I dressed like this?"

"Your fool of a lover dressed you thus when he sought to set fire to you. Fortunately, the barbarian fool was far too stupid to see through my simple illusion."

"Stygian filth," she gasped. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing," Toth-Aloth answered. "The cursed Cimmerian oaf seems blessed by the gods. I thought it best to punish him by having him think you dead."

"You are a coward, and a fool," Bêlit cried. "Conan will not abandon me."

"He thinks you dead," Toth-Aloth replied. "I set the perfect scene, hiding in the shadows as the monster-bat slew your crew and then turned upon you. I must admit I was almost too late. Your stupidity in stealing the Necklace of Blood led the ancient demon straight to you and had the monster gutted you as it did your crew there would have been no saving you, but instead it chose to use the mystical necklace to hang you from your own yardarm. Watching you kick your life away was most pleasant, but not as pleasant as what I have planned for you."

"I remember," Bêlit said slowly. "But why am I not dead?"

"I cast a simple spell of protection upon you, but I had not taken into consideration the power of the necklace. It amplified the spell and sent you into a sleep so profound that it resembled death itself. It was in this state that the barbarian found you, and exhausted from my efforts I could only watch as he prepared to send you to a fiery death. You were saved from this only by the fact that your barbarian lover chose to avenge himself upon the demon that had slain you. It gave me the chance to remove your body from your resting place aboard your ship and replace it with the corpse of one of your crewmen. A simple spell of alteration gave the corpse your appearance and tricked the barbarian when he set the ship afire."

"But I saved him," Bêlit protested. "I came to him from beyond the veil of death as I said I would and prevented the foul demon from killing him."

"If true that I cannot explain," Toth-Aloth replied. "Perhaps it was another effect of the necklace or perhaps your spirit was indeed so strong that you were able to leave your body in defence of your lover. It matters not. You are mine now; to do with as I please."

"No, you cannot," Bêlit protested. She attempted to rise again and this time succeeded, but the chain about her neck kept her where she was.

"I can and I will, as you are about to learn." Toth-Aloth replied. He turned to two guards that were posted in the room. "Take her," he ordered "Make sure she is given food and drink and have her bathed. Then place her in my quarters. I will see to her tonight."

A guard took each of her arms, but if they expected the chained and seemingly helpless woman to go quietly they were rudely surprised. Her strength had returned, and no longer held down by the chain around her neck, Bêlit used her legs to kick one of the guards away from her and then turned on the other, yanking his sword from its sheath.

"Hold her you fools," Toth-Aloth shouted. But it was already too late for one of her captors. Before the guard she had disarmed could escape she ran him through and then turned on the man she had kicked. Her wrists were chained, but enough slack had been left in them that she could use a sword by keeping both hands on the hilt. The surviving guard didn't stand a chance as she attacked him with a flurry of sword-strikes, finishing with one to the throat.

By this time several more guards had arrived, however, Toth-Aloth had taken matters into his own hands. He muttered a spell, and suddenly Bêlit found that she couldn't move. "Must I do everything myself?" he asked. "Surely two trained guardsmen should have been able to restrain a woman who is already in chains."

"She is the very devil, my lord," one of the guardsmen replied. "Perhaps she should just be put to the sword and have done with her."

"No, Setanamon," Thoth Amon replied. "I have plans for her that can only be completed if she is alive. And besides, there is the little matter of revenge. Still her act of defiance cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Take her to the chamber and see that she is properly prepared."

The guards moved quickly to carry out his orders. This time they secured her ankles and added a second chain behind her back, connecting her arms at the elbows. They finished the job just as pins and needles sensations in her limbs signaled the end of her paralysis. She attempted once again to escape, but was too late to do more than fill the air with curses and threats as she was led from the room.

"There is a great deal of fight in that one," a woman commented, stepping from behind one of the papyrus-motifed pillars in the room. "She will be hard to tame."

"So she will, Zalika," Toth-Aloth agreed. "But the taming will be a most pleasant task." He paused in thought for a moment. "Have you done another reading recently?'

"Not since you set out to capture the she-devil," the woman replied.

"Then let us do another now," Toth-Aloth said. "It is always wise to anticipate the will of the gods."

"Very well," Zalika said. From somewhere in her dark robes she produced a set of cards and moved to a marble table. She gave them a complete shuffle and then began to lay them out, counting carefully as she did so. She set out the first twelve cards in the shape of an inverted V followed by seven across the bottom to create a triangle. She finished with four cards bisecting the triangle from top to bottom.

"I've not seen this pattern before," Toth-Aloth commented. "Is it new?"

"Actually it is very old," Zalika replied. "The first twelve are the phases of the Moon. The second row the seven planets, and the third row the four elements. I use it only when I wish to be absolutely certain."

"And what do you see?" Toth-Aloth asked. He was wondering a little as to why Zalika did not always use the most accurate method in the first place, but he was not about to judge the methods of a seer whose predictions had proven true in the past.

Zalika scanned the cards, occasionally reaching out to touch one of the other of them and then began to remove most of them, leaving just those that intersected with one another. "It is as before," she proclaimed. "See here, the Queen and the Chained Man, a certain allusion to the captured pirate queen. Succeed in her complete subjugation and your way is clear."

Toth-Aloth nodded his agreement. "I will see her subjugated," he vowed. "And that begins now."

Bêlit struggled against her escort. The brief battle had torn most of the flimsy garment from her body and somehow the rest was lost on the way to wherever the guards were taking her. "Release me or I will gut you," she raged. Not surprisingly her threats were ignored and she was dragged to a lower level of the palace. Here the way was lit by flickering torches and she was dragged through the dim corridors to an even darker room. There was enough light in it, however, for her to make out a heavy wooden frame shaped like an "H."

She was roughly forced over to the frame and despite her best efforts her belly was pressed against the middle bar and her ankles secured to the uprights on either side of her. Then her arms were stretched over her head and shackled to the far side of the posts. It left her with her body angled slightly forward, and her pert backside provocatively displayed. In fact one of the guards could not resist running his hands over the smooth muscles as he finished tying her.

"Leave her, Sukh," warned one of the other guards. "Toth-Aloth will have your balls if you touch his prize."

"It might almost be worth it," Sukh replied. "I have never seen so beautiful a woman." However, she stepped back and joined his fellow guards in waiting for his master.

Bêlit's rage was slowly turning to fear. She had been in many perilous situations, but none as seemingly hopeless as the one she was in now. Panting from her efforts to escape and with the sweat drying on her naked body she waited for what was to come next.

It wasn't long in coming. Toth-Aloth stepped into the chamber, along with several more guards. Several torches were added to those already in the wall brackets, flooding the room with flickering light. He moved to stand in front of her, his eyes travelling over her quivering body. "A true she-wolf," he said. "But even the fiercest of beasts can be tamed." He reached up to touch her face, and like the animal he had just named; Bêlit seized his hand in her teeth.

"Ahh!" Toth-Aloth screamed. "You bitch!" He tried to yank his hand free of her teeth, but she bit down even harder, sinking her teeth to the bone. "Get her off me!" he screamed.

One of the guards moved in and shoved the blade of his knife between Bêlit's teeth. "Open, or you'll lose your tongue."

Faced with this sort of threat Bêlit relented, spitting blood as Toth-Aloth jerked his hand free. "You will pay for that!," he raged as he clutched his bleeding hand.

One of Toth-Aloth's attendants rushed forward and wrapped his master's hand in a white cloth. Using his other hand he snatched up a whip and moved behind her. "This not the way I was going to punish those beautiful moons. But this outrage will not be satisfied with a simple paddling. Blood must be repaid with blood."

"I will have your blood," Bêlit retorted. "I will have you begging me to kill you. I will slit you open and draw your gut... Ahh! Ahhhh!"

"Scream you!," Toth-Aloth shouted as he brought the lash down across Bêlit's shapely backside for the third time. Each stoke produced a bloody weal across her buttocks and produced an ear-splitting scream. "I see that the she-devil of the Western Sea screams like any other woman." He brought the whip down a fourth time and then a fifth with each stroke raising blood on her once smooth buttocks.

"Stop!" Bêlit screamed, but Toth-Aloth ignored her pleas and continued to flog her, changing his target from her backside to the curve of her back; finally stopping only after he was panting from exhaustion.

"Leave her," he ordered. "Let her contemplate the error of her ways while I attend to my hand. I will see to her further punishment later." He left the room, and the door slammed shut as the last of his entourage left with him, leaving a whimpering Bêlit to contemplate her folly.

I will kill him, she vowed. But just now she was having trouble holding back tears of pain. Her body was on fire where the lash had touched her silken skin and her throat was hoarse from screaming. Had she not been chained in position she would have collapsed in an exhausted heap. She also began to feel the effects of the mass of stone about her as it sucked the heat from her body. Exhausted, chilled, and in agony from the flogging, she fell into a troubled sleep.

---

The flare of torches awakened her. "Take her to the witch," a male voice ordered. "But make sure she is securely chained."

Bêlit was roughly removed from the bondage frame and led out of the room and through a series of corridors until she reached a chamber where a dark-skinned woman waited for her.

"Place her there," the woman ordered, pointing to a low strongly built table. "And make sure she is properly secured."

The guards did as they were ordered, placing Bêlit face down on the table and arranging her chains so that she was spread out on the table unable to move.

"Stay," the woman said as the guard finished shackling Bêlit to the table. "I want her removed after I am finished."

She moved over to the table and bent over Bêlit. "This will hurt," she cautioned. "But it will speed the healing process."

"Ahh!" Bêlit gasped as a searing pain swept across her wounds as the woman spread some sort of sweet smelling unguent on them.

"Hmmp! I thought you were a warrior," the woman sneered. "You should be able to stand a little pain in the interests of healing."

Bêlit winced again as the woman continued to apply the lotion to her lacerations. Her back and buttocks burned like fire and then the pain slowly receded to be replaced by one of cool relief.

"You will heal in a few days," the woman said. "The master has unfinished business with you."

"Why are you going this?" Bêlit asked.

"The master wants you healed. My potions will speed the healing process and leave you without a scar." She ran her hand down Bêlit's throbbing back. "You are very beautiful. I think the master will find you most pleasing."

"I will kill you after I kill him," Bêlit swore.

"Take her," the woman said, ignoring Bêlit's threat.

The guard's removed Bêlit from the table and took her back to the dark cell. This time, however, they did not chain her to the wooden frame, and before closing the door of the room they placed food and water on the floor. She lost little time in filling her belly, but even as she did so her mind turned to thought of vengeance. "I will escape," she vowed. "I will escape, and when I do my vengeance will be most terrible."

Continued in Chapter 2...

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