r8vUbLku

1The Novus hunt had been a professional affair. March thought back to the chaos of the fighting in Little Samarkand, and the mercenaries could not have been more different. The Novus were split into groups and massacred, armed guards first, then the rest.  The affair had been methodical, and aside from hearing the terrifying sound of bullets flying past you, the experience felt more like a hunt than a battle.
2
3March had taken his pistol and focused upon finding and killing the Alpha. Guessing correctly, he had shot an alligator-faced Novus early into the purge. When the Alpha had fallen dead, the Novus descended into panic, and the defenders turned and ran. They were torn to shreds, with Dani the Jinko leading the assault.
4
5Medjula had disappeared during the fighting, but when she returned her blades and clothes were bloodied. She had slain thirty-eight Novus, surpassed only by Dani, who killed forty, and Tor, who had slain eighty-seven with his rifle and steady hand. March had killed only three, but the death of the Alpha was the trophy of the day, and he was gifted with the creature's teeth in a necklace as well as two hundred coins.
6
7They gathered up the carcasses in truckloads heaped to the ceiling, and the convoy made its way towarda Mos Ess. Medjula drove quietly. She had withdrawn almost completely, and March was worried about her. She clutched the steering wheel with white knuckles and focused on the road,  her purple eyes searching more than the landscape. She was afraid, he could tell. He had to be careful with this. As for Nerata, a plan was forming in his head, something that he hoped would work and benefit everyone. There were parts of it that he didn't want to do, but he reasoned it bad to be done.
8
9They drove in the convoy and entered into Mos Ess at about noon. The city was dusty and brown, a lattice of ramshackle buildings extending into the sky, with rope bridges and catwalks connecting them. The streets were lined with mamono, men, and women, all congregating in open-air bazaars of goods ranging from motorcycle parts to knit blankets. 
10
11Compared to the Dome, March was believed it was much more alive, much more noisy. The Dome was always sparse, drab, and quiet, the unnerving quiet of angry, hostile stares, fearful to make a move that might be incorrect. Mos Ess was vibrant, a confusion of voices and shouting and beeping horns and fulminating roars (and the sounds of one or two men being raped).
12
13"There is no time to lose on your training," Medjula said, honking her horn to move a stubborn holstaur pulling a cart out of the middle of the road. "But we will go to the Sietch first."
14
15They departed from the mercenary company and made their way to the Sietch, located on a hill beyond the slums of the city. Medjula had seemed focused upon the place, almost to the exclusion of her mission.
16
17They parked in a small lot full of jeeps and random vehicles in front of a garage. Exiting their car, March saw tbe gleam of brightly colored cars in the garage, fiery orange and bright red and deep metallic blue. The makes were unknown but they were stylish and in pristine condition, sports cars of some kind. He guessed they rarely left the garage, as the harsh sands would doubtless destroy them.
18
19"Those belong to my father and brothers," Medjula said. "Toys, you might say."
20
21"Do they ever ride them?"
22
23"Oh yes. At night, when the sun is down, they terrorize the streets in those fool races," Medjula said.
24
25They walked up the pathway of crackling stone towards the entrance to the Sietch. The Sietch of the Ghanima was much like a giant sandcastle, though the walls were sandstone. A high outer wall surrounded smooth cylindrical buildings with rounded roofs. Girtablilu like Medjula lined the outer walls, armed with rifles.
26
27Medjula exhaled as they passed through the gates. "It is good to be home," she said, breathing as if she had just released a heavy burden. 
28
29"How long has it been?" March asked.
30
31"A little over two years since my last visit," she said. Her eyes scanned the area. "Things have changed."
32
33"For the better or worse?"
34
35"For neither. Little things have been added, or are gone now. Those speakers are new," she said, pointing to black boxes on the outside of a sandstone building with a dome top. "Must be to make announcing services easier. Papa had talked about it in his last letter."
36
37"Papa?"
38
39She turned, and he saw a trace of a smile beneath her veil. "My father," she said. "He is one of the Prophets here, those in charge of the worship and spiritual wellbeing of the people. Mother was once an adept like me, but she is Reverend Mother Alohaim now. She and father are a mated pair of the Sietch, the prime mated pair." 
40
41In the courtyard, several men in robes moved in a cluster. Something about their movements told March that these men were no less deadly than their women, and capable of fighting savagely.
42
43Several Girtablilu women were in the courtyard, watching as two twirled and danced around each other with long spears. The combination of long spears and their scorpion tails made them truly ferocious, striking as blurs with each other.
44
45"Mother was always the greatest with the Hand Tail," Medjula said proudly. "To receive instruction from her in it is an honor."
46
47"Have you?" March asked.
48
49"Of course," Medjula said. "I even can best her on occassion."
50
51The one of the girtablilu tapped the other, and the warriors applauded as a point was scored. They noticed Medjula and began making excited noises. Two younger scorpion girls raced forward and leapt upon her in embrace. The others gathered around and they began speaking at her excitedly. Medjula seemed to lose herself to this moment of total female camraderie.
52
53Behind the throng of young scorpion girls a more ornately dressed one approached, in yellow, red, and orange. She was older, but one would not call her aged, and though she could not approach her daughter's beauty in March's eyes, he had to acknowledge how similar they appeared. The other difference was, despite her age, the elder scorpion woman was pregnant.
54
55"Mother," Medjula said at her approach. She bowed, and persented her head to the elder Girtablilu.  "I am pleased to see you."
56
57"Daughter," Alohaim said. She cradled Medjula's bowed head in her hands and kissed her head through her veil. "We are pleased to see you as well. You have earned much toward your debt."
58
59"Where is Papa?" Medjula asked. 
60
61"Your father is in meditation," she replied.
62
63Medjula's eyes narrowed. "Mother..."
64
65"Do not look at me that way. Your father has duties to perform and I will not let them be shirked," Alohaim replied severely.
66
67Medjula looked at her mother's swollen belly with concern. "But you are so close..."
68
69"You do not need to police our bedroom activities, Beloved. Your father and I have many ways to show affection to each other." The scorpion matron looked at March. She stiffened. "And you are March, the man of the Dome."
70
71"I am," March replied. "Pleasure to meet you. Your daughter is-"
72
73"She is well known to me. We have accomodations for you. You shall sleep in the initiates' quarters. Two Initiates shall take you to your instruction every day. It has been arranged that you may stay here until your training is complete."
74
75"Very well," March said. "Thank you."
76
77Alohaim turned to her daughter. "Medjula, we have an assignment for you."
78
79Medjula bowed her head. "Of course, Mother. What is it?"
80
81"That is for us to discuss in private," Alohaim said. Her eyes darted to March. "Say your goodbyes. It is time to tale your leave. We shall grant you a moment."
82
83"I don't think she likes me," March said.
84
85"She is a hard woman. I must take my leave, now. Goodbye, March. Good luck with...well, everything."
86
87"Goodbye, Medjula," March replied. "I will see you soon."
88
89Medjula departed from him, reluctantly. March was taken to his quarters by two young men in roughspun brown robes. His quarters wsre a small, windowless room with a working sink and cot in the very center of the cloister. It was nearly impossible for a Scorpion Girl to sneak into it, he reasoned.
90
91He washed up, changed his clothes, then traveled with the armed men in the Jeep to meet his new trainer, the kikkimora Dorna. They took him to downtown Mos Ess wordlessly, and the Jeep navigated through a sea of people to an old storefront for a small theatre.
92
93Dorna the kikkimora had a studio on the second floor of the theatre. The building was old and seemed rickety, but was in its way very sturdy, if perpetually covered in dust. It was bright from the sun coming in through the windows.
94
95Though Dorna looked to be young, she was also motherly in her manner, and something about the deftness with which she moved, the clear knowledge of her muscle memory, made March tbing she was indeed very old but vital. She fought at the dust in the room with a whisk broom.
96
97"You must be March. Welcome!" she said with a smile. She looked in his eyes. "I am supposed to teach you how to serve an Oni, but I see a different fate in your eyes," she said.
98
99"How can you tell that?" March asked. 
100
101"Because I am far older than I look, and can see such things," she said. Her eyes sparkled. "You also smell so strongly of scorpion that even the dimmest shoggoth girl could detect your encounter."
102
103"Are shoggoths dim?" March asked.
104
105Dorna smiled. "They are not kikkimora," she said. "And even if not for those two things, I received a wire from Penny about you and your...predicanent."
106
107"She has taken a keen interest in me, it seems," March said. "I wish I knew why."
108
109"The wise often listen to their intuition. I believe there is meaning to your reclamation from the Dome," she said. 
110
111"You are mistaken; I was never outside the Dome before," March said.
112
113"The Dome is not natural. Men are not beings of a fishbowl," she said. "Men belong outdoors. You need to feel winds and hear the song of the wilds," she pursed her lips into a smile. "Although in your case, what you need is a deep cave and the song of skittering legs."
114
115"Penny has put a lot into her notes," March said.
116
117"She has, but this is fairly clear to me just by using my eyes, ears, and nose. I think she wants the masquerade to end before it begins. I can guess the ending if we let it continue, and it is not good."
118
119"What do you mean?"
120
121"A girtablilu is not known for her longterm forebearance. As pious as your Medjula is, her nature will win out," Dorna said. "When it does, an Oni Warlord and a Girtablilu Assassin will both want the same man. In no way, shape, or form will that end well. We must convince Nerata to back off."
122
123"That would damn FOB Dryad," March said. "I've been giving this some thought for the past few days. I think I have a proposal for Nerata that will make everyone satisfied. I will need your help on how to convince her."
124
125March told her his plan, which she listened to quietly before finally smiling. "There is risk to that, but I am sure you know it. Nerata is a reasonable person, at least as Oni warlords go. That means as long as she isn't drunk and you are to the point, she will hear you out," Dorna said. "The key with Oni is honesty."
126
127"And what about..." March paused. "What about Girtablilu, what is the key to then?" March asked.
128
129"Girtablilu, or Ghanima? There is a distinction which is important. A Girtablilu would have already taken you, especially by the proximity that you have shared. Few mamono are as imperious and controlling with their mates as a Girtablilu, make no mistake about that. Your Scorpion-maiden has tremendous willpower, because she is a Ghanima, but it has limits. Should she violate her faith, she shall be shattered mentally. She could become very dangerous to herself and everyone else. Well, everyone except you, although she could become so feral she simply rapes you in a cave like a beast..." 
130
131"Depending on the time of the day it is, that idea floats between horrible and appealing to me."
132
133"It would; you have felt her venom in you, but such a life would be a tragedy for you both. The key to the Ghanima is their religion. If you want to pursue a sister of the Ghanima, you must speak to the religious leaders at the Sietch."
134
135"I have, her parents as the leaders. Her father was...unavailable. I spoke to her mother. She dislikes me, I think," March replied. I believe she thinks I am harming her little girl."
136
137"That is not unexpected. The Ghanima see consistency as the best way to control their impulses. Medjula was probably considered safely a maiden, with safe venom, but now her venom has become sexual, and with a wholly unknown man from the Dome betrothed to another."
138
139"Why did her venom affect me so?" March asked. 
140
141"If I had to guess, it is your...well, pale skin heritage. Men of the cold regions have always seemed to be highly susceptible to Girtablilu venom. Perhaps it is a lack of exposure to venomous or poisonous creatures. The tiny amount was enough to overpower your blood. And in triggering the response in you, it awoke her sexuality fully."
142
143"So her mother now wishes her contained," March said with a sigh.
144
145"It is not in any mamono's nature to wish chastity on her daughter. Speak to her again. I recommend speaking to Nerata first, however. It is best to resolve that matter as it is the most pressing. Word about you has reached many ears. If you were to pursue another she may appear humiliated, which an Oni Warlord cannot afford," Dorna said. 
146
147"Where is she?" March asked.
148
149"The King has summoned her to an audience in the city, and she is at her compound on the edge of town. Her holdings are extensive and he seeks to divide them among her underlings. It may ignite a civil war. This is another reason to speak to her quickly - a humiliation now would make her prone to a retaliation."
150
151"When can I speak to her?" March asked. 
152
153"I will send word. I will arrange an audience tomorrow," Dorna said. "Now, we have a few more hours, I can help you prepare for your audiences."
154
155March and Dorna discussed options and protocols, and Dorna told him some details about the city and the polity, the dangerous sections, the intricate politics, and the nature of sexuality in the city, and the sexual practices of virtually every mamono species.
156
157"How do you know all of this?" March asked.
158
159"I ask," Dorna said with a shrug. "Mamono are very forthcoming. Also being a maid I tend to get stuck in a lot of closets as love-crazed couples burst into rooms and start tearing each others' clothes off. After a while I started taking notes."
160
161"I can't imagine Ghanima are forthcoming about such things."
162
163"Maybe not, but it's in their books," Dorna said. "The rituals. I have the missals."
164
165"They have rituals for sex?" March asked 
166
167"The Ghanima have rituals for everything. The favored sexual ritual is the Rite of the Female over the Male."
168
169"The Dome was fond of that one also," March said.
170
171"It is nothing so malevolent as what was practiced in the Dome. The ritual is about dominance in Love, not in Hate. It is not about degrading or worsening, it is about enriching and validating."
172
173"The Ghanima takes on all female roles for her husband. The idea is to assert the totality of her possession - she is all females to her male, and in all forms she dominates him sexually. The forms are Sister, Daughter, Wife, and Mother."
174
175"I'm not sure I want to roleplay as her father or son," March said.
176
177"It is less a roleplay than a rough ideal. The four forms could be said to be Teaser, Servant, Mistress, and Caretaker, but the familial names are used to assert the primacy of the Girtablilu in her man's life. She supplants all sisters, daughters, his mother, and takes on her role as wife."
178
179"What do I do during all of this?" Marcb asked.
180
181"As you will be paralyzed, your options will be limited. In Ghanima reckoning, sex is about control, and control is less about physical power and more about pleasure. The one causing pleasure is the one in control, the other is the slave to the pleasure that they feel. The indicator of this is who cries out louder during lovemaking. Ghanima aim to be totally silent. They want to make you cry out as loud as possible while they savor their control over you."
182
183March took a deep breath, aware the mere mention of this was making his pulse quicken. Was it the venom, or had he always been this way? He wasn't sure, and it didn't matter.
184
185"At any rate, we can discuss other, less sensitive matters," Dorna said, noting his condition. "Some lessons in history and culture may aid you."
186
187March and Dorna discussed various matters, and she told him something of Nerata's history, and how her mother, known as the Scarab, had been slain by a rival, and Nerata had avenged her.
188
189March's two handlers arrived after a few more hours, and March went back to the Sietch with news that Dorna believed he was ready to speak with Nerata with his progress. This seemed to please Alohaim, who however seemed nervous thst this news might reach Medjula and upset her, and she dismissed March to his room. The mood was quiet, and his bed was comfortable, and he soon found himself drifting to sleep. In the night he had vivid dreams of oval eyes witb purple irises staring at him in the dark, a wicked smile visible in the night beneath the., and the shadow of a tail looming and ready. 
190
191He received word the next day that Nerata was ready to see him, and his minders took him by Jeep through the city and to her compound on the opposite side, beyond the Palace. The early morning was cool and pleasant, and March found himself invigorated by the air as they arrived at the crimson stone keep of Nerata, surrounded as it was by rows of barbed wire and guards with machine guns. Her flag, a jade colored scarab, fluttered over her fortress.
192
193To reach her he went through multiple security checks and patdowns. His two minders were detained, and he alone went through an additional three checks.  Once the innermost ring of security was satisfied, he was brought to an open red stone house with wide entryways near a shimmering blue pool. Walking in on the white tiled floors, he saw the Oni sitting in a kind of muscle shirt tank top and tight black shorts. She motioned with her hand, and the guards escorting him saluted and left.
194
195March bowed as he stood in front of the Oni warlord Nerata. He had to admit that she was an attractive woman, built solidly and tough but with the shapely intoxicating beauty of a woman. The Oni warlord was seated in a red chair, an upside-down axe within reach of her left hand and a rifle of a make alien to him near her rignt. She reminded him of Sani, but one could tell there was an edge to Nerata that Sani did not possess, nor care to posess. And where Sani reminded March of Mama to an extent, he saw none of that in Nerata. A half-empty bottle was on an end table near her hand, full of a clear liquid March guessed would make him blind. He relaxed. Dorna had told him to be concerned if there was more than one empty bottle. He would be dealing with an even-headed, less easily aroused Oni.
196
197She stared at him, her expression unreadable but her eyes were narrow. She was assessing him. Judging him.
198
199"So, which side am I destined to cower on near your throne?" He asked at last.
200
201The Oni's face curled into a smile. She was an attractive woman, but her true beauty appeared as her smile did. It seemed to be a rare occurrence. "You have a smart mouth," she said. "Do all boys of the Dome speak so flippantly?"
202
203"Not at all," March said. "The air outside is invigorating, and it makes me bold, I suppose."
204
205Nerata laughed, but it was a forced laugh. "I have never thought of this miserable desert as invigorating."
206
207"Grow up in the Dome, and it shall be, easily," March said.
208
209"I am fortunate in that my horns mean they would kill me right away," Nerata said. "I would not have to live with the pig-women. I would think your skin makes the sun difficult to live in."
210
211March shrugged. "So long as I cover myself I am alright."
212
213"At the very least, your...dark hair is better suited for this environment than a fairer hair," she said with little enthusiasm.
214
215March nodded. "Is my hair color a problem?"
216
217"I had heard that you had straw-colored hair," she said.
218
219"I'm sorry to disappoint," March replied. 
220
221"You can't apologize for something which you did not choose," she said. She looked sad. "You would have merely been rewarded if you had it."
222
223"I take it I am not marriage material, then?" March asked.
224
225"I am sure you will find love, but I have a very specific taste," Nerata said.
226
227"So what happens to FOB Dryad?" March asked.
228
229"That is a matter I need to settle with GoldLeaf, not you," Nerata said.
230
231"They saved my life. I want to help them," March said. 
232
233"Then start wiggling that cute paleskin ass of yours down at the CuddleCave. GoldLeaf owes me a fortune," Nerata said.
234
235"I have a proposal. There were other paleskins in the dome."
236
237"I would imagine there were," she said. "But you are the first one to ever leave it, and I can't imagine there shall ever be another to do so, especially if what Penelope's report says is true."
238
239"A shame. I knew one with blonde hair, like you seek," March said.
240
241Nerata's eyes lit up. 
242
243"His name was Thad," March continued, unbidden. "He saved my life when I was made a One. I would have been slain for certain without him."
244
245"He sounds like a good man," she said. "A shame he is trapped in the Dome."
246
247"Yes. But I was trapped in the Dome. I think I can get back in, and back out," March said.
248
249Nerata looked at him quietly. "Why would you?" She asked.
250
251"Because Thad helped me. And I assume you would forgive FOB Dryad's debt if you had a golden-haired paleskinned boy?"
252
253Nerata sat, stone-faced, but her rising and falling chest betrayed her interest."Tell me about him," she said.
254
255"He is brave," March said. "And kind. Probably the most decent man in the whole place. If the numbering system was just, he would be a Ten."
256
257"His hair..." she asked with a sudden girlish eagerness. She cleared her throat. "Is it...messy? Does it go down into his eyes?"
258
259"I...hadn't noticed that, I'm afraid," March said. "It might."
260
261She rubbed her fingers with her thumb. "I enjoy brushing the hair from his eyes," she said. "I don't just want any blonde paleskin, March. Since I was a little girl,  I have seen a boy in my dreams, who has aged with me as I aged. When I was twelve I dreamed I kissed him. He had skin as pale as yours, but hair the color of straw. I want the boy from my dreams. I vowed to the Great One that I would find him one day, if he exists."
262
263"I can't say he is the man of your dreams, or if that man exists, but he is a decent man. I have never believed in Fate, but I have to believe that is not a coincidence," March said. "He saved me, and now I have the chance to save him. It is worth the risk."
264
265"Maybe," Nerata said. "We have not found a way into the Dome in centuries. How do you plan to do it?"
266
267March took a deep breath. Be had been giving this a good deal of thougbr, but he kept it to the generalities. "I believe I can enter it through the air filter system," March said. "I had to study it for my project at work, and I think I can navigate the turbines and fans and make my way past the Dome, then back out the same way. If we can fabricate an ID card, I should be able to get inside, get Thad, then lead him out."
268
269"That simple?" Nerata asked.
270
271"I'm leaving out the hard parts of getting through the air vents, but the steps are uncomplicated," March said. "With the right access card I should be able to move about freely without attracting attention."
272
273"What would you need? A Ten's card?" Nerata asked.
274
275"No; that would be scrutinized. Eighty percent of all Ten access cards are forgeries. A six can travel most anywhere without being interdicted. With that I should be able to traverse freely and without being noticed," March replied.
276
277"The Lich at Dryad, Penny, should be able to get the data to produce cards from  FirstRowe website. I will see that it is created," Nersta said. "What else?"
278
279March outlined some of the supplies he thought he would need - chocolate or soap for currency, ropes, survival gear of various kinds. Nerata was able to provide these things. Nerata also gave him a small square of olive drab coloring with a red button inside. 
280
281"You can contact me with this," Nerata said. "My forces will be moving into the area in the next few days. You are certain you wish to do this?"
282
283"I owe many people many things," March replied. "Thad saved my life and GoldLeaf did as well."
284
285"Then best of luck to you," Nerata said. "I hope...well, you can guess my hope."
286
287"Yes, I do. I will disembark shortly," March said. "I have...business to attend to at the Sietch."
288
289"I see. Well, be quick about it; word from Penny is that the Dome is about to collapse. I do not want my dream man...or rather, my posaible dream man...to be slain."
290
291"I understand," March said. He bowed, and exited the room and found the guards, who led him back through the checkpoints. 
292
293March met up with his handlers and made his way back to the Sietch. It was mid-afternoon, and he was allowed the free access to the compound. As he was curious, he decided to investigate the temple, where one of the acolytes had said that Medjula's father was in prayer on the altar.
294
295The temple was ornate. If March had wondered where the money for the girtablilu went, it was clearly here. Ornate statues, reliefs, and alcoves lined the walls. Gold-flecked and plated artifacts were everywhere, as were vibrantly colored images of a man in a flowing cape, surrounded by mamono of the desert.
296
297Before the vast altar one man knelt, head bowed, his arms outstretched across the stone table. A closed tabernacle was before him, its door gilded gold. Above and in the relief, a giant Throne of gold encrusted in gems sat beyond where anyone could sit. At the sound of the door opening the hooded figure stood, and looked back. Seeing it was March, he turned and approached down the long hall.
298
299March had imagined Medjula's father to be an aged, frail man, but the man walking toward him, though slight of frame and spent of energy, seemed youthful and serene, and he seemed to glide along the floor in total peace.
300
301"Welcome, March of the Dome. I am Clytas, Medjula's father," Clytas said calmly. his voice was soothing and deep. It was a father's voice.  "I was in meditation when you came here last."
302
303"An honor, sir," March said with a bow.
304
305"My daughter speaks of you fondly. Sbe told me you were affected most powerfully by her venom," Clytas said.
306
307"I would guess as time goes on, I would grow more resistant," March said.
308
309"Quite the opposite," Clytas said. "The venom conquers a man, and it always conquers him swifter the next time. Each sting weakens your ability to resist it more. Your body grows worse at fighting it, not better. After a year of marriage she would be able to immobilize you for days. And the desire never fades. It remains, until it is always with you, in your skin and you long for her touch to alleviate the burn. The venom has...other effects on men. It allows for visions, insights, wisdom.  But the affect upon the Girtablilu is greater; all mamono are more powerfully affected by men than vice versa, and the more control they gain over you, the less they have over themselves."
310
311"That sounds dangerous."
312
313"Love protects us better than adamantine steel,"Clytas said. "Danger comes in the violation of vows, in temptation. In the premature loss of control."
314
315March suddenly felt a sense of shame. "I never meant to cause your daughter any trouble," he said.
316
317"And yet here we are," Clytas said. "What is done is done. What happens next is up to you."
318
319"Is it?" March asked. "You won't forbid me from pursuing her?"
320
321"I have no such power," Clytas replied. "I can only tell the Ghanima what will lead to their damnation."
322
323"And does this lead to hers?"
324
325"She has a debt. It is not for her to wed a man until it is repaid," Clytas said.
326
327"And what does a man do if he wants a scorpion for a wife?" March asked.
328
329Clytas cleared his throat. "He must void all betrothals..."
330
331"I did that," March said eagerly. "I have made a pact, but before I leave, I want this matter resolved."
332
333Clytas eyed him. "There is a way, but it is a hard path. First, you must be baptized into the Faith."
334
335March shrugged. "Okay," he said. "I have no problem with that."
336
337"You may. The Faith asks for much. It is not the Faith of the Jackals howling at the moon in prayer when the mood strikes them. This is a serious faith, a faith of discipline."
338
339"I will learn it," March said.
340
341"But will you believe it? I have my doubts. Forgive me, but you have felt the chill of her venom. if Medjula worshipped a decadent god of Human Sacrifice, you would join its worshup."
342
343"She doesn't, though, and she wouldn't," March replied. "I have not known her as long as you, but I know that of her."
344
345"You assess her correctly, at least I hope. To join us is the first step. The second step is the bitter draught," Clytas said. "Men who drink it see shall either see the Emperor, or die."
346
347"What is this draught?" March asked.
348
349"Many say it is a mere hallucenogenic narcotic, but we Ghanima believe that the Emperor Himself speaks to us through the draught. You would consume the drink, then be allowed to ask the Emperor for Medjula's hand. What the Emperor joins, all are powerless to pull asunder."
350
351Clytas opened the tabernacle and took out a small clay pot in the shape of a portly looking grinning figure, runed with characters March could not read. 
352
353"Bono Vehemis," Clytas said, motioning at the figure. "We call him the Prophet of bitter honey, the Emperor's mad servant. He is the custodian of visions." Clytas took off the top of the pot, the head which looked vaguely fat like a baby's. Inside was a dark liquid that gave off an intense shine.
354
355March leaned in to the black liquid. He detected a familiar, powerful sensation from within. "It has venom in it," he said.
356
357"Venom that is fermented by the sandworms," Clytas said. "It mixes with their digestive juices and changes. It is lethal to all but men who have felt the Scorpion Wine course through their veins, or the husbands of the mighy sandworms."
358
359"I have felt the sting," March said. He held up his hand, to the small scar on his hand. "So I could drink this draught, then?"
360
361"We do not stop any man from seeking an audience, but I would counsel you against it," Clytas said. "The draught could still kill you."
362
363"But if I survive, then Medjula would be free of her vows?"
364
365"She shall never be free of her vows, but The Emperor may give you a sign that He favors your pairing," Clytas replied. "He will provide a Sign of his will."
366
367"And who interprets that sign?" March asked.
368
369"I do, and the Reverend Mother," Clytas said.
370
371As much as he hated it, March was a man of the Dome, and his sensibilities were of that realm. Within the Dome, religion was always cast as complete and total evil, and all its promises were in bad faith. "How can I trust..." he caught himself. "How do I know you will interpret properly?"
372
373"God gave us eyes to see, mouths to speak, and hearts to feel. We use these things as honestly as we can," Clytas replied. 
374
375"But it is your daughter...you could interpret any sign to be that she should avoid me."
376
377"Indeed, I would if such were my power. I fear you could be her destruction. But the Emperor is God.  Should His sign be strong, I shall not risk His wrath by interpreting it weakly."
378
379"I have a request," March said. "Can Medjula's venom be used for the draught I drink?"
380
381Clytas narrowed his eyes and considered him with his gray gaze. "So be it," he said at last.
382
383March spent the rest of the day receiving instruction in his new religion from various priests or acolytes. There was a lot of interest when it was heard that he would attempt to drink the bitter draught. He heard whisperings, and by their sideways glances he was clearly thought to stand little chance.
384
385The evening before his joining, he was placed in a long, roughspun cloak with the twin daggers of the Ghanima on its back. He sat before the statue of the Emperor's Throne in the grand Temple, contemplating the mysteries of the Emperor, of which he had received the roughest of instruction in. March was presented with the cathecism of the Ghanima, and he had it open at his lap. The text was normally written in a kind of cyrillic-looking alpbabet, but they fortunately had English texts. He sat, reading over the questions about the engimatic Emperor, his strict law and dictates, and the harsh morality of necessity present in a desert people's religion.
386
387"The sight of you before the Emperor's throne fills my heart with joy and breaks it, all at once," a voice he had grown to cherish above all others announced.
388
389He looked up at Medjula as she crept closer, and smiled widely. "Medjula..." he said. "I am glad to see you. I have missed you."
390
391"And I have missed you, but I have made peace with our parting. "
392
393The words were a dagger in his heart. "Don't say such a thing! There is no need to do so," March said. "I have spoken to Nerata and she has cancelled the betrothal."
394
395"Sad news for FOB Dryad," Medjula said.
396
397"It is not so, but if it were, is that all it would be to you?" March asked, slightly hurt by her answers.
398
399"Of course not!" Medjula said. "But you give too much. You can't change religion just for me."
400
401"There is no change; I have none of my own," March replied.
402
403"But now, you are free! You have no idea what you are sacrificing. You will have to live in a Sietch, pray for hours..."
404
405"I was a One, Medj," March interjected. "I screwed bottlecaps onto tubes and listened to men cry themselves to sleep at night. I lived for nothing. A life of prayer won't be so bad, if I get to spend it with you."
406
407"I am overwhelmed that you are doing all of this, I truly am," she said. "But you mean to drink the draught as well."
408
409"It has been made clear to me that I must seek an audience with the Emperor," March said.
410
411"March, it could kill you..."
412
413"I am not going to die to this," March said. "I have made a request..."
414
415"Yes, I know," Medjula said, her voice nearly breaking. "I wept as I extracted it. If my venom kills you, I will never smile again."
416
417"I am sorry it distressed you. I don't know many things about the world outside the Dome, Medjula. Quite honestly, I wonder if I knew much of anything of the world inside the Dome. But I know your venom cannot hurt me," March said. "I know that for a fact."
418
419"How?"
420
421"Faith, I guess," March said. He held up the book on his lap. "I was reading this catechism, and it says the Emperor speaks through venom. Perhaps the Emperor is telling me that I'll be safe."
422
423"Oh March, that's just something we say!" Medjula blurted out. "The Emperor isn't about giving us good things. He's about punishing us for being rotten and sinful-"
424
425Medjula glanced at the empty throne, and her eyes widened in terror. She grabbed her veiled mouth with a shaking hand. She made an elaborate sign and fell to her knees before the throne.
426
427"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" She sobbed, her face pressed against the sandstone. He scorpion body was flat, her tail curled on the ground and totally still. "I am weak and treacherous! I doubted Your Grace! I deserve only misery, but spare March..."
428
429"Medjula, stop!" March said, getting off his bench. He clasped her trembling hands and pulled her off the floor. "This isn't what anyone wants. Your parents love you, and I love you."
430
431"You love me?" Medjula asked, staring up into his eyes.
432
433"You know that I do," March said. He unfastened her veil. She gasped, and he again beheld the beautiful, full lips of his scorpion maiden. He pressed his mouth against hers.
434
435For a moment the world became the two of them, and everything beyond them became an out of focus blur and the drumbeat of blood rushing through ears.
436
437"March, no!" She said, pulling away. "We are in the sight of the Emperor!"
438
439He pressed forward, kissing her again. "If the Emperor knows my heart, and he knows yours, then this will give him joy."
440
441"And what if he doesn't approve of our love?" Medjula asked.
442
443"He must," March said. "Nothing pure can be hated justly."
444
445The door opened, and Clytas appeared. "Daughter!" He said in a booming voice. "You must leave the acolyte to his prayers."
446
447Medjula departed reluctantly for the second time in as many days, brushing her tail against his cheek. March was unsure of this had been conscious or not. The proximity to the point was enough to make one side of his face tingle. The night passed with no sleep, as it mere touch had been enough to male his heart race.
448
449Morning brought the cawing of roosters in the courtyard and a stillness common to the desert at sunrise. He and several other young men -other initiates, many close to his age- were taken underneath the Sietch, into deep caverns lit by humming flourescent lamps in front of which danced small particles of dust. He could hear rumbles in the distance, and the cave shook, causing dust to fall from the high roof of the tunnel.
450
451Before them was a still pool of water, dark in the cavern and reflecting the sparse light of the surface. Near the pool, roaring contentedly, was one of the sandworms, one smaller than what Dorna had described. From his reasing and instruction, March was aware they were to drag her into tbe earer and say a prayer. One man, a priest, in a dark robe stood half in the water, uncaring that he was soaked from the waist down.
452
453"In other religions, a man is cleansed by baptism. The Ghanima cleanse by baptising," the priest said. "the sandworm juvenile must be consecrated in water to the Emperor, as all sandworms are. It is a trial of strength and fortitude. Begin."
454
455Everyone fanned out around the sansworm, who seemed to be humming contentedly to herself. Dorna had described them as simole creatures, with a female form inside their mouths. All at once, the men pounced.
456
457 March grasped onto the sandworm girl. The juvenile was about as large as five men, and completely unwilling to go near the water. She flicked her tail, and three young adepts went flying about the room with thuds and groans. March grasped at the worm's head and with a loud cry he tugged her towards the water. She broke free easily, let out a roar that rattled in his chest, and turned to go back away. He leapt forward, grasping and hanging off the sandworm's head, as the other Initiates grabbed at her tail and torso. Somehow, in a miracle, they managed to lift her.
458
459It was a long battle, and by the end all men present were struggling to move the mighty creature. Finally the men managed to toss the sandworm into the water, as March went in with her and briefly submerged. Struggling to rise in wet wool, March shouted the words as he had been bidden: 
460
461"Holy Emperor, bless the Makers in thsi water.
462Bless their comings and goings.
463Help them reshape the world.
464Help the world to know the peace."
465
466March thought the adolescent may have had a fit of rage in the water that she had fought so hard to avoid, but when she was finally in it, she made a very feminine sound of surprise. Her mouth opened and a girl's dainty hand emerged from inside, with light brown skin without a single blemish. She began to play delicately in the water. She giggled.
467
468"It is done," the priest said. "Observe, for though she is baptized, it is your souls which attain wisdom. The sandworm feared water, and never entered it, until now. And now she enjoys it, and she shall enjoy it for the rest of her life. So it is with the tail's bite. Though feared, you enjoy it for the rest of your life. No man who feels the chilling burn can ever love without it. This is part of the Emperor's plan - we fear to lose our control, as the worm feared to enter water. She feared to thrash and sink. Yet see the peace and joy she has found."
469
470There was a celebration after of the whole Sietch. The acolytes danced, then the girtablilu, and finally all together. He saw thst several of the girtablilu had marked acolytes, and sought them out for dances. After several roubds of dancing, Clytas announced a new pairing. A robed man and a Ghanima approached him. He joined their hands and all applauded, then the two of them left towards the cloister.
471
472March stood apart during all of this. Medjula was nowhere to be seen, and he hoped she was okay. He readied himself mentally for his next (and hopefully last) trial, which he had been told would be that night. 
473
474The sun set, but long before March had entered the temple and awaited its coming at the altar. The congregation slowly filed in. The temple was dark save for the altar and the vast relief, dancing in the orange light of the torches. 
475
476A chant began among the congregation, and a procession of three approached him from one of the side doors - Clytas, Alohaim, and behind them, in black garments and veil, was Medjula. They gathered at the edge of the light as the chant ended.
477
478"The Blessings of the Emperor upon us all," Clytas said.
479
480"May He favor us," the congregation responded.
481
482"We gather today in the pursuit of wisdom. All men yearn for wisdom, all men must take risks to acquire it. Tinight the risk is real, and it is here. In this cup a man shall attain clarity. It is only if he survives that is in question," Clytas said.
483
484Medjula emerged from the darkness, carrying an awkward bronze goblet towards him, her beautiful violet eyes wide with fright. She was all in black with a black veil, and the sight made her look lethal and dark, and made him desire her more. She handed the goblet to her father, bowed, and stood demurely half in the shadows.
485
486"Do you seek the Audience with your Emperor?" Clytas asked.
487
488March bowed nearly to the ground. "I seek it," he responded.
489
490"Then may he judge your soul, and not find it wanting," Clytas said. He handed March the large chalice.
491
492The amount of liquid inside was not large, and he was forced to tilt the goblet nearly upside-down to get the liquid into his mouth. He gulped it without stopping to contemplate its effects. The taste was not as strong as he thought, rather like a flat soda, but thick, as if perhaps the syrup used to make it. He lowered the cup. He felt...nothing. It was an alarming sensation, for he realized that normally one feels something from injesting even water, a sense of the liquid in the body. This felt as if the act of drinking the draught was awry, as if he had broken a law of the universe and done something forbidden.
493
494He reasoned that perhaps this was the fear spoken of in the baptism, but looking at the faces of those around him  - all filled with dread- and at Medjula's terror-stricken eyes, he knew this fear was well-founded. The last thing he felt was his legs giving way, and acceleration as he toppled to the floor and into blackness. He heard the clatter of the cup on the ground.
495
496And then he was looking down upon himself, unconscious in the guest room in FOB Dryad, as Medjula placed Locke on the night stand. She leaned over him and put a hand to his face. Her veil obscured her beauty, but in her eyes he could see the sadness, though he could not tell if it was sadness over causing him discomfort or sadness over endangering her vows.
497
498He saw another vision, this one of Thad, his friend. He was in a dark room of rusted steel and jutting iron, and though he was shivering, sweat was pouring from him. He was desperately clutching himself, as though his insides had frozen and he were struggling to feel warmth.  His eyes were empty and his gaze sallow. He looked defeated.
499
500"None came," he said. "...none came..."  The words, though March did not understand them, chilled him. Every time Thad spoke them, it was like watching his spirit break, over and over.
501
502March watched as Thad looked down at his feet, at a bright green scarab that was crawling along the harsh dirt floor of his cell. He reached down and picked it up, and what was once alive was now a jeweled locket, the locket which had been around Nerata's neck. The scarab locket crumbled into dust, and Thad grasped at the fragments. As they drifted away, Thad shut his eyes and tears flowed down his cheeks.
503
504"None came," he said again, somberly.
505
506March was no longer in the cell, but on the cold, dim streets of the Dome, with its disgusting blue tint from the shielded dome. March saw great hordes of lizard men chasing after a young girl, her eyes wide with terror. They caught her, surrounded her, and March heard the sounds of fangs tearing into flesh and a piercing, terrified scream. He felt nauseous.
507
508"Is this my sign?" March shouted over the ravenous snarls of the unholy Novus. "Death, sorrow, and misery? Is this your warning, Your Highness?"
509
510He found himself on a black plain. The sky was dark like the ground, but at the horizon one could see that the sky was slightly brighter. Before him were four vast pyramids of silver, bright with light which made him shield his eyes.
511
512He stood among the four pyramids, feeling as if he had tasted the sweetest honey on his lips.
513
514"Thank you, my liege!" He shouted as he fell to his knees, though he didn't understand why. A sudden cramp affected him, and he coiled on the ground.
515
516He awoke. He was coughing, wretching on the stone floor of the temple. He gasped and felt air enter his lungs as though they had been oxygen deprived for hours. Medjula was holding him in her arms, propping him up to face her father and mother.
517
518"Thank you, my love," March said groggily (and perhaps impolitically). He rubbed her arm. "The Emperor has given me a vision," March said. He spoke in a clear and loud voice which surprised even himself. "I saw Novus. I saw friends imprisoned. I traveled to a black plain upon which four silver pyramids reside."
519
520Medjula put her hand to March's face and looked to her father with hope-filled eyes. The prophet looked at him in wonder.
521
522"Four silver pyramids?" Clytas asked.
523
524"What does it mean, Clytas?" Alohaim added.
525
526"Four silver rivets in an onyx ring," Clytas said. "It is the sigil of King Aurelius."
527
528"The King? But why?" Alohaim asked.
529
530"I cannot say, except it is a sign - the Emperor desires a document sealed with the King's signet, a document blessing the union," Clytas said. "The meaning is clear to me," he looked to his wife. "Send word to the palace. We shall request an audience for March with the Emperor immediately."
531
532He was carried to his quarters. He was suddenly very tired, and he felt ill. He spent the night feeling as if he would vomit, though he did not. Despite this discomfort, he was in good spirits.
533
534His minders took him to the Palace, and he passed through the ivory columns and bright sandstone of the King's domain, into his marble courtyard. The man before him on the throne looked like a pagan god, with bronze skin and light hair, and deep blue eyes. This was the King Aurelius.
535
536March bowed as Dorna had taught him. "Greetings, Your Highness," he said, soeaking the words she had suggested. "I thank you for honoring me by according me into your presence."
537
538"It is for good. I had considered summoning you, March" the King said. "The pale man from the dome who slew an Alpha. There is much I would ask you. Do your people know they are to be destroyed soon by the Novus?"
539
540"Some do, most do not," March said. "Don't ask me why. Men...men accept their condition there."
541
542"Inheritors of a doomed world. I know why the people of the Dome fell. They were dissolute. They rejected the Kings appointed for them by God in favor of politicians appointed against them by Mammon. I have studied your history. It is a tragic case of good men doing worse than nothing: they do the absolute wrong thing. Freaks and half-nightmares screamed foul things, performed every type of profane ritual to the darkest of gods, and generations went off to die to keep it so, to enrich licentious and ugly oligarchs whose lust for the debasement of innocents was matched only by the obscene power they acquired. The few men who saw what was coming were tortured and brutalized so badly that the nations became cowards, contented to fight the ghosts of those men rather than see that the Dome was being built around them."
543
544"The Dome was built only after the war..."
545
546"And I tell you, the Dome was built when this world's people embraced the ridiculous notion that men should govern themselves. The ancients understood; they marked hubris as the greatest of all sins. Their descendants flaunted that, and like wayward sheep they all fell into choking vines. The proof that men do not deserve the right to vote, is that they voted to give women the right to vote. And women voted to make you slaves, in bondage far worse than under any King appointed by God, before they created a virus to exterminate your people. You are the chiefest of their victims."
547
548"I cannot judge them harshly," March said. "Most of us in the Dome just wanted to survive. I have come to seek your blessing for my marriage."
549
550"An odd request. I do not know what is required to marry in the dome, but the blessing of a King is not required."
551
552  "I was bade to come here by the Ghanima," March replied. "I had a vision of your sigil from one of their potions. They said it means that I must seek your blessing."
553
554The King nodded. "The draught is an odd thing. Unpleasant, not because it tastes foul, but because it tastes unnatural," he said.
555
556"You have tasted the draught?" March asked.
557
558"To gain my throne, there were many things I had to do," Aurelius said. "I set out to seek guidance and a mandate from Heaven. The Emperor commanded me to seek the wise man, Zephros, to learn the art of fighting. It was in his cave that I met his daughter Athene, my mate. Was it a coincidence, or the Will of God? I cannot be sure."
559
560"But you had to be stung..."
561
562Aurelius smiled. "Indeed. The Reverend Mother envenomed me. I slept peacefully," he said. He looked at March and rubbed his chin. "As she had a mate, it could not trigger me sexually. I know of your deal with Nerata. Your bertrothal is voided, but you have sworn to see her lover freed from the Dome."
563
564"She told you this?" March asked.
565
566"After a fashion. I have friends in her service, many friends," Aurelius answered with a handwave. "I will grant my blessing, but solely in the understanding that you will aid her," Aurelius said. "It is what Honor demands."
567
568March bowed. "It was to be my next move."
569
570"I would ask that you take this," the Emperor said. He held out a glass tube, with a simple purple liquid inside.
571
572"What is it?" March asked.
573
574"Plague," Aurelius said, holding up the vial. "A goblin nanovirus. This variant is designed to target the nervous system of any not exposed to the vaccine. Death occurs within forty-five minutes of infection. Once the target dies, the entire body is converted into airborne nanovirus, which actively seeks out new targets. It is one of the most gruesome sights imaginable, like watching invisible beasts eat people, both slowly and swiftly all at once. Interesting that you should come here seeking my blessing, is it not?" He stared at March with intense eyes, and March felt a deep fear. "A coincidence, or the Will of God?"
575
576March stared at the purple vial, trying to get his breath and heartbeat back under control. "Such a thing should not even exist!" He rasped. "What if it fell into the wrong hands?"
577
578"There are no wrong hands. We are quite immune, you and I. The vaccine was developed before the nanovirus, and is everywhere...except inside the Dome," Aurelius replied.
579
580"There are millions of people in the Dome," March said in horror. "Not all of them deserve such a gruesome death! Who could create such a thing?"
581
582"The people of the Dome did," The King replied flatly. "This is the phage they deployed against the paleskins, against your people, repurposed. The vaccine was the goblin countermeasure, deployed too late to avert the full tragedy. The vaccine neutralizes all nanite based plagues. We have had this virus since the end of the war, when angry mamono scientists developed it in fury at the staggering total of dead paleskins," Aurelius said. "My forebears have all borne the burden of its terrible power, as has the council. None of us have wanted the blood, even the blood of pigwomen and their thralls, on our hands. But now, if the reports I hear from FOB Dryad are true, the Novus are in uprising. I do not want millions of Novus bursting forth from the Dome after they exterminate the Humans there. It will only be after much blood and misery that they are destroyed. The moment they breathe air outside the Dome is the moment that the Plague no longer works on them. I want every single one of them dead before they breathe our air."
583
584March took the vial into his hands. "I can't promise I'll do anything other than destroy this," he said.
585
586"I don't blame you," Aurelius replied. "I have thought of it myself, many times. And I have thought of using it. I am unsure which terrifies me more. But I feel it is right that a man of the Dome uses it, decides it. Come what may, we shall adress the Novus. But I charge you - deploy it!"
587
588"I shall leave at once," March said. "I want Medjula to have no part of this business..." he said, looking at the vial in his hand. "She has enough ghosts to deal with."
589
590"I shall send my seal on to the Sietch," the King said. "If you wish to leave, I have commissioned the Novus hunters to  fortify near the Dome. They shall be underway within a few hours, and you kay find the company...stimulating.
591
592March agreed, and he made arrangements that he would travel with Dani and Tor's mercenaries, who were heading towards the Dome. Nerata's forces were moving there as well, and he guessed that Aurelius was preparing for the Dome's collapse and the swarm of Novus.
593
594March met with Dani, and she kept it quiet from her husband Tor, as they both knew the deadly sniper was indelicate with such information. March gathered up his supplies from Netata and boarded their truck. When he finally arrived at their campsite, it would be five miles to the air filter.
595
596The day's travel was long and uneventful, but tiring in tbat way that long journeys in a bouncing truck can be. It was with a yawn that March settled into his tent and prepared to stretch out on his sleeping bag. He wished he could habe returned to the Sietch, but it was better to return after this business was finished. Medjula would want to come with him, or...there was a distinct possibility that he might never be free again when he went back to her. He smiled at the thought even as he feared it. 
597
598His tent was large, and he settled in on his sleeping back and stared up at the fabric as it flapped in the faint breeze. He drifted into sleep, thinking of Medjula's veiled face, and wishing he could be back at the Sietch soon.
599
600He awoke in pitch black to a sudden rasping sound, and opening his eyes he say a silhouette. He gasped, and shot up with a start, and the figure was gone. His mind raced. He reached for his pistol and flashlight.
601
602"Who is there?" He called out. There was only dead silence. It couldn't be Medjula, he knew; he had left the city so quickly, and among the throng none could tell he was there.
603
604Perhaps some other Ghanima or mamono was showing interest. 
605
606He heard a sudden rasping laugh behind him. He jumped and turned to face it. He fumbled and pointed the flashlight, seeing nothing. A miment later there was a swift blur, and the gun aas out of his hand. He staggered backward, trying to make for it, shining his flasbligbt madly and seeing nothing. Something tough and smooth rubbed against his calf for a fleeting moment. He turned, and caught a glimpse of violet eyes. 
607
608"Medjula!" March cried out before her hand clasped over his mouth. He realized as her hand pressed against his lips that she had made a noise to wake him, let him call our her name, and let him see her. Her veil was off, and her dark skinned face was grinning at him with a look both frightening and intoxicating. He felt a stabbing pain in his leg, then one in his arm. In the dark he saw the blur of her tail was rising and falling almost faster than he could account for, and the pain was everywhere, the cold flowing all through his body. He went limp, and she let out a small giggle.
609
610"How...How?"he asked.
611
612"How did I find you?" Medjula asked witb a laugh. "Please, March. I could shut my eyes and know your presence as easily as I know the position of the sun in the sky. You are a wonderful man of many skills, my Love, but you are as good at hiding as a squealing piglet." She reached down and gave him a kiss of mastery - a deep, full, ferocious kiss that pushed him into the dirt.
613
614"You are in a lot of trouble, my white skinned prey," she whispered in his ear. "I shall not be merciful to you."
615
616"Medjula," he said. He began to whimper as the intense lust overtook him. "Medjula, no..."
617
618"Oh yes, March. I am taking you. I shall claim you in all four rituals, and complete the Rite of The Female over the Male." She produced a black bag. "I just have to be somewhat...discrete about taking you..."
619
620"...where?" He asked.
621
622"Now, now," she said, kissing his nose as she deftly put him in the bag. "It isn't for the meal to know what table it sits on.
623
624She wrapped him in the bag gently, and dragged him to her car. His mind reeled at the ease in which she extricated him, put him into the trunk or her car, and took off down the sand.
625
626When the trunk opened, it was in dead silence. Not even the wind sounded.
627
628"This is my hideout. It is thirty miles from the nearest settlement," Medjula said with audible excitement. "No one knows it exists, not even the Ghanima. I can rape you here for ever and ever, and not a single soul will know. I can sting you and leave you here, and no one will hear your cries for help. You are now completely and totally mine, March."
629
630"No, no..." March weakly protested. "I must get to the Dome-"
631
632"If it were important, you would have told me," Medjula said, and there was anger in her voice. "You instead decided to initiate a Hunting ritual. Well, the rules are clear - I have captured you and you are mine. When I have forced myself onto you, I will have claimed you as my husband. Now, no more talking - a man's voice is not for speech."
633
634She dragged him in with some difficulty, as her talents were speed and fury, not strength. Yet still she managed, though she was winded as she brought him through the threshold of her cave and into the tunnel. The inside of the cave was dark, lit by a flickering lantern around which were rough rugs with a few pillows, blankets, and a thick fur. She tossed him onto the rough rug, then began to pull his clothes off, flinging them as far away from his as possible.
635
636March was okay with this, as the agony from the venom was unbearable, and his erection so full it was painful. He needed more desperately than anything for Medjula to touch him. Even the act of removing his clothes had given him some relief.
637
638"There are four Rituals to Female Rule, one for each relation of Female to Male: Sister, Daughter, Wife, and Mother. I shall dominate you in all these roles," she said, tracing a finger over his naked torso. He had almost wept and thanked her for doing it, the relief was so great.
639
640"First...the ritual of the Sister," she licked her lips. "The younger sister bothers, the elder sister bullies. This is the Ritual if teasing."
641
642She breathed on his swollen, twitching cock, and each breath was both joy and agony all at once. He whimpered, and she laughed. She leaned down and licked the tip of his cock. He shuddered from the near-electric feeling, and watched as precum oozed from his tip. Medjula leaned in, watching with her wide purple eyes with an expression of pure joy.
643
644"It is amazing to see how much you want this..." she said. "It is so easy to think of you boys as creatures of stone, immune to all sex..."
645
646March couldn't really reason that. He simply groaned and tried to thrust forward to touch her full, pouting lips, but his body was limp.
647
648"Ohhh, my poor man wants me to kiss him on his most tender, aching wound?" She asked in feigned sympathy.
649
650"...please..." he rasped.
651
652"The sister is all about teasing," she said, her lips just agonizingly out of range.l, her breath making his cock sway like a reed before a storm. "...but I shall play a loving sister." She kissed his cock head, and he felt the warm, soft, full lips press in. He groaned loudly.
653
654The kisses and licks came frequently, with Medjula staring up at him naughtily after each one, her violet eyes sparmling with pure delight as she read the reactions in his face. He moaned and cried, desperate for more, but the agony was absolutely wonderful, and purely through kissing he felt an orgasm rise, greater than any he had ever felt. He couldn't stop moaning.
655
656"Mmmm. You are close. Should I be a naughty sister and tease you more?"
657
658"Please don't!" March shouted. "Please!"
659
660"...very well," she said. She licked at his cock tip rapidly, and the flutter was enough to make him cry out. As he felt he could bear no more she began to kiss his shaft with hundreds if little kisses. His eyes bulging, he sputtered out a massive shot of semen which Medjula greedily lapped up. The orgasm was intense and powerful, and he couldn't even hear his cries over the blood rushing through his ears. He was aware that he was quaking from the sheer power of it. He had emptied his balls, but already the venom was rejuvenating them, filling them even fuller than before.
661
662Medjula licked and slurped every string of pearls he erupted all over himself and her, and with each swallow she seemed more and more affected by both lust and pleasure. She swayed as though drink, her eyes widening. "...oh...oh my..." she mumbled. "Such a fantastic taste..." She licked at her fingers, then licked and slurped on his glans with force, trying to pull out more of his seed.
663
664He grunted loudly, which made an excited noise escape her lips. She caught herself. 
665
666"Well, that went well! Now, the Ritual of the Daughter..." she said. She gripped his penis in her hand and brought her mouth down to his cock head. "I shall be dutiful to you. There shall be no teasing, only pleasure."
667
668She took him all the way in, her thick lips lovingly taking in his cock. He gasped. Her mouth was so smooth and soft, and wet, and her tongue danced and flicked about him. 
669
670"Oh God!" March managed to cry out.
671
672Medjula let out a triumphant cry, and began to bob up and down on him with fury. He leaked into her mouth at least a dozen times, and she swallowed eagerly each time, her eyes rolling into her head as involuntarily she moaned in joy. He saw her hand reach down as her scorpion lower half curled, and as he watched her hand work he knew she was rubbing her clitoris as she continued sucking him with force.
673
674He came one in a full explosion of all his essence, cumming into her swallowing throat. She made several short breaths as her hand workes spastically, and her eyes widened amd bulged as she brought her self to an orgasm. She actively suppressed screaming out her orgasm, but she seemed to melt a moment, and rested against his groin, kissing his balls and penis with genuine gratitude.
675
676As his balls again began to fill insatiably, she reached up with her hand, wet and slick with her juices. She forced it into his mouth.
677
678"Lick," she commanded, though it was unnecessary. Whether it was the venom or his own virgin eagerness, the taste of her sex was wonderful and he licked at her fingers and took ever ounce of scorpion girl-cum off her fingers. She took her trembling hand, covered in his saliva, and sucked each lingering trace of his spit from her fingers. 
679
680"Next," she said, panting and shaking, "the Ritual of the Mother."
681
682"But...but Wife is next..." March weakly protested.
683
684"I set the order, Husband, not you!" Medjula said through clenched teeth. Sbe licked the side of his face with a loud slurp and grunted aggressively.
685
686"...h-husband?" He asked in a whisper.
687
688"Only one of the rituals is necessary to complete my claim," she said. "I need only make you cum. Nothing and no one can ever take you from me. You are mine forever."
689
690 She unclasped her shirt, and her breasts jiggled in release, dangling intoxicatingly before him. March licked his lips. Everything in his body made him want to wrap his lips around those perfectly swaying breasts, which were just beyond his reach. He moaned in agony.
691
692"You will suck on my dark skinned breast, my Husband," she commanded. She lowered her breast, and the soft, firm skin pressed against his lips, and her nipple worked its way into his mouth, brushing against his tongue.
693
694March began to lick and suckle at Medjula's breast. The scorpion maide  tossed her head back wordlessly, her breathing erratic. She reached down and began to stroke his penis. He gasped. The pleasure was so intense...
695
696"Do not stop," she admonished. "Keep suckling."
697
698He obeyed. He tried to resist the urge to moan, but as she stroked him and rubbed at his head the pleasure was more intense than he could bear in silence, and a moan escaped his lips. Medjula laughed in triumph.
699
700"I enjoy watching my hand rise and fall on your pale cock, almost as much as I enjoy making you moan and whimper," she said, her breath short. Her dark skin was flush, and he could feel by the way her nipple danced against his tongue that she was both shaking and taking shallow breaths. He wanted more than anything to make her moan, to show he had power.
701
702He nibbled gently on her nipple. She gasped, and a coo of delight escaped her lips before she could stop it. He let out a little laugh and nibbled again, and she struggled to keep in sounds of pleasure.
703
704He was desperate to win, desperate to make her feel a small amount of the pleasure he felt. He put all his sexual frustration into his task.
705
706His efforts quickly found success. She was crying out, utterly at the mercy of his tongue and teeth. She stopped ministering his cock to push his head in between her breasts with both hands, and he licked eagerly at the sweat beading on her perfect, ebony skin, reveling in the salty taste and swallowing greedily. She straddled him, and bore down onto his cock with a sudden fury that made him cry out. She let out a growl of aggression and began rapidly sliding herself up and down on his hard shaft, as she kept his head between her breasts.
707
708"I. Am. Going. To. Ride. You. Unconscious!" She yelled before she lost herself to wild cry. Her sounds of passion and joy filled him with such pleasure that he joined her, and they were both crying out, both equally lost to the passion and pleasure that the other was giving them. Her pussy was tight and quivering, and his aching cock so engorged that the slightest motion on it from the wet, soft walls made him incapable of thinking beyond this pleasure and this moment. This final orgasm was the most intense and powerful, and the fulfillment of it, the pumping and squeezing into Medjula's womb as she yiped with each squirt, made March finally fall into a deep, deep sleep.
709
710When March awoke, his arms and legs felt sore as though they had worked hard, and yet had enjoyed their labors. For all the aches of his body, his mind felt as if every dark thought and feeling had been completely cleansed, ejaculated with the emptying of his previous fluid. Medjula was a short ways away, curled in a ball. He started, and reached up at her. She looked at him. The wild lust was gone from her eyes, and in its place was something softer, something afraid. "M-march?" She asked in a tiny voice.
711
712"Medjula..." he said, or croaked. He smiled, and he saw her smile in response. It filled his heart with joy to see it.
713
714"You have a beautiful smile," he whispered. Even saying this was hard, as Medjula had utterly drained him and wore him out.
715
716She grinned and her eyes welled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him all over his face.
717
718"I love you, March," she whispered. "I am so sorry that I-"
719
720"Don't be," he said softly. "I love you, too. It was wonderful, the best moment of my life. Just...poorly timed."
721
722She stared at him quietly. "I timed it quite precisely, my love," she whispered.
723
724"I must get inside the Dome quickly," he said. "Delays were not part of my plan."
725
726"I know that. This is not a delay, but a necessity. A prophet cannot journey abroad without an escort, either his mate or his daughter. That is a tenet of the Faith," Medjula said. "You have no daughter, so..."
727
728"Since when am I a prophet?" March asked.
729
730"Since you became an initiate who received a vision from The Emperor," Medjula said. "You are a Holy Man of the Ghanima now. Your person is inviolable. Well, except..." she smiled sheepishly. "Except by me."
731
732"The Dome is not a safe place for you. I can move freely with the papers I was given. If you are seen, they will shoot you," March said.
733
734Medjula looked at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow, and March realized the absurdity of what he was saying to the scorpion assassin who had easily stalked and raped him.
735
736"You won't be familiar with the terrain inside," he said, to justify himself.
737
738"It's an urban environment with lots of high rises. Encounters are Novus, men, and human women," she said. "I have a good understanding of the terrain. I will not be overconfident, but I shall also have you as a guide. You are safer with me than I am at risk with you."
739
740March hugged just above her scorpion half with genuine affection. It was very, very good to be able to do that, and she cooed in appreciation."I can't bear the thought of what they'd do to you. Just by seeing you..."
741
742Medjula skittered off, and when she returned she was in a flowing robe with a bustle and long trail. March had to admit she looked like a normal woman in a robe with a hood. Certainly no one would think she was half scorpion by looking at her. 
743
744"It conceals you, but robes are atypical," March said.
745
746"I believe women within the Dome wear all manner of elaborate clothes, do they not?" Medjula asked.
747
748"They do. Will that impare your ability to move?" March asked.
749
750Medjula deftly leapt onto the wall, the ceiling, and back down, all without a single sound. The robe showed no signs of being affected by gravity due ti its wireframe, and her tail emerged freely at will to strike, as did her pincers. She returned to the floor and glided smoothly before March, blinking her purple eyes with an expectant smile. He kissed her full lips.
751
752"You are amazing, you know," he said. "Well, we must get going."
753
754"Of course, my Husband. Lead on," she said.
755
756He turned and began to walk for his clothes. "I'll get dressed. We should probably let Dani know-" he began, but did not finish. He felt a stabbing pain in the small of his back, and cold rushed through his body as he fell into Medjula's waiting arms and pincers. His body went limp as she began dragging him back to the blankets and flickering lantern.
757
758"W-why-?" He asked.
759
760"You turned your back to me," she whispered mischievously. "You must be raped. You will learn."
761
762He groaned. He might have said they didn't have time for this, but the venom -and the subsequent fire and hardening in his loins- made his tongue almost incapable of it. He needed release. It was even more potent and powerful than last night, and last night had been so intense he wasn't sure he could survive without her constant touching.
763
764"We shall be quick, my Love," she said, kissing him softly on the lips as she put a pillow beneath his head. "This brief moment of prayer and introspection shall keep our minds focused. The rape of a prophet is a good omen."
765
766"Will it be tbe Ritual of the Wife?" He asked, betraying his hope.
767
768"Not yet, my Dear One. I have plans for that. I shall perform the ritual when we establish our own sietch, and I can take your seed to grow babies in my womb. Many, many babies. It shall be my moment of total victory. Our moment..." She grinned. "I think...the Ritual of the Mother seemed very popular last night. Of course, the Ritual of the Sister was your absolute favorite, I think. But perhaps another time for that one..."
769
770He could only whimper in response, which made her laugh triumphantly. She undid her robe, revealing her wonderful ebony breasts.
771
772"Now..." she said with a mischievous grin as she positioned his head between her dangling mammaries.  "Let us recreate our success from last night..."
773
774She wrapped her darkskinned hand gently around his swelling cock, and March found himself again in paradise.