Crossbred Royal 31

CROSSBRED ROYAL

Disclaimer: This is a story of pure fiction. If you are not allowed to read this in whatever part of the world you are living, then try not to get caught, and legally you shouldn't be reading this. If you are not 18 or older then again, do not read. Lastly, this will contain gay sex between consenting people and if this offends you then click back and ask why you're on here in the first place. This story is property of myself, the author, and may not be copied or used on other sites without my express permission. All characters are fictional.

All comments to ME, greatly appreciated

Chapter thirty one

Chapter thirty one
The Prey lands were on fire. The Particle beam had hit almost directly over the location of the city. Although the shield had been designed to absorb the impact of the particle beam, the heat had been too much for the spell powering it, and even with the moisture from the dense cloud cover helping to keep things cool, it still was not enough to prevent the firestorms from ravaging the city.

This was the news that the Prey King, Anson, had been given. His shoulders slumped when he was told that fire raged unchecked through the Prey Citadel. There had been many reluctant people who had refused to leave when he had informed them of the evacuation into the Mounds. He had allowed only a skeleton garrison and a few dignitaries to look after things until their Prey Prince could sort the matter out and they could all return to their homes. Now, it seemed to be a waste. Judging by the reports given to him, it would be lucky to have a hundred people left alive. The Prey Palace had been the only structure that appeared to still be standing.

Turning towards his seneschal, he asked, "Do we know if there are any survivors? What about the Oak Heartwood Tree?"

His seneschal frowned. "I do not know, your Majesty. Terse was not at her station so I could not ask her to use her scrying crystal to see if there were survivors, and the second in command, a Fire nation Fey, refuses to answer any of my questions."

Anson rubbed his forehead. "So they were kind enough to mention that our lands had been burnt to a crisp, but not if there were any survivors?"

The Seneschal nodded in the affirmative, but looked straight ahead. The King tried thinking calm thoughts as he took deep breaths to control his frustration. "I will personally go and see this uppity Fey myself." He stood abruptly and the dignitaries raised themselves hastily, trying to bow in the process. But the King was out the door before their bows were completed. A guard of six Mage Prey followed in his wake as the King stormed towards the Security centre. Ciaran teleportation devices had been set up on each level of every building, with a voice command system set in to teleport them to their desired destination.

Above the ceiling floated globules of mage light. Gaseous balls of energy that emitted light almost as strong as daylight. They began to flicker and fade creating shadows along the walls. Anson stopped, watching as the lights dimmed almost disappearing completely, and then grew stronger again. As a powerful mage himself, it did not bode well if the smallest of spells was being affected in this way. He looked back to his Head Battle Mage, and the Mage nodded her head in recognition. Something was up, and Anson had a suspicion that the security centre and its imminent lock down would be a good place to find answers.

Anson stood outside the entrance way to the Security Centre. The doors were supposed to slide open and shut on request, but they remained stubbornly closed to the Prey King's orders. Closing his hands he felt the power of Earth ripple up through his feet and into his fists. He pulled his elbow back and smashed his clenched fist into the door, followed by the other fist. The impact had the crystal door jangling like shattered glass, and yet it held. He waited a few seconds and was preparing to punch them again, when the doors slid open.

A female Fey stood imperiously at the door. Her cold blue eyes stared up at the King. Anson had stood against an Elder before, and was not deterred by her aloof manner. "I want a status report on the Prey Lands, and I want to know why you're not answering my seneschal's questions."

The Fey woman's expression turned even icier. "A King you may be, but you have no jurisdiction over me or what goes on within Security." Pasting on an empty smile, she continued, "Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to give you information when we get it."

The doors began to slide closed once more, but Anson was not going to be dismissed so easily. Two Mage guards walked on both sides of him and held the doors open with their magic. Behind them, their animal guides hovered in a semi transparent state. Anson felt his own animal spirit rise inside and slide out as a presence behind him. The Silver Crested Eagle roared and power swirled in the air, thick and heavy. Anson kept eye contact with her, watching every nuance of her face. There was a slight tightening around her eyes as she evaluated the other four Mage guards behind the Prey King.

"Something is not right and I want to be informed," Anson rumbled in a quiet but deadly voice. "I know we are on lock down due to the invasion of the enemy so close to the Mounds. But I need the portal opened at the Prey Citadel."

She shook her head. "I can not allow that."

Anson felt his spirit guide roar inside his head, it flapped its massive wings behind him in agitation. He walked closer to her and saw her body turn defensive. He could feel her power like a heat wave against his skin. "First you refuse to give my seneschal the information I require, and now you refuse my request. Fey or not, that is a dangerous thing to do." Using his height, he towered over the Fey.

She raised her chin, and unconsciously her shoulders loosened, preparing for an attack. "I will not be intimidated by you. I have been put in charge until Terse or one of higher importance is here to take over. We are on lock down and, until I get confirmation otherwise, I will not budge on my decision even for you!"

Anson was a chameleon at heart, and a master at getting his way. He changed tactics smoothly. "What are you not telling me? Don't think I didn't notice that there seems to be a lot of power fluctuations." He stared hard at her, trying to assess her reaction as he continued, "And where is Terse?" Her eyes tightened once more. He pushed for the kill. "Imagine what my son would have to say if he was told that his father was blocked from saving his people, all over protocol."

Her creamy skin turned an even paler shade as she stared at him. The fight drained from her and she moved to the side to allow him in. She eyed some of his guards. "I'll allow two of you, but not all six in here." She said, placing herself firmly in their way.

The King looked back at her and nodded his head towards the mages. The head mage pointed to one of her mages to follow, and the other four spread out around the outside of the door. He walked into a spacious room with eight consoles facing inwards in a circle. Each console looked like wide tables with large clear quartz monitors, shaped like dresser mirrors, that had images and symbols flashing across them. All the nations were represented within the security room. It surprised him to see predators working in here. After all, the security gadgets involved both mage craft and Ciaran technology. He was of the mind that Predators were more inclined to use their physical prowess than their mental ability. They were not known to have either magical skill or technological advances. He was not sure what they could possibly offer, however he grudgingly admitted, albeit to himself, that they looked confident in whatever tasks they were busily working upon. Catching the eyes of the two Prey representatives, they hastily tried standing up and bowing. Anson put his hand out and urged them to remain seated. They hesitantly sat back down, uncomfortable with the informality.

In the centre was a revolving chair with a holographic screen hovering in front of it. That was where the Fey headed. She sat down in the chair while Anson stood beside it. She closed her eyes and uttered one word in the old tongue. Anson had to grit his teeth as he felt the power of the old tongue grate against them. The holographic screen showed a glowing blue sphere. It looked like blue flames, wreathed and swaying in a synchronised pattern. From the flame-like energy, humanoid shapes rose and began dancing to an unheard tune.

"Is that the Earths core?" The Fey turned in her chair and nodded. She gave him a quizzical glance. Anson chuckled. "My son told me what it looked like; I just never thought I would see it with my own eyes."

She nodded her head. "Did he explain that what you are seeing is the spiritual essence of the core?" With a flick of her hand the screen changed. A solid Iron-Nickel sphere replaced the image of the glowing blue one. "This is the physical shell." With another flick of her hands, the image zoomed in on the sphere until it passed through it. Inside were lattices of Iron crystals, layered smoothly on top of each other, like a honey comb. The image shook, and one small section of an Iron honey-comb crumbled. The image went hazy, until the Fey uttered another word of power.

"What is happening?" Anson asked.

The Fey waved her hand and the blue sphere reappeared. "Watch."

Anson watched as yellow bolts of light slashed into the dancing figures, cutting them in half. Like paper, the two halves fluttered into the flames beneath. There was no new dancer to take its place. Instead, the remaining dancers shifted about until the position was filled by the remainders.

"Ever since the shield over our world broke, the Earth's core has been reacting oddly." The Fey said quietly. "Most of our power is derived from the Earth's core. The Avatar set it up that way. That is why we dare not open any portals. Should the power fluctuate at any time, we couldn't guarantee that anyone travelling through them would make it in one piece."

"Surely we have auxiliary spells set up for emergencies to take over as an energy source right?"

She smiled at him as if he was a little child attempting to be an adult. If Anson wasn't so concerned about the predicament, he would have called her out for such an insolent look. But getting to a solution quickly was more important than any supposed insult.

"All our power, Fey, Prey, and even Predators with their beasts, derive their power from the Earth's core. The only two that will not be unduly affected are Prince Falcon and Prince Sonny. They derive their power from the source, which is the Architect. The Ciaran will also not be affected as much." Getting up out of her seat, she walked towards one of the Ciaran males sitting at his console. "Before you interrupted us, we were discussing ways of using Ciaran geothermal generators to power up the systems here. That way the Mounds can still work effectively and efficiently without fluctuations." Turning towards the Ciaran, she leaned down to look at his computations and nodded. She stood up and turned to the Prey King. "This is why we have not been able to give you anymore information about your people or the Prey lands. Many of the shields and defensive spells placed around the Oak Heartwood trees in the Prey Lands were put under a lot of strain because of enemy energy beam. It has taken its toll on our reserves. We are barely keeping the facilities within the Mounds active."

"So where is Terse?"

If Anson had not been watching for it, he would have missed it. Her slight pause gave away her nervousness. "She is still outside the Mounds. The last time we were in contact with her, she had just finished healing the last of the Oak Heartwood trees that anchored the Mounds to the physical Earth plane."

"So why have you not sent out a rescue mission to check up on her?"

The Fey stiffened at the censure in his voice. "You obviously have not been listening. We do not have the power to override the lock down system without removing power from vital systems, such as maintaining the spells around the Oak Heartwood Trees in the Prey Lands. However, if you wish to see your Lands sink to the bottom of the ocean, I'll remove the shields protecting them from the fires." She gave him a mocking stare. Anson held his tongue with effort. She continued, "Until we can find another route to gain power, we are at a stand still. Terse is powerful enough to take care of herself. She would prefer that we care for the majority instead of one individual."

He turned away, hands behind his back to hide how much he wanted to punch the smug look off her face. "Has anybody been in contact with Prince Falcon or Prince Sonny?"

She smiled at his turned back. "Prince Falcon was last seen in Goba Desert destroying what remained of the Malasii. As for Prince Sonny, he disappeared from his rooms and no one has seen him since."

Turning back around, he stared at the Fire nation Fey. "I wish to be kept in the loop about progress. I will also bring in some of my most powerful mages to assist in anyway they can."

The Fey needed to be diplomatic here. After all, the King was sending out the proverbial truce flag. So it was vital to acknowledge his generosity and be done with it. But their team were specially chosen to ensure that any situation that arose could be handled efficiently and with the least amount of drama. Two members from each Nation had been specifically selected to ensure that equality was maintained in the eyes of all.

"Thank you for your generosity King Anson. Should our team require assistance, we will be grateful for the help. Now, if you will please excuse us, we have work to be done and with much haste."

Anson gave a quick nod of his head, knowing a dismissal. Normally he gave the dismissal and it sat uncomfortably to have the same tactic directed at him. He strode towards the door before pausing and turning around. "The people in the streets will need assurances; I have set up discussions in the Crystal Waters Quarter. I have already sent out a request that the Predator representatives are there, so that they, too, can show some form of solidarity. It will allow the public, on both sides, to ask and answer questions. I will be explaining that your team is working on ensuring our safety. Please do not prove me a liar."

The World Eater was done toying with this Galaxy. The Malasii scouts had obviously not been enough to subdue this cockroach infested planet. It was time he brought out the heavy artillery. It sent a summons to the sleeping chambers where the Armada Malasii were kept in cryogenic stasis. It was necessary. They were unpredictable and single minded in their goals, almost rabid in their ferocity. Without an enemy to be set upon, the Armada Malasii would turn on its own allies. Once upon a time, they had been great warriors from the World Eater's original Galaxy. With the destruction of their home, they had gone mad. In fact, they were the original design for the Malasii scouts.

As the World Eater had devoured world after world, it had gathered the survivors and incorporated them into its metallic world; making them slaves to its growing needs. The more it ate, the larger its body became to adjust to the energy and material intake. At first, the World Eater found that devouring the life essence of its brethren gave it a state of euphoria and a sense of being one with all creation. Then the sensation would die and the hunger return worse than before.

Using its long range sensors, it looked at the green and blue planet. One of its minions sent up a status report. They had outdone themselves with the repairs on the cooling systems for the particle cannons. They would be operational in another twenty eight hours. In the meantime, the Armada would be prepared. They would be awoken, given their instructions, and then teleported to a closer distance to this annoying planet. With a satisfied sigh, the World Eater told the Armada Malasii that all life forms were theirs for the taking.

As the Armada Malasii were deployed into the teleportation chambers, the World Eater felt a presence watching it. Using scanners and internal sensors, it searched for the intruder. Getting no feedback from any of its scanners, it ordered its minions to do a physical search in a 1000 mile radius of their orbit. When reports were given that no energy forms were present aside from its own, the World Eater settled down again, dismissing the sensation.

The Armada battalion disappeared in groups of a thousand, appearing in front of the target planet, until all its ships were deployed. Again, that presence returned, and still it couldn't be registered by any of its minions or the technology at hand. The World Eater couldn't quite place the disquieting feeling within it as it searched frantically for the ever watching presence. A sensation it had never felt filled its being. It could feel the weight of its metal shell pressing down on it, constricting it. The World Eater needed to get out of its shell for just a moment.

The desire was so strong currents of energy swept through its metal body, short circuiting some of the life-support systems for its minions in various sections of its body. As the World Eater reacted to the unexpected urge to abandon its shell, a random thought popped in its mind that perhaps the Destiny pattern was calling it. After all, it hadn't been able to hear the music of destiny, nor had it been able to pin point where the destiny pattern resided. Perhaps this presence was the destiny pattern calling it?

Like a gleeful child, it left its metal body. That presence felt even stronger away from its shell. The World Eater hovered hesitantly, trying to pin point where that sense of watching eyes came from. Something light, but as strong as rope, attached itself to its essence. The World Eater snarled in surprise. For the first time a new sensation it had not experienced began to flow into its awareness...fear.

It tried fleeing back to its own body, only to feel a strong tug pulling it further away. It tried looking down to whatever was holding it firmly, but there was nothing to see. It squealed with a high and frightened pitch, trying desperately to return to the safety of its metal shell. A part of its essence stretched and touched the outer hull of its world. The tug lessened, but there was still a strong pull. Its minions alerted to its fear, tried targeting whatever could be attacking their god. Again their scanners were not able to pick up the presence. With one last coherent thought before fear drowned out all rationale, the World Eater squealed to its minions to deploy all weapons and destroy the target planet. With that last command, the tug grew too much and the World Eaters essence was mercilessly ripped from its metal world. However, its minions had been taught to obey without question and ordered all weapons to be deployed. All fighter pilots and droids were to be sent out.

A red and gold tendril, invisible to the scanners and sensors of the Metal World attached itself to the hull. It began to pump uncertainty, doubt, and disharmony among the World Eater's minions. The build up of fear was slow, but steady, until riots and rebellion were soon running rampant through the upper and lower sections of the vast, artificial world.

From a long distance away, a hooded figure smiled. Green lips curled in pleasure at the rife it was creating. Underneath its hood, a red and gold serpent's tongue slithered out, tasting the satisfaction of its master's pleasure. The Architect looked at the arsenal of weapons and enemies arrayed against his home planet and frowned. He had to have faith that his creations would be able to hold their own. He had managed to prevent the strongest of the World Eater's weapons, the Particle Beam, from being used. However, his battle with the World Eater was just beginning.

Falcon and Sonny appeared outside the main building of the healing rooms. People rushed forward when they realised who it was. Falcon could taste fear and confusion in the air, and sent out a soothing balm across frayed tempers and distraught emotions. Sonny was void of feelings, and it was an oddly soothing contrast against the seething mass of emotions in front of them.

Sonny opened one of the side doors into the sleeping rooms for recovering patients and ushered Falcon through. He shut it firmly behind him and faced the growing crowd. Raising his hands up to ease the crowd back, he stepped forward. A gap appeared in front of him, enough breathing space for the new Predator King to grab the crowd's attention and to better control the situation.

He felt a tentative mind link with Falcon and opened up gratefully. It was a convenient way to keep Falcon up to date about the concerned crowd. Sonny ushered the crowd further away from the healing rooms and into more open space. Selecting a few people he knew who would be able to give him all the details without exaggeration, he began to piece together their current situation.

After digesting the current state of things, it was obvious that his attention needed to be where the most information was gathered; the security rooms and with the leaders or heads of state. It was time to sort out all the problems at hand, and he sent a telepathic message to all those involved.

He walked into the security rooms and headed for the Fey in charge. "How long has Terse been outside?"

The Fire Nation Fey turned and looked up at him. "Just short of a full day."

Sonny frowned. "I have set up an emergency Council meeting. I expect you to be there. In the meantime, I'll be outside bringing Terse back in."

He was preparing to teleport when one of the Ciaran spoke up. "King Sonny, one moment of your time, please."

"Make it quick."

"The perimeter satellites we set up around Earth's orbit have been triggered. Judging by these reports, the enemy appeared out of nowhere, which indicates teleportation devices. And because of our power problem we had to pull the Mounds out of time stasis. It was the biggest resource drainer."

Sonny folded his arms and tapped his fingers against his arm as he thought. "I was given a brief run down about the geothermal project you were working on. However, we seem to be running out of time again. So, when I return with Terse I will put the Mounds into time stasis. And the generator project will be your main priority. We need to have our base operational at all times, without either myself or Falcon having to be on call."

"How will that help us with the new enemy threat?"

Sonny's lips thinned. "Leave that part to me. I want the army returned to the Mounds, no exceptions." Turning to the Fey he directed his next question at her. "Contact the Fey Elders and have them return here also, including any Fey with them."

The Fey looked alarmed, "Won't that leave many of the Oak Heartwood Trees defenceless?"

"I will explain everything in the council meeting. Right now, if Terse hasn't returned yet, then I need to know her situation." He could see questions rising and raised his hands to silence them. "Wait until the council meeting. By then I should have the Mounds pulled out of normal time." Teleporting out of the Mounds, air rushed in to replace the space he had vacated.

Falcon laid his hands upon a sweating and tired Illiana. The Healers had managed to staunch the flow of blood, but Falcon could still feel the tear in the uterus. The Healers had dared not channel too much energy close to an unborn child. Their power was to utilise the patient's own body defences and encourage natural healing, only on a much faster level than normal. However, energy healing too close to an unborn child could lead to complications with foetal development. The Prey Mage Colleges had done case studies on the subject. Energy Healing caused rapid regrowth and when used close to an unborn child, it caused unnatural protuberances and deformities.

He wrapped the baby in a cocoon that acted as a buffer in case of any magical backlash, and used his own power instead of the mother's to heal the tear in her uterus. It was odd, but the child seemed blissfully unaware, and that was unusual with this amount of haemorrhaging and stress from the mother. The child should have been in danger, but remained passive, and there were no signs of stress. However, the tear in the lining of the uterus needed to take precedence since the child didn't seem to be in any danger.

It was while he was almost finished with healing Illiana's uterus that Falcon sensed a change in the child's mood. If Falcon didn't know any better, he could have sworn the child was fully aware of its surroundings. A sound that could be felt but not heard emanated from the child, and it hit Falcon in the solar plexus. He shuddered, and the sensation sang through his veins, calling to the Feminine Power within. The infant's mind brushed his and, before he knew it, the child drew him into a vision.

The Prey Prince saw what he could only describe as gods facing off. One of them, the Feminine Power recognised and tugged within him. Even without his power telling him who it was, he would have known just by the personality. The Architect stood, forever cloaked. Serpents hissed beneath the hood, pushing their heads out to sway hypnotically side to side. Yet, the hood remained stubbornly atop the Architect's head.

Falcon turned his head to look at the other, and he felt his stomach churn from its presence. It felt so very wrong. He even found it difficult to maintain eye contact as something about staring at the World Eater made his eyes water. Every time he managed to wipe the tears from his eyes, the god changed its shape. The Architect turned his head slightly and looked in Falcon's direction. The presence of the unborn could be felt right beside Falcon. "You and Sonny must protect this newborn child at all costs. She has a part of me that must be protected even if it means your life. Your other duty is to protect the spirit realm; the World Eater has other minions that are not all physical creatures. Sonny will be busy taking on the World Eater's minions that are landing on Earth shortly."

Falcon had no choice but to obey. The presence of godhood was too strong to ignore, and Falcon went down on one knee in acknowledgement. "Your will is my command, Architect."

Amusement floated through the Architect's mind-voice as he replied, "Wonders will never cease, my Prey Prince."

Falcon caught an old hint of Kiri in that tone and his heart lurched inside his chest. He was turning around, preparing to depart when an inhuman screech made him shift around in defensive mode. The other god, the World Eater Falcon surmised, rushed toward the Architect with an ever-changing body limb. One moment a tentacle, the next a furred and clawed hand, shifting and changing before the eye could process what it was, left after images on the retina. The Architect curved his body in preparation for an attack. Something grabbed hold of Falcon and made him hurl back into his body with a jolt.

Falcon pulled his hands away from Illiana's rounded stomach. The child lay quiescent within the womb but Falcon could still sense her alert mind. Looking up at Illiana's face, he was relieved to see her in a deep healing sleep. There were dark shadows under her eyes and he watched as sleep eased away the marks of pain and exhaustion. The Healers walked up beside the sleeping patient and gently but efficiently began removing the remnants of her under garments. A matronly Prey began ushering Falcon out the door, thanking him for his help, but making sure he was out before Illiana's clothes were completely removed. He gave a small smile when the operating doors were closed in his face.

Rubbing the back of his neck he felt the mental link with Sonny as a small tug in his mind. It was enough to keep him aware, but not distracting enough to overtly disrupt his concentration. Thinking of the Carmi artefact, he teleported himself to his sleeping quarters. It was strange, but the artefact had appeared in his room not long after Kiri's death. Its symbols reminded Falcon of the sacred site, where Kiri had died and become a part of the Architect. He had tried giving it back to Elder Rain, Kalemendari, but the Artefact had reappeared in his room once more.

Picking it up from the safe he had installed specifically for it, he put it around his neck. It hummed in recognition. He absently began tracing the triangle on the amulet with his finger. Walking to the large doors that opened onto his balcony, he looked up at the sky and frowned. Although the passage of time was judged by the light of day and and dark of night appearing at their given time, he could sense that time moved more slowly here in the Mounds in comparison to the real world.

His connection lay with Earth more than with land created in pocket dimensions. Although his power could flow through the lands in the Mounds and enrich its soil, and therefore enrich him, it still didn't feel the same. It meant Sonny had been busy while he was healing Illiana. The Mounds were once more out of time. Judging by the passing of time on Earth, the spell had just been activated an hour or so ago.

The image of Sonny sitting down at the Council Table flashed into Falcon's mind, but he would not be joining Sonny there. His mission was already set. The creatures of spirit that the World Eater had released were not constrained by time. They would be upon them any time now.

He needed to be in a place that resonated with the Feminine, closing his eyes, he thought of Trevailier forest. It had once housed the Feminine power. It was time to draw on its connection. The Carmi thrummed around his neck, responding to his request. Opening his eyes he was greeted by Trevailier forest. He heard the wind in the trees and the voices of land and forest whispering about the coming threat. Even the animals could sense a threat as they, too, were strangely silent. Not even the insects dared to break the silence of the woods. Falcon scanned the forest for signs of Fey. They too were gone.

He quickly sat on a small grassy hill where dying Avatar flowers were clumped. It had the strongest pull of Feminine Energy. The land whispered to him, telling him this spot was the place where Kiri first became the Source of Feminine. He smiled and gently touched the flowers with his power. They rippled and soon were singing as a new connection was established. Across the Earth he could hear the rest of the dying Avatar flowers raising their voices with the rest of the plant kingdom. With an audible click inside him, he felt Trevailier Forest respond. The Avatar flowers acknowledged Falcon as the new Power Source of Feminine. It hurt something inside him when the Avatar flowers began calling his name and, surprisingly, Sonny's. He was extremely relieved to note that the petals still resembled the rich red of Kiri's hair, and the silver stems were the same colour as his beloved's eyes.

Folding his legs in the lotus position, he quickly fell into a meditative trance. In this state he was able to draw upon memories stored in his subconscious and bring them forth to be reviewed. It was a technique that had been drilled into him when he was conditioned by the Masculine to be Kiri's anchor. It was a technique that had proved useful when recalling facts and sights he had seen. Now he was using that skill to bring up the images and information Sonny had passed on to him while they were linked. It was grim tidings indeed. Falcon relayed his own vision of the Architect and the World Eater, and informed Sonny his daughter was safe and so was the mother. He felt the mental link thrum as Sonny acknowledged the new information, and the relief about his child.

Now it was time for Falcon to concentrate on the enemy. Gathering his phoenix to him, he called upon the spark of life from around the Earth. It was as if the world had been waiting for him to do this as the plants, animals and insects, gave a part of their life essence to help him. The energy of life essence made him arch his back as it filled him. The mound beneath responded, acting as storage for the power that was overfilling him.

The phoenix roared inside as it too was filled with the essence of Feminine. Flames licked around his body. Soil shifted and moved as the mound he sat on flattened. In pure gold script, the sacred symbols appeared around Falcon's sitting form, bathing his skin in its light. Falcon gasped as the power become more concentrated. The Carmi around his neck shone with its own light, turning his face into a blazing kaleidoscope of gold light.

A sound of thunder and metal screeching against metal filled the ether. Pulling out of his physical body, Falcon heard it instantly. The phoenix crowed a challenge of its own; its musical voice sending out ripples. From the distance, the enemy paused when it heard the challenge and then, with an almighty rumble of sound, Falcon felt a returned ripple of energy.

It smashed into him, and he went flying backwards. The Phoenix screamed out its anger and engulfed Falcon within its spiritual flame. Falcon sent his gratitude and inwardly cursed for not creating shields before issuing a challenge. He had to admit he had been drunk on power and allowed his over confidence get the better of him.

The Phoenix was not going to take this insult, and sent out a ripple of its own power. Falcon felt the back lash as it raced past him and into the ether. The Prey Prince, then shot into the spiritual plane after it, his phoenix wrapped around him with fiery wings outstretched. The spiritual plane wasn't an actual place. It was shaped out of dreams and visions and future possibilities. At the moment, all those dreams, wishes, and future possibilities were in turmoil as the World Eater's minions ate the creatures and entities that lived within these realms. The landscape that could normally be fantastical in shape and structure was now a murky and cloudy realm.

Falcon snarled and charged after the ripples of power that the phoenix had used to issue its challenge. The residents of this realm sensed Falcon's approach and went rushing toward him. Even those whose power lay in causing nightmares and terrors raced toward him for protection. They were creatures made up from the fertile imaginings of the living world and seeing the fear upon their faces made Falcon snarl in determination to protect those under his care. As the source of Feminine Power, these creatures were his to protect. He stopped only long enough to create a dimensional pocket for the creatures to hide within before he went racing off.

That large metal-on-metal sound reverberated through the murky mist as the phoenix's challenge hit its target. Falcon smiled with satisfaction as he homed in on the sound and sensation of pain. The clouds cleared and he appeared on rugged terrain that seemed drained of colour. The grey surface was a stark contrast to what lay on top of it. A herd of unicorns lay with silver blood spilling from open wounds. Silky white coats and silver manes glistened with an inner light that was fading with each second.

Lying on their backs were twelve metallic centipedes thrashing from side to side. The same energy that Falcon had felt from the World Eater emanated from these creatures. Falcon and the phoenix snarled in unison. The metal centipedes tried flipping upright, but Falcon was too quick for them and, with one hand, he pulsed his fiery anger into energy and into them. They gave an ear-piercing scream as Falcon's anger melted them into silver puddles. Wispy shadows rose from the liquid but the phoenix opened its beak and consumed them.

A sylph came floating toward him. It looked like a cross between a dandelion and a flower, with a face situated where the stem met the dandelion head. It landed on his shoulder and whispered about the danger to the Earth's core from something that had been sent when the shield over the world fractured. It was sucking and destroying the souls of the world.

Falcon placed his hands on the ground and thought of a mirror. The ground shuddered and a silver lined mirror appeared out of the ground. With a wave of his hand, the mirror showed him the Earth's core, and what seemed like blades of yellow light zipping in and out of the human souls, slicing them.

With only a blink, he hovered over the core of the Earth. The screams of fear shivered over Falcon as he looked at something moving too fast to see clearly that was slicing into the blue, glowing souls. The phoenix separated from him, and Falcon called upon his power to fill him. This time he came prepared. Creating a shield that would absorb energy if he was attacked, he went zooming after the yellow lights.

They too had that awful sensation about them and no matter how hard they dodged and eluded him he could sense them. There were about ten of them. They felt bloated to him, with an energy that crawled over him and made him feel ill. One of them sliced into another soul and the core cried out when another was destroyed before Falcon could prevent it. So far they had been able to avoid being touched.

One of the lights got cocky and tried slashing into Falcon. It grazed up against his shield and squealed with pain as his power ate into it. Falcon roared out his satisfaction as the light began zigzagging in a haphazard way. With a zap of his power, the pestilent light flickered out of existence.

Meanwhile his animal guide had been spread itself over a third of the Earth's core. It was slowly but surely growing larger as it drew on Falcon's power to create a protective covering against the invading creatures. One of the lights turned into smoke as it tried smashing through the phoenix. The rest of the yellow lights learned from this and intensified their attack on the portions that the Phoenix had not been able to cover. And that is where Falcon came into play. He wrapped a light sticky web shield around the portion that had no protection. It wouldn't hold under duress, but it was enough to give him time to attack and to slow down the attackers, while they tried to slice into the souls.

One of them got caught in the sticky web that Falcon had created and before it could free itself, the Prey Prince eliminated it. More tried attacking in a concerted effort on one section at a time. Falcon laughed with glee and pushed terror into his enemies, hoping it would distract them enough to make errors. Although slower than them, he was able to destroy at least one whenever they made a concerted effort to attack one spot. His plan was working.

A frustrated buzzing sound echoed through the ether as the enemy were picked off. Like buzzing yellow gnats they rose in a group, hovering over the Earth's core. By this time, the phoenix had grown large enough that its body was wrapped firmly around the Earth's core. Its body was speckled with blue, red, and yellow flames. The souls danced and swayed beneath its protective wings.

Blue light sparked around the gathered enemy, its colour changed from the pestilent yellow to the blue energy of the Earth's core. Falcon went charging toward it when a beam of blue light shot at him. It came so suddenly, that Falcon was clipped by it as he tried to get away and it burned across his skin. He hissed but continued toward them. Faster than he expected another beam was shooting at him once more.

He shoved a shield directly in front of him, and shot off at an angle to avoid being hit. The beam smashed into his shield breaking it on impact. Falcon created another one in front of him, just in time for another onrush of enemy fire. He grunted as his shield broke and he dodged once more. He was getting closer. The beams came faster but he was getting better at dodging. It was just as he was within a few paces of the gathered enemy that they did something unexpected.

One beam came directly at him, while another was targeted at Falcon's phoenix. Two things happened at once; Falcon smashed into the enemy, obliterating them with a circular shield wrapped in Feminine power, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest as the second beam burned a hole in his phoenix.

The phoenix gave one final scream as the beam ate into it. Falcon shouted in pain and clutched at his chest, the enemy now non-existent. He dove toward his phoenix that was now rapidly shrinking. He wrapped it in his arms as it shrank down to the size of a hen. Pain racked his body but he refused to let his animal guide go. He had only recently had it returned to him and seeing it in this state ripped the old wounds open. This was the second time he was losing something important to him. First Kiri, and now his animal guide.

He tried using his healing skill, but pulled back quickly as he felt the beam burn away at his power. He tried creating a shield around the wound in hope of containing it, but the energy of the beam ate its way through his shield. The phoenix panted as its golden eyes dilated with pain. Falcon cried out for help. He felt a strum from his link with Sonny, and a ghostly image of the Predator King appeared before him. "Combine our powers, Falcon."

Grateful for the help, Falcon nodded eagerly. The two Power Sources slid against each other as they generated power, and yet they were connected. It was a strange sensation to understand. Falcon had never felt the connection between the Masculine and the Feminine in the way he was right now. The relationship almost seemed sexual as the power generated between him and Sonny increased. A part of him screamed that this was wrong and yet his spirit beast was on the line. He had to see this to the end if he wanted to save his animal guide.

Falcon raised his eyes and looked into Sonny's only to see the dawning horror and realisation upon his face too. Soon the sexual energy generated between the two became a force of its own. It washed over both of them and they screamed out as pleasure coursed through them.

Falcon's phoenix began to stir as the sexual energy rushed in to fill the hole the beam had created. Falcon could feel their combined powers battle against beams energy. It seemed virulent and stubborn and so Falcon knew he had to go to the next level in order to overcome most of the damage done to his animal guide.

Closing his eyes, he delved into his Power Source and opened himself up to it completely. There was an answering response from Sonny and the Masculine rose up to meet the Feminine with equal force, always maintaining the balance. Both men were powerless to resist its pull and attraction.

Neither knew who started the kiss first, but both were panting and heaving as their tongues duelled. Clothes were not an issue within the realms of ether and both gasped at the sensation of skin on skin. The small voice inside Falcon's head was drowned under the sensation of pleasure. He had always been a creature of sexual pleasure and yet, for the first time, he didn't want this.

He tried struggling against the gratification and panic slowly settled in as he realised how uncontrollable things had become. He shuddered once more as pleasure flowered through him, in ripples. Coming and then leaving, only to make him gasp as the sexual bliss peaked and then ebbed.

Gritting his teeth, he very nearly had control of himself when he felt a presence. The essence felt so much like Kiri that the walls he had been steadily trying to build to block the course of pleasure came crashing back down. The smell and feel of Kiri filled the air. Sonny seemed just as dazed as he too felt Kiri's presence tantalisingly close. Lust and Love mingled and there was no stopping the tide of events.

In the background, Falcon dimly heard the Earth's core respond to the clash of the two power sources. The souls of the Earth sang their song of life and death. This lowered the boy's inhibitions further as the music wrapped around them and lulled them. A new world grew around them. Grass shot up beneath their feet and, before either of them knew it, they were both on the ground, cushioned by herbal grass and the heady smell of arousal.

Falcon didn't know how he ended up on the bottom, but he didn't care. He turned his head to the side as Sonny used his tongue to lick up the column of his neck. Falcon groaned and ground his hips into Sonny's. Beside them Falcon's Phoenix shone, its wings spread wide as it too absorbed the power generated. Falcon's heart soared at the sight, and then Sonny's mouth claimed his and his world was swallowed by two fierce golden eyes.

Falcon felt surreal, and yet Sonny's body was in sharp clear focus. His tongue trailed over the broad expanse of Sonny's chest, followed by the edge of his teeth. One moment he would be gentle, the next, hard enough to almost tear the flesh. Sonny whimpered and groaned, thrusting his groin into Falcon's.

Their lubrication was copious and both were able to slide their members over each other in a gliding motion. The friction sent both of them into a sexual frenzy. Sweat dripped and eager tongues tried lapping at the taste. Falcon ended up with his legs up to his chest as Sonny nuzzled his groin, licking at the sweat and musk that had built up under his scrotum and aching cock, but never touching the one thing that desperately wanted touching. Sonny licked everything else but the hard throbbing evidence that cried for attention.

In frustration and pay back, Falcon grabbed hold of Sonny's shoulders and pulled him upward. The two kissed once more, and Falcon flipped them over so he was on top. Lowering his head down the swells of smooth strong skin, his face came level with Sonny's straining cock. A steady stream of precum slid down the side of the Predator's phallus and Falcon went in to taste it. It was slightly salty, but tasted much sweeter than ejaculate.

Falcon slid his mouth over the bell shaped end and swirled his tongue beneath the foreskin. Sonny arched his back, shouting out his pleasure. Falcon wasn't done. Raising his head off the throbbing piece of flesh, he took a deep breath, and went back down on Sonny. This time he pushed the length deeper. It hit the back of his throat, and using his meditative skills, he relaxed his throat and pushed the bell end of Sonny's cock past the opening of his throat and down his gullet. It was a long way to go, and a few times Falcon gagged. Still, he refused to give up and waited for the gagging urge to pass, and then pushed down further. He closed his eyes and was surprised when his nose was pressed into Sonny's pubic hair.

Sonny shouted out, raising himself up to stare blindly down at Falcon's lips touching him to the base. With a snarl, Sonny bodily lifted Falcon until his cock was placed directly over his face, and they were in the perfect 69 position. It was a struggle to get Falcon's much thicker cock down his throat, but Sonny had never backed down from a challenge.

He pushed and felt his throat stretch as he used his neck muscles to impale his throat upon Falcon's cock. The Prey Prince mumbled his own pleasure and swallowed, causing his throat muscles to grip Sonny's cock. Power smashed into both of them, and it was the trigger that enabled Sonny's throat to relax. The last few inches that had been a struggle, slid down easily. And Falcon couldn't help but thrust his hips back and forth at the tight grip Sonny's mouth had on him.

The Power built to a crescendo and both men couldn't contain anymore pleasure. With one last thrust that was in unison, both men shuddered and orgasmed, both furiously swallowing as they seeded each other. Power rushed out of the two in a spreading circle of gold and red. It was a force to be reckoned with. The invading enemies were obliterated as the power went rushing throughout the ether. It crashed into the Earth's core, and the core flared with brilliant blue flame as it gave nurturing life and energy. Throughout the Ether the power altered and shifted, creating dreams and possibilities in its wake.

In a far away place, the World Eater squealed as the Architect shouted in triumph and cut one portion of his enemy's power source away. The World Eater looked down and was unpleasantly surprised to realise its morphing ability was gone, leaving it a mismatch to the shapes it had devoured from its brethren. It snarled as the Architect came onwards with his next attack. But the World Eater had not survived for so long without its own bag of tricks. It would wait for the perfect time to unleash its next weapon.

By the way guys, I have a yahoo group where you can see all my writings. I'm a new author and haven't sent all my stories on there yet, and I also have another talented author (Lincard) sharing his stories too. I will be sending my chapters there first. So become a Member and enjoy. Otherwise feel free to Contact me.

Thanks as always goes to Richard for his fine work in editing!

Monkur