The Blood Ring of Tytus: A Masters of the Universe Adventure

VIII - An Unholy Offering

VIII

AN UNHOLY OFFERING

ALL had been blackness and silence to the Warrior Goddess for a span of time unknowable, for indeed, time itself had become imperceptible. Oblivion ruled and all notions of time, space, self and other had been stripped away as totally as gossamer strands in a gale.

But now that blackness melted slowly into hazy grayness. And before very long, the hazy grayness gave way to a confused blur of soft colors that played nebulously before Teela's bleary eyes.

Not long after becoming aware of these things, Teela became aware of being aware. It was this that spurred her attempt to get to her feet and identify the environs.

That, however, proved impossible. Some sense of spatial orientation returned to Teela, as the reason for her limbs' obstinate refusal to obey her will soon became apparent. She was in a supine position, with her arms stretched up over her head and both hands fastened with leather straps to a stanchion of some kind. Her legs had likewise been made immobile, leather thongs holding her ankles fast to unseen posts, splaying her legs immodestly. She lay on a hard, smooth surface that felt not unlike glass. And as the feel of that unyielding substance pressed coldly against the whole of her body, Teela's face flushed with the encroaching realization the she was as naked as a newborn babe.

Teela's skin burned hot with rage as she recalled the rude treatment she had received at the hands of Mer-Man just before she lost consciousness. The repulsive submariner was, no doubt, skulking nearby, preparing some evil fate for the helpless Warrior Goddess.

Restraining her unconscious body in so ignominious a manner was bad enough, but in divesting Teela of her clothing, the Ocean Warlord had gone too far. Teela would make the villainous wretch suffer for that indignity, even if she had naught but her teeth to use to mete out his deserts.

She craned her neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the enemy, but her restraints severely limited her ability to take in her surroundings. She could see only that she was in a large chamber with a domed ceiling, whose crystalline lattices glowed weirdly, glinting with a myriad of soft colors that made for an effect that was eerie, though not unbeautiful.

An uncanny, alien bellow suddenly rang out within the chamber. Teela shuddered at the strange noise and felt her heart pound as she wondered what evils it might portend for her. Finally, she relaxed, having come to realize that the weird clamor was simply a peal of thunder from the storm that still raged outside, its rumble reverberating oddly in the crystal-walled space of the chamber, lending it a most unnatural timbre.

Teela struggled to break the bonds that held her, but this proved fruitless. She was most securely fixed to her spot. She relaxed her body and took in a breath, slowly exhaling. She was contemplating her next move when, suddenly, a new sound broke the comparative silence that had settled into the chamber – the sound of footfalls.

Teela's muscles tensed as she readied herself mentally – for she could not do so physically – to confront her abductor. But it presently occurred to her that the sound of the approaching footfalls, which clicked and clacked in a manner that implied a pair of high-heeled boots, seemed incongruous with the bare, webbed feet of the Ocean Warlord. She nonetheless expected no other face to appear than that of the monstrous, unblinking Mer-Man.

Indescribable was her shock when her field of vision became filled with a visage of cold, staggering beauty.

"I trust your little nap has refreshed you," Evil-Lyn said with a hollow ring of mockery.