Monday, October 26, 2009

Desire (A Poem to Aphrodite)


Desire (a Poem to Aphrodite)




Bethany in thought:

'Fore the first breath of dawn was the Morning Star drawn
O'er the hills to the East of Paphos
When the cygnets took wing where the ragged rocks ring
The shores of the isle of mythos

From the foam and the spray in no royal array
Did she rise from the waters at dawn
Knowing naught but desire that burned as a fire
Completing the high Pantheon

From the sea she ascended as the Graces attended
And adorned her in golden raiment
Then she rode a great shell 'pon the waves as they fell
To the shoals of the coastal descent

Aphrodite was born one Cyprian morn
By the seed of Dione and Zeus
For the love she inspires in your carnal desires
I will charm, bewitch and seduce'

                                         By Bethany

Melissa in thought:

'From pine-clad hills, I watched the Goddess rise out of the azure sea.
Come to shore. Her bronzed body gleamed in the sunlight
Blown in on Zephyrus warm breath, her divine skin shimmered
Droplets of water fell like sparking jewels from her sinuous shape.

Upon her deathless brow, they placed a well-wrought crown, both fair and golden
 

Into her pierced ears they put adornments made of orichaic and costly gold; around her tender neck and breasts, so alluring, they arranged necklaces of gold.
And when she'd been adorned with lavish finery
They led her to the Gods, who saw and welcomed her with outstretched hands.
I watched from the hill, as the Goddess proceeded inland, to the place where her Temple was built. Before the temple, an altar was dedicated to her divine and lustful rites. In the woodland glade, amidst the scent of Thyme and Rosemary, her servants would honour her in the rites of love and lust.


I felt my calling had arrived; my sisters would be called also to her service.
My thoughts were with the dark haired one, whom I had known before and in a time before. My body ached for her. I knew our time together again was at hand, for as I walked through the pine trees, to offer myself to Aphrodite's service. I knew my eyes would behold her once again.'

                                                            By Melissa




Bethany's remembrance:

'My heart raced, as I stepped up a rocky slope through sprays of myrtle and fragrant oleander. The untouched beauty springing forth at my every turn filled my heart with love for this ancient isle, for I knew it was chosen for us. My memory of her was as if we had embraced but moments before, and I knew the pounding of my heart was more anticipation of her touch, than the exertions of my climb, for she was near. I would forever be bound to my spirit-sister through some mystical design the Powers had ordained we play a part.

From a shimmer of light through the highest limbs of a wild orange tree, I was drawn off my path by the call of curiosity. Voices like the far-off peel of bells drew me hence, as did the sharp fragrance of orange. My mind opened as if summoned, and the bright faces that looked down upon me were familiar. Calliope and her sister Erato sat upon nearby branches, as their feet danced together playfully. 


"Where goest thou, young lioness?" asked Erato. 

"She goes to serve the new goddess," quipped Calliope, "Only her thoughts betray another calling."

I felt my naked skin blush as I was transparent to the eternal Muses. Their beauty aroused me to trembling ecstasy, but I could not delay, though I longed to hear the poetry of their song. 


"Do not get stung by the honeybee nymph!" warned Erato brightly. 

But Calliope touched her sister's hand, and said softly, "Melissa has already pierced her heart, has she not, young Ariel?" 

My face warmed, as Erato replied, "Aphrodite's young lioness may sting the bee-nymph with her talented tongue!" 

Calliope laughed and dropped her tablet to my hands. "You cannot come before Aphrodite empty-handed. Offer her this!" I looked up to give my thanks, but they were gone. I gazed around the hillside, and a gust of wind brushed the fronds of a feathery tamarisk against my bare legs. The sensation brought me back to my purpose, and with the Muse's tablet in hand, I skipped to the brow of the hill and entered a grove of olive trees. 

Wandering in the distance ahead of me, I saw her approaching a colonnaded temple of travertine. I stopped and stared at her beauty. She sensed my presence, turned and smiled. My brow lifted, and the flower of my sex grew slippery, as we met again by the temple of our goddess Aphrodite.'
                          

                                                      By Bethany Frasier

Melissa's remembrance:

'I stared in amazement; it was she, my lover I had last seen at sunrise on the Samhain, in another time and another place. She drew my gaze into her deep brown eyes, which I recalled so well. My eyes locked with hers, and I felt my legs tremble. We looked lovingly at one another's naked bodies. How well I recalled her beauty, her soft, warm skin glowing in the light of the bonfire that special night. And here again she stood before me, as naked as I recalled, when we made love in a frenzied dance of passion under Northern Skies.


She leaned towards me and kissed me slowly on my moistened lips. Night was drawing on, shadows were lengthening, and the sweet scent of the wild flowers permeated the twilight. I brushed her long hair from her face, and smiled.
Suddenly, the Goddess herself appeared, smiling unlike any human could. She spoke softly, "Girls, my beautiful girls, I have summoned you here to serve me well, in ways no other semi-divine beings have been granted. Come take my hand, each of you."'


                                                    oOo 
        
The Narrative begins:


She led the lovers to an altar in front the Temple, crafted from the finest white marble. Aphrodite beckoned to a priestess, "Bring us the finest of the wine."

Bearing golden goblets, the priestess offered them to the trio. "Drink, my friends. Drink deep", Aphrodite intoned. Both Melissa and Bethany took a long draft of the heady brew, feeling it flow through their limbs. Aphrodite drank too, and called for more. Soon, the three of them were laughing. The darkness was falling quickly now, the shadows lengthening. The priestesses were lighting lamps, which hung from the trees, as the flames cast flickering shadows. Soon, the sound of music filled the air - lyres, drums, and sweet song. The sweetest voices imaginable sang praises to the mighty Goddess of Love.

Aphrodite, looking upon Melissa and Bethany, slipped her white gown from her shoulders, revealing the most perfect and desirable body, Her skin shimmering in the golden light from the hundreds of lamps glowing in the darkness. Her breasts were perfectly formed, her taut belly, and the rise of her mound highlighted. Her firm thighs beckoned. They held hands in awe; they felt their syrups begin to trickle down the inside of their thighs. Smiling, Aphrodite motioned for Melissa and Bethany to disrobe, which they did immediately. They both felt the refreshing coolness of the night air upon their naked flesh. Aphrodite looked approvingly on their nakedness, "My girls, you have such wonderful bodies; so enchanting. Approach me!"
 

                                                               By Melissa G


Hand in hand, they stepped naked upon the marble dais of Aphrodite, and reclined luxuriantly upon her tapestried curule. Bowing at her feet, Bethany held out her gift - the wax tablet of Calliope, framed in a case of etched gold. With her right hand, she received her tribute, as she cupped and caressed Melissa's soft breast with her left. Turning to the handsome figure behind her throne, she commanded:


"Eros, my love. Read to us now from the gift of my fairest and most faithful supplicants."


The golden-skinned bowman took the tablet of the Muse, and leveling his gaze at the assemblage, he began to read with a clear voice.




The song of love has echoed long
A chorus through the ages
And bards have offered words enough
To fill a million pages

From harlots moans to poets rhymes
The chorus has been lifted
And ever have the gods allowed
Desire to be gifted

Oh fairest femme in all ideals
Art thou the single thought
That fills the endless yearnings
Our desire has ever sought

For beauty did the gods bestow
The daughters they endowed
With tempting form and faces fair
That they would carry proud

But eros is the fevered love
Which will not be restrained
By mortal hand or human heart
It cannot be contained

For though the gift the gods have sent
Is precious beyond measure
They proffer too a guiding hand
With such a baneful treasure

Personified in spirit form
Both beautiful and mighty
Innana they have given forth
And also Aphrodite

Though some may say these haughty femmes
Are one and all the same
Their tales are told in different times
Of how they both became

Though Aphrodite rose in foam
From 'neath the coastal sea
Her sister roamed the Sumer steppes
'Fore Cyprus came to be

Daughter of the moon they claim
And sister to the Sun
Innana played at love intense
A battle to be won

Her beauty fierce, an iron will
That would not be forsaken
She dared descend the underworld
But her life was cruelly taken

Her sister-god declared her false
Erishkigala cried
That fair Innana came to steal
Her throne in endless pride

Innana lay alone in death
For days they counted three
But two would follow through the gates
Of hell to set her free

Ugala were the demons called
That Enki brought to life
Gala Tura and Kur Jara
Together faced the strife


Eros shifted uneasily before the poem was concluded, and raised one brow staring closely at the two beautiful attendants to his mistress. Aphrodite though, remained detached, caressing her two favorites erotically. Eros was secretly indignant that the poem of Calliope belabored the importance of his mistress' prior avatar, Innana. This was a night for Aphrodite after all, her first upon her throne.

Hypnos and Morpheus, standing near the golden bowman, noticed the impressed wax of the golden tablet softening under Eros' heated touch, and offered to hold the heavy golden gift while he refreshed himself with drink. Aphrodite stirred, as if roused from a dream, and noticing Morpheus now holding her gift, asked him to read it to her again. The God of Dreams began slowly, for the impressions in the softened wax had seemed to subtly blur. Morpheus looked deeply into the poem, and with a soothing voice, began his soft, personal recital to the Goddess and her two exotic priestesses. As if entranced by a dream, Melissa and Bethany became lost in each others charms, softly kissing and caressing each others skin sensuously. Under the caring touch of the Goddess of Love, their sex became sublime and nearly infinite in depth. The story of Innana began to wrap them into a sexual dream, soft and darkly mysterious.
 

                                                          By Bethany Frasier


The voice of Morpheus became a velvet toned incantation; its mellow tones seemed to fill the ears of the lovers as they softly and tenderly caressed each others naked skin. The light from a thousand torches gleamed over their bronzed and supple bodies, glistening with sweet sweat. The mighty goddess was enthralled as she observed her priestesses' love making. She stood and loosened her white robe and let it fall to the floor. As Melissa and Bethany writhed in orgasmic ecstasy, Aphrodite began to masturbate herself, calling out in her golden voice, she cried in utter wantonness, and fell upon the two girls in wild abandon. 


They made love in that sacred grove before the Temple as the moon rose high in the night sky. Three bodies, lost in sexual frenzy, they took it in turns to satisfy the Goddess. Bethany lay between Aphrodite's open thighs and lapped at the divine nectar, which poured forth like a silver fountain from the Goddess' divine sex. The taste was finer than anything she had ever experienced, and she felt her head swim from the heady juice. Melissa lay next to the Goddess, and used her hands to stroke Aphrodite's enormously stiff nipples; her lips kissed the Goddess, deeply and sensitively. They felt the Goddess shudder and shake as her orgasm roared through her magnificent body.
 

They lay together for awhile, wrapped around each other. Aphrodite rose to her feet, whilst the girls admired a body so perfect, no mere mortal could ever hope to emulate. 'My sweet girls, you have served me well, and you have earned my love and protection, for I will always be with you, even when you cannot see or hear me. Come now, Morpheus has prepared a bed of soft mosses for you. Lay here and rest, and let sleep enfold you. In another time and another place, I have need of you'. Exhausted by their exertions, Melissa and Bethany lay down to rest as the Goddess smiled over them. Morpheus came forward, beckoned by the Goddess. As they lay in each others arms, Morpheus sprinkled a cloud of golden dust over them, and they immediately fell into a deep sleep.
 

Now by a bond unknown by any but the Olympians, Melissa and Bethany shared the same dreams, and as they slipped out of consciousnesses, images began to cloud their minds while dry hot desert winds blew. On the wind, the moaning of a great demon seemed strangely present. They saw mighty rivers, cities of mud brick, with towering buildings. In their minds, they heard the whisper of a name, over and over again, Inanna. Their purpose was becoming clear, Inanna, predecessor of the mighty Aphrodite was in some way needing assistance. Back in time, they were being sent through the magic of dream, to rescue and restore Inanna. 

The dream was revealing piece by piece, the tablet of Calliope was no story for their entertainment, but a task set by the mighty Goddess. They were to descend into the underworld of Sumerian mythology, and bring forth Inanna from the underworld. Both girls saw clearly now the form of Inanna's dark sister, Erishkigal. They unknowingly trembled in their slumbers, for the form of Erishkigal was frightening, and yet beautiful. The girls wrapped themselves in sleep tightly around each other, for in their lost world, they knew not yet whether they would wake in another reality, or carry out Aphrodite's task as a dream within a dream….

(c) 2008: Melissa G
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Thursday, July 10, 2008 - 7:03 PM

In their dreams were they changed in form though their spirits remained intact. Melissa and Bethany were called out of the darkness of their shared dream by the voice of their mistress, summoning their help. From the underworld beneath their feet arose the spirits of two demons who saw them in their nakedness and whirled them into their embrace. They danced as one as their legs spun in the shadows and their breasts bounced to the beat of a far-off drum, or perhaps it was their heartbeats. The demon spirits hugged close to their bare skin and attracted to the scent of the sex they had shared with the goddess, entered them through their aroused slits, possessing them with the fire of the Ugalla. 


Melissa and Bethany pulled each other close together and wrapped their legs around each other as they let go of their separate selves and each of them joined with their demon spirit. The sound of the drum grew louder and became maddening to Melissa and Bethany, who suddenly felt they were being torn from the womb of their dream-world. They were wrenched into madness, possessed by demons and the two lovers had only the comfort of each others embrace until that too was stripped from them. A blindingly bright confusion assailed their minds, towering ziggurats against an azure sky, an imperious voice commanding their attention, but they were too lost and bewildered to take heed or understand. Only two names rang out from the cacophony, Kur Jara and Gala Tura, then a sense of danger and preparations to be made, and then there was darkness.

They awoke slowly, feeling unfamiliar hands caressing their naked bodies
small, soft hands which were comfortingly feminine. Warm oils scented with spice and cedar were being anointed into their soft skin, and when they opened their clouded eyes they saw the sinuous shape of a beautiful young woman, back-lit by the torch-light.
 

"I am Nincubura and you are in the Temple E-Apsa."

The two girls sat up, reflexively drawing their knees to their bare breasts, less to hide their nudity than an instinctive fear of the unfamiliar. The young woman tried to soothe their fears and answer their many questions, but with a note of urgency in her worried voice. Bethany queried first:


"I felt before that we were being held in the hands of a giant! Was it but a dream?"
 

"No," said Nincubura. "You were both brought into this world from the dust under the nails of Lord Enki, to whom I was sent in desperation by our mistress, for she is now dead. But foreseeing her doom by the hand of her sister Ereshkigal, she prepared by calling you hence. You have served her faithfully as I do, for you are her most-beloved and therefore mine also, and I have loved you while you slept. I am her minister upon this world, though my temple is in Uruk. We are now in E-Apsu, the temple of Enki in Eridu. Please! I beg you to learn quickly. You have been given the spirits of two Galla demons from the underworld, for only so-possessed could you ever return to Kur to rescue Innana. You will go by the names Gala Tura and Kur Jara. 

"You must pass through seven gates as did our Lady, but you must do so secretly. You were chosen of all who serve the goddess of desire because you are the most beautiful and seductive of her priestesses, and only through those wiles can the dark Ereshkigal be charmed into releasing the corpse of Inanna. She will offer you a riverful of water, a fieldful of grain, but you must refuse and demand the body of Innana. You will carry the water of life, Gala Tura, and Kur Jara will carry the food of life which together will revive the goddess Innana. Come with me now to the palace of Ganzer where lie the gates to the underworld. The first Doorwarden is Neti. The drum you hear beats a requiem for our lady, but the sound will hide your footfalls, for you must enter the first gate without being discovered."

(c) 2008 Bethany Frasier
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 12:37 AM

Melissa and Bethany hugged each other tightly. They were dressed in fine white linen gowns, around their necks were beads of the finest Lapis Lazuli. Strands of fine gold were woven into their hair, hanging down like golden rain. They embraced each other, the pounding in their chests made their breasts rise and fall with every beat of their hearts. Melissa smiled warmly at Bethany, and kissed her warm soft lips. 


"We face the terrible prospect of appealing to Erishkigal, our mistress’ dark sister. Let us not be afraid, for Aphrodite is with us through time and space. She will guide us." 

Bethany smiled in return, "Whatever ordeals we face, we face together under divine auspices. Enki has given us instructions to appease Erishkigal. We shall not fail to raise our Divine mistress from death." Melissa took Bethany’s hand. 

Ninshubur looked the girls over and nodded her approval, "Go forth now. Take this path and approach the entrance to the underworld. I have dreamed that Inanna’s future avatar is watching over you. I know her not, except that she is come, and yet has been, and always was here since time began." The girls smiled knowingly. Nishubur pointed along the pathway, "Go now, and the great Mother be with you."

Melissa and Bethany slowly walked hand in hand downward towards a great door of bronze set in the face of a cliff. An echo of distant drumming could be heard seeping out from under the door, faint and yet insistently calling them on. As they stood before the great doors, they considered how best to pass through the gateway undetected.

As they stood before the gate to the underworld, voices could be heard, mingling with the drums. In response, Melissa began to sing in her angelic voice, and Bethany sang with her in sirens tone…

“I am the daughter of the Ancient Mother
I am the child
of the Mother of the World.
I am your daughter,
O, Ancient Mother
I am your child
O, Mother of the World.
O, Inanna! O, Inanna!
O, Inanna!
It is you who teaches us
to die, be reborn and rise again.
Die, be reborn, and rise!
Her story/Lore
Queen of Heaven and Earth

As they sang, the great bronze gates swung open, and Melissa and Bethany, aware they must pass undetected, still did not move though. Neti, the gate keeper of terrible aspect appeared. He glowered at the girls. 


"What do you want? Why do you seek passage into the underworld from which none can return?" 

Melissa and Bethany smiled at Neti and kept on singing their chant. Neti stood transfixed as the girls' voices mesmerized and disarmed him. Turning to Bethany, Melissa slipped off her linen gown and stood proud and naked. Neti could only gasp at the perfection of her body displayed before his weary eyes. Bethany followed Melissa’s lead, and removed her gown, letting it slip slowly to the floor. Slowly the girls began to dance a dance of raw passion. Moving around each other, they stroked each others flesh. Neti was transfixed, his jaw hung slack as Melissa kissed Bethany. 

They caressed each others breasts, making their nipples harden and stand proudly erect. Sliding a hand between Bethany’s open thighs, Melissa rubbed her slick wet sex, enjoying the sensation of the velvet smoothness of her partner’s labia. Bethany threw her head back, and uttered a high-pitched moan of total abandon. Hearing her Siren’s voice, Neti became paralyzed. He could neither move nor speak. Melissa continued to make love, for there could be no stopping now, Bethany’s and Melissa’s love for one another was too strong. 

Bethany’s body was bathed in sweat, and eager fingers soon pushed into Melissa’s cavern. Melissa groaned as her orgasm gushed forth like the water of life. It ran in rivulets down her lean bronzed thighs. Finally, the girls paused for breath, panting, then embraced in the glow of their love making. Finally, they remembered the dumbstruck Neti. 

"How can we pass undetected, Melissa?" Bethany asked. Melissa smiled, and took a strand of fine gold thread from her hair. She approached the gate keeper. She wrapped the golden wire about his head, and as she did so, she closed his eyes and whispered in Neti’s ear. 

"You will remember nothing when we pass through this gate. You will remember nothing." With that, she took from a small pouch about her waist a sprinkling of powered lapis lazuli, and cast it into Neti’s eyes. "You saw and heard nothing, by the power of our lady Aphrodite." Bethany understood. The Goddess had granted them magical means to pass on through the gate and into the descent towards the encounter with Erishkigal. Melissa took Bethany by the hand, and together they descended into the dark passageway, lit by flickering torches....

(c) 2008: Melissa G
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Friday, July 11, 2008 - 5:57 PM

The last light of the living world narrowed to a sliver behind Melissa and Bethany as the massive bronze doors swung together and closed behind them. They had passed the first gate of the underworld and its guardian Neti remained outside, standing sentinel, oblivious to the deception of Melissa's spell. Their eyes slowly adjusted to the torch-lit dimness of an enormous stone staircase descending down into the murky depths of Kur, leading them to the second gate. The echoing drumbeat grew louder now as the young girls walked hand in hand towards their next test. As they approached the second gate, they beheld a large obsidian bust of the dark goddess Ereshkigal, elder sister of their mistress watching them from a deep-set niche in the stone wall. The gates of heavy carved cedar were bolted shut however, and no gatekeeper to unlock them presented himself. 


They looked around but saw no other way past the gate. Melissa began to realize that she had forgotten that Neti was the doorwarden of ALL the gates of the underworld, and without him to open the locks they would be trapped between the outer-most gate and the second door. She looked at Bethany but knew that she too understood that they had miscalculated. They hugged each other close to dispel their fear but looking over Melissa's shoulder Bethany saw the lapis lazuli stones taken from Innana by Neti as she passed through the second gate. They were placed reverentially upon the bust of Ereshkigal, shining a dull blue reflection in the light of the eternal flame of the flickering torches. She suddenly realized that the crown turban of Innana which had been taken from her mistress by Neti at the outer gate had never been recovered. Was it still outside the first gate, Bethany wondered. 

"My love!" said Bethany "The seven periapts of power carried by Innana were surrendered at each gate. Here are the blue lapis stones of her necklace." As Bethany lifted the string of stones, they touched the obsidian and their natural vibrations resonated together. The harmonics sang in Bethany's mind and the power of obsidian to clarify thought unclouded the fear from her mind and she suddenly saw a solution to their predicament. "The STONES! Do you hear them singing? We have traveled through time and great distance on many occasions during our journeys. The night we danced around the Samhain fire we were transported to the Violet Coast. We were surrounded by the great circle of standing stones and through their power did the goddess create a portal to send us to Pizzo. The lapis stones too are imbued with the powers of the goddess Innana. If we focus our emotions in harmony with her natural powers the stones will take us to wherever we will them."

Melissa saw how to make the plan work. She smiled at her lover and motioned her over. Bethany brought the strand of blue jewels and handed them to her companion who un-looped the doubled strand. She lifted the gown from her lover's shoulders letting it drop to the floor. Shimmying out of her own sheer gown, they faced each other naked, and pulling Bethany to her breasts, Melissa placed the opened string of lapis stones over their heads and around their shoulders. 


"Desire is the power of Innana. Our love will empower her amulet. But we host the galla demons and they are sexless. Without them we cannot survive our descent to the underworld, so we must be sure they are not left behind." 

Bethany removed the lapis lazuli beads with which Ninshubur had adorned her and touched them to the lapis stones of Innana. Melissa followed her example and the trinity of lapis sets began to sing in harmony. The vibrations amplified and sent waves of indescribable pleasure through their skin wherever they touched. Bethany lowered herself to the cold stone floor pulling Melissa down with her, and they faced one another with their legs spread wide around each other. Bethany touched her humming necklace to her lover's throbbing slit and Melissa immediately gasped for breath as the pleasure penetrated her sex. 

She was soon gushing the clear nectar of her arousal and Bethany slid the stones between her lover's opened labia and into her sexual cavern, pushing them up towards her womb. Gala-Tura awoke to the virginal penetration and felt the flame of desire ignite within its demon spirit for the first time in the eternity of its existence. Melissa responded with an uncontrollable orgasm and knew she must act quickly before she lost the capacity. She lowered her vibrating beads and guided her hands to Bethany's already aroused sex and slid them deep inside her. Kur-Jara's demonic spark erupted into a flaming torch of unaccustomed passion as Bethany shuddered with a climax and grabbed Melissa by her arms pulling her to her. 

Consumed by incalculable pleasure and desire, they focused their love upon one another and pulled their bodies together, touching their quivering sex and grinding them until their orgasms enveloped all four entities into one perfect flame of pleasure. Their last thought focused on the journey together, and as they lost conscious awareness of the time and space they occupied, it began to slip and pass them as their combined bodies and spirits dissolved through the material into the ether, passing beyond the second gate like phantoms.... like beams of light slipping through the cracks...

(c) 2008 Bethany Frasier

Bethany and Melissa stood on other side of the second door. Their bodies seemed to glow as if coated in bronze. Peering ahead into the flickering shadows, they saw the path descend down a flight of stairs. Hand in hand, they turned and faced each other. Melissa stroked Bethany’s face, softly, gently, with sensual intent. Her tongue slowly licked the sweat off Bethany’s cheeks. Melissa pressed her lips to her lover's and kissed her warmly, deeply. She felt Bethany respond. Even in this dark cavern, their love was only too evident. 


Bethany placed her arms around Melissa’s shoulder’s and drew her tight against her. Lifting her right knee, she pressed against Melissa’s wet sex, causing her to tremble as her nectar fell onto to Bethany’s insistent knee. Melissa’s hands reached around Bethany’s back and slid down, feeling the fleshy fullness of her buttocks. She eased her cheeks apart, and pulled Bethany tighter against her. They shuddered in mutual passion. Smiling, they turned and faced the way ahead. 

Walking slowly through the torch-lit gloom, they followed the path and descended a steep flight of stairs, which curved around as they went ever lower. A low sound of wailing seemed to float over the constant drumbeatthe trance-like beat that never ceased. Feeling no little trepidation, they reached the bottom of the stairway. A large cavern appeared before them. The ceiling appeared to be high up, and it was lit by oil lamps, which glowed from out of niches in the rough cut rock walls. 

Gripping hands tighter, the girls stood and allowed their eyes to penetrate the dark corners. At the far end of the cavern they could see the third set of doors. They looked dark and forbidding, made from ebony wood. In the center stood a pedestal, where a statue of a winged demon perched. Around its neck, they could make out Inanna’s double strand of beads. Slowly, they moved forward. In movement faster than the eye could discern, the demon was upon them. It flapped its hideous wings and swept Bethany aside. Bethany was slightly stunned as she hit the rock wall, and she slumped to the ground.

The demon seized the struggling Melissa, and as much as she struggled, she was virtually powerless. The demon ran rough talons over Melissa’s naked body, causing Melissa to cry out in pain, and as trickles of blood oozed from her scratches, the demon howled in triumph. The evil creature dragged Melissa over to the pedestal and tied her facing the cold stone. Shouting out in a strange tongue, the creature held a whip in its talon. As the helpless Melissa attempted to free herself, the demon brought the whip down across Melissa’s shoulders, with a horrible slash. She screamed out as the lash cut her skin. Each stroke made the demon cackle with foul pleasure. Blood ran down her back as each cut bit into her beautiful skin, causing red weals. Sweat poured from Melissa’s body, as she groaned with the pain. 


Bethany, clearing her head, heard her sister’s cries. Rising quickly, she looked on aghast as the whip cut the air on its way to Melissa’s tortured skin. Horrified at this punishment of her lover, she cursed as another lash cut her lover’s skin. Racing to her sister's rescue, she hurled herself upon the demon, and with a swift movement of her strong hands, she grasped the double beads of their mistress Inanna which were strung about the demon's neck. Using all of her strength, she twisted the beads tightly, calling upon the Goddess for protection; she pulled hard and began to throttle the creature. 

It howled in surprise, and thrashed as Bethany tightened her grip, slowly squeezing the life out it. Bethany felt the creature weaken as the power of her love for her sister, and power of protection embodied in the beads, drained the life out of the vicious and ugly beast. It sank to its sinewy knees, flapping its awful wings, as Bethany applied all her power. Its reptilian tongue protruded, as it died, giving up its life force. Once again, light triumphed over dark. Bethany, her body on fire from her exertions, sat upon the floor. She looked with sadness upon Melissa, tied and bleeding from numerous lash marks. But her sister was strong, Melissa would heal. 

Bethany untied Melissa from her bonds and laid her face down upon the floor. Her back was cut and slashed. Melissa moaned, but turned her head and smiled up at Bethany. "Do not fear, my love," whispered Bethany, "The Goddess has provided us with much help." Bethany took the leather pouch which was tied around her nubile waist. Reaching inside, she took a handful of the magical ground lapis dust and sprinkled it over Melissa’s wounded back. Before her eyes, and with astonishing rapidity, Melissa’s wounds healed quickly. Melissa’s strength returned, pulsing through her naked body. 

She rose and kissed Bethany with an intensity that only they could imbue their intimacy. Melissa stood while Bethany examined her skin, and not a blemish could be seen upon Melissa’s delightful back. Bethany took a moment to admire Melissa’s magnificent rear. Looking around, Bethany spied a flagon near the third set of doors. Knowing nothing was here by mere chance, she walked over and picked it up. Coming back to Melissa, Bethany knew it was a gift from Aphrodite. 

Opening the flagon, she sniffed the fragrant bouquet of the heady brew from Cyprus. Together, they drank deeply. Like new blood, it restored their strength and vitality. Taking each others hands, they decided to approach the third door. Melissa looked at Bethany and smiled; they knew each others thoughts. They blew softly and the doors creaked open just enough to allow them to slip through. Once through, the doors shut themselves. They decided to sit awhile, before setting out along the passageway once more.

(c) 2008: Melissa g
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 7:23 PM

Upon the plains of Sumer, as Bethany and Melissa faced the winged-terror at the third gate of the underworld below, two fierce armies stormed into one anothers ranks as the city-states of Uruk and Akkad met in battle upon the edge of the Tigris river marshes. Gilgamesh the King raised his sword as the cry of battle rang through the companies of his warriors, and the sand at their feet drank the blood of the vanquished. Beyond the edge of the battlefield, a young girl shrank in horror at the sight of her brethren and countrymen being cut down in the flower of their youth as they fought to defend their people. She dropped to her knees and prayed to her gods for a miracle that would spare her city from the rape and pillage she knew would follow. She offered up her life to the gods if they would listen, but the din of battle and the cries of the fallen drowned her pleas as iron clashed through bronze in the blur of the distant battle. Then a cold hand touched her shoulder from behind as Isyra kneeled towards the dawn. 


"Why do you care of the men at their play?" said a soft voice."They are only men. The gods will make more." The young girl fell from her knees and reeled upon the ground as she looked up to behold a beautiful woman clad in black. She was tall and slender with raven hair that danced upon the wind. 

"They are my tribe!" said Isyra. "My people will perish if they fail!" The dark goddess lowered her gaze to the girl on the ground and in her eyes she saw despair and opportunity. 

"You can help them, young sister, if you would make me but a small sacrifice. I am Lilith. Your mothers know of me, but I can help you all the same. Your prayers will be answered if you will share with me. Just a taste of you. Such a little thing, and I will give you power to save your tribe." Isyra closed her eyes and slowly nodded as she knew this was her only hope. She felt cold fingers sweeping her hair from her neck as Lilith knelt beside her. "You are so fair and so young. So will you be forever." Isyra felt the icy lips of Lilith opening on her neck.

* * * * *

In the solitude of the enfolding gloom in the keep beyond the third gate, Bethany and Melissa rested. Gala-Tura silently wept in pain as it remembered feeling the wounds being cut into Melissa's skin. Kur-Jara struggled to recover its composure after experiencing the battle with the hell-spawn beast while trapped in the body of Bethany. So many confusing emotions they had experienced in this symbiosis that the Ugala could not fathom. How was this frail creature of delicate beauty from the outer world endowed with the strength to slay a winged hell-beast bare-handed? What were these burning sensations that she felt for her companion? 


As Bethany had leaped upon the back of the beast, Kur-Jara felt a transformation, as if its skin had changed. Slender fingers had become sharp claws digging into the hide of the beast as Bethany had struggled to retain her purchase high upon the shoulders of the fell creature. Fear had been transmuted to courage, as of a lioness protecting its mate. The Ugala were immortal demon-spirits who were denizens of the underworld, and yet they paled at the thought of an encounter with one of the dreaded gate-beasts, yet these two frail and slender femmes had survived the battle, and emerged as victors! What magic was at work in this mystery?

Melissa lay prone on the ground as Bethany draped her long dark tresses around her sides and licked away the still-fresh blood and sweat from her lover's back. Though her wounds had been closed and healed by the lapis-powder, the blood she had lost still streaked around the sensuous ridges of Melissa's prominent scapulas, and Bethany would not have her companion so stained from her recent torture. The Ugala sensed these two beings who hosted them were possessed of all the experience of passion and compassion which they themselves had never known until this moment. During the passage through the second gate they had been imbued with the fire of sexual communion as Melissa and Bethany had shared their erotic intercourse with them. At the threshold of this, the third gate, the Ugala had been shown the passion of filial love as Bethany threw her life into the offering to rescue her soul-sister. The Ugala, secreted inside their mysterious hosts now understood why these two had been chosen by the Powers to deliver the Goddess of Love from death.

In the shadows under the interior of the third gate, Melissa and Bethany turned to each other in a close embrace and felt the hardening of their nipples upon one another as they pressed into each others soft breasts. It is an act they have replayed a hundred times in sexual play, but this moment is filled with an added emotion which they had always known but had not always expressed. Total devotion. And as they clung to one another a new physical sensation appeared in their conscious minds simultaneously. 


"What is that?" they both said wordlessly with their surprised eyes. They slowly looked down at their breasts and to each of their right nipples as they drew them apart, a lapis lazuli gemstone adorned the tip of their bosom. Melissa recognized their significance immediately. These were the stones that the Goddess Innana had worn upon her breasts in adornment and had been required to surrender to Neti before she could pass through the third gate. One by one, the seven periapts of power were being restored to the goddess through her priestesses as they defeated and slipped past the closed gates of the underworld.

The endless expanse of the chamber beyond the third gate seemed to stretch in every direction, leaving no wall or visible path in sight save the great wall which held the gate itself. They both peered out into the eternal gloom. "Where do you suppose we may find the fourth gate, my love?" asked Bethany, but her lover could offer no answer, until from deep within, Gala-Tura spoke through Melissa's mind. No language was needed, and to Melissa, the words came as the inspiration of a rhyme:

Ancient anguish, cries of sorrow
Fill the past and all the morrows
Penance paid but ever owed
And mercy begged but not bestowed
E'er in shadows 'neath the arches
Spectres keep eternal marches
Ever on through darkness wending
Ways and paths which have no ending
Treading light the stones that crumble
'Neath their dread and silent rumble
Through the dim-lit mist of ages
Tread the ghosts of men courageous

Before they could even guess the meaning of the rhyme, the sudden report of iron hitting iron startled them from their reverie. Hinges whined and pintles fretted as the massive gates behind them again began to heave open! Bethany trembled with fear that she had only rendered the creature on the other side unconscious, and that it had revived to follow them through the gates. She wanted to run, but Melissa stayed her with a motion of her hand. As the massive gates swung inwards towards them, Melissa pulled Bethany off to the side so they could stay behind one of the massive doors, letting it hide them from whatever came through. 


They peered around the edge of the gate to see a ghostly banner drifting high in the air as the pole it was flying upon bobbed with the tired hands of a spectral herald. A procession of the dead, fallen warriors from a battle in the world above streamed through the great portal towards their fate in the eternal underworld of Ereshkigal. The insignia of their livery was a representation of Ishtar, which the Akkadians called Innana, but after a short time had passed, they were followed by a far longer line of the defeated souls of the fallen warriors in the service of King Gilgamesh. Melissa-Gala-Tura and Bethany-Kur-Jara could make no sense of the endless columns of the dead, but realized they could disappear in this throng of dead souls to pass unseen through the next gate.

(c) 2008 Bethany Frasier
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 10:33 AM

Mingling with the throng of lost souls, Bethany and Melissa passed unnoticed through the fourth gate. The tide of the deceased flowed ever downwards, until the passage came to a fork. The army of the dead streamed off to the left and disappeared into the darkness beyond. The sound of their feet made an unearthly shuffling sound as they trudged ever onward and downwards. Bethany Kur-Jara, and Melissa Gala-Tura slipped from their midst and beheld the right hand fork. Holding hands tightly, they strained their ears, and heard that same steady beat of the drum, which had been with them since they first approached the entrance to the underworld. 


As they listened, an anguished moaning was also heard arising out of the cavernous entrance to the right-hand track—a moaning filled with pain, sorrow, and with the blackness of utter despair. Bethany whispered to Melissa, "It is Erishkigal. Her despondency will guide us now." 

Melissa smiled, although this was no place to smile. "My love, I feel her too, in my bones and heart. Let us proceed upon this path and fear no evil." Together they walked, hand in hand. Pausing at the entrance, they kissed passionately, always reinforcing the depth of the bond that bound them together as one. Softly, they sang praises to Aphrodite and InannaAphrodite, avatar of Inanna, who herself was Venus, the morning star. They felt her presence always. They lingered for awhile, unable to break from the kisses which lit fires in their loins. 

Eventually, hand in hand, they walked under the torch-lit archway and into the passage beyond. They were surprised to find the ceiling was very low, causing them to stoop as they made their way forward. Burning lamps set in niches every few yards cast an oily glow on the dark walls. The passageway narrowed, allowing no space to walk side-by-side. Bethany led and Melissa followed, gripping Bethany’s hand with intensity. Soon enough, they reached the end of the track, and looked out onto a square room cut from the rock. A large fire was burning in a brazier set in the center of the room. 

Bethany and Melissa began to search the area, using all their senses. Their eyes soon picked out a group of girls, who stood on the far side of the glowing brazier. Light flickered from the jewelled loin cloths on their semi-naked bodies. The glint of gold could be seen around their wrists and ankles. Both Melissa and Bethany were intrigued. The girls were nubile, beautifully formed and all had the most alluring breasts which would tempt any human. As Melissa and Bethany watched, sweet music from an unknown source filled the room. Sweet beyond belief, it was a mixture of lutes and flutes, drums and cymbals playing an intoxicating rhythm. 

The girls began to dance, slowly turning and undulating their magnificent bodies in time to the beat. Their breasts rose and fell, bobbed as they gyrated, moving in circles around one another. They danced a dance of unbelievable sensuality. Their hips swayed with such erotic power, and their shapely legs moved with a grace unknown to mortals. The tallest of the group, placed her hands under her ample breasts, and held them up in the direction of Bethany and Melissa, and then she beckoned them to come forth. Both Bethany and Melissa were spellbound, and found themselves moving towards the group of dancers.
Neither could stop themselves or the other, from what appeared to be a form of sexual enchantment.
 

Melissa and Bethany walked around the brazier, bedazzled by the scent and sight of sexual allure, even while the voices of Gala-Tura and Kur-Jara whispered in their heads to be wary of danger. However, the dance of these sirens was intoxicating. Bethany looked this way and that, as did Melissa. The seven dancing girls surrounded them, forming a circle. They began to move around the girls in a slow dance of pure sexual desire. Melissa's and Bethany’s eyes followed them as the girls moved seductively. They removed their loin cloths, leaving them fully naked. They were irresistible. 

Sweat rolled down their bodies, following the curves between their resplendent breasts, with their fully erect dark nipples. It ran in streams over their bellies and Venus mounds. With their hands, they stroked their sexes, gyrating and teasing the girls. Closer and closer to Bethany and Melissa they came, dipping their fingers into their wet crescent moons. They held their fingers up and licked them. Now within touching distance of the girls, they fell upon Bethany and Melissa. The Leader of the dancers laughed long and loud, as three girls each took hold of Melissa and Bethany. 

As the music rose to a crescendo, Melissa and Bethany were being caressed by three pairs of hands, experienced hands which stroked and delighted their naked skin. Both girls found themselves being kissed on the mouth, while other pairs of hands stroked their now stiff nipples, pulled their full bottom cheeks apart, and fingers slid between their thighs. The girls were being drawn into a web of utter sexual bliss, from which they might never return to complete their task. Bethany felt herself being turned around and bent over. An agile finger slid into her sweet anal opening, while her hair was pulled back and she found herself licking the delicious wet cunt of another dancer. She panted hard as the third girl attending her knelt under her belly and began to slowly tongue her dripping split. 

Melissa was standing upright as one girl fingered her juicy swollen labia. A second girl was behind her, fondling a breast, and pushing three fingers into Melissa’s stretching anus. The third girl concentrated on Melissa’s breasts and Melissa felt herself splash copious amounts of cum from her gaping sex, as it was probed expertly. She felt she was dying of pleasure, and was losing her reason. But the voice of Gala-Tura, immune from sexual temptation, began to force its way into her mind with renewed insistence. ‘You must not let these dancers of Erishkigal possess you, or you will never return to yourself, neither you nor Bethany.' 

Melissa tried to clear her head, while waves of passion consumed her body. She glanced at Bethany, who was being unmercifully ravished, her screams of pleasure mingling with the entrancing music. Melissa noticed a gleam of gold in a corner of the room. She immediately recognized it as Inanna’s ringed hip girdle, which she had had to abandon at the fifth gate. It represented Inanna’s ego. Melissa called out loudly to her lady Aphrodite, "Mighty Goddess, give me your strength!" Her invocation had barely escaped her lips when she began to feel her limbs grow stronger. With a mighty push, Melissa threw off these witches of wanton desire and ran to the corner, pursued by the dancers, who had thrown off their guise and now appeared as the ugly crones they really were. 

Melissa seized the girdle of Inanna and placed it around her body. The crones immediately stopped dead in their movements. Melissa Gala-Tura, cried out, "By the power of Aphrodite, by the magic of Inanna, be gone foul crones, be gone." A howling wind sprang up from nowhere. It whirled through the hall, dust swirled, and filled the hall. When it settled, the hall was empty, apart from Bethany who lay on the cold stone floor, spent from so much sexual excess. Melissa went to her sister, her lover and soul mate, helping her to her feet. Bethany's legs were weak. Melissa bade her sit and rest. She went to a pot she had noticed, and found it contained cool water, no doubt another gift of their divine protectors. 

She sponged down Bethany tenderly and explained how they had nearly fallen into a sexual trap of enticement. Bethany understood only too well. Kur-Jara confirmed it to her. Melissa and Bethany rested awhile, drank the water, and drew strength anew. Melissa noticed a large wooden door on the far side of the hall. She recognized that this was indeed the fifth gate. Taking Bethany once more by the hand, they approached the door. It was open, and no doubt the dancers had not bothered to close it behind them. Kissing Bethany fully on her lips, Melissa gave praise to the great Goddess, and walked through the gap, passing through the fifth gate and into the passage beyond….

(c) 2008: Melissa G
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 7:20 PM

The full moon darkened to blood red as the circle of the world eclipsed its light. In the distance an owl screeched from some hidden perch. The desert night wind carried the moans of Lilith above the shadowy streets of Uruk as she cried out in orgasmic pleasure, but her shrieks were unheard under the shroud of night. The city slept in an unwary peace as the succubus made her rounds, seducing men in their dreams, mounting their hardened phalluses, and stealing their seed for her issue. The handmaiden of Innana was her co-equal as a temptress and had earlier this eve served her mistress' pleasure as they whored through the drinking houses, dragging stupored men to their breasts, and satisfying their carnal lusts. But now, while the goddess slept, her raven-haired servant hungrily attended her own needs and desires. 


The angels had punished Lilith for her rebellion in the Garden, her defiance of Adam as her superior. Her children had paid with their flesh, but the first femme knew survival above all else, and to preserve her existence she had tread the path to darkness. From the eternal abyss was Lilith's deathly gaze now mirrored, and as Innana slept, her clouded dreams warned of betrayal. Innana suspected her servant aspired to become powerful like unto a goddess herself, but she did not know how far the lady in black had already come, or the powers she had obtained, for which she had bartered her soul. It would one day be written that in the reign of Gilgamesh, Lilith had taken up as her abode the hollow trunk of a great tree, in whose uppermost branches perched the screeching anzu bird, and under whose twisted roots lived a great serpent. But what was never revealed in the annals of her myth was the ancient history of this tree, which had once grown tall in what had now become a forgotten corner of the Garden, which Enki, God of Wisdom had prepared for the coming of the first man and the first woman. 

Lilith had known this tree since long before when she had first walked upon the earth, had sheltered under its sweeping canopy, and learned its secrets well. Its roots delved deeply into the earth, reaching down even to the vaults of the underworld, where demons dwell. Long ago, an ancient demon spirit had assumed the form of a serpent and burrowed upward following the circuitous path of the twisted taproot, carving out a dark and sinuous tunnel from the pits of hell to the surface of the earth. Lilith alone knew of this secret passageway to the underworld, for she had descended its turns and done what no other mortal had achieved. She had journeyed to the underworld of Kur and returned to the surface alive, in violation of Ereshkigal's inviolable law. For no one returned from hell.

* * * * * * * * *

Melissa and Bethany stumbled in the darkness beyond the fifth gate, catching their toes clumsily upon the worn and rounded edges of ancient stone. They were tired and scared, having been so completely tricked into giving their bodies to the sexual ravages of the sirens. Though Melissa still wore Innana's ringed hip girdle, they had not yet dressed themselves again, having barely the presence of mind to gather up their gowns and loin cloths where they had dropped to the floor amidst the orgy of beautiful temptresses. The two girls were experienced lovers and had known sexual excess through their young lives, but even they were sore with swollen labia and tender breasts from the groping hands and mouths of the hell-spawn harpies. The two Gala demons within them were overwhelmed by the experience. Neither had known sexual excitement before their merging with Bethany and Melissa, and this initiation had left them totally subdued.

The gloom surrounding them had been intensified by a murky atmosphere of heavy mist in which the low-burning torches spread their light into an eerie red glow, but the droning cries of Ereshkigal had mercifully subsided. Bethany stumbled to her knees and her lover helped her to a seat on something hard and rounded that they could not quite make out in the darkness. 


"Why does the queen of the underworld moan so when I am the one who feels so tired"? Bethany complained. Melissa caressed her partner's soft hair and unfastened the girdle of Innana and wrapped it around Bethany's taut and shapely tummy. 

"This will give you strength my love." Suddenly they sensed another presence and looked up to see the dim outline of another young girl haloed by the atmospheric glow. Fearing another challenge, Bethany and Melissa cautiously took a defensive stance, but the placid young woman did not move.
 

"Do not be afraid," she said, with an Akkadian accent.
 

"Who are you? queried Melissa.
 

"I was the seventh among the dancers who entranced you. But I could cause you no harm, though I was bidden to stop you as were the others. I withdrew when the other six surrounded you both," she said.
 

"How does Ereshkigal know of our coming? We have passed the gates in secret," replied Melissa.
 

"Your temptresses were not sent by Ereshkigal. She is in agony and can harm no one. The power of your mistress' girdle broke the spell of the dark succubus who sent us and she cast them off with the wind, which is hers to control," the soft-voiced girl explained.
 

"Succubus?" asked Bethany.
 

"I knew her not when I bargained my soul to save my brethren in battle, but I had no other way to save my people. She gave me a weapon to destroy the warriors of Gilgamesh who attacked Akkad. But she is vampyr, and took my blood and shared hers with me, infecting my body forever with the demon inside her. She brought me here through the dark earth to complete my transformation, but I escaped her grasp."
 

"But who is she that she can pass in and out of the underworld with impunity?" asked Melissa.
 

"I do not know. She consorts with the serpent that dwells nearby beneath the black roots of an ageless tree which springs forth in the world above. I have seen her instructing the mariliths, the spawn of the serpent, and they scheme against the queen, Innana's sister and have poisoned her throne. That is why Ereshkigal cries out in endless pain."
 

Bethany looked at Melissa, who seemed amazed at the young girl's story, and she also saw admiration in Melissa's glistening eyes for the girl's intentions and strength ...and something more. Bethany reached out and touched the young girl's body, but it was almost ethereal, as a cold wraith. "What is your name?" asked Bethany.
 

"I am Isyra," she replied proudly. "And I desire..."
 

"What?" asked Melissa.
 

"I could not join the other dancers for I knew they intended you harm, and yet I envied them as they touched you, caressed you. In the fire-light you were beautiful and I desired to make love with you both." But as she said this, Bethany could see, even in the shadows, that her gaze was fixed on Melissa. She felt touched by this tortured girl's good heart and knew Melissa felt warmly towards her too.
 

"You can guide us to the sixth gate, Isyra," said Bethany, "But first, let us talk of ...desire."

(c) 2008 Bethany Frasier
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Monday, July 14, 2008 - 10:55 PM

Melissa continued to return the stare of Isyra. She looked the girl up and down; her naked body glowed with a reddish hue in the light from the glowing brazier illuminating the passage way. Melissa noted her fine upstanding breasts, the large nipples standing proud. The girl's hair was long, braids hung down, resting over her shoulders. Her features were delicate; her nose finely proportioned, indicating noble blood, and the large, black almond eyes held a world of lust within them. Melissa continued to look the girl over, noting her firm belly, the prominent mound of Venus, and the dark triangle of lush hair between her thighs. Her legs were shapely, and very much complimented the girl's beauty.
 

Melissa sat down and rested against Bethany. She draped her arm over Bethany’s shoulder, stroking her arm. "Come sit with us, Isyra," Melissa beckoned. The three girls rested against the wall, Melissa draped her other arm around Isyra’s shoulder, and drew the girl close to her. Her skin tingled as she felt Isyra’s skin against her. "Let us rest awhile." The silence now pervading the hall stilled their minds, and presently they drifted into a pleasant sleep, born of the ordeal they had endured. 

After a few hours, all three girls began to stir. Melissa saw that Bethany was still not fully awake. The girl Isyra was awake though. Her dark eyes turned to meet Melissa’s. The desire in them was alive. Melissa was fully aware of the girl’s previous feelings towards her and Bethany; here in the depths of Kur, it seemed to Melissa that the power of Aphrodite was still all pervading. Melissa thought of the Cyprian Queen of love, who was with them always, through time and space. Protecting and restorative, her love was the supreme messenger of the divine Shakti. 

Isyra stood and stretched her nubile limbs. "I will find refreshment," she spoke softly in her Akkadian tongue. She bade Melissa to sit, and Isyra wandered into the shadows. 

Melissa touched her labia. The swelling had subsided now, and she knew
the remarkable powers of their bodies were healing them quickly. Bethany moaned softly as she regained consciousness. "Hello, my love," Melissa whispered into Bethany’s ear, and kissed her softly on her cheek. Bethany looked into Melissa’s eyes with tender love. 


"That was quite an ordeal," she spoke, as she lightly stroked her still swollen sex. "I’m still tender," she complained. 

Melissa kissed Bethany’s lips, "You will heal soon. Your power of restoration is given by Aphrodite. Rest, my love. The girl Isyra has gone to find some sustenance." 

"I am hungry, Melissa." In a little while, Isyra reappeared bearing a basket of food and a flagon of wine. She looked surprised. 

"Your lady provides you with gifts. This basket was laid in the corridor, and such boons do not have a reason to be here in the land of the dead." They greedily fell upon the food, consuming it with relish. Grease dribbled down their chins as they finished the food. They passed around the flagon, slaking their thirst. Melissa knew the wine. It was Cyprian. Its heady bouquet and exquisite taste hallmarked it as coming from Aphrodite’s own vines.
 

Sated, Melissa looked again at the girl Isyra, the one with the blood of the vampire in her. Bethany now was also looking intently at Isyra. Feeling fully restored, she returned to her theme of earlier. "Desire, tell us of your desire." 

The girl smiled seductively. "When the harpies ravaged you, I felt pain, and yet excitement. I knew then that I wanted to share in your love, to be with you. I hated what they were doing, and yet I still rubbed my sex as I watched them. Your bodies filled me with a lustful longing which I yearned to fulfill, for I have need of love. For so long I have waited for love, here in the dark corners of my mind, in the recesses of Kur. And now you are here." Melissa said nothing. She looked at Bethany, and without a word being spoken, Bethany nodded and smiled. Melissa understood, in their unique way, bonded as they were for eternity. 

"Come here, Isyra," Melissa said, and with her fingers, motioned the girl to stand. Melissa looked into those dark eyes, which seemed to glitter with stars. She reached out and brushed Isyra’s hair back, leaned into her, and kissed the girl on her full lips. Isyra returned the kiss with a forceful thrust of her body, clasping Melissa tightly against her own. Their breasts crushed together with a furious passion. Isyra, rolled her hips, and pressed her prominent mound upon Melissa’s. Melissa gasped between kisses; this girl was on fire with lust. She gripped Melissa’s head, as her kisses became ever fiercer. 

Bethany looked on with approval. Both she and Melissa were very capable of sharing their love, but nobody could ever part them, and this made them generous with their gifts. Aphrodite had taught them well. Isyra had sunk her teeth into Melissa’s neck, but she didn’t draw blood. Her hands played over Melissa’s soft skin, making her moan in delight. Melissa reached down and slid her fingers expertly along Isyra’s moist sex, causing the girl to groan in turn. 

Melissa continued to stroke her partner's swelling labia, which were wet and greasy with sap. She easily pushed her fingers deep inside Isyra’s sex, as Isyra began to ride Melissa’s fingers. She arched her back as Melissa probed her deeply. The sticky sap coated Melissa’s palm as it ran from Isyra like a stream. She felt Isyra’s nails rake her spine, but she felt only slight pain, such was the lust sweeping away all before it. Bowing her head, Melissa took one of Isyra’s nipples into mouth, sucking hard to make it erect. The girl splashed a surge of orgasmic juice over Melissa’s rapidly moving hand. 

As the girl writhed under Melissa’s spell, Bethany rose to her feet. She stood behind Isyra and kissed her neck. Bethany’s hands parted Isyra’s buttocks, firm and delightfully well-rounded. Bethany knew the girl was lost to them; she was in the throes of a love few could ever hope to experience. Licking one of her fingers, Bethany pushed firmly inside Isyra’s anus, making the girl stagger against Melissa’s continued fingering. Leaning over Isyra’s shoulder, Melissa kissed Bethany’s lips, as they squeezed Isyra between them. 

Feeling their legs beginning to give way, the girls gently lowered Isyra to the floor. Melissa spread Isyra’s thighs wide and lay between them, licking the girl’s swollen labia, and pushing her tongue inside her. Isyra could not speak; she moaned and called out in a primal ecstatic gargling sound. Her cum pooled under her buttocks. Meanwhile, Bethany sat astride the girl's face and lowered her still sensitive sex onto Isyra’s lips. Bethany came quickly, her sap showering the girls finely featured face. 

Melissa looked up and smiled at them both, Melissa’s face shone with a coating of sweet juices which reflected the dull light. "Well, now we have had our desire, without wasting too many words, do you agree, Bethany?" 

Bethany grinned in return, "Yes, my love. I believe actions have spoken louder than words." They lay on either side of the exhausted Isyra, and Isyra thanked them both for the love they shared with her, for liberating her, for even though her blood was tainted with that of the Vampire, her heart was pure.
 

Melissa rested. Their shared love had given Bethany and Melissa new power, and strength pulsed through their bodies. Iysra too was feeling exhilarated now, satisfied beyond imagination, her lust sated. Melissa drew more wine from the flagon and peered into the darkness beyond the light from the brazier. She knew tribulations lay ahead. Bethany read Melissa’s mind and they exchanged knowing looks. Isyra would be with them for the rest of the journey, to reach Inanna’s rotting corpse, and with the help of Gala-Tura and Kur-Jara, resurrect the Goddess from her deathly prison. Both Melissa and Bethany became aware of the Gala’s renewed presence. The Galas, having absorbed an incredible amount of sexual energy, knew something totally alien had been imbued into these sexless spirits.


Melissa took Bethany’s hand. Bethany, having shared the last of the wine with Isyra also took Iysra’s hand, and they strode forward along the passageway. Somewhere ahead lay the Sixth gateway. Melissa heard a voice inside her head, 'Beware of Lilithu, beware Lamashtu….'

(c) 2008: Melissa G

Posted by Sapphic Tales on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - 7:34 PM

The requiem drums continued to sound for Innana like the beating of her impassioned heart, now stilled in death. They echoed in the minds of Bethany and Melissa as they walked with Isyra through the twi-lit chambers of the underworld towards the sixth gate. The ominous warnings of Gala-tura lingered in Melissa's mind as she searched the darkness ahead of them. Lamashtu and Lilithu. Melissa remembered that Lilithu was the Sumerian name of Innana's hand-maiden, and wondered at the strangeness of this warning against a beautiful temple priestess, and yet the dangers they had faced by the siren temptresses at the last gate assured Melissa that feminine wiles were perhaps their greatest weakness. Beauty and passion had lured these two girls to each others' side, and the pagan goddesses of love had drawn their abilities and devotion to their service, but would passion protect them here in the underworld where love was lost. Heartless were the demons that dwelt here. Lamashtu was hell-spawn, a spirit of darkness which rose at night to the world above, murdering children in their cribs. Melissa had heard the name from ancient lore, but she and Bethany walked now into its very lair.

A chill shivered through Melissa's exposed flesh as the two names echoed in her mind. She reached into the depths of her memories, searching the boundaries of her subconscious for a way in, for a clue to what the warnings in her mind forebode. As Bethany and Isyra walked hand-in-hand along side her, she became unmindful of her footfalls and let her companions lead her body through the endless chambers of the underworld while her mind drifted along a separate path back to the world above. She was not asleep. She was not awake, but a soft voice was speaking to her while soothing hands caressed the curves of her full breasts, anointing her skin with scented oils and balms of cedar. 


She sensed the presence of Bethany, her lover through the ages, lying next to her and was comforted by that too. The voice though was speaking to her through the veil of her subconscious, and while the words streamed into her mind she attended only to the beauty and familiarity of the voice. Ninshubur massaged Melissa's breasts with loving tenderness as she whispered softly but insistently into her ear the tale she had to tell...the story she needed these two unconscious emissaries to understand before they embarked on their perilous journey to the underworld, as hell-demons stirred restlessly inside of them.

Innana's minister too had listened as her goddess carefully instructed her how to proceed in the coming days, for the goddess' life depended on Ninshubur obeying her commands faithfully. Innana had grown suspicious of her hand-maiden Lilith, whose devotion seemed feigned of late. Lilith, she had learned, had dark designs and dreams of power for herself, and as informants loyal to the love goddess had watched, the raven-haired vixen had even transformed before their eyes, sprouting dark wings in the night and lifting into the black skies over Uruk. Innana knew this could only mean that Lilith already consorted with evil forces, allying her plans with those of the spirits of the underworld. Innana took thought of her sister-god Ereshkigal, and knew Lilith must have designs on her realm as well.

The throne upon which Innana wielded her earthly power with her lapis lazuli rod and measuring line in her grasp was ceremonial in nature, for the goddess of love entertained more often in her tapestried bed chamber than in her throne room, but of late she had sensed a subtle change in the aura of the temple throne. She grew less and less comfortable receiving supplicants from that chair and found herself avoiding it altogether. Even Ninshubur had noticed the change.
 

"What of Lilith, my mistress?" she had queried, knowing that Innana must already have conceived a plan to deal with her dark-minded hand-maiden.
 

"My sister Ereshkigal must be warned that Lilith deals secretly in her world below, but I must determine if my worst fears are true. I suspect Lilith has cast a spell upon my throne. I sense her darkness when I grow near it, and more. When she was true to me and we shared our bodies and our passion, I learned to feel her aura, even after she had left me to sleep. My dreams were filled with her essence. I know her. I must journey down to Kur upon a quiet errand to Ereshkigal. I must learn the truth, and warn my sister. If I sense the darkness of Lilith upon the throne of my sister-god, I will know she has betrayed us both!"
 

"But how will you announce your purpose, my mistress? The underworld is sovereign to your sister, and she rules Kur jealously!" warned Ninshubur.
 


"She has lost her husband Gud-gal-ana to the wildman Enkidu, and I will go to mourn him. It was I after all who sent him to punish King Gilgamesh for spurning me. I did not intend to bring death upon my sister's husband, but I will go to drink with my sister the libation of his rites." Innana explained. "I will come before my sister, though she will be wary and suspect my purpose, but to learn whether Lilith has poisoned her throne too, I must sit upon it. Only then can I pass judgment upon Lilith, but I fear the Anuna will also pass judgment upon me. My life will then be imperiled, and you Ninshubur I entreat to act on my behalf to bring rescue if after three days I do not return."

The Goddess Innana then carefully instructed her minister on the protocols of her mission to rescue her from death, ending with the beating of the drums in requiem, which would intone for days in the ears of all her worshipers to keep the life of their goddess always in their minds and hearts. The beating of the drums... Melissa's and Bethany's minds were mesmerized by the booming cadence endlessly accompanying Ninshubur's instructions until they disappeared into their subconcious minds, and only the drumbeats remained, booming...booming

"The drums grow louder again, my love," Bethany said, startling Melissa from her far-off reverie. Melissa concurred absently as she tried to recall what had called her attention from her companions. 


Isyra looked at each of them curiously as her head turned from one side to the other, and then inquired: "Drums? I do not he..." Suddenly an icy wind cut through them, nearly pulling their hands apart as their long hair whipped behind them. Bethany struggled to keep her footing as Isyra dropped to the stone floor and Melissa turned to keep her back to the icy blast. "What's happening?" she cried!

 The screech of anzu birds carried in the chill wind and their deafening call drove the girls' hands to cover their ears. Without warning, the wind changed direction and swept them forward. Bethany and Melissa turned to grab hold of Isyra, but were carried beyond reach of her by the relentless force of the gale. They tumbled and rolled as errant gusts caught them at unawares. Their own tresses lashed at their eyes and stung their ears and necks until they were on the ground rolling over and over in tears. The wind died suddenly, leaving them dazed and lying in clumsy heaps upon the stone flags. Shaking their hair out of their faces, they looked up and beheld a sight that froze their souls.

"Melissa! Where are we?" Beth whispered. Dangling in twisted tendrils from the upper vaults of the enormous chamber there hung dark, slithering roots of some incalculably ancient tree. From over the edge of a craggy precipice where the floor disappeared only a few feet ahead of them, slender tongues of flame rose, flickering their light through the tangled mass of tree roots and casting a latticework of shadows upon the far-off walls. From the corners of their vision Melissa and Bethany were startled by movement, but were relieved when they saw it was only Isyra treading up between them from out of the gloom. 


"Isyra, we thought..." but suddenly their young companion grabbed them both by their hair and with surprising strength dragged them both to the edge of the chasm. Bethany twisted and shot a furious gaze up at Isyra but was met with a vacant stare out of lifeless eyes that had once seduced them with their beauty. The absence of any life or trace of a soul behind those eyes horrified Bethany and she began to struggle from Isyra's grip, but the vampyr released her hold upon their tresses and they slumped to the floor again.

The glow of flames rising from the open canyon at their feet became noticeably brighter and the girls felt the heat warming their exposed skin. The echoing roar of fire soon filled their ears as the expanse before them filled with an inferno. The tangled curtain of roots suspended above them began parting ahead of the rising firestorm and both girls had to duck as gnarled, viney fingers brushed past their heads. Suddenly, the slimy vines encompassed them, wrapping under their armpits and pulling them into the air with their legs dangling helplessly. Bethany felt her arms and legs being wrapped in the slithery tendrils and soon she couldn't move any part of her body. She saw her lover several yards away in the same predicament. The heat of the fiery abyss below them rose about them and they were soon drenched in sweat.

Below them, the form of Isyra stood upon the precipice unchanged, but as Melissa watched in bewilderment, her body began to move in un-natural ways, assuming inhuman poses as if something inside her struggled to shake itself free of her, shedding her body as a discarded skin. A spectral mist coalesced around her, growing in size and defining in shape until the young girl's body collapsed to the floor beneath it. Bethany and Melissa could not tell whether Isyra was dead or unconscious but grieved at the sight of their friend's prostrate body, and struggled against their bonds uselessly. The dark figure now standing above Isyra's prone form was the raven-haired seductress Lilithu. She looked up at Bethany and Melissa and smiled.

"You seek the daughter of the moon, my lovely sisters. You have found her."
 

"Never!" cried Melissa. "You cannot claim that lineage which belongs to our mistress, Innana."
 

"And where is your mistress now? Her corpse hangs from a hook at the pleasure of her own sister, who will soon be dead as well. Can you not hear her moans of agony?"
 

"You are a traitor, Lilith!" accused Bethany. "Innana showed you only love and you betrayed her. Our friend lies at your feet and it was you who enslaved her to your evil will and tainted her blood with death!"
 

"She will live forever," contradicted Lilith, "Unlike your beloved mistress. This one belongs to me now."
 

"You cannot long hold her to your will, for her heart is still pure. We have seen it. Nor can you take what is Innana's," said Melissa.
 

"But I already have," gloated Lilith, as she drew out Innana's Lapis measuring rod and line and held it forth. Melissa's and Bethany's hearts sank as they began to realize their quest had fallen to ruin.

"Do your allies here in the underworld know you will betray them too?" asked Bethany.
 

"I am wed to my ally," replied Lilithu. "There are princes of darkness who were cast into the underworld long before Enki gave the rule of Kur to Ereshkigal. When the pantheon of Sumer is but a memory and the names of Enki and Innana are all but forgotten, my husband Samael will remain to rule in hell and I will rule upon the earth. Adam could not subjugate me, nor God and his Seraphim. They poisoned my womb, but I shall bear with Samael a worldful of demons and the line of Lilithu will rule."

Melissa shuddered at the soulless plans of Lilithu and great sorrow filled her voice. "And where is love and beauty? Where are the things Innana taught to the world? Even Lilith once shared those things with our goddess."
 

"Innana was born a goddess," said Lilithu. "I was born the first woman. She never felt man's wrath at her disobedience, nor God's punishment for her rebellion. If men were fair, we would be deemed their equals. If I were empowered, I would not need to take power. I would not need to become a demon to ascend." She then assumed a fearsome stature and changed shape before their astonished eyes. What she became was a nightmare. Bethany and Melissa looked down and beheld Lamashtu.

Rising from taloned bird-like feet, the abomination held forth double-headed asps in each hand. Its long fingers tipped with sharply pointed claws. Lion-headed, but with donkey's ears and teeth, the demon looked up at the two trapped girls. From out of nowhere black wings spread, lifting this horror from the ground and rising it up to face Bethany's struggling body. Without a word it released the snakes which quickly slithered around her legs and up her thighs. 


"Bethany!" screamed Melissa, but Bethany was petrified with terror as the snakes paused below her venus mound, constricting tightly around her upper thighs. Bethany struggled in vain to shake them from their grip on her but they suddenly turned and bit down on each side of her outer labia, pulling her open. As Bethany gasped, the demon reached forward and touched her, drawing the length of its curved claw back-handedly down her exposed clitoris, sending chilled goosebumps across the surface of her skin in waves. She clenched her jaws and threw back her head in disgust as her most intimate organ was laid vulnerably open and violated. 

She felt the tip of the claw pass over her hood and penetrate her gaping slit. She could not open her eyes to face her assailant as the talon slid deep and turned inside of her, probing towards her womb as if searching for something. She felt it linger for a moment inside her, then winced in pain as it was torn out of her in surprise. The demon shrieked and slashed its claws across her stomach, leaving parallel trails of seeping blood. 

"NO!" screamed Melissa, as she helplessly watched her lover being cruelly tortured. The demon Lamashtu turned and snorted at Melissa's tears, quickly turning its attention back to Bethany. While the snakes still held open her vagina, the demon spread the claws of its thumb and longest finger above Bethany's clitoral hood and with a wicked snap, closed them harshly together, piercing her tender skin. Bethany screamed in agony and Melissa could only thrash against her bonds, screaming with her in tears. 

Bethany fell limp in shock as the creature's mouth opened over her sex and sucked the blood streaming out of her open wound. Then, after slaking its bloodthirst, the demon drew forth from some hidden cache a fine chain with an open ring at one end and drew it around her neck to pull her to attention. Bethany opened her tear-filled eyes to face the horrid creature and it dangled the chain before her eyes with a hiss. The chain was then pulled around her slender waist and the open link was pinched closed upon another link several inches from the other end of the chain. 

A glistening black ring then appeared in the palm of Lamashtu's hand. The demon lifted the ring, staring her in the eyes and spoke the incantation: "INSABATU KANASU" and with a flash, the demon slapped it hard against Bethany's wounded sex. Bethany looked down at herself in horror as the ring now passed through the hole torn through her clitoral hood and was linked to the end of the chain dangling from her tummy. She winced, throwing her head sideways, knowing this rape of her body was permanent. She seethed anger at the demon as it collected its serpents from her thighs and turned to Melissa.

"Bethany!" cried Melissa, but Bethany slumped in pain, her long hair veiling her face. "You are Lamashtu! Killer of babies and children. Why do you interest yourself in us?" Melissa demanded of the demon, expecting no answer. Melissa wore the ringed hip girdle of Innana and was thankful for its protection, but the demon looked up and down her lithe body and snarled. Its clawed hand shot out and seized Melissa by the throat and began choking the life from her. She sputtered, unable to breathe, and as she struggled to free her arms from the entangling roots, weakness overcame her. As she began to lose consciousness, she thought she saw over the shoulder of her assassin a fleeting streamer of movement, the lunge of a tawny lioness leaping across the chasm towards the back of the hell-demon, and then all before her eyes went black.

When she awoke, the fires below her had receded into the pit and she no longer felt its blistering heat. Bethany was nowhere in sight, nor was Lamashtu. The twisted roots about her body supported her but they no longer held her in their grip, and she slid her arms and legs out of their spirals and climbed down the spiderweb of vines to the floor below. Isyra too was rousing from her sleep and Melissa helped her sit up. They brushed the hair from each others faces and Isyra smudged off some of the dirt on Melissa's skin left by her contact with the black roots. They smiled at each other briefly but looked around furtively for any signs of Bethany. They began walking around the perimeter of the great pit, peering down over the edge occasionally, looking for any signs of their friend's disappearance.

Finally, Melissa spied a lone figure lying on a narrow ledge several yards below the heights of the abyss. She carefully climbed down the rocks and recognized her companion's long flowing hair draped across her back. "Bethany!" cried Melissa as she closed the distance and dropped to her side. Fearing what she would find, she rolled Bethany over onto her back and gasped at her wounds and torn skin. But beside her, where she had been covering it with her body a moment before, lay the Lapis Lazuli measuring rod and line of their goddess Innana. Melissa quickly uncoiled the cord, and while holding the end in her grip she called up to Isyra: "Catch the rod as I throw it up to you!" As Isyra waited to pull upon the cord, Melissa knelt beside Bethany and began to sing softly.

Where are the stars in the night far above
Now dimmed by the glow of our Goddess of Love
Let the light of the moon, Innana the fair
Send our sister back by your gentle care
May your powers to heal by the touch of your grace
Bring strength to her limbs and light to her face
Through my loving heart say the words I may sing
To stir her soul and let her life take wing
"Emuq epesu ebebu"

With those words, Bethany slowly opened her eyes and beheld her lover and smiled. Melissa leaned forward and kissed her softly as she caressed her cheek. 


"Come, my love. Can you climb?" Together, they looped the cord around them and climbed back to the top with Isyra's help. She returned the amulet of Innana's earthly power to Bethany and together they ran towards the sixth gate not far ahead. Melissa suddenly heard her lips speaking the Sumerian incantation: "ATI ME PETA BABKA." Bethany touched the shimmering jeweled rod to the heavy doors and they gave way before them, opening towards the next passage.

"Finally, we're through!" said Melissa.

(c) 2008 Bethany Frasier
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 12:02 AM

Exiting the sixth gate, they found themselves in an eerie corridor. The wailing of Erishkigel was quite loud; it resonated along the passageway and echoed across the walls. It seemed to merge with the sound of the drumbeat mimicking the beat of Inanna’s now still heart, making an ethereal sound so laden with pain and anguish, which seeped into the heads of the three girls, and ran through the core of their bodies. The Gala spirits were attuned to respond to Erishkigel’s wailing pain, and they mitigated the affect of her heart-rending agony on Bethany and Melissa’s psyche. 


Isyra seemed to feel nothing at all, and the blood of Lilith which pulsed through her veins, appeared to render her immune to suffering, and yet, enough of her own blood remained to enable her to assert her true self at times of crisis. Melissa looked carefully at her and knew that when their mission was complete, Isyra would also be liberated from Lilith’s 'gift' of poisoned blood. Their latest tribulation had ended. The girls decided to rest. All three sat with their naked backs against the great gateway. 

Bethany winced; her torn flesh still pained her. Melissa bade her to lie on her back and spread her long and sensuous legs wide apart. Melissa still carried the small bag of Lapis dust around her slim waist. Melissa looked with concern at Bethany’s ripped and shredded skin, from which drops of blood oozed. Isyra looked wide-eyed at the blood, but had enough control not to want to feed upon it. Melissa took a sprinkling of dust; she called out loudly in the gloom for the blessings of mighty Aphrodite, and cast the powder over the wounds. 

She remembered her own back, how Pezzuzi’s whip had slashed and stripped her skin, and trembled again. Melissa looked lovingly on Bethany, and allowed the dust to fall gently onto the wounds. Bethany sighed, her voice a murmur, a whisper as the magic Lapis dust began immediately to heal her wounds. Melissa thanked the great Goddess, and watched in wonder as Bethany’s skin wondrously became whole again. 

"My love, your beautiful vulva is healed. Your clitoris is whole again." Bethany lay back, not yet daring to touch her sex. The memory of the horror of the demon’s vicious violation of her sacred sexual flower was still all too fresh in her mind. "Lay still, my precious darling," Melissa cooed to her lover. She bid Isyra to stand, "Look with me a little way down this corridor. The Goddess will have seen to our needs and left us a gift." Isrya smiled her delightful warmness. 

Lilith’s blood had temporarily lost control of the girl. Together they ventured a little way down the passageway and came across another flagon standing against the dank wall. Melissa smiled knowingly and said to Isyra, "The Goddess is always here for us, and her gifts appear when we need them. The mighty one cannot enter Kur, but by means only she knows, she provides." 

‘Your mistress is truly the Mother," she said reverently.

"She is your Mother too, and she will tell us how to free you from your curse when the time is right. We do not question her ways. We accept her wisdom in all matters." 

Melissa glanced ahead, it was difficult to see into the gloom, but she knew they would not pass into the Hall of Erishkigel without a great danger yet ahead. Melissa took Isyra by the hand and they returned to Bethany. Bethany lay still, her hands resting on her head, her magnificent breasts upright. Melissa once again admired Bethany’s nipples, and thought lovingly of all the times she had enjoyed them against her lips, filling her mouth, and how desire overcame her. 

"My love," spoke Melissa. "The Goddess, our Mistresses has provided." 

Bethany smiled up at Melissa, "Sweetest girl, I am free of pain." 

Melissa leaned over Bethany, and pulling the stopper from the flagon, chanted, "With this libation, in the names of Aphrodite and Inanna, I purify Bethany from the vile rape of her vagina. Grant she is purified before you." Melissa poured out the viscous liquid and watched as it trickled the length of Bethany’s sex. 

Bethany sang a song in praise of her sex, "My vulva, the blessed vessel of the full moon, the comely horn of the new moon, purified it will be." 

Melissa sang softly with her, "Your vulva is moist. I, Melissa, servant of the Goddess in her holy name, say your vulva is moist. Let your chosen lover place her hand on your vulva." 

Bethany guided Melissa’s hand to her sex. Melissa massaged the libation into Bethany’s vulva, and Melissa took great care, softly rubbing the liquid into her soft flesh. She stroked Bethany's clitoris , smoothed the heavy herbal infused wine along the length of Bethany’s shining sex. Bethany allowed herself to gasp in delight, for no one had fingers as practiced as Melissa's, so skilled was she in the art of love. Melissa finally eased her oily fingers inside Bethany, who gripped Melissa tightly as she climaxed, pouring forth her sweet juices. Sitting astride Bethany, Melissa removed her fingers, and praising the Goddess, slowly licked Bethany’s nectar from them. 

Bethany sighed deeply, healed and purified. She was enraptured as she was once again unified with her lover. Melissa asked Bethany how she felt, smiling a salacious grin. Bethany could only reply,"I am whole again." 

"Here," said Melissa, "drink from the flagon, for it will give us new strength while we repose before we face whatever lays ahead." Bethany drank from the flagon, and felt the strange brew warm her belly. Her blood pulsed in her veins. Melissa took her turn to drink, and passed the flagon on to Isyra, who watched with wide eyes the magic Melissa worked on Bethany. "Come, let us huddle together, for there is a chill in here." The three girls embraced and slept for awhile. The shared heat from their bodies warmed them through.
 

Melissa woke after a few hours repose to the ever present sound of the drum. Erishkigel’s wailing had subsided to low, soft groaning which seemed to float along the corridors' narrow confines. Melissa rubbed her eyes. Apart from those sounds, there was an eerie stillness about the passageway. It felt to Melissa like the tomb it was. She gently shook Bethany awake; Bethany yawned, and stretched her limbs. Neither of the girls had any concept of time. All that had been lost once they’d passed through the First Gate. Melissa kissed her gently on her lips. 

"Welcome, sweet one. We have rested well, for how long I do not know, for time does not mean anything in Kur." Bethany returned Melissa’s kiss, and sighed. 

"That is true, my love. How many hours and days have passed since we began this hellish journey, I do not know." 

"It is not our concern," replied Melissa, "for the Goddess is not concerned over trivialities." Melissa and Bethany turned to look at the still sleeping Isyra, and both expressed admiration of her finely honed body, her proud breasts with their dark nipples. Her flat belly only served to emphasize her large mound, and beneath, her fine, dark bushy triangle. The neat lips of her sex peeped between the silken mats of her hair.
 

Bethany exchanged a knowing look with Melissa as she leaned over Isyra and drew her nipple into her mouth. Melissa allowed her hand to slide over Isrya’s mound, then let her fingers stroke Isrya’s lips, which began to swell under Melissa’s deft touch. Isyra stirred, but did not yet wake up. Melissa used her fingers to open Isyra’s vulva. She relished the sweet, oily liquid coating her eager fingers. 

Bethany continued to suck Isyra’s nipple, while her hand playfully caressed Isyra’s other breast. The girl turned, a smile radiating across her beautiful face. Her lips opened and she murmured softly as if she was enjoying an erotic dream. Melissa withdrew her oiled fingers and offered them to Bethany, who took them into her mouth, and Melissa shook as she felt Bethany’s tongue suck her fingers. Bethany's eyes danced with delight as she looked into Melissa’s. Love radiated between them like a magnetic force. Melissa leaned forward and kissed Bethany, savouring her taste mixed with Isyra’s juices. 

"Time we awakened our companion, I believe," said Melissa. Bethany nodded her agreement and they gently prodded Isyra until the girl's eyes opened. She saw nothing but pure love looking back at her. 

"Here, young friend," said Bethany, "Drink of the gift of the Goddess." Isyra took the flagon and drank the magical elixir, its heady fragrance fully awakening her senses. 

Isyra said softly, "I had this dream, that I was being made love to while I slept." She stopped suddenly and smiled softly, "It was no dream. It was you two!" Melissa and Bethany laughed. Even in this place of darkness, of seemingly no hope, they retained their exuberance. 

"Yes," they said, "The more love we give to you, the weaker Lilith’s poison becomes."


Melissa made tighter her leather cord from which the lapis bag hung. She adjusted the breechcloth of Inanna, representing the sexual aspect of the Goddess. She rose to her feet, Bethany rose with her, and then Isyra. Both Bethany and Isyra were fully naked, having lost any vestige of clothing in the previous encounters with the forces of Darkness. Melissa looked ahead. It was quite dark, and the only light being emitted was from a series of small oil lamps, set in niches. 


Melissa strained her eyes and could make out that the corridor took a turn to the right. She also noted the corridor narrowed considerably. Taking the lead, she took Bethany’s hand, who in turn took the girl Isyra’s hand. "Come, it is time to move on," Melissa said. Bethany held the three together as Melissa led them forward, walking boldly to the beat of the ever-present drum, and the whispering moans of Erishkigel. They moved as one ahead into the gloom.
 

Reaching the turn, Melissa slowed down and bade Bethany and Isyra to stop. Melissa put her back to the cold wall and eased herself around the bend in the corridor. She found herself in a natural cavern, in which a pool of water glimmered from the light cast by hundreds of burning torches set high in the walls. The cavern appeared almost bright. At the far end, Melissa could see a huge and magnificent gate made of Bronze, from which many Jewels sparkled. The Glint of the Gold was everywhere, embellishing the gate. 

Melissa knew this was the seventh and final gateway of Kur, beyond which lay the hall and throne room of Erishkigel. Their goal was in sight, but Melissa instinctively knew this seemingly empty cavern was filled with immense dangers. And yet, cross this space they must. She turned around and went back to tell Bethany what was ahead. 

Bethany mused, "Well Melissa, as you say, we have to face the danger. We do not know what lurks in the shadowy corners, but we have no choice." Melissa agreed. This was why they were here. 

The girls gave Isyra the choice of crossing with them, or remaining where she was until they returned for her. Isyra chose to accompany them, saying, "By the grace of your love for me, I am saved from an existence cursed by the Goddess. I will come with you." Melissa reminded her that she was not yet wholly free from Lilith’s curse, and that she may still be overcome by the poison in her blood.
 

Melissa stepped out of the corridor, just ten feet inside the cavern, Bethany on her right hand side, Isyra on the left. They held hands and looked in all directions, but nothing could be seen, and Melissa hesitated again. 

"Oh, come Melissa," chided Bethany, her nakedness glowing in the torchlight, breasts strong and firm, her strong thighs glowing in the flickering light. "Let’s go and see what hell has in store for us." Bethany tugged Melissa’s hand, as Melissa gave her that look only lovers fully understood, and they moved forward quickly. 

They had gone no further than five yards when an evil wind gust whipped up out of nowhere. It howled around them, blowing their hair back. Its cold blast caused them to shiver. The wind swirled around the pool in a twisting circle forming a shape, which coalesced into a form. Melissa, Bethany, and Isyra gripped hands ever tighter. Melissa and Bethany called on Aphrodite, and the Galas within. 

Gala-Tura, and Kur-Jara responded by awakening their psychic powers, imbuing the girls with their gifts. The mist swirled ever higher, then descended, the wind howling from it as it spun around and around. Finally it came to the floor of the cavern, and formed an apparition, a luminous spectre of a woman with long coal-black hair. The voice of the Galas whispered inside Melissa's and Bethany’s heads...."Beware the Edimmu!"
 

The apparition slowly assumed a corporeal form, that of a woman of great beauty, dressed in a long purple gown, trimmed with gold. Her opulent breasts strained against the silken fabric. Melissa and Bethany held the gaze of the creature. For what seemed endless moments, they continued to stare at each other across the space between them. Then, the Edimmu threw back its head and screeched a horrible cat-like wail, its loudness filled the cavern with bouncing echoes and its high-pitched screech seared the brains of Melissa and Bethany like red hot needles. 

Gala-Tura and Kur-Jara were prepared, and operating from within, they nullified the effect of the shrieking banshee. Isyra, however, was clearly in pain, and Bethany made her place her hands over her ears. The Edimmu lowered its head, its long tresses of raven black hair swayed back and forth. The creature was clearly surprised that the girls were still standing. It appeared to glower with pure hate in their direction. 

The Edimmu were succubi, demonic phantom-like entities which feed not off blood, but off the life-force of their victims. Melissa and Bethany, though, were not terrified, for terror from its victims was food for this insane creature. Isyra had regained her composure, being held tightly by Bethany. Melissa waited for the undead thing to unleash its force against them. They didn’t have to wait long. The creature sucked in air and blew a gust of evil breath against them. 

Like a magnetic net, it wrapped around the girls. It sought to overcome their minds and suck the life out of them. The Galas, however, had prepared a psychic barrier which shielded both Melissa and Bethany. Isyra was not so fortunate. While the poison of Lilith which still ran through her blood was an antidote, in as much as the creature could not take that part of Lilith within her, it did not prevent her from being wrenched from Bethany’s grip and dragged across the floor by the sheer psychic power of the entity. 

Isyra’s breasts and body were torn as she scraped the cavern floor with her naked body. Bloodied and weakened, she lay at the monster's feet. The Edimmu would torment its victim. Melissa and Bethany sensed it was going to use Isyra to make them vulnerable to its psychic attack. It meant to render them emotionally open to its power. 

The Edimmu took a firm grip on Isyra’s hair and hauled her over to a post standing on the far side of the pool. Holding the girl up with one arm, it quickly produced leather ties and bound Isyra’s hands. It looped the ties through a metal hoop, and let Isyra hang there, suspended by her arms. Melissa's and Bethany’s impulse was to charge the creature and fall upon it in just anger. Yet they could not. Their psychic field and the creature's psychic power repelled one another, holding each other in check for now.
 

The Edimmu screeched and made a long, drawn-out hissing sound. Isyra moaned as she hung from her pole. Her naked body was gleaming with moisture mixed with blood running from her cuts and grazes. The ethereal monster turned to the girl and scraped a sharp nail down Isyra’s chest down to her mound. It raised a thin red cut which bled. Isyra screamed and twisted but she was tightly tied, and it only increased her pain. 

The Edimmu turned and looked at the Girls. Both Melissa and Bethany hated what was happening but they could not drop their guard and allow their emotions to flood their brains. The Galas maintained their emotionless state. The female Edimmu made a second attack on Isyra. It clutched Isyra’s sex, and ran its talon-like nail over her labia, causing Isyra to scream even louder. Her howls of agony echoed around the cavern, reverberating off the walls. Blood began to run down the inside of her thighs. Her cries were pitiful and filled both Melissa and Bethany with horror. 

"By our lady, Melissa," cried Bethany, "Do something. I cannot stand this much longer." Melissa grimaced, and called on Aphrodite to assist. The creature was relishing its torment of Isyra. Its eyes glowed like red coals. As it ripped Isyra’s thigh from just inside her groin to her knee, crimson blood spurted out and pooled on the floor. "Oh, lady of heaven," cried Bethany. 

Sensing that Bethany's resolve was weakening, Melissa called again to the Goddess. "Give me guidance, our Lady." The answer was swift in arriving. Melissa did not even know how the words emerged from her lips, but she called out in a loud voice, "Akhkhura, Barra, Edin Na Zu, Anna Harrani Sa Alaktasa La Tarat." 

Isyra was howling in great pain as the Edimmu slashed her across her belly, making a deep cut from which a profusion of warm, thick, dark red blood oozed. Melissa’s words penetrated the monster's psychic barrier and it turned furiously to face them. Melissa called out again. The words rang out loud and clear, the power of the Goddess within them.

"The Demon that seizeth man
The Demon that seizeth man
The GIGIM who worketh Evil
The Spawn of the wicked Demon
SPIRIT OF THE SKY, REMEMBER!
SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, REMEMBER!
He who forges images
He who casts spells
The Evil Angel
The Evil Eye
The Evil Mouth
The Evil Tongue
The Evil Lip
The Most Perfect Sorcery
SPIRIT OF THE SKY, REMEMBER!
SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, REMEMBER!
NINNKIGAL, Spouse of NINNAZU
May she cause him to turn his face toward the place where she is!
May the wicked Demons depart!
May they seize one another's bones!
SPIRIT OF THE SKY, REMEMBER!
SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, REMEMBER!"
 

With these words, the apparition staggered back several paces, tore its own hair, and fell to its knees. Before their eyes, it began to disintegrate, collapse and crumble into dust. A wind sprang up, and blew the remnants of the evil Edimmu past Bethany and Melissa and into the corridor behind them. Both Melissa and Bethany rushed forward to the torn and bloodied Isyra. Tenderly, they released her from her bonds and lowered her to the floor. Isyra had by now fainted from shock. Bethany was very concerned, "Melissa, can the poor girl be saved?"

Melissa looked at Isyra’s body, ripped and torn, and knew there was not enough Lapis powder left to heal the girl. It was then that the voice inside her head spoke to her directly. Melissa beckoned Bethany, "The Goddess has given me the way of healing. Come, help carry the girl to the waters of the pool." 


Together they carried the wreck of Isyra to the pool. Melissa instructed Bethany to lower Isyra into the water, that the Goddess had instructed her do this. Gently, they placed Isyra into the pool. The water was shallow, and they set to work softly using their hands to cleanse Isyra’s wounds. They worked lovingly, all the time singing softly. Soon enough, Isyra stirred, as her senses returned to her, and by the power of the Goddess, her body was magically healed. Both Bethany and Melissa gave due praise to their mistress. Isyra smiled at them with tender eyes, from which tears ran down her cheeks. Isyra had regained enough strength and with the help of the girls, she left the water, and laid down to rest.
 

Happy that Isyra was recovered, Melissa said, "Bethany, the girl has lost much blood. She will be weak. But Lilith’s power is furthered weakened by Isyra’s loss of blood. Let her rest while we approach this final gateway." 

The girls walked to the great jeweled door, through which the beat of the insistent drumbeat could be heard. Beyond lay Inanna, and the dread presence of Erishkigel. Melissa considered how they may pass. She removed Inanna’s breech cloth, her symbol of her sexuality, and standing fully naked apart from the sliver of leather which secured the pouch of Lapis to her slender waist, she looked over the door.
 

Set in the center of the right hand door, a strange protrusion was clearly visible; it appeared to be a golden phallus, which doubled as a pulling handle. Melissa knew now that the surrender of her breech cloth meant the surrender of her sex, to be penetrated by this Golden Phallus, that would then unlock the door. She called Bethany over, "You must caress my sweet vulva, and moisten me, my love, for we have to offer up the gift of sex to pass through." 

"My lover, my precious one, it is done," replied Bethany. She knelt between Melissa’s open thighs and gorged herself on Melissa’s ever increasing wetness, sucking and licking furiously. She felt her mouth fill with Melissa’s sweet wine. Her hands gripped Melissa’s firm buttocks, and rocked Melissa as her tongue brought her exquisite joy. Melissa’s orgasm soaked Bethany’s face, and Bethany felt so alive again after the recent horrors. 

Melissa asked for Bethany’s assistance as she turned away from the door. With Bethany’s guidance, she backed onto the golden phallus, allowing it to penetrate her to its full length, its thick girth filled and stretched her wide open. Bethany, her hands on Melissa’s shoulders, pushed Melissa back and forth on the Golden Rod. Bethany was in rapturous wonder as Melissa’s wet sex slid effortlessly on the Gold Rod, shining with Melissa’s juice. As she approached orgasm, the door began to open, just a little at first. Melissa knew her oncoming climax would open it enough to allow them to slip through. "Quick, Bethany. Go and bring Isyra. The time is almost upon us. Erishkigel and Lillith await…

(c)2008: Melissa G
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 9:28 AM

Bethany pulled Isyra to her feet, and with her arm around her they splashed bare-footed through the shallow water at the edge of the dark pool and raced for the final gate. They could see Melissa ahead of them, writhing feverishly as her head swayed from side to side. Isyra feared Melissa was possessed by some final bewitchment at the end of their journey, but Bethany only urged her on faster as a sliver of light split the two shimmering doors ahead of them. 


Melissa's hands were over her head grasping two jewels set in golden bands embossed upon the great door. From these, she was pulling her slender, well-turned body up and down the golden phallus which ran with her juices. Her feet were off the floor, pushing against the upper edge of the door sweep as she plunged herself down, again and again upon the gate-key for which her own body served as the lock. As they neared the enormous portal, Bethany gathered up Innana's hip-girdle from the floor and shouted the words, "SARRAT IRKALLI, PETA BABKAMA LURUBA ANAKU!" The great doors slowly swung open and Isyra and Bethany gently lifted their exhausted friend from the phallus-key and helped her regain her footing as they slipped between the gates to the illuminated chamber beyond.
 

After being long-accustomed to the gloom of the passageways between the gates, their eyes were suddenly assailed by the light of a thousand torches receding down an enormous corridor of pointed-arch vaults, their light reflected brilliantly from a polished floor of black marble. They knew by the formality of this hallway that they had reached the antechamber of the Queen of the Underworld and the echoing groans of the queen herself confirmed their propinquity to the conclusion of their journey. 

Melissa suddenly folded forward from the arms of Bethany and Isyra and slipped to her knees. She was still in the throes of ecstasy from her climaxes upon the gate-key. Its mystical properties had heightened her arousal to such a level that Isyra and Bethany were also overcome by desire for her. They unburdened themselves of the flasks and satchels strung about their waists and laid down the amulets of Innana's power they had regathered along their descent. They kneeled before Melissa, who already flowed like a fountain for their thirsty lips. 

Bethany's heart raced as she kissed her lover's warm lips while Isyra caressed Melissa's soft, full breasts, taking her hardened nipple between her lips and tongue. Melissa responded by cupping her hands between the legs of her two beautiful companions and sliding her fingers into their wet folds. Soon, Ereshkigal's moans were drowned by those of the three young girls writhing together at the foot of the seventh gate. Isyra and Bethany wedged themselves between Melissa's widened thighs, taking turns tasting the copious stream flowing from her swollen, silky vulva. They alternated their attentions licking her inner thighs of the juices that had poured from her while she had been impaled upon the gate phallus. Melissa's final orgasm was so exquisite her partners held onto her legs to keep her from thrashing so wildly that she might injure herself. 

While Melissa was laying back gasping to recover her breath and composure, Bethany and Isyra pleasured themselves upon each others aroused sex as they sat squirming their pelvic rings together in a tribadist embrace. Melissa propped herself up on her elbows and watched with fascination as her two friends climaxed together. The shiny black floor beneath their rounded bottoms glistened with a pool of the girls' sweet nectar and their bodies were slick with each others juices, but all the anxiety of the task ahead was forgotten in this moment of total pleasure and release. The love this trio felt for one another was the only emotion contained in this enormous chamber. Even the gala demons within Bethany and Melissa had learned to partake in the pleasures of their surrogates, though they themselves were devoid of gender.

After the moment had been thoroughly enjoyed, Isyra looked about them for something with which to dry their wet thighs. Nothing they had carried with them seemed adequate to the task, but Isyra cast her gaze farther afield and spied a crumpled cloth lying on the floor in the corner where the great gate was supported on its hinges. She slid a foot underneath herself and pushed up to see what it was when Bethany suddenly began to be troubled by the shadow of foreboding. Isyra was nearly upon the unidentified remnant when Bethany sensed the approach of the being she feared most. It was a trap! 


"Isyra, stop!" she shrieked, but as Melissa and Bethany leaped to their feet, a flash of light appeared in the corner out of which stepped a hideous apparition. Isyra turned to run but it was too late. Lamashtu grabbed her arm and pulled her into the vortex of wind and fire from which it had emerged. 

"KI-AG BELUM BAPHOMET! PETA ABANASKUPPATU! TARU!" the beast cried, and in a crash of thunder the mystical portal clapped shut with the demon and Isyra both gone in an instant. Melissa began to run towards the spot from which they disappeared but collapsed sobbing as Bethany ran to her side. Bethany sank to the floor in tears as they both realized the enormity of their loss, for Lilith had taken from them the most precious thing they had found on their bleak journey through the underworld. They cried in each others arms for what seemed an eternity, until they were wrung out and exhausted, and completely demoralized.

Bethany finally rose and absently walked to the corner to identify the bait Lilith had used to ensnare their friend. Stooping down she held up the disheveled cloth and shook it out. "My God, Melissa. Look! It is Innana's pala dress! The last thing she surrendered as she passed through the seventh gate."
 


"We now have all seven of her symbols of power except the crown turban, which remains outside the first gate," said Melissa. They pondered a rescue attempt, but knew of no way to even begin. Melissa wondered if Lilith would use Isyra as a shield, her trump card to stop them from reaching Ereshkigal. They resolved to press on and hope for an opportunity later to find their friend. Melissa tied Innana's hip girdle around her torso while Bethany slipped on her pala dress. They collected the food and water of life which Lord Enki had given them to revive their goddess and padded lightly down the final corridor to the throne room from which Ereshkigal's plaintiff moans could still be heard.

In a dark, torch-lit vault Isyra watched helplessly as her captors locked her wrists and ankles in heavy bronze chains. Lamashtu had transformed itself into Lilith again and she and her hell-prince husband Samael spoke in a language she could not understand. Their sharp tones suggested that they were in disagreement however, and Isyra wondered if her fate was the issue. She pulled uselessly at her bonds and thought feverishly for a way out of her predicament. Lilith seemed to have prevailed at the end of their discussion and hurriedly took her leave as Isyra felt the creep of dread at being left alone in shackles with this creature of darkness who had long ago seduced Eve herself and brought ruin to the human race. 


She wondered how Lilith had brought her here, what magicks she had invoked and whether the incantation she had used could be repeated to whisk her out of this place and dissolve her from these chains. The words were Sumerian and she understood all but one which she could not at the moment recall. She knew she had new powers since Lilith had mixed her blood with her own, and as a vampire she felt stronger than she had as a mere mortal, but she knew also that even if she were unchained she was no match for this satanic lord. She hoped that if she could repeat the complete incantation Lilith had used she could escape, but knew not where she would materialize. She decided that anywhere would be better than here. 

Baphomet! She suddenly remembered the mysterious name Lilith had used. She ordered the words of the spell in her mind so as not to make a mistake and chanted them quickly as Lilith had, so Samael would have no time to silence her. The air stirred and the weight of her chains lessened but Samael wheeled instantly and pointed a clawed finger at her shouting: "KALU"! The spell collapsed and Isyra slumped down again under the renewed weight of her chains and closed her eyes to seal in her tears. The serpent-demon closed in on her, staring at her fiercely. In an unexpectedly mellifluous voice he inquired: "What was that you said, my dear"?

In the great throne room of Ereshkigal, Lilith stood before the Queen of the Underworld and entreated for the release of the body of the goddess Innana, her former mistress. The Anuna, the seven judges of hell looked upon their suffering queen with pity and wished she would grant Lilith's request and rid herself of this sorrowful reminder of the sister who attempted to seize her throne and usurp her power.
 

"Oh great one, I see how your heart is sick with the betrayal by your younger sister, she who has enjoyed the light and love of the living world where you cannot dwell. Lord Enki has given you but this dark place to rule while your fair sister he gifts with the vast surface of the world above as her kingdom. And in her vanity, your sister seeks to come where the living may not pass and take this realm as her own also. This injustice has weighed heavily upon you, mistress, and the sorrow for the mortal judgment of the Anuna, condemning her to death has torn your heart also. Innana was my queen and my lover. I ask for her remains so that she may be given the rites she once deserved. Her minister Ninshubur has sent me to pay my respects to the Queen of Kur, and beg of you the release of our goddess's mortal shell."

"LIAR!" shouted Melissa. As the Anuna turned their fierce gaze upon the two new intruders, Melissa and Bethany stepped before Lilith and begged the queen's audience.
 

"Great one, your sufferings have been rendered unto you by the treachery of this pretender who has long deceived you without your knowledge!" cried Melissa.
 

But Lilith interjected, "Great Ereshkigal, can you not see your own gala demons with whom these two have joined themselves to trespass into your realm in secrecy? Why would they use such trickery and deceit to pass through your seven gates unseen if it were not your very throne they sought? Where is Neti? Where is your door-warden to guard the way? They have bewitched him at your outer gate, leaving the halls of Ganzer undefended, and they would use their charms to deceive you also." 

The black lady smiled and watched the queen twist uneasily with her sharp gaze fixed upon Bethany and Melissa. Pain and doubt gripped Ereshkigal as the girls feared a cruel decision which would deliver them to the same fate as their lady Innana. The Anuna watched also and were prepared to render judgment at a signal from the queen. Melissa and Bethany joined hands. "Now, Melissa! It may be our last chance," whispered Bethany. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath.

Together, the girls summoned all the powers of the six amulets of their goddess and cast a counter-spell to reveal the poisonous enchantment Lilith had placed upon the throne of the queen. But Lilith quickly parried their spell, invoking the name of the darkest of her demon-lords: "Baphomet, my liege and my love, come forth and take the kingdom I have arranged for thee. Together we shall rule hell and earth!" The air stirred from a tense calm into a frenzied whirlwind as a portal opened, unfolding from the darkness beyond the underworld. But instead of Baphomet, another prince of the netherworld appeared before them in a flash of flame, and with him stood a beautiful young girl. 


"Isyra!" exclaimed Melissa, and the girls quickly moved to pull their young friend out of the line of fire. Lilith trembled and looked around for a way to flee from the wrath of her husband Samael, Dark Prince of the Abyss to whom her treachery had now been revealed. His aspect was terrifying, part man, part serpent and consumed in flame and rage.

"So, Lilithu, you would deceive the deceiver, kill the queen, plight your troth to two dark lords to invoke their powers and divide Kur in twain," said the fell prince. "Adam could not have known his good fortune when you fled the Garden." Lilith cringed and knew not whether her death would come from the judges of the Anuna or from her betrayed husband, but didn't wait to find the answer. She drew up a fierce wind and took wing upon the gale as Samael turned in relentless pursuit. As the astonished assemblage shrank back from the storm, Lilith, with the wrath of hell behind her, flew out of the Hall of Ereshkigal and disappeared down the vaulted corridor beyond the throne room as the smoke trailed out the great hall after them.

Silence filled the throne room for several moments as all eyes peered beyond the threshold through the receding vapors. Melissa and Bethany smiled quizzically at Isyra, who shrugged. "I may have mentioned to him that Lilith called upon Baphomet to open the portal when she abducted me." 


They gave her a hug and turned to Ereshkigal who was now reclining upon her throne, still suffering Lilith's spell. They re-intoned her laments for her heart, her back and her liver, and offered her their sympathies. They told her of Lilith's plot to poison the thrones of both her and her sister to gain power over both worlds, and summoned the powers of the six divine amulets of their goddess to remove the fell enchantment from her throne and purify her body. 

"Lilith's taint is the poison of her demon blood, which through her magic has poisoned your own, as it has our friend's," said Melissa. Ereshkigal's pain began to diminish as did her fierce demeanor, and she began to show warmth and gratitude to the three girls and asked of them their names. But as Enki had instructed, Melissa and Bethany revealed only the names of Gala-Tura and Kur-Jara as their own. The queen offered them generous gifts of grain and water as Enki had foretold, but they declined, asking only for the body of their goddess Innana. The queen acceded to their request and the corpse of their goddess was carefully lowered from the wall.

Isyra kneeled with them as Melissa and Bethany drew forth the water of life and sprinkled it upon Innana. Her deathly pallor slowly disappeared from her cool flesh and they placed into her mouth the food of life Enki had also sent. Her skin warmed to their caresses and their mistress miraculously awoke. She smiled at Melissa and Bethany, lifting her hand to their faces and a fleeting look of recognition momentarily crossed her countenance, but the girls pulled her to her feet and she saw her sister leaning forward upon her throne. 


"Welcome back, young sister," Ereshkigal said to Innana. "The moon returns to the night sky once again." 

Innana looked at Melissa and Bethany and said, "You have done me great honor and your praises will be sung in ages to come. Your lives will be bound with mine. I see in you a fire which burns brighter even than my faithful minister Ninshubur, who has sent you to me." She walked to her sister and bowed and while Bethany and Melissa wondered what was next for them, Innana and Ereshkigal spoke privately to one another.

As Innana took her leave of the queen of Kur, Bethany and Melissa surrendered to her the six divine powers which they had recovered for her along their journey. They adorned her with her lapis jewels and dressed her perfect body with her ringed hip girdle and pala dress, leaving them naked once again. Innana admired their physical beauty as she had their spirit. The lapis lazuli stones they had worn upon their right breasts though, she gave to Ereshkigal as a parting gift. As she turned to leave however, the judges of the Anuna required an exchange for her right to depart the underworld. They surrounded her with a picket of galla demons to serve as her escort on the condition that they returned with one who she would choose as her replacement in hell, for a balance must be preserved.

Melissa and Bethany approached the queen and asked, "Highness, what of Isyra? She was brought to your world against her will by Lilith. Can she not depart again with our lady's retinue?" 


Ereshkigal looked closely upon Isyra, thinking deeply upon the matter. The girls were about to despair her fate when she replied, "Isyra has suffered much at the hand of Lilith, but so have we all. The scales of life and death between the world above and the underworld must ever be in balance, but she has also saved my throne and my life. I owe her a debt. Here is my offer. Isyra's blood has been tainted with the demon blood of Lilith. I would have Lilith pay for her crimes upon me, even if Samael finds his own justice with her. That part of your blood which is Lilith will I keep here in the underworld, thus binding her forever to this realm. You will be cleansed of her poison, but her vampyr curse will remain within you forever, for that was a bargain you signed with your blood. 

"You may leave my realm upon this condition: that you pursue Lilith to the ends of the earth if necessary, find her, and send her back to me. This will be your destiny, even if it takes an eternity. Immortal you may be, but if you give up this quest, you will be returned to me to serve in her stead." Isyra nodded her assent, and turned to kiss Melissa and Bethany. 

"Innana," said Ereshkigal, "Teach her the ways of love, for she will need these pleasures to counter the sadness of her quest." 

Isyra looked at Melissa and Bethany with profound love in her eyes and said, "My friends have already taught me so much!" 

Bethany and Melissa held her close and bade their farewells. Melissa whispered, "We will find each other again, if you desire!"

Innana walked back and took Isyra to her side. She turned to Bethany and Melissa and said: "You worry not for yourselves but only for your friend. You are worthy acolytes indeed, and will ever remain my favorites as priestesses of my temple, but you will not be serving me as my emissaries to Kur, for love is lost here. You are needed elsewhere. The galla spirits within you are your ransom to the queen and the Anuna. They will stay to serve Ereshkigal as you have served me. Bid them farewell! Thanks to you, I live again. You have been hearing the beat of my heart while my heart was stilled. The drums of my requiem have filled your minds since you were brought here. Once I remove that cadence from you, nothing more will hold you to this world or to this time. Go with my immortal gratitude. We will meet again. Take each other by the hand. Mighty Enki, let the drums stop!"

Bethany and Melissa took each other by the hands and pulled themselves close together in a tight embrace as the last drumbeat echoed away in their ears. Silence filled the minds of Melissa and Bethany for the first time since they had awakened in Ninshubur's care. They felt the galla demons within them depart, and they felt a part of themselves being torn from them as well. They fell through a maelstrom and sensed no tangibility to their physical bodies or the dark world they had grown accustomed to. They felt only each others touch, which they clung to for their very lives. As darkness closed around them, they were only aware of the warmth of each others bodies and the chill wind upon their invisible skin. And then they dreamed.

Aphrodite kissed them both as they awoke, and sat together with them upon their bed of soft mosses. The Golden Goddess brushed their brows and asked if they had enjoyed a restful sleep. 


"Morpheus' voice is very soothing, but the dreams he inspires can be quite vivid," she said softly. "I hope you dreamed of pleasant journeys." 

Melissa and Bethany looked up into her soft eyes and said simply, "We dreamed of you." 

They smiled and jumped to their feet, and the soft grass felt good under their bare feet, which in their minds had too long walked only upon hard stone. Overhead in the dawning sky, the barest sliver of the new moon appeared through the silhouetted canopy. They danced in a circle around the goddess, who admired their naked beauty, and she joined hands with them, pulling herself from the center, dancing with them as equals. 

"Perhaps Calliope will visit you today, Bethany. Or have you no more poems to sing for me?"

"I will think of something m'lady," replied Bethany.

(c) 2008 Bethany Frasier
Posted by Sapphic Tales on Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 2:17 AM