CHAPTER 166

Lube flowed from her tail onto his shaft, keeping him well oiled. Cerberus kept looking back to see what was happening, but continued moving through the Underworld. The trees had changed, and most of them looked like they were dead, or close. The ground was littered with ash and leaves, and when Cerberus stepped around a grouping of rocks, Mike found himself staring at an old stone archway with symbols carved into the blocks along the top. Lily clamped one of her hands across his mouth to keep him quiet.

The archway had diagonal iron bars embedded inside that looked just wide enough to be squeezed through. Cerberus walked around the gate, but he couldn't help but watch it as they passed. The air smelled of dust with a slight trace of sulfur, but there was another acrid odor he couldn't place. Once they were away from it, Lily dropped her hand.

"Where did that one go?" he asked.

"Hell," Lily told him. "The bars allow you to go in, but what you don't know is that they're like shark-skin, covered in microscopic barbs. Smooth one way, rough in verse, and if you try to back out, it tears your skin off. That's the best case scenario."

"Why would anyone go in there on purpose?" He looked over his shoulder at her.

Her face darkened. "There are things here that are far worse than Hell. Your version of Hell is a rather new idea, but the Underworld itself is ageless. It's been around since the beginning of everything, maybe even before. There are things here that would love to get ahold of a wandering mortal, or even a soul that is firmly rooted here."

"But wouldn't Hell be worse?"

"It's all a matter of perspective. There are things out here that mortals have forgotten the names of, creatures made of hooks and chains that feast on suffering. But enough about that, because it's making you soft."

"Oh." He looked down to see that she was right. "I mean, you don't have to do that."

Lily bit his ear and started stroking him even harder. "I did not spend all that time edging you through the Underworld just to have you blow me off, Romeo."

"Why are you edging—ow!" She had bitten him again.

"Lots of reasons. Because I'm a tease. Because I thought it would be fun to jerk you off while riding a three-headed dog. Because I thought it might help you relax, or maybe just because I thought you might enjoy it." Her hands were working overtime now, as if to make up for lost ground. It was having the desired effect, and his thoughts were beginning to swim, his concentration lapsing.

"Lily, I—" he stopped mid-sentence when she started licking and sucking on his neck. The sensation of her lips on his neck was sending chills down his spine to meet up with the fire that blossomed below. Sparks now crawled along his entire body, and he felt the pressure building.

The vegetation had become so dense that the branches dragged along his skin like grasping fingers, and the trees were actually moving out of the way to let Cerberus through. Suddenly, the trees were gone and he found himself looking at a giant river. Cerberus padded carefully across, the water coming up just past their belly.

The water was black in places, and appeared to climb up Cerberus' fur to reach for Mike. He caught the odor of brimstone, and his mind immediately jumped to a time and place from his youth, and he could hear the rancid screams of his mother bouncing around inside his head. Long forgotten memories rushed forth, filling his belly with lead. He clenched his fists, letting the anger rush through him.

Lily turned his head and put her lips on his. Her scent washed over him and he felt the memories of his youth vanish in the surge of energy that passed between them. When she broke the kiss, they were on the other side of the river, near the mouth of a large cave that fed the river.

Silver columns supported the ceiling of the entrance, and he couldn't help but think the folded walls of the cavern looked like an eager vagina, beckoning him to enter. He was about to tell Cerberus to take him inside when Lily's tail shifted and sucked him in deep.

"Oh...my... nghh!" The lightning danced out along Cerberus fur as Lily's tail milked him, and the legendary beast trembled, then shook itself off, scattering water away from them. The succubus groaned as the magic traveled up her tail with his semen, her hands squeezing him tight while he released his load inside of her.

He shook his head and frowned at the cave. The sudden compulsion to go inside had vanished, and he thought he saw a figure in the mouth of the cave step back into the darkness.

"What just happened?" he asked. "What is this place."

"That's just some post-nut clarity," Lily replied. "We should keep moving."

"Okay." He looked over his shoulder at the cave and caught the glimpse of a figure disappearing around the corner of the rocks. The strangest urge to go back and check it out pulled at him, but Lily put her mouth near his ear and whispered a single word.

"Cecilia."

He nodded, and looked away from the strange cave. The forest ahead was thinning rapidly, and he now saw buildings, or what was left of them. They looked like they had been bombed out, but as they approached, they faded away. They were now surrounded by whirring lights as spirits shot past them, and shadows milled about amongst the phantom city.

"Where is this place?" he asked.

"War zone, most likely. As for where, I couldn't say." Lily swiped at a nearby building and it vanished. "When you have enough death in one place, the boundary between the Underworld and your world thins to accommodate the sudden transfer of souls. In a way, they are both here and there at the same time." She paused as a large shadow, nearly twelve feet tall, lumbered past them. "This may not even be our world."

Cerberus stopped and belched fire at a nearby copse of trees. A group of creatures scattered from behind it and bolted into the woods.