Deadly Desire
by Richard B. Sampson

I had to admit that something strange had hit the town. Three men had died mysteriously, but I knew that it wasn't linked to the Hani, since my wife, Vet, slayed that monster almost eight years ago. The twins had just turned twelve and JaNa had started the transformation from little girl to young woman. It was odd this day, because KLar, my son ran to me and said, "Dad, Mom's sick."

Something odd was going on, because Vet never got sick anymore. She had evolved to the point where she could cast a Super-Cure Spell. The spell lasted about a year, and would protect her from normal ailments. I turned to my son and said, "KLar, please stay down here. I shall see what's wrong with Mom." I ran up the steps and enter the bedroom. Vet was lying on the bed, and she did not look healthy at all. She appeared as if she was fighting an illness, but she was holding her own for now. The real odd thing was that her hair was starting to transform, from the red that I fell in love with, to that of blonde. I looked at her and said, "What's wrong?"

Vet lifted her hand and took my mine and said, "Magic. Something powerful. I'm holding it off for now. Check on JaNa." She closed her eyes. She usually knew if something was wrong. When I relayed the message to Vet that JaNa fell ill, she came home instantly. I ran over to JaNa's room and then saw the problem. JaNa had fully developed into womanhood, but the problem was that she had blonde hair like her brother. She was born with red hair, like Vet had, and JaNa now had blue eyes. Her eyes were brown when she was born. I left the room. There must be some ill magic going on. I was about to check on Vet again when at the bottom of the steps, I saw Rich.

I ran down and Rich said, "By the way you are running around, Vet and JaNa appear ill. Am I right?" I didn't know how he knew, but he was right.

I went to my friend and said, "Yes, and it appears to be magical. But how did you know about it?"

"Li went through the transformation a few days ago. It is only in the first stages. They are apparently turning into the image of Venus, but I talked with Isis and it appears to be worse."

I was concerned when Rich said worse. "What do you mean?"

Rich looked grim. "Isis said that the women would start to do anything for any man. The magical aura would force all men to be attracted to them. After the spell takes full hold, the women will kill the men."

I looked at him and said, "What do you mean?"

"Isis said that the women turn into something called a succubus. From her explanation, they will seduce the men, and then feast on there life, like a vampire. Isis said that Radr might be able to find the spell that started it."

I looked back to the steps, "JaNa has already made the first change, and Vet seems to be struggling against the first change. I can't risk both of them here. Can Radr take care of them."

Rich appeared to be in thought, until he finally said, "Yes. Radr might be able to keep them from doing anything. Right now, we should get Vet and JaNa to the guardian base, especially before JaNa starts having the magical aura."

I knew of Rich's wife and said, "What about Li? She must be the same."

"She was. Her brunette hair had changed blonde and I had sent her to Radr, with our children."

"When did you have kids?"

"Three years ago. We had a girl three years ago, and a boy last year. It appears that the motherhood instint is keeping both safe for now. I hope to stop this before this affects my daughter."

I looked at Rich and wondered if Isis had been affected. I decided to voice my concern at that time. "Rich, is Isis being affect, because if we have to fight her, we may not win?"

Rich had a grim look on his face. "When I talked to Isis a couple of days ago, she was starting to transform. I think she might hold out for a while, but not as long as Vet might."

I was startled when Vet said, "Hold out from what, Rich?" She had managed to get up and was walking down the steps. I heard Rich gasp as he saw how Vet had started to change. Vet was Rich's best friend. She then said, "Does Isis know what is happening?"

Rich had trouble making out the next words. "She knows what is happening because it is happening to her as well. She told me that we should talk to Radr. She even said that you might last longer than she would. She has sealed herself in the temple."

I notice that Vet's hair was changing, slower than it had been. Vet then asked, "Rich, what is happening to me, to Li, to my daughter."

Rich swallowed and said, "You are transforming into a Succubus. Isis said it was a female vampire that seduces male victims. In time, you will produce a magical aura that will seduce all men. After that, you will probably kill them." Vet started to shudder. My wife never shuddered unless she was really afraid for her life.

I realized what had to be done. I turned to my wife and said, "Vet, Radr might have an idea of what to do, and maybe he can isolate you and JaNa from everyone until Rich and I fix the problem."

Vet then said, "If it is magic related, I must go along. I am the only one of use who can cast spells."

I looked at my wife and said "And what if the transformation takes over and you become a Succubus. Our lives will be in danger."

Vet had an answer for everything. "Radr must have something to protect you from that, especially if I fully transform. Now, we must leave KLar in charge of the house."

"I'll tell KLar this. You just get JaNa and cast some sort of Anti-Charm Spell on her." Vet went back upstairs and I called KLar over. I looked at my son and said, "KLar, your mother and I are going to leave you here alone for a while. Do not let women into the house, for it will cost you your life."

KLar looked up at me and said, "Will Mom be alright?" I had to admit that since JaNa had fallen ill, KLar was always concerned for all, especially his mother.

I looked my son in the eyes and said, "If we succeed, she and your sister will be fine." He nodded as if he understood, which my son was very good at.

"Dad, please bring Mom home safe, as well as JaNa," he said. I then noticed that my wife was bringing JaNa down the steps. JaNa looked drained, but Vet's condition had started to get a little worse.

Vet looked at us and said, "I think we better get to Radr, and soon." With that, we left the house.


Radr was not surprised to see us. We were escorted into the Guardian base, and JaNa was placed in a special chamber with the rest of the infected women. Radr, at first, insisted that Vet go into the chamber, but she wouldn't go in. Vet finally said to Radr, "Radr, I am the only one of all of us that can fight this evil magic with my magic."

Radr's voice had become cold as he had transformed into a computer over the past few years. It reflected in his speech as he said, "I DO NOT THINK IT WOULD BE WISE, VET. THE FULL TRANSFORMATION MIGHT CAUSE YOU TO KILL YOUR FRIENDS."

Vet raised her voice just a bit. "As of right now, I can still help. There has to be some item of the Ancient's that can stop me from being a risk."

Radr continued in his monotone. "THERE IS ONE ITEM, BUT THE CHANCES OF IT WORKING IS SLIM, IF THE MAGIC IS OF ONE OF THE INVADING GODS."

I looked at Radr and said, "All of those gods are dead. They are no longer a threat to our world. Ashura, Odin, Venus, Apollo, and all the rest were killed in the quest."

Radr's voice continued and an image appeared on the screen. It was the former world of Venus, but it looked as if the crystalline city had been remade, and stronger. From the image, most of the people were female. Radr then said, "I KNOW ONE THING. THAT WAS NOT THE WORK OF ISIS. I THINK THAT SOMEONE FROM VENUS' HOMEWORLD HAS RETURNED TO TAKE REVENGE ON US. MAYBE THIS SUCCUBI SPELL IS THEIR DOING."

Rich said to Radr, "How can it be someone from Venus' homeworld? I thought that the invading gods and goddesses were stopped." Rich's tone was that of disbelief.

Radr continued in his monotone, yet there was concern in it. "I DETECTED THAT A BEING TRANSPORTED INTO THE WORLD VENUS' HELD AND CAST THE SPELL. IT MIGHT TAKE GREAT STRENGTH TO DEFEAT THIS BEING, AND IF VET KEEPS USING MAGIC, SHE WILL TRANSFORM FASTER THAN ANY OF THE WOMEN ALIVE."

I notice that Vet had changed more on the journey, for her figure had started to change. "Then how can I help, I want to save my daughter and my Magic might be the only way to protect them from the aura of attraction."

Radr had taken a new line of thought at this. "HOW LONG DOES THAT SPELL LAST?"

"About a day."

"THEN CAST IT BEFORE THEY GO. RICH, SKIZ, DO NOT KILL ANY OF THE WOMEN, FOR THAT WILL BE YOUR DEATH. GO TO CASTLE AND FIND THE LEADER."

"What should I do?" I could tell that Vet would not stay behind. She loved me and our children that much.

Radr then said, "VET, I HAVE A COLLAR THAT WILL NULLIFY YOUR POWERS, AND ANY MAGIC EMINATING FROM YOU. YOU WILL NOT CHANGE, BUT IF YOU REMOVE IT WHILE CLOSE TO THE SOURCE, YOU WILL CHANGE COMPLETELY. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

I watched as my wife nodded. For the first time in our marrage, I saw a look of helplessness on her face. Vet nodded and went to a bedroom. I looked at Radr and said, "Radr, how much do you think she will change?" My wife was changing into someone I didn't know, and I wanted to know what to expect when the change ended.

The screen changed to show a female form. From what I could tell, she was the ideal woman for some guys in town. Radr's voice then said, "THIS IS WHAT SHE WILL LOOK LIKE BY THE TIME THE CHANGES END. MOSTLIKELY, HER CLOTHING MIGHT NOT FIT, EITHER TOO LOSE OR TOO TIGHT, MAYBE BOTH. I HAD A CHANCE TO EXAMINE SOME OF THE WOMEN WHO TRANSFORMED HERE. SINCE MY COMPUTER FORM IS IMMUNE TO ALL THE MAGIC, I FOUND THAT THEIR SKIN IS LIKE A STRONG ARMOR. NORMAL CLOTHING IS ALL THEY HAVE FOR PROTECTION AFTER THAT, AND THEY DO NOT WEAR MUCH OF IT."

Rich shook his head for a moment and said, "That's evident, but why?"

Radr continued, "THE AURA IS EMINATING FROM THEIR SKIN. THE MORE THEY SHOW, THE QUICKER THEY CATCH THEIR PREY. THEY BASICALLY USE THEIR BEAUTY TO SEDUCE MEN. CHILDREN ARE SAFE FROM THE AURA, DUE TO THE INNOCENCE OF THE YOUNG. BUT WHEN THE CHILDREN START TO MATURE, THE SUCCUBI WILL ATTACK."

Rich then said, "Then we have to move quickly. Radr, if you can find that collar, we will leave in the morning." At that Rich and I went to our seperate rooms for the evening.


Morning came quickly and Radr had called us over to the base entrance. Radr then said, "VET, CAST THE SPELL AND I SHALL HAVE THE COLLAR PLACED ON YOU. REMEMBER, DO NOT TAKE IT OFF OR ELSE YOU WILL COMPLETELY TRANSFORM INTO A SUCCUBUS."

Vet nodded and said, "I understand." I noticed that my wife's armor had seemed abit loose in the waist area, but that was to be expected with this spell. Vet then cast the Anti-Charm Spell and I felt the magical aura surround us. She then made a sound of pain. I looked at her and then saw her hair was becoming more blonde then when we had arrived. Rich placed the collar around her neck and pushed a button. It had a yellow glow about it and Vet almost collapsed.

I looked at my wife and asked, "Are you alright, Vet?" She shook her head and I said, "We got to hurry and stop this. She must be in pain."

Rich looked at me and said, "That armor that she is wearing was altered for her figure, not for the figure of a succubus." I realized what he was saying. Her armor was too small for her. We had to hurry.

Radr said, "GO TO FORMER CITY OF VENUS, AND ENTER THE MAIN BUILDING. THE BEING IS ON THE TOP FLOOR. RICH, USE THE REVENGE SWORD IF YOU CAN." He nodded and then Radr said to me, "SKIZ, YOUR FORM IS VERY POWERFUL RIGHT NOW, AS A LEVEL 5 DRAGON. USE ALL YOUR ATTACKS ON THE BEING." I nodded and Vet, Rich and myself ran out of the base.

It took us a while to get to Venus' former city, but we were doubly surprise by the beauty of it. The bigger surprise was that the main building was built entirely out of magic glass. I had heard that building with this stuff was absolutely forbiden. Normally, glass would let light through, but it would also focus the sunlight, so if light came from the top, it would be a furnace on the bottom floor. Magic glass stopped that from happening and was so clear that only at noon could you see the outline of the glass, or in mist. The one problem with magic glass is that one can see anything through it. I swear that on the higher levels, I could see how the succubi were killing their victims. I then realized that was what happened to the men in the hometown.

Rich gulped and said, "Looks like all those ladies have been busy." I looked at were he was looking, and saw dozens of male bodies. They were withered corpses. I then knew what Radr and Isis meant by leahal. We entered the glass building. The three of us had to work our way through the invisable maze and make our way to the top. Many times, we encounter dead ends, and other times we were confronted with fighting a succubus. We decided to just try and knock them out, and that was tough as they noticed that Rich and I weren't attracted to them. It took some time, but we finally reached the top of the tower, and found the leader. To my surprise, it was a brunette woman, with a body just like the succubi.

She looked at us and said, "Let me guess. You were the ones who killed my sister. At least I manage to get one of you out of the way." She was looking at Vet, who was starting to look upset at the situation. The woman continued by saying, "I was hoping that you would kill your friends by now."

Rich looked at the woman and said, "Who are you, demon?"

The woman launched lightning at him and said, "I am not a demon. I will be the new goddess of this world. I cast this spell to enslave this world. I figured that the major problem with this land was men, and I always despised men. That is why I cast the spell this way. The wives, daughters and lovers of the men would kill them, but the mothers would take care of the children."

I looked at the woman and said, "But you thought every woman would be a succubi by now, and my wife was different from all." The woman slowly approached me and said, "I should kill you myself. You helped kill my sister, and your wife will do anything I request, since I am the original Succubi. Venus cursed me with this, but now that she is dead, and I can take her power. The only bad thing is, I didn't kill her. Now this world will be controlled by Levo, for even now, Isis is coming here as my newest follower, and you will be my first feast." She grabbed me and started to attempt to kiss me.

Vet screamed in fury as she attacked Levo. The two women quickly engaged in a fight, and it was quick. First Vet had made several painful punches to Levo, but Levo made the blow that ended the fight. Levo's fist hit the collar and it shattered into hundreds of pieces. Instantaneously, Vet shrieked in pain and Levo cast a magic spell, replacing Vet's armor with a very enticing outfit. At least the anti charm spell was still in effect over me and Rich, but Vet was now a succubi. Vet then faced me with a hungry look in her eyes and said, "It is time to feast."

A scream filled the air and all turned to face Levo. She had two slices across her chest, and blood was flowing from both. Rich had finally recovered from the lightning and struck her with the Revenge Sword. She then said, "I will drain you for that one."

Vet advanced toward me and I thought quickly. With one wing, I knocked her to the side of the room. I then looked at Levo and said, "Chill out, demoness." With that, I blew ice-breath on her. It was so cold that the blood froze, both on the outside and the inside. In no time, she was a cold statue. I then grabbed her with my claw and crushed her into billions of pieces. As a precausion, I devoured one of the pieces, and I transformed into a new creature. I had become a Gen-Bu. I looked at my wife, and she had returned to her normal look, but her outfit did not change from that of a succubus' garb. I held her and said, "Are you alright?"

She smiled at me and said, "I feel like I was trapped someplace but I was still doing things." She looked at her clothes and realized what had happened. "Did I lose the collar?" When I nodded she said, "Did the Succubi destroy it?"

There was a loud rumble and I realized that the Levo's magic must have been keeping this glass tower together. "Yes, she did. But now, could you cause a mist so all of the people here can escape." My wife nodded and cast a Mist spell. We all ran down the steps to the exit. On the way, many women joined us, including Lynn, who Rich's father took care of for a while.

Lynn looked at us and said, "What happened? Last thing I remember was falling ill on my wedding day. I remember kissing my husband and he disappeared. What happened?" I didn't have the heart to tell her.

Just as we exited the tower, it shattered. We were wore out when we exited the tower. Rich looked at them and said, "To think that demoness was mad because we did something she wanted to do."

Vet then said, "I guess we're some of the lucky ones. Think of all the men that have died as of now. I just hope that the third evil is not that evil."

Rich then said something I didn't want to hear. "Levo was not the second evil of this world. The fact is, it appears that JaNa might be the second incarnation of Shoac."

I looked at him and yelled, "JaNa can't be evil. She's so sweet and innocent."

Vet was to my side and said, "Beside, if it was the case of reincarnation, it can't be JaNa."

Rich said, "But, the power was transfered, and JaNa fell ill. Maybe it was because of the power transfer. The power left St. Marius and mostlikely entered JaNa. I didn't think much of it at first until Li told me about the prophecy."

Vet had tears in her eyes and was sobbing, "It can't be true."

All of a sudden, Isis said, "It might not be. It might be KLar that is the evil one." She was in her usual outfit, but then Isis already looked like the ideal woman. She then said, "The reason it is believed that JaNa is evil is because she fell ill. I would not be surprised if she fell ill because the evil could not enter her."

Rich then said, "Then, we don't know if JaNa or KLar is the second incarnation." From the way Rich said that, I had a feeling that something was amiss. It was late when we returned to the guardian base and Radr told Lynn what had happened. Isis was comforting Lynn and we all went to bed for the night. That night I had a terrible nightmare. I saw myself, or was it Vet, being murdered.

The Birth of the Route of Rigge