Amphitheater of Doom

Deftly, Adi unbuttoned the muslin blouse. The ivory white tops to the hillocks of her breasts appeared, restrained behind the woman's tight corset. Adi was convinced that nothing in a western woman's wardrobe, not even the ridiculous bustle was as absurd as the corset. "What is the point of donning something that restricts your breathing?" she asked the trim woman before her, knowing full well that she would not receive an answer. It was all the more confounding, as it was obvious that this woman had absolutely no need of one. The only thing Adi liked about the garment was how it held the woman's modest sized breasts. "But then again, a bit of cloth can have the same effect." she thought to herself as she worked the petticoat off over the blonde head.

At least the bustle was relatively easy to remove. Adi took a step backward. The beautiful blonde woman was clad now in just her corset, stockings, garter, and high-topped shoes. Adi admired the view for some moments before she knelt before the woman and unbuttoned the shoes with the tool designed for that very purpose. The woman lost some height, standing now in just her stocking feet.

Adi embraced the woman and instructed her drug-clouded mind to kiss her passionately. A few seconds later, Adi was savoring the sweetness and softness of the American woman's carmine lips. Fear of discovery by the Master, however, caused Adi to soon break away and dart behind the woman to perform the laborious task of unlacing the corset she wore.

At last, Adi was able to remove the accursed corset. The beautiful blonde woman had two of the finest breasts Adi had ever encountered. Nearly perfectly symmetrical, they complemented her slim form spectacularly. Adi noted the sweet flaring of the woman's form at the breasts and the hips, like a sculpture of a goddess. Her flat tummy was surmounted with an enticing navel and the thin wisps of thatch on her sex shared the same golden hue as the hair on her head. Adi allowed her hands to explore the fine body on display before her for a length of time. She tweaked the nipples in the light brown areolas, delighting as they puckered under her touch. Carefully, Adi's left hand probed the blonde opening to the woman's sex. The blonde woman uttered a soft moan. Adi withdrew her fingers and waved them under her nose, savoring the foreigner's aroma.

Only now did she unfasten the garter belt and slowly roll each stocking off its finely turned leg. All the woman owned now was her jewelry. Adi pried the earrings from the woman's lobes, removed her jeweled necklace, and lastly, as always, slid off the woman's attractive wedding band and diamond. Now, the beautiful blonde foreigner was a naked as the day she was born. Adi paced about the woman a few times, committing her lithe form to memory from a variety of angles. Steering her over to a divan, Adi compelled the woman to sit. Adi gazed first at the blonde woman and then at the ebony haired woman frozen in place not far away. The beautiful petite Indian lass realized that she still had much work to do.

"I'm sorry, dark-haired one," said Adi almost apologetically, "but you will have to wait for a moment or two more" Then Adi hefted the bin full of clothing and made her way to the incinerator.

III

It was blisteringly hot. It was dispiritingly hot. Mike's black temper matched that of the weather. It had taken the better part of a week for the trio to make it this far. Michael cursed every foot of India as he traversed it. The Himalayas had gone from invisible to smudges on the horizon to oppressive presences. Doctor Chandra's information had been good, as far as it went. What the good doctor could not know, what no map could really show him, was just how remote this section of India was. Oh, there was an ancient road, which was surprisingly smooth but hostile natives impeded their progress.

As inspector Croft explained the situation, "I'm afraid the grip of Empire is not as firm here as the Crown would like. These people have seen the coming and going of Alexander The Great, Genghis Khan, and the Mongols, they see the Empire as just another impediment they must endure and outlast."

"Spare me the history lesson!" Said Michael in exasperation. "By this time, who knows what has happened to Ruth and Esther? God damn the Master and God damn this foul country!"

Inspector Croft next said in what he hoped was a calming tone, "We are close, lad. I hate to further rile your mood, but if I were you I would be preparing for the worst. We are essentially at the very edge of the world. Perhaps NONE of us will return to even tell our story. If we do not find anything in the next day or two, I am abandoning this quest and returning to my desk in Calcutta, with or without you!"

Denton, his body soaked in sweat replied with, "I'll go with you, Inspector."

"You disgust me, Denton, doesn't Esther mean anything to you?"

"Esther is more valuable to me than you can ever imagine, chum, but take a good look around, I daresay the surface of the moon is more hospitable. Esther would not want me to forfeit my life on a wild goose chase. As much as it pains me to say, I think the inspector is correct. I have a life to return to and Esther is probably already dead."

Mike's mouth fell open in horror, "What did Esther ever see in you?"

Mike was about to thrust his fist into the chin of his brother-in-law when the inspector interrupted them both. "Gents! Take a look at that rock outcropping!"

The three men stared, there on a rocky tor, was carved the same pattern of stars as appeared on the octagonal badge discovered in Calcutta which had fueled their quest. Instantly the three men revived and the heat lost much of its oppressiveness.

IV

After the two newcomers were fed and bathed, Adi clad them in short leather skirts and matching, brief halters. Not that they needed any attire at all, it was just that the Master had particular tastes. At the appointed hour, warning bells chimed. Adi prepared for the entrance of the Master.

He never failed to impress. Nearly seven feet tall and muscular, he appeared to be simultaneously every race and no race. Depending on the lighting, or the way he held himself, the master could seem to be fair skinned or dark skinned or any intervening pigment. Neither Adi nor any other living person knew the age of the Master. He seemed ageless as well as race less. What Adi DID know was that he was the wisest, most powerful man she had ever met, and the most profound lover.

So wondrous and giving was the man, that Adi ached to be taken by him. The Master would only consent to lie with her if Adi performed her assigned tasks exceptionally well. One night with the Master was like a lifetime with a dozen virile Adonis'. Yet, Adi knew it was not the power she loved as much as he loved the man. In quiet moments, when he was not ruling the world, he was a man of gentle humor and supreme good will. He was also capable of immense cruelties. He could snuff out lives in an instant on the other side of the globe, he could make sane men mad, and he could send armies to attack each other on a whim. Adi knew that the Master could have any woman on the planet as his lover, yet he was quite content with a simple Indian girl such as herself. It was difficult to not feel pride at being so chosen.

The Master abhorred pride in self. His training had been wide-ranging and phenomenally deep . No language or skill was beyond his abilities. It was said that the master had trained with Merlin himself and that during the Middle Ages he had transmuted lead to gold for all of the crowned heads of Europe. Some claimed he was Nostradamus himself. Still other claimed that the Master had been born on some other world, under alien stars, an impossibly long time ago. Adi did not know what to believe, what she DID know was that the Master could do things no other man could do. His potions, such as the ones he used on his sacrificial women were unlike those used by any physician on the globe. Ingredients came from the four corners of the earth and the Master and a few of his adepts mixed them together in his private laboratory. The Master also had mechanical skills the world would pay handsomely for. There was the tiny power generator which filled his lair with light and ran everything from the water pumps to the incinerator. The Master's wisdom would fill every library on earth a dozen times over.

Presently his handsome form strode into the room. Adi met him in a kneeling position and waited to be recognized.

"Rise my dove." said the Master in a mellifluous voice.

Adi rose and met his penetrating gaze.

"Have the final two sacrifices been prepared, my love?"

"Yes, Master. Come, see."

Adi led the Master to where Ruth and Esther stood. The Master's eyes appreciated the view. Both women had fine long legs, modest yet alluring busts, and trim figures. Adi had combed their long hair, a ceremonial braid in each coif.

"Excellent, you have done well, my dove."

The Master produced a small device and pushed a button. A short time later, one of the Master's scarlet-clad disciples entered the room toting a cart of electronic devices. He bowed to the master and presented the cart. The Master hoisted what looked like a metal bowl with wires attached and placed it upon the brunette's head. A mild hum filled the room.

"Watch now, dove as I give her a new personality, fluency in a language she has never heard before and memories of a life she has never lived. Between the sheets, she will be insatiable and astoundingly adventurous. Once I initiate her, she becomes a new person."

Adi imagined herself as the recipient of the Master's treatment. To not recall, his magical lovemaking, to lose one's soul ... The Master read the girl's expression.

"Have no fear my sweet, Adi. At least for the next several days, you will not be at the receiving end of this device. In fact," he continued as he winked, "I shall summon you to my bed chambers tonight."

"Oh, Master!" gushed Adi and she knelt once more.

V

Michael, Denton, and Inspector Croft discerned more embossed rock faces. Each was separated by five miles of rugged terrain, then the most peculiar sight of all appeared. The trio of men found themselves gazing into a valley. Entering the valley from the opposite direction was a paved road. Parked in the valley was a large number of motor cars and carriages. An immensity of mountain jutted up from the bottom of the valley and at the bottom of the mountain what appeared to be a cave entrance with scarlet-clad guards patrolling the opening.

"JUST WHO is this Master, fellow?" uttered Michael in an awed tone.

"I think we are about to find out." answered Denton in an equally awed voice.

After more than an hour's scouting, the three men discerned a route to the floor of the valley. As carefully and as unobtrusively as possible the tree men began to make their way towards destiny.

VI

After finishing with Esther, the Master subjected Ruth to the same treatment. After the Master completed the erasure of the blonde woman's mind, Adi watched as the Master's assistant wheeled the device away.

"The blonde one will be especially fun to initiate."

"If you say so, Master."

"Is that a tinge of jealousy I sense, dove?"

Adi's expression froze. The Master laughed.

"Sweet little, Adi. You are the only one I care about at the present. I've tried harems, they are not for me. Do not take it personally, dove. I MUST initiate these women. Firstly, an orgasm is the trigger for the processes. Secondly, the men to whom I am gifting these women, need to understand that they, like all of the other blessings in their world, come directly from my hand. I will gift them perfect brides, just like I gift them permission to breathe. Tribute is as old as mankind. By offering tribute, I buy more protection and more allies. Were the world to turn on me, even with my considerable skills, I could not hold them off forever. None of these women will be unhappy, I have just divined a different destiny for them. Further, pomp and circumstance is what these men are all about." The Master paused, graced Adi with an appreciative leer and stated, "Now I require a kiss, dove."

All that Adi was aware of for the longest time after that was the overpowering kisses of the Master.

VII

A moonless night had fallen by the time Michael, Denton, and Inspector Croft had completed their descent to the valley. Because it would have impeded their progress, the three men had left their equipment and mules behind. They had taken their rifle and pistols. On the way down, Michael had crafted a grandiose escape plan.

"After we liberate the girls, we steal one of these cars and scurry down this road. The road HAS to end at civilization."

"That assumes," replied the inspector, "that a, we can get in, b that we can find the girls and c that we can get out again. Somehow I doubt that the Master's men are unarmed."

"Have you a better plan?" rejoined Michael.

"No, lad. It is a wonderful night to die."

"I think you are being overly optimistic, Inspector." added Denton laconically.

Using the parked vehicles to shield themselves from the view of the scarlet-clad guards, Michael, Denton, and Inspector Croft arrived at the mouth of the cave. At what seemed to be a changing of the guard, Michael crept forward. He was just about to signal the others to follow when he felt a heavy object crash down upon his skull, stars appeared for a millisecond before darkness closed in all about him.

When Michael came to, the fact that he was bound and gagged was no surprise. That his brother-in-law Denton and Inspector Croft were not similarly restrained WAS a surprise. Then Michael's eyes took in more of his surroundings. At first, he thought he was in some other universe. The three of them were inside an enormous lighted amphitheater carved out of the living rock of the mountain. Below him, neatly arraigned in tiers, were hundreds of men. Michael was positive that he recognized some of the faces from newspapers and magazines. On the floor of the chamber, under intense light stood a tremendous stone altar, a stone throne on which sat a huge man with a dark cast to his skin and a dozen naked women. Michael's eyes caught sight of Ruth and next to her Esther. He tried to cry out to them but his gag permitted only a muffled whimper.

"Ah you are awake, lad," stated Inspector Croft. "I was afraid you might miss the festivities."

"You played the game marvelously, Inspector." said Denton coolly.

"Thank you, that means so much coming from an Eton man."

Croft smiled at Michael and said, "Ye Gads, these Yanks are thick. He STILL doesn't get it. Why don't you enlighten your former brother-in-law, Mr. Whitemarsh?"

"Delighted, Inspector." Denton faced Michael. "This is all your doing, Mike. Had you listened to Doctor Chandra, you could have resumed your life, but you had to go rushing off like a madman, so here we are. Some time ago, one of the Master's representatives came to me with an interesting offer. He knew that my finances were going to hell in a hand basket. Part of it was bad luck, part of it was improper speculation on my part. In any event, the Master's man explained how my problems could just go away and that I could start again with a considerable nest egg. And all I had to do was to make Esther available for this ceremony. I'll have you know that I greatly increased my remuneration by pointing out how desirable Esther's sister Ruth is. The only fly in the ointment was YOU! Why do you think I asked the two of you to join me on vacation in Calcutta? It certainly was not because I cared for your company. It was far easier to arrange an abduction in India itself. The inspector and I thought you might be difficult to deal with so we decided to humor you, to a point."

At this point, the inspector interjected, "The Master has promised me a positively delectable bride at next year's ceremony as well as the position I have always coveted, chief inspector over the entire sub-continent. The Master does very well by his own."

Michael's eyes teared up, their scales gone. He had been played for a fool ever since he had set foot in India, probably even before then! He noted that the men on the ledge with him, (How could he ever have considered them friends?) were focused on the events on the floor of the stone amphitheater. Dejectedly, Michael turned to watch as well.

The huge man on the throne had to be the Master. He addressed the crowd in a series of languages. Michael discerned Latin, French, German, and a bunch he had never heard before at last, the huge man finished in English.

"You are my people and you have done well. Those who are not gifted with brides tonight, do not grieve or mourn, the Master is still pleased with you. Have you not received my many blessings?"

The crowd exploded in cheers, Denton and Croft among them.

"These men have exceeded even the considerable things I asked of them. Seek them out, they should be examples to all of you. Perhaps next year, you too shall be the recipient of such a fine gift."

The man stood and his scarlet robe fluttered to the floor at the foot of the altar. He was quite naked beneath it. The man's physique reminded Mike of Michelangelo's David, except that David was not equipped with a penis the size of a small tree. Michael felt sick as he realized just how this ceremony was to end. The Master waved at a beautiful flame-haired woman and she strode directly to the altar without a moment's hesitation. The Master lashed the beautiful woman spreadeagled to the stone altar.

At the Master's nod, a middle-aged man in a tuxedo stepped into a circle of light at the foot of the throne. Michael had the vague sense that he recognized the man. He was either a U.S. Senator or some big deal publisher, but Mike was not sure. His thoughts were soon elsewhere. The Master began stroking the body of the beautiful red-haired woman. His hands and mouth caressed her sex. Before much time had passed, she was moaning and panting with ecstasy. While she was aroused, the Master mounted her. His huge manhood seemed to enter her with no resistance at all. Michael felt his gorge rising as he witnessed the Master's muscular ass pistoning back and forth. The Master came and the woman issued a string of syllables that matched no earthly language. In a moment, the woman was smiling broadly, contentedly as the naked priest of the strange cult released her from the altar.

The woman rose to her feet, caught sight of the man in the tuxedo. Upon seeing him, the woman rushed over to him, shouted "Darling!" and threw herself into his arms. The man graced the gorgeous woman with a lingering kiss while the crowd roared and clapped in appreciation. Together, the new couple made their exit from the floor of the arena.

Michael fought for breath as each subsequent "bride" was lashed to the altar, sexually stimulated and mounted by the Master and then given to men the Master had selected to receive his largess. Aside from a stunning Chinese woman and the most beautiful black woman Michael had ever seen, all of the other women were white. Their skin tones varied from porcelain to light tan and every hair color. Michael realized that Ruth was as beautiful or more beautiful as any of them.

The girls seemed to be paired off depending upon when they were abducted. Michael thought his heart would beat its way out of his chest when he spied his sister-in-law striding towards the altar. Michael had always thought his bride's sister quite beautiful. He had, from time to time, despite himself, wondered exactly what Esther looked like under her acres of clothes. Now he knew. Esther's body was quite reminiscent of Ruth's, both had spectacular long legs, intoxicating breasts, flaring hips and flat toned tummy's. The chief difference was that Esther was a bit taller and her pubis thickly and darkly carpeted. Michael caught himself assessing his sister-in-law's assets and felt like retching.