Ancient Monsters (Chasing Titania #3)

Xena II: Losing Gravity

Titania and I adventured for a long time. We hid bits of her soul everywhere, in precious and protected places. We kept this up for a long time. 

I caught wind of a dark sorceress that had been snaring women into a trap. Whispers said a goddess was trapping others. We had been led to Serberous' eldest daughter through the information we had gathered. 

A source sent us to a bar. A fae there knew valuable information about this woman.

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" Titania asked me. "We might find a dangerous god."

"I fear no other gods," I assured her. "I have you and myself. I have taught you how to wield weapons excellently, and I have my sword. We are so powerful."

She smiled at me. "I can't argue with that. What sort of bar is it?"

"I haven't the faintest," I shrugged. "Come with me."

"Of course."

The bar, as we discovered, was a burlesque bar. Titania agreed to come with me anyway, both of us knowing we would face scantily clad women. I swore my allegiance to Titania often, each time we slept together. It was our routine. I could never abandon her. I loved her so dearly.

Titania scouted out a table towards the back of the place so we could keep an eye on the patronage. I loved how logical Titania could be at times. 

"I'm going to get some drinks," I pulled a napkin from the table. "I'll also see if the bartender can give me any information."

"Be careful," Titania warned me. "This is a place full of men."

"I'm aware," I huffed. "I can sense their gazes."

"Don't keep me waiting," Titania said playfully.

I kissed her cheek. "I'll be but a moment."

While I waited in line, I scribbled down a message on the napkin. 'Please find me Lenka,' the name of my informant. 

I ordered my drinks and waited. My heart pounded in fear and anticipation as I waited for the bartender to return.

I slipped a note to the bartender alongside my Gaellieons. He took it with a grimace and moved along. I brought the drinks back to Titania, handing her the fruitiest one.

"Thank you," she scoffed.

"I love you," I grinned.

"I love you too," she leaned back, caressing the fragile glass carefully.

"Folks, today we have something all mighty special for ya," an announcer came onto the stage as the lights dimmed.

As the show began, I felt a presence against my back. I glanced to see a woman's shoulders about at my eye level. She set her hand around me, and I touched her fingers to let her know I had noticed.

"I know something about what you're looking for," she whispered. "It's unsafe to say here. You need to come downstairs. Ask for the private show. Tell them Dora sent you."

I nodded. Titania had locked her gaze on mine. The woman walked away. I waited a few minutes before I leaned over.

I waited until the woman had retreated. The darkness of the room swallowed her without hesitation. A woman on stage began to sing and teasingly remove parts of her clothing.

"I've got a bite," I smiled, glancing at Titania.

Titania kissed my cheek. "I hope you find it."

"I'll be back," I squeezed her hand.

I headed down the dark hallway. A man stopped me with his massive arms.

"Private show, please," I forgot how to wile men. "Dora is asking for me."

He huffed but let me through. I followed as the hallway got tighter. There was a set of stairs that spiraled down.

The lights down here were dim, filtered through sheets to appear purple. Naked women were everywhere down here. A cold haze sifted through the patronage. I scanned the crowd before forcing my gaze to the floor. My informant had come down here. Where was she?

Someone tugged on my arm. It was her! Perfect.

"So what did you want to tell me?" I asked.

She pulled me in and kissed me. I tried to fight back, but my entire body lost feeling. I collapsed to the floor. She pulled down her hood. This was the woman we were looking for. The sorceress who was stealing women. The God of Carnal Desires. Tentradora. Dora. I should have put it together.

"Wow," she laughed. "I didn't know the God of Logic wouldn't have seen through that trap. I thought I was going to catch Titania, but apparently, she's the smarter one."

I tried to move. Only my fingers obeyed my command now.

"Don't struggle too hard," she stood. "My spell is impossibly binding. I hope you enjoy sex. It's all you're going to know for a while."

Titania. I had left her upstairs. Surely, she would notice something was a wry. She would save me.

I waited late into the night—nothing from my darling Titania. A tear fell on my face. I should have told her I loved her. I should have warned her to come for me in a few minutes if I didn't return. I should have put the pieces together. She didn't hear the name. It was a message only for me. How could I escape?

When the purple lights had been turned off, and the haze had faded, I was finally touched. I was shifted into a sitting position. I met the black gaze of the God of Death. Fear struck me. So Serberous had allowed two of his children to be here? I couldn't believe any of them were alive after what Lilith had told us of Serberous.

"Don't be scared," he brushed my cheek. "I'm not here to kill you. My sister needs some muscle, that's all."

I would be trembling if I had control over my body.

"Titania left you here, you know?" He continued. "I don't want you to get your hopes up. You're sadly stuck with Dora. My father thought it would be best to trap his sister here with Dora, but we caught you instead. Funny, isn't it?"

I wanted to punch him. My fingers curled into a fist, but I couldn't move my arm to land the hit.

"You're still fighting," he grinned. "Impressive. I'm shocked. No one has been able to resist temptations this long."

"What did you say?" a voice came from the hallway.

"She's still resisting," Dorimir stood from my sight.

Tentradora appeared before me. "Not for long."

"Don't kill her," Dorimir warned. "I'm not going to be responsible for that."

"I won't," Dora leaned in. "A lovely goodnight kiss then?"

As her lips pressed to me again, I lost all consciousness.